Eve Equestria

by AnnonyMouse

Spark of Friendship

Eve Equestria
07

So close, just a few jumps away and she could have been home, a new alliance could have been formed.

But somehow, SOMEHOW a system in the middle of the High Security space had somehow fallen and become Null Security, and controlled by the CODE. alliance. She had heard whispers of them, but had not really paid attention.

And now they had her.

The Friend Ship had been boarded, and armed mercenaries had cut her capsule open with laser tools.

Rarity was utterly drained, there was nothing she could to other than watch as they gleefully tore open the front hatch.

They roughly dragged her out and into a transport ship. They had a prison cell with force fields to keep her contained in the center of the cargo hold.

A few of the mercenaries stripped her of her clothing before throwing her hard into the center of the cell. Angry red lights came on, and the energy barrier formed, trapping her inside. She could see through small holes in the floor that the barrier was even below her.

She just lay on the floor, to drained to move.

Why and how had this happened? Certainly there would have been news or even a warning of something this huge happening in the center of what was supposed to be relatively safe space, right?

Sadly, Rarity didn't know, and now, she was unsure of her fate. She felt the ship go to warp, as well as a the familiar sensation of quite a few gate jumps.

After what felt like hours, she heard the telltale sounds of the ship being docked. She had no clue where she was now, and had little hope of escape.

Even after the hours laying there on the cold hard floor, Rarity didn't feel like any of her magic had recovered. Had she burned herself out in her anger?

It was possible. She'd heard of unicorns who had done just that. Performed feats of magic reaching into the impossible, only to be forever drained of their magic, unable to call upon even the smallest inkling for the remainder of their lives.

Rarity wanted to cry, but the tears simply didn't come. She had no strength to move left at all.

She was done.

Rarity resigned herself to her fate.

The mercenaries entered the cargo hold, this time accompanied by an aged man with orange hair. He glared at Rarity like she was the most evil thing he had ever seen in his life. "Bring her to lab eight." He commanded and simply turned on his heel and left.

The force field was dropped and the mare was thrown into a cage in a hover cart, then carted off down many halls and deep into the unknown space station. She closed her eyes, awaiting her fate.

...

Jafrak paced back and forth, almost to the point of wearing a hole in the carpet of Sister Alitura's office.

"How did this happen?" He demanded for the third time. "They were waiting for us. There hadn't even been a whisper on any of the local coms leading up to that system."

Alitura sat in her chair, watching the footage. She'd already watched it, but was now watching it again, looking for any clue as to how this happened. "Again I do not know."

A knock came at the door, and opened a moment later. Tempest stormed in, her fresh clone body still sticky from emerging from the vat. At least she was wearing a pair of jogging pants and a tank top. "That was a total shit show out there. Everai and I had our pods blown up, and I hear from the Fleet Commander that they'd disabled and boarded the Friend Ship before hauling it off someplace."

"Do not worry." Alitura chimed. "We activated the remote self destruct. They don't have it anymore."

"I hope not. That ship was meant for Rarity." Jafrak flomped down onto an empty chair. "I hope it killed a whole lot of them, ones with very expensive heads."

"They're CODE." Tempest remarked. "I doubt they had anything beyond the standard."

Jafrak leaned his head back onto the headrest and stared at the ceiling. "Man, this really sucks. They're obviously keeping her alive. She'd have contacted me already from the citadel if they'd offed her."

"Unless they disconnected her from the link." Alitura commented. "And before you ask, yes, it is possible for the immortal capsuleers to be killed permanently."

"Fuck." He banged the back of his head against the soft padding.

Tempest took a seat in the remaining chair. "Sister Alitura, if I and my sisters may, we can head out and try to track her energy signature once again."

The Sister shook her head. "We have agents spread throughout hisec. The only signature that's being detected now is the wormhole."

Jafrak jumped to his feet. "Where is it right now?"

"It is currently in Wirashoda." The blond replied. "I can't stop you from looking for it, but by the time you arrive, it may have moved elsewhere."

He stormed toward the door. "I don't care. I'm putting together a Loki, and I will find her."

Alitura smiled softly. "You care about Lady Rarity a lot, don't you?"

"I know I have always preferred to be alone, but since she came into my life, I have come to care for her as a very dear friend." He slammed a fist against the metal door. "Nothing will prevent me from finding her."

"Then may I suggest something?"

"What?"

"Take a shuttle."

"Why the hell would I take a shuttle?"

Alitura rose to her feet. "If you take an armed ship through that wormhole, how do you think the residents will react? We've lost seven ships already. Perhaps it is because they were armed to the teeth."

"So... an unarmed shuttle, no weapons..." Jafrak turned and smirked at Alitura. "You may have a point there. Well, if I go in there and die, and I don't wake up in a new body, then so be it. Hmm, just to be on the safe side, I think I'll swap out to a less expensive head. My implants are on the very pricey side."

"You do that. Oh, and Jafrak? Take this." She handed over a small data disk. "This contains the frequency of the wormhole. Even with normal sensors, you can calibrate them to detect it if you are within a few light years."

Jafrak grabbed the disk. "Thanks Sister. I'm heading out now."

Tempest watched him leave and rose to her feet. "I guess I should at least keep an eye on him till he reached his destination."

"Sorry Sister Tempest, but no. You will not be joining him. You will join the search for Lady Rarity. She is top priority now. That, and you are one of our best trackers. If she's out there, I know you will find her."

...

Rales was pissed. Beyond pissed.

They had disconnected the alien from the capsuleer's source of immortality, that was a good thing. If 'it' died, then that would be the end of it.

But no, now he had heard rumors of that accursed wormhole that was seeming to jump at random was starting to give off a new energy wave.

He didn't want the aliens on the other side to find the freak that he currently kept in an isolated cell, shielded from all forms of scanning. He just had the bad feeling that whatever was on the other side of that hole of death certainly was trying to scan for its lost little spy.

Rales stormed out of his room and took the long trip down to the labs, where the cell was located. It was the most shielded section of the while station, yet he wasn't sure it would be enough.

He wanted to kill the alien, but orders from above had reached him, commanding him to not harm the subject.

Sure, he wouldn't harm her, but he damn well refused to do anything to help it. That alien, hopefully, would just curl up and die before the specialists arrived to interrogate her. Or maybe that was for the better. Learn all they could about the capabilities of these aliens, to learn the best ways to kill them all off.

Rales entered the lab. "So, what have you learned from your examinations."

"She is in good physical shape, other than the fact that she seems completely physically and mentally exhausted. She's barely even moved and hasn't spoken a word since she was brought in."

"Has she eaten?"

"We had to inject nutritional supplements as she hasn't even acknowledged the food. One of our lab assistance was sent in there to administer the shot, and she barely even flinched. It's like she's in some sort of waking coma."

Rales looked through the shielded window. "And that energy she released during the battle?"

"There's nothing. No readings at all. There are micro-fractures all through her horn. Scans show there are many black regions through her body. It's like she burned herself out completely."

Rales grinned at first, but then it faded. "That's not good."

"What do you mean?" The scientist flinched back.

"Without that energy she produced, we can't pinpoint the most effective means to counter it."

"There is an option, but I seriously doubt you would agree to it, and it is very likely to be extremely dangerous."

"Go on."

"We reconnect her, set her clone to this lab, and kill this body."

"HELL NO!" Rayles screamed in the scientist's face. "Do you know how much power she put out in that fight? Readings were indicating that her cruiser was releasing Dreadnought levels of power. It was like she was channeling the firepower of a Revelation through that Statios."

He then froze. "I want that ship."

"But, it's not here."

"I realize that you idiot." Rayles left the scientist to resume his work and returned to his office.

Once he sat down, he opened a direct communication. "James 315. This is Hohaskhach Rales of the Theology Council. You and I are going to have a chat."

...

He was never one to be nervous flying through hisec space, well, normally.

This time, Jafrak was not in a super fast and agile ship, nor one packing insane amounts of offensive and/or defensive systems.

No. He was flying in a little shuttle he purchased off the local market. He had chosen the least offensive looking one he could find, and ironically, it had turned out to be a Council Diplomatic Shuttle.

It was more cushy than he'd been expecting, but that mattered not one iota to him as he pushed the small ship as fast as he could toward his destination. Once, he'd received message that it had jumped to another system ten jumps away. That was a little closer than his current destination, so that suited him just fine.

He kept an ear on local chatter, which for the most part, remained silent.

He just hoped he didn't fly into another trap, as unlikely as that would seem at this point.

Finally entering the system, he set the ship's long range sensors to focus on a single specific wavelength. It no longer detected anything larger than a space station, but that served him just fine. Warping from station to station, planet to planet, Jafrak pinpointed the wormhole.

Normally he'd be needing probes to scan something like that down, but he didn't need it, thanks to the information on the disk.

Coming out of warp, he could see it. It was one of the largest wormholes he'd ever seen in his many years of exploration. It was a strange color as well, a shade of green. He scanned it quickly as he approached, and focused his com systems toward it.

"Citizens of Equestria, I am here on a peaceful mission. Please, allow me entrance so we may speak. For God sake... I'm Rarity's friend. Please listen to me." His voice quivered, the concern evident.

The massive rift seemed to almost... turn and focus solely on him and his little ship, like it was the eye of God himself.

The wormhole seemed to suddenly move toward him, or was it growing larger? No, sensors indicated it was...

Jafrak clenched his eyes closed as the wormhole swallowed his tiny, defenseless shuttle.

"Speak. Why do you claim to be the friend of the Element of Generosity."

Jafrak covered his ears, though it didn't help. That insanely loud voice was inside his head.

"Rarity's hurt, she's been taken by aggressive and ignorant people. I want to save her, but I can't because I don't know where they took her." He cried out.

"Truely?"

"Yes."

"I can feel you speak true. Open your eyes, and behold what your kind has brought upon our peaceful realm."

Jafrak opened his eyes, and instantly knew shit as going to hit the fan...

...

Rales escorted the three specialists sent from the Ammarian Ministry of War itself. Despite his own rank in the Council, he didn't want to mess with these people.

"Here's the lab were we have the subject contained." Rales opened the door and stepped inside, stepping to the side for the three to enter. "It's right over there." He lead them to the large reinforced containment room.

He noted that the alien had not moved so much as an inch since the last time he's seen it, a whole day ago. "It's become non-responsive since its capture."

"You may go." The woman spoke in a chilling, flat tone.

"I would rather..."

A pulse pistol was shoved in his face. "I said, you may go."

Rales stepped back, turned and left without another word. He pulled out his Neocom tablet and accessed the security feeds for the lab. They had already been disabled.

...

Rarity felt something, an injection again into her implants. She barely flinched and didn't even acknowledge who or whatever was there. Why couldn't they just let her die? She knew they'd cut her off from being able to transfer her consciousness to a new clone, so why keep her alive?

"Hello." A soft voice spoke from her side. A woman from the sounds of it. "I have been sent from the Ministry of War to assess whether you are of use or not."

Rarity didn't even turn her ears toward the stranger.

"I have seen the footage of your latest battle, and I must admit, you possess a great amount of power. A power that would serve the Amarr Empire. Tell us, how did you produce so much energy. How could you perform the feats you did? I'd rather not get cruel."

Still no response.

The woman sighed and tapped something on her tablet. "What? You should be screaming in agony."

Rarity had felt absolutely nothing.

A few more taps, and this time, only the slightest of tingling.

More taps. "This time I have set the pain levels to max. People have died from this. Tell me what I want to know."

Still no response, so the woman tapped the tablet. "Are you all but immune to pain?" She started to sound annoyed. "The nanites I injected into you should be tearing you apart by now... how are they... You, get to scanning her."

One if her aids stepped behind the console and got to work. "Ma'am, the nanites, they're all non-functional."

"How is that possible? They run on the host's bio-energy."

"That's the thing. Her bio-energy levels are... I don't understand this. They're flat-line."

The woman stepped out of the containment room to look at the data. "Pulse, breathing, minimal brain activity. How can she be alive without any bio-energy."

"There is another energy in her. It's extremely faint, though at levels barely detectable."

She tapped a few screens, ignoring her aids. "This is the same energy as that rogue wormhole anomaly that's been jumping all over New Eden. I see, this energy is not coming from her. Somehow, she's being kept alive by the very presence of that wormhole in this galaxy." She glared at the data. "So, if we can prevent it from opening again once it closes, then she will not be receiving this life support."

Turning toward the door. "Take the subject and all data. Leave no evidence she was ever here. We are heading back to headquarters on Amarr."

...

Jafrak had docked his shuttle in a ship that should have been impossible.

"I'd never had imagined there would be something like a Nyx inside a wormhole, then again..." Looking out the window, he was not certain this really was a Nyx Super-carrier.

Wood, marble, crystal. That is what this ship looked to be made from. His optical implants searched for energy signatures.

It was the wormhole energy.

These ships, they were powered by magic, not science.

He smiled in spite of himself and checked the atmosphere data. Perfectly breathable air. It actually didn't have any traces of treatment chemicals, rather, was just pure air.

He opened the hatch and stepped out onto the bridge that linked his shuttle to the docking platform. The floors were black marble, with fine shades of a dark blue. The wood arches that supported the ceilings and walls looked remarkably like oak. They even had branches and leaves for crying out loud.

Crystals were everywhere, and other than light, he couldn't figure out what they were for.

Unlike the one Nyx he had once been on, which had just the pilot to control everything and the pilots for the fighters, this ship had many ponies just like Rarity rushing about doing all sorts of jobs.

Wait... Not all were like Rarity. He saw some without horns. Were they a lesser species? He didn't know. Looking out over the hanger, he could see a huge number of fighters. The fighters resembled Dragonfly light fighters, with the wide wings, but at the same time, they looked to be made from wood and crystal, maybe even some marble as well.

Then he heard hooves approaching. He turned and was expecting to see more waist height ponies.

No, not this one. She came up to his chest. Her coat a deep blue and here eyes the most lovely shade of green.

But it was her made that threw his mind for a loop. It was like space itself.

"I am Princess Luna, Lady of the Night. You are Jafrak, friend of Rarity?"

"Y-yes." He bowed deep at the waist. He'd never met royalty before, but had an idea how to act. "I am here because Rarity needs help. I can't do anything to save her myself, so I came here, to plead for your aid."

Luna seemed to scrutinize the taller man as he stood tall once again. "How do you speak our language? All our scans of communications from the outside world are near undecipherable."

"Ah, well, you can thank Rarity for that. She can speak our language as well, thanks to yours truly." He didn't smile, but kept a relaxed stance.

"Very well then. Come Jafrak, we have much to discuss."

Jafrak nodded and followed the Princess. He then took note of the bat winged ponies that followed along behind them, all wearing archaic metal armor.

"Um, may I ask, how did you build this ship?"

"One of the invading ships possessed detailed plans on how to construct it, along with all the components. T'was a great challenge, but our greatest minds worked out how to create this grand structure. I believe it is called the Nyx."

Jafrak nodded. "Yes, though it seems you have built it from non-standard materials."

"We do not possess the metals you possess in your realm. We had to make do with our own." Luna replied. "Scientific curiosity aside, you say Rarity is in danger? Explain all you know."

Jafrak started explaining all he could, from the moment Rarity had come into his life, and he even was honest with the mistakes he had made, as well as... killing her.

Luna kept calm, though her mane and tail swirled almost angrily, till he explained he had done what he had done not only out of scientific curiosity, but to protect her. She became aware of Rarity's newfound immortality, and wanted to know more, but that had to wait.

Entering the massive bridge, Jafrak noted the bridge crew were going about their tasks, bowing their heads momentarily on Luna's entry.

"Move the Nyx back into planetary orbit over Canterlot. We must speak with my sister."

"At once Princess." The ship started realigning toward the planet. It turned surprisingly quick for a super-carrier, much faster than should have been possible.

Luna took a seat in the center of the bridge, a throne in fact. Jafrak sat on the steps next to her. "Thank you for not just shooting me. Whatever happened to the others who came here?"

"They are guests." Luna replied. "None have been harmed. We simply disabled their ships and brought them before my sister and myself. Sadly, communication has been difficult, till your arrival."

"So... I'm the first of my kind who can speak your language?" He was glad he had downloaded Rarity's language knowledge from her own mind and implanted it into his. He'd been planning on surprising his friend one day by chatting to her in Equestrian.

But now, it looked like that may not be happening any time soon, or ever, if they were too late.

"Yes, and that opens a great many doors. From now on, you are the Ambassador of New Even to Equestria."

Jafrak choked momentarily. "Beg your pardon Princess Luna, but I'm no diplomat. I'm, a scientist, an explorer. I do mining and industrial work for a living."

"Interesting. Then you may also consider yourself Chief Technical Advisor to the teams we have deciphering the blueprints that we acquisitioned from one of the nine ships."

"Nine? I thought there was only seven captured."

"Yes, seven gorgeous ships, and a pair of horrid looking ones. There, you can see them at the Temple of the Two Sisters." She pointed forward as the Nyx dropped out of warp.

"Holy hell! A Keepstar? You guys built a Keepstar?"

"Yes. Just two of the plans we had been able to decipher from many. There are others that are... more difficult."

Jafrak nodded, looking about the bridge and spotted a system layout. "H-hold on. Your ship here. It's just the ship with flights of fighters? You don't have any other systems installed?"

"Sadly, no. We do not seem to have any blueprints for such things."

Jafrak's mind was racing. "So... You had the blueprints for that Keepstar, and for the Nyx, as well as the components to actually build them..."

"Correct, as well as the fighters." Luna replied as they approached the Keepstar.

"Aaaand anything else?"

"Sadly, not much else."

"Ah... that's bad for you, should the Empires decide to attack in force. Their ships are fitted with all sorts of powerful weapons, defenses and other systems. You know, back at my place, I have virtually every blueprint you could imagine. Maybe if there was some way we could get there and retrieve them, we could really make a difference."

"Perhaps, but we will discuss this with Princess Celestia."

Jafrak smiled softly. If he could help these ponies, then they would be better suited to rescue Rarity, if it wasn't already too late.

The Nyx docked in the Keepstar, and they disembarked the ship.

He'd been in plenty of Keepstars before, but never one like this. The whites, blacks, golds and blues were everywhere. The trees kept the air fresh, just as the man remembered from when he lived planet-side. The crystals, he had come to realize, were not just lights. They projected interactive holographic images... in three dimensions. Not just two like he was accustomed.

"Princess. Do you have any shuttles to get down to the planet?"

"We do not need such a thing. We can simply teleport down to Canterlot Palace."

"I'm not sure I am comfortable with teleporting... All attempts at doing so by my species have all ended in... disaster. Maybe we can take my shuttle? She's a rather comfortable ship."

Luna eyed the human for a while. "Very well. Our citizens are aware of the existence of your species as well as your ability to travel the stars."

Jafrak nodded. "Lead the way Princess... I'm already good and lost."

...

The Diplomatic shuttle landed outside Canterlot City, the long bottom wing folding sideways to allow the landing.

Jafrak, Princess Lune and two of her personal guards walked down the plank.

"Oh wow. I haven't been planet-side in over fifteen years. This air smells great. Makes me wonder why I left in the first place."

"The stars most likely called you." Luna replied. The pair had talked the whole way from the Nyx to the shuttle, and all the way down to the surface. To be honest, she could see why Rarity might like this human.

Upon entering the city, Jafrak spotted two humans sitting at what could only be a donut shop, if the donuts in the window were any indication.

"Wow, they actually brought a ship down to the surface?" One of them stood up, walking toward Jafrak. The other, a woman, followed, but kept her companion between Luna and herself. "So, I take it from the fact that's a diplomatic shuttle that the Empires are willing to talk?"

Jafrak shook his head. "Sorry, but that does not seem the case. The one unicorn, Rarity, who was stuck in New Eden has been captured by CODE., most likely at the bequest of one of the Empires."

"So, she really does exist? I've only heard rumors."

"Yea, she's real, and she's a dear friend to me, as well as Princess Luna here."

The pair of capsuleers looked at each other before the woman spoke. "How do you know her name? We don't understand their language at all. Just ordering coffee and a donut took over ten minutes."

Jafrak smiled. "I speak their language. Remember, I am Rarity's first friend in New Eden. Obviously I would learn her language. That aside, do not touch my shuttle. There is no escape, as Princess Luna is the one who creates the Wormholes."

"She..." them an stammered.

"She creates wormholes?" His companion added.

"Yes, as well as moving the moon, and her elder sister moves the sun. I would hazard to say that any attempts to invade this realm would end very badly. You know, one solar mass to the face is all it would take to wipe out any fleet."

The pair stared at Luna.

"But don't worry, that's only of a big hostile fleet should attempt to do anything stupid. Also, they have a Nyx and a Keepstar up in orbit." Jafrak wanted to make sure that, even though these people were from the SoE, that they would think twice about attacking.

It was a bluff, seeing as the Nyx and Keepstar were both basically defenseless...

"What are you saying to them?" Princess Luna queried.

"I just told them to behave or they'll get smacked with a sun."

"My sister would never do that. It is irresponsible. And dangerous."

"Would be awesome to see."

"Yes, I guess it would be 'awesome' as you say. Now, we must meet my sister. She awaits."

...

Rarity was once again aboard a ship, this time an Amarr ship called a Purifier. A stealth vessel that many capsuleers hated so see heading for them.

Once again in a force field cage, in the center of a cargo hold, the mare just lay there.

She had lost everything.

Her family and friends.

Her magic.

Her will to live.

But these humans kept injecting her with some medicine that kept her body healthy.

She was physically and mentally numb.

She had lost Jafrak.

The Friend Ship was most likely in the possession of CODE.

And she had been so close to finding her way home.

She barely even registered as the ship landed and her cage was removed from the hold. Something did register though. The air.

It smelled good. Not sterilized. This was natural air.

Still, she couldn't even bring herself to lift her head, or even focus her eyes on her surroundings.

She Rarity didn't bother to notice the large building that she was being brought into.

...

Rales was pleased, and annoyed to no end. James 315 had agreed to return the ship he'd requested, for a full two billion Isk. Thankfully, CODE. had deactivated and disabled the self destruct systems once they suddenly activated.

He had access to a lot more than that paltry sum, but James had a self centered, arrogant, and professional businessman attitude.

Personally, Rales would love nothing more than to see the entire CODE. Alliance wiped out, but an endeavor like that, with how widespread they were, would be nearly impossible. For a single Empire at least. If all four could work together, then they could at least rid the galaxy of at least one scourge.

Still, James 315 was somehow working within legal zones. Barely.

Rales entered the hanger and glared at the ship as it as finally towed into place.

The extensive damage the ship had taken had not been repaired. It was a trophy, after all, and why not show the trophy off as it had been acquired?

Rales boarded it. It may have once been a nice, neat and clean ship, but the damage to the structure was unmistakable. A shot or two more, and it would have exploded.

It was a task to navigate the corridors, past ruptured conduits and collapsed bulkheads.

Finally he reached the bridge and examined the pod. It had obviously been cut open. Rales climbed into the pod and connected. He accessed his personal inventory and set the system to pull out the data scanner and install a structure repair system.

Once done, he started it up and monitored the ship as it slowly, painfully, pulled itself together. At the same time, he set the armor repair system to work its own magic.

Magic. Such a thing was impossible.

Right?

He looked over the recent logs of the ship. The logs indicated that the weapon on this thing has somehow been charged to Dreadnought levels of output, and yet none of the systems seemed to have been completely burned out.

Sure, he could have had the station's repair bays do the work, but he wanted to see the ship pull herself back together.

"Rales..."

A woman's voice echoed in his mind. He checked the coms, but there was none. He looked around the pod. He was alone on the bridge as it slowly came back together.

"Rales..."

"Who's there?"

"Friend... Ship..."

"What? Aura, is that you? Damn AI system must be coming back on-line."

"I am Friend Ship. Rales. You do not belong." The voice became louder, and suddenly, the pod he sat is was ejected, falling out of the bottom of the Stratios and plummeting toward the floor far below.

The pod, thankfully, had not been damaged other than the hatch being torn off. He kicked in the thrusters and came to a stop. Looking up, he watched the Stratios tear herself free from the couplings that held it in place.

A moment later... the ship took off on its own, not using the towing systems of the station.

"What the hell just happened? Ships can't fly themselves... Or did the AI go corrupt like with those Rogue Drones?" Rales flew the pod back up to the deck and docked. "Well, this is a whole new can of worms."

He checked the station's exterior security cameras. He spotted the Friendship as it pulled away from the station, and then cloaked.

"The higher ups are going to have my neck for this..."

To Be Continued...

Comments

[Jetflame]

Jafrak boarded it. It may have once been a nice, neat and clean ship, but the damage to the structure was unmistakable. A shot or two more, and it would have exploded.

think you meant Rales

[AnnonyMouse]

9052168
A fashion Megacorp. Not just clothing, but new ship SKINS as well.

[cthulhu0]

I can't help but think about all those poor homeless forest animals, who's homes were used to build that wooden keepstar.

[AnnonyMouse]

9052345
No trees were harmed in the creation of the Keepstar. Seriously. They used a FUCKTON of Earth Pony magic to literally grow the structure.

And here you thought Unicorns would be the ones to build their ships and structures. The unicorns are the ones who gathered the materials from out in space (they abused the Occator's generous cargo capacity to harvest asteroids for what was needed. Stone and crystal, and the trees were grown from the naturally magically charged materials.

Fun fact, Earth Ponies make best engineers. Unicorns the best pilots. Pegasus have a bitch of a time handling the speeds and the 0-gees thanks to their natural instincts. Space just freaks the bird-horses out like nobody's business. Even artificial gravity messes with them when there's no magnetic poles to help them out.

Don't get me wrong. Pegasus do have a niche to fill. That will be revealed later on.