Horse Play

by Alden MacManx

Chapter Four

Princess Luna tossed some in her bed. Ever since the kidnapping in northern Equestria, she had felt restless, scanning the skies at night for any signs of the Intruders or the Helpers, but not really finding anything yet. Her sleeplessness was obvious to her sister and to Twilight, Cadance having returned to the Crystal Empire after the initial conference. Their support was a big help, but it did not completely ease her agitation.

Luna closed her eyes again, humming slightly, trying to relax herself enough to get at least a little sleep. The humming helped, it being a lullaby she remembered from when she was a foal. She had achieved sleep when she became aware of a presence watching her, a presence that conveyed both respect and curiosity. Quickly, she made a dreamscape of being on the moon, standing there, watching, ears perked, eyes looking about.

She heard a distant voice speaking, a voice barely above a whisper. “Can you hear me, my Lady?”

“I can now. Who are you?” Luna asked.

An image appeared in front of Luna, an image of a bipedal figure that had to look up to look in her eyes, with large ears, long black hair, and sparkling violet eyes, wearing some sort of neck-to-toe outfit of a dark blue color, relieved by a little silver bar on each collar tab and two multi-colored strips over the left breast. “I am Lieutenant J.G. Velvet, of the Star Elves, currently attached to the exploration cruiser Hurin Tascheter. I had to wait until we were close enough to the star magic node before I could call out to you. Do you have some missing citizens that were taken a few days ago?” the image asked.

“Yes! What do you know of them? Are they all right?” Luna asked, both concerned and relieved.

“We have them aboard, and want to return them to you, intact and unharmed. Corporal Steadfast is to be commended for keeping her discipline while a captive of the Ratzis. She is a good source of information. Limited, but we don’t pry much. Secrets are secrets, and we have no need to know all of them, just what was needed to ensure the health of the former prisoners and finding out who to contact. Since you are asleep, you were the easiest for me to find,” Velvet told Luna. “We are always looking for friends to join the Inter-Stellar Alliance. Currently, we have forty species as members of the Inter-Stellar Alliance. May your species make it forty-one, if you so choose.”

“You make an interesting offer, Lieutenant Velvet. That is not my decision to make now. Others will have to be consulted before I agree or not,” Luna told the Star Elf.

“Of course, Princess. For now, know that we are on our way, and once we get close enough, we will wait until you call me before we decide how to bring your lost citizens to you. We have time. Now, maybe you can sleep easier. I can feel your relief,” Velvet said with an easy smile.

“Yes, I have your signature, and I will be able to find you again. One of the alicorns will be in contact with you, once some decisions have been made. I cannot say when that will be, though.”

Velvet’s image relaxed some. “Of course, Princess. The longer you take, the more time we will have to learn about your species. Less chance of making a mistake that way. I look forward to your call, or you can contact my twin sister Silk. I will let her know your pattern, in case I’m off duty at the time. One of us will be awake and aware, listening for your call. Do have a good day.” The image bowed gracefully before fading from Luna’s vision.

Luna stood there, thinking as she looked around at the moonscape before coming to a decision. She forced herself to wake up, clean up and rush down to speak with Celestia about what she had learned, despite it being noontime. Twilight was summoned shortly after to be informed as well. Their meeting lasted through dinner well into the night before they broke up, Celestia to get some sleep, Luna to run Night Court, and Twilight to prepare.

Meanwhile, the crew of the Tascheter had parked in the Oort cloud surrounding the star system that contained the node. The star system was very peculiar in many respects, the main part being that the system primary is a brown dwarf star, which contained the star magic node, while a very small bright star circled the planet, along with a moon. Commander Seiryuu’s first thought was that the instruments were giving false readings, but then he witnessed both the sun and moon move extremely rapidly in their orbits at one point, then stop. After that happened, Luke saved the readings and his impressions of what he had witnessed, proceeded to his stateroom and opened his safe, pulling out a hundred-fifty-year-old bottle of scotch his grandfather had given him when he graduated Officers Candidate School, with instructions to only drink from it when he really, truly needed a reality check. The bottle was nearly full, only two shot’s worth having been consumed in fifteen years. The empty space in the bottle doubled in volume within half an hour.

Captain Somers let his crew work, only occasionally looking in on the ponies, as he found they preferred to be called. Reports he was given included the capabilities of each of the three types of pony, a summary of their history, and a very detailed report about their kidnapping by the Ratzis. He was considering that information when he received a call from Lieutenant J.G. Velvet, detailing her brief chat with the Princess. He agreed that both Velvet and Silk keep a listening watch out for a call from the Princesses, and until then they will hang back and observe. After getting the report, he got up and headed aft, to where the ponies were being kept. Along the way, he checked out the guest quarters available on deck four forward upper.

At the guest’s room, Jamie found he had walked in on a rather lively conversation between the ponies and about ten of his crew, of all rates. The conversations paused when he came in. “I want to inform our guests that we have communicated with Princess Luna. We are awaiting a call back from the Princesses as to exactly where and how you are to be returned to your homes.”

There was a brief pause as the translation matrix did its work, changing STE to the pony’s language. A loud cheer went up from all nine, most of them stomping their forehooves into the deck plating, something Jamie understood as applause, going by their expressions. Corporal Steadfast then walked up to the Captain.

“Captain Somers, that is the best news we could receive. I know that deciding take time, so let the time be taken. The Princesses will want to know what to do when we come home, and that takes a little time. We are content to wait here. Your crew is exceptional. You have our thanks and gratitude for all the kindness you have shown us,” she told the Captain.

“Corporal Steadfast, I am in the business of making friends with unknown species and bringing them in to join our Alliance,” he told the unicorn. “I’ve done it three times already. Ponies will be the fourth, in my seventy years of service.”

Steadfast looked up at Jamie and smiled. “Nice to know we have been rescued by professionals.” Everyone in the room laughed at her words and tones, including the Captain.

“Professionals we are, Corporal. One question- would you like to remain together here, or would you like to stay in guest staterooms until the time comes to return you home? I grant you all the freedom of the ship, with one caveat. When first entering an area of the ship you have not been to, make sure you have an escort, to tell you what is safe and what is not. Agreeable?” Jamie asked.

Steadfast nodded immediately after the translation. “I can agree to that, Captain. As for going to separate rooms, I would suggest we remain here. It will be easier on you and your crew, and we feel better together. Also, anyone who wishes to visit may do so, during the daytime hours,” she said.

“Done and done, as my mother says. Tours of the ship are available on request. I’ll just make sure anyone who guides you has a translator with them. A good day to you all, back to work for me,” Jamie said with a happy look on his face.

“Ponies work from sun to sun, but the paperwork is never done, as my Lieutenant says. She must be up to her plot in paperwork detailing our departure,” Steadfast said wryly.

Jamie laughed a little. “Looks like some things are common among all species. Many times, I have heard that line, from many species. Until later, everyone,” Jamie said as he took his leave.

Captain Somers spent the next few hours in his office off the Bridge, catching up on his paperwork before reading reports. After about four hours, Sardon came in. “Have some news, Captain.”

“Good news or bad news, Sardon?” Jamie asked once the door was shut.

“Up to you to decide, Jamie. I’ve gone through the science databases we took from the Ratzi ship. They stumbled across the world by accident, and were intrigued by the use of magic here,” the big sasquatch said, taking a seat across from Jamie. “They have reported in to the Ratschancellory, but I found no word if there was any reply.” ‘Ratschancellory’ being the word the ISA has given to the Ratzi high command.

“So, for all we know, there could be a fleet coming this way, to obliterate the world just because there is magic here,” Jamie mused.

“Yes. The Ratzis hate and fear magic, because they can’t use it or defend against it. I suggest sending out probes around the cluster, scanning outwards along the usual lines of approach, so we can get some warning if they do,” Sardon advised.

Jamie started working on his desk console. “Two cutters with probes. Each can carry four. I’ll have two set in unusual places just in case the Ratzis try to do an end around,” he said as he wrote.

Sardon snorted. “Since when do the Ratzis do something original?”

“They found this place, yes? How did that come about?” Jamie asked, not looking up from his console.

“You have a point, Jamie,” Sardon sighed.

Captain Somers sent two of the ship’s four cutters, the Dysart and the Invergordon, out to seed probes at the edges of the cluster. The probes have much better range than ship’s sensors, because they are not blinded by self-noise. They also have directional transmitters, so they can report in when they detect a Ratzi ship’s power intake. The cutters are twenty-meter-long, five-meter diameter bullet-nosed cylinders, capable of stardrive, outfitted with a beam weapon and Exar fields, and have a duration of several months with a minimal crew. At their top speed of three light-years per hour, seeding the probes will take about two days. In the meantime, he, and the ship, waited for a communication from the planet. He was prepared to wait a while.

Lieutenant J.G. Silk was on duty, visiting with the ponies when she felt a tickle at the back of her mind. Excusing herself from the ponies she was chatting with, she sought out a quiet spot to compose herself and felt along the line of contact, using her star magic senses. She could feel it was a pony trying to contact her, so, she opened contact. “This is Silk. I know you are there,” she whispered.

“I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship of Equestria. We are ready to have our citizens returned. How can we do that?” she heard in her head.

“The how is easy, Princess Twilight. My lead question would be where to do so. Do you have maps at hoof, so I can figure out how to accomplish this?” Silk whispered, more as a concentration focus than for any real need to speak.

“Of course, Silk. If they can be brought back to their home town, that would be appreciated, but we would understand if you would want to meet with us and do the return at the same time in the same place.”

“That decision would be more up to Captain Somers than myself. I can ask him. What is your preference exactly? We can do both in series, visiting you for the initial diplomatic visit, then bring the ponies home,” Silk stated, while also trying to wake up her twin sister through their mental link. Sometimes, it would not work, especially if one or the other was sleeping deeply.

“That would be great, to do them like you said, in series. Ready for the maps?”

“Ready!” Twilight pictured the maps and Silk asked some questions about them, where on the planet the country was, where the cities were, and when would be a good time. The two chatted for about an hour, getting positions fixed and directions set before Silk asked for an hour’s pause to discuss matters with the Captain. The request was granted, and the two synchronized clocks before breaking contact. Silk immediately went to the Captain’s cabin for discussions, stopping only to pick up a visualizer, a device that would enable Silk to project images she had in her mind onto a screen and into Hurin’s mainframe.

Captain Somers was immediately receptive and looked over the maps Silk projected into the visualizer. Their talks soon involved Commanders Seiryuu and Sardon and lasted until Twilight called back. In this case, Silk acted as a conduit, allowing Twilight to speak, hear and see through her to the senior officers aboard. That discussion did go on until Silk tired, a good four hours plus. In that time, the senior officers decided how, where and when to return the ponies. It was decided to do so the next day, early morning Canterlot time, using a cutter to bring the ponies back. Permission was granted to put the Hurin in orbit over the planet, which was done soon after the meeting broke up. Commander Seiryuu went to arrange for a cutter and to move the ship, while Captain Somers went to tell the ponies they were about to head home.

Author's Note:

Okay, the captives head home. Time for the diplomacy to begin.

Thanks be to Goldfur for the brown dwarf model of the Equestrian solar system. Only one that really makes sense to me, too. Damn astrophysics lessons...

Comments

[harts fire]

this is looking to be a fun first contact.