Destiny Beyond the Stars

Chapters

1 The Journey Begins
2 Compound Surprises
3 Who Are You?

1 The Journey Begins

Light poured over the edge of the planet below, signaling the beginning of a new day as dawn crested the curvature of Equis. Yet as the light of her chosen star stretched over the land below, something glistened in the morning light, high above the surface of the planet and connected to the ground via an expansive coupling system. Spacecraft flew in and out of the gargantuan structure, its roughly hemispherical shape allowing for the maximum number of ships to dock and depart as needed. This, was the Equestria Spaceport, hailed as the most cutting-edge harbor for spacecraft in the Harmony system. It could service any craft ranging in size from the smallest scout to the grand flagships of the various nations' fleets. Yet far below this hulking marvel, at the base of the massive space elevator, lay the ground complex that allowed the species of Equis access to the orbiting platform. In a locker room, contained within one of the more restricted sections of the complex, was a young earth pony mare, dressing herself for her first mission as a fully certified Chief Engineer.

Applebloom was a very attractive mare for her age, with her bright red mane tied up with her signature pink bow and her tail tied in a simple braid for ease of comfort. Her bright amber eyes were known to draw the attention of many stallions, and her pale-yellow coat nearly glowed under the overhead lights. Of course, her shield-shaped cutie mark was on proud display, although it was being rapidly covered as she pulled her dark blue jumpsuit up and over her flanks. A grunt and hiss of frustration could be heard every other second as she struggled to pull the skin-tight material over her body, although she managed to get it on mostly in the right order as she pulled the zipper closed along her spine.

Finally, with a snort of contempt, she turned to face the open locker before her to pull out her saddlebags and the other necessities she would be needing for the journey ahead. Last but most certainly not least, she pulled out the golden locket that her sister Applejack had given her the previous year for Hearth's Warming. She smiled to herself as she flipped it open with a hoof, taking a moment to look at the extended family photo that graced the inside.

"Ah did it sis," she said to herself, tracing a hoof over the image before closing the locket, "Ah finally made it to space."�

It had been a long-time dream of Applebloom's to go for adventures in space, although now that she finally had the chance to do so, and as one of the three crewmembers for the newest ship in the Equestrian fleet no less, she was starting to wonder if this was all some long and elaborate dream that her mind had concocted during a coma or some such thing.

Lifting up a foreleg to her face, she pinched a small section of her flesh between her teeth, digging in just enough for it to hurt. She pulled back and lowered her leg with a smile on her face, "Nope, Ah'm not dreaming. This is really happenin'."�

"What's really happening?" A vaguely familiar voice asked from behind her.

Applebloom turned around and felt her jaw drop as she spotted her companion, the other mare's eyes widening in shock as her own jaw hung low.

"Sweetie Bell, is that really you?" Applebloom finally managed to say after a couple seconds.

The white unicorn smiled widely, letting out a high-pitch squeal as she leaped over the bench between them and tackled Applebloom in a massive hug. "Applebloom! I haven't seen you in years!" She pulled back enough to look the earth pony in the eyes, "How have things been working on ships?"

Applebloom shrugged, although it did nothing to diminish her smile as she looked her friend up and down. Sweetie Bell had certainly grown into her looks over the years. She hadn't seen her fellow Crusader since she had moved to Canterlot to get her degree in medicine. In that time, her two-tone pink mane had grown down to hang over her shoulders, bouncing with the curl that had always seemed to be there whether she liked it or not. Her pale green eyes had darkened into a near emerald hue, and sparkled with excitement as she inspected Applebloom in turn. Just like the earth pony, Sweetie's shield cutie mark was on proud display, marking her forever and for always as one of Applebloom's closest friends.

"You look great Sweetie Bell,"� Applebloom said as she pulled away fully and stood at her full height, "did you finally get your degree in medicine like you wanted?"

Sweetie's nod was the only answer she needed, "You can call me Doctor Sweetie Bell now, although I also managed to minor in Thaumatic Diagnostics because of all the magic classes I had to take. That's probably why they chose me to be the new ship's medical officer."

Applebloom paused a moment as Sweetie's words sunk in, "Wait, are you tellin' me that yer going to be part of the crew for that brand-new ship they just built?"

Sweetie nodded again, her face shifting to slight confusion as she met Applebloom's gaze, "Yeah, they chose me because I could take care of any medical issues during the mission while also working over any of the magical systems if they need repair. Although I can't really do all that much if something really breaks, I think that would probably be left to the CE anyway."

"But Ah'm the Chief Engineer for that ship!" Applebloom cried as her face lit up with another wide grin, "Do you know that that means?"

Sweetie opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as a raspy voice echoed through the room, "The Cutie Mark Crusaders are together again at last!"

Both mares turned towards the doorway, their mouths hanging open as they spotted the orange pegasus mare in the opening. Her ragged purple mane hung over one bright violet eye, only to get blown out of the way with a puff of air from her mouth. Scootaloo grinned as she walked into the locker room, bouncing her gaze from one mare to the other as a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

"You guys should see your faces right now,"� She managed to force out between giggles, "you look like somepony just switched your shampoo with mayonnaise and you just got a look at yourself in the mirror."�

"Scootaloo!" Applebloom and Sweetie cried as they tackled the sunset pegasus. They collapsed into a fit of giggles as the pony pile tumbled and rolled for a few lengths into the hallway, leaving their belongings in a heap back in the locker room.

Scootaloo grunted as the combined weight of the other mares settled on her chest, "Hey, I'm glad to see you guys as well, but do you have to crush me to get the message across?"

Applebloom blushed and forced herself off of her friends, Sweetie following close behind as the trio stood up and pulled themselves into a more tame hug. "Ah'm sorry Scootaloo, we're just so excited to see you after all these years. "How's it been flying cargo ships between planets?"

Scootaloo grinned as she flared her wings, "Nopony gets things to their destination faster than the Crusader's Cruiser. I've been flying so many circles around the competition that the higher ups practically begged me to be the pilot for their new ship." She paused as she seemed to come to a realization, "Wait a minute, all three of us are part of the crew, and as far as I know the ship only needs three ponies to fly." She gasped as she bounced from one hoof to another, "That means we get to pilot the new ship all on our own and get to explore new worlds without anypony to cramp our style! This is going to be the best thing ever!"

Sweetie smiled as she turned and entered the locker room once more, "Well if we don't get suited up we'll never get to fly our new ship. "Come on Scootaloo, we need to get ready before we head up the elevator."

The pegasus nodded as she walked past Applebloom, giving the earth pony a wink with one eye as she ran her tail under Applebloom's chin, "A few years certainly did wonders for your looks A.B. You look great in that skin-tight suit."�

Applebloom's cheeks flushed a bright red as Scootaloo followed Sweetie into the locker room, her legs frozen in place as her mind struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

Did Scootaloo just, flirt with me? She thought to herself. A quick shake of her head cleared those thoughts from her mind, "Naw, she's just joshin' with me. Ah've known Scoots for years and she's never come across as a fillyfooler. Ah'm just taking her jokes too seriously."

With that matter settled in her mind, Applebloom walked back into the locker room as Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo finished pulling the zippers closed on their own jumpsuits. Sweetie Bell's suit was a bright green with red crosses posted over her flanks, marking her as the medical officer of the crew. Scootaloo's suit was colored a bright red with gold trim around the collar, marking her as the pilot as well as the commander in charge of the crew, what little crew there was.

"Ya'll ready to make history?" Applebloom asked as the trio walked out the opposite side of the locker room and into the main hub for the space elevator.

"You bet." Sweetie said as they walked up to the kiosk to call their ride.

Scootaloo swiped her I.D. and waited for a moment for the machine to register her qualifications. With a chime and a buzz, the kiosk spat out three tickets marked with their departure time and the dock number of their ship. An elevator pod large enough to hold ten ponies slid down the expansive number of chutes and pipes that held the elevator in place, coming to a stop in front of the trio with a mild hiss. The steel and glass compartment slid open and allowed the mares to enter its confines, closing them in with another hiss as the airtight seal locked in place. Without any warning, the pod began a rapid ascent of the elevator shaft, quickly leaving the ground and the landward complex behind. The ride took several minutes as the pod rocketed into orbit, ripping past other pods of various sizes and shapes as they moved up and down the shaft around them.

Applebloom gasped as they reached the edge of the atmosphere, causing the vast expanse of space to shine around them as millions of stars came into view. The light of Harmony Prime, the system's star, was nearly bright enough to blind the mares as the reflections of the metal refracted around them. However, the glass quickly reacted to the bright light and darkened, leaving the light levels at a less blinding intensity as the trio opened their eyes once again.

"Wow," Sweetie said as she gazed out the windows with wide eyes, "I never thought space could be so, beautiful."�

"Eh, you get used to it after a while," Scootaloo said nonchalantly, although she did nothing to hide her grin as she watched her friends react to their first trip off world.

Applebloom looked up and saw the massive structure of the space port coming into view, it's hulking form rapidly approaching as the elevator began to decelerate. They passed through the base of the complex and came to a stop in the central hub, leaving them with slightly wobbly legs as they adjusted to the slightly weaker gravity. The doors of the pod opened and the mares walked out and into the port proper, making sure that their saddlebags were secure after the ride up before glancing around at the various shops that lined the walls on every side. Diners sat next door to small shops of this and that wherever Applebloom looked, leaving her feeling a bit overwhelmed as masses of ponies and other creatures walked by. Minotaurs carried large loads over their shoulder while gryphons flew along the corridors, the masses of ponies and zebras turning the port into a kaleidoscope of color and movement that made the mare's head spin.

A quick tap on her shoulder brought Applebloom back to her senses, her head turning to face Sweetie Bell as the alabaster mare retracted her hoof, "Come on Applebloom, we got to get to the ship before our scheduled departure time, or we'll have to answer to the princesses about why we were late."�

That got Applebloom's motor running, "Well what're we waitin' fer? We need to get a move on."�

Scootaloo laughed as she flew to keep up with the now sprinting duo, "Woah, hold on there, don't leave me behind. I know you want to be on time and all that, but you're not going anywhere without me to fly the darn thing."�

The pegasus yelped as her body was enveloped in a pale green glow, her body being jerked along at a faster pace as Sweetie's magic pulled her behind them.

"Hey!" Scootaloo yelled as she struggled to break free, "I can fly on my own thank you very much."

"No time to argue,"� Sweetie countered as they slid around a corner and into the more restricted parts of the port, barely slowing down to toss their tickets at the guard pony who stood watch over the gate that led to the private launch pads, "we've got exactly five minutes to get to the dock before we're late."�

Scootaloo let out a huff of frustration but remained silent as she was carried along behind the other two. Finally, after galloping for several minutes, the trio ended up skidding to a halt outside gate B-52, their destination and the gateway to their new ship.

Standing before the doorway was a quartet of alicorns, each varied in size and coloration to be instantly recognizable even at a distance. The tallest, standing nearly twice the height of the three mares, was Princess Celestia, ruler of the day and the eldest of the royals. Her multi-color mane and tail flowed in an ethereal wind while her alabaster coat shined in the overhead lights. Her magenta eyes radiated warmth and kindness as she gazed upon the Crusaders, although a slight curve could be seen on her lips as the panting trio came to a halt. Her golden regalia were polished to perfection, the metal shining almost as bright as her body as she stood before the three mares. Standing directly to her left was Princess Luna, ruler of the night and Celestia's younger sister. Her starry mane and tail also flowed in an invisible breeze, though her expression was more distant and calm as compared to her sister. Her midnight blue coat was covered slightly by her obsidian regalia, which sparkled like moon dust as she shifted in place slightly.

Directly to Luna's left was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, better known as Princess Cadence to her friends and family. The alicorn was pink in every sense of the word, with a lighter coat to contrast the darker shades of her long, curly mane and tail. The Princess of Love was covering her mouth with a hoof as she stifled what had to be giggles as Sweetie lowered Scootaloo to the ground, although it did nothing to hide the fact that she was practically beaming with joy at the prospect of their voyage. Last but certainly not least was Princess Twilight, standing on Celestia's right with a slight frown on her muzzle. The purple mare was checking a pocket watch that floated in her magenta magic as she glanced at a checklist hovering at her side. Apparently Applebloom and the others had made it on time, because the youngest princess did nothing more than nod to them as the watch and checklist disappeared with a pop of magic.

"Welcome you three,"� Celestia said with a full smile as she lowered her head to their level, "it fills me with joy to see my subjects so excited to undertake such a momentous journey in the name of science and exploration. I understand that you are already well acquainted with one another?"

Sweetie nodded, "That's right, princess. We've known each other since we were fillies." She pulled Applebloom and Scootaloo into a group hug as she smiled up at the elder alicorn, "We couldn't be happier to be working on this mission together."

"Yeah,"� Applebloom agreed as she extracted herself from the hug, "we haven't seen each other fer a couple years now, but to be goin' on this mission as a team once again after being apart for so long," she inhaled and let out a gusty sigh, "it's like we get to go on adventures as the Cutie Mark Crusaders all over again. The best part is that this time we get to do somethin' that nopony has ever done before!"

Celestia nodded, "Indeed, you will be undertaking a challenge that has been faced by no other. We are truly in your debt for being so brave in the face of the unknown." In a move that shocked everypony present, Celestia bowed her head to the trio and graced them with a full smile, "I look forward to the day you can return to us and regale the masses with tales of your adventures."

Princess Twilight cleared her throat, gathering the attention of those present, "Not to interrupt you, but we are running on a schedule, and I think the crew would like to look over their new ship before they are scheduled to depart."�

Celestia nodded her agreement, "Quite right, we have much to do and so little time to do it. Come,"� she turned to face the doorway that would lead to the launch platform, "let us be on our way."

The princesses walked up to the doorway, the masses of metal sliding open by themselves as the quartet entered through the opening. Applebloom and the others followed them into the corridor, hearing the slabs of steel close behind them with a hiss of compressed air. A single line of lights illuminated the metal walls and floor as the group came up to yet another doorway, this one much larger and fit with several interlacing magic seals.

Celestia turned her head to look at the Crusaders, "Beyond this door, lies the pinnacle of pony engineering. Your craft is the most advanced ship ever designed, and I am proud to present it to you on this momentous day."

As Celestia turned around, all four alicorns ignited their horns, casting beams of raw magic into four colored slots in the center seal. The complete array began to glow from the combined magics being shoved into it and then let out a blinding flash that caused Applebloom to cover her eyes. As she lowered her hoof to the floor once more, she couldn't help but let out a gasp at what she saw. She almost missed the grins plastered on the royals' faces as the trio of mares walked past them and into the hangar proper.

"I present," Princess Luna said with her usual dignified grace, "the ESF Midnight Song. Your new ship."

Applebloom could hardly believe her eyes. Resting on several support struts, was the most beautiful ship she had ever seen. It was painted a brilliant silver color, with red lines running down its length along the sides and as decals around the engine ports. The whole thing had to be twenty or thirty times her own body length and at least ten times taller. The body was more or less arrow-shaped, with large tail fins popping out at an angle over the rear to act as stabilizers while in atmosphere. Two huge rings of glowing blue energy were contained in the aft sections of the wings, while rotating thrusters were affixed on the outer edges for fine maneuvering and vertical takeoff. All and all the whole thing was a true sight to behold, and it took Applebloom several seconds to realize that Princess Cadence had been addressing her and her fellow Crusaders.

Applebloom turned to face the pink alicorn with a bashful smile, "Sorry yer highness, Ah wasn't payin' attention. What was it ya said?"

Cadence simply shook her head, "It wasn't anything important. I was simply making a comment about how thrilled you looked at seeing your new ship."

"Are you kidding?" Scootaloo cried as she buzzed her wings in excitement, "This is the greatest thing ever!"�

Princess Twilight smiled as she stepped past the trio, "Would you like to see inside? We still have some time before your departure, so I would like to see your impressions of the ship's interior."

"You were one of the ponies in charge of designing the ship, weren't you princess?" Sweetie asked as they approached the Midnight Song, "I heard you were the one who came up with the spells that run the engine."

Twilight blushed under the praise, "Well, I had a lot of help, but yes, the Magic-Inducted Hyperspace Drive was my creation. I call it the MIHD for short so ponies don't have to deal with such a mouthful of a name."�

Sweetie chuckled, "I can see why. Oh, I'm so excited I can hardly stand it."

Princess Luna smiled as she punched in a series of numbers on the keypad next to the ship's airlock, "Well then let us begin the tour. We have much to see and little time to see it. Come, your ship waits for nopony."�

The seven ponies walked into the airlock, feeling the slight shift in air as the doors locked behind them and the second set opened in front. The first thing they were greeted with was what seemed to be a large storage space, filled with boxes of equipment and non-perishable food items. Cans and bags of this and that could be seen in every direction, except for the corridor that led straight down the middle of the room and toward another set of doors. Other than the numerous boxes, there wasn't much to see in the room other than the dull grey walls and the yellow markings on the floor.

Applebloom followed the group as they walked across the space and through the exit, leading them to another room that seemed to be half kitchen and half dining room. The space was covered in astatically pleasing light blue paint that marked the walls and ceiling, while the floor was covered in alternating tan and dark blue tiles that would make cleanup easy. A bar split the room down the middle, partitioning the cooking space from the eating space and sporting a trio of seats that were affixed to the floor with rather heavy-looking bolts. So too was the large table secured to the floor, along with the four chairs that resided around its four sides.

"Wow,"� Sweetie gasped as she ran into the kitchen and began rummaging through the magnetic drawers and cabinets, "this has to be better than the kitchen at Sugarcube Corner. Look at all these crazy machines."

Celestia chuckled as Applebloom followed her friend into the kitchen, while Scootaloo sat down at the table to get a feel for the comfort of the chairs. "Indeed, most of the inventions in this ship are the latest and greatest our scientific minds have come up with in the last couple years. Nothing in our entire fleet is more technologically advanced than the ship you currently stand in."

"Even our own flagship, the Rising Dawn, does not have such luxuries." Princess Luna added with a smile, "Thou should count thyselves lucky to have such advancements afforded to thee."

Cadence elbowed Luna in the side, "You slipped into Old Equish again, auntie."�

Princes Luna seemed to realize her blunder and facehoofed with a grumble, "Curse my tongue and call me inept. Why must my mind continue to supply words that no longer have meaning in this day and age?"

"Now, now you needn't worry yourself too much dear sister,"� Celestia said calmly as she rested a wing over Luna's back, "You're still getting used to modern patterns of speech, so it's only natural for you to slip every once and a while."

Luna grumbled something else unintelligible but made no further comment on the subject. She cleared her throat as Sweetie finished her inspection of the kitchen, "Yes, well, shall we be off? There is still the bridge and personal quarters to see, and we have little time to waste."

"Although," Princess Twilight said as she held a hoof to her chin, "come to think of it, aren't we the ones who control when and how the Midnight Song departs?"

Cadence laughed as she held a hoof to her face, "Oh my, I completely forgot. Here we were running about like chickens in a fox den, and we had no reason to worry about anything at all. Oh, that's rich."�

Luna rolled her eyes, "Yes, well, if we cannot be punctual with our own deadlines, how can we expect our subjects to do any better?"

Celestia nodded, "Quite right sister mine. Come, let us be off."�

Applebloom fell in step next to Twilight while Sweetie and Scootaloo flanked Princess Cadence. Celestia and Luna led the way through a side door, coming into a short corridor that was partitioned on each side by four doorways. On the wall, next to each door were keypads that would lock or unlock the openings, although when Applebloom thought about it, she couldn't figure out why there were four doors if there were only three crew members. She assumed that each door led to a bunkroom or some such, but for the life of her she couldn't wrap her head around the purpose of the last room.

Twilight must have seen the confusion on her face, because she pushed a button on the far right door's keypad and stepped aside as the door slid open. Inside was a fully stocked bathroom, complete with a shower and tub combination as well as a toilet and sink.

Applebloom facehoofed at the rather blatant blunder in her thinking, although Twilight was nice enough not to bring it up around the others as they continued to the far end of the hallway. There, they passed through yet another set of doors, and found themselves in what could only have been the bridge. The space was much wider than the rest of the ship had been, rivaling the cargo bay for raw hoofage as the group spread out to take it all in.

The entire room seemed to have been designed with a crew of three in mind, because there were only three stations for a pony to sit at during flight. The first was perfectly centered on the large, panoramic windows that allowed the crew to see where they were going, while the other two seats were situated behind and to the left and right of the pilot's chair. Each seat was accompanied by what looked like control panels, although they were unlike anything Applebloom had seen before. Instead of being in a smooth arc in front of the chairs, the control surfaces wrapped all the way around the secondary stations to form rings of buttons and levers. A foldable section at the rear of each ring allowed the crew to move in and out of their assigned positions with relative ease, while still maintaining a complete circuit during use. Only the pilot's controls were limited to the forward portion of the bridge, for obvious reasons, although they still formed a perfect half circle in front of the chair, leaving the sides open with just enough room for the joysticks that controlled the ship's flight.

Applebloom felt the breeze ruffle her mane as Scootaloo buzzed past her and took a seat at the pilot's station, "This is so cool! I can't wait to take this baby through her paces."

"Take it easy for the first part of the journey," Princess Twilight said with a knowing smirk, "give yourself some time to familiarize yourself with the controls and flight characteristics of the ship before you get too crazy." She cast a glance over her shoulder at Applebloom and Sweetie Bell, "I'm sure your fellow crewmates will appreciate it."�

Scootaloo had the pretense to look abashed for her overenthusiasm, although her ears only folded for a second or two before springing back to attention, "Does that mean this thing can do crazy maneuvers and other stuff once I get used to the controls?"

Applebloom rolled her eyes, Ya'll try anything like that and Sweetie will throw yer flank in the cargo bay for a week, if I don't buck some sense into yer thick skull first."�

Scootaloo scowled at the earth pony, but quickly relented as Princess Cadence and Twilight shared a chuckle at her expression, "Yeah well, I wasn't going to do too much anyway, don't want to make the other pilots jealous, right?"�

The Crusaders shared a laugh as the princesses formed up next to the door, "We'll let you get settled in." Princess Celestia said with her usual grace, "Just remember, your departure time is scheduled for the top of the next hour. Be sure to be on time for the send-off the fleet captains are preparing for you.�

All three mares saluted, "Yes Ma'am!"

Celestia nodded, leading her fellow princesses out the door and back towards the launch bay. This left the Crusaders all on their own as they began going over the systems of their new ship.

"Wow!" Sweetie cooed as she took a seat at the left station, "This ship is amazing. Look at all this high-tech stuff." She gasped as the controls lit up, even igniting a holographic display in front of her and on either side at head height, "I never knew this kind of stuff could be integrated into a console like this."

Applebloom walked over and took a seat in her own chair, taking a moment to look overt the controls for herself, "Yeah, it's one thing to build a ship, but a whole 'nother thing to see the finished product as its crew."

Applebloom took a second to run her hoof over the holographic displays, watching in rapt wonder as the controls responded to her every move like it was a part of her. For a moment she closed her eyes, and could almost feel the ship responding to her commands, even though the main reactor had yet to be ignited. As the thought crossed her mind, Applebloom opened her eyes and looked over the controls, hoping to see the one switch she hoped to find. Sure enough, resting along the right side of her station, was a large lever with a bold label spelled out in bright yellow lettering.

MAIN REACTOR POWER TOGGLE

Below the lever was a screen that had lit up along with the rest of her controls, showing another string of words that indicated the core's status,

MAIN POWER: 0%

REACTOR STATUS: Offline

RESERVE POWER: 97%

Applebloom glanced over the rest of her controls, spotting the reactor arming button a few hooves to the left of the main power controls. She turned to look at her crewmates, with a grin, "Think it's 'bout time to wake this baby up?"�

Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo shared a glance before nodding, "Let's light this party up." Scootaloo said as she turned to take the helm, "Let's do this like a real crew should. Chief Engineer Applebloom, is the reactor armed for ignition?"

Applebloom smiled, feeling a thrill of adrenaline run through her body as she pressed the arming button. Another light caught her attention as the screen below the power controls changed from 'Offline' to 'Armed'. "Reactor is armed and ready for ignition, captain."

Scootaloo nodded, "Ignite reactor on my mark, three, two, one, mark!"

Applebloom pressed the control lever forward a notch, feeling the hum of the reactor start up smoothly as the power levels began to rise. They worked up a percent at a time before holding at fifteen percent, "Reactor ignited and holding at fifteen percent power." She turned to look at Scootaloo, "She's purrin' like a kitten Scootaloo. Should we take her up to full?"

Scootaloo turned to face Sweetie Bell, who was going over her own controls with a look of complete concentration, "How are the systems looking Sweetie Bell?"

"Everything seems to be working at full strength,"� she said without looking up, "our engines are a little cold but that won't take long to fix. Other than that, everything is in perfect order. I recommend only taking the ship to half power until the engines get used to the change in temperature."

Scootaloo nodded before turning back to Applebloom, "You heard her, half power until further notice. Go ahead and cycle up the engines."

"Reactor to half power,"� Applebloom echoed as she shifted the controls up another three notches.

The hum of the reactor grew in volume before leveling out at about speaking volume, although the power gage continued to rise until it stalled at fifty-three percent.

"Reactor holding at half power." With a flip of several other switches, the hum of the reactor shifted in tone as the power was directed into the aft engines, "Engines one through four are receiving power and are ready to go. Thrusters are all in the green and our gravity spell is functioning properly." She turned to face Scootaloo with a grin, "She's ready to go, captain."

Scootaloo nodded, turning to face the front as her hooves gripped the control sticks, "Then let's get this party rolling."

Just as Scootaloo was pressing the controls forward, she paused and performed a spectacular facehoof, "Wait a minute! What in Tartarus was I thinking? We can't start our newest adventure without the appropriate theme song!"

Sweetie glanced over at Applebloom, who shrugged in response, "What in tarnation are you goin' on about Scootaloo?"�

"Oh come on, you don't think our first real mission as the reunited Cutie Mark Crusaders doesn't warrant something special?" The brash pegasus rolled her eyes, "Besides, you should know this one, you wrote it with Sweetie Bell after we all got our cutie marks. Not to mention that hot gryphon you chose to go on tour with once you hit it big."

Applebloom smacked herself with a hoof, "Don't tell me you actually bought an album from my short-lived career as a singer."

"Yep,"� was the reply, "I even got a memory crystal so I wouldn't have to lug around a record all the time if I wanted to listen to it." She pulled out a large purple gem, cut in the shape of a disk and slid it into a previously invisible slot on her console. "Just listen and you'll see why this is the perfect number for the start of our newest adventure."

As the music began playing, both Sweetie Bell and Applebloom's eyes widened in recognition. "Ah remember this one. It was mah only number one hit." Applebloom smiled as the memories started to come back, "Ah can still remember singing in front of crowds with Black and having such a fun time." She turned to face Scootaloo, noting the expectant grin on the pegasus' face, "Alright, you convinced me. But remember that this is a serious mission. No singing along and forgetting the fly the ship, alright?"�

Scootaloo fluffed her wings in mock indignation, "I'll have you know I only did that once while I was practicing for my pilot's exam. I've never let myself get lost in the moment when it counted."�

Applebloom let it slide and turned to face Sweetie, "How we looking on our power systems? Are we still holding steady?"�

Sweetie nodded, "Shield generators and the main cannon are fully functional and ready to go." She shifted her gaze to another readout before continuing, "Life support at full power and holding steady." She turned to face Scootaloo, "All systems go, captain. We are ready to depart."

"Then let's go." Scootaloo pressed the release on her console, and there was a series of thumps as the support arms disconnected from the Midnight Song's hull. The main engines grew from a dull hum to a throatier roar as the ship began flying under its own power for the very first time.

Scootaloo carefully directed the ship past the other docking stations and into open space, turning the ship until it was facing completely away from Harmony Prime. Spread out before them was the majority of the Equestrian Space Fleet, led by the Royal Flagship herself, the ESF Rising Dawn. Princess Celestia and the other royals would be watching from the bridge of the massive gold and silver vessel, along with the majority of the space fleet high command. Further out and on their opposite side, lay the Minotaur Navy, led by the monstrous grey behemoth known as the MHC Goliath. Finally, hovering above them in a cluster, were the gryphon ships. Led by the impressive form of the HMS Eagle's Shadow, all three ponies were momentary lost in awe at the sheer number of creatures come to see them off.

A chime echoed through the bridge, and Scootaloo turned down the music as she opened the communications channel, "This is the ESF Midnight Song, what can we do for you?"�

"It is wonderful to see the ship is performing well,"� Celestia's voice came over the speakers with only minimal static, "you've arrived just in time for us to see you off. The Minotaur were hoping to give you a twenty-one-gun salute, but I managed to convince them to hold off until you get back from your journey. Do you remember what your mission is?"

The trio nodded, even though they knew Celestia couldn't see them, "We remember, princess." Applebloom replied, "We're headed for the Fetlock System after workin' our way around the Clover Nebula. Once we get there we're supposed to investigate a possibly habitable world and then report back what we find." She glanced at Sweetie Bell, "Did Ah forget anything?"

Sweetie shook her head, "Nope, that's pretty much it." She turned to face forward again as she addressed the Princess, "We're all set here, Your Highness. Once we spin up the reactor to full power we should be ready to go."

They could almost hear the smile in Celestia's voice, "Then good luck to you, my little ponies. I wish you the best and hope for your safe return."

With those final words, the line went dead and left the trio alone once again. Scootaloo turned up the music once more and found that the song had only progressed a few minutes. The bridge was just starting and the buildup to the chorus had yet to begin.

Scootaloo grinned as she turned to Applebloom, "Power up the reactor to full and put in the coordinates for our first jump. I'm going to do something awesome."�

Applebloom glanced at Sweetie, who shrugged in reply, "Okay, but if this blows up in our faces Ah'm blamin' you."�

She pushed the power controls up all the way, feeling the ship vibrate for a moment as the reactor powered up to maximum. Sweetie typed in a string of commands on her own console before turning to face Scootaloo, "Coordinates locked and ready, captain."

Scootaloo nodded as she gripped the controls with a firm hoof, aimed the ship between the fleets and into open space as the song began climbing towards the chorus. Just as the buildup reached its peak, Scootaloo pressed her hoof against the hyperspace controls and grinned.

"Let's fly." She said as she pressed the lever forward.

The stars in front of the ship seemed to elongate past the windows as the ship made the jump to hyperspace, leaving their home system far behind as the ship jumped into a higher dimension. A seemingly endless tunnel of blue streaks and flashes of light filled the viewport, and the ship vibrated violently for several moments before their flight smoothed.

Applebloom let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding, looking towards her fellow Crusaders as they all shared a smile.

"Ah think this is going to be one heck of an adventure." She said simply as she climbed out of her seat and stepped towards the door, "Ah'm goin' to see how the engines are doin' before anything has a chance to pop up. Ah'll be amidships if anypony needs me."

"I'll check out the galley and see if I can make anything for us to eat." Sweetie added as she climbed out of her own station, "I don't know about you but I could go with a good daisy sandwich. I haven't eaten since we met up at the space elevator."

Applebloom chuckled as Sweetie fell in beside her, "Just don't try to actually cook anything. We all know how bad you are in the kitchen."

Sweetie puffed out her cheeks as a vibrant blush overcame them, "Hey! I've gotten better while I've been gone!"

Scootaloo snickered from her post at the helm, "Yeah, I bet you can make orange juice without turning it into toxic waste like you used to."

Sweetie Bell stuck her tongue out at their companion, "Oh who asked you!" She turned back to the doorway and let out a huff as she stuck her nose in the air, walking with a poise and purpose she had lacked moments before.

Applebloom chuckled alongside Scootaloo before she gave her friend a quick salute, "See ya in a bit, Scoots. Ah'm goin' to be below if anythin' comes up."�

Scootaloo nodded, "See you in a couple hours. We should be coming up on our first stop around that time."�

Applebloom nodded as she turned to leave, taking one last look at the bridge before walking through the living quarters and into the cargo bay. Sweetie Bell was already in the mess making, well, a mess, although Applebloom was pleased to find she hadn't turned the kitchen into a toxic waste dump just yet. She paid the busy unicorn little mind as she climbed down a hatch in the cargo bay and into the main reactor chamber. It was a little cramped in the space left over for maintenance, although it worked just fine for her as she got a good look at the reactor core.

A large sphere, containing multiple colored balls of energy, rested amidst countless regulators and pipes. The glow from the magic churning within the core was bright enough to make Applebloom squint, although it was a soft light that didn't harm her eyes. Taking some time to familiarize herself with the layout of the core, she noticed that some of the energy being directed towards the engines was being absorbed by the piping instead of flowing through it in a smooth stream. She could tell because the metal was starting the glow with ambient magic in several places. Either the designers had not planned on so much magic flowing through the pipes at once, or the metal coating inside the pipes was defective. Either way, they were losing power that could be used to move the ship further through space without straining the core for more power. Besides, even though magic buildup was not an imminent threat, the fact that something was going on with the engine to begin with was not something to let slide.

Applebloom climbed out of the core chamber and made her way back to the bridge, passing a very upset Sweetie Bell, who had apparently messed up making her food yet again. Applebloom tried and failed in containing her chuckles as Sweetie poked at the black sludge that was supposed to be her sandwich, prompting the unicorn to glare over her shoulder at the offending party as Applebloom made a hasty retreat out the far door.

Applebloom made her way up to Scootaloo, who was looking over the controls as they traveled through the rift of hyperspace. "We got a small situation down in the core. Some of the pipes need to be replaced and Ah can't do that while we're in the middle of a jump. Ah'd recommend powering down the engines once we exit hyperspace so I can make the repairs before it becomes a problem."

Scootaloo nodded, "Gotcha. Well, I guess we'll have to make our first stop a bit longer than we planned. Can't have the reactor blowing up on us mid-flight."�

Applebloom rolled her eyes, "It's nothing like that, jest some magic leakage that is cutting our power to the engines. Shouldn't be too hard to fix, what with the tons of spare parts the princesses left for us in the cargo bay."

Scootaloo nodded, "Sounds good." She smirked as she glanced over Applebloom's shoulder towards the door, "How badly did she mess up this time?"�

Applebloom grinned in return, "She managed to make a glass of water before turning her sandwich into sludge. All and all Ah'd say she's improvin', slowly."�

Scootaloo snorted but didn't comment, looking out at the swirling vortex that was hyperspace as their craft shot through the vast void, "It's beautiful, isn't it? To think this is what every captain is going to see in the coming years, and we get to be the first ones to actually witness it."

Applebloom nodded, "Ah recon it's got to be the second most beautiful thing Ah've ever seen."�

Scootaloo cast a raised eyebrow toward the earth pony, "And what was the first?"

Applebloom smiled at the memory, "The first time I saw the sun rise from the top of the space elevator."�

Scootaloo nodded after a moment, "Yeah, I can't blame you for thinking that. Although I'd bet this is a close second."

The duo lapsed into silence, feeling the slight hum and vibration of the ship through their hooves as their journey began in earnest. If only they had any idea what challenges awaited them at their destination. They wouldn't have been so calm about the newfound wonders of space travel, had they known what was waiting for them at the end of the line.

Author's Note

Well, here we are once again. First chapter out of the way and many more to come. Cutie Mark Crusaders Space Adventurers, YAY!! :yay:

Just so you all know, this is going to be a space adventure, for those of you that were a bit slow on the uptake, so lots of science talk and mumbo jumbo about the universe. If that's not to your liking you might want to back out now. Other than that, strap in and hold on tight, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

And for all of you that just love seeing things for yourself instead of using your imagination like a good little reader, here are some pictures of the major race's ships. More pictures will be added later as more races are discovered. Yes, I said more races will be discovered but I'm not saying anything, after all, that would be spoilers.

So, first off, we have a picture of the lovely Midnight Song. It's the ship on the bottom left of the picture.

Next we have the Rising Dawn, also known as the Equestrian Space Fleet flagship.

Thirdly, we have the Minotaur fleet, led by the monster known as the Goliath.

And last but most certainly not least, we have the flagship for the gryphons, the Eagle's Shadow.

Alright, that's all for now, but be sure to keep an eye out for the next chapter. It's going to be a doosie. Pinkie Pie reference completely intended. :rainbowwild:

So, without further ado, I will see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

2 Compound Surprises

The blue and white streaks of hyperspace slowly folded back in on themselves as the Midnight Song returned to its home dimension. The three mares that made up the crew were sitting in their respective places on the bridge as the light of foreign stars came in through the plated glass, and a collective gasp rang through the air as their eyes widened in awe. Stretched out before them was a new star system, never before graced by pony eyes except from the lens of a telescope.

The small red dwarf that called the unnamed system home was far in the distance, casting its weak rays over Applebloom and the others, tinting their fur with hues of red. Closer to the ship was a small rocky planet, with dust brown soil that was shifted to the color of dried blood in the light of the planet's star. Two rings of small asteroids surrounded the planet in two perpendicular rows, creating an awe-inspiring effect as the boulders tumbled around the planet in opposite directions.

Applebloom grinned as she turned her attention to her console, "Well, at least you guys will have a nice view while Ah work on the core."

Sweetie Bell nodded dumbly, her eyes locked on the beauty of the stars and planet before her, "Yeah, a nice view."

Scootaloo snickered as she spun around in her chair to face her friends, "Well what are you sitting around there for, AB? The engine isn't going to fix itself with you hanging around here."

Applebloom stuck her tongue out at the pegasus but decided not to comment. After powering down the engines, she flipped the rear of her station up and out of the way and made her way into the interior of the ship. A quick stop at her room allowed her to grab her tools, as well as some replacement piping from the cargo bay so she could fix the faulty plumbing in the core. With her tools and parts secured in her saddlebags, Applebloom climbed down the maintenance shaft and into the core proper, although she had to squeeze through some of the sections to get through the tight spaces with her bags.

It wasn't a hard task or even all that tedious, given the piping was easy to cut and the replacement sections were still lit up with residual magic. All and all it was more of a patch than a true repair, although Applebloom knew that the problem would have to be addressed in future ships should the same power core design be used. In total it took the earth pony half an hour to fix the faulty piping, and with a wipe of her brow she stepped back from her work. Fresh welds secured the new pipes to the old, while the worn-out sections lay discarded on the metal plating that made up the floor. Applebloom reached down and picked up the old pipe before securing the rest of her tools in her bags, taking one last moment to check over her work.

"That should hold without any problems." She said to herself as she tapped the welds on one of the pipes with her hoof, "Probably want ta look 'em over once we get to the next system jest to make sure there's no new magic leakage."�

Satisfied that her work was done for the moment, Applebloom climbed back out of the core chamber and into the cargo bay, taking her time to stow the extra pipe in a spare container before making her way back to the bridge. She dropped her bags in her room once more so they wouldn't be in the way and walked back into the bridge, only to find Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo staring each other down with mutinous expressions.

"What's goin' on here?" Applebloom asked as she walked up to the duo, "Why are ya'll glaring at each other like two roosters fightin' over a hen?"

"We're having a staring contest." Scootaloo said without breaking her connection with Sweetie, "Loser has to clean the bathroom for a week once we get to the Fetlock System."

Applebloom rolled her eyes, "Do you two really have ta be doin' that stuff right now? We're in a whole 'nother star system and the only thing you can think to do is have a staring contest?"

Both mares opened their mouths to retort, but were interrupted by a loud alarm that sounded off from all three consoles. Immediately, the staring contest was forgotten, and Applebloom practically leaped into her seat before activating her readouts to try and figure out what was setting off the alarm.

"Looks like it's the proximity alarm going off,"� Sweetie said as she looked over her own readouts, "But what I'm looking at doesn't make any sense. The objects aren't moving in a straight line like an asteroid should."

"Put it on screen." Scootaloo said sternly, "Let's get a look at what we're dealing with."�

Sweetie nodded before pressing a button on her left, illuminating the bridge with a holographic screen that hovered just in front of the main windows. Applebloom could only gawk in awe at what she was seeing, along with the other Crusaders, as the four objects came into focus.

"Are those what I think they are?" Sweetie asked in shock.

"If they are,"� Scootaloo replied, "then this adventure just got a whole lot more interesting."�

Flying straight towards them, was a quartet of ships, each outfitted with a set of wings for atmospheric flight and armed to the teeth with what looked like cannons at each wing base. Three of the ships were a dull red color while the fourth was painted a dark yellow-green, marking it as the assumed leader of the squadron.

Before anything else could be said about the alien craft, another alarm went off, this time with much more urgency and at a higher pitch.

Scootaloo's eyes widened in terror, "That's the weapon's lock alarm! They're going to shoot at us!" She spun around to face Sweetie, "Get our shields up now!"�

Sweetie nodded, punching a string of commands into her controls before a high-pitched hum echoed around the ship. Applebloom watched as a rainbow-colored bubble formed around the Midnight Song, covering the ship in a barrier of magic just as the cannons of the alien ships opened fire. The ship rocked as the blasts of what had to be bright blue plasma impacted the shield, knocking the ship to the side as the hull shook from the blow.

"Shields are at eighty percent and falling,"� Sweetie cried, "We need to get out of here or else we're not going to survive for very long!"�

Scootaloo turned to face Applebloom, "We need those engines up and running yesterday!"�

Applebloom nodded her agreement, flicking the engine switches to online as the powerful thrusters growled to life. "Engines at full power. Hit it Scoots!"

The pegasus slammed the flight sticks forward, knocking all three mares into the backs of their seats as the ship shot forward. However, a quick look at the screen showed the four craft easily keeping pace with the Midnight Song, their cannons lighting up as more plasma charges impacted the shield.

"Shields at sixty-four percent and falling," Sweetie called out, "We need to do something or they're going to drain us dry."�

Applebloom ground her teeth as she activated another switch on her left, a holographic dome forming around her station as a set of joysticks popped up in front of her. She gripped the controls and spun her seat around, tilting herself back as a set of crosshairs formed on the holo-display. From her seat she could see the four ships falling in behind their own, their cannons lighting up as plasma shot past the ship and impacted against the shield. Applebloom sighted in against the far-left ship, her telekinetic magic holding firm on the trigger as the crosshairs leveled against the ship's left wing base.

"Here's a gift from Equestria you crazy alien freaks!" She cried as she squeezed the trigger, the camera shaking slightly as a stream of blue magic bolts shot out from the ventral cannon.

The alien craft either didn't see the shots coming or was unable to get out of the way in time, because the condensed magic impacted the cannons under its left wing, causing the weapons to explode and rip the craft into several large pieces. Applebloom smirked in glee but was unable to do anything more as the three remaining ships split off in three directions. The leader even dove down below the Midnight Song, leaving Applebloom with nothing to shoot at as the other two came in from the left and right.

"Ah can't shoot the leader!" Applebloom called out to Scootaloo, "Get me a better angle!"

Scootaloo grunted as she jerked the controls this way and that, "I would if I could avoid getting us blasted in the process!" She growled as another collection of plasma blasts impacted the shielding over the right wing, "The way things are going I don't think I'm going to be able to out-fly these plot-holes!" She jerked her head over her shoulder to address Sweetie Bell, "How are we doing on our shields?"

Sweetie's expression was filled with fear as she looked over her readouts, "Twenty percent and getting worse." She screamed as another blast shook the ship, "Make that sixteen percent."

"Get the coordinates for the next jump ready,"� Scootaloo yelled, "we need to jump out of this system before we get blown to bits!"

As Sweetie punched in rapid commands, Applebloom took a look at her own readouts from the corner of her eye. She frowned as she took another sweeping shot at one of the ships, only to have it swerve out of the way at the last second, leaving the leader an open chance to come in from behind to strafe the top of the ship with plasma.

"The hyperdrive is still warming up after the power-down of the engines!" Applebloom yelled as she tried once again to shoot the enemy craft, "We need another forty-five seconds for it to be ready!"

"We don't have another thirty seconds before the shields fail!" Scootaloo retorted as she jerked the ship into a swift corkscrew turn, "Do whatever you need to do, but get the hyperdrive up and running before we get vaporized!"�

Sweetie screamed and covered her head with her hooves as another stream of blasts rocked the ship, "Shields are at eight percent! Please, by Celestia and Luna's mercy, I DON'T WANT TO DIE OUT HERE!!"

Scootaloo growled as she spun the ship into a dive, heading straight for the planet below and swerving into the asteroid belts that orbited the dusty rock, "How much longer until the hyperdrive is up and running?"�

Applebloom jerked her head away from her crosshairs just long enough to see the engine timer, "Another twenty seconds."

Alarms and a horrendous screech of rending metal echoed through the ship as red lights began flashing on the walls. Sweetie Bell cried out in terror before announcing, "Shields are down and there's nothing I can do to get them up again. The generators have been overloaded."

Applebloom abandoned her weapon in favor of the other controls, the holographic display dissolving as she began flipping switches and levers to try and control the damage. "Bulkheads have been activated in the cargo bay and along the top of the left wing. We aren't leaking air but we won't be able to take much more of this."

She powered up the weapons system again, only to find the remaining ships were nowhere to be seen. She spun around in her seat, hoping to spot an ambush coming in from behind, only to be left with empty space and tumbling asteroids.

For a brief moment there was nothing but the alarms to keep them company, before an even bigger explosion rocked the ship and nearly made the Midnight Song crash into one of the larger asteroids.

More alarms went off as Applebloom's console lit up with red lights and flashing displays, and her eyes widened in terror as her eyes fell onto the main power readout.

REACTOR BREACH! POWER FAILURE IMMINENT!

AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN IN SIXTY SECONDS!

Applebloom turned to face her secondary power controls, and her eyes widened further as her terrified face took in what she saw.

HYPERDRIVE DISABLED!

MAIN POWER CUPLINKS SEVERED!

For a brief moment, time seemed to stop for Applebloom. The blaring alarms grew silent and the frantic movements of Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell slowed to a halt.

No hyperdrive means no jumps, she thought to herself, and with the core about to shut down it's our only hope of getting out of here. Ah have to do something to fix the hyperdrive before the core shuts down. We won't be able to control the jump with the core inactive, but at least we'll be away from those alien ships.

Time resumed as Applebloom leaped to her hooves, "The hyperdrive is out! Ah'm goin' to head down to the core to fix it before those ships blow us to bits!" She turned to face Scootaloo as she slipped a communicator into her left ear, "Be ready to jump as soon as Ah get the coupler hooked up. We're only goin' to get one shot at this and we need to make it count."

Scootaloo saluted her as she raced out the door, calling for Sweetie to monitor the core shutdown timer while Applebloom fixed the coupler. Applebloom raced through the halls as fast as her hooves could take her, stumbling every so often as Scootaloo jerked the ship into another tight turn to avoid enemy fire. One particularly hard turn to the left and upwards made Applebloom lose her grip on the smooth floor of the mess hall, forcing her to her knees as she tried to avoid hitting the floor with her face.

Applebloom grumbled to herself as she forced her hooves back into motion, "If Scoots wasn't keeping us alive with that crazy flying Ah'd buck her into next week for doin' these crazy stunts while Ah'm workin'."�

She dove into the cargo bay, taking a brief moment to notice the bulkheads covering the holes in the right wall and the floor. She winced at the damage the ship had already taken, only to stumble as another explosion rocked the ship downward.

Applebloom's communicator cracked to life as she stumbled over to the reactor core hatch, What's taking so long AB? We just lost one of our starboard engines. One more good hit and we're finished!

Applebloom reached up to tap the communicator with a hoof as the other turned the lock of the hatch, "Ah'm goin' as fast as Ah can! Try doin' some of that fancy flyin' yer always braggin' 'bout to avoid getting us shot!"�

Apparently Scootaloo had no reply for that, because the comms went dead as the hatch finally unlocked with a thud. Applebloom flipped the latch open and climbed down into the core, feeling the raw magic of the breached reactor already flowing through the air around her. Even without the attuned magic senses of a unicorn, Applebloom knew that the closer she got to the core, the greater the danger. Raw magic could have unpredictable effects on inanimate objects, let alone what it could do to an unshielded pony. Unfortunately, time was not something she had very much of at the moment, so she pushed onward even as her fur began to stand on end from the magic charge.

As she climbed into the core chamber itself, Applebloom was met with a rather dismal sight. Pipes were ruptured all over the place, and wires hung free from the paneling as sparks shot from their severed ends. At the end of the room was the core itself, pulsing with magic as streams of multi-colored power shot out in arcs to impact the walls and floor. Applebloom knew the coupler for the hyperdrive was next to the core itself, to allow for the largest amount of magic flow from the core as possible during hyperspace flight. Yet that worked against Applebloom now because she had to get past all the naked wires and burst piping to fix it.

Taking a second to calm her racing heart, Applebloom took her first step into the gauntlet, ducking under some wires and stepping over a busted pipe with careful movements. She froze as another shockwave jerked the flooring under her hooves, but regained her balance in time to avoid falling into a gap in the paneling. Step by careful step, she worked her way across the room, doing her best to avoid thinking about the time limit set against her.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Applebloom made it up to the reactor itself, although the raw magic pumping from the rupture was nearly enough to make her sick and high at the same time. She forced her way past the arcs of magic and up to the core itself, taking a second to regain her breath as she searched for the break in the coupler. Just as she found what she was looking for, another explosion rocked the ship under her, tilting the floor far enough that had she not grabbed onto the piping in front of her, she would have slid all the way back to the hatch and through countless lethal hazards. Applebloom grunted as she ship slowly righted itself, allowing her to loosen her grip on the piping long enough to get a good look at the coupler.

What she saw wasn't encouraging. Instead of it being a simple disconnection, the coupler had been severed between joints, meaning she was going to have to weld the pipe back into place. Something that would take too much time with how little she had to have left.

She tapped the comms in her ear and called out, "Scoots, the coupler is too damaged to repair as it is. Ah'm goin' to have ta hold it in place by hoof until we can make the jump to hyperspace."

Scootaloo's voice was frantic as she replied, Are you crazy?! That much raw magic could kill you if you don't hold the coupler tight enough! We'll just have to think of something else to get away from these aliens.

"We don't have time to think of something else!" Applebloom yelled back, "We have seconds before the core shuts down and we'll be sittin' ducks once we lose power. Ah'm not betting on those aliens bein' nice once we lose power, so if Ah'm goin' out Ah'd rather go out with a bang!"

A sigh could be heard on the other end, Fine, but we're waiting till the last second to make the jump so it doesn't put you at as much risk. How much time till the core shuts down Sweetie? There was a muffled reply, You've got ten seconds until we make the jump. Pray to the Maker that we do this right.

Applebloom nodded as the line cut off, pulling herself up to the coupler as she worked her hooves around the severed pipe. Luckily, the jagged edges of the break allowed her to fit it up against the other end so that it would at least stay in place if she put enough pressure behind it. She sucked in a breath and held it as she counted down in her head, bracing for the surge of magic that would power up the hyperdrive.

Two seconds before she reached zero, the core flared to life, nearly blinding Applebloom as the raw magic poured through the pipe in her hooves. Masses of power jumped through the gaps in the pipe as she struggled to hold the ends together, singing her fur in multiple places as the raw magic arced through the air. Applebloom ground her teeth as she forced the pipes together with all her earth pony strength, and held it there by some miracle as the core began to dim.

Applebloom gasped as she dropped the coupler, the core shutting down completely as the pipe fell to the floor with a loud clang. Yet to Applebloom it was little more than a dull thud to her frazzled mind. The raw magic had addled her brain and fried every nerve in her body, leaving her shaking and barely able to see straight as she stumbled back towards the hatch. Luckily, the power-down of the core had cut the electricity to the wires sticking out of the walls and ceiling, although Applebloom paid them little mind anyway as she forced her hooves to move. Finally, she climbed out of the hold and into the cargo bay, pausing just long enough to see Sweetie racing into the room before darkness overcame her sight. She vaguely remembered Sweetie calling her name before her head hit the floor, and her world went black.

Border Relay Station: Alpha Seven

Date: October 5, 2825

Local Time: 1500 Hours

The commander of the station watched the viewing screen as the small craft seemed to jump from its position just outside the second asteroid belt, vanishing from sight as the three remaining pilots circled and radioed to each other in confusion. His second in command turned to face him with a concerned expression on his young face.

"Sir,"� the Lieutenant asked, "what was that?"�

Commander Lance's grim expression gave nothing away as he turned to face the communications officer, "Kowalski, send word to all systems that there is an unidentified craft entering human space, destination and affiliation unknown. The craft is heavily damaged but can still make FTL if allowed to evade capture. The shields are weak and the weapons seem to be capable of destroying fighter-class craft but should lack the power to damage larger vessels. Capture is recommended but destruction is authorized if no other options present themselves."

The German man nodded, turning back to his computer and typing in the commander's words. Commander Lance turned his attention back to the screen, watching as the fighters of his security force made their way back to base. Even though the mysterious craft had lacked in offensive and defensive firepower, it had still arrived in the system with no warning, leaving the commander baffled as to how the ship was able to move between systems. As far as he knew, the only viable form of FTL available to the known species of the universe was warp, and the scanners had remained completely inert up until the mysterious ship seemed to appear out of this air. Something odd was going on, and that uncertainty was making him nervous.

"Just what kind of crazy situation have we gotten ourselves into this time?" He asked himself under his breath.

The first thing Applebloom became aware of was the soft mattress under her flank. The second was that a constant beeping noise was going off to her left. With a groan and what felt like a titanic force of will, she opened her eyes just enough to take in her surroundings, although she wasn't able to immediately recognize where she was.

The room was small, barely six of her lengths wide and seven long, with two beds up against one wall and a door in the center of the opposite one. In between the beds was a console that was currently lit up with what had to be her vitals, along with several wires that ran from the machine to her chest and left fetlock.

"Oh good, you're awake." Applebloom turned to her right to see Sweetie Bell sitting in a chair against the wall, "I was hoping you'd wake up soon."

Applebloom groaned again as she pushed herself into a sitting position, her muscles protesting the movement as she held a hoof to her head, "What happened?"

Sweetie's expression turned down in worry as she stood up and walked over to the bedridden mare, "You nearly killed yourself from magic overdose. Had I not gotten you to the infirmary in time the raw power moving through your body would have fried your nervous system."

"Did we make it to hyperspace?" Applebloom pressed, hoping her work had been enough to save the day.

Sweetie nodded, "We made the jump, but without the core to keep the hyperdrive running, we're completely at the mercy of the dimensional flow. We could get spit out in the middle of a star or we might end up in the middle of interstellar space. Right now, all we can hope is that we don't stay in this jump long enough to make getting back home impossible."

Applebloom nodded, sliding out of the bed and wobbling for a moment as she got her hooves under her. Sweetie pressed her side against her own to stabilize her, and Applebloom nodded her thanks as the duo exited the medical ward. As the door slid open, Applebloom was able to take in the location of the infirmary, given she hadn't seen it in the initial tour of the ship. Apparently, it was on the opposite side of the mess hall from the door that led to the bridge, making it almost directly to the fore of the engines and the cargo bay. Sweetie helped Applebloom as they made their way up to the bridge, where they found Scootaloo going over the readouts in front of her as the ship traveled through the blue and white tunnel that was hyperspace.

"So, we have no idea where or when the ship is going to slip back into normal space," the pegasus said without looking up, "and we've got about six hours of reserve power before the life support and gravity generator shut down." She turned to look at her friends with a worried expression, "Things aren't looking very good for us girls."

"Hey,"� Applebloom said as she stepped away from Sweetie's side, "we've been in worse situations before, and we came out fine then. Ah'm sure we can figure out a way to get through this mess jest fine as well."�

Scootaloo snorted, "Yeah, but back home we didn't have to worry about our air running out or floating around with no control of our movements either." She turned her attention back to the controls, "Might as well get some rest AB, you've earned in after saving our hides like you did."

Applebloom wanted to argue, but was cut off by a huge yawn that quickly spread to the rest of the crew, "Ah think we could all use a rest, Scoots. Why don't ya'll get some shut-eye and Ah'll keep an eye on the bridge. Ah'll come get ya if anything happens."

It took some arguing, but eventually the others relented and made their way back to the living quarters, leaving Applebloom alone in the bridge with all but the most essential systems powered down. She took a seat in her station and settled in for the long haul, knowing full well it could be hours before they came out of the jump. Although with their power on such limited supply, too much longer and it wouldn't matter if they made it out of the jump or not. They'd run out of air in less than a day if the life support gave out.

Four and a half hours later, Applebloom was still sitting in her place, fiddling with the controls to try and conserve some more power, when all of a sudden, the blue and white streaks of hyperspace gave way to the blacks and pinpricks of color of normal space. Applebloom quickly turned on the comms and called out, "Girls, you need to be on the bridge, right now."

Two minutes later, Scootaloo and Sweetie slid into the bridge, only to stop dead and stare at what they were seeing. Sitting in the center of the window bank that took up the front of the bridge, was a large blue and green planet, with a single silver moon orbiting around it to the right. Scootaloo shook her head to clear it and walked up to the console, activating the holoprojector that displayed their current location in the galaxy.

"I don't know how we did it," she said as she tried to pull her jaw off the floor, "but that is the planet we came to investigate in the Fetlock System. We somehow managed to bypass our second hyperspace stop and landed right at our final destination after making a random jump with no control on where we ended up."�

"Sounds to me like we just got astronomically lucky." Sweetie said sarcastically as she stepped up and took her place in her chair, "From the looks of things the planet is habitable, only I'm getting a lot of readings that don't make any sense."�

"What kind of readings?" Applebloom asked.

"According to the scanner,"� Sweetie replied, "the surface is covered with large sections of metal and other non-organic compounds, and the atmosphere has large quantities of heavy gasses like carbon dioxide." She looked up and squinted, as if that would allow her to see all the way to the planet's surface, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say the planet was supporting some advanced form of alien life."

At those words, all three mares froze in terror, "You don't think it might be the same aliens we fought back in that other system,"� Applebloom asked nervously, "do you?"�

Sweetie opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as dozens of large masses suddenly came out from behind the planet's moon. All three mares watched in awed horror as the masses revealed themselves to be ships, and not just little fighters like what they had encountered before. These ships were truly monsters of engineering, matching and even surpassing the largest ships in the Equestrian fleet. Dozens of cruisers spread out to surround them while seven huge battleships moved in formation to create a wedge of metal between them and the planet. Last but certainly not least, the largest ship of them all, easily a couple hundred times their own length, flew up until its hulking form was just off to the starboard bow. Applebloom could see hundreds of point-defense cannons on the sides of the ship, all aimed at them and seemingly ready to fire. All of the other ships were going the same, although it was the flagship that captivated the Crusaders' attention.

The massive ship was mostly white in color, with red highlights along the sides. It resembled a seafaring ship in some ways, although the masses of weapons and the enormous engines in the rear somewhat broke the image. Applebloom couldn't tear her eyes away from it, even though she knew her last moments could be upon her. Yet it seemed for the moment that the ship was just going to observe them.

All three mares jumped as Scootaloo's console began beeping, and her eyes widened as she glanced at her controls, "We're being hailed on an open channel." She glanced out the windows as the alien craft, "Apparently they want to talk to us."�

"Well don't keep them waiting!" Sweetie cried, "We don't want to make them mad with that many cannons pointed at us!"�

Scootaloo nodded, pressing the receive button with a hoof. Yet, instead of the speaker coming over the radio, the holographic display powered up and took up the available space in front of the bridge windows. Applebloom gasped as an image formed on the screen, revealing what looked like the bridge of the alien craft, along with what had to be the crew of the ship itself.

They were certainly different, although if Applebloom had to compare them to anything back home, she would have likened them to short, hairless minotaur. They stood on two legs and apparently had hands like the minotaur, although they were more slim and lanky in build when compared to the bovine race back home. They also wore enough clothing to cover the majority of their bodies, with most of those being a dark blue in color with white or grey pants. Their faces were strangely flat, with only the smallest of muzzles poking out of the middle of their faces, and their eyes were very small when compared to the rest of their heads.

Apparently, the aliens were just as surprised to see them as the mares were to see the aliens, because the eyes of almost every creature in view widened in what had to be shock. The one at the head of the bridge, presumably the captain, stood up from his chair and walked up to the front of the bridge, making itself the center of attention.

The creature, with its short blonde mane and more chiseled features, opened its mouth and spoke in what sounded like a very formal tone, although the words it spoke were complete nonsense to Applebloom and the others. After a moment or two, it seemed to realize that that it wasn't being understood, and called over its shoulder to one of the other creatures. The second creature, this one looking a fair bit younger and with a short black mane on its head, threw a quick salute before typing in something on its console.

Applebloom was unprepared for the jerk the ship went under as they were suddenly pulled towards the larger ship, and they quickly found out that using what minimal power they had couldn't break whatever hold the aliens had on them. For their part, the aliens showed nothing but calm expressions as the Midnight Song was slowly pulled into what looked like a hangar on the ship's port side, the captain saying another short line before the screen went dark. Applebloom and the others shared a nervous look as their ship was slowly lowered to the floor of the large hangar, taking up a space between several very familiar fighter-class ships.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Scootaloo said as she spied the fighters sitting on either side of their ship.

"Yeah," Sweetie replied, "they're the same ships that tried to blow us up in that other system."�

"Well we now know that these aliens are the same ones that tried to kill us last time,"� Applebloom said, "but what Ah can't figure out is why they brought us aboard instead of just shooting us?"

"Probably so they can take the ship apart and then do the same to us." Scootaloo replied coldly, "Well I'm not about to go down without a fight."

"Ya do realize that if these aliens can get from system to system with just fighters,"� Applebloom reasoned, "then it's mighty likely that they can do the same with these bigger ships? These guys must be pretty advanced to do that, so do you really think it would take 'em long to get in here if they tried? How long do you think it will take them to cut their way into our ship if we don't cooperate with them? Frankly, Ah don't want to find out what kind of tactics they might use if'n we don't come out of our own free will."

Scootaloo sputtered for a moment, as if trying to come up with a retort, before letting out a gusty sigh and nodding, "I get ya. Although if they try anything I'm going to knock some heads in before they take me out. If I'm going down then I'm going down swinging."

Applebloom and Sweetie nodded their agreement, stepping up to the windows of the bridge to see that several of the aliens had walked up to inspect the foreign ship in their hangar. A set of doors to the left of their ship slid open and revealed a large number of the aliens, covered in what looked like black armor, and armed with some kind of small cannon that they held across their chests. The crew below the ship quickly moved out of the way as the armored aliens moved in to surround the Midnight Song, leaving no angle uncovered as they leveled their weapons at the ship. Applebloom knew that with no shields, the hull might be able to stand up against small arms fire for a little while, but depending on what the aliens were using, it could take minutes or hours to cut through the thick plate metal. Although, given the hull had already been breached in several places and had only weak bulkheads to protect them, that might have been an overestimation of how long it might take.

Finally, the same alien they had seen in the feed, presumably the captain of the ship, walked into the hangar with another contingent of guards, this time outfitted with what looked like mechanical exoskeletons that ran along their limbs and across their backs with complex piping and metal plating. They too carried small arms, although these ones were much larger and looked to be many times more powerful than the others. Applebloom heard Sweetie Bell gulp in fear as the aliens approached the ship, and Applebloom got the distinct feeling that their welcome was going to be more like a capture than rescue.

She turned to face her fellow Crusaders and asked in a hesitant voice, "So do we go out or do we wait for them to come in?"

Sweetie looked torn while Scootaloo had a hard expression on her face, although it was quickly turning into one of defeat as she looked over the aliens below them, "Yeah, I think it might be best to go quietly, at least until we can figure out what's going on."

Sweetie whimpered as she held her forehooves to her mouth, "Oh this is making me so nervous. We know these aliens were the ones to shoot at us before, but now they act more like curious animals." She pressed her hooves harder into her head, closing her eyes in concentration, "Oh, this is so confusing. I don't know what to think anymore."�

"How 'bout we simply play it by ear and try not to make them mad at us?" Applebloom suggested, "If things get crazy then we do our best to fight them off and get back to the ship. If nothing less, we might be able to learn a bit more about them so we can tell everypony back hope what we found."

Scootaloo snorted, "Yeah, like anypony would believe us. But, I see your point. Not like we'll get anything done around here if they decide to wait us out."

Sweetie glanced over her console before making a quick scan, "The air is breathable, so we won't have to worry about suits if we walk out of the ship. The only thing I don't like is the fact that the air seems to contain no microbial life, like the entire ship is sterile or something."

"Well you'd expect the ship of aliens to have some strange things going on," Scootaloo replied, "I mean, no germs inside of an alien ship? That has to be one of the most minor surprises I can think of."

"Alright, enough you two,"� Applebloom interjected, "if'n we're goin' to leave the ship, then we might as well lock up shop when we do."

Sweetie and Scootaloo nodded, "I'll make sure the security locks work before we leave." Sweetie Bell said.

With that all three mares made their way into the cargo bay, taking the time to grab their saddlebags and a few containers of food and water for the trip. After all, they had no idea when they would be coming back, so having provisions would be a necessity.

Applebloom stood at Scootaloo's left while Sweetie was on the right, facing the airlock that led out of the ship. With a sharp intake of air, Scootaloo pressed the release button on the wall, allowing the first set of doors to slide open. The trio stepped into the airlock proper and Applebloom winced as the doors slid shut and locked behind them. Without power the locks couldn't be opened unless the aliens had the passcode, so from here on the girls were on their own. No supplies and no weapons to help them along the way.

Applebloom pressed the release for the second set of doors, the opening accompanied by a rush of air as the trio took their first breath of alien air. The aliens were much larger up close then Applebloom had originally thought, standing almost at Princess Celestia's height if one didn't count her horn. The weapons in their hands leveled on the three mares, and Applebloom felt Sweetie hide behind her larger body in fright as the mechanized soldiers marched up to the airlock. The captain stepped in front of the hulking forms and gave what looked like an encouraging smile, folding its arms behind its back and speaking in a friendly tone. Again, the words themselves were unintelligible, but the meaning was more than clear.

'Welcome to my ship.'

Applebloom hesitated for a minute, taking a glance at Sweetie and Scootaloo before making her decision. If these aliens were going to act nice, then she was going to do the same until they gave her a reason not to. Taking a deep breath, she put on a neutral smile of her own and stepped out of the ship and onto the hangar floor. Sweetie stuck to her side like glue while Scootaloo followed close behind. Just as things seemed to be going right, Scootaloo took to the air and hovered above Sweetie and Applebloom. This in turn caused the aliens to jump in surprise and level their weapons at the pegasus. The captain held up its arms and yelled out in a commanding voice, the soldiers slowly lowering their weapons as they eyed Scootaloo with suspicion. The captain turned to face the hovering mare, its blue eyes taking in her movements before making a polite but firm gesture towards the floor.

Scootaloo grumbled but complied, landing next to Sweetie Bell and folding her wings before throwing the captain a mutinous glare. The captain nodded, turning to face the doors through which it had entered, and waved for them to follow with one arm. Applebloom and the others shared a nervous glance, taking in the armed escort that had discretely cut off their path to the ship, and slowly made their way after the alien as it led them out of the hangar.

"Well," Applebloom muttered to her friends, "we wanted a new adventure. Ah jest never imagined we'd end up getting to see somethin' like this in a million years."�

Sweetie and Scootaloo nodded agreement, the trio falling silent as they were led further and further away from their ship. The doors closed behind them, cutting off their escape completely if something were to go wrong, and Applebloom felt a shiver run up her spine as she glanced at the armed soldiers flanking them on all sides.

Somehow Ah don't think this going to end well. She thought to herself, Ah have a feeling things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

Author's Note

Woo! Two chapters in three days, I am on a roll! Anyways, hope you all enjoyed our little trip into space adventure mode, where action is king and the thrill of battle is the name of the game!! :rainbowdetermined2:

And, as usual, I've got some pictures for all of you, just so you guys have something to go off of other than my lackluster descriptions of the ships. If you guys like the designs I've chosen ,then make sure to comment about it in the towel section below, or not, it's your choice.

First up, we have the human fighter-class ships, this one painted in squadron leader colors.

And now we have the flagship of the human fleet, as of yet unnamed,

Anything further will just have to wait until the next chapter drops. So, until then, I'll see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

3 Who Are You?

Applebloom was feeling very nervous about the whole situation she and her friends had found themselves in. First off, they were aboard an alien ship in a system that was light-years away from any allies that could help them if they got into trouble. Second, their ship was nearly destroyed and would take weeks to fully repair even if they could find the parts to fix everything. And finally, they were being escorted by a group of aliens that for all intents and purposes could be the exact same creatures that attacked them, given the shared design of the fighters in the hangar compared to the ones back in the other system. Based off these facts, she made an oath to herself that if things got hairy, she would do everything in her power to protect her friends, even at the cost of her own life. A quick glance at the heavily armed aliens marching along on either side and behind them told her just how small her chances of survival were if such a thing happened, but by Celestia she would still try if she had too.

She wasn't going to let these aliens get away with anything without giving them a good Apple-style bucking for their trouble.

They traveled down corridor after corridor, even getting into a lift that took them up several levels before opening into a more spacious part of the ship. Open tiers met the ponies' eyes that went up several floors before terminating in an arched roof. The open space in the middle was taken up by what looked like a huge indoor garden, with trees and bushes interwoven with paved paths and wooden park benches. The captain led them into the garden proper, passing by dozens of other aliens that all turned to look in awe at the new creatures in their midst.

Applebloom sensed Sweetie as she walked up next to her, although she made no move to look at the other mare as she spoke, "So what do you think they're going to do with us?"

"Ah don't know." Applebloom replied, "Ah was expectin' them to take us into some kind of interrogation, not a garden. Ah have a feeling somethin' is going to happen, but as to what Ah have no idea."

They continued on until they were deep in the garden, surrounded on all sides by scattered trees and bushes that gave off subtle scents to the ponies' strong sense of smell. The captain turned around and sat on a bench, motioning for the ponies to do the same on another one across the walkway. Applebloom shared a glance with her friends before nodding, stepping up and climbing onto the bench as the girls followed suite. The guards that had been following them fanned out to create a perimeter, leaving them alone with the captain save for the one guard that stood at attention at the captain's side.

For several minutes the group sat in place, seemingly waiting for something as the captain checked what looked like a watch on its foreleg every other moment. While they sat there, Sweetie and Scoots engaged in a whispered conversation, leaving Applebloom to think on her own as she inspected the aliens before her. Up until this point, she had no idea what to think of these strange creatures, but now that things had slowed down a bit, she was getting the feeling that there was more to them than met the eye. For starters, she figured by the tone of voice and the more rugged features that the captain was probably male, if what she knew from home was anything to go by. The guard at his side, on the other hoof, was a complete mystery. The armor was too thick and the visored helmet made it impossible to get a good look at the alien's features to know for sure.

Finally, after waiting for what felt like forever, the panting breath and pounding steps coming down the walkway announced the arrival of yet another alien, this one dressed in what was unmistakably a lab coat. Applebloom looked over Sweetie's shoulders to get a better look, and was surprised to see that the newest alien looked nothing like the captain. Firstly, its mane hung down almost to the middle of its back and was a bright gold color, and while the coat did some to hide the creature's figure, it did next to nothing to hide the two bouncing mounds centered on the alien's chest. Applebloom felt slightly mesmerized by the twin globes as they jiggled up and down with the alien's movements, and she had to shake herself out of her daze as the alien came to a halt next to the group. The presumed female dropped her hands to her knees and gasped for breath for a few moments, only to bounce back up with a beaming smile on her face as her bright blue eyes danced with excitement.

The female turned to the captain and gave a swift salute, one he returned with a sharp nod as she spouted off a long string of unintelligible words. After she dropped her salute, she immediately spun to face Applebloom and the others, a nearly manic expression lighting up her face as she bounced on her hooves like a foal in a candy store. Applebloom got the distinct feeling she was staring at a science version of Pinkie Pie, and she felt a shiver of nerves run up her spine as the alien walked up to them and held out its left hand.

The girls shared a look before Sweetie took the initiative and offered her own hoof to the alien, her eyes widening slightly as she female gripped her hoof and gave it a few excited shakes.

The alien gave off a high-pitch squeal that could have only come from pure joy, and stepped back before pulling out what looked like a cube of blue crystal with circular holes cut into the sides. She placed it on the ground between the captain and the mares, stepping back as the cube began to glow with a bright blue light. Applebloom's eyes widened in awe as a beam of light shot out of the circle on the top of the cube, watching as the beam slowly expanded into a large floating rectangle that rested just below chest height for the mares and even with the captain's midsection. At first Applebloom didn't know what she was looking at, before the scientist produced a duo of styluses from a pocket in her coat. She passed one to the captain and then turned to face Applebloom and company, only for her expression to fall as her eyes landed on the trio's hooves.

Sweetie smiled, her horn lighting up as the same soft green glow enveloped the stylus in the female's grip. The alien yelped as she dropped the stylus, only to watch in amazement as it floated over and hovered next to Sweetie's head. The captain and guard were similarly shocked, although the guard at least managed not to flinch at the initial moment Sweetie used her magic.

After a brief moment where everyone pulled themselves back together, the captain cleared his throat and then lowered his stylus to the table of light. What shocked the ponies this time was that the pen-like object didn't pass through the light, but instead pressed against the surface with an audible click. The captain drew a quick square with the stylus and the trio watched as a command window opened up on the tabletop, allowing the captain to then draw a series of images onto the surface before spinning it around and sliding it across the table to rest in front of the mares. Applebloom leaned in close as Sweetie and Scootaloo did the same, curious as to what the captain had drawn.

The series of images were a bit rough, but they all combined to make a somewhat cohesive message. There was a crude image of the pony's ship, and a model of the system they most likely found themselves in now. There was an arrow pointing from the ship to the system with a question mark over it, and there were a few other images with question marks beside them, like what looked like a cannon turret and another that resembled an engine of some sort. All and all, it seemed the aliens wanted to know why the ponies were here, and what they had with them in case they proved to be a threat.

Sweetie turned to face Applebloom as Scoots leaned in to listen, "I don't think they want to hurt us, at least not yet, so I think there's something I can do to make this go easier."

"Really," Applebloom replied, "what's that?"

"Yeah, can you do some crazy magic to mind-control them into fixing our ship?" Scootaloo asked with a wide grin on her muzzle.

Sweetie sighed while cuffing Scoots over the head with a hoof, much to the surprise of the aliens, "No we're not going to brainwash them. I was hoping I could get a translation spell to work that would allow us to speak to them in their own language and vice versa."

Applebloom narrowed her eyes at the white unicorn, "Are ya'll sure ya can do that kind of magic? Ah've seen a few of yer spells go wrong when we were younger and Ah'd rather keep my brain the way it is thank ya very much."

Sweetie scoffed, "Of course I can do it. I've done it before while I was in my spell theory class in Canterlot. I just haven't done it with a completely unknown language before. The last time I did it I had to translate Equish into Prench with one of the professor's aides as the subject."

"So, can you do it or not?" Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sweetie nodded with a slight hesitation, "I'm pretty sure I can. I'll just need to focus on the basics so I get it right the first time. The only problem is if the aliens will let me do it."

"Why not ask 'em?" Applebloom said, "Use that little stylus thingy and draw a reply."

Sweetie nodded, copying the captain's actions from before until she got the hang of working the light table with the stylus. She drew a series of images, first one of a pony speaking with a square in the speech bubble with an alien talking back with a circle. She then drew a horn with an aura of magic, followed by an image of the square and circle switching places. Finally, she drew a pony speaking circle while the alien was speaking square. It was crude and rather simplistic, but hopefully it would get the message across.

Sweetie rotated the command window around and slid it over to the captain, who immediately called over the scientist to examine the drawings with him as they spoke in long and complicated sentences. They cast several glances at Sweetie's horn, although their expressions were too guarded for Applebloom to make anything of them before they returned to their conversation.

It took several minutes for the duo to reach a decision, although when they turned to face the ponies their expressions were surprisingly open. The scientist was understandably excited, although the real surprise was that the captain seemed to have the same enthusiasm, although more restrained than his female counterpart. The scientist pointed to the drawings Sweetie had made and then to her horn, followed by a series of motions between her head and Sweetie's that went right over Applebloom's head. Apparently, Sweetie was able to understand the crazy motions, or at least pretended she did, because she simply nodded with a smile and lit op her horn.

The aliens watched with wide eyes as a ball of swirling green energy began to form over the tabletop, slowly growing in size until it was about the same diameter as a hoofball. Sweetie narrowed her eyes in concentration before splitting the ball into six smaller balls. These then moved up and hovered in front of each mare and alien, floating in front of their chests as Sweetie lifted a hoof and touched the ball.

Applebloom and Scoots followed her example and touched their own magic spheres, followed quickly by the scientist and the captain. The guard hesitated for a bit before touching its own orb, and that was when everything snapped into focus. Applebloom gasped as countless words and definitions she had never heard before assaulted her mind, and she shut her eyes tight to fight the pain as she hissed through her teeth. She couldn't move her hoof away from the spell even if she wanted to, and was forced to endure the pain for several more minutes before the flood of information came to a sudden halt.

Applebloom's eyes snapped open as she struggled to stay seated, her mind spinning with all the new information it had just absorbed. Sweetie sagged against her as she breathed deeply in and out, while Scootaloo growled under her breath as she pressed her hooves to her head.

"Oh, my head." Scootaloo hissed out as she peaked one eye open to glare at Sweetie, "I thought you said that wouldn't hurt Sweetie Bell?"

Sweetie pushed off of Applebloom's side and turned to face the irate pegasus, "I never said it would be painless. Compared to the first time I did that spell, this was a walk in the park. Last time I nearly passed out from the pain."

Applebloom was about to add her own two bits to the pile, when a sudden intake of breath across the walkway caught her attention. She turned to face the aliens and saw the scientist scribbling in a mad fury over a note pad that had somehow appeared from thin air in her grip.

"This is so fascinating," the now decidedly female voice muttered to herself as she recorded something down, "the aliens seem to be able to perform advanced psionic abilities using their horns as a conduit for some unknown form of energy. Further study is recommended for all applicable fields."

Applebloom snickered as she turned her attention to the captain, "She does realize we can now understand everything she's sayin', right?"

The captain's eyes widened at Applebloom's words, "So my ears weren't playing tricks on me. We really can understand you now." He stood and performed a salute with his hand, "Then it is an honor to formally introduce myself. I am Admiral Lion Connors, commander of the 3rd Defense Battlefleet, and I welcome you aboard the USF Silver Star."

"Oh, and I'm Doctor Kelly Dion," the scientist chirped as she looked up from her notes, "head of this ship's xenobiology lab and linguistics department." She bowed her head as she held her notepad to her chest, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Well my name's Applebloom, and there here are my friends Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo." She indicated the other mares with a hoof before turning to face the admiral, "We're on a mission of exploration from the Harmony System to discover new planets."

"Although we weren't expecting to find anything like you once we got here." Sweetie added as she placed a hoof on the hard-light table, "We expected to find a planet that might be capable of supporting life, but nothing like this."

"So, you're an exploration unit sent to find habitable planets," Dr. Kelly repeated as she wrote down the mare's words in her notebook, "that explains why you have so little in the way of weapons and shielding. From what our border station told us it was pretty easy to punch through your shields as long as they could avoid your main weapon."

Applebloom's eyes widened and she jumped off the bench to place herself between her friends and the aliens on top of the table, "So it was you who tried to kill us back in that other system! Why did ya'll bring us here? Are ya'll goin' to try and finish what yer fighters couldn't?"

The guard took a step forward but was stopped by the Admiral's raised hand, "We have no intention of harming you, now or in the future. The attack our fighters initiated in the Sigma system was due to our protocols concerning unknown ships. Your ship would have registered as something we have never encountered, and due to the current situation our people find themselves in, we have little choice but to shoot first and ask questions later." He bowed his head with eyes closed, "Please accept my most sincere apologies for what our people did to your ship, and I hope you will allow me to explain why it was we attacked you without provocation."

Applebloom cast an uneasy glance over her shoulder at the others, who slowly nodded their agreement. She turned to face the aliens and relaxed her stance slightly, moving back to the bench while the Admiral began fiddling with the command screens again. She watched with rapt attention as he created a three-dimensional display above the hard-light surface that was about ten hooves cubed. In fact, it took up almost all the available space the table provided.

"This is a star map of the closest one thousand systems," Admiral Connors narrated as the space inside the cube lit up with multitudes of pinpoint lights, "and this is the area that humans, our species, have colonized over the last six hundred years of space exploration."

A lumpy bubble of blue filled in a large portion of the cube's interior, surrounding what had to be almost two hundred systems within its borders. Yet as Applebloom inspected the lumpy mass, she noticed that a portion of it seemed to be oddly flat, like it was pressed up against a surface in the void of space.

"What's goin' on there?" Applebloom she asked, pointing to the malformed section of the bubble, "It looks almost like ya pressed a ball against a pane of glass."

Admiral Connors nodded, "Indeed, that is what I was about to show you. You see, humans aren't the only sapient life forms that have access to interstellar travel. There is another race, one that threatens our own with conquest and slavery if we were to lose the war we find ourselves in."

He activated another bubble, this time a bright red in color, that encapsulated a much larger portion of the systems visible inside the cube. While the blue bubble had to hold over two hundred systems, the red one had to be at least twice that, even going so far as to partially encircle the smaller bubble.

Applebloom gazed on with wide eyes as Sweetie and Scootaloo did the same. "So yer tellin' me that this other race wants to conquer yours?" Connors nodded, "Then why did you shoot at us when we came into yer system? Ah don't get it."

This time it was Dr. Kelly that spoke, "The Lacertera, as they call themselves, are a lizard-like race that lives for warfare. If they aren't busy fighting with us, they slaughter each other for nothing more than sport or glory." A visible shiver ran up her body before she continued, "They're ships outnumber us ten to one, so the only advantage we have is the fact that our ships have better shielding and weapons. Without that advantage we would have lost the war long ago."

"That is what brings us to how you became involved," Connors added as he highlighted a system on the edge of the blue bubble, near to where the red and blue intersected, "you entered our space at one of our border relay stations, and thus were classified as an invading craft. Standard protocol states that any ship deemed hostile is to be disabled or destroyed before it can access any of the more vulnerable core systems. Your ship was classified as hostile and therefore was slated to be disabled until we could learn more about you."

Connors paused for a moment to look each mare in the eye, "Take it from our point of view. A new and previously unknown ship enters our space by an unknown method and begins moving further into populated space with an unknown objective. You can see why we would be worried, given the only race we know of, or rather knew of, was the Lacertera. To say nothing of what could happen if that ship had turned out to be an advance scout for a much larger force using the same travel method."

Applebloom shared a look with the other Crusaders, and a flash of understanding passed between them as they thought about what the Admiral had just told them.

"So, you weren't trying to kill us?" Sweetie asked as she turned her gaze back to the humans.

Both Connors and Dr. Kelly shook their heads. "From what I gathered from the report," Connors replied, "the fighters were trying to shut down your engines so they could capture your ship for study and possibly interrogate the crew. Survivors would have been placed under military arrest and your ship would have been reverse engineered in the hopes that we could use the tech ourselves. We had no idea another sapient race was out there that was capable of interstellar flight."

"Ten years ago, that wouldn't have been true," Scootaloo said. "The Midnight Song is the first ship in the fleet capable of FTL. We were actually taking it on its maiden voyage when this whole mess started up."

Dr. Kelly's eyes widened in glee, "So that ship is your race's first attempt at an FTL-capable craft?" She squealed in a very filly-like way when Scootaloo nodded, "Oh this is so exciting! I can't wait to compare notes with the designers to see how it works."

"But I thought you were the head of xenobiology and linguistics?" Sweetie asked with a raised eyebrow, "What do you know about ship design?"

"Oh, it's not much," she replied with a wave of her hand, "I just dabble into that sort of thing as a hobby. Keeps my mind from getting too bogged down in the minutia of biology and language. Call it a pet project of mine to keep my brain sharp."

Admiral Connors chuckled at the mares' dumbstruck faces, "She has that effect on people who don't know her. Dr. Dion here is our resident genius when it comes to the sciences, although she has a tendency to get a bit overwhelmed when she encounters something new or interesting."

The blonde woman blushed but didn't deny the claim, "So what do you plan to do now, knowing that the planet you came to investigate has space-faring life?"

Applebloom glanced at Sweetie, who shrugged before they both turned to face Scootaloo. As the captain of the mission, she was technically the one who led the crew's chain of command, so it would come to her to make the final decision.

She paused for a moment as she held a hoof to her chin, "Well, most of our equipment is no longer needed, not to mention our ship is pretty well trashed." The humans had the decency to look abashed as the pegasus sent them a pointed glare, "I guess we could do our best to repair the ship and then work from there. Maybe take some time to learn more about the human race before we head back home?" She glanced over at Sweetie and Applebloom, who nodded, "Yeah, I think that sounds about right. We'll fix the ship and learn about you guys so we can share what we know with the races of Equis once we get the Midnight Song up and running again."

Sweetie nodded her agreement while Applebloom added her two bits, "Ah think we might want to hold off fixing the ship just yet. If we don't have all the parts Ah'm not goin' ta be able to put it back together no matter how hard Ah try."

"We can help you with that," Dr. Kelly added as she reached under the hard-light table and deactivated the projector, "after all, it was our fighters that shot your ship to pieces, it's the least we can do to help you get it back up and running again."

Applebloom smiled at the taller female, "Thank ya' kindly. Ah could really use the help with the hull and power core fer sure. What kind of magitech do ya'll use to power yer ships, Stable-flux or Fusion Matrix?"

The humans looked at her like she had grown a second head, although, oddly enough it was the guard that spoke first, "Magitech?" It was a surprisingly female voice that came out of the intimidating armor, "As in magic fused with technology? You've got to be joking. Magic isn't anything more than sleight of hand and misdirection made to fool the gullible."

All three mares stiffened at the very idea of magic being written off as fake, especially since Sweetie had just used magic to control the stylus. To demonstrate that fact, she picked up the stylus from its position at her side and held it up at head level.

"Then what do you call this?" She asked in a pitch slightly higher than normal, "How do you explain this levitation spell?"

Dr. Kelly was the one who interjected this time, "While I don't fully understand the implications of your abilities, I can state with utmost certainty that you are most likely using some form of psychic ability, not something as archaic as magic."

Sweetie groaned as she placed the stylus back on the bench, "Then how about this?" She ignited her horn as picked up a leaf that had fallen from one of the nearby trees, holding it aloft in front of her as she narrowed her eyes in concentration.

In a flash the leaf was transformed into an apple, ripe as if it had just come from one of Sweet Apple Acres' trees. Sweetie let out a gusty breath that she had apparently been holding, and smirked at the dumbfounded humans as she levitated the apple into the Doctor's hand.

"Go ahead and eat it." She said through her smile, "It's just an ordinary apple."

Dr. Kelly inspected the apple in her grip like it was some radioactive substance, before pulling out what looked like a scalpel from her coat pocket. She carefully cut into the skin of the apple and watched as thick juice began running down the side of the fruit. The intoxicating smell of fresh apple permeated the air, and Applebloom had to swallow the drool that had accumulated in her mouth at the scent.

Taking a moment to inspect the apple once more, Dr. Kelly cleaned the scalpel on her pant leg and then took a big bite of the fruit. As soon as her mouth closed and pulled the bite free, her eyes went wide and she froze in place.

The guard immediately acted, racing up and pointing the end of her weapon in Sweetie's face, "What did you do to her? Was that some kind of poison or something?"

Sweetie's eyes narrowed into pinpricks, and Scootaloo's wings flared in challenge as she turned to face the guard, "Move that thing out of my friend's face or I'm going to shove that thing so far up your flank you'll have to clear your throat to clean the barrel."

For several moments no one moved. Just as the tension in the room seemed to be reaching critical mass, the soft sound of someone chewing could be heard from behind the guard. All eyes turned to face Dr. Kelly, who had a dreamy look on her face as she swallowed the bite of apple in her mouth.

Before anyone could ask her what she was doing, she took another bite and made a sound that resembled a moan in the back of her throat, "Besf abble ah've eber eashen." She swallowed the food in her mouth and reiterated, "Best apple I've ever eaten."

She turned to face Sweetie as the guard lowered her weapon, "I don't know how you did it, and frankly I don't care. If that was an example of what your magic can do, then I think we could learn a thing or two from believing in your word."

The guard smirked as she walked back and took her post next to the Admiral, "Typical, always thinking with your stomach. Who was it that came up with the idea to cook hot dogs next to the reactor core again?"

Kelly's cheeks flushed as she rounded on the guard, "Oh you're one to talk, falling asleep while on duty guarding the medic's quarters."

"Hey!" the guard yelled back indignantly, "you said you would never tell anyone about that!" She froze as she slowly turned to face the Admiral, casting a nervous glance his way as he slowly lifted an eyebrow, "Um, I can explain?"

"We'll talk about your little mishap at a later date, Commander Baker," he said with finality, "right now I believe we have more pressing issues to deal with."

The newly named commander nodded her head slowly, a glint of nerves shining through her visor as she returned to attention.

Connors shook his head slightly before returning his gaze to the three ponies, "Sorry about all that. My senior crew can get a bit rowdy when they get too comfortable around others. Now, as you were saying, you were going to fix your ship and learn about the human race while the repairs are being completed?"

Applebloom shook herself out of the shock that had run through her system at the sudden action, "Ah think that's 'bout right. Ah believe Ah can fix the ship if'n Ah can get ahold of all the parts Ah need. The good news is that most of them should be in the cargo hold, assumin' that none of them got sucked out when those fighters of yers punched a hole in our hull."

Sweetie bopped her on the head with an admonishing glare, "Don't hold that over their heads. It was an honest mistake and they apologized for it. Let. It. Go."

"Said the mare who doesn't have to fix the hole." Applebloom muttered under her breath, only to get another hoof to the back of the head, "Alright, alright, Ah'm done gripin'! Would ya lay off the corporal punishment?"

Sweetie nodded, although the cold look she sent the earth pony's way warned against any future action.

Admiral Connors nodded as he stood up, clapping his hands together as he turned towards the two women, "Well, I think this concludes our little discussion." He turned towards the mares and spoke with a clear and precise voice, "Do you solemnly swear that you are not here to cause harm to the crew of this ship or to the human race as a whole?"

Applebloom nodded as the other Crusaders did the same, "We swear by Celestia's Sun and Luna's Night we will not bring harm to the crew of the Silver Star or the human race as a whole," they chorused.

Connors nodded, "Then I will have Dr. Dion and Commander Baker escort you to the civilian quarters of the ship. Commander Baker will act as your liaison while you are aboard the Silver Star and will be escorting you wherever you wish to go. For now, I'm afraid you will have to stick together, but in time I hope you will earn enough of our trust to be given more leeway about the ship." He glanced at the Commander with a pointed glare, "Think of this as your punishment for falling asleep on duty."

Baker hung her head slightly as she nodded, "Yes sir."

"And as for you," Connors said as he turned to face Dr. Kelly, "You are to do everything in your power to teach our guests about the human race, barring any classified information. I understand you want to know more about them as well, so think of this as your standing assignment for the foreseeable future. I am officially releasing you from your other duties in favor of this assignment, so you don't have to worry about the lab or the linguistics team while also dealing with these creatures."

"Ponies," Sweetie supplied, causing the Admiral to pause as the humans turned to face the unicorn, "our race is called ponies." She indicated Applebloom and then Scootaloo, "Applebloom is an earth pony, Scootaloo is a pegasus, and I'm a unicorn, but they all fall under the same title of pony."

Dr. Kelly's eyes lit up, "Did you say earth pony?" Sweetie Bell nodded, "What a strange coincidence, our home world was originally called Earth before it was re-named Terra in 2185." She wrote down her thoughts in her booklet as she muttered to herself, "I wonder what other similarities there are between our worlds?"

Connors smiled as he turned, the rest of the guard falling next to him as he began walking away, "I look forward to hearing of your progress in the near future. Do keep me updated of any new developments should they come about, Dr. Dion."

Dr. Kelly made a noncommittal grunt as she furiously wrote down notes and thoughts in her booklet, leaving Commander Baker to return the Admiral's command with a crisp salute.

With that Applebloom found herself being left alone with two humans that she barely knew, the presence of her fellow Crusaders notwithstanding. Try as she might, she couldn't get over how these same beings, albeit a different group of them, had been responsible for the near destruction of their ship and had nearly killed Applebloom and her friends. Sure, they had a good reason, but that didn't change the fact that these beings were dangerous. Especially if they were being honest when Dr. Kelly had mentioned the superiority of their ships. If the human race got wind of Equis' exact location, Applebloom had no doubt in her mind that they would want to bring the Harmony System under their influence. Although, now that she thought about it, would being under the protection of the humans be all that bad, especially when compared to these Lacertera things the Admiral had mentioned? Not to mention the technology boom it would provide the species of Equis. The trade agreements would be a huge boon to the system's economy, plus it would introduce a vast array of goods that would otherwise be unavailable.

Applebloom glanced over at Dr. Kelly as she talked with Commander Baker in low tones, and thought about her options. On the one hoof, she could suggest to her friends that they provide the coordinates to the Harmony system to the humans right now so they could get home. Or, they could wait until they finished fixing the Midnight Song so they wouldn't have to rely on the humans for a ride. On the other hoof, they could hold off and not tell the humans anything, return to Equis once their ship was fixed, and then pretend the humans never existed until they had sorted out what to do with the Princesses.

The more she thought about it, the more the last option seemed like the best course of action. The Crusaders weren't equipped to be a diplomatic team, and they certainly didn't have the authority to make any major decisions on behalf of the races back home. So, while the two women talked about whatever, Applebloom walked over and motioned for Sweetie and Scootaloo to come close.

"What is it Applebloom?" Sweetie Bell asked as they huddled up, "Something the matter?"

"Not really, just bein' cautious," Applebloom replied, "Ah'm thinkin' it would be best to fix the ship and then high-tail it back to Equis without telling the humans where we came from. We don't know what they would do if we led them back home and we have no authority to tell them anything without contacting the Princesses first."

"So, we use the communicator on the ship to call them once things get up and running," Scootaloo added, "it's got the range to reach back home without too much trouble. Why not ask them for diplomatic power? Maybe we could even get them to talk with the Admiral about what we plan to do between our races. They do speak our language now, after all."

Sweetie nodded, "I think that might be a better idea than just running off once we fix the ship. It will look a lot better to the humans if we show them a level of trust." She forestalled Applebloom's interjection with a raised hoof, "I know they shot us near to pieces but that was a mistake that they already apologized for. As far as I'm concerned, we're even when it comes to that, doubly so if they help us fix the Midnight Song. So," she met each of the other mares' gazes in turn, "are we in agreement?"

Scootaloo nodded, "I like it. It builds trust and hopefully will open up trade between our races. If nothing else, they can help us if those Lacer-whatever things manage to find Equis. Imagine if those things found our home and we had no way to fight them off?" A shiver ran up the pegasus' spine as she continued, "I'd rather not think of the outcome of that if I can help it."

Both mares turned their gazes to Applebloom, who sighed in resignation as she realized she was outvoted, "Fine, but if this whole thing blows up in our faces Ah'm blaming you two."

Scootaloo grinned as the trio separated, "How about a good old Crusader cheer, for old times' sake?"

Sweetie Bell rolled her eyes but smiled anyway, leaving Applebloom to chuckle as she nodded her agreement, "Fine, Ah'm in."

All three mares jumped onto their hind legs and brought their right forehooves together in a collective high-hoof, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER DIPLOMATS, YAY!"

Dr. Kelly and Commander Baker jumped at the mares' outburst, which caused the trio to burst out laughing at their expressions. It took them a moment to get their bearings, but it was glossed over for the most part by the Crusaders' giggles.

Commander Baker rolled her eyes as she waved for the ponies to follow, "Come along you three. If I'm going to show you to your rooms before it gets too late, we'd better get a move on."

Applebloom nodded as she and her friends followed the armored human, leaving Dr. Kelly to wave goodbye as they exited the park.

"I'll see you three later," the scientist called after them, "I've got to get some notes compiled before we can begin our talks. I'll meet up with you and Samantha later on!"

Commander Baker grumbled under her breath as they walked away, "I told her not to call me by my first name while I'm on duty. Why doesn't that woman ever listen?"

Applebloom filed away the Commander's first name as they wound their way through the open space of the garden. They followed the pathway until they reached the lift from before, taking it up several more levels before popping out into a long hallway. The floor and walls were all painted an off-white color that reflected the overhead lamps well, nearly making Applebloom squint as they worked their way down the hallway. Doors and other hallways led to other sections of the ship, but for the most part the quartet followed the same hallway as they reached another section of the level. This one was painted a soft blue color on the walls while the ceiling was the same white as the floor, opening up into a large square room that had seven doorways lining the outer walls. Each of the doors had a silver plaque in the center of its surface, roughly at head height for the human that accompanied them and outfitted with a quintet of human numbers. From what Applebloom could see, the rooms in this section of the ship were numbered from '5280' to '5287'.

In the center of the room was a trio of black couches, fitted together in the shape of a 'C' with the opening facing a large flat screen. The screen rested on a black metal entertainment center, and came with several other consoles that Applebloom had no knowledge of. Other than that, the room was mostly barren, save for what looked like another table off to one side that sported a low net that split the table width-wise. A quartet of paddles were secured to the sides of the table with special holders, and a collection of small orange balls rested in the holders as well. All and all it looked like some kind of game, but Applebloom had no idea how it was played.

"Room 5284 is currently empty, so you three can share that one until the Admiral decides what to do with you three concerning your living arrangements." Baker walked up to the door and punched a pin code into the keypad next to the handle. It made an audible click and she pushed the handle down before opening the door, "Your pin code is 5-7-3-1. Don't tell anyone else your code and don't ask for anyone else's unless you have a personal relationship that I somehow missed. Other than that, I'll be out here if you need anything, so feel free to ask me any questions if you feel you have to."

Given the Commander had not been too friendly up until this point, Applebloom was inclined to take some time alone with the girls before interacting with the intimidating human, "Um, thanks, Ah think we'll take some time to get settled. Been a long trip an' all that."

She led Sweetie and Scootaloo past the armored woman and into their room, allowing Baker to close the door behind them. What met the ponies' gazes was a quant living room, with another tan-colored couch, what looked like a small kitchenette, and a duo of doors that led off to the left and right of the main room. Sweetie climbed onto the couch and sighed as she rested her head on her fetlocks, allowing Scootaloo to inspect the room on the left as Applebloom did the same on the right.

What Applebloom found was the bedroom, complete with a bed big enough for even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to share, and what looked like a walk-in closet for clothing. Although, given the only clothing the mares had was their jumpsuits, combined with the fact that ponies usually walked around in the nude, it wasn't going to see much use. The bed had a collection of no less than five pillows at its head, each covered in a dark green case that matched the sheets. The comforter that covered the sheets was a navy-blue color and had a star pattern stitched into the fabric, although Applebloom couldn't recognize any of the constellations. Other than that, it was a very comfortable space that she could be satisfied with. It also helped that the walls were painted a lighter shade of blue to make a more calming atmosphere.

Satisfied that they wouldn't have to take turns on the couch, Applebloom returned to the living room just in time for Scootaloo to exit the other room while the flushing of a toilet could be heard.

"Found the bathroom." The pegasus supplied unnecessarily.

Applebloom climbed onto the couch next to Sweetie and rested her head on one of the leg rests, "Ah think it's 'bout time we got some sleep. We've been goin' for almost two days without getting more than a few hours of rest. Ah don't know about you but Ah'm bushed."

Sweetie Bell let out a yawn that she tried and failed to suppress, "Yeah, I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"Me too," Scootaloo added as she climbed onto the far side of the couch and curled up into a ball, "too bad they don't have any clouds I could use for a bed. Now that would make my day."

Applebloom chuckled as her eyes began to flutter closed, "Now that would be something to see, clouds on a spaceship."

"Hey!" Scootaloo replied, "It could happen. With how advanced these humans are, who knows what kind of crazy things they could come up with?"

Applebloom would have retorted, but she was too far gone to muster up the energy. Sweetie was already quietly snoring between them, and for all her bluster, Scootaloo was already nodding off as well. Applebloom smiled as she closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of her friends breathe as she drifted off to sleep.

Ah wonder if Princess Luna can see our dreams all the way out here? She mused to herself, allowing sleep to overtake her as the thought went unanswered. Little did she know what was in store for her and her friends come the following morning.

Author's Note

Hoo boy, finally got his thing finished after a week and a half of next to nothing. Ah well, that's midterms for ya. Hardly had time to think so working on this chapter was next to impossible. Thank you all for being patient with me, and I hope you are all enjoying the story so far. Quite the little adventure the Crusaders have found themselves on isn't it? :rainbowdetermined2: Well strap into your seats because this thing is only just getting warmed up!! Hope you like space battles, because the next chapter is going to be a doosie!!

Hey, that's my line!! :pinkiegasp:

Pinkie? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be back on Equis with the other mane six.

Who said I wasn't? I'm just using my ability to break the fourth wall to talk to you while I'm sitting in my Party Planning Cave.

Oh sweet Celestia, please don't tell me you're going to spoil the whole aliens thing to the other ponies.

Hahahahaha! Like they would believe me. Anyway, I've got to go, Gummy needs his scales polished and I've got the biggest party in history to plan for. See you later, alligator!

*Facehoofs*I'm going to need an Aspirin by the time I get to that part. Anyways, hope you all like the book so far, but I do have a little bit of bad news to go with the good.

Bad news is that I'm going on a little break so my brain can reset itself for the next round of chapters. Try as I might I'm not going to be able to write a chapter for next few weeks unless you all want total garbage instead of the usual gold.

So, hang in there and I'll see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

And Pinkie Pie!

Gah! Celestia damn it, Pinkie! I told you not to scare ponies like that!

But I thought that was what Princess Celestia told Carpet Sense not to do? Oh, wait, sorry, wrong universe.

*Pops an Aspirin or seven* This is going to be a standing joke from now on, isn't it?

Yepperooni! Isn't it great?! :pinkiehappy:

*Perfect deapan* I'm overjoyed. Anyways, as I was saying, I'll see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill Messenger of the Moon.

*Shoves hoof in Pinkie's mouth to forestall second outburst* Not again Ms. Pie. Try again next chapter.