Xenocorn

by 3phantoms

Any Advanced Science...

Is there truly no day on this world?” Luna asked quietly, the horrible irony not lost on her.

“None. The only time I’ve seen the sun here is in movies.”

A different planet? Luna was once again seated, now with a cup of tea before her. The steaming beverage was untouched but she found it provided a focus for her unblinking gaze while her mind ran wild.

It seemed ludicrous, insane even, nopony could travel through the vacuum of space to distant worlds. The sheer vastness would have stymied any teleport spell, to say nothing of trying to traverse an environment defined by a lack of environment.

Ok, think logically. Luna narrowed her eyes at the beverage. Rayne could be lying, but Luna couldn’t think of any reason for her to do so. The majin’s voice was void of emotion, a kind of emptiness she’d seen in ponies who had been broken; they had surrendered themselves to their fate and simply disconnected from the object of their woe. She doubted the claim of circumnavigating the world, but had no way of disproving it, as Rayne had made it clear that such a feat was now beyond her.

That still left the fact that she could sense neither sun nor moon in the sky. Even if she were on the other side of the world she should have felt them, but there was nothing, no moon or stars, merely the empty black void of the sky that made her feel small and uncomfortable when she gazed into it.

“Staring a hole into your mug won’t help.” Rayne said softly. “Come on now, talk to this old maid. Judging by your reaction my guess is that your species hasn’t mastered interplanetary travel?”

“No, we haven’t. Ponies use magical mirrors to transport ourselves across great distances, but the only one that could go to other worlds was still experimental.” A pair of wings shrugged. “I was not entirely sure how such devices worked, my teacher Starswirl knew more about them than me.”

“My kind and others from my home world Earth have used ships to travel from planet to planet. I’ll admit to having seen plenty in my time, but you’re the first mirror-hopping pony I’ve met.”

“I’ve never seen a ‘majin’ before either. Nor a home so… different.”

Rayne chuckled at her hesitation. “You mean strange. Don’t worry I’m not offended. If this is your first time dealing with another species it’s natural that you’d have questions.” Already thin eyes closed and her aged face stretched in a broad smile. “Ask whatever you like.”

It was hardly her first time with another species but this was her first time dealing with a true alien, so Luna was grateful for the invitation. After a quick look around she started with the simplest question she could think of, “I assume that you came here by one of your ships, but where is it? It must have been truly massive to hold the materials to construct this home.”

The majin shook her head. “My ship was destroyed but even if it wasn't it wouldn't be so large; we use capsules to shrink items for storage. Food, water, clothing, even a house could be stored inside a capsule.

“And this isn’t technically a home. I was a soldier on a mission that… went wrong and landed me here. This is actually an outpost base that I had stored.”

“Amazing magic,” Luna breathed “and your base, what manner of magic powers it?” She gestured to one of the lights with one upraised wing. “I can sense no enchantments on either the thin tube, nor the glass flame that is somehow as thin as a paper sheet. Yet the small bulbs produce more light than a torch. How?”

“Electricity.” Rayne leaned forward on her cushion and tapped the device she’d used to translate. “Like the scouter, everything here runs off of electronic power. I have several generators in the basement that supply that power to the facility.”

“Wonderous…” Luna’s bulging eyes flicked from the scouter to the lights, if she could learn how such technology worked she could revolutionize Equestria. Then again Nightmare Moon saw windows that thin in the hall where she made our entrance to the common folk. Perhaps this is not so advanced and I am merely out of date. If that were so it would behoove her to learn as much about these artifacts as possible.

“Could you show me more?” She asked eagerly.

Rayne stood and gathered up the dishes with her unusual ability to stretch her limbs and tossed her head to indicate she should be followed. The pink mare led her first to a very large kitchen and after depositing the dishes in one of many sinks, showed her an unusual combination of larder, pantry, and icebox that she called a “refrigerator.”

“Does the light stay on when you close the door?” Luna asked, to which Rayne shook her head and began to explain how coils and liquid kept food cold for longer storage time.

“This place is standard issue meant for agents on extended missions. So it came fully stocked with all the comforts of home for a three-man squad.”
After showing her the various locations of bowls, plates, and cutlery, the mare also explained the stove and its knobs.

What an inspired idea, having a grill atop the oven for heating.

“I unfortunately don’t really have a sense of taste anymore so feel free to help yourself to any food you need, I’ve been transfiguring more food as I need it since you won’t find much out there anymore.”

Luna nodded impressed, transfiguration was highly advanced magic, usable by only a hoofful of ponies, but obscenely useful if one knew how to make food.

She was then shown the various side domes, one contained extra rooms like the one she’d stayed in where she was shown the various grooming products, a question informed her that the bowl in each washroom was an advanced privy, and she quickly made use of its functions.

Another dome was a large shed for storage, containing various rusted tools and worn tarps. The next dome, sitting near the shed had a series of glass panels Rayne called “computers.”

“All de-powered.” The majin said, leaning against a wall to catch her breath, “I eventually realized that no one was hearing my distress signal, and at the time I could only create candy and didn’t know how the generators worked, so I shut them down to conserve power.”

“But you know how to repair them now, do you not? And you can create the needed parts?” At the affirmative response, Luna dragged a feather over one of the dusty glass panes. “Why leave them off then?”

Rayne shrugged unhelpfully. “I already said no one can hear my signal, if help was coming it would’ve been here by now.”

“What makes you so certain?”

“I kept them running for one year after I came here, and my employer had a very effective way of finding lost employees: wishing orbs or dragon balls. There’s no doubt that a wish would have been made to retrieve me; I wasn’t exactly a low ranking agent, and since I’m still here, that means I’m likely beyond the multiverse in which they’re effective.”

“I found you.”

“On purpose?” When Luna averted her eyes, Rayne snorted, though her expression didn’t change from resignation as she headed back out. “As I figured. It’s wonderful to meet you princess, but it’s terrible that you’re here.”

The last two places were the basement, the only other room that didn’t look somewhat dilapidated, and the dome at the back of the complex. The inside was a large tiled room dominated by some kind of cylindrical machine in its center, various weights, and equipment lined the walls.

“This room is used for training. Feel free to use it whenever you like, but I would avoid the big machine in the middle. It can be dangerous if you don’t know how to use it, and I don’t know if it still works properly.”

“What does it do?”

“It can increase the gravity in the room up to five-hundred times Earth’s gravity.” At her raised eyebrows Rayne giggled. “This planet has about ten times Earth’s gravity, yet you don’t seem to be struggling. I’m guessing that it’s not too different from your planet.”

Luna shook her head. “I have not noticed a difference.” Looking at the cracked and broken tiles she indicated the gravity machine with a tilt of her head. “Did you ever use it?”

“When I was younger I used a special training gi, and had it all the way up to five-hundred.”

“I do not believe you.”

“I’m not lying, but I don’t see how I can prove it.”
Leading her back to the main building. Rayne went to an old closet and handed her several bottles of what she claimed to be cleaners, a machine she called a vacuum, and a corroded feather duster. Frowning at the ruined instrument she held it at arm’s length, the tentacles that made up her hair shivered before rising up, the ends pointing straight ahead.

“Turn into a new one.” At the somewhat loud command red bolts shot from each of her appendages and enveloped the tool in an electric glow. The light dissipated with a pop one second later and Rayne held a brand new duster in her hand.

Luna gave her fellow mage two taps of polite applause as she took the now pristine duster in her magic. “That’s very good. And it’s stable, the spell will not undo?”

“The food you ate last night was originally stones mined from the earth over a week ago. I’d say it’s pretty stable.”

“Skillfully done.” Rayne shrugged but smiled and led her back to the room Luna had stayed in, and the two got to work.

There was a lot to do, mostly dusting and washing the walls and ceiling, something unicorn magic came in handy for. The vacuum made Luna nearly jump out of her fur with how loud it was, prompting Rayne to snicker and explain how it worked. A new freshly restored set of sheets were brought in and within two-and-a-half hours of manual labor, the room was looking quite habitable again.

The late afternoon found them once again in the main room, this time on the large couch as Rayne rested from the day.

“Well, all in all this has the most productive day I’ve had in quite a while.” The majin said happily. “I haven’t done work like this in years -never a need to keep anything more than the basics running you know.”

Luna nodded. “I’m amazed at the advances your kind have made, both in the arcane and mundane sciences.” Truly if she hadn’t seen some of those devices, she wouldn’t have believed that they could exist.

“It’s funny,” Rayne said, closing her eyes, “Watching you, I mean; seeing your face light up at each new discovery, and I can tell you still want to learn more.”

“Yes well, tis not every day one finds themselves surrounded by feats of engineering that baffles the mind, overseen by a skilled Archmage.” Luna said with a light blush. “I remember how you moved in that fight with the manticore, the flashes of light and the rapport of your attacks. You’re no mere mage.”

Rayne waved a hand dismissively. “I’m just an old crone now. I may know a few more tricks, but they pale in comparison to me in my prime. That shadow took most of my strength, before I doubt I would have even noticed it.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t really matter though. If you think so highly of my waning skills what of your people? It’s clear by how you’ve talked that magic is more common on your planet than mine. I’m certain you have at least a few tricks I haven’t heard of.”

Luna hummed and brought a hoof to her muzzle thoughtfully. “Well what do you know of enchantments?” At the old mare’s confused look, she elaborated. “The art of imbuing an object with a continuous spell, independent of the caster.”

“Almost nothing, beyond works of fiction.”

That... was not the answer Luna had been expecting, enchanting wasn’t particularly difficult, it was how pony society was built after all. “The simplest enchanted items, like icicle arrows, only do one thing and then disperse, similar to a spell. Stronger enchantments can be used multiple times, before a caster restores their internal magic.”

The majin nodded, her red eyes alight with curiosity, “Makes sense, don’t leave me in suspense, do tell.”

Luna smiled, happy to find familiar ground after feeling lost for most of the day. “There’s the Key of Unfettered Entrance, which can open any door one time, useful if a pony locks themselves out of their home. Gateway Amulets and magic mirrors for long distance travel. Self-motivated mops and buckets for easy cleaning and the like…” For a moment the lunar princess trailed off; Rayne was listening with the intensity of a foal being told about her Hearthswarming gifts, her face showing more surprise than one would expect. But these were simple enchantments, barring the mirror. It boggled Luna’s mind that a race so advanced could be so… backwards.

“There are also books enchanted to let you enter them, invisibility cloaks, even trees can be enchanted to maintain their lives even after they are hollowed out into homes."

“How could you do that? The books I can see, but just ordering a tree to go on living after it should be dead? What about making instruments that move without some kind of apparatus? I don’t suppose you have wish orbs?” Each question was fired off like a bolt from a crossbow, Rayne drawing closer with each one.

Luna tittered at the surprise in the pink mare’s voice. “Is it so surprising to the one who can put buildings into her bags? And sadly no, I have never heard of such artifacts. If we had them…” She trailed off as her good mood dissipated. What one could do with a wish? She could’ve gone home, wished for her subject’s forgiveness, or her evils vanished, old friends restored... the possibilities seemed limitless.

She could’ve wished that she had never thought of the name Nightmare Moon.

“Hey now.” A finger flicked her on the horn, drawing her from her thoughts. “I know that look dearie, you may as well put wishing from your mind, and I’m sorry I brought it up. The sad fact is that unless you can magic us out of here we’re stuck. But at least we’re not stuck alone are we?”

That is true, and between the company of a majin or a nightmare, the choice is obvious.Luna made an effort to smile, though it was hampered by her underlying thoughts. At least she’s not a genocidal maniac.

Rayne must have sensed something was still amiss, for she shook her head sadly “I know it hurts. Just remember that you have a friend here, no matter how dark or lonely it gets.”

Author's Note:

Enjoy, and remember that comments are like zenkais: with each one I grow stronger