Chapter 123
Replace the Canterlot Mainframe 65%
Twilight had serious reservations about any of these options--as soon as she pulled the trigger, Spike would be changed forever, and the rest of the mission too. It was true that his body might be easier to modify and replace than anypony else in their group--but being a computer made her think of him as even more fragile. It wasn't true, but the thought remained in her mind regardless, impossible to shake. And even more dangerous to us than physical damage is emotional damage. If we make Spike upset, he could be even more dangerous than an angry dragon.
Not that she planned for that to happen. "Your abilities are wasted controlling a ship that doesn't have any more exploring left to do," she said. "Installing those computers in the Canterlot will be difficult, but that's our problem to figure out, not yours. All I need from you is the promise that you'll be able to control the station effectively if we connect you to it."
Spike nodded confidently. "Without a doubt. Even if it's a hundred times more complex than the Equinox, I could do it while asleep. If it's a thousand times more complex, it will still be simple for me. And I don't think it will be."
What have I created? She fought down the fear, banishing it before she could show any visible signs. If she started feeling afraid of members of her crew now, then their mission was doomed. "I'll put the transfer near the top of our work order. But I wouldn't trust anypony in the crew to lead it--we've never worked with anything so delicate before. And if we buck something up, then we're down our starship and our station."
"You look like you have something in mind," Spike said. But despite his usual neutrality, there was excitement in his voice now. He was actually eager for the swap.
"Somepony, yes," Twilight answered. "I've been going through the crew roster. I think it's time we make our first revival."
There was only one creature Twilight could possibly trust with a mission as important as this one. Node would certainly be there to help, but the Signaler had some strange ideas about minds and bodies and probably wasn't the one she wanted to entrust the lives of her crew. After all, she wanted everypony to vanish into a computer simulation and call it eternal life.
Twilight had the pod brought into Canterlot medical, which Twilight herself was growing a little too familiar. Supplies for waking ponies were expensive, since they used the same resources they spent growing food. But in a case like this, they could afford to wait.
Twilight paced back and forth outside the diagnostic room, unable to keep still long enough to sit down. Of course she hadn't been surprised to find this name in the crew roster, it would've been stranger if it wasn't there. But that didn't mean she was ready for it. How many years had it been? Not even the same number for both of them.
Finally the door opened, and Fluttershy emerged from inside. She straightened her white coat, loosening the collar. "Captain? Have you been waiting out here the whole time?"
She nodded shamelessly. "Of course. I had to know if we were getting her back."
Fluttershy groaned. "You know the process takes days. Even with good news, you weren't going to talk to her today, let alone put her on duty."
But you aren't trying to quash my hopes yet. That has to be good news. "The casket was intact. How was the pony inside?"
Is the subject intact? No.
How many limbs are intact? 4
Internal injuries only.
"I would've been out hours ago if it was anything simple, captain. That's why you should've just waited for me to call you. You've got enough recovering of your own to do."
Twilight shrugged her wings, dismissing her. "How bad? Do we have..." she lowered her voice, glancing around the medical bay. There were always other creatures in here, mostly shiprats. But just because they weren't her crew didn't mean that word wouldn't get back if she wasn't careful. "Another Sunset."
The doctor shook her head. "Nothing went necrotic, that's... that's more common when a cell is failing. This was something else. The cryodrugs don't work so well on everypony, and there's sometimes... rejection. I think the patient is one of those. Of course we screened all of us for rejection, but... when the world's ending, you don't really have time for that. It's either get in or die, so... she got in."
"And the treatment?"
Can Fluttershy fix her? Critical yes.
"She lost both lungs and one kidney," Fluttershy answered. "We only had a single implant lung waiting, so she'll have to make due. But so long as she doesn't play any Hoofball or run any marathons, she should be alright. I'm growing another one right now, but that takes a month. She'll be on strictly light duty for her first quarter after waking."
That's not too much worse than things usually are. "Unless she wants the virus," Twilight suggested. "If anypony would take it, she might."
Fluttershy flung up her wings for a moment, exasperated. "I bucking hope not, captain. You think it's easy to do surgery on somepony who just came out of the defroster? I saved her life, don't encourage her to throw it away again."
Twilight only patted her on the shoulder. "Thank you, doctor. I want you to call me before you wake her. I'm going to be there."
And she was, about two weeks later. They left her unconscious that long, so the worst of her post-surgery recovery could happen without the need for so much pain and misery. Spike wasn't excited about waiting, but at least he recognized the importance of doing things right rather than fast.
Twilight gave her a few minutes to get her baring, alone in the hospital bed--before levitating the door open, and striding inside. "Good afternoon, Starlight. I hope you're feeling well."
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Ooooh...
New member incoming!
Well now...
Oh ho. This should be interesting. Here's hoping Starlight wasn't at a phase of her life when she'd see the shiprats as a problem that needed fixing without said problem's permission. And I can only imagine what the shiprats themselves will think of the crew reviving one of the honored ancestral dead.
Well, this just got very interesting. I can see why Twilight made the decision she did. Hopefully, it won't backfire like others have.
Ahhaaaaaa that makes sense! Welcome back to the land of the living, Starlight! Glad to see we got a critical yes on fixing her, phew. Sounds like we have a decent chance of losing people when reviving them.
Hoooo boy, things are about to get interesting....
Typoes: "make due" should be "make do" and "baring" (take your clothes off) should be "bearing" (get oriented).
Deploy Glimglam!
YOOO GLIMGLAM IN THE SHIP
Interesting. Someone remind me; does Node still use Starlight's voice?
If we have to do this check every time they wake someone up then a lot of people are going to be cursed by the dice into horrifying injuries.
Ah yeah, mad scientist programmer time. I wonder what she'll think of the Frankenstein that Spike and the Equinox turned into.
Eeeeeeeee! Glimmy!
Woohoo! Best pony appears!
Well. Best pony after Cozy Glow.
#TeamCozy.
10037548
No, I think she switched to her own voice sometime after leaving the 'simulation' I forget what it's called.
Isn't Node's voice still made of recordings from Starlight?
That could be fun. Or awkward. Funawkward.
10038006
#̢̩ͅT̺̥̲̫̙̜́e̟͈̻̗a̩̻̘̗̻m̼̯̟̯͍S̫̥̯̀t̢̠̩͎͖̭a̠̫̞͈͘r̷̮̘̟͇̠͍̗l̹̺ig̣h͉t̳̺̗
Because if anyone would make a deal with the devil for good reasons it'd be her.
Starlight: "oh Celestia, what did you do to my mainframe?!?"
Hopefully this isn't foreshadowing...
I still hope that once everythis finished we will get a timeline.
I'm still a bit confused about what happened in which order; especially when they had launched (?) Canterlot and the stuff around Sunsets mission (started far later, arrived far earlier).
Me: *screams* Critical yes!!!
Is it bad I expected they were talking about Moondancer?
10038006
: "I assure you: she did."
You do remember Cozy Glow wanted to kill them?
10038386
: "You have no idea..."
I wonder how Starlight is going to react to some weird bipedal four-armed alien robot who sounds just like her.