//------------------------------// // 6: Mandatory R&R // Story: Friendship: Beyond Equestria // by law abiding pony //------------------------------// Prism hid behind a support strut and gave the box of Sand Shore’s oatmeal cream pies a tooth-filled predatory grin, the likes of which would cause a griffin to cower and send them screaming straight into an asylum. Tearing away the lid and the wrapper of the closest snack, Prism took a moment to bask in the presence of the hoof-sized delight. The aroma, the gentle crumble of the moist oats, the dense filling of cream, all of it was like heaven to Prism’s eyes and awaiting tongue. Unable to wait any longer, Prism devoured the whole cream pie in one go, letting oat-based perfection roll across her tastebuds. Wrapped up in culinary bliss, Prism slumped down against the strut in a mild daze as she let the cream pie propel her into heaven. And there she stayed for five minutes, basking in the simple pleasure of food granted to ponykind by the gods above, before her eyes lazily turned back towards the box. She pulled out another pie and was about to tear into the wrapper when she caught herself. Her manic grin fell as her brain caught up with her stomach. “...No, I better save them. Not like I’m going to get any more of these for years.” With a bittersweet sigh, Prism stood up and used her wings to dust herself off, mostly to avoid looking at the ponies who had witnessed her foodgasm. She placed the box on her back intent on stashing it away in her room. Yet before she started walking, a niggling feeling started creeping up on her. Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something? Anyone else might have passed it off, but Prism let it hound her steps back to her dorm. Colt, I really hope it wasn’t important this time. Still can’t believe I let myself go down in history with the first words on the new world being me asking Joe for a nav beacon. Prism’s proximity to the door automatically unlocked and opened it to reveal that Twilight and Praxia had already left. The revelation left Prism a bit flat-footed as she looked around the room. Crap. Was I distracted for that long? Her stomach yearned for another delectable oatmeal pie at the most obscure reference to it, yet her brain held fast. As she stashed the snacks away under her bed, her mind tripped on a clue. I think it has to do with the mission I was on. Is it that I forgot to give a report on the wasps? Nah, Spike’s troops would have gotten more info on them than I could. Maybe something about the pilots, or that purple webbing maybe? “Gah! I hate it when I do this!” She growled at herself before the proverbial light bulb clicked on. “Ah ha! I wanted to ask mom about training to have alicorn wings full time! That must be it.” Nodding proudly at herself, Prism looked around the room for her helmet only to see a silver hoof knock on her open door. “Ah hello?” Came a masculine voice as a thestral poked his head in. From behind her back, Prism quickly tossed her one suitcase in front of the cream pie box to better hide it. “Oh, hey, Silver. What’s up?” The surprisingly grease-free engineer flashed a broad smile. “I heard you finally woke up, and wanted to see if you were wanting to head back out in the field.” Prism’s mood soured a little, but she didn’t direct that fresh ire at Silver. “Nah, I’m stuck around town for a while thanks to doctor’s orders.” “That’s too bad,” Silver replied with less than genuine sympathy. “So ah, the crew and I got Joe back up to snuff, for when you’re ready that is.” Prism’s ears perked up along with her smile. “Really? Sweetness, let’s go see him. I wanna see if you or Crankshaft snuck in any new features.” Silver blanched at his plan being foiled before he could even ask, and stuttered trying to speak as Prism searched the dorm for her new helmet. Prism didn’t notice his plight as she searched high and low for the helmet she knew Twilight would have provided ahead of time. “You know, I - ah - I was thinking since you’re stuck in the colony for now, maybe we could go grab a bite to eat, or go to the VR club.” Prism finally found her new helmet, the same model as her old one, and turned to Silver with a mildly surprised face. “We already have a VR club?” Silver saw his chance and nodded a bit too vigorously. “Oh yeah. We petitioned the princess to allow us to convert the last of the cryobays into a club. Sure it meant a little construction diversion, but at least now we have somewhere to blow off steam.” “That actually sounds like fun.” “Great, I’ll show you the way!” Firefly was right, the VR club might be just the bump I need. Needing nothing more than her helmet, Prism made for the door with Silver stepping out of the way. They didn’t get very far before nearly bumping into Twilight as she left her room to check on Prism. Twilight blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance of a stallion in Prism’s company. “Oh, and you are?” While Prism remained relaxed, if a little impatient to get to the club. Silver, however, freaked a bit at getting singled out. He hastily bowed. Damn, I’m freaking out in front of Prism, act cool, just like Firefly said. “I’m Engineer Silver Glow, your highness, assigned to the Pathfinders.” “Is that right?” Twilight replied neutrally as her maternal protectiveness kicked in. Silver instantly recognized that tone while Prism started to get a little interested in how Silver would react. He’s been trying to ask me out for years. Maybe I should take pity on him if mom gets too defensive. Twilight started summoning his complete file while gesturing for him to rise. “So you’re a friend of Prism’s?” “I like to think so,” he replied with a feeble jab at breaking the ice, but Twilight remained as impassive as ever. “Prism, I’m afraid matters of state are going to force me to cut our time together a little short. How about we share dinner together tonight, or perhaps tomorrow’s breakfast?” “We’re going to the VR club, so breakfast sounds like a good plan.” Prism looked at Silver and nodded at the tram lobby. “I need to ask mom about something, I’ll be with you in a bit, okay?” “Sure, sure, I’ll be waiting.” Silver tried to act cool by not running off too quickly. Once he was out of earshot, Prism turned back to Twilight. “Can I get you to promise to take it easy on this one? I kinda owe him for going out of his way to put rotors on Joe. Saving my fur in the process.” Twilight had suprise flash past her eyes before she easily suppressed it. “I see. Well in that case, I trust your judgement of him then. Just remember,” she continued with a teasing glint in her eye. “That you already declined to participate in the breeding program.” Prism fixed Twilight with a glower so powerful that it might have crushed the spirit of a lesser pony. “I’m going to ignore that because I actually have something important to ask you.” Taking a long deep breath to center herself, Prism continued speaking as if the last comment had never existed. “Remember when you told me I could have alicorn wings permanently?” It took Twilight a moment to place the memory. “That was right before you went off to the Pathfinder School if I’m not mistaken. Are you open to trying that now?” “Y-yeah,” Prism hesitated at the phantom pain that always accompanied her wing transformation. “If I had wings like yours I probably could have escaped the wasps.” And should have gotten to name cool things like those… Ruby’s towers. Prism thought it best to keep her flash of disgust hidden. “I figure now would be a good time to get the basics in so I can keep training when I’m back out in the field.” “Well it’s nothing that I really need to teach you since you already know how to get it started. All you have to do is keep your alicorn magic flowing without letting it go back to normal.” Prism tilted her head with her ears going limp. “That’s it? Seriously?” “Well. That’s all you have to do consciously anyway.” Twilight briefly glanced at Silver who was talking into his earpiece. “The longer and more often you saturate your wings with alicorn magic, the more that becomes your natural state. However, I feel I should warn you though. Once you do this, you will most likely never be able to have normal sized pegasus wings again.” “I - ahh - I kinda figured that might be a thing. Is that bad?” Twilight wiggled her hoof a bit. “I suppose it’d be partially personal preference and part practicality. You’ll look and feel different with larger wings.” Or in my case, just getting wings at all. “But you should be aware that you’ll have a much higher caloric requirement. Alicorn magic is metabolically intensive to produce.” “Guess that explains why you can wolf down three squares in one sitting after a workout,” Prism snarked, much to Twilight’s quiet unamusement. “I can handle bigger wings, mom, watch me.” Prism slipped back into her practiced technique of awakening her dormant power. Within moments, her wings began to grow and her feathers multiply. Her wing joints popped painfully and her muscles burned under the influence of her alicorn magic, making her grit her teeth, lest she give her mother any slip of bravado. Yet sure enough, the act was done, and Prism gave a test flap, ignoring her muscles’ protests with her mother present. “There see?” She said proudly through hissing pain. “Piece of cake.” “Clearly” Twilight said in mild amusement at her daughter’s ego. Prism attempted to fold her large wings in, but the still fading pain made it a laborious take. “Now, ah, where was I? Oh right. As for the eating, you do well enough, so I think I can handle an extra few pieces of toast and jam.” “You say that now.” Twilight gave Prism an appraising eye, but already knew she was happy with her choice to let Prism go the next step. She’s grown up to be a strong and caring mare, if a bit of a showoff like her father. She might be the first daughter I’ve had who’ll be worthy of it. Twilight quickly chased away old pains to keep a warm expression. “Well if you need help later, I’m always here for you.” Prism knew a dismissal when she heard one and started walking towards Silver. “Thanks, momma, I’ll see you tomorrow!” “Bye, Little Wing!” Twilight called back with a wave while blowing a kiss. Prism acted as if the kiss was an arrow and fell in false agony. After making some gagging noises and jerking movements she raised an accusing feeble hoof at Twilight. “Wwwwhyyy? -gurgle,” then played dead while draping herself on the floor in the most flamboyant pose imaginable. Despite herself, and the small crowd of ponies watching, Twilight laughed at the performance and cantered over to her ‘dead’ daughter. Some of the crowd stomped their hooves and whistled in praise of the much needed bit of theatre before moving on. “So, I have a student that feeds on love, and a daughter who is killed by it. Shame on me for mixing that up.” Though she remained ‘dead’ on the floor, Prism smirked, but only started laughing when Twilight started tickling her with a wing. “Arise anew, my little lich, arise to bring cuddles upon this world.” With that, Prism jumped to her hooves and glomped Twilight in a crushing hug. “You shall be my first victim!” Both mother and daughter couldn’t stop themselves from letting out snorting laughter while squeezing the hug a bit tighter before letting go. “See ya later momma.” “Have a good time, Prizzy.” Running off, Prism boarded the tram Silver had waiting. Spike called in on Twilight’s headset. “Hey, Twi, I think we found something you’re going to love.” “One of the fish species is edible?” Twilight decided to teleport up to Seed One’s central command, expecting it was where Spike was. Sure enough, standing behind one of the two dozen control stations was Spike gazing out at the big wall-encompassing screen. Without missing a beat, Spike waved her over. “You remember cloudstone right?” With Equuis’ ice age, pegasus cloud cities were no longer viable even with thermal clothing, but the art of cloudstone remained active in anticipation for the Seed Initiative. With that in mind, Twilight was at a loss as to where Spike was going with this. “Yes, I remember it. Why, did some ponies want to start making cloud homes already?” He shrugged at her. “I'm sure some do, but that's not why I called you. Take a look at this.” As Twilight cantered over to stand beside him, Spike nodded at the operator he was standing next to who then transferred his screen image to the primary wall-mounted one. The series of camera feeds from around the colony were replaced by a single large one from a pathfinder rover. The rover was standing still on a sandy beach overlooking the ocean where a collection of tiny floating islands hovered above the water. Red algae and a few larger fungi grew on top with various small flying creatures roosting or hunting in the area. “I think this mother nature beat us at our own game,” Spike said with no small amounts of mirth. “Intresting…” Twilight studied the image briefly before turning towards Spike. “We need to investigate this immediately. How much weight can it support, everything about it we need to know quickly.” Spike nodded in agreement, yet the operator between dragon and alicorn looked at Twilight with confusion. “Begging your pardon, your highness, but isn’t it a little early to think about cloud houses?” Twilight gave the mare a regal grin. “Houses, yes, but these stones could greatly assist in construction and numerous other things as well. Think of what we could do if we didn't need a constant supply of pegasi magic to keep the stones intact!” Spike started to get worried at Twilight rapidly growing excitement. Her wings were fidgeting, her tail was swishing, and the stars in her eyes were starting to outshine the ones in her flowing mane. Uh oh. She’s got that look in her eye. Maybe it was a bad idea to tell her in front of others. Twilight’s ramblings were hardly new to the public, with most of the nearby ponies starting to record videos of her starting to bounce on her hooves. “I know what we should do!” She exclaimed almost in Spike’s face, not that she noticed the spots of spittle she covered him with. “We should make a monument out of some! Something to inspire the public whenever they look at it” Brief puzzlement passed through the room before half of the people, Spike included, grew interested. However, it was his duty to be cautious so he was a bit more hesitant. “Maybe we should do some risk assesment tests first. The rocks could be toxic, radioactive, an alien aphrodisiac, or maybe even a critical part of the ecosystem.” Twilight couldn’t stop an ear from flopping over in disappointment as her smile faded. She turned back to the video feed and promptly waved a wing at it. “While you may have a point with the toxicity tests, there’s plenty of those things, taking enough to make a statue should hardly be an issue to the environment.” “And the radiation?” Spike challenged mildly. Twilight promptly turned to the operator. “The rovers have a radiation scanner don’t they?” “Yes, your highness, one moment.” The operator quickly relayed her orders to the explorer in question. Shortly thereafter, the display switched to what could be mistaken for a thermal signature display, only instead of heat, it sensed (big surprise) radiation. When the floating rocks revealed harmless levels, Twilight gave Spike a stern half-smirk that brooked no argument, and yet argument he made anyway through a scowl of cataclysmic proportions. It was an unspoken language between them that had formed over four hundred years of understanding. And it was through this silent conversation that Spike gave Twilight enough pause to reboot her logical thinking. Sadly, she now had to act to save face. “How about this. We bring it in close enough where we can conduct safety testing, but far away enough to pose little risk.” “That would make my colts’ lives easier, thank you.” How does he always do that? Casting such thoughts aside, Twilight flashed a thin smile. “Very well, that should give us time to design a monument, don’t you think?” “Probably.” Twi’s always been a sucker for the scowl. At least it gives her time to calm down and think more rationally. Praxia sat at a booth by herself in a corner of the VR club. Her table held a solitary glass mug of untouched beer, given to her on the house by the bartender in thanks for some deed she couldn’t recall. Away from Twilight and Prism’s gaze, Praxia slumped in melancholy. Between the bar, the dance floor, and even the virtual reality booths, the club’s namesake, she saw ponies enjoying each other’s company. Heavy gut rattling music played while lights danced to match the patrons below. Laughing, partying, roughhousing, anything to relieve the harsh stresses that colony life imposed on them all. Why couldn’t I have been a pony instead? At least then I wouldn’t need to feed on love. Although Praxia had no need to feed on love for several days thanks to Twilight and Prism’s last gifts of it, that the need to do so was a fact of her life that was never too far from her mind. Come on, Praxia, just get out there and ask somepony! The brief moment of determination died at the prospect of rejection. “‘Ah who am I kidding?” She mumbled to herself. “I’m just a work boss and protégé to the princess to them.” Praxia wanted to just flop her head on the table and wallow in misery for a while before going back to work. And there she might have stayed had she not spotted Prism enter with Silver in tow. Odd. It's not like her to walk around with alicorn wings. I thought she said it hurts to do that. Praxia watched Prism gaze around at the spartan accommodations, at least compared to what Canterlot had to offer. Paxia slid down so that she wouldn’t be seen, but it was to no avail. The trained explorer noticed Praxia almost immediately and dragged Silver along with her to meet up with Praxia. “Well well well,” Prism scoffed after Praxia gave up trying to hide and switched to sitting rigidly. “Since when do you go clubbing?” “It wasn’t by choice,” Praxia replied plainly in Silver’s presence. “I was ordered to take some time off.” Prism flopped into the booth next to Praxia and wrapped a wing around her. “Translation: you got kicked out to make friends again.” “I did not say that,” Praxia rebuked with an edge of bitterness. Prism ignored the directionless malice and started dragging Praxia out of the booth. “Come on buzz bug, you need some fun and you’re not going to get it from here.” Silver watched in mute fascination as Praxia broke her professional image a little at resisting Prism by pulling back. “I don’t dance, and I will not be humiliated on the floor!” Prism was not going to give up the ghost and only pulled harder. “I know you couldn’t dance to save your life. I want you to join us in a VR game.” “The VR?” Praxia stopped fighting, allowing Prism to pulled her to her hooves. “Yeah, I know you loved VR games back in Canterlot.” So Silver couldn’t overhear, Prism leaned into Praxia’s ear. “Silver says they have Demon Slayer 7.” Praxia looked at her accusingly. “You lie.” “Pathfinder’s honor,” Prism replied with a hoof over her heart. “I know you saved your character.” Praxia scrunched her muzzle at her for a few moments before relenting. “You better be right about this.” “Well Silver here told me about it,” Prism replied, finally acknowledging his existence again. Realization made her smack herself in the forehead. “Can’t believe I forgot! Silver, this is Praxia, Praxia, this is Silver.” “We've met before, actually,” Silver attested while shaking Praxia’s hoof. When Praxia didn't show any recognition, Silver elaborated. “I was one of the engineers temporarily assigned to your crew in finishing construction of the southern tram terminal.” Oh joy, yet another pony who will only see me as their taskmaster. Despite herself, Praxia kept a thin smile intact. “Ah, of course. Good to formally meet you.” “Likewise, er, ma’am.” He shook her offered hoof cordially, rather than the loose friendly one Praxia longed for. “I reserved our booth ahead of time, but…” He checked his fetlock mounted communicator for the time. “We should be getting to it pretty soon or we’ll lose the reservation.” “Well let’s hop to it then!” Prism bounced into the air and flew ahead, prompting Silver to chase after her with Praxia trying to fly at a calm and collected pace up and over the dancefloor to reach the far side where the VR booths were located. An act made all the more difficult by the prospect of diving into her favorite hobby. The VR booths were actually repurposed cargo crates with a whole section of the ship ring gutted out to make room for a dozen booths. Praxia and Prism watched Silver talking to the operator to get their program selected. “You know, Praxia, a good way to break the ice is to just introduce yourself to ponies.” “Really?” Praxia asked with a sarcastic drawl. “Why hadn’t I thought of that?!” Prism frowned and creased her brow. “Come on, Praxia. You know what I mean. If anypony actually needs friends, it’s you.” “I don’t need love like oxygen, Prism. More like… water or something.” Praxia tapped her hoof impatiently at Silver, wanting his return to end this conversation. “Well far be it from me to try and get you to live in a wetlands instead of a desert.” Prism waited for Praxia to say something, a rebuke, agreement, or something. If there was one forthcoming, Prism lacked the patience to see it. “I swear, I’m going to get you a new friend before I get redeployed, mark my words.” “I can’t feed on friendship, in case you forgot.” Praxia’s heart wasn’t in her biting words. “Oh don’t give me that!” Prism waved off Praxia’s increasingly weak counterarguments. “You can love a friend without being romantic.” Any further conversation died when the club music abruptly stopped with a five toned announcement ding came through the PA system. Twilight Sparkle materialized on every screen, even so far as pausing the active VR booths. “Greetings, my little ponies. I have an important announcement to make.” Prism and Praxia had a pretty good idea where this was going, but they kept watching the nearest depiction of Twilight’s regal posture. “As I’m sure all of you are well aware of, numerous colonists have lost their lives due to the dangers our new home. “This loss is both tragic and untenable. If this rate of attrition keeps up, we will be facing a population crisis sooner than later. In light of this, I am enacting a breeding incentive.” She paused a bit to let that sink in. “With most of our critical infrastructure set to be complete within three months, future construction will shift towards more comfortable housing. Anypony wishing to become parents will be prioritized for these improved domiciles. “I know this will be a grave challenge to us all, but I know we can stand together. And I will be right there with all of you. In that light, I too will participate in the program.” “What!?” Prism half yelled, as did some of the other ponies in the room. “Is that really a surprise?” Praxia commented. Anything Prism might have said was stifled as Twilight continued. “Further details on any interested individuals will be provided by Voyager, and Doctor Sawbones. Farewell for now.” Twilight disappeared from the screens with the club resuming the music. The patrons however burst into manic discourse. By now, Silver returned to the mares’ side with mild shock on his face. “Wow. I didn’t think things were getting that bad.” “They’re not yet,” Praxia replied with a slightly calmer tone now that Prism’s pressure had relented. “It’s a risk we need to take to make sure it doesn’t become a critical problem.” Prism couldn’t believe she was about to ask this, and pulled Praxia in close. “When did mom get a coltfriend? She wouldn’t get some random stallion would she?” Praxia rolled her eyes. “Come on, Prism, you really think Sensei would do that? She’s going to use the seed bank we brought with us.” “So ah,” Silver said after coughing. “This is probably big for you, Prism. What with a new sibling and all. You want to hold off for now?” Even with Silver’s clear disappointment, Prism needed to speak with her mother. Yet an idea struck her before she could speak. Hey, this just might work. “I do actually, sorry, Silver.” Before Silver’s spirits could sink, Prism slipped in close to his ear. “She’s really shy about it, but Praxia has the hots for you.” Silver’s eyes widened and he couldn’t stop himself from flaring his wings. “Really?” “Trust me, I know. But she’s shy, so take it slow. Compliment her smile and mane, that should get you an in.” Prism jumped back right as Praxia was about to ask what the whispering was about. “You two have fun, take it easy on him, Praxia!” “Ah- bu-wha- Prism!?” Praxia flustered as Prism flew off, leaving her growling at her. This is what I get for taking a chance. Now he’s just going to be polite and ask me to leave or just push the reservation back. “So, Praxia,” Silver started with Praxia shoring herself up for disappointment. Here it comes. ‘So uh, gotta go!’ “Did you still want to catch the game?” Praxia’s wings buzzed out of surprise and she looked at him, searching for the jest that surely had to be there. Yet all she saw was honest curiosity, and dare she think it, non-work related friendliness. “Aaah, yeah! Sure!” She caught herself and sized her enthusiasm down sharply. “I mean, that sounds fun.” “Great, let’s go.” He waved a hoof at one of the staff members who was waiting to take them to their booth/cargopod. Silver started to sweat at the prospect of taking Prism’s advice. “I - ah - I really like your mane style.” “You do?” Praxia was at such a loss she stopped walking to stare at him. No one’s ever said I look good before, except Sensei and Prism at least. Silver wasn’t much better off. Crap, I thought she’d just take the compliment and we’d keep moving. He took a moment to actually look at her mane. Clean cut, professional, plain, and square were the most apt terms Silver could think of. “Well, yeah. I think it frames your eyes and horn just right.” He remembered Firefly saying once. Does it!? I just try to keep it out of the way. Praxia started blushing feverishly, which wasn’t helped by her disguise magic betraying her and turning her whole head beet red. Embarrassment flooded her, making Praxia dip her head a bit too quickly. “T-thank you. We should hurry up and go in!” Praxia buzzed right past the employee holding the booth door open to buy time to get her magic under control. Silver however saw a golden opportunity. Wow. Maybe Prism is more of a bro than I thought. I mean, she couldn’t possible be open to a herd already, right? Not sure how to proceed in any event, Silver followed after Praxia to start the game. Using Voyager as a guide, Prism found Twilight in short order right before the alicorn could enter a conference room. Several high ranking ponies were passing by, including Spike. “What the Hell, mom!?” she yelled in that angry tone Twilight knew all too well. Since Prism had shouted from the elevator, Twilight had time to put the rest of the leaders at ease. “Start without me, Spike, this shouldn’t take too long.” Spike snorted in amusement and was the last to enter. “Have fun with this one.” With no other pony present in the narrow hallway near the apex of Seed One, Twilight was free to speak. “Yes, dear?” Prism stormed right up to Twilight then lept into a hover so she could be eye level with her. “We were talking together just minutes ago! Why didn’t you say you were going to join the whole breeding incentive?” Twilight arched a surprised eyebrow at her daughter. “I thought that was a given when I brought it up.” “Well it wasn’t!” Prism countered, though she couldn’t really bring herself to fully believe that. “You’ve got the whole colony on your withers and now you want to add another kid to that? That’s crazy!” Twilight heaved a heavy sigh, knowing the true root of Prism’s objections. “I have a duty to the welfare of my subjects and the colony as a whole. Part of that duty is sacrifice. If I can balance the leadership of the colony and a new foal, then every other aspiring mother can believe in their own abilities as well.” She gave Prism a sad motherly frown. “I loved your father more than any other before him. He knew full well of my past loves, and that I would love again after him. Such is an alicorn’s fate.” “I am not some Blueblood the Third, mom!” Prism chastised. “Just because she couldn’t handle you marrying dad doesn’t mean I have some notion you need to be eternally bound to my father. I - I just - I don’t want to see another Night Wind!” Prism kicked herself for saying the words as soon as they left her mouth. Twilight stepped forward and embraced her, shedding tears as old pain was wrought anew. “Night Wind made her choice.” She brushed Prism’s mane away from her eyes and guided her eyes up to her own. “But we can’t live in the past, only learn from it.” Prism sniffed, trying to regain her composure. “Besides, I think I did right with you.” Prism couldn’t help but smile a little at the praise. “If I’m the best, then we’re in trouble.” “Don’t sell yourself short, Little Wing.” Twilight glanced at Prism’s enlarged wings. “But I might need to start calling you Big Wing from here on.” Prism took a long moment to simply hug her mother, and in turn Twilight returned the embrace. There they stayed for a time until Prism took notice of a small wall monitor with Voyager's idle face on it. The face of the AI caused a forgotten memory to return to Prism in a snap. She broke her revelry and pushed away from Twilight. “Holy Mother of Bural, I can’t believe I forgot!” Twilight was caught flat-footed at the sudden shift in emotion as Prism gave Twilight a stupid grin. “You remember that place where my thorium pod was at, with the wasp nest?” “Yyyes, why?” Prism was flapping her wings wildly at her mounting excitement. “I found a wall! Like an artificial one, and a carving! Signs of intelligent life!” Twilight was taken aback so much she actually stepped backwards. “Are you sure? We picked this planet in hopes to avoid sapient life. Voyager's been going over the twenty year backlog of satellite cartography since we landed. He hasn’t seen any sign of even stone age beings.” “Well we missed the mark. Assuming the colts in blue didn’t trash the place clearing out the wasps, the mural should still be there!” “Now hold your chimps,” Twilight warned with a wave of her wing. “If you’re right, this is your big discovery, but you are still on mandatory medical leave.” Prism remained aloft, but her smile fell in an instant. “Let’s bring this up with Spike later. He’ll need time to organize a proper escort for you and an archaeology team.” “So we can go by the time Sawbones gives me the green light?” Prism was practically salivating at the prospect of getting the credit for a discovery of her own. “Yes, you can lead the team.” “Woo hoo!” Prism flew around, orbiting Twilight with glee. However, she underestimated her new wingspan and clipped Twilight’s barrel, and tumbled into the wall. “Ow…” Seeing that Prism was uninjured, Twilight tittered behind a hoof. “While you’re stuck waiting, why don’t you get used to those wings.” Prism went limp out of embarrassment. “Agreed.” Prism wasn’t helped by her stomach growling loudly enough to rattle her feathers. Twilight shook her head in mild disapproval. “I told you to eat more.” “I will, I will.” The conference door opened with Spike stepping out. “Should we reschedule, Twilight?” “Sorry it took so long Spike, but it was necessary.” She watched Prism hastily climb back to her hooves in the presence of her commander, family or not. “See you later tonight, Big Wing,” she added with a smirk and a wink. “See you, momma!” Prism snapped a quick salute towards Spike before bidding a hurried retreat. I hope Praxia stuck it out with Silver long enough for me to get back. Twilight fixed Spike with a worried frown. “We have a new potential problem on our hooves.” Spike crossed his arms with an equally humorless scowl. “How is it Prism inherited your knack for getting in trouble?” “To be fair, her father wasn’t known to play it safe either.” You’re pulling that card? What can I say against that? Spike grumbled to himself. “She's more of a mirror to you than you give her credit for, Twilight. That aside, what did she say that's so important?” “I’ll tell you and the rest of the council together.” Twilight teleported past him into the conference room. The collection of ten ponies hushed their separate conversations at her return. “Ladies and gentlecolts, we’re going to have to put the project on hold. We might be dealing with sapients.”