"…but who is to say that there are no other worlds beyond the stars?" the wise Placolt asked to his fellow pony philosophers. "One must wonder as to what lies beyond. Could there truly be a limit to the vastness of the universe, or is it so large of size that the mind cannot even be—"

"Twilight!" a voice rang out.

Twilight Sparkle was nose deep reading an old tome on philosophical literature when she was suddenly interrupted by the sudden call of attention. Levitating the tome away from her face she looked for the source of the disturbance. Up from the stairwell the purple dragon Spike rushed with a parchment in hand. He panted and huffed as he reached her.

"A letter… from Princess Luna," he stated as he broke the seal and unfurled it. "Well spit it out," Twilight said with a hint of irritation in her voice, "I was studying a fascinating subject and I really want to get back to it."

After doing a quick skim of the letter, he cleared his throat and began to recite the letter.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

As of late I have been noticing shooting stars occurring in unusual frequencies and behaving oddly. Seeing as how you have a vast comprehension of astronomy, I am inclined to ask you to begin observing the moon, stars and night sky for any unusual activities beginning tonight. I will come visit you soon along with other knowledgeable astronomers to assist you for the following week.

There is something odd in the skies and in the interests of Equestria I wish to find out what it is and its cause.

I should arrive by the afternoon with my associates.

My sincerest regards,

Princess Luna

PS: Keep any indication of us meeting together a secret. It is of the utmost importance."

Spike looked up from the parchment to see a baffled look on Twilight's face. Princess Luna had only formally spoken to her once, during Nightmare Night a few months back. She had kept a very low profile ever since. Princess Celestia had told Twilight that her time on the moon had kept her from events in Equestria for those thousand years, and that she had to adjust her mannerism to modern times. Twilight even felt a twang of jealousy when Celestia noted that Luna studied almost as vigorously as she did.

But then why did the princess want to meet with her? She didn't know much of astronomy, at least not much more than most ponies. Perhaps it was an excuse for a friendly meeting to get to know each other better? It could be that, but then why didn't she meet up with Twilight earlier instead of waiting weeks to do so?

"Um, Twi?"

Spike's voice broke her line of thought as she turned her attention to the baby dragon. "What's astronomy?"

Twilight blinked a few times, registering the question and gave a chuckle; Spike can be so naïve at times…

"It's the study of the stars, celestial bodies and space," she answered with a smile.

Spike made a small pensive pout. "And what do you mean exactly, 'space'?"

That… isn't as easy to explain, Twilight thought. She pawed her hoof at the wooden floor as she formulated her answer in her mind. "Well, space is ah, the space between the stars and celestial bodies," she explained.

"But if it's just space then why study it?"

Why indeed, she thought to herself sarcastically. "It's not the same thing as the space you know Spike. It's referred to as outer space and unlike the one that is between - for example - you and me, it is incredibly cold and it has no breathable air. Nothing can live in it, and it is extremely difficult to travel through, only possible for alicorns."

The little dragon's eyes widened, filled with filly-like curiosity. "Why is it so… deadly?"

Twilight shrugged her haunches. "Space is just emptiness; there is no air in it to breath from, and there is nothing to hold heat. I don't know why it only occurs outside of our world though; it's been a mystery for centuries Spike. Nopony knows. We just accept that it is so."

Spike kept quiet, seemingly frightened. A tinge of guilt fell upon Twilight. Such young fillies and dragons were very impressionable; it was probably unfair to let him know about such things. It was definitely humbling if not scary to realize how much of the world's laws were beyond even the princesses' control.

"Don't think about it too much Spike," she reassured him, giving a warm smile, "it's nothing to worry about, at all."

While he smiled in response, Spike still seemed unsure. He walked out of the library and went downstairs without uttering a word. Twilight felt terrible about Spike, but she had other things on her mind; the meeting with the princess. In the meanwhile she decided to tidy up the room so as to make it at least somewhat presentable once Princess Luna arrived. She soon got to work. Her horn engulfed in a lavender-colored aura, Twilight mentally recited a spell and many of the books that lay about began to levitate and arrange themselves in order, neatly stacked in the appropriate bookshelves. This went on for a good half-hour when she was finished. She was mentally exhausted, but felt proud for a job well done.

Twilight granted herself the pleasure to have a nice and warm cup of tea, helping herself to a tray of crackers as well. A loud pop startled her. She choked on one of her crackers and turned to see where the noise had come from.

"Good evening Twilight Sparkle," a grayish-purple alicorn with decorative hoof guards and matching tiara greeted her: it was Princess Luna.

Twilight fumbled with her tray and accidentally dropped it. She gave a quick curtsy shooting off apologies and attempting to clean up the mess on the floor. "Oh my goodness I am so sorry Princess Luna I didn't mean to do that, so, so sorry-"

The princess let out a soft laugh, obviously amused by the antics of the young unicorn. She stopped Twilight by lifting the tray and grabbed her attention. "You needn't be so apologetic Twilight Sparkle," she said in a comforting tone, "I obviously frightened you. If anything I should be apologizing to you."

The fearful Twilight did blink a few times to completely understand and only after a long pause did she finally relax. "Ah…" she began, unsure as how to continue, "it's… no problem, Princess?"

Luna gave a warm smile. "Please, just call me Luna. There is no need to be so formal."

Again Twilight hesitated as she took in the princess's words; while she definitely was Princess Celestia's kin, Princess Luna did seem to be more modest and humble than her older sibling. "O-okay," Twilight replied, building up the courage to then drop the title, "L-Luna."

From the princess's cheery smile, Twilight gathered that it really was fine to just call her by her name. Then she went on to ask, "So, uh, Luna. Why are you here?"

Luna finally dropped her smile, a serious expression replacing it. Her attitude changed accordingly as well. "I see you understand that this isn't just a meet-up to gaze at the stars," she whispered quietly, as if she was worried that someone would eavesdrop on their conversation. "I had to lie on the letter to keep anyone at the Royal Palace from getting suspicious about my leave."

This was a surprise to Twilight; a princess actively lying? It was unthinkable knowing the princesses' history and their outlook on life. If a normal pony had seldom an excuse to lie, then a princess had no real reason to do so. "Why?" she questioned Luna, "what's really going on?"

Luna shifted herself, seemingly unnerved by the question. She looked at the floor for a few moments before answering, "I...think someone or something is coming." When she noticed Twilight wearing a quizzical look she explained further.

"From… the stars."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "What!"

"I realize this is a lot to take in, but I think Nightmare Moon," Twilight's mouth widened even more, "left me a warning of sorts about visitors from 'beyond'. I have no idea whether it's true or not, but it's got me worried and I needed to tell somepony."

The lavender pony's collected mentality was in disarray; she and her friends had killed Nightmare Moon and essentially erased any trace left by the dark entity a year back. How could Luna even consider what Nightmare Moon had to say to the princess? She was evil incarnate! Luna must've had a sixth-sense as she continued:

"I know Twilight. I couldn't believe that Nightmare Moon could have been attempting to help me either, but…" she let her head droop in shame, "… I feel that she had changed. When she left me a year ago she put that warning in my mind. If you could hear it you would see why I think that Nightmare Moon might have been on something. I… I trust her."

Twilight couldn't believe what she was listening to. She averted her gaze repulsed by such stories, it didn't even matter that it was a princess telling her these things. Even while she didn't look at the princess, Twilight felt pleading eyes on her and, grudgingly turned to see her. "Why didn't you tell anypony about this before?" she demanded, "does your sister even know?"

Luna's head drooped again. She shook her head as a response. Twilight noticed that tears were welling up in the princess's eyes. She instantly felt bad for the accusing tone.

"I told you: I didn't think the message was real. Months passed when it began repeating itself. By then if I told Celestia everything she would not take it well so...I kept it a secret."

She sobbed before continuing. "I was scared," she admitted, tears flowing down her snout, "I was scared that everypony would think that I had gone insane, so I kept it and kept it, but I began to hear it more and more often and…"

Luna began to sob uncontrollably. The sight of a princess crying her heart's contents was too much for Twilight. Using her magic she used a napkin to dry the princess's face and tried to cheer up the depressed pony. "I-I'm sorry Luna, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

The princess sniffed, her eyes moist and puffy. She looks horrible like this, Twilight observed, once more feeling a rush of guilt swarm in her. "N-no," Luna replied, her voice wavering, "I needed that. I-it felt good to let it out. Thank you Twilight."

She began to regain her composure as her last tears were shed. "Alright," she sniffed again, "now you know why I've come to you. Like I asked you in the letter, I would prefer if nopony learns of this, at least for this first night."

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "Wait, what do you mean 'for this first night'?"

"I hadn't lied about us observing the night skies," retorted the Equestrian royal, "I have been seeing odd things during the night lately and something tells me that something will happen tonight. I want you to be with me to see it if something does happen. Only then can I tell everypony else about Nightmare Moon and what she had said."

It was only then that Twilight noticed that it was dark out. She was not pleased with how Princess Luna's request was a bolt from the blue, and she felt that it was not right for Princess Celestia to be left in the dark about the whole affair. Plus she really didn't know Luna, let alone consider her as a friend. As far as Twilight was concerned, she was essentially a stranger. Yet she couldn't help but feel for the anxious princess; something within her told that Luna was not pulling her leg and that something could happen that night. She supposed that she could spend a night with Luna.

Twilight addressed to Luna, "Very well, how about we make for the balcony? I'll get you some refreshments."

Luna's face lit up. "I would like that very much, thank you." The two ponies left the library.

It had been over seven hours since Angus had held the vote. The Promise had made considerable progress and was less than twenty minutes away from Krig 7B's moon, the location from where he and his crew would begin to observe the planet to gain further information. He surveyed the staff at the bridge. Many of the crew sat at their allocated posts, each manning their controls and carefully inspected their screens. Officers walked to and fro supervising the other crew. The commodore had just returned from his quarters for a meal and shower and was pleased with the pace of speed. The deck had been mostly quiet, with some chatter between some of the officers and crew members and the faint humming of the dozens of computers. The calm was broken when an officer began arguing with an operator. It began quietly at first, but soon it deteriorated to the point where other crew members turned their heads to see what the commotion was. When they began to yell at each other Angus noticed it as well and decided to intervene.

His approach quickly hushed both men as they each gave a salute. "What seems to be the problem here gents?"

The operator began to speak but was interrupted by his superior officer. "Mister Matranga here is receiving faulty readings and is refusing to see what is causing the erroneous results that are shown," he pointed at the interface, "in the system sir."

Matranga was visibly frustrated and his tone only made his aggravation more evident: "But as I said to the supervisor sir, I've run various tests and scans to confirm that the readings weren't just a glitch in the system. I did the calculations myself, the readings are correct."

Just as the officer was about to tell off the operator Angus asked the operator, "Why are we examining Krig 7B? The ship's relays are bound to make invalid readings."

The officer gave off a cough and replied, "Actually sir it's not the planet that we're getting results from, but from its moon."

Angus screwed his face in surprise. "The moon?" he asked the officer, both of them nodded. "Who made the decision to study Krig 7B's moon?"

This time Matranga spoke for the officer. "The ship sir: it's an automatic procedure which goes into effect when it comes into close contact with planetary or other celestial bodies. It's not as detailed as the operation which we're still preparing for, but according to the results, the moon has a breathable atmosphere and has a temperature considerably higher than expected."

The commodore scooted towards the interface to peek at the computer's own readings. As Matranga had said, the interface indicated that Krig 7B's moon had an atmospheric composition similar to the Earth's own except for any water vapor. The mean surface temperature reported as being as high as 286.15° Kelvin: cooler than on Earth yet livable by human standards. It was indeed a very unexpected find.

"That is strange," Angus admitted, scratching his head in confusion.

"As I said sir!" the officer piped up, "Krig 7B's lunar surface's chemical composition is comparable to that of our moon. It is impossible for it to have an atmosphere, let alone a surface temperature higher than below freezing! The system must be suffering from some form of technical malfunction or software glitch."

The commodore mulled over the officer's words, and having thought it over, turned to the man. "Are these readings relevant perchance?"

If the supervising officer had a retort already prepared, his stunned expression didn't show it. "B-but sir! If there really is something skewing the results then it could affect the check that we're going to begin shortly."

"Yet this crewman has assured you of no such thing," Angus countered, indicating at the man still in his seat, "as far as we know there could be something which is in fact granting the moon an atmosphere and temperature. It is something to check up on again later when we have the time, but as of now it is irrelevant. If you still think that the results are incorrect then get another engineer to give you a second opinion."

With no other way to respond to his commander the officer simply saluted him, giving him a 'yessir' and left quickly. Matranga was astounded.

"Thank you sir," the man saluted, smiling at how Angus had stuck with his story, "I d-don't know ho-"

Angus lifted a hand to interrupt the operator. "There's no need to say anything Mister Matranga; as you were."

Matranga saluted him once more and returned to analyzing his interface. While Addens made his way back to his own seat, he had to acknowledge that the readings on Krig 7B's moon could have potentially been incorrect. He could not let it distract him or the crew for the upcoming examination of Krig 7B however. If there indeed was some form of electronic or equipment malfunction it could be solved in due time. Angus was in no rush to determine what the natives were. They had no method of reaching the ship anyways. The mission would not be jeopardized.

Not yet anyways.

Luna finished eating the last crumbs of apple pie that Twilight had served her and, momentarily forgetting formal etiquette, licked her lips clean. It had been a long time since she has had such a good dinner. While neither as lavish nor as sophisticated as the creations of her personal cook, it was exquisitely delicious. "My compliments to the chef," she told Twilight.

She smiled in response. "I'll be sure to give them to her personally," she chuckled while she cleared the dining table. "You ready to go out then princess?" With a nod Luna followed Twilight out to the balcony.

The night sky was as always a marvelous spectacle of light and darkness: all of the stars shone brightly along with the stark white moon and, with less light from the land, other stars which normally were invisible twinkled as well. Luna momentarily forgot the gravity of the moment and began to enjoy the familiar splendor. As her body and mind unwound themselves to bask in the light she noticed that even Twilight was mesmerized by it as her glittering eyes denoted. She couldn't stifle a giggle, snapping Twilight out of her trance.

"What are you laughing about, your highness?"

Luna beamed fondly: "It has been eons since anyone but me has truly appreciated the night sky," she answered honestly, "it is really heart-warming to see that I'm not the only one to marvel at the stars."

Twilight turned skywards again. "Yeah," she began, nodding slightly, "I can see why it can be so fascinating. It's just too bad that there aren't more ponies who look at the stars and moon."

Suddenly Luna began to feel a touch of regret after hearing the last phrase. It brought back the horrible memory of when her envy had gotten the best of her and when she was frustrated with Equestria and…

She swept away any such thoughts from her mind and kept herself distracted observing the sky along with Twilight. That was when she heard her again, only this time what she said was different:

Beware my little Luna! They are upon you. Look to the stars, the moon shall reveal all!

Luna felt pale: this was most frightened Nightmare Moon had ever sounded, even more so than when she had been expelled from Luna's body and mind. Slowly but surely, Luna heeded the warning and craned her head to look at the moon. Only then did she realize that next to the moon there was one star too many. It didn't even twinkle like a proper star; it oscillated more than anything else. The more she stared at it the brighter it seemed to get.

To Luna's horrifying realization the light was growing larger and drawing closer.

The UNS Promise began entering in the orbit of Krig 7B's moon. It slowed to a crawl and proceeded to align itself with the moon so as to get the best view of the planet. It had all gone according to plan: within minutes the ship's arrays would begin their examination of Krig 7B and if all went well it would take no more than three hours to finish the procedure.

That's when it all went wrong.

Without explanation or cause, multiple large explosions on the ship's starboard violently rocked and jerked the ship. The shock of the blasts made the Promise veer towards the port side, away from the moon. Deathly quiet, the huge fireballs kept burning for a near ten seconds before the oxygen was all burnt. Any further potential fuel had been stopped by the ship's fail-safe mechanisms which had sealed off the newly formed cavities on the Promise's starboard.

But the damage had been done and the ship had suffered a devastating blow: all of the contents which were in the chambers that had been pierced by the explosive force had been sucked out of the hull. Machinery, vehicles and debris floated outside the ship, along with many bodies of the colonists who were still in cold sleep. None of them survived.

The UNS Promise was now slowly swerving out of the moon's orbit.

Twilight Sparkle noticed that one of the stars by the moon began to emit reddish lights with a hint of orange. She didn't know too much about stars but she suspected that such a display wasn't normal for a one.

"Hey Luna, do you see that star next to the moon?" she asked, her eyes still fixed on the star.

Luna didn't answer. Curious, she turned to the princess and saw that she too was fixated at the star, but instead of wearing a quizzical expression she looked outright terrified.

"…Luna?" Still no response.

Now frightened herself, she looked back at the star and was surprised to see that the orange-red lights were outshining the star itself. As they had suddenly appeared they disappeared from view and only the original white star remained. Whatever happened to the star must've ended, Twilight told herself. Then she saw that the star seemed to be creeping away from the moon.

Frozen in disbelief, she now understood that it couldn't possibly have been a star. Slowly, she turned to Luna once more. "Luna? What is that light?"

The princess tore her horror-struck gaze from the light to look directly into Twilight's eyes. For once Luna was at a loss for words:

"I…I-I have no idea."

Angus Addens had been knocked off of his seat and found himself grunting in pain from the impact with the floor. Within a split second the startled cries of crew members and ship alarms resounded within the enclosed space of the bridge, while red lights took the place of the standard lighting. Shocked by the abrupt shake, Angus felt as if the ship's starboard had been struck by colossal meteor. He scrambled to his feet and began to make sense of what had just occurred.

"Status report!" he yelled over the noise. An operator gave a weak response: "Massive damage to hull integrity and structure, sir! Multiple compartments are reporting huge drops in air pressure and oxygen levels!"

"Seal them off!" the commodore ordered as he opened his own interface. The operator struggled to remain firmly planted in his seat, but did as commanded. "Sealed sir!"

"Alright," Angus exclaimed. He skimmed through the names of the affected chambers and immediately grasped that it had mostly been the stasis chambers and internal systems of the ship that had been damaged. Angus feared the worse and demanded his crew, "What's our current course?"

"The Promise is swerving towards Krig 7B!"

"Correct it then!" he snapped at the helmsman, "before we crash into the damn planet!"

The helmsman required a great effort on his part to stabilize the ship's unnatural flight pattern but had eventually regained control of the ship.

The alarms silenced themselves and the red warning lights were switched off: the crisis was over. Angus slumped in his chair, relieved that the ship was safe. Now finally the crew began to wonder what had transpired.

"What the fuck just hit us?"

"Was it a meteor?"

"No, scanners would've picked it up before we got hit!"

"Then what the hell was it?"

It was impossible that it had been a solid object large enough to send the Promise spiraling out of course; as one of the crew said it would have been detected long before the impact. A terrible failure of the ship's systems was also another likely possibility.

But what did it matter? How it had happened was irrelevant, he needed to gauge the damage. He immediately knew that this was not just an unfortunate accident;

This was a disaster.