Cryo-7

by Metal Pony Fan

Breaks Fast

Twilight eased herself into the back corner booth, sliding across the brightly colored vinyl seat with her jacket back in its proper place. "This wasn't here last time, was it?"

"I don't think it was here a few hours ago." Astral joined her, on the same seat, still bare of his own jacket. He didn't hold much hope of ever seeing it again. It was on the bridge when the nuke exploded, and he couldn't remember if he had sealed it in a locker before leaving. "The signs do say grand opening."

"And they do seem a little rushed," she agreed, referring to the hoof-scribbled nature of the one over the door. Roughly half the signage was professionally printed or on holographic displays. The rest was clearly a do-it-yourself endeavor. She pulled the menu off the gloss black tabletop and fidgeted with it. "Um, Astral?" She asked quietly, "Why did you sit on this side?"

"Hmm?" He looked over, then down at the four centimeters of open cushion between them. "Oh!" He stiffened up. "Sorry, I'll move, force of habit, you know, or, I guess you don't, but I always try to face the exit."

He moved to slide out of the booth, and she grabbed his hoof, stopping him cold as a waiter came by. The cheerful human tipped his colorful, white and orange, flat-topped cap, and pulled a small pad from his shirt pocket. "Thank you for visiting your local Donut Joe's, serving breakfast for millenia. Today marks the grand opening of our first branch on a Canterlot Space Station," he shrugged, "such as it is." After clearing his throat, he continued his memorized monologue. "In light of recent events, we are offering free coffee and donuts to all station personnel, and everything else on the menu has been drastically reduced. Are either of you signed up for our rewards program?"

"Plane, Astral," the unicorn answered, "planet Serus."

The human tapped it in with a stylus pulled from the brim of his cap. "Serus," he repeated back, making little humming noises. "Hm, closest I see is Aster Plane from Sydonia. Here's A. Plane from Saturn orbital platform, but no Serus. That is Serus with an, 's,' right? Not a, 'c,' like Cygnus?"

"Yes," Astral answered with some confusion, "S-e-r-u-s, I should have about four thousand points."

"Enough for two free meals," the waiter said with an approving nod. "That's quite a lot, could it be under a ship or company name?"

The unicorn shook his head. "No, it's-"

Twilight gasped and grabbed Astral's leg. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, offering a forced and distracting smile. "We'll use mine for now. Twilight Sparkle? No planet."

"Everypony has a planet," he explained politely as he entered the name. "It's part of the sign up..." He squinted at his pad. "...process." He tapped at the screen, and his eyes went wide. "Oh! Um... Um." He composed himself, and held his stylus ready. "What would you like, ma'am?"

"I'm not sure," Twilight replied. "Could you give us a moment?"

"Certainly." He pointed his stylus at the wall and double-clicked a small button on the side. "Refreshments while you decide."

As he walked off, to busy himself with another patron, a gurgling sound issued from the wall. A panel slid open, and two glasses of ice water slid out onto the table.

"What was that?" Astral asked as he reached for his drink. "He sure got flustered all of a sudden."

"I used to frequent the original Donut Joe's before he left Equestria on Cryo-One." With a sly smile, she reached for her own water. "It was quite a surprise to find out he put me in the system back when he founded the chain."

Astral raised an eyebrow. "Thousands of years ago?"

She nodded. "M-hmm." She grabbed a menu and held it open so Astral could see it. "Free food, any time, no questions asked. It's been quite convenient. I'm thinking pancakes."

"Of course it is. And why didn't my points come up?" Astral skimmed the menu. "No fruit, I guess I'll have hashbrowns. Look, they've got your chocolate milk. Strawberry too."

Twilight shrugged absent-mindedly as she leaned over to see the section of the menu Astral indicated. "It probably has something to do with Silver erasing your official history from Canterlot Records. Which one should I get?"

"Wait, what?" Astral leaned back, realizing he was suddenly quite close to the wall of dark purple that made up Twilight's mane, and also realizing for the first time that there was a second stripe of color along the pink.

Twilight looked back at her menu, granting Astral his personal space back, then looked up. "Chocolate or Strawberry, which one?"

"Why ask me? You're the one who wanted it." Astral shook his head. Ever since meeting that other Twilight, he was having trouble concentrating. "What did you mean, Silver erased my history?"

"It was Chrysalis' idea. She thought it would be better for you to be as much of a blank slate as possible. I guess wiping the slate clean included your Donut Joe's membership."

"Of course it did," Astral sighed. "Why bother? Why touch my history at all?" He glanced around. He didn't want to stare at her like he was accusing her of something. "That was before any of you even knew I was going to help out, and I almost didn't." His eyes settled on something nearby, and he folded his hooves on the table. Hanging his head in defeat, he dragged the item over, a magazine from a courtesy rack. "Well," he said as he dropped it on the table, "looks like Ribbon came through."

Twilight looked down. There on the cover was a familiar photo, her and Astral in a situation that looked much worse than it really was. Only glossier than last time. It was rimmed with a bright purple box, drawing attention to it, and the letters below it, "Holo-Editing! Are you at risk?"

She went to open the magazine, but instead of finding paper, the thin, flexible film of the cover gave way beneath her hoof. It shifted off its backdrop, distorting the image on the cover. When peeled open, it revealed another image altogether.

Her and Astral. Same pose. Same expressions. She still wore that horrible wrapping of shop towels. Only this time, against a backdrop of medical equipment. Astral's jacket lay at the foot of his hospital bed. An IV line ran to his shoulder, and random scuffs and scratches covered most of his visible fur. And, most importantly, she was very clearly sitting just to the side of him.

"Well," she flipped the translucent film with the image mods back and forth a few times, "isn't that clever? She's better with Holoshop than I expected."

Then her eyes focused on the second image's text. Below the picture it said, "The real picture." Then, in smaller letters, "Luna Academy professor, Twilight Sparkle, visits her dear friend and companion, Astral Plane, after his ship is attacked by raiders. The Heroic stallion was the only crew member aboard his vessel, as well as the only survivor of the clash. His survival is truly a victory for all freighter captains against the shameless actions of Raiders everywhere."

Twilight nodded. "Ribbon wrote this, I know she did."

Astral responded with a shrug. "Well, if you don't like it, dear friend and companion, maybe we can change it again?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight was confused by his tone. That snide comment was something she would have expected before they left Canterlot, not now. "Astral, is something bothering you? Something I did?"

"No," the unicorn sighed, "not you... it's just..."

He looked over at Twilight, and for a moment, he had to remind himself what she was. Everyday, she was becoming more normal to him. She was drifting farther from that terrifying presence he faced on the Philomena. But, she was still a powerful one. Her alicorn abilities were nothing short of supernatural, from what he heard. And, he had no idea if she was still hiding more.

What would have happened if she had been the one to go after Fluttershy? The prills wouldn't have stood a chance, she could have ignored the risk of ambush and marched right in. And, the moment the pegasus was in sight, Twilight could probably have just teleported her back to the station. Astral had to fight his way to her. He was good at it, he knew that. He spent most of his life fighting for his life after Serus was destroyed. But he still had to sneak around the trap Visor had laid out, and he still very nearly got himself and Fluttershy killed.

Fluttershy saved him. Then Twilight saved them both, then saved the station from visor's ship's suicide protocol. She wouldn't have had to fight to get to Fluttershy. Her only weakness was that there wasn't two of her. And she was only a false alicorn? What about the others?

He looked down. "What is the COC? What do they do? I know the official story, the stuff about periodically auditing government actions and programs, and giving advice on delicate matters. But you can't tell me there isn't more to it anymore. Who are Celestia, and Luna, and that creepy bug thing? What do they want?"

Twilight nodded. "I don't think I can give you an answer you'll be happy with. They don't really want anything. They're just trying to do their part to help the galaxy."

"With no expectation of reward?" he muttered weakly. "I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to feel about all this. I want to help you, and help find everypony from your ship, but I feel like there's something I'm not seeing. I feel like I shouldn't be necessary to that mission. The COC is a known and powerful organization, and I'm starting to feel it fringes on some sort of shadow agency, and nothing I've seen so far has told me I'm wrong. I mean, just look how easily we tampered with a planet-wide publication, manipulating public perception of events that never even happened. Celestia was nice and all, but she's probably done that hundreds, if not thousands of times, if she's as old as you say she is. Look how much clout the COC's name had on Furia. They aren't even part of the Assembly, and they deferred to to you because of that alone. And that's just events I've been present for. Not to mention the fact that she never really told me anything. Aside from her cracking jokes, everything just got pushed back onto the fact I was helping you find your friends. And she showed off a little, which did give me a little perspective on the power gap between us."

"No," Twilight shook her head with a very compact motion, "it didn't. Trust me on that one." She shifted in her seat, entering list mode. "I have personally seen her raise the sun, raise the moon, reverse an earthquake, stop a landslide in time, cast an illusion spell on an entire city just so they wouldn't know she stepped out to the restroom during a parade, desalinate a landlocked sea, wrestle a dragon on the slopes of an active volcano, and tear an errant neutron star in two, then shove the pieces into a black hole, which she then dissolved from the space-time continuum. And don't forget, she shielded me from the detonation of a nuclear reactor, with her body alone. There isn't a power gap between her and the rest of us, Astral. Saying something like that presumes we would even be able to measure her power in the first place. There's a good reason some ponies worshipped her as a deity back on Equestria."

Astral threw his his hooves up. "And that's supposed to make me feel better?!"

"Um, well," Twilight stammered, holding her hooves out in a reassuring gesture, "just because she can take over the galaxy, it doesn't mean she's going to. I mean, she's probably enjoying a break from all the paperwork that came with ruling all of Equestria for over a millenia. And I've known her most of my life, she never encouraged the worshipping. If anything, she actively discouraged it."

Astral started pushing her hooves away. "Still not helping your case."

"Well, wait." She broke her hooves free, fighting Astral in a whimsical struggle for his personal bubble. "What about-"

"Just stop!" He grabbed her hooves, and pulled them tight so she couldn't move them. "All I want is for you to understand that she terrifies me on a very rational level, and you have three more like her. And, if you'll forgive me saying it, Luna and Chrysalis give off a bit more shadowy of a vibe than..."

"...than I do," Twilight finished for him. Astral felt her hooves grip his, and her eyes drifted down to them. "You're counting me as the third, aren't you? Do I really scare you that much?"

Astral didn't let go, but he didn't answer either. He honestly wasn't sure at this point. Rationally, yes, he knew she could erase him from existence without really trying. She wasn't near the level of the others, but she could probably still erase him from history if she felt like putting in some sort of effort. But, emotionally... "Twi, what were you doing before I woke up in medical?"

She looked up at him. His eyes were the same as in the shuttle bay, concerned, for her. The thought of him ever being scared of her was painful, now more than ever. She pulled one hoof away from his, letting him hold on to the other, and holding on herself so he couldn't slip away. Her free hoof lifted slowly. Softly, it traced the fur on his cheek, smoothing it down. Then, she brushed an errant lock of mane away from his face, tucking it behind his ear like she tried to do before he woke up earlier.

Astral grabbed her hoof, trapping it as it fell down across his cheek once more. He closed his eyes as he pressed his face into the soft fur of her fetlock. "I just don't understand. You, your powers, the COC, my feelings, any of this." His eyes opened slowly as he released all hold on her. Hers were still focused on him. "I'm not scared of you, just uncertain."

"In what way?"

"I don't even know that. I'm not even sure what you are." He sighed. "I know I was terrible to you when we first met, oh, what was it, last week? Week before? Sheesh, it seems so long ago now. You, who you are, how you treat those around you, all the burdens you place on yourself... It's changing how I see you. I regret ever comparing you to the celestials, but I still don't understand you."

She nodded slowly. "I can understand that. It took me years to come to terms with myself after I became an alicorn. But, I'll do what I can to to help you understand. We're partners in this, if you're still comfortable with that. Anytime you have a question, or a worry, let me know, and I'll try my best to answer it." She turned away from him, facing her drink on the table in front of her. "By the way, would you permit me a question of my own?"

Astral shrugged as he mirrored her movements, facing his own drink and cradling the cold glass in hooves. The condensation seeped through his fur, biting cold as he stared into the ice water. "Sure, why not?"

Twilight fidgeted with her drink, sliding it back and forth, leaving a wet trail on the clean counter. "What sort of feelings do you have that you don't understand?"

The stallion took a long drink from his glass, halving the liquid before setting it back down. "All of them, I guess. Interested in anything specific?"

She shook her head. "Not really," she lied. There was something very specific she wanted to ask about, but she wasn't sure if she should be the first to bring it up. "Just wondering if there was anything you wanted to talk about."

Astral took another drink, and the glass didn't leave his lips until it was drained. "Want to? Yes, there is. Should? I'm still figuring that out."

Twilight nodded silently, but kept her gaze squarely on the table in front of her. Less than an hour ago, she was sure she was reading too much into things. She was convinced that her echo's influence was making her look for signals that simply weren't there. Was that truly the case? Or was a little selfish worry merely what she needed to see what was right in front of her?

A quick raise of her hoof at the right moment brought the waiter marching over, and orders were placed. She went with toast, feeling that her stomach was twisting a little much for anything more substantial, and he went with his original idea of hashbrowns, after confirming that there wasn't any fruit available.

As the waiter left again, Twilight took a small drink, feeling her throat tighten around the fridgid liquid. She set her glass down, and swallowed again, surprised at how quickly her mouth felt dry again. "She liked you, you know."

Astral's attention quickly shifted, from inspecting the floor tiles beside their booth, to the pony staring into her water. "Who?"

"The other me." Twilight swirled her water around, listening to the clink of the ice cubes as an excuse not to look over. "You managed to make a good impression. She thought we would be a good match."

Astral frowned, bracing himself for an explantion to the contrary as he applied a mild heat spell to the ice cubes left in his glass, slowly melting them. "And what about you?"

"I'm not yet sure where her opinion on that ends, and mine begins." She pointed across the restaurant, where their waiter was emerging from the back room with their food. "But, I agree with her."

Astral's eyes went wide, and he lost control of the heat spell. The temperature only spiked by a few degrees, but the sudden change was enough to crack the glass. He panicked. In a rush to stop supplying magic to the thermal spell, he accidentally ceased his telekinesis as well. The glass fell and shattered against the table, and both ponies jumped away - Astral out into the aisle, and Twilight deeper into the booth.

"Is everything all right?" The waiter picked up his pace, eyeing the damage, and checking the customers for injuries. "Was there a problem with the glass?"

"No, no," Astral reassured him with an awkward smile, "um, this was my fault, I can be a klutz sometimes." With a dry chuckle, he glanced over at Twilight, and the smile disappeared. He looked back at the waiter. "I'll pay for the damages, can we get our food to go?"

---

Radio climbed up onto the bed in his temporary quarters. It was a relatively painful affair, but he knew it would be over after a good night's rest. The small hole they drilled in his pelvic bone would likely be closed within the hour, and the tenderness from getting jabbed by various needles would fade pretty quickly as well.

All in all, it was a small price to pay. From his calculations based on the size of the marrow sample they extracted, James would be able to harvest one hundred and ninety-two micrograms of stem cells. From experience, Radio knew that they would be just as pure, and far easier to refine, than trying to grow more from the left-over embryonic cells found in umbilical cord blood. And it was all thanks to his tampered-with physiology.

As the colt laid there, staring at the ceiling in the dark, he mentally ran through the events of the last few days. He could hardly believe everything that had happened. Leaving Furian controlled space for the first time, helping save a settlement from a mysterious illness, traveling from planet to planet, meeting new ponies out in the galaxy he was now free to explore.

It felt like he was a character out of one of his mother's old adventure novels, but with one big difference. He took one of the bed's two pillows and held it tight, tucking it to him like a foal holding on to the comfort of their favorite plush. Did the characters in those novels always feel like this?

It was fine at first. He was so happy to be off planet. Excited to see what the galaxy had in store, to help ponies, to show off his smarts and medical prowess. Then, Twilight grabbed the scalpel when he was trimming the scar tissue on her ear. He barely managed to switch it off before she tracked it all the way across her ear.

He rolled over onto his side, still holding the pillow. That was probably the first time since the hydra that he felt truly scared. He had hurt somepony that had helped him, somepony who cared about him. And how did he handle it? He yelled at her. And he never even apologized.

Astral was right to yell at him after that. In all honesty, he probably deserved worse. But, then he had to go and show him that article. Kikurage, the twisted plague, a deadly reminder that space was still full of unknown pathogens, just waiting for somepony to mess up, and unleash them on unsuspecting ponies.

Then they landed on a planet dying of a mysterious disease. Looking back, he had been incredibly stupid. Any mistake he might have made along the way could have resulted in somepony dying. He was the only doctor around. There was no back up, no second opinions, no specialists for him to call for assistance like on Furia. Everything could have gone so much worse.

And it almost did. Sparrow almost killed herself. It was pure dumb luck that she didn't, that the phase pistol was locked in stun mode. And it would have been his fault. Just like what happened with his mother and the hydra.

The hydra! He squeezed the pillow tighter. He was secretly happy when it turned out that Berry couldn't leave the shuttle on Picus. It meant that they wouldn't have to go outside. It meant that they would stay safely away from those monsters.

So why did Astral and Twilight transport out? How could they do that, when they knew what was out there? He knew it was to find Fluttershy, but couldn't they have searched from the shuttle? Maybe take low passes over the jungle while scanning below?

It all worked out though, the colt reminded himself. They made it safely off Picus and to the Solomon's Ring, where they finally had a chance to rest in safety.

Before getting thrown back into the fire.

Somepony tried to kill them! Legitimately attempted to murder every single one of them, and came close to succeeding. And he still didn't know why. Nopony told him.

As much as he had longed for freedom, a bigger part of him than he wanted to admit wanted to go get Ribbon, and book passage for them on the first ship back to Furia. Though, the way things were going, it would probably be hijacked before they made it out of the system.

There was a loud slam, and Radio screamed. He tossed the pillow and jumped up, using his wings to right himself as he took a defensive stance. The noise repeated, and Radio realized it wasn't something slamming, it was a clap. He collapsed to the bed, breathing heavily as the sound repeated a third time.

It was the message notification sound from his tablet, in his bag of medical supplies across the room.

He buried his face in his hooves, soaking his fur with tears. "Why?!" He shouted at nothing, sobbing and desperately trying not to. "I'm supposed to be ready for this. I'm supposed to be strong. I was designed for this! Trained for this! Engineered to be a weapon!"

He scrambled out of bed and ran to the kitchen, barely making it to the sink before puking. The stench made him feel even more sick, and he fought the spasming of his gut to turn the water on. Cold running water washed the vomit away, and the smell thankfully declined to linger.

Radio hung onto the edge of the sink for a moment before plunging his head under the faucet. And with the sound of water drowning out everything else, he whimpered, "I'm not supposed to be afraid."

Another clap startled the colt, and he jerked his head up. Straight into the faucet. He cursed in pain and proceeded to slip, slamming his face against the edge of the sink on the way down. Laying on the ground, he could feel a stinging pain in his lower lip. It was busted, he knew it was. Split and bleeding like he just lost a fight.

There was another clap, and Radio considered ignoring it. He felt like laying where he was, soaking wet and bleeding until he caught a cold and died. Though, he knew that wasn't possible. His immune system wasn't that weak. Without some external, and probably concentrated, source of infection, he probably couldn't get sick anymore.

There was another clap, and Radio pushed himself up, carefully, so that he wouldn't slip again. "Why don't you just shut up, huh?!"

He was answered by another clap.

"Gah!" He stomped over to his bag. It was the only one Twilight had teleported back to the station, and that was only because he was using the equipment inside to keep Mac from bleeding to death. "I couldn't have picked a less annoying ringtone?"

He dug out his tablet, and switched on the screen. The light was blinding for a second, but his eyes quickly adjusted. Just as quickly, he realized that his sopping wet mane was plastered to his face. He propped the tablet up on his bag, and sat down in front of it. He navigated to his unread messages with one hoof, while the other dragged his mane out of his face. "What the hell?"

The first several messages were data files. Large ones. He checked the file format. They were multimedia textbooks, and the file descriptions included titles. They were medical texts. He recognized one or two of them from when he had gone through medical school on Furia a few years ago. But these were much newer versions. "Who, on what world, is sending me medical textbooks in the middle of the night?"

There was no sender code, which shouldn't be possible, and he didn't recognize the name. "P. Celestia," the colt read out loud. Some Private from Furia maybe? Sending updated medical texts out to all military medical personnel? He shrugged. This was a little weird, but it was the least threatening thing to happen to him since leaving home.

He kept checking through the messages, checking the file info and descriptions. He wasn't going to open the attachments on this pad until he confirmed the source. Maybe he could pick up a cheap throwaway pad in the commissary in the morning, just in case the data files were a front for a virus. Though, his tablet did have military-grade security software on it.

While he was debating the risk, another message came in, playing the familiar clap. Radio immediately silenced the pad's speakers. He then switched over to the new message. This one had a small data file attached, but unlike the others, actually had some text in the body of the message.

And, it was from the same sender, P. Celestia.

"Good evening, my little pony,

I hope I haven't disturbed you, and apologize if I have."

Radio rubbed the back of his head, where a small bump remained as testament to his sink struggle. "Nah, not at all," he said sarcastically as he continued reading.

I am a friend of Twilight's, and she has told me a little about what has happened to you, Radio. For a pony your age to go through so much, I am certain you must be struggling. Without going into to much detail, allow me to say that I am in a unique position to understand your dilemma.

My student has described you as a brilliant colt for your age. Intelligent, earnest, and helpful were some of the words she used in her letter. However, brash, reckless, and overly confident were also used.

I could be wrong. In fact, I hope I am, and that you took after your mother, inheriting Rainbow Dash's indomitable drive and spirit. But, I believe Twilight is merely unable to recognize that your brash facade for what it is. An attempt to hide your insecurities from those around you.

If I am wrong, please feel free to delete these messages. I won't attempt to contact you again.

However, I would welcome the chance to talk further.

Sincerely,

P. Celestia

P.S. My sister is looking forward to meeting you as well. Please fill out the attached forms at your earliest convenience.

"Attached forms?" Radio asked out loud, as if he expected an explanation. He hesitated for a moment, then opened the data file. It was probably stupid, but he remembered something that his mother used to say.

"Celestia knows..."

It was a simple expression, but the first time he heard it, he was three or four, and didn't understand the concept of figures of speech. So, he had predictably asked who Celestia was, like any young child would. His mother's answer was that she was someone important that she knew a long time ago.

But how would she know so much about him? How could she read between the lines of Twilight's description, and arrive at the conclusion she did without ever meeting him? And why would she want to talk to him?

Radio's confusion only grew as the data file popped up on screen. It was an application for Luna's Academy. Medical program, practical certification for licensed practitioners of Non-assembly planets. Also included was a time and place for an admissions interview. It was in four days, on the the surface of Canterlot, in a gymnasium at the main campus.

He went back to the message, and read it again. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he read it over, and over, searching for an answer.

The fifth time through, he broke down and sent a reply, asking the question he needed an answer to.

"Who are you?"

Within seconds, there was a reply.

"A friend."

---

Growl stood at the door to her quarters with a scowl. She wasn't sure if James was home yet. She had just come from putting Ribbon to bed, and was in no mood to be greeted with a smile. The poor filly had cried herself to sleep. All she and Mezzo were able to do for her was guide her back to her quarters and sit with her while she cried.

Also, Canterlot security forces were en route to pick up the bodies day after tomorrow, something they put off indefinitely back when there was just one. And she was going to have to deal with a buttload of paperwork when they arrived.

With a snarl, she punched the door control. If James was going to smile at her, she would deal with it when it happened. She could be very persuasive when it came wiping smiles off other's faces.

She didn't see him. Maybe he wasn't home yet? She walked in, glancing around the dimly lit quarters. The decorations were minimal, a few plants, pictures here and there, a Gryphon tapestry, gifted from the old monastery, hanging near the door, and a few ceremonial weapons on wooden displays. The most striking thing about the place was the walls. They were plain grey in color, like the rest of the station, but James had them carefully textured. It was a recent addition, and it always caught her off guard. The surface was similar to weathered stone, and walking into the main room was like walking into a cave.

Growl found herself relaxing despite her best efforts. It was hard not to, the smell of mountain herbs filling the place made it hard to hold on to her agitation. "James?" She walked through the main room, past the kitchen, and into the bedroom. The smell was coming from here. On the floor opposite the low mattress, was a meditation area ringed by lit candles. The circular patterns on the floor were inscribed with ancient characters that few knew how to read.

Some sections of the design described methods of cleansing the soul. Other sections told legends of great heroes, or dedicated monks. One section was recipes for incense. Most of the sections were basic platitudes and advice for day to day life. One in particular spoke to her right now, and she read it aloud. "Let go your worries, but do not forget them."

"Growl?" Asked a muffled voice from the neighboring bathroom, "That you?"

"Yeah, James," she answered, running her hoof over the platitude she read before sitting down in the center of the rings, "you left the candles on."

"I know, I started meditating, but I still had some blood on me. I'm washing up now, and left the candles lit to kill the smell." After a moment, he appeared at the door, towel in his beak, and sat down. He started drying his claws as he watched his wife stare at a candle flame. "That isn't your usual meditation stance."

"I'm not sure I should be emptying my mind right now," she told him without looking away from the candle. "I'm not sure what would happen."

He dropped the towel where he stood and walked over, staying just outside the ring. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at her husband, the Gryphon she spent the last twenty years of her life with. Though, to her, that was almost her entire life. Before she met him, there was pain and starvation in that small mountain village. Before that, there was nothing. Until now, she thought she was ok with that. "Two members of Mr. Plane's crew claim to know me."

The gryphon shrugged. "Is that unusual? You are well know on this station." James knew there was more to it. His wife was never this quiet unless something was truly bothering her. He also knew that asking direct questions would get him nowhere. It was times like this that he envied Ribbon's ability to get at the truth. "Perhaps you met them here, and simply forgot?"

She shook her head. "No, not here." She looked back at the candle. "They said they knew me before..."

"Before you lost your memory?" James stepped into the meditation circle with her. "Do you believe them?"

Growl frowned. She hated when he did this to her. The way he asked questions, cold logical, like he didn't care about the answer. What made it so infuriating was that he only asked questions like that when he cared the most. Any other time it would be with his normal jovial flippancy, or proffessionally trained tone of concern. "I don't know," she answered truthfully.

He sat down before her, obstructing her view of the candle. With a flick of his tail, he put it out. "Do you want to?"

"I don't know," she answered again, still truthfully. "They said I'm from Equestria, the planet that the first generation Tankrit came from. But, if that's true, how did I end up on Choria? Was I just lucky? Did I escape from Tankra? Did I run, leaving everyone else behind to suffer?"

James rested a claw on her shoulder. "There were Equestrians who didn't end up on Tankra. Ribbon's brother was telling me about it." He nudged her back so they could sit centered on the circle. "Their mother was woken from a stasis pod by a team of scientists that thought they were studying an ancient weapon. Mac, that large, cheerful fellow who's been helping out? He was woken from stasis recently. His pod was hidden in Mr. Plane's cargo when he was attacked."

"Then where was my pod? Who woke me up?" She shook her head, becoming more agitated with every question she asked. "Why would they dump me in a snowdrift on the side of a mountain?"

"You were found in a blizzard," James reminded her. "There's no telling how far you traveled to reach the spot where you were found."

She turned her back to him, pulling her shoulder away from his touch. "No matter how far I travelled, I was still abandoned. A stasis pod can't be opened from the inside."

The gryphon frowned. That was true. There had to be at least one other involved, and they either left her to a frozen fate, or perished on that mountainside. "True, but there was never a proper search done of the area. Modern scanners may provide answers we couldn't see at the time."

"And how do you propose we search the area? We were banished for taking sides in the war."

"Then how fortunate are we to know two ponies who were not banished from Choria? And who happen to have a shuttle, and hold a keen interest in anything related to stasis pods?"

Growl shrugged. "Even if they are allowed to visit the planet, how would they gain access to the valley for a scan? Most visitors are confined to the port cities."

"They are resourceful. They will find a way." James shrugged. "Speaking of resourceful ponies, I think Ribbon's role in our medical bay needs to be re-evaluated."

"In a good or bad way?" She asked with some concern. "She just held a conversation with somepony I thought was dead. Scanners eventually registered the uptick in neural activity, but she sensed it first, and who knows from how far away?"

James nodded. "She also upgraded our organ cloning chamber. It's the most recent model available in the galactic assembly, and I thought it was pretty state-of-the-art. Ribbon and her brother proved me wrong. A nurse, and a trauma surgeon, they call themselves. That alone would be impressive at their ages, but they are experts in regenerative medicine, and both are intimately familiar with operation of the autosurgeon."

Growl nodded, she was not surprised. "When I first met Ribbon, I asked her why she chose to become a nurse. There are so many things she could be doing, because of her telepathic abilities, that would have her rich for almost no effort. Why choose medicine?"

"And?" James prodded. "What did she say?"

"I didn't choose medicine." Growl shook her head, failing to hold back tears. "I didn't have a choice. I can't let anypony else lose what I've lost. I have to try to help."

"She's a good kid," James nodded slowly. He brought his claw to his wife's cheek as she moved to turn away from him. "Turning away hides your tears from others" he told her, gently wiping away the drops on her fur. "It shows them to me."

"Why does this bother me so much? I've buried members of our aerie without crying. I've gone years accepting that my past is gone. Why am I so bothered by the chance that I may regain some piece of what I've lost?"

"You are a practical mare. To you, crying is useless. It doesn't accomplish any goals, it doesn't help a bad situation, and it can't raise the dead. But emotions cannot be stopped. They will happen, whether you show them or not. And if you can't show me your tears, who can you show them to?" James pulled her to him, sighing as he rested his head against hers. "I know you used to feel that your past was better forgotten. I know it bothers you now because you are seeing for the first time that your memories may be happy ones."

She buried her face in his feathers. "James, what should I do?"

"I can't answer that for you." He closed his eyes listening to her try to control her breathing. "Only you know what you truly want."

"What if I don't know what that is?"

"Then, I will tell you what I want," he whispered to her. "You cried with me when we buried my brother. You cried when Greybeak's daughter was stillborn. You cried terribly when she took her life the next day. That day, you became my only family. Two years later, when we declared such before the Aerie, you cried beneath your veil. When Needle's body was thrown at your hooves, you cried after returning to the ship. You cried when the last transport left our staging area on Tankra's moon. When Roamclaw turned his back on you before the Circle of elders, and they did the same, I alone saw you cry."

She wiped her hoof against her face, then pressed it to his chest. "You were the only one that didn't turn away."

"And that, is why I am here beside you." He wrapped his claws around her, engulfing her in a warm coat of feathers. "I want you to have happy memories."

"You gave up your Aery, but you didn't abandon me."

"And I never will."

She sniffed loudly. "James, I want to hear it."

He smiled faintly, keeping his eyes closed. "Hear what?"

Growl started pushing him away. "You know full well, what."

"oh, ok." He resisted the mare's shoving. "Forgive an old beast his teasing." His resistance lasted only a moment. He soon gave in, leaning back far enough to look down, putting him face to face with his wife. "Growl, I love you."

She blinked away tears as the muscles in her face fought to form a smile. "Say it again?"

James helped the smile along by leaning in, rubbing the curve of his beak against the fur of her snout. "Ask nicely?"

"Say it again," she said, mustering a small amount of playfulness as she rubbed her nose back and forth against his beak, "or I'll stuff your hide with your own feathers."

"There must be something in my ear." He made a dramatic showing of checking for earwax, but he was just glad to see a smile amid her tears. "Did you just tell me to go finish up my triage reports so you can get to sleep?"

Growl pulled out her secret weapon, something that no one besides James had ever seen. Something that no one besides James would ever see. She batted her eyes at him. "Please?"

He sighed. It was over. He should have known it would come to this. It was such the rare occasion that she resorted to puppy-dog eyes, but he had to admit, he fell for it every time. "I love you." He nudged her back, guiding her down to her back, and looked down into her eyes as he placed his claw on her chest. "GR, of the Ohlen Highlands." He could feel her rapid heartbeat, the rise and fall of shallow breaths. But it was not from fear. She was the only creature in this galaxy that could lay beneath his claws and not feel fear. Similarly, he was the only creature in this galaxy that could stand over her without having their ribcage rearranged. "I love you, my Green-Red pony."

She reached up, placing her hoof over his heart. Normally calm, normally tranquil, his heart was racing. She felt this before, many times in the last twenty years. But, every time, she remembered the first. She remembered looking up into his eyes that night in the mountains, his grey feathers silver in the moonlight, and the stars behind him. She still remembered the words she said in that moment, and she would say them every time she felt this. "I love you, James of the Stonefeather Storycave."

His contented smile was joined by a soft sigh. "Notice that I don't pester you to repeat it?"

She responded with a smirk. "Oh yeah?" She grabbed him about the head, ready to throw him to the ground and swap their positions.

"No, you don't!" James grabbed the hooves grasping his feathers, and pinned them back above her head. He lost a few, and had fallen on top of her during the brief struggle, but it all worked out. His weight settled comfortably over her sturdy earth pony frame. "You had your fun the other day. Tonight, we do things my way."

"Oh?" She challenged, even though she was trembling. Not from fear, not from nerves, but excitement. "And what is your way?"

One claw traced its way from her hoof down her leg, up her shoulder, down barrel and body, talons gently raking the fur down her side before coming to rest on her flank. "Nice..." James grabbed her by the cutie mark, and pulled her hips slightly up into a better angle. His face lowered as his wings raised, and he brushed his beak across the side of her face as other parts brushed dangerously as close. "And slow," he whispered in her ear.

Suddenly he folded his wings, the small shift of his body making her squirm against him as it gave her a preview of the rest of the night. Growl brought her free hoof to his cheek, holding the face beside hers in place long enough to gently kiss the side of his beak. "I think I can live with that."

Comments

[N4rwh41]

Astral is totally right. Celestia in a vacuum is terrifying. Celestia, hidden in a seat of power with the ear of the government, is the stuff of nightmares. Having Luna and Chrysalis in that position is even worse, as the lack Celestia's seeming infinite patience and morals, respectively. The temptation to abuse that power must be massive.

On that note, Why doesn't Chrysalis have another hive by this point? Has she been sterilized, or is that not how changelings work in this universe?

[Batling]

Dang, has it really been only a few weeks since they started traveling? I agree with Astral - sure feels like it has been longer than that! I guess their adventure has been really densely packed though. And very well written. You know, for being a relatively common sentiment expressed by characters all over the fiction, I feel like you actually have managed to capture that feeling where one can look back and go "Dang, did we really just step out of the door a few days ago?". Good stuff.

And having a couple of "downtime" chapters in-between all the action is a good way to wind down, especially since you do character interactions very well. Action nice, but it's just as nice to get to see these characters interact and bond when things aren't exploding. Which goes doubly true for Twilight and Astral - I can't wait to see how all the awkwardness between them is going to unravel! Should be some pretty good payoff though once Twilight gets past her initial impressions and sorts through what's her and what's her echo's influence, and Astral works through his inferiority complex and stops putting himself down.

Speaking of which, I must admit it was slightly weird reading through this particular bout of Astral's feelings of inadequacy, because it didn't feel like they rang wholly true. Like, I can totally get his awkwardness and apprehension when it comes to Twilight's "social standing" - she has a direct line to the president who may or may not be subservient to her on account of the shadowy government she seems to be a part of, commands who knows how much resources if she felt like moving them, her organisation can evidently alter or delete someone's galactic records at will, her group has been at it for millenia ... Like, it's very easy to see why Astral feels small here. It probably feels like to him like this group could disappear him in the blink of an eye if they felt like it and no one would bat an eye. It's scary working for someone like that, claims of benevolence or no.

What rang pretty hollow for me though was Astral sulking about how Twilight would have made a better rescue agent than him though. I mean ... how did he arrive to that conclusion? If anything his combat performance should serve as a source of confidence to him, because that's one area where he has consistently shone whenever it has come up, while given what we have seen Twilight is a genuinely bad combatant. Not just OK or average, she literally sucks at it and Astral excels at it. She is easily distracted, her reaction time is slow, her awareness sucks and her combat spells are a style over substance type of deal. She probably would have managed to get eaten by the prills or something if she went on the Fluttershy rescue operation alone, based on her past showings I mean, she has a little bit of power going for her, but otherwise she is a dumb brick compared to Astral :P

Shouldn't at least this serve as a confidence booster for Astral? That for all her other advantages, he is still by far the smartest and most effective combatant their group has? That despite all the outside advantages Twilight has on her side, this is still the one area where she would be lost without him and, if push came to shove, he could probably take her pretty easily in a fight if he had access to his gun with the starship-hull grade rounds?

Though I guess his general sulkiness could be infecting his overall mood and making him see things in worse light for himself than they actually are. Oh well, here's hoping he gets over it - might be nice to see him and Twilight potentially talk about it. If not, oh well ... I guess there is still a lot of talking to be done either way. Unless I am remembering something (which is possible!), Astral still hasn't been given a full explanation of what is going on, has he? It would probably be a good idea for Twilight to sit him down and clue him in, if only to ease his anxiety a bit. Unknown things are scary after all.

And ooh, Celestia being sneaky with Radio behind Twilight's back? I do wonder what she is up to ... the timing of her message is all too suspicious, just in a moment when Radio was most emotionally vulnerable for a moment. I don't really trust her, nor Luna - not one bit. I'm keeping my eye on you, white horse!

All in all - I can't wait for more! it's awesome that you updated so quickly

[Blaster M]

Well, I finally burned through this story. Why does this story not have more views?!

What we have here is a Space Opera.

So, the only remaining friends left to find are Rarity and Applejack.

Now for the Game Theories

So, early on, we establish Celestia as hanging out with Luna and Chryssy in that secluded tower. She shows off her one wing, and mentions later her magic's gone. How did that happen?

The missing wing has not regrown. It is assumptioned that the magic loss is related. This means Celestia is no longer a true immortal (regeneration is a required secondary power of immortality), just a long lived alicorn. Or, this injury happened "recently", and not enough time has passed. This will perhaps be a plot point later?

So, RIP Pinkie Pie, but at least her spirit lives on in Strawberry Pie.

Rainbow Dash is forever cryo'ed unless they find a way to fix her, I guess. At least her spirit lives on in her kids.

Fluttershy is going to have to complete her transformation. She seems to have, for the most part, kept control of herself. It's possible she will eventually come to terms of being a bat vampony?

Also, on this chapter...

[Metal Pony Fan]

8554289
Thank you. I always love it when someone takes the time to leave an in-depth analysis. It lets me know that readers are thinking through the story, and really getting into it. It also lets me know where I need to explain things better. Astral's "sulkiness" will be addressed in the upcoming arc, as well as an explanation for his fighting abilities and other quirks. Twilight will continue learning how to adjust to the action heroine role, and she's a fast learner.

8562933
First off, I'm not sure. My Little Dragon blew up overnight. Though, that could be attributed to it being shared on a south korean starcraft forum. It gain a good number of views from there. (I love the analytics feature this site has.) The response has been generally positive though. Any criticisms are of a constructive nature, and allow me to improve the characterizations and interactions of the characters.

As for your theories, a good deal of them will be addressed in the next two story arcs, but I don't think anyone would be able to guess who they are going to find next.

8553698
Yeah, it may have been accepted that Celestia ruled all back in Equestria, because that's the way things always were. Throw in somepony that is from outside that system, and it all looks super shady. But is it? How much does she truly desire to control, if anything? Those answers will be forthcoming as well.

On that note, who says she doesn't?