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Co-Author: Architect, Brother Malachai
"A new word we approach. We, the refugees from a doomed world went towards a new world still in it's infancy. Let's keep it as pristine as possible. The worst thing we can do is to start destroying this world." ~Princess Twilight Sparkle
Planetfall. A rather tricky maneuver, even at the best of times. With wind speeds stronger than any tornado a team of weather pegasi can generate, it became near impossible. Worse still, due to the limited amount of fuel on the lander, a large section of the landing procedure would have to done using the “dead stick” technique. One small miscalculation, and one Princess and a great multitude of colonists, native equestrian flora and fauna, and supplies would be done for. The tectonic scanner had spotted a collection of unusual orange crystals near the equator, and Twilight wanted to set down next to them. Lyra was cursing her decision now as she struggled to keep the rocket upright in a tropical storm, fighting gale-force winds and sudden updrafts and downdrafts.
“3000 meters,” droned the computer.
“I know that,” she snapped, “I can read, you know. Brace yourselves fillies and gentlecolts. We’re three clicks up with nowhere to go but down! I’ll attempt to aim for the eye. Hopefully there’ll be less turbulence there and it will be easier for us to use our retro-thrusters.”
“2500 meters,” The computer replied, not responding to her sharp tone.
Lyra just growled, jerking the lander hard to the right to avoid a particularly intense thermal. Behind her, Princess Twilight was chewing on one of her hooves, strapped in tightly to one of the crash couches. The other crew had buckled down as well, with Bon-Bon ready to step in if something happened to Lyra.
“2000 meters.”
The coastline came into view, a mixture of plants and fungi that were the world’s dominant life forms looming out of the gloom. The place was amazingly much more lush than they had expected. It would’ve been the vision of a paradise to admire at if they weren't so occupied with not crashing to the ground.
“1500 meters.”
Lyra fired the repulsors, spinning neatly around a waterspout and starting to decelerate the landing vehicle.
“1000 meters. Deploying landing gear.”
The landing legs popped out, preparing to catch the falling city.
“750 meters.”
They’d slowed down considerably now, and Lyra was putting the finishing touches on the landing. Despite this, a bead of sweat started to trickle down her forehead.
“500 meters.”
They’d left the storm behind them, at least for now, and the winds had died to tolerable levels. Still, the Hurricane was on the move and the calm of the eye would be gone soon enough.
“400.”
Lyra angled the repulsors to bring them straight down.
“300”
She brought up a view of the landing area. Twilight tried to focus upon it the best she could despite the constant and jarring rattling of the landing craft.
“200.”
She picked a suitable spot to set down, and angled towards it, lips pursed in concentration.
“100.”
“Brace for impact, everypony!” she shouted.
“50 meters.”
“Almost-there!,” Lyra growled through gritted teeth.
The craft landed with an almighty thud as the repulsors cut out. It wobbled a little on its feet, then stabilized, standing tall and proud. Lyra wiped the sweat from her brow and turned to face the crew. “All right, who wants to step outside first?”
......
Twilight Sparkle gaped in wonder at her surroundings as she trotted under the alien canopy. Since she had nothing to do (at the moment), she was heading for the orange-yellow crystal formation they had spotted from orbit. The rest of the crew were busy dismantling the starship, as the parts would be required to build their first city. Twilight had ordered them to get a basic laboratory going as soon as possible in order to start analysing the new fauna. The sooner they could determine which plants were edible and develop new vaccines, antibiotics, and medical procedures to deal with the microorganisms native to this planet, the better.
She had the sudden urge to squee, and didn’t quite succeed in suppressing it. They’d done it, she was on an alien world! Oh, the things she could learn, the things they could do! She danced a little as she moved, her happiness spilling out of her like a shattered glass spills water.
A little ways onward, when her professional attitude had returned somewhat, she stepped out into a clearing, and into the shadow of the looming crystal formation. She whistled as she looked up at it, plans already forming for the tests she would conduct. She used her telekinesis to break off a small part of the crystal, noting the clean break and slight shimmer it gave off as she did so. Putting the sample of the crystal into a small vial, she walked off, oblivious to the native creatures watching her from the green fog on the horizon.
Back at the site of the now budding city, Twilight catalogued the samples she had collected. They consisted of various pieces of vegetation and animal leavings, in addition to the orange crystal. As she stepped into the hallway, she had to flare her wings and backtrack hastily to avoid colliding with Trixie. Trixie had initially joined the program under a false name, her deception only being revealed after her exemplary work had grabbed Twilight’s attention. Given her new attitude and obvious skill, she had quickly gained the Princess’s trust, and was now her right-hoof mare.
"Princess Twilight, I’m so sorry!" she gushed. Trixie had gotten over referring to herself in the third person in order to maintain her cover, and hadn’t picked the habit up again after she was exposed. "I just wanted to let you know the assembly will be happening soon. I’ve got your speech all typed out already, but I need to know our new city is going to be called. Have you come up with a name yet?"
Twilight’s face scrunched up in thought as Trixie looked on expectantly. Hmm, Spike Central? No, that’s stupid. Phoenix’s Perch? Maybe, but I should think on it more first. "Let me get back to you on that," she finally said. Trixie nodded and walked off, allowing Twilight to return to her quarters to unwind a bit.
Back in her room, Twilight laid down on her bed in her recently refurbished cabin in the new city. I wonder if the others have arrived yet, she thought, turning her gaze skyward just as a small ball of light streaked across the sunset, moving east since this new world rotated counterclockwise. For a moment, Twilight found herself entranced as she recalled the last time she’d had the pleasure of seeing one, back in her room in Canterlot. Her eyes eventually wandered, which allowed her to notice the gold tiara perched in her glass cabinet. It belonged to Celestia. She had sacrificed herself to ensure survival... That's it! I’ve got it!
......
It’s not like Twilight to be late for something, Trixie thought to herself as she trotted down the hallway leading to Twilight's quarters, I wonder what's keeping her. She has seemed a little down ever since we landed, maybe that has something to do with it. Reaching the door, she raised her hoof to press the doorbell when the door swished opened and an excited Twilight barreled out. Trixie barely had time to blink before she got run over, causing them both to fall the floor with a cascade of meaty thuds. Twilight was the first to recover her higher cognitive functions after their little tumble.
“Trixie, were you looking for me?” she asked sheepishly.
“Yeah, I came to tell you you’re late for the assembly. It’s starting soon and your speech isn’t ready yet.” Trixie replied with an even and slightly cold tone. “Also, the radar operators reported that another one of our ships has landed. We are still trying to establish radio contact with them but whoever it is, they haven’t had time to set their equipment up.”
“Oh, one of my friends is already here? That’s nice. I haven’t spoken to them in years. It will be great once everypony had landed safely here.”
Twilight replied. She then remembered what she had thought of while in her cabin. “Say Trixie, what do you think about naming this city after Princess Celestia? You know, as a way of honouring her.”
“Celestia? That seems nice but a little weird coming from you. You were always so keen about new things. Always pushing for change while we were back in Equestria. What made you think of that?” Trixie asked, with a questioning tone.
“Well, I don’t want our future generations to not remember their roots Trixie.” Twilight replied with a slightly edgy tone.” Don’t you think it is simply wrong to forget what Princess Celestia has done for us? I know how much I pressured ponies back in Equestria for change, but do we discard any of our Equestrian ethics and moral values for progress? I feel that we should remember her and honor her memory and sacrifice at least. How she had died to ensure we would all continue on.”
“I apologize, Princess. I should not have questioned your ideas. It’s is a nice name, at least.” A now nervous Trixie replied, her eyes staring at the floor, being taken aback by Twilight’s unusually angry demeanour.
Seeing Trixie’s reaction hit Twilight with a wave of nostalgia as she remembered back when she was still a unicorn staying in Canterlot. She’s just like me back when I was Princess Celestia’s student. Always trying to do her best. If only we can return to the carefree life we had in the past. She sighed. It’s all a daydream now.
Having realized she may have been too hard on her student and assistant, she smiled and said, “It’s ok Trixie, it’s good that you question everything. That means you are inquisitive, and that's a virtue that I’d like to instill in everypony in the colony. It’s wrong for me to be so harsh on you for doing your job, and I apologize for that." “No, no, it’s quite alright, I assure you,” Trixie nervously replied. In an attempt to change the subject matter and to improve the mood, Twilight levitated her computer tablet and said, "Send me the latest draft for the assembly, i want to add a personal touch to it."
“Right away, your Highness!”
......
The walk to the auditorium was a relatively quiet one, the silence only broken by the constant clicking coming from her computer tablet. Twilight was busily rewriting certain parts of the speech and building on others, in an attempt to make as good as possible. She secretly wished that Spike was still around to be her personal assistant but Spike had insisted that Trixie (as her new student) should take that role. No, he would continue to assist from behind-the-scenes much as Owlicious did. Or at least as much as he could now that he’s grown. Plus, she noticed that now that he was older, a wanderlust seemed to have hit him much as it did other dragons that were his age. As such, he now took a more “proactive” role in the government. In fact, he insisted that he join the initial scouting party that explored the surrounding landscape. While she was concerned for him, she had to accept that he wasn’t a baby anymore and had to respect his wishes in the matter.
Rounding the last bend, Twilight continued walking, the doors to the auditorium looming at the end of the main hallway. Pushing the doors open, Twilight saw the auditorium was packed with all the ponies put under her charge. Walking down the path, she saw some familiar faces among the crowd, including Senior Human Technology Researcher Lyra and Head Space Travel Researcher Time Turner to name a few. She remembered how she had met them back in Equestria and recruited them into the program to bring them to other worlds after they showed some talents in their later assigned fields. They had become a well-knit team and Twilight had personally asked them to join her group which to her delight, they gladly accepted.
“My fellow ponies, changelings, griffins, dragons, zebras, and other colonists. This day marks our first week in a brave new world,” Twilight started. “ We may have left Equuis behind, but her legacy lives on!” The room suddenly became extremely loud as everyone in respond shouted and clapped in agreement with Twilight’s statement. This lasted for several seconds before Twilight signalled for silence. “In the beginning, things will be harsh for us. Our knowledge of this world is limited, and our city is minimal at best. But I believe that with enough hard work and advancements in the sciences, we can overcome these challenges. Remember, we are the Sparkle Scientific Union! Whatever mysteries or challenges we encounter, we will unravel them! Our motto is: ‘To push the boundaries of Science!’ To venture into the unknown and to bring back advances for the good of every single race from Equestria! That has been the aim of our union and look at everything it has brought us. It saved the inhabitants of Equestria from the death of Celestia’s star. It brought convenience into our lives. It represented a shining beacon of light and hope in the darkest moments in our history. And here on this new world, that beacon will glow brighter than ever! We will require everypony’s helping hooves to make this dream a reality, but a reality it can become. We will represent the pinnacle of the evolution of our species, and build a new paradise for ourselves and for our children and our children's children! LONG LIVE THE S.S.U. !” The assembled crowd broke out into a deafening cacophony of cheers and applause. After they quieted down, Twilight continued her speech, “ I have some plans for the first city for our union.” As she said that, the holographic projector flickered on in response. Turning to the nearly completely formed hologram, Twilight slipped the hologram communicator onto the side of her ear. It had a small see-through display, but it tracked her hoof movements, allowing her to directly manipulate the hologram being displayed. It was always her favourite way of presentation back on Equus, and stayed her favorite after they’d left as she found it a good way to illustrate her points.
The hologram revealed a completed layout of their first city. Twilight had a tendency to be extremely careful and had always triple checked her work. The hologram was showing a overall view of the blueprints and concept art for the city, giving both an idea of how it was now, and how it would look later. Twilight gestured to a section of the city plan and the hologram in reply zoomed in on the particular section. After zooming in, the hologram displayed all the notes written by Twilight, filling the entire stage with holograms of charts, notes and building models.
“Ok, I want this part of the city to house all the research and development facilities. The Analysis labs will be located near the planned maglev rail system to facilitate transportation of alien samples. Mechanical Research and Fabrications go over by the Military Academy to minimise disturbances to any research taking place in the Electronics and Material Application facilities. There are sensitive electronics in there everypony and I don’t want our first solar collector to fall out of the sky. We’re running low on resources and losing one of those satellites so early on will cost us greatly.” Seeing some confused looks among the crowd, Twilight then gestured at a box of text somewhere at the top of the the mess of boxes. The hologram then pulled the highlighted panel to the middle to display a model of the solar collector along with the related notes. “For those who do not know, a solar collector is a basic satellite with numerous solar panels fixed on it. The satellite will generate electricity before beaming it down to a receiver on the ground at certain intervals. It is designed to stay up for 20 years before its orbit decays and it crashes back to the surface.” She then moved the picture of the Hologram to another part of the layout. “This area will be for agricultural use and the raising of animals for those of us who are not vegetarians, such as the griffins. Early on, we’ll be dependent primarily on hydroponics and greenhouses, as well as aquaculture for fish. After we figure out what is safe and unsafe to eat from this world, as well as finish making our own plants and animals able to survive outdoors, we will start to establish fields, pastures, and fish ponds on the outskirts of the Southern Sector. For the time being, we’re working on research to fully develop the experimental Sonic Fencing to protect the borders of our town from any potential hostile native wildlife.” The Princess stopped for a moment to let the information sink in, then continued with her speech. “Now, before I let everypony here go back to their assignments and set up our new home away from Equuis, I wish to inform you what I have decided to name it. Now, we have all lost much: loved ones, families, friends, and homes. I will always have a special place set aside in my heart for my mentor and second mother, Princess Celestia. However, she was not a mother only to me, but to all the citizenry of our old Empire. Therefore, in honor of her memory, I have decided to name our first Colony after her. From now on, this city shall be known as Celestia!” With that, after a moment of silence, there was a slow clap that eventually broke out into a roaring noise of clapping and stomping of hooves in approval of the name given to their new home. She allowed herself a sad smile. While her mentor may be gone, her legacy and memory would live on. “Let us and our descendants never forget where we came from, or who we are. Even in this new home,” she said with a mixture of pride, joy, and sadness. She then shut off the hologram and concluded, “Now, back to work, everypony! dismissed.” After a brief applause and more cheering, the crowd dispersed and went off to their assigned tasks.
While the group dispersed, Twilight was escorted by a squad of Royal Guards back to her quarters. When she entered, she finally broke her composure and exhaled deeply. She allowed herself to slouch a little and some of the fatigue brought on by her responsibilities shown through. She levitated a chair from nearby and put it in front of the display case holding Princess Celestia’s old crown. She then trotted over to the chair and collapsed onto it, sighing heavily. She gazed at the crown with sad eyes, barely able to hold back the tears. “You favorite student did good, Princess Celestia. I got us away from the dying world and was able to transported us to a new home. But now, the real struggle beings.” She then put her hoof upon the glass case, as she looked deeply into the crown, as if doing so would somehow give her the solace she sought. It was then that she heard a beeping noise, only to be followed up by Trixie Lulamoon speaking. It seemed the communication system was up and running. “Princess Sparkle, I hate to bother you,” she started, “but we just received word that Princess’ Dash and Fluttershy have made landfall. We are trying to contact them now, but so far, we haven’t been able to get a clear signal from either landing party.”
“Any guess as to when we may be able to talk to them?” Twilight asked. “Not really, no. I’m sorry,” Trixie in turn replied sadly. “I understand,” Twilight said, “I’ll be at the office before going to the meeting with the researchers in about an hour. I need a moment to freshen up and to get a quick bite to eat.”
“Understood,” Ms. Lulamoon acknowledged, “I’ll be there when you arrive. Trixie, out.”