Voyage of the Equinox

by Starscribe


Chapter 24

Fluttershy 59%

Did I really look that bad?

Twilight shuddered as she watched Fluttershy’s sleeping form through the medbay window. Her coat was spotty, skin gray and blotchy, and her mane nearly gone. It was the look of a pony who was barely alive—or more accurately, recently dead. We don’t sleep for the trip. We die and get reconstructed on the other side.

It hadn’t been an easy choice to make, by any means. But Fluttershy’s medical skills would’ve been useful more than once already, and her translation abilities were just too critical.

I need to know if Cozy told the truth. She’d flirted briefly with regret at freezing the other pegasus—but she could still sleep at night, largely thanks to the violence Cozy had displayed. If she had cooperated all the way into the tank, she might’ve turned around and given her a second chance.

Maybe if we can get secure in our mission. If we ever land anywhere, she might be useful. Anything where she can’t try to blow up the Equinox.

Twilight wasn’t left waiting very long before the pegasus finally opened her eyes for the first time. Greenish slime dribbled from her lips, and her eyes were still glassy. But all that would change.

She stepped through the door, putting on her warmest smile as she did. “Fluttershy, welcome to Proximus.”

The pegasus didn’t even seem to hear her at first. Her eyes turned in Twilight’s general direction, but she didn’t look at her. Her ears were a little more accurate. “We made it.”

“You didn’t think we would?” Twilight sat down on her haunches across from the bed, where she could see the medical readout. She wouldn’t be able to make sense of it like Fluttershy could, but at least she could know if something was seriously wrong. She’d been off repairs for the last two days, with Fluttershy every moment. “You didn’t have to come.”

Fluttershy looked away, expression wistful. A few strands of mane came away from her head as she moved. “If I didn’t come with you, I’d be an old mare. Watching the laser line, waiting years to hear back. I’d be dead before you ever came back.” There was bitterness in her voice, a little passive-aggressive anger. But it wasn’t like Fluttershy was going to emerge from the ice a different pony than when she’d gone in.

It’s mostly the meds. Twilight still remembered what it was like to wake up feeling like she’d been bucked a dozen ways to Sunday, wanting to wring Spike’s neck whenever he spoke. Everything he said was bad news—you only get one crewmember, the Equinox almost exploded, they were running low on fuel. She wouldn’t give Fluttershy the same sort of revival.

“We’re glad to have you back, Fluttershy,” she said instead. “Well, Applejack and Spike and I are. Others are still asleep.”

Fluttershy’s eyebrows went up—before they fell off. “I thought Spike was supposed to wake the doctor first.”

“Yeah, uh… there were some complications. Nothing we couldn’t deal with! But… let’s just say the mission hasn’t gone quite the way we expected. I could tell you now, or you could wait until you feel better. Up to you.”

“I’d like… the short version, please.”

She summarized, keeping it as brief as possible in the trouble spots. Mostly she focused on the probe, and the message they’d received. The machine Spike was building. Of course she couldn’t tell the story without including at least a little about Cozy, and her claim that the Signal had been translated before they even left.

“I’ll have to look,” Fluttershy said, leaning back in her bed with a faint moan. “Maybe… maybe after I feel better.” She sighed. “I wish angel was here.”

But Fluttershy wasn’t the only one to leave a pet behind. So far as Twilight knew, those pets were all waiting for them back in system, frozen exactly as they were. It just didn’t make sense to transport extra creatures, strain life support, waste space…

“We’re well on our way,” Twilight said. “We should be refueled in another month or two, and then onto the next phase of repairs. After that…” she didn’t actually know. Twilight had been thinking about it. Tracing the probe’s trajectory back into the system seemed promising. Either that, or try to outrange the radio jam and get back in touch with Equestria. But planning for that future could wait.

“The signals are already talking to us,” Fluttershy said. “Maybe we won’t have to be on this mission that much longer. I’ll… need to see everything the probe sent us. Cozy’s ‘translation’ from the signal… everything.”

“Of course,” Twilight said. “I’ll have it sent to your account before I go back to Harmony’s Repast. That’s, uh… what we’re calling the asteroid.”

“Sure. I’m sure you already remember this, but I’ll need time before I can… be alive again.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said. “That translation is your first priority, as soon as you feel better. I want to know if there’s a chance Cozy was telling the truth. After that, we can see what the new probe sent to us. But start with the Signal.”

“If that’s what you think I should do,” Fluttershy said. “I’ll tell you as soon as I know anything interesting.”

Twilight could tell her shy friend needed time alone. Probably she wanted to curl up in the hospital bed and sleep for a week. She just might, though Twilight would check back periodically with meals, to make sure she was getting what she needed. Doctors had a frightening habit of not taking their own advice.

1. Hydroponics 8/8 COMPLETE
2. Repair the prospector 4/4 COMPLETE
3. Fully Refuel 20/20 COMPLETE
4. Backup Cryogenics 0/4
5. Replace field equipment 0/2
6. Study of communications blackout 0/?

A new character has joined the party!

Fluttershy: Pegasus

Position: Chief Medical Officer
Age: 37 (78)
Health: 4 (7)
- Cryosleep sickness (-3)
Attributes:
Intelligence: 3
Wits: 3
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 3
Stamina: 2
Charisma: 3
Skills
Medicine: 4
Animal Handling: 4
Linguistics: 3
Performance: 2
Flight: 1