The universe is vast, complex, and unknown. Ever since sentient beings took to the stars, colonized other worlds, forged alliances, waged wars, and even ascended to a higher plane of existence, the vastness of their universe continued to elude them. Even those, who have spread beyond their home galaxy forget how expansive their universe is. For the few that do comprehend the size of their cosmos in comparison to them, they sometimes fail to grasp what is beyond the bubble they inhabit, the multiverse.
The multiverse is its own vast and complex system that few spacefaring species acknowledge, let alone experience. Even those that have the privilege of traveling to other dimensions have only begun to scratch the surface of its intricacy. What most have failed to realize is that they have only traveled to other universes within their Multiverse Cluster. These Multiverse Clusters are groups of alternate universes sharing similar qualities with their predecessor universe. The formation of these clusters acts as an anchor to prevent universes with conflicting qualities from drifting into each other. Even then, not all conflicts can be prevented, normally resulting in universal annihilations, imperfect merges, or universes leaking contents into the void that separates them.
Then again, these conflicts are scarce within the scope of the multiverse. However, a rare chain of events have been set into motion that will shake the very foundations in the understandings of the multiverse by many sentient species. Unfortunately for one multiverse cluster, the Feliscian Cluster, being so close to discovering something crucial about the region they inhabit, will inevitably collapse to the same thing that will end them.
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10 minutes BSNE (Before Singularity Nova Event)
Universe ID: Feliscian Universe#00684
Location: Main Feliscian Orbital Research Station
Sitting at her desk, the small, blue, feline looking humanoid continues signing research grants to the various research departments running on the station. The feline in question is a female feliscian, standing just an inch over 4 feet tall, short dark blue hair contrasting her slightly lighter shade of blue quarter-inch long fur that covers her body from head to toes to the end of her tail, and the two blue ears poking through her hair. She wears a silk black uniform with an insignia in the shape of a teal infinity symbol with a horizontal yellow line going through it on the left side of the chest and four gold squares bordered by a gold rectangle to the left of the symbol, signifying that she is a Research Admiral. Her slim body fits snugly in her chair as she continues the painstaking task of approving or disapproving grant requests; this task is soon interrupted.
The empathic ability of her race alerts her of one of the research team leaders approaching the door to her office, full of excitement, but with a hint of worry. The door opens up and a male feliscian of equal height, teal colored fur and same shade of dark blue hair walks in. Excitement radiates from his body like a star that has recently undergone its first few seconds of nuclear fusion.
"Admiral Sino!" he salutes.
"Doctor Hamful. I sense excitement radiating off you. What news do you have for me?" Sino asks curiously.
The doctor composing himself, "my research team has been monitoring some unexplained dimensional readings from all over controlled space as well as beyond. So far, it appears that our dimensional counterparts have nothing to do with it,” finishing his statement.
"Hmm, this is quite fascinating, yet what is it you worry?”
“I fear that whatever phenomena this is could cause some damage if these dimensional readings increase in energy.”
She pondered for a brief moment. “Have your team continue monitoring these dimensional readings and notify me of any changes."
"Will do!" Hamful says before walking out the door of her office.
Refocusing her attention to the research grants on her desk, she gets a little annoyed by how much is left and decides that it is time for a break. She shuffles the unfinished grants in her hands before levitating them over to a nearby cabinet with her telekinesis, opening a drawer and neatly placing the pile inside before shutting it.
She takes the cup of tea sitting on her desk in her right hand and takes a sip from it, enjoying the mint flavor that calls out to her taste buds. Closing her eyes she relaxes, pondering on what Doctor Hamful's team could uncover.
It was only about six minutes when the station sirens went off, rudely interrupting her tea time. Sino quickly set her tea down, getting up from her chair and making her way to the control room hastily.
Upon arrival, she yells, "Report!"
One of the operators responds, "Ma'am, I'm not making sense of the data. Our detection grid is going off and the shields seem to be receiving stress all across its surface.
It was at that moment Doctor Hamful came running into the control room.
"Admiral, you need to have a look at this!"
Bringing up signal feed from his research department up onto a display screen, "The dimensional activities we’ve been monitoring are increasing at an exponential rate! We are unable to pinpoint the source of them, as if they are appearing from nowhere! "
The second operator interrupts as his display lights up with red dots.
"Ma'am, I'm reading the same results from more of our research beacons all across the galaxy. Several outposts stationed in nearby galaxies are also reporting the same readings!"
Hamful turns to the Admiral and responds with deep concern in his voice, "Admiral, at this rate, whatever this is, we may not have much time left.”
"How much time are we talking Doctor?"
"We are talking no more than a couple of minutes at best.”
Mulling over the situation at hand, Admiral Sino asks, “Does your team still have the experimental dimensional tech?”
“Yes, my team still has them in storage.”
“Good, I want you to-”
Her order was cut off by the sudden jolt of the station, knocking everyone off their balance, followed by a blue-white flash filling everyone’s view for a couple seconds before fading.
Rousing from her disorientation, "Report!"
"Admiral?" One of the operators responded, dread clear in his voice and fear radiating off him.
Sensing the fear in him, "What is it?"
"We've... lost contact with over three quarters of the beacons, stations, and the fleets..." he trails off.
Standing up, she walks forward, but not towards the operator, but towards the windows. Everyone soon followed suit when they noticed what she was looking at. Outside the window, they could see the stars, but they were not in the same place as before. Most were completely foreign to them. The star they orbit now has a companion star. Far beyond was the view of another galaxy. All they could wonder now was, “where are we?”
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47 years ASNE(After Singularity Nova Event)
New Universe ID: Singularity Nova Origin#190117047
Location: Placid Nebula
Currently one of the most unstudied nebulae in the new universe, the dust and gases of the 3.5 AU diameter Placid Nebula appear to remain stationary in their places within the grand cosmic art they make up. The unusually small planetary nebula radiates different shades of the rainbow, a true masterpiece that only nature can create.
There are a couple reasons why this particular nebula is one of the most unstudied and why it is named the "Placid Nebula." As its name suggests, the nebula itself appears to be calm, not a swirling typhoon of visibly charged particles ready to lash out at anything that gets too close. The nebula isn't only calm in its nature, but the ships that enter the nebula are either never seen again or found adrift, lifeless, damaged, and the crew dead. It is this nebula that any sentient being with knowledge of it gives their proper respects to it, not daring to venture too close for fear of ending up like one of the free-floating ships just out of safe salvaging range. Even then, few dare to come within a few light years of it in the first place, leaving it in peace.
However, despite the harmony this represents, the space outside the nebula is disturbed. A small shuttle drops out of FTL, warp space. The small white shuttle is a long and cylindrical auxiliary craft with retractable pylons fitted with blue glowing nacelles and sublight engines and a pair of pontoon-mounted missile launchers. The starboard retractable nacelle is leaking plasma while the starboard engine pylon is running at below 50 percent. Both missile launchers are no longer functional due to direct hits from weapons fire. Laser burns scar the armor platings all along the ship, but are mostly concentrated near the stern of the shuttle. Neon blue lines light up along the interlocking armor patterns from bow to stern, signifying that the shuttle's power source is still functioning.
A couple seconds after dropping out of warp, two more ships dropped out of warp. The two ships are identified as Grox attack cruisers. Level of military technology equal to that of the shuttle, loaded with Mega Proton Missile Launchers on both port and starboard sides, 360 degree High Speed Blasters and Mega Pulsers on the bow and stern of the ships, and a Mini Bomb Bay loaded with 10 mini bombs. The dull grey Grox Armor is a highly sophisticated self-repairing armor that repairs while out of combat.
The two Grox ships lock weapons onto the near defenseless shuttle and fire a pair proton missiles each. The two pairs of missiles impact what remains of the shields and the shields flicker offline.
"That's the last of our shields Captain. The enemy is preparing to launch another salvo of proton missiles at us," the current shuttle's AI, Vileera, announced.
The teal Feliscian sitting in the pilot's seat, her fur a frazzled mess and her black silk hair just as bad, tail wrapped around her waist with the tip twitching nervously while her hands are firm on the console as fuses blow and sparks fly everywhere around her. The options of the little Feliscian are limited. The ZPS (Zero Point Singularity) Core prototype is low on power and is now only able to perform warp as an FTL method but it won't be able to perform another warp jump for another two hours. The Grox have somehow been able to lock onto the unique energy signature the ZPS Core emits, making another warp jump pointless. The backup generator, a reverse engineered MK V Naquadah reactor, is nearly depleted of its own power reserves, meaning holo decoys and a photonic fleets are no longer options and she already used all her decoy probes too.
"Divert remaining power to maneuvering thrusters and activate the last two point-defense turrets at the stern!" She commanded to the AI. Then remembering something crucial, self-guiding missiles can outmaneuver objects larger than themselves in a vacuum environment in this universe. "Belay the former, redirect all non-essential power to polarizing the hull plating!"
Doing as commanded, the last two stern point-defense turrets deploy on the stern and take out the first pair of missiles while the second pair impact the polarized hull of the shuttle. Though not as effective as shields, it helps to prolong the hull's structural integrity.
The AI gets her attention, "Captain, your current heading will lead us into the Placid Nebula, would you like me to plot a route for you around the nebula?"
She was about to say 'yes', but then she reconsiders. "Negative, plot a course directly into the nebula Vileera. Divert remaining auxiliary power to the ZPS Core while I input the necessary adjustments into the console!" Knowing she won't be able to outrun the Grox going around the nebula, going into the nebula was her only bet. Not only to outrun the Grox, but to ensure that the technology on this shuttle did not fall into enemy hands. Her people's legacy is all onboard this shuttle now and having it fall to the Grox would only ensure the Grox's domination over the other major superpowers. As a matter of fact, nothing onboard this shuttle can fall into the hands of any current galactic power because all the level of technology onboard is superior to just about every other society encountered and the Feliscian Archives are onboard too, loaded with absolutely everything the Feliscians have accomplished. It would be a literal goldmine to anyone who got their hands on it, which is why she must find a place to hide it so that one day, a civilization of peace would one day find the stash if she were to die before her journey was complete.
"Plotting course into the Placid Nebula," Vileera responded, "Captain, you do realize that the nebula you are flying the shuttle into will more than likely be your coffin?"
"I'm am fully aware Vileera, which is what I am counting on the Grox to think. I just need to stay in the nebula long enough for the Grox to leave so that we can make our escape."
"Yet we do not know how long the Grox will wait for us before declaring you to be dead."
"Have faith in me Vileera, one way or another, the Grox will not take this shuttle!"
"So only over your dead body, Captain?" Vileera attempting in a bit of AI humor.
"If they can find it." The Feliscian smirking to herself.
The shuttle rocks a bit from enemy blasters hitting the stern, interrupting the conversation.
"Stern armor plating at 23%!"
"Power up the ZPS Core with the modifications I've made, then activate it on my mark.”
The shuttle quickly closes the distance between it and the edge of the nebula, quickly pursued by the two Grox attack cruisers, one of them falling back a bit cautiously. The little Feliscian dwells on potentially the last moments of her life, being the last of her kind, the last Fleet Captain, entrusted by her people to protect their legacy and if she were to die, she should at least find a race worthy of accepting the responsibilities of upholding their legacy to one day bring back the peace she once knew.
Right before the shuttle enters the edge of the nebula cloud, the Captain yells, "Mark!", before quietly whispering to herself, "For Halcyon."
Right on que, Vileera activates the ZPS Core with the modifications applied. The small area of space around the shuttle starts to forcefully conform to certain physics being applied before the shuttle enters the outer regions of the nebula. The Grox ships slow down to a stop just outside the nebula boundary and wait for their prey to crawl out.
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Location: Ponyville
The Alicorn Princess, Twilight Sparkle, wakes up from her night's nap. From her bed, her gaze drifts over to the window. Luna's night was still present, but Twilight knew well enough that the night will need to give way to Celestia's sun soon. She yawns the sleepiness from her eyes before climbing out of bed towards the balcony just outside of her room. Surrounding the door in her magic, she opens it to reveal the still and pristine night.
Walking through the door and towards the edge of the balcony, she sees Luna's moon start to make its descent towards the horizon. Stopping at the edge of the balcony, she lifts her forehooves off the floor and rests them on the edge of the guard rail, looking towards the direction of Canterlot, just in time to see the Luna's moon set and Celestia's sun start to rise. The sky transitions from the clear dark night to the pink and orange glow of the horizon. It was truly a beautiful sight to take in as the morning breeze takes into effect, causing Twilight's mane to start waving in the wind, closely mimicking the manes of the two ruling sisters of Equestria.
The song birds come out to welcome Celestia's sun as the bats and owls turn in for the day. The green grass around the castle sway to the breeze as the bees leave their hives to harvest pollen from the opening morning glories. Ponies wake up to start the day like they normally do as Twilight takes in the melody of life.
It has been 49 Equs years since she became a princess. She and her friends have been through many challenges and pushed through every single one that came about. With every challenge brought her friends closer together and the nations of the world into a closer relationship. It seems as though nothing can stop the forces of Harmony now.
In a flash of light, another alicorn appears by Twilight’s side. Though it isn’t Celestia or Luna, not even Cadence or Flurry Heart for that matter, but Starlight Glimmer, Princess of Destiny.
“Morning Starlight, here to enjoy the sunrise with me?”
“Yea, had nothing better to do.”
Twilight ponders to herself for a moment before asking, “Starlight, have you ever wondered that maybe one day, civilization as we know it will reach a point to where we can no longer advance? That one day, all advancements will crawl to a standstill?”
Starlight looks up to the sky, thinking about the questions for a second. “Well, I’ve never really thought about it, but to be honest, I doubt we can never stop going higher. Even if we did reach the peak, we would never stop changing. As a people, we continue to change, whether we like it or not, for better or for worse. Let us hope it is for the better.”
Twilight smiles, “let us hope.”
The two alicorns continue watching the sun rise higher in the sky as the moon dips below the horizon. The sky transitions from an orange to a near cloudless blue sky. The stars fade one by one, until one remained. It grows brighter...wait, growing brighter?
“Starlight, is it just me or is that star getting brighter?”
“It...it is growing brighter and it’s moving. A shooting star maybe?”
“I guess that makes sense, though I can’t shake the feeling something is off about it.”
“Yea, same here because it seems to be moving towards us…”
“What?!” Twilight exclaims, seeing as the shooting star’s direction is veering towards them. “Oh Celestia, this better not be one of Luna’s pranks!”
The ‘shooting star’ seems to be slowing down, but not slowing down fast enough. It crashes some distance away from them, the dust and smoke rising from the site of impact. The two alicorns looked at each other and nodded in wordless agreement before spreading their wings and taking off towards the crash site.
In short time, they landed near the crater and spotted nothing they would expect from a meteor impact. They analyzed the bright neon blue lines of light flickering on the large white cylindrical object with pontoon like structure sticking out on each side. Approaching cautiously, they approach what appears to be the front, attempting to view the interior through the window but with no luck as it is evident to be a one-way mirror.
“I certainly do not recognize the design of this thing. Do you, Twilight?”
As the two of them start walking to the otherside, “Nope, certainly not from Equestria. Doubt it is from any of the neighboring nations.”
Upon reaching the other side, they find what appears to be the closed entrance.
“Starlight, give me a hoof with this.”
Following Twilight’s lead, both alicorns light up their horns in a magical aura and surround the entrance in the same magical aura and pull on it. With some effort, the locking mechanisms break and the ramp-lowering mechanism takes over. Releasing the ramp of their magic, they both watch the ramp lower itself down to the ground. Once the smoke from the interior clears, both of the alicorns' jaws drop while their eyes widen. If the sight of the exterior of the ship didn't break them, the interior sure did.
Fixing the broken gears in her head, Starlight is the first to speak. "T-twilight, this technology is completely beyond what Equestria has accomplished, and without magic from what I can tell."
Twilight, recovering from the imaginary monkey wrench, furiously scribbles down notes onto a notepad she just conjured up, making sure not to miss any detail while examining the interior before cautiously walking in. Starlight follows close behind, preparing herself for anything that may harm the pair.
Within the teal interior, wires of different color and composition hung from the buckled ceiling. On their right, a console with a cracked screen was on fire. The fire suppression system attempting to put out the bluish-green flames. Further down on the right appears to be left for cargo space. On the left, there are cushioned seats that gives the impression of passenger seats.
As the alicorn pair continue to walk further into the interior, a separate room extending halfway across the width of the hallway with a pair of sliding doors, one slightly ajar. Painted on the doors, Twilight depicts a staff surmounted by wings and a pair of serpents coiling up around the staff. Using her telekinesis, Twilight pushes the ajar door to the side. Peering inside, she spots bandages, syringes, bottles of pills, and other items for medical purposes. Taking note of it on her notepad, Twilight continues down the hallway with Starlight close behind.
They walked about one third of the way into the interior, according to Twilight's estimate, before coming up upon another pair of sliding doors with thick armor plating on them. Latching onto one of the doors with the lavender aura of her telekinesis, Twilight slides the door open with surprising ease.
Looking behind her, Twilight looks to Starlight, the latter giving a nod of approval that she’s ready before the former turns her head back forward. One hoof in front of the other, Twilight slowly walks through the doors into the next section of the craft. The room looks to be in better condition than the previous section, if the nearly complete white walls and the few wires and consoles out of place were any indication.
However, there is one thing that begs the attention of the two. In the center of the room is a cylindrical structure a meter in diameter and half a meter in height, but that isn't what has drawn their attention. The object in question, half of it sitting inside the cylindrical base, was a purely black sphere surrounded by a bigger blue, glowing see-through sphere, levitating from some unseen force.
Walking up to the cylinder, Twilight hesitantly places her right fore hoof on the blue sphere before pressing her hoof against the smooth, glowing surface. Frowning in confusion, she casts a scanning spell on the two spheres. Starlight walks up to Twilight's side on her right, observing for a moment before speaking.
"Twilight? What seems to be the trouble?"
"I'm not sure," Twilight responds with worry, "the blue sphere has the properties of a shield spell, but I am not sensing any magic being used. As for the black sphere inside it, whenever my scanning spell goes over it, it does not return, as if it is being absorbed."
"It must be really important judging by the condition of this section compared to the previous ones," Starlight surmises as she takes a look around the white room again. "And from the layout of this room, it looks to be the core of-"
Starlight cut herself off when she heard the sound of something falling followed by what she thought were voices. Starlight turns her head to Twilight, having noticed it too, she nods her head back to Starlight. Nodding in agreement, the two walk to the next pair of sliding doors ahead. When they reach the doors, Starlight casts an invisibility spell around them and a sound dampening spell around the doors as Twilight wraps the left door in her magical aura before sliding it open. The door didn't so much as let out a squeak before sliding all the way open.
Walking through the opening, the two briefly look around, taking in what appears to be the bridge or cockpit before their attention shifts to what's lying on the floor. To Twilight's surprise, the teal form on the floor looks a lot like Capper back when the Storm King invaded Canterlot. However, the tail is thinner, the hair is silk black with smaller cat-like ears poking through, but its face does not have much of a feline appearance to it. There is a more human resemblance to it.
Before Twilight could ponder more about it, Starlight drops the invisibility spell around them as she approaches the form in front of them. Twilight was starting to take a step forward when an unrecognizable voice speaks around them, startling them. Then the teal form seems to raise its head a bit and speaks. Not sensing any real danger present, Twilight starts walking again and passes Starlight before stopping a few steps from the teal feline. Looking over it, she notices what appears to be an injury where it is presumably just above the waist on its left side.
Turning her head back, Twilight grabs her companion's attention. "Starlight, it looks to be injured and I'm not sure how to help it. I could try a healing spell but I don't know how it would affect it."
Starlight, walking to Twilight's side, "I'm not sure either. If I am correct in my assumption, then who or whatever it is is not from around here or our world. To make matters worse, nothing in here has a magical signature, suggesting that all of this came from a place without magic."
"That is a little frightening to think about, places where no magic exists at all? Even the human world I visited has at least some traces of magic."
The feline speaks again, this time, looking towards the pair of ponies. The two not being able to understand, Twilight responds. "Um, hi, we are unable to understand you yet," turning her head to Starlight, "I should at least attempt to use a translation spell so we can understand it."
"That will not be necessary."
The two ponies quickly turn their heads back to the feline, surprise on their faces. The feline chuckles a bit, sounding more feminine now, "The translation program started running when you two started talking in here."
Twilight blinks a bit before asking, “so are you the owner of th-”
“Yes, I’m the captain of this ship,” the blue feline interrupted.
"Oh, ok, well I'm Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship," then gesturing to Starlight, "and this is Starlight Glimmer, Princess of Destiny!"
"It isn't really that big of a deal," responded Starlight with a sheepish smile.
Placing her hands under herself, "well, it is a pleasure to mee-," the feline winced in pain when she started pushing up. Looking down at her injury, she places her left hand over it. Closing her eyes in concentration, her hand and her wound starts to glow in a faint blue aura. Twilight couldn't sense any magic being given off. Starlight notices this too but does not comment on it as the two watch in bewilderment.
It was a few seconds before the feline stopped what she was doing and sighed. "Drats, it is worse than I thought."
"Captain, your vitals are dropping rapidly!" spoke a feminine voice that the pair of ponies could not see, looking for the source of it.
"Vileera, is the medical table still operational?"
"No Captain, it was damaged during the crash landing," then a six inch tall, blue glowing form appeared out of thin air and stood in front of the larger feline, "holo emitters back online."
Twilight, slowly trying to grasp the situation, came to the realization the new creature looks like the same species as the injured one. Looking back to the injured one, Twilight notices that she appears to be in deep thought on her situation before speaking again.
"Vileera, I want you to prepare to transfer control."
"Captain?" Vileera questioned.
"No arguments, it seems that my journey is coming to a close," she winces in pain again.
"Captain, are you sure this is a wise choice? How will we know who to trust?"
Smiling at Vileera, she responds, "we have already found our successors and I can sense the emotions radiating off of them. Not only do I sense worry and sympathy, but something stronger, a bond that keeps them together. Something that would have made my people proud of."
"I think I understand Captain, it doesn't appear you have much time left..."
"Um, what's going on exactly?" Starlight asks the pair of felines. "And what do you mean she doesn't have much time left? You don't mean-"
Cutting Starlight off, "Yes, I am dying, not the best circumstances for first contact, but-" she winces in pain before relaxing herself.
Twilight taking a step forward, "but isn't there anything we can do? I could just-"
Raising her hand to cut Twilight off, "no, there is nothing you can do," her voice getting weaker.
"But but..." Twilight stuttered.
“No buts, that’s final.” Then the feline tilts her head up a bit to look at the hologram, "thank you, Vileera, for helping me get this far," she coughs a bit, rather weakly.
"I should be thanking you, Captain, for taking me with you. The experiences have been most enlightening and educational."
"I'm glad... f-for that..." the feline's head lowers to the floor, her eyes close shut, and one last shuddering breath is drawn before it is all released.
The hologram stares at the now lifeless body before going through her programmed routines. "Marking the time of death of the last feliscian, Captain Zena. Activating transfer protocol sequence. Executing sequence. Transfer complete. Control of the Feliscian Archives and technologies have been transferred to Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship."
"Wait...WHAT!?" Both Princesses shouted in unison.
Author's Note
Fair warning, this is not only my first fanfic that I'm putting some dedication into, but this chapter is more or less and information dump. Other than that, I hope you enjoy reading.
P.S. If you find any grammar errors, please point it out so I can have a look, thanks.
“End of archival recording,” said the voice of Vileera. The scene around the regal form of Twilight disappeared as she watched the visage of the younger forms of herself and Starlight fade away into lose photons before they too vanished, replaced by a room with a grid pattern design.
“I feel the need to ask, why did you want to rewatch this event from over two hundred years ago?”
Twilight remained silent for a few seconds before answering. “It is a reminder. A reminder of how quickly everything can change. A reminder of how far we’ve gone to be here now. Something to fall back to when I give my speech for the pre-launch ceremony today.”
Turning to the door, Twilight opens it, revealing one of the many interior hallways of Twilight’s Castle of Friendship. Back in the day, it would be devoid of anypony, but these days, it was bustling with everycreature. Everyone coming to and fro from their posts, making way for the princess as she walked down the now technologically upgraded halls.
Vileera’s hologram materialized next to Twilight as she walked with her. “I am pleased to tell you that the new AI will soon be ready to take over my position in the castle, though it will still need to get used to the network and installations but it will learn the more time it spends.”
“Good to hear everything is on schedule. Timing is going to be crucial within the next couple days,” Twilight said with a content smile. Her walk eventually lead to one of the balconies in the back of the castle. “Now keep things in order for me while I’m away today. With everything on schedule, we’ll have that AI take your position tomorrow, leaving you free to come with me.”
“I’ll keep things in order from here,” Vileera called out as Twilight flapped her wings and took off. After watching her fly off for a few more seconds, she went back to helping with preparations.
With Vileera taking care of things, Twilight could enjoy some time in her thoughts as she flew over the buildings of the expanded Ponyville. Much of them are taller and made of sturdier materials than before. The exceptions were some of the iconic buildings like the Town Hall, Sugarcube Corner, and the Schoolhouse, preserved as tourist attractions. Overall, it was starting to take on the look of a small city.
Then there it was, the place of her destination, the Stellar Academy of Ponyville, one of several major establishments around Equestria. The sight of it made her smile. She made a proposal of setting them up over two decades ago and here is the first one built, brimming with activity.
After she circled around a bit, she spotted the pony she was looking for. Coming in for a landing, her approach landed her right next to a mare with a pink lavender coat and a purple and teal mane and tail, Princess Starlight.
“Hey Starlight!”
“Oh, Twilight! You all ready for today’s pre-ceremony?”
“Of course! I wouldn’t want to miss this day for anything!
“Good, because everyone is starting to gather now. I wish I could chat with you now but I need to attend some pressing matters real quick. See you in about an hour!” Starlight finished before trotting off and waving.
Twilight waved back, “See you soon!” Then turning towards the main academy building, she headed on in through the double doors.
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The courtyard was packed full of everycreature. You got your ponies here, changelings there, gryphons and hippogryphs, minotaurs, kirins and a few others. Twilight could see them all. The recruits and veterans in their uniforms all filling the seats on the right, the civilians filling the left, and the news reporters and photographers in the front and the very edges of the crowd.
Twilight watched from the side of the stage as she waited for her queue. She listened to what Captain Night Star had to say.
“I look forward to seeing all of you whom have trained under me for when we launch tomorrow. All of you know the risks we will be undertaking but that didn’t stop our curiosity from growing. You all may have signed up for different reasons but all of us have a common goal when we signed up. We are here to not only explore and make new friends, but to bring serenity to where it is needed.”
There was a second long pause before he continued. “Now as for the reason why we are all gathered here,” this was her queue, “I will pass that over to Princess Twilight.”
Twilight stood up and headed over to the podium, walking by Night Star as he went off stage. Standing behind the microphone-filled podium, she gave the waiting crowd a warm smile. Glad that she went light on the attire as today was supposed to be hotter than usual, opting for just the gold shoes, necklace, and tiara. All the cameras focused on her, not wanting to miss a single moment. The crowd waiting long enough, she spoke in a gentle but confident voice.
“Today is a special day. A day that represents how far we’ve come in such a short time. As a result, today will be the end of another chapter in our society because today will be the last day we stay in our star system. Tomorrow will be the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. A tomorrow that marks the day that we first set out to the stars beyond our own, beyond the safety of the nebula that protects us from harm the outside presents. The risks seem too much, but there are echoes from beyond. Echoes of lives out there, begging for help. In a universe where no help arrives, we will be the help they need.”
The crowd murmured for a couple seconds before she continued.
“The reason why we are here now is because we were entrusted with this duty. The last of her kind, Zena, saw something in us. She saw something about us that would have made her people proud of us for. It is because of this that with her last few breaths she gave us access to everything her people ever knew. Without her and her personal AI, Vileera, to assist us, we would most likely not have gone beyond the Industrial Era at this point. Therefore, we at least owe it to her and her people to try and help those that are in need from across the stars themselves.”
“Now, I know a lot of you are getting impatient. You all want to hear about the two new ships of a new class our engineers have worked on. More importantly, the name of one of the two ships that is launching tomorrow.”
Everyone waited in anticipation, catching on to every world Twilight says.
“The name of the ship that launches tomorrow is the ESS Harmony.”
She lets that sink in.
“The reason this name was chosen is because it represents what we are. Looking back to our past, our races were once divided, acting independently and even hostile to each other. But we came together and we coexist in harmony. The starship Harmony will be the first of many ships not unstaffed capable of leaving our system safely and set out to the stars to show everyone that even in darkness, Harmony can still exist.”
After a brief pause, she looked to the side of the crowd wearing uniforms, “I look forward to seeing Captain Night Star and the rest of the crew of the ESS Harmony tomorrow on launch day as I will be onboard during their journey.”
Twilight smiled back to the rest of the crowd, “tomorrow, we plant the Seeds of Harmony.”
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Next morning…
“Is she ready?” Twilight asked in the computer mainframe room of the castle.
“Yes, she’s optimal for transfer.” Vileera assured her.
“Alright, begin the transfer.”
“Initiating transfer to mainframe...
Transfer complete…
Synchronization in progress…
Synchronization complete…
She’ll be online in 3, 2, 1…”
A magenta colored hologram of a pegasus appeared on the console. It opened its eyes and looked around. Then its gaze set on Twilight.
“Systems operational,” it reported in a mare’s voice, “Good morning Princess Twilight.”
“Please Dream Shift, just Twilight is fine.”
“As you wish, Twilight,” Dream Shift responded.
Twilight turned to Vileera, “Can you confirm that her systems are optimal?”
“She’s running at peak efficiency.”
“Good. Dream Shift, castle’s yours until we get back.”
“I’ll keep things in order until then,” Dream Shift responded as Twilight and Vileera left the room.
Back in the great crystalline hallways of the castle, busier than ever, Twilight and Vileera walked side by side to their next destination.
“The shuttle is currently outside waiting for us. And no, no last minute calls or arrangements that need to be made Twilight.’
That got a chuckle out of her. “I see you’ve picked up on my habits all those years being with me.”
“Should have done so sooner, would have saved us a few more seconds.”
“That is true as I never like being late for anything. Speaking of not being late, we’re here.”
The two walked out of the main back entrance of her castle into a large courtyard. Off to the side, a shuttle waited in the designated landing zone with a few escorts hovering in the area. Vileera transferred her data into the shuttle as Twilight stepped in. After giving the pilot the go ahead, Twilight looked out the window as the door hissed to a close and the shuttle took off.
As they got higher, Twilight could see the whole courtyard, she could see the sculptures made to honor the Element Bearers that she got to call her friends. Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty. Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter. Rarity, Element of Generosity. Applejack, Element of Honesty. Flutteryshy, Element of Kindness. Ever since their passing, no one else was chosen to be the next Element Bearers. All of them formed a circle around the sixth statue in the center, Twilight herself, Element of Magic, and Spike, her number one assistant back in the day.
Soon, the view of the courtyard was barely visible, only the view of Ponyville and the Everfree. Over the years, Ponyville expanded along the edges of the Everfree Forest, starting to take on the form of a crescent moon. The main reason why the Everfree wasn’t simply clear cut was to preserve the endemic species living there. Such places are unique, finding species that are only found in one area and nowhere else. An exception to the preservation was the path leading from Ponyville to the Castle of the Two Sisters and the Tree of Harmony.
Before she could continue her train of thought, the pilot called out, “ETA three minutes to our destination.” She looked towards the front through the cockpit, able to make out that they are leaving the upper atmosphere into the vacuum. Further above the planet, Equs, she could see a large structure in high orbit. Said object is their main shipyard, bustling with many small shuttles and auxiliary ships. Normally, few small military crafts patrolled the area, but today will have several more.
Upon closer inspection in one of the larger docks, Twilight was able to make out the dock she was looking for. From the nose the light purple hull extends towards the long narrow neck of the ship. Horizontally cutting through the neck is a saucer section that slowly rotates separately from the main framework. Beyond that, the neck widens in a gentle crescent towards the main body. Where the body is at its widest, it merges with a ring on its port and starboard sides that encompasses the entire width. The inside sections of the ring gives off a bright blue glow.
As they made their way around back, the hull gently rounds out, creating a single smooth curve from one side to the other. Atop the main hull near the back, their shuttle approached a pair of hangar bay doors. The doors opened to the sides as the shuttle grew close, revealing the atmospheric membrane field protecting the hangar from rapid decompression.
Upon landing on the designated landing pad, the hangar doors behind closed before the landing pad lowered down to the floor below. When the pad came to a stop, Twilight stood up from her seat and pressed the door switch with her hoof. The shuttle’s door slowly opened, revealing Captain Night Star with a powder blue coat, mint colored eyes, mane a medium blue, teal, and a hint of black from left to right and tail from top to bottom.
“Welcome aboard Princess.”
“Thank you, Captain. Though I have stated several times, just Twilight is fine, but I have the feeling you won’t do that.”
Night Star chuckled, “you know me well enough.” Taking a crystal disk out of one of his pockets, “we should get Vileera set up right away.”
Floating the disk over, Twilight took it in her magic and inserted it into one of the shuttle’s slots. After a few moments, Vileera was transferred and Twilight removed the disk. Then Night Star led them into an elevator. Once inside, Twilight could see they were on Deck 1, labeled as “Hangar Bay.” Night Star pressed for Deck 4, “Central Deck.” Twilight remembered from the last time she saw the schematics that the Central Deck contained the Bridge, Medical Bay, Mess Hall, and the Holodecks.
In about a minute, the elevator stopped on Deck 4 and the doors opened. Walking out, Night Star led Twilight through the hallway. Throughout the way, Twilight observed the meshwork of purple crystals and blue alloys within the walls. Magitech in just about every corner one looks, serving a purpose aboard the ship. Even the most simple things such as the lights, door switches, and the display panels represents the epitome of the architecture their people has to offer.
Soon enough, they walk through a pair of blast doors before Night Star announced, “Welcome to the bridge.”
Upon entering, Twilight could make out some of the main parts in the bridge. On her right, there was the Security Station against the wall and the Weapons Station a little ways in ahead. In front of her was the Captain’s Chair and the Holotable in the center of the bridge. At the front of the bridge was the Helm on the right and Ops on the left just before the Main Viewscreen. Then to her left she was able to make out the Auxiliary Stations.
Lining the walls with the Main Viewscreen were other screens linked to outside cameras and sensors to act as the eyes and ears of the ship, giving everyone a 360 degree view.
Night Star led Twilight to the Holotable and pointed to a slot on it. “Here’s where you’ll insert the disk.”
Twilight inserted the disk containing Vileera. The Holotable lit up with a holographic display of Vileera’s files being transfered. Once completed, Vileera’s hologram appeared on the table.
“Everything appears to be optimal. I will do a systems check on everything before ship launch, Captain Night Star.”
“Thank you Vileera. Princess, we have some time before ship launch. Would you like me to show you to your quarters?”
“Actually, there is someplace I would check on first,” Twilight stated.
========================
Twilight stared at a light-blue orb, softly glowing softly in its chamber.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Twilight asked Night Star.
“Indeed it it. To think that it came from the Tree of Harmony itself is quite amazing.”
Twilight’s smile grew. “And not only did it give use two bigger seeds around the time we started construction on our two new ships, but a month before completion, it has been producing seeds at a large rate. It is like the Tree is encouraging us to make the necessary steps.”
“Well, I wouldn’t put it past it. After all, the Tree brought all the nations of our world together,” he proudly said, looking at the path on his left shoulder with the shape of the Tree of Harmony on it, “and I wouldn’t doubt that it wants us to spread that harmony to the stars.”
“All of this wouldn’t be possible without the gift brought to us by one no longer with us.” She stated before turning around to look at the finished product of the bigger ZPS Core.
Night Star followed her gaze. “That is very true, to think that what was once a dream is now a reality.”
The two stood there in silence for a brief moment before Twilight spoke. “I should finish unpacking my things in my room before actual launch. I believe you have things to attend to as well?”
“Yes Princess, I do.”
Twilight looked at him. “There you go again, calling me ‘Princess’ regardless of what I say,” she chuckled, “I’ll be back on the bridge before ship launch.” With that, she walked out of the designated Core Room.
========================
“Launch in T-minus 2 minutes,” announced the ship’s automated computer.
Twilight sat in her designated chair watching everyone on the bridge doing their last checks and standing by. The blast doors to the bridge opened and Night Star entered.
“How is it looking Vileera?” was the first thing he asked.
Vileera’s hologram appears on the holotable. “All systems look good Captain.” She paused before saying, “receiving transmission from Princess Celestia.”
“On screen.”
Princess Celestia appeared on the screen with a vain smile on her face.
“Captain Night Star.”
“Princess Celestia.”
“Are you and your crew ready?” Celestia asked.
“About as ready as we’ll ever be. Was there something you need?”
“Yes,” she started, “Twilight?”
“Yes Celestia?” Twilight asked as she stood up and walked towards the viewscreen.
“Good, now that you are both here, as you may know, the leaders of the world are looking to our first interstellar ship. Some are curious, some excited, while others are worried. However, and I do believe I speak for everyone when I say this, we wish you all good luck on your journey.”
“Thank you,” Twilight and Night Star said before the transmission was cut.
“T-minus 30 seconds.”
“Alright everyone, make sure you’re at your stations,” Night Star declared.
The female thestral at the conn addressed Night Star, “Captain, docking clamps have been released and Control has given us the go for launch.
“Acknowledged.” Turning to Twilight, “This is it, the first steps to the stars.”
“T-minus 10 seconds.”
Twilight smiled, looking forward at the front screens. When the countdown reached “0” Night Star gave the order.
“Engage.”
