After reestablishing their course, Gorlok 12 switched auto pilot back on and stepped out of his pilot seat. They had spent the last few hours literally cramming the ship full of so much meat that if it was somehow cut open in a giant space autopsy, it could almost be mistaken for any organic creature. You know, until they realized that it was just a ship full of meat...

With all that hard work out of the way, he cracked his neck before walking on down to the ship's cafeteria. All of his lobster man friends were right beside him as they prepared to get some grub.

Twilight, watched the group leave the room and took a moment to think to herself. She had been pretty quiet for the past few hours as the lobster men were working and she didn't want to make them angry or anything. Especially since they had a strange fascination with meat. She tried to rationalize that they had more than enough meat so they wouldn't try to eat her and they had yet to be openly hostile to her, but she still couldn't help but feel uneasy around them. At the same time, that group of lobster men was probably the only chance she had of figuring out what was going on and getting home. She completely relied on them for the time being.

After thinking over her options for a matter of seconds, she sighed and followed after them. "Hopefully I can at least get some more answers..." She told herself as she trotted through the metal corridors, some of which were blocked off by huge mounds of various meats. Her hoofs made a very distinct clopping, but the group of lobster men she was trailing either ignored it or didn't notice.

She couldn't help but gag at the smell of all that meat just sitting there and tried her best not to look at the disgusting display. As her mind wandered onto the topic of where it all came from, she decided that it was probably best not to think about it too hard. After a very short journey, the group entered an open room with several rectangular tables that undoubtable served as the cafeteria.

I'm taking all of this surprisingly well, she thought to herself, aside from freaking out right when I woke up, that is.

The lobster men went up to a counter where they scooped up ungodly amounts of various meat products and put them on plastic trays before coming over and sitting at a table near where Twilight was standing awkwardly.

Tommy was the first to sit down, and after setting down his food he looked over to her. "What's up?" He asked in an attempt to break the ice.

Twilight felt more than a little awkward right now. It was made even worse by the fact that she couldn't distinguish which lobster man this one was just yet. They all looked very similar, at least to her. At least she could distinguish Gorlok 12 by the various scars that covered his carapace. "Ugh... Hi." She responded lamely, not sure exactly what to say.

Although she could swear that the awkwardness in the atmosphere was palpable, Tommy didn't seem affected by it. He simply pulled out a chair next to him and patted it. "No need to stand around, you can join us, if you want." By this time Kevin and Hank had taken a seat on the other side of the table with trays similarly stacked with delicious meat.

"Uh... Alright..." She responded as she hopped up onto the seat that clearly wasn't intended for ponies. She was able to sit on her haunches comfortable enough, though. Hank was giving her a bemused look as he chewed on a piece of steak and she couldn't help but blush at the attention. Jeez, I'm acting just like Fluttershy now, she thought to herself as she noted her tentative behavior. Next I'm going to start apologizing for everything...

"So, have you won minecraft yet?" Asked Arnold as he took a seat next to Kevin and Kyle.

Kevin narrowed his eyes at him for a moment before answering. "You don't win minecraft." His voice sounded as though he was offended by the very thought.

"I won it." Replied Hank through a mouthful of crab legs. "It was easy."

"Treacherous trolls! I'll have you know I won't fall for your tricks." Kevin responded while waving a claw at them as though to shoo them away. Twilight couldn't understand most of what they were talking about, but she had already noted some things about how the lobster men communicated with each other. They continually joked and insulted one another in ways she wasn't used to, making it somewhat hard to follow their conversations. Most of the things they said would have made her friends, or any ponies, very upset, yet none of them seemed to care. In a way she found it fascinating being able to study a new species on a social level.

At this point Gorlok 12 had taken a seat so the whole group was there. "Oh please." He said while rolling his eyes. "Your jimmies get rustled like every five minutes, Kevin."

"Some people think they can rustle me." Started Kevin before looking away and nodding as though to himself. "Maybe... Maybe... But I have yet to meet someone who can rustle bullet."

Gorlok 12 just nodded at the obscure reference before looking over to where Twilight sat. "You want something?" He asked while motioning to his own tray full of meat. She looked down reflexively at the mass of butchered animals and gagged a bit, having to put a hoof over her mouth in an attempt to ward off throwing up.

"No thanks... I don't eat meat." She admitted slowly, hoping that that wouldn't somehow offend them.

Gorlok 12 looked momentarily confused before realizing his mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't really think about that." He apologized. "We have some vegetables and stuff in the kitchen. Would that be better?"

She nodded her head, wondering why these things would have vegetables stored away if they liked meat so much. "That would be fine, thank you."

Gorlok 12 looked over to Kyle. "Go get some stuff our unicorn friend can eat." He ordered. Kyle looked momentarily disappointed that he had to abandon his own meat pile, but quickly followed the order.

Once he was finished ordering around his least favorite subordinate, Gorlok 12 turned back to Twilight. "I'm sorry, but I haven't gotten your name yet miss..." He left the end open for her to answer.

"Twilight, Twilight Sparkle." She responded, seeing no reason to be secretive with her current company. As of yet, they seemed honest enough, though she had trouble believing some of their claims. She couldn't help but wonder how she got into space, but she pushed that thought into the back of her mind as she had for the last few hours so she could focus on what was happening around her.

"Aw, nice to meat you." He nodded back with what she could assume was a smile on his face. It was kinda hard to tell, seeing as though he was a lobster monster thing. No, not a monster... She reminded herself, They're just... Different, is all. Like Zecora... Just a lot more horrifying... At least they've been polite.

By this point Kyle returned with a tray piled with various food items. It was dominated by a surprisingly large variety of vegetables, but there were also some types of fruit mixed in. It's very likely that Kyle simply doesn't know the difference between fruits and vegetables so he was forced to guess, though he did a poor job at that. For example: There was an olive mixed in with a pile of carrots. Olives are nuts, not even a fruit or vegetable. Along with it was a glass of what she assumed to be chocolate milk.

"Sorry, we were out of water." Said Kyle with a shrug. "That idiot Sponge Bob took it all..." The last part he spoke slightly louder and directed towards a yellow sponge creature sitting at a table across the room.

Sponge Bob stood up without a word and gave them all the middle finger as he walked out of the room.

After witnessing the strange display, Twilight looked back to the food. For the most part, it all looked like stuff she'd eaten before, so she decided it was probably harmless to consume. "That's fine." She replied quietly, still somewhat nervous under the gazes of her present company. "I like chocolate milk anyways." That brought up some happy memories of when Spike would make her it while she was up late studying. That happiness quickly turned into worry as she wondered how she was going to get back to her number one assistant.

"You hear that, Hank? She likes chocolate milk too!" Said Arnold, pointing out Hank's own glass of chocolate milk.

Hank swallowed the grotesque lump of what once could have filled a menagerie (I learned a new word!) that he was chewing on, before answering. "I just know we'll become the best of friends!" He replied in a mock british accent while clapping his claws together. Twilight couldn't help but smile. At least they were familiar with the concept of friendship, however different it was for them.

"Yeah, you guys have so much in common." Pointed out Kevin. "You should set up a play date." Now in an uncharacteristic reversal of roles, Hank was the one getting his jimmies rustled. Well, he would be if he wasn't so darn cool.

"Damn straight." He replied simply.

After a brief silence as the group consumed their organic matter, Gorlok 12 decided to start another conversation. "So..." He directed his attention to Twilight. "Where are you from?"

Twilight smiled widely at the chance to share how wonderful her home was with her new 'friends'. "I'm from a place called Equestria. That's the country, the planet is called Pony Land. I live in Ponyville in the library, since I'm the librarian there. But that's just my day job, I'm also the princess's personal protege. Well, Celestia that is, there's two princesses now, but I live in Ponyville to study the magic of friendship with my five friends!" She replied a little too quickly. She smiled shyly as she realized how weird that must have sounded.

Gorlok 12 raised an eyebrow as he listened to her reply, momentarily confused by her rapid transition from being shy to excited.

"Sorry... I got a little excited there." Admitted Twilight as she chuckled nervously.

"That's fine. I get pretty excited when I talk about the lobster planets too." He replied with understanding, mainly to not upset their new guest. She was likely still somewhat emotionally unstable and the last thing he wanted right now was to anger her and get shot by magical lasers. "So, what were you doing in space?"

She scrunched up her nose and thought about it briefly. "I've actually been meaning to ask you about that. I have no idea how I got in space or anything." She admitted.

"So you didn't go to space on your own?"

"Not that I can remember, the last thing I can remember before waking up on this ship is being at my home in Ponyville." Aside from those weird dreams I was having, I really need to cut back on the sugar before bedtime. She thought to herself.

"Hmmm." Gorlok 12 looked unfocused as he seemed to be thinking about the situation at hoof, or claw in this case. "That's strange. And you don't remember encasing yourself in a magical bubble?"

"Uhhh, no. I don't think I put a bubble around myself."

At this point, Kevin stepped into the conversation. "Actually, I ran some tests and the energy given off by your bubble was a direct match to the energy left behind by that laser you fired in the med bay. Lobster men each have a unique energy signature given off by their mind powers, so I can only assume that the same is true for you and your kind. With that said, it's more likely that you put the bubble on yourself." He argued, though he literally knows nothing about magic.

Twilight, however, is an expert on magic, and she knew that what he was saying holds true for unicorns too. If what he said was correct, then she did shield herself, though she didn't remember it. "I suppose you're right." She conceded. "But that doesn't answer how I got to space in the first place. The only pony I know of that ever went to space is princess Luna, but that was with the help of some really powerful magic." She explained.

Gorlok 12 rubbed his chin as he thought things over. Finally he sighed. "I suppose I don't have enough information to answer that. As I said earlier, we just found you floating through space quite recently."

Twilight looked down at her partially eaten pile of food in disappointment. She couldn't expect the lobster men to answer all her questions, they were almost as ignorant in this as she was, but she still hoped they could answer more. After a short silence she spoke up again, asking the question that had been on her mind since she first found out she was in space. "Would it be possible for you to take me back home?"

Gorlok 12 looked into her big pleading eyes for a moment. He knew she would probably ask that eventually, and he wasn't sure if it was possible, but he couldn't in good conscience outright deny her. Instead of answering right away, he turned and looked at Kevin, silently asking if they could. He was the one with all the information at the moment, after all.

"Well." He began. "When we found you, you were heading in the opposite direction of us." He paused for a moment to let the implications sink in. "You weren't going very fast, so as long as you weren't in space for more than a few decades- which seems unlikely given the state of your magical bubble- we will likely pass by your home world on the way to our destination."

It took a moment for this to sink in with the group. Twilight's chest welled up with excitement at being told she would likely be able to return home and the lobster men were excited at the chance to see more adorable little unicorns. Of course, they had a mission to fulfill so they wouldn't be able to stay for long.

With the new information, Gorlok 12 turned back to Twilight, happy he didn't have to give her bad news. "Well, I hope that answers your question. I'll tell the ship crews to scan all planets we pass for signs of life." He didn't want to openly tell her 'yes', since it's plenty likely that she could have been thrown off course or something, but he wasn't going to tell her 'no' either.

She seemed content, though. "Thank you guys so much, I was really worried I wouldn't be able to get back."

The rest of the meal was spent with the group exchanging stories and information about their homes. It was apparent to Gorlok 12 that he, and the rest of his friends, had made a brand new friend that day. And it felt magical.

---------------
What's this?
What's this?
There's dialogue everywhere
What's this?
There's friendship in the air
What's this?
I can't believe my eyes
I must be dreaming
Wake up, Ethesto, this isn't fair
What's this?

What's this? What's this?
There's something very wrong
What's this?
There aren't any linked songs
What's this?
The chapters lined with
No little ponies getting trolled
Everybody seems so happy
Have I possibly gone daffy?
What is this?
What's this?

For some ungodly reason that nightmare before christmas song is stuck in my head... I was going to type the whole thing out with partially changed lyrics when I realized that that would be really stupid and take a lot of time. No matter...

I rather enjoyed this chapter regardless of its lack of jokes and action. For once the main character wasn't being a dick to the ponies. Friendshipping is best shipping. Gorlok 12 x Twilight Sparkle all day long. I hope I didn't butcher Twilight's personality too much.