Party!
As Wandering left the skiff and waited to be decontaminated, he said to Amethyst, “I would like to be updated with the full Terranglo language as soon as possible. When do you feel you will be up to doing that?”
“This session was a lot easier than the previous two, so give me six hours. I’ll grab something to eat and have a nap before getting to work on the final language spell.”
“Great! I’d love to be able to give a large number of the crew the ability to talk directly with our guests – the more, the better.”
“That may be a greater number than you think, Captain.”
“I thought that I was already being optimistic.”
“I would agree, except that now that I have a full vocabulary at my recall, I’ve already started noticing a ridiculously high number of correlations between our words and theirs. With so much in place already, it will be a lot easier to use the spell, so the greater number of crew that I can process. I do wonder what it all means though.”
“Perhaps we’ll get more clues while entertaining our visitors.”
Phalanx said, “You do realize, Captain, that they will be feeling us out just as much as we will them? While we parted on good terms, I still tasted a great deal of ambient fear.”
“I’ll be counting on their curiosity. That’s exactly why we need to put our best face forward. While we’re not helpless, we can achieve a lot more with their cooperation. If we can get them to put their fears and suspicions aside, they will be great allies.”
Their conversation was held up briefly as Doctor Zubon performed the decontamination procedure after taking some samples.
“Did you find any dangerous microbes from our previous visit, Doctor?” Wandering asked.
“Nothing of any serious nature, Captain, but don’t use that as an excuse to get out of these decontamination procedures.”
“Celestia forbid!” the alicorn replied with a chuckle. “However, I intend to play host to a number of the aliens over here, and I would like to know if it’s safe to do so.”
Zubon held up her sample case. “I will analyze these immediately, but even if they come up clear, I suggest that the visitors include one of their own doctors. We can make a judicious trade of information, and they can watch for problems among their own crew.”
“I don’t want to give them a blanket list of everything that is deadly to Equians,” Wandering said with a small frown.
“I’ll prepare a database of general information on toxic substances without specific dosages and you can pass that along when you talk to them next time. Speaking of talking, Radiance Point is just outside and is dying to tell you something.”
“Oh? I hope he has some good news for me,” Wandering said as he headed out of the room.
As Zubon had said, the unicorn was waiting just outside, and he made a beeline for Wandering as soon as the alicorn appeared.
“Captain – I have some important news about the mana beacons.”
“Good news, I hope?”
“Well – a bit of good and a bit of bad.”
“Now that you’ve both excited and disappointed me, would you care to explain?”
“I can confirm that the mana beacons are functioning properly, and in fact they have been since yesterday. However, while we had always considered their range to be indefinite, our understanding of the size of the universe has taken quite a kick in the plot lately.”
“Are you saying that we are out of range?” Wandering asked with some trepidation.
“While I can’t be absolutely sure, I don’t believe so. However, I am certain that we are so far away from Equus right now that the signal from the beacon has not reached home yet. Once it does, Prince Destined can get a lock on us again.”
“And how long before that happens?”
Radiance shrugged helplessly. “How long is a piece of string? We already know that we could be hundreds or even thousands of light-years from home. Cosmic Dawn’s initial theories suggest that that there’s no limit to the distance we could travel in that strange tunnel–”
“Wormhole,” Amethyst said.
“What?”
“The aliens apparently are familiar with the phenomenon and call it a wormhole.”
“Interesting name. Anyway, while there’s no limit to how far we could have travelled, Dawn thinks the duration that we spent in the… wormhole is an indication of distance, and that we’re likely to be still in the same star whirlpool–”
“Galaxy,” Amethyst interjected.
“Can we save the language lesson for later?” Radiance asked irritably. “As I was saying, we’re probably still in the same galaxy. The mana beacon will connect again sooner or later, so we won’t be left stranded, but I have no way of knowing when that will happen.”
“Alright, we’ll just have to hope that it will be a matter of days and not months. Hmm… is there any way that we can send the signal back through the wormhole?”
“Maybe – if we get back close to it and in line with it. Seems risky to me.”
“Yeah, but it’s something to keep in mind. What about the comms? Any progress with them?”
Radiance shook his head. “Nope, and don’t expect any either. Even the most sophisticated crystal comms operate on the same basic principle – paired sympathetically linked crystals. Those links have been broken, and there’s no way to restore them without bringing the two back into physical contact once more. We’re out of communication with Equus until Destined can bring us replacements.”
Wandering grimaced. “Damn. That makes it more important than ever to ensure making an agreement with the aliens. Without a firm date to work with, we have to act as if we are on our own indefinitely.”
“I’m afraid so, sir,” Radiance agreed.
Starry met Wandering as he made his way to their room. After updating Bluequill on the events of the second meeting, it was time for him to go off-duty and get some rest. Starry gave him an eager smile, and he knew that rest was not on her mind. No sooner than they had entered their room than his mate started pestering him for information. As the only way that he had been able to persuade her to stay behind had been to promise to tell her all the juicy details later, he willingly complied. He discovered that she had quite an interest in the centauroid creatures for some reason.
“Could you transform into one of them?” she eventually asked.
Wandering lifted an eyebrow questioningly. “Is that what this is all about, Starry? You can’t wait to get your hooves on an alien?”
Starry blushed a little, but replied defiantly, “Of course not! Scientific curiosity needs to be satisfied!”
“You’re not a biologist though.”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t want to study that biology,” she retorted with a smirk.
Wandering laughed. “You’re a kinky lover, you know that?”
“And you enjoy it just as much as me,” she replied unabashed.
The stallion just shook his head in defeat. “Okay, I got a good scan of all of them, so I can do what you want. I’ll use the one named Forestwalker as the base, but I’ll modify it slightly to match my colors. But first, I had better get out of this uniform. It won’t fit after I change.” Wandering divested himself of his clothes as Starry did the same. Then his horn lit up, and his form was engulfed with magical green flames. Moments later, a solid red-furred chakat with blue and white-striped hair stood in front of the mare.
While any of the changelings aboard the ship could have emulated the chakat, the great difference in size and mass would have meant that they would have to use illusion to bolster the image, and they would be a chakat in looks alone. Wandering’s alicorn-level magic went much further. He drew on mana to create the extra mass, and he became a true replica of the lifeform. The newly created chakat smiled at Starry and said in a voice very similar to Forestwalker’s, “You like?”
Starry was busy feasting her eyes on Wandering’s new form. Although she had seen all the images that the contact team had taken of the various creatures aboard the Pegasus, it was quite another thing to see one up close and personal. For starters, it was a lot larger than she had initially thought it to be. She took in every detail, occasionally running a hoof over part of the chakat’s anatomy, causing Wandering to experience a soft thrill.
‘These creatures seem to be more sensitive to being touched,’ he mused.
“These … chakats?” Starry looked at Wandering for confirmation, which was provided with a smile and nod. “Their species has generously large udders,” Starry commented.
“I’ve seen minotaur cows with similar endowments,” Wandering replied, putting a hand under each and hefting them a bit. “Still, these are certainly on the larger end of the scale.”
Starry continued her inspection, working her way down the lower torso, noting the ever-changing convolutions of the long, thick tail. “Is that tail prehensile?” she asked.
Wandering paid attention to that appendage for the first time, and it curled exactly as desired on application of will. “I believe you’re correct. Fascinating. This is a very versatile body.”
The mare nodded in agreement and kept on checking out Wandering’s new form. She leaned down to get a closer look at the hind paws when she noticed something. She quickly shifted around for a view from the rear and said, “Lift your tail.”
“You’re usually a lot subtler than that, Starry,” Wandering replied with a smirk.
The mare just stuck her tongue out at him and said, “Just do it.”
Wandering complied.
Starry goggled for a moment, then she snrrked and sank to the floor, bursting with laughter.
“Okay – what’s so funny?” Wandering asked.
“So… versatile!” she managed to gasp out between gales of laughter.
Realizing that a straight answer from Starry was not coming anytime soon, Wandering decided to investigate. Laying down on the floor on one side, the transformed alicorn leaned back to look at the nether regions of this new body. “What the…?! Both male and female?”
The truth was there right in front of the transformed alicorn. A sheathed penis and a vulva showed that there was a lot that Wandering had not suspected about these creatures.
“How did you not notice this before?” Starry managed to ask as she got her laughter under control.
“The results of a changeling’s scans are all stored subconsciously! Plus, I was involved in a serious First Contact situation, not looking at their genitals!” Wandering protested.
Starry got up to have a closer inspection. “Well, they’re well worth looking at, lover.”
“Is that all you have to say about this?”
“You’re off-duty. I’m off-duty. Science can wait. Horny mate wants to find out what it’s like to make love to an alien.”
“You’re really obsessed with my shape-changing for kinks, aren’t you?”
“You’re the one who always plays along though.”
Wandering couldn’t find any way to counter that argument, and shi could swear that shi could feel just how aroused Starry was right now. Shi grinned and said, “Let’s find out what else this body can do.”
Making love as a dual-gendered, feline centauroid had been a uniquely exciting experience, but Wandering had needed to get some rest before getting back to work. Shi had curled up around Starry to sleep, and enjoyed pleasant dream-filled slumber until woken by the bedside alarm. After resuming his natural alicorn form and preparing for the new day, he and Starry headed to the common room for breakfast.
He was a little surprised to find Amethyst Scroll already there, and he took his meal over to her table. “Mind if we join you, Amethyst?”
“Not at all, Captain,” she replied.
“I thought that you might still be sleeping after yesterday’s effort.”
“I thought so too, but I woke up early and felt refreshed, so I decided to get to work as soon as possible. In fact, if you want to come around to my work-station straight after your breakfast, I should be ready to teach you the remainder of the Terranglo language.”
“That’s excellent. I figured that it would take you longer than this to get the spell up to date.”
“That unusual familiarity that I mentioned previously has made it a lot less effort. Using a teaching spell is always much easier when the languages have much in common. I’m not going to question why our languages have so many similarities – I’m just grateful that it has made my job simpler.”
“Does that mean that you can teach more of the crew in less time?” Wandering asked hopefully.
“Yes, as long you don’t expect me to do everypony right away.”
“Don’t worry – I’m not expecting miracles. I’ll give you a list of priorities though.”
“No problem, sir.” She picked up her plate and utensils in her magic and set them on the kitchen counter to be cleaned. “I’ll see you soon, Captain,” Amethyst said before she headed out.
Starry was already halfway through her meal, but she stopped long enough to ask, “Do you plan to have every crewmember able to talk Terranglo?”
“Yep, eventually. If we’re going to be working with these beings on a regular basis, I want every possible person to be able to talk with them without ambiguity or uncertainty. Besides, we need every advantage possible. They obviously have a huge advantage over us technologically, but I don’t believe they know anything about magic, so they might underestimate us, and having every listening ear able to understand what they are saying might pay off in some way.”
“Sounds like you’re treating them like potential enemies rather than potential allies. I thought making contacts with new cultures was your specialty?”
Wandering grinned humorlessly. “I am, and I’m telling you now that even the most promising situations can blow up in your face. Forging a relationship with a totally unknown civilization is as dangerous as walking through a castle laden with booby-traps, both magical and mundane. We’re trying to do in a matter of days something that should properly done slowly and carefully over a period of months, if not years. The most innocent of things can turn out to be of vital importance, and overlooking or ignoring them can spell disaster for relationships.”
“So why are you throwing a party so soon? Isn’t that asking for trouble?”
Wandering grinned. “If nothing else, history shows that you can get away with a lot at an informal party that you wouldn’t in a formal meeting. To speed up the relationship between our two cultures, a relaxed and convivial atmosphere is conducive to better understanding. I also plan to be generous with the alcohol.”
Starry laughed. “Just make sure that some of the crew don’t sneak in their ‘special’ brews!”
“You got that right,” Wandering fervently agreed before taking a gulp of his coffee.
Just then, Techbird approached Wandering’s table. “I’m glad that I ran into you here, Captain. I have something very interesting to show you later that could revolutionize our propulsion systems.”
That quickly caught the alicorn’s interest. “You have me intrigued, Tech. Tell me more…”
Forestwalker trudged into the quarters that shi shared with hir mates, tail dragging a little. Admiral Boyce Kline looked up from the sofa where he was relaxing with a book while Doctor M’Lai Saarath lay along it with her head in his lap, a PADD resting forgotten on her breasts as she had drifted off in a nap. Trying not to disturb his Fifthwife, Boyce quietly asked, “What’s wrong, Forest? You look like you’ve run fifty laps of the ship.”
Forestwalker gracelessly sprawled onto a lounging cushion before replying hoarsely, “Have you tried repeating tens of thousands of words to teach the universal translator a new language?”
Boyce smiled sympathetically. “I don’t think this situation has ever come up in the history of the Federation. That was a totally unique method of learning a language, and one that our experts have no idea how to duplicate as yet.”
“Well, I now understand the language a whole lot better anyway.”
“Good. You should be able to pick up on nuances that the translator might miss when we attend our visitors’ party.”
“So you’ve decided to accept their invitation; have they indicated a time for it?”
“The party is too good an opportunity to pass up, and my gut tells me that it’s the right thing to do. I haven’t heard back from them as yet though.”
Rosepetal looked over from the table where she and Midnight were engaged in a game of Rakshan chess. “If they are anything like us, they will be preparing like crazy for the occasion. The party alone should involve a ton of work, even after I sent a message that all the foods had tested to be safe. Even so, their top priority has to be getting their crew up to speed for what is likely to be a huge effort to make a good impression. And they are going to have to try hard because the Federation is not in a position to be too trusting while we’re in a state of war with the Swarm. Although they seem to be friendly and cooperative, we cannot afford to overlook their usage of that unknown energy that is the greatest obstacle to defeating the Swarm.”
“I keep telling you that I can sense no deceit or enmity from them,” Forestwalker protested. “They obviously need our help and we should be doing our best to give it to them.”
Boyce patiently replied, “That is exactly what we would be doing if it wasn’t for the state of emergency. It’s your empathic impression of their good nature that was the primary reason for accepting their invitation, otherwise they might be getting a military escort instead.”
“I hate this war,” Forestwalker grumbled.
Midnight got up, walked over to Forestwalker and lay down beside hir to give hir lifemate a consoling hug. “We all do, love. But that’s why Star Fleet has people like us.” Shi waved a hand to indicate the entire family. “We have a balance of skills, personalities, and opinions that lets us choose the optimum path that keeps us all safe and still gives strangers the assistance they need. Star Fleet may be engaged in a war right now, but that’s not its only task. Exploring and discovering new worlds and new civilizations is at its heart, and that’s why you chose to join up after we left Earth for Chakona. But you have to accept that we can’t choose to be compassionate first.”
The jaguar-patterned chakat sighed and nodded reluctantly. Shi leaned hir head against Midnight’s shoulder. “I know. It’s just hard for me.”
Midnight stroked Forestwalker’s hair. “We’re here for you, Forest – never forget that.”
Boyce added, “We may be an odd mixture of a family, but it’s our diversity that gives us strength. Your heart is great, Forest, and we love you for that, but you need to let us do what we do best also.”
Forestwalker had hir eyes closed as shi enjoyed the gentle stroking and waves of sympathy that shi felt coming from hir mates. “I understand. Thanks, everyone.”
Word had come through from Captain Path that they were ready to hold the party whenever it suited their Star Fleet guests. However, Boyce had made some final checks with his heads of department first.
“And all your scans came up clean, Doctor M’Lai?”
“All the samples taken from both visits indicated only benign bacteria and viruses. There was not a single trace of anything that could harm any of us. Decontamination procedures can be discontinued.”
The admiral turned to Rosepetal. “The transporter can retrieve us in an emergency?”
“The alien ship’s shield against background radiation has no effect on transporter function, sir. We can get already get a lock on areas within their ship. We won’t have any trouble locking onto your combadges.”
“Good.” He turned to Forestwalker. “Is the universal translator fully updated?”
“Not quite, sir,” Forestwalker replied formally. “But you know how it works. It builds its neural network based on relevant and useful words first, leaving the more obscure and specialist words until last. I doubt that you will encounter any problems unless they use terms for which we have no equivalent.”
“That’s always the case with a new language, so we can deal with that.” Boyce then addressed everyone in the room. “Has everyone got their translator earpieces activated and linked to their combadges?”
They all acknowledged readiness.
Boyce continued, “I want everyone to bear in mind that while this is a party thrown in our honor, this is also a learning experience for both our sides. Enjoy the entertainment, socialize as much as possible, even indulge in alcohol with restraint, but never forget that you represent the Stellar Federation and you will be expected to maintain the high standards that I expect of Star Fleet personnel, and especially of my crew. Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open, and try to stay out of trouble.”
“Aye, sir!” came a chorus of replies.
“The aliens’ shuttle is on its way over, sir,” Midnight reported.
Boyce nodded in acknowledgement. “The first group prepare to shuttle over.”
Due to the space restrictions within the skiff, it could only ferry over a maximum of six passengers at a time, or fewer if any of them were taurs. It had been decided that Boyce had to be among the first group as it was time for both the ships’ captains to meet. He took along Midnight for security purposes, Forestwalker to monitor the encounter empathically and to compensate for any of the Universal Translator’s shortcomings, and M’Lai with her Away-Team kit to keep a medical eye on things in case something had been missed. The second group would include Rosepetal with Harrakar, the Rakshani security officer from the second meeting; E’Sondra te Hanso, a Voxxan fem specializing in cultural studies; Chakat Sparks, the Chief Engineer of the Pegasus; and Helen Baines, a herm rabbit technician. The latter two had been chosen not only as suitable guests, but also because they might be able offer technical assistance while appraising the aliens’ technology. While Sparks had a wealth of experience and expertise, Helen had a special knack for identifying equipment and diagnosing problems.
Boyce was satisfied that they had a good mixture of scientific and military personnel for their group, and had high hopes for a peaceful and successful mission. Hopefully they would make a good first impression on their visitors, because if they turned out to be useful allies, it could mean huge repercussions in their war with the Swarm.
Wandering piloted the skiff personally to pick up the first of his party-goers. As an alicorn, he had little to fear if the aliens turned out to be hostile after all. His defenses were extremely strong, and he could teleport back to the ship if worse came to the worst. Not that he thought that was likely to happen, but it was his responsibility to think of these possibilities. Mostly he was eager to meet with his counterpart at last. While he understood the security precaution of sending his First Officer to make contact with the Equians, trust needed to be built up between the two commanding officers, and as his mother would quickly point out, that involved making friends. He hoped that the party would be a success.
The alicorn piloted the ship into the shuttle bay as usual, noting a group waiting for him, with a second group standing back from the first, undoubtedly for the second load. He also noticed the lack of armed personnel lining the catwalks of the bay this time.
“Things are looking up,” he murmured to himself.
Parking the skiff skillfully, he then proceeded to exit the craft. He was quickly approached by the chakat that he had imitated the previous night, and shi smiled welcomingly.
“I’m glad that you chose to come yourself, Captain Path” shi said in Terranglo. “I would like to personally introduce you to Admiral Kline, our ship’s commanding officer and my mate.” Shi turned to indicate the human as he stepped forward with a smile on his face.
“A pleasure to meet you, Captain Path,” Boyce said, bowing slightly in lieu of offering his hand to his hoofed counterpart.
A matching smile on Wandering’s face froze as he took in Boyce’s visage. While the human’s face seemed innocent enough and the expression friendly, a strange aversion swept over the alicorn. An unreasoning chill of fear made him shudder. ‘What’s wrong with me? I’ve never seen this creature in my life, but a mere glance has me shivering in fright. I… I can’t let this go on.’
Wandering quickly called upon his link to the changeling network to contact Eon’s second-in-command. ‘Phalanx! I need a big favor quickly!’
‘Captain? What’s the problem?’
‘I have been struck by a near-paralyzing fear of the aliens’ commander. I need you to draw off the fear and help me get it under control.’
‘I can taste it through the link, sir. I’ll… do what I can.’
Despite not being present physically, the changeling was able to help considerably, and Wandering felt himself calming down. He clamped down on the errant emotion and brought himself fully back under control. ‘Thanks, Phalanx – I’m okay now.’
‘You’re welcome, sir. Please excuse me while I get this bad taste out of my mouth.’
Knowing the effect that negative emotions had on changelings, Wandering was grateful that was all that Phalanx would have to deal with.
“Are you alright, Captain?” Boyce asked him with some concern.
Wandering shook himself and plastered a smile back on his face. “Please excuse me, Admiral – I was struck by an unexpected reaction to your appearance. Is there anything in particular about your species that may have caused that feeling?”
Boyce was puzzled. “Not that I am aware of.”
“I see. I will have to look into this later. Meanwhile, there is a party waiting for you and your crew members, and I invite you to board my skiff so that we can get that under way.” Wandering gestured toward the skiff’s door.
Boyce nodded and led his group onto the skiff and the alicorn boarded after the last member. Sealing up the door, he made his way to the pilot’s chair, noting that Admiral Kline was taking a keen interest in everything that the pony did. Wandering took the skiff out of the shuttle bay with his usual skill, but half his mind was still on the totally unexpected effect that the human had upon him. It was completely unreasonable, but the mere sight of the flat furless face had filled him with incredible dread. None of the other strange beings that he had met so far had had any similar effect upon him, so why this one? And would it affect the others? It would not be a good experience for their VIP to be confronted by a ship full of panicky people. He decided to send a warning ahead.
‘Princess Galena!’
‘Captain?’ came the surprised response.
‘I’m sending you the image of Admiral Kline. For some reason, just looking at him had a profoundly disturbing effect on me. I want you to spread the word and warn the crew about this. If they are affected also, it will give them a chance to deal with it.’
‘So that’s why Phalanx acted so oddly a short time ago. I’m receiving the image now… and it’s not having any effect on me. I’ll ask Starry.’ There was brief pause and then Galena’s mental voice returned. ‘Wow! She locked up for a moment there. But Commander Bluequill looked also and nothing happened. I’ll try warning the others and getting their reactions too.’
The link was quiet for a long while, but Admiral Kline suddenly broke the silence on board the skiff.
“I can see considerable damage on that boom, Captain.”
“Yes, that’s the solar sail mast that failed to detach before we went through the wormhole.”
“That reminds me – we picked up the remains of one of your sails. Do you need it back?”
“We recycle everything, Admiral, but I’m not sure how we can deal with such a large amount of graphene.”
“That’s another thing that I was wondering, Captain – how did you manage to manufacture such a large amount of such a high-tech material?”
Wandering was a little surprised. “We mastered mass-production of graphene decades ago. With our magitek machinery, all it takes is the right spell formula, raw material, and mana supply, and can make as much as we need. The hard part was handling so much material.”
“Spell formula? Mana? I’m afraid you’re not making sense to me.”
“I suspect that there’s a lot that each of us can learn from the other, Admiral. Pardon me for now though – I need to concentrate on docking.”
Part of Wandering’s mind went elsewhere anyway. “Galena – anything to report?’
‘It’s puzzling, Captain. Ponies seem to be the only ones affected, especially unicorns. Griffons, changelings, minotaurs, and even zebras seem unaffected.’
Wandering wondered that if unicorns were the worst affected, perhaps it had something to do with the degree of magic they wielded? That jibed with his and Starry’s extreme reaction. He would have to follow that up later. ‘How are the ponies coping?’
‘After the initial effect, they have all calmed down again.’
‘Yeah – I’ve settled down to a mild unease too. Make sure everypony is alerted and give them a chance to brace themselves for the human. We don’t want to cause an interplanetary incident.’
‘Will do, Captain.’
The mental conversation concluded just as Wandering powered down the skiff. He then opened the door and said, “Welcome to the Cosmic Lotus. I hope that you enjoy the reception.”
The visitors stepped out and Wandering introduced them to the reception committee consisting of Bluequill, Starry, and Galena. But while the welcome was genuine, Wandering could tell that Starry’s was a little strained. He could hardly blame her for that though, but he could not hang around to help her out because he had to leave in order to fetch the second group of invitees.
“Pardon me, everyone, but I will return soon. Commander Bluequill, I leave the Admiral and his party in your capable talons.”
“Very good, Captain,” the griffon acknowledged with a salute.
‘Nice touch,’ Wandering thought as he stepped aboard the skiff once more.
“So – Commander Bluequill, was it?” Boyce asked.
“Commander Galen Bluequill of House Longreach actually.”
“You resemble a previous visitor’s species, although you do not have the same crystalline look.”
“You are talking about Techbird, I presume. I am a normal example of the griffon species, while she has been changed by chaos magic.”
“Chaos magic?”
“Indeed. How else do you think one of my kind could be made of living crystal? She’s not a crystal pony, after all.”
“Crystal pony? I confess I am getting more confused.”
Bluequill’s beak did not betray the smirk he was feeling. “I suspect that there will be a lot of that on both our sides, Admiral.”
“I believe that you’re right, Commander.” He turned to look at Galena. “You were introduced as a Princess, I believe – does that mean that you technically outrank everyone else?”
Galena smiled and shook her head. “I am the youngest daughter of Queen Lamina, but aboard this ship, I am just another of the crew, albeit one of the chiefs of staff.”
“Are you related to Phalanx? I note that you have a much different build to him.”
“No – he’s a Red Changeling while I am a Violet Changeling, and I’m a young queen while he’s a drone.”
“I see I have a lot to learn about your kind. You resemble the ponies in many ways, but you have insect-like characteristics too.”
Galena smiled indulgently. “We changelings are a symbiotic species that evolved in conjunction with ponykind which probably shaped our appearance, but while we have some very distinctive features that has led us to be sometimes nicknamed bug-ponies, we are not in fact related to insects at all.”
“I will bear that in mind. I look forward to talking with you more.” Boyce turned to Starry next. “I can’t help but notice that you seem ill at ease. Am I causing a problem? Captain Wandering seemed to be affected that way also.”
“It’s nothing,” Starry demurred. “You and possibly your species seem to trigger an aversion among ponies. It is illogical but very real. Please forgive me if I am rude – it’s just that I am having to deal with an involuntary phobia.”
“I understand. Believe me, it’s not always smooth sailing among the races of the Stellar Federation either.”
“That’s reassuring. I hope that we can overcome this problem and work together well.”
“I hope so too, Starry Path. By the way, any relationship to Captain Wandering Path?”
“He is my mate.”
Boyce nodded. “I guessed as much, him being the same species as you.”
Starry gave a genuine chuckle. “While there’s some truth in that statement, you will find that species is no barrier to relationships aboard this ship, nor back home, especially with the changelings. As Galena mentioned, they are symbionts, and they frequently form bonds with other species, especially ponies.”
“More things to learn about your culture,” Boyce replied with a smile.
“Yes, and I hope we can learn about yours too. So, please tell us more about your companions.”
Boyce indicated the chakats next to him. “Captain Path has already met these two. Forestwalker is the chief of the biology department, while Midnight is Chief of Security. Doctor M’Lai is head of the medical department, but all of them have one thing in common with Commander Rosepetal – I am honored to call them my wives.”
Starry smiled. “So you have herds too? At least we have that in common.”
“Herds?” Boyce echoed with a grin. “I suppose you could call them that.”
“Do you have compatibility spells too?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Compatibility spells – you know – to have foals.”
Forestwalker burst out laughing. “Oh yes, you can say that again!”
Boyce made a small smile and added, “I have had a child by each of my five mates so far.”
“Will we get to see them, Captain?”
“They are back on Chakona, living with our extended family and going to school there. Present circumstances preclude having them aboard the Pegasus.”
“Ah – I understand. What I don’t understand and has everyone bursting with curiosity is how your ship is named after one of our species if you have never met them before.”
“That’s because Pegasus was a mythological creature from many centuries in our past.”
“Pegasus singular?”
“Yes. In fact it was considered a winged horse’s name, not a race of such creatures.”
“Curiouser and curiouser.”
“Said Alice,” Boyce added.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Sorry – I was quoting from a notable work of fiction.”
“I see. However, we have a remarkable and puzzling reality to decipher.”
“The first of many, I am betting.”
Starry found herself warming up to the human in spite of the persistent feeling of aversion that she was keeping tightly under control. “Just you wait until you have to deal with Techbird’s puzzles!”
“That’s the translucent griffon, right. I noticed her fascination with our equipment.”
“That’s barely scratching the surface of Techbird’s enthusiastic pursuit of knowledge. I’m afraid you will probably be subjected to a lot more of it.”
“I worked up the ranks through engineering, so I’m quite familiar with her interest in technology. Perhaps we can exchange some information.”
“Be careful what you ask for, Admiral,” Starry replied with a smile.
Boyce smiled back, but if he could get to the bottom of the mysterious energy that these strange newcomers seem to be utilizing, it would be worth any hassle.
They all continued small talk until Wandering returned with the second load of passengers. After introductions were completed, Wandering proceeded to take them to the party venue.
“Please excuse the cramped conditions,” he said as they headed down the passageways with the occasional crewmember gazing with interest at the visitors. “Since we arrived at our destination, everyone who was in hibernation has now been revived and it’s a little crowded. We’ll soon be in the Park where there’s a bit of wing room.”
The group continued on without talking until they reached the entry to the Park. Once inside, Wandering stood aside to allow their guests to get a good look at the lush surroundings. They all gaped at the plethora of plant-life and flowers filling the air with their scent. But it was the sight of all the pegasi, thestrals, changelings and griffons enjoying a flight through the large open spaces or fluttering among the branches that took their breath away. The music that was coming from the far end that was hidden by vegetation along the winding path only added to the surrealistic nature of the scene.
Wandering said, “The main events are at the far end of the Park.” He waved a hoof in the direction of the path.
“This is amazing, Captain Path. This must take up a large portion of your ship,” Boyce said as he forced himself to move along.
“Over half its length and its entire width,” the alicorn clarified. “Not only does it give us room to exercise, especially for those with wings, but the natural environment is good psychologically. Of course it also provides us with oxygen and cleans the air of musty ship smells, and we grow a large proportion of our food here.”
“I can see why you have devoted so much space to it, although if my guess is correct, this used to be the fuel tank for the rocket engines that we noticed at the rear of your craft.”
“Very observant of you, Admiral. You are quite correct. The tanks were built with conversion in mind after they fulfilled their initial function.”
“Rockets are not typically what you would find on an interstellar vessel though.”
“We used them to break orbit and provide the initial impetus before maneuvering into position to engage our solar sail.”
Boyce looked puzzled. “Light-propulsion is an even less effective means of travelling interstellar distances. Acceleration is far too slow.”
“Unless you use alicorn propulsion in conjunction with a mass-reduction spell to get up to a significant proportion of the speed of light.”
“Mass-reduction spell? This is more of this magic that you keep mentioning?”
“Of course… oh – you lack that. I suppose it would be confusing, and it’s certainly different from the way we observed your spacecraft to be moving.”
“Are you certain that your language learning method has correctly interpreted the word? Magic isn’t real.”
Wandering had to stifle a laugh. “There’s magic all around you, and it’s very real.”
Boyce was having a very hard time refuting that argument despite everything he had ever learned. He did notice one other thing however. “Every pony that looks at me seems to react badly. Some stiffen up and others even shy away. Is that more of that reaction you said that you experienced, Captain?”
The alicorn nodded. “It’s exactly the same thing. I sent warning ahead to be prepared for you, but looking at a picture and seeing you in person are very different things. Give them a chance to adapt.”
Boyce presumed that Wandering had radioed from the skiff while returning to the Pegasus for more passengers. However, if his mere appearance was going to disrupt what could be a very important interaction between the two cultures, he would have to consider leaving early. At least the non-ponies seemed more curious and friendly.
The group wound its way through the various trees, flower beds, and vegetable gardens until they neared the end where it opened up to a large grassy area with a pond at the far end that backed up to a mound that was acting as a stage. A band was playing the music that they had been hearing since reaching the Park, and some of the crew were dancing. Tables laden with food lined the perimeter, but they looked untouched, perhaps waiting for the guests to arrive.
The visitors stood there for a while just watching everything, and the Lotus’ crew in turn looked them over. While the larger beings impressed the crew, none of them had the effect that the human had, and they drew a lot of curious gazes.
Forestwalker broke the silent watching. “Captain, I notice that the majority of the crew in here are not wearing a uniform like yours. In fact most are nude. Is this normal?”
Wandering smiled and replied, “While the uniform is required while on-duty, and recommended when off-duty due to its protective devices, the Park is one of the places where everyone can fly, exercise, or relax in total comfort. That is its major function. Most of the crew here are off-duty at the moment, so of course they choose to be comfortable.”
“So clothing is optional in your culture?”
“Aside from protective gear or official uniforms, clothing is normally a fashion statement. We do not actually require any. Is it different for you?”
“Most cultures in the Federation wear clothing all the time for various reasons. On my home world, Chakona, clothing is optional, but the majority still wear it.”
“It must be uncomfortable, surely?”
“You get used to it,” Forestwalker replied with a snicker. “However, now that I can see ponies without their uniform, I notice the symbols that you have on your hindquarters. Can you explain their significance?”
“You mean our cutie marks? We gain them when we discover our true talent or purpose.”
“So you get tattooed or something to commemorate the occasion?”
Wandering laughed. “No – they just magically appear. It’s quite a momentous occasion and we make a big celebration of it when it happens.”
“They just… appear? Out of nowhere?”
“Yes. Only for ponies though, although zebras have a version too.” The alicorn declined to mention his changeling sire’s cutie mark as that was a special exception that would have only confused the situation.
Just then, the tune that the band had been playing finished. The musicians looked at Wandering expectantly, and he took his cue. He strode up the mound and turned to face the gathering, noting that everyone had followed the group to the main event area. That suited him fine. He took one of the microphones that the band had been using and started his speech.
“I would like to formally welcome our visitors from the starship Pegasus and the Stellar Federation which they represent. While it had been our hope to discover life at the Far Star, it was only in our fondest dreams that we thought to meet another sapient species, let alone several of them. My fellow crewmembers, I would like to introduce you to our guests starting with Admiral Boyce Kline. Admiral – would you please step up here with me?”
While the speech had been made in Equish, a link behind his ear to the universal translator had kept Boyce informed as to what was being said. He made his way up the mound and faced the audience, noting the mixed reactions of the ponies but the rapt attention of the others. Wandering passed the microphone to him and Boyce began his speech, trusting in his hosts to have their own translation ability.
“Thank you, Captain Path. I’ll keep this short as this is supposed to be a party rather than a dreary diplomatic event…” He paused as there were many knowing chuckles among the listeners. “In the short time since we encountered each other, it has become very obvious that there are many differences between us, but one thing still remains the same – the desire for friendship. I hope that we can all be good friends as we get to learn more about each other.”
The human was unprepared for the enthusiastic response to that short speech, including hoof-stomping, chittering, and a few screeches from the griffons, but he decided that he must have hit exactly the right note.
“Let me introduce you to my companions. Firstly – Commander Rosepetal Silpurr, First Officer of the Pegasus and my Firstwife.”
Rosepetal walked up to stand next to Boyce and gave the crowd a short bow.
Boyce continued, “Rosepetal is a member of the Caitian species, as is Doctor M’Lai Saarath, my Fifthwife.”
M’Lai joined her husband on the mound, standing just a little taller than him.
“Next I wish to introduce Forestwalker and Midnight, both members of the chakat species. Forest is a biologist and my Thirdwife, while Midnight is my Chief of Security and Fourthwife.”
The two chakats joined him on the crowded stage and waved.
Boyce let the murmurs of the crowd die down before asking his wives to step down to make room for the others.
“Also a chakat but not one of my wives is Chief Engineer Sparks. Security Officer Harrakar ap Jantis na Kiff is a Rakshani, E’Sondra te Hanso is a Voxxan fem specializing in cultural studies, and last but not least is Helen Baines, a rabbit-morph technician who is eager to learn more about your unusual technology. Please feel free to come and talk to any of us and have a chat.”
Wandering smiled and nodded gratefully at Boyce for the short but concise introduction. He then addressed the crowd once more. “Okay – enough with the speeches. This is supposed to be a party in honor of our new friends, so everyone have fun!”
The band took that as their cue to start playing once more, and the alicorn and the visitors joined the others again.
Wandering said, “At this point, I would like to invite you to do as you please. Eat what you like – all of the ingredients for the foods here were included in the samples that we sent to you for testing and have proved harmless to you. The table on the far left has purely vegetarian options which may include items which may not be suitable for your diet though. The table on the far right screened by a bush contains carnivorous options which I would appreciate if you would eat discreetly to avoid disturbing the sensibilities of some of the crew. We know you eat meat, but most ponies find it unsettling.” Again the alicorn decided not to mention that many herbivore House Path members not only were inured to meat eaters, but they also occasionally indulged in it. Lord Path had started that tradition way back when the House had been founded, and it continued to this very day. “Various drinks, alcoholic and otherwise are available too. Please mingle and enjoy yourselves!”
Many of the crew immediately started crowding around the visitors, eager to talk with these exciting new beings. Boyce attracted the attention of a couple of griffons and was soon deep in conversation with them.
Harrakar was approached by Eon and they gave each other an appraising stare. Although the dracopony had to crane his head up to look the Rakshani in the eye, he seemed unimpressed.
“So – what is your fancy long name supposed to mean?” the dracopony suddenly asked.
Harrakar frowned and replied, “It means that I am named Harrakar, sired by Jantis of the House of Kiff.”
“You have Houses too? I suppose that would make me Eon ap Blue Streak na Path.”
“Only if you had an honorable Rakshan lineage,” Harrakar replied with a scowl.
Eon snorted derisively, then asked, “Do you drink alcohol?”
“Yes – I could drink you under the table, little one.”
“Care to prove it?”
“As long as you don’t waste my time with the tame stuff.”
Eon smirked as he led the Rakshani away. “I know just the thing.”
Sparks was approached by a chrome changeling. “Hi! I’m Xeros, one of the engineering crew. I was hoping that we could talk shop?”
“Is that all?” Sparks asked curiously.
“Well – I admit to being curious about your kind. I’ve never met a centauroid species before.”
“And I have never encountered a being as strange as you before either. Shall we trade notes?”
Xeros grinned. “I’d like that.”
“Then can I start by asking why I can’t sense any emotions coming from you, or any others like you for that matter?”
“You can… sense emotions?”
“Yes – all chakats are empaths, although some are stronger than others. However I can’t detect even a scrap coming from you.”
“That’s because I’m an emotivore.”
“A what?”
“I eat emotional energy. Love and friendliness are really tasty and especially filling. Other positive emotions are good too and add flavor.”
Sparks was boggled. “You actually eat love?”
“Yes, and other emotions. That’s why we don’t leak any out.”
“How does that even work?”
Xeros shrugged. “I’m an engineer, not a biologist, arcane or otherwise. My turn for a question now.”
“Fair enough. Ask away.”
“I noticed something while you and the other chakats were up on the mound. Are you male or female?”
Sparks grinned. “I’m a herm.”
“That… does not seem to be in my vocabulary.”
“Herm – short for hermaphrodite. I’m both male and female. All chakats are herms.”
“Wow! I’ve never thought about that. I mean I’ve taken both male and female forms before, but never both at once.”
“What do you mean by taking those forms?”
“Like this.”
Sparks was extremely startled as the changeling suddenly was engulfed in green flames, leaving behind a gorgeous pink pegasus mare with a long golden mane. She winked at him and then the flames returned to replace her with a large grey-coated earth pony stallion with severely cropped mane and tail, but with muscle definition that drew the eye. The chakat gaped at Xeros for a long moment before finally saying, “You’re a shape-changer?”
“Well, duh!” the stallion replied with a roll of his eyes. “Why do you think we’re called changelings?”
“I hadn’t thought about it. By the way, you make quite a handsome pony.”
“Thanks – this is actually my favorite alter ego. And I find you quite intriguing also.”
Sparks grinned, not needing to sense the changeling’s feelings to suspect what they were. “I think this calls for some in-depth investigation.”
Forestwalker and Midnight found themselves surrounded by a number of mares.
“Can I help you ladies?” Forestwalker asked.
One of the bolder mares spoke up. “My name is Sweet Dreams. We heard that you are one of several wives that Admiral Kline has. We did not realize that other species would form herds like we do.”
Forestwalker smiled. “Well, we don’t call them herds, but yes, we do occasionally form extended families.”
“Oh good. We mares all belong to herds, although none as big as yours. We were wondering something.”
“What is that?”
“How do you go about pleasing your stallion to maintain harmony in your large herd?”
Forestwalker blinked in surprise, then slowly turned to Midnight and said, “Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be asked a question like that, especially on a diplomatic mission.”
“Neither did I,” Midnight replied with chagrin. “Wanna answer her?”
“You first!” Forestwalker replied hastily.
Midnight looked at the eagerly expectant faces surrounding them. “A-heh,” was all the normally unflappable chakat could say.
A zebra mare approached M’Lai. “My name is Doctor Zubon, Chief Medical Officer of the Cosmic Lotus. I am honored to meet a colleague.”
“Thank you. I’m curious as to the differences in medical practices between our cultures.”
“As am I, although there is one question that is uppermost on my mind at the moment.”
“Feel free to ask,” M’Lai replied, already suspecting what it might be.
“I noticed that you are significantly bigger than your co-wife, and in fact taller than everyone except the one named Harrakar. Are your and his species related?”
That was not quite the question that she had expected although it was related. “No, our species are not related, although we have superficial similarities. My height is the result of a childhood medical condition that caused uncontrolled growth until it was cured.”
“Did that medical condition inspire an interest in a career as a doctor?”
“Yes, it did. What about you?”
“My interest began as the child of my tribe’s shaman…”
Ortzi was intrigued by the alien called Helen Baines. She was like no other female that he had ever seen, and he took the opportunity to be the first to approach her. He put the friendliest expression that he could manage and approached the rabbit lady. “Hi! My name is Ortzi Goldbeak. Umm… could we talk?”
Helen was both pleased to have one of the odd aliens wanting to talk to hir, but at the same time a little concerned to be approached by one of the fiercer looking creatures. His piercing golden eagle visage was difficult to read as there were no sapient species with beaks in the Federation, but his hesitant tone was all too familiar – he was shy! Shi gave him hir warmest smile. “I’d love to have a chat. What would you like to talk about?”
“Er… please don’t take this the wrong way, but you resemble a prey species back home, and your species name translates the same, but at the same time you look tall and strong like an Abyssinian stealth warrior. It’s kind of hot.”
Helen blinked in surprise. The dual comparisons were rather odd, but was he hitting on hir? “Do you like inter-species relationships?” shi asked bluntly.
Pleased that Helen had picked up on his awkward pick-up line, he was emboldened to continue. “Yes I do. I joined the House Path Cosmic Lotus program as much to meet females of other species as to become a pioneer in interstellar travel.”
Helen decided that Ortzi could not have been too successful if he was still trying after spending years in space. Still, now that shi saw past his dangerous-looking beak and talons, shi found him to be rather cute in a clumsy sort of way. Still, there was one misapprehension shi had to clear up. “I’m not actually female – I’m a herm.”
Ortzi looked at hir quizzically. “What’s a herm?”
“I’m both female and male. Both sets of genitals.”
“Oh. Does that mean you don’t like males?”
That had not been the reaction Helen had expected. “Not at all. It’s just that most males aren’t interested in herms because we’re also part male.”
“Ah! I see. So you only like herms?”
“What? No! I mean I like both male and female partners.” How did shi end up talking about hir sex life?
Ortzi brightened. “Oh, good. Can I interest you in a drink?”
Still flustered, Helen nodded. “I think I need one.” This was turning out to be one strange date!
E’Sondra wondered who to talk to first. With such a variety of species on board this ship, it had to provide a rich mine of information for her cultural studies. She was a little surprised to find that one had already picked her out and was currently staring at her curiously. It was one of insectoid ponies with an orange-colored carapace, and rather cute for all its strangeness.
“Hi, I’m E’Sondra. You’re what they call a changeling, aren’t you?”
“Yep. Call me Willow. Did you know that you resemble a fox?”
The Voxxan nodded. “We have been often compared to Terran foxes. Wait! How do you know about them?”
“I don’t know these Terran foxes that you’re talking about, but we have foxes on Equus.”
“That’s remarkable if true. Must be parallel evolution. Nevertheless we’re unrelated either way.”
“Doesn’t matter really. I’m the Entertainment Director for this ship, and you have inspired me. How would you like to be in a little skit with me?”
E’Sondra giggled. “Sounds like fun. What would you like me to do?”
“You look bemused.”
Rosepetal looked down and to her left to see a blonde-maned blue-coated unicorn mare watching her. “Yes, you could say that.”
“Don’t you like parties?”
“I like them fine. It’s just that my sensibilities have been abused a little too much lately.”
“How is that?”
“I am not just the First Officer of the Pegasus but also its Science Officer. But so much of what I see on board this ship defies physics as I know it.”
The mare chuckled. “I suppose it would if you only know classic physics.”
“What do you mean by that?” Rosepetal asked with a small frown of confusion.
“Let me introduce myself – I am Moonlit Path, thaumophysicist.”
“And what exactly is a thaumophysicist?”
“It’s the science of integrating thaumaturgy with classical physics in order to determine how the universe works.”
“Thaumaturgy?”
“Magic if you will, although that’s a narrow and incomplete definition.”
“I still maintain that there’s no such thing as magic, just physics that we don’t understand yet.”
“It’s all around you, so how can you deny it? It has its own set of natural laws, just as classical physics does, and it fills in the unexplained gaps in that particular branch of science. So what makes it so hard to believe?”
“What it accomplishes is impossible!”
“That is obviously untrue. If you know the right equations, very little is impossible.”
“Then how come your ship is in such difficulty?” Rosepetal pointed out.
“Because we don’t have a complete understanding of the universe as yet, of course. We gained so much new knowledge of classical physics merely by making this journey. Can’t you concede that you have much to learn about thaumaturgy too?”
Rosepetal gave Moonlit Path a begrudging smile. “You have a point there.” A thought occurred to her and she chuckled.
“May I ask what you find amusing?”
“I just imagined myself learning a magic spell and stunning my old science teacher.”
Moonlit giggled. “That would be funny. Would you like to learn a bit of theoretical magic, Commander Rosepetal?”
“I think I would enjoy that. At the very least it might stop me from having a crisis every time I see something happening that my logical mind says is preposterous. Hmm, are you related to Captain Path?”
“He’s my uncle, actually. You will find a lot of the Path family on board this ship as the whole Far Star project was created by House Path.”
“That’s interesting. Tell me more…”
While engaging mostly in small talk with various crew members of the Cosmic Lotus, Boyce tried to keep an eye open for the rest of his companions. Early on he spotted Forestwalker and Midnight in the company of a large number of mares of all kinds. At one stage he noticed Forest pointing at him and the mares all breaking out in a fit of giggling. Even more puzzling was Midnight uncharacteristically giggling along with them. He considered asking them about that later, but decided it might be for the best if he just let it go.
He tracked down M’Lai later in a small alcove in the Park where a round table was set up. The Caitian was holding several playing cards and facing a grey-coated unicorn who was holding up similar cards in the glow of his telekinesis. Each had a stack of chips of virtually equal size in front of them, while two other players appeared to have been wiped out and were merely watching in interest. Obviously they had to be playing a game equivalent to poker, and knowing his wife’s skill with the game, it was a bit of a surprise that she was so evenly matched. Satisfied that she wasn’t going anywhere soon, he left to look for the others.
He found Harrakar and the dragon-pony by the bar with an impressive number of empty glasses in front of them. The size and mass of Rakshani let them drink far more alcohol than any other sapient in the Federation except chakats whose natural resistance to poisons (which included alcohol) made it almost impossible for them to get drunk. The dragon-pony looked totally unfazed though while his security officer was looking a little worse for wear.
“I thought that I gave orders not to over-indulge, Sergeant Harrakar?”
The Rakshani frowned and replied, “My apologies, sir. This… being must be cheating somehow.”
Eon gave the human a grin. “Just teaching your warrior a valuable lesson, Admiral.”
“And what would that be, may I ask?” Boyce asked curiously.
“Dragons can’t get drunk. We store and burn off the alcohol.”
“How do you mean?”
“Simple – like this.” Eon gave a snort and a small but steady stream of fire came out of his nostrils. By manipulating the contents of the flammable vapor, he made the flame’s color change several times as Harrakar stared in sozzled disbelief.
“Quite impressive. Now that you’ve gotten my officer drunk though, I would appreciate it if you would keep an eye on him until we leave once more. The last thing I wish is to have an incident with an inebriated Rakshani spoiling this party.”
“Fair enough, Admiral. He’s in good claws.”
Boyce certainly hoped so as he left to check on the rest of his crew. He did not manage to track down Sparks or Baines, but he did enjoy the humorous impromptu skit that was put on by one of the changelings and E’Sondra. Who knew she had such a talent for comedy?
# # # # # # # # #
Ortzi is either going to love me or kill me for this. 
This chapter grew a lot larger than I had originally planned, and even after over ten thousand words, I still had more to say. That will be going into the next chapter now though, and it's probably for the best.
Illustrations by Kat Miller a.k.a Foxenawolf
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10k word chapter on a refresh.... i.ytimg.com/vi/Hs6EKzycfa4/hqdefault.jpg
Very Nice. Well Done!
Wow, reading that chapter so did not feel like 10k. It felt short, in fact.
Edit: Hell, I could probably read another 10k of this without it feeling long.
Edit: Oh man, I want to see their reaction when one of the pegasi does the "featherfingers" thing.
Okay... Radiance Point and M'Lai playing cards... this will be one for the record books. May Sunrise Flight not have to knock some sense into her overachieving older brother afterwards.
We know the speed of light, we may know the speed of thought. Has anyone ever figured out the speed of magic?
So many in depth investigations into cross cultural fertilisation, of ideas and knowledge, might lead to dragon winged crystal chakats sometime? Depending on how they are on racial purity, hybridisation, genetic expansion etc? An example of widespread hybridisation is various subtypes of Griffons at all, all the pony cross variations, and the legendary beastiary of Equestria vs Terra?
When it comes down to the laws of physics, magic, and technology between the two branches, there is only one point of commonality, and all scientists, engineers, pilots, warrirors will agree.
Newton/Apple is the biggest SOB in the universe.
Woo, long chapter!
Starry... oh, you and your kinks. Don't change
So, the party is a raving success so far. Everyone has so much to learn... and that one little thing about humans putting the ponies ill at ease was interesting.
Some past experience, maybe?
The worlds are incredibly similar after all, so I wouldn't be surprised if everyone is far closer than they would believe.
So Ortzi's trying his luck, aye? That's going to be a lot of fun.
And Eon absolutely owned Harrakar. How's that for a lesson in humility?
Then again, Eon did cheat a little bit, since he's not affected by alcohol.
Bah, at least he was able to dish out some righteous humiliation.
Whoops. I know why unicorns are afraid of him . He is a human and not a virgin
I have a theory about the ponys reaction to the human.
But i will sit on it because if I'm right it will be a big spoiler.
Been following the chakat verse for quite a few years, so I am quite happy to see this blending, and i am quite enjoying where this story seems to be heading. I am sure everyone is going to be getting a couple rather serious shocks soon enough as well. Though I do have to admit, I am kinda hoping someone having fun has a little 'accsident' and has a foal, or something on the way. *chuckles softly* Can you see the bunnymorph finding out that her daliance with Ortiz had a rather unexpected result? Never mind having to admit she was having fun with a griffin, but, finding out that thay where that compatable? That would be delightfully amusing to read.
Not good enough RUN! Run like you never ran before!
Going to be interesting when they eventually show the Pegasus crew their magical scanners, and reveal that Admiral Boyce has been enchanted...
Was a great chapter and am eagerly waiting for the next chapter Goldy!
strange that have that reaction to humans. Surely Twilight brought pictures of the mirror world. Hell why hasn't anyone made that connection after seeing Boyce?
Yay! New chapter. Also, I noticed something...
Mostly... it's what members of the crew are. First, Minotaur crewmembers, must have very big cryo-sleep pods. Secondly, no Yaks or Diamond Dogs. Although maybe not having a Yak is a good thing. No Yickslurbertfest stomping to tear the ship apart.
A neat little poke into subsections, and huzzah on the update!
I was about to ask what you meant by Fox streaming. Then I recalled that Foxenawolf is the one that does the art.
Moving on...
I absolutely love how you're handling both magic and science. As a long-time fan of both science fiction and fantasy, I have long struggled with those that write both as mutually exclusive. When you have something that can be truly shown as magic, and not the definition of 'magic' that Arthur C. Clarke once gave, it's all too often shown to be completely incompatible with science.
I prefer to think of it as utilizing as-yet undiscovered forces. In fact, I use that in my own universes.
Anyway, that's a nice touch.
Hope Foxenawolf gets the problems ironed out soon.
I had another thing that came up. The reaction that the ponies were having- especially the unicorns -strikes me as a Chekhov's Gun of sorts.
I'm thinking it's going to be part of your solution to dealing with the shared similarities that Equestrians seem to have with Terrans. I say Equestrian, as it only seems to affect ponies.
My take on it is some sort of inborn atavistic fear; much like the one that we humans have for snakes. And the only way for something like that to happen speaks of something rather dark in Earth's history.
8562875
The mirror universe "humans" are a lot different from the CU humans and obviously do not trigger the same reaction. Although the Equestria Girls universe is considered to be canon, it's also obviously not the world we know.
8563072
all the difference is coloration and eye size. you think that would pop for some pony.
That's a fun party, and interesting reactions to a human. Anyone else making a connection between the pony reactions and the Swarm hostility and suicide rather than be captured behaviour?
How many Rakshani have we seen judge based upon size and get their respective tails handed to them. I am waiting for one of them to try a fight with a member of house Path and see how that goes
8562316 Completely agree with you that's the hallmark of a well written chapter it drawn you in and leaves you wanting MORE now..
No worries from my end. Ortzi is wonderfully... hawkward.
Guess that's what happens when you don't have anyone to give you pointers as you grow up.
Ortzi: Bhunnnny....
Damnit, Ortzi! Quit channelling Flinters. I swear, next he'll be jonesing for mint. As for his interaction with Shir Baines... well the boy has to learn sometime. May as well be with a friendly herm bunny. He'll probably be walking funny for more than one reason.
Ortzi: Note to self... find this "Roger" individual and gut them for their idea.
Ultimately, I think his attitude will be much like Kris'.
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Like a winged herm cabbit? (Think Ryo-Ohki with wings.)
Isn't Chakat Wandering a bit too big?
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Or even just a gryphon that happens to be herm, with bunny ears. Equestria has some odd combanations show up at times.
There is not such thing as to long a chapter.
longer the better.
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Not really, if you think about it. We have myths of the species that exist on Equus. so who is to say that there wasn't a magical link between the two that faded over time, until they are myths to us, and not even myths remain to the ponies. but the instinctive fear and caution would still be there
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Some sexual content? Rather more than some there Goldfur...
I'm kidding; I knew that there'd be some going in
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Atavistic responses are instinctive. They're born from past experiences that are hard-wired in the older parts of the brain. I wasn't commenting on the possibility of a past link between worlds; that possibility is really the only way to explain how foodstuffs could be virtually identical. All I'm saying is that the reason there is a fear avaristic fear response towards humans is because the ponies' ancestors were likely hunted. The same could be said for the other races of Equus as well, but the vast majority of the other races are not descended from prey species.
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Huh. From the angle, it looked like a starship. As I said though; it looked like a starship.
I get why you were specific though. Things the way they are now, you'd get sued if it looked to much like the Starfleet symbol. Though how they would win, I have no idea. Doesn't mean that they wouldn't try. Personally, I'd take someone copying my ideas- as long as it wasn't a direct copy -as a compliment. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
By the by; I really like this story-- can't wait for more.
Something to think about:
Have Wandering show off his chakat form to Forestwalker and see what shi thinks. Knowing your twisted mind Goldy, I wouldn't be surprised.
Better yet, have him show it to his mother.
Incidentally, she's the one pony who's reaction on the chakats I'm waiting for. She'd be very interested in them-- from a purely scientific perspective of course
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Goldfur's character Purple Point is a collaboration between him and another author. He also didn't print the whole story here; he only reposted relative chapters as part of this one.
It's not breaking that rule so much as bending it. And for how long this story has been up, it's likely they got mod permission first. Still Goldy and AlaskaIsCold are both collaborating on this universe. They have been since Change of Life.
Oh, I had totally expected Eon and Harrakar to be missing for days after they were last seen meeting at the party...
Ah, well. Great chapter and a good start to their cooperation.
As for the ponies' reaction to seeing Boyce, it's probably due to their ancestral memory of another, similar-looking bipedal predatory creature that would take one look at an equine then immediately
Scream--I mean--Squee and Leap!I loved this chapter
That quote from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland- for those of you that don't know, that's the full title -got me wondering just how old that book is.
So I Googled it. Turns out the first real major printing was in 1866, and it hasn't been out of print since. That's 143 years.
So, add another three centuries or so, and by the point of this story, that particular story is well over 400 years old. Not the oldest work of fiction by any means- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe was first printed in the late 16th century, sometime after 1550 -but still pretty old.
Heh.
Probably survived the Gene Wars due to how popular that story is. It's been in the public domain for years, and just about everybody has had a hand in producing adaptations of it.
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I don't think he was enchanted per se; I think it was more along the lines of the mechanics of mana without being mana itself.
I could be wrong though; trying to tie down the particulars of the Rakshani deities is like pulling teeth. For one, they're not talking; well, unless you count a certain red-headed freighter captain that is, lolz.
But that brings up an interesting point. I think the Stellar Federation has been using magic, or at least, some mechanical applications of it, for years without realizing it. I believe- and this is only a theory -that teleporters borrow heavily from the mechanics of magical teleportation. I also think that some form of magical law helps to explain how transporters work. The semi-energy state that those devices turn matter into has always seemed to me to be an almost outright violation of the laws of physics as we understand them. An application of the laws of Thaumaturgy- without actually using magic itself -would do quite nicely.
This is just personal headcanon though.
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As the ponies themselves explained – how can you understand how the universe works if you don't take thaumaturgy into account?
Extra word here.
And have A chat
Rereading this and Rosepetal i think have spending time with a certain crazy old frieghter capatin, you would learn not to use the word impossible so easy