34.4 A Friend a Day [Part I]
Metroid Equis
Chapter 34.4
A Friend a Day [Part I]
[Twilight’s Library | Two Weeks After Crater Collapse]
Pouring rain; which meant that general activity would be impeded and dampened somewhat, but it did not particularly phase the Hunter, partly because she liked the rain, and partly because this time she did have a job to do. A Federation Dropship touched down on a grassy knoll just outside of Twilight's home and the rear hatch opened, revealing Samus clad in her Varia Suit as the only passenger. She stepped out and once her boots made contact with the soft ground beneath her, she waved the transport off, to which it immediately took flight, disappearing into the white, low-lying clouds. Samus stood there for a while and just let the rain fall on her; she really did enjoy steady downpours as they were often the only bearer of solace and soothing white noise for her troubled and stressed mind.
Cleanup efforts had officially began and Samus volunteered her expertise and her Suit's biohazard resistance capabilities to help secure and contain residual Phazon for storage... that, and she figured it was high time to stop being lazy. The Poison was absolutely useless to the Equestrians but the Federation was taking grand hauls of the substance back to the fleet. Rumor had it that they were in the process of finalizing the testing of a new armorsuit for the Federation Marine Corps, one that could be supercharged by Phazon and render the common soldier immensely more powerful and more effective against the Space Pirates. It made no difference to Samus.
Taking a deep breath, Samus exhaled and trudged towards the Library's front door, the clinking of her boots against the paved ground the only constant sound over the perpetual rainfall. She let herself in as per usual without knocking (Twilight generously insisted that, however temporary, this was her home as well until the Hunter decided otherwise) and unequipped her Suit. Taking another deep breath, letting her hair down and running her fingers through it, Samus felt a little relaxation was in order since she had been working by the Crystal Empire for quite literally half a day. First things were first, though; Samus had been thinking about Twilight not batting an eye in providing her refuge and essentially a home for about a month... her generosity was certainly not lost on the blonde-haired woman. Samus did not like just 'receiving' things that she did not necessarily feel that she earned, as she was a woman who could and would pull her own weight.
Disappearing into her room and discerning that Twilight was not around, Samus reemerged with a small sack of bits; two thousand to be precise. She also found a small piece of parchment and a pencil and stoically scribbled a little note, leaving both on the counter by the front door where the unicorn would definitely discover them upon her return.
Rent for the month. Thanks for everything so far. If you try to give this back to me at any point I'll destroy you.
-SA
With that, Samus grabbed a massive drink of water, retired back to her room, and closed the door... though she did not close it with enough force so that it latched, it instead remaining ajar. It was still early evening so she decided against having a shower right at this moment and just wanted to rest her eyes, maybe fix herself something to eat in a bit. With her tablet on the dresser, Samus laid down on her bed and pressed few buttons on her console to play some music from said tablet on shuffle. She folded her arms behind her head and breathed a sigh as she closed her eyes.
She did not know how long she was laying there, having lost track of time amid her deepening comfort, slightly mumbling along to any musical piece that had lyrics. As a result, she had not heard the front door opening, and three gentle knocks on her own slightly opened door brought her out of her cat-nap. Samus opened her eyes and paused the music, looking over to her door to find Spike peeking in.
"Oops, sorry... I'll come back later," Spike shyly said, backing out of the doorway.
"No no, it's fine. I was just power napping," Samus stated dismissively, sitting up and rubbing her eyes of any residual sleepiness. Spike nodded with slight uncertainty and stepped fully into the room.
"Whatsup?" the Hunter asked and greeted, moving to sit on the edge of her bed and face him completely, hands resting on her knees.
"Nothing really, your door was open so I thought I'd say hi. Twilight will be in Canterlot until a lot later, just to let you know," Spike replied calmly and explained. Samus nodded, spacing out slightly.
"Ah, alright."
"Well, I'm gonna make something to eat, did you want anything?” Spike asked, turning on his heel but waiting for her response.
“Ummm, sure, if you’re offering,” Samus voiced, knowing full well that Spike could cook excellently, so quite frankly the offer sounded appetizing since she had been mostly experimenting with the cuisine around Ponyville. "Need help?"
"If you want, sure," Spike replied happily, leading the way out of her room and straight into the kitchen. Samus stood up and casually strolled behind him as he peered into the refrigerator, deciding on what to possibly make for supper. The Hunter casually leaned against the counter, arms crossed, overlooking the amenity and staring off into nothingness.
"Hmmm... you can't eat gems, can you?" Spike asked, looking over his shoulder and up to the intrigued girl.
"Gems...?" Samus asked with her left brow raised. "You mean like, ‘diamonds, emeralds... sapphires’ kind of gems?"
“Yeah. I’m guessing you can’t?”
"No, definitely not. I value my teeth," Samus asserted accompanied with a shake of her head, though a bemused expression still clearly etched on her face. The idea also reminded her that she could probably use a check up for her teeth. She’d ask later about a dentist.
"Fair enough... how’s spaghetti sound?” Spike asked once more, offering yet another option. Samus pursed her lips pensively for a few moments, mulling over that idea in her head. To her, it sounded like quite a nice option. She’d be eating well tonight.
“I’m fine with that,” Samus confirmed with slightly observable excitement, moving next to Spike so she could potentially help him with things to carry. Spike fished out the ingredients and Samus took them from him, placing them on the counters. Closing the fridge, he quickly moved to the pantry and climbed up the shelves, grabbing the noodles. Again, Samus was there to take them from his possession so he could get himself down safely. Reiterating from before, that was certainly one thing Spike really liked about the blonde-haired Hunter: she never patronized him nor treated him like a child.
“This everything?” she asked, organizing the ingredients neatly on the counter. Spike joined her, pushing a stool so he could stand and look over the counter.
“It… looks like it!”
“Cool. What are we doing first?” she asked eagerly. For some reason, the idea of cooking with Spike sounded entertaining… that or the promise of good food was clouding her mind.
“First, we make the sauce, then we boil the noodles, serve it all, clean up, then we eat!” Spike listed out the process, collecting the first necessary ingredients to prepare sauce.
“Sounds good to me. What do you need me to do?”
As he had stated, the first thing to do was to prepare the sauce, which would usually be most of the process of making spaghetti but they opted to use a red sauce concentrate and add their own spices and other ingredients. Samus did have some knowledge of advanced cooking which was imparted to her by the Chozo but certain skills like that were often pushed aside in favor of battle training and formal education. As such, Spike had to show her more efficient ways of cutting vegetables and spices in particular fashions, among other things. Samus did not mind in the slightest though, as she had to admit she was having a good time. Spike, to her pleasant surprise, was great company and quite well spoken, though she immediately attributed that to Twilight rigorously educating him. After about twenty-five minutes, a decent-sized pot of sauce was ready and they placed it on the stovetop to heat and simmer. Samus could already tell it was going to be good just by the way the powerful smell of the spices wafted around her nose.
“Alright now we just let that heat up and we’ll start on the noodles,” Spike stated, moving his stool over and fishing out the rigid, dry noodles from their box. He was debating if he should break them in half or use them at their full length.
“What’s on your mind?” Samus asked, noticing Spike internally debating about something. Her thumb wiped off a drop of red sauce that happened to find itself on her cheek.
“We’re gonna need a pot of water for these.”
“Well yeah, unless you have another way of cooking noodles. Where do you keep them?” she asked in return, kneeling in front of the appropriate section of cabinets and looking back at him for direction.
“Bottom left… but how long we want the noodles will determine the size of the pot we need...” Spike continued to muse, Samus looking to him as he made up his mind. Fortunately, he did it quicker rather than not.
“Let’s do long. We’ll need the largest pot that’s all the way in the back there,” he called out, looking over his shoulder. Samus was already anticipating that, having gotten onto her knees and retrieved the appropriate cookware.
“Way ahead of ya.”
The noodles did not take very long to finish, but with Spike’s experience in cooking the dish, the timing in which they set the two pots on the stove ensured that sauce and noodles were ready to serve at the same time. The unlikely duo procured two bowls, one for the sauce and one for the noodles, and set the table. They filled the two used pots with water to aid in the washing process later on, and with how hungry they were, it did not take long to serve themselves and begin feasting.
“This is good…” Samus felt compelled to comment in between bites, slurping on the noodles on her fork. Her own plate contained an enormous portion of noodles completely drenched in sauce. As soon as she finished speaking she dove in for more. Spike, as well, was quite pleased with the outcome of their meal.
“I’ll say! This came out pretty well! Nothing fancy but gets the job done,” Spike agreed, having a bowl of crushed gems by his main plate. The two continued to eat in comfortable silence, metal forks banging against ceramic plates as well as the occasional slurping of noodles being the only sounds that occupied the Library.
“Thanks, by the way,” Samus stated stoically yet gratefully.
“Hey, you helped me. So we made this,” Spike pointed out, a fact that the Hunter could not argue, yet she still felt that the dragon bore most of the work, so she flashed him a friendly grin nonetheless. Soon enough, the two finished their meals and were sure to leave Twilight a nice portion for when she returned, storing it in the refrigerator. After washing the dishes together in again, comfortable silence, the two walked out into the common room ready to most likely part ways for the night.
“Well, that was fun, but I’m exhausted… I think I’ll go to bed,” Spike said with an accompanying yawn, rubbing one of his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Yeah, that was nice. I’ll probably have a shower before retiring though,” Samus agreed. Spike looked up at her with a mischievous smirk.
“So that’s what that smell was…” he commented with playful sarcasm, Samus riposting with a look of playful incredulity.
“Oh you’re hilarious, you know that?” she spoke dryly but donned a small smirk nonetheless. The two shared a gentle chuckle before silence reigned once more, though slightly awkward this time around.
I like this kid.
“Well, goodnight Samus,” Spike bid her farewell for the evening, walking to his room while looking and waving at her.
“Goodnight, Spike,” she replied… though oddly, she felt almost compelled to do something. Samus could not put her finger on what it was but her body was telling her to physically act on something.
As Spike left though, she opted to ignore the feeling, which eventually went away. Removing her Zero Suit, she readied a shower before Twilight eventually came home. After speaking for a few minutes, the two both mutually agreed that it was a long day and sleep was in order. Though neither of them knew of the other, they both read themselves to sleep, Twilight slumping into her book and Samus’s tablet laying next to her when she drifted off.
[Ponyville | The Next Day]
It had continued to rain throughout the night but the following few days were scheduled to be partly cloudy and definitely hotter in temperature. Samus did not particularly mind, as she was more impressed with the fact that weather could almost be perfectly predicted because it was ‘manufactured.’ She had found it extraordinarily odd to attach such a description to the weather but then again, she had been through weirder.
When Twilight eventually returned later the previous evening, Samus had inquired about a dentist. While her altered genetic makeup gave her bones, muscles, cartilage, and overall, entire body much more resilience to deterioration and disease, it did not mean she was invincible. She was still very capable of getting sick (especially due to any unfamiliar diseases that could potentially be passed to her on Equis) or in this specific case, tooth decay. Fortunately, Twilight was able to point her in the right direction immediately, and Samus vowed to go the next day.
The Zero Suit-clad Hunter was laid back on a dentist’s patient’s chair, though it was much smaller due to it being used to accommodating ponies. This was remedied by adding a normal chair at the end so her legs could stretch out. Her eyes stared at the ceiling as Colgate, the resident unicorn dentist of Ponyville, peered into Samus’s open mouth with a mirror and a scraper in her magical grasp. She scrutinized every tooth, noting the differences between ponies’ dental makeup and that of the human woman laying in front of her. All the while, after the basic lookover was done, Colgate worked to scrape away any residual material from on and between Samus’s teeth.
After a final rinse and spit, Colgate placed her tools back on her tray and moved out of Samus’s personal space.
“Alright that’ll do it, Miss Aran. You’re good to go!” she stated happily. Clearly there was nothing to worry about. Samus sat up and bit at the air a few times to loosen up her jaw from being open for so long.
“What’s the damage?”
“Perfect teeth! For a profession such as yours, you’ve still managed to take amazing care of those pearly whites. I must say I’m very impressed,” the Colgate genuinely complimented. Samus gave a half-smirk in return. “How do you find the time?”
Genetic engineering.
“I make time. The last thing I need is a toothache when I’m deployed… anyway, thank you Doctor,” Samus thanked, standing up and stretching her arms out. That was one important thing that she was glad she took care of.
“Anytime! Thank you for letting me perform dental work on the first human! Come find me if you have any issues with your teeth.”
“You got it, Doc. What do I owe you?” Samus asked, reaching for the bag of bits she was carrying on her hip.
“Please, call me Colgate. And nothing, actually. Checking the information provided to me, it appears all medical costs you may incur are covered by the Crown,” Colgate informed with her own perfect smile. Samus was a little surprised at that revelation but she shrugged it off. She’d speak with the Princesses later and inform them that, while appreciated, that was not necessary.
“I see… Well, thanks again anyway, Colgate,” Samus said, bidding the blue mare farewell and exiting the practice completely. Stretching her back out and yawning once the high-noon sun graced her skin, she started off back to Twilight’s Library. Today was the day that Twilight wished to take Samus up on her offer to examine the information afforded to her on her tablet, if only just to learn more about the universe around them. Samus really was not too sure where the mare wanted to start as the sheer volume of the wealth of information was nigh inconceivable. To prevent possible ‘sensory overload,’ Samus felt that it would be in both parties’ best interest to constrain what was available for her to look at: her logbook would suffice.
After a quick meander through town and picking up a quick snack, Samus arrived back at the Library, letting herself in and gingerly ducking under the usual low doorframe. Twilight had been catching up on some reading and was quick to intercept her at the door, but before she could even utter a word out of her excitable mouth, Samus cut her off with a raised palm and a calm voice:
“Yes, Twilight, let me get the tablet.”
“Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes yes!” Twilight exclaimed repeatedly and gleefully, bouncing around the center of the common room like a little child. Samus shook her head with a smirk as she made her way to her room. The first thing she did was unholster her Paralyzer and lock it in the small case with her assault rifle. She quickly located her tablet on the dresser and brought it back out with her into the common room, finding the unicorn still bouncing up and down.
“Alright alright…” Samus voiced in an attempt to calm her down somewhat, dragging two pillows over for them to sit on. Twilight immediately plopped down next to Samus and the latter brought up her logbook.
“So, this is my logbook archiving lore, history, creatures, and pretty much everything I could scan in my adventures from when I left my second home-planet for the first time, to today,” Samus said, displaying an entire, beautifully archived web of files.
“Awesome… but how does this contraption work?”
“Think of a book that you can touch to perform actions,” Samus tried to explain, but that only caused Twilight to look at her weirdly.
“Ummm… I can touch a book to turn the page though.”
“Not like that... okay here, let me show you,” Samus replied, showing her exactly how to make precision touches with her fingers in order to manipulate the device display. Of course, Twilight used the tips of her hooves to replicate but any multi-fingered gestures required her to be a little innovative, necessitating the creation of a very mild force spell to apply pressure to the tablet screen. It worked out rather well, and Twilight was less enamored by the advanced piece of technology in front of her due to the desire to learn about… pretty much everything.
“Okay okay ummm… I don’t even know where to start!” Twilight exclaimed energetically while looking over the categories of which she could explore. Both laid on their stomachs with the tablet between them, though Twilight retained control of it.
“There’s a ‘random entry’ command if that helps. It’s on the top left,” Samus pointed out the function to the lavender mare, who magically pressed it without question. The random entry that was generated happened to be of the Chozo.
“Wow… getting into some deep stuff already,” Samus commented, but Twilight had already blocked her out as she was reading as fast as her brain could absorb the new information. Samus tried to keep pace with where the unicorn’s eyes were roaming, but said eyes were just widening in revelation at all the documented achievements of this society. After a few minutes of she reading and Samus looking on with some amusement, Twilight looked up to face the Hunter.
“I know you said that you’re part Chozo… it says there they have a language, do you know it?”
“A little rusty but still fluent, yes,” Samus replied. With that, Twilight willed some paper and a pencil into existence.
“Show me!” she nearly demanded, eager to see and hear this new language. The Hunter was taken aback by Twilight’s forwardness and the oddities of her stopping on the lingual aspect of the Chozo society but, this was her time to spend as she pleased, and Samus did like the unicorn’s company.
“Uhhhh, sure I guess. Let’s start with the alphabet,” Samus began, taking the pencil in her hand and beginning to write down the ‘letters’ with their corresponding enunciations. Everytime Samus spoke, Twilight repeated in kind, as if she was the student and the Hunter the tutor. As time went on, Samus had to admit that she was impressed with the unicorn’s ability to remember and memorize… though she was by no means able to replicate a perfect ‘accent’ (since the Chozo language was quite guttural in nature), she was doing fairly well for a first learner. Still, Samus had no intention nor the desire to teach her the language, and after a few basic phrases, Twilight wished to explore further.
She generated another random entry.
“Hmmmm… Grenchlers,” Twilight read the top of the entry before looking to Samus.
God, and then there’s these assholes.
“Ah, think of a menacing reptile that could walk on two legs and could shoot electricity at you. Also, the bastards traveled in pairs. They were… annoying,” the Hunter added her commentary in. Twilight grimaced slightly at the animation of one of said creatures and read on a little more in depth.
“Interesting…” Twilight spoke after about two minutes, generating another random entry.
“Adam Malkovich?” Twilight read out loud, again, looking for Samus’s commentary before she read on further. Samus, for her part, retained a completely stoic demeanor devoid of any emotion, staring at the table for what seemed like half a minute.
Really now…
“Adam Malkovich… a General in the Galactic Federation Army and an old officer-slash-mentor of mine when I did some service in said army. We got on fairly well, though we’ve been out of contact since I left the formal military,” Samus explained somewhat vaguely.
“Sounds like you two have some history together,” Twilight remarked, always seemingly interesting in what Samus had to say, no matter what.
“You could say that.”
“Romantic?” the unicorn inquired seriously, no teasing inflection detectable at all.
“Nooooo,” Samus replied with great tonal emphasis and shaking her head. “He was more of, as I said, a mentor and dare I say, a friend. I was a lot younger then and I looked up to him.”
Twilight generated another entry.
“War Wasps…”
“You read that one yourself, I’m sure you’ll like what you see,” Samus alluded, Twilight turning back and diligently taking in all the information the Hunter was able to log in her encounters with the insect. Twilight’s neutral gaze slowly turned into a grimace.
“‘...stinger that can shear steel.’ That is bucking horrifying…”
“It’s not even the worst I’ve ever seen… nature can be pretty scary sometimes,” Samus remarked.
“You mentioned something about ‘Dark Samus.’ What did you mean by that?” Twilight asked, recalling a little bit of information that Samus had shared before they and the girls got lost to alcohol.
“I do owe you a little explanation, huh? Alright, story time,” Samus affirmed, moving her tablet in front of her to pull up the necessary entries, Twilight watching the screen intently.
“I guess I’ll start from the beginning. About eight months ago, I was sent to investigate a derelict Space Pirate vessel orbiting a planet known as Tallon IV,” the Hunter began, showing Twilight a picture of the planet and its essential characteristics such as location, climate, etc. “It turns out they were performing some interesting experiments with the Phazon which went to hell, and after getting to the planet’s surface and foiling their operations, I found something that the Chozo had left behind.”
Samus brought up pictures of the Chozo Ruins on Tallon IV taken straight from visor snapshots.
“What was it?” Twilight asked, never once tearing her eyes away from images in front of her, keen on letting Samus tell her a visual story, and tell the story she did. Samus was not entirely sure how much into detail Twilight wanted to go, but upon asking, the unicorn wished to know everything. Thus, it took a great deal of effort to wrap the ideas of the Chozo ‘ascending to an alternate plane of reality, some being pulled back by the chaos the Phazon was causing when it smashed into the planet, and them leaving tools behind for Samus to deliver the planet from evil.’ After explaining about the Turned, the Cipher, Ridley, and finding Metroid Prime, Twilight wanted to ensure she was understanding things properly.
“Okay, so you collected the twelve artifacts for the Cipher, thought you defeated Ridley, and found Metroid Prime, the mutated metroid that the Chozo had prophesied was born of the Phazon core… right?”
“Right,” Samus confirmed, bringing up more pictures of Metroid Prime herself, both with the exoskeleton and in ‘head-form.’ “Once I defeated her, the crater began collapsing much like it did here, but in her last dying breath, she snagged onto me and literally tore the Phazon Suit off of me, leaving me in my Gravity Suit. It was of no loss and I was able to escape. It turns out though, she used my Phazon suit to regenerate herself. She became the Dark Samus I met on Aether, where I went to later.”
“So Dark Samus was Metroid Prime in your Phazon Suit?” Twilight inquired, again, making sure she had all of her facts straight.
“Yeah, but scans also detected my genetic material within her, meaning that she was also able to rebuild herself around my DNA, which makes sense since she had my suit; my suit is partially organic in nature and genetically connected to me,” Samus continued to lecture, going into her adventures on Aether and her encounters with her dark alter-ego. Samus had to admit that she never thought she would be talking almost passionately about her adventures, but then again, even though Twilight’s question only revolved around Dark Samus, the unicorn was still genuinely interested in Samus’s endeavors; Samus had never been asked to essentially tell a story before, so she really did not have a baseline.
Once again, Twilight was completely floored at the prospect of a planet being in interdimensional flux… she’d be writing a lot to Celestia in her next report.
“... and by the time Emperor Ing was defeated and the final planetary energy drained, Dark Aether began to collapse. Of course, right before I would’ve made a prompt escape, Dark Samus revealed herself yet again and blocked my path… though she had absorbed so much Phazon that she was deteriorating and highly unstable, moreso than usual. Her helmet was gone and a very familiar face made itself known...” Samus continued, neither she nor Twilight sure of how much time had passed.
“And that's when you truly realized it was Metroid Prime, right?" Twilight interjected.
“You connect dots pretty well, Twilight…” Samus admitted, culminating her story as to the origin of Dark Samus and why, exactly, she was the worst creature that the Hunter had ever encountered. Twilight appeared to agree whole-heartedly.
“Well, at least Dark Samus is gone, right?” Twilight asked rhetorically after hearing the grand tale, stretching out on her giant pillow before getting up to quench her thirst with some water. Samus silently agreed, pursing her lips and nodding as she stared off into the ceiling. That was one chapter that she’d rather not experience in any similar fashion in the future.
“Yeah... She’s definitely gone.”
She vaporized in a collapsing alternate dimension, there’s no way she got out of there. If she survived I’m going to lose my shit.
Samus rose to her feet and stretched out as well, following Twilight into the kitchen for some nourishment before returning to their ‘ground pillows,’ swapping reading material: Samus taking some books off Twilight’s shelf while allowing the unicorn to continue exploring her logbook.
[Carousel Boutique | Three Days Later…]
The ‘study session’ three days prior went quite nicely, and when they decided to culminate with silent reading, Samus knew for a fact that Twilight would never be irritating company. Both valued silence in the most optimum conditions and few words were exchanged as the two read on into the night. It was not awkward in the slightest, however, which was always nice. One-on-one time provided the perfect opportunity for Samus to unwind with a friend. Overall, a pleasant and successful day.
She was still getting used to the title of ‘friend’ for these ponies, even though she had accepted the idea as fact.
Samus hoped that Rarity did not have anything too energy-intensive planned for the day, as she got absolutely no sleep the night before. Right before she drifted off, Twilight screamed bloody murder from her room and Samus instinctively jumped into action. She burst through Twilight’s door, Varia Suit equipped and arm cannon drawn assuming the worst… only to find Twilight had woken up from a terrible trauma-induced nightmare. Samus spent the greater part of the rest of the night comforting and watching over her so she could feel safe and drift back to sleep.
“Good morning, Darling! Thank you so much for joining me today,” Rarity sang out as she let Samus into her home and shop. The alabaster unicorn wished to see the Hunter for an unspecified reason and since Samus did not have anything to do on that particular day, she saw no reason not to see one of her friends, even if she was somewhat tired.
“Sure. What did you have in mind for today?” The Zero Suit-clad Hunter asked as she looked down upon the unicorn standing next to her. The mare was beaming with anticipation.
“Well, Samus, today we’re going to have a splendid time—”
“I’m not trying on any dresses,” Samus interrupted, but Rarity shook her head.
“Oh I know, dear, you made that perfectly clear last time. Which is why I’m treating you to an all inclusive spa-day!” Rarity exclaimed with her omnipresent, beaming smile and a spark in her eyes. Samus, on her part, definitely did not expect that, though given Rarity's nature, probably should have.
“Ummmm... I'm not so sure about that.”
“Oh come on now, I insist!” Rarity exclaimed, dismissing Samus’s reservations. She lead the Hunter outside and closed the door behind them, leading the way towards the spa. Samus fell into step next to the gorgeous unicorn, both facing forward and walking at a comfortable pace and bathing in the warmth of Celestia’s Sun. Samus spoke up again:
“You have to understand, Rarity, the Chozo raised me for battle… gender social constructs were not emphasized that much.”
“What do you mean, dear?” Rarity asked, wishing for elaboration. “Do you not think you’re beautiful?”
“Again, it’s not really that it’s just…” Samus was struggling to figure out how to put her apathy for the whole ‘beauty’ and ‘fashion’ situation into words. “I’m female. I harbor all the traits. I identify as woman… a girl. I know that well enough and abide by what was imparted to me from my parents and caretakers… but simply put, I was never raised to put any emphasis on my physical appearance other than what is most basic. I was raised for battle, not beauty,” Samus explained.
“And yet you maintain a gorgeous figure,” Rarity pointed out. The two turned down another street, a few ponies waving their way as well as the occasional human that had found themselves there.
“So? Firstly, that’s subjective, and secondly, it’s a necessity. My line of work demands top-notch physical ability and naturally, I have a body to show for it. For my work, not for beauty. Practicality,” Samus countered. Of course, being trained rigorously from such a young age would ensure that her musculature was sculpted to near-perfection. Rarity seemed to take this point to heart.
“Fair point I suppose, but are you meaning to tell me that you have never once even thought of yourself as beautiful?”
“I don’t think you’re grasping the idea that I’ve never needed, except on one or two covert missions in the past, to care about beauty nor how I come across to others physically in a noncombat situation. Consider this: I used to wear green and beige cargo-pants and a military vest over my Zero Suit in my Federation Army days… while I had short hair. I simply don’t care,” Samus elaborated, Rarity scowled at the idea of those colors clashing with said Suit, which brought her attention to the garment.
“On that note, your skin-tight clothing certainly draws more than a fair share of gazes from mares and stallions alike. Does that not count for something?” Rarity asked, still not fathoming the idea of this woman not wanting to look her best. Samus flashed an incredulous side-glance at the alabaster mare.
“No. I’m in a skin-tight suit which clearly accentuates T and A; I know people stare at me. It’s for aerodynamic purposes in battle when I’m without my Suit. Again, practicality.” Samus again hammered home stoically. Rarity looked back up at her with a bemused expression.
“T and A?”
“Human female curvature,” Samus corrected herself, Rarity able to understand the image being conveyed after surveying the Hunter’s figure once. Focusing on where she was walking, Samus spied a small building that said ‘Spa’ on it, and based on her acute sense of observation, she sarcastically concluded with near certainty that this was their destination.
“Well, Samus, we’ll have to discuss this more when the treatment starts but please, I assure you all will be well and you shan’t be violated in any way, shape, or form,” Rarity began on a micro-lecture as the duo entered into the establishment, the unicorn quickly signing them in.
“You may be right,” she continued immediately. “You may never have a need to look absolutely stunning in the slightest, but take it from me, all ponies, no matter where they are or what they do, enjoy looking their best at least once in a while… it does the individual morale wonders.”
“Alright fine, I’ll try your ‘spa treatment’ but if I don’t want to do something specific I’m not doing it. Deal?” Samus asked almost rhetorically, clarifying her stance on the matter. At that moment, Aloe and Lotus, the ‘spa twins,’ beckoned the odd couple in.
“Deal,” Rarity agreed with complete confidence, a self-assured smirk plastered on her mug. After introducing themselves, the twins gave the Hunter the basic rundown of the treatment which included a deep massage, a mineral bath, and a sauna. At first glance nothing struck Samus as too weird since the Chozo had their own forms of massages and soothing baths but then again, this whole spa experience was admittedly quite new… an unfamiliar feeling took hold of her as a result and she was not particularly fond of it. The whole idea of getting… pampered just seemed off to Samus.
The massage came first, and after stripping down, letting her hair down, and laying on an extended massage table, Samus got a first-hand experience at what hooves felt like against her skin and muscles. To say that she was surprised would be a gross understatement. Inherently, the idea was that hands and fingers would be able to massage deeper and with more precision than hooves, a flat, often planar appendage, could. What made the difference was the strength of earth ponies as well as her general misconceptions being plain wrong.
“Jeeeesus~” Samus spoke involuntarily as Aloe, one of the spa twins, undid a particularly massive knot in the girl's left upper back. The Hunter could feel every single knot of her entire life whittling away under this mare’s expert hooves. Lotus was taking care of Rarity on the table parallel to her.
“How are you feeling, Samus?” Rarity called out, completely relaxed as there were not many knots in her own muscles; she came to the spa frequently, after all.
“Actually quite incredible, at least here…” Samus admitted, coming to terms with the fact that Aloe was working some magic on her lats. The warm, almost ‘tickling’ sensation radiating outward each time a knot was undone was bringing an unintentional, lazy smile to her face.
“Miss Aran, the number of knots you have in this back of yours is nothing short of astounding!” Aloe commented, working her hooves deeper into the middle of Samus’s right lat muscle, the Hunter twitching and flexing involuntarily at the contact points.
“Yeah… maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea,” Samus, again, admitted. Before Rarity could bring up another point, Aloe beat her to it:
“Miss Aran, your body type is that of a soldier, so smooth, chiseled in musculature, and dare I say beautiful… said muscles need to be unwound once in a while to help remain nimble! That’s crucial for you!”
It was true, and she could already feel her traps and lats becoming much looser as Aloe worked her way down to her lower back. It was a little weird for her when the mare worked down her buttocks and her legs but that sense of awkwardness wore off when those muscles, as well, became positively relaxed and unwound. Samus would refuse to admit it, but she felt that the massage ended too early when she and Rarity were directed to the mineral bath. There, the two opted to relax and just enjoy the hot mineral water around their sensitive, post-massage muscles in silence.
After relaxing their eyes and letting the minerals sink deep into the skin and hair (and in Rarity’s case, her coat), the two were again transferred, this time to the sauna.
“The mineral bath certainly did wonders for your skin, Samus,” Rarity commented, giving the seated Hunter a once-over. Her skin definitely seemed a small shade lighter and more ‘vibrant.’ On Samus’s end, running her fingers up her forearms confirmed that her skin was much smoother as well.
“I suppose so. I’ll admit that it wasn’t so bad...”
“Trust me, Samus. You may not care but you’re going to look just marvelous for anypony who catches your eye!” Rarity exclaimed eagerly, imagining the final product when this whole treatment was over. Samus looked to her oddly.
“Catches my eye?”
“Oh darling, a significant other! A special somepony!”
“Oh… no. I don’t have one nor intend to have one,” Samus stated resolutely much to Rarity’s chagrin.
“I beg your pardon?!” the unicorn asked, completely astounded. Samus found some sense of humor in the unicorn's overreaction.
“I’ve told you what I do for a living. As such, I don’t have the time, the patience, nor the will to hold down a partner; and quite frankly, it doesn’t appeal to me,” Samus stated in her usual, stoic manner, wiping off some of the sweat that was accumulating on her forehead.
“But what about when you retire? What about a family?” Rarity asked, this time much more calmly, though Samus’s response only raised more questions than answers:
“The day I retire will most likely be the day I get killed, and no. I don’t want a family of my own nor would I be able to even if I did.”
“Even if you did? I do apologize if I’m prying, Samus, but what do you mean by that?” she inquired, facing the Hunter completely on her haunches as her own sweat continued to soak her coat.
“If I’m understanding what you’re asking, the answer is that I can’t have children,” Samus stated bluntly, Rarity blinking a few times at the implication.
“So you’re…”
“Infertile. Yes,” the Hunter admitted nonchalantly with a corresponding nod of her head, as if she was speaking of something technical rather than personal, which completely threw Rarity for a loop.
“Oh my…” Rarity uttered with a hoof over her mouth, feeling she had stepped on a mine or brought up something Samus did not want to talk about. The blonde-haired woman, though, did not seem to mind in the slightest, seemingly quite unphased.
“Don’t worry, Rarity, I’m not offended. But to answer the question burning a hole through your head, when I was infused with my caretaker’s DNA, the process granted me the ability to survive a harsh environment I’d need to be inhabiting, as well as augmenting my own physical abilities as a human. One side-effect in becoming a hybrid, though, was that it killed my reproductive ability,” Samus explained analytically. Rarity, however, still looked horrified that she even stumbled upon such a private detail despite Samus’s reassurance that all was well.
“I’m… And this doesn’t bother you, Dear?”
Samus merely shook her head.
“Nope. At least, I’ve never felt that it has to this point. In fact, I could argue that being barren and whatever other side-effects have had a silver lining: I don’t get a menstrual cycle.”
“I see… well, e-either way, Samus, I still stand by what I said earlier: looking one’s best every now and then does the morale wonders,” Rarity added on a much lighter note, backing off from the previous discussion and suddenly finding the tips of her hooves rather interesting. Samus shrugged indifferently at the sudden change in topic and faced forward once more, allowing the sweat to pour down her face uninhibited.
“If you say so. Thanks for today, by the way,” Samus said, expressing her gratitude and glancing over to her with a friendly smirk. Rarity looked up and returned the expression in kind, gently nodding her head as she flipped a sweat-laden lock of hair off of her horn.
“Of course, Samus. You of all ponies deserve every bit of it.”
The duo silently enjoyed the remainder of the sauna experience in a somewhat awkward atmosphere but soon enough, the conversation picked back up and no ill will was to be had… though Samus never even considered that to begin with. Once the entire treatment ended and the Hunter got back into her Zero Suit, she had to admit that her overall complexion did seem to brighten somewhat: her skin was definitely cleaner and smoother. The greatest change for her though, was how much more nimble she felt due to the new looseness in her muscles. Upon exiting the spa, Samus immediately performed a full circular back-bend, ending back on her feet, before backflipping just to feel any potential difference.
It definitely felt marginally easier. What Samus did not breathe a word about, however, was when she returned to Twilight’s library for the evening: she spared a second glance at herself in passing a mirror and gave herself a quick once-over before bed.
Samus would neither confirm nor deny that she was content with what she saw.
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Ah, The elephant has been let out of the room. The bit of lore that Other M hinted at multiple times.
5922569 In all of its glory lol
Best answer ever.
I must say, i like the turn this took. I especially liked Spike's section, and the spa session felt very "Rarity and Rainbow at the spa" right at first.
Is that bit about being infertile canon? If so...hmm...that's going to be an interesting point for...one of my own projects.
5922660 There's no mention of Samus being barren or not, though evidence points to yes. I think it's implied, rather, but I've found no traces of canon indicating a yes or no; rather a 'most likely that is the case' and it makes sense when you pull everything together. So, your future projects may not be affected at all.
Dark Samus on Norion: Dark Aether was just a setback!
Samus: ...What.
Another great chapter for a great story
5922680
Well, given the whole hullabaloo made of "the baby" in Other M, signs point to likely.
I ask because it would give a new dimension to my planned story "Another Hatchling".
New ship, i want to see Spike and Samus get together.
5922727 Ahhh so you are going through with that.
I look forward to reading it ! It does give an interesting dynamic
5922765
Although to cover it being "MLP" enough, I think I'll have to start with what is normally the last chapter and then retell the whole story as a flashback.
...then again, by the time I start that one, I'm pretty sure telling people it ends with the adopted displaced character and their parental unit going back to Equestria together will be a spoiler for no one.
Translation: Samus for "Damn, I look fine."
5922782 Dude, not gonna lie, but you have a LOT of unfinished projects going on. the displaced things, Dragon Re-quest, and MLT to name a few. So, starting a new story doesn't seem like the best idea to me. But, hey. That's just me
SpikAmus is now OTP. All of my yis.
5922818
It's part of the Adopted Displaced sequence. It will get started after one gets finished.
Speaking of, Batmare Beyond just got complete status.
You just saved the planet and millions of lives, I think you have earned a lot more than living rent free in your friend's house Samus.
5922699 26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpocigPTuc1qcf25xo1_500.jpg
I've always believed that Samus is incapable of reproducing. Even if she isn't infertile, her DNA is probably altered enough that her eggs are far enough away from being human that they have gametic isolation.
Also, a small error:
You used a variation of "way ahead of you" twice in a row. This looks bad, because it's like saying everything that you're doing as you're doing it.
5922569
Stop right there. We don't say that name around here.
Also, something I forgot to mention; I know you've shown her working on her new ship, but I (personally) would love it if you went a bit deeper. Even if it's just her saying "missiles... It should definitely have missiles this time."
5922749
5922820
5923139 Addressing both comments here.
1) Yes, thank you for pointing that out. My bad habit of accidentally repeating myself. I'll get on that.
2) Oh definitely, there's going to be some scenes of Samus checking on it's status and inspecting it when it's eventually delivered. It won't just suddenly show up... it's kind of a big part of her tale
5923139 yeah no.................... ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO SHIP SAMUS WITH ANYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Spike and Samus in the kitchen together was awesome, I love how they worked together to make the pasta. The reading session with Twilight and then Samus watching over her after she woke up screaming from that nightmare was a nice moment. Samus may not be able to have kids... but her reaction to the Hatchling proves she still has the instinct for it. Heaven help the next timberwolf, Hydra, or Manticore to menace Ponvyille.
5922727 5922765 I want to read this to!!!!!
5923420 She may have an instinct for it which I fully acknowledge but how they executed that instinct was comparable to war crimes. Gonna 'tweak' that bit when I reference the idea in Equis II. Glad you enjoyed though!
5923439 Looking forward to it!
5923139 cdn.meme.am/instances/56334331.jpg
5923164
Awesome.
5924594
It was an excuse to post Jontron. I don't care if people ship.
5925388 Well... I guess I can forgive... Gotta love JonTron.
great chapter! seems like filler, but most of the main story's already over, so I'm glad the characters can interact a bit. you know what'd be good to see I think? if Samus meets the cutie mark crusaders, and maybe they want to be bounty hunters or something, like her. of course, she'd talk them down from doing such a thing being that it's so dangerous and stuff, but something that could happen is if they come across diamond tiara and silver spoon, and they make fun of them, I have little doubt that Samus would intimidate the hell out of those two for bullying the CMCs. I'd love to see that done! think about it, okay?
5925480 35.6 is already a planned CMC chapter
5923116
I can't help but wonder, is the Zero Suit self-cleaning? If not it's got to stink something fierce after a while.
5928897 I'd like to think it is, but can be manually cleaned and sterilized as well.
There is not a strong enough word I can use to describe how ANNOYING those things are.
Two weeks later Dark Samus shows up.
I gave this it's 1000th like... I feel accomplished.
5932512 Holy crap it finally reached that milestone!! I think this calls for another teaser into Equis II come next chapter...
*sniff sniff* Do i smell a sequal involving dark samus?
5933031 Well if you consider Prime III the sequel then yes, but Equis II will take place after Fusion, so Dark Samus+Phazon would have ceased to exist by that point.
5933150 awww
5932546 YAS!
5933150 Whoah, after Fusion?!
You have no idea how much I've thought about post-Fusion Metroid. I'm scared of how much I love you right now.
5944986 Haha and I love YOU random citizen! If you're interested, check my blog, I've released two teasers and there are more to come
Read the oldest one first, of course. I realize not everyone follows me so I may start linking these blogposts in the future.
5944993 Yeah, you should link them to make sure everyone sees them. I'm interested to see how the now quadruple-hybrid Hunter will return to Equus.
5945021 That's... actually not entirely true to canon. There's going to be a massive blogpost before Equis II drops squaring away common canon misconceptions as well as just setting everyone on the same page.
5945046 I meant as far as her being infused with Metroid DNA to cure the X infection, and then absorbing the SA-X to fight the Omega Metroid.
5945106 That's just it though. I was doing some research to freshen up on little details and apparently, according to producers and developers, that's not entirely true. When she absorbs the SA-X Core X, it actually restores her INITIAL genetic condition before her surgery.
It's not a major detail of utmost relevance to the story, but I'm still debating whether to ignore it or not. While sticking to canon is my top concern, certain canonical factors, if implemented outside of a game setting, would make things wholly unrealistic and quite shitty
5945115 OH, okay. That actually makes more sense, but I thought they were going to go for the angle of giving her further abilities aimed at a future Metroid title that sadly has yet to arise. Will she still be using the final version of the Fusion Suit, though?
5945293 Oh yes of course that's nonnegotiable. She'll have her 'unidentified' suit
5945408 Yeah, I'm just fishing for details. I already know I'm going to love this one as much as the first.
5950010 she could, but would not be able to use her grapple beam at all (horn) to call up magical schematics due to lack of space and anatomical issues. If she's just sitting there that's fine
5957352
Actually that's the album name, Harmony of a Hunter: 101% Run. It's by a group of artists collectivity known as Shinesparkers. The song is Doppelgänger by Vomitron.