“Alright, alright, recap,” Spike coughed, gazing at Luna, stunned.
Her and her ‘officers’ were sitting at the large, stone table that made up the ship’s ‘Ready Room’ next to the bridge, Luna’s team having just gotten back from the surface.
Spike took a deep breath. “So, you got down to the planet, got aboard the crashed ship, determined the aliens who built it were the same as who built the Starshot. Oh, and also that they were kind of evil, since you ran into one who could raise the friggin’ dead and tried to kill you. So you ran from it, found out you couldn’t get back to the shuttle, went full Captain Blasto and decked yourself up with alien guns--”
“Wait, wait, question,” Doctor Whooves said, raising a hoof.
“You’re the one with a question?” Pharynx asked blankly.
“Quite so,” Doctor Whooves said, smiling innocently. “Um, who is Captain Blasto?”
Spike and Pharynx looked at each other, then back to Doctor Whooves. Surprisingly, it was Pharynx who responded. “He is… a pony comic character.”
“You’ve been reading pony comics?” Luna asked, smirking.
“Not reading,” Pharynx coughed. “The dragon-- er, FO Spike told me about it while you were away.”
“He’s a character in the Blast Effect series,” Spike smiled. “The first seapony Spectre. It’s more awesome in context.”
“I found it curious modern ponies would create such a violent work of fiction,” Pharynx said, slightly amused. “I was beginning to think that deep down in your hearts, you may have had a warrior’s strength…” He narrowed his eyes. “But that was until I found out you brought a hostile alien aboard - one who tried to kill you - for no other reason than ‘it was the right thing to do’.”
“There was more than just that,” Luna said defiantly. “But yes, it was ‘the right thing to do’.”
“Hang on, hang on, everpony,” Spike sighed. “We’re not there yet.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, so after you got armed up, you went below decks, found the old Chief Engineer’s quarters, found out that the reason the ship went down was because the old crew launched a mutiny in desperation. And then finally, you confronted the Steward, stunned her, and found out she was a bat pony…"
"Threstral," Derpy corrected.
"Yeah, that. An ancient pony race nopony has heard of for hundreds of years. Oh, and you discovered the crew of the ship were creatures from Equis, too, and that the Oblivion Empire has been abducting creatures from it for centuries.” Spike gasped for air, blinking rapidly. “Is there uh… anything I forgot?”
‘Oh, and I convinced a star that it didn’t need to become a killer to feel useful,’ Luna wanted to say.
Though that… that was a revelation for another day.
“No, that was pretty much it,” Tempest said.
“I’m still ticked you didn’t call me for help,” Rainbow grumbled. “Wonderbolts aren’t just show ponies. We have combat training, too, ya’ know.”
“And have you fly through that storm?” Luna said. “Not wise.”
“I could have handled it,” Rainbow argued. “And you could have at least told me and Scoots what was going on. We were worried sick!”
“And what would you have done if we did?” Luna asked.
Rainbow squinted in thought for a second. “Well, I would have… eh… probably tried to um… fly through the storm to help you out.”
“Even ponies with military training lack discipline, it seems,” Pharynx groaned. “Could you really not see yourself obeying a simple order to ‘stay put’?”
“Shut it, ya’ crabby bug,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. “I’m the--”
“Element of Loyalty,” Pharynx continued for her. “Yes, we know.” He glanced at Spike, and changed the subject. “Your account was thorough, but you forgot one crucial detail. Our illustrious captain decided to bring a hostile, unknown alien lifeform back with her! And no, don't say she's 'just a thestral', by the way. Did the thestrals you remember have the sort of capabilities of this creature?"
"Er, no," Luna coughed. "But--"
Pharynx face-hoofed. "Captain, what in the name of Tartarus were you thinking?!”
Luna gave him a sarcastic look. “For somepony who adheres to military discipline, you sure have trouble holding your tongue when speaking to a superior officer.”
“Maybe so, but do you really want a crew who only licks your hoofs all day?” Pharynx glared. “Or do you want one that speaks its mind, even if it's something you don’t want to hear?”
“Woah, woah,” Derpy sighed. “Can we take it down a notch here?”
“I agree,” Doctor Whooves said.
Derpy smiled, before turning to Luna. “Captain, he does kind of have a point. I think being able to speak our minds is a good thing.”
“I suppose,” Luna mumbled.
“Thank you,” Pharynx said reluctantly.
“But Pharynx,” Derpy continued. “Maybe you could do it in a… nicer way? Nopony takes criticism easily when they’re being yelled at and called dumb, you know.”
“I never said she was dumb,” Pharynx said, raising a hoof. Though he still sighed reluctantly. “Though… perhaps my tone… could.... use improvement.”
“I wouldn’t mind the critique,” Luna nodded. “... If you could do that.”
“Very well,” Pharynx said.
“Wow,” Tempest said, giving Derpy an impressed look. “Where did you learn to become such a good arbiter?”
“I run the Ponyville Mailmare Union,” Derpy said nonchalantly. “This isn’t much different from a labor dispute, and labor disputes are my jam.”
“My dearest Derpy,” Doctor Whooves smiled proudly. “You are as good at speaking as you are at listening, you know that?”
Derpy blushed profusely. “T-Thanks, Doc.”
“Well, I’m glad you two aren’t at each others throats anymore,” Spike said, glancing between Pharynx and Luna. “But… about the um, ‘Steward of Entropy’? Yeah, that’s a thing, apparently.”
“As the new Chief of Security, my team and I will be watching her around the clock,” Tempest said. “As you saw, the ‘bars’ of the brig are composed of a type of forcefield. The computer has stated it should be able to hold an ‘entity of its type’.”
“We’re absolutely sure it won’t be able to take control of the computer, right?” Rainbow asked. “I mean, if her people built the ship, shouldn’t she be able to?”
“The brig is isolated from most ship systems,” Doctor Whooves explained. “The security doors to it are also heavily sound insulated. Even if the Steward had our captain’s, er, vocal abilities - no offense - she wouldn’t be able to contact it. And even in that unlikely eventuality, the computer truly seems to have changed allegiance. Exactly how or why it's done that is a conversation for another day."
“I still don’t like this at all,” Pharynx said, folding his arms, yet apparently making an effort to be polite. “The alien seems to have a leadership role among this Oblivion Empire. Even if the computer is too scrambled for it to have any loyalties towards it--”
“I can hear you, you know,” the computer groaned.
“--She may still know many things about the ship that we do not; including a way to get out of her cell.”
“He… does raise a good point,” Tempest said, earning a nod of respect from Pharynx. “And we still don’t know if what we’ve seen of her so far are the limits of her abilities.”
“I understand your concerns,” Luna said diplomatically. “But I trust Doctor Whooves. If he says the brig is safe, then it's safe.”
“As far as I can tell, she won’t be getting out of it,” the good doctor said. “The barrier seems to be able to block almost all types of energy - magical or otherwise. In fact, it is very, very similar to a unicorn’s Barrier Spell, only this is being powered by an energy source far beyond a unicorn’s mana supply. Even a creature able to morph into something akin to King Sombra’s shadow form will not be able to leave it.”
“And keep in mind, we’ve barely begun our journey,” Luna said. “We don’t know what’s waiting for us out there - or what problems might arise with this ship. She’s the best source of information we have for both. Even more than the computer. Er, no offense."
"Acknowledged."
"The potential benefits outweigh the risks," Luna finished.
“It's your call," Pharynx said, before softening slightly as he looked at Tempest. “And… if you will be keeping tabs on her, I suppose I can sleep at night.”
Tempest raised her eyebrows, glancing at him curiously.
“Wow,” Spike grinned at Pharynx. “Next thing we know you’re gonna start hugging people.”
He glared at him in return. “Don’t push it.” He then reluctantly nodded Luna’s way. “We do have the Solarium though, thanks to your away mission. I assume this means we can get underway?”
“Indeed,” Doctor Whooves grinned. “Despite the Solarium sitting down there for who knows how long, and despite our own hyperdrive not being used for even longer, we fueled up without any problems. All systems are green on that front.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Spike said. “Should we really be jumping out of here so soon? What if there’s other stuff on the crashed ship we could use?”
Doctor Whooves glanced away from him. “That ship is… a graveyard. None of us wanted to stay aboard it any longer than we did.”
“The dead aren’t using it anymore,” Pharynx pointed out. “Though if you don’t feel comfortable, I will lead another away mission to it.”
“I wouldn’t mind taking a few more ponies down,” Rainbow grinned. “Would give me and Scoots more practice. Gotta be something we can use down there."
“From what we saw, the ship appears to be of a different model than the Starshot’s," Doctor Whooves explained. "My guess is a slightly… newer one. While breaking down systems could yield some useful components, I doubt the systems themselves will be useful to us.”
“What about the ship computer?” Spike asked. “Its memory banks or whatever you called them. Couldn’t we use those?”
“I did check for those before we left,” Doctor Whooves said. “Buuuuut ‘no dice’, as they say. The computer system it uses is completely different than the one on the Starshot. Surprisingly, it appears less advanced. I brought up what wasn’t completely destroyed, but I have no idea where to even begin making the two systems compatible.”
“I still think it would be worth combing over to make sure there isn't anything worth using,” Pharynx said.
Luna thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. We’ll send a few more teams down to check. And while we do that, we’ll scan the remaining planets in this system to see if there's anything useful on them. However, keep our food situation in mind. We shall stay for no more than three days, tops.”
“Thank you, captain,” Pharynx nodded. “I will begin planning immediately.”
“Hey, and what about that moss?” Spike asked. “I know we have the alien food to try, since at least some of the aliens aren't really, well, that alien, but the moss could work, too, maybe.”
Luna glanced out the Ready Room’s window, the nearby Red Dwarf’s flames licking the space around it. Slightly more jubilantly than she recalled, too.
Finally, she shook her head. “No, I think we should leave it be. That world is the cradle of a new ecosystem; we shouldn’t contaminate it more than absolutely necessary.”
“Spoken like the scientist I always knew you were,” Doctor Whooves nodded appreciatively, standing up from his seat. “Now then. Permission to get back to work? I still have a laundry list of things to do: figuring out the hoof-held computers, optimizing bridge sensor use…”
Luna laughed. “What would we do without you, Doctor?”
“I shudder to think,” he smiled.
“Very well,” Luna said. “Meeting adjourned. Thank you, everypony.”
***
With their first off-world adventure having come to a close, Luna and the rest of her crew returned to a relatively 'relaxing' schedule. The next three days were a combination of planet scans and planet looting, the latter thanks to Pharynx and a few volunteers such as Big Mac.
Adult volunteers.
"What do you mean we can't go down there?" Gallus argued, him and a few other of the younger 'crew members' ambushing Pharynx as he and Big Mac headed to the launch bay. "Come on! We've been cooped up on this stuffy old ship for over a week!"
"Yes, this is torture, I tell you!" Silverstream cried, pounding her claws on a nearby bulkhead. "Torture!"
"I've already gone over this with Ocellus," Pharynx said bluntly. "The captain says you're too young. Take it up with her."
"E'yup," Big Mac said, his UEV Suit a tight fit on his larger body.
"But… but Scootaloo gets to go down," Yona cries. "And yak older than Scootaloo!"
"Scootaloo also knows how to fly a dropship," Pharynx said. "You learn to do something like that? Then maybe you can go down. But until then, my refreshingly quiet new acquaintence and I have work to do."
He walked off without giving another word, Big Mac trailing behind him after giving the teenagers a sympathetic smile.
"Something like that, huh?" Gallus said, tapping his chin ponderously. "Hmm…"
Unfortunately, those three days turned out to be a relative waste. While the system did have three other planets, Luna couldn't exactly blame her Red Dwarf friend for thinking the whole place was lifeless. After all, the other two rocky worlds fit that category. One being a barren world with little to no atmosphere, and the other only having (relatively) recently entered the solar system; apparently having been a rogue planet before then. Unfortunately, while it did pass through the star's habitable zone, its orbit was so eccentric that even Doctor Whooves doubted it could support life.
The final world was larger than all the others combined: a magnificent ice giant. And while it was certainly beautiful, with its brilliant blue surface with the occasional golden wisps, like everything else save for Oddball, it only really interested Doctor Whooves, Ocellus, and occasionally Derpy.
This was evident by the former making numerous notes on the large amount of helium in its atmosphere.
"You could safely lift billions of airships with all of that!" he said excitedly. "Just a small portion of its atmosphere has more helium than the entire amount theorized to be on Equis!"
"Very cool, Doc," Spike droned, slumping his cheek onto a claw. "Very cool."
"With an average temperature below zero, you bet it is!" the doctor grinned.
Spike gave him a blank look in response, to which he smiled innocently at.
As for Planet Oddball, it didn't take long for Pharynx to gather up anything usable. While his temperament left something to be desired, Luna had to admit his work ethic was beyond reproach. After only two days, and with little more than a small team, he and his volunteers had stripped the Singularity's Ascent to the bone, on top of scouting the area nearby for anything that may have fallen off it.
Of course, part of this was because there wasn't actually much to be found outside of more alien weapons and utility items.
With Big Mac's mechanical knowledge, and with Doctor Whooves instruction, they did manage to strip down what the latter called an 'energy regulator'. Unfortunately, all of its component parts were proven incompatible with the Starshot, at least according to Doctor Whooves and the computer's combined knowledge.
"This type of thermal coupling became outdated --ERROR-- cycles prior," the computer mentioned, Doctor Whooves holding a cylindrical device up to one of its imagers. "It would not be compatible with the Starshot's systems."
"What are the chances of jimmying it to work with our regulator?" Big Mac asked, standing nearby… and astonishing Doctor Whooves with his sudden long-form sentence use and new-found starship technical knowledge. "If we need it, that is."
"--ERROR--. Expression 'jimmying' unknown."
Big Mac sighed. "Er, uh, altering it, then."
"Conclusion: unlikely. It would be easier to smelt it down and use it's materials to construct a newer model than to modify it."
"E'yup," Big Mac grumbled, glancing at the piece with disappointment.
Doctor Whooves gave him a sympathetic nod. "Worth a shot, my mechanically gifted friend. Worth a shot."
From that point forward, they didn't bother wasting any more time with that sort of scavenging.
Finally, they reached the beginning of the fourth day. After all had gotten a good night's sleep, Luna was determined to jump to a new system. Though before they left, Luna did want to double check with a certain somepony if there was anything further they should know. Someone currently housed in the brig.
This was not going to be fun.
***
Even the doors to that room had special security measures. There were three of them, in fact, lining a small tunnel that led to the room itself. All were much thicker than any of the others she had seen, save for the ones leading to dangerous areas like the Generator Room.
Inside, Tempest was there to greet her, standing in front of a shimmering forcefield that served to block the only entrance of a cell. A cell in which the Steward stood motionless, save for the mist that circled around her. Even in this well-lit room, her conscious presence was a bit unnerving. Something about her just felt… wrong.
“Hello, Captain,” Tempest said. “I’m happy to report that after her initial… tantrums, she hasn’t made any more escape attempts.”
“And she’s just been standing there like that since then?”
“Menacingly,” Tempest said. “Or at least, I think that’s her intent.” She then turned towards the door to the brig. “You said you wanted to talk to her alone?”
Luna nodded. “For a few moments.”
“I’ll be right outside if you need me, then,” Tempest said, walking through the multiple brig doors.
For the first time, Luna was alone with the Steward.
“You know why I’m here, don’t you?” Luna asked.
The Steward stood motionless.
Luna gazed at her pensively. “You must sense a soul in search of answers.”
“…”
“We will be leaving this system soon,” Luna said. “Is there anything we should know before we do? Anything we have not noticed here that would be useful? Anything we should gather from your previous vessel?”
“...”
“Or perhaps there’s something we should know about this vessel? Or the systems nearby?”
“..”
“You were quite talkative before,” Luna pointed out. “And in your own way, forthcoming. Not for our benefit, of course, but your own - namely, your ego. Giving us information would help you more-so than that, however. You realize that by helping to keep us alive, you’re helping yourself, yes? If this ship is destroyed, we all die together, you included.”
She continued to say nothing.
‘Alright, this isn’t working,’ Luna thought. ‘Time to switch strategies.’
“I realize you’re upset,” Luna said, forcing a hint of a taunting smile. “Being bested by us primitives must have really bruised that giant ego of yours. And now you’re stuck here on one of your own ships! I would be quite humiliated if I were in your position.”
This actually warranted a response, though not the one Luna expected. It came in the form of a dark chuckle.
“Using a perceived weakness in your enemy’s psyche to try to gleam information,” the Steward said. “I admit, I didn’t want to believe Star Speakers had a tiny portion of us in you, but perhaps I was wrong. Even the Grand Admiral would be impressed.”
“Grand Admiral?” Luna asked.
The glowing, creepy grin that had come to haunt Luna’s dreams returned to the Steward’s 'face'. “Everything old is new again. Save the faces of old friends.”
‘She’s talking in riddles… but still, did my strategy work?’ Luna thought, intending to test it further. “If he’s as easy to defeat as you were, I doubt he’ll be a problem.”
The Steward laughed in response. “Stop. I told you what I did just now to reward your cunning, not because you bruised my ego.”
“And down on the planet?” Luna asked.
“At the time, I didn’t think you’d last long, so naturally, I was boisterous. After all, dead mares tell no tales.” She narrowed her glowing eyes. “I won’t be underestimating you again.”
"Mhm," Luna said, skeptically.
She raised a shadowy hoof. “However… I might just give you more of what you want… if you’re willing to make a trade.”
"Of what sort?"
"Information for information."
“You’re in no position to ask of such a thing,” Luna said bluntly. “Even if you were, what could I possibly tell you?”
“I want to learn more about The Garden,” she said. “Or Equis, as you call it. And how you took control of this vessel.”
“Why?” Luna asked.
“I have my reasons,” the Steward said. “Personal reasons.”
Luna shook her head. “No. I won’t even consider it unless I know exactly why you want such information. Or why you would even need it. Your people have visited us before. That much is certain. You’ve even captured ponies, and have somehow brainwashed them into serving your Oblivion Empire. Shouldn’t they have been able to tell you everything you wanted to know?”
“It’s not as simple as you think,” the Steward said. “But… that’s all you’ll get out of me until you answer one of my questions first.”
“No,” Luna said, beginning to walk away from her cell. “No, this little game has gone on long enough. I will not be making deals with a murderer. You will receive no information from me. And one day, you will stand trial for what you’ve done.”
“Your loss,” the Steward said. “When you change your mind, I’ll be waiting.”
“You shall be waiting for a long time,” Luna growled, giving the Steward one final glare before exiting the room.
And at that moment, she hoped she was telling the truth. She really never wanted to speak with the Steward again.
--
“I take it our megalomaniacal guest was not forthcoming?” Doctor Whooves asked, sitting at his console as Luna, rather solemnly, strutted on the bridge.
“I’m afraid not,” Luna said, plopping down on her captain’s chair. “I tried everything I could think of, yet she would not yield.”
“So we have no clue where we’re going, then,” Spike noted. “Whatever. That would have taken the fun out of it, anyway.”
“Well, actually… we aren’t… completely blind in that regard,” Luna said. “Doctor Whooves?”
He smiled at that. “I’ve been waiting to do this. Computer, bring up the stellar cartography map.”
In an instant, the computer responded. The hovering orb that provided the bridge’s light source dimmed slightly and began to spin rapidly. Revealing itself to have more than one function, a holographic map of the galaxy appeared beneath it, composed of an uncountable amount of tiny dots and bands of dust.
With how spartan the alien ship was, its beauty was surprising, to say the least. And it took up nearly half of the upper portion of the bridge.
While everypony was stunned at its sight, it was Pharynx of all ponies who spoke first. “Woah.”
Everypony glanced his way, giving him smirks, so he quickly did his best to hide his look of wonder. “I mean-- erm… It will be a useful asset to us. Hrm.”
“Us ponies are rubbing off on you, aren’t we?” Derpy teased.
Pharynx turned to Ocellus. “If that ever happens, do your uncle a favor and shove him out the nearest airlock.”
"Uncle…" she sighed. Then, like everpony else, her gaze returned to the starmap. “Huh. Where are we, exactly?”
The star map responded to her. At the edge of the galaxy, a tiny, red dot blinked into existence.
“And Equis?” Spike continued.
Another dot appeared, this time at the direct center of the galaxy.
“Huh,” Spike said. “We really are far from home, aren’t we?”
“Y-Yeah,” Derpy squeaked.
“That can’t be right, though,” Doctor Whooves said, raising an eyebrow. “All the latest astronomical findings have stated a supermassive black hole should be in that region. Even if there wasn’t, with stellar density being so great… no. That makes no sense. Computer, is this map accurate?”
“It cannot give specific information on various systems due to data corruption, save for the two its recently visited, but the layout of the galaxy is accurate, as is basic information such as stellar types.”
“Hrmmmm,” Doctor Whooves grumbled.
“All I know is it’s gonna be a long road,” Spike said. “Getting from here to there…”
“Not necessarily,” Luna smiled. “Remember, if we can secure a source of Aetherium…”
“We can take a shortcut,” Doctor Whooves nodded, before grinning widely, and even bouncing slightly. "Heh. So what are we waiting for? Let's get the bloody hell out there!"
"Here, here!" Luna cheered, turning to Ocellus. "Ensign Ocellus, set course to…"
She tapped her chin, thinking for a moment, before shrugging. She then swivelled her chair towards the view screen, looking into the infinite twinkling expanse before them.
"You know what?" she said, her eyes twinkling as well. "Any star is fine, as long as it's closer to home. Let's just see what's out there. Engage!"
…
…
...
--
…
…
…
In her cell, the Steward of Entropy continued to stand motionless. This was even after a loud, thunderous BANG! could be heard coming from the rear of the ship, signalling the activation of its hyperdrive.
Naturally, even this didn’t wake up the now-slumbering pony sent to guard her; the unicorn known as Lyra Heartstrings. And this she was glad for. The teal one seemed to think that she knew of creatures called ‘humans’, and spent the hours of her shift diligently interrogating her about them.
Another hour of that and she’d finally stop being such a coward and end herself, taking out the brig and everything within ten meters of it.
But no, not yet. Not until she found out what happened to her beloved. The Star Speaker would crack eventually. Her love for her crew was too strong. As strong as the love she had for her own. The moment they found themselves in danger from something they didn’t understand, she would take her bargain.
And what they couldn’t understand was currently all around them.
Hyperspace wasn’t an empty place. In fact, a part of her was from a place quite close to it. And because of that, she could hear them. The various creatures that made it their home. Some ‘benign’, some not so much. Their shrieks and chatter echoed around her, vibrating the dark matter within her - part of her composition that rarely interacted with anything save for gravity.
But to her surprise, it wasn’t the only thing she could hear. ‘Feel’ being a better word. And as soon as she did, her mood soared higher than the plane of the galaxy.
For only one knew her real name. Who the physical part of her was before the Merging.
“Radiant… H O P E...”
She felt a sudden surge of warmth. Something she hadn't felt in eons. For the briefest of seconds, the chill that forever bit at her body thawed ever so slightly.
It was him. It had to be.
“B-Beloved?”
…
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