Chapter Eleven: Known
Unknown
Chapter Eleven: Known
I stood at the edge of the Hangar, looking off into the distance at nothing in particular. The sun was setting in a myriad of colours and provided a stunning backdrop no matter where I stared. I found myself returning to the same spot whenever I needed to gather my wits and appreciate the moment. My commander's words echoed in my thoughts frequently. I did my best to heed them, but there were some aspects of my character that still refused to change. Even being released from duty directly from One's mouth, I had to constantly fight the urge to grab all the weapons I could carry and march blindly into the forest until I found the remains of the Juggernauts, ran out of bullets, or died. There was plenty to do, however.
There were a lot of bodies to burn.
I wanted to perform the rite on the ship; burning them on alien soil felt wrong, but spreading their ashes inside of the ship felt more wrong. I left Nine in his cryo chamber. It was as good as a coffin for the time being. The decimated pieces of the crew inhabiting the Living Quarters were carried out in garbage bags from the cafeteria.
The ponies kept their distance from my earlier outburst -- or the pieces of meat I had been arranging outside for the better part of the day. I only saw the occasional flyer.
Catherine finally gave the all clear as the sun was beginning to set, meaning she couldn't find any more bodies for me to bag up and drag out. Like Rainbow Dash had said, the weather was beginning to turn and the sky was full of clouds, although rain had not come yet. There were a few barrels of cooking oil left intact and I poured them over the remains to ensure they would burn thoroughly. An emergency flare would provide the spark to start the pyre.
We stood in silence for a few minutes. Tears were running down Catherine's cheek, though she wasn't crying.
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good," she whispered. "His love... endures forever.” She crossed herself and bowed her head.
More silence.
I ignited the flare and brought it to a small pooling of oil at the base of the funeral pyre.
The pile caught quickly, and soon the remains were ablaze. When the flames reached twenty feet high, I briefly wondered if I used too much oil, but any worry was wiped away by cleansing aura of the fire.
At some point, I realized that Catherine and I were no longer alone.
The farmer Applejack, Lyra, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle were sitting a short distance away from us, also sharing in the fire's mesmerizing presence.
I cleared my throat loud enough for only Catherine to hear me. Her eyes widened when she noticed the ponies.
"Would you like to meet them?"
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"Son... I love you. I love you more than anything else in the world. You are the world... and the world is yours if you want it. You can do anything you have the capacity to conceive. You have the means. You have her support, forever and always. I left you with her because she will always hold your best interests at heart. She will be the only mother you will ever know. It's better that way.
"We are not from this world. This is not our world and we do not belong here, and should never have been brought. The atrocities our race has committed cannot be fully comprehended, even by us. Whatever marks we leave here will never become unmarked. We must remove our presence but this can only happen over time. Memories fade and trees will regrow. The ship will be reclaimed by the earth. The munitions were destroyed with chemicals and magic."
He sighed.
"I'm not asking you to make the same sacrifice that I have. I can't ask you to do that as my son. I'm asking you... to find another way. For their sake. We don't deserve them.
"Do not follow the left path or the right path; make your own.
"I love you son. Be well. Do the right thing."
The recording clicked to a stop. His mother's voice called to him from down the hall.
"Soloman, breakfast!"
He came to the dining room adjacent the kitchen, recording device still in hand, and an uncertain expression on his face.
"Mother?"
She folded the newspaper that she had been reading. "Yes dear?" She glanced at the device, looked away, and then did a double take. The teal fur around her face changed to a deathly white. "Where did you get that?"
"Our doorstep. It was in a wrapped box, like a gift."
"That was no gift," she muttered under her breath. With a sigh, she looked Soloman in the eye. He had never seen such a fierce look.
"How long have you been listening to it?"
"Hours. All of it. I repeated some parts. But I still don't understand."
"What don't you understand?"
"How did this happen? Why... why am I here?"
His mother looked at him with a sad smile.
"It all started when I wished upon a star..."
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I'm still here. I still remember. Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Damn, I remember this fic. Kinda fell of my radar for ages. Guess I was lucky to see it in the recently updated section then
At last it finished.
It felt rushed but eh, at least its finished
can someone explain whats going on
in the end, we are still here.
somewhere.
No Starlight Glimmer 0/10 Kappa Kappa Kappa
Thanks for the read!
Yeah, the ending doesn't really work for me. This story had so much more potential, you could have gone into 6's struggle and overall failure to find the human within himself and live a happy peaceful life in Equestria. I'm disappointed that you ended this so early, and in the worst possible way. I would have preferred you left this story to die.
First of all I don't get why he left his son with Lyra of all people. I could guess that because Catherine died, but then again why Lyra? It wasn't like she was some incredibly important character in the story itself. 6 communicated with her for maybe all of 5 seconds, and I honestly don't know what she was even doing there to begin with. Her role in this overall was never really explained, and I'm left wondering if she had a role at all or if she was playing background pony the entire story. With the ending quote I'm just left confused. I mean really "I wished upon a star..." Fucking really?! Coming from Lyra, what does that mean!? Did she intend for all of this to happen?! Was it some weird coincidence that she wished upon a falling battleship?! None of this was established! WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?!? I guess we'll never know now the story's ended.
I do get that 6 hates himself for what he's become and what he's capable of, and would reflect that in his last message to his son. That part of the ending I understand, because it's been thoroughly established throughout the story. I can see he's attempted to find the little humanity he had left and came to the conclusion that it was dead, and had been for a very long time. I can imagine after he discovers this for himself, he makes his message, sets it to be delivered when his child becomes of age, and sets off to find his lost comrades; never to return. I can only be super disappointed that I didn't get to read that part of this story.
Don't get me wrong. It's a good ending with the context. Without the context, it falls completely flat on its face. If you wanted Lyra's last words of the story to be at all significant, you should have established her more as a character, and not just that crewman number 6 that the main character may have glanced at. As for this story's wasted potential, I can only pray for some sort of rewrite.
Thank you for the part of the story you did finish, it was a pleasure to read. However, this is a horribly executed ending. If you can find it within yourself, give this ending the context it deserves.
Edit: I notice that "Wished upon a star" a reference to your one shot "The Visitor." I only glanced over it, (I'll give it a full read later) and I guess it establishes Lyra as a character. Still while I don't think that The Visitor should have been incorporated into the story, as the one view perspective is intriguing, Lyra's character should have been built more in this story by itself. We shouldn't need a separate story to be able to understand what's going on in the other side's point of view. It should be something we can figure out for ourselves with nothing by the main character's point of view.
So yeah, just an update for continuity sake.
Earlier today i was checking if this story had been updated. I did not expect it but i am glad to see that is has been completed.
While i liked the story overall i must admit that i think it would have been better if it ended att the bonfire. That scene felt both emotionally powerful, hoppfull and generally made sense in context, it gave both closure to the characters and a feeling closure to the story. This random time-skip then some kid we never heard of before or have any reason to care about however felt random and disconnected from the the story at large.
Anyway congratulations on finishing the story and again despite my complaining above i rely liked it.
9257675
It only meant that Lyra saw falling ship as a star.
Also, it might be a reference to another story, Visitor.
Well I thought you would end it with him shooting himself. But I did enjoy the ending, of course not the best ending I hoped for but still you should give yourself a cookie for finishing this.
Well I hope six just becomes a nomad who wonders Equestria helping people in need.
This was about as much of an ending as the sudden stop at the end of a long fall.
It's pretty clear you just wanted to be done with this, which is unfortunate.
9258560
Yeah, noticed that after the fact. Updated my comment at the end. My opinion remains more or less the same though.
Tbh, to follow rules of continuity, whole story should be designed as a flashback, memories recorded by Number Six.
The question should be asked during introduction of mother and kid, perhaps leaving their identity a mystery, that would be a seed for the story. End of story isn't a place for new, previously unasked questions. It's a place for closure of kind, either finding answer or reinstating the known. In case of noire genre, it would be either the place for a new hope or for stating the lack of one.
Visitor would be an intermediate bit in beginning of pony perspective. Only Six would be in first person, rest should be in 3rd person.
Check how Clifford Simak did that in his City.
Still here and kicking bud. Take care of yourself my man
Well, I can't say I'm completely satisfied with this ending. But at the same time, it's ended. That's better than most that are just left alone on a permanent cliffhanger. It was a great story, a good start and kept me interested the whole time I read it. Again that is, I'd completely forgotten about this one and was surprised to see an update out of nowhere. Anyway, thanks for writing this, it was a great read and one that I wish was longer than it is but I can't do anything to change that. I'm happy it's over, even if that ending still leaves me wanting to find out what happened even more than just forgetting about it.
That is definitely an ending
8410334
I see you in a lot of comment sections. Hi
I'm not a part of the old guard, but I did really enjoy this story. I'm not good at these kind of things, but I do want to thank you for writing it so uhh...thanks?
I came back for today to read some stories and I finally got to read this one and I think it was good appreciate it
9257675
Same here to the bloody fucking T
This Story got me into the MLP fandom😂
the last moralizing is not worth an egg
New Reading Available on Youtube by Fire Hearth Studios.
Up to Chapter 6 as of Mar 21 2023.
For the old bear the struggles the young unknowingly rake for granted.
Later in age would the young bear the struggles just as the old before did.
In hopes, rekindle a flame for the young to once again prosper their literature for other new to enjoy.
Even for those whom had either never lived in the 2010s or before 2019.
We shall lead those whishing for stories to appreciate and cherish what was made and what is still being made.