My Little Pony: My Little Pony The Martian

AMICITAS Mission Three – Mission Day 137

ARES 3 solar day 137

[08:36] JPL: Good morning everyone. Mark, our side shows that the MDV onboard computer update software has been downloaded. The MAV flight control software should now be saved in the backup file on your computer in your home area. Copy the update file together with the flight control software to the data disk, go to MDV, connect the data disk to the main data input slot, and run the update as an executable file. This update will install the MAV flight control software in the MDV onboard computer and permanently set it to flight simulation practice mode. Due to component damage caused by the storm on Sol 6, you were previously forced to dismantle the entire operation control workstation. Therefore, the parameter setting of the flight simulation can only be operated by the commander's workstation.

Attention everyone else, we want you to use the Hab Computer to complete some tasks. You should all have a special program in your email inbox now, and Mark will teach you how to run it. When it launches you will be asked to complete an English test that includes reading and writing sections. Our goal here is to focus on your specific needs; we understand that English is a difficult language to learn, and we want to help you as much as possible.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and we will answer them.

[08:51] Watney: The stars are shining here. Where is the nearest large salt mine? Mark's reserves are almost depleted and we have to find a way to replenish them.

[09:06] JPL: Sorry, Starlight, but the main known sources of salt on Mars are scattered across a large number of craters and basins in the southern hemisphere. Previous experimental analyzes by Commanders Mark and Lewis of soil samples near residential areas found only trace amounts of sodium chloride. Our current best hypothesis is that the salt deposits in the original Martian ocean did once cover where you are now, but were either washed beneath the current polar ice caps or were blown away by wind and dust billions of years ago. Buried. And even if you find salt nearby, we recommend you not to touch it, because it may be mixed with toxic substances such as perchlorate, and you do not have the equipment to separate table salt from those harmful substances.

[09:21] Watney: Don’t take it for granted.

[09:24] Watney: This is Watney. It looks like we are going to take a short trip tomorrow - about twenty kilometers west from here. The specific plan can be found in my diary. But now I have to rewrite the program for MDV.

"how should I do?"

Fireball's voice was much quieter than usual, but the pitch was almost a full octave higher; even if mixed with the background noise of the slow typing on the keyboard in the habitat, everyone still felt that his words were clearly audible.

Starlight raised her head. "What?" she asked. "Did you run that attachment in the email?"

"Yes, I have."

"Then answer the questions displayed on the screen."

"How am I going to answer that?"

"My eldest princess!" Feihuo couldn't help complaining, "Have you never taken the exam before or something?"

"correct."

The keyboard typing in the cabin suddenly stopped.

"You've never taken a test before?" Starlight asked.

"Of course not!" The hopeless Fireball was almost crying. "We dragons have always preferred to live alone and have no fixed place! How many schools do you think we have? The only reason why I am literate is because of my grandmother Force me to study! She likes to hoard ancient pony books, so...and even so, I barely read many books before Yu Yan ordered me to become an astronaut."

"Absolutely. Even we changelings have a school." Dragonfly said, "One school is certainly not too many, but at least it is better than none."

"But at least you can read," Berry said. "You have no trouble reading the checklist. And when it's your turn to read those Harry Potter stories..." She couldn't go on. When it was Fireball's turn to read a certain chapter of Harry Potter, the atmosphere in the cabin was unprecedented; everyone seemed to have witnessed the scene of sour plum wine wandering through the empty streets of Ma Town at two o'clock in the morning on the winter night of the Winter War. In short, it is simply unbearable to listen to; and since Mark stopped correcting their English mistakes a few days ago, the current situation can be said to have not improved at all, and is even getting worse.

"Yes, I can read." Fireball muttered, "Because my mother once entrusted me to my grandma to take care of me for four months. As a result, every time I mispronounced a word, my grandma would give me a knot on my head. Give it a real knock." He pointed at the ridged fin on top of his head and roared, "That's how I got this thing. But I haven't passed a test since I was a child!"

"How about your math?" Tingting couldn't restrain her curiosity and asked.

"Every dragon can learn mathematics." Fireball replied, "This is a required course, otherwise how can you calculate how much inventory there is in your cave? But I was forced to learn algebra in order to become a pilot. Anyway, at least I can do additions. There is nothing wrong with subtraction, multiplication and division." The incompetent and furious Fireball waved his claws at the computer screen, "But I have definitely never touched this thing!!!"

Starlight sighed helplessly. "The first part is a multiple-choice question," she said. "Just enter A, B, C or D to choose the correct option from the four answers."

"Oh. So the bunch of things below are used for this purpose?"

"That's right. Don't enter anything else unless specifically requested."

"Okay. So what do I have to lose first?"

"I can't tell you that," Starlight replied, "This is a test. They want you to complete it on your own."

"But can't you do me a favor? Isn't that what Pony is supposed to do?"

"It's okay if you want to help, but if you want me to finish it for you, there's no way."

"Oh." Fireball's short answer of just one word revealed endless disappointment and fear.

Then everyone started typing on the keyboard again, but obviously Starlight Glimmer and Dragonfly had many more keystrokes than the others.

After only a few minutes, Fireball could no longer hold on: "Starlight?"

"What's wrong?"

"Now the question is different. There is a line in the middle of the question, and the question is no longer a question. The ABCD options at the bottom are also gone."

"Yes. That's 'fill in the blanks.' Put the words you think are appropriate into the blanks."

"Can I really do this?"

"You'll know after you try it."

Snap, snap, snap. "Oh. But what do I have to lose to get in?"

"You have to read the text at the top of the page first. The answer is in there."

"Oh, I just jumped right over there. Doesn't seem like a problem."

"That's part of the question. Read it first, and then you should be able to answer the next few questions."

A few more minutes of silence followed, and then: "The answer is not in that text at all!"

"Did you read that new text?"

"Oh."

Continue to drop big beads and small beads into the jade plate.

"I guess you all think I'm a fool now." Fireball muttered.

Berry happened to be sitting between Dragonfly and Feihuo; when she saw this, she quickly stopped the keyboard and quickly blocked the mouths of the two people on the left and right with her hooves.

"I think so," Xingguang thought for a while and replied in a measured manner, "You are doing something that you are completely unfamiliar with. It is reasonable to not have any experience. After all, you have to do everything for the first time."

"But you have done this kind of thing several years ago. And it was when you were children." Fireball slumped on his chair, "I don't know how long before I did."

"But at least you're doing it now." Starlight suddenly said softly, "Sorry, please wait a moment." Her magic halo flashed, and the characters on the keyboard poured down. Two minutes later, she said again, "Okay." Then she hit the last key on the computer and sent the completed test paper document.

"What the hell is this?" Fireball sounded as if he was quite frightened.

"The last part of the exam is an essay question," Starlight replied. "They want you to write a hundred words about your feelings about living in the habitation module."

Berry and Feihuo immediately complained, looking like they were worse off than dead.

And Fireball simply burst into tears. "One hundred words???" he asked, "or are they connected?"

"Don't forget that you were originally responsible for writing mission reports." Ding Ting looked disdainful.

"That thing has a template!" Fireball disagreed, "And it can be filled in with a pencil. It's a perfect match for the claw!"

"Take your time," Starlight reassured. "There's no timer, so there's no need to rush. It's not like using Pathfinder to talk. Just wait until you think of the right words in your head and then write them out. You can definitely do it. "

Fireball said nothing to this, but put his paw back on the keyboard. He thought slowly and painfully, trying to solve the remaining fill-in-the-blank questions. Tingting completed the entire test paper before he even started writing, while Berry completed hers a few minutes after Fireball started writing. After a few minutes, Feihuo also finished writing the composition. The sound it made was thrilling, almost sounding like he was about to smash the plastic keyboard.

Fireball was just tapping the keyboard calmly and slowly. Ta, ta, ta, ta...ta ta...ta, ta, ta, ta...ta.

The others sat and watched for a minute, and then the starlight quietly blew them away. On the side, Fireball, who was frowning and concentrating on composing words and sentences, was completely unaware of the changes happening around him. He stared at the screen closely, searching for the corresponding button with his paws from time to time... Ta, Ta, Ta... Ta... Ta... Ta... Ta.

Finally, Fireball, who was struggling to survive in the ocean of English, seemed to see hope and stopped and started counting. "...Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven." The angry fireball began to roar, but then it could only choose to face the reality: Ta-ta-ta... Ta-ta-ta, tap-ta, tap-ta, tap-ta, Ta, tap...ta. "Finally, it's one hundred." He sighed and slumped down in his seat, "Starlight, is this okay?"

Starlight came over and looked at Fireball's computer screen.

Please use one hundred words to describe your experience of living in the habitation module:

I hate habs. I want to go home. I eat the same food every day. The Hab smells terrible. The room was very small and I couldn't get out because there was no air outside. I watch TV, eat gems, and work as required. I have nothing else to do. It felt like home outside, but it was cold and there was no air yet. There are too many people inside. Sometimes I go to work in caves. Sometimes I go to work on the spaceship, but I know that the spacecraft is too broken to fly. I don't know what else to do. I can't think of anything else to do. Are you satisfied now?

"That's right," Starlight said, "That's what they want. Just click the 'Send' button."

Fireball did as he was told, then slid off his stool and said, "God, this is terrible. I made a mess. I wrote a bunch of crap."

"Your English is indeed quite bad." Xingguang still admitted this, "But it is not without merit. The content of what I wrote is basically the same as yours." She smiled and then added: "Except for the part about eating gems, of course. "

In response, Fireball smiled and said, "That's such a shame."

"Don't take it for granted." Starlight said, "I went to Lime's house for dinner once before." She rubbed her chin, as if the pain of that day was still fresh in her memory, "After eating, I had to ask Zecora for it. Order fillings. Of course I know what it’s like to eat gemstones.”

Fireball laughed. "Do you want to hear what it was like when I ate pony food for the first time?" he asked. "You won't believe how much I farted that day."

Starlight was startled, and quickly stretched out her hoof to pat Fireball's knee: "No, I think it's better for you to talk to Feihuo about this matter." She looked helpless, "She insisted on telling me before The story about the time Rainbow Dash tricked her into eating burritos for a whole month."

Fireball immediately became interested. "Then I can't miss it." He started gearing up, "Now we have something to talk about!"

"Flying Fire?" Starlight made an exception this time and reluctantly called Spitfire as a reward for Fireball's hard work.