My Little Pony: My Little Pony The Martian

AMICITAS Mission Three – Mission Day 561

ARES 3 solar day 550

Everyone settled down together, and it was probably the last time they slept like this. Outdoors, the last rays of the Martian sunset were shrouded in the increasingly thick haze rolled up by the dust storm approaching the city, making this cold night even more of a strange scene from another world than before. The refugees didn't get to see this. They didn't care either.

What they need is to go to bed early - at least to try. Less than twelve hours until launch.

"Speaking of which," Tingting began, "I don't have to sleep like this anymore. I guess I won't be used to it."

"Shut up," Starlight Glimmer complained, "What I want is a room that even if it doesn't rely on body temperature to keep warm, it won't freeze to death on a horse, like in the past, on a real bed. sleep."

I've never had such a bad mouth before, she thought silently, it was the time spent with Mark Watney that turned me into this.

No, it was Mars that turned me into this. Blame it on the planet. Blame this whole damn universe that has no magic.

"I can't guarantee that there will be a bed," Mark replied. "Hermes will be very crowded by then. We may even have to sleep in shifts during the day and night."

"Just say 'we'," Starlight continued to mutter, "I tell you, if I can lie on the bed, they will have to kill me to pry the bed out of my cold hooves."

"Stop talking about being cold," Spitfire muttered. There was a rustle in the pile; no one spoke a word, but they all moved in unison in a tacit understanding, trying to pull in two or three sleeping bags, adjust their positions and cover the top of the pile tightly. The old RTGs and the new RTGs that come with the Phoenix's fuel generator are now on board the Phoenix, tucked into the corners on both sides of the lower level of the cabin; this way they have three kilowatts of heating throughout the launch process, which is enough to fill the space about twice the size of the two. The cabin of the rover was warm. However, the price paid was that on their last night on Mars, only one electric heater from the No. 2 rover and the last remaining Amicitas electric heater were left in the mobile home, which relied on battery power and output. The thermal energy is only 600 watts.

The cold Martian night laughed wantonly at the pitiful six hundred watt heat source. The metal cabin of the mobile RV trailer absorbs the heat completely, but it doesn't intend to stop there.

Everyone hugging each other could only shrink tighter.

"No more hay," Cherry Berry said again, "Think about it, the days of eating hay potatoes are finally over."

"No more EVA." The fireball pressed in the center of the pile muttered in a deep voice.

"No need to flush the perchlorate dust out of the airlock anymore," Spitfire added stumblingly.

"No more pouring gallons of water into the toilet to report home." Dragonfly said and sighed.

"This reminds me," Mark asked, "Do your superiors over there know what will happen tomorrow?"

"I informed them yesterday," Ting Ting replied. "The name of the spacecraft, launch time, etc. were all told."

"What did they say?"

"Their response was, 'Message received, good luck, communication completed.' It didn't feel very polite."

"Maybe you're still sulking because it took you so long to track down this dimension." Starlight replied, "When we get to Earth, I will build a huge magic letter in the most densely populated place on your planet. If that doesn’t work, we’ll just stay and be citizens of the earth.”

"They will find us one day," Berry said, "Twilight Cocoon and the others will not give up."

"Of course I know they won't give up," Starlight replied, "It's just the word 'one day' that scares me."

"They said a few weeks ago that Twilight and Cocoon were both aboard... Harmony," Dragonfly mentioned the English name they translated for Concordia. "Maybe they were waiting for us to launch. "

"They have used the resources of the entire... Horse Country... but they haven't been able to track us... How can they do it in orbit?" Xingguang said angrily, "Don't think about it, I think we will have to fight with many people next. Humanity has been living for a long time. First of all, Hermes and Mark’s friends.”

"Martinez people are quite nice," Berry said. "Commander Commander Lewis and I have been exchanging emails for a while recently. She has a lot of great suggestions."

"I hope Johnson can talk more," Tingting interjected, "Even though I have pretended to be her so many times before, I still don't know much about her."

"Johnathan has always been quite shy," Mark replied, "very homely and introverted. If it weren't for NASA, she would probably crawl into the computer and never come out."

"Ha. If NASA were replaced by 'Princess Friendship Affairs' and 'computer' was replaced by 'library', this would be Twilight." Starlight thought for a moment, "Mark, maybe you can do it someday if you have a chance. Go meet her and tell us how she looks like Johnson."

"You will be able to meet Johnson soon," Mark replied, "then you will have a chance to judge."

"My favorite is Vogel," whispered the fireball under the pile.

"Uh, Fireball," Mark said a little confused, "Vogel has only spoken to us directly about four times in the past year."

"That's what it means."

"Ignore him," Ting Ting complained, "All the jokes he makes are like this."

"Guessed it." Mark continued, "Anyway, the first person we all have to meet will be Chris Baker. Note that it is Dr. Baker. Each of us will get to know him in depth."

"I'll be the first to use the oral thermometer." Ding Ting hurriedly said.

Everyone laughed when they heard it, but inevitably there was a hint of uneasiness.

"Mark?" Berry asked, "Tell us about your team members."

"Hmm." Mark, who was lying next to the fireball, said and moved slightly, "Johnson and I were in the same astronaut team back then - just the last group to train before the Ares 3 crew members were selected. Martinez and Baker are in the group in front of us, and if Lewis is in the group ahead, Vogel is sent by ESA - he is the last person selected. I know John a little bit. Sen, I also trained a little under Lewis, but I didn’t meet the others until the Ares 3 selections were finalized, and then we trained together for several years.”

"Okay, but what are they like?"

"Well... they are what they are," Mark thought for a moment and explained, "Each of them is unique. Martinez gives the impression of a typical fighter pilot, who also likes to joke, and the dirtier he is. The better kind, but he's also very devoted to his wife, a staunch Catholic - very religious, and he doesn't have that goddam attitude of thinking he's condescending or trying to impose on you. Lewis is like that. She is a person who strictly follows the rules, but she also has a bit of mischief that sometimes catches you off guard. Beck acts like a doctor all day long, but as long as he gets past this level, Johnson is willing to do anything. She is a very technical nerd, but she is also recognized as a supermodel by the whole group, but she has almost no idea about her own beauty. Vogel is like a human-shaped iceberg, hiding most of herself tightly, and has always been very special. Quiet and very serious, but he is actually quite funny; usually if he tells a joke, it might take you half an hour to react. "

"So," Spitfire asked, "Lewis, she is the oldest, right?"

"Um...actually..." Mark twisted under the pile, his movements so large that he was a little uncomfortable, "Actually, I am the oldest. Nine months older than Vogel. More than a year older than Lewis. "

"Seriously?" Fireball's snort made the whole pile tremble, "You are also the oldest here. Can you keep up with our pace, grandpa?"

"Speaking of which," Mark said softly, "I didn't really like hearing jokes like this when I was training. I still don't like it now."

"Don't worry, Grandpa," Xingguang also teased, "Just take a nap during the launch and let us finish the work."

"How about we take a nap now?" Ding Ting reminded, "We have to get up early tomorrow."

Everyone in the pile exchanged various kinds of "good night", and Starlight forced herself to close her eyes. Sleep seemed out of reach. Anything can happen tomorrow. They might go home. They may travel to Earth. They might end up in flames. They might as well perish in the void of space.

But whatever happens, it won't happen on Mars.

There was movement in the pile again. "Guys?" It was Mark's voice.

"What's wrong?" Fei Huo was annoyed.

"No matter what tomorrow brings...thank you for everything. Without you, I really can't imagine how I would survive. I can't imagine how lucky I am to have you."

"Same." Fireball muttered angrily.

"Yeah." Tingting also said.

"Thanks," Spitfire replied, "Go to bed now. Good night."

"Ah."

As everyone returned to silence, Fireball, Berry and Spitfire, who fell asleep for a while, gradually began to snore lightly as usual. Starlight listened to the continuous background sounds and imagined tomorrow in her mind.

It wasn't long before she joined in, merging into one last dream before leaving Mars.