//------------------------------// // XVI. Tyr // Story: Starship Ponyville: Homeward // by Vylet Pony //------------------------------// June 20, 2051 [Sol 70] The members of the Starship Ponyville came to know the attack on CX38 as the First Cataclysm, and the invasion of Norphae as the Second Cataclysm. Vylet had been recognized alongside Satyrn as a war hero, though not that anypony was ready just yet to admit that a war had begun. After the ship had escaped Norphae, Princess Celestia announced that they were on course to a planet called Tyr. The journey would take two days without any way to open another operative waygate for some time. The Princess declined to offer any details on what the planet was or why she chose it as their next destination. Nopony knew anything about it. Satyrn spent the journey resting back in her room. Vylet and Rayna visited her often; they spent their time together by reading the books that Satyrn had brought, while also making time to design a virtual scarf for Rayna to wear. Sylver would bring her coffee and tea multiple times throughout the day, and asked her questions about botany. By Sol 70, Satyrn was up and about again. She started reading a novel that her father had given to her before she left: “The Tales of Captain Astrid”, the story of a seafaring adventurer who embarked on expeditions in search for buried treasure that she would bring back and give to the poor ponies who lived in her home country. It inspired Satyrn to design and fasten a nautical outfit for herself, more befitting of a commander at sea rather than space. “Time has finally caught up to you,” Princess Twilight said to Celestia. They sat alone in the dim command bridge. All else was quiet. “You’ve made this decision.” “I know,” Princess Celestia was solemn. “We don’t know what we’ll find there. Are you afraid?” “I don’t know what choice we have, Twilight. Tyr is our last hope of refuge. When we arrive, we must begin to try and locate his base.” “And what about Satyrn?” Celestia’s eyes became somber and frail. She sat for a moment in silence, taking in the vast cosmos outside, “I have dreaded what lies before me for nearly ten thousand years,” her voice broke in a woeful tone. “ten thousand years, and yet it feels like it has come so soon,” she continued. “When the time comes, I cannot promise whose ally I will make,” Twilight claimed. Celestia looked up at her; tears fell faintly over her cheeks. Sylver came into the room unannounced. The Princesses turned to him as he headed over to the bridge console, and began working away at the controls. “We’re coming up on Tyr,” Sylver announced. He pointed towards a light in the distance that was growing steadily as the ship approached. “We’re going to start scanning the—” “There’s no need for that. Steady on ahead,” Celestia interrupted. Sylver’s mouth hung open as he gave the Princess a puzzled look. He turned nonchalantly to continue the task of navigating the ship. “Another day another planet,” Vylet grumbled. Rayna fluttered about the laptop monitor with her new scarf as Vylet entered lines of code into the program. He had continued to develop a new simulation software throughout the past three months, much like the one he had created back home. The door to his room swung open. “Hey!” Satyrn exclaimed in the doorway. “Why am I used to this now?” Vylet muttered. “We’re going to be landing on Tyr soon. I wanted to know if you would come watch with me.” “Eh. We’ll just get attacked in the next two days, and then have to go planet ‘Dorf’.” “Ah… so is that a ‘no’?” Rayna propped herself up on Vylet’s head, “It’s a yes!” “Ugh,” Vylet grunted and rolled his eyes, “It’s a yes then.” He got up from his desk and started towards the doorway. “Alright, cool.” As Satyrn turned to leave, she was stopped by a sudden hug from Vylet. This took her by surprise, but only momentarily; she returned the embrace, and ran her hoof through his mane, “Trust me. Everything will be okay,” Satyrn’s voice was maternal and soft. “I never imagined anypony would ever give me the strength to believe in myself,” Vylet whispered. Satyrn managed to smile. When the starship entered the atmosphere, communication arrays went down. A mysterious surge of energy had struck the ship, rendering all means of imaging and navigation impossible. Due to the dense fog that surrounded their point of entry, Celestia eventually decided to land the ship in a nearby sea so that the engineers could try to resolve the problem. The ocean was murky and marmoreal, lapping and swaying as the wind commanded it to. The smoky amethyst clouds crept through the gloomy skies, warning of a coming storm. The dense fog obscured all but a few miles in every direction. Inside the starship, engineers and pilots ambled through the hangars. They murmured to one another of legends and tales as they wondered what terrors would transpire next. Custodians plodded along the corridors unenthusiastically as they asked passersby if things would end up okay. Vylet and Satyrn sat in the central hangar and watched as the tides brushed against the vessel. They were soon joined by Sylver who lifted their spirits with cheap jokes and (as anypony could guess) coffee. Hours passed by with no word on the downed communication arrays. Many crew members began to wonder if they would ever see the natural light of a star shining upon the land again. Whispers of a watery grave started to put ponies on edge. The waves became listless, and the ship began to rock. It was slow at first, but it grew stronger and more violent. Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia quickly descended from the bridge into the main hangar. “There!” Twilight shouted, pointing towards the ocean. Bubbles and foam effervesced outside of the ship, as a serpent began to emerge from the depths. It was a bright blue with an aquamarine sheen that glimmered in the water. Vylet jumped to his hooves and pulled Satyrn up with him. “What is that?” he laughed nervously. “To your stations, everypony!” Celestia shouted. Groups of ponies that had gathered in the hangar began to disperse rapidly. Fear painted the face of each pony amidst the bedlam as they rushed to prepare the peripheral cannons. It was understandable to some, though, considering how much had happened to the crew by this point. Rayna hovered in front of Satyrn and Vylet, “Wait… Her muscles are relaxed. And do you see her eyes? She’s just observing us, it’s not a threat.” She pointed to the serpent. “‘She?’” Satyrn questioned. “Yes. Look, she’s not hostile.” Rayna beseeched. They looked back to the serpent, whose eyes were wide and curious. “Good. I’m tired of fighting,” Satyrn huffed and darted toward the hangar bay. She deactivated the reflector shield and promptly flew out of the ship. Several groups of ponies in the hangar started shouting for her to stop and come back, but Satyrn was already too far away to hear them. She hovered up to the serpent’s head to look into its eyes. Celestia rushed to the cannon bay, “Wait!” she shouted, “Satyrn is up there. Hold your fire.” Satyrn maintained eye contact with the serpent for a few moments, it stared back, eyeing her with interest. She felt a small drop of water drizzle down from the sky and onto her snout, which caused her to sneeze. She made a strange convulsion with her face subsequently. This made the serpent giggle, “Ahh… You are charming, aren’t you?” her voice was silky and ambrosial. “Oh gosh. You can talk?” Satyrn’s mouth dropped. “Yes, my child… And little did I know that you would speak Ponish.” “You know me?” “We have been waiting for you, in fact. The girl of prophecy with the wings of a magpie.” “Prophecy?” “I am Myzshara, Goddess of the Seas of Lumi Tyr.” She bent her head down to examine Satyrn closer, “How elegant you are.” Satyrn blushed and smiled brightly back at her, “Our communication arrays are down, and we’re not sure what happened. When we entered the atmosphere, everything just stopped working.” Myzhara tilted her and raised her eyes. “Ah! Okay, so, when we arrived here, our ship was damaged. We can’t figure out a way to shore,” Satyrn clarified. “This world is surrounded by a magic barrier that protects our people from the outside,” Myzhara smiled. A bright blue aura surrounded her causing the Starship Ponyville to shudder. Then, after a moment, it stopped. “What did you do?” Satyrn asked. “I’ve repaired your ship.” “That’s some powerful magic.” “I wander, searching for sailors lost at sea. I suppose this makes you and your ship no different.” “Wow,” Satyrn sighed in awe, “I have so many questions.” “You may ask them on the way.” “On the way?” The starship became encompassed by the same magical aura that had surrounded Myzshara, and it began to hover above the water. “Woah!” Satyrn laughed. “Come, I will show you to the capital,” Myzshara smiled. The fog and clouds began to clear as they made their way swiftly across the ocean. Satyrn gilded alongside Myzshara as the Starship Ponyville was carried along by the serpent’s magic. Water sprayed and parted as Myzshara floated through the ocean with ease. “Where did you learn to speak our language?” Satyrn asked her. “I have heard it spoken for a long time; Ponish is the tongue of the educated.” Myzshara looked over at her. “So, there are others who live on this planet?” “Yes, they are like you. They are ponies.” “How is that possible?” “The ponies arrived here thousands of years ago, brought by their own goddess. Though, much of their history has long been forgotten, even to me.” Satyrn trailed alongside the serpent, a pensive expression had come over her. She glanced over at Myzshara, “Who was their goddess?” “She is not known to any but the rune sages.” “The rune sages?” “Yes, they are the wise spiritual leaders of our world. It is certain that you will meet them, as you are the girl of prophecy.” Satyrn scrunched her snout, “What is it about this prophecy?” Myzshara laughed heartily, “It was foretold by the rune sages: ‘The girl with the wings of a magpie and the eyes of the goddess of the earth will one day visit Tyr.. She will descend from the skies in a mighty vessel and lead her people homeward.’” “I feel like I’m left with more questions than I started with,” Satyrn became lost in thought. “We may convene again, if you’d like, and discuss matters further in the future. Look to the horizon, my child.” The planet’s capital, Lumi Tyr, was built at the base of a mountain chain on the coastline. Myzshara led Satyrn and the starship to the city’s sky harbour, where they finally docked. The airship dock was situated on the shortest mountain summit on the coast. Lights from houses and apartments, that had been built on the sides of the mountains, twinkled even through the darkest and foggiest of nights. Copious overpasses bridged the mountains together, creating a closely knit network of communities and neighborhoods above the city. A magnificent waterfall fell between the two major mountain peaks, feeding into a lake below. A dazzling metropolis with skyscrapers and superstructures sat at the base of the mountains, marking the city center. The starship’s occupants disembarked out onto the summit to look down upon the city. Myzshara soared through the sky and reconvened with Satyrn. “What do you think?” the serpent asked. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” Satyrn stared in awe. “Well, it has been a pleasure to meet with you, my child. You are expected by the Prime Minister Volshka Allariah, so I must go now. If you wish to speak with me at any time, you need only to come to the sea.” “Thank you, Myzshara.” “I will be watching over you.” Myzshara spiraled into the skies and plunged back beneath the ocean’s depths. The Palace of Lumi Tyr was opulently decorated with pillars of gold and articles of porcelain. Intricate patterns and paintings covered the walls and floors of the interior, accented by deep crimson curtains. The spacious lobby led to a west and east wing. A mural along both halls read: Between the corridors, a spiral staircase led to an open mezzanine that overlooked the palace center. There, the Prime Minister Volshka Allariah met with Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, Sylver, and Satyrn. “I’m told you have been acquainted with Myzshara. I’m glad to hear this,” Allariah said. “Well, it’s more so that Satyrn became acquainted with her,” Princess Twilight gestured to her. “She is our acting commander on the Starship Ponyville.” Satyrn smiled at Allariah and waved, “Yes…” the Prime Minister stood from her seat and approached the girl, “She is the child of prophecy. I’ve been told this, but I can see it with my own eyes. The blessings of the sea and the skies are with her.” Celestia and Twilight exchanged glances. Sylver had coffee, “Hell yeah they are!” His voice boomed through the ornate halls of the palace. His selection of words and tone of voice were both equally inappropriate for the moment. Allariah gave him a curious glare. “What exactly is the prophecy?” Twilight asked. “‘The girl with the wings of a magpie and the eyes of the goddess of the earth will one day visit Try. She will descend from the skies in a mighty vessel and lead her people homeward,’” the Prime Minister echoed the words Myzshara had said to Satyrn. “And what does it mean?” Celestia sounded uneasy. “Tyrrians have spent æons pondering the nature of the prophecy. The rune sages say that the spirits of the Oathsworn came to them during the Great Storm and divulged these words. They believe it means that the girl of prophecy will one day bring the tale of origin to the Tyrrian people.” The room was silent for a moment, aside from Sylver’s incessantly rude sipping noises. Satyrn’s expression was tender and questioning; she looked at Allariah. “What’s the origin tale?” she asked. “The Tyrrians believe they came from another world to this one. Our history was passed down by oral tradition for centuries, but the stories changed and were eventually lost. It’s believed that the girl of prophecy will light the path towards understanding our place in the universe,” Allariah explained. Princess Celestia stood up from her seat. She was sweating. “Your hospitality is very generous, but we have no plans to stay on this planet long,” she said. Her voice faltered. “I insist, your highness. We must discuss more about our worlds together. There’s so much to learn,” Allariah coaxed. “Surely, but we simply cannot stay here any longer than we need to.” Satyrn stood up from her seat as well and faced the Princess, “Celestia, what are you talking about? This is the biggest discovery in the history of Equestria. We can’t just leave Tyr behind.” She looked around the room at everypony; eventually her gaze fell on Allariah, “Besides, I am the girl of prophecy, right? There’s a lot we need to figure out here.” “But we must stay migrant. We cannot risk another attack,” Celestia was adamant. “Another attack? From whom?” Allariah raised her voice. Everypony looked around the room at one another Celestia became frantic, “There are some creatures that had attacked us—” “Spectre!” Satyrn interrupted, “A powerful alicorn, named Spectre, has attacked us twice.” Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia looked at her with alarm before exchanging glances with one another. The Prime Minister stood up from her seat as well. “Spectre. The Curse of the Cosmos, I assume.” “Do you know of Spectre?” Satyrn’s ears perked and she tilted her head in an inquisitive manner. “Yes. He has come to this place before with an army of shapeshifting creatures. He’s a madman who claims that he can cleanse the universe of corruption. That is not so. If he is who you are running from, I can assure you that you can find safety in Tyr. He will not hurt you here.” A silence had come over the room. “I see,” said Celestia, “I suppose we can stay here then.” The Princess was visibly uncomfortable and wary. “I hope you find your stay here fruitful, then,” Allariah bowed to her guests. Satyrn sat on her bed and watched the clouds shift and float across the sky. Her room was clean for the first time since the expedition had begun. Vylet and Sylver played card games on the floor of her room. “So, they think you’re like, a goddess or something?” Vylet asked. “No, silly, they think she’s a gondola,” Sylver quipped. “What’s a gondola?” “Wait, really?” “No, I’m just pretending to be as dumb as you.” They chuckled together. Satyrn turned herself to look at her friends, “I think what they believe is that I hold the secrets of their ancient history. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to know any of that, when I can’t even find my hairbrush in the morning.” “You use a hairbrush?” Sylver had a motto: It was never okay to badmouth, but when duty calls, it’s okay to dadmouth. It was an ode to twelfth dimensional dad jokes. Humour was a chess game to him. “I mean, with that coffee breath, there’s a certain kind of brush I think you should be using more,” Satyrn giggled. “Ha. Ha. Ha.” Sylver may have been peeved. Vylet revealed what looked to be a royal flush while Sylver revealed his lowly single. “Checkmate,” Vylet announced. “That’s not the right word.” “Eureka?” “No.” Satyrn sat down with them and initiated a group hug. Subsequently, Vylet stood up to go make Sylver some more coffee, “So… what’s next?” he asked. “What do you mean?” Sylver replied. “I mean, what’s next on this expedition? We’re obviously not on course for our mission goal.” “Celestia is on a hunt for Spectre, it seems.” Rayna darted from out of Vylet’s watch and sat on his shoulder, “I think that was her goal from the start,” Everypony in the room looked toward Rayna. “Explain,” Satyrn said. “Our presence on the asteroid led Spectre and his army to us. That can’t be a coincidence, especially when CX38 was logged at the very start of the mission when nopony allegedly even knew it existed yet,” She drifted over to Vylet’s desk and pointed to the monitor, which contained images from the Statera spire, “Then it turns out that Spectre and Statera are connected, which we know from what Starlight found.” She hopped up and started floating around the room, “Norphae was too good to be true. It’s the kind of planet we set out on this expedition to look for, so why didn’t we go there first if Celestia already knew it was out there? And now—” Rayna settled herself into Vylet’s mane, “—we’re here. Tyr. Do you think Celestia just has a knack for finding planets with life on them? Or does that likelihood seem a little suspicious to you?” “There’s a lot to figure out here,” Sylver sipped his coffee, “But we’re in this together, right? We can get through this.” Vylet and Rayna nodded. Sylver turned to Satyrn who was staring contemplatively at the floor, “That’s the magic of friendship, right? We’ve saved each other’s asses a lot in the past few days,” the scruffy unicorn put his mug to his lips but, alas, it was empty. He peered inside, having forgotten that, a few feet away, Vylet was making more coffee for him. Satyrn smiled through her jaded expression, still staring at the floor. “Yeah. We’ll figure it out.” She stood up and pulled Vylet and Sylver towards her, embracing them, “I’m really glad I met you guys.” “Me too?” Rayna asked, as she nudged herself into the middle of the group hug to smirk at her. “All of you,” Satyrn assured.