Cosmic Lotus

Chapters

Departure
Cosmic Maneuvers
Problems Are Relative
Purple Point Profanity Pool
Memories
Relativity
Power Problems
Applied Maintenance
Wear & Tear
Repairs and Replacements
Halfway (part two)
Chaos and Organization
Fight For Life
Impossibilities
Inner and Outer Space
Unexpected Encounters
First Contact
Communicating
Party!
Steps and Missteps
Talking the Talk
About Face
First Moves
Questions Answered
Surprises
Odd Introductions
Shore Leave
Voyage To A Blue Planet
Government and Bureaucracy
Going Back
Diplomatic Relations
Forging New Bonds
Dinner Time
To Infinity And Beyond!
The Oncoming Storm
Battlelines Are Drawn
Defenses Are Readied
Plans Are Laid
Probes
Repercussions
Conflict
The Pieces Come Together
New Paths

Departure

The auditorium was packed, but it represented only a tiny fraction of the total audience that was waiting for the scheduled event to start. The Lunar Plenary Center was host to the official start of the most remarkable endeavor by the people of Equus and its Lunar Colony in its history. GemVee cameras were set to broadcast the event to every corner of both the home world and its moon.

Exactly on time, the lights dimmed and a large screen at the back of the stage lit up with the emblem of the Greater Equus Council. Then spotlights picked out the form of a Chrome Changeling princess making her way to the microphone stand in the center of the stage. The audience started applauding, and continued until Epiphany had settled in front of the mike.

“Gentlebeings of all races, welcome to the official launch of the Cosmic Lotus mission. While I long ago initiated the research that led to the space program, and I have been spending my later years working on this enormous project to help make it viable, one person alone could never hope to do all this. In fact it would not have been possible with just ponies and changelings working towards its success. No, this is the culmination of our many species working together to achieve far more than any of us could do so by ourselves. This unity of vision and purpose did not start with me, of course, but I am proud to be part of it. So let me introduce the progenitors of the House of Path.”

Another spotlight focused on the left wing of the stage, and the first of several people stepped out.

“Lord Long Path,” Pif announced.

The grey-coated stallion bowed in recognition of the applause from the audience before making his way over to the center of the stage and standing just behind and to the left of Pif. The applause rose again as each founding member of House Path was introduced.

“Lady Roseclaw Path.”

The aging griffon hen showed no infirmity as she strode onto the stage to join her husband.

The spotlight shifted to the right wing.

“Lady Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.”

Twilight stepped onto the stage and acknowledged the crowd before joining the others.

“Lord Free Agent.”

The ever-grinning griffon-changeling strode onto the stage, waving a wing as he joined his wife.

“And finally, although not part of the original group to start the House, but one whom we consider to have brought us all together as a herd and family, the Mistress of the Moon, Princess Luna.”

With a bang and flash of teleportation, Luna materialized in mid-air above center stage and fluttered gently down between the two couples, her spread wings draped over them all in a show of unity.

“Way to make a flashy entrance, Mama,” Pif said with smile. The Alicorn of the Moon merely gave her a small grin back. Pif turned her attention back to the audience. “I would now like to ask the pony whose vision began this remarkable journey to address you all today.” She turned her right to gesture. “Dad, will you step up, please?”

Path smiled at his daughter and took her place in front of the microphone. She walked off stage as he waited for the applause to die down before he began his speech.

“One hundred and sixteen years ago, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to fulfill a dream. It was my mission to go out and learn what I could about different races in order to better understand them and find ways to peacefully co-exist and work with them. Remarkable circumstances gifted me with the means to do this on a grand scale, and the first major inter-species cooperative efforts began between ponies, changelings, and griffons under the auspices of House Path. Through the efforts and support of my beloved wife, Roseclaw, my soulmate, Free, and the Sparkle of Friendship and Harmony, I began the ambitious plan of bringing together our sciences and arts as a means of teaching and learning. From each species we took the best they had to offer, but we never let it rest at that. We continued to strive for greater things.”

“When Princess Luna joined our herd, she also brought a greater dimension to our efforts, not to mention avenues by which we could make better relationships with a couple more species, and yet more knowledge that came with them. That unity of purpose was in part the reason behind the defeat of Nightmare Chrysalis, and overcoming all the other threats to the peace and harmony of Equus ever since. Today, the vast majority of races and nations are proud to be counted among those represented on the Greater Equus Council, and it’s because of this that we are now on the cusp of our grandest project yet – to discover if we are not alone in the universe.”

“The vast array of disciplines that were required to make the Cosmic Lotus project a success cannot be understated. Griffonian engineering, changeling synthetic compounds, Equestrian magitek, Zebrican medicines, rare metals from Minotaur foundries, crystal control systems from the Crystal Kingdom, hydroponic systems from Saddle Arabia, manufacturing techniques from the Lunar Colony – these and so many more contributions were necessary to make this project a reality.”

Path paused to allow the applause the die down before he continued.

“So what do we hope to achieve by this monumental effort? As I said earlier, we hope to find out if there are others in this universe to whom we can extend our spirit of friendship and cooperation, but there is also so much more to be learned while doing so. I would now like to ask Princess Luna to give an overview of what we know and what we hope to learn during this mission.” Path turned around to face the Alicorn of the Moon. “Luna?”

Luna stepped up to the podium with a smile. “Thank you, Lord Path. For thousands of years, it has been my honor and duty to take care of the night sky, and while the Moon is my particular domain, so too have the stars been my responsibility.” Luna’s horn flared and a holographic image of a starfield appeared above the stage. She continued, “But not all of them. I have striven to enhance the night with constellations to beautify it, and sometimes to celebrate occasions, and occasionally to foretell. However, these stars which are mine by right differ from far more distant stars that never moved to anypony’s whim.” The image of familiar constellations faded away to reveal distant and far dimmer stars. “Over the recent centuries, ponies and other races with the questioning mind of true scientists have learned so much more about those stars, and in doing so, discovered the anomaly that we now call the Far Star.” The image finally stopped with the final goal of the mission centered alone in the softly glowing purple night sky.

“There are so many questions that we need to have answered, so many theories to test, and so much science to be done that despite the fact that the mission will take decades, there will be more than enough work to keep all the crew busy. Our understanding of astronomy and physics will grow immensely during the journey, and perhaps we will better understand the grand design of the Great Architect who created our universe. However, it is what we hope to find at the end of our journey that fills us with the greatest anticipation. We have seen the possibility of life at that incredibly distant goal, and where there is life, perhaps there will be new races to meet and learn from. But first we have to get there. I will now ask Princess Twilight Sparkle to give an overview of the mission’s technical requirements.” She turned to the Alicorn of Magic. “Twilight?”

Twilight smiled and moved up to the podium, thanking Luna as the Moon Princess surrendered the microphone. “A project of this magnitude and duration necessitated immense steps forward in materials, technology, and processes. Space is the harshest and most unforgiving of environments, and the Cosmic Lotus will not have the luxury of stopping for repairs or waiting for a rescue party, so everything not only must work, but it must work flawlessly for a long time. That is why preparing for this mission has taken over nine years. Despite the current level of knowledge and experience with space travel, we had to step up everything a notch or two, and the method of propulsion was totally new.”

Twilight’s horn lit up and an image of a small spacecraft appeared. “After the trial run by the Aether Flower unmanned probe, we believe we have ironed out the problems with solar sailing. The sails themselves are graphene sheets with a very thin but highly reflective coating which makes them both extremely light and extremely strong.” The craft showed the sails unfolding into their operational position. “However, first the starship must endure harsh accelerations from rocket boosters and slingshots around the Dim Star and the Sun. Strong thaumic shields are needed to endure the heat of a close pass by the Sun, and later the constant radiation that permeates space.”

“The engineering for the craft alone was a huge task, but unlike the Aether Flower, the Cosmic Lotus has to carry a crew and support them for about forty-two years before it reaches its destination. Long-term life-support systems were required, and a means of producing food and recycling waste in a limited volume had to be found. Lunar Systems had to produce a revolution in their technologies to pull it off, but even so we could not manage with all of the crew that we planned to send. Thankfully, that was one problem that was already as good as solved. Before I ask Lord Free Agent to explain further, I wish to announce that a comprehensive volume detailing every mechanical, material, thaumaturgical, and physical technique that was used to develop the Cosmic Lotus will be available to anyone and everyone after the close of proceedings. I’m sure that it will give you some fascinating reading for years to come.” She turned to her husband and said, “Free, you’re up.”

Free bounced up to the podium in his usual enthusiastic manner. “Thanks, Twi! Many of you know that I’m not just this roguishly handsome griffon, but also the Queen of the Chrome Hive. My hive has been an integral part of House Path since its inception, and together we’ve striven to advance many fields of research. My daughter, Pif, has tirelessly worked to learn new ways to integrate Hive techniques with other technologies, but in this case it took very little adaptation to work for the Cosmic Lotus. So how do you deal with the problem of too many people to support for such an extended period? Put them into hibernation! Changeling healing pods can be adjusted to suit the needs of a patient, up to and including putting them into suspended animation. The pods are self-sustaining and provide for all the occupant’s needs while he or she dreamlessly sleeps away the years.”

Free looked over at Twilight who took the cue to produce an image of a row of pods with various occupants seen through the translucent green shell. Free continued, “For the majority of the voyage, there will only be a basic crew awake – enough to monitor the systems and do any essential maintenance, while the others will be working on the science projects that Luna mentioned. After a set amount of time, these crew members will swap out with others in hibernation and they will take over the tasks. We have enough crew members covering a multiplicity of skills to not only keep the heavy workload of side-projects going, but to also minimize the amount of time on the journey for most crewpersons to be awake to a little over two years. Because the hibernation process suspends physical aging also, no one will age unnecessarily during the journey. However, the journey itself will still take forty-two years, so the personnel who would be chosen to crew the starship had to either have no appreciable ties, or be prepared to leave family and friends behind possibly forever. Choosing suitable candidates was no easy task though, because despite the daunting prospects, House Path did not lack for submissions to the program. Crew members were chosen not only for their skills, but their ability to live and work with others for extended periods. One married couple was included, as well as two pony-changeling bond-friends. To announce the final crew line-up, I will ask Lady Roseclaw to present them to you.” Free turned to the griffoness and said, “They’re all yours, Rose.”

Roseclaw nodded and replaced Free at the podium. “Thank you, Free. As head of the crew selection team, I can tell you that it was no easy task whittling down the list of prospective aethernauts for this mission. To be honest, we did not expect so many applicants considering the unprecedented duration of this mission. The forty-two years that it will take to get to the Far Star was considered too long for some of them, and the skills needed to maintain a ship for that period were of utmost importance. Still, there are considerations for crewmembers other than ship maintenance for a long journey, and we balanced out those factors against their more prosaic skills. Despite all of this, we still had twice as many volunteers as we needed, and we had to disappoint far too many truly remarkable people.”

Roseclaw took a look at her notes before proceeding. “Foremost among our crew requirements were two things – an alicorn and a ship’s commander. A mage-level degree of power is necessary to sustain the mass-reducing spell that will enable the Cosmic Lotus to accelerate to near the speed of light, but no suitable unicorns were found that could sustain the spell for extended periods of time. Thankfully, we have two alicorns who will be undertaking the trip. This will also relieve the load on them as they can swap out to rest and recover during the lengthy period of acceleration. The position of ship’s commander was hotly contested though, and came down to just three candidates. However, one had joined the program since its inception and worked tirelessly to know everything about the craft and its needs, and I am proud to announce that our son, Wandering Path, has been chosen for that role.”

The spotlight shifted to the right wing and Wandering walked out onto the stage, dressed in his starship uniform which covered most of his body excluding head, wings, hooves, and tail.

Roseclaw spoke as Wandering headed over to join the group. “A variation of the ship’s uniform was made for every species on the crew not merely to serve to unite them as a team, but also for its secondary important purpose – protection. Spells woven into the material are designed to save them from an array of possible disasters, up to and including explosive decompression. In that case, a magic force field would retain pressure and breathable air for between half to one hour, depending on the degree of exertion.”

The uniform also looked dashing, and the loud cheers and applause made Wandering blush a little, although you could not tell due to his red pelt. He stood proudly next to his sire, Free, and waited for the applause to die down.

“Next up I present the Second-in-Command and Engineering expert, Commander Galen Bluequill.”

A middle-aged male griffon strode onto stage to stand beside his captain, his size dwarfing the older alicorn.

Roseclaw waited for the applause to die down and then continued. “Every crewmember who has been selected is considered to be a vital part of the mission, and so I will be announcing them in a previously selected random order. First on the list is the Chief of Hydroponics, Fatima Dashar.”

A Saddle Arabian mare walked on stage in ship’s uniform, but with the addition of the traditional halter adornments.

“Chief scientist, Techbird Sunbeak.”

The ancient catbird slowly walked out onto the stage, supported by all the magitek devices that were keeping her alive and productive for years longer than any normal griffon. She had been intimately involved with the Cosmic Lotus program, and had steadfastly refused to be left out, telling everyone, “This is the moment that I have been living for all my life, and I will see it through to the end. Nothing will prevent me seeing this mission to its fulfillment!”

“Chief of the medical department, Doctor Zubon.”

A zebra mare joined them on stage.

“Hibernation specialist, Princess Galena.”

A Violet Changeling came out to stand by the doctor.

“Security Chief and assistant maintenance engineer, Eon Path.”

The dracopony proudly walked on stage to stand next to his family.

“Control systems specialist, Albite Feldspar.”

A crystal pony stallion came out to stand next to Eon.

“Engineer’s mate, Purple Point.”

Joining the others on the stage came a grey-coated unicorn with purple-grey mane, tail, and hooves.

“Head of the Astronomy Division and our second alicorn crewmember, Starry Path.”

Starry walked on stage from the left wing. She stood by her sire, Path, and waved a hoof in acknowledgement of the applause.

“Chief Navigator and Communications, Playbitz.”

A brown pegasus stallion with black mane, tail and wing-markings fluttered out to join them.

“Geologist, Ortzi Goldbeak.”

Another person flew in, this time a male griffon of the golden eagle/cougar type.

“Magitek Technician, Gizmo Gears.”

A tall and slim orange-coated unicorn stallion pranced onto the stage.

“Biologist, Traveling Soul.”

Another male unicorn followed out Gizmo, this time light brown with a dark brown mane and tail with a single black and white stripe.

“Hydroponics and herbalist, Skye Path.”

A zebra mare with blue stripes instead of the normal black stepped out on stage. Few had ever seen such a strange sight, but she was applauded just as warmly.

“Physicist, Xanth.”

A Chrome Changeling buzzed over from the wings. He had replaced his crest with a bright blue mane to make himself more distinctive.

“Mental Health Counselor, Random Dawn.”

A unicorn, female this time, yellow with an orange and red mane stepped out.

“Mechanical Engineer and Guard Pony, ColdFire.”

Trotting onto the stage came a small white pegasus mare with a two-tone blue mane and tail. Short fangs and tufted ears hinted at thestral in her parentage.

“Mechanical Engineer, Steam Shift.”

The first-ever Blue Changeling aethernaut proudly joined his crewmates.

“Spell Analysis and Maintenance, Moonlit Path.”

The unicorn daughter of Destined and Silk proudly joined the rest, her blonde mane and tail contrasting with her dark blue coat which matched her sire’s.

“Medic and Archivist, Epic Prose.”

A grey-coated pegasus with brown mane streaked with grey, flew onto the stage, looking at the audience through his bifocal glasses.

“Cook, Kale Robe.”

An earth pony stallion with a dark brown mane trotted out.

“Engineer, Radiant Spark.”

A light teal pegasus mare with a light green mane and tail flew out.

“Thaumophysicist, Cosmic Dawn.”

A golden-maned, light brown unicorn mare walked onto the stage.

“Entertainer and Logistics, Willow.”

An Orange Changeling zipped out over the crowd, waving and grinning.

“Biologist and Storyteller, Emerald Green.”

Another pony flew in, but the audience quickly realized that this was an earth pony mare with magitek wings, and she was obviously enjoying the surprise she had caused.

“Linguistics expert, Amethyst Scroll.”

A light grey unicorn mare with light purple mane and tail trotted onto the stage, although she could have just as easily flown in also using her gossamer wings which betrayed her changeling hybrid nature. Her hooves shone like the chrome chitin of her sire.

Roseclaw continued to announce every single crewmember of the Cosmic Lotus, and the stage grew crowded with all the varied species that were participating in the mission. Eventually the last one joined the others on stage.

“These brave, dedicated, and skilled people were chosen from among thousands of applicants. An emphasis was put on a variety of skills and personalities with the intent of alleviating boredom and promoting social interaction during the long journey. Our hopes and dreams go with them,” Roseclaw concluded.

“Thank you, Rose,” Path said as he stepped up to the podium once more. “Gentlebeings, this is the moment that you have been waiting for. In mere minutes, the mission will start the first phase of our journey to the Far Star. Captain Wandering Path, please take command of your starship.”

Wandering’s horn lit up, and he teleported directly to the Cosmic Lotus orbiting above them, taking Commander Bluequill along with him. The big screen at the back of the stage lit up to show the bridge of the starship where six stand-by launch crew were waiting to be relieved. Wandering formally took control and teleported them back to their lunar base.

“Starry Path, will you please teleport your staff to the ship.”

Starry smiled and she and a number of the crew standing beside her disappeared.

“Luna and Twilight – will you please teleport the rest of the crew to their ship.”

The two alicorns sent the crewmembers to their appropriate stations within the ship, some appearing on the screen as they joined the bridge crew. When the stage was empty again except for the original five speakers, Path continued.

“Captain Wandering Path – can you hear me?”

“I can hear you, Lord Path.”

“Commence your mission.”

“Scheduled departure time is in eight minutes and forty three seconds. Final systems checks now commencing. All department heads report in.”

The bridge crew were seen taking up their stations and busying themselves with checks. In carefully rehearsed order, all of them and those scattered throughout the ship reported that the launch crew had done their job and all was in readiness. Tension grew within the auditorium as the concern for a glitch that would delay the mission made them worry. System after system checked out though.

“All systems are nominal. Orbital departure thrust is scheduled for three minutes and thirty-four seconds. All crew secure for acceleration.”

That may have been the longest three and a half minutes that anyone had ever endured. There was nothing to do but wait until the calculated moment. With the precisely calculated maneuvers, there was no such thing as getting off to an early start. It came as a bit of a shock when Wandering spoke up again.

“Twenty seconds to departure.”

“Go with the guidance of Faust, Son,” Path said.

“Thank you, Father. … Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Ignition.”

The sound of the rockets firing came through the screen’s speakers, and the crew sank into their chairs. The Cosmic Lotus was on its way.

# # # #

Author's Note

Although this will be a science-heavy story in places, the main drama will hopefully come from the characters.

Speaking of which, several of the crew are OC's volunteered by the following people:

Purple Point belongs to Alden MacManx.
Playbitz belongs to Playbitz
Ortzi Goldbeak belongs to anunenka
Gizmo Gears belongs to m2pt5
Traveling Soul belongs to Traveling Soul
ColdFire belongs to ColdFireCZ
Epic Prose belongs to Sylvian
Random Dawn belongs to randomdawning
Radiant Spark belongs to vespillo-cruentus
Kale Robe belongs to Nagel Navari
Emerald Green belongs to tobi
Amethyst Scroll belongs to Dillena Monger
Steam Shift belongs to DajoesefMan

Art by Kat Miller a.k.a. Foxenawolf

Cosmic Maneuvers

The departure under thrust might have been uncomfortable, but it massively relieved the tension among the crew. They had done it! They had started the most ambitious project in history. Nothing was going to stop them now. The roaring of the rockets finally stopped after several long minutes, and the ship went into freefall.

Wandering turned to the navigator’s station. “Report, Playbitz.”

The pegasus checked the readings on his console and finally looked up with a smile. “A perfect burn, Captain. Our course is well within accepted parameters.”

Wandering matched the smile with one of his own. Some trivial course corrections might need to be made, but that was not unexpected. “Excellent! Eject rocket boosters.”

“Ejecting rocket boosters, aye,” Playbitz acknowledged.

There was a slight shudder as explosive bolts released the solid fuel boosters. From now until they reached the Dim Star, they would be coasting until it was time to begin orbital maneuvers.

Wandering activated the ship-wide comm again. “All stations report.”

In designated order, everyone reported in and Commander Bluequill said, “All stations report no problems, Captain.”

“That’s reassuring. Gizmo Gears – engage the artificial gravity spell.”

“Aye, Captain,” the orange unicorn responded, lighting up his horn to engage the magitek system.

Weight resumed for everyone, although thankfully not in a one stomach-turning lurch. The artificial acceleration eased up to Equus-normal gravity.

Wandering turned on the comm again. “All crew may now proceed with their post-departure tasks. Please bear in mind that because no one will be going into hibernation until we accelerate out of the Equus system by solar sail, it will be somewhat crowded until then, so watch your tails and wings, and be considerate of your fellow crewmembers’ need for personal space.”

The alicorn switched off the comm, but concentrated on the mental traffic that was going through his head through the changeling network for which he was the hub. Nothing called for his attention though, so he turned to Playbitz again. “Open up a channel back to the auditorium, please.”

Playbitz’s black feather tips danced across some switches on his console. “You’re connected, sir.”

Wandering smiled at the camera for the audience. “This is Cosmic Lotus. We have had a entirely successful departure and are en route to our rendezvous with the Dim Star. All systems are green. Thank you to all those who got us to this point. Your prayers and wishes go with us.”

#

There were yells of delight amidst the thunderous applause from the watchers in the auditorium, and not a few from the audiences watching via GemVee all over Equus and the Moon Colony.

The members of House Path hoof-bumped and hugged. Path replied, “Thank you, Captain. We look forward to your progress reports.”

The big screen went blank, and Roseclaw sighed with relief. “Looks like I can finally retire. I’m getting too old for this.”

Path nuzzled his wife as they walked off the stage, leaving an earth pony mare to host the remainder of the program. “I don’t believe either of those things for a second, darling.”

Roseclaw giggled. “Okay, but we’re taking a vacation as of now.”

“I can agree with that. Where do you want to go?”

“Not sure yet, but let’s start with our bedroom.”

Path laughed. “Yes, dear.”

#

After all the essential system checks were completed, the crew had very little to do. Some of the scientists set up their equipment for their observations of the Dim Star, but because they would not actually reach it for another four days, they too were soon mostly idle. Of course there was always something that they could find to do – active minds like theirs rarely had the time to get bored.

However, most of the crew were waiting their turn to be interviewed by a newscaster back on Equus. While every crewmember had been introduced at the ceremony, that had only whetted the curiosity of the audience, and so brief question and answer sessions with individual crewmembers had been arranged. A GemVee camera had been set up in the common room and interviews were started with the crewpersons who were already free while many of the rest of the crew crowded in to listen. Although many had trained together, nobody outside of the Command and Medical Staff knew everybody, and there was a great deal of curiosity about the people they would be sharing a vessel with for the best part of half a century.

Emerald Green was currently in the interview chair, and the pegasus host back at the lunar auditorium was asking, “So why do you think a biologist is an essential part of mission to investigate a star?”

The mare smiled knowingly. “One of the Anomaly’s most puzzling aspects is the signs of chemicals that we know are associated with life. A primary goal of the Cosmic Lotus is to discover whether there truly is life out there when the only life that we know of is in the Equus system. That would be a magnificent discovery, and if we do indeed find it, the sheer amount of work that it will create will keep me and my fellow biologists busy for a great deal of time.”

“What made you, an earth pony, wish to be part of a mission that would take you away from the world that you have such an intimate connection with?”

“That’s an excellent question, and believe me, I asked myself the same thing. Nevertheless, I have been somewhat of a pioneer in the field of exobiology, and the lure of some truly exotic knowledge was far too great. Still, I admit that leaving Equus isn’t going to be easy, so I will be spending much of the time that I am not in hibernation working in the gardens that we will be establishing once we have completed our final acceleration phase.”

“Gardens? How can you establish gardens on the Cosmic Lotus in spite of its size?”

“While you will need to ask someone else the details, I can say that the solid fuel booster rockets were only the first phase of our maneuvers, and the second phase will be accomplished with the main engines which will be fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. After this phase is completed, the tanks will be empty and will be repurposed. They will be connected to the living quarters and planter boxes constructed within. A combination of lightweight soil mix and hydroponic techniques will be used to grow seeds and seedlings that we have brought with us. Once they’re fully established, the gardens will be a place of relaxation and tranquility, not to mention a great place for the pegasi and griffons to stretch their wings and fly a little.”

“That sounds wonderful for all the crew. Thank you for your time, Emerald.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied, slipping out of the chair to allow the next interviewee to take her place.

The host quickly recognized the mare. “Skye Path, I believe?”

Skye nodded. “What gave it away?” she asked with a grin.

“I admit that I have never seen a zebra with colored stripes before. May I ask how you got yours?”

“There’s a bit of mystery about that, actually. I was found as an orphan and brought back to Equestria by Wandering Path who adopted me into his family, hence the second part of my name. It is thought that my unusual coloration led to me being expelled from one of the more superstitious tribes, but the actual reason for it may never be known.”

“Did this cause you any problems growing up?”

Skye laughed. “Heavens, no! I was an infant when I was brought to Ponyville, and never knew anything else but the large and loving family that is House Path. I consider myself be both lucky and privileged. I wear my unusual stripes with pride.”

“What attracted you to this mission?”

“I was pretty much infected with spirit of adventure and discovery for which House Path is famous. My particular skills with hydroponic systems that I developed in conjunction with Fatima Dashar for use in arid lands were well suited to the mission, and several of my family had already signed up as candidates. I wanted to be part of that and share their discoveries.”

“You’re also a herbalist, I’m told. How is that significant to your job?”

“That’s part of the zebra culture that is my heritage, but combined with a modern scientific understanding of the art. Herbs can be used for many purposes from the basic such as in cooking, to aromatherapy, to sophisticated medicinal applications. There are also magic potions that can be made with the correct blend of ingredients, although admittedly I am severely constrained with those aboard this ship. Nevertheless I expect that my herbs will find a lot use and keep me quite busy looking after them when I’m not working on the hydroponics.”

“That sounds very interesting, and I hope that one day you find out more about your past.”

“Thank you.” Skye looked around. “Who wants to be next?”

A grey unicorn took Skye’s place.

“Purple Point, I presume?” the host asked.

“Gee, how did you figure it out? I’ve been trying to live anonymously. Work needs to be done, and I can’t do it under a spotlight,” he grumbled, but the twinkle in his eyes gave away the fact he was having fun with the interviewer.

“It says in your records that you served for six years in the Equus Merchant Marine service before attending Canterlot University. Did you learn a lot there?”

“I most certainly did! Like how to keep equipment going on talent and prayer until we could get into port and get proper parts, or, I should say, reasonably proper parts. I saved my bits during that time so I could go to university and learn how the equipment should work,” Purple Point said seriously. “Lives depend on equipment working properly. It’s hard to call for a factory tech when you are forty light-years away from home. Out there, you really can’t get a plumber to visit on Sundays, or any day for that matter.”

“House Path offered you a chance to go through their education program, yet you turned them down. Why is that?”

“House Path has an excellent education program, for those who want to be warrior-scholars.” Purple Point paused, then looked directly into the GemVee camera, his eyes a little haunted. “I have no desire to be a warrior, any more so than I am now. I learned a lot at sea, one thing being how to brawl to save my life. I’ve done so too many times. I have no wish to learn how to fight scientifically. Some lessons you can never forget.”

“You have been tested as having a completely eidetic memory. A talent like that will be helpful on a mission like this.”

“Yes, it will. However, such a talent does have its drawbacks.” The interviewer waited for more elaboration, but sensing no more was forthcoming, she went ahead with the next question.

“You seem to take it personally when a piece of equipment needs repair. Why is that?”

Purple Point blushed visibly, the inside of his ears going bright red. “Yes, well, if something fails, it could cause harm to the ship or its crew. The faulty equipment must be chastised properly so it can learn the error of its ways. So, my means of chastisement has been learned under very coarse circumstances.”

“Meaning you swear like a sailor. Multilingually, fluently, and very descriptively.”

Purple Point looked like he was going to melt in his chair. “It’s a habit I haven’t been able to break. I won’t do it in front of anybody, just when I’m alone. I refuse to do it in front of anyone knowingly.”

“What attracted you to this mission?”

“I have nothing to keep me on Equus. Leaving Equestria and finding out about the Far Star will be useful to science and the population of Equestria. Besides, forty-two light-years should be sufficient to put my past behind me.”

“I would ask more, but we are out of time. Best of success to the mission, and yourself.”

“Best of success to us all, both here and there,” Purple Point said, getting up from the chair. He looked about. “Next victim!”

Stepping forward, a brown pegasus stallion smiled and gave a gentle nod. “If you don't mind, I'd like to introduce myself.”

“Ah yes, Mr. Playblitz was it? Can you tell us a bit about yourself for starters?”

“With pleasure. Firstly, it’s just Playbitz. Bitz, not Blitz,” he said with a chuckle. “Call me PB if you like.”

“Oh, my apologies.”

“You'd be shocked at how many times that happens, so it’s quite alright. I'm from St. Filly originally, but moved many times with my old profession of creating new GemVee games. It’s a profession that encompasses many other bits of odd knowledge.”

“Ah, so you were a GV game developer, but how did you manage getting the job of Chief Navigator and Communications?”

Playbitz smiled and stretched out his wings. “Well, as a hobby I would fly around Equestria as far as I could, especially when times between game contracts were rather long and boring. Flying around is pretty simple, but when you're flying the long distances that I would catch myself doing, I would end up getting lost repeatedly.”

“Oh dear, often finding yourself in some random location I presume?”

The stallion chuckled. “Yes, I found it happening more times than I would have cared to admit, and because of that I felt it was best if I get myself some training in navigation. It ended up turning from something to help a hobby to a passion that turned my then job into a hobby. I would often enjoy the feeling of finding a new town or place and the adventure of meeting the inhabitants and being able to add the new details to my map was exciting beyond words!”

“I can imagine, though that seems to answer another question we wanted to ask about, that being how you got the job on board the Cosmic Lotus. So let us ask you this, What attracted you to this mission?”

“What attracted me to this mission...? To put it simply: the ability to learn. We get to fill in the blanks when we look up at Luna's sky at night. And, to be honest, we get the honor of creating new questions that will hopefully drive us, or another ship even further.” PB looked off camera then quickly refocused back to the host. “I can only imagine what we'll get to see or even who or what we'll get to meet. Words cannot express the amount of excitement and awe of getting to learn more.”

“So you're saying what drives you the most is your desire to learn?”

“Yes and no. Getting to see and learn something new is something we do every day, but this–” he gestured with an outstretched wing at the starship’s common room. “This is so much more. I've made games about stuff like this, but getting the chance to live like this, to explore... It’s a dream come true.” Playbitz looked around the room, seeing the looks of admiration from a few and a few raised eyebrows from the rest that let him know he was rambling. He gave a soft cough and continued. “But the colt side of things aside, we were given the rare opportunity to pioneer a new path and I felt that I needed to be part of this journey.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Bitz. I certainly hope you get to learn all you can and that you have a safe journey ahead of you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Playbitz got up, turned around, and spotted a pony. “Kale, you're up!” he said with a broad smile.

“Gee, thanks for nothing, Pitz,” grumbled the earth pony as he reluctantly came forward to take the chair as the grinning pegasus retreated.

The host sensed a degree of reluctance in the new interviewee and started carefully. “Kale Robe, isn’t it? Thank you for talking with us.”

“Yeah, that’s me. What do you wanna know?”

“When it comes to starship professions, cook is not one that immediately springs to mind.”

Kale smirked. “That’s where you’d be making a mistake, lady. Back in the days when ships only sailed on water, even then the officers knew to keep the crew happy with good meals. And when a voyage is going to take over four decades, you better believe that they’ll want a lot of variety in their food. Your typical automat won’t cut it.”

“So you have a repertoire that you believe will keep the crew satisfied for all that time?”

Kale pulled a long sharp kitchen knife out from… somewhere. He twirled it on the tip of a hoof, saying, “I’m an artist when it comes to food. Some of the plants that they plan to grow on board are as a result of my suggestions. I will have the food and the skills to satisfy everypony!”

“Some of the crew are not ponies though. What about the griffons who need to eat meat in their diet?”

“If they can tell the difference between the meat-substitute and a real steak after I’ve cooked it, I’ll put away my precious knives and take up crocheting!”

The host laughed. “I bet the rest of the crew hopes that won’t happen. Thank you once again for talking with us, Kale.”

Kale got up, looked about the room, and laid his eyes on the Blue Changeling in the crowd. “I choose you!” he declared.

The changeling shrugged, adjusted the blue scarf around his neck, and walked up to take the interview seat.

“Welcome, Steam Shift. How do you feel about being the first-ever Blue Changeling aethernaut?”

Steam Shift blushed a little. “I was more than thrilled when Her Majesty, Queen Crystal, gave her permission and encouragement for me to pursue my interest in the exploration of space. While the Blue Hive is the newest after being re-established only a few decades ago, we pride ourselves on being progressive, and I was heavily involved in the research that led to the Cosmic Lotus. It was the fulfilment of a dream to be accepted into the crew.”

“You’re a mechanical engineer, I believe?”

“That is correct. I worked on the special equipment needed for the extended journey, and the challenges that involved. I will now get to maintain that equipment and be in the forefront of discovery at the same time.”

“Does it bother you that you’re the sole Blue Changeling on the ship?”

“Not really, although I’d like to point out that the Chrome Changelings are considered to be extremely close family. We’re always welcome in their hive, and vice versa.”

“That’s a nice scarf that you’re wearing. Does it have some special meaning to you?”

Steam Shift grinned. “Yeah – it was a present and I like it a lot. I wear it all the time.” He flipped one end over a shoulder. “Makes me look stylish.”

The host chuckled. “I have to agree. Thank you for talking with us, Steam Shift.”

The changeling got up and looked around at those eagerly waiting their turn. He closed his eyes, spun around, and randomly pointed at someone. The griffon that got chosen, grinned and headed for the chair.

“Ortzi Goldbeak, I believe?” the host asked, and when he nodded, she continued, “Isn’t geologist an odd profession for a griffon?”

“Interestingly enough, my parents were miners in Equestria. High-altitude mining, that is. Since I grew up in the mines, I got to see some of the basics of the workings of the rock. Ultimately, however, it was the cave-in which took my parents’ lives that inflamed my interest. I wanted to understand how something that seemed so inherently stable could just... collapse... like that.”

“That must have been tough. I would have thought that you would have wanted nothing to do with mines after that.”

“While it was difficult, I was old enough to be not wholly dependent on my parents, and griffons don’t let tragedy cow them. Once I graduated and went into tertiary education, I focused on geology and even parlayed it into a stint in the Equestrian Engineering Corps as an aerial surveyor. It was quite gneiss. Sorry, geologist humor there.”

The host chuckled uncertainly, failing to understand the pun. She soldiered on. “Why this mission? It hardly seems in line with your interests.”

“Beyond the obvious – ‘Because I can and it’s not been done before’, I want to see if I can confirm some of the theories we have on planetary development. We’ve really only had Equus and the Moon to study, and we think we know some of how it works. If we have access to other worlds, or even moons and the like, then we can see if our theories hold true. If they do, well....”

“So you’ll just look at rocks?”

Ortzi laughed. “No. Remember that I mentioned being part of the EEC? I’ll also be working with others to produce maps of any world we come across. In addition, like a pegasus or ’ling, I’ll also be able to work as an aerial scout to look for dangers on the ground for our flight-challenged cohorts.”

“I hope you get to test your theories, Ortzi. Thank you for your time.”

Ortzi got up and asked, “Who wants to be next?”

A light brown unicorn mare with golden mane and tail and a two-star cutie-mark stepped forward.

“I need to get back to my work soon, so I’d like my turn now.” When no one objected, she took the interview seat.

“Ah, Cosmic Dawn, I believe? My notes say that you are the daughter of the Avatar of Honesty, Forest Breeze; how has that affected your career?”

“Well, aside from dealing with having a famous father, he has been quite an inspiration to me. He has always been able to perceive the truth behind something, while I go out and discover those truths.”

“And what kind of truths are those?”

“My goal is to discover the full relationship between thaumaturgy and classic physics.”

“That sounds like quite a task that you have set yourself.”

Cosmic Dawn blushed. “I admit that it’s quite an ambitious goal, but I feel that if we are to learn the secrets of the universe, we can’t be too timid about it.”

“I suppose that’s a reasonable approach to any profession, but it tends to take over your life. My bio on you says that you have never married or even been in a serious relationship – do you think you might finally find the time to do so on this voyage?”

The mare giggled. “I must admit that I had not thought about it that way. There’s an awful lot that I have planned to work on during this voyage. Nevertheless I won’t deny the possibility. I haven’t met all the ponies on the crew yet, so I suppose there’s still hope for an old mare like me.”

“Finally, what do you expect to find at the Far Star?”

“Oh, we have many theories about that. We’re all looking forward to finding out which one of them is right, if any.”

“You wouldn’t be disappointed to find out that you’re completely wrong about it?”

Cosmic Dawn laughed. “Sweet Celestia, no! It would mean that we would learn something totally new to us, and that’s incredibly exciting too!”

“It seems that you’re in a win-win situation then. Thank you for your insight, Cosmic Dawn.”

“You’re welcome.” The mare got out of the chair and looked for the next interviewee, and was startled to see Wandering Path standing there.

“Captain? Do you want to go next?”

Wandering nodded. “Like you, I have work to get on with, so best to get this out of the way.” While he personally felt that the GemVee audience had seen enough of him over the past few months, maintaining public interest in the project was part of his job, so he took the opportunity to fulfil that requirement when it was expedient to do so.

“Thank you for taking the time out from what must be a very busy schedule, Captain Path,” the host began.

“Just Wandering will do fine,” he replied with a smile.

“Wandering Path… we have heard how there was stiff competition for the position of Ship’s Commander, and yet it’s a member of the Path family that won that position. Was there any kind of favoritism involved?”

Internally Wandering winced. There had been some gossip about that, however unfounded, so he had to tread carefully. “If you are implying nepotism, I can see how that might be construed. However, House Path has prided itself on being a meritocracy, and no one, not even close family members get any advantage that way. Time and again we have put the best person for the job ahead of a family member. However, I do have to admit that we have some advantages over others. We have the benefit of excellent teachers and supportive parents, and when your mother is Princess Twilight Sparkle, it’s hard not to learn a broad range of subjects that stand one in good stead for a job like this. That is not to say that I was always likely to get the position. Personally I thought that Commander Bluequill had a very strong chance of beating me to it, and neither of us knew who would get it until the choice was made after some grueling final assessments.”

“What do you think won you the post eventually?”

“Well, I have had decades of experience leading exploration teams, with several cultural exchanges to my credit, including numerous first contact situations. However, I also have some abilities courtesy of my father that Galen could not replicate.”

“Those would be your changeling traits, I presume?”

“Correct. While outwardly I am like any other alicorn with the exception of my horn, I do possess a couple of changeling abilities also. The most important in this case is that I can act as a hub for a changeling network. It had always been planned to have a large contingent of changelings aboard the Cosmic Lotus for a multitude of reasons, but because members of one hive will not connect to another hive’s network, it was feared that we would be restricted to just one hive, and that would be one that could also spare a princess to act as a hub. That would have been a major blow to us. However, because I am a pony and of House Path, all the hives were comfortable with using me as an intermediary, and thus we have representatives of every hive aboard.”

“So, despite being a pony, you are able to cope with what I am told is a constant flow of information going through your head?”

“I was born with that ability, and it comes naturally to me. While I don’t suffer the disconnection anxiety that normal changelings do if I lose contact with the network, it feels a bit weird for it to be so quiet in my head at those times. So coping with a changeling network is a non-issue. It’s actually extremely convenient for me to be able to coordinate activities directly through the network, and it keeps the entire changeling contingent working harmoniously.”

“I can see how that could be a major advantage. What do you intend to do when you go into hibernation though?”

“I won’t be going into the same type of hibernation as the rest of the crew. Part of my mind will always be active.”

“Doesn’t that mean that you will be aware for the entire forty-two years though?”

“Yes, although not quite in the same sense as being out of hibernation. You must also understand that I am an immortal alicorn – taking the long view of anything is a necessity. I’m already close to a century old and have learned a great deal about patience and how to keep myself from getting jaded with a lengthy task. I’m also used to being connected to a hive network which gives me some psychological support, and of course I do have some family with me to help too. Family unity and love has always been our strength. It certainly is for me.”

“It sounds like the ship is in good hands. I’ll let you get back to your work now, Captain. Bon voyage!”

“Thank you, Cherry.” Wandering got up and looked at the crew gathered there. “Okay, who wants their five minutes of fame next?”

The alicorn surrendered the chair to a griffoness, and he left the room to continue with his business while the interviews continued. Although each crewmember was only getting a couple of minutes, with so many of them, the interviews would be going on for quite a while yet, and as much as he was interested, he had more important responsibilities at that moment.

#

The next few days were almost a letdown after all the intense preparations for the voyage. Once the scientists had set up their equipment for observations of the Dim Star, there was very little to do but wait until they reached their closest approach. Even the crew who handled the day-to-day operation of the ship were quickly bored as automatic equipment worked virtually flawlessly. Devices designed to last at least half a century were very unlikely to break down, although that was no guarantee that they were perfect.

One such problem had become apparent due to the harsh acceleration from the rocket boosters, although it had taken a day for it to be noticed. A leak in a nutrient feed line for the hibernation pods had been found after testing had revealed a systems loss. This was reported to Wandering along with the notification that repairs were already under way. With nothing important to do, he decided to check it out to see for himself if it was as minor as he had been advised. He found a dracopony there, waiting with a wry grin on his face.

“Eon? What’s going on?” Wandering asked before he was interrupted by profuse cursing coming from the open hatch of a service conduit.

At first it was in Equish, but then it shifted to Griffish, saying something so vile that the speaker would have been challenged to an honor duel on the spot. It was followed by Prench obscenities so rancid that the culprit would have been bodily tossed out of Prance so fast, there would have been a sonic boom.

Wandering and Eon looked at each other and said simultaneously, “Purple Point.”

Another burst of expletives followed, this time in Saddle Arabian. Wandering had learned many languages in his travels around Equus, with a fluency that almost matched his herd father’s talent for them. He cringed a little as he recognized the curse.

Eon said, “I was sent to help if needed. I might be wrong, but I think it’s giving him a bit of trouble.”

“Perhaps, but you know Purple Point – once he fixes something, it stays fixed. Be on standby in case he really does need help, but otherwise don’t let him know you’re here. No need to embarrass him about his compulsive profanity.”

An outburst in ancient thestral immediately highlighted Wandering’s words, making him blanch as he recognized the malediction.

“And for Celestia’s sake, keep everyone else out of this room!” the alicorn ordered before he beat a hasty retreat.

#

By a stroke of good fortune and a well-planned time of departure, the course of the Cosmic Lotus was due to take it through the tail of a comet that was presently passing through the system. Preparations for this unprecedented opportunity kept part of the crew busy for some time. Then when they intercepted the comet tail, Starry was tasked with forming a special funnel-shaped magic shield that let them scoop up some of it into a container, punching a safe passage through it at the same time.

The event was recorded by the more artistically inclined, concentrating on the beauty of the sight as they approached, passed through, and left behind the wanderer of space. After the sample was retrieved, Destined Path teleported aboard, confirming that the primary mana beacon was functioning correctly. He collected a portion of the comet sample, taking it back to Equus for testing purposes, leaving the rest for the scientists aboard the ship to work upon. Boredom was not going to be an issue for them!

#

The Dim Star was well named. On the fourth day of their approach, observations revealed a gas giant that glowed a deep maroon that was still barely distinguishable from the dark purple stellar background. Nevertheless, Starry and her team were busy taking readings and measurements with a degree of accuracy that had heretofore been impossible. The work continued until Wandering’s voice came over the public address system.

“All crew – prepare for slingshot maneuver around the Dim Star. Ensure that all articles are securely stowed and instruments locked down. Take your assigned seats for acceleration. Artificial gravity will be discontinued for the duration of the maneuver. You have precisely thirty minutes from now to be ready. Mark!”

Starry and her team took their final measurements and either put their equipment on standby or stowed them safely. The one piece of equipment that was not stowed was designed to take a sample of the Dim Star’s emissions in a similar way to how they got the comet material. She then headed up to the bridge where she found her sibling relaxing in his acceleration couch, eyes closed and horn glowing.

“Astronomy section ready, Captain. Want me to take over the shield?”

While the Dim Star gave very little light, at their present proximity, it emitted more than enough heat and radiation to give the Cosmic Lotus problems. The ship had a built-in shield spell, but nothing was ever taken for granted. Wandering was currently monitoring the shield and had a back-up spell ready to take over in an emergency.

Wandering opened his eyes and nodded. “Take your seat and I’ll transfer control.”

Starry took her assigned couch and lit her horn. Wandering let her take over monitoring the shield and then turned his attention to other activities.

“Playbitz – how are we doing?”

“I’ve calculated our final orbital adjustments, Captain. Ready to apply them on your mark,” the pegasus replied.

Wandering hit the PA. button again. “All stations report readiness!”

One by one, the heads of each department reported in, and then there were a few more minutes of waiting.

Playbitz said, “Thirty seconds to orbital maneuvers.”

Wandering announced, “All crew – final warning. Maneuvers begin in twenty seconds. Artificial gravity will now discontinue.” He then turned to Playbitz and said, “You have the con.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Precisely on time, the maneuvering thrusters fired, adjusting their trajectory to the precise alignment needed to fling their spaceship around the Dim Star on the optimal path. The ship shuddered under the thrust for a brief while before shutting down.

“Alignment maneuvers completed successfully,” Playbitz reported. “Countdown to main thrust begun.”

A digital read-out of the time remaining before their main engines would fire appeared on the bridge’s central monitor. This was repeated at various points around the ship, and tension grew as this critical stage drew near. With just four minutes until periapsis with the Dim Star, the countdown reached zero, and the main engines fired. Huge tanks of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen supplied the rocket engine, and the crew were thrust back into their acceleration couches. This continued until their orbit reached their closest approach to the failed star, and then they started receding from it again as the Oldbird Effect multiplied the acceleration of their rocket’s thrust. Six minutes after it began, the engines shut off as the last of the liquid hydrogen was expended.

There were sighs of relief as the dreadful pressure of high acceleration was relieved and they went back into freefall.

“Report, Playbitz,” Wandering ordered.

“Slingshot went precisely as planned, Captain. We are on course back to the Equus system.”

“Excellent!” He hit the public address again. “All crew – begin post maneuver operations and report. Artificial gravity resumes now.” Wandering then turned his attention to his sibling. “How is the shield, Starry?”

“Holding up well, Captain. That was quite a ride.”

“Aside from some possible course corrections, that should be the last of the hard stuff. You can get back to your department now. I’ll resume monitoring the shield.”

One changeover later, Starry headed back to rejoin her team.

#

The trip back to the Equus system was going to take far less time than the journey to the Dim Star, but work began immediately to reconfigure the fuel tanks. The last vestiges of hydrogen were bled off into the vacuum of space and then the pipe was permanently sealed. There was fractionally more oxygen than hydrogen to ensure that all the hydrogen fuel was fully burnt, and the remaining was salvaged for use in the spaceship before that tank was also thoroughly evacuated and its feed pipe sealed. Then a bulkhead was opened into the oxygen tank through an airlock, and crew dressed in pressure suits entered with cutting equipment. A low-strength artificial gravity field was applied to keep everything and everyone from drifting around, and they went to one end of the tank where they proceeded to cut through the end of it, revealing a cylindrical connection to the hydrogen tank. This they cut through also, joining the two tanks into one huge cylindrical empty space. The two tank ends were cut up into manageable pieces and stacked aside to be recycled later, before they opened a port in the joint section and flushed all the fumes out of the whole section. After closing the port, they then gave the word to Engineering that it was ready to fill with air.

Pre-installed ports gushed air from pressure tanks, including the salvaged oxygen. Heaters were turned on to bring the frigid air up to normal ship’s temperature. Within hours, the former fuel tanks had been turned into a livable open air environment, and the crew were able to shed their pressure suits.

Radiant Spark stretched her wings, glad to be free of the confinement of her suit. “I get to try this out first!” she declared, and launched herself into the air. She flew to the end of the open space where she flipped around to thrust off the bulkhead and flew down the entire length of the joined tanks where she repeated her maneuver and flew back to the others. “That felt so good after all this time!”

Steam Shift buzzed his wings and hovered a bit. “I can empathize a little, although changelings don’t feel the need to fly as much as a pegasus would. Let’s give the rest of the winged crew a chance to do what you just did before we begin working on turning this into a linear park.”

For the remainder of the return to the Equus system, all the pegasi and griffons took turns to stretch their wings and indulge in their desire to fly while a small crew worked on installing pipes and other connections through the bulkhead in preparation for the task of making the open area into a place of rest and relaxation for the benefit of the entire crew.

#

Shortly before they arrived back at the Equus system, Destined Path teleported aboard, confirming that the secondary mana beacon was also working correctly. He took possession of his allocation of the sample gathered from the Dim Star, and also the preliminary results of the research done on it and the comet in the few days since they had acquired them. He wished the crew luck for the final stage, and then teleported back to Equus for the final time.

As critical as their maneuvers around the Dim Star had been, their alignment for the final acceleration of the Cosmic Lotus was even more crucial. Thrusters were used to minutely alter their trajectory as they approached the sun. While Playbitz was in command of their navigation, he had two others checking and re-checking all parameters. This time they would be using a gravity-assist slingshot around Celestia’s orb to not only give them another boost, but to also put them on the precise trajectory that they needed for their push to near light-speed. Once again, the ship’s shield was up and protecting them from the deadly radiance of the sun. This time though, they did not rely entirely upon just that, and Starry was actively empowering a secondary shield to ensure protection against the sun’s far more powerful output of energy.

Everyone was once again in their acceleration couches as the Cosmic Lotus slipped into the sun’s gravity well. No thrust was applied this time though, letting gravity do all the work. They whipped around the tiny star, heading toward a fly-by of Equus. At a precisely determined moment when the danger from the sun was minimized and the pressure of the solar wind was perfect, the next stage began.

“Deploy solar sail!” Wandering commanded.

Several storage compartments on the outside of the ship snapped open, and the sails started unfurling. Carbon nanotube stays snapped into place, spreading ultra-thin, super-strong graphene sheets with a highly reflective coating. The process continued as the sails resembled unfolding petals of the flower that gave the starship its name. The astounding thinness of the material enabled the sails to keep unfurling kilometer after kilometer, and the intense light pressure started pushing them into their final shape. Despite maximizing the process by their close pass to the sun, the sails only finished filling out to their final overall diameter of nearly fifty kilometers as the Cosmic Lotus slipped past Equus, exposing it to the night side of the planet, the world’s gravity nudging its orbit slightly onto its final course.

#

An immense crowd was gathered in the courtyard of Canterlot Castle, consisting almost exclusively of unicorns. The two Royal Sisters stood on the balcony overlooking the vast gathering, but all eyes were on the horizon as a brilliant new star rose into the evening sky. There were oohs and aahs of awe as the shimmering object moved higher and higher above the horizon.

“Mares and Gentlecolts,” Luna began in the Royal Canterlot Voice which reached each and every pony gathered. “The time has come to participate in Equus’ mightiest challenge – a journey to the stars themselves. You are witnessing the solar sail of the Cosmic Lotus as it aligns itself on a course to the Far Star, but to get there, it must first be pushed up to near the speed of light itself. My sister and I will provide the thrust necessary, but the sheer volume of power we must expend for a lengthy duration is beyond our ability to sustain for the necessary period. Therefore we called upon you, the unicorns of Equestria, to help us meet this challenge. Soon, we will begin our effort, and we will ask you to sustain us. Are you ready to make history?”

There was a roar of assent from the crowd of unicorns who had been attracted to the event by nationwide advertising. While the average unicorn had no chance of being part of the Cosmic Lotus project, in this way they could play a small but vital part in its success. Their horns lit up in anticipation.

Luna continued, “When Captain Wandering Path gives us the word, my sister and I will begin transmitting a beam of power tuned to give the maximum thrust to the sails of the Cosmic Lotus. I will be mostly responsible for its guidance, whereas Celestia will primarily handle the flow of power. After we have begun, you may then direct your power to her. Do not overtax yourselves! This process will take hours, and it is most important that the effort be continued at a high and steady level. If you tire, rest yourself as long as needed. You may rejoin the effort at any time. Know this – there is no prize for contributing the most power, and there is no need to try to outlast your neighbor. This is a group effort, not an individual competition. Nonetheless, medics will be standing by in case you overtax yourselves. Let this be a day to remember though, not one to regret.”

There were more cheers from the audience.

“The time is nigh. We await the word from the Cosmic Lotus.”

#

“Sails are at maximum; course is locked,” Playbitz announced.

“All systems green,” reported Commander Bluequill.

“Cut artificial gravity,” Wandering ordered.

The spacecraft went into near freefall, the tiny thrust from the solar sails hardly noticeable.

“Stand-by for acceleration to light-speed. Engage the mass-reducing spell.”

Starry had the complex spell already primed in her head. All it took was the magic to empower it. Her horn lit up, and everyone aboard felt a strange sensation as inertia plummeted due to virtually all mass being neutralized by the sophisticated incantation. The starship leaped forward under the thrust of the light of the sun, but it was still nowhere near the acceleration they needed. A critical stability component of the spell left the ship and all inside unable to perceive the acceleration, relying instead upon their instruments measuring the retreat of Equus and Celestia's orb. Wandering reached for the comm switch which connected him to a receiver that was set next to the Royal Sisters in Canterlot.

“This is Cosmic Lotus. We are go for star-thrust.”

Moments later, the sails were filled with a blindingly powerful coherent beam of energy coming from the world below them, and the Cosmic Lotus leapt forward at a mind-numbing rate. Sensors at the edges of the sail set at ninety degrees to the next kept the sails centered on the beam and the angle at the precise orientation required to keep the ship on course for the Far Star. Complex magitek control systems automatically made the adjustments in a fraction of a second, maximizing the amount of thrust.

Even though the mass-reducing spell had done exactly as its name described, it was not perfect. An infinitesimal amount of mass still manifested, and that leftover amount had to be accelerated to a speed that nopony had dreamed of mere decades ago. This would take some time, and Wandering prepared to take over the spell in shifts with his sibling during that period, while the rest of the crew could only wait, watch, and hope.

#

The GemVee crew that was recording the event watched the display of power in awe. A nearly blinding beam of energy streamed skyward from the alicorn sisters even as weaker streams of magic flowed from all the gathered unicorns towards Celestia. The reporter spoke in hushed tones as she described the event.

“As the Cosmic Lotus is lit up by the combined magic of the Princesses and Equestria’s unicorn citizens, we watch as it leaves the surly bonds of this world. For the first time, Equians are headed for the stars, and when they finally reach their destination, who knows what wonders they will find there? What a lucky time it is for you young foals, chicks, and nymphs to be living in!”

# # # #

Author's Note

Note: Oldbird Effect = Oberth Effect - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberth_effect

Props to Airy Words for his help in keeping this scientifically accurate, and his usual feedback.

I have been trying to keep a balance between the characters and the starship, so I hope you've been enjoying it so far.

Art by Foxenawolf

Problems Are Relative

Twilight Sparkle was very satisfied with the progress of propelling the Cosmic Lotus. The mana feed by the huge gathering of unicorns had, as hoped, enabled a smooth and consistent supply of power to Celestia. Of course Twilight, her brother, sister-in-law, and son were all playing their part too but inconspicuously behind the scenes, in the room behind the balcony where the Royal Sisters stood. The role of the gathered unicorns was absolutely vital, and the alicorns did not wish to apparently diminish their supposed importance by having all six of the most powerful beings on the world apparently doing most of the work. It also let the four concealed alicorns take short breaks as well, leaving just Celestia and Luna to sustain an uninterrupted effort.

There was one other important thing that it left Twilight free to do – monitoring the process. She was therefore concerned when she received a call from Pif. She disconnected from the flow and answered the comm.

“Mama, have you reduced the power output of the mana thrust?” the changeling princess asked.

“No. Aside from minor fluctuations attributed to unicorns switching in and out of the stream, the output has been very consistent, just as planned. Why do you ask?”

“I have been checking progress with the TESS, and it clearly shows that the rate at which their velocity is increasing has slowed considerably. They’re just over fifty percent of light-speed now, but their acceleration seems to have dropped significantly.”

“What?! How can that be? Is the TESS working properly?” The Thaumaturgically Enhanced Stellar Scope was a cutting-edge magitek device, and their only means of accurately tracking the Cosmic Lotus.

“I have run a diagnostic program on the TESS, and it’s working perfectly. The only explanation that my network can come up with is that the Lotus is encountering some form of resistance that we can’t detect.”

Twilight frowned in deep thought. “This could jeopardize the mission. Should we increase the mana output?”

“We left ourselves a large margin to work with, so I recommend that you compensate. Ten percent more should do it, I think. I will continue to try to identify the problem.”

“Understood. Let me know the moment that you learn anything.” Twilight moved up to the balcony, but still out of sight of the crowd. Celestia and Luna needed to maintain intense concentration on their task, so a protocol was in place to not jar them if someone needed to talk to them. A subtle magic pulse caught their attention and Twilight reported the problem. They silently acknowledged the message and turned up their output, hoping that nothing else would go astray with their plans.

#

Playbitz updated his report, “Velocity now at sixty-five percent light-speed. No deviation from planned course.”

He had said similar things at regular intervals, but dull as it sounded, it was exactly what Wandering wanted to hear. It meant that everything was proceeding exactly as planned, and that was immensely reassuring. However, he now noticed a note of uncertainty in the voice of the pegasus. “Is something wrong, Playbitz?”

“I’m… not certain, sir. The thrust seemed to diminish for a while, but it has increased again; I thought that we were supposed to be getting a steady acceleration? I’m also getting some odd readings from the instruments.”

“What readings?” Wandering asked with a frown.

“The TESS is showing some strange aberrations in the view both fore and aft.”

“Could it be some sort of previously unknown Dappler Effect from travelling at such high speeds?”

Playbitz shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, sir.”

Wandering began to feel out of his depth. Time to put someone more competent in charge of the problem. “Starry – I’m going to take over the MRS. I want you to look into this anomaly and determine if it’s a problem.”

Starry nodded and she cautiously transferred control of the mass-reducing spell to him. Freed of that responsibility, she turned her attention to the instrument panel in front of her and studied the readings that duplicated what was in front of Playbitz.

“This is very odd. There isn’t anything that I can detect that would be slowing us down, so Playbitz’s assertion that the thrust reduced seems to be correct. He’s also right about the distortions in the views, and I’m trying to compensate. Without understanding why it’s happening though, that’s difficult.” She stopped to think for a moment. “I’m going to call Mama Twilight.”

They had not intended to communicate with Equus until acceleration to their target speed had been achieved, reserving it for emergencies. Starry hoped that she would not upset her herd mother too much. She activated the comm and sent out a call.

#

Twilight’s crystal comm dedicated to ship-to-shore communications with the Cosmic Lotus lit up with reception of a signal. The sympathetically linked magic crystals that were the heart of the device were tried-and-true magitek that would work irrespective of distance, no matter how great. Maintaining contact with the Cosmic Lotus was assured, so Twilight was dismayed when she heard the voice drawling from it.

“Coosmiic Lotuus too Eequuss Coontrool – aare youu reeceeiviingg mee?”

Twilight recognized Starry’s voice despite the shift down in pitch which she could not understand the reason for. She answered it hastily though. “Equus Control here – what’s wrong, Starry?”

After a slight delay, the response came. “Yoour voicce iss diistoorted, Maamaa. Doo youu prooblemms witthh suupplyiing thruusst?”

“We have had no problems, but we noticed that your acceleration had slowed, so we increased the output. Have you encountered any resistance?”

“Noo aapparrennt reesisstancce. Wee aare getttinng sstrrangge reeadiings fromm ouur iinsstruumennts aand vieeww monniitorrs toooo.”

The drawl was driving Twilight crazy. The way the crystal comm worked meant that voices would be exactly reproduced regardless of velocity or distance. She could not understand why this was happening, and right when it seemed that communications was going to be very important. The information was contradictory too. They reported a loss of thrust and no resistance whereas she knew that thrust had been maintained, but something seemed to be reducing its effect. She had no answers. Something beyond their present knowledge seemed to be happening, so she said the only thing that she could right then.

“We’ll look into it, Starry. Keep us updated.” She then made a call to Pif. Contingency plans needed to be put into effect.

#

Starry shook her head in bewilderment, just as confused as her herd mother. She had nothing to explain the slow drawl coming from the speakers of the comm, let alone the growing problems. “Sorry, Captain, I can’t presently explain what is happening. All I can say for now is that the mission seems to be proceeding despite everything.”

Wandering listened to the words from behind closed eyelids as part of himself maintained concentration on the MRS. He sighed before commanding, “Keep monitoring the situation, but unless there is something that will endanger the ship, carry on as planned. Playbitz – keep us updated.”

Everyone carried on as normal, but tension had begun to grow on the bridge. When the next milestone came, everyone hung on his words.

“Seventy percent light-speed. Still on course. Thrust has apparently crept down again.”

Wandering ordered simply, “Inform Equus Control.”

Starry did so, and they all listened to the reply.

“Reepoorrt reecceiiveed aandd unnderrsstoood. Wee wiill aaddjuusst ouutpuut aagainn.”

“Why in Celestia’s name are their transmissions stretched out like that?” Gizmo Gears swore softly.

“Zip it, Gizmo,” Commander Bluequill said sternly.

There was a long tense wait for the next announcement.

“Seventy-five percent. Thrust increased for a while before creeping down again. Distortions increasing, but still apparently on course.”

“Any recommendations, Starry?” Wandering asked.

“Our ship does not appear to be in danger, nor has Equus Control indicated any, so I recommend carrying on as planned.”

“Commander, have all stations check and double-check for problems. Have them report anything unusual.”

“Yes, sir,” Bluequill replied.

An even longer wait punctuated by negative reports until the next milestone was reached passed by.

“Eighty percent… I think. Distortions are increasing.”

Wandering cursed under his breath. “Starry – you’re the expert here, so speculate please!”

Starry shrugged helplessly. “Brother, I haven’t a clue. My best guess is that we are discovering something about physics that we have had no experience with before.”

“If we keep needing more output from Equus, are we ever going to reach our target of ninety-seven percent light-speed?”

“That depends on how long they can sustain that output. I’d say inevitably if they can keep it up long enough, but the instruments are making a liar out of me even as I speak.”

Wandering groaned. Was this mission going to be a failure so soon?

#

“We’re going to have to re-think this,” Pif said, having joined Twilight and the others at the castle after the latest report from Starry. “For now, we don’t have the luxury of time to figure out why this is happening. We have to treat the symptoms rather than the cause. My measurements with the TESS show that the energy requirements are increasing with the speed, but in an exponential manner. Right now we’re only up to a fifty percent increase in thrust output, but if the trend continues, that’s going to rise at a rapid rate over the next few hours.”

“Time! That’s the problem!” Destined suddenly declared.

Twilight and Pif looked at Destined in confusion. The stallion turned to his mother and explained, “Your crystal comms work irrespective of distance, and as we’re still getting reports from the Cosmic Lotus clearly, although seemingly slowed down, then it’s time that is being affected. The comms are still working exactly as they should, but as their time has slowed, so has their speech, like a record on a phonograph which you slow down.”

“So you’re saying that the faster that they go, the slower time gets?” Twilight responded.

“Exactly! I just don’t know why, but I’m starting to see how it affects them.”

Pif nodded. “I’m beginning to understand, but there’s not much we can do about it. My only concern is that we’re not going to be able to provide enough thrust. That’s why Dad and I brought along every Chrome Changeling within reach. They’ll help make up the shortfall in power… at least for a while.”

Canterlot had just seen the biggest invasion of changelings since the one by Queen Chrysalis. Right now, the roofs were lined with changelings ready to add their magic to the effort when given the order.

Free Agent said, “Give the word, Sparkles, and I will have every drone start adding their power. I had them fill up on love gel before coming here, so they have plenty to spare.” Free shifted from griffon to his natural Chrome Queen form. As much as he disliked it, he needed to be able to take in the power from all the drones because they could not feed Celestia directly like the unicorns were doing. Their magic differed too much and would be disruptive if not filtered through their Queen.

“Just let me inform Celestia and Luna first,” Twilight said. She went out onto the balcony, and the others noticed the Royal Sisters frown and nod. Twilight came back and announced, “They said to stand by until they give the word. They can increase the thrust again for now. Save your energy for when they really need it.”

Destined said, “Mom, I’ve been increasing my flow of power gradually, and I can already tell that the drones won’t be able to keep up the power drain for as long as the unicorns. They can’t simply take a break and get their second wind – they’ll have to go feed first.”

“Then we call in the reserves. Five of the six other Queens are here to watch the spectacle. We’ll ask for their help too.”

“No need,” came a familiar voice. Queen Crystal strode into the room, followed closely by Queen Iridia and Queen Carpacia. “When I saw all the Chrome Hive drones arrive, I inquired the reason for it. You know that the Blue Hive will always stand with the Chrome, Aunty Twilight.”

“As will the Red Hive,” Carpacia declared. “Fidelitas is on her way with a large contingent, and all the Red Changelings in Canterlot have been summoned.”

“I have done the same with the Greens,” Iridia said. “The other Queens will do what they can although their hives are more distant.”

“Thank you all very much,” Twilight said solemnly.

“This is a project done for all citizens of this world,” Carpacia declared. “We are as much a part of it as you, so we can do no less.”

#

“Playbitz – update please. Haven’t we reached eighty-five percent yet?” Wandering asked.

The pegasus looked at his captain with a distressed expression. “Uh… maybe? The TESS suggests that we have, but everything else is telling me something different. The rear sensors seem to think we’re slowing down a lot, and I have no idea what the forward sensors are saying anymore. If I can believe them, the Far Star seems to be getting noticeably closer.”

The alicorn’s lips tightened in a grimace. “I think we have to face it – we’re really in totally new territory here. We may be getting into something dangerous, although the fact that Equus is still supplying thrust suggests that they haven’t seen any sign of danger. Commander Bluequill – execute a thorough ship-wide systems check. I want to know if the ship is suffering any ill effects as a consequence of these unknown effects that are distorting our instruments.”

“Aye, sir,” the griffon replied.

“Starry – take over the MRS. I’m tiring and I need to think.”

“Ready, Captain.”

Wandering transferred control of the spell, and he called up the status reports on his control board. Section after section reported everything normal except for the astrogation instruments, and he already knew about those. Frustrated, he decided to call Equus once more.

#

“Ccoossmmiicc Lloottuuss ttoo Eeqquuuuss Ccoonnttrrooll – pplleeaassee aaddvviissee iiff yyoouu hhaavvee iiddeennttiiffiieedd aannyy ppoossssiibbllee ccaauussee ooff tthhee ppaarrttiiaall lloossss ooff tthhrruusstt yyeett?”

Twilight winced. The speech was stretching to the point where she could barely understand it. She was about to try to respond when Destined spoke up.

“Mom – take over for me. I have an idea I want to try out.”

Twilight nodded and took up the task of supplying power to Celestia. Meanwhile Destined used his special talent to stretch his passage through time to about twice normal and then called the starship. “Cosmic Lotus, please repeat your message.” He waited for a response far longer than expected.

“Equus Control – we were unable to understand a word you said. Your voice has been slowed down too far. Can you understand me?”

Wandering’s voice was perfectly clear to Destined now, but he was stunned by lack of comprehension of the situation. If the Cosmic Lotus was experiencing a slowdown of time somehow, then he should have sounded as if he was talking too fast before he had stretched time. Instead, in some impossible fashion, both ends seemed to be slowed down. That just did not make any sense whatsoever! With nothing else left to try, he tried the non-intuitive solution – he compressed time to about double speed and called the ship again.

“This is Equus Control – I understood your message and am attempting to compensate. Are you receiving me clearly now?”

Destined then reversed his time distortion until it stretched out again and waited.

“Destined! Thank Celestia! Finally something is going right. Can you tell me what’s going on? Why was your speech distorted? And why do we keep losing thrust?”

With his insane theory confirmed, Destined compressed time again. “Wandering, I can tell you what is happening, but not why. Somehow, the faster you travel, the greater the time distortion is becoming, which is why speech has apparently been stretched out. I’m compensating with my time talent, but I can’t do any more than that. As for thrust, we’ve been continually increasing it to try to maintain a steady increase in velocity, but it has been getting increasingly harder. We have enacted a contingency plan to increase our available supply of power, but we might not achieve the planned velocity. Are you experiencing any other problems?”

The alicorn stretched time again.

“Ship-wide diagnostics indicate that there’s nothing wrong except for some weird readings that we’re getting from the exterior sensors. These time distortions that you say are affecting us don’t seem to be causing any actual harm. Have you any data to suggest otherwise?”

Compress.

“No, not at this time. I will consult with the others and call you back as soon as I can. I recommend carrying on as normal for the moment.”

Stretch.

“Understood. We’ll await your response. Cosmic Lotus out.”

‘That had to be strangest conversation I’ve ever had,’ Destined thought as he let his time perception return to normal. After he explained everything to the others, he asked, “Is there any threat to the ship that you can detect?”

Pif replied, “Aside from the growing resistance and this time distortion, the TESS has not seen anything dangerous, per se. However, we’re also noticing some distortions that we can’t account for. But as Wandering reports that the ship seems to be unaffected, I can’t classify them as dangerous.”

Twilight said, “It’s not too late to abort the mission, but should we press on? As long as the mana beacon is still operating normally, we can still teleport the crew off if necessary.”

Destined grimaced. “I’m not so sure. That time-distortion might play havoc with a normal teleport.”

Twilight’s face fell. “That’s bad. That was always going to be our fail-safe, and now you’re saying that we can’t even count on that?”

“Sorry, Mom, but space and time are my specialty, so I’ll find a way around that problem, I promise.”

Path spoke up. “It seems that there’s a decision to be made. Does the Cosmic Lotus project proceed as planned, or do we abort? My view is that in the absence of any demonstrated danger, it should proceed, but only if Wandering decides to continue. The Lotus is his to command.” He looked around at the others and saw no dissent. “Okay, Des, inform Cosmic Lotus of our decision and ask for his response.”

#

Wandering considered the reply from Equus Control. It was all in his hooves now. Everyone on board the Cosmic Lotus had been made aware that there were bound to be unknown dangers in this voyage, and yet all eagerly came anyway. He certainly had not hesitated to jump at the chance. And yet, were they actually in danger? Despite all the weirdness, without the instruments and the communications, there was no sign of anything awry. With the MRS in effect, he could not even sense the mighty acceleration they were undergoing. Things seemed dreadfully normal! He knew better though, but House Path was never known for backing away from a challenge. He made up his mind.

“Equus Control – continue as planned. Unless a clear indication of danger is demonstrated, Cosmic Lotus is going to the Far Star!”

There were cheers from those on the bridge, and the mood immediately lightened. Wandering smiled. No matter how weird things continued to get, they were all true pioneers doing what they loved, and they would carry on doing so.

#

Every changeling was feeding energy to their Queen now, and they in turn pouring power into Celestia and Luna. Twilight had approached them with some concern, but despite grimacing with the unexpectedly long and heavy load, Celestia had managed to say jokingly, “I could do with a nice cup of tea and slice of cake right now.” The Royal Sisters were performing admirably though, and the Cosmic Lotus continued to accelerate. Pif had joined the power supply efforts, so one of her staff was now keeping them informed of progress as determined by the TESS. The energy required to increase the Cosmic Lotus’ velocity continued to increase exponentially, but they were fairly confident of the speed measurements.

“Ninety-three point two percent light-speed,” announced the assistant.

Every tenth of a percent was counted now as each got harder and harder. The decision had been made to do their utmost to get the Cosmic Lotus to at least a minimum ninety-five percent of light-speed. Hopes for the preferred ninety-seven percent or more were completely abandoned. Unicorns more and more and were dropping out and unable to re-join the effort, but Path had called in a mighty replacement. Fortunately he had been at one of the Equestrian branches and not back home in Griffonia at this time, and his arrival caused quite a stir.

Blue Streak came swooping in on his magitek wings, accompanied by his dragon wives. The matriarch had to find a place to perch on the nearby mountainside because the courtyard was still crowded, but her younger self accompanied Blue to the balcony where they carefully alighted without disturbing the alicorns or the Queens. Destined heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of House Path’s Warmaster approaching with his usual confident smile. The alicorn disconnected himself from the flow to talk with his earth pony brother.

“You’re just in time, Blue. We’re about to make one last surge.”

Blue’s grin grew. “I told you that keeping myself fully charged at all times would pay off one day. So it took nearly a century, but I was right.”

Destined conceded the point. They were going to need every bit of the power that Blue brought – power great enough to fling them thousands of years into the future during the Time Wars. If anything, Blue’s capacity had only increased since then. “You know the drill then. Just open yourself to me and I will draw on the power and feed it to Celestia.”

“Ready when you are, brother.”

Destined warned the others, and they braced themselves. Destined reconnected to the flow, and then sought out Blue Streak’s reservoir of energy and tapped it.

Celestia and Luna both gave a cry of pain at the rush of power, but they still held firm. Destined fed the power as fast as he dared, but even so there was still a vast amount more. It seemed to take ages before they heard the assistant announce, “Ninety-four percent.”

Still one percent more to go. Everyone was straining now. Iridia dropped out with a groan. She and her drones were spent. Crystal had dropped out earlier, but her hive was still much smaller and with fewer resources, so that had not been a surprise. Carpacia was wavering, but she had the most drones available, and they were being bolstered by the positive emotions of the awed crowd of ponies that remained fascinated by the spectacle. Cadance’s legs were trembling; despite being an alicorn, raw power was not her thing. Her husband stood rock steady though, as he would until exhausted. He had protected two entire cities for lengthy periods with his shield in the past, and he would not be found wanting now. Free was showing the strain, but she was damned if she was going to let Shining Armor show her up. Twilight, the veritable Avatar of Magic, seemed to be drawing upon an endless supply, but her son knew that was an illusion. Sooner or later she, just like the rest of them, was going to be exhausted. He hoped fervently that they could make it to their goal. Carpacia’s collapse did not fill him with confidence.

An eternity seemed to pass, and Destined sensed that even Blue’s reserve was running out when the assistant finally said what they were all praying to hear.

“Ninety-five percent light-speed!”

Twilight said loudly and firmly, “Everyone taper off. Don’t just stop or the backlash might hurt!”

Everyone had been pre-warned about this, although the reminder did not go astray under the circumstances. Everybody eased off their efforts and shut down the process gracefully. Celestia and Luna sank down onto the balcony, utterly spent, and castle attendants rushed out to minister to them. Path made his way to the front of the balcony and waited for the crowd’s attention. With the benefit of a voice-enhancing spell, he addressed them all.

“My fellow Equians, although the challenge was far greater than we had imagined, we have achieved our goal. The Cosmic Lotus has reached its minimum optimum speed. The journey to the Far Star is under way!”

A huge cheer rose from the courtyard. Tired unicorns were congratulated by the non-unicorn spectators, and castle staff poured out pushing carts laden with a fresh round of refreshments for all. Despite the late hour due to it taking far longer than planned, a party atmosphere grew as they celebrated the great success. Destined made his way over to the comm and compressed time once more. He was not sure how much worse the time distortion had gotten, but he made an educated guess before pressing the transmit button.

“Cosmic Lotus – this is Equus Control. Propulsion phase completed successfully. Minimum velocity achieved. Report when you’re ready. We’re all going to rest and recover for a while. Equus Control out.”

Destined released control of the flow of time and hungrily eyed the snacks that had been brought in. He decided to grab a particularly delicious-looking apple pie before his brother beat him to it!

#

Although the stream of energy had stopped, such was the distance from Equus that the Cosmic Lotus had achieved that an enormous amount of energy was still on its way to the starship. For a long time, the crew saw it coming in, although apparently at a far weaker level. However, time dilation meant that the full amount was being spread over a longer period, and the ship’s speed continued to rise.

Ninety-six percent.

Ninety-seven percent.

Finally the thrust ceased entirely at 97.4% of the speed of light. It almost passed unnoticed as the crew stared in awe and confusion at the sight of the stars all crammed into the path ahead of them. What had happened to the universe?

#

Destined’s message brought much relief. Another round of systems checks reassured Wandering and the bridge crew that the insanity of what was happening outside the ship did not seem to extend to the ship itself. Starry was still going a little crazy trying to work out why everything was wrong with the stars. Not fully trusting the monitor screens, she went to an actual window and withdrew the shield that had been in place as a precaution. The same bizarre sight greeted her however. The report that came from Gizmo only made things more confusing.

“Captain – I’ve checked these readings twice, and they keep telling me the same thing. Equus appears to be four times closer than it should be, and the Far Star looks to be only about ten light-years away.”

Wandering gaped at the unicorn. “What?! That’s impossible!”

Gizmo just gestured helplessly at the screens and shrugged.

Starry sighed. “Along with the time dilation affecting communications with Equus Control, according to our instruments, it seems that space has been distorted somehow, but only on the axis we are travelling in. One star that was directly on our port, for example, measures as the same distance as before.”

“Somehow? All we’ve done is go fast – how can that cause all this?” Wandering asked with exasperation.

“I don’t know, but I and my team are going to get straight to work on trying to find some answers for you.”

“Maybe Destined will have some answers for us.” The alicorn took a deep breath and calmed his thoughts. “Okay – we seem to be on course and up to speed, and the ship appears to be in full working order. We’re going to proceed with post-acceleration schedule as planned with the exception of Starry’s team who will work on this phenomenon. Turn on artificial gravity, and let’s get to work, people!”

#

With a normal routine established, the bridge crew soon settled down, choosing to ignore the outside universe for the moment. After sending an interim report back to Equus Control, Wandering let the crew do their work while he pondered the ramifications of the unanticipated anomalies. Hours later, he was startled when a blue alicorn suddenly appeared in the specially demarked teleportation area on the bridge next to the mana beacon, and staggered a bit before getting his balance.

“Whoa!” Destined yelped. “That was crazy!”

Wandering got up from his command chair and approached Destined. “Are you alright, brother?” he asked with great concern.

“I’ll be fine. I just never teleported and tried to compensate for a huge time-distortion before. Did you know that time is passing over four times slower for you? Even with the benefit of the mana beacon, I barely managed to get here, and this kind of thing is my specialty.”

Wandering’s face and ears fell. “Do you mean that we’re now without our fail-safe escape plan?”

“Oh, you can escape, alright, but I doubt that you would survive the experience,” Destined replied soberly.

Wandering sighed. “Have you any good news for us?”

Destined grinned. “As a matter of fact, yes. Pif took some final measurements with the TESS and confirmed their accuracy. While we thought that we had only managed to get you up to ninety-five percent of light-speed, we overlooked the delay between transmission and reception of the thrust. This ship is now travelling at 97.4% of the speed of light.”

“That’s very reassuring. Our instruments are practically useless due to the distorted views we’re getting.” Wandering indicated the view on the monitor.

Destined nodded. “I could hardly miss that, and it’s as bizarre as you described. I can assure you though that the universe hasn’t actually gone crazy, and you are nicely on course. Oh – and one other thing that you will probably like. If this time stretching continues unabated, your trip to the Far Star will take only a bit over ten years instead of forty-two or three.”

Wandering tried to reconcile those facts in his head and failed. “Huh?”

“Right now, time is passing a lot slower for you, so you will experience less than a quarter of the duration, even while those of us back on Equus still see you taking over four decades.”

“Well, that’s an unexpected bonus. I doubt anyone aboard this ship will be unhappy at slashing the amount of time just travelling to the Far Star.”

“I didn’t think so. Anyway, Pif and her think-tank will be working on these time and space distortions, as well as why it got exponentially harder to push the Cosmic Lotus the closer we got to the speed of light. We’ll keep you abreast of any developments, and if you desperately need something, I will try to help. Don’t count on me teleporting anything much more than a very small package though – I barely can manage bringing myself!”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for coming, Des.”

“No worries, bro. Glad to be here for you.” Destined clapped Wandering on the withers and gave a wave to the rest of the bridge crew. “Keep up the great work, everyone. Equus is proud of all of you.” His horn lit up and he teleported away, although with a strange stuttering effect rather than the typical flash-bang.

Wandering turned around to gaze at the main monitor and the stars crowded near the center of it. ‘Ten years… this changes things a lot,’ he thought. His stomach gurgled just then, reminding him that he had not eaten in a long time. ‘In a universe of strange phenomena, it’s nice to know that some mundane things stay the same.’ He chuckled a bit before he raised his voice. “Commander Bluequill, you have the bridge. Kale Robe’s culinary masterpieces await me.”

Author's Note

Dappler Effect = ponified Doppler Effect

As much of a headache the previous chapter was, this one easily beat it for difficulty. Relativity is complicated! Once again – huge thanks to Airy Words to help me keep things straight. Next chapter we get away from the weird physics and have a bit of fun with some of the characters instead.

The picture of the bewildered Gizmo Gears is by Foxenawolf. You scored a freebie, Emtu! I'm a bit crazy to lash out with these illos all the time, so if others would like to see art of their OC here, please consider donating to the cause via Paypal.

Purple Point Profanity Pool

Sailors, since time immemorial, have found ways to distract themselves from the monotony of a long voyage. The crew of the Cosmic Lotus were no exception to this. Within a day of departure, betting pools were set up, permissions were sought to set up breweries (craft brews by three of the crew, it being a hobby of each of them), and charts set up to keep track of elapsed voyage time, time until hibernation, and guesstimation on what they would find at the Far Star.

One pool that was set up became known officially as the Daily Raffle, and unofficially as the Purple Point Profanity Pool. Purple Point, the Engineer’s Mate, was widely known for several things, mainly an eidetic memory, an exceptional talent with most technologies, a calm, dignified polite manner, a quirky sense of humor, and most of all, when working alone on damaged or malfunctioning equipment, what could be politely described as a potty-mouth. His swearing, always directed at the equipment, was multilingual, literate, and so incredibly detailed, crewfolk who could understand what he was saying would take notes. While he could descend into crudity, and would on some occasions, he preferred the more literate profanity.

One thing to take careful note of is that he would never knowingly swear in the presence of another pony. The swearing was a purely automatic function to him. When he became aware of another pony near him, the profanity flow was abruptly cut off, his ears turning bright red in shame.

The Morale Officer, Random Dawn, brought up the subject of the Daily Raffle to the Captain of the Cosmic Lotus, Wandering Path. “What I would like to do is to set up two related pools, creating a program with CONN (Crystalline Organizational Neural Network, the ship’s Artificial Intelligence) to monitor Purple Point’s swearing. Each pony on board can, before noon, register their guesses for how long he would swear that day, day running from midnight to midnight, and how many languages he will use. Wagers will be given to CONN blindly, meaning you will know your own bet, but will have to ask others what their bets were. A standing bet system can be arranged, to record the same choice day after day. What I need to do is find a way to spread the word without him finding out.”

“What do you intend to offer as prizes?” Wandering Path asked.

“That will vary day by day. One day, you can win free drinks at the Nightclub. Another day, you can win a custom dessert of your choice at Sunday dinner. I have lots of options. That’s just for the time spent swearing. For the number of languages, I will award a cash prize, taking two bits from each entry, free or paid, into a pool to be split among the winners.”

“How will the winner be determined? Nearest guess either way, nearest without going over? What will you do if there are more than one winner, which I think would frequently be the case?”

“I’m thinking nearest either way. Nailing it exactly, which I think will happen more often on the second part, will lead to doubling the prize. In case of one pony hitting both numbers exactly, well, I’ll think of something really special. The non-cash prizes are determined by the time guess. I don’t think very many will take both halves of the prize.”

Wandering appeared to consider the request for a few moments. He was reviewing in his mind all he had read about Purple Point, from the first phone call he made to offer himself to the Project, from background checks to interviews. The Captain knew that a similar scam had been done to the stallion in every non-academic job he had held since he left Baltimare years before to join the Merchant Marine. Purple Point knew damn well that ponies would notice his outbursts. “Hell, Captain – if those lack-wits want to do something like that to me, the best thing I can do is ignore it officially, but closely monitor the progress. If something nice comes up as a prize, I may enter, at zero-zero. They can have their fun, but I always get the last laugh.”

Idly, Wandering tapped some controls on his screen, discreetly authorizing Purple Point to monitor progress, through CONN, of the new pool. “Request approved. How will you handle entries?”

“Through CONN. Everyone gets one free entry a day. More can be bought at ten bits apiece for another ticket into the pool. Bets close at noon, final tallies are done at midnight and will be posted in the Plan of the Day, with the names of the winners posted, and that day’s prize announced.”

“What about the bits collected? What will you do with them?”

“They will go into an account which I will donate to charity when we get back to Equus, after the cash prizes have been awarded.”

“Sounds good to me. Post the Daily Raffle rules to each crewpony individually today, and start it as of midnight tonight. Heck, I might even take a stab at it once in a while.”

Several weeks into the mission, after the Lotus was checked, rechecked, and re-rechecked, it was time to prep the majority of the crew for hibernation. Three days before hibernation, Captain Path announced that there would be an All Hooves party the night before hibernation started, so everyone could socialize together one last time before going into magically-induced stasis, the ship being crewed in shifts for the next ten years, voyaging to the Far Star. He also announced that one pony would get to choose who would be ‘assisting’ the cooks and servers that night, the positions open being server, table loader, dish-washer operator, and trash disposal operator. The winner of the Daily Raffle would be the lucky pony to do the choosing.

In Engineering, Eon Path called together two of his friends, the part-thestral pegasus ColdFire, and the Blue Changeling Steam Shift. “Okay, here’s my plan to set things up so one of us wins the Raffle tomorrow. I’m willing to throw in a hundred bits for more chances. What we are going to do is cause a string of minor malfunctions all over the ship while Purple Point is Duty Engineer. All of us bet high, because our little glitches will infuriate him to such a point, he’ll be popping off continually.”

“Just what sort of minor malfunctions are you thinking about, Eon?” ColdFire asked.

“O-rings leaking, insulation rubbing off wires, support bolts working loose. Nothing major, but enough to keep him running about for the twelve hours he is on duty,” Eon explained.

“Plus, if we have the failures in out-of-the-way locations, he will have to figure out how to get to the malfunction to fix it,” Steam Shift added, flipping his blue scarf over his shoulder.

“I like that thought. So, how much are we all in for?” Eon asked his compatriots. They agreed to throw in a hundred bits apiece for ten guesses each, plus their free one. “Make your plans tonight, but let’s not tell each other. He will be on duty from noon to midnight, so let us plan well.”

ColdFire added, “Let’s all agree that whichever one of us wins, we will not name each other to any of the positions, okay? This sounds like a lot of fun!” she squealed happily.

Steam Shift nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“And me,” Eon said. “Let’s do it to it.” He knew firsthand just how piquant Purple Point could get when annoyed. Personally, he was hoping to hear something in Draconic that he didn’t already know. “I just can’t reconcile his pleasant manner with his absolutely foul language while working. It’s like he’s two different ponies.”

“I’ve noticed that too,” Steam Shift said. “But, if it was anything bad, he would not be here, right?”

“Right,” ColdFire said. “Let’s hope we don’t cause him to blow a head gasket.”

Purple Point, on the other hoof, took the news with his usual calm. He had a way in mind to get through the day, on duty and off, without swearing once. A matter of self-hypnosis, lots of strong black coffee on hoof, and striving not to be alone. ‘The crew thinks they can make me swear on demand? Well, we shall see who has the better will and the better skill,’ he thought as he prepared for bed that night, waiting for the sleeping drug that he required to shut his mind down enough to get to sleep. ‘My will is supreme. I dance to my own tune. Nobody commands me. For Purple Point to live, Radiance Glow must stay dead. I will be the best there is at my job. This mission will succeed. Now, how to make the Virtual Repair spell…’ he thought as he faded out.

Purple Point rarely slept more than five hours at a stretch, and upon awakening, he first renewed his vow, committing his vast mental prowess to the task. “I will not swear today. Period.” he said to himself before leaving his cabin and going to breakfast, greeting those he met politely, in their accustomed fashion. Being Engineer’s Mate, he had to do the departmental paperwork, which he did with his accustomed ease, compiling and inputting what was required of him. After that, an inspection of the ship’s systems through the Engineering monitor display, flicking through subsystems at a high rate of speed, looking not for actual readings, but variations from the normal. Satisfied that the ship was in good health, he then prepared his personal tool and equipment saddlebags for when he was on duty.

Having about three hours before his shift began, Purple Point made his way to the magic research labs. He had an idea for what he called Virtual Repair, casting a spell on a defective piece of equipment and making it last until either a replacement was available or the equipment could be safely shut down. The spell was a series of spells that needed to be woven into one integral unit, and it was a project he had been working on for over ten years, ever since he had attained his ThD, in addition to his two PhD’s.

He was jolted out of his research by the on-duty Engineer, Crystal Twist, a dark-green crystal pony mare. “Point, snap out of it. You’ve got half an hour for lunch before taking over.”

Point jumped some, barely remembering in time not to utter an oath, however mild. “Thank you for reminding me, Twist. I’ll be there on time. Anything to report?”

“Not hardly. Been a quiet watch so far. Meet you back in Engineering,” she said before heading out.

Point put away his research material, returning the area to neatness. Lunch was quick, and afterwards he headed to Engineering, his mug of black coffee trailing steam. Precisely on time, he relieved Crystal Twist. “Do have a pleasant off-shift, Twist.”

“I intend to,” she said with a smile as she put her tool bags up. “I’m helping Willow do the decorations for the party tomorrow night.”

“Then I know the party will be a success,” Point said kindly as he put his belt on. “Go, have fun. I relieve you.”

“I stand relieved!” Twist laughed as she trotted off.

Fifteen minutes into his shift, a call came in. “Leak detected in Hydroponics Bay Two. Duty Engineer, attend,” came the call from CONN.

“Hydroponics leak? That’s not good,” Point said as he gathered some specialized repair parts for the job before hurrying to Hydroponics. There, he found the head of Hydroponics, Fatima Dashar, and two of her assistants standing around a puddle on the floor.

“A good day to you, delight of the eyes,” Point said in Saddle Arabian. “How may this one help you?”

“A seal blew in the tank corner, underneath. Can you patch it?” Fatima asked, blushing just a touch at Point’s greeting.

“Easily. It will just take some time to get in there, see the damage, and select the proper patch,” Point replied in Equish. “Give me some space, please.”

As the hydroponics techs moved away, Point got down on the floor after removing his saddlebags, to peer at the trouble spot. “I wonder how this happened,” he said quietly as he looked at the small hole that was dripping water. “Looks like it was caused by corrosion.”

“We noticed it barely ten minutes ago. Best fix it before it gets too bad,” Fatima told him.

“I can do a temporary patching, but when this tank is down for cleaning and maintenance, do let Engineering know so a better repair can be made,” Point said as he pulled patching material from his bag, along with a cutting tool. Carefully, he cut the patch to the right size, flexed the patch to activate the sealant, and applied it, holding the patch with his purple glow as it set.

Five minutes later, the repair was complete. Getting up and stowing his tools, he then bowed to Fatima and the other techs. “May many blessings shower on you all this day, instead of a leaky tank,” he said politely.

“Thank you for getting it fixed so quickly, Point.”

“That’s my job.”

He left Hydroponics Two, heading back to Engineering. He was at the door when another call came in. “Lighting failure in corridor 17, level H, frame 120. Duty Engineer, attend,” CONN reported.

Point snorted, but changed course to head to the problem site. “Okay, how did that happen?” he asked himself as he trotted.

Once there, he found the lights were indeed out in the corridor. Pulling out his circuit tester, he started to investigate. As he tested spot after spot, he felt the urge to let out his frustration, but nipped his tongue gently. “Remember, this is a no-swear day, Radiance,” he muttered.

Half an hour of testing isolated the fault – the light switch itself had malfunctioned. Not because of a manufacturing defect or simple wear, but by somepony messing with the switch, causing it to fail. Point felt the urge to swear building, but he forced it down before going to Stores for a replacement.

Just as he finished the job, putting the damaged switch into his bag to be repaired later, another call came in. “Corrosives leak in primary sciences lab. Damage reported. Duty Engineer, attend,” CONN said.

Purple Point almost turned purple as he got the news, but headed there, fighting to keep his composure, a fight he won, of course. Upon arriving at the lab, he found Techbird outside the door, being treated by a medical technician and a magitek technician. “What happened, Techbird?” he asked politely, because if there was one being he truly respected on board the Lotus, it was the aged griffoness.

“I was mixing some acids when I had a power failure to my claw. I dropped the mixing container and it shattered, severing some tubing. It’s a bit of a mess in there, I’m sorry to say,” Techbird said, a little mournfully.

Purple Point smiled up at the griffoness. “Don’t worry nor apologize, Techbird. I can put everything to rights. Maybe now you will get your systems tuned like I suggested earlier.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” said the magitek technician, Gizmo Gears.

“If you will allow us, Techbird, we will all take care of each other. We have an appointment to keep at the Far Star,” Purple Point said before activating his suit’s protective spells and going into the lab.

After passing through the mini-airlock, the first thing he asked was, “CONN – atmosphere reading, please.”

“Acid fumes present in laboratory atmosphere. Laboratory ventilation isolated from shipboard ventilation system. Warning: while atmosphere is not toxic, long term exposure is not advised.”

“Thank you, CONN. Rig ventilation line-up from laboratory to Atmosphere Purification Unit Three for processing. Any damage to major systems in this laboratory?”

“Negative. Damage restricted to table and apparatus in use at the time. Neutralization and clean-up is called for. Ventilation configured to your specifications, ready to begin at your order.”

“Begin atmosphere purification. I’ll clean up the equipment. Please advise as to what equipment is salvageable and what is not as I clean.”

“Understood, Duty Engineer. Atmosphere purification is underway.”

“Thank you, CONN.” For the next hour, Purple Point cleaned the acid spill, carefully adding neutralizing agents to the spilled acids, putting broken equipment into a sealed container for repair or recycling, and, most importantly, remaining silent the whole time, except to answer requests for information, progress reports, and asking questions about pieces of equipment he was not familiar with.

He handled his tasks with only part of his attention, most of his mind locked in a battle with himself to remain silent and not give anyone any ammunition to use against him. It was not an easy chore, because his natural reaction was to cuss a blue streak, but his respect for Techbird did aid him in keeping control of himself. Only once did he stop in mid-action and say clearly and firmly, “No, Radiance!”

When all his work was done, he exited the lab. “All safe to use, Techbird. You may now resume your previously scheduled incomprehensibilities,” he reported to the aged griffoness, who laughed at his witticism.

“Thank you so very much, Purple Point. Will I get to see you at dinner?”

“Probably not. On duty until midnight. I might be assistant chief engineer of this ship, but you can’t learn how the ship feels sitting in an office, you have to get out and feel him or her. That’s why I like doing duty shifts every so often.”

“Another time, then. Any progress on your VR spells?”

“Tomorrow morning I can give you a report. I may have figured out the binding spells, but I have to do some more experimentation,” Purple Point replied. One of his goals was once he got the Virtual Repair spell crafted, it could be integrated into a magitek device so others could use it.

“I look forward to finding out,” Techbird told the unicorn before looking to her assistants. “Back to it!”

Purple Point made it back to the Duty Engineer’s office, where he first recharged the protective spells on his ship’s uniform, then checked on ship’s status. All was well, including the atmosphere line-up from the lab, now that he had cleared all traces of the acid fumes. Restoring the ventilation line-up to normal, he then repacked his tool and parts bag, replacing what he had pulled out, brewing up a pot of coffee, his way, which meant that if you put a spoon in it, the odds were equal if it would stand upright or dissolve. Sugar would dissolve in it, but creamer or anything like it would get expelled from the mug. He did not care – it kept him awake.

Thirty minutes later, he received another call, for a mishap in the Linear Park – a pegasus and a changeling had collided in mid-air, and their fall had damaged some support struts. With a sigh and a mutter, he headed out to see.

Arriving at the park, he found the duty med-tech just leaving. “Everypony all right?” Point asked.

“Bumps, bruises and a few cuts. Nothing major. Some struts for the Park’s upper level, though, are a bit bent out of shape,” the tech reported.

Purple Point snorted once. “As am I. Been a busy shift for me, and it’s only four. Let me go in and see.”

Getting to the scene of the incident, Point found ColdFire and Steam Shift on the growing grass of the lawn, both sporting a few bandages. “What in Tartarus happened in here?” he demanded.

“ColdFire was teaching me some stunts,” Steam Shift explained. “We cut it a little too close to the upper level struts.”

“It’s not too bad, but a few are bent, and some support strands have gone slack.” ColdFire added.

Purple Point grumbled some, actually looking a little angry before composing himself, his lips moving but saying nothing at first. “I would dragoon you two into the repairs, but not only are you two off duty, I can see the bandages on your wings. So, it’s up to me. As usual.” He then snorted. “Okay, you two, get out of here. I’ll deal with you later. I’ve got a job to do.”

Without looking back at the two reprobates, Purple Point went to the damaged area. Looking up, he saw the bent struts and slack wires. Under thrust, it would collapse like a paper fan in a rainstorm. He felt his rage build, but he squelched it with a loud, determined, “NO, Radiance!” before starting to work, the purple glow from his horn reaching up to the bent struts, feeling them out, deciding if they need replacing. To his chagrin, two of them did. He bit his lip as he discovered the extent of the damage.

ColdFire and Steam Shift saw Point’s reactions. “Looks like he’s going to blow his stack,” ColdFire muttered.

“He never loses his temper in public,” Steam Shift whispered back. “But, I can tell you, he’s not happy.”

“First time for everything. Let’s get going before he does lose it. We still have a few more incidents to create before midnight. I have twenty to twenty-five minutes in the pool.”

“I chose between ten and eighteen in my picks. I wonder what Eon has in mind next?” Steam Shift whispered as they left the park.

“That’s why we are working independently. We just came here together because we both wanted some flight time in. I’ve got something wicked in mind,” ColdFire said.

“You are one devious pegasus, ColdFire.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Steam Shift,” the mare replied smugly.

All told, it took Point two hours to fix the damage, between gathering parts and tools, replacing the struts and tightening the stays so that everything was restored to an as-was condition before cleaning up and putting tools and lift away. He had dinner sent to the Duty Engineer’s office, rather than going to the mess deck. He had just barely finished one of Kale’s better creations when the first of three calls in a row came in, first for a bad lighting panel in Engine Ops, a broken ventilator grille in the Captain’s cabin (Wandering admitted to the damage), and another cracked nutrient feed line in a hibernation bay, that one being reported by Princess Galena.

“I don’t know how that happened, Point, but we need to get it patched before we start putting folk in them,” she said with obvious dismay.

“At least I won’t be standing fetlock-deep in the stuff. Makes my hooves itch. Good thing I have the sealant required, Princess. Now, please to pardon me, and I’ll get started,” Point said politely. As he looked it over, he said loud and clear, “NO, RADIANCE! NOT NOW!”

Princess Galena was perplexed at the shout, but decided to let it go as Point swiftly, effectively and permanently fixed the crack, lip caught between two front teeth, seeping a little blood. She backed away as he worked, confused at his demeanor. He was always polite to her, as he was to all the folk. Why would he shout at nothing, and who or what was Radiance? Plus, she tasted a lot of anger, but it was directed inward, towards himself, not outward. Still, it was strong enough to give her a reason to get clear.

Within twenty minutes, the leak had been sealed, and the area cleaned up. Point sought out Galena, telling her that all was well now, and just who had been in there within the past half hour?

“Why, Eon Path was here, helping me check out all the pods. He left just before I found the leak.”

“Okay, then. I have an idea about something. A pleasant evening to you, Princess.”

“And to you, Point. Thank you again.”

“Hey, we’re all in this together. I’m going to be in one of these pods soon enough, and it had best be working when I am in it. It’s in my best interest to make sure they work,” Point told the princess, sending her good thoughts and feelings, but she could still taste the undercurrent of hostility.

Back at the duty office, Point looked at the clock as he ‘poured’ himself another mug of coffee. “Three and a half hours more of this. Can I stand the strain? No, Radiance. Ouch!” he yelped as the hot mug touched his bitten lip. He took a deep breath to utter a malediction, but this time he bit his tongue. Literally. Painfully. Then, CONN called again.

“Hole reported in ventilation duct, Deck C, frame fifty-three.”

Purple Point’s face and ears purpled. “What in Tartarus is going on here?” he asked angrily as he prepared his gear for another trip. On scene, there was indeed a hole in the duct, as if somepony carelessly banged against it while carrying something large and hard. As he patched the hole, noting the location for further repair, he took a deep breath to curse, and bit his lip again. Hard. Very hard. Painfully hard. Messily hard. He sucked carefully on his bit lip as the patch set, before making his way to Medical to get his lip patched before he lost too much blood, making sure he didn’t leave a trail behind him.

“Having a rough day?” asked Dr. Zubon as she mended his lip.

“Ohnlee cuz ah kep on bitin’ myshelf,” he slurred as the wound was healed.

“Next time, not so hard, okay?”

“I will do my besht, Doctor. Thank you for the treatment,” he said before the intercom sounded off again.

“Hydraulic valve failure, auxiliary machinery room three. Duty Engineer, investigate,” CONN said in its pleasant female voice.

The grimace on Point’s face amused Zubon, for about five seconds. “Pardon me, Doctor, yet another problem,” he said in a kind tone, but the undercurrent was plain.

“Go in peace, Point,” Zubon said as he hurried out.

In AMR3, Point found an O-ring had failed, blowing a seal on a hydraulic valve. Fluid had sprayed out of the flaw, spraying a fine mist into the air and coating almost everything within five meters with fluid. He stomped his right front hoof several times on the floor, marshalling his temper. “No, Radiance, don’t you dare,” he muttered. “Almost there…”

Automatic systems had isolated the system, so all Point had to do was disassemble the valve and inspect it. He did note a scratch near the O-ring seat, making him not only very suspicious, but causing him to nearly detonate. Sparks flew up and down his horn, and he bit his lip again, even more severely than last time. Working fast, he replaced the O-ring, coated it liberally with sealant, reassembled the valve, and reconnected the valve controller to CONN. He then literally stomped his way back to Medical. The duty tech summoned Dr. Zubon.

“Again, Point?” she said as she readied treatment. He could only nod, keeping his mouth shut until she was ready. After the healing was completed, Point looked at Zubon with an apologetic expression.

“Sorry, Doctor. I don’t plan on being a frequent visitor.”

“When do you get off shift?”

“Midnight.”

“I’ll wait here until then. I think you’re going to need an extra strength sleep med tonight. I had best start preparing it.”

“May Celestia smile upon you, Doctor,” Point managed to say when the intercom sounded off with yet another call.

“Broken water valve, exercise room one, shower booth five,” CONN announced. “Duty Engineer, attend.”

Point shut his eyes and moved his lips, but said nothing. Another spark flew off his horn. “I’ll be waiting,” Zubon sighed.

Point made his way to the designated place, to find the earth pony cook, Kale Robe, standing in the shower room, a towel around his neck. “I’m sorry, Point. I just lost a game of hoof ball, and, well…” Kale trailed off, looking at the remains of the valve on the floor.

Point looked at Kale, his eyes blank at first before warming up. “You, I believe, Kale. I’ll have this fixed in ten minutes.”

“Make it five and I’ll make you your favorite coffee cake.”

That was all it took. With a blur of purple glow, tools and parts, the valve housing was cleaned, damaged parts removed, new parts installed, the bonnet tightened down, and tested. “Three minutes thirty-nine seconds. I’ll take it at breakfast,” Point muttered, his lip sore, having nipped it from the inside.

“You got it, Point! Thanks, and thanks again!” the earth pony said before going back into the shower booth and turning it on. As Point was leaving, Kale let out a yelp. “HOT!” Point just put his nose to the floor for a moment before looking up.

“CONN, secure water to shower booth five, exercise room one,” he said in a tired voice.

“Unable to comply. Cyber controls have been rendered inert.”

Point sighed, feeling tired. “CONN, review security scans around all damaged areas this watch, from one hour before incident to one hour after my repair. Send all scans to my terminal for review. Secure all water lines in to exercise room one shower stalls.”

“Understood, Assistant Chief Engineer. Reports are waiting. Water isolated to exercise room one shower stalls.” CONN said in her level tones.

“And repairs are starting.”

Swiftly, Point pulled out a diagnostic tool from his bag, finding out the valve’s remote controls had been damaged when that valve was broken. Sighing, he dug through his bag to find a replacement part which was quickly located and installed. When CONN reported normal function, Point turned to Kale. “It’s working now. CONN, reactivate water service to exercise room one shower stalls.”

“You’ll have your coffee cake tomorrow, Point!”

“Thank you, Kale. Just doing my job,” Point said as he left the shower room, his mind thinking about coffee.

Back in his duty office, Point put on another pot of coffee as he restocked his saddlebags, getting ready for the next problem call. Coffee ready, he added sugar to his mug before pouring in the coffee. Just as he was raising the mug for a sip, a loud snap, crackle and pop was heard echoing throughout the area, and the office went dark.

“Lighting Circuitry Panel Six-Nine reporting main breaker failure. Power disconnected to aft lighting panels Six-Nine, Seven-Zero and Seven-One. Duty Engineer, investigate cause of failure of Lighting Circuitry Panel Six-Nine,” CONN reported.

“What do you think I’m going to do, you cracked crystal contraption? Write poetry?” Point shouted, retaining control of his temper only by the barest of margins. Lighting his horn, he took a big gulp of liquid tar before putting the mug down and exiting the office for the lighting panel, which was only a few meters away, around two corridor turns. CONN, not being sentient, did not reply to Point’s outburst.

By the light of his horn, Point saw the lighting panel door open, with a hole and a char mark evident on both the inside and outside of the panel door. The main input breaker had failed spectacularly, with only bits and pieces still in the mounting. He sat down, sighed deeply, shut his eyes and recited a mantra, “No, Radiance, stay out of this. No, Radiance, stay out of this,” fifty times before opening his eyes and getting to work.

He tested the panel to make sure it was de-energized before removing the failed breaker. Examining it, he found a faint sign that the breaker had been tampered with, but he could not be sure until later. Setting it aside, he made his way to Stores to get another master power breaker, chanting his mantra the whole time. Installing the new breaker, he checked it thoroughly before calling to CONN to re-energize the lighting bus.

“Power restored to aft lighting panels Six-Nine, Seven-Zero, and Seven-One,” Conn reported as some lights came on, but not in the immediate area.

Point then ordered, “Shut breaker to Lighting Panel Six-Nine.” There was a clunk from the panel, the breaker flipped to the shut position, and the lights came back up.

“Lights are on, but is there anybody home? Conn – time check, please.”

“Time is now twenty-three hundred forty-five hours. Fifteen minutes until end of shift.”

“Thank you, CONN. Let me clean up here before Eon arrives,” Point said before doing just that, getting the area tidy before going back to the office, where Eon Path was waiting, his own saddlebag tool and parts pack on and ready.

“Rather busy shift, I see,” the dracopony said, looking up from the log display.

“Very much so. Suspiciously so. I’ll investigate tomorrow. For now, it’s midrats, medication, and bed for me, hopefully until about oh-seven.”

“Very well, Point. I relieve you.”

“I stand relieved,” Point said as he took off his saddlebags and placed them in his locker, until the next time he took a duty shift. Once that was done, he took his mug of cold tar and headed to the mess decks, where he partook of what was there before reporting to Medical.

“Now, this is a more potent form of your usual sleep medicine, Point. Just use this pressure hypo and inject yourself where convenient. It should work within twenty minutes,” Zubon said, hoofing over the hypo. “Wait until you are back in your cabin before doing so.”

“Yes, Doctor, and thank you for making this. I hope I won’t need this concoction too often.”

“I hope so too. It could be habit-forming.”

“That would be bad. I have enough bad habits already.” Point took the hypo and left for his cabin.

Once there, he settled himself into bed. Before he injected himself with the sleep dose, CONN spoke up. “Incoming message for Purple Point.”

“Read message aloud, CONN.”

“You have won the Daily Raffle with a correct submission of zero-zero. You have won the right to name the cook’s assistants for the party tonight. Whom do you choose?”

“I will decide before noon, CONN.”

“Very well. Incoming call, from Eon Path.”

“Put him through, please.” Point looked up at the image of Eon in the intercom display. “What you need? I’m about to go to sleep.”

“How in Tartarus did you manage to win the raffle?” Eon said, confused. “I thought you would be swearing up a storm!”

“Now, why would you want to think that, Eon?”

“Because I, ColdFire and Steam Shift have been doing minor sabotage all day, trying to piss you off!” Eon blurted.

Point sprang out of bed. “You WHAT?” he bellowed. “YOU were behind all that happened today?

Eon smiled. “Most of it. Nothing harmful to the ship at large – just enough to make you swear up a storm. How did you manage not to?”

“Willpower and the fact this has been played on me before, you…” Point shouted before the dam broke. For over forty-five minutes he swore, both crudely and literately, in a total of thirty-eight languages before he passed out colder than yesterday’s pancakes, which were cold enough yesterday. The sheer magnitude of the cussing turned the air in his cabin blue, okay, purple, because of the purple smoke and sparks coming from his horn. The intercom circuit failed within the first thirty seconds due to overload.

When Point passed out, his going unconscious was enough of a shock to cause CONN to notify Medical and the Captain. Wandering arrived to find Zubon scanning the sleeping Point.

“Will he be alright?”

“I am seeing something I have not seen from him before – a deep, sound, natural sleep without the aid of chemicals,” Zubon reported, holding up the spray hypo she had prepared earlier.

“I hope he wakes up in time for the party tomorrow… er… today.”

“I will see to it. CONN, what were his numbers for that outburst?” Zubon asked.

“Forty-five minutes eighteen seconds non-stop, plus thirty-eight languages, from Equish to Yakyakistani, Doctor.”

“Wow! That must be a record somewhere,” Wandering exclaimed in admiration. “My bet was fifteen minutes ten seconds and ten languages.”

“While mine was twenty-two minutes and eighteen languages. So that’s why he was biting his lip so much. I had to heal it twice.”

“You have to hoof it to him – he really puts the cuss in focus,” Wandering said as the alicorn and zebra left Purple Point’s cabin, leaving him to sleep.

Upon awakening at about eleven in the morning, the first thing Point noticed was how refreshed he felt. When he looked at the clock, he jumped in surprise. “I missed the morning meetings!” he bellowed as he headed for the toilet and shower.

“Messages are waiting for Purple Point. Should I read them aloud?” CONN asked.

“Please do, CONN,” Point said from the toilet, draining coffee.

“Message from Doctor Zubon. If you are not awake by lunchtime, I will come get you. I want you here in Medical after lunch for an examination. Message from Commander Bluequill. You are to consider yourself on off duty-status until cleared to return to duty by Medical. I will let you punish the pranksters. Message from Willow. I need your nominations for the party tonight by noon. Please message them to me. Message from the Captain. How and when did you learn Yakyakistani? Message from Eon Path. I’m in it deep, right? Did you know you blew the comm circuits from your cabin to the Duty Room, taking out a whole sector’s communications until I reset matters? Call me when you wake. Messages end.”

By that time, Point was coming out of the shower, toweling himself off. “Message to Willow. My nominations are Steam Shift for the serving table loader, ColdFire for dishwasher, and Eon Path for trash disposal operator, and Willow herself as server. I’ve had this trick pulled on me behind my back before. I always get even. Message ends.”