My Little Pony: My Little Pony The Martian

After spending the morning completing a series of medical examinations, the six astronauts sat down in the cafeteria at the Friendship Cape Center to eat lunch.

"Cherries again???" Starlight Glimmer asked as she looked at Cherry Berry, who was walking towards the dining table late with a plate in her mouth.

"It's still cherries." Cherry Berry replied immediately after she put down her plate and freed her mouth. As expected, what was presented in front of her was the Cherry Berry Set Meal, which seemed to be a combination of dishes that Berry had ordered so many times before the last Amicitas flight that they were permanently added to the menu by the cafeteria. Diced cherry salad, cherry omelet, cherry pie, cherry lime jelly, and cherry leaf tea. It was also in line with their style during the time they landed on Horse Star; no matter where they went to eat, Cherry Berry would either not order cherries, or if she saw cherries on the menu, she would order every item one by one.

"I didn't mean to say that," Mark ventured, "but if you keep going like this, you might start to feel that Cherry is like a hay potato."

"What nonsense are you talking about." Meimei cursed and dove into the fruit salad in front of her.

“I am ready,” an ESA space surgeon reported, “to read out the results of today’s tests.”

Three people sat at the conference table. At one end was Twilight Sparkle, at the other was Cocoon, and in the middle was Celestia, the eldest of the Alicorn princesses and therefore the highest-ranking ruler of Equestria.

The doctor turned a page in the log book. "All subjects have shown significant bone and muscle atrophy compared to comparable pre-flight test results," he continued. "The information relayed from Mr. Watney's world via Angel 18 also provides us with enough basic information to make an educated estimate of his bone and muscle condition before launch. However, despite this, substantial recovery has occurred, and the immune system is rapidly strengthening. The condition of all subjects has improved, and it is expected to continue to improve steadily in the future."

"This trend is most pronounced in cases of chronic magic deficiency. We already knew that our members were showing signs of this, ranging from obvious in the case of the ponies to severe in the case of Fireball to near-fatal in the case of Dragonfly. Symptoms in the pony crew included fading of fur, diminished cute magic abilities, and a slight deterioration in the racial magical talents of two of them. The exception is Starlight Glimmer, whose spellcasting skills have actually increased to the point where she now has to learn how to channel less magic."

The doctor turned another page and continued, "Let's talk about the individual cases. Starlight Glimmer was the least affected by the lack of magical energy, which may be related to the frequent direct contact with channeled magical energy mentioned in her initial report. The bone fracture in her right forelimb has completely healed, and only a slight deformity remains, which can be corrected without surgery with the help of a capable alchemist. However, her muscle atrophy is the most serious among the three ponies. I recommend that she be arranged for appropriate physical therapy and physical rehabilitation training before considering returning to space missions."

Turning to the next page, "Major Spitfire is in relatively poor condition. Although she has the most severe magical deficiency of the three, her physical injuries pale in comparison. Her lung capacity has improved since her first physical after returning, but it is still behind her pre-mission indicators, and her lungs show some scarring. She has also suffered significant loss of bone and muscle mass. Although she no longer shows any outward signs of altitude or decompression sickness, I still believe that she is at risk of recurrence for at least the next three months. Due to the severity of her injuries, I recommend that she receive long-term treatment and be removed from the flight list indefinitely; however, the major has voluntarily resigned from her position as an astronaut and requested to be reinstated to resume her EUP appointment."

Turn the page. "Cherry Berry's condition is the lowest risk among the team members. Her magic power deficiency symptoms have almost completely disappeared. Her muscle mass has also improved significantly. Her bone recovery is still lagging behind, but if we can find a way to get her to eat something other than cherries, the situation may change."

"That's easy to say. Then you go and try it." Jianjian couldn't help but complain.

"Our only concerns about her at this time are psychological," the doctor continued. "She is one of two crew members who consistently perform below pre-mission standards on mental acuity tests. For this reason I recommend that she be removed from the space program for at least a period of time, and that appropriate psychological treatment be recommended. From a purely physiological standpoint, she should be able to return to flight tomorrow."

Turn the page. "Fireball is showing more pronounced symptoms of his lack of magical energy. His dragonlike raw strength, endurance, and damage resistance have all been significantly reduced. He also has a slight mineral deficiency - he hasn't consumed gold in over a year - which he is compensating for. However, considering that he is one of only two crew members who have not suffered any major damage other than environmental effects during this experience, I can only recommend that he be temporarily disqualified from flying. This conclusion is also only a theoretical recommendation; Fireball has resigned from the astronaut team."

Turning the page again. "Next, let's talk about Tingting's situation."

Cocoon immediately sat down at the conference table.

"Tingting's power deficiency symptoms, for their part, have improved rapidly since her return," the physician said, "but recovery from their effects on her body has been slow. She is still ten percent below her pre-mission measurements, and has shown a significant decrease in both stamina and strength. Her mental acuity has dropped the most of the group, which is particularly disturbing considering that her pre-launch score was the second highest, behind Starlight Glimmer. It's too early to say for sure," he said, turning to the last page of the logbook, "but my current recommendation is that unless further improvement is found in future evaluations, Tingting be permanently disqualified from flying."

"She will go to heaven again," murmured Jianjian, "just wait and see."

At the last page, the doctor said, "Finally, we have the alien human, Mark Watney. We are unable to make definitive conclusions regarding this human. During the initial examination aboard Concordia, we found that he had a partially broken rib, and the same was observed during the quarantine. This injury has responded well to treatment. Based on his behavior over the past two weeks, we can determine with a high degree of confidence that we do not have any rapidly fatal diseases that he could spread to his group upon his return. We also assume based on previous experience that no truly dangerous microorganisms have successfully spread to us in the opposite direction. He has not shown any adverse effects from recent direct exposure to high magic."

"First of all, I have to state that even with the limited information provided by the doctors of his own race on the other world, we cannot make a definite decision on whether he is suitable for flying." The doctor put the log book back into his saddle bag and concluded, "But based on his recent experience in our world, I think his condition is safe enough to support another launch... to send him back to his homeland. In my opinion, this is also the safest option that is most beneficial to his long-term health."

“I see.” Celestia said, “Allow me to ask a few questions.”

"Please," the doctor replied.

"How much do you agree with Starlight Glimmer's theory that their home planet, which is as teeming with life as ours, could maintain a magical field strong enough to support our long-term health?"

The doctor rubbed his hoof hesitantly. "It is indeed entirely possible," he replied after a moment, "but it has not been confirmed yet. We can only be sure after sending out a few astronauts and verifying it through direct observation."

"Well, then. Would you indulge me while I'm here to discuss a hypothesis?"

"Of course, Your Highness."

“Suppose Amicitas landed with all the magic batteries on board dead. Not a single one left. Yet, despite this, the crew found some way to grow food and meet all other survival needs.” Celestia leaned on the table and pointed in the direction of the healer. “Based on the data we have so far, how long can they survive under such circumstances? How will their health change?”

"Hmm..." The doctor squatted down and pondered after listening, "Of course, we cannot ignore that the data we currently have is incomplete, lacks comparison, and is affected by the behavior of the team members who are exposed to the stored magic energy themselves, including noise. However..." Then he waved his hoof and made a decisive statement, "Even if the reserve magic energy is not used, Tingting may die in eighteen months or even less. According to my estimation, Fireball will probably begin to gradually develop tuberculosis in about two years and die within three years. As for the pony team members, there are too many uncertainties in the course of the disease, but my guess is that they may lose their cutie marks within two years and permanently lose their magic-related abilities after three to five years." He stretched out his hoof and gestured one last time, "Of course, as mentioned above, these are just hypotheses."

“We understand that, Physician,” Celestia continued. “And here’s my final question: How much of the damage they have suffered—and potentially other future astronauts—is truly irreversible?”

"It all depends on the individual," the doctor replied. "Cherryberry and Starlight Glimmer have suffered the least from the deficiency and appear to be on their way to full recovery. Spitfire has been affected by an unrelated condition, making her case misleading. As for Fireball, I'll have to wait until my great-grandchildren are around to make the final judgment. The only case I can be close to certain of having permanent damage is Dragonfly."

"Even though you have extensive medical experience and are well-trained, you are not a shapeshifter doctor." Jianjian questioned.

"You are right... Your Majesty," the doctor replied, taking a step back. "But I have consulted with several people on this matter before, and their diagnosis on Tingting is consistent with mine."

“Okay.” Celestia nodded to a guard nearby, who then silently opened the door to the conference room. “Doctor, thank you for the report. We’ll keep in touch.”

As soon as the conference room door closed behind the pony doctor, Twilight turned to the other two people present. "You all heard that!" she said. "Even in the worst case scenario, it's still months or even years away! And that's without any magic! If there was a magic field on Earth, the ponies would be able to survive there just like Mr. Watney has here!"

"I will not risk my people for such a possibility," Jianjian retorted angrily. "And didn't you hear him mention that the changelings would be the first to bear the brunt of permanent damage and death? Absolutely not. It's too dangerous."

Celestia sighed. “I agree with Cocoon,” she said helplessly. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Twilight, but we just rescued our friends. The new group of ponies we send to replace them will face the same danger.”

Then she lowered her head and closed her eyes and continued, "And if the danger really comes, what should we do in that case? According to Mr. Watney, even in the best case scenario, it will take them several months to launch a spacecraft to send our ponies back. And they may not be able to wait for these months." When she opened her eyes again, the gentleness that was usually filled in her eyes had completely turned into cold determination, "Twilight, I can't allow my ponies to take such a risk - to let them be in potentially deadly danger again, and we are all powerless to help."

"But..." Twilight also sighed and nodded in defeat, "If Xingxuan could just teach me the enchantment he used to make..." Seeing that he was staring at her cocoon with unobstructed interest, she immediately swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and changed her mouth, "...some legendary artifact enchantment that can solve the problem, everything would be much simpler."

Jianjian sneered at this extremely poor cover-up, but did not say much.

“Then I believe we are all in agreement,” Celestia said regretfully. “It’s a shame this news will be so upsetting to them. They’ve become like a family.”

"I'll go tell them." Jianjian suddenly volunteered.

The two Alicorn princesses looked at her with complicated expressions.

"What's wrong?" Jianjian asked, "I'm also good at dealing with people tactfully. It's just that I usually decide not to show up." She avoided their gaze and muttered softly, "Besides, I still owe that stinky monkey a favor."

“When is it scheduled?” Celestia turned to Twilight and asked.

"No rush," Twilight replied, "We can start preparing to return to the Concorde in two weeks from now. But we still need to complete a few other necessary tasks first." She stretched out her hoof and stroked a row of thin mahogany boxes with silk linings, each containing a carefully painted wooden staff, "and we also need to repay Mark and his people for everything they have done for us."

The explanation took several minutes, mostly Celestia's words, while Starlight ran a new translation spell to make sure Mark could follow along. Everything was laid out simply and directly: health status, psychological condition, organizational work, and known and unknown dangers.

After saying what needed to be said, the five people present were speechless; only Mark Watney did not show any surprise, but the sadness shown on his facial expression was comparable to the shock of the others.

Cherry Berry was the first to speak, summarizing all their collective confusion into one sentence:

"Got to go?"