Good Morning, Celestia
It was day 738 aboard the Luna as Twilight got out of bed. With her back straight and hooves stretched towards the ceiling, she let out a long and satisfying yawn.
“Good morning, Celestia.”
“Good morning, Twilight,” a reverberating voice responded.
Twilight stepped onto the floor and tossed her mane, freeing it from its bed-flattened state. “Celestia,” she said, addressing the ship’s computer. “Where are we?”
The voice responded again. “We’re currently two light-hours away from Eranin Four, bearing a trajectory eighty-eight point seven nine two degrees away from the planet. Gravitational slingshot will be minimal. Expected time remaining in journey: one thousand two hundred sixty-one days.”
Twilight walked over to the wall of her quarters and flicked a switch. The four sets of shutters that covered one side of the room all turned and let the light of Eranin’s star pour in. The shutters rose mechanically, stacking themselves above the window. With a final click they locked in place.
Holding a hoof to shade her eyes from the brightness of Eranin’s star, she took in the black expanse. “How long until we’re closest to Eranin Four?”
“Our current heading will be orthogonal to it in two days, four hours, and fifteen minutes,” the ship’s computer replied. “Shall I make a reminder?”
“Yes, please,” Twilight said, turning away from the window.
Ten years her journey would last. Five one way and another five to return. Having graduated top of the academy, she had quickly proven herself as the brightest unicorn to grace the space program in the past twenty years. Naturally, when they began planning the longest deep-space voyage in the program’s history, her name had been the one to come up.
Glancing back at the chaotic state she had left her sheets in, Twilight ran a hoof through her mane. “Celestia, could you send Spike up to reset the bed?” she asked as she headed to the room’s metal doors.
“I’ve let him know and he’s on his way,” the A.I. replied.
“Thank you.” The entrance slid open as Twilight approached, whirring shut after she passed through. As she descended the stairs towards the deck, Spike came rushing past her, its metal claws clanging loudly against the grated steps.
“Good morning, Twilight!” the robot shouted as it ran past her, eager to set about its given task.
“Morning, Spike,” Twilight greeted with a smile.
Spike’s mouth screen displayed a smile in return, briefly, before he continued up the stairs to her room.
Once she reached the bottom of the stairs and Spike disappeared into her room, Twilight’s smile deflated and she let out a sigh. She plodded down the corridor, turning left once she reached the kitchen.
“Celestia, what’s for breakfast today?”
“Today’s breakfast is cereal with milk and apple chips.”
Twilight groaned. “Is there something that doesn’t use powdered milk? Something with jam or honey, maybe?”
“As the ship’s computer, it’s my responsibility to ensure passengers aboard maintain a healthy, balanced diet, using the statistics and information I’ve been given.”
“Yeah, I know,” Twilight said, sighing.
“If it’s any consolation, after dinner there will be frozen ice cream.”
A bit of Twilight’s frown disappeared at hearing the name of her favorite food. A door before her slid open, and she stepped into the kitchen. As the door shut behind her, she was greeted by a robot identical to the one that had passed her on the stairs.
“Hello, Twilight!” it said, smiling at her.
“Hey, Spike,” she said in return.
“I’m almost done making the bed upstairs, and afterward I’ll take the sheets down for a wash.” After ducking into the cupboards, he emerged with a sealed bag of powdered milk. “Would you like me to make you breakfast?”
“Sure. That’d be great!” Twilight replied, taking a seat atop a stool on the opposite side of the laminate counter.
There were four Spikes total aboard the Luna. They communicated with one another wirelessly, essentially acting as a single being. The name “Spike” was an acronym for “Service Partner for Interstellar Keeping and Entertainment”. The A.I. was one of the most advanced personality simulations made to date, she had been told. Simply put: he entertained and cleaned.
“Spike, tell me a joke.”
Spike spoke as he mixed the milk and poured cereal. “I used to have a smoking problem, but since we moved further away from the star, my circuits have cooled down.”
Twilight giggled. “How did you come up with that one?”
“I estimated that the absurdity of a robot smoking, the relatability of the joke’s topic, and the misdirection and double meaning would cause the statement to be humorous.” He bent down into a cupboard and came back up with a sealed bag of dehydrated apple slices. “Also we ran out of cigarettes about three months back and it’s all I can think about.” He slid a bowl of cereal and a bowl of apple chips across the counter to her.
Twilight levitated a spoonful of the cereal into her mouth. “Now I know there were never any cigarettes on board,” she said, cheeks puffed up with cereal. “Celestia would have never allowed it.”
Spike shrugged. “True enough.”
As Twilight put another spoonful of cereal in her mouth and chewed, she knocked on the counter for Spike’s attention. “Could you open Strange Gravitational Anomalies?” she asked once her mouth was less full.
“To where you were last time?” he asked. Twilight nodded. The screen displaying Spike’s eyes went blank briefly, before becoming replaced by a pale blue light that projected a page of text onto the counter.
Twilight finished the rest of her meal while reading in silence. After finishing her food and the page she was currently on, she got out of her seat and stretched. “Thank you, Spike. That’s all for now.”
“As you wish, Twilight,” Spike said, bowing low. His robotic voice lacked the sarcastic, playful tone he was likely going for.
Twilight snorted as she left the room. “I’m heading to the bridge in case there are any urgent cleaning matters you find yourself needing to bring my attention to.”
“Burn one uniform while ironing and you never hear the end of it,” Spike said.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “You set it on fire.”
Spike’s display eyes blinked, and his lower screen displayed a smile. “Any inadequacies I may have, I blame on my programming.”
Twilight rolled her eyes as the door shut behind her. Metal feet came clanking down the stairs, and with them, the Spike who had been cleaning her room, carrying an armful of dirty sheets stacked up past his head.
“Hello, again, Spike.”
“Hello, Twilight. I took the liberty of cleaning your quarters while I was up there. I’m just getting to the laundry now.”
A grimace tugged the corners of Twilight’s mouth. “Did you happen to put the books on the floor I had left open to very specific pages back on their shelves?”
“Yep! All back in order!” Spike said with a grin on his display.
Twilight hung her head and sighed. She didn’t have a single page number memorized. “Thanks, Spike.”
“No problem!” Spike said cheerfully, continuing past her with the laundry to the lower floors.
Dragging herself down the corridor, Twilight made it to the bridge. The door slid open to reveal Spike, standing at attention.
“Captain on the bridge!” he announced. He paused, looking around. “Oh... I guess it’s just the two of us.”
Twilight’s lips twitched in a slight smile. “Actually, Spike, I’d like a bit of time alone.”
“I’ll be right outside if you need me,” Spike said.
Twilight nodded, and as she stepped onto the bridge, he stepped out. The door slid shut and finally she was alone.
Taking a seat in her captain’s chair, she turned it using her magic to face the controls. The Luna’s interface lay above and below a set of narrow windows looking out into space. Light from Eranin’s star glared off Luna’s metal plates into the cockpit.
“Celestia, shutters, please.”
A series of metal plates descended from above the viewport, scrolling down until they were in place before rotating shut. Darkness filled the cockpit. The only source of light was Luna’s interface.
Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Celestia, play video: Goodbye.”
A blue, hologramatic light flickered to life. Briefly it displayed a three-dimensional cube spinning above the dashboard. Then, after a second, the video played. It opened to a close-up of Rainbow Dash’s face.
“Has it started?” Fluttershy asked from a distance, her head poking out to the side of Rainbow Dash’s mane.
Rainbow Dash turned back to her. “Shh! It’s running!” she said, before flying out of the way of the camera.
She joined Fluttershy along with the others: Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.
“Who’s going to start?” Pinkie Pie asked in a stage whisper.
“I am, Pinkie, now shush! We’re supposed to be making a video!” Applejack answered. She faced forward and closed her eyes to reset the scene. When she opened them, she looked into the camera, gave it a grin, and waved.
“Hey, Twilight. It’s us, your friends. It’s about a week before your big day and before we say goodbye.” Her smile faltered. “Um, somepony from the space program asked us if we wanted to make a video. Said something about how it might help keep you sane.” She grinned and chuckled, but the smile vanished, it seemed, as what she said sunk in.
Rarity stepped forward. “I think what Applejack is trying to say, dear, is sort of a… sort of a, um…” She looked to Fluttershy for help.
“A second goodbye?” Fluttershy asked.
All five of them cast their eyes towards ground, their ears and tails drooping.
“Yes,” Rarity said, eyes fixed on the floor. “Quite right. A second goodbye.”
“The truth is,” Pinkie Pie blurted, stepping forward, “we’re all really super-duper sad to see you go, but we haven’t been able to tell you because...” She sniffled as tears started to pour down her cheeks. “Because…!”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “—Because we don’t want to hold you back from your dream. We all knew how excited you were when you got selected for the mission—you told all of us the same day.”
“And that’s why none of us have had the heart to tell you just how much we’re all going to miss you,” Fluttershy said, rubbing her shoulder and looking away from the camera.
The five of them all glanced at one another. A moment of silence hung in the air.
“Ten years…” Applejack finally said. “That’s a darned long time.”
Rainbow Dash let out a chuckle. “Long enough that most of us will probably achieve our own dreams while you’re out there.”
“Who knows where we’ll be when you get back,” Pinkie Pie said. “I could be grand chancellor of the world by then!”
“Pinkie, that’s not a real job,” Rainbow Dash said, sighing.
A smile split across Twilight’s lips, the light of hologram shimmering off her eyes.
“You never know, it could be.”
“W-we just want to let you know,” Fluttershy blurted. “Whether we’ve reached our dreams, started families of our own, or moved someplace away by the time you get back, we’ll all be here.” Rainbow Dash laid a wing over Fluttershy’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “All of us will be back in Ponyville when you get back, and we can talk about everything that’s happened in that time, so, um…”
“We’ll be waiting,” Rarity finished, smiling at Fluttershy and giving her a nod. “All of us will be waiting for you, dear. So please…” She stared into the camera, eyes shimmering.
“Hurry home.”
The hologram display cut out, replaced by the flickering light of three simple words.
End of Video.
With the recording finished, Twilight sunk in her chair and let out a shaky breath. She sat there, staring at those three words.
“Celestia,” she said, voice cracking. “Where are we?”
“We’re currently two light-hours away from Eranin Four, bearing a trajectory eighty eight point nine eight one degrees away from the planet. Gravitational slingshot will be minimal. Expected time remaining in journey: one thousand two hundred sixty days.”
Twilight glanced around Luna’s interface. The corners of her eyes stung. “Estimated time for return trip?”
For once, Celestia didn’t immediately answer. “As the ship’s computer,” she said, “it’s my responsibility to ensure passengers aboard maintain a healthy, balanced state of mind, using the statistics and information I’ve been given.”
Twilight’s eyes widened slightly at receiving an answer other than the one she expected. She rubbed her snout, sniffling.
“This may be a stretch to say, but I believe this is similar to how the emotion known as ‘concern’ works. Spike seems to agree with my analysis, as such.”
The door to the bridge slid open.
“Hey, Twilight?” Spike asked, standing outside the door.
Twilight’s chair swivelled around with a push of her magic as she rubbed the sides of her eyes. “Yeah, Spike?”
“I was just wondering if you need me. If not, I can continue waiting outside…”
A smile spread across Twilight’s lips as the stinging at the corners of her eyes faded. “Thank you, Spike. I think today is a bit of an off day for me.”
“I sometimes have off days. That’s when I recharge my batteries.”
Twilight chuckled and climbed down off her seat. After walking over to him, she gave him a pat on the head. “You might be right. Maybe I just need to recharge my batteries." Passing by him, Twilight started towards the ship’s library. “Celestia?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
“Could you have Spike prepare some tea and bring it down to the library?”
“Of course, Twilight.”
“Also…” She paused and halted. She glanced back at Spike, then at the ship’s walls. “Thank you. Both of you.”
Spike pumped a fist in the air. “No problem!”
“It is our pleasure,” Celestia replied.
Twilight felt her smile grow as she turned down the stairs. The corridor ahead of her was still empty, but somehow it was less empty than before.
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Intruguing...
I want more
Kind of sad that it says complete.
All of my yes.
I liked the pacing! The ending turned out great!
Why are there no long-range communications happening? It would keep twilight in a better state if interesting one-way messages were being tight-beamed out, like the latest scientific journals!
Is the Luna traveling faster than the speed of light?!
5626177
Might be I'm cruel, but I always like to hear that when I write short stories
5626209
Since she can see the light of the nearby star I doubt she's traveling in FTL. Plus I don't think you really slingshot during superluminal speeds. But just how fast is Twilight going? Let's use maths!
If Eranin Four is her final destination, two light-hours places the distance at 2.1585057 × 10^9 kilometers (that's a hair over two billion). 1261 days is 30,264 hours, so her actual speed (assuming a constant rate) is ~66,000 km/hour (18.36 km/second), or ~41,000 mph for us Americans.
So not FTL, but she's hauling ass. For context, a list of a few local escape velocities.
Now, we know the expected one way trip is 5 years, or 1825 days. So we can tell she's fairly early along in her journey. She's only been gone for about 18 months. Knowing she's so early in is kind of sad, actually.
I know that MLP:FIM happens in another universe, but in our universe, 750 million miles barely gets one to Saturn.
5626810
That's the idea
The fastest speed achieved by a manned spaceship was 39,897 km/h by Apollo 10. Considering the Luna has been on its voyage for roughly two years, likely coasting most of the way, its speed has been around 750,000,000 miles / (8765.81 * 2) (the # of hours in 2 years) = 42780 km/h, just above the top speed of Apollo 10.
In hindsight, "Eranin Four" probably would have had an actual name like the planets in our system, considering how close it would be to Equestria.
5626872
Twilight Sparkle is on her way to a place 7.5*10^8 miles away. 2 light hours have 1.3*10^9 miles. Your numbers are inconsistent. Maybe, Equestria uses hours of different length, different miles, and the speed of light is different in that universe. Maybe Celestia gave the path-length along the orbit instead of the absolute distance.
5626810
5626557
Thanks to your replies, it is now certain that this is primarily a publicity mission as their space program would have had satellites investigating the planet of Eranin 4 with extreme detail.
A possible science reason would be for Twilight to do in-person testing of the planetary magical field during the slingshot maneuver.
The only possible way that this could be extra-planetary would be if the Sun was given the official name of Eranin.
The only possible way this mission is extra-solar would be if that universe's stars are naturally tinier and weaker and closer together.
5626872
How advanced is equestrian technology? How advanced is their neurological understanding? Surely they would have discovered a safe way to cryo-sleep or enter suspended animation for most of the trip?! What about entertainment systems?
Can Twilight even use magic? Twilight did not interact with anything! Either CelestiaAI or Spikebot handled any actual handling!Twilight still has magic in space!
(Unless this is an author error?)
This opens up a load of plot holes that would actually detract from the story if addressed by the story! Magical cryo sleep isn't fun to write about, and FTL communication would retract the emotional impact, etc.
5627236
woops I did 750 million kilometers instead of miles
so I guess take that speed and multiply it by 1.6
5627300
2 light-hours have 2.2*10^KM. The Group “It’s For Science” exists entirely for answering scientific questions:
“It’s For Science”
I just realized how twilight will handle the pressure of deep space travel!!!
Twilight is gonna try to make an AI of herself! She's got all the time in the world to learn how to program an AI, and has Celestia's and Spike's source code to fork then use as a template, as well as on board medical scanning equipment to better model her own mental activity to code into her virtual self!
5627364
You're getting the numbers mixed up. She's 2 light-hours away from Eranin Four. She's not going to Eranin Four and she didn't come from Eranin Four, the fact they're flying almost orthogonal to it means they're passing by it (far away from it).
Twilight wants to know when they are closest so she can "star gaze" at the planet, essentially. The time they'll be closest to it is when their flight path becomes orthogonal to it.
Not so many space fics on this website. It feels good to see another.
5627857
I figured that this is a flyby-mission like the Manned Venus Flyby, we could have done with Apollo-Hardware in 1973. If she will be no closer than light-hours, it is doubtful that her instruments could do better than ground/space-based telescopes could do.
More, please? If it's okay with you, that is...
Interesting story and concept. Though there are a few things I question being in space (granite counter,) as well as how big this ship is.
5626209
I was wondering that too. She's going fast by the standards of our spacecraft, but she's practically crawling relative to the speed of light. I'm surprised there aren't any communication links. One-way wouldn't be that difficult if they're able to do manned (ponied?) interplanetary flight, and even if it requires quite a lot of power, being able to go two-way for an hour every month would surely have huge mental health benefits.
I'm reminded of the Twilight Zone episode "Where is Everybody?"
are you implying that there are at least 2 different stars in the radius of 0,15 light years from equestria?
I thought this was taking a very dark turn at first when Celestia paused at the return journey question. It's still an open question, I suppose, but there was the instant vibe of 'Something went wrong. Twilight isn't going home'
There seems to be a serious issue with this story.
It's marked as complete.
/more please?
//this just begs for a continuation
Well, that was very good. Like, real good.
5630312
I got that as well, it seemed like... an off response.
Would love to see a sequel to this... maybe an ending? But it also works well as a standalone piece.
5629736
Nope, just the one. The idea is that Eranin is the system Equestria is in. I felt like if I referred to it as 'sun' it would have caused more confusion.
Alternate Universe, alternate galaxy, right?
5627413
I dunno, isn't talking to yourself one of the first signs of insanity? I talk to myself all the time, so there's the proof for that one.
Please make another chapter that was a tear jerker I cried till the start to the end IT WAS REALLY REALLY A TEAR JERKER!
5634290 that makes sense. now that i think of it, twilight is propably heading to a planet on the outer part of Eranin system.. (something like Pluto)
That was nice, but the idea of sending someone off alone like that seems cruel. Surely they could have had a second person on the flight. Oh well.
5635964
With it being 10 years, I think storage/supplies is a concern. The idea is that Spike is meant to be that companion, hence the advanced personable A.I.
Meanwhile
"Operations, Tower Tracking - I have a track bearing 030, distance .25 AU, speed sublight."
"Operations aye."
"Blue Wolf to T-Track, do you have a ID?
"Stand by Captain....Ion sublight drive, object approximately 200 feet in length, titanium alloy hull grade E6.....configuration and transponder looks Equestrian sir. Beacon identifies it as the Luna. Current trajectory puts it on course for orbital insertion of a planet on that bearing, distance two standard light-hours. All systems appear functioning, one lifeform and four automated units aboard.
"Hmm...bit of a long trek for a single crew - I think we could speed that up a little wouldn't you say?"
"Object remaining on course, speed unchanged.... I don't think it's scanned us yet sir"
"Alright....helm, put us on a parallel course and bring her alongside. Communications, see if you can establish an interface with their computer and get their attention. Operations, ready tractor beams....Let's go introduce ourselves to the locals..."
"Aye sir....altering course, increasing to 0.95 sublight. Interception in three minutes...."
fc04.deviantart.net/fs12/f/2006/327/b/0/UNS_Phoenix_by_AdolphusArthuro.jpg
5630312 I believe the response was more to keep from reminding Twilight that she still had about 8 years left in her journey, so that she wouldn't get too depressed.
This was pretty good.
I wrote a review of this story.
And I really need to start making badges.
Have a safe journey there and back again. God Speed
That was great.
I like this universe. A lot. Will there be any more stories in it? (When Twilight comes home, perhaps?)
5642848
No plans to. It's just a short story set in a wondrous setting. It was written on a day when I was waiting for my editor to finish up the first arc of a fantasy adventure I've been working on. A first arc implies a second will need writing, and I've also foolishly started on a short multichapter fic alongside that, so... schedule is packed.
5646090 Ah, alright. Maybe when you finish those?
Read this a while ago, a sad little tale. And one that makes me think sending one girl out into space alone has got to have been thought up by some crazy pony in a backroom lab. You send a team or people go nuts!
5634606
But what if you're talking to a copy of yourself?
I'm rather left wondering what the point of this mission is...
If all she's going to do is rapidly loop around the outer planet and head back... that seems an awfully long waste of time to accomplish nothing more than could be tested in close orbit, allowing for rescue if something went wrong or cessation of the experiment if the solitary existence proved too much.
Once she's out there... 10 years with no help available... seems quite a risk with absolutely no sense that there's a reward or purpose to this journey.
Any propulsion system or study of this distant planet could be more safely done with probes. And the study could last much longer as the probe could sit in orbit for years. Given the distance, this planet is a Saturn analog, therefore I'd expect them to send a 'Cassini'.
Other than being 'first pony to go that far', there's nothing else accomplished. I echo others' cryosleep questions: why have they not tested a suspended animation system for such a long, boring trip? Or if they were testing isolation, as I already mentioned, why not send them in loops around closer bodies, more accessible for rescue craft or emergency return trajectories?
I'm just not getting any sense that there was a sensible reason the trip was undertaken. Without that, Twilight could just as easily be sitting in a simulator in Equestria undergoing isolation testing for 10 years for exactly the same result.
What's the mission? From the story it sounds like ten wasted years.
5717331
If you're talking to a clone of yourself, then you must do evil things to your friends and relatives.
'Fraid to say that I found the story a little disappointing, mostly because the plot is so simple that it could be done in any fashion to make it work, not just spaceflight. For one shot sadfic its not terrible, its just not terribly inspiring either, and to be frank if I was to put it up there with fics like "Hello, Sedna" -Which has remained with me for a good few years after I read it- It wouldn't hold up particularly well.
It has a lot of promise, but unfortunately it just isn't terribly interesting to read, the technology involved in space travel is overlooked, there isn't anything notable or even known about this mission, and the interaction between the characters is minimalistic at best, just seems like an excuse to write sad Twilight - IN SPACE.
To be perfectly honest, you could have done a hell of a lot more with this concept than you did, and its disappointing to see it go on such a mundane route.
The involvement of long-distance space travel brings so much potential to a story.
I liked it, it just feels unfinished.
5637249
I'm the only person I know who has seen that movie enough to quote it.
5719264
That was sort of the point going in when I wrote it. It's a simple story set in extraordinary circumstance. And,
was intentional. The setting and space travel is meant to just be done "casually", while the story is about Twilight's loneliness. The A.I. on board are made personable, but with an artificial aspect about them meant to set them firmly in the uncanny valley. Celestia is capable of showing concern and acting for Twilight's well-being, but she goes about it in a robotic way. Spike acts human, but the way he shares multiple bodies--Twilight passing him on his way up the stairs and seeing him in the kitchen--is meant to be this small unnerving thing that keeps reminding you, and Twilight, that he isn't a real person.
Sorry about your disappointment. It sounds like you went into this story looking for something it wasn't, though I may be to blame with how I presented it.
It's just as you said: this story isn't about her mission. It's about Twilight being lonely in space. The story about her mission would be a much longer one, and one I wasn't looking to write. All I wanted to write was sad Twilight in space: something I thought would be a little different.
5721612
Mmm, fair enough, I ain't a follower so I didn't realise what was going into the story itself if you talked about it in a blog or somesuch. With the information you gave me I figure I can be a bit more forgiving, given I was looking for something which wasn't intended to be anything more than Twilight in space.
Anyhoo, for what it is, it's nice enough.