Stranded

by FoxMcCloud7921

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character, Science Fiction, Comedy, Adventure, Violence, Sex, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 5497

In the distant future, Equestrian technology has advanced, propelling ponykind to wander among the stars. When a new ship under Princess Twilight's command becomes stranded on an alien planet, their journey becomes a fight for survival.

Two thousand years have passed since the fall of Nightmare Moon. Since then, the nations of Equestria have formed together as the Equestrian Alliance and the advances of technology have propelled them to the cosmos, allowing them to explore and colonize planets in their solar system. The EAS Manehattan, the first ship with a full-sized FTL drive prototype, will take its first voyage among the stars with none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle as Equestria’s first ambassador to unexplored worlds.
Their mission: to explore new life, new worlds, and to gain a better understanding of the galaxy and the universe they live in. Little does the crew of the Manehattan know of the adventure that awaits them when trouble comes along, forcing them to become stranded on an alien planet. But if anyone can find a solution to their predicament, it would be Twilight Sparkle.

Inspired by tom117z's Harmony Among The Stars.

Published 2017-06-14 16:10:07 UTC
Last updated 2017-07-05 04:44:57 UTC

Prologue

It’s been over two thousand years since the fall of Nightmare Moon and the return of Princess Luna. Equestria has seen its technology advance at a breath-taking pace, such that now ponykind has extended its reach to the stars. Over many decades, with Princess Twilight’s help of course, the different ethnic groups of Equestria came together to form the Equestrian Alliance.

Once the Alliance was formed, they all sought for a common goal: to extend their reach to the heavens above and explore new life and new possibilities. As such, the moon and neighboring planets in their system were colonized and once their ships were outfitted with faster than light (FTL) technology, there was nothing stopping them from exploring the entire galaxy. Many ships have been built before to colonize their local neighbors, but now, a new ship, dubbed the EAS Manehattan, was the first of a new class of warships that had FTL capabilities and would be the first to explore an entire galaxy for new life, new opportunities, and of course a better understanding of the universe that they all lived in.

For one princess, it was a privilege and an honor to be able to be able to commandeer this ship, fulfilling a dream she had had since she was a little filly. Little does she know that her first trip into space would be an experience of a lifetime…

October 23, 2032 ANM
Canterlot

Princess Twilight Sparkle stared into the window of the construction bay, watching the progress unfold as the Manehattan slowly came to life. It would take about a year before the ship would be completed, and that didn’t include what had to be put inside the ship.

“I see somepony’s already excited for their first trip.” Twilight looked over and saw Princess Celestia walking towards her.

Twilight smiled. Over two thousand years and Celestia hasn’t aged a bit, which of course was something everyone said about her perhaps the last few millennia. Of course, Twilight had grown up a bit as well, almost reaching Celestia’s height. “Are you really that surprised?” she asked.

Celestia chuckled. “No, not really. Although I was surprised when you turned down the request to travel to the moon and help with the colonization. And then you turned down the request to travel to the other planets in our solar system.”

“They were both tempting requests,” Twilight said. “But I knew with what we had it’d only be a matter of time before we reached outside of our own system and even though we have and colonized a few planets in the neighboring system, now we can farther and in a shorter amount of time as well.”

“You’ll have to excuse me if I’m a bit nervous,” Celestia as she watched the progress down below her. “It took many years to perfect the FTL system…and we lost many lives in the process too.”

“I know…” Twilight said sadly. “But it’s finally been perfected and able to accommodate a ship of this size. Their deaths won’t be in vain.” She then smiled. “Besides, I’m not a little filly anymore.”

Celestia laughed. “I suppose that’s true. If anypony, I suppose that’s Flurry Heart now. She really wants to go with you by the way.”

“I know,” Twilight said, sighing. “And I’d love for her to come with me. But with two princesses gone, I’d imagine that would put a lot of stress on you and Luna.”

“It would probably stress Cadance out to no end,” Celestia added. “Still, this may be a good experience for Flurry. She can take over your duties in Ponyville. I think she’s ready now.”

“Well, I’ll have a whole year to make sure she’s ready,” Twilight said. She looked towards the Manehattan again and sighed. “You know…there’s one pony I know who’d love to see this if she were still alive…”

“Ah…Rainbow Dash I presume?” Celestia asked.

“Yes…” Twilight couldn’t help but get a little emotional. “She truly was the greatest flyer in all of Equestria, and if she was here now she would’ve pounced at the first chance she had of going into space.” She perked up a bit. “I’ve decided: if we happen to discover any newborn stars, I’m going to name them after my friends.”

“I’m sure they would appreciate that,” Celestia said. “So I do not suppose we’re going to be standing here all day are we?”

Twilight giggled. “No…sorry…I guess it’s back to paperwork and meetings now.” The two of them made their way out of the docking bay, but not before Twilight took one more look back towards the ship that would eventually become her ship.

“Girls, I wish you could see me now…Whenever we set out for space, I hope you’re all looking out for me from above.”

Author's Note

ANM = After Nightmare Moon.

Welcome Aboard

November 26, 2033 ANM

One year later…

The EAS Manehattan stood proudly in the docking bay, completed after a year of planning and building. It was one hundred seventy meters long and close to fifty meters tall. It had an arrowhead design, making it slightly smaller than the average warship but it also had a huge speed advantage. At least that was what the Alliance and ESP (Equestrian Space Program) were hoping for.

Today was the big day, and everyone was jittery over the Manehattan’s first departure. Tests had been done countlessly to make sure all systems were working perfectly and it was only after the ship passed these tests that supplies for the long journey ahead were put inside the ship ahead of time.

The mission that the Manehattan crew was about to take on was simple: search for new life as well as systems that could support ponykind. As such, a planetary system was located near the star Centaurus and has been dubbed the Alpha Centaurus System. If successful, the Alliance would be able to expand their colonization efforts across the galaxy. For a ship without FTL capabilities, it would have taken about five years to reach the system. Now, the Manehattan could get there in five days.

To say that Princess Twilight Sparkle was excited was an understatement. After many years of being a princess, she has been much better with controlling her emotions…most of the time. The glee on her face was apparent as she stared at her ship.

Technically while it was her ship (it belonged to the Alliance but same difference), it was the captain that called the shots. Twilight was merely a supervisor, an ambassador of Equus if you wanted to call her that. Now it was time for her to meet her crew: they were going to be getting to know one another for the next couple months. “I’ve got plenty of time before Celestia and the others show up. I’ll start with the junior officers: they need to know they’re just as important as the senior officers.

Captain Star Trotter was well known in the Alliance Navy. An earth pony with a slight amount of gray on his muzzle to show off his experience, Trotter had been involved in two skirmishes with marauders, one on Equus and one in space around the colony planet Harmony.

The former was when he was an ensign and marauders, a group of griffins, pegasi and a few unicorns, managed a surprise attack on the corvette ship Radiant Dawn. The ship was mostly a transport vessel and had a small crew, which apparently drew the interest of this band of thugs. The crew didn’t have a chance.

The ship was taken hostage immediately and the pirates went through everything, looking for anything of major value. There was a slight glimmer of hope though. Ensign Trotter knew the ship more than some, and especially more than a dirty old pirate. He and the captain were being held together but they were able to send each other messages without the pirates noticing. As such, the two were able to enable lockdown procedures which separated the pirates from one another. They may have had the weapons but the crew had the numbers and they were able to overpower the pirates right on time before reinforcements showed up.

The latter was only a few years ago and that point Trotter was now Commander of the ship Ironhoof which even now was still an impressive warship. Known for its power rather than speed, it was a ship that few dared to mess with. Apparently no one told the group of pirates who had stolen an Alliance ship of their own.

To the Ironhoof’s crew’s credit, the pirates did play dirty, trying to take out the ship’s engines in an ambush. As the ship they stole was a much faster ship, it was able to do more damage in a shorter amount of time. The Ironhoof had one casualty in that fight and unfortunately it had been Captain Silver Star, who’d long be remembered as a pony that never backed down from a fight.

Suddenly, Trotter was now in command and he had to find a way to outwit the pirates. Luckily, they were in orbit of Harmony and it was then that Trotter came up with a plan. He had the ship shoot right past the pirates, which no doubt confused them but they didn’t pursue, they assumed that the ship was retreating. It was at that point that Trotter realized the thugs weren’t very intelligent.

The Ironhoof was a heavy ship but Trotter used that to his advantage as he swung around the planet, using it like a slingshot that brought them full circle, catching the enemy ship unaware. It was then that the ship’s weaponry did the rest and there was another left after the small skirmish.

It may not have been an act that won him a Medal of Bravery, but his quick thinking got him promoted to Captain and until had been serving the Ironhoof proudly. But after hearing about the Manehattan and getting recommendations not just from Princess Twilight but Princess Celestia as well, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Now he was staring at the ship he would be commanding. He had no issues with Princess Twilight accompanying them: one never turns down the aid and protection of a princess. It was a big galaxy out there after all.

Once he had been brought up to speed about the Manehattan’s weaponry and armor capabilities, he was now certain it could take on even the Ironhoof, and probably win in a fight too. For now, he was going to spend what free time he had before launch to meet the members of his crew as well.

Commander Pierre Bilodeau was looking at a tablet while sitting in a café in the large military base, going over checklists to make sure all supplies had already been put onto the ship. The griffin, who had brown coloring on his lower side, white in his chest area and a spot of black feathers on his head, descended from a large military family, but then again most griffins were with the military, one way or another. Born in the Imperial capital of Griffinstone, the Alliance had already formed by the time he was born and once he was of age, he enlisted immediately, much to his father’s joy.

As such, he has seen countless missions in the system though his experience with space combat was limited. However, he was a formidable foe as many would say, capable of handling almost any weapon he could find, whether it was a blade or a phaser. Beings like griffins and pegasi had a large advantage due to their wings which meant they could easily carry weaponry which put them on equal ground with unicorns. Earth ponies were the least fortunate, but they could do the most damage with their bare hooves if they wanted to.

Out of the corner of his eye, Pierre could see an earth pony approaching him, one that he recognized immediately. He quickly got to his feet and saluted. “Captain.”

“At ease Commander,” Trotter said. “I’m only using this time to meet the entire crew before we depart.”

Pierre smiled slightly. “I was under the impression we already met sir.”

Trotter chuckled. “Yes, you’re right about that, but perhaps you can tell me where I can find the rest of the senior officers. Namely Lieutenant Fire Blaze and Engineer Brimstone.”

“Ah yes Blaze…I think she’s helping the others load up supplies on the ship. As for Brimstone…well I’m pretty sure he’s running diagnostic tests for the millionth time.”

“How fortunate they’re in the same area,” Trotter said as he started to towards the docking bay. He then paused for a moment before he looked back at the griffin. “By the way, once we’re on our way, you and I have a score to settle.”

Pierre grinned. “If you want to lose more bits, be my guest. I’ll gladly take them.”

“I’m still under the impression you cheated.”

“That’s a terrible stereotype!” Trotter only chuckled as he made his way towards the ship.

Lieutenant Fire Blaze was panting slightly after hefting a large container of foodstuffs into the cargo area of the ship. A proud pegasus (as were all, or so she thought), most ponies around her said she was a spitting image of the late Captain Spitfire, former leader of the Wonderbolts all those years ago. That was because she was Blaze’s great-great-great-great-great-grandmother and she had no problem accepting that.

Most in her line had followed suit of joining the Wonderbolts, but once the Alliance formed and space-travel became a real thing, most in her family had diverted off towards joining the EUP while some joined the ESP. As for Blaze, she was a decorated officer of the Alliance Navy and again hoof-picked to join the Manehattan’s crew.

She didn’t know most of the ponies and griffins (she thought she saw a dragon somewhere, hopefully one that doesn’t grow too big), but she was easy to get along with, for the most part. However, she did know Commander Bilodeau because they definitely had history. They both joined the Navy at a young age right after school and they had a rivalry of sorts. This was typical of pegasi and griffins: both had wings and big egos. Of course, the rivalry died down somewhat as they got older but now that they were serving on the same ship, Blaze was more than happy to pour fuel on the fire once again, even if he was her superior officer.

Once she was finished loading, she stood near the loading ramp, giving herself a small break before she went off to her next duty. She noticed Captain Star Trotter approaching and sat up straight and straightened out her uniform before saluting in his direction. “Good morning sir.”

Trotter chuckled. “With the discipline you all have, this might be the best crew I ever worked with. At ease Lieutenant. I just wanted to check up on you and see how everything was going.”

“We’re right on schedule sir. I just finished loading up all our foodstuffs. Should be enough to last us a few years as long as nothing goes wrong.”

“I’d be careful about saying that,” Trotter said. “If everything goes right in our mission, I’ll consider us very lucky then. Commander Bilodeau speaks highly of you.”

Blaze had a look of surprise on her face. “He does, sir?”

Trotter smiled. “Of course. Says your one of the finest officers in the Navy and that I should be grateful to have you part of this crew.”

“Okay he definitely did not say that.”

“Well…okay perhaps I’m paraphrasing here…”

Blaze snorted. “Figures…well I appreciate the kind words. But more importantly, I want to prove my worth to you sir.”

“You’ll have your chance Blaze and I’ll certainly be looking forward to it. You wouldn’t by chance know where Engineer Brimstone is, do you?”

“Yes sir, he’s in the warp reactor chamber still probably. He’s been down there for almost an hour.”

“Better safe than sorry I suppose,” Trotter shrugged slightly. “Keep at it then Blaze.”

“Yes sir.”

Trotter made his way into the ship and had to take a moment to gather his surroundings once he took the elevator to the main floor. The design for the ship was most impressive. The command area was large enough to allow easy access and was mostly dominated by the large panel in the middle which would display a large map of the galaxy. Just ahead was a small hallway that led to the cockpit. Trotter made a note to see the pilot after they left.

There were four floors on the ship. The main room he was on was the third, while the first was where the cargo area was and the fourth was the captain’s private quarters. He then went back to the elevator and took it down to the second floor.

The loud humming he heard once the doors opened told him that the reactor was running. Trotter had to remind himself that this was a dangerous area. There were two reactors, one that powered the large engines of the ship, and the other that powered the warp or FTL drive. The engine reactor was powered by a large crystal that extracted magical energy that pretty much supplied the entirety of the ship. The FTL drive was similar but the crystal used was actually pony-made as opposed to being made by nature. The FTL reactor only activated once the ship went to warp speed but the crystal that powered the ship had to be much more resistant due to fluxes in power which made these crystals a much needed accessory. As such, they were practically impossible to break using brute strength.

The reactors were on opposite sides of the floor and it was at the FTL reactor that Trotter found Engineer Brimstone. The red unicorn was looking at his tablet, most likely running diagnostic tests on the reactors to make sure everything was in the green. “I hope I’m not interrupting Engineer…” he said.

The unicorn almost jumped and quickly turned towards the captain. “Captain, I didn’t hear you coming in,” he said, quickly saluting.

“It is kind of hard to hear in here,” Trotter said. “At ease Engineer. How does everything look?”

“The entire ship is purring like a baby manticore so I’d say all is good,” Brimstone said.

“Glad to hear. I’ll be honest my experience with engineering is a bit spotty.”

“That’s why I’m here sir,” Brimstone nodded.

“If you don’t mind me asking…does your family do forging?”

“Ah…to be honest sir I get that question a lot,” Brimstone said. “Actually, I’m Brimstone III, named after my father and grandfather. Making weaponry is nice and all, I admit I’m good with my hooves, but I wanted to do more to challenge myself. So therefore I got into engineering and found myself working on a small number of ships.” He glanced around the floor. “Of course, nothing like this, so this ought to be a challenge but one I’ve already gladly accepted.”

“Well considering you’ve been assigned a whole team to yourself, I’m sure we’ll be in good hooves.” Trotter couldn’t help but stare at the reactor. “So…has this been tested before?”

“Of course,” Brimstone nodded. “We first tested with a smaller version on a smaller cruiser and we had instant success. However, it wasn’t as simple to make the reactor bigger to accommodate a bigger ship. We were a bit delayed due to the testing but this reactor has been put through five different testings in different situations and she’s handled herself beautifully.”

“I’ll let you continue your work,” Trotter said. He looked at his watch. “Less than two hours til launch…” As he made his way back up to the cargo area, he decided to have a quick word with Princess Twilight before they were to depart.

Departure

Twilight had spent some time meeting some of the Manehattan crew, mostly the senior officers and engineering crew, until one of her aides found her and relayed the message that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wished to speak with her. Twilight was happy to oblige as she went over to one of the video consoles. The connection soon went through as Celestia and Luna appeared on screen.

“I can tell by the look on your face that all is well?” Celestia asked with a grin.

“Of course,” Twilight replied with a grin of her own. “We're in the final stages. It's too bad you two can't be here.”

“From the station, we'll get to see the Manehattan take off at warp speed,” Luna said. “You can't beat that view.”

“I just can't believe it's finally happening,” Twilight said. “Over-wow I can't believe it's been over two thousand years...two thousand years ago I never would've imagined myself in this position.”

“Equestria truly has come a long way since then,” Celestia replied. “Are you nervous?”

“Honestly...a little,” Twilight said as she took a deep breath. “I may have gone on a few flights before but nothing like this. I'm just glad I have an experienced crew.”

“Chosen by your recommendations if I recall,” Luna smiled. “I think we'll all be looking forward to seeing your results.”

“To think... expanding our civilization to another system,” Twilight wondered out loud. “This'll be one for the history books.”

“Another achievement as well,” Luna said with a wink.

“Well, it's almost time for me to give my speech,” Celestia said. “My dear Twilight, I wish you all the best of luck. Be careful out there.”

“I will, and I'll make sure to make all of you proud,” Twilight nodded before the screen went dark.

It was then she noticed someone was waiting nearby. She turned around. “Oh Captain, my apologies, I hope I didn't keep you waiting.”

Star Trotter smiled. “Not at all your highness. I thought perhaps I could speak with all of you but now I see the others are at the station.”

“Sorry, I'm all you have, I'm afraid,” Twilight joked. “How is everything?”

“Everything is good to go,” Trotter said. “We'll be departing in less than an hour.”

“Very good,” Twilight replied. “Shall we make our way to the ship?”

The atmosphere on the bridge was very energetic. Some were excited, others were nervous as they all had a right to be. Maybe a few were intimidated by her presence. How often does a ship get to have it's own princess?

Twilight and Trotter made their way towards the large display in the middle, which currently displayed their own galaxy. Twilight pressed a button on the console that activated the intercom. “Attention all crew. Would all senior officers please report to the bridge? That is all.”

It didn't take long for the group to gather. Among them were Pierre, Blaze, and Brimstone. There were two others that Trotter apparently hadn't met. One was a female blue unicorn with a white and light blue mane, and the other was a blue dragon about Twilight's height.

Twilight picked up on Trotter’s confusion. “Captain, I don't believe you've met Dr. Blue Cross, our chief medical officer and Scorch, our chief of security.”

“A pleasure,” Trotter said as he greeted both of them. “I admit I haven't met many dragons in my lifetime.”

“Whatever stereotypes you may have heard are mostly true,” Scorch smiled. “Long ago, Princess Twilight came to the Badlands in search of someone to help lead the Alliance's security forces and Dragon Lord Ember was gracious enough to choose me.”

“He may not look it, but Scorch can easily take on a group of Yaks,” Twilight smirked.

“Considering our two races are finally at peace, I can't really confirm that statement,” Scorch replied.

“He's surprisingly humble as well,” Cross said.

“Dr. Cross is experienced with working with about five different races in Equestria,” Twilight said. “And she's a close friend of mine.”

“I still have that Cabernet you got me,” Cross smiled. “Captain, I'd be honored if you could join us once we've gone to warp speed.”

“I'd be delighted to,” Trotter said. “In fact, I have a few bottles to open as well so Pierre, Blaze, Brimstone, you're invited as well.”

“Well, if that's the case you might want to keep Blaze away from the alcohol,” Pierre joked.

“Yep, she shares the family tradition of getting pretty wild when she's under the influence,” Brimstone added.

“Oh piss off both of you,” Blaze growled.

“Alright, alright,” Twilight stepped in. “Now then, I realize for most of us, this is the first time we've all worked together on this ship. Even I'm slightly inexperienced in space travel, but I know if we all work together, and talk to one another, there's nothing we can't handle.”

“I couldn't say it any better myself,” Trotter said. “Now then, return to your stations. We'll be departing shortly.” There were quick salutes and the group dispersed.

“Captain,” Twilight then said, looking towards the earth pony. “I know this doesn't need to be said but I'll say it anyway: by all rights this is your ship. I'm just here as an Ambassador of sorts I suppose.”

“Ambassador Twilight, it's got a good ring to it,” Trotter said.

Twilight smiled. “I'm being serious captain.”

“I know,” Trotter replied. “Don't worry Your Highness, your role here is as important as everypony else's. After all, you're better at diplomacy than I am.”

“True I suppose...if we do happen to meet any new races let's hope all those years have paid off. Well, I shall return to my quarters until we're ready to launch.” Trotter nodded as she took the elevator to the top floor.

As Twilight entered her room, she noticed the console on her desk was flashing, indicating an incoming message. She went over to the screen and pressed a button, turning on the screen. She quickly smiled as she recognized the two mares on the screen.

“Hi Twilight!” Cadance grinned.

“Hi Auntie Twilight!” Flurry Heart almost yelled. It was hard to believe so long ago she was just a little filly, but now Flurry Heart was almost at her mother's height and she has matured a lot in the past thousand years.

“Hi you two,” Twilight smiled brightly. “I hope you two weren't waiting long.”

“Not at all, we just wanted to make sure we caught you before you took off,” Cadance replied.

“Are you excited?” Flurry asked.

“More than you know,” Twilight replied. “I'm just sad I won't be able to see you guys for awhile.”

“Oh, it'll go quicker than you think,” Cadance said with that motherly smile both Flurry and Twilight were very familiar with. “Besides, once communication is established over there, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk.”

“How long will that take?” Flurry asked.

“It'll take about five days just to get to Alpha Centaurus,” Twilight stated. “At that point, we'll send out probes that contain signal boosters and over time we'll be able to send and receive real time transmissions. Until then, the best we'll be able to do is long-range transmissions that'll take about seven hours or so to get to and back.”

“In that case, I'm not sure if I envy you now,” Flurry muttered.

“You shouldn't since Twilight was kind enough to let you stay at her castle,” Cadance said.

Flurry smiled. “I've heard I'm well loved in Ponyville.”

“That's because everypony who remembered you as a foal is gone,” Twilight reminded her.

“Oh come on...I wasn't that bad.” That got a laugh out of both Twilight and Cadance.

“Still, it's a shame Shining couldn't be here to see this,” Cadance said sadly. “He'd be really happy for you.”

“Yeah…” It was quiet for a few moments. “He'd probably be freaking out as well though.”

The two mares giggled. “Yes, that's true. He was always worried about Flurry, especially in her adolescent years.”

“'No colts,’” Flurry said in a gruff voice. “Honestly, he was like my shadow at times.”

“That came from your grandmother,” Twilight said with a wink. “Well girls... I'm afraid I'm gonna have to cut this short. We'll be departing shortly.”

“Yeah, we can't miss Celestia's speech,” Cadance replied. “One last time for old times sake?”

Twilight grinned as they both recited their now centuries old rhyme. “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!”

“You two are weird,” Flurry said, although she had an amused look on her face.

“Aw, you just never had a great foalsitter like your mother,” Twilight said. “I love you two.”

“We love you too Auntie Twilight,” Flurry said. “If anyone hurts my BAE out there they'll have to answer to me.”

“Let's hope that doesn't happen,” Twilight said as she waved them goodbye before the screen turned off.

They were in the final minutes before launch as Twilight came back onto the bridge. “Princess,” Trotter said, acknowledging her. “If you have a moment, I wanted to speak with our talented pilot.”

“Ah, of course,” Twilight nodded as she followed him towards the cockpit. They passed a small hallway of computer monitors as ponies assigned to their posts were practically glued to their screens.

They finally reached the large cockpit where a lone male pegasus was working at the controls. “Jester, how's everything look?” Trotter asked.

Jester turned around in his seat. “How does everything look? This filly is purring happily and all systems are green.”

“I don't believe we've met,” Twilight said. Unlike the other members of the crew, Jester was a recommendation from Trotter himself, stating he was “one of the best damn flyers in the Navy”, and that wasn't even about his career with ships. As Jester had once pointed out, “It takes a real flyer to understand their ship.”

“Just call me Jester,” Jester said as he shook her hoof. “I'm sure the captain has told you about my flight record.”

“It's impressive, that I know,” Twilight stated. “In fact, I'm wondering who wrote the part that stated, 'You won't find a better pilot in Equestria.’”

Jester grinned. “Just give me time Princess, I'm sure to win you over.”

“We'll see.” Suddenly, a chime resonated through the ship as the television screens turned on, depicting the Equestrian flag. The scene ten transitioned to Celestia who was standing at a large podium.

“Good morning to all in Equestria,” Celestia began. “Today is an important day, not just to the Alliance or the Equestrian Space Program, but all world over. Space travel has slowly become the norm these past few decades, but it is this day that we break our boundaries and go far to where nopony has gone before.

Today, we bid the EAS Manehattan a safe journey, the first ship with FTL technology, allowing us to travel to new systems in a matter of days. To the family and friends of those we bid farewell to today, we thank you for the sacrifices you have made. Your efforts will not go unnoticed. And to the crew of the Manehattan, you were all chosen for this once in a lifetime mission because you are all truly the best of the best.”

“That's right Princess, keep up the praise,” Jester said, which caused Twilight to roll her eyes.

“And finally, I give my personal thanks to the members of the ESP and Alliance Navy who worked day in and day out to make this moment. Equestria thanks you for your service. And now, I believe it's time to let the Manehattan be on her way. I wish you all good luck, especially to my faithful former student. I know you will make us all proud.” The transmission then cut off.

“Captain, I believe the honor is all yours,” Twilight declared.

“Take us out Jester,” Trotter said.

“Aye captain.” He activated thrusters, causing the ship to rise into the air. Once they were high in the air, he pushed up slightly on the throttle, causing the ship to lurch forward. “Might want to strap yourselves in.”

Twilight and Trotter were happy to comply as the Manehattan shot above the clouds. It wasn't long before the blackness of space came into view. “It never gets old,” Trotter commented. “Make sure we do a slow pass by Faust Station. We'll let the princesses get one last good look at us.”

The ship casually passed by the station and while Twilight couldn't see them, she was sure there were many ponies on the station waving to them, saying goodbye.

Once they were clear, Trotter looked to her. “Care to do the honors this one time Princess?”

Twilight grinned. “Engage FTL drive Mr. Jester.”

“Engaging FTL drive…” The ship lurched forward, shooting out towards space at high speed. To anyone watching, it looked as if the entire ship had been swallowed up by space.