AMICITAS FLIGHT THREE – MISSION DAY 338
ARES III SOL 333
“Book reports?”
Starlight Glimmer rolled up another small bale of sweet-smelling freshly cut alfalfa in her magic. “That’s what I said,” she replied, levitating the bale over to a sample bin for transfer to the rover. “I’ve been reading some of the other books NASA sent while we were working our way through the Ring story. And any of you could have done the same thing-“
“I did,” Dragonfly spoke up, and Mark nodded agreement.
“But that’s not fair!” Cherry protested. “Story time is special! It’s something we can all share!”
“I had to catch up with the rest of you,” Dragonfly said. “And besides, you already said you didn’t want to read the murder mysteries.”
“Anyway, we need to decide what the next book- or book series- for story time is going to be,” Starlight said. “I’ve already talked to Mark about this, and he wants us to make the decision. So each of you get a book to read. Dragonfly, you get the hardest one: Foundation by Isaac Asimov.”
“Bless you,” Fireball said.
“Isaac Asimov is a human name,” Starlight ground out. “I know you know that.”
“Who wants to read books by a guy whose name is I-Suck?”
Starlight raised an eyebrow. Fireball was getting better at English than he pretended, to make a pun like that just for the purpose of being annoying. “You get to read one by a man named Stout,” she said. “There’s a whole series of murder mysteries by him, and you get to read one called The Golden Spiders.”
Fireball shrugged. “Whatever.”
“Cherry, you get to read Ringworld by Larry Niven. No murder.”
“Okay.”
Starlight noticed Spitfire cringing. “And Spitfire, I’m giving you the easy one,” she said as gently as she could. “More fantasy- more magic. It’s about witches. It’s called Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett.”
“Why we still do this?” Spitfire asked plaintively.
“Because we don’t know how long we might be in this world,” Cherry Berry said, in the tone of someone who’d said a thing too many times. “We have to act as if we take the long way to Earth and then wait a long time before Twilight rescues us. That means we need to learn the language.”
“But I’m not getting any better!”
“That’s not true,” Mark said. “You’re hesitating less on your words, I’ve noticed. And your grammar’s improving.”
“Doesn’t feel like it,” Spitfire muttered.
“Anyway, read the books, or as much as you can, and we’ll talk about them after the potato harvest.” That came five days after the hay harvest. “After everyone talks about their book, we’ll have a vote, and we’ll all read that book together.”
“What if everyone hates their books?” Fireball asked.
“You won’t,” Mark put in. “Some of you might, but all? No chance.”
“Okay,” Fireball asked. “But what do we do for story time until then?”
“Well, you haven’t told any stories about your home in a good long while,” Mark said. “How about a few of those?”
“We’ve told you all the big stories,” Cherry Berry said.
“All of them that aren’t secrets,” Dragonfly added.
“They don’t have to be big stories,” Mark said. “What about small stories? Stories about people you know.”
It was Spitfire who spoke up. “I have story. We tell you how Twilight Sparkle and her friends all got cutie marks the same day? But they didn’t know for years?”
“Yeah, something about a… what did you call it, Starlight?”
“A sonic rainboom,” Starlight Glimmer said. “A powerful enough pegasus can, in theory, push past the point where magic can’t overcome air resistance. When that happens there’s a thaumic shockwave that leaves a polychromatic image behind, like a rainbow. Rainbow Dash is the only pegasus in living memory to have done it- and the only one outside of legend to be able to do it on demand.”
“She not always able to,” Spitfire said. “You know how she did it the first time. Now I tell you the second time. Listen.”
Rainbow Dash come from pegasus city in clouds. Made of clouds. Named… what named?
Cloud Valley.
Really? Fine. English only language where you call a city two miles in the air valley. Anyway, she live in Ponyville now, but she born and raised Cloud Valley. And every year we have Best Young Fliers… what’s the word?
Contest.
Best Young Fliers Contest, where we see talent of ponies who just come of age. Is biggest flying contest we have. And not long after Princess Luna return, Rainbow Dash enter. She had big routine plan, big stunts, end in sonic rainboom. One problem- she couldn’t do it. Oh, she could do all the rest of her routine- Rainbow Dash is best pegasus flyer in all Equestria, even me. But she didn’t know how to do the rainboom again.
I didn’t know Dash then- I been… rrrgh… team leader about a year then. I learn this from her later. But I was there at the contest. Best Young Flier gets to spend day with… RRRRGH… our team… so we can see, is she, um, er…
If she’s got what it takes to be one of you.
Yeah, that. So, I there in the stands, and I know the rumors. All Cloud Valley know- knew a little girl say she make sonic rainboom. And we all knew somepony had done it. So we looking for that little girl at contest, and we wait, and we wait, and we wait.
Finally, last two contest-ponies.
Contestants.
Whatever. One was unicorn with big butterfly wings. Pretty to look at, but no flier. Shouldn’t have been let contest.
That was Rarity. I wasn’t there- I was too busy with my obsessions-
Let me tell it!
I just wanted to say I heard the story from Twilight Sparkle much later.
Now you hear it from me! Right. With Rarity came- you sure it was Rarity?
Positive.
I thought Rarity had more smart.
The wings turned her head a bit.
Must have turned a lot. With Rarity came Rainbow Dash. I think my team and Dash’s friends and family only ones watching her. Everyone else watch butterfly wings in sun. They stare at stupid dancing unicorn while Dash’s routine fall apart. She so nervous she make basic mistakes. I was thinking, poor kid, should have waited, not ready.
Then the butterfly wings go poof. Spell fail?
The spell uses morning dew and spider webs as catalysts. The wings were very fragile and light-sensitive. And it was late summer.
Spell fail. And without wings Rarity flies like a brick. We see her fall straight through stadium, going fast, and the three of us go after her. But Rarity is… is… too scare to think? What’s the word?
Panic. Panics. Panicked. Has panicked. Will panic. Panicking.
All that and a couple more. Waving hooves everywhere. One two three, punches us out cold. I’m wake up and see ground get really close really fast, and then YANK I’m not falling anymore. Rainbow Dash caught all four of us. All same time. And she do sonic rainboom to do it. She swoops up back to Cloud Valley, and I see ring of rainbow, I see rainbow trail behind Dash, I know she did it.
Princess… what you call her in your railroad game?
I used the name of some goddess or other I saw in an adventure module- Celestia, that was it.
I like it. More respect than Sunbutt.
But the princess has nothing to do with bells!
So Princess Cel-Ess-Tea-uh say Dash wins, which is fine to me because she the reason I’m not a hole in the dirt. We spend day with her, she total, what’s the word… what, nothing?
I didn’t hear this part, so I don’t know what you mean.
Can’t stop talk. Lose all cool. She so happy to meet us her head shut down. We see it every air show we do, but Dash was really bad.
Fangirl? Fan is short for fanatic. Rainbow Dash sounds like she was a fan of yours, and she was acting like a complete fangirl.
Fan. Yes, I know about fans. Anyway, she was so fangirl. Not mature enough, we think. Got the talent, but needs to grow up. And she did… took her long enough, though. But that’s another story. I talked enough.
“Wow,” Mark said. “I’m more amazed that the five of you survived a rapid change in vector like that. Like Superman catching a falling Lois Lane.”
“I thought we were never going to watch that stupid cartoon again,” Cherry Berry said.
“Other side of sonic rainboom, physics goes weird,” Spitfire said. “Dash’s magic is really strong. Really, really strong.”
“Sounds like it,” Mark agreed. “Do you have any other stories about Rainbow Dash?”
“Well,” Cherry Berry said slowly, “I could tell how half the town woke up one night because Dash tried to steal a book from the hospital library.”
Spitfire’s jaw dropped. “She what?”
“She did,” Cherry said. “I heard about it from Carrot Top, and she got it from…” She looked at Starlight, making an outline of a large hat on her head with her forehooves.
Starlight sighed. “Apple Cider,” she said. “I think. The translation spell kept wobbling around that one. Almost as bad as…” She bit the bullet and accepted the better-than-the-alternatives name. “… as Princess Celestia.”
“Anyway, Rainbow Dash was practicing tricks, and she had a Bad Day,” Cherry Berry said. “Broke her wing, got a week in the hospital. And she was really, really bored, until Twilight Sparkle said she should try reading one of her favorite books…”
The stories continued for an hour, ending with how Rainbow Dash held the pony space program together long enough for her to become the first Equestrian to spacewalk. Starlight enjoyed Mark’s horror at the brief and almost disastrous ESA Flight Five and then his amusement at some of the antics of ESA Flight Six.
Yes, she thought, this will do for a stop-gap. Until we get our new book picked.
Spitfire got the best book, IMO. My love for sci-fi is great, but Pratchett is a treasure that should never be ignored.
I think Cherry will like Ringworld.
Understatement of the year. A right-angle turn like that should have turned their innards to pulp.
Aww, I wanted one of them to read Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, the antithesis of Harry Potter XD, wonderful series, Starlight can still read it though, the series mix very well a world were the magical creatures have way more advance technology than humans, and they live hidden from society, and Artemis, a child genius, and mastermind and millionaire criminal discover them, and fuck their hidden world time and time again, anyway, I still hope these series appear here :D.
“Cherry, you get to read Ringworld by Larry Niven. No murder.”
Um, has he read Ringworld?
(brief pause to look up spelling) Oh, sweet heavens. My stars and garters. Do you know what concept Larry Niven has in the Ringworld series that Starlight Glimmer might recognize?
Rishathra
9029910
I read about... half the AF series. After the fourth book it kind of fell apart.
I was hoping they'd read "Ender's Game", "Xenocide" and "Speaker for the Dead".
I sense a "Twilight reading Twilight" or "Does the vampire in Twilight actually sparkle" joke coming up in the next few chapters
I’d’ve picked a Clarke or early-to-mid Heinlein over Asimov. Isaac has great ideas, but his writing is a tad dry for my taste.
Then again, my sentimental favorites of the two may not be so well received under the circumstances. A Fall of Moondust (Clarke) hits a little too close to home with the disaster movie plot, and The Rolling Stones (Heinlein) has an extended Mars sequence...
Fireball and Spitfire might appreciate Starship Troopers (for somewhat different reasons). I wonder how The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or 2001: A Space Odessy would go over...
I think they'd relate to the story Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, especially how the mother alien is portrayed.
9029349 Of course they are. They're Hollywood.
9029921
I swear, if you start chanting, "The Ringworld is unstable!"…
9029955
Clarke's Fountains of Paradise. Have the ponies later blow Twilight Sparkle's mind with the concept of a space elevator.
What about Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars? Yes, it hits a little close to home, but it also illustrates how humanity's understanding of Mars changed over the course of just a few decades.
I squeed when I saw Niven's name... I'm not entirely proud of that.
Ringworld, huh. The ponies tend to think small, so let's see what Cherry's reaction is to humans thinking BIG.
9029929
Its Actually a transition from criminal to a good person and son, in a crazy way, Artemis goes to the extreme in later books about giving back to earth, like trying to tackle climate change, it may be seen as Artemis losing his cool, but there are different opinions about it, for me it was very good, its a way of ending the series, which has a villain in each book, if not it would have gone on forever.
9030032
eh it was more all the Time Travel and Paradoxical junk they threw in.
9030057
That may not have been your cup of tea, that was the start of the craziness in later books, but well.
Personally I think Spits would enjoy a Sam Vimes more than the wyrd sisters but pretty much every discworld book is great.
I'm surprised Mark didn't bring up the story of Icarus, the man who flew too close to the sun.
I think Starlight would enjoy stories like The Wheel of Time or The Riftwar Saga. Both have interesting ideas for spells that might intrigue her.
Or a trilogy of books called the Avatar Saga. Shadowdale, Tantras, and Waterdeep. And their sequel book, Prince of Lies. A series of books about the Gods being exiled from the heavens because of a theft that was committed and Magic going haywire because the Goddess of Magic is not up there doing her job because of it.
I count 4 books, for 6 Martians. What are Starlight Glimmer and Mark reading?
9030127
Pretty sure that Mark doesn't take part in the book report.
9030143
I'd expect mark to do something in his new spare time. And if earth sent books...
9029903
I would have picked her something from Jules Verne.
9029948
And thus, it was not Mars that killed them. It was charactets so bad that everyone committed seppuku.
9030103
Definitely. You can also start Tiffany with A Hat Full of Sky and skip Wee Free Men if you feel like it, that's what I did by accident.
9029904
Pegasus magic isn't JUST getting your wings to support you.
Progress! For Spitfire and Starlight both.
Also, for the record, this is Apple Cider:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/10/24/131167__safe_artist-colon-daringdashie_apple+cider+%28character%29_apple+family_bow_earth+pony_female_hair+bow_mare_pony_simple+background_transparent+.png
(Yes, I know she meant Applejack.)
Okay, Mark definitely knows by this point why Celestia is the correct translation. You don't get to be an astronaut without hearing the term "celestial bodies" (specifically a huge nerd of one). I think he's just preparing a smug reaction once Starlight finally figures out how electronic dictionaries work.
Personally, I would have given them Hogfather. I'm curious about how the ponies would react to Death's speech:
9029910
I hated the Artemis Fowl serie. Mostly because of its mysanthropy, but also for pushing eco-messages each four pages. The Extinctionists, in particular, were so one-dimensional and laughable that even Captain Planet's usual villains would have looked them down.
9030265
There should be a pun about Celestial body hidden somewhere here.
9029507
I forgot that they only need English one, right.
Sunbutt sounds majestic as buck.
Love Asimov's books.
9030271
Guess who wrote the sixth part of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?
Eoin Colfer.
Same dude that did Fowl series. I bought it but didn't have time yet to read it.
9030127
Together. Under the blanket. With a flashlight.
Ew.
PS.
Mark: Back home I used to love going outside and just laying under the starlight, thinking...
SG: Get your suit.
Double ew. But this story needs more puns.
Equal Rites? Not the best intro to Discworld but far from the worst. Usually I would recommend Mort or Guards Guards but if you are trying to minimise the darker aspects I can see why they might be avoided.
9030318
You bring a good point...
At somepoint Starlight and Dragonfly are going to be curious as to the whole "if you were a pony"/ "if we were human" (either works) "who would you go out with"
personal i think Fluttershy steels the scene.
Holy shit, holy shit, the ponies have finally successfully translated both Celestia and Luna's names...
9030017
wait til they hear of Dyson beams
Hey Kris, I think that since we’ve dipped into Fantasy for the most part. That the next book we cover is Techno-Thriller, The Hunt for Red October. I think that the ponies will find that interesting.
9030127 I don't know offhand what Mark's reading. Starlight's evening reading time is taken with working on a new D&D campaign, since they've run through the handful of pre-fab adventures NASA sent and since she had her first scratch campaign Hendersoned by the crew.
9030317 And Another Thing is the only Coifer book I've read... or intend to read. I found it a train wreck from cover to cover.
I think Spitfire will really like Granny Weatherwax, perhaps even be inspired by the concept of authority by sheer weight of presence. Granny doesn't need to worry about her place in life, she decides what it is, and the rest of the world shuffles over to accommodate her.
On other fronts, has NASA thought to wonder about the physiological/psychological effects of Watney spending so much time in an environment saturated in exotic, unknown energy? Not to mention subsisting entirely on food grown in that same environment. Yes, there is absolutely nothing to be done about it, but given NASA's hair-trigger reactions to everything else, it's surprising that they completely overlook this field of inquiry.
On a third point, a note about magic. In many universes, Magic, as a fundamental force, seems to exist in a state of potentia. But will not manifest unless catalyzed by the presence of... magic.
.
.
.
Rather a chicken-or-the-egg scenario really. In any case, the sparking of a native Martian magical field, however temporary and ephermal; indicates that the moment any Equestrian, or perhaps even Watney himself at this point, arrives back on earth, their mere magical presence will spark the development of earth's own magical field. And unlike Mars, which actively strangles life, Earth is verdant to a degree that might even eclipse Equestria, at least in terms of intensity. I predict that orbital time-lapse photos will be able to show a steadily widening zone of color saturation, emanating from wherever our castaways first set hoof on terra. If the boffins think of this early enough, they may advise Watney take a detour to Equus while they deliberate the ramifications of acquiring a fifth fundamental force.
Just a little something that occurred to me. Don't you all love grand paradigm shifts? It's so much fun to watch the ripples after a rock is thrown in a pond.
9030349
Color of Magic!
Little Gods!
9030103
9030271
9030349
Equal Rites is an odd choice, as it displays humanities sexism. It deals with it in a unique and fun way, but explaining sexism to the ponies won't be particularly easy, (Although the society is female dominated, their is no evidence of discrimination and Blueblood, Fancy Pants, Filthy Rich and Shining Armor show males do hold power and prestige.) In addition, the continuity complications (Krull trains females wizards in Light Fantastic and Granny Weatherwax personality is different in latter books, and the like) that lead to Esk vanishing for 35 books also aren't great.
My choice would be Hogfather, as they have a holiday in that style, the story discusses how violent customs and cultures can become peaceful and how humanity has drifted that way (Which is a nice idea to teach before they reach earth), AND the Auditors are an enemy all of them can understand.
ADMITTEDLY Hogfather isn't the easiest read, so the concepts could cause Spitfire trouble. She would certainly hate mortal Auditors in her line of work, so the villain works, but she is unlikely to understand in the beginning.
But the Wee Free Men is a bit to easy. They are all definitely beyond that point.
With that in mind, and aiming for the more politically subtle (removing most Vimes books as he is rather political about social devisions) or obvious references that the ponies would not understand (Sadly removing most Rincewind Books) My choice would either:
1)Soul Music (Less political and deals with things most people from any universe can understand on Susan's side. Death is also very sympathetic in that story)
2)Carpe Jugulum or Lords and Ladies, (Given they have played DnD they will know what a Vampire/Elf is, AND evidence suggests Vampire legends exist amoung ponies. In addition the witches have a unique take on magic and unique and amusing personalities which will keep Spitfire interested)
3) Truckers/Diggers/Wings: While likewise marketed at the young and thus possibly not helpful to Spitfire's English as much as other novels, AND not being true Discord Novels, the story has the Nomes in a VERY similar situation to the ponies (they are from another world, trying to get home) and thus the series can maybe help with hope. In ADDITION, the similar tech that humans and ponies have means that the jokes won't go over anyones head AND given the rapid advancement the space race has brought to Equestria, the themes of change work well. In addition the humans are largely good in this story....when they know of the Nomes anyway.
9030512
The Auditors would be certainly an enlightening concept to the ponies: the concept of Order (rather than Chaos) as the enemy of life. Of course, Discord would laugh
Personally I consider Harmony as the balance of both.
9030498 NASA can wonder all they like, but it's all pure speculation. They have no human-in-magic baseline and no way of eliminating the presence of the ponies as a variable. Given that they can't back any guesses they make on this subject with facts, NASA has generally decided to focus its attention elsewhere.
9030543
Well they have his pre-mission Physicals, whatever checkups he had en-route, and a great deal of experience with human physiology in general. They could use this data to get a calculated estimate of where he should be after all this time, and compare it to results of basic tests administered in the here and now. Anything outside of expected variance might be worth further contemplation.
I didn't expect them to make him do an exhaustive battery of tests, but the notion is never so much as mentioned, it doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone at all. Just seems out of place in the face of the hyper-analysis of everything else. surely Watney has wondered if all these magic rainbows are gonna give him superpowers?
Progress! Also, seeing the Mane Six through others' eyes should be very fun.
Also, it really says something when the easiest book discusses metaphysical four-dimensionality in the first few pages.
9030560 Again, two issues.
One, they have zero data on either the physiological or psychological effects on -any- human in a magic environment (assuming, contrary to the ponies' assumption, that Earth has none).
Two, whatever deviations they might spot in Mark's behavior, they have no way of determining if they're caused by magic or by interaction with the ponies.
In short words, they don't know and they can't know.
Ponies discover Pratchett, just as we are to get Trollbridge.
I forgot what the effective trilogy was, with Intresting Times, and The Last Hero.
Who wants to see Ponyville put on a Discworld play. with Spike as The Luggage.
Derpy as Rincewind? If Celestia plays Lord Havelok Vetinary, Zecora as Esmerelda Weatherwax, Iron Will as Mustrum Ridcully, Time Turner as Ponder Stibbons? or would that be better done by Starlight? Trixie as HEX? Nah, totally wrong psychological profile. Hmm.
If you want big tech, comedy, Red Dwarf. serious, Culture series? Easy reading tech fantasy Anne McCaffrey?
The complete works of Alan Dean Foster. Who is up for a magic turtle and a foul mouthed lecherous otter thief.
If you really wanted to start Pratchett, start at the beginning, before he made the map of Ank Morpok and the Disc to keep track of where things were, are and will be. The Colour Of Magic, The Light Fantastic double book, and the reason why tourists.
When looking at the works of Douglas Adams, grab an emulator, and get a copy of the games. The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, and then for Starlight, because you have to cheat, Starship Titanic.
Anyone for Bablefish?
I wonder if as this goes on the writer will let us suggest books. I also can't help but wonder when picking these classics of literature to send if someone had the good taste to make sure they didn't include something like "Robinson Crusoe" in the mix.
Random:
And a denn was a wooded valley with a perennial stream running through.
Clouds Dale suburb Foggy Denn?