I struggled to find a suitable complement for the provided food. It was not that the food was bad, just lacking. One possible reason was that, as a princess, I was used to eating only the highest quality foods.
“These definitely taste different than apples from back home,” Hard Stuff remarked between bites.
It wasn’t just me that found the taste off then. The next most likely reason was simply that our hosts were carnivores. They wouldn’t know the quality of a food they never ate after all.
“Well these are probably quite a bit different from the apples on your planet,” Jonathan Smith shrugged, “I mean, different environments and all that.”
Taking another bite of apple, I pondered this. Different environments producing different types of apples. It seemed strange. Sure there were the zap-apples that grew near the Everfree Forest, but other than that, ponies had to make each of the apple types through magic and selective breeding. Afterall it wasn’t as though apples would change on their own… Though as I kept thinking I realized that apples were rarely grown outside of Equestria. Most other species didn’t have magic and thus could never get apples to grow like an earth pony could. Maybe a part of that was the environment. There was one Zebrican apple orchard that produced a unique tasting cider. This was something I would need to look into after I returned home… On the other hoof perhaps it would be best not to wait.
“Are you saying that apples here change depending on where they are grown?” I asked.
Jonathan Smith looked at me with confusion for a moment, then some realization seemed to set in as he explained, “Well yeah. Everything will slowly change so that it can better survive. If it’s cold the apples that survive best in cold will be able to… well survive and make more seeds than apples that aren’t suited for cold. I know you wouldn’t have spent much time in the fields, but its basic evolution.”
I nodded. Evolution, I had forgotten about that word. Evolution was the process of random mutations in offspring, a form of chaos. And like all forms of chaos it was dangerous and unpredictable. Luckily thanks to Tia and my guidance nearly every force of chaos had been suppressed or completely stopped and evolution was no longer a threat. Here however, it seemed that such a level of control had not been reached to allow for the removal of such threats. The entire planet now had my sympathy.
“Ah yes, I apologize. I had assumed that your nation, like ours, was beyond such troubles. You have my condolences,” I picked up a carrot in my magic and looked at it in reverence before eating it. The carrots were bizarrely small. Practically bite sized. It truly was sad what evolution could do to such a wonderful food.
“Speaking of your nation, there are some things that I need to ask you about it,” Jonathan Smith stated in a manner that was somber and uncomfortable, “I know that some of this may be uncomfortable for you to answer, but it concerns the safety of this country…No, not just this country, this entire planet. If you would feel more comfortable talking in private we can do so.”
Jonathan Smith looked over to my companions. I raised an eyebrow. I could not think of anything about Equestria, a land so very far away from this one, that could possibly impact the safety of this planet. The closest thing to a threat to them, besides me, was Discord. Though I doubted he would have any reason to try to find me. I was certain that my absence was causing much more of what he termed ‘fun’ than returning me could possibly produce. Plus it was not like anypony else could prove if he was actually looking or not.
“If you truly believe that the contents of my answers should be kept private, I will gladly move to another room,” I conceded before looking across the faces of my companions.
“It is about the situation leading to your arrival here,” Jonathan Smith explained, “are you sure that you are alright talking about that with them here?”
“If anything they could provide insights into what happened that I cannot,” I explained.
Jonathan Smith let out a sigh and nodded, “Very well. First question: what are the chances of your being followed?”
“None,” I admitted. If another craft was built, a two year project at minimum, then our little ponies would still need to figure out where we were sent. So unless Discord decided it would be fun to have me back or measurements of our pitch were taken just before our teleport, it was safe to say that we would never be followed.
“If you return to your planet, what response can we expect?”
“We would be welcomed back, undoubtedly a celebration would be held as ponies would have expected to never see us again,” I stated, “As for your planet, we see trade becoming possible once the flaws in our platform have been addressed... Unless you wish to remain anonymous. I can pretend that I do not know where your planet is located.”
“Do you truly believe that this was an accident?”
“Of course it was an accident. What else could it have possibly been? A joke? Not even Discord would try something like this!” I struggled to keep my voice under control. It would not do to shout my host across the room.
“Well…” Jonathan Smith started, “You were royalty… Wouldn’t it be possible that someone wanted you out of the way? A heir perhaps?”
“Are you suggesting that somepony tried to kill Us?” I couldn’t decide if such an idea was laughable or disturbing. Quite possibly it was both.
“It might not have been that they were trying to kill you necessarily. But if you’re trapped off planet on a world that no one knows exists…” Jonathan Smith trailed off.
“There has not been an attempted coup in Our kingdom for over one thousand years,” I argued.
“Then it sounds like you were overdue,” Jonathan Smith stated.
“There is no pony that would have the motivation or the ability to plan such a thing!” I rebuked, slamming my hooves into the tiled floor.
“Look, Luna, Princess, I’m not saying that that’s what happened,” Jonathan Smith, began backing out of the room, “But keep in mind, it is a possibility. Maybe you’re right and it really was an accident. But history tells me that when something goes wrong and the ruler of a country is involved, it usually isn’t. I promise I won’t bring it up again, but please, keep that in mind if you decide to return.”
With that Jonathan Smith backed out into the main hall. What he had suggested could not be true. The only beings that had any desire to remove me from power were safely locked away in Tartarus. There was that group that had wanted to send ‘Nightmare Moon’ back to the moon, but they steadily declined in membership the longer I continued my dream watching duties and eventually they disbanded. Besides, none of them were allowed to work on the platform and I would have felt magical interference. There were only a hoofful of ponies that worked on the platform; those currently here with me, Celestia, Twilight, those that gathered the necessary resources, and those that helped refine the silicone for the battery. Basically that meant that the only ponies that would have the knowledge of the systems required to sabotage them were Double Take, Quick Wit, Hard Stuff, Celestia, Twilight, and me.
I certainly did not do it, leaving me with five suspects. Celestia was so very joyous after I returned from the moon. Additionally this was not her style. If she did have any problems she would want to talk them out, not scheme in secrecy to do away with the troublemaker.
Twilight rarely did any physical work on the platform. Her major contribution was twofold. First this whole project was sparked by an idle comment of hers. She asked what the moon was like. I told her and somewhere in my explanation I mentioned how I had left some journals and artwork there that I would never see again. “Well theoretically, it is possible to teleport to the moon,” had been her response. From there on most of her work had been computational, outside of the Sparkle Drive. But other than that she never touched any part of the craft. She simply delivered the completed Sparkle Drive to us.
Double Take, Quick Wit, and Hard Stuff were all in the same boat with me. That is to say, they were stuck on this planet too. As such I highly doubted that any of them were responsible. As I looked over them they all seemed as stunned at Jonathan Smith’s suggestion as me, if not more so. I had worked with these ponies for just under two years. I knew none of them were decent actors. Say nothing of the required skill to fool me perfectly.
“If I am needed I will be in my room contacting my sister,” I announced. There was an easy way to clear this up, I would simply talk to Tia. She would be able to calm me down. She would explain that understanding was key here. That Jonathan Smith meant well with his suggestion and he was trying to cover all possibilities, no matter how outlandish. And how outlandish that idea was! Celestia and Twilight lacked motive, and anyone with motive lacked the means. That was all there was too it.
My magic flared as I shut the door behind me. It must have been heavier than I had guessed as it took more power than I thought it would to close it. As such it was not moving at a sufficient speed to produce a satisfying slamming noise. But I was above such petty things as opening a door a second time just to slam it shut. Instead I did what any mature alicorn would do, I cast a quick soundproof spell and started yelling.
“The nerve of that stallion! To suggest Tia or Twilight would do such a thing! Kill Us?! What in Tartarus?! Here are two of mine closest friends, one family, the other nearly so, and he thinks that they would try to kill Us!” I shouted.
The room was silent after my outburst as the magic soundproofing removed all echo from the room. I was practically panting as I closed my eyes and hopped up onto the bed. I needed to calm down to. Dreamwalking was not terribly hard, but it did require focus, especially at the start.
I focused on my breathing. The steady in and out of my breath. That was all there was. In and out. In and out. I pictured each exhale removing my rage and stress. Then, when there was nothing but unfocused calm, I pictured my dream door and stepped through it. The star filled nexus of dreams awaited me, and with a thought I summoned up Tia’s door. At least I tried to. For the second time in two days, I was unable to call upon her dreams.
The first failure I chalked up to a lack of power. After all, the platform had sucked in all available magic from the surrounding air, it had undoubtedly affected those on board. But a day had passed and I had scarcely used any magic. Even after complete magical burnout my dream walking should have still worked, and indeed it did as my presence in the dream nexus demonstrated. Yet Tia’s door was lost to me. Could it be possible that she wasn’t sleeping?
Of course it was. She had watched her sister get shot off into space the previous night, combine that with her royal duties and alicorn stamina and it was no wonder she would not have slept since the incident. If I contacted somepony that could get a message to her quickly I’m sure she could relax enough to finally sleep allowing us to talk. Twilight would be the perfect choice as she had a direct line of communication with Tia through Spike.
A brief moment of focus to call upon Twilight’s dream, and… still nothing.
“Not to worry,” I told myself, my voice wavering slightly, “She is undoubtedly pouring over the data from the platform’s launch to try to find what went wrong and how to get Us back home.”
Who would be close enough to Tia that they could alert her, but not loose sleep over my disappearance? Before I could finish asking the question I already had an answer. Blueblood. A quick thought and I would have my least favorite nephew’s dream before me. Except once again, no door appeared.
I pondered potential reasons for this problem. Perhaps I had misjudged how long I had been on this planet and it was the middle of the day back in Equestria. I called upon the dreams of our ambassador to the Zebrican homeland with no success. Out of desperation I tried for an old dragon acquaintance of mine that should have still had a few dozen years left before he woke up. For a moment I feared I would loose my connection to the dreamscape as panic set in.
Suddenly it no longer mattered who it was I contacted, just so long as I found a dream from home. I ran through all the servants at the castle, all the guards Lunar and Solar, shopkeepers, those pesky nobles that kept court from ever ending on time, any and all foreign leaders, ponies that I had never met but still knew their names, names that I thought I may have heard mentioned once, and finally I just started adding common names together and hoping for a result.
At some point during my mad search I broke down and started crying. I was lost here. I had gotten Quick Wit, Double Take, and Hard Stuff killed on an alien planet. I would wind up living the rest of my life under surveillance from the natives until I simply faded into the background. I would be a living cautionary tale. No one would trust me after I got my crew lost and killed in space.
Now back in my new bedroom, I looked at myself in the mirror and whispered, “Perhaps We shall remake the Tantabus.”
That was when I realized I had gotten into one of my moods and was being irrational. There had to be a reason I could not reach the dreams of my little ponies. Somepony was most certainly blocking me. It probably was not anypony… anyhuman from this planet. After all, I could still access their dreams. If they were going to restrict my dream walking ability, why give me access to their populace but not my own? No, somepony from back home was blocking me.
This had the unfortunate implication that somepony back home knew I was off planet and wanted to make sure I did not tell anypony about my survival. Perhaps Jonathan Smith was right. Perhaps somepony had tried to get rid of me. But who? I now knew that they would need to know at least the theory behind dream walking. That narrowed it down to maybe a thousand ponies. A constant casting would be impractical and no pony could do such a thing, not even Tia. An enchantment would be needed. As such a thing had never been done on such a large scale before, the caster would need to either modify an existing enchantment or make their own. This did not narrow it down very much; most ponies that researched dream walking were high level magic users.
But if I took into account my list from earlier, that left Celestia and Twilight. While neither had a motive to do so, I now knew that it had to be one of them. Celestia had not advanced too far past the basics of dream walking. She could have if she had wanted to, but she prefered talking to a conscious pony to sneaking around in their head. Twilight on the other hoof did not seem to have the natural talent needed for dream walking. She had tried, oh had she tried, but she simply did not have the patience for it. None the less she had rushed ahead and learned all the advanced theory before mastering so much as manipulating her own dreams. Now I understood why.
Now I understood so many things. Like why the Sparkle Drive was not responding. Or why she suggested the trip to the moon in the first place. But it also raised one question that I could not answer.
Why do any of this?