Nine ponies and a dragon mingled awkwardly in the large, crystalline throne room of Ponyville’s new castle, streamers hung with Pinkie Pie precision around them as they resisted the delectable desserts and waited patiently for a certain purple princess to arrive to her own birthday party. The fact that the castle only came with seven chairs made the whole situation even more uncomfortable.
“Spike, Twilight did remember her birthday this year, didn’t she?” Princess Celestia asked, shifting in her lawn chair and doing an amazing job of ignoring its creaks and squeaks of protest, as well as the massive chocolate cake in the middle of the table-map. She had been offered a crystal seat by five of Equestria’s heroes, but refused, stating that the thrones were meant for them, and a spare would do just fine. “I remember her last letter mentioning a new project, and I’m sure we all know how she can get while pursuing academics.”
“Oh, she definitely remembers; Pinkie hasn’t let her forget for over a week,” Spike replied from his small throne next to Twilight’s. He had also made sure to go down to his surrogate sister’s new laboratory on multiple occasions to remind her himself of the upcoming festivities. In truth, he had only gotten distracted hums at the end of most of those trips as the alicorn continued to tinker at her desk, the guts of various foreign gadgets strewn before her, but that changed the day prior when she had become quite ecstatic by whatever she had been working on.
“She actually seemed really excited when I reminded her that you guys were coming today,” the little dragon added. “I think she wants to show us something while we’re all together.”
“Well, I hope she hurries it up already, this party was supposed to have started an hour ago,” grouched Rainbow Dash from above. She had forgone sticking to ground-level in favor of lazily flying belly up and bouncing a balloon between her hooves. “Whatever Princess Egghead has to show us better be totally awesome.”
“Do you have any idea what she’s been working on, Spike?” Cadance asked from Rainbow’s forsaken seat. “It must be something interesting to keep her like this; aunty Celestia, Luna, her brother and I rarely find the time to visit since the Crystal Empire’s return and her coronation.” Looking around at the former elements of harmony, she continued, “You girls have also been trotting across Equestria so frequently since this map appeared that it’s become even harder to get together.”
“Which is why I really wish Twili would just listen to me and form a royal guard already. She’s been putting herself in way too much danger lately,” muttered Shining Armor, earning an elbow to the side from his wife and a whisper about not ruining the party with arguing.
“Nope, she hasn’t told me anything,” the young dragon replied, frowning. “You’d think she’d tell her number one assistant this kind of stuff, but instead I’m left guessing and trying to make sure she remembers to eat instead.”
“I reckon whatever it is that’s got her tail in a twist has something ta do with our last adventure,” cut in Applejack before Spike could get any further into his grousing. “There was a gryphon settlement out in the west that had some bad apples stirring up a lot of anti-pony sentiment.”
Luna, who was sharing Fluttershy’s throne with the timid mare, looked up from her inspection of the holographic model to tilt her head. “As disheartening as that is to hear, I hardly see how such a thing would require scientific investigation; pony/gryphon relations have been strained since before the Nightmare, and only in more recent centuries been improving due to the more frequent intermingling between our peoples.”
“Oh, it was hardly those ruffians that brought on Twilight’s recent studying stint, your highness. It was more likely the myriad machines of gryphon-make that caught her attention,” Rarity piped in as she took a sip of tea and tried to be nonchalant about leaning away from the vibrating pink mass to her left. “Even I must admit they were quite curious; it’s truly amazing what can be done without magic… Pinkie, are you alright?”
“Oh, I’m super-duper, Rarity! My Pinkie sense is just going wacko!” the party planner explained with a grin, not caring one iota for the sudden tension her words dropped upon the group.
“Pinkie sense ya say?” Applejack stated slowly, looking to the pegasus above wearily in case she suffered a sudden wing cramp. “What kind, if ya don’t mind me asking?”
“Oh, it’s just a doozy, nothing special since Mr. Map started to DM our adventures,”
The odd statement was left unquestioned when a loud shout of, “It’s working!” rang from deeper inside the castle. “Spike! I need your help setting up a demonstration for when everypony arrives! Oh, this is so amazing!”
With his claw and face meeting, the young dragon groaned and hopped off of his seat. He was already shouting before he reached the door. “Twilight, everypony’s already here! We’ve been waiting for over an hour for you to show up at your own birthday!”
“What!?” A sudden bright flash made all but the day and night princesses see spots as Twilight tore her way through space and time to appear within the room, the bursting bubble of magic sending Spike tail over spine in the process. “I’m so sorry everypony! I didn’t mean to be late!” the newest princess exclaimed, her mane disheveled and the beginning of bags under her eyes. “I-I must have lost track of time and not-” she gulped as if she were going to be sick, “-not been paying attention to my schedule.”
“It’s alright, Twilight. There’s no harm done,” Celestia spoke up, quickly putting to use the long-developed skill to calm her former student. “Whatever it is you’ve been working on has surely been very important and well worth the time spent on it.”
“Yeah, Twilight! I bet it’s a real doozy!” Pinkie looked to the hologram in the center of the room suddenly and added, “Even if Mr. Map isn’t lighting the castle up.”
“It better be a doozy, I almost got put into a boredom coma from waiting so long,” Dash grumbled as she came to floor level. “But seriously, Twi, calm down, it’s not the end of the world.”
“I’m sure it’s going to be quite lovely,” whispered Fluttershy, breaking her silence to comfort her fretting friend.
“As long as this doesn’t end up being another portal to Tartarus like that magic fair fiasco when you were fourteen, then I can’t wait to see whatever your newest project is.” Shining said before a shudder ran up his spine and he whispered something about tentacles not understanding personal space.
As the rest of the ponies gave similar words of comfort and understanding, Twilight felt her worries dissipate and a smile begin to pull at her lips. “Ugh, no no it’s fine, no need to help the dragon,” a voice said from beneath the crystal table. Spike crawled out soon after, rubbing his head with a wince. “So, do you still need help with a presentation or whatever?”
Worries completely forgotten, Twilight grinned. “Oh yes, thank you for reminding me, Spike,” she said as she suddenly grasped him in her magic and brought him close. “Wait right here everypony! We’ll be back in just a moment!”
With that, she teleported, dragon in tow, and left her friends to wait for her once again. The voices of the purple pair reached their ears a few times when one of them raised their volume, but nothing could be discerned until the doors swung open.
“I just don’t see why you needed my help loading all this up, or even why you need a cart. You could have just levitated it all here or teleported,” Spike was saying as they entered.
“Because Spike, this is very arcane-sensitive equipment and I didn’t want to risk ruining the calibrations by exposing it to magic needlessly,” Twilight responded as she pushed a sheet-covered cart. “And as much as I’ve been practicing with my wings, I didn’t want to accidentally drop anything, so your claws were the best choice.”
“They are pretty great, aren’t they? I don’t know how ponies live without them.”
“Tis a very nice linen, Princess Twilight, but I’d hardly say it was worth the buildup,” Luna jokingly interrupted. Her interest had been thoroughly peaked at the prospect of actually witnessing the dawn of a new-age marvel for once instead of trying to play catchup on a thousand years of advancement, and she hardly wanted the event delayed by the odd siblings’ bickering, no matter how entertaining it was.
“Huh? Oh no, it’s not the sheet Luna, it’s what’s under the sheet that will amaze you!” Twilight eagerly replied, bringing her forehooves together. Moving quickly to get the cart where everypony could see it, the purple alicorn spun around and cleared her throat; using her princess training to compose herself and keep her giddiness from bubbling over. “Ahem, before I delve too deeply into my newest creation, I feel I must give credit where credit is due, and explain my inspiration.”
The room went silent as the ponies and dragon focused on Twilight’s lecture. “On our most recent excursion to spread friendship throughout Equestria, my friends and I visited the gryphon settlement of Hightail, where I got a glimpse of technologies from outside our kingdom. Amongst these marvels was an invention that, while common place to the townsfolk, was amazing to me; the radio.
“A device that received messages sent from the distant gryphon kingdom, thus allowing the citizens of Hightail to keep up with the current events of their native country instantly. A truly miraculous invention to be sure; allowing news to spread across borders faster even than what we Equestrians are capable of within our own lands.
“Of course, being the princess of friendship, I wished to bring such a wonder to all of ponykind to better allow our citizens to connect with each other, and in this quest, I discovered something that had been mere science-fiction until now.”
Taking a deep breath, the purple princess tried and failed to remain professional as a large grin spread across her face. “Transmissions from outside our planet!” The exclamation made everyone’s eyes widen.
“That is quite the claim, Princess Twilight, though I’m curious on how your research into radios yielded such a result when the gryphons have yet to accomplish as much with their own invention,” Celestia found herself inquiring. In truth, her long life had allowed her to witness much of what many would consider impossible, and thus she rarely found herself shocked anymore. And yet, here her former student was, making a claim to have discovered something she had never encountered in all her thousands of years of life.
Needless to say, she was a fair bit skeptical.
“That’s because it’s not only the gryphons’ tech at work here, Princess!” Twilight said, still smiling broadly and unaware of the disbelieving looks. “The radio was already an amazing device, but I couldn’t help wondering what improvements could be made with the introduction of magic, and seeing as how it is my special talent, I of course delved wholeheartedly into the challenge.
“What I’ve managed to create exceeded all of my expectations though, and once I picked up the first fuzzy signal with no discernible origin on Equus, I knew I was onto something big.”
Turning abruptly and grasping a corner of the sheet, Twilight yanked the white fabric from atop the cart to reveal a strange contraption. To the rest of the former elements, the device was vaguely similar to the radios they saw in Hightail, but the lack of any outer casing and addition of large glass bulbs sticking out all over the place made the comparison difficult.
“I’d like to introduce you all to the first-ever magically-amplified radio and soon to be window into the cosmos!” Twilight stated proudly.
“It looks like junk,” Rainbow commented dryly.
“Junk!? This is a revolutionary device that will completely change Equestria’s view of the universe! It is most certainly not junk!” Twilight countered.
“That may be, but it’s far from aesthetically pleasing. Couldn’t you have at least made those unseemly bulbs symmetrical in the design?”
“Those ‘bulbs’, Rarity, are extremely delicate, crystal-filament, magic amplifiers imported from the Crystal Empire. They’ve been placed where they were needed to function, not to look pretty!”
“I think it looks cool! Like a super abstract piece of art!” Pinkie chimed with a grin.
Before Twilight could respond, Celestia intervened. “Visuals aside, this device is meant to create audio, yes? Perhaps we should focus on that aspect.” Giving her former student a gentle smile, she nodded towards the strange radio. “If you would, Princess Twilight, I’m quite eager to hear what this radio can pick up.”
Cheeks tinted red, the purple alicorn cleared her throat. “Of course.” Looking back to her creation, she reached out with a hoof and gently flipped a switch, causing the glass bulbs to slowly brighten. “I suppose most of you will probably not appreciate a full, technical break down of how it works, so I’ll make copies of my notes and the schematics for those interested.”
Using her right wing now, Twilight laid a primary feather on one of the nobs and slowly turned it clockwise. The hiss of white noise grew as the nob twisted, and soon started to jump and pop as Twilight moved onto the next dial. “Now, shifting through the frequencies as such, we should be able to discern something intelligible from amongst the background as long as we listen carefully. Keep those ears pointed everpony.”
Twilight hardly had to ask as everybody had gone silent and moved their ears forward as soon as sound began to pour out of the radio’s large speaker. After nearly a minute of the young alicorn fiddling with the nobs however, patience began to wear thin, and an anxious smile began to pull at Twilight’s lips.
She was just about to fire a quick apology when Fluttershy went rigid and called, “Wait, go back!”
“Huh? What did-?”
“I think I heard something!” Meekness forgotten, the yellow pegasus got up from her seat and fluttered across the room to land next to Twilight. “Go back please, I’m sure I heard somepony speaking.”
Somewhat surprised by her friends bolder-than-usual behavior, Twilight nonetheless did as she was asked and reversed her actions, making sure to go slowly so as not to miss anything. Sure enough, there was a noticeable hiccup in the static and Fluttershy’s ears twitched. “There, somepony’s speaking.”
Brow furrowed, Twilight looked between the pegasus and her creation, ever so slightly twisting the nob back and forth to see if she could catch what her friend had. It was faint, barely a hiss in between seas of nothing, but it rose and fell in what very well could have been speech. “Are you sure? I mean, I can barely hear anything at all.”
“Well, I guess I kind of developed a sharper sense of hearing. After all, a lot of my little animal friends really are little, so it was needed,” Fluttershy explained with a slight blush. “I… I can’t tell what’s being said here though. I’m sorry, but if you could maybe make it louder?”
Returning to the first nob, Twilight brought it all the way to the right , making it possible to discern that words were indeed being spoken. Her heart soared just as it had when she caught the tail end of her first ever transmission and she wrapped a hoof around an unsuspecting Fluttershy’s neck. “You’re the greatest, Fluttershy! I can’t believe you caught that!” Twilight praised as she hugged her friend, who in turn blush all the more intensely as the others in the room gave their own commandment.
“Not that Fluttershy isn’t awesome or anything,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “But I still can’t tell what’s being said.”
Twilight, as well as the rest of the room was in agreement, and even the yellow pegasus with bat-like hearing shook her head. The youngest princess bit her lip and looked back at her device. “I think I can increase magically increase the volume with an amplification spell… but I’m afraid my magic will have a negative effect on the radio if any of the mana from the spell seeps into the internal workings.”
“Then let me do it, young Twilight. I have much experience with amplification spells, I will not lose control,” Princess Luna suddenly spoke, rising from her seat and walking over. Without waiting for a response, Luna’s horn glowed, and a barely visible blue sheen appeared over the radio’s speaker. Immediately after, the room was filled with a hard voice.
“-Victory shall come to the worthy. Today, liberty, democracy, and equality are words to fool the people. No nation can progress with such ideas. They stand in the way of action, therefore we frankly abolition them.
All ears were pointed towards the radio, focused on what sounded to be a political speech. Celestia was the first to register what was being spoken, and her head lowered in sadness. It seemed such dark beliefs existed even across the stars.
“In the future, each man will serve the interests of the state with absolute obedience. Let him who refuses beware. The rights of citizenship will be taken away from all Jews and other non-Aryans. They are inferior, and therefore enemies of the state. It is the duty of all true Aryans to hate and despise them.
Gasps of varying surprise came from the ponies, and Twilight listened on in horror of what was being preached. Hate and despise? How could anypony say such things as if it were only natural? The very notion went against the friendship she wished so badly to spread across all peoples.
“Hence forth, this nation annexed to the Tomainian Empire, and the people of this nation will obey the laws bestowed upon us by our great leader, the dictator of Tomainia, the conquer of Osterlich, the future emperor of the world…”
The radio joined its audience in silence as the cold, uncaring speaker presumably stepped down to allow his dictator the stage. Rainbow Dash was the first to voice her disbelief with an eloquent, “What the buck!?”
Fluttershy had sunk to the ground, hooves over her face while Pinkie’s hair had gone decidedly flat. The pink pony’s eyes were shining as she sniffled and commented her disbelief at how anypony could say such horrible things. Rarity simply held a hoof to her mouth and stared forward with wide-eyes as Applejack grumbled about low-down, goof-for-nothing snakes.
The royalty in the room were in similar states with Cadance burying her head against her husband’s chest while the stallion grimaced. This expression was shared by the Princess of the Night who looked as if she wanted nothing more than to find the speaker and have a less the friendly conversation with them. While Celestia had that same sad look on her face, Twilight wore one of grief. “I… This isn’t what I wanted at all. The radio was meant to bring beings of all walks of life together, not drive them apart with such- such…” The purple princess wiped a tear from her cheek as her mentor came to her side and rapped a wing around her.
“I know Twilight, and the things this creature was saying were atrocious, but it seems to be a fact of life that there will always be those who wish to cause conflict and pain, this does not lessen the potential for good your work still shows, however.” The white alicorn explained, lifting her former student’s chin to look at her. “If anything, we can still learn from the mistakes of these aliens to be better prepared for those with similar views on our own world.”
“A mistake it no doubt is,” Luna spoke up. “Tis no different than the rule of Iron Fist of the minotaurs more than a thousand years ago. His reign brought only suffering to his people, and they eventually rose up against him.” Jaw clenching, the dark alicorn continued. “It’s a pity though that we will not be able to lend aid in the unavoidable rebellion this alien tyrant will raise against himself as we did with Iron. We can only hope that those who stand against the injustice there will be victorious.”
Any more discussion was ended when the radio silence finally ended by way of a new voice.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible. Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.
“Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost…”
Though hesitant to start, the speaker gained confidence, and the ponies and one dragon had once again been left speechless. Twilight was especially caught off guard by the swirling emotions within her. The sadness brought forth by the previous speaker was still there, but was giving way to hope, and more than a little intrigue. Her scientific mind was once again at work as it processed the information being fed to it.
She noted absently that these aliens were most likely tool users, but was more intrigued by the description of their culture. The young alicorn couldn’t help but notice parallels between it and her old self who had cared little for social interactions in favor of furthering her own knowledge. Looking back on who she was, she could not agree more with the sentiment of the speaker in his assertion that the pursuit of knowledge, while very important, was not as needed as the friendships she enjoyed now.
“The airplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men., cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.
To those who can hear me, I say, do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed; the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish…”
Fluttershy and Pinkie were openly weeping as the conditions of living beneath the so-called “system” were described, and only the oldest princesses and Shining Armor had entirely dry eyes now. Even the ever stoic Applejack had a sheen to her eyes as she felt the urge to buck some sense into the “men” who would do such atrocious things. She’d have to settle for believing in the speaker’s conviction that these villains would soon lose their grip on the power they obviously didn’t deserve.
“Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes! Men who despise you, enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men; machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!”
Shining’s heart went out to the soldiers of this alien world. He had never suffered the misfortune of having to choose between his fealty and his desire to protect the ponies of Equestria, and as long as the princesses remained in power, he doubted any Equestrian soldier ever would. Even so, he knew not every soldier had this luxury and found it hard to imagine what these man soldiers had to deal with; what they would and had been asked to do by a government that cared as little for them as they did the country they were meant to lead or a speck of dirt.
The stallion could only hope these men were listening as intently as he was to this supposed emperor’s words.
“In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is within man!” Not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people have the power. The power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.
“Then, in the name of democracy, let us use that power, let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise. They never will!
“Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! In the name of democracy, let us all unite!”
Radio going quiet once again, the only noise left to bounce around the cavern of a room was the sniffling of two ponies. Suddenly, one of the many crystal filaments sticking out of the device chose to burn out, bringing the rest of them with it to darkness. “Oh my…” Rarity breathed, caring just as little as the rest of them that the radio just busted. “That was quite the impassioned speech… I hope that gentlestallion will be alright.”
“What do you mean? The guy’s totally awesome! What’s he got be worried about?” Rainbow Dash asked, punching a hoof forward. “You heard him; those bad guys are going down!”
“The very same ‘bad guys’ who are probably none too happy with the speaker for what he just broadcasted across their planet,” Cadance commented. “I can’t claim to know how he got into the position of emperor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was through the scheming of those he just attempted to rally the people against. He claimed himself that it was their positions in the government that was causing so much suffering, so I doubt they would have chosen somepony righteous to join their ranks unless he was meant to cooperate with them.” She shuddered. “If they’re willing to torture their own citizens, I can’t imagine what they’ll do to him.” Images of King Sombra flashed through her mind, and she leaned into her husband.
“We can only hope that the soldiers of their kingdom side with the speaker then,” Luna said. “Power resides where the people believe it does; this has always been true, even here in Equestria. If our ponies, our militia turned against us, we would be powerless to stop them from stripping our rule away.”
“His enemies most likely lack any true power beyond their political standing as well,” joined Celestia, quick to negate the growing worries of her subjects and friends. “As my sister says, enraged as they may be, all those who wish him harm can do is order another to do the deed, and if the one given the order refuses, the speaker will remain safe.”
“Then we have nothing to worry about!” Pinkie exclaimed, some of the bouncing coming back to her mane. “Why would anypony listen to what those big meanies told them to do anyway? Mister Stache is super nice and I bet if he’s not going to be king, than he’ll throw a big party instead to make everypony happy.” Frowning slightly, she added, “I would do it myself, but I haven’t worked all the kinks out of making my Pinkiecopter deep space worthy yet.”
“Mister Stache?”
Pinkie shrugged. “He sounded like he had a mustache; a little postage stamp one.”
Shaking her head, Twilight looked to her friends and family with a smile. “I don’t think we have anything to worry about; if the people there unite in friendship like the speaker said, then everything will work out.” A distant look came over the purple princess as she mumbled, “Making a world of science.”
“A world of eggheads? Hey Shining, you sure your parents didn’t find Twilight in a space pod? Because I think she may be on the wrong planet,” Rainbow snarked as she tapped Twilight’s head from above. As the birthday mare swung up in retaliation, the tension within the room was broken and the ponies began laughing.
“Hey, does this mean we can finally cut the cake?” Spike piped up. “All this alien talk has gotten me hungry."
“You are still thinking about what we heard,” Luna stated as she approached her sister. She stopped next to the white alicorn as she lowered the sun, prepared to raise the moon as soon as the fiery orb dropped below the horizon.
“Yes,” Celestia responded, her horn dimming. She had wished to listen more to the magic radio her former student created, but was told that there weren’t any replacement bulbs and that more would have to be ordered from the crystal empire. The assurance by Cadance and Shining Armor that they would donate a crate full did little to quell Celestia’s disappointment, but she enjoyed the festivities anyway… And maybe ate a little more than her fair share of the cake before she and her sister had to return to Canterlot for their celestial and royal duties.
“It was surprising to be sure, which, for ones as old as us, is quite the feat,” said Luna as her horn glowed in tandem with the moonrise. “… Are you worried for them, sister?”
Celestia sighed and shook her head. “I know it’s foolish to burden myself with problems beyond my influence, but the thought that out there, innocent creatures are suffering under such a discordant and cruel reign… I feel as if I’m failing them somehow.”
“Discordant, huh? Mayhap you are remembering Discord’s reign?”
“I suppose I am,” Celestia returned with a small smile before letting it drop again. “Our little ponies suffered so much in those days; I can’t even bare to imagine what Equestria would presently be had we failed to dethrone him. Now, there’s another species out there enduring hardships of a similar nature, and we’re powerless to help them.”
The dark alicorn didn’t respond, and when Celestia looked to her, she saw a ponderous expression. “… maybe not powerless,” Luna muttered.
“I hope you’re not planning on asking Discord for help, sister. Even if he did have the ability to find and go to that world, I hardly think his brand of ‘help’ would be appreciated.”
“Do you think me daft, Tia? We barely manage to rein the draconequus in as it is; I wouldn’t dare let him loose on an unsuspecting civilization,” Luna responded, shoving her sister slightly. “No, I was thinking of a petitioner of my night court some months ago. You remember the one I told you about? Star Shot I believe her name was.”
Celestia’s brow furrowed. “I think so. If I recall, you turned down her request for funding as the project was too far out of the realm of possibility. Why are you bringing her up now?”
“Because, after what Twilight has shown us today what technology is capable of, I’m beginning to think Star Shot’s ambitions are not as outlandish as I once thought.”
“And what were these ambitions?”
“She wishes to reach the stars.”
To my fellow princess, Twilight Sparkle,
I hope this letter finds you well and that you have not allowed yourself to become too sleep deprived since getting your radio operational again. That being said, I’m looking forward to another visit so as to give the device another listen myself.
Scheduling another meeting is not the purpose of this letter however and there is something of great importance I would like to discuss with you. At such a time that it is convenient, I would like for you to come to Canterlot and give your input on a very intriguing proposition made by one of our little ponies that I feel your technological and magical knowledge would give you a keen insight into.
If you become as interested in the idea as I imagine you will, you’ll no doubt wish to oversee the project personally, and I feel you will get along swimmingly with the pony who desires to spearhead the operation, Star Shot. She’ll also no doubt be ecstatic to see your creation as well; I’m sure it would provide more than simple scientific interest to the mare, after all.
Hoping to receive your response soon,
Your friend, Princess Celestia.