> Pastel Stars
>  by StrawberryGamer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Any Landing You Can Walk Away From...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hazy Moonlight awoke to the crackling of a fire. Her mind was as foggy as her name, as she struggled to piece together what had happened. Slowly, she came to a few conclusions. Firstly: she was in pain. A lot of it. Secondly: she was screaming. Thirdly: the ship was on fire. Fourthly: There was a rather large hole in the hull. Lastly: it was raining, which meant she wasn’t in space anymore. Had they landed back on Equestria? Were the pegasi trying to put out the fires? If so, they were doing a good job. Still, they weren’t rescuing her in any hurry.

Then again… Weren’t they supposed to be in space still? Or had they found a planet and ended up crashing on it? She couldn’t remember exactly what happened. She stopped screaming, and tried to stand. She flopped back down, too weak to move just yet. She didn’t feel like anything was broken. It was probably just bruises and burns. She counted her lucky stars that it wasn’t worse, especially since she had survived a horrific crash. Oh right! She wasn’t the only pony here! If she survived the crash, the others must have too!

...Right?

Fighting the pain, Hazy opened up her mouth and tried to shout for her friends and crewmates. “Astral! Rusty! Where are you?” She coughed, her throat burning from the shouting. “Buck… That hurt…” The mare looked over at the crack in the hull, where the rain was pouring in. The sky was grey and cloudy. What a terrible day to make history... Can’t somepony fix the weather? Oh wait, I’m a pegasus… Eh, I’ll get to it in the morning... She thought. At least, she assumed it was nighttime. It was rather dark outside. Of course, it could just be the thick cloud cover.

Hazy’s thoughts wandered to the ship. The ESS Lunar Shine, Equestria’s first interstellar exploration vessel. It was supposed to be Equestria’s first big step into the stars. Now it was a burning wreck on an uncharted planet far from home. At least the planet has an Equis-like atmosphere, she thought, things would be much worse if we crashed on a barren asteroid instead.

She lied there for another hour or so, occasionally trying to get up. No other sounds caught her ears except the slowly dying fires and the pitter patter of the rain. She didn’t even hear the sounds of her friends. Did they survive, or was she all alone on what remained of their ship? Or were they all in the same sort of situation she was, wracked with pain and unable to move? Well she wouldn’t have any of it. Trying once more to stand up, Hazy managed to get into a sitting position. Letting out a sigh, she slowly moved into a standing position, wincing at the pain in her legs. “No. I’ve sat around long enough. Time to get moving.”

Walking was a slow process. The lingering pain in her legs made each step hurt, and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t let that stop her as she walked up to the door separating her from the bridge. The horizontal sliding door was stuck shut, most likely because the hydraulics were dead. “Dang… Well I’d say brute force is necessary, but I don’t think I can muster up the energy to open this door…” She turned away to keep looking when she spied the ship’s onboard computer.

The poor thing looked like it was an inch from death. The screen was cracked, faint static noises came from the speaker, and the image of TAIL’s avatar was distorted. However, despite all that, the fact that the screen was on and responsive showed that it still worked. Hazy crawled over to it and tapped the screen. TAIL’s avatar disappeared momentarily, before coming back much less distorted. Some of the lights that were still connected to the computer turned on too, bathing the interior with much needed light.

“Reboot complete. Twilight-model Arcane Intelligence Lattice online. Operating at minimal capacity. Ship integrity at 4%. Multiple hull breaches detected. Engines offline. Reactor offline. Urgent repairs needed.” TAIL said in a default monotone. Hazy never understood why they based an entire line of AIs on Equestria’s old heroines. The princesses must have had a deep connection to them. She tapped the screen again, and TAIL smiled at her, her personality finally coming back to her. “Good evening, Hazy Moonlight. How may I be of assistance?”

Hazy gave the computer her best deadpan stare. “We crashed onto a planet. Please see if you can find the others.” She instructed.

TAIL nodded. “I may be running on emergency power, but I think I can manage that much. Initiating short-range scan.” She paused for a moment, then spoke up again. “I found one other lifeform nearby. I suspect it to be Astral. Rusty… I can’t find her anywhere…”

Hazy looked crestfallen. “Oh… You think she might be elsewhere?” She wanted to believe her friend and crewmate would still be alive.

“Probably with the back half of the Lunar Shine, wherever that is.” TAIL responded.

Hazy perked up, more surprised than relieved. “Wait, what? Damage report, now.”

“Okay, okay. Initial readings show that upon entry, a miscalculation led to the front half of the ship completely separating from the rear half. The front half crashed onto this planet, while I have no idea what happened to the rear half. It could either be floating in space or found somewhere to land as well. That’s all I can tell you.” TAIL explained.

Hazy blinked, confused. “Entry? What are you…?” She tried to remember what happened before the crash, but couldn’t. “You have any data on what happened? My memory is turning up short.”

TAIL’s avatar nodded. “Much of my data is corrupted or destroyed, but I’ve salvaged three text logs as well as a video recording from just before the crash. Would you like to access them?” She asked, to which Hazy nodded. “Very well.”

Hazy sat down and began to read the logs as they displayed on the cracked screen.





Hazy Moonlight’s Log - Day 7

It’s been a week since we launched and I’m just now getting to my first trip log. I miss Equestria already. Princess Luna hosted the biggest party in 400 years to celebrate our launch. Those Pie sisters really know their stuff. Then again, partying has been in their blood for seven generations now. Well, that and rocks. They seem to know a lot about rocks. Especially Pumice. In fact, she even made artificial moon dust for my cute-ceañera. It was like I was partying on the moon itself!

But now we’re possibly light years away from Equestria. I say possibly because our FTL reactor is the first of its kind, and I’m not quite sure exactly how fast it is. Rusty Gears probably knows, considering she helped build it, but that technical jargon goes right over my head. I’ll ask her later.

Also, I was looking through our navigation plans for this expedition. Instead of going towards the star closest to us like we originally planned before the launch, we’re going right past them towards an electromagnetic hot spot discovered only a few months ago. I wonder if the others know about this. I’ll have to have a talk with the AI. Not sure why they based her off one of Equestria’s old princesses, but at least she’s friendly, unlike the last AI I had to deal with.

Something that had me worried when I signed up for this trip were my instincts. Us pegasi tend to react badly when we go into space. It was no different for me during my first run up out of the atmosphere. That feeling of losing control never really goes away. I just gotta control it, and control it I did. Anyway, I’ve made my log long enough. I should get some sleep.





It took her a while to get through it all due to the damaged screen, but she was able to make out every word. She chuckled at her own inner musings from back then, and how she still muses on those same things two weeks later, then moved onto the second log.





Astral Blade’s Log - Day 13

Ya know, when I was first approached for this mission into space, I was hesitant. “I’m a Corporal in the Royal Guard,” I said, “what use would I be up there when I can do so much more down here?” Then I remembered that my pain-in-the-flank older sister was getting married to a noble, and I signed right up. I wasn’t going to let her gloat about her success while I was on statue duty.

So I did my training, packed my bags, and almost two weeks after launch, here I am. I must admit, I didn’t know what to expect. Not about the launch. Of course that was a complete unknown. I mean about my crewmates. Rusty is a brilliant engineer, but she doesn’t know the meaning of relax. She’s always rushing back and forth making sure everything's running smoothly. Hazy and I had to actually strap her to a chair the other day so that we could play some cards together. I say “day” but it really isn’t. We just keep time like used to, but according to Rusty, time is moving at a fraction of what it is back home due to how fast we’re moving.

I talked to Hazy about her thoughts on our current course, and she’s concerned that the area we’ve been heading towards is inhabited. If this course was planned since before the launch, I can assume that’s why I was brought along. Somepony needed to know how to defend this ship in case we do run into hostile aliens. Heh. Aliens. Maybe. Hazy seems quite nervouscited about the idea of meeting aliens, and I must admit, I am too. Just a bit.





Hazy chuckled again, the pain returning as she did so. She fought back against it though, and moved on the third log.





Rusty Gears’ Log - Day 21

So it’s been approximately three weeks and we’re finally getting close to our destination. I’ve had the ship’s onboard AI run constant scans of the area, though she tells me it’s impossible without leaving FTL transit. So instead I’ve had her run diagnostic scans of the ship’s systems while I check them manually. We have to make sure everything is functioning properly when we get there. Otherwise, this trip could end very quickly. I’m only making this log because Hazy and Astral made me. So now that I did make it, I have to get back to making sure we don’t blow up.





Hazy huffed at the shortness and bluntness of Rusty’s log. Then again, she really shouldn’t have expected much else. That mare was all work, no play. “I do hope she’s alright…” She thought aloud.

“I’m sure she’s fine. She’s a tough mare.” TAIL responded. “So you want me to play back the video now?”

Hazy nodded. “Please do.” She said, as TAIL started playing back the recording.





Location: ESS Lunar Shine, FTL transit.
Day 22 of Maiden Voyage.
12:27 Canterlot Standard Time

Hazy Moonlight sat in the pilot’s chair as her crewmates finalized preparations to bring them out of FTL transit. “Come on Rusty, we’re gonna overjump if you keep dawdling like that.” She nagged.

“I know, but I have to make sure TAIL did all her calculations correctly.” Rusty retorted.

“Excuse me.” The voice of the AI in question came out of the ship’s speakers. “I ran three hundred simultaneous simulations based on the data you and the scientists back home gave me in the space it took you to speak that sentence. The only possible thing that could go wrong is if we end up in front of a black hole or an alien fleet.” There was a pause. “Or inside a star, in front of a gamma ray burst, a supernova, colliding with a planet… Okay, a lot of things could go wrong. The point is we can’t stay like this forever.”

Hazy nodded. “You’re right. How much longer until we drop out of transit?”

“Two minutes. Better hurry and finish up.” TAIL answered. “Also Rusty, your attention is needed in the engine room.”

Rusty shot up. “Oh, right! Gotta check on the reactor!” She bolted out of the bridge.

Astral looked towards the speakers. “Was she needed really, or did you want to keep her away from the controls?” She asked, a sly look on her face.

“Would you believe both?” The speakers responded. “Anyway, better get ready.”

Astral sat in the co-pilot seat and made sure her harness was fastened. “Okay, we’re ready. Take us out.”

The ship lurched slightly as it slowed to a more subluminal speed, revealing what they came all this way for. Though, instead of a planet or star, like what was expected, they found a massive blue vortex. “Um… TAIL… What am I looking at?” Hazy asked.

“That would be a wormhole, by my guess.” The AI responded. “And it seems to be pulling us in. I wasn’t aware they could do that.”

Hazy swore under her breath. “I dunno about you, but I’m not interested in getting pulled towards Celestia-knows-where. I’m getting us out of here.” Hazy tried to turn them around, but the engines weren’t responding. “Oh, come on Rusty!” She got out of her seat. “Astral, take the wheel.”

Astral nodded and got into the pilot’s seat as Hazy left the room. Moments later, the room shook. “Warning! Engine malfunfunction due to electromagnetic interference!” TAIL announced over the ship’s speakers. “Releasing automated dist-”





The recording cut out and TAIL’s avatar once again took over the screen. “Shortly after that, we were pulled into the wormhole and the ship shook itself apart in the process. I suspect Rusty may have had something to do with that. She was back in the engine room, after all.” The AI mused.

Hazy sighed. She had the information she asked for, but it wasn’t exactly to her liking. “Well that’s going to sit heavy in my mind for a while. What about Astral? Where is she?” She had to make sure at least Astral was still up and kicking.

“She’s out cold in the bridge.” Came the reply. “I can get the door open slightly, but that’s it. The hydraulics are pretty much shot.”

Hazy stood up, cringing at the pain in her legs. “Do it. I gotta make sure she’s alright,” she said. TAIL nodded and after a short pause, the door opened up a crack. It let out a screeching noise and jammed again, so Hazy tried to help get the door open by grabbing it and pulling. When it was open enough for her to fit her body inside, she moved into the doorway and pushed until it budged enough to allow comfortable passage. Of course, now her body screamed at her to stop.

Hazy flopped onto the floor of the bridge, her energy pretty much spent after opening the door, even with TAIL’s assistance. She needed to find Astral though. She slowly stood back up and made her way to the pilot’s seat, where she found Astral slumped forward over the bridge control console. The safety harness was torn and ripped in some places, but it mostly kept her In the chair, and therefore did its job proudly. Hazy pulled her friend away from the chair and set her on the floor. The first thing she noticed was that Astral’s horn had a small crack on it. The second thing was that her head was bleeding slightly.

Hazy went into a sort of calm panic mode, where her mind had shut down and she was acting on instinct. She had to clean and close the wound or else Astral risked getting an infection. She pulled an emergency first aid kit from the wall and started cleaning the blood from Astral’s head, then bandaging the wound. While she was at it, she bandaged the horn as well. If that horn broke, Astral would be without magic for a very long time.

She dragged the unconscious unicorn out of the bridge. By now, the rain had put out most of the fires, leaving the ship’s few remaining functioning lights to be the primary source of light inside the ship. The moon managed to let in some light too through some cracks in the clouds. Hazy looked towards TAIL, worry written all over her muzzle. “Do we have anywhere left that we can rest safely?” She asked.

TAIL’s avatar nodded and pointed towards a room which was wide open, its door having fallen down. “We have a few sleeping bags and a tent in there. They’re Astral’s, issued to her by the Royal Guard, though why she brought them onboard is something only she knows.” She paused for a moment. “Listen, I don’t have much power left to run on. My scanners noticed unusual structures to starboard. It’s most certainly in your best interests to scour the area for a way to either get me some sort of backup generator or repair the ship. Though admittedly, I don’t see that second option happening any time soon. Maybe there’s intelligent life on the planet. They could offer some assistance. I’m sorry, I wish I could help you, but I don’t want to waste what remaining power I have. You’re on your own. Good luck.” She explained, then the screen went black.

Hazy sighed. The AI was not going to help her anymore, and her remaining crewmate was unconscious with a cracked horn and most likely a concussion on top of it. It was up to her to ensure that they got out of this alive. “Juuuuust bucking great…”
> First Contact
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ship’s storage room was rather small, having been added as an afterthought by it’s designers. Therefore, the storage space it did have was rather limited. There was enough room for Astral to fit her Royal Guard-issued survival kit however. Hazy wasn’t going to question why she packed this stuff. Not yet, at least. Hazy dragged one of the sleeping bags out. She wanted to make sure Astral was comfortable first.

After she got Astral into the sleeping bag, she went back into the storage room and grabbed another sleeping bag for herself. She set it down beside her friend. “Hmmm…” She tried to figure out a plan of action of how she was going to keep an eye on Astral and work on finding a way off the planet. “It wouldn’t feel right to just leave her here alone, but I gotta find help.” She sighed. “I might as well take a look outside.”

Hazy grabbed her saddlebags and a flashlight out of the storage room and, after making sure it still worked, left the ship through one of its hull breaches. Even through the darkness of night and the cloudy sky pouring down rain, what she saw nearly took her breath away. A vast meadow spread out in front of her. Trees were scattered about, some in groups and some just on their own. Hazy shined her flashlight ahead, and noticed some strange quadrupedal creatures grazing close by. “Aw, they’re kinda cute…” She looked back towards the ship. “I’m sure it won’t hurt if I’m gone for a little while.”

Hazy flexed her wings and winced. She was in no condition to fly just yet. “Looks like I’m walking.” She tucked the flashlight under a wing and started walking in the direction TAIL directed. One of the grazing creatures looked up at Hazy as she walked by, making a noise she could only describe as curious. Two others turned and looked at her as well. She gave them a friendly wave and walked on.

A few minutes later, Hazy spotted a tall stone structure. Hope welled up in her, but it was dashed as she got closer. The structure looked very old, as it had plants growing up its walls and big gaping holes. It was still good shelter from the rain, though. As she entered through one of the holes, she spotted an old tent and what was obviously a campfire pit. “So someone else went camping here?” She mused aloud. By the looks of the tent, they couldn’t have left here more than a week ago. “They really should have cleaned up after themselves better. Who just leaves a tent lying around?”

A growling from inside the tent snapped Hazy’s attention away from why the tent was there. A blue bear-like creature, at least as large as she was, lumbered out of the tent, its four eyes focused right on Hazy. It had a predatory look on its face that set off several alarm bells in her head. The creature lunged at her, intent on making the pegasus its next meal. Hazy responded by spinning around and giving it a solid buck in the face.

She didn’t look back to see if it was stunned or not; she immediately spread open her wings and flew up to a higher floor, fighting through the pain that shot through her wings. Hazy looked down through a hole in the floor to see the bear looking back at her hungrily. She also noticed her flashlight behind it. “Great… Just what I needed…” Based on how her wings reacted to their sudden use, she was not flying out of there. She was stuck until the thing got bored or tired and left.

Hazy decided to look around the second floor for anything she could use to escape. She’d be okay with loose stones to throw at it. It was a great surprise to the mare that there was a metal chest sitting on the floor then. “Well then, perhaps my luck is turning around.” She walked up to it and, to her surprise, it was unlocked. She quickly popped open the lid and peeked inside. The contents of the chest were a bunch of little yellow cubes about the size of bits, a bottle of alcohol with a rag on the lid, and a device that Hazy recognized as a pistol.

Equestria was no stranger to guns. The Fetlock Pistol was invented about three centuries ago, after all. This gun, however, looked far more advanced than anything Equestria had to offer. Perhaps the Griffons or Minotaurs had something like this, as they tended to focus more on weapons research. It definitely looked like something a minotaur would have. The grip and trigger was definitely meant for hands, not hooves. She tried to check if it had ammunition, but couldn’t find any way to do so. She hoped it did have at least one shot in it so she could get rid of the predator below her.

Hazy peeked down through the hole again. The bear was still there, waiting for her. She fumbled with the pistol for a bit, making sure she could actually pull the trigger with her hooftip. She then pointed the gun down the hole at the bear and pulled the trigger. It fired a bullet right at the unaware predator, giving it a nice little wound on its back. The recoil nearly knocked the gun out of her grip, but she got ahold of it again and fired once more. This one went right through its head, causing it to slump over, dead.

Hazy breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, she just killed a wild animal, but it was trying to kill her first. That was just self-defense. It was better than dying. Or maybe that was just the shock talking. She shook her head and put the cubes and bottle from the chest into her bag, but held onto the gun. She’d probably still need it, in case there was anything else out here that was dangerous. She dropped back down and picked up the flashlight, trying all the while to not look at her kill. It still worked, thank Celestia. She was about to leave when she looked back at the tent again. Maybe whoever was here left some more supplies?

The tent itself smelled pretty bad, most likely due to mildew and whatever that creature did to it during its stay. However, when Hazy actually peeked her head inside, it took all her willpower to not expunge the contents of her stomach right then and there. It was the most vile, nauseating, malodorous stench that Hazy had ever encountered. Well, it gave her an answer as to what happened to the previous owner of this tent. It also gave her a reason to not investigate the tent further. As luck would have it, she didn’t need to. The owner left their backpack behind the tent. Upon investigation, she found a box of matches, an odd metal block with a few corners seemingly shaved off, and a survival knife that probably did the shaving. She put them in her saddlebag and continued looking. There were also a few magazines and a small sack of those yellow cubes. “Okay, what are these things? Are they some kind of currency?” She asked herself. It made the most sense thus far.

Seeing nothing left worth looting and not wanting anything else to do with that foul smelling tent and the now dead predator that occupied it, Hazy left the building. Good timing too, because the rain finally let up. She shook the water off of her coat and continued on her way.

For the next hour or so, Hazy trekked through the meadow, finding similar stone structures, though luckily none of them housed any more predatory creatures or stinky tents. One of them did have another chest, where she found more cubes and some medical bandages. She put those in her bag and continued on. Of course, she also found more abandoned campsites. “I’m finding all these signs that others were here before me, but not one of them is here now. Where did they all go? ”It was disheartening, in a way. Fortunately for Hazy, none of them were occupied by any more blue bears. Though she did find all sorts of odd and interesting creatures. She made a mental note that if she ever managed to get off this planet and find her way back home, she’d eventually return with a camera.

It was about then that she spotted a light in the distance. Hope welled up in her again as Hazy crested the hill. This time her hopes were rewarded. A larger campsite than any of the abandoned ones before sprawled out over a small, flat clearing overlooked by the entrance to an old mine. The campsite had a couple tents, several crates lying around, and a campfire surrounded by a few metal chairs. One of the tents was closed, meaning someone was probably sleeping in there.

Hazy eagerly trotted down to inspect the site closer. One of the crates was open, so she peeked in there, then mentally chastised herself for peeking in someone else’s property. So instead, she took a seat by the fire. The heat comforted her as it dried her fur. She sighed contently. “This is nice.” Hazy looked over at the tent where the unknown alien was sleeping. Hopefully it’ll be friendly. “I think I’ll wait here until it wakes up…” She sat back and listened to comforting sounds of nature as she waited, letting out a yawn. “Maybe a few minutes rest wouldn’t hurt…”

…

Hazy opened her eyes slowly, the bright light of morning forcing them closed almost immediately. “Agh! Celestia, are you trying to blind me?” She groaned, then sat straight up, remembering the events of last night. “Wha? How long was I out?” She looked around the campsite. The tent that was closed before was wide open now. Her pistol was sitting on the grass beside her, along with the flashlight and her saddlebags. A quick look through her bags showed everything still there. “So...where is…?”

A chuckle from the direction of the mine got her attention. “Looking for me?” Hazy turned and saw a bipedal figure, approximately twice her height. Judging by the voice, it was most likely male. He wore a brown coat, brown pants, and brown hiking boots. His face was a peachy color with a very flat snout and small brown eyes. He also had a short brown mane.

Hazy had seen strange creatures in Equestria before, but this guy looked downright alien. Then again, he was an alien. “Um… Hi. I’m sorry for barging into your camp like this. I was wondering if you could help me.” She said meekly.

The alien gave her a nod. “Well I can certainly try. By the way, my name’s Todd.” He paused. “By the way, I’ve never seen a species such as yourself. Care to tell me who you are?”

“Oh right! My name’s Hazy. I’m a Pegasus.” Hazy held out a hoof. “Nice to meet you Todd.”

Todd shook her hoof before doing a doubletake. “Wait, seriously? Your species is really called Pegasus? Like, ancient mythology flying horse pegasus?”

Hazy tilted her head, confused. “I don’t know what you’re going on about. I’m the first pegasus to explore another world. I only wish it could have gone better…”

Realization suddenly struck on Todd’s face. “Oh! You’re the rumbling I heard last night? Your ship crashed?” He asked.

Hazy nodded. “Yeah. Well, half of it. We hit a wormhole and it dumped half the ship here. No idea where the other half is.” Her ears fell as she remembered Rusty was on that half, possibly lost to space forever.

“Oh… Well were there any other survivors?” Todd asked.

Hazy’s ears shot back up again as she remembered her other crewmate. “Oh right! Astral! I left her alone far longer than I should have. I need to get back and make sure she’s alright.”

“Well you go do that. I’ll still be right here. Do you need any medical supplies? There are a few in my tent.” Todd gestured to his tent as he said that.

Hazy shook her head. “No thanks. I’m good for now. I’ll try and find you again when I make sure Astral is alright.” She said, then turned to leave.

“Hold on, don’t forget your stuff.” Todd reminded her.

Hazy quickly turned around, put her bag back on, stuck the pistol in it, and galloped off. “Ohrightthanksgottagobye!”

Todd watched her as she left. “Well, I think that went well. I better tell the ol’ bird. She’ll want to hear this.” He said, then went back into his tent.

It took about another hour for her to make it back to the ship’s crash site, where she got a much better look at how trashed it was. The nose of the ship, where the bridge was, had been practically buried as it slid into the ground. There was a long trail of wrecked dirt to prove that it did slide after crashing. Scrap metal laid scattered behind the wreckage. And just as was said, there was no back half, the engines having been ripped off and sent to Celestia-knows-where. And Rusty along with them. Hazy thought somberly.

Hazy entered the ship through the same hole that she left from. To her surprise, Astral was sitting upright. She turned to look at Hazy, a sigh of relief coming from her. “There you are. I was wondering where you went.” She gave Hazy a scanning glance. “You seem better off than I am. I suppose you were right when you said pegasi are better at recovering from crashes.” She joked, though her tone was more somber.

Hazy trotted over to her friend and checked her bandages. There was a red stain where Hazy had discovered she was bleeding, so she decided to clean the wound and swap the bandages. Hopefully she wouldn’t need to do it again. “How are you feeling?” She asked.

“A little light headed, sore all over. Tell me Doc, am I gonna live?” She asked, a bit more humor seeping into her voice this time, and Hazy couldn’t help but giggle in response.

“Oh shush, you’ll be fine. In a few days or so. Just take it easy and don’t use any magic. You don’t want to lose your horn.” Hazy instructed.

Astral sighed and laid back down. “We’re in one really big pickle jar, aren’t we?”

Hazy sat beside her. “Not as big as you might think.” Before Astral could ask what she meant, she opened up her bags and pulled out the pistol. “I found this, and I’m sure you’d like to analyze it. It seems far more advanced than what we have.”

“How so? It looks like an ordinary pistol.” Astral commented.

“But it doesn’t have a magazine. It just materializes bullets out of thin air.”

Astral raised an eyebrow and gazed at the pistol with more scrutiny. “Okay then, I’ll take a closer look at it when my horn recovers.” She looked past Hazy towards the still dark computer console. “Did we lose our TAIL?”

Hazy shook her head. “Not quite. Without our reactor, there’s very little power that she can draw from. So she’s gone into sleep mode until we can find a way to either give her more power or transfer her to another computer. Probably the latter.”

“That’s good, though I dunno how we’re going to do either without our engineer. You have any more news?”

“Yeah. I, um… sorta made first contact…”

Astral shot straight up immediately. “You what!?”

Hazy placed a hoof on her shoulder and sat her back down. “Yeah. Sorry I didn’t mention it sooner. I wanted to make sure you were okay first.”

Astral sighed, her tail flicking in annoyance before she managed to calm down. “Alright. How’d it go? I hope you didn’t shoot them.”

“No, actually. It went very well. I found out his name’s Todd, and he’s got a campsite nearby.” She pointed towards the direction she came from. “He seems rather nice.”

“Take me to him,” Astral said matter-of-factly, standing up again. “I need to see for myself.”

“But you’re still hurt. Maybe later.” Hazy reasoned.

Astral shook her head. “No. I’ll be fine. Just take me to this Todd.”
> This is Mine Now
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Hazy returned to the campsite with Astral in tow, the sun was high in the sky. Astral was fascinated by the old stone structures and alien lifeforms wandering around, but Hazy had to remind her that those were not what they were looking for. When they did find the campsite, they found Todd sitting by the campfire, cooking something over it. From the smell, the ponies could take a guess that it was some kind of potato.

Hazy was the first to approach, giving a wave and a holler. “Hey, I’m back!”

Todd gave a wave back. “Hazy, you’re just in time for lunch. I’ve got baked potatoes and roasted carrots if you’re interested.” He looked behind her to see Astral on the top of the hill. “Oh, is that your friend?”

It was at that point Hazy’s stomach made itself heard and she reminded herself how long it was since they last ate. “I think that sounds like a lovely lunch. And yeah, that’s her.” She waved Astral over. “See? You satisfied?”

Astral stared at Todd for a moment before looking back at her companion. “I admit, this wasn’t what I expected your new alien friend to look like.” She gave a bow. “Greetings, I am Corporal Astral Blade of the Equestrian Royal Guard. I was assigned to this voyage as a security detail, but unfortunately even our best laid plans have run afoul. We would be grateful for any assistance you could provide.” As if on cue, Astral’s stomach also let itself be known, and her faced turned a light shade of red. “Including food, it seems.”

Todd chuckled. “Well, I’m not sure what I can do beyond providing food and basic supplies. My ride doesn’t come until next week. So come on, take a seat. I got plenty of food here.” He then looked up at Astral’s forehead. “So you’re a unicorn? Huh, somehow I’m not surprised.” He passed a plate containing some roasted carrots and a baked potato to both of his guests before giving himself a plate as well. “Dig in, though it may still be a bit hot.”

After they three were done eating, Astral stood up first. “Thanks for the food. I’m surprised you have carrots and potatoes. We have them back home as well.”

Todd gave her a surprised look. “Wait, seriously? Maybe your world has been visited by our kind before. Then again, it’s not the first time we’ve found identical foods on alien worlds. Far from it, in fact.”

“Really? I mean, you said you have pegasi in your ancient mythology? So maybe you did?” Hazy inquired.

“Nah, it’s probably a coincidence. You’d be surprised how many of those exist in the universe.” Todd took the plates and put them away.

Astral and Hazy shared a look. “So, about helping us off this planet…”

Todd shook his head. “I can’t help right now. You can either wait a week until I’m scheduled to get picked up or you can take the Gateway off.”

“The Gateway?”

“It’s an ancient alien teleportation network that leads to a temple of some sort. The important thing is it also leads to what we call the Outpost. It’s where many spacefaring travelers go to do their business. You’d probably have more luck getting help there.” Todd explained. “The only issue is that the Gateway is offline right now. You’ll need to power it up first.”

“Well, if it’s our best shot, we’ll do it. How hard could it be to power up?” Hazy asked.

“Oh, not too hard. Just need a good amount of a special gem. They’re usually found very deep underground, but the mine behind me should have plenty still stored away. Though in its abandoned state, a whole bunch of critters have taken up nests inside, including a Mother Poptop.”

“Poptop?”

“Yeah, little pale critters with a sort of black cap on the top of their head where their mouth and arms are. They’re usually small, like to whistle, and generally aren’t that threatening. The mature ones however… They’re very big, and very nasty. That little pistol of yours isn’t gonna cut it.”

The ponies sat and thought for a moment, before Hazy spoke up. “You think anyone left a better weapon lying around?”

Todd nodded. “Oh, most definitely. You won’t find many planets that either explorers, settlers, the Protectorate, or anyone else have not been to. You can find things in the craziest of locations. Then there are the mysterious doorways that pop up sometimes underground. Trust me, there’s no end to the goodies you can find. One might even call it loot. Lots of loot.” He chuckled, much to the ponies’ confusion. “Anyway, yeah. If you look around hard enough, you’re bound to find something.”

“Hmm, okay. Well with my wings and Astral’s horn out of commission for now, we’re going to have to do this the hard way. Know any nearby leads?”

Todd thought for a moment, before pointing towards a large hill. “I think there might be a chest or something over there.”

The ponies stood up and began walking towards the hill. “Thanks. We’ll be right back; our questions are not done yet.” Hazy called back.

As the two trekked to the hill, Astral shot Hazy a curious look. “So, what do you think about our situation? We’re crashed on an alien planet, one crewmember short, and we’re taking advice from an alien to get help from more aliens. What’s our end goal in all this?”

Hazy shrugged. “I dunno. I could be hopeful and say we’re going to find Rusty and go home with one hay of a story to tell. But honestly, while we should keep that goal in mind, it may not be possible right away. The universe is apparently a lot more populated than we expected, and we should make the most out of it.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Who knows how far from home that wormhole dumped us? We might never find our way home.”

“Don’t be such a worry-wart. Even if we don’t make it home, we still have each other, right? Besides, who knows? Maybe they’ll send a rescue team to find us? Have hope, Astral. We’ll make do.”

Astral let out a sigh. “Very well. Let’s just focus on our current objective.” Pretty soon, they came to the base of the hill, and sitting there was a fancy-looking white chest with what looked to be a big blue button on the front. “I guess this is it.”

Astral pressed the blue button and the top of the chest rose up, revealing its contents. Inside was bunch of wooden planks, some medical supplies, and a metal cube. The cube in particular had Hazy’s interest. It was white with yellow highlights, had a square slot on the top, and had a small counter showing a yellow square followed by a 100. Hazarding a guess as to what it was for, she got the sack of cubes from her bag and put one in the slot. The cube seemed to vanish and the counter went up by one. She then did the same with all the rest of her cubes, and counter stopped at 135. “Interesting, it’s like a piggy bank. Oh, I’m keeping this.” Hazy said, storing it away in her bag before looking back in the chest. There was one more thing: a broadsword.

Astral’s eyes lit up upon spotting the sword. “Oh sweet Celestia yes. This is more my style.” She said excitedly, picking the sword out of the chest. Hazy grabbed the rest of the items and shut the chest. She looked to her friend, who was eagerly testing out her new sword. “Oh yes, this is much nicer than that old sword the Guard gave me. Just imagine when I get my magic back, I’ll really be able to do some hurting then. Come on, let’s get back to the camp.” She sheathed the sword and set it on her back, then walked with Hazy back towards the campsite.

When they returned to the camp, they found Todd working with some equipment he had set up just inside the entrance to the mine. Just by a cursory glance, Hazy guessed they were atmospheric and seismic sensors. He gave them a wave as they approached. “Hello again. I was just taking a look at my monitoring equipment. After all, if I’m going to be camping out in the middle of nowhere, might as well do some science, right?” He chuckled to himself briefly. “So, you find what you were looking for?”

Hazy nodded. “We found another weapon, and we have a few more questions.” Without waiting for his response, she asked her first question. “The yellow cubes, what are they?”

Todd blinked, then smiled. “Ah, you mean Pixels. They’re universal standard currency. You can find them everywhere, which is good, because they’re used for more than shopping.” Seeing the confused look on Hazy’s face, he explained further. “Pixels are made of a… unique material, and given their special properties and widespread abundance, they’ve been accepted as the universal currency by all spacefaring races, and even most sapient non-spacefaring ones.”

Hazy nodded, taking out the Pixel bank she picked up. “So I was right in thinking this was a piggy bank then. How do I get more?”

“Well people have made it a habit to reward kindness with Pixels. Aside from that, you could trade with merchants or become a landlord. Or failing all of that, just go looting pods and chests. Maybe go hunting. People drop or lose Pixels all the time. Like I said, they’re everywhere. I’m not sure how much more I can say on the matter. I’m a camper, not an accountant.”

“Well you’ve been very helpful so far. You know more than you think you do.” Astral pointed out.

Todd let out a small laugh. “I guess you’re right. I get around a lot, so I acquire a hell of a lot of life experience and street smarts versus those who are stuck in their book smarts. Maybe I’ll make a career out of it. Who knows? So, any other questions?”

“These gems we’re supposed to find, what are they?”

“We call them Core Gems or more commonly Core Fragments. They’re very similar to rubies, but they’re infused with thermal energy, making them a good source of power.”

Hazy perked up. “Oh, you mean Fire Rubies?”

“Fire Rubies?”

“Yeah, they’re a rare gem back home. They’re especially valuable to Dragons, seeing as they are seen as delicacies to them. They’re also very good at holding enchantments.” Hazy turned to Astral. “Well we know what we need to know, so let’s go find some Fire Rubies.”

The two mares turned and descended down into the mine, immediately noticing, despite its age, the wooden platforms and supports were holding up remarkably well. There was even an oil lantern still glowing, sitting on top of a bunch of crates. Lacking a crowbar, Astral jammed her sword into the crates to open them. Inside wasn’t much, just some unrefined iron and copper ores. Hazy decided to store them anyway, in case they might be useful. She also grabbed the lantern to help light their way.

As they descended further into the mine, it became apparent to them that something was watching them. Shining the lantern to the left showed a small alcove in which a bunch of bat-like creatures were looking right at them. There was also a small creature with beady eyes staring at them from behind a thick gray spiky shell. Of course as the light shined on them, the gray creature pulled back its shell to reveal a very angry red and white face and charged towards them, hissing menacingly.

The mares jumped out of the way, Astral being the first to react. She grabbed her sword and slammed the blunt side into the creature’s shell, knocking it over. As it tried to right itself, she plunged the blade into its soft underbelly. It gave out one final hiss and went still. There was no time to relax though, as the bats then descended upon the mares, opening big gaping mouths to reveal massive… tongues. “What?”

The bats, unlike the surprisingly agile shelled creature, were slower than expected. They made easy targets for Hazy as she grabbed the pistol and shot them down. Seeing no other immediate threat, the two took a moment to relax. Hazy had to catch her breath for a moment, which she found odd, as she didn’t think that would take so much out of her. “These alien animals are weird, aren’t they?” She asked.

“Yeah, I guess they are.” Astral laughed. “That was kinda fun actually, in that adrenaline rush sort of way. Makes you almost forget that those were wild animals who wanted to kill us.”

“Were they though?” Hazy wondered. “Maybe the bats were friendly.”

“They were still unknown alien creatures. I’d rather not take any chances. Let’s just find those rubies.” Astral stood back up and continued down the corridor. Hazy followed close behind.

A short walk later, they found a couple more crates. Inside was 20 Pixels, some more wooden planks, and three gems that glowed a bright red. Picking them up revealed they were warm to the touch. Astral couldn’t help but smile. “Yup, these are Fire Rubies. Really rough, but still genuine.” After pocketing the gems, the two continued down a staircase, killing another two bats in the process. In the back of her head, Hazy felt another odd draining feeling after firing the gun. She made a mental note later to find out why.

A short walk later, they came across a door. Astral was about to open it when they heard various overlapping whistling coming from the other side. “This must be that Poptop nest that Todd warned us about. We should be careful. We don’t know how tough these creatures are.” She opened the door and stopped suddenly before stepping in. The room itself seemed to be a large storage room, with many crates piled around. What stopped Astral was the fact that the floor was at least a meter below them, off a ledge. Upon looking straight down over the ledge, she could see the remains of what used to be stairs.

Also wandering the room were the Poptops, many of them. They were no taller than the mares, with a pale peach-ish body, walking on two thin little legs. The tops of their heads were a dark gray, and had two arms longer than their bodies draping down and dragging along the floor. Occasionally, one would yawn, and reveal its large mouth, just above its beady little eyes. They were all whistling a tune that made Hazy a little jealous, wishing she could whistle nearly as good as them.

In the middle of the room, staring right at them, was a creature that looked similar to the Poptops, but had a few pretty striking differences. It was easily at least twice as big as the little ones, it's arms were thicker and with very sharp claws, and it didn’t whistle cheerfully, it growled menacingly. Astral and Hazy took one look at the Mother Poptop, then at each other, both thinking the same thing: “How are we gonna kill that thing?”