Chapter One: In Which Huge Things Have Small Beginnings.
A FimFiction by Clue and Listener
Ponyville.
A place away from it all. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but still active enough to give anyone enough excitement. It’s away from the city, which makes it a perfect place to do many activities that would be hard or impossible in the city.
Things like hiking, watching the birds, and just enjoying nature.
Things like stargazing.
And in the middle of the town, one lone librarian was doing just that. Standing on the balcony on the upper floor of her house, she looked into the telescope, just glancing at the stars. Normally she would be recording data, or she would be studying the sky. But tonight, she was relaxing and watching the heavens were enough for her.
For tonight, it was just her and the sky. Luna had done an excellent job on the stars and galaxies. Peering into the telescope, she saw a star closer than one could with their naked eye. She watched as a shooting star left a bright trail, and she observed the rings of a far-off planet.
‘Everything in the universe is controlled by some basic force. Who’s to say that there isn’t other life out there? What if there is other life out there?’ Twilight wondered. ‘Who’s to say there isn’t something with a telescope up there, looking in my direction and wondering the same thing?’
She took her eye away from the telescope for a moment to just sit back and watch the sky. She took time to actually see it. She was able to discern many colours, many different objects. She could see the tiny band of off-colored night that showed the edge of a galaxy.
‘I just can’t believe that we’re alone. We just need to... to...’
Her thoughts were interrupted by Spike opening the door behind her.
“Hey Twilight, I’ve got a letter from the Princess. Woke me up too.” Spike said, stifling a yawn.
“Okay Spike.” Twilight said, smiling slightly as she took the scroll in her lavender aura. “You can go back to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay. Night Twi.” He said, giving a slight wave as he turns around and trudges back to his bed.
Turning back around to the telescope she slit open the wax seal and opened it up. It was a small message, and it read;
Dear Twilight,
I just thought I would check up on how you’re doing. Are your studies in friendship coming along well? It’s been so long since you sent me a friendship report! In truth, I’m a bit worried. They just... stopped. Is everything okay down there? If I don’t hear from you in two days, I’m coming down to check. I miss reading what you sent to me.
Celestia.
Twilight thought for a moment, thinking back to the last time she had sent a friendship report, or anything for that matter, to the Princess.
“I should probably reply to her right away...” Twilight said. “But... Spike just went back to bed...”
She sighed. It looked like she’d have to wait for morning to send a message.
Twilight’s eyes widened.
“Send a message. Send. A. Message...” She mumbled to herself. “That’s it! A message!” She shouted.
Quickly grabbing her quill and a piece of parchment, she started her letter to the Princess.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Sorry about not writing to you sooner, life has been hectic down here in Ponyville. This is actually my first chance to just sit back and relax. Things have been fine down here. There’s been no Equestria threatening disasters since the crystal empire, so I’ve just been here, helping out around Ponyville. Maybe you could still come down and visit Ponyville sometime? You’re the Princess of the sun. You deserve a bit of a break. Perhaps Luna could take care of the royal duties for a while?
Twilight stopped for a moment. In truth, she missed her mentor a bit. It had been seemingly forever since Twilight had seen her, and even then it was during a major crisis. Maybe she should invite her down to Ponyville more often?
Sighing, she continued.
In truth, I just had an idea that I’m sure would interest the scientific community. Have you ever just looked at your sister’s night, and just let your mind wander? What if there is other life out there? I know that many see Equestria and the planet is the only place in the universe that holds life. But what if it wasn’t? What if there is other life out there? Anyway, I would really like to talk to you about this. I hope to see you soon!
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Rolling it up, she got all set to send the letter to her mentor. Except, she remembered something that would be a problem in sending it.
Spike was still asleep.
“I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow.” she said with a sigh. After placing the letter on the desk where she wouldn’t forget it, she trotted to her bedroom and slipped underneath her sheets, excited for the Princess’ visit.
“Twilight, it’s been forever since I’ve actually seen you without a crisis compelling us to meet.” Celestia said, giving her student a smile. “It’s so nice to be able to chat with you and not be interrupted by a rampaging lord of chaos or evil king.”
Twilight added a sugar cube to her tea and mixed it. “It’s nice to see you too, Princess. How’ve things been going in Canterlot?” she asked. The princess just frowned and took a sip of her tea.
“Oh, it’s been... interesting, to say the least. Blueblood came to me with a proposal to bulldoze a small town to make room for a diamond mine. Various nobles won’t stop pretending around me, and try to get in my good graces. The usual.” Taking another sip, she hid a grimace. “So, how’s Spike? I haven’t seen him either.”
“Oh, you know, he’s probably upstairs, still asleep. I probably should wake him up. Excuse me Princess, for a moment.” She said, getting up and trotting upstairs.
As soon as she was out of sight, Celestia poured the tea in a nearby potted plant. She never could stand the stuff. Why even was it a custom for nobles to drink the vile stuff anyway? She returned the cup back to the table as Twilight came back downstairs.
“He’s not up there. He must have sneaked out to Rarity’s or somewhere when I wasn’t looking. Sorry Princess, I’ll have to track him down before you leave. I take it that this is just a social call? I may have an idea to discuss with you, if you’re willing to hear me out.”
The princess leaned forward, listening. “What’s on your mind, Twilight? I’ve always got time to hear what you’ve got to say. I assume it’s about what you wrote in the letter? Something about Luna’s night sky?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes. I was just stargazing last night, and a thought struck me. Are we really alone in the universe? I mean, do we really know? With how huge the universe must be, it’s almost impossible that we’re alone if you look at the probability.”
The princess smiled, but it looked semi-forced. Twilight didn’t seem to notice, too caught up in her explanation.
“I was thinking of a way to send a message into the sky, a message able to be picked up thousand of miles away! It would have to be a strong enough signal to be able to span the distance of our galaxy. The only thing I know of that would be able to shoot out a signal that strong would be the radio telescopes at the Canterlot observatory.”
Celestia nodded. “I see. So you’re asking for permission to modify one of the radio telescopes to, instead of receiving radio waves from space, send out a radio wave?”
Twilight nodded enthusiastically. “You took the words right out of my mouth.” She paused, taking a sip of her tea. “I’m positive that I know enough about the workings of such a device that it would be simple to modify it.”
“Very well. You have my permission, Twilight. Write a letter to the observatory, and tell them that you have my express permission to perform any modifications to the fifth telescope array.” She said, giving Twilight a smile that encouraged what Twilight was doing.
Twilight nearly squealed at the news. “Oh, thank you Princess! You have no idea how much this mean to me!” she exclaimed.
The princess gave Twilight a small smile, one that hid a deeper meaning. “Oh, I think I have some idea.”
Twilight took a look at the clock hanging on the wall. “It’s getting to be around lunchtime, I should probably go get Spike from Rarity’s house so he won’t miss out. Would you like to come with me, Princess?”
The princess shook her head. “I’m sorry Twilight, but I should be heading back to Canterlot now. I have a lot of business to attend to.”
Twilight nodded in understanding. “It was nice seeing you again, Princess.” Twilight said. “I hope I can see you again soon.”
“I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other again very soon, my student. Have a good day, and tell Spike I said hello.”
Twilight stood up at the same time the princess did. Walking over to the princess, Twilight gave her mentor a quick hug before turning around to go leave and pick up Spike.
The Princess followed Twilight to the door, nodding her head at her student. They bid each other a final farewell, and turned to go their separate ways. Twilight to Rarity’s, and the princess to her chariot. As soon as she was on the chariot and safely on her way to Canterlot, she visibly deflated.
“I knew this day was coming. But does it have to be so soon? I thought I had more time.”
Chapter 2: Beacon into the Unknown
“Okay. I thought it would be smaller.” Twilight said, slightly awed.
“What? It too big for you?” Came the reply from Twilight’s guide, Star Light.
“Nope. I can handle anything it has to throw at me. It’s just that books don’t do its size any justice. I never thought it would be so amazing! How many telescopes does it hold?”
Star Light roller her eyes and sighed. “You didn’t even bother learning some basic information about the place before you came here and demanded to run the show?”
“Hey! I’m just taking the telescope that’s currently offline. I was told it was even being decommissioned for scrap next month. Is there a problem with reusing and recycling, Miss Light?” Twilight said, her voice growing slightly cold at the end.
“No, none at all. It’s just a shame that it’s being used for such... futile research.” Star said in a high and mighty tone.
“What do you mean by that?” Twilight said, her voice leaving no doubt as to her feelings.
“Oh, nothing. Just an idle thought.”
The pair of bickering ponies passed through a hallway. The walls were decorated with framed photographs and news clippings. Twilight admired the decorations, reading each one as she passed. ‘Canterlot Observatory Discovers New Planet’ one said. Another was a photograph of a far-off nebula in space, the subtitle underneath it proclaiming it as being discovered by the observatory.
The mares passed by doors as they walked, each one with different signs on them. “Oh, you can’t go in there. You’re not authorized.” Star Light said with a smirk when she noticed Twilight looking at a door marked ‘Meteorite samples’. “You can’t go in there. You might mess something up, and that room is only for the important ponies that are competent.”
Twilight huffed. “Okay Miss. Light. I’m sorry that the Princess gave me permission to use one of the radio telescopes that she herself gave the funding for. Sorry if I’ve messed up any of your important plans. I mean, come on. How much does it hurt the observatory if I use just one of them?
As the pair walked off, their bickering at each other increasing with every step, they were unaware of the pair of maintenance workers watching them.
“You know, we might have to keep an eye on those two, make sure they don’t kill each other.” One said with a smile in his voice. The other one just nodded, trying not to burst out laughing.
“Pass me that screwdriver, would you?” Twilight said, her voice muffled by machine on top of her.
Star looked at the wrench for a moment. “Which size?” She asked in a bored voice.
“There’s only one size! Just pass me the screwdriver.” Twilight’s voice came, and even muffled, Star could tell she was miffed.
“Really? Only bringing one size Twilight? That’s no way to be prepared.” She said condescendingly.
“The screws are all uniform, as you well know. Now, am I going to have to get out and get it myself?”
“Oh, no, Just took me a moment to find it. Here you go Twilight.” Star said in a voice as cold as ice. Picking it up in her yellow magical aura, she concentrated for a moment, willing it to shrink slightly. Only then did she pass it over to Twilight, their two auras mingling for a moment until Twilight had a secure grip on it. The screwdriver disappeared underneath the structure, where Twilight was getting access to the critical systems.
“Hey! Maybe I did bring two sizes... This one’s too small. Is there another one there?” Twilight asked.
“No. That was the only one. Really Twilight, you should be more prepared. Maybe you should let someone else do this?”
Twilight pulled herself out from underneath it, her face having a couple of grease splatters on it. “Like you?” Twilight scoffed. “Yeah. Maybe when pigs fly.”
“You know that they have, right? Check the Discord Era. Looks like somepony needs to read up on their history.”
“I-. Er.” Twilight gave up on trying to form a comeback, resorting to throwing her hooves in the air and making an irritated noise at Star Light.
“You really should use words, Twilight. Other people don’t speak your particular brand of gibberish. I don’t think anypony does, actually.” She said with a smile in her voice. It wasn’t often she got to tick off the personal student of the princess and get away with it.
Twilight glared. “Fine... Whatever. Did you at least pick up my coffee from Starbucks?”
“Yes. I’m perfectly capable of picking up coffee, which is below my pay-grade, by the way.” She said, gesturing to a styrofoam cup on the table.
“Okay. At least even you couldn’t screw this up.” Twilight said, picking it up and taking a drink. She immediately did a spit-take on Star Light. “Bleh! This is straight black. Did you even put any creamer in it?” She asked, aiming a look that could kill a dragon.
Star just glared daggers back at Twilight, coffee dripping off her muzzle. She was pissed. “No. You just asked for coffee. How the hell was I supposed to know what you wanted in it. If you wanted your way, you should’ve gotten it yourself!”
“You offered! I even gave you money to buy me a white mocha!” Twilight said, barely restraining her voice.
“Whatever. It’s not like you needed it anyway. Coffee and machines don’t mix. Oh, dear. I had forgotten that you’ve never actually had a job like this before. Sorry!” Star Light said sarcastically.
Somewhere in the distance, a bell rang.
“Ah! It looks like it’s lunchtime. Shall we meet back here, say... at the beginning of never?”
With those words, she just turned around and walked away, leaving Twilight there, absolutely steaming. She knew she had won this battle
“You smell like an amorphophallus rafflesia!” Twilight yelled.
“Thanks for the compliment.” Star said over her shoulder.
“By Celestia... Some ponies are just so... so... irritable! Damn it!” She shouted at the receding figure. Her hoof immediately rose to her mouth. She had just cussed! Oh, what would the princess think?
Across the hall, while Twilight was having a moral dilemma, two stallions watched in secret.
“Damn. I was seriously hoping for a cat fight. With what I’ve seen of Star and heard of Twilight...” He sighed. “It would’ve been the catfight of the century!”
His companion nodded. “Yeah, it would’ve been! Should we pit them against each other? See how long until we can get them at blows?”
“Ten bits it’s before sundown.”
“You’re on!”
