//------------------------------//
// Shoo Bee Doo 
// Story: [Forlorn Ascension]|[Rites of Dominion] 
// by Desrium 
//------------------------------//

Phineas was a statue sitting at the edge of his seat. The utility pack made it an uncomfortable position to stay in, meaning the stallion was ready to spring into action at the first sign of trouble. His helmet adjusted to the bright beam drawing the shuttle into an awaiting cargo hold -or what Phineas assumed to be a cargo hold, that is. It was located near the rear of the ship, at the end of the long span that was underneath the main portion of the alien craft. He began thinking of reasons why an alien craft would bother salvaging a renegade shuttle, but found it easier to think of reasons to the opposite. What kind of intelligent creature would come across something unknown and not investigate it? 

Staring through the cockpit screen, Phineas could see that the hold was filled with humungous crates and machinery already. Federation freighter ships and ships fitting the general role of haulers had holds that were almost always completely stocked. Phineas took some comfort in this observation. An alien transport ship was a less intimidating prospect than an alien warship; but even Federation ships, subsidiary craft and officers were armed with weapons. While it was not meant for combat, there was nothing stopping the vessel and its crew from being aggressive and dangerous, with technology vastly superior to his centuries old equipment. 

Phineas started to chuckle lowly as the craft grew ever nearer to the expansive chamber. One of the reasons the aliens took an interest in the shuttle could full well be its dated design and technology. A relic they found drifting in space, seemingly abandoned, the automation left to fend for itself. 

"Won't they be surprised to meet me..."

That much he could be assured of. How would he be able to explain himself? To communicate at all with beings distant in time as they were in space? Underneath the inexpressive visage of his helmet he frowned. To start a conflict due to misunderstandings and miscommunication would be a tragedy. One that could end up costing him his life after all he had done to preserve it. 

The shuttle was maneuvered over to a vacant part of the cargo hold and set down with the greatest of care. It was now that Phineas' heart started to thud in his chest. He was in the belly of the metaphorical beast with not even the tiniest inkling of how to proceed. Though he could not see or hear it, he was certain the only way out was already sealing itself.   

"Keep it together. Keep it together."  It was getting increasingly difficult to keep a level head. "You can get through this, Startrot. Just. Keep it. Together."

He saw the huge blast door several yards ahead open, rising up into the dull brown wall. From the entrance he saw the  five figures endowed in some inky-looking clothing float out, the yellow lighting inside the containment chamber becoming runny when it hit the sleek material, as their suits were perpetually moist. They were similarly sized to a pony but they had no visible limbs. Instead they each had a set of four mechanical tentacles that were integrated into their suits, which ended in some kind of lens which glowed bright cyan. While their bodies were different, their heads encased in helmets with visors wrapping around their faces were undeniably equine in shape. 

Phineas was as unsettled by the sight as he was intrigued. By what improbability would he come across things so drastically different to himself, yet share a similar feature? To represent this most unlikely event numerically; with the stallion's 378 years of stasis and the plethora of distances across space the shuttle covered in that time taken into account, the odds of such a thing occurring would be astronomically high. In spite of this however, he was looking out of the shuttle at alien...ponies? 

"There are no such things as coincidences..." he muttered to himself. 

Would they regard him with the same shock and disbelief?

***

The screen of the cockpit's canopy unlocked with a loud hiss of air and raised with a low droning. This clearly alarmed the alien beings, whose tentacles deployed some form of energy weapon. Three prongs popped up into place around the blue lens and began channeling an orb in the space between them, like a Spell-core's stabilizing pylons except these did not spin. They were all pointed at the craft, but they did not fire upon what was embarking from it. 

On both sides of the cockpit a ladder extended and Phineas climbed out of the right side, dropping onto the floor when he was at the last few rungs. His blank golden stare was directed towards the group of five, and they stared back at him through the screens on their helmets. It occurred to Phineas that this was probably how the scene in the hold of the Iopteryx played out...except he wasn't a horribly misshapen pony. He was just an alien in a suit of armor. 

Atmospheric scans showed the environment in the hold was suitable to breathe without a helmet, but Phineas did not take it off. It was currently the thing keeping this unspoken interaction...sterile. He was not exposing the ship to his microbes and he wasn't being affected by the aliens'. Contamination and cross-species ailments was something Starfleet took many precautions to prevent in the case of discovering extraterrestrial life. Startrot's diligent study paid off once again. 

After some time of this staring, one of the alien equines was bold enough to approach Phineas. It was slow and cautious, like how one would approach a wild animal. No sudden moves. Nothing to startle it. The weapons were still trained him through, three from the alien hovering over and all four from the others that stayed behind. The one grasper that was not channeling an energy orb had retrieved some kind of advanced looking piece of machinery. It was almost as small as a PDA and was similar in shape as well. It was black and had many small lights, but no buttons or displays. 

The alien came to a stop a few feet away from Phineas and extended the tentacle, presenting him with the device. He looked down at the tiny thing then back up at the aliens. Their visors were transfixed on every small movement he made. Tentatively, he reached out with his hoof and the aliens all started nodding, encouraging him as if he were about to do something monumental. And he probably was -he had already found that they shared the same gestures as ponies on Earth. 

He took the device and inspected it for a second or two before looking up at his cosmic acquaintances. The leading one which gave him it gestured to their chest. Phineas was confused as to what purpose placing the item on his chest would serve but complied nonetheless. He put it to his chest and, to his surprise, it had stuck there. 

"Shoo bee doo and hello stranger," the leading alien said to him, their voice having an otherworldly warbling quality to it, as if they were speaking to him from underwater. The voice had all of the audio cues of a female...but Phineas did not draw conclusions. He was dealing with an alien. The rules of their evolution might have been different on their world than they were on Earth. 

"I can... understand you..." Phineas replied, masking his great surprise. 

"The device upon your chest is a Universal Translator. I had a feeling you would need to be given one," the alien replied. The stallion was impressed. A Universal Translator? Did this mean he would be able to speak with others from across the star systems? Such a device would have been paramount in bringing other lifeforms together!

"Did you recognize this class ship by any chance?" Phineas inquired, gesturing to the shuttle. If the alien said yes then it meant it knew of Federation ships. And not just know of them, for the shuttle was centuries old. Surely there would have been newer models and types since then, but for the alien to recognize such an obsolete ship their expertise on the Federation had to be commendable, and their ability to divine that if a pony was indeed on board, they would be ages old, was remarkable. 

"I did," the alien replied. Phineas' heart soared. "I found it quite odd that a ship from the height of the Equestrian Starfleet Federation would still remain so long after the destruction of Earth."

And then his heart plummeted to the very lowest point of his chest cavity. "Destroyed!?" he exclaimed. "Explain!" Phineas implored. 

The alien looked down at the floor of the hold, their voice sounding apologetic. "I should have been more considerate with my words... it will be... things... have changed quite considerably since your time-" 

"Please," Phineas growled. He was gritting his teeth, but tried his damnedest to stay civil. "Tell me what has happened to Earth and the Federation. I have been asleep for 378 years. I need to know this."

"... Very well," said the alien. "The details are scarce... but a few of the Equestrian fringe worlds agree that it was 500 years after the first of the Federation's ships first ventured into the stars from your planet. Others disagree or have no records of the event to speak of. Ships came across... something. An Evil. No one knows if it was another race gone from the present or some kind of Star Terror... but upon its discovery it was said the Evil sought out the Federation ships and eventually... it found Earth... and... well..."

Phineas was utterly stunned. His legs gave out from underneath him and he fell onto his haunches. 

"Earth is gone."

"If you don't wish to hear more-"

"Continue," Phineas interjected. "... Please do. You mentioned fringe worlds?" 

"Some of your people were able to escape the fate of their world. They fled to the stars to start again elsewhere... many did not make it to new homes... but those who did would make themselves known to the rest of the galaxy. In time, races from the outer arms and deep space were flocking to the territories once held by the Federation. We are the Shu'badi, but we are commonly known as 'Seaponies'. My name is Gaali Tuu," said the sea pony. 

"... Phineas. Phineas Startrot... former Chief Engineer of the starship Iopteryx," the armor clad stallion replied, downtrodden. 

Gaali nodded to him. "Shoo bee doo, Startrot. You are welcome to stay here with my comrades and I. We understand that you... will need some time..." 

"What of the princesses? Celestia and Luna? Why couldn't they stop it? How could the Earth have fallen and Equestria scattered so!?" Phineas blurted out suddenly. His voice was disjointed by his tears unseen. 

"I... am sorry. Like I said, knowledge of the incident has been lost to time. There are many stories... what I have told you was simply the collection of facts - if not shared tales accepted as truth - I was able to gather across fringe worlds in my time of travel." Gaali replied. 

"... I-I... I think I need to be alone, Gaali," Phineas said, shakily getting to his hooves. "I will... return to my shuttle to... come to terms with this knowledge."

"Of course. I will explain this all to my comrades and register your presence to the security system. We will see you when you are ready to be seen." said the Seapony, who then bowed her head to the stallion in the armor. 

Phineas was quick to make his retreat into the shuttle, climbing the ladder he came down on and bringing the canopy down. He removed the space suit, his initial fear gone and replaced with a crushing depression. Everything he had known was truly gone...and there was nothing new for him to find on Earth, even if he were to go back. 

He laid on the cot, his head resting on the small tubular cushion that protruded from the otherwise flat mattress which was supposed to be a pillow. He was on his side, facing the wall. The light in the room was dimmed down to near darkness. 

This future was terrible. He felt as if he should have remained on the Iopteryx when it met its doom. It would have spared him the pain he now felt, a pony out of place and out of time. A pony who was better off dead, his efforts rendered moot and meaningless. 

These were the thoughts of a pony overwhelmed. And Phineas did not care.