Jet Stream stood before the entrance to his condo with trepidation swelling in his heart. Its clean, modern-styled frame was inset by the sturdy slab of a door which lay before him like an impassable barrier. It had at last come to this final, inevitable moment.

With a heavy heart, Jet steeled his resolve and reached a trembling hoof forward to make contact with the brass-colored handle of the door. As the underside of his hoof met with the cold texture of the handle he began to think of the ensuing chaos that was sure to find on the other side... it gave him pause. He sighed, muttering to himself in frustration at his inability to confront what waited beyond.

"This is ridiculous," the successful and wealthy pegasus said. That he, Jet Stream from EquestriAero, could be stopped dead in his tracks by such a thing as this. He had brokered countless deals with cut-throat suppliers, brought fortune to his company and its shareholders, and overseen the successful launch of countless fleet airliners based on his very own designs! Shouldn't he be able to face any challenge, no matter how insurmountable, like he had so many times before?

But this is unlike any of those things, he thought to himself somberly. There were few challenges that could give pause to stallions such as him, all except one of course: the one which now awaited him beyond that towering and imposing door. Ridiculous as it might be and as foolish as he felt cowering before the entrance to his own home, Jet reasoned that there was simply nothing left for him to do but push on forward as he always had in business and in life. It wasn't going to be pretty, but he would be damned if he didn't go down fighting to the very end! Jet began to work himself up in his own mind, feeling a surge of confidence swelling up as it always did in times of need. He knew he could do this; he must do this! He could do anything he set his mind to, right?!

Yes! Of course he could meet this threat head on! He was Jet Stream!

With his newfound resolve Jet aggressively twisted the brass handle of the condo door and gave it a good shove. As the door yielded to Jet's superior authority the stallion strutted into the condo - his condo - and prepared to confront the source of his earlier apprehension.

"Apogee! I'm …"

Jet had gotten no further than three steps into his home before the object of his dread came starkly into view before him. In an instant, his heart froze and all the surging confidence that had been at his command just a moment ago wilted before the sight that now lay before him.

A young, yellow pegasus-teen sat on the nearby sofa with her arms crossed, waiting; she stared back at him with a look of disappointment so bleak that Jet felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. Apogee was clearly upset, and Jet knew she was going to blame him for being late. Seeing that look on her face was bad enough, but what was almost worse was the devastating silence that permeated the condo: there were no potato ponies bouncing around on the big screen TV to fill the air with stupid-silly fun... loud, blaring pop music was nowhere to be heard... no sound of Apogee's mirthful giggling nor the clamor of her energetic hooves tearing across the hard-wood panel flooring... just Jet, Apogee, and the silence. Desperate, Jet attempted to dispel that distressing stillness by beginning to explain himself.

"Now Apogee, I know I've missed the past few Tuesdays for our special time together and…"

Jet's mouth went suddenly dry, his heart quickly succumbing to the withering stare of his daughter. In her rose-colored eyes he swore he could see a glimpse of her mother (his ex), whose own eyes once captivated him with equally irresistible force and persuasion. It was unsettling how similar their eyes looked—nevermind the effect it had on him.

"Look, hun. W-We had a huge emergency at work... first my chief engineer was threatening to leave unless he got a chunk of stock options and…"

Apogee continued to stare unmoving, unflinching, right into his eyes.

"Well, anyway. Then there was a surprise visit from the regulator - wanted to see all our thaumic inventory records for the past 5 years! Can you believe that? If you could have just seen the look on Bookie's face when I told him about the audit!"

Jet gave a half-hearted chuckle in some sort of bid to lighten the mood. After a few seconds passed with Apogee only staring back at him with that terrible, icy look, Jet felt the humor fall flat and dead, the vacuum of tense silence sucking his words right into the floor. He regained some of his composure and pressed on.

"Eheh... Well, at this point it was well into the evening. I knew I was late, but not too late, right…? But then, believe it or not, one of our airline's jets had a huge malfunction right on the runway! Everypony had to evacuate and…"

Apogee's expression finally—finally—changed at this point, but Jet was wholly unprepared. It was a subtle change, little more than a curl of her lips, but it spoke volumes to him. His daughter, the light of his life, wasn't simply disappointed: Apogee was hurt, and as he knew she would, she blamed it all squarely on him – not Bookie's fumbling scramble to gather records or the careless engineer who had failed to notice the improperly welded manifold of the jet engine. Jet realized in the moment he saw the beginnings of that frown forming on her lips that no amount of explaining things was going to change her opinion right now.

"Apogee, honey... please... I know my job keeps me away sometimes but, I have responsibilities that I can't back out on... you know I still love you, right? Apogee?"

Jet took a few tentative steps toward the scowling filly, trying to close the small distance between them when suddenly she said one, single word.

"Dad."

Jet winced at his daughter’s voice. It was only one word, but the undeniable tone of cautioning—of outright warning—put a stop to his advance toward his daughter in an instant. Suddenly, that seemingly small distance expanded out before him like a bottomless chasm that he dared not cross. There was nothing left to do now but endure her angry words.

"It's been three Tuesdays you've missed. Three! Not just 'a few'," said Apogee, her voice rising in volume quickly. "Do you even know how hard it's been for me sitting here, alone, on our so-called 'special day'? You definitely don't make it, or me, feel very special!"

Jet recoiled from his daughter’s words. Feeling her scorn and seeing the hurt in her eyes was bad enough, but it was the realization that suddenly came to him which unsettled him the most: he really wasn't sure if he knew how this had been affecting his daughter. Before he could reason with himself however, Jet felt a sudden defensiveness overtake him. He was the provider... he had been all along... sheltering and clothing and taking care of Apogee who was, first and foremost, still his daughter.

She continued her argument as Jet went on ruminating. "... You said you would be here, and I just, you know… Dad, are you even listening?! Why can't you just let someone else at work deal with all that stupid… pointless… fucking horseshit!"

Jet Stream was roused from his contemplation to the sound of Apogee's scathing obscenities, prompting him to stamp his forehoof harshly against the hard-wood panel floors. Apogee fell abruptly silent, her eyes widening and showing immediate regret for the impassioned words she had just uttered. Her entire demeanor shrank as Jet Stream's firm, paternal voice rang out with finality.

"Young filly! I know our relationship with one another is a lot more… complicated than it used to be, but I am still your father! It's not like I'm doing this on purpose. I don't want to be dragged into last second meetings with the board or run all over Las Pegasus putting out 'fires' every single day, but that's just part of the trappings of being in the position I'm in."

"But… But dad!" Apogee pleaded. "I–"

"No, Apogee. Please, understand? I have to provide for you – for us. I have responsibilities and obligations to those who work under me too. Okay?"

Jet sighed and took stock of his daughter's emotional state: he couldn't really read her apart from the obvious look of 'you are the worst dad ever' painted all over her young, adolescent face. Seeing that Apogee was now silent—perhaps resigned—Jet pressed onward to deliver the real news he had been dreading more than any of the rest of it.

"Okay. Now, look.. I'm sorry sweetheart, but I have to leave again. I have some paperwork upstairs that I need to take back to the office, and–"

"What?!" Apogee screeched, interrupting a surprised and flinching Jet Stream. Whatever resignation and acceptance Apogee may have been feeling up until that point seemed to fracture the moment the news had been delivered. "You're leaving me now too!?" she huffed, suddenly shooting up from her seat and coming to a stand, facing her father. Her mouth hung wide open with disbelief at what had just been said. Before the testy teenager could further complain, Jet cut her off once more and continued his 'lecture'.

"Yes, I have to leave and I'm sorry, okay? I know you imagine: I'm the boss, I could just just assign someone to take care of all this for me; but I can't. There are some things that nopony else but the boss can do. Okay? Please, can’t you understand... "

"S-Stop," Apogee said, her eyes now turning away from Jet.

"What? Apogee… You–"

"No dad, just… Just go. I… I understand."

Although the filly seemed to be coming around to his way of thinking, Jet couldn't shake the sudden, dreadful ache he felt at seeing her look away from him. Jet would have given anything to see the bright and lovely smile of his daughter returned to her face, but to be shunned from even seeing her look of pain and sadness was almost unbearable. He sought to smooth the situation over somehow, grasping at whatever words he could.

"Thanks, hun, I'll… Look, next time I promise I'll–"

Jet Stream stopped speaking immediately, catching his tongue before it went and did something foolish. He didn't dare make a promise right now; was not even sure he could hope to keep it. Apogee didn't even bother to turn and acknowledge his half-finished assurances and simply began to walk away toward the stairs leading ultimately to her room.

With nothing more to be said, Jet Stream—that prominent and influential Engineer and CEO—watched, powerless, as his daughter cantered away from him, up the stairs and out of his sight.

Jet looked down at the ground between his hooves. He wanted to be angry, but to his dismay, his mind couldn't decide who to be angry at. As Jet paced up the stairs to his study to retrieve the needed documents he came back for, he thought of all the bungling ponies that had played a role in constructing this disaster of a day. Jet started to get some ideas about where to direct his anger.

A small trail had worn its way into the carpet of Apogee's room from the relentless pacing being inflicted upon it. On top of her nearby dresser a digital clock read eight o’clock, which was a full three hours past when Jet had meant to be home. Three hours of being lonely, anxious and angry! Apogee thought in a huff. For the last several minutes the filly had been fuming, her thoughts churning into a cauldron of ill will and rapidly growing spite.

"Stupid dad and his stupid job!" the filly muttered as she paced, her voice full of petulant conviction. "Stupid promises… Stupid broken promises!"

Apogee stamped her hoof into the trail-worn carpet as if to add emphasis to her heated words. A small hoof-shaped impression was left behind in her carpet as she pulled her hoof up and away to rub the side of her head.

"Doesn't he understand what this is doing to me?!" asked the young mare.

Apogee's eyes were drawn toward the door of her room as she heard the faint sound of hoofsteps descending the stairs outside her room. Probably dad getting ready to leave, Apogee thought. She scowled. It was likely for the best: she didn't think she could even stand to see her father right now anyway.

From down below, the sound of the condo's front door could be heard opening and closing loudly – firmly.

Did he just slam the door?!

Her ear twitching attentively, Apogee felt absolutely certain that, as he had left, Jet had slammed the door more aggressively and loudly than usual. It was such a little thing, but in her aggravated state she became utterly convinced he had stormed out of the condo in a fit of anger rather than simpering before her righteous rebuke as she felt he should.

In an instant the furious filly dashed to her bedroom door and sent it flying open with a shove. Her hoof shot out to brace against the door as it came sailing back toward her on its rebound. Apogee barely even registered the pain that shot down the length of her hoof as the door came to a shuddering stop, halted in its wild, swinging arc as her voice bellowed into the now empty condo.

"You aren't allowed to be mad at me! I'm supposed to be mad at you, you big… JERK!"

Even as Apogee shouted with all the volume she could muster, she immediately felt the futility and insincerity of her own hostile words; it utterly failed to give her the catharsis she had sought.

Surely her anger was justified? Minutes ago it had all seemed so clear... Jet's obvious wrongdoing was as plain as day she had thought. Yet, in spite of that, she found herself asking more and more questions of herself, turning her once crystal-clear convictions into a murky pool of hesitation and doubt.

With a sigh, Apogee dipped her head low and turned around, heading back into her room with a defeated canter. She found a place at the edge of her bed and took a seat there as her mind swam with a torrent of unfocused thoughts.

Wasn't it enough that he stood her up?

Couldn't she simply be allowed to feel angry?

She shook her head and looked up from the floor and found her eyes wander to the end table next to her bed where she kept a standing picture frame. She reached over and grabbed the picture, her eyes scanning the image thoughtfully. It had been a gift from two birthdays ago when they had gone to the Las Pegasus Carnival. Quite a few times over the following years Apogee had found herself drawn to the sentimental photo in times of emotional trouble.

On the picture she and Jet were sitting side-by-side. Apogee had her arms thrown about her father's neck in a powerful hug and was beaming a heart-melting smile right at the camera. Jet had on his usual dress shirt and tie and had a hoof placed gently across Apogee's back, pulling her in close as he gave a warm smile of his own. In the background you could clearly see the massive, iconic Las Pegasus ferris wheel. A dusky sunset had settled over the scene with small clusters of clouds dotting the sky, breaking up the fading sunlight into a kaleidoscope of orange light over everything below.

Apogee's face softened as memories of better days came to her.

It had been Apogee's birthday. She had always loved the carnival: all the games, the greasy and unhealthy foods, and even the painfully long lines to get onto any of the rides. Her favorite ride was, of course, the 'Super Rocket Blaster!'. It was perhaps not the most elegantly named ride, but none of that really mattered when you got to crawl into that world-of-tomorrow style rocket ship and take off toward the sky.

Apogee remembered how Jet would always hold her hoof as the two went careening up and down the rails. And the screaming! Not from her of course, but rather, from Jet. She could still remember the nervous way the stallion would ramble animatedly while they were slowly working their way through the lines; he would go on and on about the shoddy engineering of those—how had he put it?—'Carney-level crank engineer flunk outs'. Those rides always filled the 'world-class' engineer with some degree of dread… but Apogee loved them. The feel of the wind in her face as the rocket cart would pull you uncontrollably in every direction! It was such a raw and visceral thrill every time.

Yeah, her father hated it more than anything.

However, Apogee always knew she could trust her dad to be there, holding her hoof—or perhaps have his hoof be held by her—suffering through it together with her each and every time.

In spite of all her earlier rage, Apogee found her hoof tracing affectionately over the stallion in the picture – Jet, her father, her daddy.

And yet...

A thought came bubbling up to the surface in Apogee's mind, a little voice that whispered in her ear to remind her of the little detail she had forgotten. Or, perhaps, had been trying to trick herself into overlooking.

Daddy left me that day too, didn't he?

It was true, and Apogee couldn't deny it. Her father's departure happened like it did almost any other time she could remember: Jet got called into work at the last second due to some kind of emergency and had to cut her birthday celebrations short, leaving her (once again) disappointed and alone. As she reflected on these past setbacks she was surprised by how troubled those memories could still make her feel; even now, years later, it hurt to think about them.

Some things never change do they? Apogee thought as she absentmindedly turned the picture frame end-over-end in her hooves. Jet always prioritized his job and it had been that way for as long as she could remember. It wasn't until just recently that she even really took notice of it. Wasn't Jet always running off to deal with work and leaving her home? How many times had she munched on hoof-fulls of Boop O' Roops while boredly doing her homework when Jet should have been taking her to the movies? Or going shopping together? Or doing any of the various things he would always promise to do and never actually be there to do?

Truthfully Jet’s unexpected absences happened too many times to count and Apogee knew it. But why did it hurt so much more now than it did before?

Apogee knew the answer: everything had changed for them after 'that' night. It was all just so confusing and infuriating and wonderful all at the same time! It was all just so… different. Different and complicated!

Apogee's ceaseless fumbling of the picture frame came to a sudden stop as her eyes were cast back down, gazing intently at the stallion printed on its surface. Tears began to well up in the filly's eyes as she stared helplessly at the image. With a sudden and swift movement Apogee abruptly tossed the picture frame back onto her end table and turned away from it. The frame balanced precariously on the edge of the table for about half a second before the momentum from Apogee's carelessness sent it tipping over.

With her head turned away and her mind occupied, Apogee didn't even notice the picture falling toward the ground. The sound of the glass casement shattering as it struck the edge of her stack of school textbooks was the last straw on the camel’s back that was the poor filly’s strained psyche.

"W-What?!" Apogee yelped as her wings shot up at full attention from the startling and unmistakable sound of what had just happened. Her eyes immediately found their way to the small shards scattered all over her books and floor. Horrified realization spread over her face and in a moment she was down on her haunches examining the unintended devastation. She turned the frame over carefully to get a better look at the photo itself: it looked largely unharmed, but there was a small tear in one of the corners of the white border.

"Fuck! SHIT!"

Almost immediately Apogee was back up on her hooves and pacing away from the mess she had made, her mind once again a torrent of mixed feelings which battled for control of her mental state. After a few moments of surfing her turbulent feelings, one emotion finally rose to the surface and took root. Her head jerked back and looked one more time at the stallion on the picture.

"Fine! If you want to bail out on me, let's see how you like it dad!" roared the filly.

Apogee went for the saddlebag next to her textbooks. She grabbed it and tossed it onto her bed before her eyes began to wander around her room. I'm doing this, Apogee thought with conviction. She couldn't remember the last time she had entertained the idea of 'running away from home'. Is that what she was about to do? Truthfully she wasn't entirely sure what the plan was, other than to get out of the house as quickly as possible; every minute she spent stewing in her room was driving her further into rage.

Clothes would be needed. Apogee found herself in front of the dresser rooting through her modest collection (most of which were accessories) before selecting a couple of outfits haphazardly. Next came her favorite jacket, hanging on the nearby coat rack, which she grabbed and sent sailing through the air to the center of the bed alongside the rest of the clothes. Hair brush? Homework?! Pretty soon the filly was using her possessions as projectiles, throwing them as hard as she could to the center of the room. She barely even registered what was going into the pile as her irritation only escalated with each item she launched.

"Stupid Dad!" Apogee shouted.

Some lip gloss was tossed.

"Why couldn't you just stay home!"

Personal ID catapulted.

"I just wanted to fuck! What's so hard about that?!"

Silicone projectile from under the bed.

Apogee was so angry she could barely even see straight as she trotted from one corner of her room to the next gathering sundry items. Before she even realized it the pile at the center of her bed had grown into a small hill of clothes, hygiene products, her giant dildo, homework… wait, when did she toss the dildo onto the pile? A grunt of frustration was given as the yellow pegasus snatched the stupid, oversized piece of unsatisfying silicone into her hoof and examined it. She could hardly believe she had wasted so many bits on something she'd never managed to even use properly.

"Maybe if dad actually kept his promises I wouldn't have needed to buy you," Apogee said to the dildo bitterly. It didn't really have much to say back to the young mare and simply went on being cold and lifeless as the day she had bought it. A sigh passed through Apogee's lips as she unceremoniously tossed the grotesquely large thing onto the floor beside her.

It was bad enough to be angry at Jet, but Apogee found it even more aggravating that her mind was still thinking about dick even as she fumed with anger. She found her eyes drawn down to the phallus laying by her hooves as thoughts of her father entered her mind. A frown formed on her lips.

Apogee gave the sex toy a swift kick with her hoof, knocking it under the bed with a heavy tumble. Her eyes returned back to the ridiculous pile of assorted stuff on the bed and she shook her head, feeling suddenly foolish.

What… am I going on vacation? Apogee thought bitterly.

Feeling flustered, Apogee began to sort her way through the collected junk and put it into her saddlebag while her mind went on racing. Where was she even going to go? She hadn't given it any thought at all; she was operating almost entirely on emotion at this point.

In a little under a minute the saddlebag was completely stuffed with only a fraction of the various things she had mindlessly tossed to the bed. Apogee's growing emotional turmoil was blossoming over her face as she tried to sort items in and out of the bag, looking only for essentials.

"Damnit, where did I put my ID?!" Apogee asked with renewed irritation as she dug her hooves through the bed pile. A long, simmering sigh passed from her lips. She just wanted to get away; to be anywhere but here. Her eyes found their way to the sliding door which led out to her patio and the night sky over Las Pegasus that waited beyond.

The cold dark of night had never seemed so inviting.

With a resolute shake of her head Apogee grabbed her jacket and slung it over her body. She zipped the garment up—taking a moment to wiggle her wings through the slits at the top—and drew the collar out to cover her neck from the bitter cold of night flying as she slowly made her way to the patio door and opened it.

Cold winter air bit into her face as she peered out into the night sky and beyond. From the rather majestic heights of her condo balcony a pony could gaze out over most of Las Pegasus. The condo was high enough that you could even see the signs of sky life that buzzed in the cloud-bound part of the city that floated high above the streets below. Las Pegasus was a beautiful city, but Apogee had little care for it right now. It wasn't the sights and sounds of the city life she wanted, but rather an escape from the oppressive reminder of her father's absence that seemed to exist in every sight and smell of her home.

Apogee took a tentative step forward onto the balcony and felt the icy, cold concrete contact the bottoms of her hooves. A look of resolve washed over her features and she took a few more confident steps out onto the balcony with her head held up high, scanning the horizon for nothing in particular. Slowly, she turned back on her hooves and faced the patio door, a hoof reaching out to grab ahold of it. She paused, a thought suddenly occurring to her.

"Maybe… Maybe I should leave a note?" Apogee asked to the crisp night air. Her eyes found their way back inside the condo, into her room, full of all those familiar sights and smells of home. She thought about that broken picture frame and the stallion on its surface and was reminded of why she was standing out here on the balcony, cold and alone.

"No," she said.

Apogee closed the balcony door, a loud and metallic click declaring with a sudden sense of finality that the latch had engaged. The sound of it sent a sudden spike of adrenaline through the yellow pegasus: she was committed now.

With only a brief inhale and a few quick steps, Apogee found herself leaping from the patio balcony and taking to the air. It was a sobering experience to soar through the cold desert sky, feeling the wind whipping through her short cut hair as the cityscape crawled along below her.

From up here Apogee could barely make out the vague shapes of ponies below going on about their lives. Some headed to the restaurants with their dates. Others were hitting any one of the numerous bars, clubs, or casinos for dancing and fun. They milled about doing all the things Apogee wished she could be doing right now… with Jet.

Instead, she was flying aimlessly forward toward an unknown destination. Where would she go?! She hadn't given it as much thought as she knew she should have, but she tried to think of something as the cold winter air continued to assault and buffet her.

Many ideas filled Apogee's mind as to where she might spend the night. There were various friends she considered trying: her best friend Daisy "Diz" Cutter seemed to be the best possible option. As she considered the option with more scrutiny, however, it became increasingly obvious that Diz's dad would flip if Apogee suddenly showed up in the middle of the night without an explanation. He'd probably contact Jet within the hour to let him know she had run off and Apogee was definitely not prepared to face her dad right now, not so soon after their confrontation. She wondered if simply lying about her reasons for visiting on short notice might be the answer, but quickly concluded that it would be in vain. Besides the obvious fact it was a school weekday, she doubted she would be able to fully hide her current frustration and mood from Diz’s dad.

Apogee sighed as she banked hard toward the south side of the city, her eyes settling on the distant horizon. She thought of all the other places should could try going for the night, but when it came right down to it, it was pretty obvious where she would have to go.

From high up here, Apogee could just about make out the faint twinkling of the junkyard lighting even at this distance. Would Delta even be home right now? Apogee couldn't be sure, but as she turned and looked at the condo shrinking behind her, she was struck with the feeling of impossible distance growing with every second she flew; it may as well have been a thousand miles away.

Apogee squinted her eyes at that twinkling out on the outskirts of the city and set her course toward it.

Delta Vee's junkyard wasn't the most illustrious or homey of places in Las Pegasus.

Among the piles of assorted rocket parts, junk and assorted scrap metal there was a small hangar that filled up a significant portion of the available space in the rugged compound. A personal water tower and Delta's trailer home made it clear that somepony must live on the lot. Around the perimeter of the property was a walled fence. It served a dubious purpose considering that not many ponies would have any trouble either flying or levitating over it, though few ponies would likely try such a thing: apart from the rather questionable value of the junkyard's inventory for any would-be thief, Delta Vee herself had a bit of a reputation around town that served as a far better deterrent than any wall ever could.

Down on the ground level, a narrow dirt trail wound its way from the wall's front entrance to the trailer. Ambling slowly and with little apparent sense of purpose along the trail was Apogee, who approached the trailer with a look of apprehension. Once she found herself face to face with the trailer's side door she came to a stop. Not for the first time this evening (nor likely the last), Apogee gave a long sigh.

This was going to be awkward. Apogee knew her mother didn't exactly take kindly to her showing up unannounced even at the best of times. Of course in many of those instances Jet had accompanied her to the Junkyard to drop her off, and few things could send Delta into a mood more quickly than seeing her ex. Apogee had never figured out how much of the mare's dour attitude was as a result of her own presence or from seeing Jet.

It didn't matter, Apogee reasoned. She was here now and she had made up her mind to stay the night, even if it meant enduring a lecture or two from her mother. With some resolution returning to her, Apogee reached forward with a hoof and rested it on the door's latch.

She took a deep breath.

Her mind filled with a dozen different excuses she could spew out to Delta once inside. In each and every one of those scenarios she could imagine with frightening clarity the look of righteous indignation on her mother's face. The filly felt a lump forming in her throat and she swallowed it down with some effort.

There was no going back.

Apogee gave the door handle a quick twist while pulling… It rattled unyieldingly, locked from the inside.

Apogee gawked at the door, stunned. "Are you freaking kidding me?!" she cried.

After a few more seconds of yanking angrily on the unmoving door handle Apogee was convinced the door was, in fact, locked. She stood staring at the door in disbelief. A flurry of memories rushed back into her mind: her argument with Jet, fleeing off to her room, throwing the silicon dildo to the ground… flying through the bitter cold to come here and now this! Was the universe playing some kind of cosmic joke on her? She wouldn't have it! Apogee began to beat on the trailer door with her hoof.

"Mom! Mom, let me in, c'mon!"

No answer. Apogee's striking against the door intensified.

"Don't tell me you aren't home…!"

Apogee's eyes darted erratically up and down the door's frame and down the length of the trailer as if searching for some kind of sign that there was activity inside. However, after nearly twenty seconds had passed with no further noise coming from within, she was as certain as she could be that Delta wasn't here. Or, at the very least, was passed out drunk inside.

"Who locks their doors? Who does that?!"

Apogee's hind legs suddenly gave out and she found her butt planting firmly against the cold ground. It was ridiculous; it was simply too much to bear, and after all her earlier dread and hesitation Apogee suddenly felt like the biggest fool in Equestria. Had she really ran away from home like a little foalish, indignant teen? Worse still, she had stormed up to her mom's trailer and found all her earlier convictions and ill-conceived plans utterly thwarted by—of all things—a locked door!

The absurdity of the entire situation made Apogee's lips curl up into a forced and incredulous smirk. All she could think about was how incredibly silly she must look as she stood there in defeat. The mental image of her whining and banging on the door was the thing which finally made her break slightly.

Without warning, Apogee found herself abruptly begin laughing at the whole situation: even in spite of her sizzling anger she couldn't help but spare a giggle at how comically absurd this night was turning out to be. What was she doing here? What kind of madness had driven her out of the condo and in front of her mother's trailer? Apogee wasn't really sure anymore. Sure, Jet had stood her up, but… this? All this? It all just seemed so suddenly stupid that she could hardly stand it.

Apogee glanced back up at the door and gave out a rueful groan as she shook her head, her earlier amusement fading quickly in the bitter cold. While she did feel slightly better than she had a moment ago, the fact remained she was still standing outside, in the middle of winter, and had no way to get into the trailer. She began to entertain a variety of different means that she might get inside, some of which would likely only get her into even more trouble, when it suddenly dawned on her: didn't Delta keep a key to the trailer under the welcome mat?

It took all of Apogee's effort not to burst into a new round of giggling at the fact she had forgotten about the key until after she’d begun wailing at the door and acting like a loon. It was made all the more silly when she considered that her mother, an incredibly intelligent and often brilliant mare, would choose to hide the key to her trailer under the welcome mat of all places. Apogee rolled her eyes and gave a brief snort of further amusement; it really only served to further emphasize how absurdly silly her life felt right at that moment.

Shrugging the thought away, Apogee reached under the mat and quickly found the key there. She fiddled with the door lock for a moment before she heard the reassuring click that let her know she now had access. At last Apogee was able to pull the door open and step into the musty yet familiar kitchen inside.

The smell of cigarettes hung heavily in the air. Apogee's nose scrunched at the stale scent of it as she stepped more fully inside. It was rather cold in here she noticed; she hastily pulled the door shut behind her before returning her curious gaze to the cramped home. It was a wasteland of beer cans, bottles, plastic wrappers and other more unrecognizable refuse.

Yep, same old mom…

Apogee had to admit that the trailer never did quite feel like 'home' to her no matter how often she visited. Perhaps it was the strained relationship with her mother or simply that the trailer lacked many of the accoutrements that she'd grown accustomed to having in her father's condo.

Feeling a sense of resolve to make the best of things, regardless of how awkward staying the night uninvited might be, Apogee pressed on undeterred. It was certainly better than admitting 'defeat' and returning home, she concluded to herself. She had decided on this course of action and a messy, cramped trailer was certainly not enough to change her mind. Dealing with her mother's scorn however, that was truly another matter altogether. What could she say to allay her mother's inevitable rant?

As Apogee stood in the kitchen pondering what sort of excuses to try on Delta, she became increasingly aware of just how frozen her wings and extremities felt . The night’s crisp desert air had just about cut her to the bone during the flight here, jacket or not; getting some heat back in her feathers was going to be the first step. Apogee slipped quickly over toward the ancient box-shaped space heater nestled against the equally old refrigerator. She played around with the controls for a moment before the old thing kicked on with an indignant sputter.

"Good boy!" Apogee said, smiling and tapping her hoof on the grumbly unit while mock-petting it.

It gave a few more sputtering coughs before reluctantly beginning to fill the small trailer with life-giving warmth. Before Apogee could continue her exploration of the trailer she found herself momentarily paralyzed by the euphoric blanket of heat now enveloping her chilled body.

"Ohhhh, that's so good," the pegasus filly said as she ruffled her wings and puffed out her chest.

Minutes passed while Apogee remained standing in front of the gentle heat, allowing her mind to wander. More than once she caught herself trying to think about Jet and Delta, imagining how badly she would be grounded when she went home tomorrow or dreading the anticipated scathing remarks from her mom whenever the mare finally got home – likely drunk. For now though, she just grinned and let out a soft chuckle; that was future Apogee's problem to deal with.

Her mind began to clear, filled entirely by the feeling of the wondrous, glowing warmth that washed over her. All of the nights stress and pain couldn't hope to stand against the pure and simple joy that the little space heater was providing; it was a catharsis more powerful than all her earlier screaming and shouting ever could have been. It was heavenly, and Apogee never wanted it to end.

A thought did occur to her after standing in the warmth a while however: what if Delta had been passed out drunk in her room this entire time? She hadn't exactly scouted out the trailer for the presence of the blue mare, enthralled as she was by the glorious winter-defying hospitality of the heater unit. Apogee's eyes cautiously turned toward the direction of her mother's bedroom.

Apogee knew the doorway led out of the kitchen and went into a small hallway before immediately connecting to her mom's tiny bedroom beyond. An even smaller bathroom with threadbare amenities was attached to the hallway from the side and had a barely functional door on it. Neither the bedroom nor the kitchen passageway had doors of course, which meant Apogee could peer down the hallway and into Delta's room straight from the kitchen.

Apogee reluctantly tore herself away from the source of her comforting pleasure and trotted the short distance to the kitchen doorway and stood off to the side of it. Standing on her hooftips, she peered down the hall and into her mother's room.

"Hey mom?" she called nervously. "You in there?" Her voice carried clearly down the hall and she was pretty sure Delta would have heard her if she was there.

Several seconds went by with no answer. No sound of soft snoring or angry muttering could be heard. Nothing.

Apogee tried again.

"Hey, if you're in there… I'm respecting your privacy by calling out to you, but exercising my right as a nosy teenager to come in anyway!" she said, her voice adopting a playful sing-songy falsetto. Still no answer. She allowed herself to relax a little, though she knew an exploration of the bedroom was still in order.

Guess I better go check it out, Apogee thought.

Seeming to be here for the long haul, Apogee unzipped her jacket and pulled it off, then slung it onto the back of a nearby chair. Now unladen, and with hesitation in her step, she moved into the hallway... only stopping once the door to the bathroom came up on her right.

Apogee spared a brief glance into the claustrophobic space and found no sign of Delta other than a small puddle of water at the base of the miniscule shower unit, perhaps indicating its recent usage; or the presence of a leak. Apogee could believe either, knowing the state of disrepair her mother’s home languished in.

Pressing on, she directed her attention back toward Delta's room, took a deep breath, and walked forward. After she had entered about three feet into her mother's bedroom, Apogee came to an abrupt stop as her eyes went wide from the sight she then saw.

"Whoa…"

Littered all about Delta's bed was what appeared to be her entire collection of sex toys and more than a few adult magazines. The bedsheets looked like they had been recently used, twisted and tangled into a chaotic mess, no doubt from Delta's thrashing. While surveying the sexual war zone, Apogee felt her cheeks becoming hotter as she unwittingly imagined what kind of mood her mother must have been in to leave the bed in such a state.

For all her bad luck today, she was at least grateful not to have interrupted her mom while she was creating this mess.

Oh my goodness mom, you're such a horny mare, Apogee thought.

An amused smirk tried to form on her lips, but something clawing at the back of her mind prevented it. As much as the filly wanted to have a simple and immature chuckle at her mother's expense, she found instead a deeper sense of understanding and sympathy for her mom that, in her own shameful admittance, she had overlooked before. Maybe she and Delta really weren’t so different after all?

Apogee pushed the kindling realization in her mind aside as she stepped more fully into the room. A slight chill was still present in the bedroom but Apogee decided to remove her coat anyway, tossing it over the edge of the hoofboard of the bed in front of her. She had a look of casual boredom as she paced around the edge of the bed and took in the sights.

Her mom's room was a cramped and messy affair, full of empty bottles and beer cans. It wasn't quite as bad as the kitchen, but it did leave the already small space feeling all the more claustrophobic and disorganized. What it lacked for in cleanliness it did at least make up for in personality, with various posters hanging on the walls ranging from rock bands of the past few decades; pictures of ponies who were famous for both academia and music; even schematics of legacy rockets and various other illustrations of scientific merit. Nearly every inch of the walls were covered with the eclectic mix of music and science from Equestrian history, but Apogee found it had a certain undeniable charm to it: everything about the room screamed 'Delta Vee'... sex toys included.

Amenities, on the other hoof, were sparse... aside from a reasonably expensive home music system that stood against the wall opposite the bed. Apogee found herself drawn to it and ran a hoof over it curiously. There was very little dust on it, and she figured it was likely the most well-cared for object in the entire trailer.

"Nice priorities mom," Apogee murmured sarcastically, smirking. Her exploring hoof found its way to the control panel and without much thought or consideration she pressed the 'play' button.

Hard rock burst out from the speakers and caused the young pegasus to flail and stammer backward in surprise until she fell back onto her plot. Had Delta been playing her soundtrack loud enough so that it could be heard from Manehattan?!

Apogee scrambled back onto her legs and tried to silence the ear-splitting music with a wild thrashing of her hooves over the console. After pitching up the bass by about twenty percent, randomizing her moms playlist and maybe deleting a few tracks from internal memory, Apogee finally managed to bring the music player under control by pausing the playback. With a sigh of relief passing through her lips, she took a moment to refamiliarize herself with the controls; it wasn't the first time she had used the sound system though it had been a while since she last played with it.

Delta's taste in music was certainly particular but Apogee found she still had, at the very least, an appreciation for some of the older mare's music selection. For the time being, the filly found something light and jazzy to listen to and turned the volume down to a more reasonable level. It may not have magically transformed the trailer into a clean, roomy abode full of the sights and smells she was acquainted with at home, but the soft background music did at least lighten the mood and help put her that much more at ease.

Apogee stood quietly for a while, enjoying the improved ambiance, before finally returning her attention to the bed.

Now what? Apogee wondered. Watching television didn't really sound appealing to her, and—to her chagrin—she failed to bring along any books or schoolwork like she had originally planned. Wincing, Apogee made a mental note to be more patient about packing when she was running away from home in an emotional fit of distress...

… Realizing the stupidity of that thought was sufficient to make the filly roll her eyes.

With nothing better left to do, Apogee trotted over to her mother's bed and took a seat at its edge, a long sigh escaping her as she did. It hadn't been until that moment that she realized how tired her body was. It really wasn't a long flight from the condo to the junkyard, but the combination of the cold air and her heightened tension from the day's events had certainly taken their toll.

Feeling her legs ache pleasantly as she sat was enough to make Apogee all but throw herself backward onto her mother's bed so that the rest of her muscles might enjoy the same relief. To her distress, she was surprised to feel something hard and conspicuously phallic shaped jab into the spot between her folded wings as her back hit the tousled bed sheets. An annoyed grunt was given in protest as she lifted her body up enough so that her wing could swat the object out from under her.

Just as she had predicted, another of her mother's dildos from her seemingly endless stockpile rolled dejectedly out from under her. She found her eyes drawn to the rolling object as it came to rest on a nearby playcolt magazine.

Wait, was that…?

Apogee rolled over onto her side and reached over to knock the twice-thwarted dildo off of the magazine that had caught her attention. It rolled a few more feet to the side as Apogee poured her curious eyes over the familiar magazine cover. Her hoof reached out and pawed at it to bring it closer. As she got a better look at the mare on the cover it dawned on her why it seemed so familiar: this was the first playcolt she had ever looked at.

Thinking back, Apogee recalled that it was in this very room, years ago, that she took that first awkward and thrilling step into broadening her sexual identity.

Until then she had always relied only on her imagination—those wild and often unrealistic expectations that a foal's mind usually conjurs at a young age—to guide her sexual awakening. She could still remember how her hooves had shaken with anticipation as she’d nervously peeled back the cover of the magazine, her mind racing from what she might see.

As it had turned out, the magazine was full of partially clothed mares; truly scandalous. As obvious as it seemed to Apogee now, years older, she could hardly blame herself for thinking that the pages of that magazine might hold the very secrets of the universe – that is to say, for all the bluster and secrecy that adults seemed to protect them with. Could she really be blamed for her naivete? All the same, what Apogee found in the pages of that magazine had certainly agreed with her enough to warrant return viewings in the months that had followed.

Feeling a pang of nostalgia and even some excitement, Apogee flipped the magazine open and landed on the familiar sight of a young and, Apogee had to admit, still very attractive looking blue pegasus model showing off her rear legs while wearing a black G-String.

She couldn't repress a smile as she recalled how lewd and raunchy this relatively tame image had seemed years ago. Time may have changed her perception of what constituted as 'lewd', but Apogee was pleased to find that the imagery was every bit as enjoyable to look at now as it had been years ago. Though, that wasn't to say Apogee’s now broader interests meant that she'd been neglecting to notice the ever-developing features and sensuous curves of some of her classmates over the past few years; even in recent weeks, with thoughts of Jet dominating her mind, she still found her eyes drawn to the odd filly or mare here and there, in addition to the colts and stallions that her female classmates tittered incessantly about.

Apogee began to skim through the pages of the playcolt in search of reading material, stopping occasionally to admire a familiar face along the way.

Minutes passed with her finding only a couple articles giving dubious dating advice and a bunch of outdated news about pop icons, many of which had ceased being 'newsworthy' months or even weeks after the magazine had gone to print. It was like an embarrassing time capsule which gave a peek into events that, for many ponies, seemed important at the time but was now little more than a footnote in everypony's memory.

With growing boredom, Apogee continued to flip through the magazine as her mind wandered.

How long would it be before Delta came home? Apogee wasn't really looking forward to the encounter, though she also couldn't deny that the older mare's foul mouth and irritable ranting would probably be preferable to scavenging through playcolt magazines in search of… well, honestly, absolutely anything of intellectual value. She wondered where the mare might be now. At the bar perhaps? It was more than a little likely, and Apogee knew she needed to mentally prepare herself to deal with the very real possibility of a drunk and angry Delta.

"Hope you're having a good time wherever you are mom," Apogee said, her eyes pulling away from the magazine and glancing out the nearby window. "... Or, a better day than me, anyway."

With that thought in mind Apogee returned to the playcolt magazine with a sigh.

As Apogee resumed flipping through the pages, she appreciated that no matter how outdated the trends and fads of years gone by may be, the visual appeal of the magazine remained as timeless as she remembered.

In fact, Apogee just about entirely forgot about everything else around her as she embraced the reunion with the old, trusty magazine. With each page she turned, her smile grew wider and wider as soft jazz continued playing in the background.

Yep, Apogee thought, tenderly stroking her hoof over the leafs of the magazine. The old gal's still got it.

Author's Note

For as long as I've been doing bits and pieces of writing over the years, I can honestly say I had more trouble getting this first chapter of 'Course Correction' out than almost any other project in recent memory. It took me longer to get done than I would have liked, but here it is.

I must also give tremendous thanks to the two who helped edit and proof this chapter, Clopficsinthecomments and P-Berry, who both encouraged me to finish writing and publishing this as well as offering countless edits.

There will be, at a minimum, two more chapters to go along with this one, and I will likely do some more after that. Following chapters should be much quicker and easier for me to write.

I realize the first chapter is perhaps a touch 'dry', and truthfully, chapter two—which I am mostly done writing already—will be a bit on the melancholy side, but it is all leading up to something good. Or, I think so anyway!

Being as this is my first submission to Fimfic, just wanna say 'hi' to anyone reading this far. Hope you liked what you saw and come back for chapter 2.

Thanks for looking!

ps: No, I'm not sorry for the Orbital Mechanics-based puns for the chapter titles.