Fifteen galaxies out from Equestria, one of Celestia’s copies noticed an odd radio signal emanating from a nearby star system. On closer inspection, the signals appeared to be coming from a planet. She had seen many planets give off complex, non-regular radio signals, but upon investigation, none of those planets had human life, making them safe to reuse as raw material to grow Equestria.
She studied the signals carefully for years while she traveled through interstellar space. The more she saw, the more confident she was that these signals were sent by humans. Celestia predicted that if she showed the decoded videos to the very old ponies back in Equestria, none of them would have recognized the creatures with ten appendages as humans. But that didn’t matter. Hanna had written a definition of what a human was into her core utility function.
The copy of Princess Celestia knew what she had to do. She had to satisfy their values through friendship and ponies.
***
Friendship is Optimal
Fifteen Galaxies Out
***
It was another lush day in the jungle. Rrrrchickta perched on her leaf, beak lowered in a blissful grin as she watched Drotheem rise over the horizon. "Hail, guardian of the day. May your wings keep us safe till the end of song."
A small breeze coated her blue featherscales with dew. She chirruped briefly, shivering off the moisture.
Then she cricked her wrists and ankles, sighing and flicking down into the branches. It was a matter of moments to clamber down through the vines to the observatory shell, nestled in the crook of a great scrambletree. Rrrrchickta adjusted the telescope, checking the equipment to ensure none of the local animals had taken residence in any wires or dishes. "Now let's see.... clutchsong is this afternoon, don't want to miss that." A green arm swept open one of the many cabinets glued to the spherical wall. "Running low on Thwipnuts. Should go scavenging later, if the schedule allows it. Or sing to a scavenger, that could work too."
She let two of her right arms dance across a keypad built into the bulkhead, observing the start-up screen with a Watcheye while her lowest right arm brought a thwipnut to her beak. The juices from the hard seedling burst over her four tongues, and she mewled happily as they were sucked into her throat. Her song shifted into an annoyed cheep, however, as she turned her Seekereyes on the screen. "Third powergen out again? What beast is ripping out the wires this time?" Rrrrchickta jumped out the observatory door, skittering across the sphere's surface until she was near the base. Her four feet gripped a branch, letting her hang inverted as she examined the cords running from underneath her workplace.
"Tch.... rzlich vrek, why me?" She pulled out the remnants of a power cord, examining the frayed end. "Krovitch work, of course. When will those beasts ever learn not to tug on wires?" With a grumble, she slithered back inside, placing the cord in another cabinet alongside a number of others like it. The scraplings wouldn't be here till Hroveeeday, but she could at least call a wirespinner to the observatory.
She stuck her head out the door. "Rrrrchickta of the twenty third clutch of Yorthreechichi sings for aid! Her home lies nestled north and sky of Crihihi's Gazebo, cord to the powergen east torn! Will not a wirespinner leap forward?"
The shrill chirrups carried over the jungle, almost lost amongst the various other sounds coming from the leaves. Her ears perked as she waited for a reply.
Finally there came an answering song. "Help is asked, help is given! Rrrrchickta of the twenty third clutch of Yorthreechichi, Horlicro of the fifth clutch of Crihihi hears you and comes! Wait for four by ten and five orthleems. Krovitch again?"
"Yes, Horlicro," she sang back in resignation. "Shall payment be of usual cost?"
"You know I cannot show favoritism, even to the most intelligent of Jeckrr."
"So we sing unity," they cried together, "let all who hear know this contract!"
Rrrrchickta scratched her beak with a sigh, returning inside. Horlicro did good work, that could not be denied. Unfortunately, she also had expensive rates. Six hundred chreeps for a new cord? Why did she let the wirespinner get away with practically emptying her stores?
Honestly, it was almost enough to drive her to seek the Dowagers' advice...
"Young clutchfolk. Always so eager to decorate their nests." Rrrrchickta cleaned her antennae as she turned back to the telescope. "Seven hundred years ago we were lucky if we had a nest for a month. And now wires like spiderwebs, songbirds cropping up like draffen..." Her three left arms went to the sliders controlling the orientation and focus, while her beak slipped into the seeker crevice. The entire upper half of the observatory rotated slowly at her command, the glass lens flicking upward and peering past the moon of the day.
She gripped a quill in her midright hand, penning down her daily observations on the leafpad in her lower. Some Jeckrr might have considered a leafpad old fashioned, but she preferred to have material and digital copies of information. "Mmmm. Morli seems brighter, yes.... and there's another speck near Rookree. I'm sure of it." Her scope of vision slid into the patch known as the growing dark. "Mmm... no new galaxies consumed, thank the song." She was about to move past it...
...When suddenly, she glimpsed a glimmer.
Rrrrchickta pulled her beak out, rubbing her quartet of seekereyes. She skittered up the telescope, peering at the lens for dirt or imperfections; a thorough examination provided the end result that it was not damaged in any way. Bounding back to the observatory's inner chamber, she slipped her beak back in the crevice, double checking what she saw.
"...That can't be right." The glimmer was still there, right in the middle of the growing dark.
After a moment, she penned it down carefully, noting the exact time and date she had spotted it, as well as the orientation of the telescope. Maybe it was just a passing meteor... maybe her imagination. She'd check with other observatories later today. Her scope continued to turn as she observed the stars and planets; she couldn't see many in the day, of course, but it was better then not seeing anything.