Freelancer: The Universe of Possibility

Chapters

Prologue: To Begin Again
Chapter One: Disaster Magnet
Chapter Two: A Rogue Problem
Chapter Three: To Snatch A Smuggler

Prologue: To Begin Again

Prologue: To Begin Again

“It was the Twenty-third Century: Our darkest hour,” the tan, middle-aged mare on the screen said slowly and confidently. She cast her steely gaze through her glasses and across the many assorted ponies, griffons and zebra assembled in front of her. A sharply pressed navy-coloured jacket was buttoned around her chest, the golden trim defining each of the seams. The neatly pinned medals adorning her breast glinted in the few rays of sunlight that broke through the cloud cover.

In the city square there was no other noise apart from the sharp clicks and clacks of photographs being snapped and video footage being taken by the various news sites and companies gathered around the raised platform the mare stood upon. All of the attention was on her. She took a quick breath before continuing on with her tale. “The war had been raging for almost one hundred years. The fighting had gone on for so long, no one could remember the reason why it had all started in the first place. All that we know is that there were two sides; the Changelings and the Alliance, both fighting for control of the Celestial System. For decades, millions died for the same piece of rock, again and again.”

Taking a practiced pause to let what she had just said sink in, the mare brushed aside a lock of grey hair.

“Finally, one side managed to get the upper hoof: the Changelings. In a desperate attempt to save all our races, the Alliance launched five Sleeper Ships. The hope was for everypony to begin again, far from the war and strife that had befallen our worlds, to start free from the prejudices that had divided them for so long. Each Sleeper Ship was named after its patron nation: the Braytonia, the Gildland, the Mulon, the Zavroni and the Equality. By the time the Sleeper Ships were ready to launch, the enemy had blockaded every Alliance planet in a bid to end us, once and for all. Against all odds, the colony ships broke through the Changeling blockade and headed for this system - the Sirius System.”

“That was eight hundred years ago, when we came here to rebuild our lives. We have come a long way since then; we have grown, we have prospered, we have flourished, but we will never forget!” The mare brayed, raising a foreleg above her head and staring defiantly out at the crowds, a hint of a smile visible through her stern expression. A wave of noise slowly spread outwards as the crowds started to applaud and cheer in remembrance of their ancestors' daring escape, and in anticipation of the celebrations soon to begin. Eventually she lowered her leg, bowed and turned away, walking off the platform and past the bodyguards surrounding it.

The cheering and applauding quieted as the screen switched from the live video feed to a bright news room, where a green, smiling unicorn sat, staring at the camera. “That was the Acting President of Equality, Mayor Mare of Manehattan, speaking on the War of Separation,” she said, shuffling the papers before her with her magic. “Now, in continuation of the eight hundredth anniversary of the Separation, we'll be looking at the celebrations happening around the colonies, which continue in earnest. We'll be talking with our representative on Zevera about the festivities happening in the Zavroni colonies...”

Rainbow Dash's gaze and concentration drifted away from the large screen mounted on the wall opposite her as she tuned it out and began focusing more on her surroundings. She was leaning against a cold steel wall in the main recreation room of Freeport Seven, watching the other occupants go about their business. Some were playing pool others were chatting, watching the news or simply waiting for the next ship off the station. Freeport 7 was one of the better Freeports, but it was still a shambles compared to most other space stations; especially the Equality Navy's stations. Those were ridiculously fancy, as if Rarity had designed them all. The sudden memory of the friend Rainbow had left back home on Steeds in the Braytonia System for a life of fame and adventure brought back a severe feeling of regret and guilt. Rainbow Dash idly wondered how Rarity's joint ship repair/ship decoration business was doing while she studied the room she was in.

The large square room was covered in dirt and grime from the amount of ponies passing through. There were couches, vending machines and pool tables haphazardly scattered across the dirt-crusted floor. Griffons, zebra and ponies all chatted and interacted in front of Rainbow, but the ponies that she was waiting for weren't there. That fact was beginning to irritate her; Rainbow didn't like waiting around. Her ship's hold was crammed full of boron packages, which she had been sitting on for the past week after having overheard in a bar that two ponies were willing to pay lots of money for it. All she knew about boron was that it was used in scientific experiments and sometimes in the construction of spaceships and stations, so she had no idea why the ponies were paying so much for it. Usually boron was sold quite cheap, though Rainbow wouldn't look a gift-horse in the mouth. There had been a lot of work involved in getting in contact with the ponies and arranging a suitable meeting place and time, but finally she was here, and she was going to get a fortune for her troubles.

“Where the hay are those two?” Rainbow grumbled to herself, shrugging her flying jacket off and letting it fall to the floor beside her. She hadn't actually flown with her own wings for a long while due to the constant travel. Her journey had taken her to the other side of the Sirius system and back, and her wings were aching from the lack of use. Rainbow stretched and slowly let her cyan wings unfurl, wincing as every kink worked its way out of her bones. After she had stretched, she shook herself gently, glad that she had finally got the time to actually rest a while and stop the constant travel. She flicked her messy, multi-coloured tail around in impatience, keeping an eye out for the other side of the deal.

“So we've been hearing that there's a young filly who's been hauling a whole ship full of boron around the system,” a voice from beside her said conspiratorially.

Another voice, slightly deeper than the other, said on her other side, “And that she's been looking for two ponies fitting our exact description to giv- I mean, sell it to.”

Rainbow jumped at the sudden voices flanking her. She quickly stepped out from between them and turned around to look up at them. In front of her were two gangly ponies clad in striped waistcoats and bow ties, straw hats perched on their scarlet and white manes, both with large grins plastered on their cream faces and eager looks in their eyes. One of them was slightly bigger than the other and he had a handlebar moustache perched above his wide grin. The one with the moustache had three quarters of an apple visible on his flank, while the other had a quarter of an apple instead. To Rainbow, it looked like the two ponies standing in front of her would be rubbing their hooves together if they weren't using them to stand. She nervously took a step back, hastily hooking her jacket with a hoof and flinging it over her back.

“Uh... yeah, that'd be me, I guess,” she said, still unnerved by their sudden appearance as questions of why they wanted the boron flashed through her mind.

“Well that's just grand!” the pony with the deeper voice and moustache said jovially. “What do you think brother?”

“Fantastic! Waiting for so long and then this mare comes along and answers all our prayers,” the other pony said over-dramatically, looking up at the ceiling and putting his front hooves together in mock prayer.

“So, who are you two?” Rainbow asked. She also wanted to ask what they were going to do with the boron, but she knew full well how often those sorts of questions soured up potential deals and got ponies in all sorts of trouble.

The brothers' smiles dropped slightly in realisation, but they quickly regained composure and returned to grinning at Rainbow and each other.

“Oh, beg your pardon, miss...” the moustached pony said, trailing off in expectation.

“Dash. Rainbow Dash,” she said.

The two brothers took a synchronised bow, levitating their hats off before returning to an upright position.

“My name is Flim,” the moustached one stated, “and his name is Flam.”

“We are the Flim Flam brothers, system-renowned sales ponies, pleased to make your acquaintance,” Flam said. “And we are very interested in that hold full of boron I believe you have in your possession. May I ask how you managed to get a hold of such valuable cargo?”

“Or should we get straight to business?” Flim whispered shiftily, as both of the brothers leaned in towards Rainbow.

The brothers' antics were steadily unnerving Rainbow more and more, and the sooner this strange deal was done and the further away from the two creepy brothers she was, the better, she thought.

“Alright, but I want to see the money before I give you the boron,” Dash demanded, remembering that she'd had ponies run off without paying her before, and more often than not, leaving a couple of thugs behind to make sure she wouldn't follow.

Flim and Flam's faces slowly sank before they spun around and started whispering to each other. Rainbow picked up a few words here and there, but before she could intrude the brothers were looking back at her with even wider grins than before, though Dash could spot their quick, nervous looks at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

“Fine, fine! Absolutely fine. Let's go have a look now, shall we?” Flam suggested, darting beside Rainbow. Dash went to take a step away, only to find Flim on the other side of her, his moustache and grin merely inches away from her face. Together, the brothers started forwards with Dash trapped between them. There was nothing she could do except try to keep pace and be guided towards their destination.

After many winding passages, the trio arrived at a looming metal door, which juddered open at their presence. On the other side was a hulking, beetle-like shape with fins, floating a metre above the floor. It looked to be made out of various sturdy metals and polymers and attached to it were three cannons, each looking small in comparison to the ship. There was no visible way on board the ship, but Dash knew, like most ships, with a press of a button, steps would protrude out of the ship, allowing the pilot access. Around the ship were a few ponies in overalls refuelling and repairing it. The Outside was a dangerous place, and it wasn't often that a ship would come in and not need minor repairs. Also assisting the mechanic ponies were a couple of robots, standing nearby just in case a spare part was needed.

“Here we are!” Flim and Flam announced at the same time, gesturing with their outside forelegs. Rainbow was still trapped between them, and was steadily getting more and more nervous with the brothers strange antics. Just the way they could both say something at exactly the same time really put Rainbow on edge. All the way to their ship's hangar the brothers had been constantly chatting about their various different deals they had done in the past. Most of the stories ended with the brothers being paid unrealistic amounts of money and their customers living happily ever after, while the other stories didn't end at all.

With considerable effort, Rainbow managed to use her wings to push the two unicorns on either side of her away and quickly stepped through the door and towards the brothers' spaceship. Looking the ship up and down, she noticed various burns and scrapes on its hull, as well as the several engine modifications applied to it. She guessed they had been added to help the brothers escape their unsatisfied customers. She turned back towards the brothers who were whispering frantically into each other's ears, but when they noticed her looking at them, they stopped suddenly, their large grins slipping back onto their faces.

“So you wanted to take a look at the money, eh?” Flam asked, stepping towards the ship.

“Yeah, so I know you're not just going to make a runner without paying me,” Rainbow said, turning to face Flam as he pulled a small device out of a pocket in his waistcoat with his magic. He laughed at Rainbow's comment before pressing one of the buttons on the key and sliding it back into the pocket. As he pressed the button, a small panel on the ship swung open and a long set of steps unravelled until they hit the floor with a dull thunk.

“I can see you've got good business sense there, isn't that right, Flim?” Flam asked, climbing the steps and looking back over his shoulder.

“Just so!” Flim said from right next to Rainbow, causing her to jump in shock again. “Nothing is going to get past you, I can see that.” Flim said, staring down at Rainbow.

“Stop that!” Rainbow shouted at Flim, quickly stepping away again. She vowed to never let either of them out of her sight again, just so they wouldn't sneak up on her.

“Dreadfully sorry, won't happen again,” Flim said, while Flam simply laughed as he returned, levitating a battered brown suitcase along with him. He dropped it in front of Rainbow, who quickly stooped down and opened it, eager to see the money inside. After a quick count, she slammed the suitcase shut and glared up at the brothers.

“There's only ten thousand credits in there! You said I'd be getting a million, where's the rest?” she asked, now wondering if the brothers actually had one million credits to give her. It had seemed like it was too good to be true at the time, but she'd dismissed that thought over the prospect of gaining that money.

The brothers' grins only grew larger, as Flam said, “Don't you worry, my dear, we'll show you the rest once we've seen your precious cargo,” pulling out the ship's key again and pressing another button on it. Flim quickly grabbed hold of the suitcase in his magic and threw it back through the hole in their ship just before it sealed up again.

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted in surprise, reaching forward in vain to try and stop the suitcase from escaping her. “What was the point of that?”

“We wouldn't want you running off with the money before we got our boron, would we?” Flim said, stepping forward. “So, care to show us to your ship?”

Rainbow begrudgingly nodded before turning and indicating with a hoof for the brothers to follow. “Fine,” she said, walking back towards the hangar door. “Just don't think I'm going to forget about the million credits you two owe me.”

“Of course not!” Flim exclaimed.

“Lead the way!” Flam said, the brothers' hoofsteps ringing out from behind her.

Rainbow and the brothers were passing the main recreation room on their way to Rainbow's hangar when the first alert sounded over the inter-station sound system.

“Warning: unidentified ships are en route to the station, their intentions are unknown,” a cool, robotic mare's voice said. ”Repeat, unidentified ships are en route to the station, their intentions are unknown. We have sent our fighter squadron to intercept them. Please be prepared to return to your hangars at a moment's notice.”

“That doesn't sound good,” Rainbow heard Flim mutter from behind her.

She looked back towards the brothers who were staring out the window beside them, and said, “Don't worry; it's probably just a false alarm. Just hurry up, the sooner this deal is done with, the better.”

“Absolutely right,” Flam said, glancing nervously into the main recreation room, hopping from leg to leg.

“In fact, why don't you just give us your ship and the deal will be done, yes?” Flim suggested, stepping forward, hoof outstretched.

“No way!” Rainbow shouted angrily, turning round to face the brothers, wings outstretched. “You're not getting the boron until I've got my money.”

“Of course you'll get your money, but you really won't be able to use it if this isn't actually a false alarm and you end up dead, will you now?” Flim said, trying to reason with Rainbow.

“Why don't we pay you later, somewhere,” Flam started to say, before a sudden explosion from another part of the station cut him off.

“Alert, Freeport Seven is under attack from unknown assailants. All personnel report to hangar three to board emergency evacuation transport. This is not a drill,” the robotic mare stated, equally as calm as before. “Repeat, all personnel report to hangar three to board emergency evacuation transport. This is not a drill.”

Amber warning lights began flashing along the floor, heading in the direction of the evacuation hangars, and a whining siren began to pierce the air.

“Give us your ship!” The brothers shouted frantically at Rainbow, both of them lunging forward, hooves outstretched, as more explosions erupted around the station.

“Give me yours!” Rainbow yelled back, leaping into the air, wings pushing her upwards, out of the brothers' reach. “You're not getting the boron until I have the money.”

“Fine!” Flam shouted, hastily pulling the small key out of his pocket with his magic and hurling it at Rainbow, who deftly caught it in her teeth. Tucking the brothers' key into a jacket pocket, she pulled out her ship's key and threw it at Flam, who caught it in his magic. Without another word, the brothers spun on their heels and began to sprint back down the corridor.

As the brothers were halfway down the corridor, an explosion shook the corridor around them, causing Flam to trip and land on his front with a sudden exhalation of breath. Flim slid to a halt beside his brother and started to hook a leg underneath Flam when a pipe in the ceiling above the both of them fell loose. Rainbow saw it fall loose and darted forward, yelling a warning in an attempt to warn the brothers, but she was too far down the corridor to reach them in time.

One end of the pipe slammed into Flim's head, sending his straw hat down the corridor, while the other end crushed Flam's rear legs. Flam let out a whinny of pain before falling into unconsciousness as the pipe rolled off him and rested itself against the wall. Flim's forelegs collapsed underneath him and his head bounced off the floor as he keeled over unconscious.

Rainbow sped down the corridor, past the recreation room, her newly-gained ship forgotten about as the brothers lay unmoving in front of her. She quickly landed beside them, checking to see if they were both still breathing, panic slowly seeping into her mind. Seeing that both of the brothers were breathing, she quickly hooked a foreleg around each of them and began to drag them towards the main recreation area, as alerts and warnings continued to be voiced by the robotic mare.

“Help! I need help!” she shouted, her voice cracking. She hoped that there were still ponies in the recreation room that might be able to help her get the brothers to an evacuation ship. “Please, anypony, help! Help!”

From ahead, she could hear faint shouts of surprise and hurried hoofsteps on their way towards her. As she neared the doorway of the recreation room, a burly violet earth pony stallion with cropped light grey hair burst through, his head turning this way and that, eyes darting around for the source of the shouting he had heard moments before. He was wearing a black vest and had a hammer proudly emblazoned on his flank. Spying Rainbow and her unconscious burden, he hurried forwards, hooked a leg under Flim and flung him over his back. The stallion looked over at Rainbow and said, “Come on, this station hasn't got long left. Whoever is attacking it isn't going to stop until they're sure everything is destroyed.” He ran back through the doorway, his gangly cargo hanging limply off his back, threatening to slide off at any moment.

Rainbow nodded after him, both in thanks and in acknowledgement, hefted Flam in her forelegs and flew after the violet stallion.

They dashed through the recreation room, Rainbow flying over the couches and pool tables, Flam's crushed hind legs banging against everything she avoided, eliciting groans from the unconscious body, while her helper darted between the obstacles. They exited into a long corridor, the lights on the floor heading round a corner at the far end. The pair sped along the corridor, following the lights around twists and turns and through doorways into more corridors, small explosions happening around them as the station began to show the damage it had taken, until eventually they arrived at a large doorway. Flashing lights surrounded it and a hulking transport ship was visible through the opening. Stepping through the doorway, Dash saw ponies darting back and forth under what looked like the ship's prongs, making sure that it was ready for a quick launch. A few ponies were trickling in from a doorway on the opposite side of the hangar, hurrying towards the ship.

A few official-looking ponies clad in navy uniforms and caps were debating in front of the evacuation ship, but they stopped as soon as they spotted Rainbow and the purple stallion. After a second of discussion, the two male officials ran off into the ship to fetch more ponies and a couple of stretchers, while the remaining official walked towards Rainbow, concern on her ruby face.

“Thanks for helping these two, we'll have some stretchers for them both shortly,” the official said, nodding towards the two brothers. “But you had better bring them to the boat, we don't have long.”

“Sure,” the violet stallion who had helped Rainbow said, panting, out of breath from the dash through the station's long corridors. He and Rainbow hurriedly followed after the official up a ramp and into the ship, where a couple of medical ponies and the two officials who had ran off before were waiting beside two floating stretchers. As Rainbow, her helper and the female official stepped into the loading bay at the top of the ramp, the large bay door behind them slowly slid shut.

“Please place them on the stretchers,” one of the medical ponies, an elderly unicorn mare clad in a pale blue lab coat said, gesturing towards the stretchers. Rainbow carefully draped Flam backwards onto one of the stretchers, while the violet stallion gently rolled Flim off his back and onto the stretcher. As soon as the brothers were on the stretchers, the medical ponies each grabbed a stretcher and guided them off across the loading bay and through a wide doorway, the pair of male officials following after them.

The female official was the only pony remaining with Rainbow and the violet stallion, and after watching the stretchers bearing Flim and Flam go, turned to Rainbow and the stallion. “I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask what happened to the two of them, but I'll let you unwind first,” the official said, flashing a smile. “You both look knackered. I'll get the boys to find you both beds, and I'll come find you later to ask the questions, okay?”

Rainbow nodded, only now realising how drained she felt after the mad dash through Freeport Seven's corridors, carrying a pony nearly twice her size. She glanced over at the stallion who had helped her, noticing how tired he looked as he wiped a foreleg across his brow.

“One question, before you go,” the stallion said. “Where's the bar?”

The official chuckled and shook her head. “Just go down that corridor, take a left at the end and you'll find the bar,” she said, pointing a foreleg towards a corridor to the right of the doorway Flim and Flam had been guided through.

“Thanks,” the stallion said, stepping towards the corridor she had indicated, grinning. “Coming?” He asked, looking over his shoulder at Rainbow.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Rainbow said, following after him. As they walked through the corridor, they could feel through the floor the ship taking off and beginning to fly away from Freeport 7, and a deep male voice came over the ship's public announcement system.

“This is Captain Brand speaking. We are now leaving Freeport Seven and are heading for Manehattan,” the voice said calmly. “The ship staff will be happy to assist you in any way should you need help, and if there are any injuries, please could you report to the medical bay on deck C, thank you.”

The burly earth pony chuckled before turning his head to look at Rainbow. “Good job on helping those two unicorns back there, gotta say.” he said. “Most ponies would probably have just left them behind.”

“Yeah, well, I couldn't just leave them to die,” Rainbow responded. Suddenly, the reason why she had been on Freeport 7 in the first place forced itself back to the forefront of her mind, a cold feeling of dread seeping through her body, causing her to stagger to a halt.

Noticing Rainbow stop in the middle of the corridor, the stallion quickly turned and swung a foreleg over her shoulders to steady her. “Hey, hey, hey, you're alive, you're fine,” he said reassuringly. “We're out of Freeport Seven, don't worry. Come on, let's get a drink down you, you'll feel better afterwards.” He gave her a slight shake before gently pushing her down the corridor.

Rainbow numbly nodded and allowed the stallion to guide her to the bar, the million credits she had just left behind the only thing she could think about. She barely registered their entry into the ship's crowded bar and only managed to be dragged out of her stupor when a large mug of frothing amber liquid was slid in front of her by a purple hoof.

“Come on, drink this, you'll feel better afterwards,” she heard the stallion say from beside her. She stared at it for a moment before grabbing it in with a hoof, putting it to her lips and taking a large gulp of the drink. She sighed as the liquid flowed through her body, a warm feeling slowly spreading out from her gut. She wiped the frothy moustache that had settled above her mouth away with a hoof, before putting the mug down again.

“Thanks, I needed that.” she said, letting out a small burp.

“Sweet Apple Acres; the best cider makers in the system,” the stallion said, settling himself onto a chair next to Rainbow.

“Too true,” Rainbow replied, perching herself on a seat before taking another drink. “The name's Rainbow Dash, by the way,” she said, extending her empty hoof.

“Anvil,” the stallion responded, meeting her hoof with his own and shaking. “Nice to meet you. So, what were you doing on Freeport 7 before it all went boom, and what happened to those two ponies?” He asked Rainbow, a smile on his face, as he raised a foreleg to get the barpony's attention.

The question brought back still-fresh bitterness, evidenced by the scowl on her face as she took another gulp of her cider. She was about to tell Anvil her reasons for being on the ill-fated station but was interrupted by the barpony before she could begin.

“What d'ya want?” the ivory earth pony behind the bar asked, his black mane slicked into a flat side parting, a bow-tie neatly resting under his throat.

“Sidewinder Fang, please,” Anvil requested, pulling a cloth wallet out of his vest and flicking a couple of bits out with a hoof. The barpony wordlessly nodded, scooped the bits behind the bar with a hoof and knocked a small glass onto his other fore hoof with a light tap of his hind leg. He swiftly began to fill the glass with different measures of several different coloured liquids, smoothly spinning from bottle to tap, and a few seconds later had slid the glass off of his hoof and onto the bar in front of Anvil, who greedily took it in his mouth and gulped it down.

“Aah, that's better,” he moaned, shaking his head vigorously, before twisting on his seat to face Rainbow. “You were about to say why you were on that rust-bucket?”

Rainbow's scowl deepened, but she began to tell her tale. “I was on Freeport Seven to get paid for a deal I'd made with the two ponies we helped out,” she said bitterly. “Flim and Flam they were called. I'd heard that a pair of ponies wanted a load of boron, so I got my hands on some and got in contact with them. We made a deal that we'd meet on Freeport 7, I'd give them the boron and they'd give me a million credits for a job well done. Should have known something would go wrong. The universe just wouldn't give me a million credits for such an easy thing.”

She took another drink of her cider before continuing.

“I was waiting in the main recreation area for them, met up with them, went to their ship, they showed me a bit of the money and we were on the way to the hangar with my ship in it when the alerts started going. They panicked and started saying that I should just give them my ship with the boron in it until the first explosions happened, when they practically threw their ship's key at me. I'd just given them the key to my ship, and they were halfway down the corridor when one of them tripped. The other one stopped to help him when a pipe fell from the ceiling.”

Rainbow took a deep breath, trying to steady her emotions, not sure why what happened to the two brothers in business was affecting her so.

“I tried to warn them, but it was too late. The pipe smacked the one who had stopped to help on the head, and fell on the other one's legs. Then I flew over to help them and called for help. That was when you arrived,” she said, looking up at Anvil, a grateful smile sneaking onto her face. “Thanks for that, by the way. I wouldn't have been able to help them if you hadn't come back.”

“No worries,” Anvil replied, smiling. “I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I'd have just left you all to die. Bad luck about the deal though. I guess it would be nice to have a million credits, you'd have been able to retire early,” he said, laughing.

Rainbow snorted derisively, waving a hoof. “I doubt I'd have gotten the million anyway. Those two were acting really shifty whenever I mentioned the million. Bet the ten thousand they showed me was fake anyway,” she said sadly. She was about to continue feeling sorry for herself when somepony interrupted her.

“Um, excuse me? Are you the two who saved the beige unicorn stallions in the med-bay, 'cause you fit the description the sergeant gave me,” the voice said. Rainbow and Anvil both looked round to see a thin, earth-brown pegasus peering through a pair of thick round spectacles perched on his muzzle at them.

“Yeah, that's us,” Anvil replied, hopping off his seat to stand before the colt. “What do you need?”

“Oh, uh, well, I was asked to bring you both up to the lieutenant so she can ask you how they got injured, if you don't mind? It's just, I'll get in trouble if you don't,” he said nervously. He looked barely old enough to be of drinking age, and all of the creatures in the bar seemed to be scaring him slightly.

Deciding to get the colt out of the room quickly and eager to get her mind off of the lost money, Rainbow drained the rest of her cider, hopped off her seat and said, “Sure, lead the way.”

The colt looked visibly relieved at finally being able to get out of the bar. He span on the spot and began to weave his way out, Rainbow and Anvil following close behind him. As soon as they were outside the bar, the colt started trotting off down the corridor, back towards the loading bay.

“So, what's your name, kid?” Anvil asked the colt, giving him a gentle smile so as not to scare him.

“Oh, I'm Pinch. Private Pinch, of the Equality Navy,” he said, glancing quickly around at Anvil. “I only passed boot camp last week, got assigned out here 'cause they thought nothing would be happening on this run, only now I'm helping evacuate everypony from a Freeport. I mean, who'd attack a Freeport? Freeports are open for everypony, even pirates, hay, even...” here he quietened to a whisper, “...the Order!” He nervously looked down both ends of the corridor; as if he was afraid someone would have heard him and was going to attack him. “Though, I'm thinking it was the Order who blew it up. I mean, everyone knows they're terrorists who'll attack anyone for so much as saying their name.” Once again, his eyes scanned up and down the corridor, even sweeping along the ceiling as if somepony might be standing upside-down on it.

Rainbow shook her head at the colt's antics, though she did think that he had a point. There was no reason for anyone to attack a Freeport. Everypony was allowed on a Freeport, the owners were neutral to every nation or faction out there. The only group that Rainbow could think of who might possibly have reason to destroy a Freeport was the Order, and the only reason for that would be to send a message, but to whom, she had no clue. They already were a lethal threat in the already dangerous universe; they wouldn't really need to send a message to anypony.

She decided to put it out of her mind when the trio arrived at a door flanked by two ponies wearing peaked navy caps, who were staring rigidly at the wall opposite them. Whenever Rainbow saw ponies standing at attention, she couldn't resist the urge to mess around or pull a prank. Sadly she hadn't got a pen or anything with which to draw on them, so instead, as she was about to follow Pinch and Anvil into the room, she stopped in front of the two military ponies and pulled the silliest face she could. She stood like that for a moment, before giving up and trotting into the room, muttering to herself, “You're no fun.”

The crammed room she entered looked to have previously been a single bedroom which had hastily been converted into an office of sorts. The bed had been pushed aside and the bedside cabinet had been set in the middle of the room, a chair positioned behind it. A vanity table sat next to the door, papers and folders scattered all over it, and there was a pony hunched over one of the papers, scribbling furiously. On the chair in the middle of the room was the official who had directed Anvil and Rainbow to the bar, her cap now resting on the edge of the cabinet in front of her, revealing her orange mane, done into a tight bun. When she saw the trio enter, she smiled and motioned for them to take a seat on the bed.

“Thanks for fetching them, Private. Go wait outside, I'll call you back in when I've got more orders for you,” the official said to Pinch, who snapped a quick salute, spun on the spot and marched smartly out the room. Turning towards Rainbow and Anvil, she said, “I'm Lieutenant Cosmos, of the Equality Navy. Sorry to have dragged you here, I just need to ask you how the two ponies you saved got injured. It won't take long.”

Anvil and Rainbow looked at each other, Anvil looking in a way which said, 'You were the one who saw it.' Rainbow simply sighed, nodded and said, “Well, a pipe fell on the both of them, smacking one in the head and the other on the legs.”

“So, where were you both when this happened?” Lieutenant Cosmos asked, a pencil between her teeth.

“Well, I was just down the opposite end of the corridor, and I saw it fall on the both of them,” Rainbow replied.

“I was in the main recreation room, making sure that everypony got out, then I heard Rainbow here shout for some help,” Anvil said. “That was when I ran back and saw her dragging the both of them towards the recreation room.”

The Lieutenant simply nodded and jotted it down on the sheet of paper in front of her before saying, “Well, what you both did is admirable. Not many ponies would go back to help another pony while the station exploded around them.”

Rainbow grinned and said, “I couldn't just let them both die, could I?”

“I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I'd have just let them all die,” Anvil said, smiling.

“Indeed,” Lieutenant Cosmos agreed. “Well, I'll just have to get both of your details and then I'll have Private Pinch show you to your rooms, does that sound alright?”

“Sounds great,” Anvil replied with a smile, while Rainbow simply nodded.

“Okay, just fill in these forms and you'll be on your way. Thank you, once again, for saving those two ponies. I'm sure they'll want to repay you in some way,” the Lieutenant said, pushing two forms forward with her fore-hooves.

Rainbow gave a hollow smile and muttered, “Yeah, they'd better.”

Chapter One: Disaster Magnet

Chapter One: Disaster Magnet

After five days of uneventful travel, interspersed only by journeys to the ship-board bar, announcements from the captain and the occasional accidental meetings with Anvil, Rainbow Dash was glad that the evacuation ship was finally landing on Manehatten. All she wanted to do now was find a job that would either get herself enough money to get a ship back to Steeds or allow her to survive until Flim and Flam had recovered enough to be able to pay her.

Rainbow was waiting in the loading bay she had first stepped into after escaping Freeport Seven, along with Anvil and the rest of the survivors from the doomed station. Looking around, she realised there were less survivors than she had originally thought. The bar had always seemed crowded whenever she had gone in for a drink. She reasoned that they all must have constantly gone there so as to try and forget whatever possessions or plans they had had that had blown up along with Freeport Seven.

A shudder went through the floor of the ship, causing some ponies to stumble and bump into others, accompanied by the hum of the ship's engines subtly quiet down. The Captain's deep voice sounded from a speaker embedded in the wall above the loading bay main door.

“This is Captain Brand once again. We are just about to land at Manehatten Spaceport. I'd like to thank you all for your patience on this journey, and I hope you all have a safe and pleasant life after you leave this ship. This is probably the last time you'll hear one of my announcements, and I'm sure many of you are thankful for that,” he said to chuckles and choruses of agreement. “I just need to remind you that if you are still suffering after the events of Freeport Seven's destruction, don't hesitate to contact any of the Liberty officials aboard our ship or any of Liberty's medical centres on Manehatten. Thank you.”

Rainbow and the rest of the survivors gave a polite round of applause, and just as it was dying down, the loading bay door began to lower. At the sight of this, Rainbow gave a hoot of joy at finally being able to get off of the ship and onto actual ground again. As the door slowly fell open, it revealed a clear, bright, cerulean blue sky, which hung above towering sky-scrapers as far as the eye could see. Embedded in the sky-scrapers were advertisements for all sorts of items, ranging from simple household appliances to brand new spaceships. The only clear area was the stone square space in front of the evacuation ship, which was marred with various scorch marks, scratches and general refuse. There was also a huddle of reporters and camera-ponies crowded in front of the ramp, eager to get the first interview. Rainbow was just about to dash out into the fresh air of a new planet, but as she unfurled her wings, she heard her name being called out.

“Rainbow Dash! Anvil! Just a moment before you go, please?”

Rainbow sighed and begrudgingly folded her wings back in again and then turned towards the source of the unwanted attention. The pony who had called both Rainbow and Anvil was Lieutenant Cosmos, who was lingering at the side of the loading bay door, out of the way of the rush of survivors who were eager to get off of the evacuation ship. Rainbow glanced over at Anvil, who simply gave a slight shrug and made his way towards the Lieutenant, prompting Rainbow to follow him over.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile as Anvil and Rainbow reached her. The Lieutenant swept her cap off with a hoof as a way to show that the conversation was casual. “Just wanted to once again thank you for saving those two ponies again. They're going to be transferred over to Manehatten's Celestial Hospital to recover some more, so if you want to see how they're getting on, just pop in and tell the staff there that you saved them. That's probably the only way those stuffy doctors will let you see them.”

Anvil gave a snort of laughter while Rainbow simply asked: “Are they awake yet?”

“I'm afraid neither of them are awake at the moment,” the Lieutenant responded with a shake of her head. “The one who had his leg crushed; Flam, I believe, woke up for a short while yesterday, but he was pretty shook up about what happened and about his brother and passed out soon after. He'll probably be awake later if you want to see him at the hospital.” She slipped her cap back on and gave them both an apologetic smile. “Now, I'm afraid I have to go, my superiors probably want me to tell them exactly what happened, and I'm sure you both have family or friends waiting for you. See you,” she said, turning and trotting down the ramp towards a huddle of other Liberty Navy officials.

Rainbow and Anvil walked down the ramp after the Lieutenant, gazing around them in wonder at the capitol city of Manehatten.

“I heard someone say over two hundred million ponies live on Manehatten,” Anvil said in awe, his head constantly rotating, trying to take in everything. “Imagine that! Two hundred million ponies on one planet. It's probably 'cause Manehatten was the first planet to be colonized.”

Rainbow simply nodded, not really paying attention. Steeds was impressive, with the occasional sky-scraper here and there, but Manehatten was on a completely different level. The spaceport was surrounded by sky-scrapers, each with ships and cabs landing on and taking off from them. One such structure was twice the size of everything around it and was in the shape of a smooth fin. Painted on the side of the impressive structure was half of a star with four thick lines emerging from where the star had been cut. There were so many buildings tightly-packed together that there was no space at all for the horizon to peep through. Rainbow could hear a low continuous hum coming from traffic lanes above and around the spaceport, where hundreds of floating cabs and cars flew past every minute. Just audible underneath the hum was the chatter of thousands in the streets below the spaceport. Dotted around the stone of the spaceport were newsponies with video cameras and microphones interviewing other survivors of Freeport Seven, most of whom were eager to recount their interpretation of what had happened.

“Hey, want to grab a drink?” Anvil asked, pointing towards a two story building at the side of the spaceport. Shaking herself out of her trance, Rainbow looked over at where Anvil had pointed. The building in question had a large neon sign hanging dejectedly from a wall, declaring to the world that it was 'The Rest Stop.' Just underneath another sign hung, the words promising that the bar was 'Open at all hours.' The faux-sandstone walls of the building were dulled from years of constant pollution of the adjacent spaceport and the old wooden door was worn from the amount of ponies passing through.

“Sure, might as well,” Rainbow said, shrugging.

“So, got any plans on what you're going to do now you're here?” Anvil asked as the pair made their way across the spaceport.

“Flim and Flam owe me,” Rainbow responded. “All my money and possessions are now floating in the black, along with my ship, and its their fault that I couldn't save my stuff.”

“You really think they're going to pay you? Honestly, I think you should forget it,” Anvil said earnestly. “Just go home, back to Steeds. Didn't you say you used to work for your friend Rarity?”

“Oh yeah, go back to painting old ships and putting up with her constant whining? Great, just what I want with my life,” Rainbow scoffed. “What about you? What're you doing?”

“A couple of friends are going to be meeting me here, and then I'm going to see from there,” Anvil answered, pushing open the door to The Rest Stop lobby.

Rainbow glanced around the small room as they passed through, seeing several tired-looking ponies in muted conversation with each other or simply waiting for the day to be over. The pair walked through another doorway and into a much larger room. This room had obviously been designed to look like an impressive temple chamber from Equestrian past, but after many years, the only effect the dim torches and chipping stone brickwork made was one of hopelessness. Empty tables were spread across the floor, and booths lined one wall. Opposite the booths was a long wooden bar, with empty stools stood in front of it. Above the bar were three screens, their volumes all down low, so that the ponies speaking on screen sounded as if they were mumbling to themselves. The room was surprisingly empty, only three of the booths being occupied and a single pony in a dirty white lab coat stood at a table, sipping on a small glass of a dark grey liquid.

As Anvil stepped into the room, one of the ponies in the booths spotted him and gave a loud cheer, leaping out of her seat and tackling him around the neck.

“Anvil! Oh, Celestia, I'm so glad you're alright,” the blue mare gushed, hugging Anvil tightly. “When we heard that you had been on Freeport 7 we were so worried!”

Anvil chuckled and gently pushed the mare away from his neck. “Don't worry, I'm fine,” he said, playfully rubbing her cheek with a hoof. “It's good to see you again, Shortwave.”

Looking over at the booth the mare had pounced from, Rainbow could see three other ponies sliding out from the booth and making their way across the room towards the trio standing in the doorway.

“Well, Rainbow, I guess this is where I leave you,” Anvil said, looking at Rainbow over Shortwave's shoulder. “Sorry about that drink. Maybe another time if you're still on Manehatten. Oh, and don't dwell on Flim and Flam, just go home. Hay, if I'm ever around Steeds, I'll pop in and see you at your friend's place, yeah?”

“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow said, shrugging. “See you, Anvil.”

“See you around, Rainbow,” Anvil said over his shoulder as he was guided out of the door. “Stay safe, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow responded, barely listening. She trotted over to one of the stools in front of the bar and sat her rear on it. A portly green unicorn in a dirty brown apron slowly made his way down the bar. Above his lips a short, bristly, brown moustache was perched.

“What'll you have, Miss?” The barpony asked gruffly when he finally reached Rainbow.

“Sweet Apple Cider,” Rainbow requested, watching the screens.

“All we have is Equality Ale, friend,” the unicorn said, drawing an empty glass from under the counter with his magic.

“Fine,” Rainbow muttered, trying to listen to what the ponies on-screen were saying.

“... Acting President Mayor Mare has asked the Equality Space Force to investigate the sudden destruction of Freeport Seven,” one of the anchor-ponies said, her voice barely audible. “There is no word yet on whether it was accidental, or a deliberate attack...”

Rainbow shook her head and diverted her attention to a lavender unicorn wearing a light blue military jacket with golden trimmings around the shoulder and neck, neatly buttoned up, sitting at a booth in the corner of the room. Her dark blue mane had a single purple and pink stripe slightly off-set from the centre of her overhanging fringe. The mare was talking quietly with a thin, balding crimson earth pony in a dark suit, though their conversation was much too quiet for Rainbow to eavesdrop on.

“Her name's Commander Twilight Sparkle,” the barpony's voice said from behind Rainbow. “She's a tough one.”

“Why's that?” Rainbow asked, curious, glancing back at the barpony.

“She's ESF. You know, Equality Space Force” he said, gently placing Rainbow's drink on the bar. “All business, if it's a job you're wanting, that is.”

Twilight's purple eyes looked in the bar's direction and caught Rainbow staring back at her. Twilight glowered at Rainbow and then continued on with her conversation.

Chuckling, Rainbow turned back to the bar.

“On the other hand, if you're looking for something more...” The barpony whispered conspiratorially, a wide grin on his face.

Glaring at the barpony, Rainbow said, “The only thing I'm looking for right now, is this drink.” She bit the rim of the glass in her teeth and titled it backwards, drinking the entire contents in one go, recoiling at the taste. “Urgh, this is what you drink around here? Tastes like ship oil.”

“That's because it is,” the barpony said, shaking with silent laughter He started to move back down the bar, but a look of recognition dawned on his face.

“I know you,” he said, turning to look at Rainbow closer.

“Really? Where from?” Rainbow responded, surprised that anypony here knew of her. Sure, she'd made a bit of a name for herself back in Braytonia from her stunt flying, but she hadn't honestly thought that she was that well known. Nowadays, it was all about flying in spaceships, not flying with your own wings.

“The news,” the barpony said, dashing Rainbow's hopes of some recognition. “I saw your face on the news.”

“Oh,” Rainbow mumbled, deflated.

“You're one of the Freeport Seven survivors, aren't you?” The barpony asked, leaning forward slightly.

Leaning back to keep some distance, Rainbow said, “Yeah, what of it?”

“I heard it was pretty bad out there,” he said, standing up straight again. “You know, you're lucky to be alive.”

“Hah, yeah” Rainbow muttered, staring at her glass, bitterness welling up inside her again.

“This one's on me, friend,” the unicorn said, smiling. He levitated a bottle from behind the bar and poured a little from it into Rainbow's glass. “It's the good stuff.”

Surprised, Rainbow looked up and asked, “Wait, what? Why?”

The barpony chuckled and said, “Because its not everyday a pony has the chance to start again, huh? To your good fortune in Equality, Miss.”

Rainbow smiled back gratefully and said, jokingly, “Well, it can't get any worse. Thanks.” She grabbed the glass again and downed the contents and then dropped it back on the bar. The barpony simply levitated the glass back up and trotted off back down the bar towards the unseen kitchen.

At a loss for what to do now, Rainbow turned around on her stool to face the rest of the bar. Twilight and the elderly businesspony were still having their discussion, the loner at the table was now reading from a small datapad, but the rest of the room was completely empty.

After a couple of minutes of deliberation, Rainbow decided that the best thing to do right now was to get a job, one that would support her until she got the money she was owed. She slid off her stool and trotted across the bar to the corner booth, where the conversation was in mid-flow.

“... I understand what you're saying, but I don't have nearly enough ponies,” Twilight was saying.

“Twilight,” the business pony said slowly, leaning forward. “The environment has changed. What with groups like The Order taking more and more liberties; indeed now, threatening our profits; some of the government feel that we need to increase our patrols in the- Oh.” He leaned back as he noticed Rainbow standing over them.

“Are you Twilight Sparkle?” Rainbow asked, motioning towards Twilight, completely ignoring the fact that she had interrupted the conversation.

“Yes,” Twilight answered, confused.

A dull thud came from the elderly earth pony as he dropped his suitcase on the table and slid out. “I believe you have business to discuss,” he said sharply to Twilight. He glowered at Rainbow and then began to walk towards the exit.

“No, wait!” Twilight called after him, rising in her seat.

“I will leave this matter in your... capable hooves,” the earth pony called from the doorway, slowing down slightly as he said it.

Twilight gave a large sigh and crossed her forelegs in front of her, pouting. “What do you want?” she asked, clearly annoyed.

“Well, sorry,” Rainbow said sarcastically, sliding into the seat opposite Twilight. “The bartender said you worked for the Equality Space Force and that you might have a job for me.”

“And who do you work for, Miss...” Twilight asked, trailing off in expectancy.

“Rainbow Dash. I work for myself.”

“Oh? What doing?”

“Oh, um, this and that. The last job was a delivery, but that went up in flames, along with Freeport Seven.”

Twilight's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. “Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know,” she said, ashamed. “Do... do you think you'll be in Equality long?”

“It depends,” Rainbow said, leaning back in her seat. “I've got some 'friends' who were injured in the attack. They're at a hospital somewhere in Manehatten. I'll be staying until they are released.”

“Well, I hope they're alright,” Twilight said genuinely, not catching onto Rainbow's sarcasm. “But as it happens, I could use a good freelancer, Miss Dash.” She slid out of her side of the booth and stood up. “I'm going to be in the spaceport's Ship Equipment Room later, around three o'clock. You can meet me there and we'll talk about the job. I've got to try and catch the conversation you interrupted.”

“Alright, Sparkle, I'll see you there,” Rainbow said as she got more comfortable in her seat.

Twilight scowled at Rainbow and said, “If we're going to be working together, call me Twilight.”

“Sure thing, Sparkle,” Rainbow replied, looking up at Twilight and grinning.

Twilight looked like she was about to say something but stopped before any sound came out. Instead, she rolled her eyes, huffed and trotted out of the door. Rainbow chuckled and leaned back in her seat, wondering how to wile away the time until she had to meet Twilight at the Equipment Room.

Rainbow sauntered into the Equipment Room a couple of hours later, her eyes scanning the enormous stone room for the unicorn she was supposed to meet. In each corner of the room, gigantic stone busts stood, staring into the centre of the room. Massive titanium shelving units lined the wall, and there was a large, folding door in the wall opposite Rainbow. Floating silently above steam-issuing vents in the middle of the room, looking tiny in comparison to the main door, was a small spaceship, its polymer hull painted a dull gold and grey. It was in the shape of a 3D star's lower prong, with a cockpit large enough to fit one pony embedded in the centre of the prong. Currently being fitted on each side of the prong were two relatively small plasma guns. Flitting around underneath the ship were a couple of robot-ponies, ferrying various components and canisters from the shelves to the ship and back again. Pacing back and forth beside the door Rainbow had entered in was Twilight, who stomped over to Rainbow in annoyance.

“You're late!” Twilight said angrily, making Rainbow recoil slightly. “You were meant to be here at three.”

“What? But it is three,” Rainbow replied, stepping out of range of Twilight's horn. Twilight rolled her eyes and turned towards the ship.

“Never mind,” Twilight muttered, slowly trotting towards the ship in the middle of the room. “Anyway, now that you're finally here, I can tell you about the job I would like you to do. Are you ready to work for the ESF, Miss Dash?”

“It's just Dash, and yeah, I'm ready for anything,” Rainbow said boastfully, following Twilight.

“Well, Spike found this for you,” Twilight said, stopping beside the floating ship, gesturing towards it. “An old Starflier. It's very basic, and you won't have jump access yet, but it should be good enough for now.”

“Spike?” Rainbow asked, her eyes studying the ship.

“Yes. He's my number one assistant,” Twilight replied proudly, her professional attitude slipping for a moment. “He's currently getting some more fuel cells, but he'll be back in a short while. Anyway, this assignment will be easy.” Rainbow turned her attention back towards Twilight as she stepped forward. “All you have to do is baby-sit a convoy of food and medical supplies,” Twilight said, eliciting a groan from Rainbow, which Twilight promptly ignored. “You'll be rendezvousing with the escort's commanding officer, Applejack; I'll tell her to expect you.” There was a pause as Twilight came to the realisation that Rainbow Dash hadn't actually accepted the job yet. “That is, of course, if you're interested?”

Rainbow picked up on the lingering hopeful tone to Twilight's question, but said nothing of it. Instead, she leaned casually against the spaceship being offered to her and asked, “What's the pay like?”

Twilight sighed and said, “Well, if you accept the assignment, you can keep this ship, but we'll also be able to pay you two thousand bits for your help. So... are you interested?”

Rainbow considered the offer for a moment, and then said, grinning, “Sounds good, Sparkle, I'm in.”

Twilight smiled back gratefully. “You'd better get going,” she said, turning around. “I'll get Spike to get someone to move your ship to the landing pad immediately. In fact, here he is now. Spike!”

This shout was directed at a small purple creature who was hurrying across the room on its two legs towards them, a clipboard clasped tightly in one claw and a pen in the other. Protruding out of the top of it's head and continuing down the back of it's neck were large green spines, and on either side of it's large face were three small, light green spines, which seemed to act like ears. It was dressed in a sharply pressed military uniform, complete with trousers, all of which were dyed navy. On it's feet were a pair of well-polished shoes, which gleamed in the fluorescent light. As it neared, Rainbow noticed that it's eyes were reptilian in nature, and they were both focused on Twilight. “Yes, Twilight?” The creature replied in a young male voice. He stopped just in front of the two mares and looked between them.

Rainbow gawped at Spike in amazement. “A dragon,” she mumbled to herself. “A baby dragon.”

“Is this the pony you said was going to be doing the job? I thought they'd be a bit... tougher,” Spike said, looking Rainbow up and down.

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted in irritation, Spike's apparent doubt at Rainbow's toughness shaking her out of her shock. “I'm the toughest pony you'll ever meet!”

“Yeah, right,” Spike responded sarcastically, looking back at Twilight. “So, what did you need me for?”

“Be nice, Spike! I need you to get this ship onto the launch pad as soon as possible, please,” Twilight said. “And then I'll need you to bring the budget for next month up to my office and help me set up another meeting with Mr. Pullswitch. Today's meeting got slightly interrupted.” At this, Rainbow sheepishly grinned and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Sparkle,” she said. “So, is that it?”

“Applejack will be waiting for you near the docking ring in space, so all you need to do is get in your ship when its at the landing pad and launch,” Twilight replied. “I'll see you when you get back.”

“Thanks, shouldn't be too long,” Rainbow said as she turned around and started walking away. “See you later, Sparkle.”

A couple of minutes later, Rainbow Dash was once again standing on the landing pad, her jacket slung over her back, but this time she had a spaceship in her possession and a job to do. She pulled her ship's key out of her jacket pocket, balanced it on her hoof and pressed one of the tiny buttons on it with her muzzle. This caused the cockpit to open and a narrow set of steps slide out and descend to the floor. Rainbow completely ignored the steps and instead, grabbed her jacket in her teeth and eagerly flew up into the cockpit.

Inside, the ship was rather cramped, with an old, rather tattered polyester chair taking up most of the space available. All along the walls were various switches and buttons, and after a quick survey of them, Rainbow sat in the chair and flipped a small yellow switch, which caused the steps to fold back in and the cockpit to close once again. As soon as the cockpit had closed, the lights on each of the buttons began to glow dimly. She pressed a couple more buttons, which caused the ship to hum quietly into life, all of the lights in the cockpit glowing brighter. A control stick slid out of the wall in front of Rainbow, and a shiny new flight helmet lowered from the ceiling. It was a dark blue, and it had an oxygen mask perfectly shaped to go over her muzzle. Inside the helmet was a note which Rainbow curiously opened and began to read.

“Dear Rainbow Dash,” Rainbow mumbled to herself, reading aloud. “I realised you probably would have forgotten to get a flight helmet in your rush to get out into space, so here is a brand new one, just for you. Safety first, Twilight Sparkle.”

Rainbow snorted in amusement, before carelessly dropping the note on the floor and slipping the helmet on. “Well, thanks, Sparkle,” she muttered, fiddling with the straps of the helmet. “Never know when one of these comes in handy.” After a few more adjustments, Rainbow was satisfied that both she and the ship were ready for lift-off. She flipped the helmet's visor down, various icons and gauges visible on the heads-up display inside, and wrapped her hoof around the control stick. “Let's do this,” she said, her gaze fixated on the sky visible through the cockpit window. She nudged the throttle forward slightly, the noise of the engine getting steadily louder as she pushed the throttle further, until the landing pad beneath the ship finally began to sink away. With a small backwards pull on the joysticks, the ship tilted back, making the cloud-crossed sky the only thing visible through the window. On the visor, a small arrow pointed in which direction she had to head to legally and safely leave the planet, and Rainbow made the small adjustments needed to head in the correct route.

After a few seconds, the cloud cover peeled away, revealing a couple of other spaceships, most of which larger than hers, all heading towards a distant pair of co-joined rings, barely visible on the edge of the mesosphere. As she neared them, the atmosphere thinned out significantly, enabling Rainbow to see that the rings themselves were actually massive in comparison to her ship, and all along the rings were various flashing lights and windows. Beyond the rings, thousands of what looked like stars were visible, though a few of them were flashing and slowly moving around space. Three of the ships in front of her slowly passed through one of the rings, as a single ship flew the opposite way through the other. Just then, a dim light began to flash in the corner of Rainbow's vision. Already knowing what the flashing light meant, Rainbow poked a button on the wall, causing the light to stop flashing and a robotic voice to sound through the helmet's earphones.

“Please wait in the queue until you are allowed through the docking ring and into space,” the voice said slowly, as Rainbow slowed her ship until she was hovering a couple kilometres beneath the rings. She waited until the ship in front had flew through the rings and watched as it sped up and away, until it just became another of the many lights beyond the rings. “You are now cleared to leave the planet,” the voice said, and Rainbow quickly manoeuvred her ship into position. She began to grin uncontrollably as she flew through the ring, and as soon as she was clear, she shifted the throttle as far forward as it would go, letting out a whoop of joy as she felt what little gravitational pull Manehatten had left on her yank her back in her seat as she accelerated away into the space surrounding the planet.

All around her spaceship, other ships were flying around in various directions, some flying towards different trade lanes, all shaped like large eights, a few towards the planet Rainbow had just left, and others were flying in the direction of a massive space station. The station's primary feature was an enormous docking bay in the shape of a clamp, where many airlock gates were visible, each numbered correspondingly. Dotted along the sides of the station were several turrets, all pointing away from the construction, warning any would-be attackers away.

As Rainbow slowly floated along in space, admiring the view through her cockpit window, the light signalling that she was being hailed began to flash again. She poked the button to accept the contact, and a small video feed of an orange mare wearing a similar flight helmet to hers, but with three red apples crudely painted off-centre to the helmet's forehead. The mare's eyes were shrouded by the tinted visor, but they widened as they saw that Rainbow had accepted the hail. “Well, howdy there,” the mare said in a kind country accent. “Ah'm guessin' you're Rainbow Dash. I'm Applejack. Twi' told me that you'd be helping me with this mission.”

Out of the corner of Rainbow's vision, a ship she hadn't paid any attention to before swept out from beside the docking rings and fell into formation beside her own. It was in the vague shape of a small bird with its wings tucked in behind it, and the cockpit was situated in where the 'head' of the bird would normally be. Painted on each wing was the star of Equality, signifying that the pilot of this ship was part of the ESF. Through the cockpit window, Rainbow could just about see Applejack inside, who turned her head to look back at Rainbow and gave her a friendly wave. “Yeah, that's me,” Rainbow replied, giving a small wave back. “Good to meet you, Applejack.”

“Well, we can talk later, Ah've jus' been speakin' with the leader of the convoy. They've done all their checks an' they're ready to go. It should be an easy flight from here to Fort Hoof an' then on to Bitsburgh. Ya ready?”

“I'm ready.”

Just then, a gigantic spaceship crept into Rainbow's vision from one of the trade lanes. It was long and extremely bulky, with several towers emerging out from the main body of the ship, rotating turrets planted on the top of each. On the side of it was a large black cross, painted lengthways along it. It was flanked by a couple of miniature versions of the ship, each with the same black cross on them.

“Is that a Gildland cruiser?” Rainbow asked, staring in awe at the enormous ship as it flew slowly past the two of them.

“That's the Donau, Admiral Sharpbeak's flagship,” Applejack answered. “He's visitin' Manehatten to meet with the Acting President. No idea why. Oh, an' keep your distance. Everypony's a mite twitchy after Freeport 7.”

They silently watched as the flagship stopped close to the nearby station, and then Applejack said, “Come on, we ain't gonna get this done if we don't make a move. Follow me, Rainbow.” Applejack's ship accelerated past Rainbow's, and they were halfway towards the trade lane they were headed for, when a calm male voice sounded through Rainbow's earphones. “This is Newhock Station,” she said. “Please be advised, we're picking up unknown contacts. Advise caution.”

Rainbow's eyes widened in surprise. This was pretty much exactly what had happened just before Freeport 7 was destroyed. Surely whoever had attacked wouldn't dare attack another target, especially one so close to the main planet in Equality space.

“Ah getcha, Newhock,” Applejack said, her voice grim. “Rainbow, ready your guns. This might get ugly.”

Rainbow nodded as she started flicking switches all around her, hearing the dull hum of the guns powering up through the ship's hull. She'd been in a couple of dogfights before when she had been travelling around the system in her old ship, but they had always been small affairs against pirates, and the police had always seemed to be there before too long. Rainbow could see five small spaceships slowly close in on the Donau from distant space.

“Unidentified ships, this is Newhock Station,” the male voice said again, speaking to everypony to show that the unknown contacts were being given a warning. “You are entering restricted space. Alter course at once, or we will open fire.”

“You cannot interfere,” the reply came back, presumably from one of the five ships approaching. It was distorted, rendering it impossible to distinguish whether the speaker was male or female. The ships were getting closer and closer to the Donau now, almost in range to fire or be fired on. “We're here to protect the Acting President,” the voice said. “Sharpbeak is a traitor!”

Suddenly, all five ships fired their torpedoes at the Donau as one. Before anypony could act, the torpedoes hit the Donau, and huge explosions ripped an enormous hole in the side of the cruiser.

“All ships, red alert, the Donau has been hit,” the stallion from Newark Station said quickly, fear and worry in his shaking voice. “Launch all rescue ships to the Donau.”

Rainbow stared in shock as the Donau was ripped apart by explosions. It was evident that the initial explosion had severely damaged the cruiser, and had set off a chain-reaction, causing many parts of the cruiser to be violently torn away by the destruction. Rainbow could see clearly that the rescue ships would never even be able to get close to the cruiser before it was utterly ripped apart.

“Oh my Celestia...” Rainbow heard the stallion from Newhock mutter over the open channel.

“Buck!” Applejack yelled down the microphone, rousing Rainbow from her shock. “Rainbow, we ain't lettin' them get away. Shoot 'em all! Newhock Station, this is ESF Patrol Gamma Six, engagin' enemy!”

Kicking herself into gear, Rainbow shoved the throttle forward and grabbed the control stick, wrenching it around to get the nearest enemy in view. Her ship sped towards the target, which was currently drawing fire from one of the Donau's escort. Rainbow quickly lined up the enemy in the reticule on the heads-up display, and when she was sure that she would hit, held down the fire button with her hoof. The ship shuddered as the guns began to fire, and through the hull she could hear the pulsing sound of the plasma being thrown into space. Her shots connected with the enemy ship, but a light blue flicker where they had connected was the sign that all she was doing was hitting the target's shields. She continued firing, but suddenly, her quarry ducked and weaved away, out of her vision. She yanked her ship around after it, and began to fire again. Suddenly, she saw the enemy's shield dissipate, and her shots finally began hitting her target's hull, which began to glow gently where it had been hit.

In the distance, one of the Gildland escorts exploded violently, after being the target of three of the unknown ships. Rainbow heard Applejack curse once again, before shouting, “Newhock, we need reinforcements, right now!”

“C-confirmed, Gamma Six, Interceptors are on their way,” Newhock's stallion replied, stuttering.

Rainbow, meanwhile, continued her assault on her quarry. She had managed to shoot off one of their wings, and she was now directly behind the enemy, and was aiming her shots at their engine. Most of the shots were missing and flying harmlessly into space, but finally one of them connected with their target. This caused an explosion to tear the engine apart, and then another one, considerably larger than the first, tore the rest of the ship apart.

Rainbow let out a large breath that she hadn't realised she had been holding, and then span her ship around to search for the other enemies. She felt a strange sense of euphoria after destroying her target, the adrenaline pumping through her body. Looking around, she saw one of the other Order ships spiral wildly in space, being chased by Applejack, until it crashed into the floating debris of the Donau. The other three were trying to evade a detachment of ships that had took off from Newhock Station, which were all pelting the unknown ships with plasma. Rainbow quickly piloted her ship towards the targets, planning on trying to intercept them and then join in on the chase.

As she got in range, she saw Applejack's ship swoop down from above the three and fire a missile almost point blank into the middle ship, which was ripped apart by the ensuing explosion. Rainbow began to fire on one of the ships as the detachment of ships flew after the remaining one, and Applejack quickly joined Rainbow's chase. Applejack's ship's guns were considerably more powerful than Rainbow's ship's, and they soon made short work of their target's shields. Rainbow once again began aiming at the enemy's engine, and she hit it with her first shot. This time, however, the engine failed to explode, and instead it simply let out a couple of sparks before dying, leaving the enemy ship spinning in space, the pilot unable to do anything.

Rainbow was about to fire again to finish off the unknown ship, but Applejack said, “Might as well leave 'em, we'll be able to find out why they destroyed the Donau this way. Nice shot, by the way.” Rainbow silently agreed, and spun her ship around to watch as the remaining ship was obliterated by the ships from Newark.

“All enemies dealt with, Newhock,” Applejack said quietly, reporting the events to Newhock Station.

“Are there any survivors from the Donau?” The stallion from Newhock asked shakily.

“Ah don't think so, Newhock, sorry,” Rainbow heard Applejack reply. “We do have one of the attackers though.”

“Okay, we'll pick him up. To all utility ships in the area, please continue scanning for survivors. All other vessels, return to normal duty, but remain on high alert,” the stallion said, getting a hold of himself.

“Rainbow,” Applejack said, “there ain't nothin' we can do here. The transports are waiting at Fort Hoof. I've sent a waypoint to your nav-map, just fly toward it.”

“Sure,” Rainbow replied, thinking about what had just happened. She went through the motions of getting to the waypoint; bringing up the map, programming in the destination, setting up autopilot; but all she could think about was what had happened to Admiral Sharpbeak and the fight afterwards.

It was apparent that Applejack was thinking about the same thing, because she suddenly said, “Ah can't believe it!” Her voice was now shaky with fear and shock, the adrenaline that must have run through her body leaving her now. “How'd they get so close to Manehatten without bein' spotted? First Freeport 7, and now this! It's gettin' outta control.”

By now, the pair of them had arrived at the waypoint destination, which was one of the trade lane rings. Rainbow knew how to use them, but she thought it would probably be better if she let Applejack activate them first.

“Alright, we're here,” Applejack said, ignoring the fact that she was stating the obvious. “Ah'm startin' the activation sequence, an' then you can go first.”

“Sure thing, Applejack,” Rainbow said, as she flew into position in front of the bottom ring. Just as she piloted her ship through the ring, a tunnel appeared in front of her, joining the ring now behind her with another trade lane several parsecs in front. The two ships began to fly along the lane, but the only indication of their rapid acceleration in speed was the dial on Rainbow's heads-up display and the sight of the other trade lane rings speeding past as they flew through.

“This is one of the main lanes through Manehatten space. We'll only be takin' it to Fort Hoof, though, otherwise we'd be reachin' one of the jump gates outta the system,” Applejack said, the mirth that Rainbow had first heard in her voice returning.

They continued along the trade lane for a few more moments, and steadily two large stations came into view, both about the same size as Newhock Station. The two ships decelerated rapidly until they flew through the final trade lane ring at about the same speed they had entered the first one. There were other trade lanes placed around the two stations, all headed off in different directions.

“That there's Fort Hoof,” Applejack said, “the one with the energy ring thing. Never understood what that does, even when Twi' tried to tell me.”

Rainbow examined the space station Applejack was talking about. It was in the general shape of Newhock Station, but instead of a large clamp shaped docking bay, there was instead a large ring fixed on the bottom of the station. In the ring were three laser-emitting funnels, all slowly rotating around the inside of the ring, their lasers all joining in the centre of the ring to no apparent function. On top of the main part of the station was a small protrusion with airlocks on, where ships would dock with the station and descend into the landing bay. The other station visible looked like a large shipyard, with a small central base, where ponies would wait while their ships were getting repaired, refuelled or restocked. There was only one ship currently floating in the shipyard's rings, and there was a small unmanned spaceship floating beside it, apparently attaching a fin to the body of the first ship.

Waiting between the two stations for Applejack and Rainbow Dash were two long spaceships, each just a cockpit with a long line of containers held to it by a line of clamps above them.

“Transport leader, this is ESF Patrol Gamma Six,” Applejack said over the communication channel. “We're here to get you to Bitsburgh, over.”

“Roger, Gamma Six,” a stern mare's voice responded. “This is Paper Wings in the ESV Brand, all pre-launch checks have been completed.”

“Alright. Rainbow, get round the other side of the transport. We'll be movin' in formation 'til we get to Bitsburgh,” Applejack said. Rainbow smoothly flew around to the opposite side of the transport to Applejack and stayed in position as the convoy began to fly in the direction of the trade line to Bittsburgh.

“Check: All ships are in position and we show green status,” Paper Wings said. There was a pause before she continued. “We heard about Admiral Sharpbeak... What happened?”

Applejack sighed and then said bitterly, “The planet's defence grid was off an' the Order managed to break through. They blew up the Donau with their first attack. We never had a chance to stop 'em." She paused for a moment. "They said somethin' about Sharpbeak bein' a traitor an' that they were protectin' the president. It's hard to believe somethin' like this could happen.”

“Dear Celestia,” Paper Wings muttered to herself in shock.

“Ah know. Anyway, we'd better get goin',” Applejack said, her voice still grim in memory of what had happened.

“Let's hope for the best,” Paper Wings responded. “Several convoys have come under attack in recent weeks; the Rogue problem has gotten out of control in this area.”

“Don't worry, tha's why we're here,” Applejack replied. “Rainbow's actually a darn good fighter. She did pretty well against those Order ships, didn't you?”

Rainbow chuckled and replied, “Yeah, I got two of 'em. They didn't see what hit 'em.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Applejack said, laughing.

By this time, the convoy had entered the trade lane and was on it's way to Bitsburgh. The trade lane began to proceed through a floating field of debris between Fort Hoof and Bitsburgh. They were halfway along when Rainbow saw a bolt of plasma shoot out from behind a piece of debris and hit the upcoming trade lane ring.

“Alert! Trade lane disruption detected,” a robotic voice said, as everypony's ships were forcibly slowed to a crawl. From behind the surrounding debris, six spaceships emerged and began to speed towards the convoy. They were all the same, each coloured grey and orange, with crimson skulls painted haphazardly on each side of the hull. The main body of each ship was shaped like a vertical disc, a large cockpit was connected to the front of the disc and on either side there was an engine and a couple of fins. They all looked absolutely vicious in Rainbow's opinion.

“Darn it!” Applejack shouted to no-pony in particular. “Rainbow, get your guns up, this is gonna get rough!”

Rainbow was already flipping the switches in her cockpit to power up her guns, and she wrenched the control stick so that she was facing the nearest Rogue. As soon as her guns were ready, she began firing, doing her best to make sure all of her shots connected with their target. The Rogue she was chasing was too busy focusing on the main transport ship to realise that his shields had dissipated, leaving his hull wide open for Rainbow's guns to rip his ship apart. These Rogue ships are much weaker than the ships the Order had, Rainbow thought to herself as her target exploded.

Just as Rainbow had destroyed her first target, a flashing red symbol appeared in Rainbow's heads-up display. Before she could wonder what it could mean, a missile impacted her ship's shields, fired from the Rogue ship that had just soared past. Rainbow frantically piloted her ship around to aim at her attacker and began to fire her guns at it. In the distance, one of the Rogue ships tried to evade a missile fired by Applejack, but instead ended up clipping a piece of debris with a wing and began spinning wildly out of control, enabling Applejack to easily shoot it out of space.

Rainbow continued to chase after her quarry, and she had just disabled their shields when a sudden impact shook her around in her seat. Worriedly glancing at the status display on her HUD to check if her ship was alright, she saw that her shields had been disabled and that her hull was getting damaged. She hastily pressed a button beside the control stick, which caused the ship to use one of the shield-recharge batteries that had been installed on the craft. Rainbow glanced around through her cockpit to try and find her attacker, but unfortunately she was unable to see what had hit her ship, so she concentrated on firing at her target.

“Rainbow, watch out!” Applejack shouted over the communication channel. “You've got two Rogues on your tail! Hold on, Ah'm comin'!”

Another shot hit Rainbow's ship, jolting her in her seat. She was beginning to panic now and she decided the best course of action was to break off her attack and do her best to evade the Rogues chasing her. She weaved her ship through the debris field, narrowing missing pieces and causing her attackers to concentrate more on dodging the debris than actually hitting her with their shots. Out of the corner of Rainbow's vision, she saw one of her chasers explode, but she continued to weave through the debris field, making sure that she stayed relatively close to the transports.

“Ah got one, Rainbow,” Applejack said through gritted teeth.

“Thanks,” Rainbow replied curtly, yanking on the control stick, barely avoiding one of the Rogue ships who had appeared out of nowhere. She saw her previous target in the distance, closing in on the transports. Quickly pulling her ship around, Rainbow lined the Rogue in her reticules and pushed the fire button. She must have damaged it enough the first time, because only one of her shots connected with her target, but it was still enough to cause the ship to explode violently.

“Ah got the other one, Rainbow!” Applejack yelled as her ship hurtled past Rainbow's. There was only one more Rogue ship left, and Rainbow and Applejack's joint attack quickly made short work of it.

“Thanks, you two,” Paper Wings said breathlessly, evidently shook up about the attack. “I thought we were goners for a moment there.”

“Don’t worry,” Applejack said reassuringly as she took up position beside the transport again. “We’ll make sure nothin’ happens ta you. Now let’s git before- Oh, horseapples…”

“What? What is it?” Paper Wings asked frantically.

“We got more Rogues incomin’,” Applejack said, groaning. “Rainbow, get in position! We’re gettin’ out of here, now!”

“What?” Rainbow asked in surprise. “Why are we going? We can take ‘em! How many are there?”

“Three more, but we need to get the convoy outta here and to Bitsburgh. Now get in formation!” Applejack yelled.

“You go with ‘em, I’ve got this,” Rainbow said confidently, spinning her ship around to see where the incoming Rogues were.

“Rainbow!” Applejack shouted in vain. After she didn’t get a response back, she sighed and said angrily, “Fine. We’ll see you at Bitsburgh soon. Jus’ be careful.” With that, Applejack and the two transport ships flew through the nearby trade lane ring and sped off in the direction of Bitsburgh, the communications channel going dead.

As the three Rogue ships neared, Rainbow asked herself whether she should have stayed to fight. She didn’t get long to think of an answer because all three Rogues fired a missile at her as soon as they got in range. Rainbow yanked her ship’s control stick back, sending her ship speeding over the missiles and towards the Rogues. She aimed her ship at the nearest Rogue and began firing, trying to make sure that most of her shots counted. Quickly managing to disable his shields, she swooped around behind him, and before he could make any attempt at evading, had shot his engine apart, sending the ship careening directly in the path of his partner, who only just managed to dodge out of the way.

Rainbow gave herself a small pat on the back for destroying the first target, but several shots from one of the remaining two Rogues cut her celebrations short. She pulled her ship around to face the charging Rogue and began to fly directly at him, firing all the time. The Rogue copied her, his shots peppering Rainbow’s ship’s shield, making it flash in front of her cockpit. She continued her assault on the incoming Rogue, praying that her shield would hold out. Suddenly, the charging Rogue’s shield dissipated and one of Rainbow’s shots hit his cockpit window. This caused the window to shatter into a million pieces, sucking out everything inside the cockpit and throwing the pilot out into space. Rainbow shuddered in disgust at what she had just done, but she was forced to put it to the back of her mind as she yanked her ship out of the way of the Rogue’s ship, which continued to fly in the same direction it was previously, even with no pilot inside.

The final Rogue ship was now directly behind Rainbow, his shots barely missing Rainbow's craft as she dodged and weaved through the debris. She was doing her best to try and shake him off her tail, but for every roll and feint she tried, he followed her, never once losing or gaining any distance. Finally, she managed to lose him for a moment by flying through a small gap between two pieces of debris, giving her enough time to manoeuvre around and surprise him as he flew around the side. He desperately weaved out of her way, enabling Rainbow to take the advantage and begin to chase after him. She began firing at him wildly as he darted between the debris, trying his best to evade her, though it was to no avail. He misjudged a turning and clipped the side of a large chunk of debris, sending his ship spinning uncontrollably towards another, smaller piece of debris. The ensuing explosion shook Rainbow's ship as she darted past, but no serious damage was done to the craft.

Rainbow let out a large breath, wiping her brow with a hoof. Casting a careful glance around, she was relieved to see that there were no more Rogues in the area, though she wasn't willing to stick around to make sure. She quickly piloted her ship back to the trade lane ring and flew through it in the direction of Bitsburgh, the dirty brown planet barely visible through the debris field.

Minutes later, Rainbow had arrived in the space surrounding the planet. She was surprised to see Applejack and the two transports floating beside the trade lane rings, and instantly the light indicating a hailing was flashing. Rainbow quickly pressed it and was greeted by an angry Applejack popping up on her visor, yelling across the channel. “What in hay was that all about, Rainbow? You coulda been killed!”

Rainbow snorted in amusement and said, “Hey, chill. I'm fine, don't worry. I had it all under control.”

Applejack sighed and shook her head, her stern expression melting into one of relief and amusement. “Well, you sure had me worried for a while there. Now what say we get down to Bitsburgh an' I can pay you for a job well done.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rainbow agreed, smiling. She smoothly rejoined formation with the transport and helped escort it the rest of the way to the Bitsburgh docking ring.

“Thanks for getting us here, you two,” Paper Wings said once Applejack had merged the communication channels together. “I know we wouldn't have made it otherwise. Those Rogues are getting much too bold. The ESF are going to do something about them, aren't they?”

“Yeah, don't worry about it. We've got somethin' in motion right now. Ah think that's the last you'll be hearing of the Rogues for a while.” Rainbow noticed a hint of smugness in Applejack's voice, but chose not to ask about it just yet.

“I'm glad to hear it. Thanks once again,” Paper Wings said before she dropped out of the channel. Rainbow and Applejack silently watched as both the transport ships flew through Bitsburgh's docking ring, and then Applejack said, “We'd better land too, if Ah'm gonna pay you. An' anyway, Ah've got a proposition Ah think you'll like. Ah'll see you down on the surface.”

Rainbow was about to ask what the proposition was, but before she was able to the channel went dead and Applejack flew through the docking ring. Rainbow huffed in irritation before going through the docking process herself.

Rainbow's first thought as she flew out of her ship was that she never wanted to have to come to Bitsburgh again.

As she had been descending on the planet, the first thing she had seen was a murky grey covering across the entire planet. She had been worried for a moment that that was the ground before a large ship burst through, revealing that it was just the cloud-cover, not the actual ground. Penetrating the clouds, she saw that the ground was actually the same brown as she could see from space, and that there was no water or distinguishable features in sight, apart from a small landing pad directly below her. Surrounding the landing pad were towering chimneys and funnels, all spouting the same grey clouds she had first seen when she had arrived on the planet.

Now that she was on the landing pad, the fetid fumes from the chimneys were overpowering, and she gagged a few times before covering her nostrils with a hoof. She gazed around for a sign of Applejack's orange coat, and soon spotted a smiling, Stetson-wearing orange mare she presumed to be Applejack slowly trotting her way towards Rainbow. Applejack was wearing a uniform similar to the one Twilight had been wearing, though it hadn't as many trimmings as Twilight's, and it also wasn't fully buttoned up. Her blonde mane and tail were quite long, but were tied into a ponytail with small red bands.

“Good job out there, Rainbow,” Applejack said as she trotted up to Rainbow. “Now, Ah believe Ah owe you some bits.” She pulled a small bit chit out of her uniform pocket and held it out in front of Rainbow, who gratefully took it with a smile. Rainbow pulled out her bit device and slotted the chit into the side of it. The device's small screen lit up with some numbers, and a tap from Rainbow's hoof added the bits to her balance. Tucking the device away, Rainbow remembered what she had wanted to ask Applejack up in space.

“Hey, Applejack. Did you know it was gonna get bad out there?”

Applejack looked uncomfortable for a moment, scuffing a hoof on the metal floor of the landing pad and swept her hat off with the other hoof. After a small pause, she said, “Ah'm sorry Ah didn't tell you the whole thing. Ah wanted to, but Twi' wasn't sure she could trust you. She's been plannin' this for a while now.” Rainbow was hurt at the implication that she wasn't trustworthy, but she could see why Twilight was playing it safe. “The high-ups in the ESF had suspicions tha' the Order have ties with th' organised crime in Liberty, though they ain't got any idea how. Twilight thought that the Rogues must have a secret base somewhere in the debris field around Bitsburgh, 'cause of all the attacks recently. That's why she set up this convoy.”

Rainbow nodded, realising that Twilight had probably been planning this ever since the Rogue presence in the area had began to increase. She motioned for Applejack to continue.

“Well, Ah think Twi's onto somethin' here, so when Ah landed just now, I called for some backup.” Applejack scratched the back of her head, and nervously looked at Rainbow. “Once again, Ah'm sorry we didn't tell you the whole thing, but Ah saw you out there. You're a great flyer; hay, you're nearly as good as me! An' you also handled yourself against those three Rogues on your own. One of them even had a bounty on his head, an' you got him fine.” She chuckled and then continued, “Ah should probably pay you for that too, but Ah'm guessing Twi' will do that when you next see her. Anyway, what Ah'm sayin' is that we could really use you out there, Rainbow.”

Rainbow thought about the offer for a moment. If she accepted, she'd be getting herself into much more danger, because this time, she'd be looking for it. She had to admit, she loved the thrill of the dogfights that had happened out in space. The constant sense of danger and adrenaline as she guided her ship around, avoiding enemies' shots and destroying her targets, all tempted her to accept the offer, but there was a small nagging voice at the back of her head, warning her not to. After a short while of deliberation, she finally gave in to temptation.

“Alright,” Rainbow answered Applejack finally. “You can count on me.”

Applejack looked mightily relieved at Rainbow's answer, and she quickly donned her Stetson again, smiling. “It'll be worth it, Ah promise. One thing though. Now you've got a few bits, Ah suggest you look into outfittin' that ship of yours. Try the pony over there, he's the local equipment dealer. He always has good stuff.” Applejack nodded her head over her shoulder towards a bored-looking stallion wearing a loose tie. “Well, sometimes. Ah'll see you in space when you're ready.” She gave Rainbow another big smile and began to trot back to her ship.

“See you in space, AJ,” Rainbow called to Applejack's retreating back. She turned towards the equipment dealer and sighed.

“What have I got myself into?”

Chapter Two: A Rogue Problem

Chapter 2: A Rogue Problem

As soon as Rainbow had exited Bitsburgh's docking ring, Applejack's ship fell into formation alongside Rainbow's and the light signalling that she was being hailed lit up.

“There you are!” Applejack's cheery voice said. “Ah was beginning to wonder where you got to!”

“Let's just say I'm never doing business on Bitsburgh again...” Rainbow replied, causing Applejack to laugh. “So, how're we gonna find this Rogue base?”

“Four ESF wings from Fort Hoof are searchin' the debris fields at the moment. They've already taken prisoners, ah hear. We'll be joining the search. Ah'm uploading the co-ordinates for our search pattern to your nav-map, an' then we'll meet with another wing of fighters for our patrol.” A little chime sounded as the waypoint appeared on Rainbow's map. “So, how come you're never doin' business on Bitsburgh again?”

“That equipment dealer you sent me to didn't have anything except the two guns I've now got, and I had to haggle with him for ages just to get these down to a decent price,” Rainbow ranted. “And then he wouldn't buy my old pea-shooters for anything more than 5 bits each! So much for always having good stuff.”

Applejack chuckled. “When he's in the mood he was in, you're better off tryin' someplace else. At least you got some new guns. Ah've a feelin' that they're gonna help.”

“Expecting more action?” Rainbow asked eagerly.

“Ah'm expectin' the Rogues to not want their base destroyed.” Applejack said grimly. “Hold on, Ah see the patrol.”

In the distance, Rainbow could see three ships floating in space, waiting for her and Applejack. The ships were all the same, with a long narrow main hull, and a thick, wide wing on either side. Each ship's cockpit was at the front of the narrow section, and each wing had a gun on the topside and underside, making the ships look fairly menacing. A small blip signified that pilots of the three ships had all been added to the communication channel.

“Gamma Six,” the pilot of the middle ship said, his helmeted scarlet face appearing on Rainbow's HUD as he spoke. Rainbow supposed he was the leader of their wing. “Delta Patrol reports no hostile contacts. What are your orders?”

“Tell them to keep lookin',” Applejack replied. “One way or another, we'll find where those Rogues are hiding. Come on, Rainbow, let's go.”

“Sure thing,” Rainbow said as she piloted herself behind the leader's ship, who turned towards the debris field surrounding Bitsburgh and began to fly towards it.They flew in silence for a few seconds until Applejack's voice came across the channel again.

“After the attack on our transport, the ESF sent four wings to help us track down where these Rogues are comin' from,” Applejack explained. “They gotta have a secret base around here an' this time, we'll get them.” She looked like she was about to continue but she was suddenly interrupted by a panicked voice.

“Mayday! Mayday! This is Prison Ship XT19, we're under attack! To all Equality patrols, please respond!” The pony who had called the distress' face appeared on Rainbow's visor, and she could see the fear in his eyes and sweat pouring down his brow. There were flashing lights and sirens in the background, and she could just make out ponies darting around behind him.

Applejack's ship broke formation immediately and it's engines began to glow brighter and brighter. “All units, change course to intercept. Get your cruise engines on and follow me!” Applejack said in a determined voice.

Rainbow scanned her cockpit for the cruise engine button, and as soon as she had found it and pressed it, turned her ship to follow Applejack. The whine of her ship's engines grew higher and higher in pitch, getting louder too, and as they did so, Rainbow could see the debris around her start to pass by much faster than before. She made a note in her head to remember to switch the cruise-engines off before she attempted to engage any Rogues, as her guns wouldn't fire while they were on due to the power-allocation systems in all spaceships made in the last eight-hundred years.

“This is ESF Patrol Gamma Six. We're on an intercept course an' are approachin' your position, over,” Applejack stated slowly in response to Prison Ship XT19's request.

“Acknowledged, Gamma Six,” the prison ship pony said hastily. “We're under attack by multiple Rogue fighters. We have fires on several decks, and our defences are failing. Please, get here fast!”

“Ah get'cha, XT19, hang on. We'll be there soon,” Applejack said, her tone stern but reassuring.

The five ships darted back out of the debris field in the direction of a small moon off of Bitsburgh, and Rainbow could faintly distinguish a long, thin object in orbit of the moon. Her heart was pumping and she could feel the adrenaline slowly seeping back into her system. She'd barely been off Bitsburgh for five minutes and she was already heading back into a fight.

After less than a minute's flight, the group was nearly upon the moon, and Rainbow could see the long object more clearly now, and she was able to identify it as a very large spacecraft. All along the prison ship, small explosions were throwing pieces into space, and she could see several Rogue ships speeding around the outside, peppering the prison with lasers and plasma.

“We're taking heavy damage, get these guys off us!” The prison ship pony said, pleading over the channel.

“There she is,” Applejack stated. “She's hurt bad. Everyone, engage the Rogues!”

“Roger that,” Rainbow said, gritting her teeth as she took aim at one of the Rogue ships. “Time to test these guns out,” she muttered to herself, flicking off the cruise engines and pressing the fire button on her control stick. From either side of the cockpit, streams of plasma fired off into space, straight into the side of the ship she was aiming at, who's shields were ripped apart almost instantly by the surprise attack.

The pilot was obviously panicking from the sudden onslaught, as he broke off his attack on the prison ship and attempted to escape Rainbow, but before he could make and real distance, Rainbow's shots had torn his ship apart.

“Definitely an improvement,” Rainbow said, chuckling, before she turned her attention to another Rogue, who seemed to have realised that new opponents had arrived. He had just span to face Rainbow when a missile flew in from out of nowhere and collided with the top of his ship, blowing it to pieces.

“Woohoo!” Applejack cried as her ship soared past where the Rogue had been, moments before. “Take that, you varmint!”

“Nice shot!” Rainbow said, grinning. She span her ship round once again, scanning for any immediate threats. Noticing one of the ESF fighters being chased by two Rogue ships, Rainbow slammed the throttle forwards and took pursuit. As soon as she was in range, she fired at one of the Rogues, the majority of her shots hitting, causing the Rogue's shield to glow brightly. However, her missed shots must have attracted the attention of the other Rogue, for he slowed suddenly, and before Rainbow could react, he was behind her ship and she was sure he was taking aim.

“Applejack, I've got one on me,” Rainbow said as she began to weave around, still attempting to keep her target in her sights while she did so. “Can you get him?”

“Ah've got him, don't worry,” Applejack said. Rainbow saw, out of the corner of her eye, Applejack's ship stop chasing another Rogue and turn towards Rainbow's attacker.

Sticking her tongue out in concentration, Rainbow did her best to ignore the shots barely missing her ship as she darted wildly around. Her shots were nearly all missing her target because of her erratic movements, and a glance at her ship's status on her visor told her that her shield was getting dangerously close to dissipating.

“Any time now, Applejack,” Rainbow said impatiently, following her target alongside the prison ship, dodging various towers sticking out of it.

“Ah'm tryin' mah best, Rainbow, but what in hay are you doin'? You're gonna crash!” Applejack responded.

“I'm trying to get him off me, so I can get this guy!” Rainbow said in frustration, narrowly avoiding a small explosion erupting from the prison ship. She pulled sharply away from the prison ship and craned her head round, trying to see behind her. “Did you get him? She asked curiously.

“Nope, he crashed into the prison ship,” Applejack said as her ship flew past. “Now let's get that other one.”

Just as she had said that, the pony from the prison ship called over communication channel, “Alert, we're picking up several new hostile contacts! Please, you've got to stop them!”

“Horseapples!” Rainbow swore. “More pirates?”

“Rainbow, defend the prison ship at all costs,” Applejack ordered, as she flew off to engage the newcomers.

Rainbow swore again under her breath as she chased after the remaining Rogue from the original assault, whom she quickly managed to dispatch. She guessed she must have done enough damage with her first attacks. Spinning her ship around, she spotted a Rogue ship speeding through space towards her, firing rapidly. Yanking the control stick backwards, she flew over the attacking Rogue and dropped down behind him, peppering his ship's retreating back with shots. His shield fizzled away in seconds, and she darted after him, not noticing that he had turned his engine off and was spinning slowly around. Just as she was sure she had got him, he darted off past her, leaving her staring at empty space.

“Hey!” Rainbow said in surprise, pulling her ship around to find him again. She quickly spotted him again, and she saw that his engine was beginning to glow brighter. “You're not getting away from me, mister,” she muttered to herself, firing at him once again. Almost as soon as the Rogue's cruise engines turned on, Rainbow's shots connected, colliding his with his engine and causing a massive explosion, ripping the Rogue ship apart.

“And that's three for Rainbow,” she said, pleased with herself, turning her ship round to look for more.

“That was the last one, Rainbow,” Applejack said, eliciting a sigh of relief from Rainbow. She eased back in her cockpit seat, letting go of the control stick and stretching. She could still feel her heart pounding away, but she knew it'd settle down in a few moments.

“You did it!” The prison ship pony exclaimed in joy. “The radar is clear.”

“XT19, what's your status?” Applejack asked, her ship coming to stop alongside Rainbow's.

“Fires are contained, we lost life support to several decks, but we're alright, over,” the prison ship pony replied, wiping his brow.

“That's good. Is there anyway we can help?”

“Negative.” The prison ship pony seemed to be calming down now. “Repair ships from Bitsburgh are on the way. You came just in time, thank you.”

“Ah'm glad we could help,” Applejack said, a smile on her face. “Epsilon Wing, could you stay here in case more Rogues show up? Rainbow and I will continue the search on our own.”

“Affirmative. We're a little damaged, but we'll do our best,” the scarlet pony said. “Good luck out there.”

“Thanks, Epsilon,” Applejack replied as the three ships of Epsilon Wing fell into position alongside the prison ship. “Rainbow, Ah'm gonna upload some new co-ordinates. We need to get back to searchin'. Get your cruise engines on and follow me.”

Rainbow flipped the switch for her cruise engines to start powering up and she began to follow after Applejack's ship.

They flew along in silence for a few minutes as they entered the debris field. Rainbow had to take care to avoid the large pieces of floating debris, occasionally weaving around a particularly large piece. She wondered how exactly so much debris had managed to get into space and create such a large field of it. Her thoughts pondered this until Applejack broke the silence once again.

“The Rogue base must be around here somewhere,” she muttered, seemingly to herself.

“Huh? Why?” Rainbow asked, not catching on.

“They'd never attack somethin' as big as a prison ship too far away from their hideout.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Rainbow said. “So, what're we gonna do when we find it? Blow it up, I hope.”

“We're gonna do jus' that, Rainbow. We might need some backup though, Ah'm not exactly equipped to take down anything bigger than a cruise-liner.”

“I don't think I could even take one of them out. Rogue ships seem the best this ship can do.”

Applejack chuckled. “When we get back to Manehatten, Ah'll see if Ah can get the ship dealer to cut you a deal. Might be able to get you one of our ships.”

“Well they look better than this pile of junk,” Rainbow joked.

The two of them continued along their search pattern for half an hour, with Rainbow getting increasingly bored, seeing nothing but debris and very rarely, an abandoned ship floating in space. She was about to ask Applejack if the searches usually took this long, when the image of a tan coloured mare appeared at the side of Rainbow's visor.

“Mayday, this is ESF Beta Four, I'm under attack and need assistance!” The mare said urgently, her eyes wide.

Rainbow noticed Applejack's image jump, but she quickly responded with; “This is ESF Patrol Gamma Six, we hear you Beta Four. Where are you, over.”

Beta Four's fearful voice crackled with static and occasionally cut out. “I'm in the middle of the debris field... I'm … I have several Rogue fighters on my tail... I can't shake them! My shields are failing!”

On the map on Rainbow's visor, a small ship appeared, barely any distance from Rainbow and Applejack's position. Before Applejack even said anything, Rainbow had turned her ship towards Beta Four's location and was getting ready to fight.

“Alright, Rainbow, let's take these varmints out,” Applejack said, her ship just behind Rainbow's.

“Already ahead of you,” Rainbow said, a slight grin on her face. She was almost upon Beta Four now, only a large piece of debris between her and Beta Four. Pulling her ship around the debris, Rainbow switched her cruise engine off and saw that Beta Four was immobile, with three Rogue fighters closing in.

“Hang on Beta Four, we're here,” Rainbow said, pushing her ship forward towards the incoming Rogue ships. She began firing at them, knowing she was out of range but hoping to at least distract them and cause them to separate. However, all three Rogue ships turned their attention immediately to Rainbow and began firing right back at her, causing her to roll wildly to the side, putting a piece of debris between them and her once again.

When she emerged on the other side, she could only see two Rogues, with Applejack in hot pursuit of one of them. The other Rogue spotted Rainbow once again, and began to bear down on her, getting faster and faster, shots firing all the time. What the Rogue hadn't seemed to realise though, was exactly how close to the debris Rainbow was, and at the last second before the Rogue collided with Rainbow, she dived below him and span around, just in time to catch the sight of the Rogue desperately try and avoid the debris, to no avail.

“I didn't actually think you'd fall for that,” Rainbow said to herself, chucking, awarding herself a brief respite before looking around for any more Rogues.

“Er, Applejack? Where did the Rogues go?” Rainbow asked after a quick look around.

“We got 'em all,” Applejack said happily as her ship flew past. “Beta Four, how're you doin'?”

“The ship's holding together. Barely,” Beta Four said, her eyes sweeping her cockpit.

“Where's the rest of your wing?” Rainbow asked before she could stop herself.

“Gone,” Beta Four said quietly, choking up. “We were sweeping through the debris field and ran into heavy fire inside a dense particle cloud. They were shot down instantly. We didn't have a chance.”

“You did really well, Beta Four, we'll get you out of here soon,” Applejack said gently. “Could you show us where you were?”

“I'll upload the co-ordinates now, Gamma Six,” the tan mare said with a sniff. “My systems are fried and I've got a coolant leak. I'm a sitting duck here.”

“Don't worry, we'll get some ponies to get you back to Bitsburgh,” Applejack said reassuringly. “We'll do a proper memorial for the rest of Beta wing when we get back to Manehatten.” The channel went dead for a few moments, and then Applejack returned. “Ah've called for Epsilon Wing to come escort you back to Bitsburgh. They should be here in five minutes. You'll be alright, Beta Four.”

“Thank you, Gamma Six,” Beta Four said, lifting her visor and wiping her eyes with a hoof. “I'd be dead if it wasn't for you. Good luck.”

“You too, Beta Four,” Rainbow said, stunned that an ESF wing could have been taken out so fast.

“Let's go, Rainbow. Ah know where the base is,” Applejack said, determination thick in her voice. “Head to the co-ordinates Beta Four gave us.”

“Wait, are you saying that where Beta wing was ambushed is where the base is?” Rainbow asked, getting excited at the prospect of them actually having found the base. She activated her cruise engines and flew after Applejack in the direction of the particle cloud.

“Ah think this is it. Ah'm gonna call in for some backup. Get ready, this could get a mite hairy.”

A beep sounded on the communication channel, signalling that Applejack was calling to all ESF units in the area.

“To all units, this is Gamma Six. We have a potential location of the Rogue base. Come to these co-ordinates,” Applejack said, a slight smirk on her face as she sent the co-ordinates out.

“This is Alpha One, acknowledged, we'll rendezvous at the co-ordinates,” a brown stallion responded in a nasally voice. A stream of other acknowledgements from different ponies followed after, surprising Rainbow with exactly how many ESF ponies were in the area.

“These Rogues won't know what hit them,” she said, laughing. “You've got the entire force coming to take them out!”

“This is only a small part of the ESF around Manehatten,” Applejack replied, chuckling. “If we had the entire ESF force here, we wouldn't be able to fit in this sector.” Her face suddenly fell. “Hang on, I'm gettin' somethin'... Incomin' Rogue fighters, get ready!”

“Again? They really don't want us to find this base, do they?” Rainbow said, exasperated.

“They really don't,” Applejack said as the Rogues came into view. There was only three of them, but they instantly started firing, forcing Rainbow to break away from Applejack.

“Let's take 'em out, Rainbow!” Applejack said as Rainbow saw her speed towards the Rogues. A missile flew away from Applejack's ship and before the Rogues could react, it hit its target, ripping the Rogue ship apart. “That's five down,” Applejack said smugly as her ship flew through where the Rogue had been.

“Have you been keeping count?” Rainbow asked, surprised. She thought she was the only one who had been doing that.

“Yeah, Ah always do,” Applejack said. “And you're gonna fall further behind if you don't start movin'!”

“You're on,” Rainbow said, grinning as she pushed the throttle forward.

One of the Rogues had began to chase Applejack, so Rainbow deftly fell in behind him and fired. In no time at all, his shield was down and Rainbow's shots were damaging his hull. His ship suddenly lurched down and began to spin wildly, causing Rainbow to have to quickly change direction to follow.

“What in the hay is this guy doing?” She asked herself, watching him spin so wildly she couldn't even begin to follow him with her guns. Realisation dawned quickly, though, and she noticed that his ship was spinning towards a large chunk of debris.

“Five for me?” Rainbow asked when the Rogue had crashed into the debris.

“Rainbow, the last one is fleeing into the field!” Applejack said, darting past the front of Rainbow's ship.

“Oh no you don't,” Rainbow muttered, turning to follow Applejack. She saw that the Rogue's cruise engines were online, and he was quickly speeding away from them, towards a large red cloud in the distance. Flicking her own cruise engines online, Rainbow piloted her ship after the retreating Rogue.

“Gamma Six, this is ESF Alpha One, what's your status?” The nasally voiced stallion said over the channel as his wing flew out of the debris field after the Rogue.

“Alpha One, the Rogue base must be in the particle cloud ahead,” Applejack replied. “Follow that Rogue. He'll lead us right to them.”

“Understood,” Alpha One said.

In the distance, Rainbow saw the Rogue disappear into the particle cloud, and her heart pumped with anticipation at what was inside.

“Rainbow, get ready,” Applejack said, a slight wobble in her voice betraying her nerves. “There could be anythin' in that cloud.”

“I know,” Rainbow said, gripping the control stick tighter.

All of a sudden, they were in the crimson particle cloud. Rainbow could barely see Alpha Wing in front of her, let alone anything else. She glanced around the cockpit, checking her ship's systems, making sure that everything was okay. Her engines were undamaged, her shields were fully functional, and she was ready to turn the cruise engines off at the drop of a hat. She never understood why the cruise engines stopped the guns from being able to fire, but she didn't really care anyway.

Just as fast as they had entered the cloud, they had been released into a large empty space in the middle of the cloud. Floating, dead centre of the space, was the Rogue base.

The Rogue base was in the shape of a cylinder on its side, and at one end it had another cylinder protruding from the top, and at the other end, another cylinder protruding from the bottom. All along each of the cylinders were lights and windows, as well as two large hanger doors, one at each end of the cylinder. It was a dark grey, with crimson paint splashed haphazardly in the shape of a skull. Floating either side of the base were two cross shaped constructions, but Rainbow had no idea what they were.

“There!” Applejack cried. “The Rogue base. To all units, this is Gamma Six. We've got the location of the Rogue base. I'm sendin' you co-ordinates. Ah can make out two defence platforms and an armoured depot. We'll need torpedoes to take it out, over.”

“Delta Wing is armed with torpedoes,” Alpha One said. “They're on their way.”

“They'd better get here fast, there's more Rogues than Ah thought there'd be,” Applejack said quietly.

Rainbow squinted, and she could just make out small black shapes flying all around the main base, but she couldn't see exactly how many. All she knew was that there were a lot more than they had faced at any one time.

“Rainbow, we can't take out the base, it's armour is too strong,” Applejack said. “But we can soften up their defences by takin' out the platforms. Let's go.”

Rainbow nodded silently and switched off her cruise engines. She spotted a few Rogue ships break off from flying around the main base and begin to fly towards her.

“Get ready, here they come!” She shouted over the channel. She threw the throttle forward and charged recklessly towards the oncoming Rogues. Targeting the Rogue closest to her, Rainbow fired her guns at it as it advanced, taking out it's shield. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a missile collide into another Rogue, and Applejack's ship burst through the debris. Rainbow's target swept past Rainbow's ship, peppering the shield in front of the cockpit with shots, making it glow and briefly obscuring Rainbow's vision. She span her ship round and saw her target hurtling off after an Alpha wing ship, so she threw her ship after the Rogue. Quickly gaining on it, Rainbow fired once more, her shot connecting with the Rogue's engine, causing him to spin off and explode a moment later.

Before Rainbow could even take a moment to catch her breath, laser shots sped past her cockpit, and she span her ship round to face them. Two more Rogue ships were baring down on her at a considerable speed. Thinking quickly, Rainbow started flying towards them, dodging and weaving to avoid their shots, firing all the while. Just as she was about to collide with one of them, she dived underneath and did a half-loop, coming up behind him before he could begin to start turning round, and she slowed to shoot the rear of his ship as much as she could.

“Rainbow, look out! We've got more pirates coming from the base,” Applejack said hurriedly. “Ah hope those reinforcements get here soon.”

As soon as her target was destroyed, Rainbow risked a quick look round to see how many more Rogues were joining the fight and regretted it almost immediately. From both ends of the base, Rogue ships flew out, ready to engage the attackers. It looked like there were now nearly double the amount of Rogues as there were to begin with, and Rainbow was beginning to feel like she really shouldn't have accepted Applejack's offer.

“Applejack, how do we take out those defence platforms?” She asked, piloting her ship in their direction, doing her best to avoid stray shots.

“You just gotta shoot 'em, Rainbow! Ah'll do mah best to keep them off you, just take those platforms down,” Applejack responded, her teeth gritted.

“Alright, let's do this,” Rainbow muttered to herself. She gripped the control stick tightly, made sure that one defence platform was in her sights, and began firing. As soon as the first shots hit the platform, a turret from one of the legs of the platform began firing at her, making her weave around frantically, trying not to get hit. Still firing as much as she could at the centre of the platform, Rainbow got close enough so that the turrets could no longer fire at her, and she began to orbit the platform, doing small bombing runs in an attempt to destroy it. All around her ship, lasers and plasma were being fired at her, most of the shots missing her craft, but the ones that did hit made her wince every time.

“Come on, come on...” Rainbow mumbled, wondering if she was actually doing any damage at all, when one of the legs of the cross broke off with a sudden explosion, causing Rainbow to cheer with relief. “One down, one to go!”

Turning her ship around, Rainbow sped off towards the other defence platform, looking around as she did so. She noticed that there were considerably less Rogue ships than there were before, and she spotted Applejack seemingly taking on three at once, and winning. Rainbow didn't let herself be distracted for too long, though, as she quickly got into range of the final defence platform.

This time, Rainbow decided to just do bombing runs of the platform, diving in and out as fast as she could to avoid as much fire as possible. She started firing at the platform's centre, and at the last possible moment, ducked between the legs of the cross and flew out the other side, taking as big a turn as she dared, before darting back in again. Just as she came out the second time, she was met by a hail of laser coming from the side as a Rogue ship flew past, barely missing her ship and causing Rainbow to jump.

“Buck!” She shouted in shock, reflex making her yank her ship upwards. She briefly considered chasing after her attacker, but decided that she could do that after she had dealt with the defence platform.

Performing another half-loop, Rainbow went back in for a third run on the weapons platform, and this time, it proved enough. A large explosion ripped the platform in two, and Rainbow burst through the gap.

“I've got the platforms, Applejack, how're you doing?” Rainbow asked, pulling her ship around to look for her attacker.

“Ah'm managin',” Applejack said, concentration etched on her face. “Where're those torpedo bombers?” She asked, desperation seeping into her voice.

Rainbow watched as Applejack's fighter sped past the base, being chased by two Rogues. Wrenching her ship back into motion, Rainbow took off in pursuit of Applejack's chasers, in an attempt to alleviate some of her partner's trouble. She quickly caught up and fired at the closest Rogue, her shots making her target's shield dissipate quickly, and soon his ship had been torn apart by her shots as well. Not moving her hoof from the trigger, Rainbow switched her aim, and in no amount of time, the other Rogue had been dealt with as well.

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Applejack said, letting out a long breath. “They got behind me while I was dealin' with three others.”

Rainbow was about to respond when a gruff voice started speaking.

“This is ESF Delta One, we're making our torpedo run on the station, over,” an olive stallion said over the communication channel.

“Good to see you guys,” Applejack said, relief in her voice. “Let's finish 'em off!”

Rainbow turned her ship around and watched as three ESF fighters appeared from the red cloud surrounding the Rogue base. The three fighters slowly flew in a line towards the base, ignoring everything around them, including the shots fired in their direction. When they got close enough, the olive stallion said, “Torpedoes away,” and from the bottom of each ship, two large missiles were fired, flying steadily towards the Rogue base.

When they connected with the base, each missile caused an enormous explosion to tear massive holes in the base, which then created smaller explosions which spread throughout the base rapidly, throwing chunks of metal and polymers into space. All of the fighting had stopped as the Rogues turned to watch the destruction of their base, as they realised they had failed to protect it. Fire and gases seeped from the many holes in the base's hull, and then finally, the entire thing exploded into fragments which all spiralled away into space.

“Great shot, Delta leader,” Applejack exclaimed as Rainbow whooped and cheered, both in relief and merriment at their success.

“Our pleasure, Gamma Six,” Delta One said. “We couldn't have done it without you. What shall we do about the rest of the Rogues?”

“We'll ask 'em to surrender. Ah doubt they'd wanna keep fightin' now,” Applejack replied.

“Roger that, Gamma Six, we've got it from here,” Alpha One said. “All units, secure the area. Rogue fighters, your base has been destroyed. Surrender or we will be forced to eliminate you. I repeat, surrender, or we will be forced to eliminate you.”

Rainbow watched as the Rogue ships were rounded up and surrounded by the ESF fighters. Applejack's ship flew slowly back towards Rainbow's, and Applejack said, “Good work, Rainbow. Let's get clear, we're not needed here any more. Ah'm uploading co-ordinates to Bitsburgh to your nav-map. Let's go.”

“Sure thing, Applejack,” Rainbow said, happy to head back, though a little irritated she had to set hoof back on Bitsburgh. She flicked the switch for her cruise-engines and began to fly out the crimson cloud and towards the waypoint on her map.

“Great work out there, Rainbow!” Applejack said a few minutes later as they were flying back through the debris field. In the distance, Rainbow could see the small shape of Bitsburgh, obscured mostly by the debris. “Not bad for a beginner!”

“Beginner? I'm not a beginner!” Rainbow said indignantly. “How many did you get in the end, eh?”

“Twelve,” Applejack replied smugly, a smile on her face.

“Twelve? Hay, I only got nine,” Rainbow said, a little disappointed but impressed all the same.

“Better luck next time, Rainbow,” Applejack said, laughing. “Somethin' tells me Ah'm gonna be seein' a lot more of you in the future.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow asked, a small thought inside her head wondering what would happen if she kept doing these sorts of jobs. She had certainly enjoyed what they had done today, but there had been a few times when she hadn't been sure if she would make it out alive. As soon as she had thought that though, she remembered that even trying to do a simple delivery job had nearly ended with her dead more times than she cared to count.

“What we've done here today will hopefully put a dent in the Rogue problem we've been havin' in this system,” Applejack said. “Maybe now we can focus our full attention on the Order, and anyone who supports them. Sharpbeak's assassination can't go unpunished.”

“The Order... Who exactly are they?” Rainbow asked, hoping that Applejack would tell her more than the rumours she had heard.

“All Ah know is that they're a bunch of terrorists, the worst there is in the Sirius system,” Applejack replied grimly. “This ain't the first time they've murdered an innocent, and it ain't the last either. No-one knows why they're doing it either.”

The pair of them sat in silence for a few minutes as Rainbow thought on what Applejack had said. It wasn't much more than she had heard before, but it confirmed what she already knew. She'd heard of other criminal groups such as the Corsairs and the Mollys, whom Rainbow had heard news of repeatedly in Braytonia, but they weren't as bad as the Order by a long shot.

Rainbow's thoughts were broken by Applejack's voice coming back over the communication channel.

“Twilight jus' sent me a message on the secure channel,” Applejack said. “Change of plans, Ah'm afraid. Ah need to divert. If you land on Bitsburgh, talk to one of the Deep Space Reps, they'll have somethin' lined up for you while Twi' an' Ah talk. Ah'm transferrin' your payment now. Thanks for your help. See you 'round.”

“I had fun. See you, AJ” Rainbow replied. She watched as Applejack's ship veered off in the direction of Manehatten and disappeared into the debris field. Rainbow sighed, setting her ship's auto-pilot to fly straight to Bitsburgh, and got as comfortable as she could in her seat for the long flight back.

As Rainbow was just about to leave the debris field, with Bitsburgh considerably closer now, she noticed she was getting hailed once again. Wondering who it could be, since the only ponies she'd talked to while in the craft were Applejack and the other ESF fighters, she pressed the button to accept the call. On her visor, Twilight's face appeared, currently looking away from the camera talking to someone down to her side.

“Applejack will be here soon, Spike, so we need to be ready,” she said, looking a little harried. “Get the kettle on and bring me the files on Ashcrop.” She looked back towards the camera, and a look of surprise dawned on her face briefly, before being replaced by a big smile. “Sorry about that, just getting things sorted. Anyway, good job out there! Applejack told me how impressed she was with you. I hope this wasn't too much for your first assignment with us,” Twilight said, a her brows dipping in concern.

“Nah, that was nothing, Sparkle,” Rainbow bragged. “Almost as easy as working with Rarity.”

“Oh, well, I'll find you something more difficult for next time, shall I?” Twilight asked, scowling, but it didn't last long. “I wanted to meet up with you, but the attack on Sharpbeak has everyone rattled. Acting-President Mare's ordered a full investigation to determine what can be done about the Order. I'm already having to do twice as much as I was, and it'll no doubt mean more work for all of us.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Rainbow asked, a little concerned. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her head, reminding her that she was only meant to be staying around Manehatten until Flim and Flam returned to a state where they were capable of paying her what she was owed, but she thought that she could at least help out while she waited.

Twilight smiled a little bit. “Thanks, Rainbow, but not at the moment,” she said, rummaging through some papers in front of her. “Why don't you familiarise yourself with the New Hock system? Maybe see if you can pick up some more work? Applejack suggested you look on Bitsburgh, and I think that's a great idea.”

Rainbow groaned and asked, “Do I really have to set hoof on Bitsburgh again? It smells worse than old cow muck.”

“I admit, the smell is rather... well, bad, but it's where quite a lot of business goes through New Hock,” Twilight replied. A muffled shout from somewhere behind her caught her attention and her head whipped round to see. Twilight's eyes widened in surprise and she shouted, “Spike!” She looked back round to the camera and hurriedly said, “I've got to go, I'll speak to you later, Rainbow. Bye!”

Before Rainbow could return the goodbye, the call had ended and she was left staring at the rapidly approaching docking ring for Bitsburgh. “I guess getting some more bits wouldn't hurt,” Rainbow said to herself. “So long as its not another delivery job, that is.” She flicked off her cruise-engines and turned on the lights to signal that she was wanting to dock with Bitsburgh.

“Acknowledged, your request to land is granted,” a robotic voice said over an open communication channel. “Proceed to land.”

Rainbow lazily piloted her ship through the open docking ring and down to Bitsburgh.

When Rainbow landed, she surveyed all of the readings on her cockpit dashboard, noticing that a few of the systems and extremities of her ship were damaged from the dog-fights she'd had against the Rogues. Noting exactly what needed repairs, she pulled out her bit device and checked her balance, a smile creeping onto her face as she saw that she now had over five thousand bits to her name. She pulled her helmet and oxygen mask off and opened the cockpit door, letting in the repugnant smell of Bitsburgh's atmosphere. Still not used to the smell, Rainbow couldn't help but gag as she clambered out of her ship.

As soon as Rainbow had set hoof back on the planet's surface, she started looking around for someone that she might be able to talk to about repairs, the wind making her shiver slightly in her jacket. After a few seconds of looking in vain, she trotted over to the nearest pony, a rather haggard old cream stallion in an orange jumpsuit, who was slowly flicking through pages on a clipboard, grumbling as he did so. He jumped when Rainbow addressed him.

“Hey, who do I ask to get my ship repaired?” Rainbow asked, gesturing back to her Starflier.

The old stallion grunted and said “Yer lookin' at him, filly.” He glanced up at Rainbow's ship and hummed for a few seconds, his head tilting to survey the damage. “Doesn't look tha' bad. Looks like yer port wing's a bit shot, and a few o' yer systems are a little bit damaged. Shouldn't cost yer much more than three hundred bits, an' it'll take about half an hour, sound alrigh'?”

“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow said,glad that it wouldn't take too long She'd known repairs to take days before, and to cost in excess of one thousand bits. Thinking that she might grab a drink and maybe find a job while she waited, she asked the repair pony, “Where's the bar? I'll get a drink while I wait.”

The repair pony silently gestured behind him towards a large metal door embedded in the nearby cliff-side and walked off, flicking through his clipboard once again. Rainbow noticed that protruding higher up the cliff was a large glass over-hang, and through it she could just make out tables and a few ponies milling around. Without thanking the stallion, Rainbow made her way over to the cliff-side door.

Around the door were a few more ponies in orange jumpsuits, chatting away, but they rushed off down the ramp Rainbow had just trotted up at a gruff shout from the landing pad. The door slid open with a slight squeak as Rainbow reached it, revealing a long, tall corridor, which curved to the right at the end, with several smaller doors along the walls. Hanging from the ceiling were many bright white lights, which swung gently with the wind coming in through the doorway, the shadows they were casting swaying also. There was a fluorescent sign protruding from the wall further down the corridor, saying “Bar – This way,” and there were several ponies coming from the direction it was indicating.

Following the corridor round, Rainbow came to a large room, containing a tall spiralling staircase, with stairs going both up the cliff and further down into the ground. Along the wall to the side were elevators, which were crowded with various ponies in a variety of clothes, ranging from suit-clad business ponies to mucky jumpsuit-wearing mechanics, and there was even a pink mare dressed in an uniform Rainbow hadn't seen before, but it looked of military nature. The mare seemed to be chatting incessantly to everypony around her. Rainbow briefly considered taking the elevator up to the bar, but the size of the crowd around the elevator doors put her off the idea. Instead, she began the climb up to the bar.

It wasn't long before Rainbow had reached the floor the bar was situated on, and she trotted through the doorway into a comparatively smaller room. Opposite the doorway was the glass balcony she had seen from below, and on the wall on her left was the actual bar, which had a few patrons sipping drinks and chatting while they waited. Adorning the walls opposite the bar were several wanted posters, along with a large noticeboard and a single television, with the volume turned down low. Once again, the news was on, and Rainbow could only see that the headline was about an increase in drug smuggling. Making her way over to the bar, Rainbow got the bartender's attention.

“What can I get you?” the stallion said, picking up a glass from under the counter with his magic.

“Got any Sweet Apple Cider?” Rainbow asked, hopefully.

“'All out, sorry missy,” the bartender said with a shrug. “We've got a new batch of Liberty Ale, just in, if you'd like?”

With a grimace, Rainbow replied, “Thanks, but no. I'll take some apple juice.”

“Really? Nothing... stronger?” The bartender asked, an eyebrow raised. “Alright then, that'll be five bits.”

Rainbow rummaged around in her pocket and withdrew some bits, sliding them along the bar top to the stallion, who had already filled a glass with apple juice and placed it in front of Rainbow Dash.

“Anything else?” The bartender asked.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said, taking a sip from her drink. “Where should I go if I want a job?”

The bartender pointed past Rainbow's shoulder. “Did you see the noticeboard when you came in? That's where every one posts their jobs.”

“Or, she could simply ask me,” a snivelly voice said from beside Rainbow Dash.

Looking round, Rainbow saw a short, bespectacled green stallion, dressed in a sharply pressed suit and sporting a precariously-balanced homburg on his head.

“I couldn't help overhearing, I'm so sorry about that, but I understand you're looking for a job?” the stallion said, leaning against the bar. “Well, my pilot just cancelled on me, for some reason or other I can't remember, and I'm lacking a pilot for this very urgent job I have.”

Rainbow couldn't curb her curiosity, and asked, “So what is the job?”

“A simple delivery. Will you take it?” The stallion asked, leaning in close.

“What's the pay like?”

“A couple thousand bits, nothing out of the ordinary, but it's an easy job, guaranteed to be a walk in the park.”

After a moment's consideration, Rainbow stuck out a hoof and said, “It's a deal.”

“Great!” The stallion said, standing up straight again. “I'll have the shipment of boron in your hold as soon as possible. All you have to do is take it straight to Manehatten before the day ends.” He trotted off with a spring in his step, humming a jaunty tune.

“Did he say boron?” Rainbow asked, her face falling.

Half an hour later, Rainbow emerged back onto the landing pad to see the repair pony from earlier, still holding the same clipboard as he was earlier. Looking up from the clipboard, he spotted Rainbow, nodded, looked back down at his clipboard and said, “She's all fixed. Some stallion came by and popped some packages in yer hold, sayin' somethin' about a mare bein' 'is savior.” He looked back up at her with a smirk. “I'm guessin' tha's you. Anyhow, tha'd be three hundred and five bits.”

Rainbow nodded, pulling out her bit device and telling it to pay the Bitsburgh repair services the amount required.

“Thank yer, tha'll be all,” the stallion said. “Feel free to fly off whene'er you want.” And with that, he trotted off, whistling to himself, his clipboard balanced on his back.

“Thanks,” Rainbow called after him, looking up at her ship. “Time to get back to flying,” she said to herself flatly, opening the cockpit and clambering back inside.

An hour later, Rainbow had just flown through the clouds above Manehatten, having been stuck in a queue to pass through the docking rings into the planet's atmosphere. The sun was beginning to set on this side of the planet, and the sky around her was gaining an orange tint as the sun hugged the horizon. She spotted the landing pad she had taken off from the first time she had been on the planet and deftly piloted her ship over to it, landing softly on the stone surface. Rainbow swiftly switched the ship off, removed her helmet and pushed the cockpit door open, taking in a deep breath of the relatively-fresh Manehatten air. Rainbow shrugged her jacket off, grabbed it in her teeth and flew out of the cockpit, pressing the button to close the cockpit as she did. She was thankful of the chance to finally be able to stretch her wings and fly by her own power. She performed a few lazy loops and barrel-rolls around her craft, making sure to stay out of other ponies' way. After a few minutes' flight, Rainbow finally alighted on the ground and slipped her jacket back on.

“Excuse me, are you a... Miss Dash?” A slow, deep voice asked from behind Rainbow, and she turned around to see who had spoken. In front of her was a large pegasus stallion, with rolls of fat on his neck, squashed under his too-small shirt. He was looking down at a sheet of paper he held in a hoof.

“Yeah, that's me,” Rainbow asked, absent-mindedly wondering how long the stallion's shirt would last, containing all the stallion's mass.

“My name is Mister Ground. Mister Smile has sent me to pick up the boron you've delivered and to give you your payment,” the stallion droned, looking down at Rainbow through half-lidded eyes. He pulled a bit chit out of his pocket, which Rainbow took and tucked in her pocket for later.

After a brief moment, Rainbow asked, “So, do you want the boron now, or..?'

“We'll take it now,” Mister Ground said, gesturing to a large, square truck behind him. “If you could open your hold, we'll do the rest.”

Rainbow nodded and pressed a button on her ship's key, which caused her Starflier's hold door to slowly lower and create a ramp up and into the hold, which was half-full with neatly-wrapped white packages.

“Thank you,” Mister Ground said, turning and waving at the truck. Several ponies poured from the back of the truck and rushed over to Rainbow's ship, quickly forming an efficient line, passing the boron packages down towards the truck with their magic. Within minutes, Rainbow's hold was empty and the truck was trundling off over the stone towards a large building at the edge of the landing pad, which Rainbow presumed was the elevator down to the ground.

“Pleasure to do business with you, Miss Dash,” Mister Ground said, nodding at Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, you too,” she replied, not really paying attention. Mister Ground turned and trotted slowly off in the direction the truck had just travelled. Sighing, Rainbow wondered what she should do while she waited for Twilight to get in contact with her again. She decided to head over to the Rest Stop and see if she could sneak a nap in the bar while she waited, or at least the lobby. Trotting over, she added the bits she'd received to her balance, glumly noticing that 'a couple thousand bits' genuinely meant 'a couple thousand bits.' All she had gotten from that boron delivery was exactly two thousand bits.

Arriving at the Rest Stop door, Rainbow made her way through the lobby and into the main bar. It was a little busier than when she had come in with Anvil, but there were still many empty seats. Finding a location in the corner of the room, she was about to settle down for a nap when the barpony trotted over to her.

"I'm afraid you can't sleep here, miss," he said, wiping the table down with a rag. "We do have some rooms free, if you'd like to rent one?"

Groaning at the thought of shelling out some of her hard-earned cash on a place to sleep, Rainbow sat up and started to pull out her bit device.

"Don't worry about paying, miss," the barpony said, straightening up. "After all you've been through, what with Freeport Seven and all, I wouldn't feel right charging you for a good night's sleep."

"Are you sure?" Rainbow asked. She'd love a free night of sleep, but she didn't want to just exploit the guy.

"Yeah, but just for tonight, alright? I'm sure you've got family or something picking you up soon." Pointing back towards the lobby, the barpony said, "The rooms are through the lobby and on your left. You've got the furthest one along." He pulled a key out of his pocket and dropped it on the table in front of Rainbow. "Have a good sleep now."

Rainbow watched the pony return to his position behind the bar before grabbing the key in her teeth and making her way to the room she'd been given.

Pushing the door open, she stepped in and shrugged her jacket off and onto the floor. She kicked the door closed and fell onto the bed, succumbing to sleep swiftly.

Rainbow woke to the sound of spaceship engines and shouting. Yawning wearily, she rolled out of bed, grunting as she hit the floor with a thump. Pushing herself up onto her hooves, she slung her fallen jacket over her shoulders and stepped out the room and headed towards the bar for breakfast.

As she entered the room, a familiar voice called out her name.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted, rising in her seat and waving at the pegasus. A few seconds later, she noticed the stares she was getting and sheepishly sank back into her seat opposite Applejack. Rainbow chuckled, shook her head and made her way over to the table where the two ESF ponies were sat. There was a glass sat in front of each of the mares, and spread across the table in front of Twilight were several thin folders and papers. Applejack tipped her hat and slid down the booth, allowing Rainbow space to sit down.

“Good to see you here, Rainbow,” Applejack said, smiling. She took a sip of the drink in front of her and grimaced slightly. “Still can't get used to this Liberty Ale,” Applejack muttered under her breath, causing Rainbow to snort with laughter.

“Well, Applejack and I were just finishing up our little meeting,” Twilight said, stacking the papers in front of her. “The barpony told us you were sleeping here, we were going to go wake you actually. Now, however, I can tell you about the next mission.”

“You've already got another job ready?” Rainbow asked, surprised at how fast Twilight worked. “Are we gonna have to blow up another Rogue base?”

“Not this time, I'm afraid, Rainbow,” Twilight replied, giggling. “All I can tell you is that the ESF recently received information that one of the most wanted artefact smugglers in Equality space is going to be moving a shipment tonight. Would you be interested in arresting him?”

Rainbow didn't even think about the risks involved. “Duh, yeah! I'd love to take him down,” Rainbow cried with excitement.

“Calm down there, sugarcube,” Applejack said, laughing. “You ain't heard all of the job yet.”

“Quite right, Applejack,” Twilight said, nodding. “This smuggler is called Ash Crop. He's evaded the ESF for years, smuggling artefacts from various bases in Liberty.”

“What kind of artefacts has he been smuggling?” Rainbow asked, curious. She rarely paid attention to the news, but even she knew that some artefacts had been outlawed, system-wide.

“Alien,” Applejack said, taking a sip from her drink. “They're very old an' fetch a huge price among hoity-toity collectors as 'high art.'” She said the last bit disdainfully, as if she couldn't understand what ponies considered 'art.'

“Equality purposely monitors and restricts their trade,” Twilight said, cutting in. “But the ESF is about to ban them all together under orders from the Acting-President. Anyway, we've got information that Ash Crop is about to move his shipment through the Collarado System Jump Gate. Your job is to stop the convoy before it reaches New Hock and bring him in for interrogation.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Rainbow said cockily, leaning back in her seat. “All we've gotta do is shoot out his engine, and bam! He's ours.”

“Can I finish?” Twilight asked impatiently. “Thank you. Now, he's probably got help, so be careful. I know you can handle yourself, but Ash Crop is a very talented flier. He's managed to escape our attempts to arrest him before, and we can't let him go this time.”

“Don't sweat it, Twilight, I've got this,” Rainbow Dash said.

“We've got it, you mean,” Applejack said, a grin on her face as she nudged Rainbow. “Ah'm comin' with you! See if you can get more varmints than me this time.”

Rainbow laughed and said, “Oh, I will.” A previous part of the conversation sank into Rainbow's head and she sat up in realisation. “Wait a minute, Collarado Jump Gate? My ship doesn't have Jump access, I can't get through. How am I gonna help if I can't get through?”

“I've already thought of that, and I've got Spike working on getting you Jump Gate access for the Collarado Gate as we speak. He should be done anytime soon,” Twilight said, smiling. “We're also fitting your ship with a scanner and a tractor beam, so you can find out which ship is Ash Crop's. We're pretty confident his ship will be fitted with an escape pod, most high-profile criminals' ships are. All you'll need to do is tractor-beam it into your hold when you've destroyed his ship.”

"But what if he doesn't eject in time?" Rainbow asked.

"The escape pod is programmed to eject automatically when the ship is damaged too much, so he can't help but eject," Twilight said patiently.

“That's good,” Rainbow said gratefully, settling back into her seat, glad that Twilight was so well-organised and knew so much.

“Hey, tell her about the bonus,” Applejack stage-whispered to Twilight, leaning across the table.

“Bonus? What about the bonus?” Rainbow asked eagerly, her ears perking up.

Twilight sighed and playfully scowled at Applejack. “I was going to tell her later, but fine,” the unicorn said. She looked over at Rainbow. “I've got the access codes for the rest of the Equality Gates. You can have them, once you deliver Ash Crop to us.”

“Really?” Rainbow asked. She was expecting a bonus of bits, but this was just as good. It'd allow her the freedom to go wherever she liked in Equality and explore it as much as she wanted.

“Really,” Twilight replied, smiling. “Now, if that's everything, I need to be heading back to my office. Spike will probably be there by now, and he gets lonely if he's left on his own for too long.”

Twilight stood up and drew a pair of lilac saddlebags from under the table with her magic. She packed all of the papers away and turned to leave.

“Wait, Twilight, quick question,” Rainbow said suddenly.

“Yes? What is it?” Twilight responded, looking at Rainbow curiously.

“Where's Manehatten's Celestial Hospital? I've got a few... 'friends' who are staying there at the moment,” Rainbow said, scratching the back of her head distractedly with a hoof.

“Oh? Those friends you were talking about yesterday morning?” Twilight asked. “Well, it's not that far. If you go down to the ground floor of this building, then there should be some signs directing you towards it. It's about a five minute trot, if it's not that busy. Now, I really must be off. See you both around! Good luck catching Ash Crop!”

And with a wave, Twilight trotted off to the exit of the Rest Stop and disappeared outside.

From Rainbow's side, Applejack let out a low whistle and said, “Rainbow, Ah've got a stop to make too. Ah'll meet you in space in two hours, should give you enough time to see your 'friends.'”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Rainbow said, hopping up off her seat to let Applejack out. She couldn't help but notice the way Applejack had said the word 'friends,' as if she could tell they weren't Rainbow's friends at all. “I'll see you soon, AJ,” she said as Applejack followed after Twilight.

Getting up, Rainbow headed over to the bar to grab some breakfast.

Rainbow finished half an hour later, particularly satisfied with the breakfast she'd just had. The room seemed busier now, and Rainbow reasoned that it was the end of the work day now. A large yawn escaped from Rainbow's mouth and she stretched widely. Getting up, she decided it wouldn't hurt to check on Flim and Flam before she headed off back into space.

Heading out the door of the Rest Stop, Rainbow was about to start looking around for an elevator down when she noticed two familiar ponies pacing around next to her ship. Cantering closer in order to see more clearly if it was who she thought it was, she shouted at them, “Flim? Flam? Is that you?”

The two ponies stopped pacing suddenly and their heads swivelled around, searching desperately for the pony who had called their names. Rainbow slowed to a trot as she got within ten metres and asked, loudly enough for the two stallions to hear over the din of the landing pad, “When did they release you from medical? We got here yesteday!”

The two unicorns finally spotted Rainbow Dash and they both turned towards her. “You think you're safe, but you're not!” Flam mumbled, just loud enough for Rainbow to hear. She noticed that the two of them seemed bedraggled, their bow-ties askew and their hair a mess. While Flam was staring straight at Rainbow, Flim's eyes were darting wildly around in their sockets, scouring the landing pad.

“What're you talking about?” Rainbow asked, confused.

“What do you think happened on Freeport Seven, hm?” Flim said, rushing forward until his moustache was barely inches away from Rainbow's muzzle.

“It was blown to dust,” Rainbow said, hopping away. “Like my ship, your ship and my million bits that, by the way, you still owe.” She emphasised the last three words by prodding the front of Flim's waistcoat with a hoof.

Flim turned away with a tut and said quickly, “Easy come, easy go.”

“Oh, no no no,” Rainbow said, shrugging off her jacket and flying round in front of Flim again. “We made a deal.”

“A deal that died with the station,” Flam said from behind Rainbow. She turned around to look and saw him collapse to the floor, his hooves cradling his head. He groaned and whispered, seemingly to himself, “It all seems so long ago now... Doesn't matter anyway. They want us all dead.”

“Who wants us all dead?” Rainbow asked, getting slightly scared. The two of them had been weird before, but she figured that had just been their sales-pony personas. This was something else. She landed back on the stone of the landing pad and slowly trotted towards Flam.

“Stallions. Government stallions,” Flam said, looking up at Rainbow with fearful eyes. He began to look around again, as if somepony would try and sneak up on him. “They'll find the manifest. They'll know who was there. They're already after us.” Suddenly, he was on his hooves again and was staring defiantly at Rainbow, with Flim at his side. “But we're smart. We escaped from medical.”

“Wait, you what? You escaped?” Rainbow asked incredulously.

“Had to!” Flim said, edging closer to Rainbow. “They came for us, Rainbow. Because of what we saw on the station.” He was beginning to gesticulate madly, while Flam stood behind him and nodded. “We saw what did this to us, to you!” Turning away from Rainbow once again, he began to mutter, “There were these ships, only, they weren't there. They weren't...”

“Flim, you're not making sense,” Rainbow butted in, moving towards Flim.

“You don't understand!” Flam shouted furiously, starting forward, making Rainbow stop in shock. “They know us now, we're not safe here anymore, none of us are. Rainbow, we've got to get off Manehatten, we've...” His eyes slid past Rainbow and went as wide as dinner plates. “Oh no...” he mumbled.

Looking round, Rainbow noticed two mares dressed in uniforms not unlike the ones Twilight and Applejack wore. Hovering above the both of them was a baton and a large rifle of sorts. The mare whom the rifle was hovering above shouted out, “Stop right where you are!”

Turning back towards Flim and Flam, Rainbow saw the pair of them sprinting off at a surprisingly fast clip away towards a large building at the far end of the landing pad. Not knowing what to do, Rainbow simply shouted, “Hey, wait, Flim and Flam!” Before she could start moving though, a loud bang sounded from behind her, and she felt something speed past, inches away from her ear. The projectile embedded itself in Flim's hindquarters, and he toppled forwards onto his face. With a cry of despair, Flam turned to try and help his brother, when a second bang ripped the air, and another projectile embedded itself into Flam's side. He staggered for a second before collapsing in a heap beside his brother.

Rainbow stood in shock, staring at the crumpled unconscious bodies of the two brothers. She felt a rage bubble up inside her, and spun around to face the two assailants. They were barely any paces away from Rainbow now, and the one with the baton was headed straight for her.

“What do you think you're doing, hey?” Rainbow shouted, but before she could do anything, the baton had shot out and slammed into her side. A searing pain erupted in her side where the baton had connected, and it rippled through her body, causing her to spasm wildly and fall to the floor.

The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the two mares trotting purposefully towards Flim and Flam's helpless forms.

Chapter Three: To Snatch A Smuggler

Chapter 3: To Snatch a Smuggler

“Hey, Rainbow,” a faint, familiar voice said.

Rainbow Dash groaned as she slowly came back to consciousness. She could feel a tingling throughout her body, and there was a scorching pain in her side.

“Hey,” the voice said again, louder this time, and Rainbow felt a slight nudge, just below her wing. Rainbow struggled to open her eyes, but they flickered feebly, allowing her a glimpse of three indistinct shapes above her. Before her eyes could bring the shapes into focus, they slammed shut again.

“Hey, wake up, lazy,” a younger voice said, and a sharp blow to Rainbow's face brought her to her senses. Opening her eyes and nursing her cheek with a hoof, Rainbow was able to see that above her was stood Twilight, Applejack and Spike.

“Spike!” Twilight said angrily, glaring at Spike. “Don't hit ponies! Especially not when they're unconscious!”

Spike looked sheepishly at the floor and mumbled, “Sorry Twilight...”

“And what do you say to Rainbow Dash?” Twilight said admonishingly.

“I'm sorry,” he said again, not meeting anypony's eye.

“You look terrible,” Applejack said, putting a leg around Rainbow Dash. “Are you alright?”

Rainbow staggered slightly as she got back up on her hooves, but she quickly regained balance. There was a throbbing pain in Rainbow's head, and she rubbed a temple with her hoof. “I dunno,” she said, wincing as a sharp pain rippled from her side. The sun was almost set now, and in the distance she could see the dark of night beginning to envelop the skies.

“What happened to you?” Twilight asked, putting a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder.

“Two mares jumped me,” Rainbow said, turning towards where she had last seen them. Seeing that both the mares and the Flim Flam brothers had disappeared, her head whipped round, scanning the landing pad for any sign of them. “Where's Flim and Flam?” She asked no-pony in particular.

“Flim and Flam?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Who're Flim and Flam? And who attacked you?” Spike asked, walking to stand alongside Twilight.

“They must have taken them,” Rainbow whispered to herself, staring at where the brothers' unconscious bodies had lain. The pain was ebbing away now, but instead it was leaving an empty feeling as Rainbow began to think that maybe what Flim and Flam had been rambling about hadn't been nonsense after all.

“Rainbow, are you alright?” Twilight asked, shaking Rainbow's shoulder in concern. “Remember Ash Crop, the mission? Do you think you're still able to fly?”

At the mention of the mission, Rainbow looked round at the two ponies and dragon behind her, and, seeing their befuddled faces, decided it best to drop everything about her attack. Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it of all thoughts of Flim, Flam and the two mares who had attacked her, Rainbow turned back towards the trio. “Yeah, I'll be fine,” she said, pulling a strained grin.

“Are you sure, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, looking Rainbow suspiciously in the eye.

Once again, Rainbow felt as if Applejack knew that Rainbow was lying again, but she didn't mention anything. “Yeah, yeah. Ash Crop won't know what hit him,” she said, slowly returning to her usual self. “So are we heading off, or what?”

Applejack stared silently for a few seconds more, but, seemingly satisfied at what she saw, she patted Rainbow on the back and said, “Eeyup. Come on, Rainbow, we've got work to do.” Applejack then turned and trotted off towards her ship, glancing back once to look suspiciously at Rainbow again.

“Are you sure you're up for this?” Twilight asked, concern on her face. “You were just unconscious.”

“I keep telling you, I'll be fine,” Rainbow said. “Don't worry!”

“Alright,” Twilight said, her tone unconvinced. “I'll see you when you get back. Come on, Spike, we've got more work to do.” And with that, she turned and began to trot off towards the elevator at the far end of the landing pad.

“Good hunting,” Spike said, grinning, running after the unicorn.

Rainbow stood staring after the pair for a few moments, trying to gather her thoughts. She pushed her questions about Flim and Flam and the two mares who had attacked her to the back of her head once again, and set off towards her ship.

As Rainbow's ship exited Manehatten's atmosphere, the light signalling she was being hailed immediately started flashing. Pressing the button to accept the hail, she was greeted by Applejack, who's face seemed surprisingly stern.

“There you are,” Applejack said, her tone unusually flat. “Ah was startin' to wonder if you were really okay. You are okay, aren't you?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Rainbow said, getting a little irritated that everypony wasn't believing she had recovered.

“Good,” Applejack said, her voice regaining it's usual joviality. “So what happened down there? Who're Flim and Flam, 'cause Ah can tell they're no friends of yours.”

“How'd you know?” Rainbow asked, not entirely surprised that Applejack had seen through her lie.

“Ah can tell when people are lyin' to me, Rainbow,” Applejack said, a slight boastful tone in her voice. “Twi's a bit too naïve, she trusts most ponies are tellin' her the truth. That's why they get me in for interrogations. Nothin' slips past me. Anyhow, you were sayin'?”

Rainbow sighed and said, “I met them both on Freeport Seven. They're brothers, both sales-ponies. We'd just made a deal when the station was attacked. They were injured and were in medical ever since we escaped. I'd been waiting for them to recover to get my money back.”

After a prolonged pause, Applejack asked, “An'? What happened? What did they say?”

“Nothing really about the money. They tried to brush it off, saying that the 'deal died with the station,' or something like that,” Rainbow said, trying to make sense of what they were saying herself. “They said that they'd escaped from medical, and that ponies were after them. I thought they'd lost it, but then these two mares appeared and shot the both of them. Maybe they weren't just paranoid.”

“Mah word,” Applejack said, letting out a low whistle.

“I'm never getting paid.” Rainbow sighed and said dramatically, “Goodbye, million credits.”

Applejack chuckled and then said, “Come on Rainbow, we'd better get goin'. Follow me, the Collarado Jump Gate is this way.” Her ship flew off away from the planet and towards the trade-lane towards Bitsburgh again. There seemed to be many more ESF fighter ships flying around, clearly upping the security since Admiral Sharpbeak's assassination that morning.

“Our route takes us right past Fort Hoof and straight on to the Collarado Gate,” Applejack explained, lining up in front of the trade-lane and activating it. The pair of them proceeded to fly though the ring, accelerating fast as they did so. “Activation sequence; completed. Lane Jump; initiated,” Applejack muttered to herself.

“Is there any point in saying that?” Rainbow asked, genuinely curious. She'd never said anything of the sort before, and she wondered if it was a legal requirement in Equality.

“What?” Applejack asked, startled. She chuckled and replied, “Oh, naw. Ah just say it 'cause it was drilled into us at the ESF academy.”

Rainbow laughed. “Thought it might have been something like that,” she said. “How long have you been in the ESF?”

“A couple of years,” Applejack replied, piloting her ship out of the trade-lane and towards another past Fort Hoof. “In Equality, every pony is expected to work for the government for two years, but 'cause the rest of my family are workin' the farm an' can't take time off, Ah volunteered to do their time instead.”

“I've heard of that, kinda,” Rainbow said, racking her brains. Rarity had tried to teach her about the other Houses of the Sirius System a few years ago. Nothing much had really sank in, but Rainbow remembered that Rarity had mentioned something about Equality having a form of conscription. “So how come you're not sitting behind a desk or something?”

Barking a laugh, Applejack said, “Do you really see me sittin' behind a desk in some stuffy office on Manehatten? Not for me, thanks. Ah can do math and stuff fine, but Ah'd rather be out in space, takin' down criminals.”

“Don't you miss the farm, though?” Rainbow asked, feeling a slight homesickness herself as she followed Applejack's ship into the next trade-lane.

“Yeah, Ah do. Ah miss mah family most though,” Applejack said. “Granny Smith, Big Mac, Applebloom, Winona... Ah miss 'em all. Ah go back an' see em as much as I can, but Ah miss 'em all the same.”

“I'm guessing your family own the farm, right?' Rainbow asked, a suspicion in the back of her mind. “What's it called?”

“Sweet Apple Acres. We're the best apple farm in Equality,” Applejack said, not boastfully, but more like she was simply stating a fact.

“I knew it!” Rainbow cried. “You guys do the cider, the really good stuff, don't you?”

Applejack laughed as the pair of them neared the end of the trade-lane. “Yeah, that's us. Ah'm glad to hear you like it,” she said.

“Like it? I love it!” Rainbow said. “Do you think I could maybe get a couple of bottles?”

“Ah might be able to get you a few the next time I go home,” Applejack said, chortling. “Anyhow, we're here.”

In front of Rainbow, there was an enormous construction, similar to a planet's docking ring, only much larger, and with several spikes protruding out of the outer ring which was currently spinning slowly. The claws in front of the ring were just closing, and the outer ring slowed to a halt. There was a line of ships in front of the jump gate, and floating alongside the gate itself was a large spacecraft, longer than Admiral Sharpbeak's but thinner too, but it paled in size compared to the gate. Rainbow couldn't help but stare in awe, wondering what the ship was as the pair piloted closer.

As if she was reading Rainbow's thoughts, Applejack said, “Since Admiral Sharpbeak's assassination, Equality's moved heavy battleships to all the jump gates. Ev'ry ship goin' in or out of the New Hock system is bein' scanned. Don't worry, though, we'll be fine.”

As soon as Rainbow and Applejack were closer to the jump gate than the trade-lane, the image of a navy blue mare appeared on Rainbow's visor. “This is Jump Gate Control on Battleship Unity, please identify yourselves, over,” the mare said sharply.

“Howdy, Unity, this is Patrol Gamma-Six,” Applejack replied, unfazed by the mare's tone. “We're on special ESF assignment. Requestin' permission to jump to Collarado, over.”

“Patrol Gamma-Six, you're cleared to proceed,” the navy mare said flatly. “And do try and keep to protocol, over.”

“Roger that, Unity, Gamma-Six out,” Applejack replied. “That wasn't too bad,” she said with a laugh. “Anyhow, let's go. We get to cut the queue. You first, Rainbow.”

“Alright, sure,” Rainbow said, piloting her ship so that it stopped just in front of the gate's claws. Rainbow had used jump gates before, back in Braytonia, so she quickly started the sequence to activate the gate. It wasn't too dissimilar to using a trade-lane, but the effect was much more impressive. As Rainbow signalled for the gate to open, the outer ring of the gate began spinning, glowing lights created within the ring, and the claws gradually opened to accept Rainbow's comparatively minuscule ship. When the claws had opened as wide as they could, the ring stopped spinning, leaving a small yellow glow in the centre of the ring, drawing in small particles around it.

Rainbow eased her ship closer, and when her cockpit was metres away from the yellow glow, her ship was suddenly sucked in. Looking around, Rainbow saw that her ship was now in a pulsing blue tunnel of light, similar to a trade-lane but the walls of the tunnel were opaque, meaning she couldn't see anything she was passing. Her ship's engines were pulsing loudly in time with the tunnel, whining and groaning as she flew. Within seconds of travel, the dial on her visor told her that her ship was slowing down again, and she was spat out of the tunnel into a different area of space.

In front of her was a large asteroid field, separating the jump gate from the sun and other planets in this sector of space, and floating beside the jump gate was another Equality Battleship. Not that far away was also another trade-lane, which disappeared into the asteroid field.

A minute later, Rainbow saw the jump gate spit Applejack's ship out. “System jump successful,” Applejack muttered under her breath as her ship slowed to a halt. “All systems show green, everythin' is okay.”

“That another thing they drill into you at the academy?” Rainbow asked teasingly. She knew it was always important to check your ship's condition after doing a jump, but sometimes Rainbow was too impatient to bother.

“Heh, yeah,” Applejack said in confirmation. “Well, let's set up next to the trade-lane, Rainbow. Dunno when Ash Crop will come through, so we're gonna hafta stay ready.” She glanced down at her cockpit. “Hang on, somepony's tryin' to get in contact.”

“This is Twilight, over,” Twilight Sparkle said, as her face appeared on Rainbow's visor.

“We can kinda see it's you, Twilight,” Rainbow said, confused.

“I was following protocol,” the unicorn said haughtily. “Anyway, Ash Crop's just been spotted in the Cattler system. We don't know exactly which way he's going, but it looks like he should be coming straight at you. Keep your eyes open, okay? Over.”

“Ah getcha, Twi', out,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “She's a stickler for protocol, Twi' is.”

“I noticed,” Rainbow said, grinning. “So, what're we gonna do?”

“We're gonna hafta scan every ship that comes through that trade-lane,” Applejack said, eliciting a groan from Rainbow. “Ah know it's tedious, but its gotta be done. We'll take it in turns, see who catches him.”

“You're on,” Rainbow said, spotting a ship exiting the trade-lane. “I'll start with this one.” Scanning her cockpit for the button to start a scan, Rainbow spotted a newly-installed button with a sticker above it. Scrawled on the sticker in pen was the word 'scanner,' and Rainbow gently prodded it. Seconds later, a table appeared on the edge of her visor, but it was full of just one thing.

“Cheese,” Rainbow muttered, removing her hoof from the scanner's button. “A ship full of cheese.” She shifted herself in her seat in an attempt to get comfortable.

“Wonder if they've got any crackers to go with it,” Applejack said jokingly. “Oh, bein' hailed again. It's probably Twilight.”

“This is Twilight, over,” Twilight said once again as her image re-appeared.

“What is it, Twi'?” Applejack asked. She quickly remembered to say “Over.”

“Ash Crop's convoy just entered Collarado. We've set up a trap for him at Pastern Station. Stay were you are and make sure none of his ponies get away, over,” Twilight said firmly.

“Ah hear you, Twi', we've got this,” Applejack said. A large freighter appeared from the trade-lane and Applejack said, “This one's mine.” A moment later, the earth pony shook her head and said, “Only held canisters of oxygen, nothin' much. This may take a while.”

Rainbow sighed and prepared herself for the long wait.

Ten minutes later, Rainbow and Applejack had both scanned nearly ten ships each, and there hadn't been a sign of any artefacts yet. Four ships had just come through the trade-lane at the same time and the pair of them had agreed to split the job of scanning the ships between them.

Rainbow was just searching the list on her visor when Applejack shouted, “It's him, Ah've got him! Ah'm goin' in!”

Rainbow turned to look as Applejack's ship shot forward to stop in front of a small, slim ship. “You are in violation of the Equality Artefact Code an' are under arrest,” Applejack said loudly. “Cut your engines.”

As soon as Applejack had said the last three words, the slim ship let loose a barrage of plasma at Applejack and darting at her, piloting his ship down at the last second.

“Rainbow, remember what Twilight said, shoot out his engines!” Applejack shouted, spinning her ship round to follow the escaping ship.

Rainbow leapt into action, throwing her ship's throttle forward, firing at the fleeing criminal. Their target's ship was slightly faster than Rainbow's, so she was having difficulty keeping up. As their target weaved around, Rainbow had to constantly try and predict which direct he would turn so as to keep within distance. She didn't bother truly aiming, concentrating only on staying within range, hoping that some shots hit. Applejack's ship however was keeping up with ease, and she was hounding the slim ship incessantly, mostly all of her shots hitting their mark.

Within seconds, the target's shield had dissipated and his hull was taking damage. He ducked his ship down, and a voice came over an open communication channel.

“Awright, enough awready!” The rough male voice said desperately. “Are you crazy?”

“Stop firin' an' stay still, or you will be destroyed,” Applejack said sternly.

“I hope you've got good lawyers, ya country bumpkin, 'cause this is abuse of power here,” the voice said. “I'll sue!”

“Ash Crop, you are under arrest,” Applejack said with a slightly irritated tone.

“I'm not Ash Crop, you jarhead! Now I'm really gonna have your butt,” the stallion said furiously.

“What?” Rainbow cried incredulously. “You said it was him, Applejack!”

“The name is Cosmo Bedazzle,” the rough voice said. “Remember it! I'm about to be your worst nightmare, fuzz. This is wrongful arrest! Harrassment! Wanton destruction of my property!”

Applejack muttered to herself furiously. “Horseapples! What am ah gonna do... those are definitely artefacts he's holdin', but he's not Ash Crop! Rainbow,” she said out loud, “Ah'm gonna contact the battleship over there, get them to pick this guy up, an' then Ah'll contact Twilight.”

“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow said flatly. Her mind was reeling. She'd just helped attack an innocent pony, admittedly an abusive pony, but innocent all the same. She released the control stick and sat back, waiting anxiously for Applejack to speak again, trying to ignore Cosmo's ranting.

A minute later, Applejack had managed to organise an escort from the battleship and she was just beginning to contact Twilight. “Twi', we've got a guy here who's carryin' artefacts but he ain't Ash Crop,” Applejack said, worry thick in her voice. “Ah've got the battleship by the gate to New Hock pickin' him up, but he's threatenin' all sorts of legal stuff. Ah dunno what half the words he's sayin' mean!”

“Leave him, AJ, we've got a bigger problem,” Twilight said hurriedly. “The plan has failed. Ash Crop broke through our forces at Pastern. We've lost contact with the station. Get there as fast as you can, hurry!”

“On it, Twi',” Applejack said, focusing once again. “Come on Rainbow, we've gotta go!”

Rainbow nodded and grabbed the control stick again, pushing the throttle forward and flying after Applejack's ship and to the nearby trade-lane. Cosmo was still ranting in his stationary ship.

“This is outrageous!” He was yelling. “You haven't heard the last of this, I swear!”

As soon as the pair reached the trade-lane, Rainbow hurriedly started the activation sequence. She flew her ship into the ring and let it carry her along towards Pastern Station.

“Watch out Rainbow, this is gonna get rough,” Applejack said, a scowl visible under her visor. “Have your weapons ready as soon as we get outta this trade-lane.”

The two ships sped along the trade-lane for a minute, finally emerging to a scene of carnage. On their left as they emerged was a long space station, split into four sections, with the fourth attached to the rest by a long, thin tube. The main three sections had large cylinders attached to each, which Rainbow had seen similar things used for refuelling ships. However, the entire station was emitting flames from at the end of the first section, clearly missing another section entirely, which Rainbow supposed had been blown away. Speeding around the station were a dozen ships, all attempting to evade each other's shots while shooting at their own targets. There seemed to be two sides. One side flew ships exactly the same as Applejack's, which Rainbow realised was the ESF defenders, and the other flew ships that Rainbow easily recognised as the type the Equality Rogues had been flying that morning.

“Sweet Celestia,” Applejack muttered. “We need to help them, Rainbow, come on!” And with that, Applejack's ship darted off and into the fight, quickly picking a target and engaging it. Rainbow swiftly followed suit, chasing after her own target and assaulting it with a hail of plasma fire.

“Mayday, mayday! This is Pastern Station!” The image of a sweating silver stallion appeared on Rainbow's visor. “We are under attack. Repeat, we are under attack!”

“This is Patrol Gamma-Six,” Applejack said through gritted teeth. “We're engagin' the enemy!”

“Gamma-Six, we're tracking six hostiles, we have fires on most our decks, and our life support is failing. We can't get in contact with anypony further out and we can't take much more.” The silver stallion from Pastern Station certainly seemed calm under stress, even with the station in pieces around him.

“Ah getcha, Pastern, we'll drive 'em off,” Applejack replied, scowling in concentration.

Rainbow doggedly chased her target, and before long had shot his ship to pieces. She yanked the control stick to the side to avoid colliding with an incoming ESF fighter, making her ship roll in space. Growling in annoyance, Rainbow scoured the area in front of her for any Rogues to attack. Suddenly, from the left of her ship came an onslaught of laser-fire. Rainbow threw her ship forward away from the attacker and straight towards Pastern station. Pulling her ship away from the station at the last second, Rainbow turned her head to search for the ship that was attacking her. She spotted it as it slowed to avoid crashing into the station and turned after her. Drawing the control stick back, Rainbow made her ship perform a quick loop, placing her behind the attacking Rogue.

“Didn't expect that, now, did you,” Rainbow said to herself, pressing the button to fire her guns. The Rogue's shield dissipated instantly, and in his panic, he jerked his ship to the side, scraping along the side of the station, tearing parts of his ship off and sending it spiralling into space. A couple of shots from Rainbow caused the engine to explode violently, splitting the ship in two.

“Last one now, Rainbow!” Applejack cried. Rainbow spotted Applejack's ship go hurtling after a Rogue who was desperately trying to start his cruise-engines in order to escape. Another ESF fighter swept in behind Applejack and let loose a projectile that traversed the distance between him and the Rogue in a matter of milliseconds. As soon as it had smashed into the rear of the Rogue's ship, the Rogue's engine stopped, coming online a second later, but the flames produced being much dimmer and smaller in size, leaving him a sitting duck for Applejack's missiles.

“An' that's it,” Applejack said, sighing. “How many did we lose, Pastern, an' what happened?”

“Over half a dozen, Gamma-Six,” the silver stallion from Pastern said. “We'd set up a trap for a pony called Ash Crop, but his convoy didn't come out of the trade-lane like we thought. They came from the asteroid field and totally surprised us. The ESF fighters were taken down like flies.”

“Where's Ash Crop gone?” Rainbow Dash asked, unsure if she was supposed to ask, but eager to hunt down Ash Crop.

Pastern Station's stallion didn't seem to notice that Rainbow had butted in. “When the fighting started, Ash Crop and his transports escaped back into the asteroid field. We tagged one of them with a tracking device, luckily. I'll send you the signal now.”

On the map at the side of Rainbow's visor, a flashing pink dot appeared, situated in the middle of the asteroid field.

“Are you receiving it?” The stallion asked, eyes wide.

“Readin' it loud and clear,” Applejack said. “Thank you Pastern. Come on Rainbow, let's catch that varmint.”

“Already ahead of you,” Rainbow said, switching her cruise-engines on and heading in the direction of the tracker.

“Good luck, Gamma-Six,” the silver stallion said, and his face disappeared from Rainbow's visor.

“They will pay for this,” Applejack said through gritted teeth. “Ash Crop is ours. Ah'm gonna tell Twilight what's happenin'.”

Seconds later, Twilight's face had appeared where the stallion's had been, her face wracked with worry. “Applejack! What is going on? Where's Ash Crop? Are you alright?”

“We're on his tail,” Applejack said firmly. “Pastern managed to tag one of Ash Crop's ships. We're following the signal into the asteroid field, though we could use some help.”

“Understood,” Twilight said, looking away from the screen to press a few buttons to her side. “I'm ordering the Neighbraska to send several fighter wings. Don't do anything foolish, either of you. Wait for the support. Twilight out.”

Twilight's image was instantly replaced by the image of a gold-coloured mare, wearing a black helmet and oxygen mask. “Gamma-Six, this is Equality Patrol Zeta-One, heading to your location, over,” the mare said matter-of-factly.

“Affirmative Zeta-One, Ah appreciate the help, out,” Applejack said.

Rainbow and Applejack flew along in silence for a couple of minutes, weaving between asteroids, heading as fast as they could towards Ash Crop's supposed location. Eventually they emerged at a small clearing in the asteroids, where Rainbow spotted a metal cube embedded into a lone rock. Hovering around the cube were six Rogue fighters, two long freighters like the ones Rainbow had helped escort that morning, and a small, rather flat ship. It's main body was a flat, thin spike, and extending from the rear sides of the ship were two wings that were slightly tilted down. The cockpit, Rainbow noticed, was situated directly in the centre of the top of the ship, providing an almost one-hundred-and-eighty degree view, and the engine was placed directly at the back of the main section.

As soon as Rainbow and Applejack had emerged, the Rogue fighters turned towards the pair and began to fire their guns at the unwanted newcomers. The flat ship instead moved further away, lingering on the far side of the clearing.

“That's Ash Crop, in the Dagger, Ah'm sure of it,” Applejack shouted as her ship fell away from Rainbow's in order to evade the Rogue's shots.

“The Dagger? You mean the flat one?” Rainbow asked, pulling her ship upwards. She started barreling towards the nearest Rogue, ducking and weaving to avoid the the barrage of laser-fire being shot in her direction.

“Yeah, that's the one!” Out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow saw Applejack fire two missiles straight into an on-coming Rogue, blasting the ship to pieces, and fly straight on by, firing a tiny object in Ash Crop's direction. “This is Gamma-Six,” Applejack said over an open communication channel. “We've found Ash Crop, we need back-up, now! Lock onto my signal, over!”

Rainbow piloted her ship deftly under one of the Rogue fighters and charged towards one of the freighters. She was about to start firing when Applejack said, “Rainbow, ignore the transports, we have to take out the fighters.”

“Alright, I'm on it,” Rainbow said, turning her ship around and throwing it after a Rogue who was too busy concentrating on firing at Applejack to notice he had Rainbow on his tail. Laser-fire constantly shot past Rainbow as she got into position. Making sure the Rogue was in her sights, Rainbow fired her guns, the plasma connecting satisfyingly with the Rogue's shield. Before long, the Rogue's shield was down and his ship was taking severe damage from Rainbow's shots. A stray shot connected with the Rogue ship's left engine, causing it to explode, sending the ship spiralling out of control through space.

In front of Rainbow, Applejack's target was furiously trying to get Applejack off of his tail. He was flying dangerously close to asteroids at the edge of clearing, swerving madly at the last second to avoid smashing into one of the many rocks. Hoping Applejack would be okay chasing after the Rogue, Rainbow spun her ship around in an attempt to find more Rogues, but was met by a sudden hail of laser-fire.

Squinting her eyes under the sudden flashing of her shield in front of her ship, Rainbow frantically rolled her ship away, putting an asteroid between her and her attacker. Glancing at her shield's state, she noticed it was almost about to be over-powered. Thinking quickly, Rainbow pulled her ship to a sudden stop and aimed it upwards. She piloted her ship quickly over the top of the asteroid and spotted the Rogue underneath her begin to creep round the side of the asteroid. Slipping down behind her prey, Rainbow couldn't help chuckling as she wondered how long it would take for the Rogue to realise Rainbow had snuck behind him.

Not willing to risk her prey realising and escaping, Rainbow pressed the fire button on her control stick. Plasma pelted the Rogue's rear-end, taking him completely by surprise, and before he could begin to move away, his shield was in pieces and Rainbow's shots were hammering into his hull. The Rogue attempted to spin his ship around to face Rainbow, but one of her shots must have hit his fuel line, as a massive explosion ripped his ship apart, sending debris hurtling off into space. Pieces of his ship skimmed off of Rainbow's ship's shield as she turned her ship to try and locate Applejack again.

“Applejack, how're you doing?” Rainbow asked, coming out from behind the asteroid and back into the clearing.

“Ah'm in a bit of trouble here, Rainbow,” Applejack said, grunting. “Wouldn't mind a hoof, if you're free.”

“On my way,” Rainbow said, pushing her ship forward. She spotted Applejack in the distance, being chased by two Rogues. She was weaving and dodging and doing her best to evade their shots and somehow get behind them, but they were not falling off her trail. Rainbow charged in after the Rogues and starting firing wildly at them, not sure if she was hitting or not from this distance.

“Gamma-Six, this is Zeta-One, ready to engage,” the gold coloured mare said, appearing on Rainbow's screen. “What's the target?”

“Good to see you, Zeta-One,” Applejack said, relief in her voice. “Can you get these Rogues off mah tail?”

“Affirmative, Gamma-Six, engaging now,” Zeta-One said. Three ESF ships sped out from within the asteroid belt and began firing at the Rogues chasing Applejack. The Rogues, at the sudden introduction of more opponents, began to bob and weave erratically around, though they still followed Applejack.

As Rainbow continued to chase after the rogues, she spotted a bright light out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, she saw Ash Crop's Dagger's engine begin to glow brightly as its cruise-engines turned on.

“Ash Crop's escaping!” Rainbow cried, breaking off the chase and flying after Ash Crop. She switched her cruise-engines on as well and the engines of her ship began to hum louder. “I'm not gonna let him get away!”

“Wait, Rainbow!” Applejack shouted. “Don't chase him on your own, you'll get killed!”

Ignoring Applejack, Rainbow flew after Ash Crop's rapidly diminishing ship. She could barely make out the light from his ship's engine as it made its way through the asteroid field. Weaving around asteroids, Rainbow gripped her control stick tighter, her brow furrowed in concentration. One wrong move could mean disaster for her, as she could crash into an asteroid at any moment.

A minute later, the glow from Ash Crop's distant engine suddenly went out, and Rainbow was left staring at a seemingly-empty asteroid field. Pressing forwards, Rainbow said, not sure if Applejack could still hear her, “I can't see Ashcroft's ship anymore. I think he's ahead of me, so I'm going in.”

Rainbow knew it was reckless, and a very stupid thing to do chasing after a wanted criminal on her own. Twilight had specifically warned them not to do anything foolish, and here she was, doing something foolish. She switched off her cruise-engines and slowed her ship down to a crawl, her eyes darting everywhere, expecting Rogue ships to pour from behind an asteroid at any moment.

Suddenly, a barrage of laser-fire shot from Rainbow's left, and she swerved her ship away instinctively. Throwing the throttle forward, Rainbow sent her ship hurtling into the asteroid field, away from her surprise attacker.

Desperately looking around to see where he was, Rainbow saw her ship's shield flashing as it was peppered with laser. Pushing her ship to it's limits, she threaded her ship through the asteroids, hoping to somehow lose her pursuer. A sharp jolt made Rainbow glance down at her shield's strength, and she stared in horror at the sight of a flashing warning where the shield's power indicator had previously been located.

“Rainbow, Ah told you not to go on your own!”

Applejack's face popped up again on Rainbow's visor, and looking around, Rainbow saw the earth pony's ship come charging out from behind an asteroid and fire two missiles straight into Rainbow's pursuer's side, ripping the ship to shreds.

“Looks like Ah showed up in time,” Applejack said with a hint of a smile in her eyes, but it disappeared quickly as a scowl fell on her face. “Twi' told us not to do anythin' foolish, so why'd you go chasin' Ash Crop on your own?”

“'Cause the rest of you were busy dealing with the Rogues,” Rainbow tried to explain. “But now Ash Crop's getting away!”

“No he ain't,” Applejack said, turning her ship around and flying off. “Ah managed to get a tracker on him. He's not far away, come on!”

Rainbow flipped the switch to power her cruise-engines back on and sped after Applejack, grumbling under her breath. Looking back at her shield's power indicator, Rainbow was pleased to see the warning sign disappear and the indicator begin to fill up.

“We're nearly there,” Applejack said a minute later. “Ah'm pickin' up somethin' though. Could be a jump hole. If we don't get there soon, he's gonna get away!”

Rainbow nodded silently, her hoof hovering over the cruise-engines switch, ready to turn them off at a moment's notice. She'd heard of jump-holes quite often before, but had never actually seen or used one herself. They were said to be what all jump gates were created after, but these were naturally-formed in space. Rainbow didn't know the science behind the jump holes, but she had over-heard something about them being types of wormholes. However, Rainbow had also heard that jump holes were supposed to be considerably risky to use without a properly equipped ship that has been properly prepared to travel through the hole.

In front of the pair of them was another clearing, but directly in the centre of the clearing was a red glow, similar to the ones formed by jump gates, but as Rainbow tried to look at it closer, she saw the space around it was warped and particles were getting drawn into the glow. On the other side of the clearing was a construction that consisted mostly of huge fuel canisters, all joined together by a flimsy-looking network of tubes and girders. Connected to the construction by a pipe was Ash Crop's Dagger, and surrounding his ship were three other Rogue ships, all facing away from the newcomers.

“Zeta-One, get over here as soon as you're done with those Rogues,” Applejack said over the communication channel. “We're at a jump hole an' can see Ash Crop and three other varmints at a fuelling station. Ah dunno where the jump hole goes, so we're gonna engage them now to stop Ash Crop escapin', over.” As soon as Applejack had said that, Rainbow sat frozen as Applejack's ship darted out of the asteroid cover and sped across the clearing and straight towards Ash Crop and the refuelling station.

Kicking herself back into action, Rainbow pushed the throttle forward, throwing her ship after Applejack's and shouted down the channel, “What happened to not doing anything foolish?” She flew as close to the jump-hole as she dared without flying through it, and watched as the pipe connecting Ash Crop's Dagger to the refuelling station disconnected, and the Dagger turned to face the oncoming ships.

On Rainbow's visor, the image of a furious violet stallion appeared, and he said in a gravelly voice “You'll regret ever messing with me. Rogues, help me deal with these unwanted guests.”

In front of Rainbow, Ash Crop's Dagger began to hurtle towards Applejack's ship, firing off two missiles which Applejack barely managed to dodge by swerving away at the last second, causing them to fly harmlessly off into the asteroid field. The three other Rogue ships followed their leader before two of them split off to attack Rainbow, with the other following their leader's assault on Applejack.

Growling, Rainbow flew under them and pulled her ship back into a half-loop in an attempt to get behind the Rogues. Unfortunately, her ship wasn't agile enough to pull the manoeuvre fast enough, so instead she was left facing the two Rogues once again, and they greeted her with a hail of laser-fire. Desperately rolling out of the way, Rainbow began racking her brain for a way to deal with the two Rogues on her tail so she could help Applejack deal with Ash Crop.

Flying unpredictably, an idea slowly seeped into Rainbow's head. “This may be one of the worst ideas I've ever had,” Rainbow muttered, pulling her ship around to face the jump hole. “Here goes nothing.” With a deep breath, she threw her ship's throttle forward and began to charge towards the red glow of the jump hole.

At the very last moment before her Starflier flew into the jump hole, Rainbow pulled her ship up and flew over the top of the hole. She could see her ship was struggling to fly away from the hole's gravitational pull, but it barely managed it, and Rainbow spun her ship around to face her pursuers.

Rainbow watched as the two Rogues hurtled after her. It seemed that one of the Rogues had realised what she had been attempting to do, so he had been flying above and behind the other, allowing him time to pull up and avoid the jump hole. The other Rogue, however, had been too focused on following Rainbow Dash, and he was now currently trying to pull his ship out of the hole's pull, but he was struggling in vain. Moments later, his ship was sucked backwards into the glowing hole, warping as it disappeared from sight.

Whooping in joy, Rainbow turned her attentions to her other attacker who had also been pre-occupied with watching his comrade be sucked away into the jump hole. Taking advantage of his distraction, Rainbow started to orbit his ship, peppering his shield with plasma shots. Quickly turning his ship to face Rainbow's, laser shots began to fire straight back at Rainbow as he flew towards her.

Throwing her ship away from the shots, Rainbow flew underneath the Rogue and darted off, back towards the refuelling station. Weaving around to avoid her pursuer's shots, Rainbow aimed straight for a gap between the fuel canisters and the girders. Not even bothering to slow down before she reached the gap, Rainbow threaded her ship through, her ship's wings barely avoiding colliding with the structure. Yanking her control stick to the right, Rainbow pulled her ship around behind the structure, catching glimpses of the Rogue's ship as it followed after her, flying through a considerably larger gap.

As soon as the Rogue had flown through after Rainbow, she slid her ship through another gap in the structure, weaving between canisters, chuckling as she did so.

“Hoped you'd do that,” Rainbow said, glad that her plan was working. She had hoped that the Rogue would be so desperate to try and deal with her that he would follow her through the refuelling station in his attempts to get her, and she hoped that he'd crash into one of the canisters in his haste.

A sudden flash from behind her ship answered her hopes, causing her to stop flying through the gaps in the structure and fly off as fast as she could away from the structure. When she thought she was far enough away, Rainbow spun her ship around to watch as the structure exploded catastrophically, girders ripping themselves apart from each other and being thrown into space.

Tearing herself away from watching the explosion caused by the crashed Rogue, Rainbow eyes scanned around to try and spot Applejack and Ash Crop. She spotted Applejack's ship charging towards Ash Crop's Dagger, not far away from Rainbow's current position. The other Rogue was nowhere to be seen and Rainbow supposed that Applejack had managed to deal with him. The two ships both fired a missile at each other, swerving away to dodge the other's attack, followed by firing a barrage at their attacker before speeding off past each other and turning round to attack again.

“Let's get him, Applejack,” Rainbow cried as she pushed her ship's throttle forward once again and flew after Ash Crop.

“What do you think Ah've been tryin' to do for the last minute, Rainbow?” Applejack said back, somewhat aggravated.

When she was in range, she began firing her guns straight at Ash Crop's incoming ship, forcing him to turn away to avoid the shots. Rainbow flew after him doggedly, continually firing after his considerably faster ship. A few of her shots connected, making his shield glow gently, but it wasn't enough to cause it to dissipate. Gritting her teeth in determination, Rainbow attempted to predict where Ash Crop would turn next, however she didn't expect his engines to cut out completely and for her to shoot past him completely.

“Buck!” She shouted to herself, craning her neck round to try and spot Ash Crop, but her cockpit window didn't allow her enough vision to do so. Instead she saw plasma shots come firing from behind her, the ones that hit making her shield flash dangerously.

Gripping the control stick tightly, Rainbow began to fly her ship madly around, making it weave and spin, almost out of control sometimes, but her attempts at evasion were almost futile. Ash Crop's ship was simply too fast, and his aim was as accurate as if his ship was centimetres away from hers. Glancing down at her shield's power indicator, Rainbow's eyes widened in fear as she watched it sink dangerously low before being replaced by the warning sign once again.

“Applejack, I need help!” Rainbow said, beginning to panic. None of her attempts at evasion were working, and her ship rocked as Ash Crop's plasma rained down on her craft.

“Ah'm tryin',” Applejack said through gritted teeth. Rainbow saw a missile come hurtling past her ship, and she swerved once more, directing her ship towards the asteroids.

“I told you you'd regret messing with me,” Ash Crop said, a glint in his eye as his image appeared on Rainbow's visor.

Rainbow scowled. She had no intention of dying here at the hooves of a two-bit criminal. In her desperation, she wrenched her ship down feigning the start of a loop before pulling it back up and spinning it round to face Ash Crop, who had almost fallen for her trick.

“You're going down, Ash Crop!” Rainbow said, determination thick in her voice. She sent her ship at Ash Crop's, firing plasma at him. Plasma shots from Ash Crop's Dagger hammered Rainbow's ship, shaking her in her seat, an error warning flashing on Rainbow's visor. Speeding past Ash Crop's ship, out of the corner of her eye Rainbow saw Applejack chase after Ash Crop, giving the pegasus a much-needed moment of respite. Turning round to follow after Applejack, she looked at the error message, a cold feeling of dread rippling through her body as she read it.

'Warning: The port wing is seriously damaged. Seek repairs immediately,' Rainbow read. Her head whipped round to look, but she couldn't see her port wing. Realisation dawned fast, though.

“Damaged... don't you mean gone?” She mumbled to herself, her heart pounding.

Turning to look back out the front of her cockpit, Rainbow eased the throttle off slightly, hanging back to give her shields time to recharge their power. In front of her, Applejack hounded Ash Crop furiously, firing plasma at him. Her shots weren't quite as accurate as Ash Crop's had been on Rainbow, but they were certainly causing him some worry, for his ship was turning in random directions. He attempted to pull the trick he had pulled on Rainbow Dash again, but Applejack wouldn't fall for it. Instead, it provided her the perfect opportunity to fire two missiles into the back of his ship. The first missile shattered Ash Crop's shield and the second slammed into the back of his starboard wing, sending a large chunk of it flying away.

“Stop!” Ash Crop shouted, his eyes wide with panic as his Dagger rolled away. “You need me alive!”

“We need you,” Applejack said firmly. “Not your ship.”

More shots fired from Applejack's ship, colliding with Ash Crop's ship's engine. Just before an explosion enveloped Ash Crop's Dagger, a capsule erupted from the cockpit and flew out into space.

“That's it, he ejected!” Applejack shouted. “Bring him in Rainbow!”

Swooping closer, Rainbow scoured her ship's cockpit for the button to use the tractor beam. Opposite the button for the scanner she found the appropriate button, and at a single press, a stream of energy shot from her ship and to the escape pod. After a few seconds, the escape pod had been drawn into Rainbow's Starflier's hold.

Letting out a relieved cheer, Rainbow leaned back in her seat, pushed up her visor and wiped her brow. She hadn't realised it at the time, but she'd broken into a cold sweat, and she felt uncomfortable with her helmet on, but she couldn't do anything until she landed somewhere. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm her furiously beating heart.

“Great job, Rainbow!” Applejack said, a smile in her eyes as her ship stopped alongside Rainbow's. “How're you holdin' up? Your ship looks like it's barely holdin' together!”

“I'm alright,” Rainbow said, taking another deep breath. “He nearly had me there. How're you doing?”

“Ah'm okay. Ship took a few hits, but it's nothin' a few repairs won't settle,” Applejack said, her eyes scanning her cockpit.

“Gamma-Six, are you alright? Where's Ash Crop?” Zeta-One said as her ship flew out from the asteroids.

“We're fine, thanks, Zeta-One,” Applejack replied with a sigh. “It was a close one, but Ash Crop's safe in Rainbow's hold. We've got him, finally.”

“Thank Celestia,” Zeta-One said, her ship stopping in front of the pair. “Zeta-Two and Three are watching the transports. I'll hold here, if you want to get him back to Manehatten?”

Applejack nodded and said gratefully, “Ah appreciate it, Zeta-One. “Come on, Rainbow, let's get back. Twi's waiting for us. Follow me, if your ship can still move.”

Rainbow laughed and switched on her cruise-engines, piloting her ship after Applejack as the familiar whine of her engines started again.

“Ah hope Ash Crop's interrogation will shed some light on the illegal artefact tradin' here in Equality,” Applejack said as the pair of them entered the asteroids once again. “Twilight's under a lot of pressure from the high-ups, an' its been gettin' worse in the last few weeks. Ah've heard from Spike that she's sometimes up all night sortin' paperwork or plannin' another mission. She barely gets any rest.”

“How come Twilight's in the ESF?” Rainbow asked, curious. “She doesn't seem like the sort to be part of the military.”

Applejack winced slightly and said, “Ah dunno if Ah should be tellin' you this, Rainbow. It's pretty private stuff. It took me about a month before Twi' even told me, an' Ah was her first friend in the ESF.”

“Surely it can't hurt, right, Applejack?” Rainbow said, even more curious now. She knew she was pushing it, but she couldn't help prying into private stuff. When she'd found out that Rarity kept a diary, Rainbow had snuck into her room and read it all. Rarity had exploded when she found out and hadn't spoken to Rainbow Dash for weeks, only communicating in sniffs and through passive-aggressive notes.

Applejack deliberated for a few more seconds before coming to her decision. “Ah'm afraid Ah can't tell you, Rainbow,” she said, an apologetic tone to her voice. “Ah'm sorry, but it's Twi's story, an' it's for Twilight to tell you, if she wants to. We've not even known you a day, yet.”

“Yeah, I getcha. It was bad of me to ask,” Rainbow said, a part of her slightly guilty for prying, but a part of her determined to find out the tale. The pair of them flew through the asteroid field in silence for some time before Rainbow asked, “So what's with these artefacts? How many are there?”

“Ah dunno,” Applejack replied. “As Ah said, they're collected for high art, but Ah dunno why. The ones I've seen just look like bluey-green pieces of spiky rock. Ah dunno how many there are either, but Ah heard a rumour that about a month ago, some Gildland scientists found a whole new supply of these things on a planet in some system on the edge of known space.” She was silent for a moment. “Ah mean, everyone knows there are alien ruins, but they're mostly dust, an' the artefacts are as dead as the things that made them. Apparently, these new ones are different. They're active, and could be dangerous, or so Ah've heard.”

“Is that why the Acting-President is gonna be banning them?” Rainbow asked. “I don't like the sound of anything alien working.”

“Yeah, both the ESF and Navy are steppin' up patrols 'cause of the ban. Means more work for us, too,” Applejack said.

The two of them were just reaching the edge of the asteroid field, and Rainbow could see the jump gate back to the New Hock system in the distance, with a long crowd of ships gathered in front of it. As they exited the field, Twilight's face appeared on Rainbow's visor again.

“Applejack!” Twilight cried, relief thick in her voice. Rainbow noticed that the wall behind Twilight was different from before and was thick, blemished metal instead of the plaster office wall it had been before. “There you are! I was worried, I couldn't contact you! Are you both alright? What's your status, over?”

“We're fine, mission complete,” Applejack said chuckling. “Rainbow's ship is a mite battered, but we're alright. We broke up Ash Crop's little party. He was gettin' ready to move those artefacts out the system when we took him down.”

Twilight's face gained a hint of worry. “You didn't kill him, did you? I remember the last time you were-” Twilight began to say before Applejack butted in.

“No, he's alive. Rainbow's got him in her hold, but he deserves worse. Pastern Station is gonna be needin' repairs for the next few months, and he killed half a dozen good ponies,” Applejack said, scowling.

“What happened the last time?” Rainbow asked hurriedly, a smile on her face at the hint of some gossip.

“He'll get what he deserves, Applejack, and never you mind, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, dismissively. “He needs to tell us all we need to know, first. I've got to now make preparations for your arrival.” She looked as if that was all she wanted to say before a look of remembrance passed her face. “Oh, and be careful on your way back. I've no doubt members of Ash Crop's gang will try to free him before you get here. Good luck, out.”

With that, Twilight's face disappeared from Rainbow's visor. She was about to ask Applejack what had happened but Applejack spoke up first.

“Ah know what you're gonna ask, Rainbow,” Applejack said with a sigh. “Last time Ah was asked to bring in a criminal Ah accidentally shot him down before his ship had even had time to eject his pod. Twilight wasn't happy an' we both got in a lot of trouble with the higher-ups.”

Rainbow couldn't stop herself from laughing. She fell back in her seat and cradled her stomach with one hoof, her ship shaking about as laughter racked her body.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Applejack said chuckling along with Rainbow. “Had my pay docked for a month after that one.” By now, the pair of them had arrived in front of the jump gate back to the New Hock system, and the image of a cream-coloured mare clad in a messy ESF uniform appeared on Rainbow's visor.

“Battleship Neighbraska here, I heard from Twilight that you've got Ash Crop with you,” the mare said, a gentle smile on her face. “You're free to go through, just make it quick, we've got a bit of a queue.”

“Ah getcha, Neighbraska, thanks,” Applejack said, her ship swinging around to line up in front of the gate. “Ah'll go first, Rainbow, then you follow after.”

“Yeah, sure, I'll see you on the other side,” Rainbow said, hanging back as the gate opened up in front of the pair of them, and Applejack disappeared through.

Minutes later, Rainbow's ship had been spat out into the New Hock system, and she spotted Applejack's ship floating not far away. She was about to fly over beside Applejack, but a flashing light indicating she was being hailed distracted her. Answering the hails, she was greeted with the mare from Battleship Unity once again.

“This is Battleship Unity, please identify yourself,” the mare said half-heartedly, as if she was tired of constantly saying the same thing over again.

“Um, I'm Rainbow Dash,” Rainbow stuttered, unsure as to what she should be saying. “I'm taking Ash Crop back to Manehatten with Applejack, I mean, Gamma-Seven...”

“Six!” She heard Applejack hiss across the communication channel.

“Six, I mean,” Rainbow hastily said to correct herself. “Er, over?”

With a smile, the mare from Battleship Unity said, “Acknowledged, Rainbow Dash, you've been given priority clearance, you're cleared to proceed. Out.”

With a sigh, Rainbow piloted her ship alongside Applejack, trying to ignore Applejack's guffaws.

“I had no idea what to say, alright?” Rainbow grumbled, embarrassed, a red glow in her cheeks.

“Ah know, Ah'm sorry,” Applejack said, wiping a tear from her eye. “But Gamma-Seven? Ah thought Ah'd said it enough times already.”

“She put me on the spot! Anyway, shouldn't we be getting back now?” Rainbow asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, you're right,” Applejack said, still chuckling slightly as her ship glided towards the nearby trade-lane. “Priority clearance, though? Ah guess Twi' organised that for us.”

“That's right, I did,” Twilight said, her voice popping up on Rainbow's visor again. “Change of plans, I'm afraid, girls. You're to head straight to the Battleship Hayford near Zone 21, we'll take charge of Ash Crop there. Sorry about the inconvenience.”

“It's alright, Twi',” Applejack said. “Any reason why the sudden change?”

“I just got a message from my superiors requesting the change in location. It's a good thing I'm already there, I had to meet up with Pinkie to discuss some matters about a plan she's been cooking up,” Twilight said, glancing away from the camera. “I'm sure she'd like to say hello, but she's a bit busy trying to set up a party for someone.”

Suddenly, the camera was wrestled away from Twilight and her image was replaced by a big blue eye, which retreated to reveal a bright pink pony with a beaming grin on her face. Her mane was a darker pink than her coat, and its curls bounced with every word she said.

“Hi Applejack!” The pink pony cried enthusiastically. “How's the mission go? I heard you got yourself a bad guy!” Stopping suddenly, the pink pony leaned back and gave a huge, dramatic gasp and then started speaking even faster than before. “Who's this? A new pony? What's your name? Where'd you come from?” She turned round to scowl at Twilight off-camera. “Why didn't you tell me there was a new pony? It's a good thing I had a feeling I'd need a party, otherwise I'd have to use my emergency party supplies, and that's not really enough for a good surprise welcome party!” Turning back to the camera, the pony whispered menacingly, “But you didn't hear any of that, did you, bub?”

Completely confused, Rainbow mumbled, “No?”

A smile sliding on to her face again, she clapped her hooves together and said, “Good! Now Twilight's looking kinda annoyed, so I'd best be off! See you both later! Sorry Twilight.” The pink pony waved, and the camera shifted back to show Twilight, who had a thoroughly disgruntled look on her face.

“See you, Pinkie...” Twilight said, groaning. “Anyhow, I'll see you two when you get here. Get ready, Rainbow. Twilight, out.”

And with that, Rainbow was left staring blankly at Applejack's image on her visor, and Applejack looked as if she was physically straining to hold in another laugh.

“What happened there?” Rainbow asked, feeling as if she was missing something. They'd arrived at the trade-lane and Rainbow began the activation sequence to proceed.

Applejack chuckled and said, “That's Pinkie Pie. She's somethin', that's for sure. It took a while for me to get used to her, an' it took Twilight even longer.”

“I'm not surprised,” Rainbow said as the pair of them entered the trade-lane. “Why did Twilight tell me to get ready?”

“You'll see,” Applejack said with a snigger.

“Aw, come on, that's not fair!” Rainbow protested. “I can't get ready if I don't know what to expect!”

“I hope you don't get tired easy, Rainbow,” Applejack said. “Anyhow, follow me, Hayford's this way.” Her ship's engines began to glow, signifying the cruise-engines gaining power.

Rainbow groaned at how vague Applejack was being, but decided to drop the subject, vowing that she'd be prepared for anything. She knew she'd heard something about a party, but she doubted that was what Twilight had meant.

“There it is! The Battleship Hayford,” Applejack said as the two ships exited the trade-lane. Rainbow stared at the ship that was floating beside the trade-lane. The ship was pointed away from the trade-lane the pair had just come through. It was nearly the size of Pastern Station, except attached to the side was an enormous cannon, which Rainbow couldn't help but imagine being powerful enough to destroy a smaller battleship in one shot. Placed all along the sides of the battleship were turrets, which stood stationary on their position. There were a couple of fighters orbiting the battleship.

“That's huge! How many do the ESF have?” Rainbow asked. She was surprised Equality wasn't the only house in Sirius space, as she reckoned the Battleship Hayford could easily take out any fleet of ships.

“That's the only ship Equality have like it,” Applejack replied as she flew towards the battleship. “And the Equality Navy own it. Ah've never seen that big gun fire, an' Ah never want to.”

Rainbow nodded and continued staring at the battleship in awe. It dwarfed both her and Applejack's ships, and there was another battleship floating alongside it, which looked tiny in comparison. The other battleship was connected to the Hayford by two long platforms, which held the two ships a safe distance apart.

“Alert, all ships, we have several contacts en route to our position,” a male voice said over the communication channel. “We believe they are Rogues and are attempting to free a prisoner being escorted here. Be careful.”

“Seems like Twilight was right, but Ah'm surprised they're comin' so close to the Hayford. Ash Crop must know somethin' good. Get ready, Rainbow, but Ah'd stay clear of the fightin' if I were you,” Applejack said.

“I'll be fine, Applejack, don't worry!” Rainbow said, preparing her weapons and scanning around for any approaching ships.

“No, Rainbow, go to the Hayford,” Applejack said sternly. “Your ship's barely holding together. We're landin' on the battleship now.”

“But-” Rainbow said desperately. She knew her ship was badly damaged, but she wouldn't turn away from a fight if she didn't have to.

“No buts, Rainbow,” Applejack said, cutting her short. “Battleship Hayford, this is Patrol Gamma-Six, we're carrying a criminal to hand over to ESF Commander Twilight Sparkle. Permission for landin'?”

“Oh, permission granted, Gamma-Six” the stallion's voice said. “You'd better hurry it up, those Rogues are coming in fast, over.”

“Will do, Hayford, out. Come on, Rainbow, let's dock,” Applejack said, her ship flying below the Battleship and towards a large door that was sliding open.

“Fine,” Rainbow grumbled, following after Applejack. She flew her ship up through the hole, which closed after them, leaving them in a very large airlock. To their left, another, smaller door opened, and the pair flew their ships through and landed in the hanger within.

Rainbow grumpily switched her ship's systems off and pulled her helmet from her head, her hair falling in her face as she did so. She brushed it aside with a hoof, shrugging her flight jacket off. Her ship was making an awful noise, but she didn't bother to check on it at the moment. Instead, she kicked the button to open her cockpit door, grabbed her jacket in her teeth and soared out, shaking herself as she did. She flew over to Applejack's ship and landed heavily, putting her jacket back on again. Tapping her hoof impatiently, she waited for Applejack to exit her ship.

“I could have handled myself, Applejack!” Rainbow cried as Applejack closed her ship's cockpit door behind her, her stetson in her teeth. “I know my ship's a bit battered, but I could have fought them off fine!”

Turning to face the pegasus, Applejack donned her hat, sighed and said, “Ah know you could have, Rainbow, but you're holdin' Ash Crop in your hold, an' we can't risk him escapin'. Ah'm sorry, but that's the way it is. Besides, you saw the guns on Hayford. The Rogues would have been wiped out before they even got close enough.”

Rainbow wanted to argue more, but she knew that everything Applejack was saying was true. “Alright, fine,” Rainbow said sullenly, finally dropping the subject. She looked back at her ship and winced at the state it was in. It was only now that she saw how badly damaged her Starflier really was.

The port wing was completely missing, having been shot off at the base. There were scorch marks covering the rear of Rainbow's ship, and sparks were shooting out of the engine. There also seemed to be a piece of metal embedded in the under-side of her ship, though Rainbow couldn't tell where it had come from. All in all, her ship looked to be in a very sorry state.

“Ah know it looks bad, but, er,” Applejack said, putting a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. “A few repairs should fix that, Ah think.”

“She's had it, looks more like,” Rainbow said shaking her head. She'd had her ship less than twenty-four hours, and it was already nearly destroyed. Her last ship had lasted over three years until Freeport Seven exploded, taking her ship with it. If Rarity had been here, she'd definitely have had some very choice words for Rainbow.

Putting the thought to the back of her mind, Rainbow remembered why they'd landed on the battleship in the first place. “So what're we going to do about Ash Crop?” she asked, trotting over to her ship's hold.

“Ah'll show you,” Applejack said, joining Rainbow. “Mind openin' your hold for me?”

“But Ash Crop's in there, awake, and probably furious,” Rainbow said, thinking Applejack had forgotten he was a dangerous criminal.

“Ah know,” Applejack said calmly, a smile on her face.

Rainbow stared at Applejack in confusion for a few seconds, shook her head and said, “Alright then, if you know what you're doing.” She pulled out her ship's operation device and pressed a button on it with her hoof.

“Ah'd get back, if Ah were you,” Applejack said as a door in the under-side of Rainbow's ship began to open, pointing towards a pile of crates a couple of metres away. Amused, Rainbow did as Applejack said and leant on the crates, intrigued as to what Applejack was going to do.

When the door was fully open, Ashcrop came charging out, barreling straight towards Applejack. Just as he was about to collide with her, she hopped out of the way and on to her fore-hooves. Rainbow watched as Applejack's hind-leg snapped out and smashed into the side of Ash Crop's head, his body dropping to the floor and sliding a small distance into the wall.

Rainbow couldn't help herself from laughing, as she hadn't expected anything like that. She buckled over, collapsing to the floor and smacking the floor with a hoof in laughter. Her stomach was beginning to hurt, she was laughing so much. Pulling herself together, Rainbow clambered back to her feet, still snorting with laughter. She trotted over to Applejack who was now cuffing Ash Crop's hooves together.

“- and anything you say can an' will be used against you,” Rainbow caught Applejack say as Ash Crop groaned. The earth pony straightened up again and smirked. “So, what'cha think?”

“That was priceless!” Rainbow cried, patting Applejack on the back with a hoof. “He didn't know what hit him! Anyway, what should we do with this 'varmint'? She asked, imitating Applejack's accent, eliciting a gentle prod from Applejack.

“Twi' should be somewhere on this boat,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “Let's get this lump to her. Give us a hoof.” She bent down, hooked her head under one of Ash Crop's forelegs and motioned for Rainbow to do the same. When Rainbow had, the pair of them heaved Ash Crop up and began to drag him to the hangar's exit.

As they reached it, the door opened to reveal a pitch-black room, and the pair stepped in, Rainbow expecting the lights to turn on when they detected the motion of the two ponies. The lights did indeed switch on, but Rainbow wasn't expecting the sudden cry that accompanied it.

“Surprise!” All around the brightly-decorated room were dozens of ponies and even one old donkey, all clad in different uniforms. The majority of uniforms were ESF and Navy uniforms, but there were a couple of jumpsuits and a few suits too. Only a few of the ponies had smiles on their faces, the rest seemed thoroughly uninterested with the newcomers. Hanging from the cold metal walls were multi-coloured streamers, balloons and opposite the door Rainbow and Applejack had entered was a large banner that had 'Welcome to Equality!” At the front of the crowd of ponies stood both Pinkie Pie and Twilight, who's faces sported beaming grins. However, everypony in the room's faces dropped as they stared at Ash Crop who hung limply between Rainbow and Applejack, lightly groaning.

“Anypony want any cake?” Pinkie asked, an uncertain tone to her voice.