My Little Pony: My Little Pony The Martian

AMICITAS Mission Three – Mission Day 236

ARES 3 solar day 234

Starlight Glimmer checked his calculations again.

Six batteries were reserved for the exclusive use of new battery manufacturing. Based on a daily charging rate of 6% (actually the actual situation is a little less than this, because the newly planted alfalfa is not yet mature, and the potatoes that the dragonflies gnawed to make cocoons have basically not re-sprouted yet) , these six batteries can accumulate enough energy to make four new batteries with full capacity every eighteen days, leaving a considerable energy surplus.

Three batteries (two normal batteries and the experimental one with half capacity) were placed in the habitation module for ready access. The settlement farm grows more slowly, so it can only contribute a little more than the few permanent residents in the cabin, resulting in a total recharge rate of 4% per day.

This leaves the current available battery inventory with only ten batteries; uses include but are not limited to powering major projects, replacing a battery in the habitation module when it has to be completely depleted, or - which is now the case It became the most important purpose - to provide all the people in the cave, including the dragonfly in the cocoon, with a short period of magic energy immersion every day.

If all of these batteries were fully charged (which is not the case - reasons include recent crop harvests, engine disassembly, and testing of the engines, not to mention four of them had been freshly baked just days before) ), then the energy collected by nine of the blocks every day is equivalent to 54% of the capacity of the tenth block. This also means that one battery can be dedicated to magic field projection and run for about seventeen minutes, and then be connected in series with other batteries to replenish energy.

However, since these batteries are not actually fully charged, the seventeen minutes just mentioned are reduced to eight minutes. If Mars taught them anything, it was that magical energy was always hard to come by and was always in short supply. The battery collects magic energy slowly, but releases it so quickly that the display of the battery's magic meter can be observed to decrease at a rate visible to the naked eye. And for their major work projects, or for emergency spellcasting, they have the ability to easily - and there is indeed a precedent for this - empty the energy stored in four or eight or who knows how many batteries at once. It is impossible to squander the magic energy collected all day just to enjoy a few minutes of magic, otherwise it will be tragic to find that the battery is empty when you really need to cast a spell to prevent the disaster in front of you.

Okay, eight minutes, just eight minutes.

During the eight minutes of today's run, she should have been able to find something useful to do in the magic field. But unfortunately, she couldn't think of a single thing. The Mending Charm would absorb most of the energy provided by the magic field, not to mention they hadn't had anything broken recently enough for the Mending Charm to take effect. Even if they had just brought an empty battery cover, there wouldn't be enough energy to make a new one. She could try to collect salt...but the soil in the cave has been sifted back and forth by magic several times.

"Mark," she turned to the human sitting next to the cocoon, his helmet removed but still wearing his space suit, "Set me a timer for eight minutes."

"Okay, no problem." Mark's space suit has two display modes: a set of keyboards and miniature displays on one arm, and a larger head-mounted display (HUD) projected into the helmet. As for the current use, there is no need to wear a helmet. Mark just typed on the keyboard for a while and then said, "I will start if you tell me to start."

"Start now." Starlight ordered. Mark pressed the button to start the countdown, and at the same time she turned on the battery and began to release energy. Arcs of pure magic energy surged onto the improvised antenna structure. The color of the surrounding environment is no longer the faded and pale look it once was, but has returned to its original appearance. The environment in the cave felt a little more intimate, reminding Starlight of home. This feeling gave her a deep understanding.

Home. Ah. If she were at home, she would definitely be able to come up with some meaningful activities that would use magic. But there are all kinds of magic there, and the possibilities are endless.

The lyrics came out subconsciously:

Home

I can’t help but feel its pull

Where everything’s magical

There’s nothing that’s impossible

If I were home

If I were home

The spells I’d cast would hypnotize

Rainbow lights to fill the skies

Nobody would believe their eyes

If I were home

The magic field spread and rippled gently, and Cherry Berry, who was sucked into the magic vortex, also began to sing.

If I were home

My pleasures would be plain and few

I’d eat a cherry, maybe two

There’s nothing I couldn’t do

If I were home

The next person to be baptized by the waves of the magic field was Spitfire. She followed up and completed this section:

If I were home

I’d fly straight back to my home town

I’d soar the skies for miles around

You’d never get me back to ground

If I were home

The three ponies sang in unison:

Home

You’re so close and yet so far away

We miss you more each and every day

We go to bed every night saying

I want to go home

The magic light emitted by the magic battery enveloped the crystals above and around the cave. As the colorful neon lights flashed, music also sounded at the same time. A crisp and clear melody echoed among the crystal pillars in the cave, sweet. And the sadness of loneliness is all in silence.

The magic then enveloped Mark again. In the eyes of the stars, the radiance of magic enveloped him inside and out, and then his inexperienced voice caught the right tone and sang the lyrics:

If I were home

I’d spend a week just going outside

Get in my car and enjoy the ride

All of my wishes satisfied

If I were home

Fireball, who was most resistant to magical singing, joined in at the last moment. His singing voice was lower and rougher in comparison, but it perfectly matched the mood at this moment.

If I were home

Back to my cave and I’d walk right in

I wouldn’t leave it ever again

My wandering would be at an end

If I were home

Another round of chorus, the astronauts’ voices echoed the arpeggios and glissandos of the crystal movement, and the free and unrestrained magic in the air weaved it into a natural and organic whole:

Home (the third planet from the sun)

Back to the place where we belong (Had my mission, now I’m done)

Never meant to stay away this long

Wouldn’t have to sing this song

If we were home

The music calmed down slightly and wandered around the main melody for a while. At the same time, Cherry Berry strolled to the cocoon and stretched out a hoof to caress:

If you were home

You wouldn’t have to stay in there

You could run and fly without a care

You’d do what no one else would dare

If you were home

Starlight's lead vocalist took on the rest of the verses, while the rest of the group sang softly in response to her lyrics:

If I were home

I’d have options without end

I’d spend more time with my friends

I’d see my father once again

If I were home

The music rose again, and the five (Mark echoed the singing of the ponies) sang their homesickness in a perfect tune accompanied by the brilliance of the quartz:

Home (over two hundred million miles)

Back in the arms of the ones we love (I close my eyes and see their smiles)

Safe return from the stars above

What wouldn’t we do if only we could go home

The music changes from fast and unpredictable to playing clean and clear notes, and the singers alternate with each other and gradually push the emotion to the extreme:

Wake at dawn to go ballooning

Eat a gem and sleep till noon-ing

Fly a kite up to the cloudtops

Swoop so low I scatter dewdrops

Walk the beach at Galveston

Surf lava from dusk till dawn

Ride the train to anywhere

Read a book, Wash my hair

Los Pegasus, Magnificent Mile

See the world, Rest a while

Cherries, pizza, ruby ​​ice cream

Luna guarding every dream

Baseball games at Wrigley Park

The way the stars shine after dark

The crystal background sound collided with the singing voice, and the song reached its climax:

To see again familiar places

To see the smiles on people’s faces

The fact that cannot be erased is

This rusty rock in outer space is

So far

So very, very far…

The music stopped for a moment, and everyone integrated their hometowns into the lyrics:

Dragonlands

Chicago

Cloudsdale

ponyville

So far, and yet so close

If I were home

Five voices sang the last line softly and bitterly sweetly, and the cave played the last string of notes; then the magic left them, taking away the music in their hearts and leaving only the original silence of Mars.

"Um," Mark muttered under his breath, breaking the lingering silence, "maybe we should turn off the batteries?"

"Let's wait until the timer runs out," the unicorn replied. "The song has just left us. If we turn off the magic now, it will have a greater impact on us."

"Okay. Speaking of which, I think what I just did is quite good," Mark continued. "To be honest, watching you sing is one thing, but if you really join in..."

"We don't discuss such things." Starlight Glimmer replied bluntly.

"Absolutely not." Fireball emphasized.

"No wonder," Mark, who was lost in thought, continued to mutter to himself, "I can't think of any words to express what I just said... I can only say, wow, it's really shocking. The lyrics are just like that... uh, I Guess it comes from the same place as the music..."

"mark?"

"What's wrong, Starlight?"

"What I just meant when I said we don't discuss this kind of thing is, don't discuss it anymore."

"Oh. Ah. Sorry."