Goodbye, Moon Mare
“Um, princess?” Derpy said, walking over to the Steward’s limp body. “What’s a thestral?”
“Thestral, eh?” Doctor Whooves said, tepidly poking the Steward. Fortunately, she did seem to be out cold. “A rare name for them. We actually knew them as 'bat ponies'.”
“A name they would have taken quite an offense to, doctor,” Luna explained. “They viewed it as racist.”
“Fair enough,” Doctor Whooves nodded. “Though keep in mind, the last tribe seemingly went extinct five hundred years ago. Right around the time when… well, I could recall my first memories. Still, they were treated as very real creatures at that point."
"And after that?" Tempest asked.
"Well, as time went on, memory of them faded to legend, and legend faded to myth. Until the age of the printing press, this happened with a lot of things." He raised an eyebrow at Luna. "Though if you don't mind me saying, it is odd your sister never bothered to mention them."
"Don't judge her too harshly," Luna sighed, happy with herself for sticking up for her; something she wouldn't have considered doing a decade ago. "It was likely more out of shame than out of malice. Or an attempt to deceive. She is… very self-conscious about her perceived failures."
"I understand," Doctor Whooves said. "But I must admit, their total omission from the history books was… well, it caused quite a bit of confusion in me. I was starting to question whether my own memories of their supposed reality were even real.”
Luna shook her head. “Oh no. I can personally assure you they were very real. Your memory is still intact.”
“Then what happened to them?” Tempest asked.
“Abducted by aliens, apparently,” Derpy said.
“Their history is… complicated,” Luna said, still in slight shock over the revelation. “It would take time to explain. More time than I’d like to spend among ghosts." She shivered slightly at that. "I promise you, though, when we get back, I shall tell you their tale. Or at least what I know of it. How one of them ended up like this… serving these ‘Deep Ones’, infused with a creature of shadow, I do not know.”
“Aye, captain,” Tempest nodded.
She then glanced to the Solarium canisters, then back to Doctor Whooves. “How many do you believe we’d need to get home?”
Doctor Whooves sighed. “I’m afraid there’s nowhere near enough here for that, at least according to my calculations.”
“Well, there goes that,” Tempest grumbled.
“Hang on, there,” Doctor Whooves said. “There’s still enough to cross hundreds of light years. To visit dozens of other systems!”
“Where we could find more,” Luna said, smiling slightly. “After everything that’s happened today, I’ll take a small victory. Come, I will levitate the canisters. Somepony else will need to take the Steward.”
“Wait, captain, are you sure it’s wise to bring her with us?” Tempest said. “She never did officially give us her surrender, after all. We’re under no obligation. We could just… leave her here.”
The Doctor gazed at her pensively. “That’s a bit cold for my tastes. What she did was inexcusable, but who are we to decide what her punishment should be?”
“And the courts back in Equestria are?” Tempest asked.
"They have more authority than we do," Doctor Whooves said.
“I have both moral and practical reasons for it,” Luna said. “Remember, she is the only being we’ve encountered out here - aside from the computer, of course - that seems to know things about the wider galaxy.”
“But we’re going to be taking her aboard a ship that she knows even better than us!” Tempest argued. “Who knows what she’s capable of?”
“If we lock her in one of the prison cells we’ve found, I don’t believe she’ll be able to do anything,” Doctor Whooves countered. “It appears to be completely isolated from all input systems. I cannot say for certain, but she shouldn’t even be able to talk to the computer. And we do have enough ponies to guard her around the clock…”
“I think we should take her,” Derpy said. “Wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t say anything.”
“We will be taking every precaution we can,” Luna said, reassuring Tempest. “And you can be part of that process, if you wish.”
“I… can?” Tempest said, a smile forming on her face.
“Indeed,” Luna said. “Now, about carrying her…”
“I’m on it!” Derpy said, somewhat eagerly setting down her Beam Rifle and picking up the shadow/bat pony hybrid. Upon holding her, she made a ‘brrrr’ sound. “Wow, she’s awfully cold…”
“That’s… that’s odd,” Doctor Whooves said.
“Really?” Tempest said, cocking an eyebrow.
“I mean in terms of physiology,” Doctor Whooves said. “Bat pon-- er, thestrals should be as warm-blooded as the rest of us. Or so I'd assume."
“Yet another question we have to answer,” Luna sighed, levitating the three seemingly full canisters of Solarium left. “Come, we have tarried long enough. Hopefully the storm has passed by now...”
**
As it turned out, the storm had indeed passed, and very recently, too. The flowing air was warm and humid. Temporary waterfalls were even rolling off the cliff walls, feeding the moss that grew upon them. Derpy carried the Steward in her arms like before, and Luna levitated the Solarium canisters. Fortunately, Levitation Spells weren’t very mana taxing.
Yet Luna’s escapades on this world weren’t completely through. For as the group trudged back to the dropship, much more solemn than during their journey from it, the Dwarf Star spoke to Luna once more.
“Star Speaker…”
She slowed her pace slightly. Its sudden interjections weren’t shocking anymore, she still wasn’t expecting it. She didn’t consider how defeating the Steward might allow… this to happen again.
“That which blocked my voice has vanished.”
‘Yes. That was our doing,’ Luna thought, hoping that the Dwarf wasn’t limited to one-way telepathy.
She still hadn’t explained her new… ability to her crew yet, and she didn’t want to speak aloud. Too easy for them to think she was talking to herself.
Though if she was honest, she still wasn’t one hundred percent sure that that wasn't the case.
‘Here’s hoping that it was the same creature blocking my access to the dream realm.’
“It was. I sense you tread upon my closest child. Take heed, however, as I also sense the Steward is closeby… You’re sure it was properly dealt with?”
‘Do not worry yourself about that. She is currently unconscious… and in our custody.’
“Custody?”
‘She surrendered to us. We’re bringing her back aboard the Starshot. Our vessel.’
“What?!”
Luna paused, the group pausing with her, glancing at her curiously.
“Captain?” Tempest asked.
“Hang on,” Luna said, setting down the Solarium. “I… um… need a second to catch my breath.”
“I was getting a little winded myself,” Derpy said, setting down the Steward for a moment.
“Same,” Doctor Whooves said, smiling thankfully. “No worries, princess.”
Luna smiled. Good. A chance to finish her… conversation.
‘You sound… concerned?’
“For your safety.”
‘I thank you for your consideration, but we have no other option. Not that you should worry yourself: we believe we can contain her.’
“That is unlikely.”
‘How so?’
“The tales of Stewards and Umbral in general… they’re painted as deceivers. Those who shape reality with their words; all for the benefit of their undead masters. With the innocence of The Garden flowing, you are not prepared to deal with one like this.”
‘I am... not as ‘innocent’ as you think.’
“Yet you are still taking a grave risk.”
‘What else can we do?’
…
“Kill her. Kill the Steward.”
Luna’s eyes widened. The star was suggesting something far more brutal than Tempest. Not just leaving her here, but flat-out eliminating her. It certainly wasn’t what she expected from a being she thought was mostly benign.
‘I…”
“If you cannot bring yourself to, allow me. Drop her off at the edge of my child’s band of storms. On the side facing me. My light shall make swift work of her.”
‘You would really go so far for our sake?!’
“You are a Star Speaker. A rarity among rarities. Allowing you to come to harm would be beyond negligent. Please, do as I ask. I promise her death will be quick. By a pulsar’s tick, she shall become one with the desert. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
‘I can’t believe what I’m hearing. From the way you were talking early, it sounded like stars loved life.’
“‘Love’ is too limited of a word to describe our feelings towards life. Our existence would be meaningless without you. It’s why we took such great efforts to make sure you were always preserved. To intentionally kill is abhorrent. Even when it comes to a creature that is… not life as you would know it. Yet to protect a Star Speaker, I am willing to live with the guilt.”
‘And how long would that be?’
“... Longer than most.”
Luna gazed towards the distant horizon, where faint light of the dwarf could be seen shining through thinner clouds layers. Finally, she narrowed her eyes in resolve.
‘No.’
“But…”
‘No! I will not kill her, and more importantly, I will not let you kill her, either. That guilt you are so eagerly to take on? I too once faced it. And I faced it alone. Not for killing, mind you, but for things just as bad. You told me when we first spoke that nopony will be able to see you for untold years. And the way you said it… stars cannot stand such a thing, can they?’
“... Yes.”
‘So if I allowed you to kill her, it would be two burdens you would have to carry.’
“But… but it would give my existence meaning! It would be horrid, but I would have at least done something besides simply sit here in the dark for trillions of turns! My energy wasted… expanding into the vast of night for the use of no one!”
Luna raised her eyebrows, glancing at the moss growing upon the cliffs. ‘Are you so sure of this?’
“My children are dead… no life grows upon them. Life around most stars is unlikely, but around one such as I? Impossible. My destiny is to sit on the edge of this gathering… until my kin burn no more.”
‘Dwarf… how long has it been before you took a close long at your ‘children?’’
"I am looking now."
'Look closer.'
“I… I…”
A beat.
“Wait… what is this? There is-- I sense-- Something else… something like you...”
Luna smiled warmly. ‘That… that would be your child’s life.’
“But… how is this possible? Nothing should be able to grow there! The environment is too hostile, too unstable… this is… this cannot be!”
“Yet it is. Because as a wise doctor told me very recently: whether it’s in the deepest, darkest, caves or upon the highest mountain peaks, life tends to find a way.”
“Then… my light, my energy, it isn’t wasted! One of my children has… Yes, it is faint, and it knows not what it is, not yet, but… someday?”
“From what I know of stars of your type, there’s plenty of time for it, too.”
As the conversation went on, the air actually began to grow warmer. Not uncomfortably so, but ever so slightly. In the distance, the star’s rays were peering through the clouds. The twilight zone of the planet, the terminator, was getting more light than they had seen since their arrival.
“Huh,” Doctor Whooves blinked, sitting up to gaze at the distant horizon. “That’s… quite the sight.”
Derpy smiled. “Worth it. All of it. Just for this.”
“Heh,” Tempest grinned, bopping her gun’s counter-weight slightly. “Having a few more of these is nice, too.” She then took a deep breath, taking in the pure, alien air and glancing at the starlight herself. “But… yeah, definitely worth it.”
“I… would have never known to look if not for you, Star Speaker. I wouldn’t have even bothered. I gave into the thinking of my kin too easily.
You see, many believe that the space beyond The Garden is no place for you. There are so many ways the cosmos can destroy life, or never allow it to develop at all. Asteroids, comets, rogue children, and the radiation of our undead kin. Even we ourselves are a potential danger, as our physical forms are not always fully under our control. But… perhaps we were wrong. If life can survive upon this child of mine, perhaps you can survive the vast of night. Perhaps… perhaps even thrive."
‘So… no more talk of killing the Steward, yes?’
“No. I will not bother you any longer. It was arrogant for one such as I to assume I knew what’s best for you. Not when I didn’t even know of the miracle right before me. I only ask that during your travels you will afford my kin a similar gift.’
Luna's smile was as warm as the star's newfound radiance. The Red Dwarf was a decent creature after all. ‘You’ll at least say goodbye, though, won’t you? We’re going to be leaving soon, you know.’
“Yes, yes, that would be nice. But first… I’ve been calling you ‘Star Speaker’ since we’ve met. What is your real name?”
‘Luna.’
“Luna… so beautiful. I hope one day, those of my child will give me one such as it."
‘So, you really don't already have one?'
"That isn't an honor I can bestow. The universe uses us to keep it lit, but it experiences itself through you. Go forth and be its eyes.”
It paused for a brief moment, before finally finishing with: “Goodbye, Luna. Mare of The Garden's Moon."
'Goodbye, star.'
As the voice of the shining orb dimmed in her mind and its light beams continued to shine through the heavens, Luna turned towards her companions, smiling brightly.
“Heh, looks it’s gotten you in a good mood, too, captain,” Tempest smiled, before glancing with disgust the Steward’s way. “Despite everything.”
“You know what?” Luna said. “I refuse to let that Steward make us feel that way. I truly believe there’s more than just her type out here. There are wonders awaiting us. Wonders that we would never imagine... and wonders that she never could.”
She gestured towards the dropship in the distance. “Come, let’s get going. The stars await."
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Well that was heartfelt.
Also for red dwarfs with (possibly) habitable words please direct your attention to the Trappist 1 system.
I mean, who would've guessed, right?
A fair point--legally speaking, there'd be more than enough argument to say the courts have no standing at all to judge for crimes that did not take place on their world, or were arguably not even directly related to their world, to say nothing of the fact that no court currently standing on Equestria would really be prepared or equipped for handling such a case, nor would there be laws or other regulations in place with consideration of such a case either.
I could actually see a judge throwing out such a case almost immediately on those grounds in real life, in fact.
Fortunately, this is not real life, and it looks like they're going to have a bit longer still to work out the logistics of how they want this to work anyway. And who knows? Maybe something will happen along the way to change all of these circumstances and render it a moot point anyway.
If that's all really true (and there are no loopholes they don't yet know about that the Steward could exploit) then I say go for it, but with an obvious abundance of caution. The Steward seems like the sort of gal who if you give her an inch, she'll take a lightyear.
I actually had to remind myself that this wasn't Doctor Who for a moment throughout all that. Seems like a moment straight from that right then, and I mean that in the best way possible.
I really hope the brig is acoustically isolated through an airlock, if Miss smoky here cant just ooze out when she wants. You dont want prisoners being able to whistle or tap out command codes that trigger system resets etc. I know Linux has a total kill sequence that bypasses everything, as long as the keyboard interface is still working. If you cant get at the power supply.
Finally got up to the story's current place. I'm so glad I started reading this. It's the pony space adventure story I never knew I needed. I can't remember the last time I was this invested in a Fimfic.
And the conversation between Luna and the star...beautiful.
Liked Luna's conversation with the voice there and seems like a bit more is revealed about the "Star speaker" there.
I play a game called elite: dangerous, and takes places in a 1:1 scale model with millions of systems that you can actually go visit, with red dwarves being the most common star. I’m currently about 6000 light years from sol on a 18k light year trip to do some deep space exploration, normally I don’t think much of red dwarves while I’m out there... but I think I’ll be spending a little more time with them,
There are...undead stars?
10519453
In a manner of speaking 😉
10513128 Yeah, Armus openly proclaimed himself to be composed of ALL THE BAD THINGS the race that created him sucked out of themselves.
He was basically the 'concentrated evil' from "Time Bandits" if it came to life.
10519453
see neutron stars or black holes or even white dwarfs.