Story: Pre-Subnautica + MLP
Chapter: 4. Welcome to the Planet 4546B
Author: Black--Soul

Once Spike hear trough the distress logs, did he noticed them all being automatically send messages. First what number the lifepods was and its class, than that the lifepods required rescue.

He now know that 33 lifepods had made it of the ship. He didn't remember how many originally where ready for use, but with a crew of over 500 souls on board? This was a very bleak number.
Scharlatan sure dragged a lot of Griffons with him to the afterlife.

Spike climb up the ladder.

As Spike prepared to jump into the water to see its general temperature and how well his PDA A.I. personality named Gales redesigned tool worked underwater. But Gale stopped Spike again from jumping into the water.

Spike guessed that Gale had been enjoying his new freedom of action by trolling him. Either that or he had a really bad timing.

Spike climb down the ladder.

Gale reminded Spike to make a medical scan of himself so they have a baseline of his physical readings for health. Since the medical databanks of his default PDA only had warm blooded races in memory.

Spike stripped out his suit, made the recommendated scan and put on his custom made survivel wetsuit.

Spike climb up the ladder.

Gale also remembered Spike before he jump into the water to send out a custom distress call that would be send out.

Spike climb down the ladder.

As Spike recorded a custom distress call and give the other survivers a good luck wish and his Lifepod 5 would start to swim towards the nearest Lifepod.
Spike did ask Gale if anything else was to do.

Gale told his pouting friend that he had not really anything that came to mind.

Spike climb up the ladder.

Again right before he jumped into the water Gale had a idea. The idea was to check the bottom hatch for damage, since the top hatch already had open without having to be stressed like the one on the bottom of the pod.

Spike climb down the ladder.

Once Spike had climb back into the pod he checked the bottom hatch and was surprised that it was locked. He unlocked it and tested it.
It worked perfectly fine.

Spike climb up the ladder.

Before Gale could come up with something Spike ask: : "Are you trolling me?"
Gale simulated a giggle and admitted it.
Spike was surprised that Gale admitted it without hesitation, but was happy that Gale was honest.
When he ask Gale why he was pranking him did Gale explained that a lie would make no sense and might hurt the trust they had given one another as a common courtesy.
Further was it a nice way of building muscles according to his medical databanks.

"Are we ready?" Ask Spike his digital friend.
Gale give his confirmation and told Spike he would keep him informed if anything behind, over him or under him was coming for Spike.

Spike smiled at the thought that even with his friends not being with him currently, he wasn't alone. He had one friend watching his back.

Spike climb down the ladder.

When Gale ask him why he'd climbed down the ladder without Gale asking, did Spike told Gale that he had a sudden epiphony.

Spike than made a digital and physical copy of his friend Gale. Better safe than sorry. Gale approved.

Spike and Gale where filled with determination!

Spike climb up the ladder.

He sit down near the lifepods top hatch and just take in the atmosphere.
5 minutes later did he was ready to start his adventure.

Gale was eager to start the adventure and enjoyed his freedom his friend had given him. No matter what would come, they would do it together.

Spike prepared to jump and... Gale fell of Spikes back into the pod.

Spike climb down the ladder.

Spike checked if Gale was fine and than reached for the ladder. He pulled away and used the Bottom hatch instead. After all there is a saying:
"If you don't know how deep the water is, don't jump in blind!"

Spike finaly exited the lifepod and into the water.

As Spike looked around him he saw nothing but clear water reaching into darkness. When he turned around did he see the lone stone pillar holding his lifepod in place. He followed it a while and found Lithium sticking out of it. After 5 times going down he had a full inventory of it. Lithium would not be lacking for some time.

Spike noticed the water being not to cold with 20° ,but without his suit would he and others certainly have problems with core temperature of 21° for him and Griffon as well Ponies had a core temperature of 37,5°-39°.
Hypothermia might be a problem.

After two hours of diving and testing his equipment did Spike return to his pod.
He updates Gales copy with the original, while enjoying a meal of some nutrient blocks.
Afterwards he used some water to rehydrate. Spike had not realized how thirsty he was by than, so he immediately drank another bottle of water to quench his thirst.

To his surprise did Gale used his spare time and processing power to design a new survivel wetsuit for Spike. This new suit had a weak beacon, a temperature and navigation module as well a depth counter.

His rebreathing mask had a smart-hud and showed Spike all his vitals signs additionally to the new additions.

Spike was really happy to have Gale with him.

The dragon take a short hot shower of only one hour, before going to bed. The melted bedsheets where not very comfortable to sleep on, but the smell somehow relaxed him. Dragon environmental instincts perhaps?

He changed the bedsheets with new produced ones, but keep the old for their relaxing smell.

Next morning did he wake up feeling a lot better than yesterday. When he made do with what he had for his morning routine, did Gale already awaited Spike getting ready for a status report:

- Off the 33 Lifepods only 22 updated their distress call.
- 8 Ponies and 13 Griffons, Gale was eager to check the coming days for further developments.
- The night cycle of the planet was roughly 15 hour and 5 minutes long.
- The day cycle would still be needed to be observed, since they landed yesterday during daytime.
- Gale had resigned himself to try improving equipment in the Blueprints of the default PDA database.

With him never sleeping he realised that he got rather bored once he had reviewed his records, since transferring to his custum PDA and working of his tasklist.

He proposed that Spike used the Seaglider for personal use to tow his Lifepod into the direction of the next best surviver and to link artificial the Pods together for more living and store space.

Gale had a seaglider design for Spike that where basically two seaglider on a pole connected with analog controls and a small beacon build in to retrieve it should he drop it somehow.

Spike complimented Gales work and ask his partner to design all his tools with a beacon, so he would never permanently lose them. Long term material preservation for the win!

After Gale provided his bipedal friend with towing ropes did their long adventure toward the next best surviver started.

5 Days later.

5 days later and he was still towing his Lifepod towards the closest surviver in his/her pod. It was very boring and tedious, but after 5 boring and almost event less days did he made physical contact with another surviver.

To his surprise was it Gilda Braveheart, a friend of Rainbowdash and Pinkie Pie. If he remembered correctly a acquaintance of Fluttershy as well.

Gilda was very happy to have finally someone to talk to. She was surprised when Gale introduced himself. After basically telling Spike & Gale that she did nothing but wait for rescue, did Spike question her logic. After all, this planet was known for having been overcharged by magic and destroying all ship coming to close to it. Rescue ships would there for not come for them.

Spike was rather surprised when Gilda started to stutter and break down in tears. Her sister Gabby and her dweeb friend in Griffonia Gallus where waiting for her on Equis to return. She was their main money producer and she was doubtful that they manage without her.

Spike could nothing do, but let her cry her sorrow out for a hour.

Later Spike plugged Gale into Gildas Lifepod to use it to update her systems like Spike had been before by Gale. Gildas pod would also work as a backup of himself just as Spikes pod.
Better safe than sorry.

Gale made a copy of himself for Gildas use and recycled the old default PDA. After upgrading Gilda to a equipment equal to Spikes, they connected both lifepods with multible titanrods. Their duolifepod was now permanently connected.

Gilda received now from Gale also a double-seaglider and Spike as Gilda started their journey to the next survivers lifepod.
After only half an hour Gilda stopped and ask Gale for a short range radio. After a quick redesign of Gale of their rebreathing mask, did Spike and Gilda had short range communication and thanks to Gale background music running.

Now Spike and Gildas boring task where easyer to bare. Further did they exchange a few stories to become better friends.
Gale learned a lot that his default PDA database had never contained:
'The knowledge of friendship as something else than a mutually beneficial agreement'.
This pair of meatbags really where worth keeping around for more than convinients. He started to hope that they might actually really see him more as a tool.

Maybe being friends really mean more than beings that use one another for more gain.
His creators made it clear that he was the inferior to them, but this meatbags talked to him like a equal.

He would listen and learn from them, perhaps one day he would understand what humor was.
Spike told Gilda how Gales timing was off. When Gilda laughed at Gales protest of his timing being digital, he was very confused how humor worked.

His concept of humor was practical pranks. He would have to learn this 'innuendos' and 'puns' they were talking about.

3 days later.

3 days later did the 'Team three Star' come up besides another lifepod. They already anticipated another surviver to be added to their team.

Horror struck when the lifepods bottom hatch had something along bitemarks ripping its middle out. The blood splattered inside had made it clear that this planet was having life on it other than the survivers of the 'True Friendship'. The Griffons where no longer the Alpha Predators of the planet...

The medical and ration supplies would be good to be added, as well the materials stored in lifepod 20. Spike was still rather uneasy breathing after the chemical poisening from his landing. The dragon hoped he didn't need medical help outside their medication production capacity.

The next day Gale informed the Meatbags that it was highly advisable to cover up the Bottom hatch to avoid Predators from below to be lure to them trough light coming out of their lifepods.

After permanently covering the hatch with a titan plate, did they update their distress beacons. Eatch had 5 minutes playtime. They warned the others of what happend to the Lifepod 20 former surviver.

Gale counted 18 changed activ sending distress call from other lifepods acknowledge the warning. Gilda & Spike hoped the other missing lifepods didn't fall prey like the former occupied of lifepod 20. Gale doubt their hopes were probably true. Gale was than informed that besides humor, he had to learn about being tactfully towards others. Something he had to learn to become more social.

Gale didn't understand why they were laughing when he insisted of being digital in his tact. How it came as valid response to laugh about his responses was still a mystery to him.

5 days later.

5 days later did Team three Star with 3 Lifepods meet unexpectedly a Griffon landing on their Lifepods. He introduced himself as Giraldi, a security crew member of the red shirt Feather cooperation. His Lifepod was attacked and sunken. He bearly made it out of his Pod with nothing but water bottles on him.

Lucky for him did he could tough it out on a cloud above him, but he had just run out of water when he spotted the three in a line welded lifepod chain.

Giraldi was than added to the group and as the others received a full survivel gear set and equipment from Gales Blueprints. While Gale was dissatisfied that Giraldi didn't add but subtracted from material and rations, did he now had someone repairing the damaged lifepod while the other two continued to tow the column of Team Fourstar towards their next goal.

Two days later was the lifepod 20 repaired and everyone had their own bed to sleep in.

3 days later.

3 days later did their group looked very surprised, when there next Lifepod had sunken and landed on a native wale like creature.

They salvaged what they could, before the wale take offense to their actions and dropped the Lifepod 30 to its last resting place.
They never found out what happened to its user.

5 Days later.

5 Days later did they had a update spread around trough distress calls. The current count was 18 survivers that actively used their distress call to respond.

Next morning did the group wake up, go trough their morning routines like yesterday and Gale surmised the corrent stand of information.
Status report:

- Off the 25 Lifepods sending beacon signals only 18 including themself updated their distress call.
- 8 Ponies 1 Dragon and 9 Griffons where confirmed alive.

Gale was eager to check the coming days for further developments.
- The night cycle of the planet was accurately 15 hour and 5 minutes and 30 seconds long.
- The day cycle was observed to be 30 seconds shorter than the night for some reason.
- Gale had try improving equipment in the Blueprints of the default PDA database via radio, but the default PDA of the other survivers did not allow it do to A.I. security concerns.

Gale had reviewed his records since transferring to his custum PDA from day one until now. He did like his personal growth and definitely disliked the decrease in materials and rations of all survivers until than.

Working of his tasklist was his attempts on learning 'humor' and 'empathy'. Definitely a work in progress...

By now everyone with exception of Spike, Gilda and Zephyr had recovered from their wounds and had repaired their lifepods. Further did noone had anything but endless ocean below them. No land, no fish or other aquatic creatures that could be confirmed. The only ones so far meeting life where not longer among the responding survivers...

The message was clear:
"Welcome to Planet 4546B, you are all prey here and are very welcome to stay as dinner..."

Welcome to Planet 4546B !
It is not very kind to our survivers so far...
Their water and food stores continue to lower!
Is there hope for survivel?
Roughly 24 days have passed since their arrival on the Ocean planet.
Food and water are running out...

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