Eyes going left to right, Twilight reviewed the list of recovered ponies on her display, refreshing it for the most recent data and checking a few off.

Cadance joined in for a moment from a display nearby. "We have plenty of ponies aboard now. More than I ever thought we'd manage."

"There are plenty more to be found." Twilight gestured up at the main display. "Who knows what crystals may be found there. We didn't see anypony we recognized, but they could still exist, in crystal form." She looked down, drawing a breath in. "Or, at least, I hope they do."

Cadance leaned over and rubbed her neck. "We all hope that is true, Twi."

"Incoming message." Harriet pointed to Twi. "Sending it your way."

Twi straightened herself up as Cadance backed away. With an adjustment of her glasses she felt ready just in time for the vision of a new M'hoth. This one had a vague resemblence to a black bear, if one ignored that this one had three arms. Twilight's mind raced, trying to imagine the genetic code that would allow a race with different base body plans.

"Greetings," the M'hoth spoke. "My name is Vosk. I am here to speak with the one called Twilight Sparkle, should they be present."

"I am here." Twilight put a hoof to her chest. "Allow me to apologize for the startle we gave. That was entirely a mistake."

The M'hoth sat down, looking relaxed. "Your arrival did give us pause and alarm. We were unable to detect you your ship at all. Then you appeared and made contact." They let out an almost chuckle of a sigh. "It is good that you did. If you were invaders, you threw away your element of surprise. Now, we would like to know why you resemble Starsk so closely. In a universe this vast, encountering another species so similar feels almost laughably impossible."

Twilight fought a twinge of a reaction, keeping herself even. "I believe we are Starsk, though we go by a different name. This will require some history, if that's permitted?"

"Please. Continue." He gestured to the side with one arm. "I feel certain this is already true the other way, but for etiquette, you are being recorded."

Twilight laughed, tension fleeing her. "As are you. All communication is recorded, and I forgot about that until you mentioned it. So, history. Our home world was suffering a cataclysmic event for our species. Rather than accept the end, or risk it all on any one world we might try to escape to, we devised a plan to scatter ourselves out among the stars, hoping some of them would survive."

The M'hoth sat up. Was that surprise? Their face was hard to read at times. That made Twilight all the more excited to think she was dealing with a true alien species. "That is a shatteringly reckless plan, for any one Starsk. Each individual would be far too likely to perish. Is your sense of community strong enough to drive you forward despite that, knowing it gave better odds for your species to survive?"

Twilight considered that a moment. "For one, yes. We consider friendship to be a guiding motivation in our lives, with its supporting elements of kindness, generosity, loyalty, laughter, honesty, and last but not least, magic." She tapped her hooves together. "The magic of a blossomed friendship. The magic of a people working together for a united purpose."

It laughed, or so she had to guess that was a laugh. "You are a religious people?"

Twilight blinked. "No?"

"You follow superstitions to your possible doom. I had thought only a religious people could be so bold, or foolish." They spread their arms out. "But your plan, it did work. I give ESS Resolute permission to approach. You will need to speak with a planetary dock if you wish to land. I suggest against it. Both sides would have to take considerable cautions to avoid new pathogens being exchanged." They bowed their head backwards, as if looking at the ceiling, and the video cut off with the end of the transmission.

Twilight sank back down in her seat. "Well." She rubbed between her brows. "That could have gone better."

Cadance nodded. "Could have been worse. I can tell you that much."

Harriet spun around in her seat, eyes closed as she thought. "They let us come closer. That is what we wanted, isn't it? What more were you hoping for, Captain?"

Twilight chuckled, smiling despite herself. "True enough. They gave us an in." She gestured to Cadance. "Can you take us in? Nice and gentle."

Cadance spread her wings. "Nice and gentle, you got it." She vanished, attention fully on the ship she was part of, or was, depending on your view of it. Only the faintest jump could be felt as it began its journey.

Twilight looked around the room, unable to stop her hooves from tapping. "We are dealing with a true alien species. Like the Buzgar, but easier to discuss things with without feeling like I'm the foal of the conversation." She rolled her eyes. "Aside that, their biology fascinates me. A race with a radial base body plan? That's incredible, I have a million questions for them. How do they balance with multiple limbs on each side of their core?"

Cadance's voice, disembodied from her being part of the ship, chimed in. "Don't forget that some of them seem to have different amounts of arms. We'll be back where we started, snug among their planets, in about half an hour."

Twilight tapped her hooves together. She had a big smile on her face as she considered the situation. She wanted to speak with more of them, but didn't want to seem overeager in her approach.

"Twilight, Darling." Rarity walked in from the hallway outside. "You're getting excited. I love to see it, truly, but don't lose yourself, dear. This is a delicate situation." She walked alongside Twilight's chair and offered her a small shoulder rub. "Just take a breath, you're doing fine."

"Thank you." Twilight's voice was soft with relief. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed that massage for a few seconds. "Rarity, since you're here, there's something I've been curious about that only you could answer."

"Hm?" She leaned in over the back of Twilight's chair, reared up on her hindlegs. "Whatever is it, dear?"

"Why did you stay a program, instead of being re-sleaved into a body?" Twilight sighed with contentment, melting under the attention Rarity was giving.

"Oh." Rarity's ears drooped. "That." She paused before continuing. "The truth is that I'm an artist. It's what I've always been, in my heart, and working with hard-light is a medium I adore. Besides, when I'm a program, I am not only the artist, I am the canvas as well." With a little blur, she became adorned in quite the overstated ball gown. "It's something of a superpower, being able to dress for the occasion in a blink of an eye."

Twilight chuckled softly. "That makes sense. You love working with holograms and hard-light constructs. I can't imagine a better way to express your art than being that very light yourself."

Rarity sighed, but it was more of a happy sound, a sigh of satisfaction. "And I get to explore the space age of fashion while I'm at it. New wants and old, all satisfied together." She burst into little giggles. "Feeling better, dear? Those new creatures are, hm, fascinating, aren't they? They don't seem to be very fashion-minded though."

Twilight hadn't even considered that, sitting up with the idea. "You're right." Replaying the vision she'd seen of the two, neither had any obvious covering. They had been naked, near as she could tell. "Fascinating! I didn't think a species could become space-faring without the concept of clothing, for identification if nothing else." She patted the side of her uniform. "The pockets are hard to go without too."

"Indeed!" Rarity turned Twilight's chair around and walked up closer, looking deep into her eyes. "Now, what is bothering you so?"

Twilight chuckled, letting the air out of her in a slow breath. "Less than what had bothered me before. But, answer this. If they're so advanced, why did they seem still unaware of the idea of backups? I fear the crystals may have been damaged, on purpose or entirely accidentally."

Rarity flicked her ears up and considered that a moment, her muzzle scrunching with thought. "I suppose that fear is reasonable. Still, remember, this isn't Equestria. We can't judge them for not being us, dear."

"No, no, of course." Twilight settled properly on her haunches. "If they are damaged or lost, I won't fault the M'hoth. I hope we can be the first, friendly, contact for them. We owe that much to the others that follow after us. Speaking of! Harriet? Send an update to Earth about who we've encountered. Be clear that permission to approach has not been granted to them, and they should await future updates before sending anything else to say hello."

Harriet looked up from the controls she'd been watching. "Aye captain. I will send a detailed update."

Cadance's voice chimed in, disembodied. "We're getting close enough for me to be scanning things in greater detail." There was a soft humming that surely wasn't technically required for a program, but she did it anyway. "Looking for any hints of crystals. These M'hoth are spacefaring, at least within their star system, so I have to check each planet."

"Keep me apprised of the results." Twilight rubbed her temple. "This is all a lot to deal with at once. It feels like there's not a moment's rest."

Cadance gave a little chuckle from nowhere. "Get a nap, Twilight. You have a capable crew, an in-law for a star ship, and loving friends aside that. We'll make do without you a moment."

Twilight shook her head lightly. "I know that." She sighed. "Still, this is what being a captain is all about, right?" She chuckled lightly at herself.

Harriet looked up. "Incoming message from the fifth planet. Gas Giant." An image of that planet appeared on the main screen. Aside from being a swirling gas giant, several megastructures straddled it like artificial rings that blinked gently into the void. "Put it on main?"

Twilight nodded, waving for it to happen. A moment later a new M'hoth appeared, this one having four arms. They stood tall, proud and noble, but were not threatening in their stance. At least, Twilight hoped she was reading their alien posturing correctly. "Hello. I am Twilight of the ESS Resolute. How can I help you?"

They gestured to a console nearby, invisible. "Greetings, Twilight. I am Throk, lead scientist of the planet you now approach." The mega-structures appeared around their image, with an inset image of a group of Starsk. "My helpers have been harassing me. They wish to speak with the 'Alien Starsk'. I tried to impress on them that you'd be occupied, but they refused to accept that as a reasonable answer. With your permission, I will allow them into the room."

Twilight hopped to her hooves with a bright smile. "I would love to speak with them."

The M'hoth nodded before stepping back as more Starsk filed in around him, pushing him out of the way and to the side of the room. They were all smiling, as was Twilight. They were ponies, just as that first hint had suggested. Twilight could see all three tribes represented, and even an alicorn. She inclined her head at that.

An earth pony of a Starsk reared up, face close to wherever the camera was. "Hello! You really are Starsk, from space! This is so amazing!" He backed up and looked around. "I'm Star Tracker. We've all wanted to meet you since we got word you were coming our way, but it's only now that Throk is letting us talk."

A pegasus flapped her wings. "You're pretty." Twilight blushed a little at the praise. "Sorry, just, um." The pegasus shrank back, looking embarrassed herself.

The alicorn approached with a more sedate smile. "I am Gas Gazer, head Starsk of this station." She pointed at the camera, and to twilight through it. "Are you the head Starsk of your ship?"

Twilight smiled warmly. "I am. I go by the title captain here."

Gas Gazer nodded gently. "Glad we understand one another." She spread her hooves out. "We have many questions for you. I imagine you have at least as many for us in return.

Author's Note

Such a curious species. At least they've opened the door for our curious Starsk, um, ponies.

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