Spike in Space

Bellerophon
51 Pegasi system
Right ascension: 22h 57m 28.0s
Declination: +20° 46′ 08″

"I thought you said we were going to wink in behind the planet," Scootaloo said.

Sweetie Belle drank from a bottle of soda, sitting in a thrown-together pile of old blankets and insulation. "We did."

The pegasus grimaced. "Looks like we're in front of the star."

The unicorn shook her head. "No, that's the night side."

"The night side? Why is it glowing?"

"Because the atmosphere is so hot."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

"Systems check," Spike ordered.

Apple Bloom, her Cutie Mark a red apple with a wrench in front of it, sat up. "Ah've shored up everythin' ah could. Ah got all th' power ah can spare into th' heat control, but it says ah'm pickin' up sodium on th' scanners?"

Sweetie Belle answered. "Right, the atmosphere is getting blasted off since the planet's so close to the primary."

"Is there any good news?" Babs asked.

"The sugar-water dispenser is working," Scootaloo said, taking a sip from her mug. She went to refill it but only received a few sputters. "Never mind."

"Sorry, Scoots. Ah needed that off too." The earth pony turned to Rarity's sister. "Are ya sure ya can handle this?"

The unicorn nodded.

Spike handed Sweetie Belle another soda. "Can we go over the plan once more?"

"Fly just above the atmosphere until you get to the terminator. Then I bring up the bubble and we plunge into the sky right before night turns into day."

"Where are we aiming for again?" asked Scootaloo.

"The hot spot on the day side, west of the center, if my hunch is correct."

The pegasus sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Got it." She brought the ship in closer to the atmosphere, which cast dim shadows inside the spacecraft.

"Forty bits says th' number four manifold bites it," Apple Bloom wagered.

"I'll take that bet," replied Babs.

"Ya got that ordnance stowed? Ah'd hate t' blow up in an oven."

"All deactivated and accounted for."

"Be sure to put your best hoof forward when we land," Spike said. "Everypony strapped in?"

Scootaloo didn't reply; she pushed the controls forward and the ship grazed the top of the atmosphere.

"Sweetie Belle?"

The unicorn closed one eye and squinted. A translucent purple sphere appeared around the ship. "Hurry."

Just before the sun would have peeked out from over the limb of the planet, they dipped into the boiling clouds. The ship rocked and listed under the protest of the shockwave the bubble produced against the atmospheric gases. Instantly, alarms began screaming; dozens of lights and buttons flickered red and white, and the main cabin lights failed. Even through the protective bubble Sweetie Belle produced around the craft, the Windigo-like howls of the supersonic winds jockeyed for priority among the warning sirens blaring on the flight deck. A deep red sky gave way to smoky black clouds below, visibly tracking against the lower atmosphere even from the perspective of a ship at speed. A sliver of the star began to creep over the horizon, looming massively above the planet below.

"The sun's coming up!" Scootaloo shouted.

"Keep going!" grunted Sweetie Belle.

The ship screamed forward into the day side of the planet, rocking and swaying in the powerful rivers of air. Scootaloo activated the sunshade; the windshield instantly turned dark.

"There's too much noise on the display!" Scootaloo shouted. The navigation hologram was indeed useless; static permeated through the field of view, already confounded by density contrasts and swiftly-moving air streams that tricked the scanners into displaying near-opacity. "I can't see where I'm going!"

"On it!" Apple Bloom responded, twisting dials and flicking switches at her station. The sound of squealing metal reverberated through the cabin as she did; she glanced upwards at the unhappy status signals. "Ya owe me forty bits, Babs!"

"What's our speed?" Spike demanded.

Scootaloo looked at the indicator. "Not fast enough!"

"Guys…hurry…" Sweetie Belle pleaded.

The spacecraft lurched and a volley of sparks erupted from a junction box. "She can take it!" Apple Bloom screamed.

A zone of calm appeared to the extremes of the detection range. "Dead ahead!" shouted Scootaloo. "Looks like you were right! Do we still have inertial control?"

"Barely!"

The pegasus kicked the engines into higher output; since they were already fighting the wind, she figured they might as well throw caution to it. "Hang on to your horseshoes!" she yelled. Her wings fluttered as she jammed the stick forward, gritting her teeth.

Rainbow Dash stirred, lying on one of the spongy, smoky clouds. Some empty bottles lay scattered around her slumbering figure; farther off was a roughshod cloud-hut that she only slept in half the time. "No," she whispered, the paralysis of sleep muddying her voice. "Don't leave me. Please don't turn your backs on me."

The sonic rush of rocket engines fighting to stop a multi-ton mass did not wake her, nor did the shadow passing over her face. She rolled over on the cloud under the yellow-red sky and half-sighed, breathing out and drifting back into deeper slumber.

Some minutes later she woke, though her eyes remained closed. She felt something near, something distantly familiar. It took a few seconds for it to register that something was blocking the light from the nearby star. Opening her eyes halfway, she found herself staring at an orange pegasus with a purple mane. A surge of adrenaline provided the rush to wake her up fully. "You!" she growled.

"Hiya, Rainbow Dash!" said Scootaloo, smiling a bit too wide.

Rainbow Dash bolted up to all fours, jabbing a hoof at the mare she had known as a filly a lifetime ago. "Not you. Tell me I drank too much and I'm seeing things again."

Scootaloo dropped her posture slightly. "No, I'm real."

"How—this planet is huge! How did you know where to look?"

"Sweetie Belle figured you'd punish yourself by going for the hottest place you could."

The blue pegasus' jaw dropped for a split second, but then her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

Scootaloo looked down at the ground and dug her hoof in. "We, uh, need your help."

Dash snorted. "From a traitor? And who's 'we', anyway?"

"The hearing cleared you of all charges!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "The inquest. Lesson number…" She searched for the correct value. "Number whatever: Don't believe everything you hear."

"Just because you didn't die with the rest of the Wonderbolts doesn't mean you're not a hero!" Scootaloo countered.

"Listen, kid," Rainbow Dash said, heading back into the crude cloud-house, "I ended up half a light-day away from Cloudsdale all by myself with the rest of my squad dead. I'm not showing my face in Equestria ever again. I don't deserve the luxury. So why don't you and the rest of 'we' head back where you came from and never barge in here again." She paused. "You never said who 'we' was, anyway."

Scootaloo blinked and inhaled. "Spike, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Babs, and me."

Rainbow Dash laughed. "The whole gang, I see. Plus Spike," she added, as an afterthought. "Hopping between the stars, wasting your time on pointless missions."

"We're looking for Rarity."

The blue pegasus blinked, her face falling in sudden concern. "Rarity?" she repeated.

"She went missing."

"Missing?"

"OK, are you just gonna repeat everything I say or are you gonna help us or not?"

"How long?"

"Since not too long after you left."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "How long ago was that?" she asked, slowly. She scratched at her mane. "I've kind of lost track of time here."

"Ten years."

"Ten years?" Dash asked, incredulous. A scowl broke across her face. "Why didn't anypony tell me?!"

"You didn't want to be found."

"Exactly. And yet you're here now."

"In case you haven't noticed, you're living in a magical bubble floating in a gas giant the temperature of lava. Believe me, we only came here because you're our last resort. We need your help."

"My help?"

Scootaloo swallowed. "We think we found something big, but it leads us to Granite."

"So why don't you just go there and find out whatever it is you want to find out?"

"There's a blockade. Nopony in our out unless they're on official business."

"And you need me why?" asked Rainbow Dash.

The orange pegasus paused a moment, trying to find the right wording. "You were never stripped of your title and rank. Officially, you're still a Sky Marshall and a Wonderbolt. You could get us in."

The Wonderbolt scowled. "The Wonderbolts," she spat. "That was a long time ago and something I was never worthy of."

"Why are you beating yourself up like this?"

"Because loyalty is a standard to live up to, and I, the Element of Loyalty, the symbol of what that means…I failed."

Scootaloo poked her face into Rainbow Dash's. "So even if literally nopony else believes you betrayed Equestria, you still do? Lesson number whatever plus one: Maybe you should stop listening to yourself, if you want to start not believing everything you hear!"

"It—I—you—ugh!" Rainbow Dash stammered.

Scootaloo gestured wildly with her front hooves, her wings unfurling for emphasis. "You're talking about loyalty? What about being loyal to Rarity, huh? What happened to the Elements of Harmony? Last I checked it took six to make a complete set."

"What do you know?" growled the Wonderbolt.

"That Rarity is out there somewhere and could use some loyalty right about now!"

Rainbow Dash started, pulling herself physically back from the other pegasus. Her mouth opened, then closed.

"Come on! Stop hiding and stand with your friends!"

The azure pegasus gazed down at her hooves, pawing at the ground. She drooped her head even further, but when she brought it back up, Scootaloo could see she held her head high in determination, albeit a reluctant determination. "Maybe you're right after all, kid," she said. "I'll go."