//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Lost // Story: Galactic Gamble // by JesterOfDestiny //------------------------------// The sun shined on a distant world, its rays reflecting off the waves of an infinite ocean. The sky was a familiar blue and the water was much the same. One could mistake this place for the vast oceans we already know, but if it was night, you’d see colours and constellations you’ve never seen before. And if you tried to search for land, you’d soon find that this vast ocean has no end. Then, a star appeared above. It moved rapidly across the bright blue sky, not unlike a meteor burning up in the atmosphere. But it was not a chunk of rock formerly drifting through space; it was Fluttershy’s lifepod, hurtling across this solar system. “If anyone can hear me,” she cried her message into the distress signal, “I’m crashing into a planet at-” She was interrupted by a thruster forcefully getting ripped off the pod by the thick atmosphere. She tried sending the coordinates again, but the signal has been lost by then. She was plummeting helplessly into this alien ocean. The hull was badly damaged and the generators shut down from the remaining thrusters’ desperate attempt at slowing down the fall. The impact came violently. A tall pillar of water shot up as Fluttershy crashed into the ocean. Her lifepod bounced back onto the surface and was thrown around by the rapidly shifting waters. The pod finally settled and Fluttershy was in massive pain. That’s when she realized, that she was laying inside a puddle. And that puddle was growing at an alarming rate. The pod’s damaged hull has let the water in through the cracks and it began sinking. “I don’t think this is part of the plan!” She said to no one in particular. Fluttershy tried pushing every single button she could find, but there came nothing. She tried prying the doors open, but to no avail. She tried kicking the window, but it was built for the harsh conditions of outer space and was not going to give in to a horse’s buck. The pod was sinking into the depths and there was nothing she could do about it. The water slowly filled the entire pod and all Fluttershy could do is try to reach for the last rays of sunlight, as unconsciousness slowly enveloped her. And for a moment, that could have been eternity, there was only darkness and lungs slowly being filled with water. ... Then there was the sound of breathing. Fluttershy opened her eyes ever so slightly. As if she woke up from hibernation, she did not know anything. She did not feel anything. Her body was awake, she just hasn’t realized it yet. A series of colours flashed erratically before her barely open eyes, accompanied by strange bleeping. Suddenly, sensations started rushing back to her. Falling. Crashing. Water. Drowning. As if waking from a horrible dream, her eyes darted open and she flailed around wildly. The realization came slowly: She was still alive. As consciousness came back to her, she examined her new situation. She was in a well-lit room, surrounded with unfamiliar devices. There were holes inside the wall and something flew into each of them, when she woke up. She herself was floating inside a spherical bubble, with several tubes hooked up to her. And the sound of breathing came from a curious device attached to her muzzle. She was still under the water, but breathing. The erratic colours flashed again, this time she could tell that they came from a small screen in front of her bubble. Soon, strange creatures emerged from the holes in the walls. They looked like a cross between sea angels and butterflies, except they were neither. They emitted high-pitched squealing, not unlike the songs of whales. With their soft boneless appendages, they took the tubes off her. They surrounded her for a brief moment, before taking off into the distance, through a membrane on the wall. Fluttershy went after them. She put one hoof through the bubble surrounding her and it just went through. She then put her whole body through it. The bubble was fully intact, it was just vibrating like jelly. She followed the creatures through the membrane on the wall. It went around her shape and returned to its original position. She then looked around and saw a vast underwater city. But this city looked so much different from Seaquestria. This looked like a city made out of jellyfish and soft corals and other cnidarians. It looked almost frighteningly strange, but at the same time, it was beautiful. It appears she crash-landed on a planet inhabited by sapient sea slugs. And said sea slugs have helped her. But how or why, she may never know; they spoke in a way she never heard anything talk before and they didn’t understand her either. But it’s not like her breathing apparatus allowed her to talk anyway. It seems these benevolent sapient sea slugs understand Fluttershy’s biology, but not Fluttershy herself. She was fine, but who knows what happened to the others? Somewhere else, the scene was much less vibrant. There was a blizzard and grey darkness enveloped the area. A light poked through the thick storm; it was another lifepod, trying to make a soft landing. It tried to spin in the right direction, but its thrusters gave in, the wind spun it around and it crashed upside-down, right into the deep snow. The hull was severely damaged; not even the door could keep itself closed. Inside there was Rarity. She was still recovering from the rough landing, as the freezing cold burst through the door. She has already sent a distress signal in the air, multiple times, but she tried again. It was not working anymore. The lifepod’s last bit of energy has been frozen away by the blizzard. Rarity had to get out, before the snow would bury her in completely. She took a piece of cloth that was laying around and improvised a scarf out of it. When she stepped out, a choking stench has hit her. It was the smell of sulphur. And the snow wasn’t snow. It was ash. She seemed to have caught herself in some sort of ash-storm. Perhaps there was a volcanic eruption nearby? Whatever it was, she decided to turn her improvised scarf into an improvised mask instead. The wreck of her lifepod was already half-buried in the ash; she decided to take to the storm. But the air was hard to breath and the cold unbearable. She could barely walk a few meters before her whole body began to feel numb. She took one last look at the lifepod. It already had layers upon layers of white ash all over it. Rarity took a few painful steps forward, but her frozen legs gave in and she collapsed. Even keeping her eyes open took immense amount of energy. And with her last glances, she saw a large figure approaching. Rarity could do nothing, but leave herself to its whims. When it arrived, it was nothing but a towering ball of fur, with its face obscured by a mask. It gently picked her up and cradled her in its soft woolly arms. An odd sort of warmth emanated from the creature, almost like a cozy fireplace. It put a mask over Rarity’s face, just like the one it was wearing, and she could finally breathe again. She was so exhausted from those few minutes spent in the relentlessly cold and suffocating ash-storm, she couldn’t help, but be lulled to sleep by the sudden comfort the creature provided. When she woke up, she was still surrounded by the massive fur, but now she had a familiar creature before her. It was Applejack. “Applejack?” She called out to her, barely aware of where she was. “Oh, finally you’re awake!” Applejack answered. She was also buried inside a creature’s warm fuzz. “What happened?” “One of these creatures has found you and brought you here. That’s what happened to me too.” Rarity looked around and saw even more of the furry beings, all huddled together, not unlike a colony of penguins, probably to protect themselves from the cold. Their pig-like faces were now visible, as none of them had a mask on. The ash-storm was nothing but muffled rumbling now, overpowered by the quiet murmuring of the colony and a small one playing with a piece of junk that probably use to be a machine at some point. There was also an odd fiery glow emanating from under their fur. Almost like they all had a fireplace hidden inside themselves. “What do you think why did Twilight send us here?” Rarity asked. “I don’t know.” Applejack responded. “She’s the one, who read the entire database on the ship; I’m sure she knew what she was doing.” “I wish I did.” Rarity snuggled deep into the creature’s fur, as if trying to find comfort in it. “Did you send the distress signal as she asked?” “I did. I did everything the way she told me.” “Do you think she expects somebody to find us?” “I know just as much as you do, Rarity.” What a disappointing situation. This is what happens when somebody sends you away but doesn’t have the time to tell you why. “Twilight told us to wait,” Applejack continued, “I’m sure she knows something we don’t.” “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure about that anymore.” Rarity said as she buried herself even deeper inside the creature’s fur. “I’m not even sure she’s still alive.” “Don’t say that, I’m sure she manages to escape somehow.” Applejack could have said all the positive comforting things she could, but she wasn’t going to get through Rarity’s mood. This was not a time for hope. “At least we could get comfortable while we wait.” Rarity grumbled. “You do look like you could fall asleep in that big fluff.” “That’s what I’m trying to do.” Said Rarity as she closed her eyes. “I hear sleeping is a good way to avoid going crazy.” A few moments have passed, the only sound to be heard was the distant muffled rumbling of the ash-storm, along with quiet murmuring coming from the creatures. Applejack laid down as well. The faint fiery light coming from under the creatures’ fur was very comforting. With eyes closed, it felt just like staying inside in a cold winter’s night, trying to sleep next to the fireplace. But the comfort of having your family nearby, replaced with the subtle terror of being lost among strangers. Hopefully, they didn’t need to spend enough time around the creatures to start considering them family.