• Published 31st Jan 2019
  • 2,187 Views, 8 Comments

Starship Ponyville: Homeward - Vylet Pony



Satyrn ventures across the galaxy on the Starship Ponyville in the search to find a place to found New Equestria. However, the mission digresses when they're attacked during an asteroid excavation.

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XII. Norphae

June 17, 2051 [Sol 67]

The waygate oscillation jump brought the Starship Ponyville a few light years away from CX38. Not long after, Celestia had re-routed a course to the planet Norphae. It’s alleged that Norphae has been studied by Equestrian astronomers for the past few decades with interest in its position to the star “Yantrios.” They believed it to be a possible life-sustaining planet with potential for the existence of an atmosphere.

As the ship approached the planet, updated scans indicated that Norphae was in an ice age. From a distance, it appeared primarily white and grey, strengthening such theories. Sylver helped develop a geological map of the planet as they approached, which aided Celestia in deciding on a landing place. An hour following this, the Starship Ponyville landed somewhere on the Norphae supercontinent.

Landing on Norphae would probably have been as eventful as landing on CX38, but most of the occupants of the ship had been distressed and exhausted from the events that transpired on the asteroid. Consequently, the occasion of the landing was celebrated by most crew members with sleeping in extensively. All was quiet through the hangars and corridors of the ship on the early morning of Sol 67.

Norphae’s day cycle lasted only a few minutes longer than Equestria’s, which came as a relief to the crew. Everypony on the Starship Ponyville had not experienced anything remotely close to a natural day cycle since the launch. However, ponies struggled when remembering to refrain from calling Norphae’s local star “the sun”. The ship’s scientists quickly confirmed that Norphae was in an ice age, and at glacial maximum, which spanned much of what would be the planet’s oceans. The average temperature of the planet at the time of landing was estimated to be around -5°C and was deemed safe for anypony to traverse the area without any protective spacesuits due to the presence of an atmosphere.


Satyrn sat and watched from the main hangar as Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia planted a New Equestrian flag. They had chosen to put up the flag on a plateau that the ship was docked near. A small group that had miraculously still been awake had gathered by the hangar bay, and cheered when it was placed. Satyrn felt a hoof on her shoulder.

“Everything okay?” Vylet’s voice was hushed and benign. Rayna fluttered from Vylet’s shoulder onto Satyrn’s head and settled into her mane.

“I don’t know. Everything’s happened so suddenly,” Satyrn replied.

“Yeah. It’s a lot to take in.”

The crowd that had gathered began to disperse. The sound of hooves shuffling across the metallic starship floor was almost cadenced and hypnotic.

“His name was Spectre,” Satyrn murmured over her shoulder to Vylet.

“Spectre?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm,” Vylet scratched his head.

Satyrn stood up and turned Vylet. Her face became inquisitive.

“What?” Vylet asked.

“Would you be able to create a device I could speak to Starlight with?” Satyrn whispered, looking around cautiously.

“You mean, like, a communication device that could reach Equestria?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“How many light years out are we again?” Vylet started zoning out. Satyrn looked at him, bewildered.

“I mean, I’ve modified my AMCD to communicate with my housemaid since my father would probably neglect everything anyway,” Vylet said.

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“Do you think it would be able to reach Canterlot?”

“Nah, that’s a couple of miles too far,” Vylet was smirking.

“I’m just glad you’re up to your frivolous banter after all the bullshit we’ve been through in the past few days,” Satyrn snorted.

They chuckled. Suddenly, Vylet’s right ear perked up.

“Do you hear that?” he asked.

“Hear what?”

“Like… It’s like…”

Vylet capitulated an explanation and hovered over Satyrn. He saw that Rayna was snoring in her mane.


The sky was an icy sheet that obscured the stars from view, from which the snow fell down onto the earth below. Satyrn and Vylet sat near the edge of a snowy mountain shelf, not far out from the ship. As far as the eye could see, masses of mountains parted to create a snowy plain below the shelf. No natural vegetation nor fauna could be found anywhere.

Vylet finished tweaking some parameters on his watch

“It’s ready,” he said, handing it over to Satyrn. Rayna flitted from out of the watch’s LCD hovered around it. Satyrn and Vylet exchanged glances and nodded as Rayna attempted to contact Starlight Glimmer. After a few moments, a voice was heard.

“Hello?” Starlight Glimmer’s voice came through, staticky.

“Starlight! It’s me, Satyrn.”

“Satyrn! Well this is a surprise. What do I owe the pleasure?”

“I should ask… are you alone?”

There was a pause. Waves of grain and static filled the silence.

“Why do you ask?” Starlight’s sounded troubled.

“I need this conversation to be confidential”

“Is Princess Celestia not mediating this discussion?”

“No.”

Another pause. Satyrn gave Vylet a slightly worried look. They heard shuffling and muffled rambling before Starlight spoke again.

“Is everything alright?” Starlight asked with a concerned tone.

“Not really. Have you been in contact with Twilight or Celestia lately?”

“No. Princess Luna usually relays whatever I need to know from what’s discussed between her and her sister.”

Satyrn now gave Vylet a more distinctly worried look. Vylet stared back, shrugging.

“Starlight,” Satyrn began, “I have a feeling the Princesses are keeping some very important information from us. A lot of things just don’t add up. Twilight said she’s been having meetings with you and Luna, and—” she trailed off.

“And?” Starlight asked.

“Do you know about CX38?”

“Yes, the asteroid. Did you get there yet?”

“We were there around 24 hours ago.”

“How did that go?”

“We were attacked.” Satyrn’s voice became indelicate.

“Attacked?” a sharp tone came over Starlight.

“Yes. We think we were attacked by changelings. There was a cave system with a hidden room inside. We found a lot of stuff you might want to see.”

Satyrn nodded at Vylet, who reached over and sent the media he had captured of the communication room within the asteroid. There was another moment of silence as Starlight looked through the files.

“What is this symbol?” Starlight asked.

“The triangle?” Satyrn replied.

“Yes..”

“We have no clue, but it was labeled on just about everything in the room.”

“Who is ‘we’?”

“Oh…” Satyrn looked up at Vylet. He had an annoyed expression on his face.

“Vylet, Sylver, and me. We’re all trying to figure this out together, I guess.” Satyrn continued.

“I see… So you’ve brought others into this as well.” Starlight was pensive.

“That’s just how it happened.”

“How deeply have you been investigating this?”

“Well…” Satyrn trailed off.

She looked at Vylet who appeared lost in thought. She then looked over to Rayna who was drifting around and staring at the snow.

“I… have access to confidential documents,” Satyrn flinched preemptively.

“Oh, Satyrn…” Starlight was disconcerted.

“But, can you explain any of this? Are you looking at what was sent to you?”

There was another moment of silence that was longer than any of the others previously. Satyrn heard Starlight sigh. They sat in silence as the wind began to blow harder around them. A few minutes later, Starlight answered.

“This transmission. It’s addressed to Satellite.” Starlight’s voice quivered.

“Found light years away, on a changeling infested asteroid, with a secret communication room! It just doesn’t sound like a mistake to me.” Satyrn shouted indignantly.

“But why are you telling me this? Anything I do to help would be an act of—”

“Treason, I know. I get it. But, ten thousand of us are out here in a metal can, floating through space. I want to be sure that the ponies in charge of the metal can aren’t going to get us all killed.”

“You think there’s an ulterior motive?”

Satyrn sat silently. She stared wearily at the snow.

“Satyrn?” Starlight inquired again.

“Yeah… I believe that Celestia knows something,” Satyrn affirmed.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

Satyrn looked at Vylet, who returned her gaze with an intent expression.

“I need you to go to Statera, and see what you can find beneath the spire,” Satyrn confirmed.

She could hear Starlight hesitating. The wind began to blow harder.

“It’s starting to get dark,” Vylet noted.

Satyrn looked up at the sky; stars were poking through the fog.

“Alright, I hope you’re onto something.” Starlight said reluctantly.

Rayna dashed in front of Satyrn’s face and nodded in a condescending manner. Satyrn playfully rolled her eyes at her.

“We’ll keep in contact,” Satyrn replied.

“I’ll be out there in the morning.”

“Thank you, Starlight. We have to go now.”

“I hope ‘we’ rest well.”

“We will. Take care Starlight.”

“Take care.”

Author's Note:

Art by Two Voices