Princess Twilight Sparkle, in a new, peaceful era for Equestria, has gotten bored of just reading. No- she wants to discover for herself. Only, Equestria has run out of discoverable facts.
Then Princess Luna reveals an astounding fact to the younger princess. A few observations and a little engineering later, and she's ready to blast off for the stars.
Only, before she even breaks out her contraption, a computer glitch leaves something else to investigate- something far closer than the stars, yet something that might reveal the secret of the stars to her.
Chapters (19)
Lol. I guess the Mars Rover team's engineers got asked to build the software again?
But is THIS why it was rejected?
The intro is kinda sad, though. Poor Mr. Elan Brusque didn't even get to see it launch. You could have had him at least live to see it, since the recovery was via the (crashed) computer program anyway.
But this is why there are supposed to be triple redundant systems or better... although it IS true that wouldn't fix a programming error... but that's why there's testing... Oh well, this is fiction! :D
And is THIS the future plot of this story?
9124775
Um... No, that’s not why it was rejected. It was rejected because he wasn’t going to have another ship shadow it... Nevermind some of the systems- and weapons- could be incredibly dangerous... and this is the only ship big enough to mount them. In short, the space lord was being petty.
And... No, that’s not a future plot event. This ship is not self-aware- and while noone will ever follow, they will never hear back from it, either. As such, it is assumed lost.
Yes, the intro was sad... And that petty space lord gets to pay the price- the ship performed an interdimensional jump... with all copies of the blueprints aboard... and the only guy that knows how it works died.
Presumably, he did test it- in simulation. But simulations are perfect scenarios, real life is not. I’m betting they tested the rover program in simulation too.
9124993
Those were jokes. Or were supposed to have been.
Good to see that he got his minor vengeance, though.
You do seem to have some sort of thing for having characters arrive at their own funerals, don't you. :D
9128806
Mm, not this time. She's not buried in a damaged Bolo, she's standing in a floating, perfectly functional, starship. That is no doubt completely decked out with small craft.
unintentional trollight is troll
giant fireball apeares in sky before disipating into a massive ship that hovers above the procession
ponies panic and scream and start fleeing
a pony exits through a side hatch and flies down
9125849
Oh- and come to think of it, that guy inadvertently saved Twilight's life... by setting the launch to happen on schedule without manual intervention, thence requiring him to cancel it. Had the ship not shown up and been present to respond to Twilight's distress call, she would have gone back down with her rocket... and perished with it. Not at the same time, no- maybe a day later, maybe not, whenever she actually did blast off for the stars.
Wasn't the fifteen minutes in Lyra's voice? How on Earth would she normally have gotten back that quickly (and why would Lyra claim to know how long it would take)?
... and why wouldn't she have just used a teleport chain rather than an entire rocket to start with?
9143785
Yes, it was Lyra who first mentioned the fifteen minutes. No, she didn't have a clue how long it would take- rather, she expected Twilight to object to any unreasonable timeframe. As for how on Earth she could have gotten back that quickly... She's not on earth. Though, the ship she's on is FROM Earth, and it probably can get her down that quickly. If she knows where to look... or what to ask.
As for why she wouldn't have used a teleport chain...
She probably tried- but something interesting about teleportation... Has Twilight ever teleported into a dangerous situation (poison gas, lava lake, etc.)? Presumably, her teleportation spell involves at least some sensing of the target location. As such, when she tried teleporting up high, she might have seen the low pressure and realized she couldn't breathe it- hence why she thought to use an "airtight" spacecraft cabin... and bring scuba gear.
She just didn't think enough on exactly how thin the air is... Or, for that matter, how to get back down. She probably assumed she could just fall and catch herself with her wings.
I'm curious as to the lander craft design. Is that more of an X-wing or a quadcopter (assuming you replaced the fans with vertically-facing rockets)?
Is fuel a concern?
9145784
It is more of a quadcopter-type design; note, though, that the engines on it are capable of rotating horizontal and, presumably, upwards (and backwards) as well- and double as turbine engines in atmosphere. It is a designated space-to-surface craft. It is specifically noted that the engines go horizontal as they power down, for storage.
As for fuel concerns... On a dropship that small, most certainly. A trip this short wouldn't bother it, though. On the mothership... Well, a ship THAT large most certainly has some decent bunkerage, but yes, fuel may become a problem in the near future. (She also almost certainly was NOT loaded with full tanks for the test flight.) How big of a problem varies- it is the only ship available, small craft included, capable of interstellar distances.
I don't see where this is going.
9164380
Well, ponies have (fairly) untested starship that wasn't given any supplies, just engaged warp drive...
What could happen?
Sorry- I really don't want to spoil everything.
9164420
Yeah that says absolutely nothing. You could've said "ROADTRIP!" and that would've summarized the first 10 chapters.
9164438
Uhh... Well, you're not wrong. Honestly, I don't expect this story to be a big one- either in word count or in quality/popularity.
9164442
Well you just sent Luna and the Mane 6 on an intergalactic trip on an alien spaceship they know nothing about with no supplies to a place they know nothing about. Your sense of scale is pretty broad.
9164466
Yes, I must admit, it is. Especially since I haven't revealed just how many millions of times the speed of light they're going- or for how long. Only that they're going so fast the stars are streaking- so, min. 8-10 ly/sec. Or so, I don't know where that threshold really is. Oops, that revelation is next chapter.
i.imgur.com/U0Fh5.png
That was fast. Pun intended.
9165834
I... Fail to see the source of the pun.
And yes, it was fast. This story revolves around the ship as Equestria’s first starliner- and as mentioned earlier, I don’t expect this to be an amazing story. Read at your own risk
9165880
It was honestly a stupid pun. Fast ship, fast plot progression...
More importantly, her friends are in… predicaments, she thinks. A couple of them hit the floor with a wet thud. She spots more than one sizable dent in the wall- and more than one splatter of what looks like blood.
The spiderweb of cracks in the window from where Twilight’s forehead seems to be sticking to it does not look friendly.
No, nopony died. I don't do that.
Then you may want to rephrase said paragraph above as it soundls like some of them hit hard enough splatter
and it sounds like ti hit the winsheild so hard her head caved in leaving her forehead stuck to the glass
...
...
Okaaaay.
I suppose that is not suprising at all, in hindsight.
Wow, they managed BOTH types of "lost in space:"
That list is courtesy of another story on here. I suspect I recall which one, but I'm not sure. I think LordOfDorkness is to blame yet again.
But yeah, between the fact that it's proven that they have no idea what they are doing and the late designer's questionable computer skill (and possibly poor bridge design -- or at least apparent lack of audible warning?), I can't be too surprised that entire fandango happened.
9182569
Me neither. It being a computer, it was designed to operate in automatic mode... or be flown by experienced pilots.
What’s more, had there been more active fusion plants, it would have successfully cooled itself- and this whole shebang wouldn’t have happened! As for why it didn’t do that... Four was enough for current power demand, and no one told it to ignite more.
9182455
Hmm... While I appreciate the recommendation, I think I’m going to leave it as-is. Nopony died- but that doesn’t mean nopony got hurt... or seriously injured, even. Yes, I’m putting them up as resilient enough to dent alloy and live. Note that it’s Twilight’s forehead sticking to the glass- and the spiderweb of cracks in the glass. That’s meant to suggest something very specific- and no, her skull did not cave in.
9182800
oh i relise that nopony died and twilight horn is either destroyed or is what is currently stopping the breach in the glass ie plugging it
9182800
i really hope twi's horn isnt broken
9183601
Well... There is a little predicament related to that, yes.
Note that any disability I apply to any protagonist in any of my stories will necessarily be solved by the end of it- because otherwise, I wouldn't like the story.
9183605
oh good i kinda tend to stay away from stories that either perminatly kill or hurt twilight badly they tend to leave me in a bad place afterwards and id rather not be there
Oooh crap. Case Tempest, Case Tempest!
9199144
Yep, something like that. Maybe.
Next chapter tomorrow...
I take it the joke is that it transmitted a digital signal over an audio channel? :D
I wonder who they've ended up meeting... or how much more damage the ship is taking being shot at.
9200747
Nah- it simply lit up the IFF beacon for a moment.
But yes, that’s what his ship received it as.
Bonus points for a very unique use of her early catch phrase.
The problem is that she didn't ask that there was no radiation, period. :D
Another victim of ponification, I suspect.
Wow, they lost all but 80 of their race, and that was before the casualties of the flight in. Ouch...
I'm somewhat concerned by what must have happened that the ship got power and weapons on again that quickly. Something tells me that there's a significant kaboom probability or that something was cannibalized to get power back on...
Hopefully it's not too problematic.
...How good of a self-repair capability does the ship have? It's blown up, lost most of its power and engines, and is now full of holes.
Can it just eat a nearby moon for materials? :D
9214071
Very possibly.
As for how she got power & stuffs back on, she probably sacrilegiously overheated something relatively unimportant in order to cool the required components to operable temperatures. Emergency times call for emergency solutions.
Like the weapon she used- you may have noticed it was glowing white-hot when it was done. Plasma weapons produce a LOT of heat.
She knows its soft because she touched it with the hard tip of her other forelimb <-- it's, not its
The ship is a bit of a troll. That part about the janitor's closet! Hahaha...
What creature is the new princess, anyway? Some sort of pterequidactyl?
I was kinda expecting the whole alicorn treatment, but I suppose that only applies if the royalty is also an embodiment of some kind of physical aspect...
Then again, EqG subverts that, so who knows.
I notice that they are still not healed from that crash. Does that mean the prosthetics are not functional, or are they not done yet/installed?
I think it's the latter...
Oh, right. It's a Cool Ship. Guess they'll be fine, then.
Seriously, that is some gadgetry there!
9232822
*squeaky eraser noises*
Fixed.
... Yes, it wasn't a problem in the first place... originally.
Well, that's more boring (I am guessing the Bridge would normally be safe as well, but the protections are down to save energy? It seems silly to make the main command center less safe otherwise...). It does, however, answer my questions of whether or not she was a "princess." Yes to both cases, apparently...
I wonder what her aspect is?
On the upside, they only have to teach their new member of the Illumarenati how to cast "Cure Major Wounds" and the prosthesis issue can be solved for good.
9270608
Yet, with Luna not being able to cast that spell and Rarity being reportedly unable without going back to Equus to study... Oh, and with Twilight being unable to demonstrate. Oh yes, that'll go smoothly.
XD Plot ideas, yes!
Well, that's going to be interesting. I do wonder how they keep finding places with actual inhabitants, though. Space is normally rather a bit of a void...
Eh, it's probably some strange feature of the ship's navigation.
I would not try to evac people from anything with that much weaponry. Ever. They have no problem being there in the first place (even if because they are clueless), and anyone trying to remove them could suffer an "accident" ... accidental or otherwise.
Hmm. That one device sounds familiar. I don't mind, though; I have no idea when I can get back to writing that.
9306870
Yes, that device does sound familiar. I was waiting for you to notice it before I credited it
As for evac-ing them from it... they won't have any resistance, because the passengers themselves are willing to go. Even without knowing what kind of situation they're getting themselves into- I mean, 130°F is dangerously hot. Not to the point of cooking (I don't think), but still deadly if not properly handled... and possibly even then, I don't know.
As for the planet being occupied...
There's two things 'unoccupied' could mean: Uninhabited, or simply no enemies. She wasn't looking for inhabitants, or even habitable worlds- just an escape. As a result, the habitation of the planet- and its existence, even- were entirely coincidental. Never know what one might stumble upon out in the Great Expanse, after all.
9306907
130 is probably deadly. Heatstroke starts at temperatures not much higher than body temperature IF heat can't be dissipated. Given that the external temp is just that much hotter, it would probably be dangerous. Then again, magic friendship space ponies. That trumps ALL logic.
I still hold that managing to jump to TWO consecutive inhabited areas is a bit much though.
9307099
Honestly, if I made it an empty system or uninhabited planet (far more likely scenarios), we'd have a boring while to wait while the ship cooled. This way, something can happen during that time- that is, something other than just Midnight learning to fly.
Don't forget- they jumped to the first on a blind jump, then took the ONLY wormhole in the system to the other one...
As for magic friendship space ponies, they're only magic friendship ponies. They're relying on the technology to handle the space part- so, relying on the overheated ship to keep them cool.
As for how they're going to meet that rescue ship... it'll take some time for it to get up there. Presumably, Rarity will recover from her concussion in time and be able to apply a healing spell to Luna, whose (knowledge of her) Alicorn magic will be strong enough to create a pressurized "atmosphere bubble" they can launch out the airlock, with them inside...
Not spoilered because that's about how much space it'd take in a chapter; that's the assumptions that are taking place between this chapter and the next- and I've provided enough clues already for readers to come to a similar conclusion. The ground crew won't, though...
9307107
I was thinking much the same for that event, yes.
I do hope they come up with a way to fix their injuries soon, though.
9307116
I have a plan for that.
It... may take a while.
Worst space cruise ever. Between the maiming and the ship constantly over heating luck has not been on the ponies side. While I expect Twilight to figure out a regeneration spell it's going to take months and require help(Sunset, Starlight, Cadance or Celestia) and they need to get home first!
9318543
I agree- I would not want to be on that ship with them. Especially with what I have planned.
9318728
So basically they will never want to set hoof on a spaceship for the rest of their lives after this?