Title:           Shuttle pones #4
Author:          Maintenance-Bro
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/gJGi5zLR
First Edit:      Thursday 15th of May 2014 09:51:46 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Last edit on: Sunday 4th of January 2015 05:48:28 AM CDT

"Why not?" Twilight asked you as you crouch down to try and explain it again.
"They have feelings just like you and I, and I end up as both a doctor to them and a psychiatrist. The latter was not in my original task list. I really would prefer if there was a pony more comfortable with being apart." You say as she still doesn't get the concept.
"Anon, why she not leaving?" Sasha asked.
"Look I'm trying here Sasha, can I get like five minutes to get it through to her that you don't want her here." you say as Sasha stops shifting around and heads for the doors.
"Look, I come back later. Clearly bad time." Sasha said before she left.
"And you scared her." You say as Morgan and Princess Luna come back into your shop as your stomach growls.
"Please tell me you brought some food Morgan." You say as the two of them come in.
"No, Luna wanted to see how I function, could you show her dad?" Morgan asked as you nod and give Twilight a tap.
"Looks like you've got your first example, now please, don't touch anything inside of her, I'm the only one other than Morgan that knows her configuration. That's the problem with being experimental." You say as another emergency case come though your doors.
"Oh come on! What'd you do this time Red?" You ask as the Marine F/A 18 came in on the back of a truck.
"Blue got me this time. That squid finally got me." Red said as he sounded like he was going to die.
"Can it Marine, you're not going to die here." You say as you get him hooked to the crane and lift him off the truck to inspect him.
"Hey, what's with the purple one, I know that blue one's Morgan's friend, so who the hell is she?" Red asked as he was hanging almost limp.
"An observer, do hope you don't mind."
"I don't give a shit as long as she doesn't get in your way. Sweet Celestia why'd Blue have to throw that tennis ball into my intake?" Red said as you lowered him to the ground so you could get at his turbine.
"Holy! A tennis ball did this?" You say in disbelief.
"Yea, how bad is it because it hurts something fierce." Red said as you start walking over his back to see if his turbine exploded.
"Well, I don't see explosive damage on your back, but I don't know if there's internal damage which means one thing Red." You say you've got to pull the turbine out of him.
"Aw hell you gotta pull it out don't you?" Red said as you nod.
You spend about thirty minutes detaching his left turbine while Morgan, Twilight and Luna watch.
Then another hour was spent inspecting it, which revealed a tennis ball lodged in the front fan blades.
"You big baby the tennis ball was just stuck." You say as you push his turbine back to him.
"What?" Red asks.
"It was stuck, you're lucky you weren't running, it probably would have blown out your turbine." You say as Twilight's now assisting you in replacing Red's turbine.
"Ain't I lucky, but it felt like the turbine blew out on me." Red said as you take another look at the ball. It's covered in a mesh that appears to be able to deliver a severe electrical shock.
"Electricity's a bitch. Blue rigged this ball to have a big kick. You might want to get Fat Albert to get revenge for ya." You say as you close out his engine bay.
"Fat Albert eh? That should be interesting, go to the Marines when in trouble." Red said as the two of you laugh.
"Now get outta here Red, there isn't much else I can do." You say getting him out of your shop.
 
1300hrs. Shuttle hangars.
"Ma, I'm gonna go hang out with Buran." Challenger said as he was leaving the hangar.
"Ya just be careful Challenger, ya know how delicate tha two of ya are." Sadie said reminding him of his fragile outer structure.
"Ma, that's all just the skin. I'll be careful though." Challenger said making Sadie smile as he left.
Challenger walked across the way to the other large white hangar to get Buran to help satisfy their need to explore their new surroundings.
Challenger knocked on the hangar doors. "Miss Mriya is Buran able to come and explore with me?" Challenger called out into the hangar after knocking.
"Hold minute Challenger. Buran not ready to go out." Mriya said as Challenger heard the stretch of packing tape and the sound of plastic being stuck to Buran. When Buran finally escaped from his mother, he was covered nose to tail in bubble wrap, and packing tape.
"Why this popping plastic again?" Buran said as he walked out of his hangar frustrated to be covered in bubble wrap, a toy for Challenger.
"Oh man, your mom wrapped you up again." Challenger said holding back a laugh.
"Embarrassing. Why she need to?" Buran asked knowing he'd get the same answer he always does from Challenger.
"Because our moms are overprotective of us. Any time I leave the hangar, mom reminds me that "I have a delicate structure" sure our skin is weak as all hell, but that doesn't mean our main structure is weak." Challenger said getting Buran to smile a little.
"You are good friend. Now help get this off." Buran said as Challenger started to laugh and assist Buran in removing the bubble wrap without damaging him.
Five minutes of removing bubble wrap later, Buran was free from his plastic encased prison.
"Spasiba friend, now let's go." Buran said as he left as Challenger was picking up some bubble wrap to play with.
"Buran wait up!" Challenger yelled
"Why you want annoying plastic bubbles?" Buran asked as Challenger caught up to him as he was heading towards the runway.
"What? Bubble wrap's fun to pop, don't tell me you haven't popped any." Challenger said as Buran rolled his eyes.
"Nyet, have not popped silly plastic. See no need to." Buran said
"Just pop one. one little bubble, come on buddy." Challenger said as he tried to give Buran a piece of bubble wrap.
"Nyet, not playing with cheap plastic." Buran said getting slightly annoyed by Challenger's constant attempts to get him to pop any sort of bubble wrap.
"Well you're a stick in the mud ain't ya Buran?" Challenger said as Buran so desperately wanted to push him into a tree.
"Da, now please stop with bubble wrap. Embarrassing enough I get covered in it. I don't want to play with it. I dislike the sound." Buran said trying to give Challenger a reason as to why he didn't like it.
"Alright, say whatddya think that is?" Challenger asked pointing as Osprey.
"I don't know. Have you seen anything like that before?"
"I think that's an Osprey, a V-22. I've heard of them, they can take off like a regular plane, and land like a helicopter." Challenger said explaining it as to what he thought. He was right though, it was Osprey he was pointing at.
"Oh, you two must be the shuttles that just moved here." Osprey said in a very cheery manner.
"Da, we shuttles. I am Buran, that Challenger." Buran said as Challenger got a little shy.
"Oh, I'm Osprey. One of the oddballs of the base." Osprey said as she smiled.
"So you are an V-22." Challenger said.
"Yes and you're OV-099. We don't call ponies by their designations here, it's a little rude." Osprey said but still sounded cheerful.
"Sorry miss. I didn't know." Challenger said apologizing
"It's alright, you're new here, I can't expect you to know all the things that go on in Avalon's Shadow" Osprey said before walking off
"Well, she is cheery" Buran said as Challenger smiled a little
"Guess she is." Challenger said
Challenger and Buran walked around the airbase, with Challenger occasionally popping pieces of bubble wrap.
"Can you not play with that?" Buran asked as he knocked the bubble wrap from Challenger's hooves.
"I guess, all ya got to do is ask buddy, don't gotta hit it outta my hooves. Ahh, ya cracked a thermal tile." Challenger said as he looked at the black underside of his right leg.
"Shit, did not mean to." Buran said as Challenger peeled it off and grabbed a spare he always carried
"Dude, these things break all the time on me, if they don't break, they fall off when I come down to land. Just gotta glue a new one back on that's all." Challenger said going though the motions of gluing a new thermal protection tile back to his leg.
"Still did not mean to."
"Buran, if I was counting how many times you've done this by accident, there'd be enough to make both of our mothers cringe. Besides I'm used to it buddy." Challenger said as he had to hold the tile in place for about two minutes.
"Still, did not mean to break tile." Buran said as Challenger now started to shake his leg to make sure it was glued down.
"Good to go. I know you didn't mean to Buran. It just happens." Challenger said as he went back to walking around.
"Does not take long to repair?" Buran asked as they walked past the bar.
"Doesn't take me very long, if mom was doing the repair, I'd be down for an hour with a wrap around the tile and my leg." Challenger said.
"They overprotective Da?" Buran said.
"Da, overprotective's a word for it. It's kinda annoying actually." Challenger said as Buran laughed.
"Good, hate to think you had easier time than me." Buran said as the two of them laughed.
 
1500 hrs. Back at the shuttle hangars.
"Sadie! Lets explore town da?" Mriya said as she walked into the Space shuttle hangar.
"Alright, Columbia, you goin to be fine here by your lonesome?" Sadie asked
"I'll be alright Mom, when do I ever leave the hangar anyways?" Columbia said with a smile
"Alright sweetie, jus be careful if ya do go out. Don't need ya breakin them tiles." Sadie said as she walked out with Mriya.
"Why not just cover in padding?" Mriya asked as the two carriers walked out.
"Mriya, ah am not gonna cover them in bubble wrap like you do to little Buran. Why do ya got to humiliate him so? I know he's ya only one, but that don't mean ya smother 'im." Sadie said
"I do not smother Buran, I just cover him for own good. Somehow he always get it off. Buran only one I have Sadie. Do not want lose him." Mriya said making the comparison between her and Sadie who had three other shuttles of her own.
"Mriya, ya know I don't like it when ya bring up the fact that Buran's your only son. Sure ah got Challenger, Columbia, Endeavor, Discovery an Atlantis, but that's four more than you've got to worry about. The otha three told me they'd launch up into orbit for a mission an come down here when they was done. Ahm scared outta my wits whenever one of them goes up Mriya. There's been plenty o' launches I have scrubbed because ah didn't like the conditions that day." Sadie said sharing in Mriya's fear for the orbiters.
"Sadie, they launch so regularly, how do you manage to deal?" Mriya asked as they passed by Edge of Space.
"Oh, I jus do. Don't get me wrong Mriya, ah get jus as scared as you, but ah try not to show it for the little ones. I don't want them ta worry about me." Sadie said as the two Shuttle carriers shared their feelings.
"Great mother you are. Strong, much stronger than I. I may carry more than you, but you bear more weight than just payload." Mriya said.
"Aw, you're jus bein nice Mirya. Don't know what'd I do without ya." Sadie said as Mriya smiled as they turned back to the bar.