//------------------------------// // Star Speaker // Story: Starshot: Star Speaker // by Tums Festival //------------------------------// Two Years Prior Within a large, rectangular ditch inside the dense Everfree Forest, soil was shovelled and rocks were cracked, all in the effort of uncovering an already partially unburied, large, elongated-triangle of a craft. Though it was caked with dirt, the ship didn’t seem rusted at all, its silverish hull peaking out beneath the grime, awaiting to be washed. Over two dozen ponies were currently at work on the project, all incredibly enthusiastic. Though none were as enthusiastic as a beaming Doctor Whooves, who upon noticing a waiting Luna at the edge of the site, gasped. With gusto, he set down his shovel, wiped the sweat off his brow, and approached her. “Princess!” he beamed. “Great wickering stallions! How long have you been waiting there? My apologies, my apologies, I seem to have lost track of time. Odd given my cutie-mark, eh?”  “It is quite alright, doctor,” Luna said reassuringly. “It gave me time to appreciate the view. I can’t believe how much progress you’ve made since I first visited.” “That’s all thanks to your funding,” Doctor Whooves smiled. “It allowed us to double the crew size. We even found some... specialized help for clearing the rubble…” He gestured towards one pony in particular Luna had missed. It was none other than Tempest Shadow, the remains of her broken horn crackling with blue energy. With a quick burst of magic, she broke a large boulder into smithereens, earning a hail of the cheers from Grubber, the small hedgehog Luna had previously mistaken for a rock. ‘Those two are inseparable even after their ‘redemption’, it seems.’ A hint of skepticism must have been present in her eyes, as Doctor Whooves continued with: “Something wrong?” “It’s nothing,” Luna said. “It’s just… you know of their history, yes?”  “Servants of the Storm King,” Doctor Whooves said. “I was there in Canterlot the day they attacked, so I am familiar. However, Princess Sparkle vouched for the both of them. And though Tempest is a little rough around the edges personality wise and Grubber tends to eat up our food stocks quite quickly, I’ve found them both to be rather delightful.” As he spoke, Tempest blasted apart yet another large boulder. Doctor Whooves grinned at the sight. “In fact, Tempest in particular is turning out to be a great asset, despite her… disability.” He winced. “Actually, calling it a disability is a disservice. It seems to allow her to channel raw mana like I’ve never seen before, and thus she can break apart rock like a regular unicorn could only dream of. We would never have been able to clear out the northern section this quickly without her help.” “She is quite powerful,” Luna nodded. “I found that out the hard way. Still, doctor, I trust your judgement on this.” “Splendid, splendid,” Doctor Whooves said. “Anyway, I’m delighted you’re here. We are actually just about to enter Phase Two of the dig. We’ve also made a number of serious discoveries I’d like to share.” He sighed heavily. “I just wish the original finder of this marvel was here to share them with us.” “Ms. Daring Doo’s sudden disappearance was as unexpected as the revelation of her existence,” Luna said solemnly. “Equestria has lost a fine adventurer.” “Many of my archeologically-focused colleagues actually knew she ‘really existed’ for some time, I’m told,” Doctor Whooves explained. “Half of the items in our museums were collected thanks to her.” He raised a hoof. “Nevertheless, I’m sure she wouldn’t want her loss to sully this most momentous new era within the scientific community.” “New era?” Luna asked. “What do you mean?” “We are...” Doctor Whooves coughed, lowering his voice slightly. “We are now reasonably certain that this craft… is not of Equisian origin.” Luna raised her eyebrows. “That is quite a claim, doctor.”  “Oh yes,” he nodded. “But there is great evidence that this ship was meant for extra-orbital flight. We haven’t managed to gain entry as of yet, but part of the reason for that is it appears to be completely vacuum-sealed, radiation-shielded, and sturdy to an unparalleled degree, all of which you’d need to survive such an environment. To add to this, we are reasonably certain it has a propulsion system more advanced than anything ever created on this world.” “I will take your word on its capabilities,” Luna said. “However, there have been times when archeological finds have been falsely associated with an alien origin; if my readings haven’t betrayed me.” “You are right to be skeptical,” Doctor Whooves said. “I was as well. But after some rather intense, coffee-fueled discussions and late night research sessions, everyone on the team agrees that no known civilization could have designed it. It’s simply too advanced technologically speaking and its architecture too foreign. That means either there was an advanced civilization here sometime in the distant past that we don’t know about, there was or is an advanced society on Ares, the Moon, or one of the other nearby bodies, or this came from another star system entirely.” “I can… confirm that there isn’t any advanced civilization on the moon,” Luna said, her voice a mix of discomfort and excitement. “And even when I was young, there were no tales of a technologically advanced society. So that narrows things down.” “Indeed,” Doctor Whooves said. “Personally, I think this vessel must have come from another system entirely. Ares simply doesn’t seem to have the ecosystem to support any type of civilization and we should have found something in the fossil record to prove the existence of an advanced precursor.” “So then,” Luna said, her eyes widening. “This ship… this ship can travel to other stars entirely?” “I can’t say for certain,” Doctor Whooves said. “But it is a very real possibility.” Luna shook her head, baffled. “By the night...”  “Hah!” Doctor Whooves grinned. “‘By the night’ is right. I thought that that little detail might interest you.” “Consider my interest piqued to the extreme,” Luna said. “Do you think it might still be functional? That we may even be able to use it for ourselves?” Doctor Whooves chuckled. “I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep. We still don’t know if we’re even going to be able to get inside.” He then gazed at her pensively. “Why do you ask? Hoping to see what makes your nights so dazzling up close?” “You flatter me more than I deserve, doctor,” Luna smiled at him, her mind racing with the possibilities. “True, I have always had a connection to the stars. With my magic, I’ve been able to ‘speak’ to them, brightening certain ones to create the constellations.”  She then glanced away from him. “However, the reality of their nature confuses me, as well as how myself and my sister fit into it all. I had always assumed those dots of light in the night sky were just that: dots of light. But now I’m told that they are actually distant, burning balls of plasma created through the fusion of materials at their very cores. And that with most, worlds orbit them and not the other way around as it is here.”  She sighed. “Am I really able to brighten them? Or is it simply a form of illusion I’m creating and don’t know it? Do I even have a connection with them at all? And why do their systems behave so differently? Is there no Celestia there to guide their planets so they simply… fall into a natural motion as the laws of gravity say they should? So many questions, so little answers. My sister doesn’t care to ask them, but I can’t help it.” “You’ve given this quite a bit of thought,” Doctor Whooves said. “I simply want to know the truth,” Luna said.  “Spoken like a true mare of science,” Doctor Whooves said. “After all, both Truth and its sibling Fact guide us in all our endeavors.” “What if they lead to disappointment, though?” Luna asked.  “We cannot say they won’t,” Doctor Whooves said, sympathetically. “But as I tell my assistant, Derpy: sometimes, reality is stranger than our wilder dreams. We should not let fear limit the scope of our imaginations. If we did, how could we ever grow? Wouldn’t, in only a short amount of time, all stories that could be written in such a box be written?” Luna smiled warmly. “You are a wise pony, doctor. Wiser than your age would suggest.” “Looks can be deceiving on that front,” he said. “But that is a tale for another day.” He then gestured for her to follow. “Come, why don’t I show you what we know so far?” “With pleasure,” Luna nodded. “And please, do not hold back, no matter how complex the topic. I wish to know everything about this... visitor from the heavens.” -- Present “Okay, before anyone freaks out again--” “Not freaking out, not freaking out,” Scootaloo said, rocking in a feeble position. “Not freaking out!”  “--let me just point out that we came this far in the blink of an eye, right? We can probably travel back at the same speed.” “Good point, Spike,” Luna complimented, settling the restless group somewhat. “Alright, computer, what exactly would we need to do in order to travel back to Equis?” “The planet we were formerly landed on,” Doctor Whooves added. “In what timeframe?” the computer droned. “I don’t know,” Luna said. “How about an hour?” “You will need approximately --ERROR-- kilos of Aetherium for --ERROR--. Unable to extrapolate full answer due to library corruption. Wormhole stability and trajectory calculations unavailable." “C-Can we freak out now?” Ocellus squeaked.  “I know you’re frightened, little one,” Luna said softly, patting her on the back. “We all are. But we must remain calm so we can use our heads.” Ocellus nodded with a shy smile. “O-Okay.” “It brought up ‘wormhole’ again,” Pharynx grunted. “Doctor, now would be a good time to tell us what in the name of Chrysalis’s crooked horn that is.” Doctor Whooves took a deep breath. “Hmmm… how to explain...” “In the simplest way possible, preferably,” Luna said.  “Nothing about them is simple, though,” Doctor Whooves said. “They’re a highly theoretical concept that was almost in the realm of pseudoscience… until now, it seems.” “I take it they don’t involve worms,” Spike said.  “Again with the jokes,” Pharynx growled. “No wonder Thorax likes you so much, dragon.”  “Yeah, we’re BFFs,” Spike smirked. Pharynx narrowed his eyes. “But I am not my brother.”  “No, you’re a little shorter,” Spike muttered, silent enough that only Luna could clearly hear him. “What was that?” Spike smiled innocently. “Nothing.” He cleared his throat. “But yeah, wormholes. Complicated. Take it away, Doc.” “Well, you actually helped by pointing out the name,” Doctor Whooves said appreciatively. “Think of a long distance in space like a tall mound of dirt. You could climb over it, yes, but if you were a worm, you could simply tunnel through it instead, making your journey much shorter.” “Sooo… a wormhole would be like a shortcut?” Scootaloo said in a hopeful tone. “A shortcut in space?” “Precisely,” Doctor Whooves nodded. “I remember one featured in one of the later Space Trek novels, and I think the portrayal was accurate. They allowed a few of the characters to travel from two distant points - separated by tens of thousands of light years - almost instantaneously.” “Oh, I remember that one!” Luna said, once again trying to hide her excited tone. “That was the one with Deep Space Swine! My second favorite. The pig race always amused me.” “Ultra-greedy fictional aliens aside,” Doctor Whooves said. “If this ship is able to open a stable wormhole, of which it might be capable of, it could bring us back to Equis in the blink of an eye.” “It said it needed that Aetherium stuff though,” Scootaloo said. “And it also said it was out of it!”  “Er, right,” coughed Doctor Whooves. “That would be a problem.” “That is a problem, doctor!” Pharynx snapped.  “S-So… so we are doomed?” Scootaloo eeped. “We’re never going to get home?!”  “Hold on, hold on, nopony ever said that,” Doctor Whooves said in a calming tone. “We just need to figure out how to get more Aetherium. Computer?” “What?” it asked in a bored tone. “Did uh,” Spike coughed, raising a claw. “Did the computer just get cheeky?”  “Nevermind that,” Doctor Whooves said. “Computer, where is the nearest source of Aetherium?” “As of --ERROR--, Planet --ERROR--, Depot --ERROR--, Somnus System.” “And how far away is that?” Luna asked.  “143 light-years from the Kumquat system.” The younger creatures of the group burst out into giggles at that.  Luna couldn’t help but smile slightly. ‘At least they’re no longer so anxious.’ “Good,” Doctor Whooves said. “At least we have a vague idea of what to do now.” “Right!” Spike said, nodding enthusiastically. “What is that again?”  “Hyperspace,” Pharynx said, as if having a sudden realization. “We need to use hyperspace to get there.” “Indeed,” Doctor Whooves said. “Smarter than the average brute, aren’t you?” “Don’t push it, doctor,” Pharynx grunted. “There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity.”  “The computer did mention we were out of Solarium when we asked it to take us home,” Luna pondered. “And then that Solarium was often used in hyperspace travel. We can only assume this ship can travel via… whatever that is.” “Correct as well,” Doctor Whooves beamed. “It also mentioned Solarium was found around dying stars.” “But doctor, this system’s star is a Red Dwarf,” Luna said. “Dying stars are supposed to grow to massive sizes. This one is… well, a dwarf.”  “Boy, they really call it as they see it in astronomy, don’t they?” Spike said. “You have no idea,” Doctor Whooves chuckled. “Then again,” Luna continued before Doctor Whooves could say anything further, pacing a bit as she did. “We don’t actually know much of anything about Red Dwarves. They were only discovered a decade ago, yes?”  “I believe so,” Doctor Whooves said. “Honestly, princess, I’m willing to guess your knowledge of astronomy is equal or superior to my own. However, this is all we can go on for now.” “Maybe the computer knows,” Scootaloo suggested. “Hey, computer.” “Hello.”  “Uh, hi: what exactly is a Red Dwarf?”  “--ERROR-- Stellar classification library unavailable due to corruption by foreign entity.” “Alright, that’s been bugging me,” Spike said. “Bugging you?” Pharynx said, looking slightly offended. Luna wasn’t sure if it was genuine or if he was just trying to give the dragon a hard time. “I-It does sort of cast bugs into a negative light,” Ocellus said, before fluttering her insect-like wings. “And, um…” “Oh, sorry,” Spike coughed. “Bothering me, then.” “You’re forgiven,” Ocellus said warmly.  “But yeah, computer, what is this ‘foreign entity’ you keep talking about?” Spike asked. “Unknown.”  “Oh, come on...” Spike sighed.  “It’s possible it could simply be referring to a form of physical damage,” Doctor Whooves said. “We’ll need to find and take a look at its physical structure later, assuming it has one, though the likelihood of any of us being able to repair it is… slim, admittedly.”  “Very well, then,” Luna nodded. “We’ll just have to assume we can find this… Solarium within this system.”  “Alright, but how do we even move around the system?” Pharynx said gruffly.  “We get out and push?” Spike suggested.  “I’m not going to be able to stop you from doing that, am I?” Pharynx sighed mournfully.  “Probably not,” Spike shrugged. “I was actually kind of serious, though: what else could we do?” “Though much of the ship was alien to us, no pun intended,” Doctor Whooves began. “We did identify what we believed to be maneuvering thrusters, as well as a larger thruster on the rear. If our theory is correct, we should be able to move at sublight speeds. Computer, can you confirm this?” “This vessel is able to travel at sublight velocities via ion propulsion thrusters.” “Do we need fuel for that?” Luna asked. “It seems like we need it for everything else.” “Yes, though the risk of running low is minimal. Fuel reserves are almost always at one hundred percent due to this vessel’s ram scoop." “I’m not going to even bother asking what that is,” Pharynx grumbled. “The computer will just give another error, I bet.” “You’re in luck, because I know that one,” Luna said. “It was in a Space Trek novel. A ram scoop gathers large amounts of small particles floating about in space for use as fuel.” “Space Trek saves the day again!” Ocellus cheered, before blushing at the smirks she was getting. “Eheh. Yeah.” “Well, it’s a start, at least,” Pharynx reluctantly acknowledged.  Luna nodded to the doctor. “Doctor Whooves, you’re the most qualified to figure out how to get us moving, so I leave that task to you.” “Very good,” he nodded. “Though I warn you, I do not know how long this will take.” He then glanced towards the bridge door apprehensively. “And speaking of time. Where is my assistant? She should have been back by now…”  “It’s a pretty big ship,” Spike said. “Bigger than the palace in Canterlot! Who knows how long it’ll take them to find the other group?”  “I suppose you’re right,” the doctor said, a hint of worry in his tone. “If they’re not back soon, I’ll look for them and the other tour group personally,” Pharynx said. “You have my guarantee I’ll find them.” “I… appreciate that,” Doctor Whooves nodded, before rapidly shaking his head, as if to throw his bad thoughts out of it. “But, no matter! Time to get to work. Remember though, this will take time.” “How long?” Luna asked. “I’m not sure,” Doctor Whooves admitted. “But I’d consider taking stock of food and water supplies just in case. Luckily, we did supply what we believed to be a cafeteria with goods, and we also had a gift shop set up as well. Probably nothing but candy for sale there, but every bit helps.” “We never got through much of the tour,” Pharynx said. “How much would you say this ship compares to say, a large maritime vessel?”  The doctor rocked his hoof from side to side. “Somewhat. We know next to nothing about the original inhabitants, but they did seem to need food, water, medical attention, and rest, just like we do. We know this because we found evidence of quarters - each with a sink-like object, a medical facility of some type, the aforementioned cafeteria, a galley, et cetera. We did have a few maps we were going to hand out, but… hm, I wonder...” He took a deep breath. “Computer, do you know the location of… mmm, let’s say, the medical bay?”  “Sickbay,” it said in an almost annoyed tone. “Is located on Deck Five, Section A. Do you require directions?”  Doctor Whooves’s eyes widened, a fascinated look growing on him once again. “Yes, sure.” “Take Bridge Turbolift A to Deck Five. Walk 50 meters stern. Sickbay will be on the right.” “Woah,” Scootaloo said, the worry in her tone finally giving way to wonder. “So… it knows where we are?”  A sly look came to Spike’s face. “Heh, if it can do that. Maybe it can... Hey, computer, where’s Rainbow Dash?”  “Unknown Entity: Rainbow Dash.” “The blue one,” Spike said. “Rainbow-colored hair. Kind of cocky. Likes to say, ‘Twenty percent cooler!’ a lot like it’s some sort of catch-phrase.”  “Hey, don’t make fun of Rainbow!” Scootaloo snapped.  “I’m not making fun of her,” Spike retorted. “She straight-up likes saying ‘Twenty percent cooler!’ a lot!” “What is it with speedy individuals and catch-phrases,” Luna pondered. “I once knew a blue hedgehog who frequently enjoyed saying, ‘Gotta go fast!’”  “I assume he enjoyed starving himself?” Pharynx deadpanned. “Was he some form of monk?” Luna gave him a blank look. “No.” “So you mean he literally went fast?” Spike blinked. “Like Rainbow?” “Yes,” Luna said, her voice growing darker and her eyes narrowing. “Though one day… one day he went a little too fast. The fates were not kind to him for it.” The younger members of the group looked at her in horror.  “D-Did he run into a tree or something?” Scootaloo squeaked. Spike raised a claw. “Uhhh…” “Nopony knows what really happened,” Luna said. “Just that at one of his demonstrations of his speed he simply… disappeared.” “I will admit, a good cautionary tale,” Pharynx nodded. “One should never push themselves beyond their boundaries.” “Yuh huh,” Spike sighed sarcastically. “Great story. Ten out of ten.” “Pffft, my catch-phrase is better, anyway,” a familiar voice announced. “They should make plushies outa me that say it!”  A grinning Rainbow had re-entered the bridge, Derpy at her side.  “Entity defined: Rainbow Dash. Current location: bridge.” “Thanks, computer,” Spike said, rolling his eyes. “You’re welcome, Entity: Spike.” He gulped. “Right, okay, it’s kind of creepy when it says your name.” “Derpy, there you are!” Doctor Whooves announced, galloping over to her. “We were beginning to get worried!”  “Worried I’d ‘mess something up’ without you around?” she said in a huff. “What, no, I--” “Did you find the others?” Luna interrupted.  “Yeah, they’re okay,” Rainbow said. “We actually found them right away. They weren’t too far behind this group. Tempest, believe it or not, was keeping them together.”  “Tempest… Tempest Shadow?” Luna said in a slightly wary tone. “She’s here? I didn’t see her with the second tour.” “That’s not her real name, ya’ know,” Rainbow chuckled. “Though Pinkie never told us what it was. Anyways, I think she arrived late.” “What is she-- her group doing now?” Luna asked. ‘I suppose I shouldn’t be hypocritical, believing she reformed so suddenly, but she didn’t exactly take a direct hit from the Elements of Harmony, either.’ She furrowed her brow. ‘It seems unlikely, but could she be behind all this? And if that’s the case, then why?’ “We told them to stay put,” Derpy said. “We didn’t want them to crowd the bridge.” “Much appreciated,” Doctor Whooves complimented. “But, um, no offense, I could use even more space than that. If just Derpy and...” He smiled encouragingly at Ocellus. “Ocellus, is it?” “Mm-hm,” she said sweetly.  “Ah, good, I’m usually terrible with names. If I could just have the two of you assisting me.” “So…” Derpy said in a hopeful tone. “You actually want my help?” “Yes, of course I do,” he said in a warm tone. “You’re my number one assistant, Derpy. I’m sorry for accusing you of causing this earlier. I was just so… panicked at the time. That’s no excuse, however: it was still wrong to me to do.” Derpy thought for a second, then smiled pleasantly. “I forgive you.” She began trotting over to him. “So, what do we need to do?” “Wait a minute, I uh… kind of have a few questions myself,” Rainbow said. “For one thing: what’s with the disembodied voice suddenly talking to us?” “There’s more than that to explain,“ Luna said, nodding towards the doctor. “We will give you your space, doctor. There is a lot we need to do, anyway.” She then turned back towards Rainbow. “We need to assume we’re going to be aboard this ship for a few days. While Doctor Whooves attempts to find out how to control it…” “Oh, I-- we will figure it out,” he said confidently.  “Darn right!” Derpy beamed. “Yay!” Ocellus cheered. “...We must take stock of our supplies, assign quarters…” She began trailing off.  “Teach the other group how to talk to the computer,” Spike suggested. “Learn the layout of it,” Pharynx added. "Indeed," Luna said, appreciatively. She couldn’t help but let a small bit of excitement in her tone as she continued with: "Now, let's not crowd the good doctor any longer. Come, logistical fun awaits!" "You're sure you're the Princess of the Night and not the Princess of Bureaucracy, right?" Spike chuckled, following her off the bridge and into a long, wide corridor. "I heard you got really into the… post office one time." "Post office?" Scootaloo said, confused. "Oh wow," Rainbow laughed. "I need to hear this story." Luna blushed softly. "I never found time to see one before. It was simply a marvelously intricate system." "I reiterate," Pharynx said. "You ponies are really weird sometimes, you know that?" "Weird, but fun!" Rainbow said, grinning widely as she placed an arm around his neck. Surprisingly, instead of becoming enraged, Pharynx merely sighed in defeat. "I'm definitely not making it through this with my sanity, am I?" "My fair Pharynx," Luna said, giving him a warm smile. "Take it from somepony who knows: you'd be surprised just how much your sanity can take." “Star Speaker…” … ... Luna paused, the group pausing with her. If a glass harmonica could have a voice, it would have sounded something like what she had just heard. It was faint, as if spoken across an incredibly distant, and rang with a drawn-out reverb... And most importantly, it was beautiful. “Did… anypony hear that?” Luna asked.  Spike raised his eyebrows. “Hear what? Did the computer say something?”  “No, it was…” Luna glanced about her worryingly. “I… nevermind. Come, let’s carry on.” Despite her dismissal of it, however, she couldn’t help but ponder about it for hours. It simply sounded too real.  ‘What was that?’