With nothing happening, no world-conquering villains or Crystal Hearts being shattered and so on, Twilight is bored. She has nothing to do, plainly. But while in the middle of a drab reading session, she notices something doesn't feel right. Not to her, but in the night sky. She can't see it, but she can sense it. Something not from this world has entered her world, and it could be the first ever message from aliens.
And perhaps those aliens are trying to say hello.
(Btw, look up "Pioneer Probe Plaque" if you want the image described here. I can't post the actual thing because of mild nudity in it, but you can search it for context.)
(Review by PaulAsaran!)
Chapters (1)
I kind of expected Lyra to come upon them, see the image on the plaque, then go into a tizzy about humans.
Really good read! Congrats, I love how you handled their interpretation, as well as translate scientific elements into their own, cartoony, version! 10/10
9753909
Would you believe that everything besides the opening with Twi was improvised?
9753889
As funny as that would be, I decided to be more realistic about it. Human obsession or no, someone like Twilight would ensure an object is safe long before others know about it.
Rather amusing is how they totally blew possibly the most important part of the message, where to look to find us. Not to mention missing the record. Perhaps when they go back after it's cooled down?
9754026
Yep, but in their defense, they haven't advanced nearly as much as us in space travel. They know basics like stars and moons and such, but besides that, all they know is that there's no magic. They have a long way to go.
...I had no idea there was a record. That's why it wasn't mentioned. I'd make a sequel about them finding it, but I doubt that'd be worth the time.
Isnt there supposed to be a record on the back of that?
9754042
See below. I guess there was supposed to be one, but I wasn't aware it existed at time of writing.
9754043
If memory serves, its supposed to be a playable record, and Equestria does have that capacity to replay it. I think there was a mathematical formula to show the playing speed required
9754045
Like I said, had no idea there was one.
9754045
there's two golden records, an external one and an internal one, a pair of plaques and a record player contained within voyager
but first things first, they might want to bury the box of glowing plutonium somewhere out of the way
9754070
This is the Pioneer probe, though.
And yes, the radioactive material might be a bit of a problem. The coldness of space certainly wasn't creating that heat.
this was an amazing read. I haven't read anything like this in a long time and Im glad I found this as a refresher to my usual reads.
I do however wish to see this story having another chapter through with the discovery of whats on the golden disc, finding out about Earth and the sounds music and the different greetings in different languages and the news of aliens existing going throughout the lands of Equiss (Like the young six reaction, canterlot, hippogriffs, starswirl etc.) and just showing the total impact of this news would be very interesting to see play out but i do appreciate this story as it is now.
9754085
I could continue this, but I think it works better as left open to interpretation. Maybe they find it and discover the sounds of Earth (albeit they probably wouldn't understand the language), maybe Equestria advances their space programs to discover this other life, maybe a meteor hits them and they all die (wouldn't be the first time I did that.) It's up to your mind. I'd rather not restrict something as open-ended as this.
Really enjoyed this! Thank you
9754091
Well thank you for reading it!
R e p r o d u c t i v e d i a g r a m ?
In all seriousness, it was pretty amusing to watch them stumble around our message trying to decipher it.
9754101
REPRODUCTION
Yes, indeed it was. I figured they'd get most of it right (they're kinda right on the hydrogen atoms; same process and properties, different name), but the pulsar map probably wouldn't make sense if they didn't know what a galaxy was.
9754042
9754026
IIRC, the Pioneers didn't have records; the Voyagers did.
Reminds me of an scp story. Its an exact copy of the voyager except with information on their planet. They had heard of us through radio waves and learned of our culture. In the end though they were dying due to a future version of us and had a choice to send back in time weapons. They chose instead a probe with an ending message.
"From one maker of music to another, across all worlds, all times, no matter what you do or what you become: You are nothing less than beautiful."
Hm
9754163
HMM
“Hmm... Twilight, what do you think this message on the back of the satellite is?”
“Maybe a time measurement?”
“Nah. Reprod-“
“IT IS NOT A REPRODUCTION DIAGRAM.”
9754187
Everything is a reproduction diagram.
EVERYTHING.
Shame it wasn't one of the Voyager probes over the Pioneers, the Voyagers message is also a record.
Why doesn't Twi and/or Starlight note just how close to Sunset's odd looking people that digram is? I mean, it's not like they haven't been "human" before.
Speaking of Sunset, you would think they would call her in on this, just due to the tech level shown. While her Earth and ours, cannot be the same, hers might have done something similar enough for her to tell them the jist, right?
9754189
9754193
The thought of noticing the shape and calling Sunset did cross my mind, but lets remember something:
We know that we are humans, and so are the Equestria Girls people, but...
We're aliens to both Twi and Sunset. Despite a similar appearance, they'd have no idea what or who we are. After all, a lot of species on Earth can look similar, but have next to no genetic relation. That, and Sunset probably doesn't know enough about the human world to make definitive judgements. She can't have been there for more than a decade, and it takes longer than that to really absorb a culture.
To them, we really are alien.
Typo:
whose
Oh wow this was a wonderful short. I love the critical thinking behind trying to deduce the meaning of the symbols and the melancholy of the loneliness of space. Thank you very much for this.
As for anyone who's wondering what it'd be like if they'd found the golden Voyager record, let me direct you here. You might be pleased. (sorry to link someone else's story on a similar one. I know it's uncouth, but you said you weren't going to write a sequel so I thought this might help scratch that itch. this story is perfect as it is and doesn't need more, especially since you said this was a Pioneer probe, which had no record on it.)
9754142
I'm gonna need a link to that, friend.
9754595
You are certainly less snooty than your name suggests, good sir.
Thank you for enjoying and commenting! I appreciate that more than the likes or views, honestly. Trying to put myself into the horseshoes of the ponies and look at the message from an outer perspective was fairly easy; all I had to do was look at it the way a child would, and since I'm already a child mentally, that was simple. I'm curious about the loneliness of space, though. My message was more directed to the fact that no matter how far apart we are, there will always be someone out there that we can share our lives with, two or four legs. This was what Twilight was stressing towards the end.
As for a sequel, it's less of a "won't" and more of a "might." I may write the view of the humans receiving their own message from Equiss, but I'm not sure I could pull that off without seeming incredibly pretentious. And no, if the story is related, it's fine if you link another. It expands the general knowledge and enjoyment, and considering the niche of this, that's a good thing.
9754070
Fools, the plutonium will make the ponies STRONGER!!
My Little Nucleus: Radiation IS Magic!
9754641
*insert Fallout: Equestria meme here*
I like this. It gave me a nostalgia about apollo 1 and 2.
Good job!
9754810
I uh, I'm having trouble responding to simple comments.
Thank you, though!
9754595
http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1342
Tis a bit dry but overall its quite moving what the log at the bottom says.
9754615
Ah, that might just be my own feelings mixing in then. But between the chapter title, these two bits:
and thinking about the probes we sent out, particularly the golden records potentially lasting a billion years after our species is dead; it just triggered some existential sadness in me about the vastness of space and how we're unlikely to ever meet another species. And now THAT'S making me think of the classic scifi story They're Made Out of Meat.
9754879
Thanks!
that ending made me cry... i dont know why though
9754895
Unlikely and impossible are very different things. I believe that even if it takes a hundred, or a thousand, or a million or billion or whatever years, we WILL find other life. We humans are nothing if not stubborn. Natural disasters, threat of nuclear war, and daily terrorism haven't destroyed us yet, and I doubt they ever will. And I don't believe this "if we meet them, we'll dissect each other for science" or "destroy each other over resources" or other drivel. We can be aggressive, but we've always preferred peace at heart.
I might not be around to hear back, but to any aliens who visit Earth in future, I say "Hello, and welcome."
9754899
I think that's a good reaction. I made this to stir up emotion, whether it be sadness, longing, desire, ambition, whatever.
It depends on why you're crying. Sad because we may never meet Twi and the rest? Or happy because even across galaxies or universes, she still opens her arms to you?
A lovely little story. This astrophysicist is pleased. You have earned a new stalker.
9754921
How do you know I'm not stalking you?
Forget I said that.
You don't need evidence.And I'm happy someone with half a brain for science approves. I know only as much as the top of a wikipedia article.
A delightful little story
9754992
And a delightful little comment!
They didn't even play the music
Consider myself enchanted by this fic, BRAVO!
9755039
Record was on Voyager, not Pioneer. :p
9755065
Enchanted like a good one, or enchanted like a Disney curse?
9755039
While the Golden Record does contain some music it is mostly natural sounds from our planet as well as a greeting recorded in 55 different languages both ancient and modern.
9753997
If that's true, you did an excellent job!