Chapter Forty Three- The Princess of the Night
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
The Princess of the Night
Ever since the events of Cestus-III I hadn’t been sleeping well. Augment or not, meeting the Devil of Equestria, watching a First Contact spiral down into massacre, seeing an innocent young buck gunned down before your eyes by an unwilling and equally innocent gunpony, and being the recipient of an involuntary full-spectrum gender swap besides was a bit much for the subconscious to be expected to handle quietly.
I really missed the Mare in My Head, the mental construct I’d come up with as a filly that acted as a filter between me and the things in the outside world. So it was not to be unexpected that I would take a turn around her scaled-down Bridge in the course of my dreams…
I stepped forward from where the Turbolift doors were, my hooves leading me by force of habit to the Science station. I looked around the empty Bridge, taking in the visual displays above each of the Command Consoles. On the Hermes, if they weren’t in use by the individual station, they showed static images of random celestial bodies. Here, though, the screens carried images of Sunny in varying stages of dress… and un-dress! Well, they were still images of a Celestial Body as far as I was concerned! I followed the progression of images clockwise from the turbolift, starting with Sunny on Rodeodondo Beach wearing nothing but her sunglasses and running the gauntlet of her posing a dizzying array of garments culminating in a positively angelic view of her in the outfit I’d bought her on Equestris right over the Engineering Station!
The last screen, over Communications, was different. On it a frankly stunning deep yellow Equestrin mare with a honey-gold mane was caught in the act of shucking off her jumpsuit. Her arms were back and her breasts were thrown forward and she was bare to just below her navel. Her smile was the only light but for the safety lamp in the tunnel we’d stolen off to on that wild night. Topaz Lode, the Mare that threw Feldspar over for me all those years ago. Well, I’m sure Sunny had fond memories of previous lovers, too. Even I’m not that naïve! Here in the privacy of a dream I paused and revisited that night a while before making my way down to the Command Chair, whistling. Yep, she was worth a few broken ribs!
There was a small plastic sign lying on the seat, one of those things you’d see in the window of a small shop when the proprietor needed to step out for a while. There was a blue circle, representative of an old-style analog clock face with to black, moveable hands. Above the clock face ran the caption, ‘Back by…’. All the numbers on the clock were replaced by question marks. Cute.
Fiddling with the clock hands, I turned and sat in the chair. This one was a perfect fit. At least I could open my knees while sitting and had enough room to lounge a little. I gave a little kick and spun around in a lazy circle, listening to the muted beeps and warbles of the consoles and taking in the sights. I came to rest facing the Commissioning Plaque on the wall just to the right of the turbolift as you faced it. This one bore a silhouette of Yours Truly in all my former feminine glory and bore the caption, ‘Starry-Eyes. Ponyton, Equestris. July 17, 2182.’ I frowned when I noticed a second plaque beneath that. It was twenty-four years newer and showed my present outline. ‘Starry-Eyes-A. October 25, 2217’, ran the legend. I snorted and gave the chair another kick and turned to face the Main Viewer.
The screen within the narrow maroon border was dark, just a shade or two bluer than the walls of the Bridge. Beneath it the chasing lights of the Range and Distance Indicator moved sedately left-to-right giving forth a quiet ringing electronic ‘ping’ at the end of its travel as the ships sensors scanned local space. I wondered idly, since this Bridge was entirely in my head, if my senses were scanning whatever room I was in…
I settled back in the chair and got comfortable. For a dream this wasn’t shaping up badly. Not a nightmare, not even the mild sort like the one where I’m sitting down to a nice salad only to have the fork go utterly limp in my hoof and I have to eat the thing with my fingers while everypony around me tries not to stare. Just a goofy little nonsense dream, the kind that makes you wonder just what the heck brought that on when you woke up. Maybe Sunny would come wandering in wearing a Top Hat or something! I turned toward the turbolift again in anticipation. I thought that, maybe if I worked this just right, she’d come in wearing her bustier… or maybe nothing at all! As long as I was dreaming why not have Xantippe come in topless and sit in my lap for a little ‘dictation’? What happens in a dream stays within a dream, I always say!
A feminine voice giggled! I froze and perked my ears. I didn’t recognize the voice. I swiveled the chair slowly, trying to lock onto the source. I heard it again. It was a youthful voice, not much younger than myself, and she was having fun. Not the lascivious sort I was just contemplating, mind you, but the innocent pleasure of simple play like making a hardcopy airplane and tossing it back and forth during slack time or even just telling jokes with friends… activities I’d given up for a long while now.
My questing ears led me to face the chair forward toward the Main Viewer. I listened to the unknown Mare enjoy herself while I chewed my lip. I could activate the View from my chair but, given the nature of the circumstances, I was hesitant. With the uncomfortable inevitability of most of my dreams things were taking a definite nightmare turn. Some lucky Ponies claim to be able to guide their dreams to wherever they wanted to go. With my luck I’d be greeted by the sight of some brain-eating Zombie or some rubber-suited Pony devastating Nip-On straight out of Sunny’s antique video collection. … More probably, I’d be treated to the sight of Stimbolt looking straight into my eyes as he got shot through the heart. Once, just for once why couldn’t it be animated bimbos? With a sigh I steeled myself and hit the switch.
The screen came alive with its characteristic plexing sound as I stared resolutely at the image that built up… and blinked, staring!
It was a clearing in a forest at night. Huge, dark trees framed an open glade in which pale, night flowers bloomed. A patch of thickly-starred sky was dominated by Earth’s full Moon, the face of the Mare in the Moon looking down at her namesake cavorting in the starlight!
Luna stood, caught in the act of rearing playfully, her forelegs windmilling as she tried to tag with her nose the shimmering figure of Tyllae who dodged and weaved around her head like a maniac meteor! The jet tiara on her head was askew and her star-spangled, midnight blue mane billowed and floated almost independently of her body as her half-outspread wings fluttered to a stop. The smile on her muzzle froze and her indigo eyes widened in embarrassment as they saw me looking. Tyllae zipped to halt next to her head and she turned to look to see what interrupted their game.
“Hi-hiii, Starry! Tyllae an Luna just playing a little before Luna has to hava big talk with Starry. Tyllae gotta go now! Bye-bye!” The tiny Fey darted in to nuzzle dark purple muzzle and ‘pifed’ away!
The Goddess of the Night hurriedly, yet gracefully, regained Her footing and settled her wings one at a time. Her horn flared darkly and a starshot aura set her tiara aright as she closed her eyes, collecting the Royal Dignity no doubt. Only then did she stand regally upright and pace forward, her eyes opening in calm determination.
So help me, she stepped straight through the Viewer’s frame and stopped in front of the Helm and Navigation consoles, banishing the Viewer’s image as soon as her luxurious tail cleared the screen. With a practiced motion she raised one foreleg and stretched it out imperiously.
“BEHOLD, STARRY-EYES! THY PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT HATH ARRIVED!” Backed by distant thunder, Her voice boomed in the confines of the Bridge and the display screens above each station flashed with simulated lightning.
I winced and stood, rubbing one ear. “You know, I’m standing right here. Less than ten feet away. On top of that, I have Augmented hearing, there’s no need to shout.”
The imperious hoof faltered and something like doubt came into those indigo eyes. “WE ARE NOT SHOUTING. WE ARE USING THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE AS BEFITS THE OCCASION OF A ROYAL VISIT, THE FIRST ONE IN AGES.”
I rounded the consoles on the port side and stood at Parade Rest before her. “I’ll stipulate to the solemnity of the occasion. If I were awake and conscious I’d be much more deferential. Since you saw fit to come into my dream, however, I don’t feel that a little common courtesy is out of place. So, if you please, Tone It Down.”
Her hoof came down onto the deck quickly and she fidgeted, dropping her eyes just for a moment. When she looked back up it was almost apologetically. When she spoke again, it was in a quieter, warmer voice.
“We beg thy forgiveness, Starry-Eyes. Our Sister suggested that the ancient custom be followed. We begin to suspect that We have been set up for the sake of Her amusement… yet again.” The Princess of the Night frowned ruefully.
“Don’t worry about it. Dreams are just dreams and I don’t take them seriously.” I assured Her. “…Truth be told I was expecting a swarm of gremlins or something else unpleasant.” I paused for a little and eyed Her warily. “…This is about the point in the course of things when it usually happens.”
But She only nodded understandingly. “Verily thou hast the right of it. Thou dreamest but rest assured, We are quite Real.”
“Uh-huh.” I said skeptically.
“I am Princess of the Night, Starry-Eyes. It is part of my duty to come into the dreams of all our subjects. Hast thou ever seen Us in thy dreams before?”
“Until recently I haven’t had any reason to dream of you or your Sister.” I pointed out reasonably. “And as far as being your subject goes, well, I work for the Federation. Actually, given the last several days, I’m surprised that I’m not talking to Discord right now!” I cocked a wary eye at the Alicorn. “…Or am I?”
“Discord is a trickster but would he be this subtle, Starry-Eyes? Wouldst he not twist thy dream into something more to his chaotic fancy?” She cocked Her head, fixing me with one eye to emphasize her point. “He hates thee and thy kind! Thou wouldst be in a nightmare realm from the outset.”
“If anypony would know it’d be you. Nightmare Moon would be an expert in nightmares, wouldn’t she?” Look, in my defense, I thought it was all just a dream!
Luna flinched. “Were We of such a mind We would say that a child of Khan would be an expert in being cruel, could We not?”
“Look, Lady…!” I advanced on Her with the full intent of administering a browbeating, but gave up. “Oh, for the love of…! How can you win an argument with a dream? It’s like trying to find the last digits of ‘pi’, never gonna happen!” I turned my back on Her and stalked back to my chair… checking it for tacks first. I know my dreams!
“Forty-two.” She said quietly.
“What?” I whirled the chair around to look at her.
“We pray thee do not panic, Starry-Eyes! Forty-two is the ultimate answer, the last two digits in the sequence. …We once worked out the entire answer while We were exiled to the Moon.” She said in a matter-of-fact tone. “We are surprised that with all thy technology thou hast not arrived at the answer.” She ambled up slowly, craning her head this way and that to take in the machineries of the Bridge. Her eyes took in the Visual Displays and she rolled a playful eye my way. “…But ‘twould seem thou hast kept thyself busy with other, more practical, pursuits to occupy thy mind! Would that We had such diversions on the Moon! Truly, thy new bodies leave little to the imagination! Is this why thy kind coverest thyselves from neck to toes so?”
I hurried to access the Displays from my chair, replacing them with neutral shades of blue, a shade that nicely counterbalanced the blush I could feel on my muzzle!
Luna chuckled. “Worry not, Dear Starry-Eyes! Gently We are thus revenged for thy remarks concerning Nightmare Moon… and thus We apologize for Our invoking the shade of the hated Khan as well.” Standing, her head was still level with mine. As she stepped up next to me something of the Princess seemed to drop away from Her to reveal a Mare… no, little more than a Filly… who had never had much of a foalhood of her own. Somepony who struggled to maintain an image expected of her at the expense of her own self. Only in the intimacy of dreams that could be denied in the light of day could she let the vulnerability… and loneliness… be seen. I couldn’t help but feel like a stiff-necked heel.
“Shall We begin afresh, good Starry-Eyes? I am Luna, Princess of the Night. And We have come to speak with thee in thy dream if thou wilt hear Us.”
I chewed my lip and considered the being before me for long moments. It was the Equestrin in me, I guess, that wanted final proof. I cautiously raised one hoof, extended a finger and sought to touch the indigo nose in front of me. She crossed her eyes to watch my progress and I couldn’t help but to smile.
Her nose was velvety soft and Her warm breath brushed my hoof. I couldn’t help but rub her nose a little. She abruptly sneezed and I snatched my finger away!
“We beg thy pardon… but that doth tickle!” She spent a second composing Herself, then, “Art thou convinced of Our reality now?” Those dark eyes positively twinkled!
“I don’t know…” I said slowly. “I’ve felt things before in a dream… I think.”
“What doth thy heart knowest that thy finger doth not?” She asked softly.
I sighed. “All right. You’re here… somehow. I’ll just take it on faith.” We regarded one another for a few moments while I fidgeted.
“Um, I’m unsure of the protocol here. Am I expected to bow or kiss your horseshoe or something?” I looked at Her frankly. “Look, I’ll be honest with you! I don’t want to be accused of showing lesse majeste but…”
“As thou hast already pointed out so delicately…” Luna looked away innocently. “Our Crown hath no authority over thee. It was presumptuous of Us to number thee among Our subjects. We spoke out of old habit… and humbly beg thy pardon. We can lay no claim of fealty upon thee or thy people. Plain courtesy would be appreciated, good Starry-Eyes.”
“Fair enough, Luna… Princess… Goddess…Your Majesty… what the hell should I call you, given the circumstances?”
She laughed. “Given the circumstances, ‘Luna’ will suffice!”
I settled back in my chair and lounged on one arm. “So… is it my imagination or do you and Tyllae speak the same lingo, when she’s on the Other Side at least?”
“Thou referest to the Royal Pronoun? …Or to Our mode of speech altogether?” She folded Her legs gracefully and settled to the deck, getting comfortable. “In the case of the Faery it is a consequence of living in two realms at the same time. The Fey choose to consider the two beings as separate individuals occupying a pair of linked bodies each with its own identity. Confusing, forsooth, from the Pony point of view but a condition the Fey take for granted! The Royal Pronoun comest from that, since the Fey patronized Ponykind since its inception.” She shrugged Her wings. “The custom was adopted long, long ago and hath become Tradition! Celestia hath overcome Her teaching and chooses to use it not, the better to make Herself less remote from Our Little Ponies.” She looked away, self-consciously. “We… I.. however, have yet to unlearn it completely. But, in Our… my… defense, my interactions with our subjects have suffered a lapse.” She trailed away, looking uncomfortable.
I knew better than to evoke the subject of Nightmare Moon again, though! I hastily changed tacks.
“You sound like you’ve studied the subject, though, almost like an equinopologist.”
“I’ve applied myself to learn all I could about Modern Society!” She said, eagerly. The last vestiges of Her imposed aloofness falling away in almost foal-like earnestness. She looked at me just like a young schoolfilly eager to show off her knowledge. I suppressed an urge to smile.
“I have studied hard to learn the mysteries of Science and Technology! I can even make microwave popcorn all by myself… most of the time.” She declared proudly, rolling Her eyes just a little bit at the last few words.
“You’re one up on Tyllae at any rate!” I said, ransacking my memory of any recollection of radiation-emitting grain. I concluded that it must be an Earth Thing from during the Eugenics Wars when it was hard to get uncontaminated food… “She can recognize the on button of a vid player but that’s about it. She has the habit of hexing machines that frustrate her… which is most of them!” I leaned in confidentially. “We try to keep her out of Engineering!” We both laughed.
Luna looked around the Bridge. “Even with all that I’ve learned, I can scarcely comprehend the nature of the devices I see here.” She pointed at the Communications Station with her horn. “That is a wireless telegraph device, is it not?” She shot me a unsure glance that I pretended not to notice.
“Ah, yes it is. We call it ‘radio’ and it operates in electromagnetic frequencies as well as in subspace ones.”
“E-lect-tro-mag-netic.” She repeated, nodding sagely. “I recognize the term, though ‘sub-space’ is a mystery to me. Twilight Sparkle is much more knowledgeable in these matters. She taught me all that I know.” She gave me a private, embarrassed smile. “… Such as it is.” She looked around wistfully. “I wish she could be here with us, she would be ecstatic!”
“I’d be glad to give you both the Grand Tour, but…” I coughed into my hoof politely. “If I understood Tyllae correctly you had something other than the, uh, wonders of science to discuss.”
It was Her turn to sigh. “Yes, yes I do.” She tore Her eyes away from all the pretty lights with an effort. “Your body does not require as much sleep as others do and time runs strangely in a dream. The time to socialize will come later. There will be other dreams.”
She collected Herself a little. When She looked at me again She was, once again, the young Filly with a grown-up job to do.
“Celestia knows now of Discord’s perfidy, thanks to both Stimbolt and Cloud Caper…”
“Wait!” I sat bolt upright. “Stimbolt is with you too?”
Luna blinked. “Of course. Discord, in his madness, acted rashly when he killed him. Perhaps he thought the distance too great. More likely he misjudged or never understood the nature of Stimbolt’s spirit. Upon his death he found his way to us, the first in many a long year. Speaking to him, we learned a little of what the Lord of Chaos has been planning.”
“Is he…? Does Stimbolt…?” I faltered.
“He is well, good Starry-Eyes.” Luna said gently. “He bears no ill-will against you. He understands there was nothing you could do to save him. You were both pitted against a foe you could not prevail against. He was worried that you would blame yourself.”
I must have looked pretty shattered at that moment because Luna rose to tuck my head under her neck. Before I shut my eyes I stared blindly at the alabaster crescent Moon emblazoned on the halter that she wore. It couldn’t have been a dream. No nightmare I ever had smelled like violets… or hugged me so warmly.
I patted the Royal Shoulder after a few seconds and we drew apart. “Thank you.” I sniffed back tears of relief, successfully for the most part. “He’s happy now, right?”
Luna wiped my eyes with a delicate wing tip! “He is a celebrity, believe it or not! Twilight Sparkle and many Unicorns of her Academy compete for his time that they may learn something of the Science of your day. He has little enough time for himself, the poor colt, but he is happy. Our Equestria-Among-The-Stars has proven to be Paradise enough for him at least!”
“And Caper….?”
Luna smiled indulgently. “Cloud Caper is most of the reason I am here now. He is concerned that the details of the message I sent by him was too vague.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, I haven’t your frame of reference… or the language… to express myself correctly, haven’t I?”
“The part about five hundred and thirteen light years was pretty plain.” I conceded. “But the rest was more poetic than practical… from our pedestrian Pony point of view!”
“One who speaks with such alliteration should not sneer at the notion of poetic language!” Luna poked my shoulder with her nose. “In any event I have prepared a scroll, under Cloud Caper’s direction, that will make things clearer.” She gestured with a hoof and there came a starshot burst of purple, heatless flame in my lap. It was gone before even my reflexes could kick in and in its place laid a scroll tied up with an indigo ribbon bearing a silver crescent-moon seal. Neat trick, that, and I told Her so!
“And this is going to be with me when I wake up? Or do I have to memorize it before that happens?”
“That and more, good Starry-Eyes. Both for the sake of those who may not believe… and for He that pursues you.” Luna nodded solemnly.
“Ok, you’re lapsing into the cryptic again. I need a little more, ah, moonlight shed on the subject.” I said with a smile.
Luna returned the expression. “The scroll may be considered proof for those who require it. Celestia and I have it in mind to send something else as well, a gesture of defiance for Discord to show that we both know of his treachery. In his arrogance he believes his Prism to be all-powerful. He believes that the Magic he wreaks with it cannot be undone, we mean to show him the error of his ways and shake his faith in that he has created.”
“… I’m curious about how you intend to do that.” I said cautiously. “I’ve seen the damn thing in action! If we weren’t able to exploit Discord’s ignorance of certain aspects of our science we’d all be part of the thing by now! Look, I’m an Equestrin and therefore not the best judge of Magic but, based on what I’ve seen and what Discord said…”
Luna silenced me with an upraised hoof and a calming look. “The Prism’s Magic is that of Death and Death is a solitary thing. My Sister and I deal with the Magic of Life and Harmony. Discord, In his cruelty, did not kill you and thus unwittingly exposed the limitations of his power. We have it in mind to restore what he has taken from you so that, when he beholds you again, he will see that Celestia and I are aware of what he has done and he will know that we have arrayed ourselves against him. The knowledge may stay his claw… or at least cause him to hesitate at a critical moment. For all his imagined might and glory, he will hesitate to act against Celestia.” She stated sternly.
“Your memories of Discord are millennia out of date.” I cautioned. “He’s rattling-off-the-rails, barking-at-the-Moon… you’ll pardon the expression…insane these days. If Tyllae is right, then who knows how much of the Discord you knew still runs around in his head?”
“Discord loved my Sister, once.” Luna said softly. “She was much of the reason he stayed in this Realm. Love is mightier than Death, Starry-Eyes. He remembers, never fear. The loss of Fluttershy tore at his mind, but the memory of Celestia burns at his heart!”
I sat back in my chair once again, wishing for a jolt of that Saurian Brandy in Sunny’s Sickbay… or a good slug of Amber Rose’s uskebaugh… just then! “I’ll defer to your knowledge on that.” I ruminated on the Princess’s previous statement for a bit.
“Wait!” I eyed her narrowly, my heart giving a little leap. “What do propose to…‘Restore’?”
“Your rightful body, of course!” She said with a playful twinkle in those Regal eyes. “There is enough before you to deal with as it is without having to do so in such an unnatural shape!” She rolled Her eyes innocently. “Unless you prefer to remain that way, that is. I know of at least one Alicorn that dreams differently!”
I was speechless for a little, blinking back grateful tears. “I would like that. Thank you.”
“You have both our gratitude, Starry-Eyes, for what you and yours have undertaken. I only wish we could do more.” She regarded me warmly for a moment before getting to the task at hoof. “Shall I begin…?”
I dismounted my chair to stand towering head and shoulders before Her. “I’m ready. Um, what do you want me to do?”
“Don’t worry!” She had the good grace not to laugh. “There is still no Pixy-dust involved.” …Now how could She have heard about that? “Merely accept this with our thanks.” She bent her head and her horn flared into life.
I was lifted a little off the deck as the dark nebula of Her magic surrounded me. It felt like Sunny’s telekinesis spell so that wasn’t so bad. But when the brilliant violet sparks began arcing around me I couldn’t help being… concerned. It didn’t hurt, mind you, but they rapidly increased in number, merging and enveloping me from heel to collarbone. Something like a wind stirred my shortened mane, billowing my clothes under the brilliance that spread upwards. I shot a nervous glance Her way as it climbed up to my chin but She remained still with Her eyes closed and the tip of her horn glowing star-bright. I relaxed as best I could and closed my eyes, thinking of Sunny until the light reached them, shining through as if they weren’t there. My mind whirled…
felt my boots touch the deck and I put out my hooves to keep from pitching forward face first. I blinked the afterglow out of my dazzled eyes… and my mane in all its thick, dark, lustrous glory fell around my shoulders! I felt the long-missed weight of my tail do the same with a thrill! Then and only then did I clutch at my chest to encounter the familiar heaviness there. I swore in that moment that I’d never bitch about them again! For the record I didn’t grope between my legs, I just knew it and they were gone!
“It is done.” Luna said simply.
I stood and tossed my mane out of my eyes in a gesture I didn’t realize until then I’d missed so much, and smiled the widest smile of my life at the Princess of the Night!
Luna’s eyes widened and her wings half-deployed! “Are… are you sure I got it right? I know that you are very tall… but you are huge!” Her horn gestured at my chest.
I glanced down and hefted them both, un-self-consciously for the first time in my life! “Yep, that’s all me all right!”
She folded Her wings back in one at a time and flopped down on her haunches eyeing me skeptically. “Are you sure? … How do you manage to walk? I mean, going around on two legs seems to be a mighty dicey situation to begin with but you’re so…. top heavy!”
“The Augmented physiology goes a long way toward helping out.” I laughed. “And, believe it or not, it’s considered attractive!”
Luna pondered that then smirked. “The Stallions must have it rough!” She giggled. “I can see why you all go clothed now!”
“I hope you never have occasion to find out!” I gathered the Alicorn up in a grateful hug! “Thanks, Luna, from both me and Sunny!”
“For what you are about to do, you have the gratitude of Celestia, myself, and all who dwell in Equestria-Among-The-Stars, Starry-Eyes.” She said as we disengaged, Her telekinesis setting Her tiara aright again.
“There’s that title again!” I hopped back into my chair, feeling so good that I just had to give it a single merry-go-round spin! Luna sat once again, smiling tolerantly. “Is that where you and Celestia have sequestered yourselves all this time? Where ‘among the stars’ is it? And who is living there with you? Two Ponies, be they Alicorns or not, do not make a country. Or are Stimbolt and Caper the first citizens? From what I recall of the Legend, you and Celestia left on your own.”
Luna blinked. “That is not so! Celestia announced The Leavetaking years in advance so that Ponies could decide for themselves if they wanted to stay. Thousands came with us in the end.”
“We found a world very much like our old one. Celestia, Cadence, Twilight, and I labored mightily to make it as hospitable as possible.” She continued. “Twilight helped me the The Moon, her appreciation of celestial bodies is almost on a par with your own!” She nodded to the displays circling the Bridge and winked.
“Ahem!” I shifted in my seat and re-blanked the displays that somehow rebooted themselves, giving The Princess of the Night a mildly remonstrative look. “Ok, but what star does it orbit? There’s nothing at five hundred light-years that fits the bill.”
“Equestria-Among-The-Stars circles no star made by Nature. Our Sun is an arcane construct and exists on no map of the stars of your science, Starry-Eyes. Neither it nor our world resides precisely within the bounds of the Universe you know, it is apart and yet linked to it. It was intended that Ponies would one day find the subtle clues its existence leaves in the fabric of the Universe and thus find us.” Her brow darkened as she frowned.
“But Discord, who indeed came with us, slipped his bounds unbeknownst to all by the Power of his Prism and crossed back into your Universe time and again. To our eyes he was the same as when he came and we had come to trust him. Celestia was eager to believe he had truly Reformed and so we allowed ourselves to be deceived. We had no reason to venture back into the Universe and contented ourselves to wait until… and if… Ponies found us.”
“Discord, in the meanwhile, had cloaked our Gateway in what I can only describe as pure Chaos! A roiling mass of energies arcane and physical, terrible to see and yet beautiful, that shred Reality and lays waste to all in its path. For Discord has set it flying among the Stars at speeds that rival your star-ship. For now it careens at random but Discord, I think, may yet learn to use his Prism to steer it at even greater speeds and to go where he wills it, this terrible Nexus of Realities formed around the core of our Gateway.”
“Discord intended that no Pony ever make it to the Gateway. If no Pony ever passed through then Celestia would never know what transpired beyond it, She is bound by the terms of the Magic She wove to make our Realm and is thus unable to look beyond the Gateway. She is an Honorable Alicorn.” One silver-shod hoof came out to trace idle designs on the deck as her eyes rolled away innocently. “…Her Little Sister, on the other hoof, is more precocious!”
“We all kept one arcane eye on the Gateway all those years. One Night, I perceived the Dreams of Ponies beyond it and chose to exercise my Royal Prerogative. Coming into a Dream is not the same as actually going there, after all! Once beyond the Gateway I saw what had become of it. Once I walked in the Dreams of your shipmates I began to piece together the sequence of events that led you all to this place.” She caught my eye and held it sternly. “I have no doubt that Discord is responsible for the Eugenics Wars as well as the terrible Wars that preceded it. You have heard from his own lips of his involvement with these Klingons and Romulans. I recognize his mark on these things. I, too, once heeded Discord’s whisperings… and paid a terrible, terrible price for my weakness.” She bent her head as if the weight of Nightmare Moon’s helm still bore her down and was silent for long moments, then… “To be Alone, be it within ourselves or wandering on the face of The Moon, is a terrible thing. Alone, we none of us are able to stand against Discord. The strength of Ponykind lay in working in Harmony with one another. That strength is there no matter how much Discord tried. Your Federation is proof of this. It is an outrage to Discord and he will move the stars themselves to bring it down.”
“And the Prism gives him a big enough lever to move them, doesn’t it?” I concluded grimly, rubbing my palms on my knees until a thought suddenly occurred to me. “Discord, by his nature is the very antithesis of Harmony, right?”
“Just so.” Luna nodded.
“Then that’s his Achilles Heel! It’s a paradox we can exploit! The archetypal Loner is paired with a partner now! Tyllae hinted that the damn thing has an agenda of its own! Hell, I’ve seen it buck him myself! If we can drive a wedge between him and the Prism somehow we can pry him away from it. … A rather poetic turn of events for the Lord of Chaos, given his track record.” I concluded.
“A commendable concept…” Luna pointed out. “But how to put it into practice? To speak to Discord is to be within the joint Power of both him and the Prism.”
“That’s a risk that needs to be taken.” I conceded. “While he’s talking he’s not swatting us from the sky, and Celestia knows… you’ll pardon the expression… the bastard dearly loves to talk!”
“I was under the impression that Equestrins like to swear by me since, like yourselves, I've dwelt among the stars!” She winked.
“Sunny's been rubbing off on me of late! Besides, Earth's Moon is only two light-seconds away. Hardly 'among the stars', you know!”
“It's still farther than any Pony got before a scant couple centuries ago, so there!” She stuck the Royal Tongue out at me and continued. “The stories I could tell you … will have to wait for another dream!”
From various stations on the Bridge displays were blinking, the muted beeps and chirps of the equipment altered their tone as they powered up. The Science Station indicated increased Computer activity while Engineering informed me that power levels were increasing and that fuel status was low. I was waking up, it seems, and breakfast was on my mind! We both looked around as the Bridge lights came up.
Luna rose gracefully to Her feet and gathered the Royal Dignity to Her once more. For now, the Slumber Party was over and She had other dreams to visit. “We must take thy leave of thee, good Starry-Eyes. For others the Night is still young!” She spread Her wings and flapped into the air, the ceiling seeming to recede from Her. “Remember! In three days time thy Ship must be at the appointed place lest the Gateway be swept beyond thy reach. If thou canst breach the Gateway then Celestia may come forth to aid thee in confronting Discord!” The Bridge grew dim and wavered as if it were a stage set at the mercy of a wind machine. The seats wind-vaned in the breeze, a loose stylus clattered onto the deck and Luna rose farther and farther away with each flexion of Her wings. The plaque designating the Starry-Eyes ‘A’ came loose and swirled up into the ether to follow Luna as an impatient thumping came from the turbolift doors.
“Fare thee well, Starry-Eyes! It was a Merry Meeting! Fare Thee Well… and Congratulations!” Luna cried, springing up high, her eyes blazing like comet nuclei. She rose up into star-strewn darkness until she was silhouetted against a blazing Full Moon…
I came awake with a little start as Sunny’s cuckoo clock squawked out the third hour of the new day. I fought off the familiar dream-disorientation and took stock of my sensations. A glance at my chest told me that it had all been real indeed. The spot of warmth between my breasts told me that Tyllae still dreamed. I could feel the scroll that rested there with her… I somehow just knew the little tyke was using it as a pillow! I stayed still, not willing to take away from her time with the Luna she loved so well.
I gave Sunny a squeeze as she snoozed on my shoulder. I would have kissed her head but she stirred, raising her head to look up at me sleepily.
“I’m sorry, Sunny!” I whispered. “Go back to sleep, Honey. The most wonderful thing just happened! I’ll show you in the morning.”
“S’alright.” She yawned and gave me a drowsy kiss. “She told me. She told me every blessed thing!” She snuggled herself under my chin and laid a hoof on my left breast, patting companionably.
“Oh?” I should have seen it coming...
“Aye.” She murmured. Then, before I knew it, she fetched me a tweak to the nipple that made me squeak! “I’ll allow ye yon Topaz Lode, but keep yer bloody eyes n’ hooves off that bloody Zebra! She’s taken n’ so’re ye!”
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The answer maybe forty two but your on page forty four! If this what a "normal" Fed ship goes though in your verse I would hate to be on the Enterprise!
Our eyes didst bring to us a merry "Progress" reference! And, verily, 'twas good!
If they can make it to the Nexus, do you think they can go back in time and give Kirk a somewhat more heroic death?
Luna doth troll, methinks!
3295616 Yep, I wish I could have done this in chapter 42! ...Maybe in version 1.2
As far as how the Enterprise would fare... is Discord any worse than the Organians, the Thasians or the Metrons? Like the old guy with the wild hair would say, 'It's all relative'!
3295718 Kudos for picking up on the Nexus! Have an uskebaugh in a commemorative Star Trek: Equestria cup! (Available for a limited time free with a Trekkie Meal at Burger Pony!)
As tempted as I was to keep Luna's dialect archaic I had to concede that, since that fateful Nightmare Night long ago, she's had the opportunity to update her speech... at least for purely social occasions, that is!
3295858 And why should Celestia have all the salacious fun?
I see that I failed to mention that I based my mythical backstory concerning Celestia and Discord on a poignant little video on YouTube entitled 'Heavens Light'. Check it out, everypony!
3296121 Oh, I certainly do not begrudge a certain Lunar Lovely her fun! I am looking forward to how you portray Twilight Sparkle and Cadence (should you give them some of the spotlight). I do believe you have Luna spot-on, though one would think Twilight had beaten the archaic out of our favorite Moon Princess.
Looking forward to the next chapter!
(wishing you had given Starry a bit more time to live as a male, but it's your story and you are certainly entitled to do as you please with you characters.)
3296197 Oh, Starry has done enough damage as a buck already!
Now what was it Luna said, 'Congratulations', was it? I wonder why...?
3296881 Oh...I have one particular idea!
Do you know why the answer to life, the universe, and everything is 42?. I know why and it has nothing to do with π or pie... Or even mechanicaly produced cake.
Wow, Just wow. Starry is back!!
So much good stuff in this chapter. I'm a little confused though, do ponies not die in this new world? I only ask cause Twilight and Cadence should be dead by now, also it seems dead ponies can go there. have they made their home in the afterlife? If so why isn't Fluttershy there? Also, I don't think the Hermes can go 513 light years in three days, unless it's capable of Warp 39.67 and can hold that speed for three days.
3299050 As Amber Rose rhetorically asked Starry long ago, 'How long do Alicorns live?' If Celestia and Luna are any sort of models they are for all practical purposes immortal. Twi' and Cadence should be alive & well in Equestria-Among-The-Stars. Sunny & Starry's relationship is thus foreshadowed by doom...
As far as 513 light-years goes, the Hermes is in the same boat as a hunter suddenly jumped by a Grizzly in the woods... it's amazing how fast you can run when you're really inspired!
3298776 *Tears himself from the embrace of Eccentrica Gallumbitus, the Triple-Breasted Whore of Eroticon 6 and consults with the mice...*
3299951 Ok, so you're going with the 'Twilight and Cadence are immortal too' thing huh? Fair enough. That still doesn't answer how the dead end up there, but oh well.
Somehow I doubt the Hermes could sustain Warp 39.67 for three days. In fact I doubt it could reach Warp 39.67 at all.
3299983 Why shouldn't I? The are, in essence, Goddesses after all. At least, it pleases my Fancy to think of them so
As far as the Dearly Departed goes I'm flying in uncharted territory. There is nothing in the Series to hint at an Equine Afterlife. After all, as originally formatted, it IS a children's story. But I too, despite self-promulgated rumors otherwise, was a child... once upon a time. Though I embrace and encourage the Scientific Method I like to think that Good Is Rewarded In The End. It is not Rational. It is an Emotional Response. The Psychologists say that it is an attempt to impose order on a Universe beyond our control. I dodge the issue and point out that it is a beautiful expression of Conservation of Energy. Energy, be it solid matter or Spirit, is never destroyed... it merely passes from one form to another. I, for one, would like to walk with Luna under the Moon one day
3300163 Very poetic, and I agree with you, although I too know it isn't entirely rational. I can't help but feel you're avoiding the question though. Do the dead go to Equestia-Among-The-Stars or not? Also, how the bloody hell are they going to go that fast?
3300265 *Waps you with a rubber chicken* Pragmatist!
How does Luna walk in countless dreams every night? It must be Magic!
3299956
The answer to life, the universe and everything is..... The search for paradise. if you take the numbers on all side of two 6 sides dice (The most common used dice) and add them up. It equals 42.
3303115 Paradise.....pair o' dice....D'OH!!!!!!
... I must have missed that back when I read the Trilogy. Many thanks and a Great Bird Of The Galaxy Quill to you for enlightening me!
3302367 Well ok sure magic, I can go with that. But are they there in physical form, or some kind of spirit form. The way Luna described it suggested that they were now like all the others there. Ok yeah I'm a pragmatist, I think, not sure what one of those is.
3303349 I gave up pragmatism (And Xianity!) for Lent
Equestria-Among-The-Stars can be thought of as an Equestrian afterlife. The dead are reborn as random Ponies with new personalities to develop.(To Your Scattered Ponies go! ...old fantasy reference involving Faboulous Riverboats!
) A very few, like certain heroes and heroines of the Hermes, make the translation intact and take up residence as 'old-fashioned' 4-legged Ponies.
3305359 I see, does that mean Fluttershy is there in some form? Also Riverboats?...What?!
3308036 Ahhh! Equestria-Among-The-Stars is ANOTHER story! (Always loved thst line atthe end of the originnal Conan movie!
)
The Fabulous Riverboat is a reference to a classic Philip Jose Farmer Trilogy, The Riverworld Series. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, The Fabulous Riverboat, and The Magic Labyrinth. Check it out at your local Library!
3309031 Check it out at your local library huh? Twilight would love you I reckon. Sadly, not much of a book reader myself, I tend to stick to shorter stories on the net. You know, sucky vision and all that.
3309496... Pardon me! I didn't hear you, my eyes are bad!
I have diabetic eye issues goin' on myself. I have to have the font set to 20 just so I can see what I type! (Getting older is highly overrated!
)
3310562 Heh heh, well I have about three percent of ordinary vision and have to use 500% screen magnification and altered colour schemes to see what I'm reading. Though I imagine getting old has other problems too huh? Anyway, this story is certainly taking an interesting turn, kind of DS9 like.
Riverworld is inrtesting as they use matter conversion to duplicate anything, and reach back through time to scan a persons body and mind, so that only the information needs to be transfered. The latest news in entabled photons has shown a tamporal back propagation capability of over ten nanoseconds.
By th way, in order to calculate the infinite digits of pi, you use a short cut. you dont calculate all the digits in between, but start at infinity and work back. I have the proof written down, but not theactual values as yet, as this page is a bit small for the expansion. 8}
Im puzzled at teh Congratulations thing, especially given the other information present, as I thought they were just getting to the point where they were sharing the same bed, not that certain yearly events had fully kicked in. If I missed that bit, then it was expected.
Hmm, an artificial world partially floating between the universe and elsewhere, Isnt that the World Of The Immortal, from Perry Rhodan?
Theres some confusion about published results of theoretical Alcubierre Warp effects, and the supringly low yield of the torpedos, in that a rough mesurement of yield, is a 1 gram total conversion is a ten megaton blast, and even current Warps take an estimated Ton of energy, for a ten light speed capability.
Im going to stick with the Habbakuk, Star Killer. 2000 metres long, 120 million tons weight, Fires a 4 million ton metallic hydrogen charge, in a phased coherent fusion blast to cause a core collapse in the star. Carries 6 shots. You dont want to know what it can do when modulated to maximum complexity. Lets just say the effect extends to 2 light years radius.
And now.. Fingernails on blackboard time. 8)
3310596 Hol-lee bucking Luna! I am henceforth gonna stop complainig about my piddling ailments!
...How long does it take to read a chapter at 500%? Wow. And yet you can catch my math/sequencning indescretions...
DS9-like? What about it makes you say so? I'm curious to know.
*Starry, to Sunny, giving her a dig with an elbow*- Yeah, he's really 'curious'!
*Tyllae*-Tyllae thinks is funny, yep, yep, yep!
*Starry*-Funny looking, maybe!
3312961 Oh I'm very familiar with Keith Laumer's 'The Last Command', I'm a big Bolo fan from way back!
It was also the title of the 3rd book of an excellent Star Wars story by Timothy Zahn.
Your comments intrigue me, Sir of Madame! What is 'DEM' and 'SOE'?
Also, the concept of something like a Singularity existing at the heart of Reality smacks of Dualism, does it not? That Darkness is nothing without Light, Evil meaningless without Good? )I'm a Philosophical piker, I'm afraid!
)
As far as finishing the Story goes, never fear! Despite my admittedly long-winded and rambling style the tale is progressing to its end!
About the 'congratulations' comment I will say no more at this time... though the implications are obvious, at least in hindsight!
Dagnsbit! The preceeding was intended as a reply to Booster Spice! Sorry 'bout that, Chief!
*Returns after pounding his head against the wall for a while...*
...Did I mention that I am not the most computer-proficient person out there?
3315040
Ive been trying to think up a story, unfortunately heavily Gary Stu given how weird my lie has been, but Fimfiction only allows stories posted in chronological order 8(.
One of the chapters I roughed out had the Mane 6 looking for something, and approaching the massive entranceway, in front of which stands a Titan. this Titan, is a BoloTaur. Hexapodal, Type 36 class.
DEM is Deus Ex Machina. I took my work on self sustaining plasma reactions for compression ignition dense fusion plasmas from back at university in the late 80s, and wondered, what if the plasma was modulated with a logic processing framework, that had a result of creating a logic processing framework. Next, what if that framework was given problem solving evolutionary capabilities, with an energy spectrum slant. Its a computer that can physically evolve itself to be able to evolve faster. I threw in the sequencing needed to reach plank mass values. Dont try thinking about it, you Will go insane.
SOE = Special Operations Executive. Ian Flemings guerilla spy squad for work behind enemy lines in occupied Europe during WW2.
The point about the dualism, what you call the singularity, is that the singularity doesnt exist. Only its effects. Intrestingly, it seems there is a known function that permits you to calculate the effect.
Its called the piano tuners correction. I believe this implies that quantum relativity truely is the music of the spheres.
Oh, as long as you dont forget to apply relativity to relativity, and rotate through an imaginary function to orientate with the quantum mechanics maths.
Sort of like a Fourier Transform only works properly when done with complex numbers, and when graphed, has a time axis, and a frequancy axis, with a minimum relation between the two equal to no less than 16*Pi. This is 2* the General Relativity constant and related to the uncertainty principle.
Reality is really, really weird.
3315117 You stagger me!
The things you tell me, at least the technical parlance you use, make my head spin! How does/could plasma store data?
Bolos are classed by size nowadays? I seem to remember they bore a designation in the form of 3-letter code that had to do with their shielding and weapons. It was a Human custom to anthropomorphize this code into names. CSR=Caeser, LNY=Lenny, etc.
Also, 'Gary Stu'? Is that a military acronym like 'Fubar'?
3316262
Ah.. sorry about that, I tend to get carried away a bit. Back in 1983, my mother purchased a ZX Spectrum, but because of my problem with language and not having much backing as such, meant I couldnt put my ideas of genetic evolution code, self generating code, information analysis etc into desire and action.
In 1990 I purchased my next computer myself. A 32 bit multimedia, multitasking, multiprocessor supergaming computer, that had Nothing to do with Wintel. Except for its Basic. Im still waiting for a replacement.
Plasmas can contain data, information, processing, because like spacetime, you can get vortices of various types contained within, interacting constructively, destructively, redirection etc.
Bolos, I apologise, I just heard through a couple images and an episode in a megaword fanfic from many years ago. the ones I saw wee Type 23, 28, 36 or so, which represented the size of the machine in thousands of tons. The largest one carried both an orbital pulse fusion cannon, and a howizter. This is intresting tech, because Russia seems to have test fired a fission detonation powered particle beam cannon in Kamchatka(spelling) There is a cutaway diagram somewhere.
Gary Stu is the male version of Mary Sue, the self insert character which is overpowered, makes freinds, has everything?
By the way. The fastest home computer you can purchase, for $3500, today? Can react in 8 nano seconds using a custom onboard IO chip, and the OS responds in about 100 nanoseconds. Linux Real Time, responds in about 4 micro seconds. This machine is so fast, that if you placed it at the centre of the Enterprise, it would have to class the skin as a remote network. No real time sensors as in ping, reply, because it would have to wait that long for the light pulse to go out, reflect and come back.
Heres the strange thing. It responds as fast at 7Mhz, as Windows does at 4 Ghz.
Heres the Really strange thing. When running a Wine type emulator, the emulated software runs Faster than on the raw hardware natively.
Oh, and it comes with Stephen Hawkings voice.
3314259 I wasn't really sure how long it took me to read things, so I timed myself reading another story. It took me 47 minutes to read 7,300 words, I have no idea if this is considered slow, but that is about my normal pace.
It's DS9-like because DS9 brought some spirituality to Star Trek, which is sort of what this story is doing now. Sort of anyway with the whole afterlife thing I mean, and the religous arguments they sometimes get into.
Another thing I realised, now Starry knows what it's like to be the mare in her head. It seemed like mare was about to break down the turbolift doors before Starry left, so I guess she's back now, though I don't think that was outright stated.
3318299 She wasn't trying to break the door down, she was pounding on it to get her to hurry up and vamoose!
Hmmm... you know, I never made that particular connections with DS9. TNG, like TOS concerned itself with morality plays. The morality plays took a metaphysical turn in DS9 what with all that Bajoran Religion and all.
Soooo...the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, And Everything is...Pi?
...huh.
6878505
Actually, it's 'pie'. Apple, with just a hint of cinnamon. That's the answer.