AMICITAS FLIGHT THREE – MISSION DAY 255
ARES III SOL 252
“Can we do this today?” Mark asked. “We’re burning EVA time here!”
As much as Spitfire empathized with the human, she couldn’t admit it in front of him. She’d done her mourning for Amicitas months ago. Cherry Berry’s emotional needs got on her nerves, especially when they needed to do this to turn what was left of the ship into a vehicle that would get them off this rock.
But Cherry Berry was the commander, and investing in the commander’s peace of mind meant you lived longer. “You can wait a few minutes,” she said, picking her way through the words like hoops on a flight course.
Satisfied, Cherry Berry placed a hoof on one of the rear landing gear, which now dangled slightly off the ground. “You kept us alive many times,” she said in English, a little awkwardly. “You let us land instead of crash. You held air and heat when the Hab blew. We used you for storage, for radio, for everything you could give.” The pink pony in the orange space suit sniffled, then said, “Thank you. We’re sorry we couldn’t take you home one last time.”
As the commander walked away, Spitfire let out a breath, carefully not asking if that was it.
“That it?” Fireball asked.
Oh, yeah. Count on a dragon for tact.
“Carry on,” Cherry said, turning her back to the ship and walking away
Magic flared, and as soon as Cherry was clear, a unicorn in a white space suit stepped forward, balanced on her hind legs, foreleg in a silly looking karate pose. “HYAH!” Starlight Glimmer shouted, leaping forward in a truly stupid leap that looked only slightly less stupid in the low Martian gravity. Despite the gravity difference she fell well short and had to hop up again, repeating, “HYAH!” before bringing a forehoof up and down in an overhead chop. Her horn flashed as her hoof made contact with the ship, and the thin air popped as the stripped-down wreck of a spaceship split into two uneven halves.
As Starlight landed again, placing her forehooves against one another and bowing, the tail section of Amicitas dropped back onto the rear landing gear, pivoted backwards, and tumbled to the Martian soil with a faint boom.
“Since when do you take Caine the Wanderer as a role model?” Mark asked, a little exasperated.
Starlight dropped back to all fours and said, “Since Gandalf let those stupid dwarves go into the AlwaysFreeForest alone. Foo on wizards. He’s just another Swirling Star. Caine is wise and dignified and honors his word.”
“Yeah, and Caine’s going to risk another attack of magic exhaustion if you don’t stay glued to that battery,” Spitfire grumbled in Equestrian.
“I can handle it,” Starlight bit back. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“Girls! Language! Mark is here!” Cherry’s voice snapped like a whip, sentiment replaced by stern anger.
Grumbling, Starlight walked back to the mana battery for the job of trimming the hull back as close to the bulkhead of the habitat compartment as they dared. Spitfire, for her own part, held her tongue and watched. She’d have her turn after they carried the stupid genius unicorn back into the Hab on the stretcher.
Again.
“Yeeeeah,” Mark said. “No more Kung Fu for you girls. I think we’re going back to Grizzly Adams.”
As much as Spitfire disliked that show- it reminded her of the pony who she’d been expected to replace- she didn’t protest. She liked it better than that stupid Barney Miller… and it didn’t give screwy unicorns ideas…
Speaking of screwy ideas… Spitfire looked at the ship, which… well, it hadn’t looked like itself since the day they crashed, but now that they’d sliced the end of the inner hull off, it suddenly didn’t look like a ship anymore, either. It looked, literally, like something the cat dragged in- half of a thing that had been alive ten minutes before.
Hadn’t Dragonfly always been going on about how this or that was alive in a way, about things having feelings and opinions and stuff? What would she have said about Amicitas now? Had they really killed it? Or was it a hunk of metal, and was Dragonfly just mental?
No. Amicitas is not the metal. The ship is the crew. The ship is the team. While we’re alive, Amicitas lives, until we all get home.
That night Spitfire smuggled a small bit of hull, a fragment shaved away in the trimming process, back into the Hab. She stole the metal file from Fireball and, off in a corner, carefully worked at the edges of the bit of steel, rounding them off, making the scrap safe to carry inside a space suit, inside the suit undergarment, next to the fur.
Amicitas, the machine, would never return to Equestria. But a piece of it would- along with her crew.
That counted, at least well enough to soothe Spitfire’s mind.
All of them- including the spirit of the ship- would make it home.
Awww, sentimental Spitfire![:heart:](https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/heart.png)
Cherry's (and Spitfire's) sentimentality toward Amicitas's death isn't really all that unusual. A captain usually feels a special connection to his/her ship, and oftentimes as if the ship has a soul of its own, like it's a living being rather than a hunk of machinery. I feel Cherry.
Nice touch. That hit me emotionally.
Tradition has that fragment they carry back being melted down and used to forge the beams for the next ship to bear the name.
Even Spitfire isn't willing to part with the ship. Now we just need Dragonfly.
Mark would approve. Recall the note he left in the rover when he reached Ares V's MAV.
What is the name of your show on Wednesdays, and how does one tune in?
Starlight be shaving hills now? Must be some hairy terrain.
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A mirror from the Apollo 13 Lunar Module - the only part of it brought back - remains in the original mission control room to this day.
8955768 I call it "KWLP is On the Air." It runs from 9 to 11 PM Central time. For listening instructions, visit http://www.dementiaradio.org/ .
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I felt sad when Merry Go died.
Ships have soul. We made an entire fandom based on this.
Now we just need a pony version of Amicitas to cement the legend.
"for the job of trimming the hill back as close to the"
"for the job of trimming the hull back as close to the"?
Nice. :)
I, too, feel a sentimental attachment to pieces of technology I've had for a long time.
Status update: Got the next part where Cherry sings (to Dragonfly) done:
i.imgur.com/xPvyTbs.png
I guess I have a depressive personality. Cause I feel choked up for Amicitas. ~±~
I can just see the chat log after Kung Fu Starlight happened:
Watney: Alright, possible advice for the inevitable future alien diplomats. Never show a unicorn a kung fu action movie.
JPL: Why is that, Mark?
Watney: They start trying to do laser blasts with each "punch" or "kick".
We need a picture of Kung Fu Starlight.![:rainbowlaugh:](https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/rainbowlaugh.png)
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Nobody show her Avatar or Korra then.
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we are kung-fu fighting~
8955999![:pinkiegasp:](https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/pinkiegasp.png)
Starlight is already incredibly powerful at magic. Imagine if she brought her physical abilities up to the same level.
Black belt Starlight Glimmer
Its worth noting that Starlight has a point. True focused magic users Starlight knows or has heard of:
Starswirl the Bearded: Yeah, turns out he is kinda an arrogant dick, arguably turned his friend evil, and its clear why he failed to finish his spell. Man seriously needed some Friendship lessons.
Starlight Glimmer: Yeah...her past isn't great. She is better now, but recovering superviillian isn't a good mark.
Twilight Sparkle: If Twilight has shared anything of her past with Starlight she would know that Twilight wasn't the best of people before moving to Ponyville. Really the study of the magic of friendship stopped her becoming AT BEST another Star Swirl. And in this particular universe she is more a Scientist now then a wizard.
Trixie: She is Trixie...I don't think I need to say more. (Although I did just realize I don't think Trixie ever showed up in Changeling Space program).
Sombra: Turned evil.
Luna: Recovering Supervillian, who almost created a new Supervillian due to punishing herself.
Celestia: Probably the best full time wizard in the show, and manages this by being a politician more then a wizard. Still her magical powers are there, even if she only ever is seen using them to move the sun or teach.
Sunset: Turned evil.
Sunburst: Didn't turn evil....but then didn't really have magical power, just magical skill. Also an anti-social recluse for quite a while.
When you look at it like that, having a Cutie Mark closely linked to magic is actually a curse. At best you become an introverted, neurotic mess, with either a superiority complex (Starswirl, Starlight, Sunset, Sombra, Trixie) or an inferiority complex (Twilight, Luna, Sunburst). At worse you turn evil.
If belief died, then the sun would not come up tommorow.
Instead a mere ball of flaming gas would illuminate the world.
It is belief, that makes humans, human.
Paraphrased from DEATH:Hogfather by Terry Pratchett.
Chill, Starlight, chill. Enough of this horseplay. :B
Fireball, the master of timing.
Is this referencing any specific movie? Since the only Caine the Wanderer I found is what they call Caine in vampire fiction when he's the progenitor of the species.
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a smell a new Jackie Chan in the making!
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Dude, it's Kung Fu. They even reference it by name in the text.
In memory of Amicitas
(Actual salute and Taps happen at 0:35)
I predict Fireball being over Tolkien with the death of Smaug.
And if they go into Lord of the Rings, once Mark gets to the gates of Moria the ponies will have a small riot when they hear about how Bill the pony was left outside with the Watcher in the Water while the rest of the Fellowship went in for safety. Cue Mark having to skip to the end of the book and having Fireball (who is still over Tolkien) to act as an uninvested third party to confirm that yes Bill lives, and no, they can't see or else they'll see who else makes it and spoil the ending. The ponies still want to know why Bill was not considered a 10th Fellowship member, and Fireball wondering by Spike isn't considered part of the Mane Six. Awkwardness abounds while Mark quietly goes back to the story.
I can see Spitfire really getting into the Fordo and Sam team up, a leader and their wing mate taking on the world. Cherry would probably like the simple Merry and Pippin as they would remind her the most of ponies she knows in Ponyville. Starlight would like Gandalf a lot better now, though she'd also be morbidly drawn to gollum, a person who valued something precious to them so much that it lead to their ruin and nearly got the world destroyed. He death would be nearly bittersweet I'd imagine as he at least finally got his precious after so long a journey. Sort of a dark morality tale for her about the dangers of obsession and how redemption is not a given. Fireball is still not over Tolkien killing off a cool dragon like Smaug who was only trying to protect his hoard. Dumb anti dragon propaganda, get enough of that back in Equestria.
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Honestly it feels like Sunset is the most based, common-sense-wielding reformed and redeemed former villain. her character arc looks pretty complete.
Starlight still tends to occasionally think of ponies as problems rather than people - its like a bad habit you're trying to break, but still lapse into cause thats how you're used to thinking. She's trying though. She really wants to be a good friend, she just doesnt know how.
Now, Starswirl... that guy is 100% pain in the ass.
Damn, that last part with the souvenir... hit a bit hard in the feels there Kris. Oof. (Good job)
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I'm reminded of this video.
Sufficient magic kind of makes the rest irrelevant.
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Indeed, it’s tradition after all.
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Yes, but here is the important thing.
Sunset isn't a wizard anymore. She left Celestia's teachings, went full evil take over the world with magic and everything, and then gave up her magic.
Yes she got a tiny touch of it back during Camp Everfree (Although given she was Celestia's student before Twilight its no where near the level she once possessed), but the fact of the matter is she is now a student, a friend, etc, etc. She isn't going to put "Master Wizard" on her Resume anymore.
Therefore, forsaking Wizardry has done her a world of good, and my point (And Starlight's) still stands.
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Thanks, I'm going to try to catch it tonight!
An excellent memorial to a loyal friend, with a side of Glimmy Carradine. Nice stuff.
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JPL: Understood. Dragonball's off the menu too, then.
a grate chapter.
i am reminded of my first truck i owned and the first big truck i drove, as i have a small bit from both.
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huh, good point. Sunset DID effectively give up wizardry.
... also, did you ever notice that all the villains are![:pinkiecrazy:](https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/pinkiecrazy.png)
hornyhorned? NMM, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, and every Celestias protege (save Twi) are evil horned wizards8956217
They've already been told horses/ponies on Earth aren't sapient, it's a little late for that misunderstanding.
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Well, someone certainly noticed it a while back,even made a oneshot parody of it
Now If only I could remember the actual name, I'd drop a link to it.
Feels!
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I feel like Twilight's facial expression in this is just gold. Also, technically Lightning Dust is an exception to Pinkie's findings, but we have yet to have an Earth Pony villain.
((Admittedly someone suggested Chancellor Puddinghead should run for office, so that probably counts as supervilliany))
Edit: I never noticed before, but Sweetie Belle actually has a smile on her face in the back of the room.
Better question we should be asking is “How hard will it be to get Cherry Berry to part with the Hermes?” I mean the Hermes is bigger, faster, more advanced, etc. than the Amcitias is. Hell the reaction that the Ponies will have to the Hermes in general will be supremely amusing.
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Hermes would be more like a balloon or maybe a train then a ship i think. There is not a lot of piloting involved there, it goes where it goes, every leg of the journey pre planned by nasa weeks-months earlier. All controlled by someone else behind a computer. She might like it, she might not. We may or may not find out.
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Thanks, but you can't blame me for not realising that it's a series title, the sentence could've very well meant "no more kung-fu (movies) for you, girls", since I've never even heard of this show until now.
Tradition is important and yes, a ship is very much a living thing. They may sleep at times and await the call or rust away but they live with the echos of every crewman steps and conversations. And they scream when they are reduced to razorblades.
8956481 Tonight's show begins in a few minutes. I'll be working on tonight's chapter during sets.
Warning, though: tonight is a CULL WEEK, where I go through recent or forgotten purchases on the air and decide whether to keep or delete the tracks.
8957166 Maretian begins four years after the start of CSP, which begins during (at least) Season 6. It's a safe bet Starlight's met the old codger, at least briefly.
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part of the USS New York (a San Antonio Class Amphibious Landing Dock or LPD) was actually made from steel from the World Trade Center; and the foundry workers treated the part that was made from that steel with reverence usually reserved for religious relics, gently touching it as they walked by.
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- MLP: FiM
- Comedy
- Slice of Life
After the defeat of Starlight Glimmer, Rainbow Dash comes to a startling conclusion about the villains they fight.8957250
Not entirely, their are obviously manual controls considering that Hermes pulled off the Purnell Maneuver and it has to have manual controls in order to execute the aerobraking maneuvers and the reverse burn, not to mention breaking orbit. Sure everything is planned but for some maneuvers you need someone with their hands on the throttle and stick.
Spitfire starts out the chapter secretly admonishing Cherry and Dragonfly for their sentimentality towards the ship, but by the end, she's the one actually keeping some of it as a memento; almost as a sacred remains.
Not a bad transition for less than 900 words.
8957703 Yes. But the manual controls are computers, mostly.