//------------------------------// // The Lonely Dwarf // Story: Starshot: Star Speaker // by Tums Festival //------------------------------// Chapter Image An hour or so later, Luna gathered the twenty or so creatures trapped aboard together, save for Rainbow, Scootaloo, and a few others. The former were busy with a ‘special project’, though Luna still didn’t know what that was.  The computer identified the meeting place as a 'briefing room', and it seemed to fit the bill. There were multiple seats (again, mostly hard slabs of polished rock) arranged into rows. These were in turn placed in front of a large monitor, presumably for displaying information. Luna, Doctor Whooves, and a somewhat nervous looking Spike stood before it. "Greetings, everycreature," Luna said, calming the nervous chatter that had broken out among the group. "First of all, thank you for giving me the chance to lead you in this rather unusual situation we find ourselves in.” “No problem!” a happy looking yak cheered. “Yona like big, blue, semi-aggressive pony princess!”  “Though that is probably the most casual way somepony could say ‘we’re lost in space,’” a grumpy looking griffon said. “Technically, we’re not exactly ‘lost’,” Doctor Whooves pointed out. “We actually know where we are… well, somewhat.” “Doctor, I don’t think that’s what he meant,” Derpy said. “Everypony, please,” Tempest spoke up. “Let’s hear what the captain has to say.” “Mmm… thanks,” Luna said reluctantly, giving her a distrustful look. “But yes, by now you should have a decent understanding of what has happened, but if you do not, I shall summarize." She took a deep breath. "For reasons we have yet to comprehend, while we were touring this ship, it somehow regained power, something that was thought impossible. After that, we believe some sort of automated system was activated that, as you all saw, launched us off Equis. Then, for equally unknown reasons, the ship created a wormhole…" "A bridge between two points in space-time," Doctor Whooves interjected. "...Through which we passed to a place far from home. The resources that are required to create another seem to be depleted, as are the resources we need to travel shorter distances to find more of the first.” She raised a hoof. “I know it may seem dire, but..." "It, uh, it turns out we aren't completely doomed after all," Spike smiled. The group broke into surprised, but nonetheless, optimistic murmurs. “Indeed," Luna nodded. "What you may not know yet is that we now believe we have the capacity to take control of this ship. With that control, we shall be able to navigate this star system and, hopefully, find the resources we need on one of its planets. Resources that, at the very least, may allow us to navigate to other systems." "Wait, so we're actually going to visit other planets?" one of the ponies asked excitedly, a teal unicorn with a slightly obsessive look in her eyes. "Planets that might have humans on them?" "What?" Spike sighed. "Yeah… sure, Lyra."  "I am sooooo one hundred percent on board, then!" she squealed, ribbing a somewhat annoyed looking pony beside her. "Hah, in your face, Bon Bon! 'Lyra, there's no such thing as humans,' you said. 'Princess Twilight and Spike probably just accidently ate sea-poppy or something'...” “Lyyyyra,” she whined. “You’re embarrassing us.” “I don’t care!” Lyra declared triumphantly. “If reality can be destroyed by the truth, then it deserves to be destroyed by the truth! Today, we begin the first steps into a brighter future where the shackles of ambiguity shall be shattered!” As she continued to ramble, Spike turned towards Luna, quietly adding: "She's been obsessed with the idea of humans ever since rumors got out about me and Twilight's visit to that weird mirror world thing. Did I ever mention I was a dog once?" “I… need context for this,” Luna blinked. “Yeah, you and me both.” Honestly, Luna hadn't really given that 'other world' much of any thought recently, though she had to stop and consider the implications of it. Despite being 'copies' of the ponies of Equestria, didn't the mirror beings still count as an alien race? An alien race with advanced technology, according to Twilight, though she had never asked just how advanced.  'Could this ship be their doing, somehow?' "Uh, I have a question," Grubber said, somewhat shyly. "Actually a lot of questions. But the big one is… what's a human?" "Why, I'm glad you asked!" Lyra beamed. "A human is a type of bipedal hairless monkey that mph mph mpppppph!" Both Pharynx and Tempest, who sat next and behind her, combined their no nonsense powers to silence her (they put their hooves over her mouth). "It's time to stop," Pharynx growled. "Just until the captain is done," Tempest said, a bit more softly. "No offense." “Thank you,” Bon Bon sighed. “Trust me, it’s for your own good, Lyra.” “Mppppph!”  Pharynx cocked an eyebrow at the two of them. "Hmph. Straight-forward ponies. Refreshing." "Old habits die hard," Tempest shrugged, before turning back towards Luna and cautiously removing her hoof. "Captain Luna, I'm glad you have a plan and everything for this mess, but how exactly are we supposed to fly an alien spaceship, again?" "The spaceship has the capability to teach us how to use it," Luna explained.  "Some form of user manual?" Tempest asked, raising her eyebrows. "That we can understand? That seems… suspiciously convenient, don’t you think?" "Pffft, come on, girl," Grubber grinned. "Leave it to you to kick a gift horse in the mouth." Tempest raised her eyebrows, giving him a sarcastic look. "What? Is that expression offensive or something?" He asked, looking around nervously. "Yo, is it?" "A reasonable inquiry," Pharynx said. "Not the hedgehog's. The one before." "Hey!" Grubber grumbled.  "The answer to both is 'no'," Spike said.  "Whew," Grubber said, wiping sweat off his brow. "Already got in trouble the other day for my 'lead a horse to water' comment." "The ship has advanced, built-in tutorials on how to use it's consoles," Doctor Whooves explained. "The computer seems to have been responsible for translating them. Say hi, computer." “... Hi.” "Okay, so who is learning what, then?" Tempest asked, still somewhat suspicious in her tone Luna spoke up. "I have already selected those I believe will have the best chance of learning bridge operations. Those that have have already been informed." "Great, so what are the rest of us?” the grumpy griffon asked. “Expendables?” "Um, the correct term w-would actually be 'red shirts', Gallus," Ocellus corrected. "At least that's what Space Treks fans call them." "Ocellus, nobody reads that nerdy stuff," Gallus said. "Fargate SE-1 is where the cool kids are at these days." "Oooo, wait, red shirts?!" the excitable hippogryph squeaked. "Are we going to have uniforms!? Can I make them? I've been getting into sewing lately!" She turned to Ocellus, a pensive look on her. "Wait, what were we talking about, again?" "How we're not cool enough for the bridge," Gallus pouted. "It's not that!" Ocellus cried. "And no, you're not red shirts!" "She's right," Luna said. "Rest assured, everycreature will be getting home, but I have no idea how long that may take. It could be some time - perhaps even months. So with that in mind…" The group broke out into concerned murmurs, causing Luna to wince. Maybe she should have just said ‘days’. "Ahem, it will be faster if we all chip in," Spike said. "There's lots of other stuff to do, you know. We need to start making this ship livable." "Do we need someone to cook? Cus I'm so on that, baby!" Grubber proclaimed. "I didn't get this chubby eating slop, you know.” "See, that's the spirit!" Luna said.  Maybe the hedgehog, at least, wasn't as bad as she thought. "Captain, you and your selectees do what you need to do," Tempest said firmly, though Luna could have sworn there was a slight hint of envy in her tone. "I'm sure the rest of us will find some way to keep ourselves busy." She looked the group over. "Right?" Whether out of fear of the former villainess or genuine agreement, everyone else chimed in with their approvals. "Yes! Yona want to practice stitching, too! Rock slabs good enough for yak, but everycreature else need pillows!" “Yes yes yes! We’ll be super stitching pallllls~!” "Fine, whatever. We need someone to keep inventory, right? Guess I’ll do that. Griffons are good at keeping track of our stuff." "Green house, e’yup.” “Wait a minute: Big Mac?” Spike blinked. Luna was quite surprised he hadn’t noticed the big red pony yet. “Sugar Belle? What are you doing here!? I didn’t think you were into museums.” “Hey now,” Sugar Belle said in a lightly defensive tone. “Big Mac isn’t just a farmer. He’s really into mechanical things, too! You know that! He wanted to see how this ship ticks!”  “E’yup!” Big Mac nodded enthusiastically.  “I’m afraid that nopony really knows that, my large, red friend,” Doctor Whooves said.  “Yet,” Big Mac added. “And what are you doing here, Spike?” Sugar Belle teased. “Hanging out with Luna,” he said. “And now being her First Officer. How about that?” “Yes, and speaking of which,” Luna said, growing wary of the increasing chatter in the room. “Everycreature: attention again, please!”  Apparently not wanting her to go Royal Canterlot Voice on them, they quickly quieted.  “Thank you,” Luna smiled. “I know the quarters aboard this ship are not the most… accommodating, but I must ask you to pick one for your personal use. You will find them on the deck below this. Ask the computer if you need directions.” “Ah, I was just about to bring that up,” Doctor Whooves said, glancing at a large watch wrapped around his leg. “If you’re implying we should grab some rest, it would be a wise idea. The moon would have long since risen - er, have been risen - back home around this time. We have busy days ahead of us, after all.” “I am feeling kinda beat,” Spike yawned. “So… sleepy time, everypony?”  “Sleepy time,” Luna nodded. “Hearing adjourned!”  -- Later that ‘evening’, Luna found herself restlessly pacing her quarters. Though in her retirement, she had moved into a more ‘normal’ sleep schedule, she was still, by her very nature, a night owl to the core. In fact, though it was no longer her ‘duty’, she still took it upon herself to quell nightmares around this time. ‘Dream patrol’, she thought. ‘Perhaps that wouldn’t be a bad idea. Though they didn’t seem to be too panicked, the ponies trapped here may still be very much unnerved. Especially since a significant number appear to be children. Oh, and perhaps I could even… hm...’ Concentrating, her horn began to glow, and she soon wormed her way into the shadowy realm of dreams. She frowned at the sight. There were only a few dream bubbles around when there were normally thousands. While she had a slither of hope she may be able to contact somepony back home about their situation, that turned out not to be the case. It appeared her powers had a limited reach. ‘Foolish more me to think they wouldn’t,’ Luna thought. ‘I haven’t exactly encountered an alien dream before, have I?’  She looked upon the twenty odd bubbles that were there. Surprisingly, none appeared to be that terrible. An older version of Spike made a heroic pose on the bridge of the Starshot in one. Ocellus earned smiles of approval from both Thorax and Pharynx in another. And Doctor Whooves showed an excited-looking Derpy around a lab in one more. ‘Perhaps the reality of the situation hasn’t set in with them yet,’ Luna sighed to herself. ‘Don’t they realize there’s no guarantee that we will find what we need around this dwarf st--?” She paused, noticing a very peculiar bubble further away from the others. It was in a space among itself, far removed from the others. Yet it shined brighter than all the other bubbles combined. She had never seen anything like it before. Slowly, she flew over to it, having to shield her eyes from the intense light when she grew close enough to it. ‘What manner of dream is this?’  Then, she heard it again. That beautiful, longing voice that vibrated through her soul.  “STAR SPEAKER...” “H-Hello?” Luna squeaked. “Who is that?” “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, STAR SPEAKER?” it spoke again in its haunting tone. “SO FAR FROM THE CENTER OF THINGS? THIS IS NO PLACE FOR THOSE OF FLESH AND BLOOD. DISTANCE SERVES US ALL WELL.” “This… this vessel we are on took us here,” Luna answered. “We don’t know why as of yet. Who-- Who are you?” “YOU WOULD NOT KNOW ME - NOT DIRECTLY,” it said, sadly. “FOR YOU HAVE NEVER GAZED UPON ME BEFORE. EVEN IF I WEREN'T ON THE EDGE OF THIS GREAT GATHERING, MY KIN WOULD OUTSHINE MY LIGHT A THOUSAND-FOLD.”  “Outshined by your own kin?” Luna said solemnly. “I can relate. Though perhaps moreso if I knew more about you." “I AM MERELY ONE WHO ENJOYS YOUR GAZE, EVEN IF IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE FOR EONS... HOWEVER, AS STATED, THIS ISN’T THE PLACE FOR IT.” Luna was forced to shut her eyes. It was almost as if the dream’s light was blaring through her hoof now. Even turning away from it, it still seemed to fill her peripheral somehow. “But by the night! Why is your dream so bright?!”  “IT CANNOT BE HELPED, FOR WE HAVE TARRIED TOO LONG. JUST KNOW TO TREAD UPON MY CHILDREN LIGHTLY, FOR I DO NOT WISH FOR HARM TO COME UPON YOU: FROM EITHER MYSELF OR THE OTHER VISITOR - THE ONE WHO DESPISES US BOTH.”  “What children?” Luna asked in an exasperated tone. “What other visitor? I. Need. Context!”  Seemingly at will, the dream suddenly ‘blinked’ off, giving Luna an utter sense of relief… and a sudden wish for that sunscreen substance her sister described. Even in the dream realm, it still took her a moment to regain her sight. But when she did, she noticed it: another odd, lonely dream bubble, floating some distance away.  This one, however, wasn’t just blinding light.  She couldn’t see it too well, but from a distance, within it appeared to be a swirling disc of light surrounding a pitch black center: like the eye of some sort of dark creature. Not wanting another surprise, she cautiously approached it. Yet despite this, when she got close enough… “Hark there!” she gasped, involuntarily switching to the tongue of her native time.  The disc resembling an eye suddenly became a real eye: this one green with a similarly black center. It took up the entire dream bubble, its pupil darting about before finally setting on Luna. The pupil then shrunk to a pinpoint, as if disgusted by the sight of her.  Before Luna could react further, the dream realm practically fell apart around her, leaving her panting in the waking world. It took her a second to gain her barings before she finally realized what had happened:  For the first time since she had learned to enter it eons upon eons ago, she had been kicked out of the dream realm.  "A-And here I once thought the moon was odd,’ she gulped, trying to compose herself. ‘Yet it has nothing on deep space.’  She closed her eyes. 'Just how far have we strayed beyond the beaten path?'