//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Reactions 
// Story: Spikenautica 
// by PhysicistBrony 
//------------------------------//

"Emergency, quantum detonation has occurred in the Aurora drive core. A supercritical state will be reached in T- 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 ,5 ,4 ,t-three, t-t-t-two…*static*"

*BOOOOM*

"AAAGH!!" Spike and Fluttershy scream at the same time. They had been sleeping somewhat peacefully before being woken up by that boom. They begin to feel the area around them start shaking. "For your convenience, the radiation suit had been added to the fabricator blueprint database," the PDA states.

"Oh no. Fluttershy? Did you get any messages on your radio or from your PDA while you were stuck?" Spike asks slowly looking at the hatch above him. "Um, no, I don't think so," Fluttershy said staring at him. "Well I think the Aurora just exploded," Spike said looking at Fluttershy with worry, "What are we going to do?"

"Well, um, we could build the, um, radiation suits so we can get to the Aurora, if that's ok with you," Fluttershy said nervously. They both looked at each other remembering the previous day's events. "I think I'm going to get started on those suits. Do you want to come with me? There are some amazing creatures, even if they are meat eaters," Spike said while standing up.

"Hm, well I don't think I'll be much help. I can't swim very well," Fluttershy said, slightly ashamed of herself. "It's ok Fluttershy, I shouldn't be out for super long, just enough to find… um, hold on," Spike said, walking over to the fabricator to check the blueprint for the radiation suit. "Okay, I only need 4 pieces of lead and 4 pieces of fiber mesh for both of us," Spike said looking back at Fluttershy.

"Well, um, if it's not a bother, do you have any food left. I am a bit peckish, if it's ok with you," Fluttershy said while hiding behind her mane. "It's no bother Fluttershy, but I don't have any food besides fish, so if you don't like it, I can go get some fruits and vegetables," Spike said. "Oh, well, um, I guess I could eat some fish, if it's not a bother," Fluttershy said with worry in her voice.

"It's no problem at all," Spike was saying, "I'll just hop out and grab some nearby fish and maybe some titanium while I'm at it so I can start building a temporary home." Fluttershy then looks at Spike and says, "Um, where are the fruits and vegetables? Don't they, um, grow on land?" Spike then smacked his forehead realising that he could build his own base on the island. "Yes they do grow on the floating island, but I've only been there once. I went because I...I was following Twilight's l-last transmission," Spike said on the verge of tears.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry Spike, I-I didn't know. Please don't be mad at me," Fluttershy said while hugging Spike. "Don't worry Fluttershy, I'm not mad. I'm just… sad that I couldn't see Twilight again. I think I'm going to go get the supplies and some food now," Spike said moving towards the bottom hatch. "Oh, please don't be gone too long. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I shouldn't be gone too long, I'll come back in a few minutes with some fish to cook," Spike said just before jumping into the water. Spike then swam around for a few minutes collecting some fish. He ended up grabbing more Bladder fish than intended, but knew he should make extra water while he was at it. He then swam back to the life pod and went inside.

"See, I told you I would only be gone a few minutes,"Spike said walking towards the fabricator and cooking some fish. Fluttershy was in the seat for the life pod watching Spike cook the fish and deciding she would live if she needed to eat them and not fruits and vegetables. "Here," Spike said handing Fluttershy a fish and a bottle of water, "I figured you might be thirsty too, so I got you a bottle of water." "Thank you Spike." "So, are you going to be ok if I go out for a few hours? I need to collect the supplies we need for those radiation suits," Spike asked Fluttershy while they were eating. "Oh, um, I should be fine for a few hours, but, um, do you think you think you could tell me where that island is? I want to collect some of those fruits and vegetables, if that's ok with you?"

"The island is southwest," Spike said pointing, "but there are a few structures there that have food near and around. Everything should be safe to eat because I had some and I'm fine, but it might be because I'm a dragon, so be careful eating it." "Ok, I will fly that way while you collect the supplies," Fluttershy said, excited to have some fruits and veggies.

"Okay, goodbye Fluttershy, I will see you later," Spike said with a wave. "Bye Spike," Fluttershy said, returning the wave. Spike then went out the bottom hatch while Fluttershy went out the top hatch. Spike then decided he would go to the red grass area for the sandstone deposits that may or may not contain the lead he needed.

After climbing into the Seamoth, Spike took off for the newly named "Grassy Plateaus". After arriving, Spike got out and made sure to keep an eye out for the sharks that roamed around. As he was looking around for sandstone, he came across a chunk of the Aurora and decided to go inside. On approach he noticed one of the sharks swimming nearby, so he knew he needed to be cautious.

When he approached, he saw some junk sitting outside and a doorway inside and decided to go inside first. He went inside and immediately saw a part of a battery charger, a part of a modification station, and a few stasis rifle parts. After scanning them, Spike made his way to the surface so he would suffocate. After surfacing, he looked over at the Aurora in complete shock.

The Aurora had already crashed causing it to be in bad shape, but this was a whole new kind of destroyed. "Sweet Celestia, how is it even possible for the Aurora to be that destroyed," Spike spoke to nopony in particular. The Aurora had most of the front blasted to reveal only framework while the fin on the back had collapsed backwards onto the thrusters. To top it off, most of it was on fire, which surprised Spike as to how the metal itself was burning.

"I hope nopony was onboard when it exploded," Spike thought to himself, "I don't even think Celestia could have survived that." Spike then chose to dive back down to find some sandstone. After an two hours of searching, Spike slowly made his way back to the life pod loaded down with silver, gold, and lead given by the sandstone deposits. When he arrives he hadn't expected Fluttershy to be back yet, not realising that he had been gone for hours.

"Hi, Fluttershy- *oof*" Spike got out before being tackled into a hug by a crying Fluttershy. "Thank goodness you're ok, I thought something might have eaten you, and after what happened on the island, I realised how dangerous this place was," Fluttershy said, tightly hugging Spike. "What happened at the island?" Spike said, worry filling his voice.

"Oh those awful little creatures wouldn't listen to me when I said I wasn't going to hurt them. They had the same thought process as a fish. They wouldn't talk at all and just jumped at me. I managed to get away unhurt, but I didn't get much food while I was there. Oh no, I didn't leave you any food, oh please don't be mad at me Spike." Fluttershy said while hugging and crying into Spike.

"Hey, it's ok, I don't need that food as much as you do. I can eat fish remember, I'm a dragon, we can eat meat, and gems for that matter," Spike said, starting out serious and ending with the thought of a bowlful of tasty gems. "Well, um, i-if it isn't a bother, could you get some more fish? I am feeling a bit peckish," Fluttershy said nervously behind her mane. Just then Spike's stomach growled loudly, letting them both know it was time for dinner. After they calmed down from laughing, Spike left to get fish, returning mere minutes later with a few peepers.

After dinner, they both decided to call it a day and stay in the life pod. Spike decided to use the time to go through the onboard storage and sort everything, making a list of supplies on his PDA. Fluttershy sat on the chair watching and slowly drifting off into sleep. Half an hour passes before Spike is done and when he turns around, he sees Fluttershy asleep in the seat, so he grabs a spare piece of silicon rubber and uses it as a pillow and slowly drifts to sleep.

Spike is then woken up by a scream that could only be described the epitome of absolute terror. He quickly looks around the life pod to see Fluttershy on the ground shaking violently. He quickly moves over to her. "Fluttershy, are you ok! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Spike asks rapid firing questions at her.

She looks at him with eyes filled with fear and simply says, "I-I-It was j-just a-a-a n-n-n-nightmare. N-nothing t-t-to worry a-a-about." "Fluttershy, do you want to talk about it? We don't have to if you don't want to," Spike said with concern in his voice. "I.. Not r-right now. Um, d-do you want to sleep in t-the chair? I can't imagine how uncomfortable the metal floor must be."

"No, you can have it, I can sleep on the floor." Spike said slowly standing, bringing her with. He walks over to the seat and gently sits her down. "We can talk about your nightmare in the morning." Spike said while walking back to his rubber pillow and still slightly warm spot on the floor. "Oh, um, ok then, goodnight Spike." "Goodnight Fluttershy, see you in the morning."