Curving On The Edge of Daylight
Twilight’s eyes fluttered open, her body feeling much like a feather on water. Her fur felt soaked, as if she were wearing a large coat in the summer. A bright light pierced through a glass veil, and her eyes had to squint to avoid blindness. Her head slowly drifted about, her vision impaired by a padded border. She peaked back into the glass veil, a dark blanket with thousands of distant lights gleaming staring back at her.
There was no sound to speak of. No sound except her breathing. Her breath was loud. She’d never realized how loud she could breathe.
It took her brain a minute to register where she was, but when a strange sheet of metal with the number “six” painted on drifted past, she remembered where she was. Drifting around the planet Equus. In Satellite Six. It was all coming back now…
She’d volunteered to explore the Lunar Frontier by staying aboard Satellite Six. Yeah, now it made sense… but where was Six? She didn’t remember stepping out of the satellite, let alone trying to explore the outer reaches of space. Her brain hadn’t immediately clued her in.
She tried to move a forehoof, but it felt… heavy. Her eyes looked over, noticing a white suit where her left hoof should be. Oh yeah.
Vacuum sealed in a heavy suit. Fan-fucking-tastic.
She tried to turn herself, but she had little control of anything. Her wings instinctively tried to flap, but alas, nothing happened, as her wings were also trapped in the suit. Her breath quickened, the glass veil fogging as she began to hyperventilate. Her vision blurred in and out, the thousand points of light expanding and retracting.
She then halted, slowing her breathing in an attempt to calm. She’d be fine, yeah. They’d realize Six had been lost and send help! For now, she just had to survive… maybe she could send a signal!
She continued to try and flip herself, swinging her right hoof backwards. It was slow. Very slow. But eventually, she was able to slowly turn around. As she reached the rear view, she found an almost unfathomable view. Equus, her home… gleaming like a diamond in the sunlight. She raised a hoof, covering the country of Equestria with her own covered hoof. Her eyes watered a bit, seeing the land she grew up with, the land she knew for so long, now a mere bug under her hoof. Even if it was covered with an airtight straight jacket, her soul almost couldn’t comprehend it. But, as she rotated, her eyes soon caught the view of scrap metal. Tons of it. She blinked, watching as it drifted past her.
What happened?
Then it snapped, like a twig. Not that she fully knew, but somehow… Six was destroyed. Now, she was alone. She almost couldn’t believe it. She thought it might be a cruel prank. That Luna might suddenly appear and wake her up. But… it didn’t take a fool to see. She was on the Lunar Frontier, with no way to call for help.
As she rotated, her eyes suddenly fell upon a rope. With little options left, she reached out, gripping it with her hooves. She stopped rotating, and began pulling herself towards the end of the rope. As she pulled herself, she felt her head go light. Her breathing became… hard. She began wheezing, her neck growing tight. Now, she began panicking. Her breath quickened, loud hissing coming from her mouth.
She pulled herself faster, floating towards a larger part of the wreckage. Her vision went blurry, but she could still see where she was going. After a few minutes, she found herself at the chunk, and she began looking around desperately. Her eyes fell upon a small container, he reached down and grabbed it, before inserting it into a small compartment on the belly-side of her suit. Her breathing regulated as oxygen slowly returned. She let out a bitter chuckle, feeling little light in this small victory. She placed herself on the floor of this large chunk of wreckage, looking back out into the dark abyss. It seemed so… close. Yet she knew it was too far.
She looked around, hoping she might find something that could help her. But alas, anything of use more than likely floated off.
Alone. No one could hear her if she cried out, hell, it’d be a waste of oxygen. She was just… alone.
She chuckled again, a bittersweet grin spreading across her face. She had, what? Maybe a few minutes of oxygen in the new container. That wouldn’t last her through the search for a radio, let alone the awaiting of a rescue.
Ah, what’s the point? She did it. She made history. They’d surely remember her, wouldn’t they? She’s the first pony to truly explore the Lunar Frontier, they wouldn’t just forget her. They’d at least send someone for a body. And yet, she still wanted to be saved. She didn’t want to die, hell, she didn’t deserve to die! But… in the end, it wouldn’t matter. It was clear to her now.
It was clear to her when she covered her home with her hooves.
It was clear when she saw Equus gleaming.
She didn’t matter. No one did.
They were insignificant. A speck of dust in cosmic sand. She was over borders that divided the Equus bound tribes, she was truly a Goddess, ascended beyond even Celestia in terms of status. And yet, she had no power. No strength to change the course of history.
And what if she did return? What would they care? Sure, she’d be hailed a hero for a while, but heroes are a dime a dozen nowadays. No one would care that she went to the Lunar Frontier after a month. She was a novelty, the Frontier was a novelty. Her goddesshood.
A. Goddess. Damned. Novelty.
She peered down, watching as the same black void met her, as it did when she looked up. Something so… lovely about the empty blank. So nauseating yet welcoming. A thousand points of light reaching out for her, gleaming with such beauty, it put every mystical light show to shame. Thousands and thousands of majestic dancers, sending hope to millions back on the surface. She sighed, thinking about an old legend she’d heard from Luna.
As part of the batponies’ religion, it was stated that the young thestrals upon death would be reborn as stars to eternally sleep and dream in a grand blanket of other stars. A life devoid of worry or fear. This brought a small smile to the distressed Alicorn. Maybe she’d be reborn…
Her mind reflected upon her own life. What she’d done. Oh, the bittersweet reflection upon her life and just how… wild it was. She’d done all she’d ever could’ve dreamed of. She brought peace to Equestria and beyond, she’d gone between universes and time itself, she’d battled and redeemed countless creatures strewn away from the light, she became a literal goddess, not once, but twice.
And yet… she sensed the Lunar Frontier wasn’t her battle. It wasn’t hers to conquer. Maybe it couldn’t be conquered. How could they? For all they knew, for all she knew, this place was truly infinity. Maybe beyond their own comprehension. How could you comprehend infinity? She’d read countless stories about brave ponies who dared to challenge infinity. Many of them died.
Maybe this was her due punishment? Maybe there was someone she hurt without knowing, someone she let down and didn’t know. Or maybe it was just her hubris. She remembered Luna, she reached too high and fell too hard. Rarity challenged the sun and nearly died for it. Maybe this was her requiem. She’d reach for the stars, and she certainly got it.
It’s funny, she thought. Have you ever thought about how many bits it would take to purchase the entirety of Canterlot?
I wonder what mom made for dinner today…
Do you think they call it sand because it’s between sea and land?
You ever just wanna fake your death and move to Zebrika?
Can the Legion of Doom feel anything? Or are they full stone statues?
If a thousand chickens fought a bear, who’d win?
How many boats could I stack on top of each other before they fall?
The fuck is a Pinkie Sense?
Is she truly immortal? She still feels pain, but she never seems to die…
What happens after we die?
Where would I be buried? How would they handle it if I die up here? Do they cast me into the sea or something?
Will they tell stories of my death? Will I be forgotten? They better write a book about me or so help me goddess
…What would happen if I jumped off? What’s below Equus? What’s above it? Is there truly a below or above here?
A thousand thoughts, completed and unfinished, miscellaneous and important. Anything to keep her from snapped like a twig. Unseen by her, but imagined in her head, she watched as blue lights flashed about in her head, gleaming like glowing ants in tunnels.
Yet amongst this feeling of loneliness, an ember of hope burned like magnesium. She felt that, even in this state of emptiness, she couldn’t give up. If not for her, then for her friends and family, for her students and teachers. She was the Princess of Friendship, the Princess of Equestria! She had to make it back, if only for a bit.
Her eyes widened as she caught view of something… a little object no more than a few hooves away. A radio, hanging over that void that taunted her. She shook her head, turning back to the radio. Still there. Just within reach. She took a breath, thinking up a prayer. She wasn’t religious, but she made an exception this one time, before beginning to try and push off the debris she perched in.
However, before she did, she noticed something.
Her eyes fell upon a large, sealed container. She pulled herself over, noticing a symbol in the center of the lid. O. Oxygen! Her eyes drifted between the box and the radio. She could get both, but… her mind prioritized the oxygen. Her gauge still read green, thankfully she hadn’t been talking or hyperventilating, but she still felt like she needed it. Maybe it was simply the primitive urge to get oxygen, maybe she was overthinking it.
Alas, with fear growing like an unstoppable cancer, she then began trying to pull the box open. It was heavy. Her lungs became weak, and she struggled to intake air. She grunted, trying to pry open the box. She grit her teeth, pressing her legs down. She began lifting with her legs, silently grunting. She watched as her oxygen gauge began to slowly drop, but it didn’t matter. There was more here. In this box. She’d just have to open it.
Unbeknownst to her, the box began to silently hiss. The hissing grew louder, and louder.
Everything suddenly shook. Twilight felt herself suddenly launch, rapidly spinning like a washing machine. Her glass veil was shattered, a large crack formed over it. Her breathing was quicker than it ever was before. Her body spun around like a dancing leaf in the wind. With each flip, she watched as the wreckage, and Equus, drifted away. Further. And further. And further.
Her vision went blurry, her lungs felt… well she couldn’t feel anything. The veil cracked more, a hissing sounding inside the helmet. Her body felt cold, and only got colder as the crack got bigger. She tried to cover the crack, but alas, it only grew as she placed a hoof on it. She was still spinning, and wasn’t getting slower. The air became heavy… too heavy to breathe. Her body felt like it had lost all warmth as she watched her home get ever further away. She tried to wrap her hooves around her body for warmth. But alas. Nothing. Despite this, she smiled. That smile turned to chuckling, that turned to laughter, which echoed throughout the helmet. Maybe it was due to the rapid drop of oxygen, but she felt… acceptance. Perhaps this was how it was meant to end.
It didn’t matter.
The oxygen was rapidly dropping.
She was cold. She was very, very cold.
~~~
Celestia stepped into a large room, where she was greeted by the sounds of typewriters click-clacking and ring-a-ding-dinging. As she pushed into the room, a few ponies trotted past her, carrying stacks of paperwork. The alicorn sighed, finally stepping through the gateway and fully into the dark room. Luna sat. She stepped by a few other ponies, before meeting Luna, who was sitting in the middle of the room, sipping tea and lazily filling out stack after stack of paperwork. Her face bore hints of boredom, and no one in the room could really blame her. Even Celestia could feel boredom just by proxy.
The eldest alicorn almost didn’t wish to bother her sister. But she had to. They hadn’t heard from Twilight in a few hours, which was strange, as she’d done well enough to report all activity, minor and major, consistently for the past week she’d been up there. She sighed a bit, before opening her mouth to speak. “Any word yet…?” Celestia asked softly, her voice and eyes bearing worry.
Luna turned from her work, only to shake her head. “I’m sorry, sister. She hasn’t reported yet. We believe her shifting directly into the sun’s path might be hindering the radio equipment, but we’re not entirely sure yet.” She shifted in her chair, turning to a large screen. On it, a small satellite with the number six on it. “Don’t worry sister, I’m sure she’ll report in when she’s clear of the sun’s path.”
Celestia sighed, nodding. “I’m sure you’re right. Call me immediately if she says anything, please.”
Luna nodded in agreement, sensing the desperation in her sister’s voice. “Of course.” She turned back to the screen, sighing as Celestia turned as well, walking out of the room, the door closing behind her. Luna looked down, picking up a magazine to try and pass the time. There wasn’t much for her to do after all, and she sure as sugar didn’t feel like picking up the paperwork again.
As she read about the world of fashion, or how another “local” granny found the secret to looking ageless, up on the screen, Satellite Six, unnoticed by anyone, went dark.