Extra Documents: File 1-3
====================
Friends of a Solar Empire
Extra Documents
File #1
====================
In 3439 APD, the Gryphus Republic commenced an unprecedented and illegal increase in its military spending. After ignoring multiple warnings from the Trade Order Council, the following letter, written by the Chairman of the Council, was sent to President Ansgar and read over the broadcast network.
Let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, we lived on the homeworld, Earth. Records tell of a great war between the mightiest of nations, which left their soils barren and bathed with radiation, killing all. Our ancestors barely managed to escape the same fate. We call this event the First Calamity, and it took many generations for us to recover.
When we deemed our wounds sufficiently healed, we turned to space. We call these times the Forgotten Era, since not much knowledge of them survived. We longed to reach across the stars, but the enormity of space confined us better than any barrier. The closest of stars took many years to reach; merely moving within our solar system was an ordeal.
For many years, we sat within Einstein's Cage, rattling its bars.
And then, a miracle, born of blood and toil: the Phase Drive. It was a dangerous thing, crude and primitive compared to what we have today. But with it, we were finally free of the cage.
And so, we spread. Slowly, at first, but every year brought innovations and resources, and every year we spread at a faster rate; every year our numbers swelled and swelled. We called this the Era of Expansion, a glorious age of progress and peace.
However, these days soon ended. We splintered into our petty empires and arrogant republics. Citizens turned into soldiers, factories spat out arms and munitions, shipyards were lit with a thousand torches crafting countless battleships.
And so began the Endless War. It would last fifteen hundred years, more in some places.
From the fires of strife, a great force was created, with Earth itself as its capital: the Federation of the Stars. They set of to unite mankind under a single banner, as it had been long ago.
They were successful. Only bitter remnants of their foes remained at their borders when peace was signed. From there came the Second Expansion, a technological leap forward that tripled our reach. The first version of the Broadcast network came to be, and we discovered the counter gravity field in that time.
And what a time it was! Of peace, of prosperity, of scientific progress!
…And of terrible deeds.
Purpose turned to fanaticism, suspicions turned to paranoia and authority and vigilance tuned into tyranny and oppression. The heroic Federation turned corrupt as time passed. Worlds were ruled over with an iron grip. Civilians were monitored, inconformity was ground to dust. Children were indoctrinated with beliefs. All this, for the sake of peace eternal. On Earth and many other worlds, experiments were carried out, with the purpose of reforming the human race.
Project Paradise; the search for the next stage in human evolution.
Satisfied with their results, the commenced the systematic extermination of the human race. A genophage was released onto planets in their domain. The human population dwindled, unable to reproduce, and was gradually replaced by the New Men and Women of the Federation. Brain uploading was offered to those with the connections and money to afford it. Records of everything before the Phase Drive were thoroughly destroyed.
Within a few generations, the human population had become a minority within Federation territory. With their dominance clear, the Federation declared an ultimatum against the remaining independent states.
They could surrender, and let their population be supplanted peacefully. Or they could resist and be slaughtered.
Word of the atrocities committed by the Federation had leaked to the leaders of the independent states. They were appalled, they were horrified. They met in secret, to discuss the Federation’s downfall. Rebels were sponsored, arms were smuggled, but they could not act openly, lest they fall to the superior Navy of the Federation.
With the ultimatum, they were forced to action. After one final meeting, they sent their answer to the Federation.
They refused.
We refused.
Through space, our entire species rose up as one. Citizens became soldiers, factories were commandeered and repurposed into making arms and ammunition, shipyards were lit by a million torches crafting countless battleships. Two hundred petty empires and proud republics cast their differences aside and joined forces. Scurrying rebels and pirates turned their gust towards more worthy targets.
The Federation of the Stars sought to unite mankind, and they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.
War raged. It was terrible, it was horrific, it was bloody beyond words.
And it was glorious.
During those first years, the Federation’s superiority was undeniable. Yet, despite being outgunned and outmatched we never gave up hope of victory. For every kilometer of space, the Federation was forced to pay in blood. Every planet resisted with the force of a million heroes. Ships fought to their bitter end, crews firing even though they were doomed. Every second was a precious thing, which gave us a chance to bridge the technological gap. Every month the line lasted brought new ships with which to resist.
Systems fell, worlds burned, space was filled with debris. People died, some alone, others in pain, and others still in heroics unsung. Widows cried for their husbands and wives, children waited for the parent that would never return.
The Federation had grossly underestimated the resistance they would encounter. Their New Men, intended for an age of peace and harmony could not be bred fast enough to replace their losses. The technological gap proved to be much shorter than they had anticipated, and our increasing numbers soon made it irrelevant. The war dragged on, and the Great Senate on Earth soon found the unthinkable happening:
They, the successors to barbaric, stupid Man, were losing .
The scientists of the Federation worked like madmen to correct the problem, to find a solution to their demise. Labs produced ever more horrible weapons and technology, before being silenced and abandoned when vengeful and angry human fleets came into range.
Desperate, the Federation recalled their entire Navy towards Earth. The solar system and its surroundings were fortified, huge swathes of the population conscripted. The largest fleets in history sat poised to clash into each other.
The Battle for the Solar System took 50 years, and more than 7 billion souls. Mars was left without an atmosphere. Titan’s crust was shattered. The Moon became scarred and unrecognizable. In the end, the Federation of the Stars chose to turn their most powerful and horrific weaponry on Earth itself. The homeworld died, leaving nothing but a dry, scorched, poisoned husk. We call this the Second Calamity, and it haunts us to this day.
Even though they had been victorious, it was with shame that the allied fleet left the place where mankind had once began.
Warships were scrapped, weapons smelted. Soldiers dropped their weapons and uniforms, praying that they’d never have to use them again. Asylums were filled by those driven mad by the bloodshed. Cemeteries were filled with the dead, and those they had left behind. We established the Trade Order, a confederation built on economy, business and diplomacy, not force and violence. We dictated the laws that govern us to this day, swearing to never take up arms as we once did.
And so, I beg of you, to reconsider your course of action. You have dismissed our warnings. You see that we are peaceful, and have called humans an easy prey, but remember that we are peaceful by our own choosing, not because of some innate desire. We know war better than your people ever could, not even in their most horrible nightmares, and it is unwise to make us remember this fact. If you choose to not comply with the laws we put in place for your own protection, then I suggest preparing yourself for a reprisal beyond what you could ever hope to imagine.
I await your response.
With regards, Antony Beketovk, Chairman of the Trade Order Council.
====================
File #2
====================
(From: The Technocracy Magazine 30/7/3581)
What is this?: Flight Goggles
Author: AdamantiumRage (Arthur Rovak)
What are flight goggles? For some, they are irreplaceable and invaluable gadgets, and it’s a wonder that anything at all could be done before they were invented. For others, especially in those “traditionalistic” circles, they are an affront against all things with wings, and we’d be better off without them. Then again, those traditionalistic types seem to regard everything more complicated than a plow as a crime against Celestia (despite the fact that the Princess has a mail account), so you can take that last opinion with a bit of salt.
Anyways, what are flight goggles? Simply put, they’re a pair of goggles –obviously- with a Heads-up display integrated into them. This HUD can display a great deal of things, which vary depending on model and manufacturer. The most basic models have, at the very least, a speedometer, an altimeter, a radiobeacon receiver, and a compass –although most pegasi and gryphons prefer to use their own, natural compass -. Intermediate models add relative bearing displays, digital magnification, light amplification, and other odds and ends. The more expensive models, on the other hand, can have anything from night vision, to infrared imaging, to shape-shifting lenses.
Obviously, the main market for flight goggles is pegasi and gryphons, although they’ve also proven quite popular amongst hovercycle owners, stratojumpers, and changelings.
Now, for the top ten flight goggles available in the sector market…
Comments:
Posted by: Unregistered Member:
I think the opinion of Traditionalists should be taken with a bit more than just a grain of salt. That is, if you can find any of those fine ponies still able to fly, or even render a coherent opinion. The sky is full of fast and hard things nowadays. Things that will come off a lot better than someone of flesh and bones if you bump clouds with one in midair. Things that won't see a traditionalist in time since they refuse to wear those 'affronts', or have those same 'Crimes against Celestia' warn them of an overtaking aircar. They save lives ponies. I have to chase down too many young idiots convinced their wings make them immortal already to add the actively stupid to my list.
-Lightning Chaser, Police Officer
====================
File #3
====================
In some places of Trader Space, it is customary that criminals sentenced to heavy punishment, such as death, exile, Cryocontainment, or Cognizant Cryocontainment, be allowed to have their last words preserved before the sentence is carried out.
The following are the last words of Professor Almond Wading, employee of the Horizon Corporation, before being interred in Cognizant Cryocontainment in the Alphaz Maximum Security prision.
Loading audio file…
There are sounds of scruffling, of a chair being dragged over a metal floor. There is the sound of someone breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating.
“Anything you would like to say?” says a voice, male, flat. As if this is something that he has done a great many times.
“A whole fracking lot, actually.” Says another voice, rougher, older and much more emotional.
The speaker shifts around in his chair. “Where should I begin?” he muses, “How about the one question your damn Directorate never bothered to ask:”
“Why the frack did I sign up with a bunch of delusional apes? Why should I, a Celestia-damned unicorn, participate in a project aimed at creating slaves out of ponies? Hmm?”
“Well, it was because it was necessary,” he continues, “because those imbeciles had unwittingly stumbled upon the very future of my species. I allowed them to use my talents to suit their greed so that I could get access to the resources I needed to pursue my real goal. There were so many prototype phases that it was trivial to divert funds and material without anyone noticing.”
There is silence for a moment, as he was reorganizing his thoughts so that he can present them more clearly.
“I remember,” he starts again, more level-headed this time, “someone once telling me that the reason the humans reached space before us was because we had been cuddled, while they had to constantly out-do themselves to survive. They were right, we’d been under the wings of the Princess since time immemorial, to the point that any previous regime is talked about like a myth and legend. While humanity was constantly at each other’s throats for their entire existence, we had our benevolent ruler to guide us and unite us.”
There is a dark chuckle, “And, in the end, look at who ended uplifting who. Was it the harmonious, united people of Equestria led by their wise, benevolent ruler? No, it was a bunch of apes led by a group of cutthroat, squabbling and naïve despots guided by greed and profit, who couldn’t even keep their planet intact!”
“Watch your tongue.” The first voice hisses, with a sudden rage.
The second voice snorts. “I’m about to be sent into an isolation chamber that will leave my consciousness a mushy paste. I’ll say whatever I want to say!”
There is silence for another moment.
“Anyways,” the second voice continues, “Looking over at this… injustice, I had a revelation. As we are, we could not possibly hope to compete with the humans. ‘Even with the power of the Princesses,’ I told myself, ‘we’d always be second best. A very distant second best, at that.’”
“And that’s when it hit me: ‘Even with the power of the Princesses’… What if we had alicorns outside the royal lines, with power to match Celestia herself? What if we didn’t have to contend with only wings or a horn?”
“Ponykind, as it is now, is no match to humanity. So I decided to make ponykind capable of matching them. I decided to give us the power of the Goddess herself. It would start with a hooffull of them, just enough to have genetic variety. They’d be set loose, mate, bear children who would retain the alicorn characteristics, and multiply amongst the population. In a few generations, we’d have superequines everywhere, and no one would have known where it came from.”
There is an annoyed grunt. “Of course, you had to barge in. Three decades of work, gone! Just like that! The first embryo had barely started to mature when your hired brutes smashed it into the ground!”
There is a momentary pause, as he collects his bearings.
“Just one last thing.” He says, breathing deeply, “If I am the only one to walk this path, then I’m a blue goat. Eventually, someday in the future, somepony else will come to my conclusions, and complete my work. It’s only a matter of time, and I hope I maintain enough sanity when that happens to be able to enjoy it.”
“Anything else?” the first voice asks.
“Yes,” the second replies, “I… I’ll walk myself there.” He gulps, “Goodbye.”
Audio file end.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Carpinus Caroliniana · 5.7k words · 93 27 · 4.3k views
- Dalek IX · 8k words · 311 9 · 5.6k views
- Saphroneth · 46k words · 123 2 · 4.5k views
- Deltakilo · 2.4k words · 13 3 · 2.1k views
- Scoo · 8.9k words · 57 3 · 1.9k views
- ObssesedNuker · 28k words · 95 6 · 8k views
- SolvableSphinx · 29k words · 116 3 · 3.6k views
- boredhooman · 11k words · 203 9 · 7k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.202 seconds
Total duration
998 users online
1,657,135 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
How the eff did you get the achievement?! I've been playing non-stop for nearly a month now, and no matter how many games I play, I can't seem to unlock that one.
Anyways, good story, keep writing! Can't wait to see more!
Grats on the feature
64745
Indeed. I saw the Space Ponies achievement in the feature bar and did a double take. I wholeheartedly approve of this notion.
696468
Where?
*Reads*
Oh...
*Fixes*
It is highly amusing to read it all together.
That said... what the hay happened to your master copy?
I know we caught most of these over on spacebattles.
/ Sweetie Belle’s impact would have sent her sister tumbling over; if Rarity hadn’t had plenty practice at keeping herself on her hooves./ plenty of practice
/ she gave her little her little sister an affectionate nuzzle/
/ A pair of bookcases were mounted of the walls on either side of it, and filled with tomes./ on
/ "Let me tell you why the Colonel isn't allowed to gamle anything anymore..."/ gamble
Why the Rune Circuit article? The Goggles one is actually relevant to events at that point.
/ She only had a few books, her portable computer, her Fancy Pants doll, and a set of warm clothes (which she always carried about with her when moving, because she hated being cold with a passion)./
/ Setts!, she finally recalled the correct word for the flooring –pavement, her mind corrected again- of the road,
made of stone./ Why the gap?
/(despite the fact that the Princess has a mail account)/ email?
Alright, So Applejack and Rarity are both scions of corporate houses and thus really powerful, and Twi is the twisted product of one unicorn's scheme to one-up humanity? Well she can light herself on fire...
Wow, great new chapters, I really enjoyed these and can't wait for more!
696692
The master copy was lost in a noodle incident and I had to download the backup I keep in seven different places.
Fixing as I type, it whould all be corrected shortly.
698015
Ah, FO:E and TCB. One makes me green and yellow with envy, the other fills me with incoherent RAEG.
Anyways, thank you!
Oookay, I think I've got the spelling errors shot down.
696750
Actually, while that unicorn was part of the team that made Twilight Sparkle (and the who-knows-how-many other prototypes), Twilight wasn't part of his project.
And that's as much screentime as I'm going to be giving the Horizon Corporation.
698225 Hooray for noodle incidents!
698307 Aww... I would have loved to find out the traumatizing past of this Twilight... I'm a sucker and proponent of hideously tormented protagonists. If they haven't had at least three bluescreens of death and one Red ring of Death, then they aren't even in the running for a happy ending, and that's just the beginning.
...
I must be a horrible person.
One thing I'd like to add:
On the subject of Twilight Sparkle, I wanted to play around with the tradtional idea of a genetically engineered individual with her. Something that bothers me about most incarations of this idea is that, once it is introduced into the story, it's all about the experiment rebelling agianst their masters, going on a rampage, or extracting some form of karmic revenge.
Here, they guys responsible are already long, long dead, or they wish they were. Justice was had, and there's noone to blame anymore, and it's also had its effect on Twilight.
And yes, a lot of Twilight's personality was molded around what she is, and a lot of her issues revolve around it. Since she was a filly, she's had to live with massive, massive amounts of magical potential in her that made casting even simple spells very dangerous, and it's left her... well, you'll have to see for yourselves. If you squint, you can even see some lingering remnants of Horizon's conditioning.
696332 it's a planet bonus that sometimes pop up on planets if you're lucky.
And in case you don't know what a planet bonus is it's something like this:
Ion Storms: +10% trade, -20 population
Really enjoying this. You take the relatively plotless game like Sins. (It has a story not a story driven plot/campaign.) And then you add a layer of depth and another and another until you get something really awesome. The concept of superhumans wanting to replace the regular humans is a nice touch and adds good reason for why the TEC are so opposed to the Advent whom they probably view as no better than the federation of old.
When you introduce the Advent, I'm hoping they aren't just a human only faction, maybe a Human and Equestrian faction. Also enjoyed these last two chapters, really enjoyable and a good way of working in some of the shows plot elements.
698661
Wait, that's it?!
The only reason I haven't gotten it is because I'm unlucky?!
Well, shoot.
Ah well, Guess I'll just go back to making gigantic 2-player maps that have 200+ planets... I figure I'll find it eventually.
700065 If you're using Galaxy Forge to make those maps you can turn up the Planet Bonus Density to 100 making sure that each planet have a 100% chance of atleast having a planet bonus.
700104
I have been.
As said, the only reason I don't have it already is, apparently, because I'm unlucky
700109
I was able to finally get it over a week ago. It just sort of appeared when I colonized by first asteroid as the Rebel TEC. I didn't even have to use the planet exploration improvement.
700251
Geez, lucky.
What's it do for the planet?
700454
Absolutely nothing! I know, kind of a disappointment, but I did get an achievement out of it, so it was good.
700518
Huh. Oh well.
700520
Well, hopefully someone will make a mod based off this story and the Space Ponies! bonus will give you a +100 bonus to ship supply, or something.
Quite pleased to see this update; most scifi fics are either garbage or set as first contact. It's nice to have an established connection between aliens and equestrians.
698225
Don't worry, they've got you in the number of words but your writing so far is much better than anything Kkat could come up with.
As for TCB... 667812
698395
As I said before, I love how well you pulled that off. The other option people go for with genetically engineered individuals is as an excuse in bad fiction for them to have super powers. Or I guess a lot of them do both. "I'm and experiment so I have super powers so I use my super powers to fight the evil people that created me." It is way to cliche to be interesting anymore. I just really love your Twilight though.
704995
Thanks!
I try my best.
Gotta say, stories about how creations of genetic engineering get revenge are a LOT less interesting in how they live without their maker's involved in their lives any more. While I've got a similar element in my own story, it seems to be one of your main focuses, and I'm looking forward to what you do with it.
I'm sad that this is on hiatus, this might actually be my favorite story.
I loved playing sins of a solar empire, but I found that it had little beyond the ships, fleets and whatever else was in there.
Now, there are actually backstories that can help at least define what a civilian looks like.
Then you mixed it with ponies, which is the best thing ever... probably.
You have a great writing style that makes me jelous, you've put more work in than I could have. You drew me into this story, and now it's on hiatus... You are cruel...
JK, good job on writing so far, looking forwards to seeing it get even better.
744839 *Blinks* Wha-
Thats... pretty darn close to the image I had in my mind.
Wow, fily!Twilight is adorable.
Yay! Another person that thinks TCB is awful. Though your reason is probably different from mine. HORRIBLE SCIENCE! If the radiation from magic was killing off all the primates, why isn't it killing off all the flora and fauna too? Also, changing DNA strands from a double to triple helix isn't going to add more chromosome pairs. [/endrant]
I do so enjoy your writing, and that ultimatum is pure badass
696332
If no one answered you yet, then allow me to explain.
Space Ponies can be found on a random asteroid, one single asteroid, on a specific, random map. So as long as you keep playing and explore asteroids, you'll find them adventually... assuming you don't play the same map over and over... It's not in the random generated ones either.
795389
Yes, I ended up having a long conversation about it.
And it's dissapointing to know it's only on a single non-random map, that's going to slow me down. A little.
860776
Yes! Someone noticed the radio dialogue!
(Seriously, why can't Hollywood ever get that right.)
As for the scale, it's one of the things I'm really enjoying about writing this, even though it can be an absolute pain sometimes. The description of the Royal Palace underwent several revisions until the interior made sense.
Also, currently looking for some freeware planet generator so you guys can look at Equestria and any other planet I'll be introdicing.
I love you forever and want your babies.
And by babies, I meant your story. All of it.
ALL of it...
Ooh, changelings are a recognised and accepted species? Cool.
Ahhhh.
Now you just need to actually UPDATE this.
863130
On making realistic planets, I may be able to give you a hand with that. I can do some model making and a bit of skinning for custom textures for them so if you can describe your planets to me well enough I should be able to make them just fine.
PM me if you would like to discuss this more Dalek.
1311302
*Incoherent blathering*
Wha-?
Whu-?
Wharghah?
Holy crap. I mean- Wow! Thanks!
1311393
I'd be fine doing it, I don't have any other art things on my plate right now that require attention, so message me some details about what you want and I'll see what I can do for you and the story. I do also make ship models and various other things as well.
Why is this on hiatus?
In the absence of an update, there is only one thing to do. reread this wonderful peice of work yet again, and then cry myself to sleep because my Sci-Fi pony fic will never be this good.
linnajohansson.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/y-u-no-update.jpg
1529406
School and 2 other fics.
Sersiously, I'm only one guy.
Why Hiatus?
I love how people keep asking "Why the Hiatus" when the question has been answered.
Hope things let you get back to this soon. I'm happy to wait.
*loads up SoaSE*
I'll never be able to play this game the same way again. I don't think I can stop myself from naming my capital ships as a tip of the hat to the show and this fic.
New Ragnarov Titan motto: "I put the harm in harmony!"
damn this is good
i look forward to more
3132934
I'm editing it right now.
I remember about a year ago, I happened to see this story in some trope page under the fanfic index. "Friends of a Solar Empire," I thought. "We sure do crossovers with anything!" I then continued on my merry way.
Fast forward to about 3 months ago, and the Steam Summer sale was nearly ending. Feeling I should get something good while the getting was still good, I say "Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion" available for only 12 dollars. "Well, it was good enough for that fanfic, so it must be good enough for me." So I bought it, installed it, opened it up, and everything changed.
Month's later, Sins is pretty much my favorite RTS/4X game out there. I love the rich backstory, I love exploring the cosmos, I love building my mighty
empireArcadian Federation, and I love building just the right fleet and using just the right tactics to defeat my opponents. I love everything about the game, but only last week did my mind think, "Hey, didn't a fanfic tell me to get that game? Huh, maybe I should read it now..."And I did. And I love it as well. I'm amazed how well you melded both the MLP and the SIns universes together seamlessly, while still setting the stage for the future developments. I love how the characters have been adapted (though RD is probably going to regret her career choice, as my own fighters had paltry life expectancies). And I love how adorkable twilight still is despite her... upbringing.
But then I saw it hasn't been updated in... 17 months? Wha-how? Please, please tell me you haven't given up on this story? It's not just the best Sins fic I've ever seen, it's the only Sins fic I've ever seen, and I really don't want to see it go out with a whiff of artist's block. Are you going to finish it soon? And not "this century" soon, but "soon" soon?
3565222
I haven't forgotten.
And I'm very, very happy that you've enjoyed this fic so far, and that it got you to buy the game!
Unfortunately, I've been very busy, both with life and with other fics like Conquer the Stars and Rule of Two. I'll deliver something over the hollidays.
Wool you ever get around to adding Rebel and Loyalist factions?
Hmm, I was certain I had read this, but it wasn't marked as read. I guess it predated when I registered! (Barely, apparently.) Rereading was time well spent.
we had been cuddled
Although the image of Celestia "cuddling" her little ponies is amusing, I'm sure you meant "coddled".