Chapter Fourteen - Panacea
Hydrogen, helium, oxygen, and other trace elements flowed over the hull of the Destiny, as it cut through the bright blue gasses surrounding it.
Twilight sat on a bench in the middle of the observation deck, marvelling at the view before her.
It was only yesterday Twilight managed to identify their location: The Blue Phoenix Nebula. Easily visible from Equestria, and 700 light years away. She had travelled 700 light years in an instant.
And she didn't fully understand how.
None of it made complete sense. Part of her thought this might be some sort of strange dream. But after three days, it finally sunk in. She was very far away from home, but thanks to the Stargate, so very, very close. It was almost paradoxical.
"Twilight?"
She turned to look at the voice beside her.
"Finally separate yourself from the console?" Eli asked.
The young mare giggled.
He wasn't really there, she knew that. As Brody explained it, Eli's body was just a hallucination the ship implanted in her mind. But it was real enough for her.
"I needed a break," she explained. "There's so much information, it's overwhelming. Medical technology, ship schematics, scientific research... I never thought I'd be able to see something so..."
"Cool?"
She responded with a laugh. "I guess so."
Eli sat on the bench beside her. "You know, when I first arrived, I found it a bit overwhelming too," he explained. "The day before I was just playing video games. I was just a slacker, an MIT dropout with no real plans. Then this army general appears on my doorstep and beams me up to a spaceship." He laughed at the absurdity of it all. "And now... it's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, and I couldn't have imagined any of it."
She stared at him.
"I told you that story before didn't I?"
She nodded and laughed, before turning back to admire the view. "You know, it is pretty amazing," she said. "I... I kinda wish I could stay, but..."
"The Colonel probably wouldn't let you."
"Well, I'll also miss my friends. How do you handle it?"
"Handle what?"
"Being away from your friends!"
He paused for a millisecond. "You know, I never really had any friends," he explained. "I made more friends on the Destiny, and... Well, I left my mom behind."
She pivoted in her seat, facing the illusion. "Do you miss her?"
Eli hesitated for a second. "Yeah. You know, when we first got here, I... eventually I got the chance to see her with the stones, and... You know, I knew she wouldn't believe me if I told her who I was."
Twilight nodded in comprehension.
"It was fine at first, but... she didn't know what happened to me, she thought I was dead. Started getting depressed, wouldn't take her pills..."
"Pills?"
The young math nerd paused, realizing how few people he actually told. "My mom is... HIV positive, it's a... disease that can kill, pretty slowly if it's not treated."
"Wow."
"Twilight."
The unicorn turned again, as the ship's commander entered the observation deck. "Colonel!" she cried, bringing a hoof to her forehead.
"Twilight, you don't have to do that."
She suddenly felt flushed as she nervously brought her hoof down. "Sorry," she said with a smile.
"Why's your radio off?"
She looked across the room, at the table off to the side. Slowly levitating the rectangular device over to her, she noticed it was silenced. Twilight forgot about that. "Sorry."
"Doesn't matter. Shining Armor's back, they want to talk to you."
"Yes, sir!"
She passed the Colonel, and started trotting down the hall. Pushing her conversation with Eli into the back of her mind.
In the tiny village of Sugar Cove, the pier was the most hopping part of town. But as the sun began to set, the various storefronts had already started closing up. Which mean't two young earth ponies had very little time to have as much fun as they could.
Running down the streets, with cotton candy in hoof, the curly-maned duo quickly found a small establishment, sitting on a corner, still surprisingly open.
"OOO! That's a pretty big arcade! Let's go there!" Pinkie screamed.
"Yeah! Sure!" Fizzypop replied, unwilling to let another moment of fun pass her by.
As Pinkie ran into the establishment, Fizzypop stopped dead in her tracks. Down one of the side streets, she spotted an orange pegasus, with a bright purple mane, staring at her, stoically.
The mare twitched her hoof, indicating a request for the earth pony to follow, before trotting down one of the many alleyways.
Pinkie Pie had already entered the building, and didn't notice Fizzypop's absence. So, she trotted down the street, following her imaginary friend.
The alley was dark, dirty and cold. It was also empty.
She sighed with dejection, and turned around; only to find herself face to face with Island Rainbow.
"AHH!" Fizzypop screamed. Falling flat on her rump.
"Sorry," the pegasus responded. "I didn't mean to scare you."
She got to her hooves and asked a simple question. "What do you want?"
Island was taken aback. "Are you angry at me?"
Fizzypop didn't think she had to respond. But did anyway. "Yes," she replied, slightly incensed. "You abandoned me."
"I thought you were better off this way. And once Pinkie Pie left Ponyville, I knew you'd be okay."
"What?"
"Fizzypop, I'm still your friend, and I will always be your friend. But now I need you to be my friend. I need your help."
"What?"
"Something big is happening, and it could..." she stopped suddenly, unsure of how to continue. "Sorry, I don't want to put too much pressure on you. I just have a simple request."
"Island," the earth pony replied. "You're scaring me."
She smiled sweetly. "You don't need to be, all you need to do, is go back to Pinkie Pie, and ask her a few simple questions..."
The front entrance to Ponyville's number one blacksmithing emporium swung open, and a young pink filly trotted in, with her head held high.
"So, I assume they're here, as you said," Diamond Tiara said, announcing her presence, in her predictable manner.
"Hey, Di."
The filly opened her eyes, and found herself taken slightly aback by the presence of a mint green unicorn named Heartstrings, standing behind the counter, magazine in hoof.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she continued.
"Where's Caramel?" She asked, slightly confused.
"He's at Sweet Apple Acres."
"What? Are you kidding me!? I come all the way down here, and he's not even here!?"
"Cool it, Diamond Tiara," said her dark gray companion. "You live just down the block."
"It's the principle of the matter," she said, through gritted teeth.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and an earth pony stallion entered the shop.
"DT," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh," she said, clearing her throat. "I have come for the materials you offered."
"Oh, right!"
"Oh great, not you two."
Following in Caramel's wake were three small fillies. All of whom noticed the young earth pony's presence. But only Scootaloo felt fit to react to it.
"Oh, this is just great! Why are the blank flanks with you?" Tiara asked.
"What is that?" Caramel asked, rhetorically. "They volunteered to help with the mine."
"Yeah," Apple Bloom spoke up. "We're gonna get mining cutie marks! Whadda ya think of that!?"
Diamond paused for several seconds before bursting into hysterics. "That's great! Cutie marks of pickaxes and coal! It'll fit!"
"Diamond," Caramel interjected. "You should know, it's only thanks to them I was able to get those gemstones you wanted so badly."
"Why do you want gemstones?" Sweetie Belle asked, genuinely curious.
"What?" the pink filly responded, suddenly getting nervous. "Umm... I have my reasons. What's it to you!?"
"They're in the back room," Caramel said, before things got out of control.
As she darted into the back of the shop, followed closely by her best friend, the store keep got to work. He pulled a book off a shelf, and quickly began flipping through the tome.
"So, what was that?" Apple Bloom asked.
"What was what?"
"With Diamond Tiara. Why does she need gemstones."
"Why do you think?" he asked rhetorically.
The three fillies looked at each other. Coming up blank.
"Wait... you don't know? What do you think her special talent is?"
Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin. "Being born rich?"
Heartstrings lowered her book. "You can get a cutie mark in that?" she asked.
Caramel glanced at his flank before responding, "What do you think?" He turned back to the trio. "So, you really don't know?"
They shook their heads.
"You'll have to ask her." The stallion then decided to drop the subject, and focus on the more important issue. "So, If we're gonna try to create some kind of dome underground, it won't be easy," he explained. "Due to the nature of local magic, we might have to design some new spells."
"Really?" Heartstrings asked.
"Sadly, yes. At least, that's what Paradigm told me. Something about the geology in the area effects magic differently."
"It's slightly outside her area of expertise."
"That's what I said!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "We need an expert in magic!"
"Don't say 'Rarity,'" Scootaloo interjected.
The young unicorn was not amused. "Twilight... Twilight Sparkle! It has to be her!"
"But she's still in Canterlot."
"We can send her a letter!" Apple Bloom interjected.
"Yeah, we'll have Spike do it," Scootaloo stated, smiling, and staring at the young earth pony.
She started to lean back. "Scootaloo, what are you doing?"
"Oh, nothing." the pegasus responded, turning away.
"Didn't Rainbow Dash go with her?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah," the pegasus responded. "I also hear Pinkie's pretty broken up about it since the two of them had a pretty nasty fight before she left."
Just then, Heartstrings slowly looked up from her reading, and said, "What?"
"They had a pretty nasty fight. At least, that's what I heard."
She just stared forward.
Caramel looked upon his best friend with concern. "What is it, Heartstrings?"
"Uh... Pinkie Pie. I was... I was supposed to have a date with her two days ago... and I completely forgot!" she screamed, nearly ripping out her mane.
"Wait," Apple Bloom asked, turning to the stallion. "Diamond Tiara's your sister?"
Pinkie Pie found herself lost in the game. A surfing simulator, which allowed her to hang ten on a plastic board, while her on-screen self flew across a blue background.
She was loving it.
"Pinkie?"
The party pony snapped her head in her friend's direction, before snapping back to the game. "Hey Fizzypop, where'd you go?"
"Oh, um... I saw a balloon salesman, but he was sold out by the time I got there."
"Awww..." she cried, as her avatar looped in the air three times before making a perfect landing. "Woohoo!" she screamed.
"So, um... Having fun?"
"Yep, you can play next."
"Okay, umm..." Fizzypop found herself lost in thought before continuing. "So, I've been meaning to ask, what's Ponyville like?"
"Oh, it's nice, I have a lot of friends there. Everypony in town is my friend!"
"Oh, okay, um... what are they like?"
"Everypony?" Pinkie asked. "Well, there's Mr. Cake, and Mrs. Cake. They're bakers, and my bosses. There's also Big Macintosh, huge stallion with-"
"No, no, no, um..." Fizzypop tried to find the best way to word her question. "What about Rainbow Dash?"
"Rainbow Dash? Did I mention her before?"
"Um..." she suddenly got scared.
"Oh, of course I did!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Well, she's great, fun to be around, an all-around jokester, and the most amazing mare in Equestria."
"I... see..."
"But... well... several weeks ago, we had a bit of a fight, and we never got the chance to make up. I'm a bit worried about that."
"What did you fight about?"
As the board tipped back and forth, Pinkie hung her head. "I told her I loved her," she explained.
Fizzypop's eyes widened, as she quietly said, to herself, "So that's what she meant by that."
"She turned me down, but I didn't take it well and..." she turned to look at her friend. "Promise you won't tell anypony?"
The young mare nodded.
"Well, I got a bit aggressive, and... I guess she did it in self defense and... she socked me in the eye."
"I... see..."
Pinkie sighed as she turned back to the game. Her score kept growing. "I overreacted. I was scared. I shouldn't have been. I just wish she'd forgive me."
"Maybe you should forgive her first."
"For what?"
"For hitting you. She shouldn't have reacted that way."
Pinkie turned back to her friend. "You are smart."
As the party mare turned back to her game, again. Fizzypop asked her final question: "So, besides Rainbow Dash, any other romance in your life."
"Well, there's Heartstrings, she-"
The game's avatar wiped out on the waves. The words 'Game Over' began flashing on the screen.
"Oh... oh no..." Pinkie said.
"What?" Fizzypop asked, with genuine concern.
"I was supposed to have a date with her two days ago... and I completely forgot!" she screamed, tugging at her mane.
"Pinkie Pie?"
"Oh, no! I'm a terrible girlfriend!"
"Hey, it's okay, I'm sure she'd understand!"
"We only started, and I already screwed up! I'm gonna be alone forever!" she cried, collapsing on the ground.
"Um... well..."
Pinkie sprung to her hooves. "I have to head back! Now! Oh, I'm so sorry Fizzypop, I'll miss you so much."
"Let me come with you," Fizzypop replied.
The young mare was taken aback. "What?"
"I have no reason to stay here. I..." She started to feel conflicted. She knew she wanted to do this. But was it for the right reasons, and not just because Island Rainbow asked her to?
Yes.
"Can I come with you?"
Pinkie Pie smiled.
Twilight trotted down the dark corridors of the Destiny.
When she first arrived on the ship, the dark lighting and monochromatic colour scheme surprised her. She simply was not used to such depressing environments.
But over time, she grew to appreciate it. She grew to enjoy the atmosphere of the ancient structure. And learning more about the ship itself, and its history, made her love it even more.
Trotting into the makeshift treatment room, she found herself quite happy to see a familiar face. "B.B.B.F.F.!"
"Twilie," he said, rather curtly. "I got bad news."
She saw a giant furball, standing in the large tank of water. Shining Armor didn't need to say a word. "It still didn't work?"
"Are you sure it worked before?" TJ asked.
"I'm sure it did! We were infected with Poison Joke, and this is the cure that cured us," she trotted up to the tank. "Are you absolutely sure you got the right ingredients."
"I grabbed them myself, Twilie," her brother exclaimed. "And yes, I'm sure I got them from the Ponyville region, just like you did."
"Twilight, we followed the instructions to the letter," Chloe explained, leaning over a copy of Supernaturals. "Even the water didn't change anything."
"Yeah," Volker responded. "About that, I'm not too excited about bathing in pond water."
"Yeah, you can get out." TJ said, dejected.
Brody, who was sitting in a chair on the far end of the room, finally spoke up. "There's still plan A."
"What's 'plan A'?" Twilight asked.
"'Plan A' doesn't work," Young explained as he entered the room. "You said so yourself."
"What is it?"
Chloe explained. "When they noticed the unusual energy field, Brody started working on a way to... neutralize it?"
He nodded in confirmation.
"But when they tested it, it turned the Poison Joke plant into ash."
"Neutralize? You tried to destroy it's inherent magical energy?"
"Pretty much," Brody explained.
Twilight was in shock. "You created an anti-magic ray? That wouldn't cure anything. Every living creature needs it's inherent magical energy. If you destroy it, it would die!"
"But... we don't need that." TJ explained.
"What?"
"Humans don't need an 'inherent magical energy.'"
"That's right," she said in realization. "You've never encountered magic before. So, in that case, removing it from a human shouldn't kill them!"
"You sure about that?" the Colonel asked.
She turned her head. "I think so... yes, I'm absolutely positive. An anti-magic ray should be perfectly safe... on humans!" she added. "Should probably make that clear."
Young stood there, deep in thought, as he considered this new information.
"Twilie," Shining Armor responded. "I think they're gonna need proof of that."
The Colonel was glad he didn't need to say it.
Twilight brought a hoof to her chin. "Do you have any alien fruits on board?"
Fluttershy's tears fell on the bathroom floor, as she clutched her stomach in fear. Curled up on the floor, all she did was wallow in her own despair.
She had lain there for nearly an hour. Not knowing what to do, or understanding what everything meant.
The young pegasus had many frightful moments in her lifetime, but none compared to her current situation.
A knock came at the front door. Fluttershy got to her hooves, and turned to the bathroom mirror. She quickly straightened her mane, and wiped the tears from her eyes, before running to answer her front door.
Standing in the doorframe, before a slowly darkening sky, was Fluttershy's best friend, Rarity.
"Fluttershy, how are you?" the unicorn asked.
"Oh, I'm fine Rarity," she lied. "What brings you out here?"
"Well, I brought you a surprise," she replied. Stepping to the side, another mare was revealed, hiding behind her. A mare with an orange coat.
"Hey, Fluttershy," Applejack said.
She just stood there, in stunned silence.
"Um..." the earth pony shuffled her hooves. "Listen, I... I'm sorry for... yelling at you that day... I really feel bad about that--I mean, I was under a lot of stress, and I was worried about Scootaloo, and the farm, and... anyhoof, I'm sorry."
"Aaaaaand?" Rarity said, egging the earth pony on.
"And nothing," she replied.
"Applejack."
"Alright, fine," she turned back to her pegasus friend. "And Fluttershy. I don't regret a thing I said."
"Applejack!" Rarity responded, incensed.
She held up a hoof. "But, I could have said it in a nicer way. I shouldn't have yelled at you, and for that, I'm sorry."
Rarity brought a hoof to her face, before peeking over it to see Fluttershy's reaction.
Tears bubbled in her eyes, and her lips quivered, before she suddenly burst out screaming, quickly grabbing Applejack in a firm embrace.
The two visitors merely shared a look as Rarity shrugged in confusion.
Eventually, the sobs ebbed, and she finally spoke. "Oh, thank you, so much Applejack," she said, between tears. "You're such a good friend!"
"Really?" Rarity replied.
"That's great, Fluttershy," Applejack strained to say. "Could you let go of me now, please."
"Oh!" the pegasus exclaimed, releasing her friend. "I'm sorry."
As the farmer caught her breath, she eventually replied, "It's alright, Fluttershy. I didn't know you had it in ya."
"Um... I guess I do," she replied. "Would you like to come in for tea?"
"I'd love to, but I really have to get goin', turns out I have to find an expert in rock farmin'. Soon."
"Oh... alright," she replied, slightly dejected.
"I'd love some tea, Fluttershy," Rarity responded. "That is, if you don't mind extending that invitation."
"Oh, no, come in!"
"Well, I'll leave you two to it," Applejack said, trotting away. "See ya."
"Bye Applejack," the yellow mare responded, with much enthusiasm, and an energetic wave.
Rarity observed all of this, slightly concerned.
A small dish containing nothing but a bright red apple slowly levitated into the testing area.
"Okay," Twilight declared from the opposite end of the room. "Do it... I guess."
The shield rose, and the primary emitter glowed with an orange light. The energy released, and the apple suddenly liquified in the bowl.
As the energy dissipated, and the shield lowered, Twilight and Brody inspected the result. Sitting in the bowl was a type of stew. Exactly as Twilight expected.
Brody picked up the bowl, and examined it. He walked over to his console, and grabbed a spoon to taste the substance.
"Well?" Young asked.
He shrugged. "Tastes the same as the other canned crap."
The colonel nodded. "Alright, how soon can we do this?"
"Shouldn't take long," the engineer explained. "Though we still don't know if it'll work."
"It'll work," Twilight said with confidence.
"Good, get it ready," the commander ordered. "Twilight," he said, turning to walk away.
The unicorn followed him, and started to speak. "Colonel, I-"
"This is a weapon of mass destruction isn't it?"
His question silenced the young unicorn. Eventually she spoke up. "Um... yeah, it is."
"I want you to inform Celestia of this, and tell her we'll have it destroyed as soon as possible."
Twilight was in shock. "Colonel, I-"
Stopping in his tracks, he explained, "I don't want a weapon of mass destruction on this ship, especially if it could only be used it against an ally. There's too much risk involved."
As they continued walking through the halls of the Destiny, Twilight responded, "That's very generous of you, Colonel."
"I wouldn't call it that."
They walked in silence for a few seconds, before he decided broach the next subject. "Twilight, I have to ask: Is your princess stalling?"
She bit her lower lip in thought. It had been three days since the Destiny arrived, and so far, only Doctor Rush and Lieutenant Scott have been allowed in Equestria. Even though Doctor Rush never left the royal library.
Chloe and Sergeant Greer were allowed out of quarantine the day after they returned to the ship. But Celestia still didn't allow any human to come to Equestria. Twilight still didn't quite understand why.
"I don't know," Twilight explained. "I think she's just... preparing..."
Luna examined the document before her. The one her sister only recently prepared. It was not a long document, but it meant so much.
"Are you sure about this?" The lunar princess asked.
Her sister nodded. "Do you have your doubts?" She asked.
"On the contrary. I'm just wondering if you fully thought this through."
Celestia nodded. "I have."
"Are you certain?"
"Luna," the solar princess inquired. "Why are you so reluctant?"
She averted her gaze. "It's not that I'm reluctant, so to speak, so much as 'concerned.'"
"Regarding?"
"Twilight."
"You don't trust her abilities."
"It is not that... HALT!" she screamed.
Flying across the room, the younger princess landed before one of the royal porters, a pink unicorn stallion with a violet mane. He stood there, stunned.
"That statue is not to be moved."
"Yes, Your Highness," he replied with a bow. "But, I thought we were supposed to clear the gate room of all artifacts."
"You may levitate it to the end opposite the Stargate, but the stability of this artifact is too fragile to risk teleportation."
"Yes, ma'am."
As he levitated the statue away, Luna took in her surroundings. Once loaded with sensitive artifacts, the new Royal Stargate Facility was slowly being transformed into something completely different.
"I'm curious about the logistics, sister," Luna inquired.
Celestia paused. "I have thought about that. We may need to have a second entrance built. Among other things."
"A new secure storage facility."
She nodded. "I have thought of that, but it is a lower priority."
"Is it?"
"This is an opportunity we cannot miss, sister. I thought you agreed."
"Oh, I do. I just wonder... if you're hiding something from me."
Celestia was taken aback. "Whatever do you mean?"
"You have been acting strangely since the visitors arrived. I am wondering if there is a reason for it."
"Luna, there is nothing I'm hiding from you."
Her sister was skeptical, but decided to let it go. As Luna looked around the room, she watched the numerous servants bustling about, preparing the area for dignitaries, diplomats, and explorers.
"I remember, there was a time when nopony, only our most trusted valets, and our most senior guards, were granted knowledge of this room."
"Priorities change, sister."
"I agree, however, I just wonder: Did you ever really trust Twilight?"
"Of course. I never told her about this because she never needed to know. I understand that you felt the need to tell Rainbow Dash, but Twilight never had a reason... until now. It doesn't mean I don't trust her. I always trusted her."
Luna unfurled the scroll, and added her signature. "I can only assume her judgement will remain more sound than it has in the past."
"It will," Celestia responded bitterly. "And thank you."
"I was only doing my duty, sister," the younger princess explained, as she trotted away.
As the princess rolled up the scroll once again, she levitated the Kino remote off a nearby table.
The Stargate came to life.
Twilight sat in the control interface room, enthralled. Page after page scrolled past her eyes. As quickly as she read them, they were gone. But she still wasn't sure if she understood it all.
So many concepts she didn't fully comprehend. The unicorn could only hope that more research would explain it, but she was unsure.
"Twilie?"
She turned her gaze, as Shining Armor entered the room. "Oh, hey B.B.B.F.F.!"
"Hey..." he responded nervously. "How you doing?"
"Great!" She responded with a smile. "There's so much to learn, I may stay here all week."
"Yeah, about that. You haven't left this ship in days."
"Oh, don't worry, Colonel Young gave me one of the empty rooms to sleep in. The beds here are so comfortable, it's amazing. I mean, you wouldn't think..."
"Twilight!"
Her gaze snapped back, as he continued.
"Are you going to talk to Moonlight again?" He asked. "Or are you gonna avoid him by hiding on a ship a million light years away?"
"Ah, 700 light years," she responded smugly.
Shining stared her down.
She cowered slightly. "I'm not avoiding him."
"Yeah, you're just burying yourself in work."
"After I destroyed his."
She spotted the Kino across the room.
"Eli?"
"Uh... wasn't eavesdropping," the machine responded.
"I thought that's all you did," she responded, coyly.
"I'm gonna go," Shining continued. "Remember what I said."
He left the room, as Eli floated toward the young unicorn. "Soooo... What was that about?" the Kino asked.
She brushed her mane aside, as she began to explain. "My younger brother, Moonlight. I destroyed some of his work."
"How much?"
Twilight quickly ran the numbers in her head. "About a week's worth of filming."
He floated in silence.
"It was an accident! I didn't mean to!"
"I know," came a voice to her right.
Twilight turned, and on a stool next to her, sat a beige pegasus stallion, with a short cropped manestyle.
Her eyes widened.
"So," he asked, smiling. "Whadda think?"
"I-wha-how?"
"I'm just a computer program Twilight," he explained with a laugh. "I can look like anything, thought I'd try a pony."
A redness appeared on her face.
"You okay?"
"I-I'm fine," she quickly turned back to her work.
"So, whadda think?"
"Um... it's nice," she said, suddenly reminding herself of Fluttershy.
Eli suddenly got really proud of his craftsmanship.
Twilight looked over the database. Pulses of magic danced over the controls.
"So..." the stallion continued. "How'd you destroy some of his work?"
"Can we talk about this later?"
"Okay," he replied. The two of them sat there in silence, before Eli suddenly remembered. "I didn't finish telling you about my mother."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, she was really depressed. She thought I was dead. You know how horrible it is to look your mother in the eye, and have her not believe you're you?"
She paused in thought. "No." Twilight tried returning to her work, but curiosity wouldn't let her. "How did you fix it?" the unicorn asked.
"Well, actually, it was Camille, she fixed it."
She turned to look at him.
"She was able to pull some strings, let my mom use the stones. Doctor Park switched with her. She saw me, saw what I was doing. She was happy." His heart welled. "You know, I never thought she'd actually be proud of me, but... to see her... it was..." Eli smiled as he was caught in a nostalgic haze.
"You had the help of your friends."
"Twilight," the radio crackled.
The device levitated upward in a reddish glow, as the unicorn responded. "Yes?"
"We need you in the gate room," asked Doctor Boone.
"I'll be right there," she replied, leaping off the stool.
The stars twinkled over the city of Canterlot. Shining with an unmistakable radiance, as it was accompanied by the slowly rising lunar surface.
The clouds above the city were scattered and numerous. And their presence helped the newly-christened pegasus navigate the otherwise uniform skyscape.
The wind danced past his feathers, with a force to rival the recoil of an M16, as he kept the target in his sights.
Even though Scott only started flying yesterday, he'd already taken to it like a dragon to gemstones.
It helped that he had a great teacher.
The wind rusted across the tips of his ears, and flowed through his mane. His tail twitched slightly, and his wings angled upward, as he circled above and around his target. Quickly shifting his wings again, he came to a stop over one of the many clouds, and froze.
It went against everything he learned as both a child, and adult.
He slowly lowered himself, and as a hind leg touched the surface of the formation, it found purchase. He slowly lowered his front hooves.
It felt soft, but solid, like a fuzzy blanket.
His wings folded up, and he lowered his body to the surface of the cloud.
He took a sniff. It smelled like water, if water had a smell. Refreshing, and a bit comforting.
"Hey!"
He looked forward, and saw a blue pegasus pass through his field of vision.
The weathermare circled around the soldier. "Why'd we stop?" she asked, slightly impatent.
He looked up, and smiled. "Sometimes you gotta smell the roses, Rainbow Dash."
Her gaze swept the area, and she asked, "What roses?"
He didn't know how to answer, so he just looked at the substance below.
As she landed before him, Scott gathered a tuft of cloud in his hoof. He blew ever so gently on it. The wisps of vapour swirled around in a spiral, and slowly settled into a shape resembling a dense flower.
Rainbow scoffed. "That's nothing! Watch this!" She reached both hooves into the cloud, and after a bit of shuffling, pulled out a fully formed model of a kitty cat. She smiled with pride.
"Um... yeah," he responded. "That's pretty nice."
"Nice?" she replied. "That's it?" She turned the object around, and examined it. "Eh, whatever. Cloud sculptures were never really my thing anyway!"
He smiled.
"You know, for somepony who's never flown before, you caught on pretty quickly."
"Well, I trained from the best back on Earth," the pilot explained. "Learned how to fly a 302. It's different not being in a cockpit, though."
"What's a cockpit?"
"Uh..." He never had to explain it before. "It's where you sit when you fly it."
"Er... kay... and the 302, that's those tiny ships you have back home right?"
"Yeah," he replied, quite glad she remembered.
"Okay, this has been bugging me. You couldn't come up with a better name?"
Scott wanted to explain why the US Air Force designated the various models of aircraft with numbers. But the truth was, he forgot. Instead he just said, "Well, what would you call it?"
She paused for a second. "Flying Speed Bird of Metal... Dash!"
He laughed.
Suddenly, Rainbow raised a hoof in the air, and started waving furiously.
Scott followed the mare's gaze.
A dark red pegasus started flying toward the duo.
"Friend of yours?" he asked.
"Kinda."
Twilight trotted into the gate room, curious, and slightly enthusiastic.
The gate snapped closed, and jets of CO2 shot out the sides.
"Princess!" Twilight cried, as she spotted Equestria's ruler, apparently socializing with Doctor Boone.
"Twilight," she replied, as her student trotted up to her.
They nuzzled briefly, before Celestia quickly got to business. "Come with me, I believe we need to discuss something privately. Doctor Boone, could you please inform the Colonel that we request his presence on the observation deck in a few minutes."
"Yes, ma'am."
She turned her attention to an unarmed Lieutenant James. "I assume you'll still be watching us."
"I'm sure I can just wait outside," she explained.
The two of them smiled, and the princess wasted no time in trotting toward the best view on the ship.
The three of them walked in silence. Not a word was said. And it made Twilight slightly worried.
They arrived without a word, and Celestia closed the door behind her student.
The two of them looked out into the depths of the Blue Phoenix Nebula, a sight that the unicorn was already familiar with.
"Twilight," the princess finally spoke. "I wish to show you something."
From behind her back, the princess revealed a scroll.
Twilight grabbed it in her magic, and unfurled it, before reading it over.
A few seconds later, she finally commented, slightly confused. "Royal Equestrian Stargate Administration..." She looked up in inquiry. "RESA?"
"Yes, Twilight. I think it would be a fantastic idea. The truth is, this discovery will mean a lot more than might be apparent at the moment. We must think long-term. My sister and I have agreed that this is the best approach to dealing with future issues related to both the Stargate, and off-world exploration."
"Off-world exploration?"
"You didn't think we would just stop with the Destiny, did you?"
"I see," the unicorn replied. "Well, anything I can do to help, Your Highness. Count me in."
Celestia smiled. "I'm glad you said that, Twilight. Because RESA will need an administrator."
Silence descended.
"What?" the unicorn asked.
The door at the opposite end of the room opened and Colonel Young entered. "Princess Celestia," he said, greeting the ruler.
"One moment, Colonel," she replied.
The silence only confused him.
Eventually, she reacted. "Me?"
"Yes, Twilight. I can think of nopony better."
The young mare was aghast. "But, what about my studies!? Will I no longer be your student!?"
"Twilight, I'm sure you've realized that you should have graduated a long time ago. And I'm sure your new role as my most trusted advisor will suit you well."
She thought about it for several seconds, before making her decision. "Thank you, Your Highness. I graciously accept."
"I knew you would."
Twilight's eyes drifted slowly to the right. "Oh, hi Colonel," she replied, suddenly realizing he likely didn't enjoy being the only one in the room who didn't know what was being discussed. "Sorry."
"It's alright," he replied.
"Colonel, I believe it's time for us to discuss a few things," the princess gestured toward the nearby table.
As the three of them sat down, Twilight still not certain of her exact role in these proceedings, Celestia quickly initiated the discussions.
"Colonel, I've looked into it, and there is much we can offer you. You said your crew needs a chance to stretch their legs."
"Honestly, it's getting kinda cramped on this ship."
The three of them shared a small laugh.
"Well, that won't be an issue. But it will require the use of the transformation spell."
"You sure that's really necessary?"
"I'm afraid so. I'm sure your crew might be reluctant, but we can assure you it's perfectly safe. I had several of my best magematicians go over it, they can't find a single flaw in the structure."
Twilight's head snapped toward the princess.
"I see... Well I'd like some of my own people to go over it as well."
She nodded. "Of course. I'm sure Twilight can provide it to you. Now, there's also food, raw materials. I've even decided to offer you the services of anypony you wish to help rebuild your garden, as well as conduct any repairs to your ship. I understand it's not exactly in perfect working order."
He laughed slightly. "We make do."
"Of course. But with the use of unicorn magic, we might be able to make this ship as good as new again."
"Well, you're very generous, Your Highness. I'll take that into consideration."
She merely nodded, stoically.
Young smiled. "I assume you're not gonna give us this stuff for free."
"I would. A group stranded so far from home, in need of assistance, it would be wrong to take advantage of your desperation. But there is something I would like to ask for in return."
"And what's that?"
"A ship, Colonel. We want a ship."
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4758542
You did it friend, you brought it back
4758542
Well, college, and then a few years passed and it became embarrassment. But that's about to be fixed.
I loved reading this (even if a few things were horribly wrong~) but is it really coming back? I know that there were a few more chapters on the NP Fanfic archive, but are you going to be writing more?
9805942
Already started. In fact I just took a quick break from writing chapter 16. If you want some proof, here's a bit of a preview: https://twitter.com/theblackwidower/status/1166451775932641281
...wow. At nearly 7 years this is the second longest amount of time a ‘dead fic’ that I’ve followed has had had a new chapter posted, longest time I have seen between chapters being posted is a little over 10 years.
I’m going to have to reread this.
I found out that the story got a new update. I don't really remember if I read it before, i just vaguely remember that Destiny takes awhile to get to Equis if they ever before 2019
Oh boy, everyone wants a bloody ship, and a cliffhanger too.
9831971
Feel I should point out, in the premiere episode, they were referred to as unicorns. Also, I started writing this pre-season 3, and Chloe wouldn't know what an 'alicorn' is, why would she?
i think you have a good story going here that is worthy of keeping going.
and BlackWidower never feel bade about letting a story sit for a long time and coming back to it.
Hmm, good story. A bit slow paced for my tastes. I mean, we don't see any connection between Equestria and Destiny until 11 chapters in! There is some backstory to set up but I'm not sure it was necessary to take so long to do it. Also, pretty sure you're confusing naquadah and naquadriah at a few points in the story (Icarus Base was on a planet rich in the latter).
I noticed you tend to like to hide things from the readers the characters know about. Rainbow's survival guilt and what happened with that (which we still don't know about), Rarity's and Spike's fallout. Pinkie's and Rainbow's fallout, and so on and so forth. I think you're overusing it a bit much. Though I did like the one with Moonlight's dragon, mostly because it resolved itself quickly.
I also would think our crew would have already thought to try using their anti-magic beam on something organic to see if it really would kill them. They're kinda holding the idiot ball there.
Overall I do like this story and glad to see you've picked it up again. If I had stumbled across it (and I might have when searching for stargate crossovers previously) I would probably have passed it up if it looked dead. Hopefully with the show ending other good authors with unfinished works will get sucked back in to finish the show and their stories up.
Oh yeah not sure how a Stargate Program would work with prototype gates. They were all seeded in a roughly straight line and each one only has range to a few others. Maybe Celestia isn't aware of that yet.
Also keep in mind (IIRC) Destiny, when fully repaired, is supposed to be able to dial Earth no problem. It's only because 60% of the power storage is damaged and unusable that they are unable to dial home. So not sure if you're going to have Our Little Ponies, in their repairs or otherwise, help our humans find their way home or not. Guess you should keep writing so we can all find out! ;)
9834186
Two regal sisters who rule together, the elder used her unicorn powers to raise the Sun at dawn. ? I can see how this could be misunderstood.
Anyway, humans encountered an unknown species, they don't have to call them alicorns nor do they required to call them unicorns. Sorry for the late reply.
9866006
People keep bringing up the Naquadah thing. I might as well say, the intent is that the Equestrian language uses the same word for Naquadah and Naquadria. Mainly because it's an isotope, and technically the same element. We do the same thing for real world elements, we just use numbers to differentiate the isotopes. I wanted it to be a big discovery so I'll spoiler this: They discover in a few chapters that Equestria is an Icarus-type planet, and might be able to dial Earth. The question becomes: at what cost?
Oh, and they did try to use the anti-magic beam on organic material, and it turned it to ash, because it was a primarily magic-dependant organism. They didn't suss out what caused that to happen, and even if they did, wouldn't have the means to test if the beam worked to clear the energy field from an organism that didn't have it naturally. Twilight turned a bowl of canned stew into an apple, and then they were able to test it properly.
9927065
Hmm. That's definitely something that would be hard to convey. However no matter which way you slice it, different words would be needed to allow a speaker to differentiate the two. On the other hand, if nobody has figured out they're different, or identified any important differences (hard to see since Naquadriah is said to be incredibly unstable and extremely powerful, while Naquadah is very stable and just plain powerful) then they may only have one word.
It might have helped to use "lampshade hanging" where you'd have a character identify it as Naquadah, but also have them comment that it seems different. This clues the audience in that it's a case of the character making a mistake rather than the author.
Keep in mind it's heavily implied in the show canon that they were able to perfect the dialing to NOT blow up the planet you dialed from (in Seizure).
9927316
In my brain I'm thinking, Naquadah is the default name. In most of the Milky Way, that would mean the stable version, which is more abundant. On Equestria, the default would be the less-stable version, which is really all they know with a few variations. Stable naquadah exists in very small quantities. It also means they've also evolved (or more specifically, their magical defences evolved) to be mostly immune to the kind of radiation that killed Daniel.
But much like Langara, Equestria would be well aware that there isn't much of a positive precedent. Of course, they will consider it.
This is a solid, well written story and I am eagerly awaiting more. Hopefully not for 7 years.
10028660
I just finished this story and I too am hoping for new chapters in this exciting story.
10695807
As are we all. And while normally the author being off line for a year would be a cause for only a little bit of concern, the fact that it happened during the height of the Pandemic has me panicking like the Flower Trio.
I'm very curious, is the story even alive? Just like the author himself. Therefore, I see the fourteenth chapter here, while there is the fifteenth chapter in the archive. Will there even be a sequel? I mean the continuation of the story. Or can you make a point? Please answer, especially since there is another question that I want to hear from you.
10695807
11018516
11270017
I'm not dead.
Look, in all honesty, chapters 16 and 17 are basically done, and they've been like that for the past 4 years. I just have to rewrite one scene in chapter 16 to deal with a Chekov's gun, and chapter 17 has the scene where two-thirds of the Destiny crew need to be taught how to fly or how to use basic levitation magic, which I skipped over while writing. Once I finally write that chapter, I'll give it a quick edit, and release both of them.
I'm really really sorry it looks like everything I wrote died. I feel like a complete heel for failing to complete anything in the fanfiction sphere. But I have not given up, I promise. I've just... lost motivation.
Also didn't help that the guy on Twitter (and yes, I'm still calling it Twitter, fuck Elon Musk) who said he'd edit it just... forgot about it. I was waiting on him for most of the time. The fact that he never responded took the wind out of my sails.
In the past four years, got a girlfriend, girlfriend dumped me a month later, I decided to go to university, got a Bachelor of Computer Science, and then my mental health issues... I am in no way saying that's an excuse. But recently, my new girlfriend, and my ex-girlfriend, both have been very gently pushing me to get into writing again. Also, on October 31st, 2023, my grandfather died. Kinda put things in perspective.
11825956
Well, at least he answered. Well, about the ups and downs of life, we all go through those. Just keep your spirits up and you'll be fine. If you don't let go of the past, there's no peace in life. Trust me. Plus, could have blogged (FF) that you were alive and explained the reason why. People haven't given up faith that they'll see a new chapter. Like Stargate fans waiting for news on the filming of a new series or movie.
11825956
Let me just say that iRL issues trump obligations to Pretty Pastel Ponies. Especially on the mental front.
11825956
Yay. Life gets in the way, and fanwriting is only ever a hobby. The days before the internet people would start a fan work and never finish it, and have no guilt about it. But now fan writers have fans who love their work and understand that life gets in the way.
You have to take care of yourself first before you can take care of anything else.👍
11826303
What if Pretty Pastel Ponies help IRL issues on the mental front?
11826342
Counter point: Fandom Burnout is also a thing. We've lost a few authors who dropped out of the fandom BECAUSE they were putting their writing before their own mental health, and lost touch with why they were fans to begin with. "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" is a lie. Letting it BECOME your work will destroy your love for it as sure as anything.
And quick addendum, I meant my previous post from a creator stance. (Which I, admittedly, am not.) That is why I specifically pointed out "obligations".
11826356
I was thinking about me specifically. Whether it's writing fanfics, or blog posts, or creating awesome Android apps, I want to do something, I want to be productive. And the fact that I haven't for the past few years has been a major stress point. Also, these ideas are in my head, and the only way to get them out is to write them down.
I remember some of the general beats of this story but I guess I gotta reread it to refresh my memory.
Now I remember when I first read this story I thought Destiny's crew was going to end up on pony planet pretty early on due to their first stop. But it was a fake out. That got me this time too.
Clearly this story was written in the early days of gen 4 since you invented Twilight's family, even, amusingly in retrospect, a brother for her. Also you predicted the CMCs wanting to help other ponies get their cutie marks before it happened on the show. And predicted Twilight's dancing skills. Good job.
And of course Discord is the antagonist. I mean there were only 2-3 existing choices back then but still. Everyone used Discord in their fics. Ah well. At least you've also mixed in those aliens chasing Destiny, they're making things interesting for sure.
I feel there's way too much drama in the early pony bits. Spike and Rarity, Twilight and Spike, Pinkie and Rainbow, Twilight and Fluttershy, Twilight and her mom, and a bunch of minor exchanges. And then we just get more new ones in more chapters. While eventually you do make it clear you want to portray the Mane 6 relationships as needing active work, there's also a bunch of unrelated drama that pads things out a bit much. The story takes a long time to get to actually crossing over and it feels like a lot of the pony stuff before then isn't really necessary and drags on. The Fizzypop stuff seems especially extraneous. Don't really care for Twilight's younger brother either. We really don't get anything that feels critical until maybe the discovery of the Naquadah (I assume that is going to be important) and Luna showing Rainbow the "Ring". The human side of the story doesn't seem as bad since it's clear the aliens they continually dodge are going to be one of the big bads in the fic once we get to Equestria.
Maybe it's because I've been watching Halo Season 2. First three episodes have drama EVERYWHERE, characters backstabbing each other or suspecting each other of backstabbing. I might have hit my limit from all that, maybe.
Small observation: Destiny seems to refuel far more often than you'd expect it to, compared to the show.
While the transformation and translation spells are an easy way to get Destiny's crew on Equestria without suspicion and know the language, at the same time it would have been cool to see the stones leveraged in the beginning for translation; it would be a natural thing for the Destiny crew to try since they know they can be used for that. From there using them to let a couple of the team hide in plain sight makes sense. And you can have fun by having a pony not in the know try to talk with a pony they think they know... The spells could have come later, perhaps around the time of this new chapter. But with the way the story has been written, using the stones would seem redundant since the spells can do everything. Maybe there could still be a cool use for them in the story though. Young would certainly not object to using stones until he is satisfied with the spell.
Oh yeah, and nobody is telling Celestia aliens will certainly show up at her doorstep soon? Hello? I mean the aliens probably wouldn't care if they showed up to just Equestria with no humans around, covertly trap the Stargate, and in fact have they every reason to leave the ponies alone while they hunt humans to avoid panicking ponies that the humans would notice. But, if the aliens realize the ponies are helping the humans, they will likely attack Equestria. Young really should disclose that risk.
Well I'm caught up now with the old stuff, those are my thoughts on my second read through. It's late and I guess I will read the new chapter tomorrow.
11828167
Yes, I came up with all the story beats early in Season 2. And I came up with the idea of Moonlight before Shining Armor was introduced. I originally conceived Moonlight for a completely different story, but decided to scrap it and put him in here instead. But even though the major story beats were all conceived before then, I eventually decided to include Cadance, Shining, and the Crystal Empire in the story, and sorta retcon them in. So the timeline forks between episodes 2 and 3 of season 3.
Yes, there is a lot of drama. I wanted to make this story an epic adventure, and ended up needing a lot of build-up before first contact. That entire first Episode (chapters 1-13) took way way WAY longer than I anticipated. I remember when I was writing it, getting frustrated at myself for how long it was taking.
I have very specific plans for Fizzypop. I can't remember why exactly I originally did it, but it will make sense... somewhat.
Oh, and you're not supposed to care for Twilight's younger brother, he's intentionally made to be an asshole. But an asshole with a heart of gold. He's sorta based on me... from around the time I started writing this story. I like to think I've grown since then.
Since when can the stones be used for translation? I'm thinking and... that never happened. I know Daniel theorized that, but then Vala arrives in the Ori galaxy, and they just speak English, so...
And yeah, I thought the transformation spell was a bit contrived at first too. Then there was the breezy episode on the show proper, and Twilight did exactly that.
As for the stones? Yes, they will come up. And they will be doing something cool with them.
Now, the aliens about to show up on Equestria's doorstep? As far as the crew knows, they're like weeks ahead of Destiny's projected course. The Nakai shouldn't be here for a while, by which point they'd be long gone. Of course they'll mention it to Celestia. In fact, they probably already have. Three days pass between chapters 13 and 14. But if Destiny's long gone, Equestria has no reason to worry about the Nakai... as far as they know. No one knows about Discord's deal.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Glad you're enjoying it. Chapter 16 will be up tomorrow... and it's the longest one yet, so... brace yourself.
11828288
Can't wait to see how the stones get used.
The SG series play fast and loose with language to keep the story moving along of course. So it's difficult to say for sure if the stones do translate since the writers purposefully avoid addressing the fact everyone speaks English anyway. But when Daniel and Vala end up in the Ori galaxy they establish pretty quickly that Ancient is the language being used. Maybe I have just written fan fiction in my head and forgot but it always made sense to me they worked like that.
I checked, it's a single, easily missable line: http://www.stargate-sg1-solutions.com/wiki/9.02_%22Avalon_Part_2%22_Transcript#:~:text=I%20think%20he%27s%20speaking%20Ancient.%20I%20think%20the%20communicator%27s%20translating%20for%20us.
I always imagined it would work for any language a user knows, or at least their birth language, but I think that one line might be all the detail we ever get.
Haven't read the new chapter yet, going to later today.