In Space, We Don't Abandon Innocence

by David Silver

6 - Would You Like?

Applejack rubbed a fetlock over her face. "Phew, alright. We're lookin' good!" She looked at the stacks of apple pie she'd been working on with the two robots. She gave them a hearty hoof-bump. "Thanks for all the help."

"My pleasure!"

"Ayup." One of them looked like her brother, because he was that. "Got supplies fer weeks."

"Can I help?"

Applejack twirled to face the new voice. A human had wandered into the agricultural area. "Hey now. Y'ain't supposed to be here! This is pony turf. Let us make the food so you can enjoy eatin' it!"

The human frowned at her. "I need something to do." He rubbed at his hair, black and thick. "I've been bouncing off the walls all day, AJ. You know how it is. How it was."

"It's not good fer humans to run around aimless." But she softened with a chuckle. "Yer remindin' me of another human."

The human crossed his arms. "But seriously, can I help? Even a little?" He pointed at the machines. "I've got muscles!"

"No," answered Applejack curtly. "We ain't lackin' fer muscles." She rolled her eyes. "Ah swear." She reached out to poke the human in the belly. "Ya wanna hear about the other human ah'm thinkin' 'bout or not?"

The human frowned at her, but sat down on a nearby crate. "Alright. Tell me."

"Now, this was a while ago." Applejack waved a hoof about. "Afore we had these ships to sail 'round in. Ah came to Earth, and fell in love with a human mare, er, woman. She was right friendly. Hit all the checks, but a bit aimless herself."

Applejack dropped into a trot around the room as she told her story. "She decided ta spend her time on the farm. Pickin' apples and buildin' up some muscles of her own." She raised a brow. "Weren't needed either, but she felt good doin' it, so ah didn't stop her." She let out a heavy sigh. "We started a family, big and wonderful."

The human nodded along, picking at his leg. "I know. I've read the history books."

"Shush, ah'm gettin' to the part about ya." Applejack glared at him for interrupting her story. "As ah was sayin'! She didn't like jus' watchin' me goin' 'round, gettin' things done, ya know?"

"I know." He crossed his arms. "That's why I want to help."

Applejack moved up to pat him on the knee. "An' yer sweet, but there ain't no need." She glanced over the harvest and supplies in the room. "We got it done. Now, ah ain't blind to yer needs. How 'bout ya drop your contact and ah'll let you know when we start up another round? You can lend a hand next time!"

The human rolled his eyes, but started pulling up his datapad. "I'd like that. Even if it's just pulling levers. It'd be something to do."

"There y'go!" Applejack produced a datapad, but it was just for show. She was a digital construct herself. With a new chime, the contact info flowed between them. "Ah'll ring ya up the moment we got room fer ya. Right now? Ain't much to do, we're just puttin' this all away."

He made a face, but stood up. "Well, see you next time." He paused at the door and looked back. "Hey, your sister?"

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom popped up out of nowhere. "Howdy! Ya needed me?"

The human flinched back. "Whoa. How did you?"

Apple Bloom beamed up at him. "She rang fer me!"

The crewmember rubbed behind his neck. "I was just wondering something. The records say you came alone, and had a pony child. Where'd a sister come from?"

"Twilight," replied Applejack dryly. "Ya know how the ponies 'live' on, right?"

"Ah." The man nodded. "She digitized you and your family?"

"Yup," echoed Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom all at once.

"Huh." He shook his head, clearly a bit amazed at the whole thing. "Not sure I could go through with that." He turned for the exit. "It's on the contact, but I'm First Lieutenant Daniel."

Apple Bloom trotted up to the doorway, following him out. "See ya next time!"

As soon as he was gone, Applejack crossed her arms. "Catch yer breath there, sis." She patted Apple Bloom gently. "Yer a bit young fer that."

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Don't know what yer talkin' 'bout! Ah was curious. He's a pilot! Wonder what it's like, in a shuttle. Never been in one afore!"

Applejack smiled down at her sister. "It ain't much, but if ya want ta know more, I'm sure he'll be willin' ta tell ya."

"I bet he can even fly this thing!" She twirled, gesturing at everything around them. "Ah'll ask him next time!"

---

Twilight monitored everything. That was her job, to keep an eye on the big picture that was the entire ship and its inhabitants. She didn't have time to lean in close, that's what the individual AI were for, but she joyfully absorbed the big picture. So it was that she immediately noticed the new signal, an apparent addition to the message that had brought them out there.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight beckoned, speaking up to reach out through the ship. "I'm detecting a change in the message. Can you examine it?" She could see the big picture, but it was best to send in a program who had their nose far closer to the issue. "Report back ASAP."

"On it!" Rainbow, both far away and right beside her, leaned in at her own instruments as her wings pressed buttons wildly. "Times like these, I miss our space-modified bodies. I'd just soar out there and take a look personally."

Twilight rolled her eyes at that. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we're not even a light year close to it. I can't suggest that idea."

Rainbow reached a hoof over, pointing down at a spot on the screen. "Sending you a copy of the updated message. You're right, it's changed, a lot. Check it out."

Twilight studied the new version of the message. "Wait." She narrowed her eyes as she worked through what it meant. "This isn't another instrumental signal. This is a song." She inclined her head. "A familiar one."

Audible to both of them, the singing began. Not quite a pony song, nor was it a whale's song, but something else that was hauntingly familiar. "I need to get this to the captain immediately."

Rainbow Dash smirked as she watched her own screens. "You do that, Twilight. I'm just going to continue monitoring the changes, but that looks like a star system it's coming from. Locking in our destination."

Twilight vanished from pure digital, appearing beside Captain Roger. "Sir. We've noticed a change in the signal." She waved at the front screen. "Permission to display?"

Roger gestured for her to go ahead. "Permission granted. Let's see what we have here."

The view before them flickered with a few quick beeps and tweets. A rainbow haze rolled over the screen, filling it with the swirling patterns of space itself. The song then snapped into existence, a line wobbling to its tune as the alien not-quite-whale song filled the area.

Twilight rocked gently back and forth. "It feels like a welcoming song, sir."

Roger considered the waves of the sound. "We're already coming close. If they're welcoming us, let's take them at their word." He glanced aside at Twilight. "The connection between ponies and whales was never entirely identified. You understand it?"

Twilight hummed softly. "I do, captain. I can tell you when we come across that tidbit, but I don't know it off the top of my head. I just think it's nice." She inclined an ear. "I fear I'm not explaining it properly. I do not understand it as if they were speaking to me in English. I can infer emotions and general meanings. I feel like they are welcoming us, with kind intent and open arms."

Roger nodded at that. "I will take your word for it. Can you help the navigators?"

"No need." Twilight vanished, only visible on Roger's personal screen. "Rainbow Dash is on the case." She twitched her ears, smiling faintly. "She has a lock on our destination. They are really singing."

The ship soared through the void, trying to reach the song that shouldn't be audible through that empty stretch.

---

"Again?" Sunset smirked at Susan. "You're almost living here."

"As if." Susan went right up to Sunset to poke at her. "Visiting every day or so isn't 'living' somewhere."

Sunset leaned away from the poking. "You just keep coming back. Are you hoping for another lesson?" She pushed the pokes away with a grin. "I have more books I can give you, but you've already read through them all."

Susan folded her arms. "What I'm wondering isn't in any of the books. You've already made that clear. But it is in here." She directed a finger, without poking, at Sunset. "You are the pony out of place, and I want to know. Tell me about you."

Sunset snickered as she dropped back to sit on the floor. "It's a long story, if you're serious."

"I am." Susan sat down in front of Sunset and offered an attentive smile. "I know you probably don't believe me, but I think you're more interesting than some random helpful program."

Sunset raised a brow high. "I don't believe you, but I can tell when someone wants something." She brushed a hand over her hair. "So, let's see if you're that interested." She made an expansive gesture. "A long time ago, on a planet far far away. To say galaxies would be underselling it." She lowered her brows. "Scientists are still struggling with the idea of if it even exists, but I lived there, so I feel confident saying it does."

"Is it ponyville?" Susan shrugged as she sat up straight. "What is it?"

"Don't ruin it!" Sunset sighed gently. "If you want me to tell you about the other side of the galaxy, you can't interrupt with more questions. Besides, it wasn't Ponyville, but it did share the same three-dimensional coordinates for it, so, close?" Sunset shrugged at that with a little chuckle. "No, I'm from Canterlot High, or I was? Either way, we could hop back and forth between Ponyville and Canterlot High, two worlds, same space. Just a tiny breath of distance apart along a different dimensional axis."

Sunset closed her eyes as she leaned back against a bookshelf. "Long story short, the things at Canterlot High were very different than the ponies in Ponyville, and I decided to chase after one particular pony across worlds. We used to speak, send emails, basically, until she stopped responding. Her last message was kind of dire, so I had to know if she was okay."

Susan tilted her head as she listened intently. "And were they? Alright, I mean."

"Not even a little." Sunset turned her eyes aside. "The usual gateway I used to get back to Ponyville had stopped working. I had to get clever, and that took time." She dusted at herself, not that she had any on her holographic form. "I found her, eventually, lightyears away. She had a little foal and a mate! Seriously, she coulda just told me, but nope." Sunset huffed, crossing her arms. "There I was."

Susan gave Sunset a sad smile. "You missed them getting together."

"Yeah!" Sunset waved a hand about. "And the rest, of their little family." She closed her eyes. "Before they got much older, there was a disaster. I offered Twilight to put them into the database. Be preserved forever, or at least for a very long time. It was her idea. Her invention! Look, it's a bit heavy." She pushed up to her feet. "You're going to have to wait to next time."

Susan rose with less stress. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you want me to keep coming back."

Sunset prodded Susan much as she had been poked. "You keep your thoughts to yourself." She stuck out her tongue, but was smiling a little.

Susan returned the gesture and stepped back towards the door. "It was nice talking with you, again. Thanks for sharing a bit of your history with me."

"Uh-huh." Sunset crossed her arms. "You'll get bored of it soon enough."

Author's Note:

We're following a few interesting threads, I think.

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

I wonder if its a Cachelot class world thats been watching FIM and liked at least some things?

[David Silver]

11922177
Cachelot?

[Booster Spice]

11922185

From what I remember, likely badly, Cachelots are a name for Whales and other cetaceans? Its a water world specially filled with intelligent cogent aquatic life.

Alan Dean Foster did a story called the same, the main whale being Lumpjaw?

[PrincePegacornV]

11922191
Now, there's a name I haven't heard from in a very loooooong time! Alan Foster. Jeez, I've read many of his books sooooo long ago, Kinda abandoned his tales for Jack Chalker's stories ( in particular, the Well World), but if I recall, the story I liked best of Foster was his Spellsinger series (I think, that is, It has been decades and my memory isn't what it used to be since my stroke).
I do recall that I had a thing for Roseroar...

[Booster Spice]

11922213

Its intresting that you use that quote, as a couple year ago, Alan Dean Foster finally got payment from Diney corperation for works he had authored for them over the years. I think his first movie novelisation was something called Splinter Of The Minds Eye, about a farm boy from a desert planet who ends up undertaking finding an old hermit in order to save the galaxy.

Its a real pity that spellsinger wont be made into a proper movie collection or Stream, at the least due to Mudge the Otter swearing more than the entirity of Blazing Saddles, in just the first couple minutes.

I pretty much paniced a couple year ago when he stopped updating monthly his personal website, just about the time there were major wildfires reported in the area. I only found out a few months ago that he had just switched fully to paywall social media and was announcing a new book tour?

As for Roseroar, that was the closest the duar could get to summoning something to solve the problem based on teh song he was singing at that moment. Rosemary, Sage and Thyme.

[harts fire]

this is getting vary interesting.

[Okie Brony]

Another nice chapter! Sunset answered a few questions, and raised one or two more. Mysterious signal is mysterious. Let's hope it isn't the old trick of sending a distress/welcome message, and then attacking whomever shows up.

Apple Bloom is there, so I see no reason why Sweetie and Scoots wouldn't be, also. Cutie Mark Crusader deep space explorers, YAAAY!!
👽 🛸

[PrincePegacornV]

11922216
Splinter in Mind's Eye. Damn fine story, if I recall.
Yeah, I knew that the first Star Wars sounded familiar... (Heh, heh)
Oh, I have a thing for cat characters. Especially those Hani from Cherryh's Chanur books...
Capper of course was cool, just a might too typical...

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

Fleshing out the continuity of this universe a bit more. Looking forward to the next chapter.

[David Silver]

11922621
I do hope you're enjoying this continuation.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

11922758

I am indeed. It's definitely been a fun little surprise.