Chapter 38
Deliver the probe first. 50%
“We’re talking a big risk here,” Applejack said. “By… deliverin’ this thing. I hope you know that.”
Twilight found it hard to be annoyed with Applejack now, even though she was pointing out the obvious. She didn’t look away from the controls, concentrating on her path towards a bit of clear ground between two gigantic buildings.
The structures on Proximus B were even more intimidating when they were rising up all around them, like Canterlot Station cast to the size of an entire planet. Down on their level she could see plenty of the signs of whatever strange conflict had ravaged this place—entire buildings had collapsed, taking a dozen of their neighbors down with them. Some had been torn right in half, or had huge empty holes through them without any apparent impact on their structural soundness.
But they hadn’t been shot at on the way down, they hadn’t had the ship eaten away by some invisible machines, and their engines hadn’t mysteriously failed. By all visible evidence, the planet below was safe.
They touched down on a street wider than half of Canterlot, if you could even call it a street. They were at the top of what was obviously a nested honeycomb of traffic, with things that looked like rail lines and tubes interspersed with what might’ve been walkways and sections for cars. The cars themselves were nowhere to be seen, however, as though the entire surface had been vacuumed clean. There were no trains or crashed aircraft either. Nothing that could’ve had an occupant? Maybe it wasn’t attacked so much as evacuated. After the attack that had ruined it, perhaps?
She finally released her hooves from the controls, turning to Applejack. “I realize it’s a risk. But I also realize that our friend—that probe—is the entire reason for this mission. We wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for its race. They gave us the technology for interstellar travel, they invited us here.”
Applejack raised an annoyed hoof. “Don’t need to tell me none. I get it. I didn’t argue that much, did I?” That was subjective, so Twilight supposed it couldn’t technically be a lie. As much as her annoyance wouldn’t be in any hurry to admit the spacer hadn’t argued. “I’m just sayin’ we’re putting ourselves in danger. It’s possible that landing here like we did will wake things up. Or if not this, then walkin’ around. Whoever is controlling that probe… assuming it’s the Signalers… does it seem right they’d be so sharp? I dunno, just don’t feel right.”
“We’ll take a small team,” Twilight said, without hesitation. She’d already been thinking about it on the way down. “Myself and one other pony. Landing again might be tricky for any pilot but me, but…”
“I won’t crash yer pretty ship,” Applejack interrupted. “Worked hard enough to get her back, just wouldn’t be right.”
“I wasn’t suggesting you would!” Twilight put up both hooves defensively. “Anyway, I’m planning on just taking one of you. The other two can wait on the Prospector here—either to mount a rescue if we need it, or to fly away if it’s clear we… won’t come back.”
“Makes sense I guess. We’d have to be crazy to go in if we thought there was danger, but… no sign of anything still alive yet. What about the sensors?”
Twilight leaned in to examine them, and her eyes went wide. There was a powerful energy reading coming from almost directly below them. Far enough that her mouth hung open. The sensors gave her an estimate for the size of the EM reading, probably wildly wrong, at a reactor size of a Faust Class Capital Carrier. Through all that metal? It might be ten times as large. A hundred times.
“There’s something awake down there,” she said, pointing at the screen. Applejack wasn’t trained in this kind of sensor manipulation, but she could read a number.
Applejack whistled. “Well I’ll be. If that was a bomb, just imagine the size of the hole it would leave up here.”
“Or… maybe it’s just part of the planet! City this big must’ve needed a lot of energy, right? Maybe one of the power plants is still running! A working power plant could be a… shelter! For the survivors the probe wants us to meet!”
“That’s an awful lot of what ifs.” Applejack shook her head. “But it’s why we’re here. Guess the only thing left is to talk to Fluttershy, huh?”
They found her with Pinkie Pie, having a quiet conversation over a pot of tea. Fluttershy had prepared it, and judging by the open container on the table between them, Pinkie Pie had just had her daily medication. Much milder than what she’d been on before—she only looked relaxed now, instead of completely spaced. “We’re here,” she announced. “You… probably felt it when we came down.”
Fluttershy nodded, gesturing to the tea. “Want any?”
Twilight nodded and took a cup. She sipped, and found the flavor surprisingly refreshing despite its age. Tea did better in storage than many other rations, which was why it made up so much of their supply. “Thank you.” She kept her ears alert for any sounds from outside—the ground shifting under them, the motion-tracker alarm. But there was nothing, just the wind-down of the thrusters and the steady hum of the ventilator.
A few hours later, Fluttershy finally left her makeshift laboratory corner, looking resolved. “Well… looks like it’s safe. Same as the other site, except there’s less plant material. But since it takes time to run a culture, anyone who goes out there will do it under respiration and full decontamination both ways. In thirty days I can see how the culture’s doing, then maybe we lift the rules.”
“Fine,” Twilight rose to her hooves, tapping one against the metal to get everypony’s attention. “I’ve been thinking, and I’ve decide who’s coming with me on our first field mission. It’s…”
1. Applejack. “This is obviously a city, which might be filled with any number of unknown devices. If we’re going to interpret the clues to what happened here, I need an engineer.”
2. Fluttershy. “Nothing will give us more opportunity to determine whether the planet is safe than to example a typical structure up close. The location the probe wants us to visit is just under a kilometer from here. Think of everything we might learn about the planet after traveling a distance like that.”
3. Pinkie Pie. “I think you’ve been trapped in spacecraft long enough, Pinkie. You’re the only planetborn pony awake right now, so why don’t you come with me? Some fresh air… from inside a respirator… will make you feel better.”
4. Nobody. “I’ve asked each of you to take too many risks already. From now on the only life I take into my own hooves is my own. If any of you were to be lost in the line of duty, we might never be able to return home. But me… I’m replaceable. Just don’t break the mainframe on the way home.”
(Certainty 210 required)
Stats
Page generated in 0.043 seconds
Total duration
677 users online
997,843 hits today, 2,151,698 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
First!
You got featured
https://imgur.com/a/tdBsR16
Thank god for that. That would have been a really dull way to end the series, 'Everyone dies from alien bacteria because they were stupid'.
Options 3 and 4 feel exceptionally stupid. Pinkie is still recovering and going alone... that speaks for itself. Given their surroundings both AJ and Flutters are viable researchers, and both would be able to uncover different possible hazards. Had to flip a coin on this one - voting 1 for AJ.
Not an easy decision. The tech down there is so advanced that no amount of engineering prowess seems helpful, and this region doesn't seem especially alive. I'm tempted to bring Pinkie and have twitch defenses deployed. Needless to say, Twilight going it alone seems like a truly terrible idea.
9359870
Yeah, but I don't want Pinkie to be too far away from Fluttershy right at the moment. Besides, while no amount of engineering prowess on Applejack's part may lead us to fully understand what's going on, she could provide valuable clues or guesses about what some of the tech does.
This is a hard one. From the sounds of it Aj is really the only one who could safely fly the ship so taking her would strand the other two.
Going planet-side was one of the main reasons we picked pinkie but she's currently physically (and potentially mentally) in no state to go out exploring.
Not having fluttershy around to tend to pinkie might be problematic as well.
Going alone is obviously risky as well.
I might wait a day to see some of the reasoning others will put behind their vote before deciding.
Currently im leaning towards going alone or with fluttershy.
Pinkie has absolutely no condition to travel under her own power right now, and a linguist might be helluva useful in a first (decent) contact situation, so I'll go with Fluttershy.
It's good that she is apparently doing better, but hard no on Pinkie. My gut says AJ.
I vote Fluttershy, both for the linguistics and that AJ's starting to get a bit peeved.
Speaking of which, next time we see something that boosts Morale, we should probably go for it. There is DEFINITELY an undercurrent of tension here.
Pinkie is in no condition, physical or mental, to travel, and Fluttershy has no relevant skillset for interacting with the city beyond determining whether it was safe biologically with the help of on-board facilities (which she has already done). I wish we had Rarity to take with us, or even Spike, but since we don't ...
Applejack. Let's put that dumb labor to use - she can haul the probe so that's one less thing to occupy Twilight's attention, and her engineering knowledge might come in handy examining some of that alien engineering up close.
I'm against bringing AJ. Just tired of her negativity lately.
Logic tells me bringing a drugged pony is a bad idea, but my gut says to bring Pinkie. It'll be good for her. Or it will require more physical exertion than expected and tear open some freshly healed wounds. Who can say?
...I don't think I'll listen to my gut.
Fluttershy has no downsides. I'll go with her.
...Too bad we don't have Rainbow.
Applejack. Don't know if a linguist is necessary, as the probe can translate.
Right now, leaving AJ with whoever doesn't go is a recipe for frustration. She's having a bad time of it lately. Plus, Pinkie is more in need of Fluttershy's delicate care than traipsing around an alien planet. She is still healing and recovering from cryo-sleep.
In short, option one. Take Applejack. Just be sure somepony else knows how to fly.
Right now, Pinkie Pie is the most expendable member of the crew. She comes with to be both a doozie detector and a redshirt if needed.
This is tough. I'm gonna knock out 3 and 4. Pinkie doesn't have any direct skills that we can predict might be helpful. Precondition is too vague. I also don't think Twi going alone will be effective. So between AJ and Fluttershy? I think this civilization is beyond AJ's engineering prowess, but Fluttershy has been able to translate. I say take her.
Hmm... Tough call really, though just so I have an excuse to use my DnD dice set, I'm going to roll a d20 (I know that's a bit overkill for this kind of thing but I just really want to use my dice) and let that decide for me.
…
Okay I rolled a 4, So I'm choosing Applejack for this.
I want to take both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Applejack has been such a downer this whole trip, they all just need a break from her.
Drop off the probe, have everyone eat some vegetables. That'll be good
I'd take Flutts for this. We still don't know if theres anything dangerous in the city waiting to pop out and attack.
9359986
I think all of them know how to fly at a bare minimum level - if we look at their stat pages, AJ doesn't actually have any piloting skill points. Only Twilight and Spike do, from the available ponies. So I imagine basic maneuvering/takeoff/landing is something that all of them can do. It's when things get tricky and you get an actual piloting related event or crisis when you want and actual Pilot in the seat so they have a better chance of passing the rolls.
Then again who knows how "reliable" the stat page is - Pinkie isn't listed there at all for example, and going by the page Twilight is just as weak as Fluttershy physically, so who knows how reflective of "reality" said page is :P
9360421
I'm sure everypony can do basic takeoff and landing ... stuffs. I just expect the expedition to end with, "Start the plane Jacque!".
I'm actually going to vote for Pinks here. She's still a bit rough from her bad wakeup, but it looks like the planet is safe enough and if we need a doctor from that it's too late, and we don't need a translator.
They're going to take the probe to a spot waiting for them, they don't need an engineer.
But if it's an ambush or trap then Pinks is the best bet to get out of it alive.
The problem with taking AJ is what if there's something Spike can't fix without her help? She maybe shouldn't be on the first reconnoiter at least just for saftey's sake from the point of view of the mission, not just the landing. Pinkie likewise, see what's out there a bit, then maybe bring the drugged crew member out, for further exploration, but not on the first time out. Fluttershy makes more sense, but if something happens to both her and Twilight can the rest of the crew, basically Spike, AJ, and Pinkie, revive the rest safely? Probably, as poor as it seems, option 4 is actually the best, or at least safest, option, though none of them are good, to be honest. This is where having an expendable Cozy Glow would have come in handy.
I don't actually expect it to win the poll, but I think Pinkie would make for the most fun story.
We need AJ to stay behind In case Spike needs her expertise over comms. I don’t really want to split patient and doctor, but Twi going alone seems like a real bad idea. Between Flutters and Pinkie, I think the morale boost and possible pinkie sense makes Ponks the choice.
Too bad Rainbow Dash isn't here for this one, but I stand by all our crew-reviving decisions so far.
I don't think Pinkie would be presented as an option without comment if it was very likely that she was still physically unfit to accompany Twilight, and I have faith in her mental recuperation. As for unlikely bad possibilities, it's not necessarily any more unlikely that Fluttershy gets caught by a situation that Pinkie could have solved instead of the other way around.
I think it's time we put that Insight skill to use.
Eh i am having a massive disconnect from the story due to few previous votes. But then again a lot of good stories have slumps you need to push through.
Applejack is naturally best choise for the initial mission, she is suspicious of the area and has technical know-how and physical endurance. Fluttershy should be in the second team once perimeter has been secured and then Pinkie Pie when things have calmed down a bit.
Also question also is why is Twilight, the most potent magical asset part of the fist mission as given? It might be way better that she is held suited up and in reserve ready to be deployed to save the ponies who first were send to establish perimeter.
Wow, we got 3 good choices. Then again they all are, aren't they?
AJ is good from an engineering standpoint.
Fluttershy is good from a first contact and communication standpoint.
Pinkie is good for her "I-Lived-on-a-Planet" experience and a Pinkie Sense standpoint.
This one was tough. AJ seems the obvious choice, except I don't know that Fluttershy or Pinkie could fly the Prospector back if things go south. I'm not so sure Fluttershy would really be that helpful on an away mission in an abandoned city (a more natural area like a forest on the other hand...) plus risking their dr. seems like a bad idea. So I went with Pinkie. She's more lucid now, hopefully enough so that her senses are working. Not an ideal pick for sure as she's still traumatized, but I think being able to help will in turn help with her healing as well.
Still, pros and cons to each. I could be persuaded for any of the choices, really.
9361050
I mean, it's probably because she is the most strongest/versatile member of the party that you might want her front and center - rather than waiting for ponies to need saving because of accidents and unforeseen circumstances, it might be better to send in someone who wouldn't end up needing rescue at all. Instead of waiting for someone to get into trouble, send someone who can best avoid trouble to begin with. Preventative being better than a cure and all that.
After all, Twilight can circumvent, ignore, escape from or power through situations (maybe even with ease depending on the exact problem) that could prove insurmountable or even deadly to any other member of their team. Or clear rubble or other blockages the fastest if that becomes an issue.
I mean, from a pure utilitarian perspective it might be best to "scout" ahead with your mooks and save your proverbial queen for the last, but for Twilight in-story these are her friends. There is no way she is going to put themselves needlessly in danger or send them into uncertain situations when, out of all of them, she is the best equipped for handling any potential uncertainty with the least amount of risk and highest chance of success.
Logic says Fluttershy would be best for contacting whatever aliens are alive out there but...
Pinkie gets my vote.
She has the true instincts for finding hidden things and (this is a big maby) if the thing that she had to kick off the ship is still around or actually came from the planet the SHE is the only one who would know and be able to tell everyone else to flee for their lives.
9359780
...Uh, yeah. That isn't exactly news, its been popping the feature box since it was published.
Fluttershy. Hooves down, or more accurately wings down. If anything goes wrong, she and Twilight can fly out of there.
Pinky!!!!! because why the hell not?
I personally, don't think Fluttershy nor Pinkie would be a good idea, as it would be best to have Fluttershy continuously monitor Pinkie's condition. Going down alone is stupid, which leaves only one real option. Well, option that would be less likely to hurt the morale of the crew. If something happens to Pinkie that Fluttershy could have stopped, you can imagine the strain it would have on the crew.
Well, that knocks out options 2-4 but option one could also be bad. If something pops up, and spike needs applejacks immediate assistance, she wouldn't be able to communicate from down on the planet. If something were to happen to spike(ships goes big boom), it would also be a strain on the crew. Each option has a risk to some degree, of harm possible, befalling someone in each, which would hurt the crew's morale.
There is no safe option, though I do see why people would pick option 1. Hell, there is no safe option I'd probably go option 1 as well.
I know this comment is way after the chapter came out, but no one ever said I could discuss past events