I don't tell the people gathered there much at first; I'm more concerned for my friends. They're getting more and more nervous the more the reporters crowd in on us, and with the Princesses unconscious, there's nobody stopping them. The crowd's curious, the light grey of their emotions hanging like clouds overhead, and I hold up my hands, stopping the tide of words and questions.

"Look, I know you guys have a boatload of questions, and you all pretty much just watched us die," I say calmly. "But we're really hungry and really tired. Do you think this could wait for a few hours, maybe until we've eaten something?"

I put on my best 'weary traveler' look, and their emotions flip from curious to concerned instantly, like hitting a switch, as they back up. We get up from the platform, and Twilight and I team up to carry the unconscious princesses away, taking them to Canterlot Castle.

"Man, it's been a while since we were here." Spike says, running a hand through his hair and grinning. "I'll have to take some pictures; get Archer up to speed."

"Shouldn't be too hard." Rainbow replies.

We continue our chat, moving on to other topics. How odd it is that, even though it's been a long time for us, Equestria is exactly how we remember it, how tall the buildings are, whether or not Pinkie should use Party Cannon 2 to decorate for the upcoming party; meaningless, trivial things that friends discuss.

Soon, we're inside the castle, and Luna and Celestia have been laid in their beds - we didn't really know what else to do with them. The maids, butlers, and castle staff fuss over us, ushering us into a private area; soon, we're in the Kitchen of the Dawn, a large cooking area that bridges Celestia and Luna's rooms.

"All right, Pinkie." I say, looking around the kitchen. "What have you got to work with?"

Almost instantly, Pinkie's rooting through the cupboards and fridge, examining the Princess's food stores.

"We have cereal..." she begins, listing off the things inside. "We have cake, we have some pasta, and we have some steak."

"How much steak?" Rainbow asks, suddenly very interested in the proceedings.

"Steak." Pinkie replies.

“That sounds delicious, Pinkie.” Rarity cuts in.

Pinkie grins, excitement flowing from her, and rushes to the back of the kitchen, leaving us in the castle dining room.

“Man, I wish we’d brought some pirapyx along." Dash says wistfully. The others chuckle.

"I wonder how the others would react to them." Rarity says. "They are rather odd creatures."

"Not ta mention they'd be everywhere within a month." Applejack adds, smiling.

The steak's done in record time, and we begin eating.
As per usual, the food is phenomenal, although I've come to expect nothing less when Pinkie's-
A burst of concentrated, raw emotion hits me like a train. I double over.

"Sunset!" the others cry as they rush to me, concern glowing magenta around them.

The emotion itself is an odd cocktail; three parts heart-destroying grief and seven parts confusion, mixed with a very large portion of hope and doused with fear.
The pure, raw force of it overwhelms me, making it hard, if not impossible, to think of anything else but the feelings rushing through me.
Yeah, being an empath isn't easy.
At least I know what's making it; There's sobbing coming from Celestia's room.

Twilight puts a hand on my back, and the others gather around me. As they do so, the door to one of the chambers opens, and something hits me, hard, bringing me to the ground.
And then the emotions stop, only to be replaced, suffused, by the most incredible, indescribably bright white emotion I've ever felt. I gasp, trying to drink it in as much as possible, absorb the feeling, keep it with me forever.
After all, pure joy is hard to come by.

There's a high-pitched noise, and as I open my eyes, I realize that Princess Celestia's making it.
From on top of me.
And, apparently, Twilight.

"Princess!" the others cry, and they move to head towards us. I hold up a hand to stop them. After a while, they sit down, returning to their meal.
She needs this moment.

We lie there, Celestia still squealing in delight, until another voice breaks the silence.

"This is truly no dream." Luna says, words clear with wonder. "You have returned. You're alive!"

"We are?" Rainbow quips, biting into her steak. "Hadn't noticed."

Rarity shoots Dash a glare, and she smiles.

"Seriously, though; it's really us." Spike says. "It's good to be home again, let me tell you."

I've been lying here long enough, I think. I tap Celestia on the shoulder and she gazes up at me, tears flowing down her face.

"You can let go of us now." I say gently.

"Yes." Celestia replies. "I can."

We sit there for a while longer.

"C-Can you please let go?" Twilight says meekly.

"No." Celestia says.

And there we lie, the Princess of the Sun embracing the two of us.
To be honest, I agree with her; I need this too.

"All right, all right, settle down!" I call, the mic amplifying my words and sending them across the wide, crowded room. The cloud of curiosity is back, making it look like it's about to rain, even though we're indoors.

The reporters, news crews, and normal people settle down in the chairs provided, and Twilight takes a deep breath. Nervousness begins seeping from her, a purple haze that I interrupt with a hand on her shoulder.

"It's going to be all right." I say to Twilight. "You've faced down things a lot worse than a crowd of journalists."

The nervousness is gone, replaced by a weak orange glow. Twilight smiles, as do I.

Being an empath isn't easy, but it's rewarding.

"So,"Twilight says calmly. "What do you want to know?"

The crowd begins mumbling again, and it looks like a vote's being taken; people are raising their hands. Soon, the vote's decided, and a woman walks up to the table the eight of us are sitting behind. Her green-and-gold hair make an odd contrast to the purple cloud around her, and I give her a warm smile.

"It's alright." I say quietly. "We're not gonna bite."

The woman chuckles, and the cloud thins, though faint traces of it are still there.

"In answer to your question, Twilight..." the woman says. "We want to know everything."

"Well, that's no surprise." Applejack quips.

"The plan, so far," the woman continues. "Is for them to ask you some cursory questions, and then have me stay with you for a while afterwards, so I can write down your story."

"That's a change." Rainbow says. "Last time we were here, the news people were at each other's throats."

"We decided that the best thing for all of us would be to publish the story all at once." the woman replies, pride tinging her voice golden. "This is something all of Equestria needs to hear about; money and fame don't matter this time."

"That's awfully charitable of them." Fluttershy says, smiling brightly. "Come sit here with us, then. There's a spare seat right over here."

The woman obliges, and we spend a minute or two making sure she's settled in comfortably.

"What's your name?" Spike asks.

"It's Bright Idea." the woman replies. "It's nice to meet you all."

"All right!" I call. "Now that Bright Idea's joined us, you can all ask your questions now!"

The reporters surge forward, and we all chuckle; this is what we'd been expecting.

The questions come all at once, and so I stop them, asking them to ask one at a time.

"Canterlot Times here." a man says. "Just to clear things up a bit, and give some background; what were your positions aboard the Challenger?"

"That's a great question!" Twilight says. "Thank you so much for asking."

"We'll start with me, Ah guess." Applejack cuts in. "Ah flew the ship."

"I was the ship's engineer." Rarity adds. Confusion begins swirling with the curiosity above us.

"Twilight and I both worked in the lab." Fluttershy continues. "Although I worked more with animals and plants than she did."

"It's true." Twilight says. "I studied anthropology, while Fluttershy was our biological expert."

"I worked with the computers." Spike says. "I designed the guidance systems we used."

"I made food!" Pinkie says cheerfully. "And maps! But mostly food. Oooh! Guys, remember that one time I made a map-shaped cake?"

"Sunset and I were the surface team." Rainbow says, holding out a hand to stop Pinkie before she gets too far. "I found artifacts on planets, and then I'd study 'em back up in space."

They turn to me, and I give a smile and a small shrug.

"Rainbow would collect the artifacts," I say. "And I'd go looking for intelligent life. My... abilities made me a great ambassador."

Another hand raises. I point to it.

"You, in the back." I say.

"Miss Rarity," a smooth, refined voice asks. "Am I correct in hearing you were the engineer of the vessel?"

"Indeed I was, Jet-Set." Rarity replies.

"How could someone so refined, so intelligent as yourself stoop to working with machines?" There's incredulity in Jet's voice, and we all share a quiet chuckle.

"Some time before the sky exploded, I'd developed quite a fondness for machinery." Rarity replies. "It started with my sewing machine, I suppose; after fixing it time and time again, I began to appreciate how intricate and deliberate machinery can be. Engineering and dressmaking are surprisingly alike, when you think about it."

The confusion of the crowd dies down significantly. Apparently a lot of people were wondering why Rarity, a dressmaker, would be a mechanic. Huh.

From there, the questions become more predictable, and we settle into a pattern, taking turns to answer while Bright Idea writes everything down.

Soon, the questions have run out, and the crowd's dispersed, leaving the nine of us sitting there.

"That was a thing." Rainbow says, stretching.

"Indeed it was." Rarity seconds.

Then, a thought strikes me; Where are we going to sleep?
I ask Bright Idea, and she simply shrugs.
We sit there in thought for a few seconds before Applejack speaks.

"Well, if Bright Idea promises not ta tell anyone, Ah suppose we could just..."

"Sleep up there?" Pinkie finishes. "I don't see why not."

We all turn to Bright Idea, and she gulps.

"I promise not to tell anyone." she says.

"No matter what?" Twilight says.

"No matter what!"

"Well, it's settled." Spike says, lifting his arm and talking into his watch. "Archer, nine to take aboard!"

Soon, the now-familiar light of teleportation envelops us, and we're standing in a metal room, cylindrical in shape. Doors are set into the walls, each one with symbols above them; the eight of our personal insignias, and a new symbol; what looks like a signature.

"Archer," Spike says, arching an eyebrow. "Why'd you rearrange the ship again?"

[THERE_IS_SOMEONE_NEW_ABOARD] a monotone voice replies. [A_NEW_ROOM_WAS_REQUIRED]

We all turn to Bright Idea, who's glowing translucent grey with curiosity and wonder.
The eight of us share a look, and we all know that the second she snaps out of it, she'll be popping off questions rapid-fire.

"Night!" Pinkie says, heading to her door. "See you guys tomorrow!"

"Later, nerds." Rainbow says.

"G'night, all."

"Good evening."

"Talk to you in the morning."

"Um... Goodnight."

Soon it's just me and Bright Idea.

"Your room's probably the one with the signature." I say, patting her on the shoulder. "Get some rest; we're telling you everything tomorrow."

I walk through my door and enter my room, still decorated how I like it - thanks, Archer - and flop down onto my bed.
Being an empath is complicated; at night, people's emotions often keep you up, so you learn quickly how to force your body to sleep.
I do so now, falling into black, restful oblivion...

...But not before I hear Bright Idea let out the biggest flat 'What.' I've ever heard. I nod off with a grin on my face.

Author's Notes:

Yay! Chapter 2! More faffing about before we get to the actual story!
Next chapter will actually have some meat to it, but for now, have this bit of expositionary fluff.