Specialties include comedy, robots, and precision strikes to your feelings. Hobbies include hat and watch collecting. May contain alcohol.
In the distant future, a probe arrives in the skies above Equestria after a journey of five thousand years.
Once discovered, a mare's voice tells of a lost colony on the galaxy's edge, and begs for rescue before speaking these mysterious last words: "I am sorry... I hope this was enough..."
Submitted for the Science Fiction Contest #3, 2024.
Cover by OutterBozak.
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Why isn’t there a dark tag?
11904080
Good question! I'm not a huge fan of the Dark tag in general just because I think it's a poor descriptor. But when I think of "Dark," I think of something bleak and pessimistic in ways this story isn't.
Because, ultimately, it's about Rosie doing whatever she can, sacrificing everything for the one friend she ever had so he has a chance to be happy. I think that's enough to negate a "Dark" tag.
Still, I did add a few more tags to clarify the type of story, so I hope that will suffice.
Thanks for commenting!
11904219
Sounds like Tragedy to me.
11904418
...Oh yeah... You know, I write them so rarely that I forgot we had a "Tragedy" tag. And considering all the references to classical Greek tragedy, that's little embarrassing.
Good note, thanks! Genre has been updated.
Edit: Actually... on second thought, I'm pulling back on "Tragedy." Rosie's misfortune is tragic, as is her having to suffer the guilt of a real Trolly Problem type of decision... but ultimately she goes the distance and succeeds, and I think, if she saw the end result, she'd be overjoyed. So, yeah, sticking with just "Drama."
I. Am. Impressed.
Wonderful tale. I can but admire.
And so I shall.
11904831
Thank you, that's very kind of you to say!
(Also, nice to have a comment that's not about the f
king tags, too. 
)
Damn that was beautiful.
Wait...Turing, is that you?
Oh, not Turing.
No YOU'RE a bitch, Jason!
So Rosie's dead?
And so she sacrifices even herself
Ah, 3-Body Problem aliens.
And so she dies.
11905300
No, but perhaps - in another world - her descendant.
Thanks for all these comments, by the way. It's nice to check on my story and see so many waiting to be read.
Where did the name Jason come from?
Was that a placeholder that got left, or was it intentional.
It doesn't seen a very pony name, and while the subject isn't a pony, the name seems out of left field a bit.
Also while I see the sci-fi trappings, I'm not sure of the Sci-Fi question - unless it's supposed to be the trolley problem.
Other than those nitpicks, it was decent story,
Good Luck in the contest!
11906764
Good questions!
The planet "Medea" is named after the title character in the Greek tragedy by Euripides. She was married to Jason, the leader of the Argonauts (hence the name of the space station in orbit).
The "trolley problem" I mentioned is that Rosie is in the same situation: she could do nothing and everyone would die, or try to save at least some of them by sacrificing others, but be personally responsible for killing them. It might seem logical from a robot's perspective, but as a sapient creature, it's a huge emotional burden to live with.
Thanks for reading and for the well-wishes!
God damn, what a beautiful story about the lengths we go through to provide a better future for the ones we love. Rosie gradually separating herself, sacrificing each bit at a time just to try to give Seed a better life...
God damn, dude. I hope you're proud of this.
Aww that was nice Hat! The random line in the beginning, hoping this was enough. But then you keep reading and you realize just how much that line meant and how much Rosie had sacrificed for that one opportunity. And all for a hope. A sliver of a chance on a sliver of a ship.
Even if Star does have a stank booty
This is a great little tidbit of worldbuilding! And I like how reaching that point allows her to give herself permission to act.
I really enjoyed this one! The laws around recognition of robot sapience reminded me fondly of Asimov's Three Laws of Robots and Martha Wells' Murderbot series -- love to see how society integrates robots/AI into itself, especially when it's in a more interesting or nuanced way than pure slavery.
And oof, although I successfully predicted that at least some of the colonists would still be alive, Star Seedling in particular, you managed to take me by surprise with the revelation that Rosie had sacrificed the rest of them to keep him and his parents alive. I wonder what his parents thought, once they woke up? And yet, it retroactively perfectly explains several minor details like her self-destructing upon reaching somepony she could successfully pass her message on to. I also like that you didn't ever really explain the Foresters in any detail -- I think they worked better as an unknown threat. :)
As someone who's read quite a bit of classic sci fi in the past, this reads like classic sci fi in all the best ways. Nicely done! :D
Once Jason called Rosie selfish, I correctly guessed that she'd doomed most of the colonists to save Star Seedling.
My other (less accurate) prediction was that she'd saved a copy of herself in the data cube to be restored and reunited with Star Seedling if her mission was successful. Glad to see that what she actually did was more selfless and sentimental.
This story's setting and themes of perseverance and sacrifice reminded me of this:
I think the lyrics and visuals are very fitting. A lone mare, soaring through the cosmos for centuries, searching for a way to save her loved ones...
That was a very enjoyable read. Thanks for writing it!
11907436
11918734
Hey, thanks gentlemen! I know I said thank you for your kind words elsewhere, but I might as well make it an official public show of gratitude. I'm really glad to see the story made an emotional impact.
Hey Cyan, hey Raugos! Thank you both for your kind words on my story!
11925855
So glad to hear that. I'm a big fan of classic age sci-fi, and recapturing that sort of classic storytelling along with the wonder and optimism was a goal with this story, so it's great to see that it was recognized.
11926068
Wow, what a great tune! I'm familiar with the artist, but not that song specifically, and you're right that it has some similar themes. I love it when people associate my work with music, especially in this case since the story is inspired by an album (albeit one from 1970). I'm so glad the story resonated with you!
Thank you both again for your comments!
always a fun way to indicate how much time has passed since the setting we know
oof, guessing there aren’t any survivors to rescue at this point!
definitely a weird way to react to a message acknowledgement
augh love it that the ponies made efforts to make their robots reassuringly pony-like
and aww love the very pony detail of sweeping it with her tail
is that a Crystal War reference?
hehe very honest!
i mean given how pony names work what did these ponies expect?
oof! the consequences of an interstellar civilization
and aww so true
so that is definitely how the colonists go out, huh
oof and rip, literally, especially to Star Seedling
augh, this is going to be one of those stories where hopes are crushed and colonists die slowly one by one in ever-increasing despair isn’t it
yay Star Seedling made it!
yay diegetic exposition
lol i did not expect this
ooh, just what will this robot do?
ahaha love it
yay rule of law
aww! this robot pony deserves a birthday hug
and oof, given that five thousand years is at least an order of magnitude and change larger than the “centuries” the statis pods are rated for…
oh no, she’s on her last mission before retirement, that’s not good!
and yeah, i have a few guesses as to what “the Foresters” are, given the concept of the Dark Forest. very ominous name!
very fitting that the way to FTL travel is to apply literal magic
and oof does that explain what happened…
so true, self-reflection is important!
and oof, yeah, i thought this might be what had happened, given her being a misshapen hunk of metal in the first chapter!
dang, what a pony name! also, these space colonists are really going hard on the Pony Greece references
as he should eccentricities own
gottem
so true they picked a good name
love how good she is at lying
aww, goodbye Xerxes!
ooh that is quite something
and auaugh, poor Rosie! that really tugged at my heartstrings, augh
ahahaha ok wow she actually did that
oh no that is actually the center of the plot somehow
and augh, what a decision to even have to make. and as it turned out, the choice to sacrifice 90% of the colony to extend the lives of the remainder tenfold was the right one, since rescue took about five millennia longer than Rosie originally expected…
and augh, full circle with their first conversation! beautiful story, with a very classic Sci-Fi feel, love it. thank you for writing!
11938432
)!
Aw, thank you so much for all the comments and for your assessment of the story! I'm really proud of this one and so glad I got a chance to be a part of the contest (even if it was a very last-minute entry... I'll be sure not to do that again
Thank you and the other judges for all the effort you put into the contest, and I'm glad you enjoyed my humble entry.