Rarity leaves a career in fashion behind to learn about designing new planets as ponykind spreads to the stars.
This is, first and foremost, a gift for a very kind, incredibly talented friend of mine, Novelle Tale. It is inspired in every way by her work, her friendship, and her love of grand stories filled with tiny, flawed, yet somehow perfect characters.
It also tied for first place in Bicyclette's Science Fiction contest! Hooray!!
Please be sure to check out attsupidupis's beautiful instrumental piece inspired by this fiction!!
Chapters (7)
This was a really nice read. The world-building (pun intended) and character interaction was fantastic, and I had a lot of fun reading it.
This is grabbing my attention, excited to devour it in one sitting.
Going into this, I'm going to be very disappointed if I don't see a reference to fjords
The world building here is amazing! I love when we mix pony magic and sci-fi settings. It always leads to really creative stuff.
Also I didn't think the end would be as heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. So wonderful job!
when the foreshadowing go br
Friendship is Terraforming!
Ooooh. That's some interesting hints about the physics of this alicorn-mediated universe!
Literal worldbuilding at its bestest.
Also - Friendship is Time Dilation.
I do so enjoy stories of early colonization efforts, days when the paradigms are yet ill-defined and all things may be possible. You're suggesting some very interesting applications of Equestrian magic, with alicorns in particular being stellar engineers right out the gate. This, this is something special.
Always nice to see old friends catching up.
Just goes to show how ridiculous Rainbow is. That mare is really something.
Twilight, wot you doing?
Noooo. Surely there is an epilogue?
Because it deserves to be said here as well:
I'm going to be chewing on this one for a while, I can tell.
You captured the forlorn desolation of space so beautifully, Mush. The beauty in this story is in the tiny details--if I were to enumerate them all, they would be lessened, because those tiny details make up a larger constellation of beautiful agony. One star is pretty, but a hundred, a thousand, are breathtaking. Please take my word for it that I noticed each, tiny detail you wove in, and that I appreciated them all.
I loved how in this story, the darkness represents both fear and possibility, because really, they are two sides of the same coin. We often think of our saviors as being shining lights in the darkness; but here, you subverted that expectation, by making the darkness--the black hole--the very thing that can save Twilight.
I heard this fact the other day: if the universe were infinitely old or infinitely static, rather than conatantly expanding, the entire sky would be white. There would be too many stars, and too much light, to have the dark, starry night skies we love. This story really made me appreciate that fact even more. I am grateful for the darkness.
Thank you.
I don't get how the planets were initially just floating there, but MLP's astrophysics has always been weird.
The use of earth pony and pegasus magic is perfect here. It's like they were made for terraforming and fits neatly into the setting
Oh, wow. Given how critical the revelations and emotions in this chapter are, I feel like these scenes should've been longer, with more detail. They seem to rush by too quickly.
This was beautiful. A perfect blend of science and magic, of friendship and love. Here's hoping you place; I'd certainly throw an award at this.
We have Rarity with moments of stronger than usual magic, and Twilight's energy flagging - something tells me the connection they made when bringing the last planet into alignment is inadvertently still there.
I don't normally go for science fiction ponies... But this was really good. A digestible glimpse into literal world building, with enough heart to keep things fresh and exciting. Great work!
Why did they even bother the planets?
I thought they were supposed to move just an asteroid.
At first I thought this would be a fun little sci fi story with cool world building (figuratively and literally), but then I had my heart ripped out by the beautiful prose and wonderful ending. Well done.
Full disclosure, I've only been reading FimFic for a couple of months now, but, you've demonstrated incredible talent with this one, mushroom. Considering the length of the fic, there's a lot of incredibly thorough and thoughtful world-building. That ending was so poetic and delivered beautifully.
Mushroom, this work was so inspired that it helped me out of some pretty bad creative burnout. To repay, I dedicate this piece to the beautiful universe you've made.
Thank you.
11122834
Wow. I think, for the first time, I'm honestly speechless.
It isn't so much that I haven't gotten any kind comments in my time on here, but this is something else entirely. To hear that I've inspired someone else to create is just one of the best compliments you could ever give.
The piece itself is absolutely beautiful. When I wrote this for my friend, I was trying to capture a specific sort of wistfulness that is very hard to pin down - but the combination of grounded piano and wandering synth nails it exactly. I'm completely floored.
As soon as I'm back at my laptop, I'm going to be adding a link to this piece to the description. It represents the story so well, and I'd be remiss if I didn't put it front and center where people can listen to it.
I hope you have a great day, and I hope you make more music soon!!
11122969
:D Thank you so much. I'm glad that you enjoyed it and even more glad that it affectually conjured the same feelings that went into it the story. Slowly coming out of a stretch of creative fatigue, this reception brings me a lot of joy and helps me believe that I'm on the right track.
Thanks, again
11116769
Sets up a way to catch more asteroids and the like. Given the alignment, you now have a "net" that will continue to capture stuff, without needing a full on alicorn to set up.
Given time, they'll have a full on belt, not just Eventide.
Howdy, hi!
I can't believe you have me excited about a story in which Rarity gets a really cool office job. How dare. On a serious note, your characterizations, as always, are on point, and your Rarity voice is the best. I love that the committee was who it was. Just makes it so much more interesting. The trio's dynamic is fun and wonderful, and dammit I'm probably binging this in one go.
Ahhhhhh, this was cute as all fluff. Love the dynamic you built between the two of them. Did I say Rarity was my second favourite character? Rarity is my second favourite character. Anyways, the way you told their relationship without ever actually *saying* it was amazing. Super solid.
Sorry, I think this beat's atrophy as my favourite story of yours. Absolutely breathtaking piece. The dynamics between characters, the subtle setup done in the beginning of the story, all the little emotional moments between characters... absolutely golden. I don't like Sci-fi, but I like Character pieces and this one is one of the best Ive ever read.
Absolutely beautiful, thank you, mush.
Oh you got me now....to the next chapter
augh, just from the first line it's such a strong start! coming back to this on a re-read, i can really appreciate how it sets up the worldbuilding and Rarity's character all at once!
oh wow, i totally did not retain this since it seemed like just another bit of flavor and worldbuilding on my first read. it's like seeing a cameo of a character that's revealed to be important later in the background of the first scene of the movie, and i just love it
hehe, Pinkie's rock farm background really is fitting for this setting!
and i just adore the choice of Pinkie and Rainbow as Rarity's friends here, able to bring their respective flavors of optimism and enthusiasm to balance out Rarity's anxiety and angst. even without being with them long so far, i really believe them as three mares who have spent a good deal of time alone together, and it's just lovely.
the cobbler's children have no shoes!
this is such a perfectly Rarity touch, i love it
this does make me wonder, they never refer to the Apple Family accent as ""Southern"" in the show, do they?
oof, i am getting to the age where i am having these moments, so i really feel Rarity here
oof, too close to home!
ah, they're only here in this scene, so they could have been flatly drawn pieces to do exposition and further the plot with, but instead this committee oozes personality and feel like they have a life in this world beyond their existence here, and i really appreciate that.
the perfect level of Pinkie Pie fourth wall breaking!
augh, i love this theme threading through the whole piece. it really struck me on my first read, too, how i just had this mental image of the echoes of the three's hooves radiating out into the quietness of an empty planet. the atmosphere feels so beautiful yet sparse for the lack of ponies, so very fitting for this story's setting of space colonization and pioneering.
ah, i can just hear Spitfire saying this! and Rarity having to find her hoofing right after waking up; this scene just felt so vivid and real, more like i was watching a movie scene than reading it, you know?
already excited by the initials
again, just love these little worldbuilding details for their own sake, but also for how thematic they are. technology removing another bit of pony connection, and just the general un-idealness of living on Aurora in so many little things. and then the perfectly Rarity tint of vanity in her brief thought, so good!
oof, that otherworldly beauty that she is not even aware of enough to try to deliberately maintain, that vulnerability. just so wonderfully Twilight. augh idk, i just love this as an introduction to Twilight Sparkle so much that i can't properly express it
and this way you fit so much character background and worldbuilding in the space of one paragraph, just how do you do that? i can practically feel the magic and excitement of growing up in this world, and can understand better that repeated assertion that everyone wants to be a pioneer. it's like i was there with them
oof, this hits a lot different on a reread
auauaugh perfect RariTwi interaction
i wish to repeat my earlier comment on just how perfect and beautiful of an introduction to Twilight this is, augh
this really feels like one of those incidental details that's supposed to be thematic, but what? augh. what is communicated about the relationship between Rarity and Twilight in what isn't said between them? that is great, i love it
i just want to swim in this stuff, just wrap it over me like a warm blanket. augh, i feel this RariTwi so much and it makes me so happy
pitch-perfect Pinkie here, just in the phrasing and everything! your characters are just so enjoyable being themselves
there's just something that feels like very Good Writing somehow. that these characters can't even flatten themselves within the story to catchphrases and bits, and it's so very real that Rarity tries anyway as part of her general deliberateness of image, and then gets pushback for it when warranted.
ugh i can't express enough how much i love the phrase "untouched by mare". really enhances the impact of this line for me
perfect dramatic timing! my heart stopped with her
these passage really reminds me of your descriptions of earthpony magic in How to Farm Rocks (in three easy steps), and i just love it. both the ideas and how you describe them, really getting into how it feels to use magic, as well as imparting it with the beauty and gravity it deserves.
agh, love this as well. just how to Rarity, Twilight eclipses even the greatest accomplishment that had just passed before her, in that moment.
they definitely do sound like diseases, somehow!
ah, the elegance of the solution! the aesthetic! again, just so very Rarity, with a nice bonus of being colored by the RariTwi.
and augh, let me go back here to interject just how much i adored this astronomical worldbuilding, of planets being inert and still until alicorn magic moves them into place in their orbits. such a perfect extension of the worldbuilding themes of MLP, along with the very concept of ponies using magic to drive the world's processes that are in our reality are simple consequences of dumb physics. not to mention the very themes of pioneering, of pony civilization against unexplored nature. i am just in awe of this, really! i love it so much. such a beautiful and perfect way to do science fiction in a way that feels like it's taking place in the world we know and love.
aww, poor Rainbow Dash!
agh, it's just these little things that really make it!
agh, i really loved this! this is exactly how i imagine pegasus flight working, but explained far better than i ever could have, especially in a way that fits in the context of a story. thank you for this!
hehe, worldbuilding continuity! love it!
and ugh, i love how you integrated terraforming into the magic of the ponies so perfectly here! just like in Equestria, the magic of all three tribes is needed for the work, and that's just a fantastic bit of worldbuilding. this is exactly how space colonization should work in a world that still feels like the world of the ponies, with just the right mix of magical whimsy, dream logic, and science.
ah, that is just what's so wonderful about her, isn't it?
i'm sure she could do as much as twenty percent!
and augh, Twilight's insistence that nothing is wrong and Rarity's frustration and unease, i just feel all of it and it all feels so natural with these characters. i remember feeling the dread with Rarity on reading this the first time, and augh, knowing what is coming...
agh, love this character moment
always super jealous of your sensory descriptions
it's an interesting feeling to see them have their exuberant exchanges even with the shift in focus to the mystery of Twilight's decline. it's like seeing the momentum of the original story dynamics push itself forward on its own energy while we peel off a branch of it, just superb stuff.
just love this mental image of Pinkie having found a practical use for her pronking power
auaugh so true
again, a beautiful application and depiction of earthpony magic. you just make this world feel so wondrous and magical! Rarity's reaction is my own
ahahaha love this
so true
augh, that spooky sensation of maybe losing control of one's magic, but not being sure of it. echoes of The Haunting of Carousel Boutique. haunting!
ooh, i like this structurally! contrasting with how Pinkie saw and looked at Twilight in the previous chapter.
oof, such a worrying thing to see
and augh, another great contrast with how Rarity and the narration saw those wings earlier. and augh, it precisely is her using her wings as a source of authority to deflect and deny that robs them of the effortless majesty they had earlier. augh augh
i have to say, the very unusually literal definition of "professional atmosphere" being used here, i absolutely love. that is just so fun!
perfectly Pinkie, perfectly Rarity reacting to Pinkie being Pinkie, auaugh
oof! the coldness, the passive-aggression, the cutting double meanings. the worst things for me to deal with, i would hate to be in this situation so much. i love it
auauagh, the recontextualization! first the wings and now the shared foalhood, all driven by revealed characterization. wonderful stuff
and yes, this payoff, too! the way you set up all your marks to hit them perfectly later. it is a privilege to see you at work
and a hint here of Rarity reading a bit too into things, if i'm reading this correctly. and that certainly not being the cause but rather the effect of the frigid air between them. love the subtlety, augh
just the beauty and poetry of this entire passage, augh. just all the feelings of wanting to stop the world combined with the setting of literally being able to do it, just augh. i can feel all of it. beautiful stuff
such a wonderfully Pinkie way to understand and explain it, haha!
it's interesting, it feels like Rainbow Dash ended up morphing into the character role that was taken up by Spitfire in the first chapter.
such a melancholy moment to have a silly horse pun translation of a cultural concept. i love the dedication and believe in it fully
yes, threading all the hints together! and augh, i feel like i'm retroactively getting some of the metaphors from previous chapters now. the shadow being the shape of what is obscured from the light. all of it just makes this feel like Literature
such a fun touch with the stickers, and augh, what was once merely the old machine now being imbued with comforting familiarity. also brings to mind a contrast with the unwelcoming autocarriage in the earlier chapter.
again, so wonderfully RariTwi
there's something nice here, going from a planet named after Twilight to a planet made for Twilight
agh, love this! such wonderful growth from the Rarity of the first chapter
a tiny sob also escaped me here
i just can't even. i'm crying again despite going into the reread already knowing what happened. just augh. just. it's just so RariTwi, you know? that's the tragedy at the core of their romance, that they are fated to move through existence at different timescales, and augh, this one is just so beautiful and loving and tragic all at once. just the mental image of it, of Twilight seeing Rarity in slices, cut across the length of her mortal lifetime, to what feels is tragically fated to be her end, a lifetime's work devoted to saving Twilight. and Twilight and Rarity's student/teacher relationship here being a thing Rarity continues in honor of her, augh. sorry, i'm crying again. everything about this is so beautiful, and i feel it so deeply.
you've inspired me with a long RariTwi story of my own, Mush. all based off of that feeling i got when i imagined those all-too-short visits between them stretching out into the future. if i could capture a tenth of this fic's brilliance, i would be so happy. thank you so much for this!
[joke]And when Twilight Sparkle is list-less, the situation is dire indeed... that Mare likes her lists...[/joke]
You can has review!