//------------------------------// // 1: Those We Leave Behind // Story: Friendship: Beyond Equestria // by law abiding pony //------------------------------// High above among the snow covered spires of Canterlot Castle, Princess Twilight Sparkle silently watched over the valley at the foot of the mountain. There, the forests had long since been cleared away, and now served as a launching point for several shuttlecraft. A slight frown occupied her face as light falling snow obscured her view of the outside. Her private quarters were warm enough however. A fire gently crackled in the hearth. A bed now stripped of its sheets sat off to one side while Twilight’s only saddlebag waited for its owner. The only sound in the room was the radio with the news channel playing. ~“With Princess Celestia and the weather teams working overtime, the launch window for today should bring about thawing weather this chilly April afternoon.”~ In her mind, Twilight could still see Equestria’s golden age of warm spring days and hot summers. The streets of Canterlot bustling with throngs of ponies. ~“Today marks the day for the departure of the first Seed ship. I believe this reporter speaks for all of Equestria, and even the whole world, when I say: To these chosen few we wish the best of luck.”~ Hundreds of birds raced through Twilight’s memories with her flying among them. A solitary tear dampened her face as Twilight remembered her friends flying with her over the past four hundred years; Rainbow Dash, Lightning Fly, Dusty, Paper Fan, and many more during her long life. Each of them had granted that which she loved most: friendship. And now I have to leave so many behind… for the good of ponykind. Twilight gazed up towards the sun. The weakened star peaked through small breaks in the clouds, but it was much dimmer than how Twilight remembered it used to be. The sound of the radio clicking off brought Twilight’s attention to a new arrival in her room. Standing stoically by the now silent radio was a grey royal changeling with moderately long orange hair that was cut in all right angles. Unlike the changelings of old, this princess had fur so she could integrate better with ponykind. However, she was still riddled with holes, but had been genetically modified to have a much straighter spiraled horn that could easily pass for a unicorn's. Like Twilight Sparkle, she had a computerized headset wrapped around her horn that was colored gold with amethyst inlays. She did not bear a cutie mark. “Praxia, I take it you’re here to tell me it’s time,” Twilight said with heavy finality. Praxia gave Twilight a weak smile. “I am. Although knowing you, Sensei, you already know that.” Twilight heaved an emotionally heavy sigh and turned back to look at Canterlot, her birthplace, one more time. “I’ll be along shortly.” Praxia tilted her head with one ear drooping to the side. “You already spoke with Celestia and the other princesses right?” “...Yes, I did.” Twilight tried to keep her voice emotionally level. With a light buzzing sound to herald her approach, Praxia flew over and briefly nuzzled Twilight's shoulder. “I know this is hard, sensei, but this isn’t the end for them. They’ll lead their own seed ships before the star fades.” “But their destination won’t be the same as ours,” Twilight whispered, fearful her voice would break. She couldn’t afford to break down now. Not when she had to be strong for others. Twilight could see the rooftops and some of the streets of Canterlot were blanketed with ponies watching the launch pads. Twilight tried to imagine what they were feeling. Hope for the future of our species? Betrayal for not getting selected? Fear? Sorrow? A little red box superimposed itself over the vision of both mares vision via their headset’s connection to their internal mana system. It was depicting a warning sign on the left and a green stallion’s face on the right. “T-minus three hours to launch. All designated colonists are to report to their respective launch vehicle immediately.” The message started to repeat but Twilight silenced it with a small mote of mana. “Come on, Praxia, we should go.” Just over two hours later, Twilight stood on the snow covered launch scaffolding. She shivered in her white and red environment suit, thanks in part to not having her helmet on yet. Standing tall beside the scaffold was the ship that would take her into orbit. A line of ponies of all tribes walked past her as they filed into the ship. Like their princess, each of them wore the same white and red environment suits. Every last one of their faces were obscured by the helmets they wore, but Twilight didn’t need to see them to know what they were feeling. For she was feeling the same trepidation, excitement, and sorrow of leaving all they knew behind. As for Twilight herself, she tried to keep her mind occupied by checking off all of the assigned passengers that walked by. Her checklist was little more than a hologram that only she could see. A scanner on the scaffolding ceiling checked off the passengers one by one. Fifty minutes before launch, Twilight’s list was complete, and everyone on her ship was accounted for, save one. Why is she running this late?! Again! Twilight waited irritably with one eye on the clock. I try to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she’s cutting this way too close. Twilight was about to call said missing person when she saw a white and red blur in the distance. She scowled deeply at the figure as it came to a nearly crashing halt in front of her. The focus of Twilight’s ire was a pegasus mare, practically still a filly, with a dirty red, brown, and steel grey mane. The mare's dusty grey fur had speckles of frost clinging to her thanks to the frigid climate. Her strong amber eyes, shaped like her mother's, were narrowed in a poor attempt to keep bits of ice in the wind from blinding her. Twilight’s anger was hiccuped by the fact that the pegasus was wearing her full environment suit, minus the helmet. “Prism Flash! Where have you been, young lady?! You know the weather teams can only give us a short window!” “Really sorry, momma,” Prism said placatingly. “I got here early like you asked, but then I remembered you forgot to pack the-” “Show me when we’re on Seed One,” Twilight fumed as she secured her helmet in place. “Yes, ma’am!” Prism snatched the helmet she had left earlier from an alcove behind Twilight before racing across the gangplank to the shuttle. With the source of her maternal anger absent, Twilight’s mood shifted first to relief before settling on forlorn sorrow. As she slowly made her way towards the shuttle, Twilight looked up towards Canterlot Castle, and Celestia’s royal spire in particular. Twilight’s emotional strength threatened to buckle, but she forced herself to burn the image on Canterlot Castle into her mind for one last time. ~“T-minus thirty minutes,”~ mission control reminded her. With a heavy heart, Twilight walked the final steps and entered the airlock. She turned and pressed the panel to close the door, only to gasp at what she saw beyond the glass. Standing out there in the snow was Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. They were dressed in only their royal regalia instead of the thermal clothing they usually wore. The sight of them instantly brought Twilight back to her early years of being Celestia’s prized student. ~“From start to finish, you have always made me proud, Twilight,”~ Celestia said over the radio from her modified regalia. Celestia normally looked painfully thin from her long efforts at keeping the sun alive, but here she looked as young and strong as she ever did. Twilight pressed herself against the small porthole, finally losing the battle to stop her tears. ~ “Just as you saved me from myself,”~ Luna began with a warm smile she rarely displayed anymore, ~“We send you off to save Ponykind from our mistakes.”~ The trio walked towards the ship as Cadance spoke. ~“Go with our faith, and our love, Twilight. We know if anypony can succeed, it would be you.”~ She couldn’t take it anymore. Twilight teleported to her fellow alicorns’ side and embraced them in a crushing hug. The other princesses squeezed her right back. Some part of Twilight’s mind recognized the illusion spell Celestia was using, but Twilight blocked it out for the moment. Celestia carefully laid her head on Twilight’s helmet. “All of Equestria’s hopes and dreams go with you, Twilight. I know with all my heart that you’ll succeed.” “Forge a newer, better path, Twilight,” Luna advised with a friendly yet stern tone. “You are the best of us for that task.” “You have my word,” Twilight choked between sobs. “Equestria won’t fade away.” “Don’t feel too lonely out there, Twilight,” Cadance said with forced playfulness. “I’ll be on the next Seed ship out. We’ll all be together again someday.” Twilight looked up to Celestia. “Even you?” “I will do my best,” Celestia replied definitely. “Count on it.” Releasing a shuddering breath, Twilight found renewed strength in her fellow peers. ~T-minus fifteen minutes to launch.~ With one last squeeze, Twilight detached herself from the other princesses and teleported back into the airlock. ~ “Please, everypony, stay strong.”~ ~“Isn’t that our line?”~ Cadance replied with a smirk. Celestia remained quiet as she closed the distance and placed her hoof on the glass. Twilight pressed her suited hoof on her side of the glass, fighting renewed tears. ~“Go now, Twilight. Go with all the strength you can muster. Our thoughts will always be with you.”~ With a flash of light, Celestia teleported the three of them to a safe distance from the rocket, leaving Twilight behind. With warring emotions, Twilight dropped her hoof and made her way to the passenger area. It reminded her a lot of a passenger aircraft cabin, save for built-in ladders instead of simple walkways. Everyone was strapped in, and waiting pensively as the rocket started to rumble. Twilight saw someone waving her down at the front of the cabin. Her suit’s scanner identified the waver as Prism, so she teleported over. Twilight’s assigned seat was waiting for her, so she quickly strapped in. She took a moment to calm down only to find Prism and Praxia on either side of her. “I was beginning to worry that we might have to delay the launch,” Praxia said honestly. “You’ve never been good at saying goodbye.” “You know I’d never let my personal feelings interfere with something as important as this,” Twilight countered strongly. Praxia eyed her worriedly, but ultimately said nothing further. Twilight turned her gaze towards Prism who was looking forward with a manic grin plastered on her face. I hope she didn’t try to bring along any contraband. She had no time to guess what it was due to the rockets firing to full thrust. The cabin rocked incessantly as the vehicle took to the heavens. Prism would have waved her forelegs in cheer were it not for the g-forces. “Woot! Bright skies and hot summer days here we come!” Prism didn’t stop cheering the whole time as the colonists were pushed into orbit. As expected though, the shuttle evened out as weightlessness took hold. ~“This is your pilot speaking. We’ve successfully cleared the atmosphere, and are now on Hohmare Transfer trajectory to Seed One. Please remember that each of you has to visit medical before entering the cryopods.”~ Twilight was thankful that her seat was next to a window, so she was able to look out over her homeworld. Instead of the green, brown, blue, and white marble it used to be, now the planet was dominated in deep blue and white, with only a scant few places at the equator where green still persisted. Praxia joined her teacher in looking out over their world, mostly because she was between Twilight and the window. “Do you really think the other princesses will survive long enough to build and launch the other seeds?” ‘We can only hope,” Twilight replied at length. While keeping her eyes on the planet below, Twilight wrapped a leg around Praxia. “What about you? You’re the only changeling going on any of the Seed ships.” Praxia leaned back in her chair, the novelty of weightlessness seemed to dim for her. “I’m the only one who needs to go… or should go.” Twilight sighed and gave Praxia a critical look that made the young changeling sink in her seat. “You are not your mother, Praxia. I have no doubt that the ponies and future changelings of our colony will be able to live together as the tribes already do.” “Of course, Princess, thank you.” “You can thank me when you actually take it to heart,” Twilight stated flatly. “...Sorry.” Praxia didn’t know what else to say, and only shrunk down even more under Twilight’s reproachful gaze. I’m getting nowhere as usual. Twilight decided to leave it be for the sake of the present, and sat back, allowing Praxia to sit normally again. It wasn’t long before the shuttle docked with the spacedock servicing Seed One. Twilight was among the first to pass through the docking port and enter the station proper. Praxia and Prism stayed close as the rest of the passengers gathered around them. The station itself was constantly rotating, giving the feel of gravity the shuttle lacked. The marshalling area was cramped, leaving very little head room, forcing Twilight to bend forward to keep from catching her horn on the ceiling. The walls were all polished sterile white with a trio of doors leading deeper into the station. Twilight and the others didn’t wait long before a single earth stallion in the same standard environment suit, sans the helmet, entered from the center doorlock. “Welcome, everypony, to Seed Station. We are on a very tight schedule so I would appreciate it if we proceed in an orderly fashion. All members of the scientific corp, please enter the doors on the left, everypony else, to the right.” He looked at Twilight and bowed respectfully. “Princess Twilight, please come this way.” “Very well.” She turned to Prism who had started to move to the left, while Praxia had to the right. “I’ll see you two before cryo, alright?” “You just want an excuse to tuck me in again, don’t you?” Prism smirked playfully. “No, I want to know what you’re trying to smuggle on board before we leave.” To her credit, Prism looked insulted. “Smuggle? Hardly. See ya soon, momma!” Prism tactfully evaded further questions by wedging herself into the line of scientists. Praxia waited patiently for Twilight’s attention to return to her. “Do you want me to find out what it is, and space it?” “No,” Twilight groaned into her helmet. “Just be ready at cryo after I’m done with things here.” “Of course, Sensei.” Twilight briefly watched the young changeling go to her assigned path before turning back to the stallion. “Sorry about that.” “Think nothing of it, your highness.” He waved towards the center doors. “This way, if you please.” With a nod Twilight followed him out of the marshalling area, and into a long thin hallway that ran the length of the entire station. As soon as the doors closed behind them, the stallion piped up again. “While we’re on a schedule, Seed One will only launch upon your order, your highness.” “If we have it my way, we’ll be right on time.” “I’m sure Station Commander Weighted Scales will be happy to hear that,” the stallion said earnestly. “Before I hoof you over to him,” the stallion said while turning to face her. “I must say I am honored to have worked on this project. To make sure we don’t go extinct, and all that.” The pair were coming to a taller section of the hallway, allowing Twilight to walk normally. “It takes immense courage to work on a vessel such as this, and not be selected to go on it.” It was a fate that all of the dock workers shared. It felt unfair to Twilight in that moment as sadness flashed through the stallion’s eyes. “Ah, don’t worry ‘bout me. Being a part of the salvation of ponykind is good enough for me, so long as I get a plaque at your new home,” he added jokingly. “I think I can arrange that,” Twilight said non-jokingly. “I already planned to do just that for all the dock workers, but with a monument instead. A plaque wouldn’t do your sacrifice justice.” The stallion stopped at a door and bowed. “Thank you, Princess Twilight. Scales’ office is through here. May Elysian winds carry you forward.” “And may Elysia await you,” Twilight replied with a regal smile. The stallion pressed the wall panel, allowing Twilight to step into the office. Twilight found it to be more spacious than she expected. There was a desk cluttered with empty disposable coffee cups. Behind said desk on a swivel chair was a worn out looking beige unicorn stallion tapping away at a computer. Lastly, the back of his office was a wall spanning window that faced the Seed ship beyond. “Commander Weighted Scales,” Twilight announced after a polite cough as she telekinetically removed her helmet and used a latch to secure it in between her wings. The stallion practically jumped in his seat and stared at the purple alicorn for a brief moment before double checking the clock on his console. “My deepest apologies, Princess!” Scales half-yelled as he rapidly rounded the desk to bow to her. “I let the time of your visit slip away from me.” “Think nothing of it,” Twilight waved off casually with a smile. Provided we aren’t delayed. “Is all the necessary cargo on board?” “To the letter, your majesty.” Scales moved back to his desk and shuffled around for a data slate. After finding it, he waved it at Twilight, allowing the data to transfer to her personal interface. “It was proving infeasible to shrink a hydroponics bay as much as your specs required for two and a half thousand colonists, so we had to cheat a little by limiting carry on personal belongings to half originally stated to pack in more preserved food.” “Just as well,” Twilight sighed as she flipped through the cargo manifests. “We will be really cramped in the lander until we get the prefabs set up.” “I don’t envy you in that regard,” Scales stated with a weak attempt at humor. Twilight saw the stallion wilt at his poor delivery before refocusing on his work. “At any rate. The ship’s been inspected from top to bottom and the crew is well trained. They’ve run the simulations hundreds of times. “As far as I’m concerned, you could land through a hurricane on top of a mountain and still be safe and sound. After that however,” Scales tilted his head and shrugged. “Will be up to you at that point, your highness.” “As diligent as ever. Excellent work, Station Commander. Was there anything else that I need to know?” Scales nodded with a worried frown. “Well, as you know, the Griffin Empire and the Minotaur Conglomerate are building Seed ships of their own.” Twilight hummed, concerned about where Scales was taking this. “Yes. Intelligence says they’re planning on going to the same planet we are, mostly because it’s the best one our astronomers have found, but they’re at least four years behind us.” “Well the state of their ships don’t give me the same picture.” Scales went back to his desk, typed in a series of commands and then rotated the tall length of glass serving as the monitor around so Twilight could see. The screen revealed several camera feeds of two different space stations, one steel-grey, and the other colored gold. Sitting inside the ribcage-like docks were two ships. Both of them, like Seed One, had a wide central axis with circular rings attached by support struts. Scales zoomed in the camera feed, allowing better inspection, and superimposed an outline of Seed One on top of both other ships. The biggest difference Twilight saw was that the griffin ship was larger than the Equestrian one, and the minotaur vessel was larger still. The golden one, which Twilight knew belonged to the griffins, was slightly longer than Seed One and had thicker rings. The minotaur one looked more akin to a beehive instead of a series of wheels along a single axle. Both of these ships were still under construction, but if Twilight’s untrained eye was accurate, it wouldn’t take any longer than a year for both to be ready. “They must have stepped up construction,” Twilight said idly. “I hope they aren’t cutting any corners. That could prove disastrous.” “One can only hope.” Scales’ tone became cautionary. “But I feel I must remind you how fiercely territorial griffins and minotaurs are.” He didn’t need to say anything further for Twilight to catch his meaning. “We’ll have three colonies among an entire planet, Scales. And given that very nature of theirs, I suspect they’ll want to land as far from us as possible.” “We can only hope.” Scales flipped his glass-monitor back around and waved to the door. “Everything else we can talk about on the way to the ship.” “Sounds good.” The next hour was dominated by talk of minute details and last minute updates. It was something that came so naturally and fluidly to Twilight that she completely lost track of time as she buried herself into her checklists. It wasn’t until Twilight stood at the airlock between the station and the ship that she brought herself back to the present. “Well everything checks out,” Scales said tiredly. Twilight hummed affirmatively while looking at the thick yellow line with the words ‘embarkation line’ stenciled above it. So here I stand at the precipice of forever, leaving everything I know and love behind. Once again, she fought back the tears to remain strong for her fellow ponies. Her thoughts drifted to Prism, Praxia, and one other person. Well, almost everything. Weighted Scales was old enough to know hesitation when he saw it. He risked a breach in protocol and placed a reassuring hoof on the mare’s foreleg. “I know it must be hard, princess.” Twilight was never one for rigid protocol in the first place, so she simply gave the old stallion a somber grimace. “But this is the challenge of life, is it not? To always struggle against the cold of death.” Twilight couldn’t help but to snort-laugh. “Quoting Marecules are we?” “Guilty as charged. She gave excellent advice,” Scales replied with a genuine smile while dropping his hoof. “You’d think after a few centuries I’d be wise enough to not need a pep talk.” Scales smiled while shaking his head. “If that were so, princess, Celestia and Luna’d have no need for advisors.” “A fair point,” Twilight conceded. “Stay safe, Weighted Scales, and stay strong.” Scales gave a thankful nod. “May Elysian winds guide your sails, princess.” “And may the Fields await you, Station Commander.” With resolve in her heart, Twilight let her alicorn magic flow without restraint, turning her mane ethereal. It waved on a phantom wind with twinkling stars sparkling throughout it all. The moment she stepped through the hatch on the far side of the airlock, there would be no greater wisdom to turn to. No Celestia to guide her path, no Luna to show her the virtue of strength, and no Cadance to stand as the symbol of love. From here on, I have to be that symbol. For the sake of my colonists, I will not fail them. Weighted Scales marveled at the sight of Twilight Sparkle’s starry mane. It was a sight that no living being, save the other alicorns, had ever seen. In that moment, Scales felt as if he had been given a profound honor, and dipped to one knee. “If ever there was one to lead us to the stars, Princess Twilight, I have no doubt you are the best of us to do it.” “Time to see if you’re right, Commander,” Twilight said with a regal smile while hiding her inner fears. “Farewell.” Steeling herself, Twilight walked purposefully down the short tube between the station and Seed One. Her eyes were fixed on the door leading to her future as if it were a point of no return. Wrong. I passed that point the moment I stepped onto the rocket. This is just a new beginning. A slight vibration brought Twilight’s attention to a series of other passenger tubes that were decoupling and retracting to the station. Before she knew it, Twilight had crossed the threshold into Seed One. The muted grey walls and sterile white lights revealed a receiving room followed by a door into the massive circular walkways of the first ring. While in the room, a small notch popped out of the wall and cast a red scanning laser across Twilight. “Passenger registered,” an artificial sounding male voice called out from the walls. “Colonial Governor Twilight Sparkle. Welcome to Seed One, I am Voyager, your shipboard AI. Please follow the glowing line to the bridge.” “So I’ve been demoted to just governor now?” Twilight asked playfully as she cantered her way to the ship’s axis. Unlike the station, this hallway was completely empty of other ponies, although Twilight chalked that up to not being in the cryo ring. While she didn’t design the ship, Twilight had studied its blueprints incessantly for the past few months. “It was royal decree #52341-C,” Voyager replied emotionlessly before starting a recording of Celestia. “Dear Twilight, given our rather amusing debates on how each of us should rule our colonies in such stark isolation, I have issued the records to title you as Colonial Governor over Princess. After all,” Celestia added with a playful tone, “a colony of barely two thousand ponies hardly qualifies as a village, let alone a nation. I propose you wait for a few generations before the population is large enough to consider the princess title again.” Twilight tried to be amused by the decree, but Celestia’s jovial tone only made her homesick. Oblivious to Twilight’s sullen mood, Voyager spoke up. “Of course, Colonial Governor, once the ship departs space dock, you will be the sole authority on any titles and laws until you deem otherwise. You could remain a princess if you so choose.” A joke though it was, Twilight couldn’t help but to ponder the notion as some last test Celestia had given her. I haven’t been given a test in decades. It’d be like old times in a way. “I’ll sleep on it, Voyager.” “As you wish, Governor.” Twilight felt like correcting him in that she hadn’t decided to take Celestia’s final test, but remembered the ship hadn’t departed yet. Right, she still has sovereignty. Casting it from her mind, Twilight reached the central axle. Here at last she found dozens of ponies all gathering inside a tram that ran the entire length of the ship. All of them, like Twilight, were wearing their environment suits, though only a few still kept their helmets on. Everyone gave the alicorn a respectful berth, and tried not to gawk at her flowing starry mane. Through their reflection in the steel walls and doors of the tram, Twilight saw many of the ponies’ faces light up in smiles at seeing her mane. Along with a hope that burned bright enough to even rise Twilight’s spirits. One of the younger mares, around Prism’s age, piped up. “Um, ma’am, is it true you're going to be called a governor instead of a princess now?” Twilight arched an eyebrow at the question. “Just how many of you already know about that decree?” Well over half of the other ponies raised a hoof. One of the stallions had a look somewhere between confusion and curiosity. “Are you going to do that? Be a governor instead of a princess?” “I haven’t decided yet, to be honest. You’ll have my decision before we make planetfall.” “But, your highness, you’re not actually thinking about doing that are you!?” cried a rose colored mare. “You’ll have my decision later,” Twilight said with regal iron, reinforcing that she was still their sovereign, princess or not. The stern words seemed to placate the mare and most others beside her. Though Twilight didn’t get a chance to speak to the worried colonists when the tram stopped . ~“Cryo bay five.”~ The doors opened, allowing the ponies to file out, leaving Twilight alone once again. She looked around the large empty tram car with a sad frown. I hope this doesn’t become a theme. It wasn’t much longer after that before the tram arrived at the forward command section. The tram receiving area had only a single pony manning a wall mounted terminal. The unicorn stallion had personalized his white and red suit by painting on a red cross where his cutie mark would be. He leapt away from the console the instant the tram doors opened, and greeted Twilight with a bow and a smile. “It is an honor to finally meet you in person Colonial Princess. I am Chief Medical Officer Sawbones.” “Good to meet you, Doctor. But I must ask. Colonial Princess?” Sawbones saw the approving glint in Twilight’s eye. “Aye, your highness. I suspected Princess Celestia’s decree was merely a jest. It wouldn’t be proper for an alicorn of your caliber to be a simple governor after all.” It’s a mouthful though. No pony would bother saying the whole thing, even if it has a nice ring to it. Twilight filed that thought away for the moment. “I take it you’re going to oversee my pre-freeze medications, correct?” “I am. Although the captain assumed you’d want to watch us cast off from the bridge.” “I was planning on doing just that.” Twilight saw that Voyager had been listening in because as soon as she said that, a line along the walls lit up, silently directing her to the bridge. With Sawbones following tactfully behind her, Twilight followed the lights to a surprisingly small, yet noisy command bridge. There were a total of eight seated stations including the captain's chair, with all of them in a double chevron arrangement. Aside from the walls and two rows of displays and instrument panels, there was a massive viewscreen that dominated the far wall. The captain was facing the viewscreen which was giving a panoramic view of the left side of the station. Almost the entire station’s personnel were crowding around the scant few windows as they awaited the moment of truth. “How long until all non-crewponies are in cryo, ensign?” the captain asked as Twilight closed the short distance between the entryway and the captain's chair. “Just over two hundred are still arriving at their designated pods. We’re still on schedule, sir.” “Glad to see you haven’t lost your touch without me,” Twilight called out with a mischievous grin, “Spike.” At the sound of her voice, Spike turned his chair around and smiled massively at Twilight. “And here I thought you’d actually end up late for once.” He climbed to his feet and walked over so they could hug each other. He was wearing a heavily enchanted set of stainless steel bracelets and anklets that kept him no larger than Twilight herself. It was the only thing that enabled him to be on the ship at all. Twilight’s heart lifted at the embrace of her adopted brother. “It’s good to see you, Spike.” Spike separated the embrace and plopped back down in his chair. “Likewise. Why don’t we catch up after we’re underway? We’ll have all the time in the world then.” “Sounds reasonable.” Twilight gave the rest of the crew polite nods before they returned their attention to their work. Twilight found a small area where she could be out of the way, and still have a good view of the viewscreen. Oh that’s right. Prism and Praxia are waiting on me. Twilight grabbed her helmet and locked it back into place over her head to speak privately. ~“Voyager, patch me into my student and daughter would you?”~ ~“Processing… Link established.”~ Two holographic windows imposed themselves on Twilight’s vision with Praxia appearing on the right with Prism on the left. Both of them had purple veins in their eyes, indicating they had already taken their cryo-medication. “How is everything, girls? Any issues with processing?” “Perfectly fine, princess,” Praxia spoke before Prism could say a word. Prism gave Praxia a stink eye, but didn’t interrupt. “Although the doctor said my wings won’t survive the freezing process, even with the medication.” Twilight gave the royal changeling a sympathetic half-smile. “A shame. Those take you a while to regrow. A month, if I recall correctly.” Prism returned the favor by interjecting before Praxia could speak. “Well it’s not like your job at the colony will require flying anyway.” If Twilight saw any need for a reprimand, neither of the young mares could see it in her face. “I finished packing our things into your room’s storage locker. Good thing we packed light, cause it was half filled with freeze dried food when I found it.” For a brief moment, Twilight thanked technology for allowing her vast collection of books to shrink from the size of a warehouse to a small drive the size of a tooth. “Yes, the station master told me about that. Don’t eat any, cryo and a full stomach don’t mix.” “I trust she’d rather avoid a repeat experience,” Praxia said while cringing at the disgusting memory. “Do you still have time to see us to our pods, or should we wait?” Were it not for that question, Prism might have pounced the changeling there and then and given her a revenge noogie. Twilight recalled that both girls’ pods were next to her own, which was in the forward command section. “I’ll be there shortly. Why don’t you patch into the exterior cameras as the station waves us off.” “Alrighty” “See you soon then,” the girls chimed before signing off. Twilight removed her helmet in time to hear Voyager make an announcement to the bridge. “All non-crew members, save two are accounted for and in their cryo-pods.” “I’ll tend to Prism and Praxia personally, we can leave without them in stasis.” Spike, who had half-turned his chair to listen, silently nodded his agreement before turning to another crewmen with an expectant look. “Sir, engineering gave us the green light. Engines are primed and ready.” “Tram is locked down, and all non-essential systems are in low-power mode,” stated another crewmember. The hull reverberated with muffled clings and pongs. “All tethers and feed cables have detached, captain.” “Station Control reports our departure route is clear,” said the helmsman. “Everything’s green to go, sir.” Spike took it all in silence to savor it all. “Well that’s it then.” He turned to Twilight. “Would you like to have the honors, fearless leader?” I don’t know about fearless, Twilight mused to herself. “I’m not the one who's been training and practicing to command this ship for the past decade. How about I be the one to give the order for planetfall?” Spike smirked at the idea and nodded appreciatively. He turned his chair forward again and spoke in his best command voice. “Helm, take us out nice and steady. And switch on all running lights. I think we can spare the bit of power to give everypony a shooting star to hope for.” “Aye, sir,” the two crewmen replied with anticipation running high. Twilight was swept up in the lightening thrill of the unknown and powerful sense of adventure that took hold and smothered any feelings of homesickness and fear for the moment. The viewscreen revealed the hundreds of dockworkers all jumping and cheering as Seed One’s engines kicked in and she started to leave port. A little over a dozen smaller craft pressed up against key points of the massive colony ship to make sure it stayed straight as it left the long spindly arms of the spacedock. Like a perfected ballet, the tug boats departed en masse from Seed One’s hull as it finished passing through the last arm of the dock. Spike pressed a few buttons on his chair to keep the viewscreen centered on the station with the mostly pale white marble of Equuis behind it. The thrill Twilight felt from a few seconds ago was overtaken by trepidation and fear for those left behind. She walked over to stand beside Spike’s chair, in some vain hope to slow how quickly the planet was shrinking from the camera. Even Spike was caught in the same state as he leaned forward in his chair, eyes fixed on his homeworld. The rest of the bridge crew did the same, watching as everything and everyone they knew disappeared behind them as the ship accelerated. With renewed tears, thankfully hidden by her helmet, Twilight was about to order Voyager to patch her through to Canterlot Castle. No. I said my goodbyes. I’ll only make it harder on everypony by dragging it out further, and they have to focus on keeping Equestria together while building the next Seed Ship. “Kill the exterior lights when we pass the moon,” Spike ordered, breaking Twilight from her thoughts. “We’ve still got work to do people. Let’s get the ship ready for Voyager while we take our little nap.” “Aye, sir.” Spike looked up at Twilight with a carefully neutral expression. “We’re going to be busy here for several hours. Why don’t you tend to the P sisters until I get a free moment to catch up?” “Good idea.” Twilight removed her helmet with a loud click and gave Spike a sisterly kiss on the forehead and fussed up his head spines for old times’ sake. “See you in a bit.” It was only a short walk between the bridge and Twilight’s personal quarters. Since she was an ageless alicorn, Twilight was not planning on sleeping the entire time through space. As before, Voyager served as a backup to Twilight’s own memory of the ship’s layout. She moved through the semi-busy hallways. Crew members raced to and fro, locking down systems, and performing startup sequences on the automated functions. No doubt the crew will be all over the ship now that the colonists are in stasis. She gave passing nods and received polite bows as Twilight wound her way through three short hallways to find her quarters. Within, she found Prism and Praxia looking exhausted as the medication was putting them to sleep, cryo-pod or not. The room was highly spartan to Twilight’s already modest standards. There was no window, save for a screen mimicking one by showing the tiny mote of light that was Equuis. The single bed was just large enough to accommodate her larger than normal size, a small closet for her suit and five spares, and a minimalist adjoined bathroom. There was also not a drop of artistry or flare in the white room, save for Twilight and Prism’s cutie marks stenciled above their respective pods. Truly fitting accommodations for royalty, Twilight mused dryly as she approached her daughter and student. Both young mares had been deep in thought away from each other, and sluggishly got to their hooves upon Twilight’s entry. “Sorry it took so long, girls.” Twilight removed her helmet and placed it on the bed. “I hope you saw our departure on the ‘window’ over there.” Prism said nothing before roping Twilight into a hug. Praxia hesitated, not wanting to be so personal with her princess and teacher. “We did,” she said with a surreal feeling. Twilight could relate with the overwhelming sense of the finality of their departure. “I made sure crewmare Floss Gate secured your lab equipment near the hydroponics bay. I’d have done it myself but-” Praxia was interrupted by a long yawn as she started to droop onto the floor. Praxia’s date with the floor was put on hold when Twilight caught her in her magic and pulled her over to join in the hug. Prism fussed, but she wasn’t about to let the changeling suffer from love starvation. Both ponies gave Praxia some much needed love, Twilight by far more than Prism, but it wasn’t long before some of Praxia’s mental cloudiness faded. She quickly reciprocated the embrace, silently thankful of the gift of love, even if Prism’s was more hesitant. Prism waited until Praxia’s eyes held more focus and her grip was strong. “Those meds must be a real kick in the stomach for you.” Sensing the moment had passed, Praxia let go of the embrace and resumed her ‘student’ mentality. “At least I’m enough of a pony to make it work at all. If there is nothing else, sensei, I should go to sleep before the medication saps me further.” “See you on the other side, Praxia,” Twilight said warmly as she moved over to Praxia’s pod. With a flick of magic, Twilight activated the panel, causing the horizontal pod to slide forward from the wall and open with a misty hiss. With Prism’s assistance, Praxia shed her environmental suit to reveal her wings had already been surgically removed above the root to save her from the pain of them being damaged in the pod. Twilight pressed a few more buttons to prep the pod, causing the temperature in the room to drop rapidly. Praxia stepped onto the floor level pod and laid down on her belly. “Sleep well, Praxia,” Twilight said reassuringly. “Try not to wet the bed because of a nightmare,” Prism chided playfully. “That was one time!” Praxia steamed. She wanted to say more, but the pod closed, muffling the rest of her retort. Within seconds, Praxia passed out and went limp as ice crawled up the sides of the pod’s glass. Twilight double checked Praxia’s vital signs before turning to her daughter. “Now, before you go in, I want to know what made you so late in getting to the shuttle.” Prism knew this was coming, but wilted anyway. “I know you’re going to be mad, but I couldn’t leave it behind.” Twilight scowled deeply. “You didn’t.” “I had to bring dad’s rifle!” Prism huffed. “I don’t know why you’d want to leave it behind!” “Because it was in a museum!,” Twilight countered heatedly. “I thought all those plans of yours were just wishful thinking.” “Well they were… actually,” Prism replied with a defeated huff. “Luna was waiting for me at the war museum. She let me have it.” “So you didn’t steal it?” Twilight asked with her best Vexated Parental Grimace. “We’re not that far from Equuis yet, I don’t want to have to contact Luna to find out you're lying.” “Be my guest,” Prism challenged with a wave at a wall computer. “She’ll probably give you a good tongue lashing for letting it sit the museum instead of taking it with us in the first place.” Twilight studied her daughter intently, searching for signs and tells. She knew Prism well enough that the call wasn’t necessary. Twilight sighed as a headache threatened to come. “Alright, I believe you. I trust you declared it with the security chief.” “Hey, I’m reckless not stupid. I made sure to pass it over to security, and I did it while none of the other civilians were around so they won’t complain about us getting to bring a personal weapon.” She has my brains, but all of her father’s brashness, Twilight grumbled. It didn’t help matters that the back of her mind reminded her that was one of his endearing qualities. “I suppose since you had Luna’s blessing, I’ll let it slide, but you better make sure it never leaves your sight once we land.” Prism’s ire melted away at the begrudging approval, and mentally hoof pumped. “You have my word, momma.” Twilight saw her point had made it through Prism’s stubbornness in some fashion or another and waved towards the pod. “Go on, get!” Prism fought her lethargy and shuffled into the pod and slumped with her face pointing towards Twilight at the controls. “We’ll be fine, momma.” Twilight paused right before pressing the activation switch, and looked at her daughter with moderately raised spirits. “You think so?” she asked with probing curiosity. Prism gave a tired grin with droopy eyes. The padded mat of the pod was far more comfortable than it should have been. “Because we have you to guide us.” Twilight gave a wry grin at Prism’s child-like affection. “Maybe if the others had listened to you, we’d have never needed to leave in the first…” Prism gave up fighting the medication and fell asleep. The comment brought back all of the repressed sense of loss Twilight had been holding back. She quickly activated the pod, and let the pod claim Prism. With no one else around, and Spike expected to be busy for hours, Twilight let her tears flow freely. Wracking, heaving sobs filled the room as Twilight sat heavily onto the bed and cried into the stiff pillow. Ponyville, her old castle, Canterlot, Celestia, almost everyone and everything was gone, now and possibly forever. For over an hour, Twilight bled her frayed emotions into her pillow, completely uncaring of the busy work she had planned for. Twilight lost all sense of time to the point where she was startled out of her pillow-muffled sobbing when a gloved hand gently squeezed her shoulder. She jolted her head up only to find it was Spike wearing a sympathetic slight frown. “Hey, Twilight. Mind if I sit with you?” Twilight used a foreleg to wipe her eyes and sat up, giving Spike some room. “Sorry. I should have set a timer so I didn’t miss when your shift was over.” Spike gave his adopted sister a much needed hug. Out of everyone, he was the only soul left who she felt no reservation of opening her heart bare to. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll always be here for you, Twilight.” Spike couldn’t stop his voice from cracking from his own raw emotions. All the training and mental preparation had given him the strength to perform his duties, but here with Twilight, he let it flow as much as she did. Spike let the silence hang for what felt like an hour, trying to let it all out so he could function later. When he felt he could keep his voice level, Spike’s face went from somber to warm sympathy. “Beyond this flesh, Beyond this dream, I have danced among the stars. My children dance on endless worlds.” The poem pulled Twilight up from the depths of her grief. Mostly thanks to her scholarly mind being compelled to identify the poem. “Whispers of Equuis, by Bird Song.” “I figured you’d recognize it,” Spike replied with satisfaction at dimming Twilight’s sorrow. “I used it for the ship’s motto. What with it being about hope after all.” Twilight sat up properly, and rubbed her eyes and nose clean with a towel she magically absconded from the bathroom. “I’m pretty sure that wasn’t Bird’s original meaning.” “Maybe not,” Spike shrugged, “but that won’t stop me from using it as such anyway.” “Fair enough,” Twilight chuckled weakly. Spike let the conversation lapse into silence, giving Twilight time to recover emotionally. “Well, we better make sure your reinterpretation is prophetic.” Spike turned his gaze towards the general direction of their future home. “Couldn’t agree more.”