A Balance of Fire and Light

“Oh my, it's beautiful here.” Fluttershy quietly beamed as she looked around the rolling fields, streams and ponds, and lightly wooded grounds that everyone walked through.

“And this is all inside a space ship?” Rarity asked as she admired the view.

“This area exists in subspace, so it's not so much inside the Mikagami as it is between the Mikagami.” The handmaiden leading them down the manicured path explained.

“All these wide open spaces are great.” Rainbow Dash commented as she followed Fluttershy's gaze. “Wanna race after whatever this meeting is?”

“Only if you're ready to lose.” Applejack answered with a chuckle.

“If you'd like to,” The handmaid chimed in, “you can indulge right now. This meeting is more for King Glastos' benefit.”

Rainbow Dash looked out to the wide open fields, seeing everything it had to offer for fun and relaxation. With a smile she turned back. “I can wait. I want to make sure he's doing well.” Rainbow Dash answered before turning to the tall thin woman stiffly walking behind them, looking absolutely terrified. “Also her.” She added, her smile fading to a look of confusion.

Aoi continued forward, not hearing anything said to or about her. She walked, feeling as though she were being led to execution.

“Aoi,” James said firmly, “relax.”

“She's freaking out pretty bad right now.” Starlight told James. “I think it's just best to let her work through this on her own at the moment.” She continued walking a moment before speaking up again, “What about you? You've been a bit cold since we found you.”

James noticeably walked stiffly for a few strides before exhaling. “It was silent” he quietly said, “and I couldn't see or move. For more than a day my only company were those memories. It's been everything I can do to not let my emotions overrule me.”

“Mikami assured us they'd treat you well.” Twilight said, astonished. “Was it just so we wouldn't worry?”

“I can't speak to their motives for sealing me the way that they did.” James commented.

“And the only one who can is currently quieter than a mouse.” Applejack commented, gesturing back to Aoi.

***

Tali ran up to James, inspecting him up and down moments before hugging him. “I just read their report.” Tali explained, “Are you alright?”

“I'm fine.” James quietly said, his voice even.

“Sounds like you're holding yourself back.” Lucca said as she walked up to him. She placed her hand on his cheek and looked into his eyes. “I see.” She continued as she moved her hand to his shoulder. “You'll be alright, it's just going to take a bit.”

James nodded as Lucca hugged him briefly.

“There was a report?” Twilight asked as she approached Lady Seto, sitting on a comfortable looking wooden bench.

“Yes, it seems that some of James' former crew-mates were among the pirates of the Kage guild, and they provided us with telling information about his capture and imprisonment.” Seto explained as everyone approached her. “Suffice to say, that even if Sakuma were to be released from prison anytime soon, the Kage guild's reputation will be so stained that it will never rise again. At least, not as one of the respected pirate guilds.”

Seto stood and formally greeted everyone, before her attention turned to Aoi, standing rigid and sweating profusely.

Seto smirked and blinked a few times. “Ah, Ms. Aoi, James' former personal guard. I understand you were instrumental to helping him escape.”

Hearing Seto say her name snapped Aoi back to reality, though she was no less terrified. “Yes, Lady Seto Kamiki Jurai.” she said abruptly.

Seto smiled warmly and closed her eyes as she spoke, giving her a notably friendly appearance. “Now now, please calm down. I assure you that there's nothing to worry about. In fact, I have to thank you. James is an important trade partner for the universe. Though notoriously inflexible with kidnappers.” She calmly said.

“But … what about my record?” Aoi hesitantly asked.

Seto nodded sagely as she continued to smile. “It's very unfortunate that we've been unable to confirm any of the information inside it concerning any kind of criminal history.”

“Really?” Aoi asked, her mouth falling open.

“While we cannot confirm it, the information is still there, and to keep the assumption that our records are wrong I would suggest you continue not engaging in piracy.” Seto clarified. Her tone, while conversational had the distinct ring of a threat to it.

“Of course, Lady Seto!” Aoi answered quickly, snapping to attention. Moments later, as she finally began to relax, she started to register the sights and people around her. After a few moments her gaze settled on Lucca, where she held it.

“Hello.” Lucca said, slightly uncomfortably.

Aoi looked Lucca up and down a couple times before smiling slightly. “So you're the girl he went back for.” She said, rather than asked.

“I'm his wife,” Lucca answered just as uncomfortably, “if that's what you mean.”

“Yeah, you look just like the picture.” Aoi nodded, “It's nice to actually meet you.”

“He carried her picture even before they were married,” Tali cooed “that's so sweet.”

“Really seems like everything worked out for you Captain.” Aoi said, looking around almost admiringly.

“A lot of things did.” James evenly said, “and so many other things went worse than anyone could have ever predicted.” As he spoke, he began to look into the distance, not focusing on anything.

“It's okay James.” Starlight was quick to say, “You're here now, and that counts for a lot.”

James' eyes focused again as he forced a week smile, “Thank you.”

“This isn't like your other freak-outs.” Rainbow Dash said as she flew up to James and looked his face over.

“Rainbow Dash!” Starlight scolded, “It's clearly bugging him.”

“I know!” Rainbow Dash countered, “But this isn't like the other times, you're not as depressed, but …”

“I didn't know how long I was going to be in there,” James began, cutting her off, “I had to do whatever I could to suppress my emotions. Mercifully, it wasn't long, so I should return to myself in a few days.”

“I hate to interrupt,” Seto calmly said, catching everyone's attention. “As much as I would like to catch up, it seems that I have a lot of work to do processing all the pirates we've just captured.”

“Wait, Lady Seto!” Twilight urgently said. “We had help from retired pirates …”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash cut in, “the Shiitake fleet!”

The ponies all stared at Rainbow Dash a moment before Twilight corrected the name for Seto. “The Shisan Fleet.”

“Curious.” Seto said, interested, “I wonder how this came about.” Despite clear interest, her face was even, as if anything Twilight would say would not be news.

“They sent me a letter that asked me to call them.” Twilight said, feeling scrutinized by Seto's steady eyes.

“I see. And all out of the goodness of their hearts?” Seto continued.

Twilight hung her head, not knowing why she felt as though she'd let everyone down. “Not really …” Twilight began.

“Regardless of their reason, if they are trying to break away from piracy it's worth looking into.” Seto interrupted. “And if we find that their interest is genuine, Jurai may be able to take them on as a protected province until they're able to stand on their own.”

Twilight's eyes went wide in shock, “So you'll give them a chance?”

“Of course. That would be one less pirate guild for us to worry about.” Seto calmly answered. “Thank you for trusting them, it may lead to further harmony in the universe.”

Twilight's heart fluttered at the thanks, she couldn't help but feel proud of herself for what she believed to be a stroke of luck.

“I do apologize for cutting this short, perhaps I should come and visit once we're done processing all of these pirates. I believe we have a couple things to talk about.”

“Yes, of course!” Twilight happily said.

With a nod, Lucca turned to the ponies and gestured as she spoke. “Alright, let's get back to the academy and find a party to crash. I think we all deserve it after today.”

“This was … weird.” Aoi said uncomfortably as she followed the group away from Lady Seto. “Uhm … Can I get a ride? I don't exactly have any transport … or a job.”

“Of course.” Tali happily said, “You're coming with us.”

“The more the merrier.” Applejack said with a smile.

“Oh, I love making new friends!” Pinkie excitedly said, rushing over and hugging Aoi tightly.

Aoi tried to flinch away, but inevitably accepted that she was getting hugged. “You don't need me to tag along.” She said, waving the offer away.

“Nonsense.” Tali said, chuckling slightly as she spoke. “Besides, I need to hear about what James was like before he was married.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash announced, “I bet you've had a ton of awesome adventures!”

***

Rainbow Dash was sitting on her bed, re-reading the latest Daring Do book by the light of her table lamp, when there was a knock at her door.

She was brought back to reality with a start, looking up and remembering that she was in her room on an alien planet, and not living alone right now.

“Come on in.” She easily said, finding a bookmark to close her book.

Tali casually opened the door, walking over to a plush stool where she sat. “Sorry, James' snoring is worse than usual tonight, and with Aoi on the couch I have to look around a bit. Would you mind if I take up a corner for the night?”

“Go for it. I know how bad his snoring can get.”

“Worse than you think. I grew up sleeping next to engines and filtration systems. If you can sleep next to those, you can sleep through almost anything. His snoring is part of that almost.”

“There was that month I was stuck with him,” Rainbow Dash reminded her. “More than once I wondered if it would be so bad if I just used a pillow to shut him up.”

Tali tilted her head briefly, “Did you …?”

“No, I didn't. But he had already told me about the implant. I argued to myself he'd be alright, but it was just a bit too … murdery.” Rainbow Dash explained.

“Well, that wouldn't be the worst someone has considered doing to stop his snoring.” Tali laughed.

“How does Lucca do it? She sleeps next to him all the time.”

“Practice: She just got used to it over the years. But that means she also has a problem I had years ago, and if it's too quiet she can't sleep.” Tali said with a shrug. “You know, since James will sometimes just stop breathing when he sleeps.”

“I haven't slept next to him that much.” Rainbow Dash answered with a blush.

“Really?” Tali asked, clearly interested. “Since you two are together, and spending all this time without us, I would think you'd want to have a little fun.”

“We haven't trained the whole time. Just a few days ago we all went to the beach.” Rainbow Dash answered.

“Don't play coy Rainbow Dash, we're both healthy women with natural urges.” Tali coyly said.

“Uhm … I guess.” Rainbow Dash awkwardly answered.

Tali tilted her head slightly as she leaned forward. “Wait. Are you really saying you haven't taken the chance to ditch the nerve-stims, as it were?” She said, making air quotes to emphasize her point to Rainbow Dash.

“I … I don't follow?” Rainbow Dash answered.

“Hold on. Is this a cultural thing, a language issue, or do you not have any urge to be intimate? I don't actually know how normal it may be for ponies.” Tali hoped to clarify.

Rainbow Dash looked curiously to Tali briefly before understanding washed across her face. “Oh, uhm … well …” Rainbow Dash stammered, completely taken aback by the turn of the conversation. “It's not like I haven't thought about it. But wouldn't that be weird?”

“Weird? He's your boyfriend, there's nothing weird about it.” Tali said, clearly supportive, “But if you want to wait for any reason … well, you'll never hear a Quarian judge you for being cautious about that.”

Rainbow Dash blushed deeply as she cleared her throat. “We're completely different creatures, I just don't know …” Rainbow Dash shut up and gestured with her head randomly.

“Oh, that's easy. I was the same way at first, but the extranet has tons of educational material on the subject …” Tali excitedly said, bringing up her onmitool.

“I understand what sex is!” Rainbow Dash urgently said.

“Keelah, I meant inter-species specifically. As straight forward as it can seem, it's still a complicated subject.” Tali said, moving from the stool to sit next to Rainbow Dash on her bed. “Now, James may have genetically modified himself into another species, but he's fundamentally still human, so there's a ton of information available on any aspect of the process.”

Tali chuckled as she brought up a vid on general human courtship. “The Asari may have a reputation for being promiscuous, but in reality humans are the most … let's say adventurous … species.” She continued to explain. “Also they are incredibly flexible in mating practices. Many are eager to accommodate, so that really helps smooth things over.”

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but watch the video, transfixed as a Salarian explained over two humans demonstrating the different ideas being detailed with a wide variety species, many of which she was completely unaware of. After a couple minutes Tali paused the video, “Hold on, I'll get us some snacks and we'll have a girls night. We'll talk, watch movies, hang out, it'll be fun. And maybe later you'll be comfortable enough to ask James for what you want.”

“Uhm …” Rainbow Dash uncomfortably said, looking to the screen.

Tali laughed and shook her head, “No, not this stuff. Something fun, and after that something funny and just a bit relevant.”

***

“Come on, AJ” Aoi encouraged, “We both know you can do better than that!” As she spoke, she subtly pushed down on the bench press bar Applejack was working with.

With the threat of pirates behind them, James had brought them to the academy proper to use the facilities available.

“I'm workin' up slowly.” Applejack said, easily pushing back and raising the massive weights.

“Where's the fun in that?” Aoi teased, “Push yourself! That's the point.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash chimed in as she raised from her wing ups, “come on, I bet I can lift more than you.”

“Oh, you're on.” Applejack said, putting up the bar and jumping down from the bench.

Aoi laughed and clapped once, “Alright, let's do this! I'll monitor the weight.”

“Wow,” Twilight said with a chuckle as she used a nearby stationary bike, “it's almost like they've been friends for years.”

“Eee! I know!” Pinkie excitedly exclaimed as she pumped her legs harder. “Isn't it amazing?”

“Yeah, it really is.” Twilight said, smiling as she watched Rainbow Dash do two reps before jumping down for Applejack to repeat the feat. “It actually feels like things have been going well for a change.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie said just as happily, before she realized what she had agreed to. “Wait. What's going wrong?”

Twilight's eye's shot open for a moment before she shook her head. “It just felt like everything I did went wrong in some way or another. Maybe I've just been over thinking things.”

In answer, Pinkie turned around and hugged Twilight, while still riding the stationary bike. She held on several seconds too long before her eyes went wide. “Ooh! Let's go the the sauna for a break!”

Before Twilight could answer, Pinkie's hug got stronger as she pulled Twilight off of the stationary bike and rushed towards the sauna.

It was easy to hear many voices as the two approached the sauna, clearly they wouldn't be alone inside. Not that the knowledge slowed Pinkie in the slightest as she rushed through with Twilight in tow.

The sauna had several people, mostly relaxing while others chatted, that much to Twilight's relief were at least wearing towels.

Pinkie dragged Twilight over to a nearby bench, gently placing her down to sit before hopping up to sit herself.

Twilight was just starting to relax when a familiar voice caught her off guard.

“I hope it doesn't get too hot for you in here.” James casually said. “Some of the people in here aren't satisfied unless they're being slow cooked.”

“Oh, hi! Did you two come to relax too?” Pinkie happily asked before Twilight could say anything.

“Yeah, I dragged him here.” Starlight said with a smile.

“You bet you could last longer than me.” James retorted, shooting her a sideways glance.

“Still think I can.” Starlight said as she leaned back with her forehooves behind her head.

“How are you feeling James?” Twilight asked as she turned to look at the two.

“I'm doing better. Lucca and Tali are usually pretty good at getting me to relax.” James answered. “They actually made a couple suggestions to help before we head back.”

“Oooh, like what?” Pinkie asked eagerly.

“Later. I don't think everyone here wants to overhear our plans.” James calmly said. “Possibly after our guest comes by later this week. She can make things tense at times.”

“You mean Lady Seto!” Pinkie asked with as much energy as before, getting the attention of everybody in the sauna.

James rubbed his eyes, sighing as he did. “Yes, Pinkie,” James flatly said, “I meant Lady Seto. I just didn't want to announce who it was coming by.”

“I wonder if Misaki will be coming with her.” Pinkie wondered aloud, completely ignoring everyone else in the sauna. “That would be so much fun!”

“Indeed, that sounds quite fun.” Mikami said suddenly, surprising everybody.

Mikami and Airi had walked into the sauna as Pinkie had everyone's attention. While Mikami was modestly wrapped in a towel, Airi wore a bikini that was at minimum one size too small for her, with a sarong wrapped around her hips.

“That would explain the extra paperwork that got dumped on me today.” Airi commented, shaking her head and dropping onto the bench beside Twilight. “As if I don't have enough work to do already with that escapade that brought down one of the larger pirate guilds.”

“Yes, we had to defer this to the department that usually works with Seina's arrests.” Mikami said before chuckling. “They felt they had a little more time before they had to get back to work. Good job keeping them on their toes.”

“Well, it wasn't exactly the plan, but I'm glad it worked out.” James commented.

“Speaking of plans,” Mikami said casually, “what about Aoi?”

“I don't know.” James said with a shrug, “I'm thinking she still doesn't either.”

“She does have a way with motivation,” Mikami mentioned, “and we could use a new coach at the academy with Seiryo Tenan having left.”

“You'll have to ask her.” James casually said. “Even when I was her captain I couldn't really tell her what to do.”
“That might not be such a flattering reference.” Airi said seriously.

“Not insubordination,” James was quick to answer, “but if she had a choice she was doing things her way and no other.”

“Hey, this is where you got to.” Rainbow Dash said as she trotted in, lifting off the ground and plopping down hard next to James. “Dude, after this we've gotta fly for a while.” As she finished talking she turned around and lounged against him.

“Sure.” James said, clearly taken off guard.

“Hoowee,” Applejack announced as she entered the sauna in a terrycloth robe. “Now this is the way to end a workout.” Applejack sat on a bench and looked around. “I'd have thought Rarity would be taking full advantage of this place.”

James closed his eyes for a moment, “She's with Fluttershy in a different area, probably something soothing.”

“Well I'm staying here for a while,” Rainbow Dash said casually, “I just got comfortable.” As she finished speaking, she gestured for James to put his arm around her, and once he obliged she smiled as she settled in.

“Where's Aoi?” Twilight asked, expecting the woman to walk in any moment.

“She said she had to get back into form.” Applejack said with a shrug.

James audibly sighed as he shook his head. “She's going to tear a muscle.” He pat Rainbow Dash's head briefly before he started to stand.

Before he could get up, Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around his arm. “Dude, I just got comfortable. You can heal her later if she needs it.”

“Sorry,” James quietly said, “It's just better if she doesn't get hurt in the first place.”

Rainbow Dash matched James' sigh and let his arm go. “Yeah, you're right.” She adjusted herself as James stood to leave.