To The Stars

by Pogosticksforbreakfast

First published

A pony goes into space by order of Princess Celestia. Crossover with the game Starbound.

A unicorn named Night Star goes into space after a alien crashes to ponyville. Crossover with the game Starbound. As this story is half based on my experiences playing Starbound and half stuff I did to make it feel more like a story and not a straight telling you of my experiences playing Starbound, this story does have stuff like game-generated structures, so if you want to do a blind run of Starbound or not want spoilers (If there even is a thing like spoilers, being a sandbox game) , DO NOT read this story.

Chapter I - The Beginning

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“Ughhh…” I murmered to myself as I woke up. I frantically looked around, before realizing where I was. I was in my spaceship, one that Princess Celestia supplied to me to colonize the outer world. You see, It was a normal Saturday in Equestria. Ponies bustled about, foals played in their backyards, pegasi flew through the sky, some making sure that the weather was nice, some flying for fun. A strange, hostile alien being landed in the middle of the Ponyville town hall, and it promptly decided to set the building alight. A ton of ponies rushed to the scene, and I was on the front lines. I fought it off with all the spells I could use, while pegasi put out the fire and earth ponies kicked the unknown being. It was hard, but it was soon defeated, it’s particles disassembling momentarily and creating a fine dust on the ground for a second, then the particles reassembling created a blocky thing. Basically, It died and dropped a pixel. This alerted the princesses and they said that they needed ponies to go into space. I volunteered.

As I climbed into the comfortable seat, the ship blast off. Unfortunately, my ship ran out of fuel above a random planet and I was forced out of the rotating, reclining seat and onto the ground, knocking me out cold. Next thing I knew, I was waking up on the cold, metal floor. I looked around in my ship (Not that I hadn’t looked around it before, but I hadn’t really looked at it in detail). I found it had a 3D printer and a storage locker. I rummaged around there and found some seeds, a sword, a flashlight, and a strange electronic device shaped like a U with a trigger. I realized it as a Matter Manipulator, some sort of experimental technology I had seen on TV before. My hoof fit perfectly into the device, but reaching the trigger was kinda hard. I stared out of the blast-resistant glass at the purple planet below me. As I walked into the circular teleporter, I noticed the engine’s dim hum. I was completely stuck in space, no contact with Equestria, only a codex thing to read. As soon as I put in my destination, I felt my particles assembling into a beam.

As I touched down, I noticed that the planet was a fire planet. “Weird…” I said, as I walked on the rocky red obsidian. I came to a solitary laboratory. I deducted that the lab must have belonged to monkey people of some sort, because why else would there be a bananna propaganda poster? “OOF!” I had somehow walked into a rounded steel desk that I hadn’t noticed because I was pouring over the architecture and technology in the lab. “Woah.” A computer. That’s just what I needed! I hopped into the luxurious seat and tried to boot up the computer, but to no avail. I walked out, 2 pieces of diamond ore jingling in my pocket. I discovered another lab as I walked. I looted it, and kept walking.

“Ugh, I’m hungry!” I cut down a few trees to make a bonfire, but what would I cook? That’s when it hit me: I needed to hunt. I made a weak bow from some vines and wood. A alien came up behind me and I shot it. That night, I ate well and slept warmly as the fire’s warmth covered me like a blanket, my sleeping bag providing a soft, sturdy surface to rest on. The warm embers came to a minimum as I woke, the dying light weak against the daylit ground. I stamped out the fire, and put the materials in my pack. I continued walking, snacking on a piece of alien jerky when I got hungry.
I eventually came to a giant lab. I found a crazy testing chamber below it, filled with electric spikes that surely would kill me if I touched them. As I made it across, my hooves clattered on the steel platforms scattered across the chamber. I eventually made it across, finding a pulse dash tech in a chest. I parkoured my way back, using the tech when I could.

I found a miniboss and defeated him, getting a Bad-A** earcarnage. Yes, the sword was named that. The serrated, gold sword had a magical fiery essence in it, one that would light monsters on fire. I was quickly hungry again, so I hunted and relit my fire with a torch that somehow, by some stretch of equestrian magic, never died and never lit my pack on fire. I began to write as the meat was cooking, taking a break to eat, then going back to writing. I quickly fell asleep, the warmth radiating from the combustion of the organic material (The fire) warming me. I woke up, stamped out my fire, and continued on my adventure.

I warped back to my ship, and went to the planet that orbited the planet I was on seconds ago. It was more comfortable, being a non-fire planet, and I soon came across a village. The civilians were some sort of being made out of plants. They were nice, but the guards were protective of their kin. They would ask you to put the weapon away if you had one in your hoof (Or hand) by saying “Floran not like ssstabbing when othersss do it. Away.” or “Shooty thingy make Floran go Hisssss.” If you pulled out a weapon in front of them again, they would say “Ssstabby time!”.

I talked to some of the locals. Some said that their lord Greenfinger said nothing about “Small horsies”. One wanted to brush my mane. Some even wanted to EAT me! I promptly replied “No sir, you do not want to eat me. No.”

I did find something worthwhile, though. BOOKS. I took them from the chest, bringing them with me. They were filled with Floran tales of knights and dragons, the far future, and magic. The Floran were a primitive race, but nice.

Their architecture was notable too. The buildings ranged between small huts to tree skyscrapers to apartment-like buildings. It was becoming night again. I found a place to rest, well away from the Floran village. Relighting my fire, I began to fall into a deep sleep, not having slept in over 12 hours. A monster snuck up on me, trying to kill me. “GAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I yelled. “GET OFF ME!” I shouted, as if it could understand me. I pulled back the string of my bow, with no arrow, to propel the alien back. I stuck my fiery sword into the ground, jumped over and behind it, and went into a cannonball pose and fired. ‘Boosh’ ‘Shing’ ‘FWOOMP.’ “Bingo!’ The monster was sliced in half by the sword, exposing the meat of the monster. I picked the sword up and used it to carve out multiple pieces of meat. I used a arrow as a skewer to cook the meat, snacking on the tasty, piping-hot meat.

Oh hey, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Night Star, a unicorn. My coat is the type of maroon you see in a sunset, albeit a bit darker, and my eyes are a blazing blue-green, the same color as a gem I came across while walking on the outskirts of Ponyville. I found the stone and I picked the jade-sapphire gem up, put it in my bag, and used my hoof to dig a small hole. “Ow!” A sharp thing poked against my hoof. It was a ruby, the same color as my coat. I kept the two gems as my lucky charms. Anyways, my mane and tail are straw-colored and messy, although sometimes I brush my mane. I’m fiercely loyal, and I’m pretty good at using magic.

That night, I had a dream I was back home. It was one of those dream-message-omen things that you always hear about in books. Princess Celestia was talking to me, guiding me, helping me. “Night Magykious Star, you are doing a great job with your quest.” “Um… Thank you, princess.” Right then, something terrible happened. It was a full invasion. Those two-legged evolved monkeys called Humans attacked, and the castle dissolved into hexagons. I was stuck on one, floating away on an endless sea of white. I took out my lucky gem, the blue-green one. Somehow, that was the gate back to the real world, as I awoke. I found the gem in my hoof, twinkling in the mid-sized fire that was to the left of my comfortable red sleeping bag.

Chapter II- The Dream

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That night, I had a dream. A terrible, horrible one. One that would make even the strongest ponies scared. It was one of those dream-omen things you always hear about in books.

"Night Magykious Star, you are doing a great job on your quest."

I stuck out a hoof, hoping to feel something. Anything. Just then, the place lighted up. I was taken aback by it. The castle. It was changed. It was more majestic somehow, more beautiful. I knew because I had visited the castle as part of a unit on the history of Equestria in 5th grade.

"Princess Celestia?! How did the castle get this way?"
"The magic of dreams."
"Oh. Makes sense, with Luna being able to manipulate dreams and all."

Just then, the castle was attacked. Those two-legged evolved monkeys called Humans. The castle disappeared into hexagons about 3 meters on each side, and I was on one of them. "Please, let this horrible dream end." I took out my gem, the blue-green one. I stared off into the sunset, wondering wether this dream would end.

I awoke with a start. The gem was in my hoof, twinkling in the fire. Made sense, since I had a thing for sleepwalking. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I read some books until the sun came up.

III- What If...

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The sky.

I found myself looking at the sky. Thoughts ran through my head. Would I ever get to see my mom and dad agin? What about my brother? Would I ever get to take a gentle stroll through Ponyville square, the smooth stone beneath my hooves, the gentle breeze of a mild Summer day blowing through my unkept mane, the sweet aroma of cupcakes floating in the air, made but a hint of a sugary smell by the expanse of land between the square and the gingerbread house-like structure comprising the town's bakery and sweet shop, hosting both bread and cupcakes, muffins and peppermint candies, potent enough you could taste it almost, the beautiful and masterful playing of the lute from Lyra combining with gentle conversation from nearby cafés.

It wasn't perfect, but it was sure home.

Dear Celestia I missed that place. I felt very heavy hearted from the emotion. I packed up my things and warped to my ship. I broke down, an optimist turned into a glass-half-empty pony. Tears welled from my eyes, nostalgic for home. Something, anything, would cheer me up. I stared out the window emptily, intending to and not knowing what I was doing. I picked up a photo of my family and me from my shelf, hugging it so tightly my forelegs might as well have been glued to the picture. A stray tear landed on the smooth glass. When I was done breaking down, I layed down on my bed, thinking how lucky I was to have run out of fuel over a planet with abundant resources. I lay, my tired head lying against the pillow.