//------------------------------// // The Message // Story: The Quest For Iscanter // by eternalsquire //------------------------------// Princess Celestia's overall plan did succeed, after a fashion. However, the price of the plan was measured in the lives of the ponies who would never return. They would be mourned by everypony in the entire land. Celestia turned her head to the most senior of the remaining crew. His name was Avatar Apple, the brother of Granny Smith Apple, who had established a reputation for himself as the best sailor in all Equestria. He was an earth pony with an ebony colored hide.. He wore a beard, which along with his eyebrows, mane, and tail were snowy white with age, but he was still well muscled and as powerful as any stallion in his prime. He bore a cutie mark on his rump of a ship's anchor. In his eyes, one could see both experience and determination, as well as the thousand-furlong stare. [ "Awesome, Derek!", Nova exclaimed. ] "Please give us your report, Captain Avatar.", Princess Celestia requested, gently. "Operation Empress was a complete success, ma'am.", the captain began. "We discovered a fleet of alien spacecraft out by the orbit of Alastor, planet nine in our system, an iceball. As soon as Twilight detected the presence of the incoming messenger, we commenced the operation. Shining Armor's detachment fired upon them, luring them into the cometary belt where they did battle. In the meantime, my ship followed the messenger. The messenger's craft made a forced landing on Mares, the red next planet out from us. I sent out Rainbow Dash and Applejack as an away team to investigate. They found the pilot, a female equine of unknown species, dead from suffocation by the Maretian atmosphere. The pilot held a crystal in her hands. My away team buried the pilot and brought back the crystal. We now have it here in Underground Canterlot available for examination." [ "Thanks for the suggestion of using the name of a horse from the underworld", Nova commented to Wendy Singleton, Commander Singleton's daughter. ] ["I heard what was going on, and I thought I'd just drop in.", Wendy said. "This is fun!", she grinned! ] Avatar held up a forehoof and coughed into it. "However, your Highness, nothing remained of either the decoy fleet or the alien invaders. We believe they completely destroyed each other.. My ship was the only one which made it back. I'm very sorry." "So am I, my faithful captain.", Celestia replied somberly. "So am I. May I see the crystal, please?" The sea-weathered stallion handed it to her. "Hmm...", Celestia mused, staring into the crystal, deep in concentration. "Information encoding at the atomic level, who'd ever have thought? Prime numbers, yes, vertical by horizontal image size specified as the sum of the primes, very good. Aha, a time reference, in terms of inverse of a wavelength from water. A frame rate in terms of that time is specified. The first frame is right.... here. Full color, uncompressed. And, here's the sound. Astonishing information density, so they can afford to store it that way. So now I can cast a spell to view it, and let everypony else see. Here we go...." Celestia continued to stare into the crystal. However, her horn radiated a multicolored aura, then focused the aura into a beam projecting an image onto the shelter wall. They saw something resembling an alicorn. The body was similar to a pony's but smaller, with shorter legs, and straight ears. The mane and tail were short and cropped, it did not flow like Celestia's but instead simply sparkled with pure shimmering silver light. Both the hide and the wings were pure white. Beneath delicate eyelashes were eyes of a pale violet. The rump bore a cutie mark which had nearly exactly the same pattern as Twilight Sparkle's, but all the stars were the same uniform silver color. [ "So equine versions of the Iscandarians are donkeys?", Wendy asked. ] [ "I think it makes sense.", Sandor replied. "It will be similar for the twin planet, to be sure." ] "It's a mare!", gasped a young stallion in the crew. "But very different.", another young stallion said. "I like how she looks, though." The exotic alicorn began to speak. "I am Star Share.", the alicorn said. "Star Share of Iscanter. We understand that Equestria is now in the process of being destroyed by the Gallopons." [ Nova bent over, clenched her fists, and groaned, loudly. "Oh my God, Derek!", Nova exclaimed. "When will these puns ever stop?" ] [ "I'm sorry, dear.", her husband said. "They just leave my brain without provocation." ] Star Share continued. "We are willing to help you restore the ecosystem of your world. A year ago, I transmitted to Princess Celestia plans for building a vessel which can bring you to us. I sent my sister, Star Glare, to you with the crystal bearing this message. The crystal you hold also contains the means by which the vessel to be built may transcend the lightspeed barrier. You will face untold dangers, but we invite you to our world regardless." The sparkling alicorn concluded. "Your time grows short. Please come to us. I am Star Share of Iscanter." Celestia returned the crystal to Avatar. "Thank you.",she said. She addressed the wider audience. "We didn't have the facilities in Equestria itself to build a capital ship large enough for the engine space specified in the original plans I received from the reply originally beamed to me from deep space. I will now introduce you all to the Emperor of the Crysanthemum Empire, from the other side of our world, who will now carry the discussion for a while. Thank you, your Magesty, for coming." An ancient alicorn stallion standing besides Celestia, with black hide, and a flowing mane and tail containing transcluscent red and black colors, faced the audience and briefly bowed his head to them. The cutie mark on his rump was a simple, bright red circle. "Thank you, your Highness, and noble mares and stallions.", the Emperor said. "We must all work to create together or else we shall be destroyed separately. I have already given special thanks to the Cowasaki and Mootsubishi corporations for their eagerness in spare no expense in labor or materials or talent in creating Celestia's interstellar vessel." "You probably do not know this yet.", the Emperor continued, "but your side of the world is unequalled in the use of magic, which our countrymen see as clearly beyond our comprehension, so we do not even try to understand it, let alone use it.. Instead, we have intensively studied over the centuries the basic properties of matter and energy, space and time, and have devised mechanisms which perform all things that your countries rely so much upon magic to do. Some of these mechanisms can run by themselves. Some of these mechanisms can even think for themselves, because we have also studied the nature of intelligence itself to be able to automate intelligence to at least some small extent." "I don't understand how a thing can think for itself!", Applejack exclaimed. "Prepare for the experience of a lifetime, then.", the Emperor smiled at the skeptical country mare. "Indeed, since the ship lies under the crust of what was formerly the coast of our main island, we must take a recess and reconvene this meeting in my realm. Prior to the launch, I invite you all to partake of every pleasure our culture has to offer, and all you wish will be paid for from my country's treasury. Back to you, Princess." Everypony began talking at once, either to each other or to ask a question of their ruler. Celestia had no other choice but to her forehoof against one of the crystal columns supporting the shelter, making a repeating chiming noise until order could be restored. "Captain Avatar has the list of the crew members who will accompany him on this voyage.", the princess said. "I hereby decree that any ship's commander on detached duty outranks everypony else on board, even royals. He will assign ranks, ratings, and responsibilities as he sees fit. Luna, Twilight, am I absolutely clear on this?" "Yes, ma'am!", Twilight Sparkle responded enthusiastically. "I understand, sister.", Luna said calmly. "I know what is at stake. I promise I shall obey Avatar as if he were you." "Me, too!", Twilight agreed. "Is Cadence coming with us?", she asked. "No.", Celestia answered. "She is with foal." "Then at least a part of my brother survived.", Twilight nodded, somberly. "I think Shining Armor would have wanted that.", Avatar added. "He was an outstanding officer and even a good friend." "Luna?", Avatar prompted. "Yes, my lord?", the mare of the night asked. "Your Highness, the term 'Sir' will work just fine on board.", the captain instructed her. "Once in space, your title no longer applies. Now, I need you to carry Twilight across the world to our ship. Twilight, once there, will return by teleport and begin flinging crew and supplies over. Sorry, Twilight, I know you're close to worn out. Just a little more is all I'm asking for." Twilight grinned at her captain. "You've got it, sir!", she responded with verve. "Very good.", Captain Avatar said, "Because I have something special in mind for you, afterward." [ Derek, Nova, and Wendy all faced Steven Sandor, and together gave him thier applause for a great job so far. ]