//------------------------------// // 12: A Thorn in Her Side // Story: Friendship: Beyond Equestria // by law abiding pony //------------------------------// Colonial Princess Twilight Sparkle sat leisurely in her rover’s seat, but kept a stern face as she studied Admiral Thorn. He in turn scrutinized her while keeping his rocky exterior. The four flanking griffons did little to soften his image. “So tell me, Admiral,” Twilight said with an irritated edge. “What’s the real reason you attacked our comms.” Thorn at last pulled back into a more comfortable sitting posture, allowing a small dignified half-chuckle to escape. With a wave of his talons he shooed the honor guard off camera before staring at her from over his steepled talons. “A number of reasons really. As I’m sure your AI has informed you, we stole your survey data of the planet. No offense, Colonial Princess, but I can’t trust you to hand it over undoctored if we had just asked.” “Can’t say I’d trust you either if things were reversed,” Twilight replied curtly, inwardly growling at how he found out about her new title, accepted or not. “See this is why I like you above the other princesses,” Thorn replied with a casual wave of a talon. “You are far more logical than the others. A real Doctor Watson to your counterpart’s Holmes.” He paused a moment as a wine glass placed in his other hand by a servant who left the camera as quickly as she entered. Twilight arched a sarcastic eyebrow. Thorn would never drink, especially during business. Is he doing it to throw me off, or is it just nonalcoholic? Thorn spoke without taking a sip first. “I wish to play a game with you, Princess Twilight Sparkle. With you and your colony.” Concern roared to the front of Twilight’s mind, making her start to sweat. It didn’t take much, just a cooling spell to keep it from showing, but Twilight fumed that she needed it at all. “I thought we played enough of those during the war.” He briefly laughed warmly. “That we did… That we did.” The briefest flash of a regretful frown passed over him before he smoothly shifted it back into a sly and subtle grin. Thorn took a long drag from the wine and took a moment to simply savor it. “As you should already be aware of, Colonial Princess, I subscribe to the idea that a people thrive on adversity and conflict, the latter to a lesser extent. And I know that behind that diplomatic veneer you put on, you believe it too.” “Conflict is the reason our world died,” Twilight huffed dismissively, assuming the journey to the new world had taken long enough for the home star to die. “Funny,” Thorn reply snidely, “I thought it died because of a certain pony got a little miffed you wouldn't make her an alicorn.” Twilight’s breath hitched from a surge of heartache and the scathing insult. “Then decided to punish us all when she couldn't do it without your help.” “I’m not the only one who failed as a parent, Thorn, or do I need to bring up the one griffon who just so happened to be reviled enough to cause the minotaurs to sign a ceasefire with Equestria so we could both focus on you?” Twilight’s already hard expression became even more stony. Bringing up such dark moments in both her and Thorn’s past left a bad taste in her mouth. “Come now, Colonial Princess,” Thorn replied with only the slightest bit of humor lost, “what is a massacred village to the destruction of an entire star system?” Ignoring the question entirely, Twilight recovered her composure to speak with the soft steel of a diplomat. “You and I both know we cannot sustain old hostilities anymore. It would be the last nail in our coffins.” He nodded slowly and sipped his wine again. “I fully agree,” Thorn stated with a brief lapse into sorrow. “Which is why I had Grunhilda… removed as the original leader for this Seed Ship. I know what you feel, to an extent, and I am fully willing to let… how do you ponies say it? Let bygones be bygones.” “How thoughtful of you,” Twilight replied with more sarcasm than she wanted to. I hate to say it, but Thorn’s a better choice than that old war hawk. Thorn placed his wine on his throne’s armrest and spread his forelegs wide in a welcoming gesture, matching Twilight’s sarcasm with his own. “I’m sure the history books will remember me as both commander and peacemaker.” Twilight hid a groan while Thorn dropped his hands and reacquired his wine. “And in the spirit of such renewed good relations, I propose we restart the Olympic tradition, with one personal addition.” “The Olympics?” Twilight said with only a hint of the surprise she managed to mask. “That sounds agreeable. In four years time then?” She paused a moment, her gaze narrowing a bit. “What sort of addition did you have in mind?” “Why some espionage games. I’ll keep the general rules simple. You create a honeypot, both physical and in cyberspace, and we’ll do the same. We both tell the other what form that honeypot is, just to avoid any unnecessary complications,” Thorn added with the slightest of smirks, “and the first to successfully extract the other’s wins. “Given our low populations at the moment, I suggest our agents use non-lethal means only for the first generation or so.” Twilight mused on the war that preceded the Seed Program. The idea didn’t help her mood, nor her compliance. “And why should I agree to that?” Thorn’s smirk turned into a wordless threat, flashing a calculating glint in his eyes. “I’m sure you’re fully aware of how skilled my people are in the art of espionage. I am not about to let that talent be wasted by neglect. I will conduct espionage against you. It can either be against sensitive files and computers, or a harmless honeypot. Your choice.” Twilight only fumed silently at him, posturing with silence to gain a bit of ground. “That’s a threat I don’t take lightly, Admiral.” I could threaten him with my planetside anti-orbital lasers, but he’d just slip into orbit on the far side of the planet. They just don't have the range to catch him beforehoof. Exasperation flooded her due to the fact that the colony’s infrastructure wasn’t ready to support space-based weapon platforms yet. Thorn’s smirk remained annoyingly plastered on his face. “Glad to see you haven’t let the isolation soften you too much. Just to make sure you have no reason to blast us out of the stars, Colonial Princess, I have two gifts for you.” He snapped his talons and beckoned to someone off screen. A moment later, a soldier stepped forwards and handed over a briefcase. Thorn deftly opened it and spun it around so Twilight could see what was inside. There she found a golden rune encrusted data slate bearing Celestia’s cutie mark. Twilight masked her surging interest and welling nostalgia with a simple raised eyebrow. “I regret to say I needed a bit of outside help in pushing Grunhilda out of the way, so I agreed to deliver this to you for an old friend of yours.” Twilight was instantly suspicious. She sat much straighter in her chair, the casual air was gone. “What’s on it?” “A letter I presume. News on events while you were gone perhaps, since I doubt you would believe anything I have to say.” Thorn closed the briefcase and slid it to the side of his chair where it would stay on camera. “I swore by my family honor I would not peek, and I gift it to you as a gesture of goodwill,” he said oily. Goodwill my flank. A non-lethal spy game though… I suppose his little stunt with the comms system was there to show me how much damage they could do if I refuse. “Very well, Admiral Thorn. How about we start our little spy game the day after the first Olympics comes to a close.” “Want some time to prepare yourself? Very well, that is acceptable.” With a snap of his talons, an aide refreshed his wine. Afterwards he lifted it in a toast. “To new beginnings.” Having no drink of her own, Twilight simply nodded respectfully. “To new beginnings. Now, what about that second gift?” Thorn hummed in amusement behind his wine glass. “Your other gift will be in a drop pod along with Celestia’s data slate.” He raised a claw up to head off any objection. “It is simple cloth, nothing more.” “I think I’ll let my scanners be the judge of that.” “As you should,” Thorn replied with a thinly veiled warning and a sly grin. “Now, to avoid any diplomatic entanglements, I would prefer if you could send me the data on what land you’ve claimed for New Equestria. We wouldn’t want to get off on the wrong foot by stepping on each other’s toes now would we? Assuming of course you haven’t been greedy about it.” Twilight fully expected his quick shift from calm professionalism to the promise of ruthlessness. Huh, I haven’t actually gotten around to naming the country yet. Or city--state presently. “I’m sure we won’t have any problem sharing the world between three nations. I’ll have my Administrator AI forward the information.” “Excellent, until next time, Colonial Princess. May the wind always be at your back.” He saluted her with his wine glass before the transmission cut off. Prism Flash stared out of the bay door windows of a cargo lifter as it flew out to the griffon cargo pod that landed in the fungal plains. The rainbow of color from the multitude of fungus brought her back to her original survey mission. Now that I’m not Apple Kuchen’s pet project anymore, I really need to get back out there. The setting sun gave everything an orange tint, making Prism briefly lose herself in the beauty of such alien nature. The noise of a hoof banging on the metal wall between her and the cockpit drew her attention to the pilot. “We’re coming up on the pod, Pathfinder.” Prism banged the same wall in acknowledgement, and made ready to unclip her tether from the ceiling. The pod had landed smack dab in the center of a large purple and white fungal colony that had been feeding on a freshly dead animal the size of a hydra. The pod had thankfully partly missed the animal, and only landed on one of the outstretched legs rather than get buried in the torso. The aircraft swooped down to be fifty meters above the ground, the downwash blasting the spongy mold away in big chunks. Prism grabbed a tricorder off the wall, getting a chuckle out of the name. After clipping it to her utility belt, she stepped out to the large grasping claw mounted to the ceiling. She watched the floor doors open slowly, and instantly regretted not wearing a breath mask. “By Celestia’s sun burnt plot that reeks!” I think my filter’s going to work overtime on this one. Even behind her goggles, Prism’s eyes watered. Once the doors were open enough, she commanded the claw through her personal display to follow her down towards the pod. The downwash had thankfully thinned the carpet of fungus so that when she landed on the ground it only came up to her boots. She landed with her hind legs on the ground with her forelegs propped up on the alicorn sized pod. It was shaped like a steel arrow head with reentry scorch marks along the front. The back end had a noticeable hatch with a large square blinking button waiting to be pressed. Pulling out her tricorder, Prism scanned the object for any surprise threats. Can’t be too sure with that jerk. Between chemical, biological, and mana, nothing raised any red flags on possible threats. Scowling at the possibility of some threat that managed to avoid detection, Prism nevertheless had to go ahead and push the button. The half meter sized square hatch pulled apart and sank into the walls of the pod. Within, Prism found Celestia’s gift along with a violet cloth folded on top of it. Even with her nose hairs burning from the stench, Prism was not about to allow her need to escape dampen her caution. I bet the pod itself shielded this stuff from the scanner. Even with those fears making her scrutinize the pod even further, a second and third pass of her tricorder revealed nothing but harmless electronics and synthetic fabric. Left with nothing else, she latched the tricorder back on her belt and grabbed the two objects and tucked them against her chest. She peeked inside again and found nothing further. “Gah, I think my prank war’s made me more paranoid than usual. Still…” She looked up to the aircraft’s cockpit. ~“I don’t trust this pod. Might have some cameras or something. Let’s leave it here for now and destroy it later.”~ ~“Roger that.”~ A moment later, the claw started retreating back towards the aircraft with Prism grabbing on for the ride. Once safe and sound from the bacterial stench, Prism stopped breathing through her teeth once the bay doors were closed and the air finished cycling. “Note to self: bring a gas mask anytime I come back here.” Once she had recollected herself, Prism sat down and examined the gift and cloth. With Twilight sharing her paranoia over Thorn’s trickery, Prism had brought a computerized helmet that was disconnected from the main network. Let’s make sure he didn’t leave us any surprises. Prism’s eyes lingered on Celestia’s cutie mark, while metal fingers rubbed the emblem with sad remembrance. I hope she managed to survive long enough to flee the planet. She ignored the high pitched whine of the engines and the tilt of the aircraft as it returned to the colony. Memories of Celestia doting on her like a proud grandmother, giving her presents, reading bedtime stories, and even allowing her to sneak some cake before dinner from time to time. Sneaking a look at the cockpit to make sure the pilot wasn’t watching, Prism hugged the data slate as hard as she dared. You better make it out of there, Aunty Celly. This slate better tell us you decided to go right after us. So the pilot wouldn’t catch her hugging the thing, Prism secured Celestia’s slate on a seat and used the restraint field to keep it in place. With that dealt with, she turned her attention to the cloth she had left on the other chair beside her. It was folded in such a way that it looked like a plain violet sheet or flag. Furrowing her brow, Prism pulled it open expecting to find something wrapped within. Instead, she found an emblem of a single red rose with prominent thorns on it’s long green stem. The rose was depicted as a painting on a kite shield with two snowy griffins flanking the shield with old fashioned muskets aimed away from the shield. The picture was tormentingly similar to Prism that she started scratching her head trying to place it. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say this is a coat of arms. Why would Thorn…” Prism gasped in astonishment. An hour later, at Seed One’s command center, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Prism, and Praxia surrounded the ten square foot holographic table that was currently only giving off a soft white light. Celestia’s data slate was now in the process of being decrypted so the group’s attention was focused entirely on the coat of arms. Twilight was currently holding it aloft in her magic so she could see the flag as a whole. “I can’t believe Thorn actually gave us his coat of arms like this.” “Think he might be serious about a military peace?” Spike inquired as he was also reduced to scratching the back of his head trying to make sense of it. “He knows griffin tradition dictates that we have to burn it if he declares war on us.” Praxia flew into a hover just above Twilight’s head to study the flag in more detail. “Maybe he thinks we won’t follow that tradition and will use it as an excuse to wage war if we desecrate it.” “Or trick us into declaring war first,” Spike added with a growling huff. Prism rolled her eyes at how everyone else was bouncing conspiracy theories back and forth. “Why does this stupid thing matter at all? He can just make a new flag.” Twilight set the coat of arms on the table to give her daughter a lecturing tone. “In griffin society, and in their foreign policy, the giving of one’s coat of arms is a sign of revered trust. So long as we honor this gesture, he will never wage war on us. More importantly for him, it will keep any dissenting opinions in the other griffins quiet about the peace.” “I’m not buying it,” Prism rebuked with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “If this was so important, why didn’t he say anything about it? I mean, what would stop anypony from just printing a copy of his flag and saying he gave it away?” Twilight tapped a quizzical hoof on the metal floor. “He did, in a roundabout way. However, printing the flag and claiming he gave it to us without him officially acknowledging it would render the lie pointless.” Praxia came to a soft landing between Prism and Twilight. “Maybe he already told the rest of the griffins.” “Possibly,” Spike conceded with a head tilt before addressing Twilight. “Traditionally, that’s all he’d have to do. Making a bit show of it is frowned upon by the other griffins.” Prism looked skyward in the general direction of the griffin seed ship. “If that’s the case, then he’s probably doing it as an excuse to screw with us.” “I’m inclined to agree,” Twilight replied with a decidedly unamused hum. “I’ll have to contact him later about it when we both have some privacy. Doing it now would only amuse him, and I’d lose face in both his eyes and the rest of the griffins.” Spike clicked his tongue and smirked at the fire control station for the anti-space railguns. It had been hard on the colony to accelerate the construction of both it and the large anti-teleportation jammer, but he for one was glad it was there. “See, this is why I like the simple political point of a gun. He’s not going to pull anything anytime soon anyway. Not to mention Voyager’s already implementing new security measures on our comms as well.” Praxia sighed wistfully. “It was nice being alone with the planet while it lasted.” The rest of the group, and even a few nearby ponies who couldn’t help but to eavesdrop muttered their agreement. “Incoming transmission,” Voyager announced as the AI commandeered the hologram table. Everyone pulled away as the globe of the planet appeared with the pony claimed land comprising the entirety of a large continent on the northwestern hemisphere in green. The griffins had taken a pair of two massive mountain rich islands southeast of them. The inland sea bordered large swaths of plains that promised excellent farming potential. Twilight hummed aloud with a glint of warm humor returning. “I suspected they’d land there. You can’t take the mountain out of a griffin any more than you can take the sky out of a pegasus.” Prism groaned at the missed opportunity to fly among those peaks. Stupid coma, and stupid medical restrictions, and stupid Ruby and that submarine. “Speaking of the sky, if you don’t need me anymore I need to stretch my wings.” Twilight was about to let her go until an idea struck her. “Hold on a moment, dear.” Prism was already halfway turned to leave when her mother’s words made her stop. “I’m afraid I’ll need to ask you to give Alf a tour of the colony.” “A tour? Seriously?” Prism was far more perplexed by the request than annoyed. “But he trusts you more than anypony else.” “True,” Twilight conceded while wrapping a motherly leg around Prism’s neck into a loose hug. “But we can’t let that be the case for long. I believe he’ll respect the fact that you’re my daughter, and will be willing to comply. As for me, I’m going to be needed here to organize things and make sure the Pathfinders are extracted from the Empire’s new territory.” Twilight jerked her head towards Praxia. “And she’ll be busy assisting me.” Prism Flash wordlessly pleaded with Spike only for him to briskly shake his head. “I’m a soldier, not a diplomat. Besides, I need to keep an eye on the giffins from here on out.” “Lovely.” Prism pulled away from Twilight and feebly waved her left hoof. “You win, I’ll go. But don’t expect me to do that great. I’m a scout and trailblazer, not a diplomat.” “And Alf was a shipwright before he was frozen in time,” Twilight countered with that mother’s half cocked smile she always got when she was testing one of her kids. “You never know what may strike your fancy if you restrict yourself to what your cutie mark tells you.” “Uh huh…” Prism said slowly and with projected disbelief. Spike allowed a thin smirk to show through before strolling off to speak with the CC’s operators. Praxia kept her lips sealed and her eyes fixed on a suddenly fascinating email in her personal display. “And if I insult the guy somehow?” “He seems willing to overlook such missteps, given that he’d obviously expect us to be ignorant of his customs, just as he is with ours. Just show him around to give him time to learn about us.” Twilight easily laid the request on Prism with a heavy sprinkling of ‘you know it’s a good idea’ seasoning. Sadly for Twilight, Prism was completely noseblind to that particular verbal spice at the moment. Like I could actually get away with saying no. You’d just find something even worse to saddle me with. “Fine, I’ll go. But if he goes into a blind rage because I offered him a pizza, it’s on you.” “You’ll do fine, I have faith in you Little Wing.” Giving Prism a gentle kiss on the forehead, Twilight bid her goodbye to focus on matters of state with Voyager. Yet before Twilight could engross herself in such work, Prism tugged on her tail at the last moment. “Do you think it’s okay if I bring Silver along?” Twilight arched an inquisitive eyebrow at the excited smile Prism was trying in vain to hide. A smile of her own grew at the sight of it. “You mean that engineer you’re so fond of?” she asked loud enough for Spike and a few others to hear. Prism flushed bright red and scowled at Twilight. “Tell the whole world why don’t ya.” That got a snicker out of Spike and a ‘you’re on your own’ smirk from Praxia. Some wingmare you are. Twilight was more puzzled than anything else. She’s never been defensive about a coltfriend before… or even about Silver yet. It wasn’t too drastic of a leap for Twilight to come to a new conclusion. Aww, my Little Wing is actually falling for him. Time for some mother induced embarrassment, she mused with a smirk that put Prism on edge. “Well isn’t this precious.” Before Prism could stop her, Twilight bounded over and wrapped Prism in her magic so she could crush her in a bear hug. “My little filly is in looove.” “No I’m not!” Prism countered sharply, yet convinced no one. Prism could just feel everyone’s eyes on her, as Twilight squeezed the breath out of her. “Ya know what, I don’t wanna bring him. He’s probably smelly from engine grease or something.” Twilight took a moment to squash Prism’s head between her face and her hooves. “Nonsense. The two of you would be perfect to meet him.” Twilight pulled her head back to be met with Prism’s completely beat red growling face. “Since you’re my daughter, I’d like for him to know how closely Alicorns are tied to the common pony, rather than some lofty being up in space or something.” Prism had had enough and started squirming to free herself, to which was a pointless endeavor thanks to Twilight’s earthen strength. Nevertheless, since she was trying to sell her sales pitch, Twilight let her go. Prism was fuming so hard Twilight almost saw steam escaping from her ears. The young pegasus hid her face in her wings, and purposely moved so Twilight stood between her and the majority of the Command Center staff. Where’s the nearest hole so I can bury myself in and die? With no hole in sight, Prism opted to glare at Twilight in between her primary feathers. “I should have known you’d pull something like this.” Twilight couldn’t help but to giggle at her daughter behind a raised hoof. “It in the parental contract after all. All good parents follow it to the letter.” “Psh, I never signed any contract like that,” Prism muttered just loudly enough for Twilight alone to hear. She glared at the other ponies to which Spike decided to grant his adoptive niece some much needed mercy by calling everyone back to their jobs. At least somepony has my back, even if just a little bit. Feeling less heat on her, Prism slowly removed her wings from her face. “Tell me you’re joking about forcing me to bring Silver along.” “Nope, dead serious.” Twilight’s subtle tone shift from teasing to regal kept Prism’s mouth shut. “He came from a civilization with gods similar to the griffins. I need to know how adaptive he’ll be to the idea that alicorns, or rather very secular and not omnipotent gods, arise from normal ponies like yourself, and that we form personal relationships with our subjects.” Prism narrowed her eyes at Twilight and gave off a slight scowl. “You don’t think he’d try to hurt me do you? I mean, he was strong enough to give you a run for your money.” “If I did, I’d be joining you instead of Silver,” Twilight replied with motherly concern, which satisfied Prism on that point at least. Prism gave off a disgruntled equine snort. “Uggh, fine I’ll bring Silver, not like it wasn’t my idea to begin with.” Prism walked cheerfully down the curved hallway of the Biolab with Silver in tow. Despite her mother’s meddling, bringing him along still put a smile on her face. The engineer was still in his dull yellow jumpsuit with grease and lubricants staining a good portion of his front end. He was trying valiantly to perform the futile task of cleaning those very stains out with a lowly damp cloth. The harsh white lighting and sterile lab interior made him feel horribly out of place, as opposed to the down and grimy home away from home. “Can you explain to me why you wouldn’t at least let me shower first. Why in the world you think dragging me over to meet him while I look like an oil sponge is a good idea is beyond me.” “I like the smell of a workshop,” Prism said with a wink. “Sure you do,” Silver fussed as he looked forlornly at his completely ruined cleaning rag. His mood was as salty as one could manage in front of the mare of his dreams. “Which is why you’d rather spend all your time on those nature walks instead of the garage.” With a flick of her wing, Prism tickled his nose. “I just happen to like the smell of nature more, that’s all.” Her brain decided now was the perfect moment to remind her of the horrid nose melting milk curdling stench of where the drop pod landed. “Er… well typically anyway.” "Besides I heard him say he was a shipwright so your breezy jumpsuit will make you relatable." "You do realize that by shipwright he probably means spaceships right?" Prism gave off a short snorting laugh. “Obviously, what difference does that make?" "Do you really think that a civilization is advanced as his is - er - was would even have greasy jumpsuits? They probably have some advanced stuff that doesn't even need lubrication anymore for all we know. Besides even if he does, I work with small vehicles not starships.” "Okay, you got a fair point. But if you do this with me I'll make it up to you.” She added a sly tone. “Maybe catch dinner at the new Joe’s Grill and Wraps tonight with me and Praxia?” Silver nearly dropped the rag, and gave an equine sound of surprise with ears straight up. “You have a reservation? That place is packed around the clock.” “You can thank Praxia for that. She reserved eight separate days over the next few months for the three of us.” Prism swiveled on her hooves and started walking backwards so she could give him her best game show host impression. “And it can be yours for the low low cost of hanging out with me and ET for a while.” Silver thought it over for all of three seconds. He tossed the useless rag at a nearby waste bin and flashed a fresh toothy smile. “Well you got me hook line and sinker. But if Alf gets offended by the grease it’s on your head.” Within Alf’s chamber, and now more of a personal quarters, with nothing really to do since Twilight ran off during the cyber attack, he resumed watching historical documentaries. While the Rosetta Stone AI had vexed him ever since arriving, she was at least proving helpful by providing a more chronological order of history TV shows than he’d be able to piece together himself. Unfortunately, with his need to understand as much as possible about his new hosts, he didn’t skip anything, leaving him with only making a century of historical progress from the time of Equestria’s founding when a section of the wall pulled inward before sinking into the floor. Out came two unfamiliar ponies, a dusty grey furred pegasus crowned by a dirty red, brown, and steel striped mane. Her strong amber eyes locked with Alf’s own, showing more spirit than the primarily orange colored demure stallion that followed her, though that was due to his clothing. Since bat ponies had not yet appeared in his historical research, Alf studied him with profound curiosity. Once through the door, the mare leapt into the air and fluttered over.with the stallion purposely remaining behind her. His first instinct was two things: assume the males of the ponies were in some manner submissive to the females, or that he was a singular example of that mindset. By Gela’s grace let the latter be the case. Alf gave a waving gesture at the screen, pausing the documentary so he could give his undivided attention to the new arrivals. The flying mare surprised him by coming right up to his face and presenting an open hoof-hand. “Hey there, Alf, the name’s Prism Flash, kinda big shot around here, and the Princess wants me to show you around the place.” Alf was momentarily at a loss until he recalled Rosetta Stone informing him of a series of common gestures in modern pony society. A hoof shake, a friendly greeting. Given that the hand was metal, Alf grasped it as he had been shown and squeezed and shook vigorously with both right hands. “I bid you greetings, Prism Flash.” Yikes he has a strong grip. Momentarily turning off the pressure sensors in her hand, Prism used a back leg to prod the stallion forward. “And this is the best looking engineer this side of Orion’s Belt, Silver Belle.” Silver shot her a scathing glare before casting it aside and putting on a horribly transparent calm face to repeat the hoofshake. “Good to meet you… Alf.” “And you as well, Engineer.” He decided to leave the flash of indignation alone. Alf left Silver’s metal hand just as squashed as Prism’s. “I fear I must ask, for myself, but what is your purpose, Prism Flash?” “My purpose?” Prism cocked her head to one side and shared a brief quizzical glance at SIlver Belle. “Um, you mean why I’m here with you now, or in life?” “You must forgive me,” Alf said with his hands clasped in a short prayer. “But in my culture, a relationship, even among newcomers, can not start unless I know both.” Not exactly knowing what body language would indicate understanding from the ponies, he clarified to be sure. “Silver Belle’s life purpose is engineer, yes? But can I assume it is not his present purpose?” While she had mainly focused on her life as a scout, Prism had witnessed many of Twilight’s diplomatic meetings out in public places. As such, she was quick to adopt a knowing grin. “Ah, I get ya. Nah, I’m what we call a Pathfinder, a scout that can drop a target at two hundred yards, and can tell the difference between iron pyrite and gold. “As for here and now, as I said earlier, we’re here to show you around the colony. The lab coats say you can breath our air, and you - apparently - you don’t have any pathogens we can detect.” Alf scrutinized the ponies in a new light. “Yes, as it should be. My species has long since engineered ourselves to purge any microscopic life from the holy temple of our bodies.” Alf’s tone developed a mixture of old, almost genetic hatred with a heavy streak of pride. “Such tiny creatures, profoundly beneath our contempt, has always waged war against all higher forms of life. Generations ago, by holy degree from upon high, my people remade us all to be able to purge such pests from our bodies without fail.” Silver and Prism shared a supportive look before he spoke up. “Sounds like you could colonize anywhere.” “We did. Once.” Alf fixed Silver with a face and slightly slouched shoulders displaying a cocktail of weariness and resignation. “A shame I can not maintain such a state of perfection for much longer without a doctor of my people.” “A shame you can't point us to some medical textbooks,” Prism interjected with a halting laugh for some injected humor. Alf’s undirected scowl didn’t budge an inch. “At any rate, we can move you out of the laboratory and into a more appropriate living quarters soonish.” Alf inclined his head in compliance. “If that is what your goddess wishes, then I obey.” “Uhhh,” Prism was sort of at a loss for such instant and blind obedience to a being Alf had just met. “Neat! Okay, well, come with us then.” While never touching the ground, Prism flew off with Silver lagging behind a bit to watch Alf pass him by to stay close to Prism. Silver held his tongue until the group had passed through the observation lab and into the main hallway. Once clear of the lab, Silver gulped down the lump in his throat and gathered the nerve to fly up so he was eyelevel with Alf. “The princess said you’re a shipwright, yeah?” “I was a crafter of starfliers, yes,” Alf replied without looking at him, yet his tone was somber all the same. “But I am no more, and likely never will again.” Prism pulled back in her flight so she and Silver flanked Alf. “You could always build ships for us if you wanted.” The trio passed the last of the actual laboratories, and reached a section of hallway that had most of the walls and tubular ceiling as glass, allowing a sweeping view of the colony at ground level. “I would like to be useful again, other than as some object of study.” He glanced briefly at Prism. “But if you are asking for designs for the ships of my time, I can not help you.” Sensing he was being ignored, Silver butted in before Prism could open her mouth. “Makes sense. Nopo - er - no one has every last bit of knowledge between structural design to power plant to make a whole ship all by themselves.” “Not true for my kind,” Alf stated matter of factly. “Our workers are implanted with the entire design of every vessel we help build. It was deemed the best way to expedite construction with a much lower need for oversight.” Prism almost let her excitement run away from her as she shared a gleeful look at Silver. “So you could totally build us some ships then!?” “No, I can not,” Alf reiterated as Prism pointed the way to the rover hub. “I can put the pieces in place, but I know not how each component was built before arriving at the shipyard.” He glanced at the colony as a whole, scrutinizing what little bits he could glean from the ponies’ inferior level of technology, infrastructure, and size of the place. “I suspect my talents would be of little assistance.” The group reached the rovers where there was a collection of other ponies going to and fro, but aside from some curios eyes towards Alf, most had schedules to keep and didn’t linger. Prism took the lead and secured a rover for them via her personal display, only to come to a realization when the vehicle arrived. The rover was designed for lightweight and compactness, for energy efficiency and only for passengers, leaving it with only enough room for a pair of ponies. The seat offered no comfort to someone of Alf’s physiology, let alone adding two other ponies. Prism cringed at the situation, thankfully when she wasn’t facing Alf. Switching it up for an apologetic smile, she spun around and clapped her hooves. “Sorry about this, but we don’t exactly have a car that can fit all three of us. How about I preprogram the route and we’ll follow you in the next one?” Alf gave the passenger compartment of the rover a brief look, frowning all the while. That doesn’t look comfortable even having it to myself. “Yes, I agree Pathfinder Prism Flash. Am I to take the first one?” “Yeah, just don’t leave the exit hub until we meet back up,” Prism said after thinking it over for a moment. Within short order, Alf was sent on his way to the best place Prism thought to start: the cafeteria. Both she and Silver hopped into the next available rover and sped after him. Silver waited until barely a second after the rover doors closed to almost shove his face in Prism’s. “How did you hear about my family name!?” Prism was thrown off guard by Silver’s flash of indignation. “Umm, Firefly told me after calling for a pause in prankilities, why?” Silver growled in retributive anger at Firefly and dragged his hooves across his face. “Damn it! Why does he have to keep butting his muzzle in like this!” Prism’s mouth hung open and her brow creased quite impressively at the sight of it. Where did this come from? “Looks, Silver, I’m pretty sure you don’t have to worry about getting shafted by momma or the council just cause you’re a noble. We’ve got like, six other old family here.” Silver let go of his stretched out face. “I’m not worried about the princess,” he said defeatedly. “Can you please just not tell anypony else about my family name?” Prism wanted to protest, but she saw the old numbed pain in Silver’s eyes, making her switch gears. “Why not? You’re one of the scant few nobles mom allowed to come along. I mean, you’re not one of those Canterlot types that has his nose in the air like they just don’t care. That’s gotta be worth some points to you.” All she got out of him was a pleading face with hooves clasped. “It does, but please, can we talk about it later?” Okay, I’m lost here, Prism thought with her concern only doubling. Now that I think about it. If he’s a member of the Belle family, why wasn’t he taken in by one of the others when his parents died? Dark ideas, akin only to thoughts of her older sister, made her worry for him even more. Had it not been for Alf’s tour, she would have still pressed him for answers, but things being as they were… “If you don’t wanna talk right now, that’s cool, family issues are the worst am I right?” She shrugged playfully to try and lighten the mood. Had it been anyone else, Silver would have taken offense. Instead he sat back and exhaled heavily. “Yeah, they are.” The rest of the short jaunt to the capitol building threatened to be a silent one. Yet new determination made Prism scowl at whatever distant problem Silver had. I’m not going to let this end on a sour note. No way no how. I… just gotta figure out how to do that first.