In Space, We Don't Abandon Innocence

by David Silver

19 - You Are My Only Hope

"We are not your mailers." The dragon on the screen looked far from amused. "But we did get a message for you. You're properly set up to send and receive payments, right?"

Roger chuckled quietly at that. "Of course. We should be set up for that, unless your payment systems have changed."

The dragon smiled, their teeth white and sharp. "Then I'll just take this opportunity to pass it on. Pay that, and the message is yours."

A new beep sounded. Roger could see the number. It was no great sum. He pressed the friendly pay button hovering before him. "Alright, what's the message? If it's spam, we're sending you the bill."

The dragon laughed with a hearty clap of their claws. "Haha! No, this is a from a friend of yours. You are friends with ponies, are you not? One of them sent us a message to get to you." A chime made it clear the email had arrived. "Enjoy." The image blinked away, leaving the swirling visage of the planet behind.

"Sent us a message?" Tela shook her head as she turned back to Roger. "The only ponies I know are back on Earth. Who could this be?"

Roger opened the message. His eyes widened. "Twilight?"

She sprang into being next to him. "Sir?"

He gestured, the message leaping onto the main screen. A new pony appeared, pink in color. "Hello, fellow ponies. I have been informed you've come home. I'm sorry we haven't left it in much of a respectable condition, but that you are here at all is—" She paused to regather herself, sniffling gently. "Apologies. If you do not know me, I am Princess Cadenza, Cadance by most who knew me."

The three of them listened in wonder as the ancient princess spoke to them. "If you are looking for us, we are not there. Equestria is not safe for ponies. We ceded it to the dragons, when the last of us boarded the very last seed vessel. The other races were just as eager to leave, each with dreams of their own world. Many of them were successful."

She pawed the ground gently. "Still, it gladdens my heart to hear some of our fellows have returned. It means you are still alive, and well. None of the seeds were sent with enough to make a return trip, so, it implies so much. You've found a new home. Perhaps even more than one, for that matter."

She straightened up, looking around herself. "As for me, my ship was not a success, but neither was it entirely a failure. What follows is my location. Come, or do not. I will not begrudge you either way. Lost friends, I hope you trot on well through the stars."

A string of numbers followed, encoded within the message itself.

Twilight hissed gently. "Amazing. Simply astounding. Cadance." She reached up towards the frozen image. "I missed you. Sir? This information should allow us to reach her?"

Roger tapped at the console. "We can certainly try. It would seem the seed ships were even less successful than you'd thought. A very slim possibility for a chance of survival, but a chance all the same." He sat up. "Of course, we aren't going anywhere until all crew are back on board. Abandoning them to the dragons is not an option."

Tela rubbed her hands together slowly. "Then that settles it. We're off to find this princess, assuming we can reach her. And if we can't?"

Twilight chuckled as she looked distant a brief time. "Location confirmed. Time in transit, two weeks. We have the supplies to make it there and back without issues. She was lucky."

Roger frowned at that. "Why do you say lucky?"

Twilight lowered her ears. "The ship was damaged in transit, it seems. She was very fortunate it arrived intact. For that matter, just that it arrived at all." She took a slow breath. "Still, if she sent us that message, she can't be all that bad. Let's rescue her, kindly. She used to be my foalsitter. Did you know that?"

Roger gaped at Twilight. "You're joking."

"I am not." Twilight straightened herself out. "Oh dear. I can't lie! I'm quite serious, Captain. Princess Cadence looked after me as a filly. It's been quite some time since then, but I still think fondly of her. If we can rescue her, that would be lovely. Perhaps we can learn more about what happened, after I left Equestria."

Tela groaned quietly at that. "It makes me wonder if other people went out looking for the seed ships." She put her hands together. "Would they have succeeded? Would they have found these ancient princesses?"

Twilight inclined her head. "Their best bet would be to have read the message we just received. All the more reason we should hasten to Cadance as soon as possible, Captain."

Roger tapped at his armrest. "No rest for the wicked. Put out the call for all crew to return to the ship." He pressed a button. "All crew, all crew, please report back to the ship. We've gotten a distress signal from one of our kin. You'll get the full story when you arrive."

Twilight blinked. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let my eagerness overtake me. I will oversee the ship's preparations. We will be ready to embark at your command, Captain." With a proper salute, she vanished.

Roger smiled faintly as he leaned back. "If anyone asks, this is one of those human things I do that you shouldn't try and replicate."

Tela laughed at that, clutching her side. "For those watching with a ship at home? Wouldn't want them to copy our actions. Either way, let's get everyone on board and set off. I was growing tired sitting in dock like this anyway. We're explorers."

"We are!" Roger clapped his hands. "And it's past time we got back to it."

---

Sunset perked. She was far from alone. The message was being shared to all the intelligences. For many ponies, word of their 'original' world came through dimly, if at all. But for the originals, like Sunset, it meant more. "Cadance, really?"

Susan paused her meal. "Who's Cadance? Someone important?"

Sunset rose, abandoning her snack. "Old pony royalty. I thought she was long gone, but, nope. Twilight just saw proof she's still around. We're heading there, after we get all the crew back on board." She put a hand to her head. "This is big news. I figured there were just the Earth ponies left, after all that time."

Susan put her own food aside as she stood up. "The dragons were a mixed bag, but this? This is a lot of good news."

Sunset hugged Susan, humming softly as she rubbed her cheek against her. "Let's go rescue some pony princesses!" She hopped back, one hand holding one of Susan's. "I bet she'll be so amazed, seeing how well ponies are getting along with humans."

Susan walked along with Sunset, holding her hand. "Sounds good to me."

Sunset perked at the hand in hers. "Um, good?" She cleared her throat. "I mean, it's great! Just that we'll be sailing in a new direction a bit. We can hope that's more boring than anything else. Then we end up at a new place. How exciting that will be is anyone's guess."

Susan brushed some of her hair back. "Is it so bad if it is?"

Sunset perked even more as she paused. "Girl, reminder; we're security. It's our job to hope it's boring, but into things to make them boring again if it does." She rolled her eyes. "Correction; I'm a data specialist you roped into helping you out."

Susan tilted her head, allowing her hair to cascade off of her shoulder. "Correction; you seem happy with that arrangement. Why don't you work there?"

Sunset sat up and started walking again, tugging Susan along. "Are you suggesting I quit being a data specialist? I don't like being security that much."

"You look pretty happy." Susan drew her hands away to behind her back. "Pretty satisfied from this angle."

Sunset crossed her arms. "Susan, you're confused." She leveled a finger at her human coworker. "I'm there because I'm pretty satisfied being around around you, moron"

Susan blinked at the finger pointed at her face. "Oh. That's... also fair." She blushed faintly, glancing away. "Come on. We have work to do."

Sunset rolled her eyes as she followed after Susan. "My job is to make sure people find the books they want in a timely fashion. Security's the one that has to get moving." She made a shooing motion. "Go along and do that. You know where to find me." With no further warning, she vanished.

---

His name was Doctor Whooves. Keeping track of time was one of his specialties. That meant he returned to the ship when summoned, and was there when they expected him. He nodded to the human pilot and the other human crewmembers on the ship. "I trust you all had an eventful time here on the planet."

One of them gave him a pat on the shoulder. "It was great. You?"

He rubbed his chin with one hoof. "Very insightful. The other ponies will surely be interested in the reports I've compiled for them." He pat at a dangling clipboard at his side, not that it was any more 'real' than the rest of him. "I'm honored and delighted they selected me to take part in this trip, even if it's being called early."

The crewmember nodded at that. "Things change." They walked on ahead, leaving the doctor behind. "Let's get things done."

He found a seat among the crew and settled down, holding the clipboard against his chest. In far too short a time, the room around them shook with the initial thump of launch. Inertial dampening systems came online a moment after, leaving them with a smooth ride as they elevated from the planet.

His eyes wandered from person to person, studying each of them in turn. The two he was most familiar with were a human pair, very alike in body, but quite different in dress. One was bright and cheery, while the other was studious and thoughtful. He hadn't learned their names yet, only that they were skilled members of the engineering team.

His eyes fell on the human near the back. Dressed all in black, she blended into the background nicely. No, the dark colors weren't the reason he noticed her. He noticed her because of what she was doing. She was busily writing. Everyone else was talking, or looking out a window. One was fiddling with a toy. No, she was writing busily, and the other was watching her.

She must have felt his eyes on her, as she stopped writing, glancing his way. "Something you want?"

Doctor Whooves raised a brow. "I'm sorry, am I staring? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He leaned to the side a bit, still watching her. "What has you so engrossed, ma'am?"

The woman smirked as she fanned out her notes. "Nothing big. Just some notes."

He pushed his glasses up. "Do tell, miss? Notes about what?"

She flicked her pencil in her fingers. "The dragons are interesting. Not who'd I'd pick first for neighbors, but very interesting." She made a new note. "Not like the ponies."

Doctor Whooves blinked at that. "How are the ponies not interesting?"

She twirled her pencil, even as it stayed in her hand. "They're so peaceful. They even get along with dragons. They're perfect little angels, which is the boring part about them sometimes. Dragons are more dangerous, which makes them less ideal neighbors. Both great people, just different, you know?"

Doctor Whooves smiled at that. "A professor of sociology? That would be quite an exciting profession."

The woman nodded once as she looked over her notes. "The study of how people interact is fascinating." She spread her hands over the notes. "I figured I could get a vacation and some work done at the same time. Almost worked, except the part where we get called back early. They have their reasons, I'm sure. It still better not count against my shore time."

Doctor Whooves cocked his head to one side. "Reasons?"

"Mhm." The woman made a few notes, not even looking up. "They didn't ask us all to return to the ship for nothing. It'll be a nightmare of red tape for them, if nothing else."

He tapped his hoof to his chest. "I see. Do you know what that something is?"

She kept writing as she spoke. "No. And it's driving me nuts. We can't ask until we get back to the ship." She paused her writing. "Maybe we should both relax, and we can find out together when we get there."

Author's Note:

Time to get movin'! Hope you had fun with the dragons.

Join the special community of folks who like my stories and/or get your own here at atreon!

Don't want to do an ongoing thing? You could

Join my discord to chat!

Comments

[BestinDworld]

Could doctor whooves new human friend be named Rose?

[Okie Brony]

The other races were just as eager to leave, each with dreams of their own world. Many of them were successful.

Hey, I predicted something, I think. Neat!

Lost friends, I hope you trot on well through the stars.

They're all astronauts... on some sort of star trot.

Another cute scene between Sunset & Susan. Allons-y!

[Booster Spice]

I really hope that ther was enough of a spread between the various seed ships that it took more than the loss of one or two of them tot totally erase a species geneline, history, data etc