//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: My battery is low, and it’s getting dark // by Naughty_Ranko //------------------------------// To: Christine Summers, C/O Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena California From: Starlight Glimmer, Castle Road 1, Ponyville EQ Dear Christie, thanks for your last letter. I’m happy to report that Oppy was very enthusiastic about the schematics for Dragonfly you passed along from your colleagues at APL. He’s taken to the agility upgrades like a fish to water and wants me to express his thanks to you. I’m fine as well, by the way. Still no lingering aftereffects from the radiation, so you can stop asking about it in every letter already. More importantly, how are you doing? It sounds like they’re putting you through the ringer with all the additional workload over there. You really should take some time off soon to take that second honeymoon with Jack. “We had a good burn. But now the seven minutes of terror begin,” Christie said, standing at JPL Mission Control. She much preferred the cozy setup to the overblown Mission Control in Houston that had been required for the monumental coordination efforts of the Serendipity mission. “Technically, they’re already over,” Jack’s voice could be heard saying over the closed circuit. “What was that, GUIDANCE,” she asked, looking over at her grinning husband. He spread his hands. “Just saying, FLIGHT. Light lag and all. Merci has either landed safely in Gusev Crater by now or she’s all over the southern hemisphere in little pieces. All we’re doing is waiting for the signal to arrive.” “Thanks, GUIDANCE,” Christie said, smiling in spite of herself as she could feel the rest of the control room relieve some of their tension through chuckles. “Thanks for the insight.” “That’s alright, honey. I’m here to help.” “EECOM, we all ready for the post descent checklist,” she went on. “Roger that, FLIGHT,” the controller replied. “Don’t worry. The artist formerly known as the Mars 2020 Rover will be ready. First thing to check is the MER repair kit. Gotta make sure we have those jumper cables ready for Spirit.” Christie rolled her eyes as another chuckle went through the room. “Figures. The one time Tom is far away where he can’t annoy me, and I’m on shift with all the biggest jokers in the greater Pasadena area.” Even the press had found their funny bone, it seemed. The mission had been dubbed The Most Expensive AAA Call in History by some. But everyone in this room knew that without Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity and now M.E.R.C.I. – the Mars Exploration Rover Care Initiator – would never have been possible. Merci would of course go on to carry out her own scientific mission in the ongoing exploration of Mars. But NASA managers had caved to public opinion. Given the place in history they’d secured for themselves, a small detour was a small price to pay if there was even the slightest chance of bringing the final Mars Exploration Rover back to life. And even if it wasn’t meant to be, Merci would pay her respects to her forefather and carry on his legacy by exploring the red planet and perhaps even returning samples back to Earth down the line. I keep telling Twilight the same thing. About taking a vacation, I mean. Kind of hard to have a honeymoon when you’re single. But it can’t be easy to meet guys when you’re a reigning monarch, get called upon to solve friendship problems all the time AND run Equestria’s first space program in your free-time. Twilight Sparkle stood confidently in Mission Control alongside Spike, surrounded by some of the greatest minds in Equestria she’d hoof-picked. “GC,” she said into her headset. “Go, FLIGHT!” “INCO.” “We’re go!” “NETWORK.” “Go.” “GUIDANCE.” “Go, FLIGHT!” “FIDO.” “We’re go, FLIGHT.” “EECOM.” “Go!” “All systems GO for TLI,” Twilight determined and looked behind her through the large windows into the VIP section of the visitor gallery. “With your permission, Princess.” Princess Luna smiled and nodded at her. Luna would have been happy to skip this step. It was largely ceremonial, after all. But Twilight had insisted that any lunar mission would be predicated on the blessing of the elder alicorn. “Roger, we’re still go,” Twilight went on after returning the nod, “coming up on main engine burn for trans-lunar injection in 3 … 2 … 1! … ... ... MECO! How was that, GUIDANCE?” “Looks good, FLIGHT,” the blonde earth pony mare with the pink coat said while chewing on a cherry from the carton at her station, “Probe Selene 1 is on its way to the moon.” Twilight allowed her team a moment to celebrate the milestone as they broke into cheers and whoops before she said: “Alright, settle down, everypony. We’ve still got more than enough work ahead of us.” Of course, Twilight is not the only one busy with new projects these days. Trixie has embarked on her new lecture tour, and I’m getting a card from every major city and campus she visits. Maybe Oppy and I will join her once in a while after we're done with Project Bifrost. “And that,” Trixie said, pointing towards the speakers in the top row of the auditorium where a banner with the words Trixie Lulamoon – Illusionist & Science Communicator had been hung, “is why you fillies and colts in the back can hear Trixie’s voice arrive wirelessly through the Binary Sparkle Network as if you were sitting in the front row.” Trixie walked back to her podium amidst the applause of the fillies and colts and took out a small gadget. “Now, before we get to the Q&A session, here’s a treat for you students at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. A brand-new invention, this has been a collaboration project between Princess Twilight Sparkle, Changeling Scholar Pterostigma and Trixie herself.” A golden grate on the otherwise black gadget flipped open with a melodious beep. “Thanks to the rediscovery of an ancient changeling scrying spell, Princess Sparkle’s ingenious generic translation matrix and some additional utility magic from yours truly, this machine can learn a new language by being fed as little as six hundred words in context and translate back and forth between that language and common Equestrian. We’ve decided to call it the Universal Translator.” A hoof in the audience shot up. “Does that mean we’ll be able to talk to new alien civilizations within hours of meeting them, rather than going through a lengthy process like we did with the humans?” “Well,” Trixie answered slyly, “we won’t know for sure until we discover another alien civilization. But yes, that is our hope with this device. Alright, more questions?” Several dozen hooves shot up at once, and Trixie pointed at a filly in the second row. “Yes, the filly with parsley in her mane.” “It’s, uh, a clover. Anyway, can you tell us how you came up with the idea to combine ventriloquism magic with the Binary Sparkle Network in the first place?” “Ah, yes,” Trixie said with a grin and levitated out a deck of cards, making them do trick shuffles on their own in her magic field to the awe of the audience. “It all started with a card trick, you see.” Cranky and Maud are less flashy, but they’re doing their part in educating Equestria’s youth. Their guest lectures on adventuring and rocktology are very popular with the student population of both schools in Ponyville, I hear. What’s happening outside of Equestria these days is no less noteworthy. It’s incredible what strides the Changelings, Griffons and Dragons have made these past few years. There’s even talk that they’re going to start their own joint space program. “Careful! Careful!” The griffon called out as his dragon and changeling colleagues struggled to keep the heavy wooden beam aloft. “Ugh, this thing’s too heavy.” A huge hand went past them and easily lifted the crossbeam into its mount for what would become Hook Beak City’s new town hall. The three of them backed off and breathed a sigh of relief as they looked at their helper. “Thanks, big guy.” Mars nodded towards them. “Mars help friends.” The group noticed a commotion in the distance as members of all three races hurried towards the town plaza. “Oh, right. The ceremony is today,” the changeling of the group exclaimed. “Does that mean we get to clock out early?” The dragon asked hopefully. The griffon rolled his eyes. “I guess it’s alright. Wouldn’t want to miss out on history happening right next to us. And I’m sure the big guy wants to see his friends. Right, big guy?” Mars nodded eagerly, pointing at his broad shoulders. “Up. Best seats in the house.” The three workers took him up on that offer as they perched on the giant who strolled carefully across town, careful not to accidentally step on anyone, towards the stage that had been set up. Tibia spotted them from the front of the stage and waved, a gesture promptly returned by the God of War. The crowd hushed as three leaders stepped up onto a raised platform, standing shoulder to shoulder for the much anticipated address. “For centuries,” King Thorax began, “beings from all of our nations have felt the call of duty, to defend their own and lead a life in service of the greater good when circumstance called them to action. Shadow Patrol, the Dragon Guard and Griffonian Border Patrol. In our darkest hours, heroes from those three factions would rise to defend our future.” “And as we head into that future together,” Dragon Lord Ember continued, “their legacies will be remembered. It is from their ranks that the Council has decided to form a new, permanent, multinational service branch, dedicated to safeguard not just our well-being, but that of generations to come. The Special Allied Intelligence Teams.” “And who better,” Lord Protector Gestal went on, “to be the founding members of this order than those responsible for our current period of peace and prosperity? For the S.A.In.T.s are more than just the best warriors across our lands. They are diplomats, ambassadors, protectors of the weak and guardians of the peace. They are the embodiments of compassion, dedication and self-reliance. And none more so than the five gathered here today.” “Commander Pharynx,” Thorax said. “Step forward.” From the line of five, Pharynx stepped forward to stand before the three heads of state. “You are to lead this initiative. The first members of your organization have been chosen to be Captain Tibia of the Changeling Federation, Master Chief Gabriella of Nova Griffonia, Lance Corporal Gilda of Nova Griffonia and Ser Garble of Dragonstone. Would you vouch for each one of them and their intentions to safeguard the people of, not just theirs, but all our nations?” “I would,” he replied without hesitation, and his comrades visibly smiled as he added: “I would trust each of them with my life, and so can anyone else living in Alliance lands.” Thorax took the ad-lib in stride and went on. “Then it is the Council’s decision, and my privilege, to name you, Pharynx, the first Lord Commander of the Saints. Good luck, Commander.” He paused to allow the crowd time to applaud. Then he stepped down from his podium and added: “And as your first duty, I want you to give your brother a hug.” Pharynx spluttered in embarrassment as he looked left and right. “Now!? Can’t this wait?” “Thorax is still the Alliance President,” Ember teased as Lord Gestal looked on in amusement, “at least until my turn comes around again next month. So technically, that was an order from your Commander in Chief.” Pharynx continued to grumble as he was glomped by the Changeling King to, what seemed to him, an inordinate amount of applause both from the crowd and his own team. But he returned the hug eventually. Returning to the rest of his once and future team, he looked to the crowd along with them to make their promise known. “Vigilo, Confido!” Meanwhile, Sunburst has moved to our version of Earth to be closer to Sunset. (We really need to come up with a better way to differentiate between your Earth and the Earth beyond the mirror portal at some point. It gets very confusing sometimes.) “Gah!” Sunset Shimmer stumbled as her boot caught on the curb while she was walking across the campus of Canterlot University. She caught her balance easily enough, but the pile of books in her arms continued to wobble like a giant Jenga tower. “No, no, no, no!” A steady hand reached out to avert the catastrophe. “Here, let me take some of those.” Sunset blinked as the top half of the stack of medical books was swiped up and replaced by a styrofoam cup. “Thanks, Sunburst,” she said, redistributing the weight to allow her to take a sip from the coffee he’d brought for her, as he did every morning, and giving him a smile. “For goodness sake, Sunset,” he said, hefting the tomes he’d taken over. “I know pre-med is a lot of work, but don’t you think you’re overdoing it with all those additional courses?” “I think I’d make for a pretty bad doctor in the future if I couldn’t deal with a little extra workload,” she replied. “Besides, most of this is for my side studies.” Sunburst looked at the spines and noted that most of the titles were in Equestrian. “Do you really believe you can combine human medicine with arcane science to create new treatments?” “Why not? Humans don’t actively use magic. But they still have a reservoir and thaumic pathways. Imagine the applications if you could trigger a Magic Immune Response in the human body, mending bones in an afternoon, flushing a poison out of the system without the need for a specialized antidote, being able to stop internal bleeding without having to operate!” “I’m not questioning your goals,” he said, “just your methods of getting there. If you get crushed by an avalanche of books, you might take a trip to the emergency room sooner than you’d think.” “Oh, I’m not worried,” she replied, wiggling her eyebrows at him. “If knowledge is to be the death of me, I know an Ancient Lit exchange student who’ll no doubt write a lovely eulogy for his poor, departed girlfriend.” Sunburst coughed and blushed. Luckily, he was saved by Twilight’s voice calling out from the front of the auditorium. “Sunset! Hurry up, so we can get good seats.” Sunset smiled at her waving friend. At least for now they still could share some introductory classes like chemistry and physics. That would change as soon as Twilight got to the more specialized engineering classes of her track. Sunset looked over at her boyfriend who would head off to his own classes soon. “Dinner at my place tonight?” “Uhhhhhhhhhhhh…” “Takeout,” Sunset dead-panned. “I’m still banned from cooking in the dorms after the Salsa Night fiasco.” “Then sure,” Sunburst replied without missing a beat and a big grin on his face. “That certainly was a quick turnaround,” Sunset observed dryly. Sunburst shrugged. “You know I love spending time with you, Sunny. Just … I’d like to do it when I don’t have to dodge technically edible napalm that can make you go blind.” With both her hands full, she settled for bumping into him with her hips in retaliation. “That was one time. And there was hardly any swelling left around your eye by the next morning.” Ah, it looks like I’m going to have to cut this letter a little short this time. Oppy has just informed me that he’s established a firm connection and all the tests check out. Sorry about that. Then again, this letter will still be something special. After all, if all goes well, this will be the first letter of mine you’ll get hoof hand-delivered by our mutual friend rather than through the Extended Deep Space Network. Hope to talk to you soon! Your friend, Starlight Glimmer “Sister! Sister is coming,” Opportunity sang. Starlight giggled as she put her letter aside and turned to watch the swirling energies of the crystal mirror before her. There was a ripple, an almost unnoticeable shift in the cacophony of color until something came through. The outline of a Mars Exploration Rover emerged, driving slowly forward until she’d fully crossed the threshold and stood in the portal room of Castle Friendship, taking a full look around with the panoramic camera. “Sister, you’re here!” Opportunity drove around his sibling in circles. “Still as excitable as ever I see,” Serendipity replied, much more subdued than her older brother. She turned her camera to the unicorn. “Starlight Glimmer, I presume? I only had to share a partition with him for a couple of hours. How have you lived with him for years?” Starlight giggled. “You get used to his energy.” Standing side by side, the family resemblance could not be denied, even though both rovers had received extensive retrofits from the ponies and JPL respectively. Oppy’s instrument arm and drive system were of course complete custom-made replacements. Serendipity, for her part, was much closer to the original MER design, though had at some point received a glossy white paintjob that set her apart from the original model, giving her a fresh-off-the-assembly-line look. Oppy had requested a golden paint for his metallic parts for the special occasion during his last round of maintenance. “Your Equestrian is very good,” Starlight complimented. “Thank you,” Serendipity replied modestly and turned back towards the mirror. “Environmental analysis complete. It’s safe.” “Have you heard from Brother Spirit yet?” Oppy asked as the two rovers moved off to the side. “Not yet. But we heard from Auntie Christie that Merci has arrived safely in Gusev Crater before we left,” Serendipity answered. “It’ll still take her a few days to drive up to Troy.” Starlight smiled at the sibling reunion, but her attention was shortly taken up by the second being, clad in jeans and a t-shirt, stepping unsteadily through the portal, doubling over and resting his hands on his knees with a heavy breath. “Whoa! That was some trip!” “Well, it didn’t turn you into a pony,” Starlight quipped. “Looks like all the extra work we put into fine-tuning the portal and aligning it with the gravitational wave paid off.” “I sure hope so,” Tom said, looking up with a grin after getting his bearings. “I’d have given Jack an earful if his calculations had stranded me on the Planet of the Apes or something.” “That would have been a tragedy,” Starlight agreed before straightening out. “On behalf of the Princesses, I welcome you to Equestria as the first human being to visit our world.” Tom also straightened. “On behalf of the United Nations of Earth and the International Space Agency, I thank you for your hospitality and assure you of our peaceful intentions.” He took a moment to look around, noticing the lack of anyone else in the room. “I … must say I’m pleasantly surprised by the lack of pomp and circumstance.” Starlight gave him a sneaky smile. “I figured it would be best to keep the first test of Project Bifrost a secret, give you a few days to acclimate before I take you up to Canterlot.” Tom let out a huge sigh of relief. “Oh, good! I don’t think I could have rattled off the whole speech the UN gave me right now.” He dropped to one knee in front of Starlight to be on eye level with her and gave her a friendly smile. “It’s good to finally meet you in person.” “It is,” the unicorn agreed. “You know, the decontamination team back home is gonna put me in quarantine for a week for doing this. But I’d really like to give you a hug right now if that’s okay with you.” “Come here,” Starlight simply said, raising a hoof to receive the embrace. She looked over to Opportunity who was rocking back and forth in excitement. “What are you waiting for? Get in here!” Opportunity drove forward, pulling his sister along into the group hug. He did not want to break the contact or sully the moment with any unnecessary words, but there was a question that was on his mind. So he reached out silently. *** Message Sent: Sister. *** *** Message Sent: You never answered my question. *** *** Message Sent: Was I a good rover? *** *** Message Received (Source MER-C): No. *** *** Message Received (Source MER-C): You always were the best of us. *** *** Message Received (Source MER-C): And you always will be. ***