Virgin Soil
Eight Years Prior
“I think, when one has been angry for a very long time, one gets used to it, and it becomes comfortable, like old leather,” Captain Quick Card spoke, his words stunning the young transporter officer more than any phaser ever could. “Finally, it becomes so familiar that you can’t remember feeling any other way."
Luna paused, slightly stunned herself at what she was reading. These Space Trek novels were turning out to be a lot more interesting than her sister made it seem. Sure, the dialogue was a bit cheesy and the prose was a bit simplistic, but the sheer commitment the writer had to this idealistic view of the future was almost heartwarming in a way.
“You stopped,” a still unicorn Twilight blinked, looking up from her own book. “Did you pick up one of the bad ones? Series One of The Next Generation… gosh, I’m glad they got past that.”
The two sat in The Golden Oaks Library common room, enjoying a quiet moment of reading.
Well, formerly quiet.
“No, no,” Luna said, looking mournful to a degree. “This one is just hitting home a little, I suppose.”
“Which one are you reading?” Twilight asked.
“The Wounded,” Luna announced. “It is quite good, so far.”
“Oh yeah!” Twilight beamed happily. “That’s the one where they track down the rogue Space Fleet captain, right?”
Luna nodded. “I’m at the part where Quick Card is explaining to Shamrock why his former captain is acting the way he is. His speech about anger… it was quite poignant.”
“You should hear the radio play version,” Twilight said. “Sir Fancy Pants plays Captain Quick Card in it. His voice is just… perfect for the character. Especially with all those moving speeches he gives.”
"Indeed, Indeed…" Luna gazed at Twilight pensively, before taking a deep breath. “May I speak candidly? It’s… a bit off topic.”
“Sure,” Twilight offered.
“You are a puzzling individual, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said bluntly. “You both personify magic, but also hold science very dear. I don’t understand how. Don’t you find that the latter often makes the former less… wondrous? Doesn't it take the magic out of… well, magic?”
“I don’t think it makes it any less wondrous,” Twilight said, almost in a confused tone. “When it comes to magic, the more we figure out, the more questions there are to answer. Honestly, it’s kind of why I like Space Trek. Even in that future, where they’ve figured out a lot of things about magic and the universe in general, they’re still exploring and learning new things. In fact, I think the biggest thing they’ve discovered is that what they know doesn’t even scratch the surface of what there is to know, ya know? Does that make any sense?”
“You really are my sister’s student,” Luna chuckled. “And I mean that as a compliment. She said something very similar when we last spoke.”
Twilight smiled broadly. “She’s a wise pony. And so are you, Princess Luna.”
“Mmm, not as wise, I’d say,” Luna said. “Even Quick Card has me beat to a certain degree.”
“I’m pretty sure he has us all beat,” Twilight laughed, Luna joining in with her.
“Thank you for listening to my prattle,” Luna said, still chuckling slightly. “Shall we get back to reading? I’m eager to see where this story ends.”
“Spoiler alert,” Twilight grinned.
“Don’t you dare--”
Twilight’s grin turned into a saddened smile. “The ending might make you cry.”
Luna returned the smirk, feeling as if she was just issued a challenge. “We shall see about that.”
--
Present
The canyon the crashed ship was sitting in, like the rest of the terminator zone, was swept by an eternal wind. Fortunately, however, it wasn't subject to eternal downpours. Through sheer luck, the rain began to dwindle to a drizzle soon after their arrival, though judging by the distant, heavier cloud bands, that could change at any moment. Still, Luna was thankful it gave Rainbow and Scootaloo a chance to land in relatively 'easy' conditions. And so they did, only a quarter of a klick away from the grounded vessel.
Nopony had had a chance to gain too good of a look at it yet given the mists and formerly heavy rain, but after briefly chatting with Rainbow in the cockpit, they had both agreed that it did, indeed, resemble the Starshot to some extent, at least in shape. What Rainbow had not agreed on was Luna’s order for her and Scootaloo to stay in the cockpit.
“Seriously?!” Rainbow argued. “I’m the fastest pony here. I could cover that ship in like ten seconds flat! Seems like a no brainer to me.”
“You and Scootaloo are also the only ones who know how to fly this vessel,” Luna pointed out. “If anything were to happen to either of you, nopony comes back.”
“She has a point, you know,” Scootaloo said.
Rainbow folded her arms, making a pouty face, but nonetheless seemingly understood Luna’s argument. “Alright, fine…” She then smirked slightly. “Bleh, when did being awesome at everything become a curse?”
Luna chuckled. "I assure you that as far as curses go, that is a relatively benign one."
"Yeah yeah…" Rainbow sighed. "Anyway, good luck out there, okay? Don't do anything I wouldn't."
"And say 'hi' to any aliens you meet for me!" Scootaloo beamed.
"I will endeavor to do both," Luna smiled. "You have my word."
With that settled, Luna returned to the passenger bay. Everyone seemed ready and eager to go, though only Doctor Whooves seemed to be truly aware of the significance of what they were about to do. This was indicated by a twinkle in his eyes as he looked Luna’s way.
“Captain, the honor should be yours,” he said, gesturing towards the door.
Tepidly, Luna activated the dropship door mechanism. With awe, and noting a very slight change in pressure, she watched it slide open to reveal the damp soil of a completely different world.
While she had technically already visited one, that being Equis's own moon, it wasn't exactly… her who was there. Or at least not a version of her whose memories she had much of. She only remembered flashes from her time upon that rock. Of twisting underground caverns beneath the barren lunar surface, somehow filled with breathable air. Or at least air breathable to the Nightmare.
Because of that terrible experience, Luna had come to resent all things space related for a time. When she thought about it, all she thought about were those cold, lonely tunnels. The whispers of the Nightmare about the universe beyond didn’t help matters, either. It was yet one more thing she hated it for. It had stolen the fascination for the heavens she held growing up.
Fortunately, though, a combination of her sister’s and Twilight’s efforts had rekindled her wonder. Now, because of it, this moment was as special to her as it always should have been.
And it belonged to her and her alone.
She turned back towards her away team. "I feel like I should say something profound right now."
"It is quite marvelous isn't it?" Doctor Whooves beamed, stepping up besides her. "A completely independent closed system. One with absolutely no interaction with our own. Well, aside from us being here of course. So. Much. To. Discover!"
"Sort of just looks like a wasteland to me," Tempest shrugged.
"An alien wasteland, though," Derpy smiled.
"Indeed," Doctor Whooves said, giving Tempest a playfully scolding look. "Seek your inner poet, my dear! For we are on the precipice of taking one small step for ponies, yet one giant leap for ponykind!"
Luna blinked. “That… actually kind of works.”
Derpy cocked an eyebrow. "Just don’t forget griffons, changelings, yaks…"
Luna chuckled slightly. “Indeed.” She then cleared her throat. “May this be one small step for Equis, one giant leap for Equinkind!”
And so, she stepped off the shuttle, into the cold touch of the wet dirt. Wet dirt that, as far as they knew, no living thing had ever trodden upon before.
“How does it feel?” Doctor Whooves grinned, stepping out next to her, Derpy and Tempest in tow.
“Cold,” Luna noted. “But… invigorating.”
“Now, let’s get what we need so we can tell others the tale,” Tempest said. “What’s the game plan, captain?”
"First step is to find a way onto the ship," Luna said. "The way I see it, we have several options: some more risky than others. The most preferable one is we find some form of opening."
After speaking, she took a deep breath, but still found herself slightly winded.
“Everything okay?” Derpy asked.
“Just forgot we needed to breathe more deeply,” Luna said, taking another long breath. She quickly felt a bit better.
“Remember, if anypony feels light-headed, put on your masks,” Tempest said, tugging the full-head encapsulating breathing apparatus attached to a small air tank on her back. It was currently clipped neatly to a small metal ring hanging off her suit.
“Indeed,” Doctor Whooves said. “However, there is another method we can use to stay oxygenated!”
“Which is?” Tempest asked.
“The very thing ponies excel at more than anything,” Doctor Whooves said proudly. “More than magic, more than science, more than even making puns!”
“Oh no,” Derpy sighed.
“Oh yes,” Doctor Whooves grinned. “Singing!”
“Baby, baby, baby!
You are my boo boo child.
My boo boo child!”
“Dooooctor!”
“Muahahaha!”
The group made their way forth. Slowly, at first, as if walking on eggshells, but gradually gaining their stride as they went along. Along the way, Luna couldn’t help but join in with the good doctor’s singing. Not just because it was fun, but because he actually had a point. Starswirl had once taught a young Luna and Celestia that singing was an ancient technique for keeping oxygen flowing. One the yaks used whenever they needed to scale high mountains.
It seemed he was correct, too, as nobody felt the need to put on their masks as they moved. By the time they the dropship was out of sight, Derpy and even Tempest had joined in, with the group singing a somewhat butchered rendition of “Equestria, The Land I Love”.
It was also around this time that Derpy spotted a peculiar curiosity.
“Hey, is that what I think it is?” she said, halting their song and pointing to a patch of green growing along one of the canyon’s walls, of which the group were marching down the middle of.
“Great whickering stallions!” Doctor Whooves cried, galloping over to it. “Great spot, Derpy, great spot!”
“Thanks, doctor!” Derpy said, looking at the doctor with admiration. “I have to say: he’s probably the only pony who has complimented my vision."
She pointed to her googly eyes.
“Wait… have ponies said… bad things about it?” Tempest asked awkwardly, though still with a look of anger flashing across her face. “Because if they have, I’d like to have a chat with them…”
Luna raised her eyebrows. If Tempest had changed to the extent others had said, and it was certainly seeming that way so far, she still hadn’t exactly lost her edge.
‘Reminds me of myself a little,’ Luna admitted.
“Not since I was a foal,” Derpy explained. “Though still… I can’t say nopony has ever judged me for them, even if it isn’t in words. They seem to think that goofy eyes equals goofy thinking. They’re a disability… sort of, but my brain still works fine, thank you very much.”
“Trust me when I say that I empathize,” Tempest said, pointing to her shattered horn. “Though you seem to have handled things much better than I did.”
A look of shame came upon her, but Derpy wouldn’t have it.
“Tempest, remember what we talked about at the dig site?” Derpy said, smiling at her. “I forgive you for what happened. Besides, you meant to turn Twilight to stone, not me!” She laughed a little at the last part, Tempest joining in with a slight chuckle.
Luna’s eyes widened. She was surprised she hadn’t thought about it before, but indeed, Tempest and Derpy did have something of a history before they both ended up working under Doctor Whooves, digging up the Starshot. Along with Celestia, Cadence, and herself, Derpy was indeed one of the ponies turned to stone by Tempest during her attack on Canterlot, albeit unintentionally.
‘I suppose the memory didn’t ‘click’ because I didn’t actually see it happen,’ Luna rationalized. ‘I was already out of the fight before Derpy was hit.’
“Everypony, come look at this!” Doctor Whooves called, interrupting the moment. “Derpy, once again, good eye! And yes, it's exactly what you think it is, by the way.”
Derpy and the group trotted over to the good doctor, who was closely looking at but making a point not to touch the fuzzy, organic looking growth along the otherwise barren cliff walls.
“I can’t say for certain without a microscope,” Doctor Whooves said. “But I do believe this is some form of…”
“Moss,” Derpy finished for him, now scooched up next to him.
“Moss?” Luna said, raising her eyebrows.
“Indeed,” Doctor Whooves said. “It may not seem like much, but I'm quite surprised to see something like this. While I had assumed there was some sort of bacteria growing on the planet - something organic was the most likely explanation for its oxygen - I never expected there to be plant life!”
“Knowing you, there’s definitely some sort of significance to this,” Tempest noted. “But you’re going to have to explain what that is.”
“Ooo, ooo, can I do it?” Derpy bounced. “I remember you talking about this before.”
“Give her a whirl, my dear!” Doctor Whooves grinned.
“Alright, so,” Derpy said, clearing her throat. “Life, when you think of it on a grand scale, has two big types: simple and complex. Simple would be your bacteria or other really, really teeny tiny single-cell creatures. Complex life is like if you took a bunch of those tiny organisms and used them as building blocks… kind of. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is it takes complex life a long time to develop on its own, and it can take super specific conditions. And moss is complex life.”
“Aptly put,” Doctor Whooves complimented. "All of this is assuming certain theories on the origin and development of life are true, of course. The scientific community is still figuring that out."
“So if they're true, you’re saying this planet has reached some sort of… milestone when it comes to life?” Luna asked both Derpy and Doc Whooves.
“Yes, exactly!” the doctor said excitedly. “Not only does this tell us this planet is fairly old, but the implications of life elsewhere are… enormous. If complex life could develop on this strange, extreme world, it could very well develop anywhere. And who knows how far it could go, even here? Perhaps in the distant future, there will be more than just moss living here, assuming there isn’t more than this here already.”
"We didn't exactly see any trees flying in," Luna said.
"A fair point," Doctor Whooves nodded. "Though like I said, perhaps someday…"
"Doc, no offense, but this isn’t exactly the best time," Tempest said, gesturing towards an approaching band of black clouds. “The moss will still be here after that storm passes. We may not.”
"Right, right," the doctor sighed, turning away from it. "Let's continue, shall we? I'll have to remember to take a few samples on the way back."
And so they did, Luna filled with renewed vigor. ‘So, the aliens that built our ship aren’t the only things living out here. The universe might be teeming with life. Small life, perhaps, but wondrous in its own way nonetheless.”
Speaking of ship-building aliens, the previously distant vessel was now growing closer and closer, and its details were becoming easier to make out. Luna was almost glad Scootaloo didn’t want to chance trying to land right next to it, or they would have missed out on the sight. A sight both intriguing and familiar.
In all intents and purposes, this was a smaller version of the Starshot. Though strangely, despite having crashed, it almost seemed to have a ‘newer’ look than their acquired vessel. The hull was shinier, almost chrome in appearance compared to the Starshot’s more rugged steel. And either said material was very tough or the ship had touched down more gently than the deep indentation it was making would suggest, as it seemed to be almost entirely intact.
This included a series of markings on it, one of which was a symbol Luna immediately recognized: a circle with a swirl-like pattern in the middle of it.
“That confirms it,” Luna declared.
“Hm?” Tempest asked.
“That symbol,” Luna said, pointing to it. “It’s the same that’s on all the small craft in the launch bay, including the dropship. I’m almost certain I’ve seen it before then, too.”
“Indeed, you have,” Doctor Whooves agreed. “It likes to pop up on the bridge monitors occasionally - usually when nobody is using them.”
“Pharynx thought it might be whoever built the Starshot’s insignia,” Derpy explained. “Guess he might be right.”
“I wonder why the Starshot has none on its hull?” Luna pondered.
“It may have at one point,” Doctor Whooves explained. “While I’m guessing it’s made of more permanent material than the paint we know of, perhaps it can still wear off given enough time.”
“That makes sense,” Tempest nodded. “So, the two ships were made by the same aliens, then?”
“It’s a more reasonable assumption than not at this point,” Doctor Whooves said. “While this does raise quite a few more questions, it will, at least, make navigating it easier. Assuming it has a similar layout, of course.”
“And… maybe we can finally find out who these mysterious aliens were!” Derpy said hopefully.
“Yes,” Luna said, a hint of apprehension suddenly coming upon her, though she didn’t know exactly why. “...Hopefully.”
--
As they eagerly searched for an entrance, the shadow at one of the windows watched them with equal vigor.
“Wings… horn... “ it said to itself, astonished. “So it was a Star Speaker I've been seeing. My love, you have truly outdone yourself. There are those who said your conquest would be impossible, but what are they to say now? You've even wrangled her and the others to the point where they can lead themselves!”
Then, as nonchalantly as if it were moving a handkerchief, it lifted none other than a pony’s skull before its ‘face’.
“If only you were so obedient," it sighed. "After all the Deep Ones have done for you, what shame you've brought upon them. I can only hope our guests won’t mind the mess you’ve made.”
She gazed back out upon them, smiling wide.
“Come, envoys of my beloved - we shall see if you’re up to my standards.”
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The common symbol appearing on various displays and vehicles reminds me of a story where like explorers discovering new to them lands and asking the locals what a given mountain etc was called, was given the Do not Understand, or Your Finger, or Hillhillhill, and like the displays, the ship or vehicle was given the name that was the acronym for the equivalent of Not In Use.
Could be self evolved moss, could be leftovers from someones egg sandwhiches?
Is it Antony Hopkins or Antony Perkins. Im always getting those two confused. Fortunately so far im not confusing them with Antony Daniels.
Are you replacing Rich Evans?
10468076 Ya'll keep yer fancy mathematics outta this!
10467716 SKIPPER!! There are weird tiny alien horses on the island!
... You know, there was a cartoon with Gilligan's Island in space... It was called "Gilligan's Planet". I know because I'm very old.
Heck yes, season 1 of TNG was just awful. And season two was only kind of an improvement. It was, in fact, struggling as a show altogether at first because of this, and it wasn't really until "Best of Both Worlds" that TNG really started hitting its stride. I see so many TNG fans that act like TNG did no wrong, but...I know better. TNG, like any other show, still had its rough spots, and was by no means perfect, Trek or otherwise.
But we're not here to talk about that.
I'm sure he also does some mean Shakespeare too.
Eh, it wasn't that moving...still a great story, to be sure, definitely one of the stand-outs, but it's not a tear-jerker, I'd say.
Getting Ceti Alpha "VI" vibes all of a sudden...
Maybe it was adorasynthesis.
*suddenly envisions Derpy in Tempest's role in the movie instead*
*is torn between deciding if that's awesome or unfortunate*
Well, it is orbiting a red dwarf star, isn't it? Those tend to be especially long lived stars as I recall, so it'll certainly have plenty of time to try before that star gives up the ghost.
I wouldn't expect there to be--too windy, trees would have a hard time growing in such an environment. I'd sooner expect something like a much shorter shrub instead.
Well, to be fair, the Starshot was buried fully in the earth for many years. This lite version of the craft looks like it has remained uncovered and as such, the rain's probably helped to keep it perpetually clean. As I assume the metals of its hull aren't prone to rust from such exposure, that would be enough to keep it looking fairly shiny and new-like, for the most part.
Hey, even aliens can have screensavers, lock screens, power save, and the such.
Conquest? Conquest?! Okaaaay, all the little red flags are going up now!
I wonder if these aliens are like the Goa'uld then...conquers that took a species off one planet for slaves and ended up scattering them all over the galaxy in the process for their own purposes...and Equestria's ponies were that species in this case.
10468076
Well, actually, wouldn't it still? Oddball may be tidally locked, but it would still be rotating--it'd have to be in order to still have one side continuously facing its sun at all points during its orbit. How fast its rotating I suppose would depend on the overall size of its orbit, though I'd imagine it'd still be notably slower than Earth's, but regardless, it'd still be exerting some rotational momentum.
10472645
The part where O'Brien and the rogue captain (Maxwell, I think his name was) sing Minstrel Boy can get me misty. I can often get emotional at weird things, though, so it might have just been me
Nice references.
Where’s the story?
10472952
What's a story O_o?
10472855
Tears or not, though, still a great episode. 
Mm, or maybe I'm the one who's just not as easily moved to tears.
Technically therapy did not save the day. she just happened to be behind twilight when Rainbow Dash saved twilight