This story is a sequel to Last one out
Space! It's big. You can find things in it.
Or so is the hope, at least. Nova Flare - Twilight's best pupil, at least right this moment - has been put forward as the first pony Captain of a Hegemony science vessel and so she really is aiming to find something out there in the inky black.
She does, obviously, though what she finds comes as something of a surprise to everyone...