//------------------------------// // Chapter 35 // Story: Voyage of the Equinox // by Starscribe //------------------------------// Gradually reduce her dose 52% “Twilight, you have to understand… what you’re asking for isn’t…” Fluttershy took a deep breath, stopping beside her in the hallway. “She’s doing better, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “She’s healing. She doesn’t need to be so drugged she’s barely conscious anymore. You know how awful that is for Pinkie… being stuck in a little room like that…” “I know she’s not doing well, captain…” Fluttershy shook her head. “But the reason she was able to talk to you is the medication. If we take it away, she could go right back to the way she was.” “I’m not asking you to take her cold-turkey. Just a gradual reduction. Just long enough for us to see a trend. If she starts getting worse, you can go back to what you were doing.” Fluttershy grumbled. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Twilight.” “Just give it a few days,” she muttered. “After that, we can talk again. And if you ever see any sign she’s regressing, you can go right back.” There was no further argument. As the chief medical officer, Fluttershy had the authority to override her on medical matters—so long as somepony’s life was in immediate peril. But she didn’t try to make that argument. Fluttershy wasn’t confrontational enough for that. But she might just go over my head without saying anything. Lie about changing the dose. Twilight would have to keep an eye, see if Pinkie Pie’s condition actually improved. She still slept an awful lot, waking only for brief periods of lucidity that came as unexpectedly as they ended. In two days of visiting as often as she could, Twilight determined that Pinkie Pie had woken during the trip over. She didn’t seem to recognize Cozy Glow, either by name or description. Everything the pony had to say was technical—a few things about the engines, or the radiation shield. But she hadn’t been awake long enough for Twilight to put anything together yet. Doesn’t mean Cozy doesn’t have something to do with it. Maybe she tricked her, somehow. The strange damage to her brain was another concern—one that lingered in Twilight’s mind for personal reasons just as deep. It was on the second day that Twilight’s decision to constantly watch the probe finally paid off. The call came from Applejack, who sounded tired and a little annoyed. “Hey, Twi! The, uh… the thing wants to talk. I don’t really know what to say to it.” “I’ll be right there!” she said, leaving her toothbrush under the still flowing water in the bathroom and teleporting down the hall in exaggerated jumps. She passed Fluttershy’s room with the lights already out—Rainbow Dash’s room, with a swapped-out sign. Spike had put off that particular nightmare until they ran out of rooms. She made it to engineering in under two minutes, and the probe was still communicating. “Alright!” she said, naked except for a sleeping cap and the felt mask resting on her forehead. “I’m here. What’s… what’s up?” “Is the captain here?” asked the probe, in Starlight’s voice. “We must exchange.” “YES” Applejack exclaimed, as though she’d just answered the same question a hundred times. “Your baby, Twi. I’m out.” And she started walking to the lift. “Right, thanks!” Twilight hurried over to the rolling rack—the same one they’d been using to move the device around all this time. “Hello? Sorry, it’s my sleeping shift. What is it? Are you ready to talk?” “Yes,” the probe said. “I have determined that, despite appearances to the contrary, you meet the minimum requirements for any chance of success helping me. As such, you must immediately gather whatever resources you think you will need, and transport me to these coordinates on PLANET’s surface below. If you possess any form of rapid-transit deployment, that would be preferred.” A set of numbers appeared on the screen—coordinates. They seemed to be in the same form Equestria used, and she quickly levitated over a pen, scribbling them on the plastic surface of the tray before they vanished. “You want me to… bring you to the planet’s surface,” she repeated. “Yes. The next twenty-four hours would be optimal, if you are capable. Your near-sapience has become a limiting factor, but patience. I can wait bit longer.” Twilight was so amazed by the words she was hearing she forgot to flip on the recorder. She wasn’t surprised to see Applejack hadn’t, and she pressed the button now. Words she wouldn’t get back, but she could write them down, anyway. “We’re from Equestria,” she said, voice slow and careful. “We’re here to make peaceful contact with your race. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. Who are you?” “We must travel to the surface with great urgency,” the voice said, completely ignoring her. “Resources required obtain. Not here. Limitations can be exceeded. Wait is… finally over. Long time. Waited, now not waiting. You will take me.” It wasn’t a request. It hadn’t been, this entire time. “I’m not sure,” Twilight said. However much she might excuse its rudeness as lack of understanding of her culture, or maybe lack of comprehension of their language, they hadn’t been sent here to make Equestria look like it would bow and scrape. “It is possible we could make an arrangement to take you there. Why don’t you introduce yourself first? I know you are transmitting from somewhere on the surface—are we going to meet with where you’re really living?” The probe hesitated. “Transmitting from… no. Transmitting to, not from. Searching for functional hardware. Found it. You will take me there.” “Why?” But the voice didn’t answer. “Computation time. Transport as quickly as possible. Capabilities are… vacuous, but sufficient. Observe.” And the screen went dark. A few minutes later and Twilight was running a quick search on the coordinates. Not the palace, not even the same location the probe had been transmitting to. Just a random patch of dead city, at least so far as she could tell. What should she do? 1. Prep to follow the instructions ASAP. Prospector doesn’t need everypony, so probably just her and one other pony for support could run it quickly and be back before they were even missed. 2. Begin preparations, but wait for Fluttershy and Applejack’s full safety analysis of Proximus B’s surface conditions. We’re not here to take risks for somepony when they didn’t even give us their name. 3. Send the stupid probe in the escape pod and be done with it. It’s not going to get any more cooperative. Time to remove a distraction while we focus on our crew. 4. Pressure the one using the probe, don’t do anything until we get meaningful answers. They want something from us, they’re going to give us the information we need. Diplomacy is built on exchange, and they need to learn that as quickly as possible. (Certainty 220 required)