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// Life on board 
// Story: The Equestrian Adventures of Tucker the Great  
// by kfish5050 
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Google Docs link

Time slowly passed. First, everyone looked around to see if his or her friends and family had made it onto the ship. Those lucky enough to reunite settled down on the ship. Those who weren’t quite so lucky spent hours searching, hoping their loved ones were still alive. They searched the same rooms over and over again, hoping, wishing a familiar face would show up, and then slowly starting to accept their loved ones’ fate. I sat and watched the reunited and those that were now like me, alone.
After a few days, when everyone was finally settled, we began to discuss what had happened. I went to my friend Daniel, who had been one of the first people on the ship.
“So, it looks like we made it out alive. They always said I would be the first one dead in the war, but now they’re all dead, and I’m still alive. You know, I haven’t really seen you since the war started. How have you been?”
“Well, apart from losing lots of friends, I think I’m fine. It’s just hard to think about sometimes because I miss them so much. When the war started, I was assigned to a team building weapons to attack the Russians. Who would’ve guessed that they’d been scheming an attack on us since the Cold War ended?”
“I don’t know, but it certainly came out of nowhere. My brothers and father were some of the first to sign up for the war. Since my dad was a pilot, he headed the air force, while my brothers were just infantrymen. They all died when the nuke went off in the Battle of the Bermuda. That is what caused me to sign up for the war. It was lucky I did, because just a few days after I left, my city was bombed, and my mom and sister were killed.”
“Aw man, that sucks. I was able to get out alive with my girlfriend, and I am so thankful. You have no idea. After half the world was eliminated with the nukes, everyone started pooling their talents to work on this ship. It was lucky we built it when we did. Normally something like this would’ve taken years, but with the combined talents and the military factories of many countries working together, we were able to develop it in the last four months. It’s a shame we couldn’t build more ships, but this is just a prototype. We can only hope it gets us somewhere, because it could break at any moment.”
“Good to know. I hope that doesn’t actually happen. We’re the last chance for humanity. So, where are we headed anyway?”
“No one knows. We’re just heading toward the closest star in hopes of finding a planet. It’s light years away. I designed the speed system to go faster than the speed of light, but it’s still a long trip. You’d better get comfy!”
“Alright. I guess there’s not much to do here. I might as well get to know some people.” I walked off. I wondered where I could meet new people, and I decided to go to the main hull, which was like the main social gathering site. There were about ten people in the room when I entered. “Okay, this won’t be difficult. Just start a conversation with someone,” I told myself.
I have never really made friends before. I was only friends with Daniel because we had played lots of games online together; we didn’t speak much face-to-face. I walked up to the closest person to me. She was a young woman, about my age. She was sitting by herself, probably contemplating what was going on.
“Hey. I noticed you sitting here all by yourself,” I said. “Wanna talk?”
“Oh, hi. I was just thinking, you know, about everything that’s happened. I’m not really used to the ship yet. I know it’s been a month, but it just doesn’t feel like it. The time’s gone by so slowly without many friends to spend it with. I haven’t really gotten to know anyone yet, because I’ve just been too upset about what happened. I have a few friends with me, but it’s just not the same.”
I found that she and I had some things in common. I think that’s how friendships are made. I decided to talk to her some more so that we could get to know each other better. “Yeah, everyone in my family was killed because of the war. I didn’t really have anyone to go to after that. My only friend is Daniel, who, thankfully, is on the ship with us. Well, what about you? What’s your back story?”
“I guess I should start with my name. I’m Stacy Rivershine. I was born and raised in Oklahoma. I grew up in a small town- nothing special. I moved to Texas when the war started so I could do something about it. I spent six months looking for a job, anything to help in the war effort, and I ended up working in the factory that made this ship. I was here when the bombs came, so I was able to escape. I wonder what became of my family, though. I haven’t seen most of them them since I left, although I have an older cousin with me who’s lived here for about three years. I have no idea what I would’ve done if I didn’t have any family with me...” Her voice trailed off as her eyes started to water. I wondered if she was thinking about her life without him.
“Well, at least he’s here now. Safe and sound.” When I said this, it seemed to break her trance of sadness. She looked back at me and gave me her full attention. I continued, “I guess I should introduce myself, then. My name’s Tucker Blaire. I lived in Texas for quite some time. I used to work for a small computer company there, but when the war started, about two-thirds of the company was drafted, and we were forced to shut down. I moved to Los Angeles to live with my mom and sister, and when my brothers and father went off to the war, I kept them company. A month into the war, we got a notice that they had all died in the Battle of the Bermuda. I wanted to avenge them. I’ve never really done anything with my life, so I signed up for the Army. Well, during my first week of boot camp, Los Angeles was nuked, and all of my family was gone. I was sent back because I was too weak to be a soldier, but I came back to nothing. I only had one friend, and he was in Texas, so that’s how I ended up here.”
“Oh wow. You’ve been through a lot. How can you still smile? I just want to hug you. We definitely need to talk some more, but I gotta go to sleep. It’s getting late.”
I looked at the time, and we’ve been talking for a half hour. It was already midnight. We exchanged room numbers so that we could find each other again and then went our separate ways. I headed down to my room, which I was sharing with a guy named Drake Patterson. We barely spoke to each other, because he disgusts me. Every time we spoke, he would respond with about three word phrases, and they would always involve food. This guy could eat anything he could fit in his mouth. When I got to our room, he was sprawled in his tiny, disgustingly stained bed, snoring. Loudly. I wondered how he hadn’t woken everyone on the ship. With that thought, I realized I was actually tired, so I decided to worry about his hygiene and nasal issues in the morning. I climbed onto the top bunk, pulled my sheets over me, and closed my eyes, thinking about Stacy. My mind drifts off of topic and I found myself in a bright and colorful land, free of toxic radiation and industrial pollution. I was happy, without a worry or care in the world, as if all my troubles had just disappeared like magic...



Twilight Sparkle awoke with a start. Spike was already up. Twilight asked him why he was already up, but he replied it was she that woke him up with all the noise she had made in her sleep. Twilight apologized to him, saying she had the same dream again. She said it wasn’t just a dream though. She felt like it was more of a vision. If only she could remember what it was. Spike told her she was just being silly, and it was only a dream. Twilight sighed, and accepted his explanation. But she still had the feeling that it meant something…
A few days later, Twilight received a letter from Princess Celestia. The princess needed her and her friends right away. But as always, not much more detail was given. Accepting of the princess’ ways, Twilight collected her friends and headed over to Canterlot Castle. Pinkie Pie discussed speculations on what their new mission was with the group, as she was hoping they’d have to defeat Discord again, for the sake of chocolate rain. Rainbow Dash was angered at the thought of him coming back. She’d hoped to never see him again, even in stone form. But her arrogance got the best of her anger and she said if they had have to fight him again, she’d beat him up personally. They all laughed at the thought, and they soon found themselves at the front door of the castle. Princess Celestia was waiting for them inside.
Their debriefing was rather quick. Celestia mentioned that one of her guards spotted something unnatural coming at them, and she wanted her loyal subjects to go and investigate. The question, “Why us?” came up, and Celestia simply responded, “You fillies are the only ones up to the task!”