The Quest For Iscanter

by eternalsquire

The Messenger

About a decade after Twilight Sparkle earned her wings and became a princess, the world of which Equestria formed a part of encountered dire times. An unknown enemy from beyond the sky began dropping rocks on the world. Each of the rocks as it fell delivered energy enough to destroy vast tracts of land, burn to a crisp the forest and the grass and the flowers, and boil away the oceans.

Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight Sparkle did everything they could to either deflect, destroy, repel, or shift elsewhere these falling rocks, but they couldn't get them all. They asked the alicorns of the other lands of the world, including none other than the Emperor himself of The Crysanthemum Empire for help, and even then they still couldn't get them all.

[ "Crysanthemum Empire?", Sandor commented to Derek during the design phase. "Clever way to put in Japan!" ]

The situation was clearly becoming grim. There soon became no place on the world liveable by anyone or anything, so everpony did what they could to build shelters underground where they and the remnant of the wildlife could survive... at least for a while. Celestia's best counselors informed her two years ago that the world only had two years left.

That was a year ago. In another year, all of Equestria's living things would become extinct. Last to go would be the alicorns, as they had knew the magic necessary to live for extremely long spans of time... but there were not enough alicorns available to breed with each other, their kind would die out eventually. None of the princesses were looking foward to living on a barren world with nothing left to take care of. That outcome was simply unacceptable.

Celestia announced an alicorns only meeting. Twilight Sparkle had been very busy through the previous year teleporting food, water, and other supplies between the shelters under the various lands. Nopony knew how to teleport aside from her. Trixie could have learned, but she had lost her sanity with her entire world being cooked all around her, so Luna cast a spell to stop time just for Trixie. Now, Trixie was a brightly reflecting statue in the center of the courtyard of the castle's underground shelter. She would be safe, even after everypony else was gone.

Twilght had over time expanded her own repetoire of magic. She could teleport not only herself now, but could also lock on and teleport an object or living thing between any two places she could every remember having been to herself. Pinkie Pie remarked it was kind of like flinging something from anywhere to anywhere, so flinging was what that type of teleporting was now called by everypony.

[ "Useful expansion, Sandor.", Derek replied ]

The Emperor of Crystanthemums was here too, having flown in under his own power inside of a day. That impressed everypony mightily. Twilight was looking completely worn out from all her flinging of ponies and supplies. Her face radiated a mixture of both determination and depression.

Not that everypony wasn't at least a little bit depressed from circumstances. Even Pinkie seemed somewhat subdued, however forced the smile she had pasted upon her own face for everypony else's sake.

Celestia and the Emperor both had flowing manes and tails, but there the resemblance ended. Celestia was a beautiful and ageless mare alicorn from whom bright multiple colors radiated. However, she would be a filly when compared to the age of the Emperor. He was an ancient stallion alicorn whose mane and tail radiated shades of fiery red and deep black, but his face was worn with the lines from more than ten housand years from caring for his subjects.

Rumor had it that Celestia and the Emperor had been discussing a possible marriage of state, but evidently that plan had gone by the wayside in the wake of the attacks from beyond.

Celestia began the meetiing. "Princesses and your Majesty", she began, "We only have one year left before our world becomes unliveable. During this year I have made every effort to locate who or what is vanquishing us, to no avail. However, I had made an accidental discovery in the archives about the castle's history, and have exploited it. It seems the castle was intentionally built by someone from my line as a resonant cavity to allow a message from the current ruler to reach interstellar range."

"Along with my other responsibilities,", she continued, "I have been attempting to make a search for extra-Equestrial intelligence, in the hope that we might gain some information or even assistance. I was successful."

[ "Nova, what an atrocious pun!", Derek commented. ]

The other princesses gasped in complete surprise. The Emperor remained his usual calm and serene self.

"And so it seems,", Celestia said, "that I actually made contact with the ruler of another world. She said she would send a messenger who would bear the knowledge to retrieve the items necessary to restore our world to the way it should be. She also gave me complete directions for the vessel I was to build so we could be ready to use that knowledge."

"YAY!", the other princesses shouted, in complete joy. Celestia interrupted them. "That's the good news", she said. "The not so good news is this. This world lies at the edge of another galaxy. Light itself, the fastest thing there is, would take about one hundred sixty thousand years to reach it. Obviously, that would be far too late for us, even if we could travel even that fast, which we can't."

"I could try teleporting there.", offered Twilight Sparkle.

"No, you can't", her teacher and mentor said. "You could teleport there in an instant, if you had the strength. But unfortunately it would be beyond even my strength or even the Emperor's. Even worse, you can't teleport to a place you've never been to."

"Poop.", Twilight interjected in disappointment.

"So we have a challenge ahead of us", Celestia continued. "We MUST be certain this messenger arrives safely. We created a small fleet of vessels capable of withstanding the rigors of space, and we're crewing them with our best sailors and war ponies. Twilight, you will be travelling on the flagship, commanded by our most experienced sailor in all of Equestria. Do everything you can for him."

"Yes, Princess!", Twilight Sparkle replied.

"The decoy will be commanded by Twilight's brother, Shining Armor.", Celestia went on.

[ "Does that make Shining Armor equal to Alex, and Twilight equal to me?", Derek asked the others. ]

[ "Not necessarily.", Sandor replied. "We work with what we've got. Twilight's going to play me, ultimately. Rainbow Dash is going to play you. ]

[ "But Rainbow Dash's a girl!", Derek protested. "What are we going to do, provide a male Nova?" ]

[ "More or less.", Nova replied, chuckling. ]

"Luna, I need you to stay here for defense, alongside me.", Celestia continued.

"Very good, sister.", Luna said.

[ "Don't forget", Derek reminded them, "Shining Armor is married to Cadence. How's he going to marry the equivalent of Starsha if he isn't single?" ]

[ "Don't worry, Derek, we've got an idea.", Nova reassured her husband. ]

Celestia was wrapping up. "Your Majesty, I'll see you in a couple hours. Everyone but Cadence, dismissed."

Within moments Princess Cadence was alone with her senior.

"So, what do you need to tell me?", Cadence asked Celestia.

Author's Note:

All dialogue in brackets [] are not actually part of the episode viewed by Miyuki. These were merely discussion by Miyuki's family and friends as they were in the process of writing and designing the special My Little Pony episode just for her.