//------------------------------//
// A Few Ration Bars Short of a Picnic 
// Story: Cryo-7 
// by Metal Pony Fan 
//------------------------------//

	Mac scratched his forehead.  "Ah thought ya said this other one was the throttle."

Astral nodded.  "It is, but that control is for the atmospheric engines.  You have to switch to the pulse drive if you want to cover any sort of stellar distances in a single lifetime."

The red pony pointed to another control.  "But, Ah thought this was the engine ya used for space travel, the slipstream drive."  He looked over all the controls again.  They were on their way back to Canter Station Delta, and Astral was trying to give him a crash course in piloting.  Mac just hoped that it wouldn't end up a literal crash course, because the more the unicorn tried to explain the shuttle's controls, the more the earth pony realized how far behind he was.  "The slipstream is the only thing Ah recognize, but the controls are different."

Astral sighed.  Right now, they were sitting in space, in an idle orbit around Canterlot.  And they were going nowhere fast.  Astral had his jacket back, ripped and patchless though it may be.  And Mac was once again wearing the tan uniform shirt.  It was a simple, utilitarian design, and with the right patch on the sleeve, could indicate anything from a maintenance worker, to a private security guard.

"You seem like the type that learns through doing, so here's what we'll do."  He gave Mac a short series of specific commands, keeping each one as simple as possible.  Throttle up by using this control, input any direction with these controls, then throttle down with this.  "Think you can do that?  I'll take over if you compromise our orbit, so give it a try."

Mac set his jaw and took a deep breath.  "Ah'll try."

He tapped the control panel and the ship shuddered forward and started rolling.  Star-filled space and planet Canterlot swirled around the ship, rapidly flashing through the viewport like a strobe.

Astral took over and quickly stilled the shuttle's rotation before throttling down.  "Not like that.  Use a smoother motion, you have to slide the control up to the level you want.  You can't just tap it."

Mac was about as pale as a cave-dwelling fish, and sweating profusely by the time the shuttle came to a relative stop.  He took a few shaky breaths and leaned back in his chair.  "Ah think Ah'll let you handle things for now."  He slunk off to the passenger compartment after muttering something about a drink, closing the door behind him and leaving Astral alone in the pilot's cabin.

The grey unicorn shrugged and set the shuttle on autopilot.  It was a simple ride anyway.  It wasn't even necessary for him to have flown the shuttle as far as he had, but he had wanted to test the small ship a little.  And, he was glad he did.

The shuttle handled like a dream.  He knew it was going to be more maneuverable than even the smallest cargo ship, but he wasn't expecting it to be that much better.  Instead, it felt like driving an aircar.  The turns were smooth as silk, air resistance was mitigated by ion fields, and the atmospheric engines were not only quiet, but augmented by a omni-directional hover system instead of the standard bipolar grav-sled.  

"GYAAH!"

A distinctly filly-like scream cut off Astral's appreciation of the shuttle's flight capabilities and drew his attention to the compartments behind him.  "Twilight?"  He shouted.  "What's wrong?"

He got out of his chair and opened the door to the passenger compartment.  Mac was leaning against one of the chairs and panting heavily.  Twilight was nowhere to be seen.

The door to the rear compartment slid open a second later, revealing a puzzled purple alicorn.  "What's going on?  What was that scream?"

"Huh?"  Astral shook his head.  If Twilight didn't scream, that only left...  He looked over at Mac.

The big red pony looked back and forth between the other two ponies before lifting a hoof to point at something between the chairs.  "It followed me."

Twilight and Astral moved in to investigate, each keeping their magic at the ready.  Tucked between the armrests, they found a small duffel bag.  Each of them had brought one, filled with basic toiletries, food, and a few other odds and ends that may be useful on their short mission.  This particular bag seemed to hold something extra, a small black limb was reaching out from a partially open zipper and trying to scratch its way out.

Twilight tried to supress a giggle as she opened the bag and pulled midnight out.  "Isn't that cute?  It likes you, Mac."

The red pony shook his head adamantly.  "If it liked me, it wouldn't be tryin' ta kill me.  Ah almost had a heart attack!"  He worked to get his breathing under control and added, "And Ah don't like learnin' 'bout alien lifeforms by having' 'em jump on mah head while Ah'm sleepin'."

"That may have been my fault," Twilight admitted.  "I thought you would be awake, so I set her on your bed with a teleport."

"Her?"  Mac leaned over Twilight's shoulder, carefully keeping the purple made between himself and the prill.  "How can ya tell?"

"By the eyes," Twilight answered happily.    She waggled a hoof above the prill's head, and giggled as its eyes blinked and swayed on their stalks.  "Females have pink or green eyes.  Males have yellow or blue."

Mac quietly watched the prill's eyes sway.  "Ah see," he almost whispered, as if the prill would attack him if his voice was too loud.  "Well, you've been out a' your pod for a couple years now, Ah guess its only natural that ya know more'n Ah do 'bout aliens."

"Uh, no," Astral deadpanned.  "She saw a prill, that prill, for the first time yesterday.  She screamed about as loud as you did."

Mac bit his lip and turned away.  "Not as loud as Ah did the first time," he muttered.

The unicorn fought back a chuckle.  "I bet you gave Silver quite a shock.  Did she hear you?"

The red pony nodded slowly.  "She came runnin' ta save me."  He looked back down at Midnight.  "But, Ah thought she took this little critter with her when she left.  Now we've got ta bring it back."

"Not necessarily."  Astral reached over and pet the prill.  It responded with mewling purr.  "Prills are pretty common pets on spaceships.  They don't try to run away, they love standard ration bars, they adapt to variable gravities easily, and they aren't hard to train.  You can even buy spacesuits for them."

Twilight looked down at Midnight with a sudden smile.  "Please tell me you can get little mini ones, something that would fit her right now."

With a sigh, Astral responded, "We're already on the way to Canter Station Delta.  I was told I could make purchases for the sake of this mystery mission, so everypony gets a spacesuit.  I don't like flying without them."

Twilight exchanged glances with Mac.  "But, I don't need a spacesuit, and there are already some in the back." She looked the red pony up and down for a moment.  "The gryphon sized one should fit you, just remove the talon control inserts."

Astral looked at the back door, realizing at that moment that he had never been back there.  He shook his head.  "I doubt the suits are quite up to my standard, and it would be better if Mac had one fit to him.  I did a quick check, and Delta's fabrication facilities can do the job about as cheap as anypony else in the system."

Twilight squinted at the grey stallion.  "You say it's, 'about as cheap as anypony else.'  Is there some other reason you want to stop by the space station?"

"Yes," Astral replied without hesitation.  "There are two other reasons.  The first of which is that I want to retrieve a few items from the Philomena.  If they've been properly decontaminated, of course.  If not, I'll have them decontaminated.  The second reason is that you need to get patched up.  A stallion running around with cuts all over is going to get chuckles and some scars to talk about.  A mare doing the same will draw a bit more attention.  I'm guessing you'd rather avoid that?"

Twilight scoffed.  "Duh.  But, do you really think they'll just let you borrow their medical equipment?  The commissary only carried self-sterilizing bandages, along with a few other basic medications and supplies.  I had Mac check last time we were here.  You should have stopped by a pharmacy on the surface."

"I'm not going to borrow medical equipment."  A gentle alert tone sounded from the front, drawing Astral's attention to the fact that they were nearing the station.  As he returned to the pilot's seat, he smirked.  "We're going to borrow medical personnel."

"What?  No!"  Twilight shoved midnight down the collar of Mac's shirt and followed the unicorn.  "We can't involve anypony who hasn't been cleared yet.  A doctor would insist that I not wear clothing for treatment."

Astral scratched at his chin as Canter Station Delta's metal form grew in the viewport.  "Maybe you could insist that you have to wear clothing at all times.  Maybe for religious reasons?"

Twilight groaned.  "Is that another one of those stupid ideas that inexplicably worked for you in the past?"

"Hey!  Punching those slugs out of that sheet metal was not a stupid idea."  As they neared the station, a set of shuttle bay doors opened on the station exterior.  Astral keyed in an automatic landing, then turned back to Twilight.  "Even if it didn't work quite as planned, it still got us back to the tower."

"But there was nopony around."  Twilight pointed to the shuttlebay they were about to land in.  "You can't say the same for that station.  Am I just supposed to go strolling around there?  Besides, that still doesn't solve the fundamental problem of showing some random doctor that I'm an alicorn."

The shuttle slowed down as it entered the shuttlebay.  Astral monitored the process, but the ship deftly docked at an open mooring.  "It doesn't have to be a doctor.  I could take care of this if we had the right equipment, so a nurse is all we need."

"Doctor, nurse, same problem."  Twilight reached for the panel that controlled the viewport.

As she darkened the window, Astral shook his head.  "Not if it's one that already knows about you, and has already agreed to keep quiet."

"Wait, you mean you told somepony?"  Twilight pulled the latch that locked the pilots chair in place, freeing it up to swivel on its base.  She then spun the chair around and shoved Astral back in it when he tried to stand up.  "How?" she demanded, digging her hoof into his chest.  "When?  Silver's room has the only com panel in the tower, why would she let you use it?"

Astral swept her hoof to the side, knocking her off balance.  He used that momentum to put her in a headlock.  "Cool it.  I didn't tell anypony."

A soft touch on the back of his neck made Astral stiffen up.  It was a light feathery touch.  By the time he realized that it really was a feather, Twilight's wing had clamped down on him.  She shifted her weight and pulled him down, breaking his hold on her and flipping him off the chair and on to the floor.  As he laid on his back, she stood over him.  "Then how does this pony know about me?"

Astral groaned in defeat.  "She's a telepath, knows everything that happened before you left me for dead.  And, she's a student of yours, or, at least her friend is."

"You mean Ribbon Dancer?"  Twilight rubbed at her face.  "I should have known.  If she talked to Mac for any length of time, there's no telling what she knows by now."  She sighed loudly.  "Alright, I'll see her.  But only if you can guarantee privacy.  Priority one is making sure she'll keep our secrets.  My injuries come after that."

Astral smirked.  "Don't worry, they make house calls."  He reached out with his magic and spun the pilots chair around.  He meant to knock the other pony off balance, but the chair's touch caused a jump, and an involuntary flap of the alicorn's wings.  One of her wings caught on the moving chair.  This, combined with her other motion turned her around and knocked her back.  He saw stars, six of them, as she fell back, with his head right in the way.  "Oh-"

"FWISHH!"  The door swished open, drowning out Astral's curse, and Mac poked his head in.  Midnight clung to his chin like a beard.  Whatever words he was going to utter died on his tongue as he saw the two ponies on the floor.  He quickly ducked back out and shut the door behind him.  He shook his head fast enough to dislodge the clingy prill and repeated to himself, "Nnope.  Nnope, Nnope, Nnope."

He then left the shuttle and tried to wipe the image of his friend, the princess he once, and still, served as an aide for, straddling a stallion's face out of his mind.  After several seconds of determined, but aimless walking, he stopped, hung his head low, and sighed.  As much as he wanted to believe that the picture on the front of that magazine had been fake, it was starting to look like that wasn't the case.  He sighed again.  On top of that, he didn't get a chance to tell them that he was going to go get food for the alien.

The big pony sighed and set off for the small store he had seen last time he was here.  He wasn't about to go back, so he might as well get his shopping over with.  And he would be sure to take his time getting back.





Back in the shuttle, Astral groaned and tried shove Twilight off of him.  His horn had smacked the floor pretty hard, and he was now left with a splitting headache to remember it by.  "Get your fat butt off me."

"Hey!"  Twilight scrambled up.  She then sat right back down on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.  "Apologize!"

"For what?"  Astral choked out between coughs.

Twilight crossed her hooves and bounced in place, making sure the unicorn couldn't catch his breath.  "I'm not fat."

"I didn't say you were."  Astral yanked the alicorn off him with his magic, and clawed his way up so she couldn't stomp on him again.  He cleared his throat and added, "I said your flank was."

Twilight frowned at him, but said nothing.

Astral sat back down in the pilot's chair.  "Well, if we're done fighting, can I call Ribbon Dancer?"

Twilight rolled her eyes angrily.  "Go ahead."  She sat down in the copilot's seat as Astral swiveled around to face the console.  "But, I'm watching you."

"And why wouldn't you?" he quipped.  "I'm very easy to look at."

Before Twilight could respond with anything more than a scoff, Astral had the com-panel active and had the station's medical center dialed in.  The alicorn chewed her lip and stayed silent while they waited for somepony to answer their call.  She didn't want her presence known in case somepony picked up.

They didn't have to wait long for that to happen.  It was only a few seconds before a stern-looking, middle-aged mare appeared on the screen, Nurse Growl.  She was sitting in front of a control panel, surrounded by a vast array of buttons, knobs, and switches.  "What do you want?"  She sat in a rotating chair and idly swiveled back and forth while studying a small, hoof-held datascreen.  It didn't look like she was in the hospital.  Given her additional position as head of station security, it must have been a security office.  She looked up and paused for a moment as she recognized the pony she was talking to.  "Oh, it's you."  She sighed in boredom.  "Bring me another body, did you?"

Astral choked on his own breath.  "What?  No!"

He glanced over at Twilight who gave him a look of wide-eyed concern and mouthed the words, "What body?"

The stallion shook his head and looked back at the screen.  "I didn't mean to bring you the last one.  I just wanted to talk to Ribbon Dancer.  I get the impression she doesn't get to do much around there, so I wanted to see if she could patch up some minor injuries for me."

The green mare raised one eyebrow and her image grew larger on Astral's screen as she leaned in close to her own, boredom giving way to interest.  "What kind of injuries?" she asked in a low voice.

"Probably not what you're thinking."  Astral snorted.  "Scratch that, it's definitely not what you're thinking.  It's just some cuts and scratches, the sort of thing you'd get from tripping over a rose bush on one of Canterlot’s rooftop gardens."

Growl leaned back and ran a hoof through her ruddy mane.  "Or from breaking through a window."

Astral squinted at the mare.  "How the hell do you jump to that?"

She shrugged.  "It's my job to keep all possibilities in mind."  A smirk formed on her face, and she tapped her hooves together.  "In fact, another possibility is that you aren't injured at all, and need medical treatment for the other pony that was on your ship."

Twilight slammed her hoof down on the controls, turning off the screen and breaking communications with the older mare.  "That's it, we're leaving."  She opened the door to the passenger compartment.  "Mac, get ready, we're...  Mac?"  He wasn't there.  The passenger compartment's only occupant was a black-furred prill scratching at the airlock.  "Where'd he go?"

Meanwhile, Astral hurriedly tried to reestablish his call.  "You know," he said angrily, "I am amazed at how you can always pick the absolute worst time to-"  He stopped as Growl appeared on his screen again.  "Oh, hey.  Sorry about that, I think I hit the wrong button.  I was trying to adjust the volume."

The mare smiled as her hooves flew over the panel in front of her.  "Save it.  I saw the purple hoof that shut down that last call.  I've already locked down shuttle operations, your exit privileges have been revoked, and all civilians have been notified to leave the area due to a suspected coolant leak."  She let her hoof hover one last button on her panel, and she made sure Astral saw it.  "All I have to do now is hit this button, and an armed security team will swarm the shuttlebay."  She pulled her hoof back slightly.  "Unless, of course, you decide to tell me the truth."

Twilight hurried back to the companel, careful to stay out of sight.  "Shut it off," she hissed, reaching for the power.

Astral slapped her hoof away.  He then grabbed her head and pulled her in front of the screen.  "This is Twilight."  He said quickly.  "She was the other pony.  She just happened to be in the area, and tried to help me fend of the attack.  She was obviously unsuccessful, and left after it was over.  There's no need to do anything drastic."

Growl let out a loud sigh and leaned back, pulling her hoof away from the button.  "Protecting your mare, how cliche.  You could have come up with a better story though.  Who in their right mind would believe that drivel about a-"

Astral grabbed Twilight's wing and pulled it up into view, earning a quick elbow from the alicorn, and a shouted, "Hey!  I told you not to touch them."

"Bloody hell."  Nurse Growl leaned so close to her screen that her snout was almost touching the screen.  "You're a Celestial."

Twilight stiffened and turned to face the other mare.  Now that her secret was out, all she could do was try to minimize the damage.  "No, I may appear similar, but I am actually an alicorn.  I had nothing to do with the events on Serus, and only learned of them recently.  I would also appreciate it if you could keep this a secret, as I may face-"

"Coverin' your butt, huh?"  The green mare laughed.  She shook her head and leaned to the side with a yawn.  "Don't worry about it, I've already been told by President Jones’ Aid that anything relating to Astral Plane is to remain top secret.  The president's aide didn't say anything about you though, it was kind of a shock."

Astral pushed past Twilight to address the other mare.  "Wait a minute.  If you've already spoken to Jasper, then what was all that about armed security teams."

Growl shrugged.  "Learn to spot a bluff, Mr.Plane.  You should have realized that there were no alarms.  All docked ships are automatically linked to the emergency channels."  With a feral grin, she added, "I just don't like being lied to."

Astral grimaced, and silently vowed to minimize his interaction with this mare.  He glanced over at Twilight as she fussed over her wing and wished he could do the same with her.  "So, what now?"

"Now, Mr. Plane, you tell me everything."  She rolled her hoof in the air as she she started listing things off.  "Who you really are, your background, this other pony's background, and the reason you are involved with the likes of the president and his aides."

Twilight shoved Astral out of his chair, knocking him to the carpeted floor with a light thump.  She then sat down and pointed at the view screen.  "I think we both know that's not going to happen.  And, the fact that you're asking us means that Jasper wouldn't tell you anything.  Why do you think we would be any different?"

Growl leaned forward, smiling like she was enjoying this conversation.  It wasn't a pleasant smile though, it was a little more wild, untamed, like a hunter on a blood trail.  "Because, he's different, and so are you.  He's nothing, a courier, or a mercenary at best, and a cheap gun at worst.  You, on the other hoof, speak like someone with power."  There was a short pause while the green mare studied Twilight.  "But, both of you are weak.  I can see it in your eyes.  Fear, naivety, call it what you want, but death follows you, and you are utterly unprepared for it.  Well, I'm not about to let that death follow you onto this station, so you had better tell me what I want to know."

Twilight stared at the screen in shocked silence while Astral yelled from his new seat on the floor, "What the hell are you on about?"  Astral lifted his head into view.  "I have one run in with a raider while running cargo, and now I'm the hitman for some government conspiracy?"

The nurse shrugged again.  "You said it, not me."

The unicorn leaned close to his screen, filling hers with the top of his snout and his squinting eyes.  "You've got some serious problems, you know that?"

Her eyes narrowed, and her smile twisted into a smirk.  "What kind of problems?"

Twilight pushed Astral down, pushing everything but his mane out of the viewscreen's range.  "Mood swings for one."  The alicorn studied the earth pony intently for a moment, looking for signs that would confirm her suspicions.  Now that she had an idea of what to look for, it didn't take her long to notice the slight flush on the other mare's cheeks.  Or, for that matter, the slight breeze blowing through her mane, most likely coming from a fan off screen.  "You're in heat, aren't you?"

"What?" Astral and Growl shouted in unison.

"That has nothing to do with this!" The Nurse responded quickly, pounding on the console in front of her.

"You didn't say no."  Twilight pressed forward, hoping to take control of the conversation.  "I may be a bit different, but I'm still a mare, just like you.  You haven't taken anything to control it, do have a reason not to?  An allergy?  Or, perhaps a better reason, somepony you care about?"

The security chief-slash-nurse's look of anger slowly died, only to be replaced by one that was slightly sad.  She pursed her lips and looked away.  "There is someone," she admitted quietly.  "But, I haven't been able to speak to him about it yet."

The alicorn's head tilted to the side.  "Someone?"  A stinging smack on her rear leg made her look down.  Astral had hit her to get her attention, and was pulling his hoof back for another strike.  "What is it?" she hissed, quiet enough that Growl wouldn't hear her, but loud enough to voice her displeasure at him.

"She's married," Astral whispered, "to the head doctor here, a gryphon named James."  He waved back towards the console.  "Go, talk, hurry!  Make friends with her, or something."

A loud whine from nurse Growl pulled Twilight's attention back to the screen.  As tough as the green mare had been just been mere moments ago, she was now face down on her control board, red mane obscuring her face from view.  She seemed to be holding back sobs, and had her hooves folded over her head.  "I've been so tempted to just take the hormonal suppressant and get over this, but I just want to talk to him first.  We've been talking about having one of our own for a while, but I haven't seen him since before yesterday.  Just as I go into heat, he ends up in surgery."

Twilight's eyes went wide.  "Oh!  I'm so sorry, I hope he'll be o-"

"No, no."  The older mare left her head on the panel and waved one hoof above her head in a lazy dismissal.  "He's performing the surgery.  Some idiot human decided to juggle vibrocutters to show off to the rest of his shift.  Made it to five before skewering his hands."  She sighed and dropped her hoof back to her head, prompting a slow, drawn out, "ow."  After another sigh, she continued, "At this rate, we'll never have kids."

Twilight leaned towards Astral and whispered, "Is that even possible?  A gryphon and a pony?"

"Happens all the time," Astral whispered back.  "They're called griffies."

"Huh."  Twilight looked back at her screen.  "Well, personally, I think you should wait until you talk to him before you make a decision.  You obviously care for James, and I'm sure he-"

Growl slammed her hoof down with enough force to crack her hoof-held screen in two.  "How the hell do you know his name?!"  She scraped the hoof across her console, dumping the debris on the floor, then pointed at Twilight like she was threatening to throttle her purple alicorn neck.  "I didn't mention him, so who did?  Do you have files on us?  Is the government keeping tabs on us?  Tell me!"

Twilight's hooves shot up defensively.  "No!  I mean, I don't know, probably not?  How would I know?"  The purple mare pointed at Astral, who was just off screen.  "I heard about it from him.  He told me that James is a doctor."  She quickly added, "a really good one, from what I hear."

The Nurse's gaze slowly drifted off to the side, and a nostalgic smile spread across her face.  "Yeah," she said airily. "He is, isn't he?"  A filly-like giggle escaped her, and she leaned her chin on a hoof.  "I can still remember the day we met."  She sighed happily, like she watching a particularly pleasant daydream.  "I honestly didn't expect him to survive, I had broken so many of his bones.  Then, I saw him set his own broken leg, just so he could attack me again.  It was so... inspiring."  She shook her head quickly.  " Anyway, you called because you needed medical help.  I'll send Ribbon out to the shuttlebay and deduct the cost from the bounty we owe you for Eckrt.  Toodle-oo!"  Growl smiled at the screen and waved before turning it off.

Astral and Twilight stared at the screen in silence for a moment, then they looked over at each other.  Astral was the first to speak.  "What just happened?"

Twilight slowly exhaled a breath she couldn't quite remember holding, then shook her head.  "I don't know, but I feel sorry for any offspring that come out of this."

Astral shrugged.  "Well, James seemed like a good guy, I think.  I'm not sure after hearing how they met, though."

"So, what now?  I guess we wait for Ribbon Dancer to get here, but what about after that?"  Twilight pointed back towards the passenger compartment.  "Mac's gone, we'll have to-"  A faint knocking cut her off.  " What was that?"

Astral searched the control panel, quickly finding the switch for an external camera and flipping it on.  The resulting image on the view screen made his eyebrows pull up in surprise.  "That's Ribbon, what is she doing here already?"

The brightly-colored unicorn filly that stood outside the shuttle's hatch looked up at the hidden camera above the door.  "Oh, Astral, you can see me.  Good.  The walls in the hospital are pretty thin, so I heard you when you told Mrs. Growl you needed medical help and left right away."  Her head tilted to the side.  "What do you mean it's not for you?"

Astral glanced over at Twilight, and the young mare on the view screen went red in the Face.  "Oh!  Yeah, I almost forgot, you found her."  The nurse in training chuckled nervously.  "I guess I should thank you for keeping your promise, but what you did was a little extreme, don't you think?  I mean, in public?  What if you had been caught?  And when did you two get so close?  I thought you wanted to tear her wings off and force-feed them to her for what she..."  After a few blinks, Ribbon muttered a quiet, "Oh, right, she can hear me too."

Twilight glared at Astral as he slunk off to open the hatch.  "Tear my wings off?" she asked angrily.  "You were lucky to survive taking a feather or two."

Just before activating the hatch, Astral looked back at Twilight.  "Look, I was angry, in severe pain, and had no idea what was going on.  I'm sorry, but you were there, and I blamed you.  Besides, Ribbon doesn't even-"

"I do now!" came a muffled shout from outside.  "I always knew that the chronicle was a no good, slanderous rag!  They should be ashamed of wasting good paper that could be used to print adventure novels!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and cast a spell on Astral.  Then, she nearly jumped out of her fur when Ribbon screamed.  "He's gone!"  The young nurse pounded on the shuttle's hatch.  "What did you do?  Did you kill him?  I won't forgive you, you flighty, little-  Oh!  He's still there?"  The pounding came to a stop, and Twilight waved Astral towards the door while she went to the back.  Outside, Ribbon sighed in relief.  "He sounds different now, kind of jumbled.  Manischewitz!  Don't scare me like that!"

Astral opened the door, and the waiting unicorn tackled him with a hug.  "I'm just glad you're safe!"  She sighed happily.  "First, that other pony drags you off to Celestia knows where, and then your thoughts just disappear.  I thought I lost you.  I don't want to lose a friend, and especially not on my first house call."

Astral tried to break the hug, but found the filly to be much stronger than she appeared.  "Ok, ok.  Calm down, I'm all right."  He gently nudged Ribbon away until she let go.  "Besides, you have a patient, and it isn't me."

"Oh, right!"  The rainbow filly spun around.  "That would be you, I guess?"

Twilight was standing in the open door to the rear compartment.  She wore a set of loose, flowing robes, instantly recognizable as belonging to a Luna's Academy Instructor.  Behind her were several space-saving bunks, stacked three high on either side of the small room.  Between the bunks was a table and kitchen facility that looked like it was ripped from a foal's playhouse.

The alicorn nodded.  "Yes, I have a few minor injuries.  But first, might I ask about that phrase you just used?"

Ribbon nodded.  "Sure.  Your name is Twilight, right?  Twilight Sparkle?"  The filly extended a hoof.  "I'm Ribbon Dancer."

Twilight gave the offered hoof a shake.  "I use a fake name when I teach, so I'm not sure how you came across that one.  Nevertheless, it is correct."

Astral rolled his eyes and shut the hatch.  "What are you being so formal for?  It's annoying.  And those robes are pointless, she already knows you have wings."

"What if she wasn't alone?" Twilight shot back.  "I had to be prepared for that possibility."  She looked back at Ribbon.  "Anyway, that was an interesting exclamation you used, 'Celestia knows.'  Where did it come from?"

“Manischewitz?  It’s a type of wine they used to make on earth, and it’s used as an expression of surprise.  I don’t know why, but I do know it goes back to the beginnings of their space program.”

Twilight nodded slowly.  “I see… Though, I meant, ‘Celestia knows,’ where did that one come from?”

The nurse shrugged so quickly that it looked like she would dislocate her shoulders.  "I dunno," she responded nervously.  "It's a common phrase on Furia.  Everypony uses it."

"All right."  Twilight nodded slowly, even though she didn't believe the young mare's explanation.  "I was just curious.  I've never heard that before."

The bright unicorn was visibly relieved when she heard that.  "Not many have."  She gestured to a square-ish, white and red box she had strapped to her.  "So, do you want to sit down, stand up, or lay down on one those beds?"

"The treatment, right."  Twilight sighed and walked back towards a bunk, motioning for Ribbon to follow her.  "You'll have more room back here.". 









As Mac wandered the halls of Canter Station Delta, he wondered why he didn't think to bring a map.  Every twist and turn of a corridor brought him somewhere new, somewhere that was not the shuttlebay.

He had already found the commissary.  As such, he was carrying a shopping bag with him.  The bag itself was crinkly and metallic, like it was made of some sort of film, or foil, maybe mylar.  And, it was filled to the brim with different varieties of pet food.

Mac sighed.  It was the same thing that happened when one his younger sisters got her first pet, a dog named Winona.  He had gone to the store to get food, didn't know what kind to get, succumbed to pressure, and bought one of everything.  He sighed again.  It was hard to believe that happened over five thousand years ago.

As he continued his meandering search for the shuttlebay, he kept coming across ponies that reminded him of home.  A gray mare, maybe a little older than him, was walking with a matching foal.  She reminded him of one of the musicians that he had seen at a royal function.  A unicorn colt, almost a stallion, tagged along behind them.  He was bright white, with a shock blue mane, and was wearing safety goggles that brought to mind another musician, one that frequented less official events.

He passed by a common area, with several tables scattered among cultivated trees and potted plants.  There were even more ponies here.  Three of them were sitting at a table nearby.  A young pinto stallion was awkwardly trying to exchange greetings with a pair of unicorns, two young mares.  One was pink and splotchy grey, and the other blue.  The two mares looked like they could be twins, and reminded him of a set of twins he knew back in Ponyville.  And the stallion looked like a colt he used to know, right down to the red scarf around his neck.

Shortly after leaving the common area, he wound up at the cafeteria.  It was just as crowded, and just as greasy, as it had been last time he was here.  The smell of fried and reconstituted food marked the beginning of familiar territory.  From here, he would have no trouble getting back to the shuttle.  He just hoped he had stayed out long enough.

Remembering what Astral said about prills and ration bars, Mac added a few to his bag when he passed the bucket.  It didn't seem like anypony really cared for them anyway.  Were they really that bad?

He contemplated trying one on the short walk back to the shuttle.  He would talk himself in and out of stopping to eat one every few seconds.  By the time he had reached the shuttle, he had decided on eating one while keeping a glass of water handy.  It was survival food after all, and most likely as dry as an Appleoosan summer.

He walked up the small loading ramp towards the hatch and keyed in his access code.  The door slid open and his jaw dropped.  Unsupported, the grocery bag fell to the metal ramp with the rattling thud of kibble.

Inside the shuttle, all of the passenger chairs were folded down into their storage positions, opening up a surprising amount of room.  On one side of the now empty compartment, one of the mattresses from the back was laid on the floor near a wall.  On top of the mattress, Astral was laying on his back, propped up against said wall.  On top of Astral, Twilight lay draped over him with a seductive, if slightly silly-looking smile, almost like somepony who was drunk and flirty.  On top of Twilight, Astral's jacket acted like a bedsheet in a movie scene, letting you see enough to know what's happening, but hiding enough to make the imagination fill in the gaps.  The whole scene was almost an exact replica of the magazine cover Mac had been trying to forget.

Astral's eyes went wide when he saw the hatch slide open.  And, as he stared at the red pony in surprise, there was a flash from the other side of the compartment, and an exclamation of, "That's perfect!"

Mac looked over to see Ribbon, the unicorn with the mean swing, pointing some sort of device at the two two reclining ponies.  It sort of looked like a camera, but with so many little attachments, knobs, and curiously enough, extra lenses, that he couldn't be sure.  For all he knew of current technology, it could be a blender.  The pony holding it seemed to be treating it like a camera though.

That was the final straw.  "What the hay is going' on?" Mac bellowed.  "Ah thought we were gonna try out Astral's skill as a pilot, not as model!"  He pointed at Twilight.  "And yer relationships are none a' my business no more, but can ya at least try ta keep it subtle?  A princess ought ta know better."  There was another flash, and the red pony turned on Ribbon, telepath photographer.  "And why are ya takin' pictures a' this?  Ain't it bad enough that pictures of their private moments are already scattered ‘cross the planet?  Or do you haf'ta spread 'em ‘cross the rest a’ the universe?"

Ribbon's only reaction was to stare at him in wonder.  "Whoa," she breathed, "you aren't thinking at all before you talk."

Mac shook his head in confusion.  "What?!"

Astral shoved Twilight off of him with his hooves, knocking the purple alicorn to the carpet with an unceremonious thump.  "Slow down there, Mac.  There is no, I repeat, no relationship between me and magical murder princess here.  Got that?  None!  Whatsoever!"

Twilight flicked Astral into the wall with her magic, earning an instant rebuke from Ribbon.  "Hey!  His shoulder is still healing."

"He started it," the alicorn argued.

"I don't care," the young nurse replied.  Then, she looked over at Mac.  "And that is so not what we were doing.  That magazine had the story all wrong, and we'll be using the pictures to-"

A burst of static through the shuttle's intercom drowned out the rest of the unicorn's words.  "Ribbon?"  Growl's voice was unusually quiet, and almost concerned, as it issued from the hidden speakers.  "We need you in medical, Minuette just came in, unable to speak.  I've sent for her mother, but she seems to be trying to tell us something.  We could really use your help."  There was another quick shot of static as the older nurse disconnected.

"I better go."  Ribbon ran to the back compartment and started gathering up her medical kit.  "It was good to see you again Astral, make sure you drop by medical next time you're on the station."  Once her pack was reassembled, she slung it over her shoulder and headed for door.  "Same goes for you, Professor, and you, Mr. Macintosh."  As she walked out the shuttle's hatch, she looked back and added, "Oh, and I'm sorry about that thing with the wrench."

The hatch slid shut behind her, leaving the shuttle's crew of three alone.  Mac opened his mouth to speak, but Twilight pushed past him before he could.  "You're right about one thing," she said.  "My relationships are none your business anymore.  You called it off," she huffed, "remember that."  She slunk off to the back, and the last thing Mac and Astral saw before the compartment door slid shut was her slumping onto one of the lower bunks.

"Ah didn't mean it like that," Mac muttered quietly.

"You and her, huh?"  Astral shrugged and headed up to the pilot's cabin.  "She's been a bit touchy lately, ever since she had that fight with your boss.  Well, touchier than usual.  I wouldn't worry too much."

"Ya mean Princess Luna?"  The big pony sighed.  "Silver told me they've been buttin' heads since Ms. Sparkle refused to become the next Luna a few weeks ago."

"Well, she's upset with both of them then, because she was yelling at Celestia earlier."  The unicorn shuddered just thinking about it.  "She actually caught on fire during the argument.  Do alicorns always do that when they're angry?"

Mac shook his head.  "Nnope.  Just her.  And Ah've been on the receivin' end of it a few times mahself."

"I feel sorry for you then."  Astral retrieved a bit-chip from the front of the ship before heading back into the empty passenger area with Mac.  Silver had given him the flexible little card of plastic and circuitry before they left.  It would allow him to access funding that had been set aside for this mission.  However, the blind mare had been very clear that every bit would be audited and double-checked, and that he would suffer severe consequences for any purchases he couldn't explain to her satisfaction.  "Is that why you broke it off?"

"Nah, it takes a lot for her to get that angry.  Ah was happy with her."  Mac sighed quietly.  "Ah had to end it 'cause she wasn't."  He sat down on the thin carpet.  "There was a lot going' on durin' the evacuation.  Our ships left one after the other, but sometimes, there was up to a year between launches.  And each one had a different destination, anypony on one ship couldn't expect to see anypony from the others ever again."

Astral sat down next to him and listened as the red pony continued his story.  "She had somepony special, but he was the captain of Cryo-Two.  He left Equestria a full three years before our ship.  Twilight woulda gone with him, but she was needed to keep the rest of the program runnin'."  Mac looked over at the grey unicorn.  "Those towers on Canterlot are what's left of ships one, two, and three.  They said goodbye for good on the launchpad, and she buried herself in her work after that."

Mac looked down and slowly ran a hoof over the carpet.  "But, ponies get lonely.  As her assistant, Ah was convenient.  Ah was nearby, and understood her as well as anypony else.  It prob'ly wasn't appropriate, since we worked together, but she needed somepony to support her.  It only got worse when Spike left on Cryo-Four with the rest of the dragons.  She clung to me after that, for comfort more than anythin', but it was obvious it wasn't out a' love.  Ah think she realized it too, 'cause we managed to stay friends after breakin' up.  She even introduced me to one of her friends, a friend that's still out there somewhere."

Mac looked back at Astral.  "Ah shouldn't be tellin' ya this, but Ah think ya need to know.  That mare's lost everything important to her so far.  There's still hope that she can find her friends, but she needs help for that ta happen.  Astral, can Ah ask ya to do something'?"

Astral shrugged.  "I already agreed to help, so you don't have to worry about that."

The big pony shook his head.  "Good ta know, but that ain't what Ah was gonna ask.  Ah want ya ta try and get along with her.  She needs somepony she can talk to.  It would be awkward for her ta come to me, and besides Silver, Ah think yer the only other regular pony who knows about everythin'."

"I'll think about it, Mac."  Astral stood up, stretched out, and headed for the exit hatch.  "But she doesn't seem to like me, and I'm not sure I want to be friends with her."