My Little Pony: StarBlaze

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Confrontation
Falling
Friendship is Magic
Discontent

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Ring!

The alarm went off earlier than usual. It was only 5:00am but Synch had to get up and go as soon as possible. He was supposed to meet Lifeline at Cloudfree Park at 5:30am and they would head straight to the local heliport where Nebula Swirl would transport them to the Canterlot Grand Spaceport. That journey would be a short one according to Lifeline. Apparently, Nebula Swirl was a good pilot.

Synch had gotten average sleep at best. His nerves were a tad on edge from the travel he knew he would be doing and also from his conversation with Lifeline yesterday. They had spoken a bit more about the travel and Synch couldn’t help but think that the Earth pony had been easing off on the personal discussions. Then again, maybe Synch was now the one doing over-analysis.

He hopped out of bed and grabbed some tasteless breakfast before recounting what he needed to take with him. He never carried much around other than his essential equipment he used for electronic repair and interface. Should he add more because he would be gone long? Probably not considering how he hated “dead weight.”

What was he to expect on this journey anyways? Certainly he had a job to fulfill but he honestly knew it would consist only of a small percentage of his absence. Would he be talking more with Lifeline? He had mixed feelings about that since he couldn’t seem to read the pony and suspected he wasn’t being completely forthcoming. What about Nebula Swirl? Deciding that such speculation was simply wasting his time, he cleared his mind and continued gathering everything he thought he would need for the job.

He had been told that “necessities” would be given to him by the employer. That included shelter, food, and all the boring details of life. That was by far a better setup than he typically got. Maybe he should consider staying on with this particular employer if the possibility arose. It sure beat fixing networks in creepy pseudo-libraries.

Finally done. He almost felt like hitting his head on a wall as he realized he only needed to take one reference manual and a small binder’s worth of tools. In reality, most of his work was knowledge-based, which helped save greatly in traveling expenses. Since he had everything he needed and had taken care to place a timed supply of water for the vine, it was time to embark for Cloudfree Park. He could take the local tram and be there five minutes early.

· · · · ·

Finding Lifeline was about as difficult as finding a fish in a puddle. Cloudfree Park may have been an ambitious name but it was pitifully small and vacant this early in the morning. The Earth pony had an annoyingly bright spirit about him even though it was so early. Needless to say, Synch was not quite so thrilled about the hour. However, he resisted complete irritation because the novelty of such early activity made him enjoy it.

“Good morning,” Lifeline seemed to almost chirp.

“You wake up this early a lot?”

The Earth pony was taken aback, “Not really, but I do wake up at 6:00 on average.”

It figured. He seemed the type to wake up early and finish work by noon. Some ponies just fit into that picture.

“So, why the heliport?”

Lifeline started leading the way to a different tram as he answered, “We had to load our supplies onto a Pega-Pacer heli because it was just so heavy. There’s some agriculture equipment that weighs a ton. The boss had the heli rented so Neb will just be piloting it to the spaceport and then board the shuttle with us. I believe spaceport haulers will be taking our cargo.”

“Isn’t a Pega-Pacer a really crude grav-copter?”

Lifeline made a face that showed Synch just hit a bullseye. “Well, it isn’t fancy but we don’t need anything like that. It’s not like it uses blades for lift - it uses anti-grav pads you know!”

That was a save-face if Synch ever heard one. “I know. I’ve seen them fly past my home because they’re used for house moving by the richer ponies. I just want to know if there are harnesses because they have open passenger and cargo bays. I don’t want to learn to fly quite yet.”

Lifeline laughed but quickly reassured him, “It will be quite safe. No worry.”

They boarded the tram and it took a couple of minutes before they reached the heliport. It was actually larger than Synch had anticipated and that only gave foreshadowing for how big the Grand Spaceport would be. He could see the landing field from the entrance and witnessed an enormous number of grav-copters. There was even a Hurricane quad-pad copter. It was absolutely huge and two anti-gravity pads hung off each side. The body of the craft looked to be something over 100 hooves long. The pads must have been each half the size of the fuselage. He couldn’t help but think that the shear lifting power must be incredible.

“Neb!”

Synch broke his gaze of admiration to look back over to Lifeline who was now calling out to somepony. That pony must be Nebula Swirl, the unicorn concluded, as a dark purple pegasus strode over to them slowly. Was he confident, cautious, or carefree?

His expression indicated an icy personality as he spoke up, “Right on time...I hate that.”

Lifeline looked over at Synch a tad apologetically, “This is Nebula Swirl, our heli pilot and star navigator. Neb, this is Synch. He’s going to be our guru for the control network.”

“Nice to meet you,” the unicorn offered.

“Yeah, likewise,” Nebula threw the obligatory return. “The engine is hot so we can get to it right away.”

“You seem to know a bit about the Pacers so have you ever ridden in one?” Lifeline seemed to try to make up for Nebula’s clipped conversation.

“Nah, it’s just like I said. I’ve only seen them fly by overhead.”

The three ponies began walking across the quiet areas of the heliport where no take-offs were in progress. Apparently their ride was a ways from the entrance. As they traveled, Lifeline continued pushing out bits of conversation to prevent the mood from going sour. Synch thought it odd at first that they were this far from a “hot” grav-copter but Lifeline assured him that there was no danger of it blowing up or somepony stealing it. Synch almost laughed when the sea green pony gawked at the idea of a Pega-Pacer being stolen.

“The thief would have to pay the other pony just to get it off his hands,” Lifeline chidded.

Nebula Swirl remained silent but his face might have inspired an artist to paint a portrait of a typhoon at night. The storm was intellectual.

Since Nebula was leading the way by a good 10 hoofs, Synch thought to ask the question in a quiet whisper, “Is he angry?”

Lifeline shined a grin, “Not at all. He looks like that most of the time, but please don’t think badly of him because of his personality. He tends to talk short and serious but that’s just how he is. He’s not mean at all.”

“So you’ve known him a long time?”

“Well yeah. I was really happy when my boss took my suggestion to bring him on board the project. We’ve known each other since...um...elementary school I think.”

Synch’s expression faltered. “I see he also has a cutie mark. Is it a nebula?”

“Yep, it’s related to his talent in space navigation. Actually, we kind of got our cutie marks at the same time-”

“Ahem,” Nebula gruffly signaled them to stop. “I’m sure you’d rather fly in that one, but this is our ride.”

The two ponies had walked past the destination vehicle without realizing it because they were caught up in conversation. The copter before them was a shiny and sleek one and by no means theirs. They turned back and walked over to Nebula without showing their embarrassment. Did he hear anything they were saying?

Nebula looked straight at Synch, “He thinks he’s as quiet as a rock if I’m not looking at him.”

The unicorn nervously nodded but had the suspicion that it was supposed to be a joke. It just seemed like the pegasus could beat somepony up at any second.

Lifeline was in a cold sweat. “I promise I’ll be good from now on, dad.”

“Stop messing with him,” Nebula countered in a dry voice. There was no way that Nebula was Lifeline’s father. Judging by their appearances, Lifeline was around Synch’s age and Nebula could actually be younger by a year or two.

Lifeline shrugged, “Just breaking ice. That’s all.”

“If you don’t get in the chopper I might just have to put you on some,” Nebula was sharp as a blade but he apparently shared some secret tone of humor with his old friend. Synch took his cue to enter the open-door passenger compartment.

Lifeline did likewise but added, “It’s a grav. There’s no chopping involved.”

It looked like the short heli ride would be an adventurous one.

· · · · ·

They got to the cushioned seating pads and strapped into the safety harnesses. Nebula had disappeared around the side of the passenger compartment so that he could enter through the pilot door. Synch was starting to wonder if he had misjudged the size of that four-pad copter earlier because the Pega-Pacer was much larger than he thought it was. He could look back into the cargo compartment and see machines that easily measured 10 hooves high and must have weighed a half ton each.

“Why are they still called copters when they’re not much like the old blade and rotor copters?” Synch tried to distract himself from the mysterious nervousness quickly growing within.

“Probably habit. It’s kind of like how you call an oven an oven even though it’s nothing like the fire and stone ones they used to use.”

Nebula called out opposite from the cargo compartment, somewhere in the forward cockpit, “Secured?”

Synch almost answered but Lifeline shouted out an affirmation before him.

“We’re taking off. Hold on.”

Somehow Nebula’s warning didn’t fully prepare Synch for the heart-wrenching lurch as the anti-grav pads blasted on. The unicorn almost felt sick. “You said he was a good pilot?”

Lifeline laughed but no sound came from his mouth. The hum of the pads was drowning him out so he yelled incredibly loud just so Synch could make out the words. “You would have thrown up if he wasn’t! The Pacer is best known for carrying cargo - not ponies! Trust me!”

“That’s why they didn’t put doors between us and the pads, huh?!”

Lifeline gestured in a manner that seemed to indicate a “you got it.”

The unicorn sighed internally. The noise and the vibration were bad enough but now Synch was beginning to notice the distance they were gaining from the ground. He tried not to think about it before but air travel in an open door vehicle was worse than a rollercoaster by far.

“Are we going to be...tilting at any point?!”

Lifeline seemed to have a moment of realization, “Oh! Um...Hold onto your harness and just look at me!”

Synch’s mind went blank before it filled with panic. No way! The only thing that would keep him from falling right out of the copter and to his death - or being crushed in the pad’s gravity field - was a stupid harness?!

“Think happy thoughts! Hey! I said look at me!!” Lifeline was staring intensely at the other green pony.

Synch didn’t answer. His breathing was too fast.

“Goodness! I didn’t think you’d be this bad with it! I’m sorry, I should have been more considerate!” Lifeline seemed to be apologetic now.

Nebula’s voice now drifted over the drone of the pads, “Synch having height problems?!”

The unicorn stared out the opening at the ground below. The now slight angle the copter was at allowed him a breathtaking view. “Yeah!” Lifeline replied.

“Hey Synch! What’s my name?!” Nebula shouted a question back.

Neither pony could see each other from their positions but Synch finally answered, “Why are you asking me such a ridiculous question?! I just met you! It’s Nebula Swirl!”

“What do I do for a living?!”

“You fly things and...!”

What else was it he did?

“Navigate! It’s not easy navigating space! It’s not just empty like a lot of ponies think! There’s a lot of dangerous stuff to avoid! You ever been through space?!”

“...No! I’m just a unicorn from Fillydelphia! I never needed to!”

“Well you need to now! But you have to trust that I’ll navigate us safely through space! You want to see what space looks like?!”

“No! I’m fine just staying inside the ship!!”

“I don’t mean see it from outside the ship! I mean through a viewport! You like seeing the stars at night?!”

“Oh yeah! Sometimes I go out at night just to look at them because they’re so beautiful!”

“You’ll get to see them even clearer when we’re on our way to New Ponyville! You might even want to get some souvenirs at the spaceport giftshop to remember it all!”

“You think I’m getting souvenirs for this job?!”

“It’s not just a job, right?! You meet new people...learn new things...maybe make a friend! It’s life!”

“You sound overly optimistic about it!”

“Why shouldn’t I be?! Everybody deals with garbage! Maybe my positive outlook can make someone smile for a change! And - disclaimer - that’s straight out of Lifeline’s quote book!!”

Synch smiled at that and saw Lifeline pose as if he were some ancient philosopher.

Nebula quickly continued, “You ever been to the Canterlot Grand Spaceport?!”

“I’ve only seen pictures!”

“Well you’re in for a treat! The spaceport is spectacular! I still have some leftover money so I’ll have Lifeline buy you a souvenirbefore we take off.”

Synch caught the odd part about that statement and saw Lifeline gape at what Nebula did. Looks like Lifeline’s wallet was now community owned.

“So how about you?! You have any questions you want to ask me?! Like where I come from or how I got into the New Ponyville project?!”

“How did you get your cutie mark?!” Synch went straight for the difficult one.

Nebula paused only slightly, “Well that can be a bit of a long story and I’m afraid I don’t have the time to tell it!”

“Why not?!” The unicorn couldn’t imagine why the pilot didn’t have the time for it.

“Because we’re landing! We’ve arrived at the Canterlot Grand Spaceport helifield!”

“...” Synch was stunned in silence. He had forgotten his panic as he carelessly droned on in the topicless conversation with Nebula Swirl. They were now only about 75 hooves above the landing pad and that number was descending along with the copter.

He decided to ask after he regained his thoughts, “How did we get here so fast?!”

“I figured you wouldn’t do well on a long ride so I punched it!”

Lifeline finally joined in, “You didn’t notice the speed or the aerobatics because Nebula had you brainwashed in one of his mind-numbing talks!”

“Take that back!” Nebula countered.

However, the Earth pony just continued, “He’s actually a lot younger than me but he’s really smart so we were in the same classes all the time! He’s especially smart with first-time fliers! He could probably make them parachute out of the chopper with his brainwashing!”

Nebula caught his friend’s slip and called him on it. “I thought you said it wasn’t a chopper?!”

Lifeline just gave a mocking shrug in return which Nebula couldn’t see.

After thinking about it, Synch spoke up, “Thanks, Nebula!”

“Don’t mention it! But please just call me Neb! The whole thing sounds weird!”

Lifeline took the opportunity as Nebula Swirl was busy landing to offer his two cents. “Actually, he just doesn’t like his name! Ever since elementary school, other ponies would bully him because of it!”

However, Nebula didn’t miss anything and shot back a retort as he landed the craft. “It sounds like an ice cream flavor!”

Synch couldn’t help but feel sympathy. He was also picked on because of his name with phrases like “go wash the dishes, Synch!” On that subject, he wondered if Lifeline had ever been bullied. It was hard to tell because not everypony talked about it or showed it in their actions and emotions. One thing was for sure though and that was that neither Lifeline nor Nebula Swirl were ever bullies. Lifeline was too considerate and Nebula was too...smart. The unicorn was certain bullying was never smart in the long run.

While he was gathering his thoughts, the craft bounced by a hair as the skids made contact with the landing pad. The anti-gravity pads took on a different whine as they lowered to minimum power and began a shutdown sequence. Synch didn’t remember much of the actual flight and was actually quite thankful for it.

Lifeline shouted again over the hum of the pads, “Port instructions were to leave the cockpit in standby mode! Don’t turn it off all the way! Just make sure the pads are off!”

“Are you honestly telling the pilot what to do?!” Nebula answered as if he were insisting a young foal think twice about his words.

“Don’t shoot the messenger! I’m just saying it for the record!”

“And thus the chopper erupted into a blaze of emerald flame...on the landing pad!” Nebula chided by reflex and Synch let out a small laugh that was engulfed by the drone of the pads.

The pilot continued to let back an update, “A few more seconds and you two can de-harness and disembark!”

Lifeline leaned as far as he could to attempt a whisper above the hum of the pads, “He just likes to say disembark.”

· · · · ·

“So is there a tram we take to the spaceport terminals?!” Synch was looking far into the distance where the main spaceport buildings laid. The heliport they landed at was quite a distance away and was situated near the shuttle storage yards.

“You don’t need to shout anymore but, yes, a tram connects this area to the terminals so the workers can get around.” Lifeline was back to talking in a normal voice because the grav-copter was now silent, but Synch could only faintly hear him because he was less used to the roar of the anti-gravity pads. The hum was still vibrating in his head even though they were completely powered down. Some of the forward lights still blinked and indicated that the craft was in standby.

He saw Nebula turn over the ignition lock to a pegasus in a deep blue vest. It must have been the pony in charge of their cargo delivery. Synch remembered that the transfer of their equipment was being handled by the spaceport.

“So I guess I just follow you everywhere, huh?” he asked Lifeline.

“Well, I was supposed to take you to the greenhouses so yes. Putting that aside though, how are you feeling now? I know you weren’t too thrilled with flight.”

“I’m fine.” He gave a cursory answer but honestly didn’t want to think back on it. The more he thought about what happened, the more upset he became at his lack of guts.

Nebula finally came up to them. “All taken care of. The tram’s that way,” he pointed to the west and the Earth pony took his cue. They started a leisurely pace to the tram station while Nebula explained their flight schedule. It would be a good amount of time before they reached New Ponyville since they had to take the shuttle up to the nearby spacestation and then wait before disembarking again for yet another station.

It was a short distance and they quickly arrived at the tram. There was not much traffic to and from the area so the tram was there waiting for them. As they boarded, the automatic system informed them it would be a two minute ride. That seemed like quite a long time to Synch considering they were already on the Spaceport grounds but he figured it was because they were out in the storage area.

Lifeline broke the silence once again as if to indicate he had a dislike of it, “Sorry we didn’t come in the front entrance. The Grand Spaceport is actually quite spectacular when you come in the front way.”

“Yeah, storage is boring,” Nebula chipped in.

The unicorn waved it off but Lifeline insisted on buying him a souvenir to make it up.

A flip went off in Synch’s mind and he got irritated at the gesture, “Why do you keep pampering me?!”

Nebula looked at him with a deadpan gaze, “The pads are off.”

Synch had accidentally shouted again out of habit from the earlier ride. It only made his scorn seem worse than it was. Or perhaps only as worse as it was to begin with.

Lifeline only glowed, rhetorically speaking, as he accepted the scorn as a challenge to further his compassion. “I don’t know you well since we just met so I’m trying to buy your friendship,” he joked and yet sounded a tad serious at the same time. Nebula just snickered.

Synch didn’t respond and Lifeline could only guess by his expression that he was berating himself for exploding for no reason. Lifeline took his chance to help, “Look, I don’t want you to worry about whatever you say. It’s perfectly normal to be on edge when you’re with ponies you just met in a situation you’ve never been in before. That’s especially true when a pony doesn’t have friends or else thinks he can’t get any friends. So don’t feel like you have to put on a mask. You’re cool.”

Nebula was making a gesture with his hooves to make fun of Lifeline’s “lecture” but quit as soon as the Earth pony threw him a dangerous look.

Synch sighed as he digested the other green pony’s words. However, his thoughts were cut short when Nebula signaled him to look out of the tram window. They were moving quickly but he could clearly see the mass of a space shuttle moving into position to receive passengers. The shear size was breathtaking. He didn’t want to trust his own estimates but it might have been 500 hooves long. Even ignoring the size, the design was beautiful. It was actually a sleek looking craft and had intricate golden designs laid across the fuselage.

“That’s our flight,” the pegasus stated casually.

Synch looked over to the purple pony beside him with wide eyes. The shuttle looked like it could transport royalty and they were going to be flying in it. Now the unicorn was not necessarily lacking in social status but it would be a laugh to associate him with anyone from Canterlot. At the very least it was safe to say he was not royalty. But then came the next realization.

It didn’t fully dawn on the unicorn until that moment that Nebula was the navigator for the craft. Synch was actually sitting in a tram beside the navigator, one of the key members of the piloting crew, for that awesome space shuttle. The mix of closeness and distance they had gave Synch an odd feeling. Nebula Swirl was a very important pony, at least when it came to the Spaceport. But he was going to be working with Synch on this job. Speaking of which, he didn’t know what else the navigator would be doing other than getting them to New Ponyville.

That begged the question, “Are you staying when we get to New Ponyville or will you be taking off as that ship’s navigator?”

Nebula actually looked a bit surprised at the question but quickly answered, “I’m there to stay. A different navi will be taking charge when we reach our destination...which reminds me of something,” he turned to look at Lifeline. “You said I would be in charge of some transporting but you didn’t say exactly what.”

Lifeline started wearing an expression that screamed “stall.”

“Well?” Nebula prodded.

“Just...um...a few lift jobs...nothing to be concerned about,” he smiled way too much and wound up looking extremely suspicious. Nebula caught on.

“Concerned? I wouldn’t be transporting greenhouse equipment through any mountains would I?” Nebula now inquired in a dark tone.

“Well...it’s very important that the valley gets those machines and you know the budget isn’t unlimited...”

“...”

The silence was beyond deafening.

“It’s another Pega-Pacer isn’t it?”

Nebula seemed to hit the bullseye.

“And it’s a really old one too,” Lifeline responded without realizing he was nailing his own coffin.

The pegasus gave a deadpan look that could have frozen the sun. Synch decided to take the opportunity to warm things over. “So will we be seeing you throughout the trip - since you’re the navigator I mean?”

Nebula dropped his look for a thoughtful one, “Probably not. They’ll keep me busy since our route to New Ponyville is on the dangerous side - not to mention we will make stops along the way. I bet they’ll dump last minute remapping on me. That’s why I don’t like being navi on those monsters,” he gestured out the window at the shuttle. However, at this point, it was much further away and the terminal buildings of the Spaceport loomed ominously above them.

“No worries Synch. I’ll keep you busy! I actually had a few things in mind - some ice breakers,” Lifeline cheered on.

“Ice bre-”

“Yes indeed! In fact, we can start right away. How old are you?”

This time both Synch and Nebula gave the Earth pony an icy look.

“I guess that might be a little direct huh?”

Nebula was first to critique his old friend, “Oh you think? That’s not an ice breaker. It’s interrogation.”

The tram shuddered to a halt and the door popped open while the automatic system reminded them of their forgotten desire to disembark. It seemed to have forgotten the cursory “have a nice day.” Regardless, the three ponies exited and began walking past the darkened office rooms that nested nearby the “storage” tram.

Lifeline was by no means disheartened by his earlier lack of finesse and took it upon himself to explain in detail each area they passed by. He also noted to Synch that they would pass the gift shops before reaching their flight terminal. It was the perfect opportunity to “buy smiley points” as Lifeline put it.

The green unicorn wasn’t sure if it was Lifeline’s natural demeanor or what he had said earlier about nerves around new people and situations, but Synch was feeling less on edge than he had before. That said, he was still nervous. The only problem was that he didn’t know precisely what he was nervous about.

When they reached the better lit area of the gift shop plaza, Nebula bid his temporary farewell. He needed to get to the shuttle since he was the navigator and Lifeline wanted to haul Synch into the gift shops. Just before the pegasus left, he had a short and whispered conversation with Lifeline that made Synch wary.

“What did you two talk about?” He threw formality out the window for curiosity.

“Oh, it’s not important but if you must know, he told me to get you whatever you wanted and not to get you a prank gift. He doesn’t really trust me...I got him a vest once that said ’I couldn’t afford the sleeves.’”

Somehow the unicorn could see that happen. Lifeline was the great conundrum between being considerate and merciless. At least that was the impression he had thus far of the pony. He knew it wasn’t right to judge a book by the cover but the cover was a part of the book right?

“Anyways, I’ll have you look at each of the major shops. It won’t take that long, we’ve got the time before our flight, and it’ll help you choose what you want to get. See? I can listen to my friends,” he snickered as if he had thought of something witty.

They entered the first shop, which seemed to be dedicated to postcards. It was aptly named “The Pony Post” and, as the unicorn’s green coat took on a vibrant hue under the shop lights, he knew it was going to be a long day.

· · · · ·

It was boarding time and they had rushed to get to the terminal in time. Lifeline had miscalculated the distance to their gateway and almost panicked when he failed to find their boarding passes. He eventually found them, though, and passed them to the attendant.

When they were let through to board the shuttle, Synch looked over the satchel he had strapped over his back. It held the manual and tools he needed as well as the new legband that read “I love Canterlot Grand Spaceport.” Of course the “love” part was replaced with a heart. He had chosen it out of spite when Lifeline tried convincing him to get something regal. Besides, he had always wanted some cheesy piece of apparel because he never knew of a pony that didn’t have something like that. Additionally, it made him laugh.

A voice rang over the speakers in the passenger compartment as they entered the shuttle. Synch didn’t catch the first part but heard an “off in two minutes.” He guessed that was how much time they had to find their seats and strap in.

“Oh, yeah,” Lifeline proclaimed in a tone that showed he had forgotten something. “Ever flown in a space shuttle before?”

The unicorn nearly sighed out of relief that it wasn’t something critical. He might have also sighed because he was certain Lifeline would have heard his response to that question earlier on their ride in the Pega-Pacer. In response, he confessed, “No. But it looks like it’s going to be quite the ride.” He could see row after row of seats as they headed for their own. The shuttle was enormous and the view out of the side windows proved they were quite high off of the ground - even with the craft just sitting there.

The Earth pony continued leading the way through a pair of shutters that lead to the first-class seating. Synch almost stopped following out of hesitation but Lifeline assured him that Nebula had acquired them first-class tickets since he was a crew member. When they were finally strapped in near the front of the first-class seats, Synch began to wonder exactly where the piloting chamber was. His first guess was in the compartment directly in front of them.

Lifeline crossed his hooves in thought while the unicorn looked out of the window he was situated beside. It was an incredible view and the sun was still rising. But it was not until that moment that he really grasped the fact that he would be leaving the planet. In fact, he would soon be seeing that rising sun from space. It was both awe-inspiring and scary.

“I promise it won’t be like that helicopter ride. There are no open areas and the ride is very smooth. This is a particularly fancy ride after all.”

He looked back over to his companion who was trying to assure him of his safety. “Yeah, I kind of thought so,” he ventured. “But I was wondering-”

“Yeah?”

“Where’s Nebula? In the cockpit?”

“How do I put this,” the green pony faltered, “it’s not so much a cockpit as a control room. It’s not located toward the nose of the craft - it’s actually in the rear near the engines. There are two pilots, two engineers, a navigator, and a security chief all located in that one control room. So you can see why it’s such a big shuttle...”

Synch could only stare back at the pony in the seat beside him in surprise.

“I’m not a specialist on it or anything so I don’t know how that all works but Neb goes on and on about it. He likes to complain about how snobby the crew can be on ships like this.”

“Wait, there’s a security chief in there?”

“Yeah, at least that’s what he’s told me.”

Before Synch could ask anymore, a pony strode unusually fast down the middle aisle. She met a male pegasus halfway towards the coach shutters and whispered something to him. Whatever it was seemed to be serious and Synch noted that the male pegasus was wearing an outfit that had a “security” feel to it and the female Earth pony had an outfit that indicated some rank above flight attendant.

Lifeline noted his interest and looked around to see the two ponies in the middle aisle. Synch couldn’t catch most of the talking but he did manage to hear a few pieces that made him worry.

“He’s dead set that he saw something,” the pegasus murmured.

Synch missed a few lines and the Earth pony whispered, “You can look after take off.”

“You know how big that bay is? We won’t finish looking before we reach stat.”

“Well, you know procedure. Do it anyways.”

The pegasus seemed to debate the point a bit further but Synch couldn’t catch it. The Earth pony turned around and started walking back towards the forward compartment when the pegasus asked something else.

The female pony looked back at him and whispered, “Form a search grid.”

Confrontation

Slam!

The guard pony roughly shoved a heavy suitcase off of the stack in the suspicion that somepony was hiding on the other side. It was just a false alarm. However, another nearby guard that was also searching the cargo bay thought it important to criticize his actions.

“Careful! I don’t want our names drawn when somepony starts asking why their luggage is damaged.”

The guard was less interested however. “This is ridiculous! There’s nopony down here. That hauler is just seeing things...again.”

A third guard shouted from across the opposite side of the bay, “Nothing here either! That’s a wrap up! Everypony back to stations!”

That sounded like the security chief. It was practically time for take off and nopony wanted to be in the cargo bay when that happened, as the only harnesses were for the luggage. They had already finished two search grids and there was no trace of anything unusual. It was highly probable at that point that the pegasus who had made the claim of sighting something would receive a harsh work review.

What the guards failed to notice was one particularly large crate in one of the corners of the bay. Its seal was broken but was carefully placed so that it was hard to discern that fact. A single pale yellow feather laid beside the crate with thin streaks of red nestled within the color pattern.

· · · · ·

“I’m sure they didn’t find anything,” Lifeline attempted to calm the unicorn next to him. It was not that the dark green pony was upset or worried but rather that he was very curious. He didn’t see many unusual things happen and the thought of an incident in the cargo bay made him want to investigate himself. Perhaps the mix of boredom from awaiting take off and the excitement of traveling across space didn’t go well with him.

“I guess it’s better if they didn’t but that makes me wonder. Does anypony ever try to catch a free ride on a shuttle?” It was a valid question but the answer was precisely what Synch was expecting.

“Not really. At least I’ve never heard of anypony doing that. Neb’s never mentioned it...”

“Well it is space after all. I imagine it’s way different than catching a ride on a mag-train,” he concluded. Following that line of thought, what would a pony even do after catching the flight? It was not like it was possible to exit the craft whenever desired and it would take unthinkable gall to attempt hitchhiking throughout Equestria - at least as far as space was concerned.

A loud whine started to fill the passenger compartment before it started to drown out again. Seeing the look of both annoyance and confusion on Synch’s face, Lifeline quickly answered with something about automatic noise suppressors and the shuttle’s engines. Synch just mentally dismissed it as he noticed that the craft had started to move. The ground was passing by slowly as the craft began to maneuver towards the take off ramp.

“Shouldn’t they have told us to strap in?” he asked his companion.

“Well, it’ll actually be a few minutes before we get off the ground and this thing is so slow right now that-”

A speaker rang out, “Please fasten yourselves in using your seat’s harness. We will be achieving lift off in a few moments. Thank you for choosing PegaStar SpaceWays.”

Lifeline shrugged and proceeded to strap in. Synch did likewise but had to spend an extra moment to figure out the harness, as it was slightly different than others he had used before on other vehicles. Thankfully he managed to finish strapping in before one of the flight attendants could appear to assist him. He despised it when others thought he needed help on anything he considered to be “trivial.” A few more moments and the attendants also strapped into their own harnesses.

The shuttle was making the final turn onto the ramp and it was only half a moment before Synch felt something shudder through the frame of the craft. It must have had something to do with the ramp. Maybe a rail lock?

The speaker spoke one more time, “We ensure the ride is as smooth as possible, but please be sure your back is aligned with your seat.”

That sounded ominous, but the unicorn had no more time to think as the shuttle rocketed forward. It started slow but it quickly accelerated and Synch finally grasped the weight of the speaker’s advice as he was pressed backwards into his seat. He lost his view out of his window when the force of the acceleration held his head in a forward position against the seat. The pressure built until it was almost uncomfortable, but that’s where it stopped. It slowly decreased again and he stole a glance back out of his window. Clouds streaked by in an instant while the blue of the sky grew darker and darker.

Lifeline piped up as the stars faded into sight, “Finally getting back home.”

The remark begged the question, “You live in New Ponyville?”

“Well I do now but I wasn’t born there. I can’t think of anypony that was.”

If it really was a newer colony that had undergone bios (various methods to make the planet inhabitable) then it wouldn’t have had any natives yet. Of course, with all of these topics now in mind, Synch had long forgotten about the earlier situation with the supposed hitchhiking. Out of hoof out of mind as one saying went. It was a variation of a saying that meant that if something was beyond one’s control than it was not worth worrying about.

There were oo’s and ah’s exhaled throughout the passenger compartment as the stars came into clear focus and they gently soared through open space. Synch was beside himself in wonder and Lifeline thought to keep silent in lieu of the moment. Only that moment lasted for quite a while and the Earth pony got more than his expected length of quiet time. That being true, the voyage was completely uneventful and entirely typical of a tourist space cruise until Lifeline had experienced his fill.

It was not that he was impatient but rather that it seemed that Synch was perfectly content with interacting no more with Lifeline until after their arrival at New Ponyville. Now Lifeline was quite used to the standoffish nature of other ponies, as practically everypony he met had that particular trait. He had hoped Synch would have kept up his mostly friendly attitude but it seemed the limit had been reached. After all, it would be foolish to think that the pony he had met only yesterday would have changed his depressive outlook already.

Of any pony, Lifeline might know the best how touchy it was to bring up life-outlooks directly, but he was not about to tip toe around the subject. It was obvious that Synch was in dire need of friendship - of hope even - and the pony to offer it might as well be him.

“Friendship isn’t some mythical thing that requires years of work or coincidence...”

Synch was stirred from his obsession with the window but only managed a “huh” as he obviously tried to determine if he had only picked up the middle of a longer sentence or conversation.

Lifeline continued, “I know few ponies ever have friends now - at least in real life. Everything being masked and controlled on the ‘Net...it’s hard to tell if the other pony is being sincere.”

Synch gave an unexpectedly sharp reply though. “But isn’t trust essential to friendship?”

It took the Earth stallion off guard but he was still glad that the unicorn was responding. “Trust is vital. I think it’s some combination of loyalty and honesty, which are both elements of friendship. But anyways, my point is that...” he paused as if trying to remember his point. “You consider me your friend already, right?”

The unicorn gave a skeptical look before giving a slow “sure.”

“That doesn’t sound very hopeful.”

It seemed the unicorn was starting to get defensive, “I just met you. You’ve been pretty nice - but still. I wouldn’t say ‘friend’ until we’ve worked together enough so that I know I can trust you.”

“I understand but I have a question now. Do you think friendship is earned or given?”

Obviously Synch was no mental lightweight as he immediately saw the implications carried with both answers. “I see what you’re doing. I should say given because that’s the cheery answer but you know I think it’s only earned by what I just said!”

Lifeline caught the sour grape so to speak, “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to set it up like that. I just mean to say that friendship is a gift and not something you buy.”

An eerie smile flashed across Synch’s face, “But you sure tried to buy mine.” He motioned to his satchel.

Lifeline let out a curt laugh and before he could speak, Synch assured him, “I know what you’re saying. So how about I just say that I give you my friendship and we move on?”

The words would have sounded mean out of context but Lifeline could tell that the unicorn’s voice had softened. He took the liberty of believing that Synch was being legit and simply didn’t know what else to say or do. “Well then, I accept. But we will be moving onto more important matters than the stars outside of the window.”

Lifeline had been conspicuous in his understanding of his fellow project worker. He knew that Synch would be content to drop everything there and resume his internal contemplations while staring literally into space.

“Like what?” Synch asked.

“Like what else friendship is about...”

Synch was quick, acting as if it was a game, “Kindness and generosity.”

“Certainly, but it’s also important for the friendship to have laughter. I don’t mean courtesy laughter - I mean genuinely joyful laughter.”

“That will have to match the mood...which isn’t this one. I think I’m beginning to see what ‘Neb’ meant by your ‘quote book.’”

There was an elongated silence and stillness between them before they both laughed. Lifeline decided to take the jab for the benefit of their enjoyment while he mentally noted that Nebula would receive a thorough lecture later on not belittling him. In reality, the pony would never get around to it and even enjoyed being poked at because it made him happy to make the other pony happy - even at his own expense. Perhaps that was one of the rare traits that made Lifeline seem so different from most other ponies. Even so, Synch silently believed that Lifeline had his “pushable buttons” so to speak.

Lifeline continued after their bout of laughter, “They say there is another element. Magic I think? It’s rather vague but maybe that’s the point. You can have all the right stuff and still not make friends without that something special. I just wish I could figure it out so that everypony wouldn’t be so down all the time.”

“Well, if it’s magic then it makes sense that you couldn’t figure it out,” Synch motioned to his horn. “You’re an Earth pony.”

The other stallion’s expression saddened, “Yeah.”

He was silent long enough that Synch thought he might have unintentionally stopped the conversation there but then Lifeline spoke up again. “There have been times when...I wished I was a unicorn with some great gift for magic or even a pegasus like Neb...but I realized that I can’t change who I am and I should be happy that I’m an Earth pony. Although few ponies ever say it, most think that being an Earth pony is inferior to being a unicorn or a pegasus. But nopony is better than another just because of the body they were born into.”

Synch did agree with part of what the pony was saying. After all, he too had unintentionally considered himself superior to others because of what he could do. But he likewise was hurt by that same sentiment that others held against him. He could not fly and sometimes a pegasus would look down on him because of it. Even in his job there were others with similar abilities that would look down on him because he either didn’t do things exactly like them or didn’t know some specialty that they did. It was a cruel reality to live in and it was only one small part of life that had, most likely, led to his inherent distrust of others. Synch would think at this point that he and Lifeline were on good terms, but deep down he still held the old mistrust.

Lifeline obviously had more to say as he continued, “I have something that no other pony has and it’s not because of horns or wings.”

When he didn’t proceed to say what that thing was, Synch had to ask, “What is it?”

However, the Earth pony was not so forthcoming in his response. “You’ll see eventually. I mean, we’ll be working together quite a bit on the project. Anyways, why haven’t I seen any magic? You’re a unicorn but I haven’t seen so much as a pencil levitate since I met you.”

That was the one question that could have stopped the entire shuttle that they were careening through space in. It was beside his lack of a cutie mark in painful subjects. He had to give an answer though, even if he didn’t want to with every fiber of his being. “I haven’t been able to use magic since I was born. I just can’t do it just like I can’t get so much as a pebble for a cutie mark.” Though he wanted to be blunt and be over with it, his tone carried that sharp note to it again that made him seem like he was going to explode.

“I’m sorry. I was being insensitive again. Actually, if what my boss says is true than just because a pony is a unicorn doesn’t mean they have the use of magic.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Well, I won’t bring it up again,” Lifeline leaned towards Synch to get a view out of the window. “Looks like it’ll still be awhile before we get there.”

“How can you tell? The stars don’t move,” the deep green unicorn puzzled at how things seemed so stationary in space.

“They don’t move because they are so far away, relatively. But if you look carefully you can see some particle clouds out there. They’re close enough to judge speed and distance by and, generally speaking, they don’t move either.”

“How can you tell?”

“Neb tells me...and I’ve been through space enough to watch them.”

“Considering how long this flight is, I think it would take only one trip to memorize all those clouds.”

Lifeline laughed a bit, “Bored?”

“I would be if you didn’t keep going on and on,” Synch’s voice was obviously light now.

On the other hoof, Lifeline mustered a skeptical look and tone, “You’re sounding an awful lot like Neb...”

Now Nebula hadn’t necessarily been the loudest bird, so to speak. Synch didn’t think he had a perfect understanding of the pegasus as Lifeline seemed to. However, there was a certain directness in Nebula’s demeanor that the unicorn might even consider some form of merciless honesty. Regardless, Synch was not satisfied being compared to some other pony whom he considered above him. It left him feeling inadequate because, after all, it was Nebula Swirl who was navigating the ship. It must have been the mention of his name that made Synch spill out another question.

“I don’t know about that but I am curious about one thing now.”

Lifeline tilted his head and his short cropped mane followed the angle, “Huh?”

“If space is that predictable then why do they need Neb to navigate? Wouldn’t the path be the same each time?” Synch had to consciously cut the pony’s name short according to how he had preferred to be addressed. It felt odd coming out of his mouth.

“Another sharp observation,” Lifeline praised. “It’s true that some things tend to remain still, but there are plenty of other things that don’t. Anything from drifting junk to an unexpected asteroid can be fatal. The navigator has to repeatedly scan along the flight path to detect dangerous anomalies - anything that shouldn’t or otherwise wouldn’t normally be there....” He almost stopped before adding on, “Nebula Swirl: Navigation 101...in 30 days...pocket edition.”

Synch inwardly snickered but outwardly gave nothing but an understanding nod. It made enough sense and his curiosity on the matter did not run so deep that he wanted painstaking details. He would already have to deal with such a level of tedium when he worked on New Ponyville’s greenhouse systems. Such jobs were always deceptive with the amount of time it would take and the simplicity of the work. Synch had taken enough jobs already to recognize a garden maze when he saw one. It was one term he occasionally used to refer to work that looked easy to beat when not doing it but frustratingly difficult once engaged.

“We still haven’t seen him.”

“He could be cooped up until we reach our destination. But if he is then you will need some earplugs for when he rants about this that and nicknack. He doesn’t talk as much normally but, when he’s upset, it’s hard to stop him.” That last remark came out in a grave tone and the Earth pony almost seemed to have a pale look about him.

“You two ever fight?” It was an odd and somewhat awkward question yet Synch was compelled to ask it in a subconscious effort to pull down the mask of the perfect friendship that the two other ponies seemed to have. It could have been jealousy of not having such friendship himself or perhaps it was a vicious mistrust of anything hopeful. Whatever the case, the unicorn had asked the question without hidden intention or complex reasoning. Any possible explanation for the “nosiness” would be left to psychologists to figure out.

Lifeline didn’t even seem to notice that the question might have been touchy. “Sure, but our disagreements don’t make us enemies. Sometimes it even helps us to be more understanding of other viewpoints...anyways, I wouldn’t want to ever get into a physical fight with him. I might be older but it’s not by much as there is this fire in his eyes that screams ‘tooth and hoof.’”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Just that he would probably evaporate into transdimensional thought before giving out in a fight.”

“...” Synch let his blank look and silence speak for itself.

Lifeline, however, failed to catch on. “What?”

“You lost me on the ten dollar word but I get what you’re saying.” Lifeline smiled and the unicorn thought he would have to defend his lack of obscure vocabulary, but the offense never came. At least there was one pony that didn’t associate “technician” with “metaphysics” or whatever it was that involved those complex terms.

One of the flight attendants trotted over to their row and asked if they required anything. The voice of the female pegasus was soft and sounded more caring than most voices Synch had heard throughout his life. Silently he wondered if it was the pony’s natural tone or the fact that she was changing her usual attitude to fit that of a first-class flight attendant. Perhaps he simply overanalyzed everypony’s motives. Regardless, he did ask to have a snack tray. He had seen a pony devouring one earlier and it looked quite good. He couldn’t tell from a distance but he was hoping that the tray included S.A.A. apples. It was a reasonable assumption since only the particularly “well-off” ever got any and this first-class shuttle screamed “well-off.”

After the attendant trotted back down the aisle to get the tray, he asked Lifeline why he had decided not to get anything. However, the Earth pony only replied with a “not hungry” and Synch shrugged it off. When the attendant returned and gave him the tray, he began to wonder if the word “tray” did the arrangement any justice. It was more of a plate and it might as well have been made of gold. He was delighted to see that it indeed had a few S.A.A. apple slices on it. Other than that, it was an arrangement typical of expensive dishes, sparse and overly decorated.

The attendant continued down to further rows after informing him about the service button next to his seat. Seeing how pleased his fellow pony was, Lifeline decided to mention that the shuttle they were on was not the peak of extravagance.

“You haven’t heard of the royal shuttles. I’m pretty sure Neb has navigated on a few because he loves to complain how ridiculous they are. Supposedly the entire passenger compartment is designed to hold only one pony. It’s like a shuttle palace.”

“What makes you think I haven’t heard of them?” Synch managed to question between his eating frenzies.

“The way you were surprised about the apple,” he raised his tone in such a manner as to make the comment sound obvious.

Synch didn’t grace the remark with an answer as he savored the taste of the seasoned oats. He had never thought such common food could be made to taste so good and, not being a chef, hadn’t a clue how it was done. His preoccupation with the monumental taste of the dish kept him from noticing that Lifeline had begun fidgeting.

Synch may have held his lack of trust for other ponies, but Lifeline was not short of his own reservations. What was truly on his mind remained a mystery, however. It wasn’t something that was on Synch’s mind or really any other pony’s. What nopony had cared to note was that Lifeline was not normally one to fidget and thus whatever it was that bothered him was significant. It may not have been some sixth sense informing him of imminent danger but then there were things only of the mind that were far more dangerous than even a ruptured hull while in space.

Synch eventually finished his snack - though it was really more of a meal. He had slowed down before finishing not from becoming full but rather because he had wanted to savor it. The apple slices were eliminated last.

Lifeline had stopped fidgeting and continued the earlier conversation, “So is there something in particular that you really like to do?”

It might have been less of a continuation than the start of an entirely new conversation. Synch thought nothing of it but was careful in what he said. “I get the feeling I’ve been asked this before...”

“It’s just your imagination. Or else I’m already going fruity.”

The unicorn actually considered that a possibility. “Well, if we’re going to talk about hobbies then I guess I should mention that I play games every now and then. Not as much as I used to though because work takes most of my time.”

Lifeline nodded and affirmed that he too had seen less of his hobbies that he used to be passionate about in his younger years. Getting older seemed to lessen one’s free time regardless of one’s profession or circumstances. So they continued talking for quite some time and Lifeline desperately hoped that the more relaxed mood that gradually emanated from Synch was a sign that he was willing to be his friend.

· · · · ·

Their arrival at New Ponyville was less than notable, minus the first sight of the planet’s landscape that Synch stole after they entered the atmosphere. The planet was seemingly barren from a distant view but, the closer they got, it became apparent that they were headed for a green oasis. It must be where the project was underway. He wouldn’t be surprised if this New Ponyville was the only green and habitable part of the planet. In any case, the sea of green trees became more refined as they got closer. He could begin to see a small lake and a variety of greenhouses. They were large but transparent domes that contained jungles of plants. It made him think that they would be extremely humid inside and so he hoped he would rarely have to work within them. That was as much as he could see before they were touching down.

The trip did take a few days as Lifeline had first noted. Thankfully the quality of the shuttle made the obscenely long trip bearable. He and Lifeline had talked on end and he had begun to believe that the Earth pony really was as sincere as he was apparently trying to be. On the other hoof, there was still something off. The unicorn couldn’t place it but it was as if Lifeline had lied about one very important thing. It was disconcerting taking into account the rest of his sincerity.

Synch was more willing to believe now that some pony had pulled serious strings to get such a high-class shuttle to even come near the new colony. After all, the landing was mere dirt and, though a lift-off ramp had been constructed, it didn’t look like the kind of setup a Canterlot shuttle would tolerate. Why in all of Equestria was it necessary to pay a premium shuttle to make an extra stop to some backwater colony? Well, backwater may have been a strong word but the contrast of the colony and the shuttle was quite great.

The shuttle pulled to a stop on the landing field and the exit scaffold was positioned into place. That was finally the moment when Nebula Swirl showed up in their passenger section. He was wearing a vest with several markings and insignia that made him look like some sort of high ranking member of the Royal Guard. Before he trotted down the aisle to them, he removed the vest and passed it to an attendant. They exchanged a few words as the navigator had apparently forgotten to remove the vest earlier when he was supposed to.

When Nebula was finally at their row, Lifeline was already rising from his seat. The speakers throughout the passenger compartment had long declared their momentary stop but had not mentioned that anypony was disembarking. Synch started to realize that they were the only ones leaving and it made him feel awkward for some reason. Perhaps it was because of all the “high brow” passengers.

“This whole trip has been a bomb and, no, I don’t mean that in a good way. You wouldn’t believe how snobby the rest of the crew is. You didn’t have to spend the last few days having everypony treat you like trash.” It seemed that Nebula had gone through quite an ordeal considering those were his first words to them.

“Oh, I’m sure we will soon find out about it. But before that, are they unloading the equipment?” Lifeline took the more practical route of conversation.

“Yeah, but they wouldn’t have started unloading if I hadn’t mentioned it! They rolled their eyes when I asked about it but the pilot hadn’t even readied Security so it was obvious he had forgotten about it-”

“Excuse me,” Lifeline pardoned as he moved past Nebula into the aisle. Synch did likewise while Nebula took the hint to lead them to the shuttle exit. However, as they were the only ones exiting, the other ponies were giving them odd looks. Synch almost laughed when he pictured the other ponies imagining them as some sort of criminal group that was being extracted from the shuttle. The fact that the colony might have been mistaken for a prison only made it funnier.

The greenhouses were new and the greenery made it look beautiful but New Ponyville still had an unrefined aspect about it that could give the wrong impression. At least that was how Synch thought of it. Whatever the other ponies thought from what they could see from inside the shuttle was irrelevant. In fact, the unicorn soon changed his opinion as he got to know the colony better. There was a certain glow of warmth that made the town feel welcoming. However, he only realized that fact later. At the moment, he was taking his first breath of air on the new world as they walked down the scaffold.

Lifeline breathed deeply before he spoke, “Great isn’t it? None of that city air - no offense.”

Synch shook his head, though it was less in response to Lifeline than it was to clear his head. The difference in the air made him light-headed at first. The air was somehow sharp and the scents were staggering. It was a mixture of fresh grass and lack of pollution that he wasn’t used to.

“So what are we doing?” Nebula asked as he descended the scaffold stairs with the others. He was watching an unloading team remove equipment further down the fuselage where the cargo bay was.

“First, we get Synch to his quarters and show him the greenhouse monitors. The rest will be up to the boss,” Lifeline answered.

Both Nebula and Synch nodded as something flashed out of the shuttle cargo bay. At least Nebula thought he had seen something flash. It might have just been the morning light reflecting off some shiny surface. It had just looked a bit different than some minor reflection.

He filed the sight away in his mental shredder and looked back to the gate they were approaching. Because it was only a minor colony, there were no airports or airport terminals. Instead, there was just the scaffold of stairs to get off and a dirt landing field to cross before reaching an exit gate. A single guard opened the gate for them and they walked out onto a cobblestone path that lead into the heart of the town. He was an older Earth pony with a typical medium-cut mane. His body was a tone of gray that didn’t make him stand out and he had a cutie mark that resembled three horizontal lines. It was a pleasantly vague mark but Synch figured it had something to do with speed since the guard had a certain “racer” look about him.

“Welcome back, Life! You too Neb. I don’t think I’ve seen you before...” the guard pony began.

Lifeline picked up the introduction, “Yeah, this is Synch. He’s the new pony that will be taking care of those monitors. Synch, this is Hyperbeat. He’s a part of security around New Ponyville.”

The two exchanged greetings before Hyperbeat added that his job was general security. Apparently the town had little need for more than a single pony assigned to police and guard work. In any case, the Earth pony looked like he was able to handle whatever was thrown at him. Suffice to say, he was well built. Synch made the subconscious note not to ever get in a disagreement with the guard.

They continued walking towards the various town buildings after leaving Hyperbeat along the landing field fence. It wasn’t much longer before Synch could hear the blast of the shuttle lifting off once more. It was also interesting to note that, before they departed from the guard, he made a closing remark about the fancy shuttle. Hyperbeat hadn’t seen such a shuttle ever land at the colony and that told Synch that there was definitely something fishy going on beneath the surface.

Synch was still staying silent about his suspicion concerning Lifeline’s honesty. However, he suddenly realized that, since Nebula Swirl had been away during the entire trip, he knew little about the position that the pegasus held. Did he have anything to do with what was going on? Synch only wished he could figure out what the reason was behind whatever it was that was going on. The frustration made the unicorn let out an accidental sigh.

“Hm?” Nebula asked as he stretched his wings. They were still walking down the cobblestone path towards a cluster of greenhouse domes. Synch must have let out a significant sigh for Nebula to pick it up. The combination of their hoofsteps against the cobblestone and the bird chirping didn’t exactly make it easy to hear small sounds. Where were those birds chirping from anyway?

While usually silent about his thoughts, Synch’s attitude of occasionally snapping came to the front once again. “Is there something going on that I don’t know?”

Lifeline shot out the answer to that faster than Nebula could reply, “What are you talking about?”

The deep green unicorn definitely heard some caution in that tone. “I feel like there’s something I’m not being told!”

The pegasus cut off the Earth pony before he could answer and even added to Synch’s skepticism. “You mean you’re wondering why we got a top-class ride to the sticks? Yeah. I have to admit, Lifeline, I’m not convinced the boss ordered it because it was the only shuttle with enough cargo space.”

Lifeline wore a complicated expression. “There...um...there were delicate matters that had to be consider. I know you think it’s odd but the boss had to have us travel that way...”

“Will I be meeting this boss?” Synch furthered his inquiry.

“That’s who we’re going to right now. He’s your employer after all - though I hope you’ll stay on even after your original job is over.” The Earth pony was trying his best to give a pleading tone to keep Synch’s worry from breaking the bridge he had been trying to build ever since they met. Again, these motives were beyond Synch’s understanding and, though Nebula knew more about Lifeline, even he still couldn’t quite understand what the purpose was. Did Lifeline really need to try so hard to gain Synch as a friend? Besides that, did he need to try so hard not to tell them about the shuttle? Typical of “high-class” crews, Nebula never got any information out of his crewmates as to why the shuttle had been hired to make the extra stop.

Maybe that what this was all about. In reality, what was happening right that instant was little more than a confrontation.

Falling

Crack!

The stalk of some unknown plant snapped beneath Synch’s hoof. Damage was irrelevant, however, as the plant would just spring forth again with a replacement stalk in a few short days. Synch had no way of knowing this and, in fact, did not care.

It had been a full day since they had arrived on the colony planet and he was already at work and, unfortunately, he was within one of the greenhouse domes. It was every bit as crowded and humid as he expected it to be even though the ponies in charge of the plants didn't seem to notice.

The air felt like a wet blanket and the density of the humidity made him feel like he had the pony flu. He even came to think that having the flu was, in fact, better than the grueling work within the domes. It may have been true that he was to setup a variety of networked control terminals for greenhouse control, but he had anticipated more software than hardware setup. Essentially, he thought he would just be inputting commands from an air conditioned room rather than braving jungles to identify an inoperable sensor.

Weighing the work against the pay, he started to think he might even have been scammed. However, he shoved that notion aside because the pay was in addition to food and housing, as provided by the employer. And speaking of the employer, he thought, I've never seen any name attached to this place. It was always the "project" or the "boss." Exactly who was running all of this?

The previous day, Lifeline, Nebula Swirl, and Synch, had ventured to the living quarters and the control complex. The quarters were a simple series of cottages that blended in well with the surrounding vegetation. They nearly made the town seem elegant in design. To Synch, “nearly” was not “exactly” though. His room was by no means a palace but it was close to his own home he had in Fillydelphia and he silently wondered if the same architects were involved.

The control complex might be described as a wide tower. It had more rooms and hallways than Synch cared to remember and Lifeline had led them up to the third floor only to find the “boss” absent. The seagreen Earth pony had intended for Synch to meet his employer and ask any questions but the assistant on duty had reported that the employer was away at the time and would be available again the following day.

Well, that day was now. Synch didn’t know whether he wanted to fix the sensor and be out of the greenhouse or get called out prematurely to meet the head pony of the project. As he mistakenly crushed another plant stalk under hoof, he decided he wanted to fix the sensor and be permanently removed from the cursed jungle. The stalks had an almost squishy crunch to them, if that were at all possible. He found it revolting.

Finally scrambling his way to the sensor node, he found the cable detached from the unit. He couldn’t help but bring his hoof to his forehead. There was little excuse on part of the hardware team for him to be on wild expeditions through jungles just to plug something in. Perhaps they didn’t value his time or abilities as much as he did. Not that I’m being egotistical about it, he thought.

With a click, the sensor was back online. As a side thought, Synch figured the project budget must have been pretty tight for them to be using wired sensors. In fact, there were a variety of things he had noticed as being decidedly “low-tech.” That only furthered his suspicion about the high-class shuttle they had traveled in.

With a few more cracks from the plants he was forced to push through, he made his way back to the greenhouse entrance. The current one he was in was named House 35 so he hoped that the other greenhouses didn’t start having any problems. He wasn’t sure he could physically handle more than a dozen trips through the greenhouse environments. They were, after all, quite large.

The greenhouse had a double set of doors much like an airlock to scale back on unwanted climate exchanges to and from the interior. Just as Synch was about to open the inner exit door, it swung open. The unicorn recognized the face from the previous day as the guard pony Hyperbeat but didn’t actually remember the name.

“Oh good! I thought I might have to search another House for you!” the guard pony exclaimed brightly. “Lifeline told me to find you and direct you to Control. He doesn’t usually ask for stuff so I figure it’s from the top. You’d better get over there fast.”

“Ah,” was all that Synch responded with as he followed Hyperbeat through the exit. However, the guard left for his rounds after they were out of the House and Synch headed the opposite direction to the control complex. He only thought to pick up his pace, as Hyperbeat mentioned, after he was halfway there. He couldn’t imagine what would be so important that Lifeline would have somepony fetch him. If it was to meet the boss then Synch might still consider it not urgent enough. As it turned out, it was to talk with the boss.

He got to the complex entrance and Lifeline waved his hoof frantically from the propped open door. “Hurry! We don’t have much time,” the Earth pony urged as Synch followed him in.

“Where’s the fire?” Synch asked somewhat agitated.

“The boss is leaving. Permanently. I don’t know why but he’s handing the project to somepony else. I want to ask him before he takes off but I figured you would want to ask a few questions yourself. Besides that, we need you to setup some equipment with us when we transport it over to the Serenity Houses - they’re in a valley some distance from here.”

Synch tried to take in everything that Lifeline was going on about but he stopped with the part about his superior. Will I ever figure out what exactly is going on around here, he thought. It was only a brief moment before they were in the upper control room again and he was very surprised this time around to see how much commotion was under way. Ponies were rapidly moving from one side of the room to the other while others entered and left just as fast. Papers were flying and screens were flashing data faster than should have been readable.

The most surprising sight however, was the pony in the center of the room. It was a full grown alicorn with wings that somewhat bulged from his body, alluding to an unusually wide wingspan. Of course, Synch had heard many of the baseless rumors about alicorns and how horns or wings never stopped growing. They could get very large or long with age but those “facts” were never in any books and Synch figured they were no more than the rumors they were.

The alicorn did, however, tower over the other ponies in the room. When Lifeline nudged through the crowd and led Synch to the large-winged pony, the unicorn could only conclude that this was the boss. At first, it did not seem the alicorn would notice them but he finally turned to face them before Lifeline tried to get his attention.

“Life,” he spoke in a smooth voice. It was not gruff or old but it still powered over the ruckus of the control room while carrying unwavering authority. The alicorn’s age was anypony’s guess. “Is this the unicorn you spoke of?”

“Yeah. This is Synch and he’s already been hard at work on those Houses. In fact, he’s going to help us out with the new ones in a bit. But anyways, we need to ask a few things,” Lifeline began.

“Ask away. My shuttle won’t be here until tomorrow if you’re worried about it...” the alicorn seemed to have the perfect understanding of Lifeline’s nervousness. Then again, they might have just spoken together enough that it was business as usual between the two.

“Oh...that helps...I guess. But why are you leaving?” Lifeline asked.

A sullen look flashed through the alicorn’s eyes but it was gone just as fast. “Something personal came up. In any case, this project will be just fine without me. I was meaning to pass it back over to the founder anyways. She has much more of a personal interest in making this work and, if you recall, making your project work.”

Now that was definitely weird. Lifeline had some project of his own? The Earth pony cringed when it was mentioned.

“Isn’t it a bit dangerous to have her back in the spotlight?” Lifeline countered. Apparently he was perfectly okay with leaving Synch in the dark this time while he carried on his own conversation with the boss.

“Dangerous? You mean politically? Who do you think we’re talking about? She doesn’t care about that kind of stuff. In fact, she would probably cause a stir just to get things moving. Putting that aside, I don’t see how even the top position in New Ponyville is anywhere near the spotlight.”

The alicorn was not at all like the stereotype portrayed in Canterlot and even old Ponyville. They were often thought of as old fashioned and even uptight, but this one was changing his attitude based on the conversation. What started out as an authoritative voice had begun softening into the casual tone typical of close friends. It was likely that this particularly alicorn had learned to adjust his disposition to fit both the era and mood.

“Excuse me,” Synch braved a cut in. “what are you two talking about?”

“My apologies,” the alicorn responded quicker than Lifeline. “I’ve been the project leader for quite some time now but I was not the one who started this initiative. I was assigned as lead when the project founder wanted to step back to handle some different initiative. Personally, I think she’s taking on more than she should but that’s always how she’s always been, I guess.”

Lifeline added in, “Her current work is just as - no, more - important than this environmental stuff. I admit we need the plant work but that’s not the core problem.”

The boss looked back over to Lifeline with a slightly quizzical look that indicated he was surprised that Lifeline had said that. Perhaps it was because of how the Earth pony had looked uncomfortable earlier when his own project was mentioned. Obviously, the work he had was not exactly what he had let the others in on.

“Who’s ‘her’?” Synch frustratingly asked.

The alicorn smiled. “My whole life I’ve only ever met one alicorn that would try either of the projects that she started.”

Lifeline cut in again, as he was set on being the one to fill Synch in. “Her name is Celestia.”

· · · · ·

Synch had heard of Princess Celestia before but had never seen her. She had left Canterlot long before he was born and was rumored to be somewhere in space along the exploration lines. From what he had heard, she had left with one of the first interstellar exploration waves. Some of the more negative rumors had predicted that she abandoned the old Equestria for its lack of interest. Synch could believe that if she was really as old as she was supposed to be. He hardly thought that anything could remain interesting for thousands of years.

Besides his thoughts on the Princess, he still had those nagging questions about the shuttle and Lifeline’s...deception. His anger was flaring again and he started to think of the whole ordeal as cloak and dagger, so to speak. With that, he ventured his question to the boss alicorn while cutting Lifeline off from something he was about to say.

“That’s curious. Maybe that helps explain why we arrived first class when the rest of this colony looks like it’s taking the scraps from some backroom government budget.”

The alicorn laughed heartily. “That’s a very colorful way of putting it. At least I won’t have to deal with it anymore.”

Lifeline gave a scornful look, “I didn’t know the shuttle would bother you that much.”

“It doesn’t make sense, Lifeline. Just like how you keep tiptoeing around something - I don’t know what. You’re being dishonest with me.”

The boss looked between the two with a curiosity that he hadn’t felt since Celestia had approached him about her projects.

Lifeline sighed. “Well, we’re obviously not going to get anywhere at this rate. Let’s just go to Celestia and clear all of this up.”

“Thank you!” Synch exclaimed a bit too loudly. Some of the frantically working ponies in the room stopped what they were doing to look over at him. It made him go from feeling exasperated to feeling sheepish in a shear second.

“Well then. She was in the East observatory last I checked. You’ll need to get the new equipment over to the Serenity Houses before sunset so don’t take too long. Lifeline, Synch, I’ll talk to you both later.”

That seemed to be their que to leave and Lifeline led Synch back out of the complex as they began making their way to the observatory. They spoke little as Lifeline said it would be best for Celestia to explain what Synch wanted to know. Thankfully it was only about ten minutes of walking before they arrived at the observatory. The stairway up to the viewing platform was a tad long but they made it to the top before Synch lost his breath. As it turned out, the ‘boss’ was right as Princess Celestia was there. She was looking out to the East mountain range and had apparently noticed their arrival even though her back was facing them.

“Welcome back, Lifeline...” her voice whispered out with an exhausted tone. “What have you found?” Her back was still to them as she continued gazing into the distance.

Synch remained silent as Lifeline continued walking to the Princess and responded. “It’s frustratingly difficult and I don’t know if I’ve really gotten anywhere. What you said about your previous student makes me wonder if we’re living in an entirely different universe.”

Finally the white alicorn turned around to face the two stallions. “I was afraid of that...I’ve been trying to bring friendship back to light for literally hundreds of years now, but it’s easier to raise the sun every morning. You’re Synch?” she asked.

Knowing that he was now being addressed he responded, void of any formality that other ponies might have used, “Yeah.”

“I don’t sense much trust in you. The Equestria you have lived in has ruined your hope of friendship. For that I am sorry.”

Her words were so direct...so sad...and so stinging. Was Synch really so incapable of trust? Nopony - even Lifeline - gave him any reason to trust. Surely he had no hope of friendship, as even the Princess seemed to have no clue as to where it was. Her voice was so...so weary.

“However,” she continued. “I am not sorry for what I have had Lifeline doing. I knew I had to try something even if I doubted it would work. Do you know what Lifeline’s cutie mark is for, Synch?”

“Something about growing the plants, right?”

Lifeline looked down almost ashamed. The Princess explained, “I told him to keep it a secret until later. Now that time has come - far sooner than I had hoped since things have not gone so well...”

Well, that explained part of the feeling of dishonesty that Synch had been feeling from the Earth pony. But what would that spiky line of a cutie mark stand for?

“You might recognize the symbol as something like an electrocardiograph. It symbolizes a pony’s life beat,” she continued explaining in her tranquil but tired voice. “Everypony’s life is dependant on more than a simple heartbeat though. There is something else crucial to life. Do you know what that is?”

Lifeline remained silent, content with the Princess speaking with Synch. However, the unicorn only shook his head, as he only had a vague suspicion as to what she would say.

“It’s love,” she paused, letting the word sink into the deep green unicorn. “I don’t mean romantic love. Everypony in this age has left that word with the sole meaning of romantic emotions. Love is far more than that. Families, couples, and friends all must have it.”

Lifeline then exclaimed, “My cutie mark represents my ability to offer ponies a life line to hold onto...”

The Princess further defined it, however. “Lifeline is not some perfect pony - just as I’m no perfect Princess - if I’m still a Princess at all. I have...things that I regret doing. Lifeline, however, has the unique ability to offer anypony a pure love that is essential to friendship. It’s what has been missing for so long now...but there is still a problem.”

“My talent is worthless if the other pony doesn’t offer their trust. It kind of makes me feel like my talent doesn’t exist to begin with.” Lifeline’s expression remained solemn.

“Don’t give up Lifeline,” the Princess encouraged. She then looked back at Synch, “I started a project with him to see if we could forge at least one friendship. It’s something I’ve been dreaming of ever since I-”

“Princess,” Lifeline tried to warn. However, Celestia took no heed.

“I failed in my duty as ruler of Equestria. I let it slide into mistrust and even hatred. Discord didn’t even need to be around because I messed everything up on my own,” her eyes watered. “Luna, my dear sister, left to the stars. She didn’t want to put up with me or my incompetence any longer.”

“Princess!” Lifeline urged stronger this time.

Tears rolled down her face and Synch began to understand just what had been transpiring behind the scenes. “It looks like I have everything under control but I really don’t have a clue what to do...” she paused repeatedly as her growing sobs interrupted her. “That’s why I banished Luna all those years ago. I’m too incompetent to handle things properly - I just mess everything up. It’s just like now. I tried to get that joy of friendship back - Twilight was so good at it...I wish so much to see her again...if only...”

The Princess kneeled, no longer being able to stand as she cried pitifully. Lifeline only looked to the floor, having nothing to say. Perhaps his own talent wasn’t useful here where he felt just as useless.

How could I have been so self-centered, Synch thought. They just wanted the same thing he wanted - somepony who cared about them. Deep down, Synch had always wanted a friend who would accept him for what he was - even make him a better pony than he was. But how could he ever get a friend if he didn’t make a friend? Friendship wasn’t a one way street, he finally decided. He had to act now or else there would be no bright future for Equestria for who knows how long. It had already been so long already.

“Twilight...why did you have to leave me...” the Princess continued to cry bitterly to herself.

“Alright!” Synch yelled intentionally loud. Lifeline looked up at him confused and the Princess gazed up from her kneeling position with red eyes and a torn up expression. “I’ve had enough of all of this! Looking back, I’m starting to think my life has been nothing but a nightmare. So I’m ending it right now. Princess, you are now my friend. Lifeline, you too. I don’t care about anything bad that’s happened before or might happen in the future. I’m making you both my friends right here and now.”

Both the Earth pony and the alicorn were frozen as they were, not knowing what to say. There was a dead silence for about a full minute. Synch started a cold sweat. What had he just said?

“...”

Deafening silence.

“...I don’t have a clue what friends do in this situation so somepony give me a line!”

“...”

Suddenly the Princess started laughing. It was a confusing scene, as the tears that stained her face contrasted sharply with the near elegant laughter. Lifeline soon joined in and Synch felt like the biggest joke in the entire galaxy. When Celestia slowed her laughter enough, she finally spoke, “For a brief moment, I heard Twilight again. Thank you...Synch.”

Not knowing how to respond, the unicorn remained silent.

“Hah. I guess friendship really is naive,” Lifeline filled the gap. “But I’m fine with being called a fool if I can experience it.”

“I only wish I knew what to do to spread that friendship...” Princess Celestia commented as she wiped away the tears with her front right hoof.

“Hmm...the elements of harmony - the elements of friendship. Just have to live them out right?” Synch tried to lighten the mood from its awkwardness.

“Easier said than done,” Lifeline countered. “Your attitude has totally changed though, Synch. This may sound kind of harsh but you weren’t very positive before. Why are you being so ‘go get em’ now?”

“I want to be happy. Don’t you?”

That made Lifeline speechless. He couldn’t say no but saying yes was somehow scary.

“You were trying very hard to win my friendship but it just doesn’t happen unless the other pony wants the friendship too. So I made my decision and I’m not going to change it. Anyways, I still have a question that hasn’t been answered yet.”

The Princess gave an expression to encourage him to ask it.

“What was up with the fancy shuttle?”

Lifeline smiled slightly but Celestia answered, “I started this New Ponyville environmental project but my poor position with the ruling class in Canterlot doesn’t give me much funding. I don’t have anywhere near the position I used to. I didn’t specifically try to get that shuttle - it was just what I could get as a free favor from PegaStar’s president. I’ve had to call in a lot of favors to get this project along since I can’t cover everything with our funding. Does that answer your question?”

Synch felt pathetic for worrying so much over something that turned out to be so trivial. Looking over to Lifeline, he noticed a slightly embarrassed expression. The seagreen stallion must have been ordered to keep hush about the funding problems. However, if Synch remembered properly, he and Nebula had let it slip before anyways. Synch smirked. Good job, he thought in mental laughter.

“So what now? I get the feeling I’m going to be doing more than I signed up for. How long am I going to be here? I sort of have a plant back home that could die...if it runs out of water that is.”

“We can just ship you over to get the plant when you need to. You can bring it here,” Lifeline explained.

“Ah,” was all that Synch had left to say.

The Princess noticed the dying conversation and motioned to lead them back down the observation tower. “You have something that needs to be done,” she stated rather than asked.

“Yeah, and Neb’s probably got some complaints stored up for us on the flight over. He wasn’t all that thrilled with having to pilot another beat up Pega-Pacer,” Lifeline groaned.

“I am sorry we couldn’t do better but the budget is not so kind. Perhaps we’ll be able to do something for him in the future,” Celestia calmly replied.

As they made their way down to ground level, the Princess began talking casually to Synch. Perhaps it was that she had already known Lifeline so well and thus had little more to speak to him about...or perhaps it was just her newfound friendship with Synch. Regardless, she didn’t speak merely of work related things but jumped topics and talked about things as insignificant as the grassy lawn outside of her personal cottage. Her lack of formality was odd at first but quickly became comforting. At least there was one pony that didn’t overthink things. After all, Synch tended to do that and, though it was a strange thing to consider, he almost loathed his own analytical tendencies.

Analysis was impossible for the conversation that he and the Princess were now carrying on. It was, according to Synch, the classical example of a female-led conversation. To put it another way, there was no topic and no particular point. It was somehow refreshing.

“You have an interest in greenery obviously. What kind of plant were you talking about? The one you have at your old house, I mean,” she continued as they left the observation tower for the landing field.

“Uh,” Synch stuttered as he was put under the spotlight. “Well, I don’t really know exactly what it is. It’s a vine...I think it’s some common variety because I don’t have to give it any special treatment...”

“Oh...well there are some kind of plants that seem to live on no matter what happens to them. Some ponies are like that too,” she said thoughtfully.

“Like Lifeline?” Synch joked as he looked back at the Earth pony who was following them. He had fallen back a pace and hadn’t spoken since they left the tower. It had been several minutes as they walked so the unicorn found it curious.

Lifeline just looked up from his downward gaze and replied with a quizzical expression. “You’ve been quiet,” Synch commented.

“Ah, yeah. I’ve just been thinking, that’s all...”

“About what?” Synch tried to coax out an answer.

“...” Lifeline paused. “It seems I succeeded in my mission after all.”

The three ponies were silent for a moment after that but Synch noticed that the Princess was smiling. “Yes you did. I still have some hope - for myself as well as Equestria,” she replied warmly.

When the gates of the landing field finally stood before them, Celestia halted. Nebula Swirl was approaching the gate from the opposite side with a disgruntled face. It seemed Lifeline was a prophet.

“I’ll talk to all of you later,” Celestia said as she turned to leave them. However, she said one more thing before she left and it was almost too faint for Synch to pick up. “Thank you.”

· · · · ·

The complaints were just as Lifeline had thought they would be. There were a multitude of problems with the “chopper” and Nebula had even acquired a few cuts when he had to fix the equipment tie-downs. Synch gave all of the appropriate responses to indicate he was sympathetic of Nebula. Even if the unicorn wasn’t the one dealing with the problems, he could tell that the pegasus tended to get the short end of the stick.

He assumed that he would be going along with them for the ride, since it had been noted as such earlier. It hadn’t dawned on him until then that he was incredibly terrified of flight via Pacer - if the last time was any indication.

“Uh yeah...that was a bit of an oversight on my part,” Lifeline admitted.

“Oversight nothing. You didn’t order up this piece of junk and it’s certainly not your fault that the only real way to that valley is by chopper,” Nebula interrupted. “Look, you can stay here, Synch. We can figure something else out tomorrow and it’s not like you have to fix up the terminals today. You can preload them anyways, right?”

“Only so much,” Synch admitted. It wasn’t preferable but he could use his personal data block to prepare the configurations. At least, he could to a small degree and he certainly wasn’t looking forward to another heart-attack inducing ride.

Lifeline looked dubious but decided to agree to have Lifeline remain at New Ponyville. The area that Lifeline and Nebula would be traveling to was labeled “Serenity” and was a recent development. Unfortunately it was situated past some difficult terrain. It was nestled between two harsh mountain ranges just east of the town. The positioning of the new Houses probably had some technical explanation, such as the climate capabilities, but Synch didn’t care.

He waved them off as they boarded the Pacer and powered it up. The loud hum of the anti-gravity pads was not something that the deep green unicorn held dear. He was relieved to some degree that he was out of the job...for the moment. That was, of course, until he remembered the sensor work with the greenhouses he still had to do. He hoped with every fiber of his equine being that none of the other sensors gave him trouble.

The Pacer lifted into the air with a start and Synch could almost see it strain with the weight of the heavy greenhouse equipment. What all of it did was anypony’s guess but at least one of the machines was probably responsible for air and water control. The Pacer seemed to drag itself into a banking turn as it shrunk into the distance. Even from his low vantage point on the landing field, Synch could still see the mountains to which it was destined. They were mostly rock, but there were still enough trees between New Ponyville and the mountains around Serenity that it could be called a forest. Or perhaps it could only be called something just under a forest. What exactly was something called when it was like a forest but did not quite have enough trees to be called such?

Whatever the case, Synch simply abandoned the thought and headed back to the House he was working on. It would be a simple matter to finish it up. All of the sensors would be reporting in properly and the House could be controlled remotely.

Nothing else of note happened that day until Lifeline and Nebula returned from Serenity. Synch was aroused from his work on the terminal preloads for the Serenity Houses when somepony near the landing field let out a cry. He thought he heard the words “fire team” shouted. The voice might have been Hyperbeat’s but he hadn’t known the pony long enough to be sure. Regardless, Synch bolted from his sitting spot atop a bench in front of House 40.

He gradually quickened his pace as he realized more and more ponies were at a dead run in every direction. A loudspeaker rumbled from the observation tower, “Medical team to the landing field! All ponies take shelter!”

He bolted to the landing field faster and faster. He only knew of one reason the fire and medical teams would need to be at the landing field. Something had gone terribly wrong and he was horrified to think that something might have happened to his two new friends.

Sure enough, Hyperbeat was near the landing field gates. He had a serious expression on his face that gave Synch the chills. There were over a dozen other ponies there. Some had fire suppressors and others had medical boxes. However, the field itself was empty. It was when Synch looked to the sky facing Serenity that he understood the situation. His blood ran cold.

The Pega-Pacer was still quite some distance away but he could definitely see the trail of pitch black smoke that it trailed. It wobbled along its course and one of the pads was giving an unnatural glow. Synch wasn’t breathing but he was trying to calm himself with logic. Clearly the craft hadn’t exploded...yet.

“What’s their status?” one of the ponies asked Hyperbeat.

“I don’t know! Their comm must’ve gone out,” Hyperbeat replied gravely.

Synch started running again. He didn’t know how it would help but he couldn’t keep himself still. The situation had his heart feeling like it was on fire. A mix of adrenaline, stress, and worry was making him dizzy. He ran towards the Pacer even as it came closer to him and the direction of the landing field. Soon Synch was running through the trees that separated New Ponyville and Serenity.

What could have happened? Was the Pacer really in such bad shape that it couldn’t even make the trip? Nebula seemed too good to have flown it without knowing if it could blow up around him. What in Equestria happened?

The answer came immediately like a hard slap in the face. As Synch continued running, he got close enough to hear the labored hum of the Pacer’s glowing left pad. He was also close enough to make out Lifeline in the open passenger compartment.

Boom!

A single lance of red hot energy seared forward from somewhere in the trees. It cut like a blade through the sky and pierced the Pacer straight through the tail stabilizer. Something exploded and the aircraft began to jerk violently. It was in that one moment that everything seemed to happen. Synch saw flames reach out from where Lifeline was and the Earth pony appeared to be desperately removing himself from his harness. One of the windows for the forward cockpit exploded outwards, sending hundreds of glass shards downwards as a deadly rain. The left side anti-gravity pad caught fire and started the craft into a sickening clockwise spin.

When the tail stabilizer had been hit, the explosion forced one of the control rods to shove itself forward through the craft’s frame. The result was the entire backside of the cockpit being shoved forward against the pilot. One of the Pacer’s crossbeams that made up its frame had been pushed hard against the back of Nebula’s neck. He was sprawled, eyes closed and motionless, over the useless control panel.

Synch’s world crumbled before him as he witnessed a horror he was certain he would never see. The passenger compartment became visible once again as the Pacer finished another clockwise twirl. Lifeline had removed himself from his burning harness and was holding tightly to one of the frame’s crossbeams. However, as the burning anti-gravity pad began to chew itself apart, the craft jerked violently downwards. Lifeline lost his grip.

He fell out from the passenger compartment and collided sideways against the rim of the burning pad. Rebounding, he began to fall straight to the ground - still plenty high enough for the fall to kill him. The Pacer, along with Nebula, continued its own death-plunge.

Synch was about to lose both of the ponies that he had come to regard as his first friends - even after just getting to know them. His mind was blank. No more mistrust. No more analysis of their every word and movement.

No more friendship. His very world was falling.

Friendship is Magic

Silence...

Synch and the Pega-Pacer helicopter were close enough that the sounds from the crashing vehicle were near deafening. His mind was blank and his heart was leaping through his chest. The typhoon of emotion he felt in that instant drown out all sound to mere silence.

What was it like to lose somepony that cared about you? Who gave a nickel about your feelings? What was it like to lose somepony you cared about? Who gave you some miniscule bit of encouragement that got you through another day?

Maybe the unicorn, Earth pony, and pegasus hadn’t been together long enough to form a deep friendship but, to somepony that had never felt any kind of friendship before, there was no difference. Even knowing that it was possible to care about somepony else - to have true friends - was enough to bring Synch to tears. It was easy to glaze over such things in daily life and take them for granted. Ponies who had friends, or at least thought they had friends, usually passed the concept up us elementary or trivial. It was not something to get so worked up about.

But there were those ponies that had been bullied, picked on, or shunned their whole life. To them, friendship was just some sham that others used to get what they wanted. Or perhaps it was just some ideal that never actually happened in real life. Whatever the case, it was as impossible as reaching into an empty sack and pulling out a million bits.

So there were those that had friendship and those that didn’t. What about those that lost it? What would go through a pony’s mind if every friendship they had was lost in an instant? Anger? Sadness? Depression?

Synch didn’t know what to think as he helplessly watched his two friends fall to their inevitable death. Perhaps he felt all of those possible emotions together and the result was mere void. Now, it wasn’t true that he would lose all his friends. After all, even if Lifeline and Nebula Swirl were to disappear, he still had Princess Celestia as his new friend. Of course, he wasn’t thinking about such a technicality.

Lifeline was shouting desperately as he fell, having nothing else he could do. Nebula Swirl, a pegasus capable of his own flight, was trapped in the Pacer. At the very least, he was unconscious and unable to do anything. At the very worst...

Were there no flight-capable ponies nearby? Had none of the response team been able to do anything? Synch had no way of knowing exactly why none of the pegasus or alicorns had flown to assist. However, that point would be made clear in quick order.

The Pacer was not in a simple clockwise spin anymore. It was spiraling in every possible direction on its course to meet the ground. Synch’s hooves gave out under him. There was nothing he could do but watch - even if he didn’t want to.

Like watching a train wreck his eyes were glued to the horrific scene until finally the void in his mind let his gaze fall with the rest of his body as he buckled into the grass. What cruel being had waved friendship in front of him just to take it away in one terrifying and blazing moment? What had been the point of all of this?

One thought entered the white blank in his mind.

I don’t want this.

It copied itself until his vision was a white paper with the phrase plastered a thousand times across it. He had never felt that way before. Sad yet enraged. Horrified yet depressed. That one bit of selfishness blazed within him.

I don’t want this.

It was like a computer feeling emotion for the first time. He was curious at first and then exhilarated. He had to try it out more. He had to play with the emotion. Revel in it.

The feeling burned his chest and he felt nauseous. He no longer saw the grass below him, even though his gaze was fixed on the ground mere inches from his face. It was as if he was gazing into the brilliant light of the sun yet without losing his sight from the intensity. He could not know what was now taking place because his emotions had ignited a magic far beyond his ability to control. The magic controlled him even though it was really his own raw emotions that dictated the magic.

His unicorn’s horn, never sparking any magic before, shone like a star. His body was enveloped in a glowing tempest of magic. Only one thing had any influence now.

I don’t want this.

Lifeline, nearly blacking out from the fall he was in, suddenly started decelerating midair as a deep green haze enveloped him. The Pacer, also slowing in its descent, began smoking furiously as the fires died mysteriously - replaced by the haze. It’s furious spin slowed.

Synch’s heartbeat continued to thump faster than could ever be safe. He no longer had the ability to understand what was happening around him. He could not see or hear. Only that one thought consumed him. He never wanted to feel alone again. He could only think his existence would cease if it were to ever happen.

Lifeline’s mind twirled with confusion and joy as his adrenaline-filled death drop came to a happy end. He slowed until he was falling almost gracefully as a feather to the ground. His hooves barely made a sound as they met the grass. That was, of course, until the Pacer also touched the ground. It landed just as gently, but there was no mistaking that the craft was heavy. It made a somewhat muted thud.

Lifeline stood still for a few minutes. He didn’t know what to think. Joy that he was alive? Confusion as to why? Fear as to what had hit the Pacer earlier?

Finally, the Earth pony looked over to the nearby anti-gravity aircraft. It was totalled by every definition and smoke poured from it like a reverse waterfall to the sky. The situation finally hit him and he ran to the craft with every ounce of energy he still had. Was Nebula alright? He had to be removed from the vehicle fast. It could still explode or else the smoke might choke the pegasus to death.

The green haze that had guided both Lifeline and the Pacer to a safe landing was now completely gone. The same haze that had consumed Synch was likewise absent as the unicorn laid motionless on the ground.

Synch began to open his eyes but his vision was as blurry as if he was trying to see underwater. He could only make out brown things, which were probably the tree trunks around him. There was a green wall to the left, which was probably the grassy ground that his head was laying on. A few small blurs were also in sight but he had no clue as to what they could be. Three minutes past and he began to see with clarity again.

His first attempts at standing back up failed with little to show for. When he finally did get back up, he could see that the unidentifiable blurs from earlier had been Lifeline darting to the downed Pacer. Although he didn’t comprehend everything yet, he still started stumbling forward towards the smoking vehicle.

He heard muffled shouting, as his hearing was still impaired. “Nebula!”

It was Lifeline, or at least that was Synch’s guess.

Lifeline? Shouting for Nebula? Were they dead?

Clearing his mind more, he fixed the question. Were they alive?

He picked up the pace, nearly tripping over his own hooves as he ran faster than he was really capable of in his current state. He definitely saw Lifeline pulling on something as he bent over the remains of the cockpit. He was bending in where the forward windshield used to be. There was no longer any trace of it.

Now close enough, Synch tried his voice. “Lifeline!”

With no other form of acknowledgement, Lifeline merely yelled a “help me.”

Synch climbed onto the mess that was the Pacer and saw Lifeline pulling a cross beam off of Nebula. It looked heavy and the Earth pony was clearly struggling. The pegasus however did not look anywhere near healthy. He was covered in blood and did not move. It was only a small movement, that of breathing, that assured Synch that he was even alive.

With no hesitation, the unicorn tried harder to muster his strength back. Grabbing the crossbeam, he pulled with Lifeline to remove it. Unfortunately, it was even heavier than it looked and it was wedged in at some point that wasn’t even visible. Synch strained until he nearly felt his muscles seize and his shoulder pop. With an agonizing sound of metal against metal, the crossbeam finally swiveled off of their pinned down friend.

They both dived down, nearly bumping heads, so they could pull the pegasus out. Synch reached the strap harness first and almost started looking for a knife when the harness release button failed. However, it finally gave and the straps retracted to let the pegasus fall forward. Synch caught him and Lifeline helped take the weight as they carefully pulled him out.

Not safe within immediate distance of the Pacer, they strained their muscles to drag the pegasus away from the craft. Once clear, they both fell to the grass exhausted. With the adrenaline of the rescue fading, the reality of Lifeline’s physical condition began to hit him. A large mark ran across his right side where he had momentarily collided with the burning anti-gravity pad. It was something of a cross between a burn and a bruise and he felt pain as if it were both.

“Life...line,” Synch wheezed from having carried the pegasus. “Are...you ok?”

After voicing a grunt of pain, he simply answered, “Had better...”

Lifeline was caught between staying with his injured friends and running for help. It was another few minutes before Lifeline spoke up, “Why are...we alive?”

Since Synch only had a vague clue as to what happened, he decided not to treat his guess as fact. Instead he speculated, “I think something happened with my horn...”

“You used...magic? I thought you couldn’t...”

Lifeline continued to have a pain-filled expression as he grasped his side. It worried the unicorn but too much had been happening and he was still too overwhelmed to think logically. “I don’t know...what happened anyways?!”

“Oh no!” Lifeline looked up in terror at the question. He had been in one nightmare after another and it took Synch’s question to remind him of why everything had happened to begin with. Straining his body further to get back up and grabbing Nebula again, he fought to overcome the pain and continue moving. “We have to go! She’s nearby!”

Synch, however, did not understand. “What are you talking-?!”

The unicorn never finished his question as a new lance of fiery energy leaped between two trees and hit him in the chest. The impact sent him flying backwards but his temporary flight was almost immediately halted by the tree that was behind him. Knocking into the truck, the air left his lungs and he hit the ground with a tearful cry.

Lifeline, attempting to run to Synch, collapsed face-first into the grass as the pain from his wound knocked his legs out from under him.

Leaves crunched as a pony approached from the direction that the energy lance had come from. Synch slowly got up from the ground as he clutched his chest with his front right hoof. He coughed painfully as tears ran down his face and began soaking the grass.

Seconds passed and when Synch finally looked over to see Lifeline on the ground he found another pony standing over him. The alicorn was smaller than the “boss” or Celestia, but held an air of intimidation that exceeded them both. She held one hoof atop Lifeline’s head, as if claiming him as a hunting trophy. However, her gaze was locked with Synch’s.

In her brown eyes blazed hatred more intense than a wildfire. Her horn was unusually long like Celestia’s and her wings bulged from her body like those of the “boss.” Her coat was the color of a dull and burnt yellow, as if all the vibrant color it might have once had was long gone from prolonged exposure to the sun. Red streaks lined the feathers of her wings and only furthered her menacing appearance.

The alicorn’s hair was as wild as her eyes and had only the faintest hint of orange. Unless one had specifically known that it was once that color, it could only be concluded that her hair was, in fact, a deep brown. The style matched her tail, as it seemed to be just as large and messy.

Her horn began to glow like a flame and Synch immediately knew that she was the one that had struck him as well as the Pacer. She was responsible for the entire incident. Of course, he had no idea who she was or why she was doing what she was doing. He knew only the reality of the situation. She was about to fire another lance and the unicorn had little doubt it was meant to kill.

Her gaze of hatred never faltered and the glow surrounding her horn reached its peak. A lance formed instantaneously and launched towards him. He had closed his eyes even before the lance formed, not wishing to watch his own end. At the very least, he would die with his friends...

Something exploded and he suddenly felt clods of dirt and small pebbles assault him from his left. By reflex he opened his eyes and witnessed a magic bubble disintegrate in front of him. What had just happened?

“You’ve grown much more powerful since the last time I saw you...sis.”

That voice...

“Your hatred hasn’t changed at all though.”

It was the “boss.”

The female alicorn was now a few hooves distance from Lifeline and her image shifted within a powerful heat wave surrounding her body. It looked as if she was about to explode into flame. The other alicorn, the “boss,” was facing her as he positioned himself between the injured ponies and their enemy.

“Hatred?! You know all about that don’t you?! Don’t forget you were the one that left me to die, StarBlaze!” she countered. The spite and anger she channeled into his name was intense, yet her voice was far lighter than expected. It might have been described as the awkward space between a tompony’s rashness and the eloquence of a princess. But then, words never mean much for describing sound now do they?

“I never left you, SunFire!” the other alicorn responded with the same emphasis on the name - minus the hate. “I tried everything to help you, but you wanted to be mad! Why are you doing this? Do other people have to suffer your bad attitude?!”

Now SunFire did erupt into flames. The fire wrapped around her body, not causing her any harm. The grass below her caught fire though and, in a single leap forward, she careened into StarBlaze.

The fireball she formed around her erupted and Synch could no longer see either alicorn. The heat scorched him even at his current distance and he knew he had to get Lifeline and the still unconscious Nebula out of danger.

Another cough escaped him as he ran over to Lifeline. Kneeling, he asked, “Are you ok?”

“Nn....no. But we have to get out of here!” Lifeline forced a response from his shaky voice as he tried getting back up.

Synch knew this was not good. There was a burning in his chest from the fire lance and it felt like something was wrenching his insides. Lifeline couldn’t walk and neither could the unconscious Nebula. He couldn’t get them both out on his own and he was out of time. The greenery was catching fire all around them.

Closing his eyes, Synch tried to replicate what happened earlier with the haze. He didn’t really understand it but perhaps if he could force enough emotion in his thoughts, he could pull something off. It was not like they had any other options.

Get out of here.

Nothing happened - not even a hint of something.

Danger. Must escape.

The fires spread.

I have to save my friends!

A spark flicked off of his horn and Nebula was engulfed in a green haze. Feeling the unusual sensation of magic, the unicorn opened his eyes to see the haze start to form around Lifeline as well.

The Earth pony widened his eyes as he saw what was taking place before him. “Synch! You can-”

His words were cut off as all three ponies suddenly disappeared in unison. A puff of the green haze lingered before dispersing. However, the three soon reappeared some 150 hooves distance from the fire. Again, the green haze puffed as they came back into existence. What had just occurred was, quite simply, teleportation.

“-magic?” Lifeline finished. His vision spinned from the bizarre sensation of spatial displacement. The pain from his wound didn’t help and he barely held onto consciousness as a blackness nearly overwhelmed his mind.

Synch looked around quickly. Whatever it was seemed to have gotten them out of immediate danger. He was glad it had worked out because what he had just done was really nothing more than a gamble. The magic could have landed them within the inferno rather than out of it. There was no time to think of what-ifs though.

Nebula was right beside Lifeline on the ground. They had to get immediate medical aid and Synch was even less able to help them as a new nauseousness came over him from his overextended and uncontrolled use of magic. Feeling a sharp sting from his chest, he looked down to see the burn mark from the lance wound. It glowed!

Once again, Synch felt the somewhat cool and plush sensation of the grass against his face as he joined his two friends on the ground. His hooves had given out again and fresh tears began to escape him. The burning feeling he had inside was becoming more intense.

It was at that moment that he saw a bright light shoot by overhead. It was past them in a fraction of a second but Synch had seen the alicorn clearly enough. She had apparently landed outside of his ground-level view, as the Princess suddenly appeared again from the corner of his vision. She was no longer in flight and was back on her hooves as she leaned down to Synch.

“Celest-” was all Synch could pronounce before the Princess interrupted.

“Shh! Save your breath until I can heal you and the others...” she tilted her horn so that it touched Synch’s chest. A blinding light shone momentarily as Celestia attempted to heal the lance wound.

The unicorn had to admit that the sensation was interesting, as many other sensations had been that particular day. It was almost like being stuck with a needle, punched in the stomach, and slapped in the face all at the same time. It only lacked the gentleness and subtlety of such experiences.

In spite of his attempts not to, the unicorn cried in pain.

“SunFire will pay for this,” Celestia seethed in a rare fit of anger. “She used shadow magic to keep us from coming. I’ve never seen a shadow wall so ridiculously powerful! It held even when I unleashed the sun upon it!”

The unicorn had most likely passed into the forest before the wall had been brought up, or else he had traveled through some hole. Synch tried to understand her words as his vision waved in and out from the pain. At the very least, the internal burning seemed to have lessened. Celestia moved out of sight as she turned to heal Nebula. However, she continued talking - attempting to make up for her tardiness in helping.

“StarBlaze had to add the power of his own star to mine for us to break through. Thank goodness!” she sighed in relief. “It doesn’t look like any of you are beyond help.“

Clearing his mind and turning his head, he still didn’t have the courage to stand back up. He could see the Princess moving over to Lifeline after finishing with Nebula. The pegasus didn’t open his eyes but he looked far better. The blood was gone and his breathing was more peaceful.

Synch’s tears were no longer for pain but for the same relief that Celestia had. His friends would be alright.

“Healed by you? I... I couldn’t ask for a better doctor huh? Ancient magic is pretty handy...” Lifeline commented as Celestia lit her horn once again. The Earth pony’s scar began to fade away.

There was no time left for appreciation, though, as a rumble shook the trees around them and an explosion could be heard from the nearby fire. Smoke had begun making its way towards them.

“You’re all good enough to leave now,” Celestia hastily commented. “I have to go help StarBlaze, but you three need to get to safety.”

Synch didn’t know what had happened to either of the other alicorns from earlier but Celestia seemed to indicate that they were still fighting each other. Whatever the case, it was out of the unicorn’s hooves. The Princess was right about them retreating.

If only things were that simple. It looked like things were finally going right, if only a little. Perhaps Synch’s old skepticism should have been giving a chance because things quickly went sour once again.

As the Princess turned to go to the fire and Synch and Lifeline went to carry Nebula, a massive fireball landed between them. They were all sent tumbling in different directions as the fireball dispersed to reveal SunFire in all of her seething anger.

None of the ponies wasted any time in getting to their hooves. Nebula was now awake, albeit terribly disoriented.

“You! Why aren’t you dead yet?!” SunFire screamed as she stared at Synch.

He never got the chance to respond as the mad mare erupted into another fireball and charged at him. The unicorn began to run away but Celestia stopped the fiery hurricane short. Enveloped in a sphere of light, the Princess collided with SunFire. The opposing haze of fire exploded outwards as it burned out, but the impact sent both mares tumbling to the ground.

A bluish purple mist suddenly puffed nearby the sprawled Princess as StarBlaze exploded into existence. Lifeline found Nebula and began leading him on a dash back to New Ponyville. It was complete chaos.

SunFire arose to her hooves once more as Celestia did the same. The “boss,” StarBlaze, quickly glanced to the Princess to see she was alright and began emitting a vibrant glow from his horn.

“I won’t let you hurt anypony, sis!” the alicorn bellowed. He was obviously fighting his own anger and trying not to let it control him.

“Stop calling me that, you worm!” the opposing alicorn countered before charging at the other two.

Synch stood there, forgetting to run away. The magical power emitted from the alicorns was overwhelming him. His newfound connection to magic was making him oversensitive and the ensuing battle left his hooves frozen. This one hate-powered alicorn had caused so much grief already and she was somehow able to stand against two other extremely powerful alicorns. From what Celestia had said earlier, it seemed likely that all three of the alicorns present had a connection to a star. Celestia was connected to the local star - the sun. It was anypony’s guess as to the other two. Judging from the colors and their relation, StarBlaze and SunFire were probably connected to sibling stars - a class B and K respectively.

A lance of blue energy shot from StarBlaze’s horn but fizzled uselessly when it struck the charging opponent. Seeing no other choice, StarBlaze charged to meet his insane sibling. Why had she so desperately tried to keep the others away while she killed Synch’s friends? What did she have against them?

Foreign thoughts began to burn themselves into his mind as StarBlaze and SunFire collided, their horns knocking away from each other. They smashed into each other with a nasty thud as their shoulders met. Both ponies spun onto their backs, hitting the ground and sending dirt flying. The smoke from the nearby fire was thickening.

Celestia charged at the fallen enemy as she lit her horn with the power and light of the sun.

· · · · ·

“Brother!” an alicorn screamed in terror as flames engulfed the cottage. It was night and yet the blaze of the fire lit the darkness to make it seem as though it were day.

Another alicorn burst from the burning building to land in front of his tear-filled sister. The brother smelled of smoke and was aglow with conflicting colors of blue and red. His expression was barely neutral as he fought to keep emotional pain from showing. His sister didn’t need more bad news than they had already been given. It almost seemed like their life was one long nightmare.

“Where’s mom?!” the sister alicorn cried loudly and painfully, knowing the unspoken answer. The red energy that was crackling across her brother’s body was proof. It had happened again. First their father had been killed and now it was their mother. And there was nothing they could do to stop it.

The culprit was obviously some kind of powerful pony capable of magic. Only such a pony could succeed in killing a celestial alicorn. Both of their parents had been connected to healthy G-class stars. But the residual red energy that remained at the scene marked the killer as an alicorn with a connection to a sickly M-class star. How they had overpowered their parents was a mystery but a horrific truth nonetheless.

“We...” the brother tried to speak but had difficulty. His emotions were overpowering him. He couldn’t cry - not when he was the only family left to his young sister. He had to be able to take care of her now.

“StarBlaze! Tell me mom’s alive! She’s alive!” the sister cried bitterly.

“We....” he choked back tears that were insistent in coming. “We have to leave. It’s not safe here, sis.”

The young mare didn’t move. To do so would be admitting that they were now alone.

“SunFire!”

Tears were her only response.

“SUNF-” his words were cut short as a red streak fell from the sky. It’s trail left the shape of a scythe - the tip landed right before StarBlaze.

SunFire turned in horror to see the towering stallion that now stood before them. His blood red coat and black mane matched the terrifying pony that she imagined the killer to be. In his eyes were nothing but hatred. Red energy snapped across his body even to the point of singing his own coat.

StarBlaze shoved his sister out of the way as the red stallion whipped a bolt of red energy at them. It cracked the ground and burned the brother’s hooves even as he moved to avoid it.

“I thought getting rid of your father would get me farther in the court but your worthless mother just took his place,” the murderer bit out. “I didn’t want to have to work so hard but it looks like I’m going to have to bury all of you if I’m going to get anywhere in life.”

A red lance of fire shot from the alicorn’s horn and sent StarBlaze flying onto his back. He barely managed to block it with his magic shield and he was nearly spent on energy already. The murderer was indeed powerful and StarBlaze had only been learning magic from his father when he had been killed.

The killer wasted no time and was immediately before StarBlaze again. His red horn blazed with fire as he prepared to finish off the young stallion.

The brother tried desperately to do something but every once of energy he had was resulting in nothing but useless sparks from his horn. There was nowhere to run and no point in trying. It was as he contemplated his end that his sister barreled into the red alicorn.

Not expecting it, the evil stallion struck the ground hard on his side and the fire building around his horn exploded into mere smoke. He didn’t get back up.

“Brother!” the mare screamed in panic.

With nothing left to do but run, regardless of its use, StarBlaze got back up to his hooves and bolted. The only thing going through his mind was that his sister had just given them the small chance to get away. Obviously they were not capable of defeating the insane stallion.

Thinking that his sister was right behind him, StarBlaze continued his mad dash into the night. However, the concept of running was not in SunFire’s mind. She had managed to overcome her worst fear and tackled the pony of her nightmares. She wasn’t even thinking straight and, in a crazy fit of adrenaline, continued to assault the downed stallion with her bare hooves. Something had snapped in her mind.

The parents they had lost...the life they could have had...she had almost lost her brother too. Everything was the fault of this one insane alicorn. A small ember sparked in her eyes.

It was not until many days later that StarBlaze heard the news. The red stallion that had murdered their parents was dead. SunFire had been picked up at the scene by the police and she was blamed for the stallion’s murder. Every trace of their home was disintegrated in the fire along with their mother who had been killed. SunFire was sent to the worst prison imaginable. A stone prison of nightmares was her reward for killing a pony in self-defense.

It was many years later until StarBlaze learned the truth. The fire lance spell that the murderer was known for had backfired when his head hit the ground. The spell had imploded and ignited internally, killing the stallion instantly.

He attempted to free his sister with the information but was promptly and harshly rejected. He was even blamed for attempting to obstruct justice.

· · · · ·

The memories had been intense as if being brought forth by the battle of the siblings and then being rushed upon any pony unfortunate enough to be nearby. The unicorn’s inexperience with magic was perhaps the most likely culprit but, in that moment, Synch knew what had to be done. He didn’t know how to do it but he was going to try to pull it off anyways. It was just like his earlier encounter with the Princess. He didn’t know how to make friends or what he was supposed to do with them, but he would do anything possible to help them, give them hope, and show them love.

The struggle that was taking place in front of him was nothing more than a vicious cycle. It was a pattern of hatred that fueled itself and the only way to break it was to fight it with hatred’s worst enemy. Love.

Synch recognized it was a foolish and even stupid plan but, as he already scraped by death a few times, he somehow cared less about what happened to him. Perhaps near-death experiences made a pony consider the meaning of life...or some such deep-sounding gibberish.

Celestia plowed into SunFire even as she was getting back to her hooves. A beam of molten white energy erupted from Celestia’s horn and burned off half of the feathers on the yellow alicorn’s right wing.

SunFire screamed in pain just before the Princess turned around sharply to kick her with her back hooves. She took the hit hard and rolled across the grass, leaving singed plant in her wake. StarBlaze was also back up and was charging at his sister. It was that moment that SunFire finally revealed an opening. If StarBlaze made a hit, it could have spelled the quick end of the pale yellow alicorn.

However, he never got the chance as Synch dove into her before StarBlaze could. He forced the thoughts into his mind and hoped with every fiber of his being that he could perform magic one more time that day.

Prove to her that she’s not alone.

Give her friendship.

Show her love.

As Synch collided with the wounded alicorn, a green haze enveloped them both. Although not to his knowledge or intent, the spell that had been cast was not one previously recorded nor was it one to which Princess Celestia had previously encountered. It was a very strange one that had little use if it were not for Synch’s intent to heal SunFire’s blackened heart. The spell synched the minds of the four ponies.

Suddenly the world went dark as if they were all asleep and in the world of dreams. There were no words. Only thought.

There were no explicit thoughts, but the emotions behind them told a tale more vivid than any memory. Depression, fear, and anger blazed until they met honesty, generosity, and loyalty. Sadness and loneliness burned until they encountered kindness and laughter. Pain threatened to end everything until it clashed with the magic.

It was the magic of friendship.

Synch, or anypony for that matter, could not prove something in only an instant. He could only hope that synching their emotions was enough to show SunFire that they all experienced the bad things in life. She was not alone in that, but she was also capable of experiencing the good things just as he was. However, he didn’t have any control of the magic taking place and could only be affected by it as the others were. The deep green unicorn knew what he wanted. He wanted friendship. He wanted somepony to care about him. He wanted to be somepony that cared about others too. To get what he wanted, he had to act. So that was precisely what he was doing.

If he could calm SunFire and gain her friendship, the entire ordeal would come to an end. There would be no more trouble - at least for that day. After all, Synch didn’t know the future and could only hope and work for the best day by day just like everypony else.

The torrent of emotions were still storming about, but he suddenly felt something new. The sensation was like a single tear hitting the sands of a dry desert. The tear grew until it was a pond. The pond grew to a lake and the lake was rushing towards him.

It was hard to explain emotions with mere words but Synch could only think of it as a powerful wave of water as it hit him and he began to cry - adding to the wave. It was then that he knew that the wave was from SunFire.

The spell was coming to an end and Synch was suddenly afraid. That was it? But what had it done? It was quick, vague, and felt somewhat like a...waste of time. This was bad!

The unicorn opened his eyes to find himself lying beside SunFire. They were both laying on the grassy ground as were StarBlaze and Celestia. The other two alicorns were opening their eyes with expressions of confusion and exhaustion. What Synch saw, though, was a crying SunFire.

No longer was her horn or body emitting unreal heat. The anger that permanently occupied her eyes was completely gone. What remained was nothing but hurt.

A strong realization hit Synch as he understood what the magic had just accomplished. The realization threatened to give him a migraine but he was too much at a loss to care because the magic hadn’t actually solved the problem.

The spell had synched their emotions long enough to dispel the hatred that had consumed SunFire and reveal the hurting heart behind it. However, the hurt remained unaltered by the feeling of friendship that Synch had wanted to fix it with. He didn’t know what to do. He had only recklessly hoped that magic would solve all of his problems.

“You...” the female alicorn sniffled out.

Synch felt like turning to stone as he watched the mare cry only two hooves distance from his own face.

“You...c-care?” she squeaked as if her voice was about to fly away.

It seemed the spell had worked exceptionally well at ridding the hate. However, the broken heart that laid before him was nothing short of tragic. Synch didn’t know anything about friendship but he knew even less about talking to a crying mare. Life seemed to throw everything at him that he was incapable of dealing with. He had stumbled along this whole time barely surviving and today was a stellar example of it. Well...whatever, he thought. If I’m going to mess up a relationship then at least I’ll mess it up trying to do the right thing.

“Uh...I...want you to be happy,” Synch responded and immediately regretted it. Wow. That sounded just stupid. Congratulations, somehow you managed to be corny and creepy at the same time, he thought.

“...” her silence was like the second punch to him but she soon spoke up again. “No...pony has ever wanted that...”

Synch didn’t say anything. He was again at a loss but felt he wasn’t supposed to speak anyways.

“Nopony wants anything...anything to do with me,” she sniffled again as a few new tears rolled off of her face. “It’s always my fault for everything.”

“...”

“Even my own brother wants me gone so he doesn’t have to deal with me anymore,” she said a bit too quickly. “There’s no reason,” she paused as she sniffed again from her crying. “No reason for me to live!”

There it was. The pain of depression and loneliness in her heart had given birth to the void of hopelessness. Hate had tried filling that void to give her a reason to live. Now that it was gone she faced the very same dilemma. What was she living for? On that note, what was Synch living for?

A few days ago he might have hesitated at that. However, he knew what he was living for at that moment. He was trying to give others the love he always wanted. Just the pure love of friendship. He had to do that before anything “deeper” would have meaning for him. After all, the “deep” stuff was nothing but useless words if it didn’t have action with it, right? Synch was doing the acting at that very moment.

“How about me then?” he asked the crying alicorn. “If I’m your friend, would you live for my sake?”

It was a big risk for him to ask and he was practically in a cold sweat. Who would want to live for his sake anyways?

“...” she was silent minus the sniffling as she processed his words. “I...You want me to live...?”

That was a rather delicate question. “Yes! Even if it’s just to laugh and smile a few times each day! Isn’t that better than simply kicking the bucket?!”

She didn’t say anything and her expression almost said that she did think that kicking the bucket was better. However, she eventually came to a response, “You want to have me around?”

Didn’t she already ask that kind of question? Synch almost panicked as he remembered the other two alicorns behind them. They must have been simply watching the exchange because they hadn’t interfered yet. Great, he thought. It was almost like he was in the spotlight and he never did well in that position. Just one more reason to sweat some more. What was he getting himself into?

“Of course! In fact, I’ve been feeling the same way, you know. I was wondering just what the point was...just living for another day to pass. It makes me sick, but having friends really changes things, you know.” He began to use “you know” more often as his mental panic escalated. He was blowing it. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but he was definitely blowing it.

“...”

“So...uh...please don’t give up. I’ll be your friend even if nopony else will.”

She sighed as she wiped some of the tears away. “Th-thanks...”

StarBlaze finally stepped over to them and they took the hint to get up. Synch was worried at first about what StarBlaze might do until he saw the stallion’s face. He looked like he had just been scolded.

“SunFire...” the male alicorn started. “Sis...I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

SunFire stepped sideways towards Synch as if she was going to use him as a meat shield. “About what?” she asked cautiously.

“I wasn’t very sensitive towards you and...I was basically ignoring you this whole time.”

Giving a moment of silence for the words to sink in, she replied, “Yeah. It’s true.”

Synch could see pain strike StarBlaze. The bluntness was simply nasty but she didn’t stop there.

“I forgive you though,” she continued. “Because I’m not living for that old stuff anymore.”

StarBlaze sighed in relief. “Thanks, sis. We both need to forget the past. It was just too painful.”

Not needing to reply, SunFire shared her brother’s opinion. As the two siblings shared that moment, Synch glanced around to see that Celestia had disappeared. Before he could speak up about it, StarBlaze turned his attention to the unicorn and answered preemptively.

“The Princess went to assist with the fire. I should go help but I want you two to go back to New Ponyville - you’ve both been through enough.”

“But I started that-”

StarBlaze cut off what his sister tried to bring up, “No. I accept responsibility for it. I want you to forget everything that happened earlier, okay?”

His voice was so stern that SunFire took the hint. Her brother wanted the entire case closed permanently. “Okay...” she murmured.

“You too, Synch. I’ve never experienced such...strange and powerful magic. Considering your physical condition, I want you off work for a few days,” StarBlaze continued as he motioned towards Synch’s chest.

The unicorn looked down to find a bright scar where he had been hit with the fire lance. He gasped. Hadn’t Celestia healed him? Maybe the Princess was slipping a bit with her healing magic. Sighing, he resolved himself to live with it. What else could he do?

StarBlaze quickly took off to help Celestia and Synch found himself walking back to the town with the alicorn that had tried to kill him not even an hour previous. Of course, he was working to forget that fact as she was now his friend. It would take time.

He noticed that the mare walking beside him was not necessarily walking slow out of intent. She was as exhausted as StarBlaze had likely guessed. Synch was no better off as his muscles felt like bread dough that had been beat for far too long. A nasty headache was working its way into his head as well. In general, he felt lousy. Well at least I’m not dead, he thought.

SunFire broke the silence, “So what do we do?”

Now he wished he were dead. “Ah...” he thought out loud. “Well, we’ve been ordered to stay out of everything so...there’s not much for us to do. I think I’ll just check on Nebula and Lifeline before hitting the sack.”

The mare was quiet for the next minute as they got closer to town. It was true that Synch wasn’t going to do much else for the day. He really was as exhausted as he probably looked. At the very least, he wouldn’t need to worry about the fire with two powerful celestial alicorns on the job.

SunFire spoke and, unknowingly sparked a pinch of pain with Synch’s headache, “What should I do then...?”

In all honesty the unicorn hadn’t a clue. It was probably best that she get rest as well but she didn’t have any assigned cabin. After giving it a bit of thought, Synch’s technical mind worked out the best logical solution. He would ask around at the control complex to get Celestia’s cottage designation. SunFire could rest there until the Princess got back and assigned her a living quarters.

“You should probably get some shut eye too. I’ll ask around to find you some quarters.”

She only seemed half satisfied with his answer, however. He never had to ask what else was on her mind because she came right out with it. “What do I do after the resting?”

“Huh?” was all he replied. He wasn’t thinking quite that far ahead.

“I’m living for your sake right? You were the only one that saved me,” she pointed out. “My brother may have apologized back there but it’s not like things are going to be magically different between us. He’s probably happy to shove me off onto somepony else.”

If only magic really could just solve every problem, Synch thought. The alicorn apparently held some bitter thoughts. On the other hoof, maybe she was just being realistic about it. The unicorn didn’t really believe things would be easy either.

The mare looked expectantly at him as if he held the answer to all of life’s questions. He sighed. “Rest until you’re really not tired anymore...then come get me. We’ll figure out what to do then - it’ll probably be late enough to go stargazing or something. Just be sure to knock really loud because sometimes I sleep pretty deep.”

Her face glowed and he guessed that he had handled her concern well. He was a little nervous since he felt like the mare’s sanity was now hinged on his shoulders. If he failed in some way then who knows what could happen. She could even lose it and try to kill again. He shuddered at the thought - no pressure.

As they entered town again, he noticed that there were very few ponies. Most of them were probably either indoors or helping with the fire. As they continued walking towards the control complex, the unicorn had an idea.

“You know...love is what binds people together. Family...friends...”

SunFire uttered an “ah” to indicate she was listening.

“You could say it’s our society’s greatest conflict,” he continued.

“Conflict? How so?” she asked, not quite getting the idea.

“Well, love is the difference between war and peace isn’t it?”

“I guess so, but that’s kind of...overanalyzing it don’t you think?”

“Guh,” he had to admit she was right. But that didn’t necessarily make it any less true in his mind. At the very least, the harmony they had achieved that day was only possible because of the love and friendship that he had recklessly cast out at SunFire.

She gave a tiny laugh. It was so small that Synch barely noticed it. “I’d like to go stargazing,” she said to nopony in particular. Turning to specifically address the unicorn beside her, she made up her mind. “I need to show you where my star is in the sky.”

He smiled. After all, his life was certainly a lot more interesting now. It was practically a rollercoaster, in fact. However, the green stallion was sure of one thing. Nopony could deny the simple fact anymore.

Friendship is magic.

Discontent

Bang!

It sounded from outside the building but might have actually garnered attention if it had occurred within the building. After all, that particular kind of bang was the distinct sound of a toasted engine and a mere everyday occurrence in modern day Fillydelphia. Suffice to say, the city had seen better days. In fact, all of Equestria had seen better days.

The noise was subconsciously recognized and dismissed as a sigh escaped the lone stallion within the building. He was tired. He was lonely. He was discontent. Had today been a long and exhausting day of work? No. In fact, this particular stallion worked as a freelance expert in information storage. Anything related to electronic information was his field. It was a rough age and he survived by being flexible. Yet, in reality, his worst days consisted mostly of mental exhaustion and nothing else.

Why was he lonely? It had nothing to do with romance and if it did then it certainly was not the root problem. He had no friends. It was not his fault, as his personality was right around average and the same could be said of his appearance. Actually, this was a problem that existed all throughout Equestria. The sad fact was that it had been many hundreds of years since the last mention of the Elements of Harmony and no one seemed to know or care what happened to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. It had been far too long since the mention of the "power of friendship."

The stallion was on an electronic terminal, browsing the Net, as he stumbled across a recent news article reinforcing the belief that "friendship was dead." It was the go-to philosophy of the modern age and everypony firmly believed that relationships were not to be considered anything but business. They were nothing but contracts - much like the one the stallion had been working to fulfill for his latest client.

He was browsing the Net but was actually fulfilling his work. The client had wished to integrate several libraries of data but had been encountering odd problems accessing random parts of the network. This included the client’s own network and that of the greater Net. It was puzzling and the client had already wasted too much time attempting to solve it. Thus this stallion was hired.

It was not his first job by far but it was one of his more interesting ones. By browsing the Net for the last hour he had already begun to see a pattern in the non-accessible portions of the network. Given two more hours, he might even have everything fixed. That was good news right? Not at all. This unicorn was more concerned with his own situation than that of his client. After all, this job would be over within the day but the problem in his own heart would not. All of Equestria had been this way since long before he was born. No one pointed out the problem but he knew it all the same. He needed friendship.

It was not specifically the friendship of a family or that of a female pony but just friendship itself. It might be said that most ponies take it for granted but that was not even applicable with the Equestria of the here and now. This stallion had never seen friendship before so he tended to agree that "friendship was dead" even if he didn't want it to be. Every relationship was cold and uncaring.

The room's clock chimed to inform the sole occupant that it was now noon. The sound echoed because the room was far too large for the furniture and equipment it contained. A few desks and data terminals rested against the wall opposite of the windows. They seemed to huddle there as if afraid of exploring the expanse of the clean carpeted room. The room's only chair held its only occupant. The echo of the clock only reinforced the empty feeling that hung darkly over the building. It was not only the room that contained too little. Most of the building was empty. It was actually a tad spooky.

He had pulled the window blinds open earlier to let in a soft glow of sunlight. However, even when alone he tended to be too self-conscious. Even though he opened the blinds, he avoided the direct sunlight. He thought the light made his deep green body brighten too much. He would probably be less conscious about it if there were more deep green unicorns like himself. As he was, other ponies tended to give mocking glares. His appearance may have been average but that was his own perception and looks were quite subjective.

This building he was in was near the edge of the business side of Fillydelphia. So it was no surprise to him when a large cargo hauling vehicle began coasting by outside the windows. Its bulk quickly blocked out the sunlight and its image filled each pane. He was on the third story of the building so it was definitely a major cargo hauler. The stallion took a break to venture to the windows and view the craft.

The front of the vehicle was still in sight just fifty hooves past the last window. It had the look of a brick with a flat-faced front, long rectangular body, and a backside that might be confused as the front side. A small window could be seen on the front upper corner. Inside was a pegasus who was, if the unicorn could tell, quite focused on piloting the vehicle. It made sense given the fact that the craft was about four-stories tall and two blocks long. It was almost as wide as the road - counting all four lanes. Clearly there was some kind of traffic control below to help it along. They must have planned it to go from point A to point B and back out the same way it came because it was clearly incapable of making a turn within the city.

He could see the contents clearly marked on the hauler. All of it was the latest transmission cable. The city must be upgrading again, he thought. The first upgrade several years ago was a necessary one but each upgrade since was a useless gesture. As he saw it, the new cable was nothing more than a useless waste of resources to "stay on top." The population of Fillydelphia demanded it, however. When all was said and done, their electronic terminals were the most important thing to them. This stallion could not really say it was less true of him but it wascertainly not what he wanted.

What could he do? A philosophical pony might say that if he couldn't find a friend then he should make one. That is to say, be the one to befriend another pony. He had indeed tried that many years ago and was still nursing a damaged heart. Few ponies realized how vicious others could be until they actually experienced it for themselves. In any case, this was the unicorn's current plight.

The hauler finally finished drifting by. It suddenly got quieter as the low hum of the transporter faded into the distance. The green unicorn had his eyes closed in thought and then suddenly opened them in realization. He had figured out the solution to his client's problem. It looked like he would be back home today in time for nothing. That thought produced another sigh.

Well he did need to get home to water his one and only plant. Of all the residents of Fillydelphia he might just be the only pony who had one. Speaking of which, he had been seeing less of the fake plants throughout the city. It seemed everypony didn't even care for the aesthetics anymore. In his case, he enjoyed the thought of another living thing needing his existence. Well, of course, that assumed one could consider a plant a living thing. Some ponies didn't.

He moved back to the terminal on the other side of the room and entered some commands to fix the issue. It turned out to be nothing more than a misconfigured node. It was almost comical how a simple mistake could snowball into a bizarre problem. A few more commands and he was done. A few tests showed the issue was resolved and, with that done, he would message the client on the way home. For now he would pack up his equipment and close the blinds.

· · · · ·

Only when he got home did he realize how suffocating that building had been. He was not quite sure whether to call it an office or warehouse because it fit neither description. It was used to store and manage data so maybe it was more like a library. In any case, the mood that hung over that place was dreary.

He went over to collect the watering can in the kitchen so he could water the vine in his backyard. But that is when it all started. There was a knock on the door. He had been hoping to have a moment’s peace but life hardly ever went his way. Still, who would be knocking on his door? There were no deliveries or jobs expected and certainly no friends.

He answered the door to find a sea green colored Earth pony.

"Good afternoon. My name is Lifeline and I'm here to see Synch about tomorrow's trip," the Earth pony introduced himself with a very subtle smile.

The unicorn mentally berated himself for forgetting entirely about tomorrow's job. Somepony was going to be sent over a day in advance to discuss the finer details. This must be him.

"Sorry, I'm Synch...please come in," he was nervous now. Perhaps he was expecting something bad to happen. After all, his earlier thoughts were far from good and might even be called depressive.

Somehow Lifeline seemed to pick up on the mood. He moved over to the cushion in the living quarters and began speaking about the following day.

"It's going to be a lot of work and a long journey. Everypony calls it Equestria just the same but it really looks nothing like Fillydelphia - or even Canterlot," the Earth pony droned on with just a subtle amount of optimism.

Synch was moving to the kitchen to get a drink for his guest, but that fact hardly escaped the Earth pony.

"You don't have to get me anything, though I appreciate the thought. I'd rather you sit and talk with me."

Was there some demand in his voice or was Synch imagining things? The unicorn felt a bit defensive but decided to oblige.

"Is there something urgent - I mean have there been any changes to the plan?"

"Not at all," Lifeline replied. "It's just that you look like you're going to blow up."

"Huh?" That was an odd remark. Was this pony under the impression that he had anger issues?

"Sorry, I don't mean to pry. I just don't want to be inconsiderate. The plans are the same...we need you to setup the data terminals in New Ponyville. It's critical that we monitor the greenhouses."

Synch certainly didn't need to hear that one more time. Equestria had suffered greatly over the past few hundred years from pollution and city development. Optimists would call it a concrete jungle and pessimists would just call it dystopia. Synch preferred not to think of it at all.

This job was just a quick setup operation. Some big shot pony had made some enormous greenhouses for New Ponyville. Either the bigwig had a love of plants or actually gave a hoof for nature. For this reason, Synch was a tad more eager than usual to grab the job even though it required some special travel. Although all inhabited areas of the galaxy were considered Equestria, New Ponyville was not on the same planet as Fillydelphia. The planet that held the new colony was officially called Aquarria, but that name was rarely ever used or heard. Everypony just referred to the colony name and even that was rare to hear. The unicorn's only guess was that the colony was considered a useless pet project. However, he really didn't know much about it or other people's opinions on it.

There were many other colonies and inhabited planets but they all resembled the Equestria that Synch already knew. He still had a bucket load of questions, so he started as he sat on one of the other cushions, "What's so special about growing those plants?"

Lifeline definitely had a smile now, "They're all rare species that are key to fixing up Equestria. Some of them can grow off of the types of pollution that has settled into the ground. Others can survive in the harsh city and some of them just look good. The point is that we finish testing them so that we know how to implement them here. All of Equestria is in bad shape - I don't think many ponies really understand that."

His smile seemed to wilt at that last statement.

"So...how long will it take to get there?"

"Where?" Lifeline's face was blank.

"...Um...New Ponyville..." Synch felt that they hadn't strayed so much from the topic that Lifeline wouldn't know what he was talking about.

"Oh! Sorry," he apologized, "sometimes I just lose track of things. Not good for my profession. Yes, it will probably take a few days to get there. Luckily we will have one the best navigators to see us through. Nebula Swirl will also be piloting us to the off-planet transports. He's never disappointed me - or anyone else for that matter."

There was the Earth pony's smile again.

"Wait. See us through? Does that mean there is something I need to be worried about?"

Lifeline paused before answering, "Well, you're pretty sharp. Maybe a little paranoid too - not that that's a bad thing!" He seemed to try to cover up what might have been an unintended insult. "There are just a few particle clouds we have to go through to reach New Ponyville. They are kind of considered hazards so....my boss got a good navigator. There's nothing to worry about."

Synch was happy that he got to do something exciting but the details were something of a killjoy. Lifeline might have felt an awkward silence coming on because he spoke up again, "We'll be stuck together for a while so I do hope we'll be friends."

"Friends?" That was awfully...forward.

Lifeline held out his right hoof. "Yeah, let's shake on it and have some fun. After all, if life is work then why not enjoy it?"

This pony seemed a tad off in some regards but Synch could not deny the irony of what was just said. He had just been thinking earlier about "friendship is dead" and here was this pony asking to be friends. He had no reason to say no and, even if he did, what would that change? Nothing probably.

They shook and Lifeline suddenly noticed Synch's coat.

"Nice color! I used to wish my color was darker like that," the Earth pony beamed.

Synch suddenly felt very self-conscious but had no idea how to respond beyond a blank expression.

"I'm trying to think if there's something I needed to mention," Lifeline filled the silence.

"All I'll be doing is some terminal work when we hit the colony so I don't really have anything else I need to ask," Synch offered up.

The other pony nodded.

"Well...same here. Of course I'll be working more with plants rather than terminals. And speaking of plants, you have one?"

Synch's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think that?"

"The watering can."

The deep green unicorn whipped his gaze toward the kitchen where the watering can was clearly visible.

"Oh."

"It's nice to know that somepony wants a bit of greenery. Since I was in New Ponyville just a few days ago, I couldn't help but miss the fresh air, green backdrops, and sound of wildlife. It's amazing what the ponies can do there with the animals. Some of them have their cutie marks just for that."

Lifeline seemed to notice his mistake as soon as he mentioned the cutie marks. It was not an unusual problem and was actually commonplace all throughout modern Equestria. Few ponies ever got a cutie mark. Needless to say, Synch's flank was still blank.

"Sorr-"

"Don't be," Synch interrupted. "It doesn't bother me. You just want to be careful with other ponies. Some of them can get really touchy about it. It's like a recipe for random disaster."

"I know. Honestly, I try to be sensitive about it, especially since I have my own," he looked over to his flank where a red mark rested. It looked like the spiky line from an electrocardiograph.

"What does it mean?" Synch couldn't help his curiosity.

"Uh..." he paused again awkwardly, "it means that my special talent is keeping plants alive. That's why I'm a member of this New Ponyville project."

The unicorn sighed and Lifeline thought to ask, "Did I upset you?"

Synch sighed again and replied, "No, it's just that you seem very concerned about what it is you say. I don't need anypony to filter their every word. If you have something to say then just say it."

That last statement might have had too much irritation in it because Lifeline didn't say anything for an entire minute. The silence was deafening.

"I just noticed that everypony is so detached," the Earth pony started.

"What?" That was a rather confusing and sudden line of thought.

"Things are done...differently in New Ponyville. I noticed that a lot of ponies here are...well I want to say independent but that's not the right word. They just aren't involved much with each other - they're detached."

"Yeah, so?" He didn't intend to be sharp but there was something that was getting to him. He didn't realize it directly but Lifeline was hitting the exact point that Synch had been moping about earlier.

"I just don't want to be offensive or insulting or anything like that because I want to be on good terms," his gaze was straight forward now.

Synch opened his mouth but no words came out. What was he supposed to say to that? That Lifeline was being too self-conscious? No. He knew all too well that being self-conscious was a result of the over-analysis and cheap judgments of others that got thrown at him. He had lived practically his entire life experiencing it so he didn't have to think hard, or really think at all, to know why Lifeline was being so careful and considerate.

Synch just wanted to be accepted and that was something he never truly felt he had been since birth. His blank flank seemed to accuse him of being nothing to everypony. That was the core of his discontent.