“Wake up, brave explorers,” an electronic voice said. “And welcome to Polus, your new workplace and future home.”
A yellow pegasus with a pink mane blinked awake. Her teal eyes were bleary, and took a while to focus on anything that was in front of her.
A glass door in front of her slid open with a hiss, and she felt several adhesive strips pull off of her fur. A few blurs that may have been other ponies stumbled out of their doors, so she followed their example and stepped out.
“You are experiencing cyro-shock,” the electronic voice said. “A medical professional will examine you shortly. But first, turn to your right and find your locker.”
The yellow pony turned until she saw a metal door with a hoofprint scanner on it, as well as a name—Fluttershy. Through muscle memory, she lifted her hoof and placed it on the scanner, which the voice was instructing everypony to do.
Her locker popped open. All that was inside was a yellow spacesuit, similar in color to her coat. She slowly pulled it out and mechanically pulled it on, as she had done in training hundreds of times.
It sealed shut with a hiss. The screen on her wrist told her that it was air-tight, that all life support systems were online, and that she was connected to the SolR communication network. “Follow your suit instructions,” the voice said.
Fluttershy blinked. Her vision was still blurry, and she still felt tired…but things were coming back to her, now. A bit of nervousness bubbled in her chest, but she tried to ignore it for now. She had done the training, and she was ready for this!
She glanced at her instructions list. The first thing was…head towards the ship loading area. She glanced one way down the room, and saw more sleeping pods and lockers, with ponies emerging and getting dressed. At the other end, there was a door, which others were milling towards.
After going through the door, which slid open with the press of a button, she found herself among a large group of ponies, everyone staring at the large closed doors in front of them and waiting.
Finally, there was a loud clunk as their ship connected with something. The doors slowly opened, showing that they were connected to a sterile white room, and several ponies with white suits emblazoned with red crosses entered.
“Everypony, please form orderly lines,” one of them instructed as they spread out in front of the doors. “You'll need to go through a medical inspection and decontamination before you can enter headquarters.” They watched for a moment as everypony formed lines, one for each medic, then left to check the cryosleep rooms.
Fluttershy moved into the line that was closest to her. It was slow-going, as the medic of their line carefully read the information from their suits.
After minutes of waiting, she was finally at the front of the line. The medic ran a scanner over her body as they checked the readout from her suit’s life support. “Everything is within a normal range,” he said, stepping back. “Please proceed to the decontamination chamber.”
She nodded and carefully walked across the connection between ship and station, as nervous as she usually was. A fine mist of disinfecting spray came from above once she was in the room, coating her suit. Finally, the small door in front slid open, and she entered headquarters.
Lines and arrows told her to proceed to the workers at their desks. But…she found herself drawn to one of the large windows, gazing down at the planet below. Her eyes widened as she took everything in. Polus was so…alive, and colorful. None of the pictures she had seen did it any justice.
A thick jungle spread across the land…off in the distance, she caught a glimpse of a gleaming ocean…before she could drink more of the sight in, a pony cleared their throat. She glanced over and saw one of the workers sitting there, waiting on her…or any of the coming ponies who seemed to be stalling or dawdling.
With a blush, she approached them. They were wearing a purple space suit, and she caught a glimpse of a horn through their helmet. “Sorry…” she said. “It's just…Polus is…”
“I know,” the worker said, a knowing look on their face. “Hoof on the scanner, please.” Fluttershy nodded and tapped her hoof on the screen at the front of their desk.
The computer the worker had filled with information. “Veterinarian and animal expert, huh…?” she said, glancing up at Fluttershy. “I think I know a Hub to assign you to.”
Fluttershy blinked, a bit surprised. “I thought…finding the best Hub would take time,” she said. “That we'd have to wait for a while…”
“Well…we need to be quick about things, now,” the worker said, tapping at their computer. A few seconds later, Fluttershy's suit beeped, new information flashing across her wrist screen. “I just have to go over a few things with you before you can head down there.”
“R-right,” Fluttershy said.
“The most important thing you should know is that your suit is connected to headquarters. It connects with the closest headquarters stations, but all of the stations are connected to each other, so…you get the idea.”
She nodded in understanding, and the worker continued. “You're be assigned jobs that way. The connection is…a bit spotty on moving ships, but we're working on that.” They scanned their computer screen again. “Looks like you've gone through everything, there's nothing left for you to sign or fill out…just one thing left.”
“What is it?” Fluttershy asked. She had been sure she had done everything, to get to the surface of the planet as soon as she could…
“Just a few safety rules,” the worker said. “Do not remove your suit while on a ship or headquarters station. Do not remove your suit outside of a Hub area. In a Hub area, you may only remove your suit inside of buildings.”
“Pets may be allowed, but must be approved by headquarters. Do not attempt to modify or customize your suit, aside from headgear that you may request from headquarters. Complete any task or mission assigned by headquarters as soon as possible. Do you understand and agree to follow all the rules?”
Fluttershy blinked, slowly absorbing all the information. “…oh! Yes. Yes, I understand,” she said.
The worker gestured for her to place her hoof on the scanner, which she did. Something was checked off on her computer. “You're good to go,” she said. “Just follow your suit instructions to find your Skeld…ship,” she clarified. “Claim a dorm and sleep off the cryo-shock down there.”
As soon as Fluttershy stepped away, she was already waving another pony over to her desk. Fluttershy blinked, still feeling a little out of it, and thought sleeping off this fuzzy feeling was a very good idea.
So, she glanced at the screen on her hoof. It gave details about which Hub and ship specifically she was going to…but more importantly, it gave directions telling her how to get to the ship. She followed them as best she could, though she still got lost a few times.
Eventually, she made it into the hanger, where several new, gleaming silver ships waited. Nervously, she checked her wrist, and wandered around until she had found the right one.
“Excuse me. Is this, um…Skeld 203?” she asked a pony fueling the ship she was sure was the right one.
They nodded, and gestured for her to go inside. She did so, her hooves shaking a little nervously as she climbed up the ramp.
The interior of the shop was as nice and clean as the exterior. She almost felt bad, walking across the shiny floors, a little worried that her hooves would scuff or mark it. She wandered into what her suit's map told her was the cafeteria, where other suited ponies were sitting and waiting.
There was no talking, and several ponies simply appeared to be dozing on the tables. Fluttershy sat in a corner by herself, trying to best to wait patiently and stay awake.
She nodded off a few times from boredom, watching as new ponies filed onto the ship. Her suit pinged with a few instructions, telling her which Hub she was going to, and which stop on the route it would be. Right now, the ship would stop at five Hubs, and hers was, luckily, the first one.
After several minutes, turning which she wandered around and investigated the vending machines and lever on the wall, just to keep herself from falling asleep, and an announcement was made. “Thank you for your patience,” it said. “Please sit down turning launch.”
Fluttershy quickly found a seat at one of the tables, though most were full. Straps on the seats buckled her in, and her boots magnetized to attach to the floor.
There was a lurch in her stomach as she felt the ship roll forward…and then suddenly fall, plummeting towards the planet. She inhaled sharply, closing her eyes and bracing herself.
It was a smooth ride—SolR ships were well-designed for comfort and utility—but her heart still pounded all the way until they finally landed.
“Hub A009,” a voice announced. A message from Fluttershy's suit told her that this was her stop, and she, along with several others, unbuckled and stood up. They walked towards the ramp as a group, all disembarking as one.
Fluttershy stood still for a second once they reached Polus soil, stunned. They were surrounded on all sides by jungle—though the landing area and the buildings around it were all inside of a cleared area. The trees loomed tall overhead, free and ungoverned.
Everypony else was moving forward, wandering around their new workplace. Fluttershy blinked and kept moving forward, the ship taking off again after she had left the landing site.
She wandered around the Hub for some time, trying to figure out the map she had. She wandered her way into the cafeteria twice on accident…though it may not have been an accident, based on the way her stomach started loudly growling and demanding food.
She got in line for food, which was a daisy sandwich and rice pudding today. She sat at an unoccupied table, taking off her helmet and digging into her food. The food was…okay, better than anything freeze-dried or out of a can. As she ate, her ears twitched up, listening to the ponies around her.
There was one word that made her ears twitch—Imposter. It was mentioned during training, but there weren't many details given…though she had heard enough that just the word made her shiver.
The next table over seemed to be exchanging Imposter stories. She listened in, curious despite her fright. They told each other about creatures that could steal your face, ones that looked like some combination of pony and bat, ones that looked like mutant unicorns.
She was frozen to her seat in fright as they boasted how they had seen Imposters on their ships or in Hubs…and sat there in her seat long after her meal was finished. The group that had been swapping horror stories left a few minutes later, but she still sat there, frozen with fear at the thought of a creature that could leave her unconscious and take her place without anyone knowing about it.
After a few minutes, she shook off her fear and put her helmet back on her head. Surely the stories were all exaggerated. Surely there were plenty of high-security measures in place to keep something like that from actually happening.
Still, she hurried towards the dorms, wanting to huddle in a bed for as long as she could.
The dorm building consisted of a web of plain hallways filled with doors. Each of the doors she saw had two lights above it…on most of them, both of the lights were red. Placing her hoof on the scanner next to them resulted in an error noise.
She eventually found one room with one red light, and one green one. She pressed her hoof against the scanner, and a chime sounded, text flashing on her wrist screen that asked for her to wait a minute.
The door slowly slid open, with a tired-looking, mint-colored unicorn staring at her. Fluttershy fidgeted awkwardly. “I, um…is there an open bed in this dorm?” she asked. “I’m…I'm new…”
The unicorn smiled and pressed something on the inside wall. The green light above the door changed to red, and she stood aside, giving Fluttershy room to enter. “Oh, thank you,” she said, stepping inside. Her new dormmate nodded and walked back over to her bed, plopping into it and falling asleep again.
The room was…small, and very plain. The walls were grey metal and without decoration. It was symmetrical, with the same furnishings on both halves of the room. A locker, much like the one she stored her suit in before, a bed, just big enough for one pony, maybe two if they pressed close, and a small, walled-off area that the sign told her was a bathroom.
She peeled off her suit, showered in the private area, and then stumbled into her bed. As she drifted off to sleep, visions of Imposters haunted her mind, making her shiver.
She managed to forget Imposters for a while as she focused on tasks. Every day, there was a list of things for her to take care of around the Hub, along with a special job for her. It usually involved going to the lab and studying a wild alien creature that had been caught.
A routine was being carved, and she easily followed it. The assigned tasks were simple enough, and caring for animals was her forte. Though she didn't like seeing some of the poor creatures caged up, she knew it was important to do so until they knew if they were dangerous or not. Still, she transferred some into bigger cages, where they would have more space.
On her third day, she found not a list of tasks on her screen, but a mission. Patrol the forest and scan any creatures you see, it read.
And so, after breakfast, she headed towards the edge of the Hub. It was surrounded by a wall, a thin one made up of sections that seemed to be quickly put together, and easy to take down or expand. There was a metal gate that appeared to hold a makeshift decontamination chamber inside—both entrance and exit to the Hub. There was a group of ponies there, already suited up, and being handed items by a pony in a pink suit.
She glanced up at Fluttershy. “Yellow…you'd be the animal expert, right?” Fluttershy nodded, and she was handed a radio and some sort of scanner. “Be careful with both of those…they're not exactly in high supply.”
Fluttershy strapped the radio to her suit, sticking the scanner into a side pocket. She saw the rest of the group ready to go, no two ponies wearing a suit of the same color.
“We have some of the area mapped out already,” the pink-suited pony told them. “But your suits will update it. Unless your job is to map out more areas, try to stay within the areas we know about. Oh—and if any of the traps we have out there is set off, go collect whatever it is. Ready?”
Everypony nodded, though Fluttershy felt a bit nervous about it. They all approached the gate.
The inner gate opened for them, and after a brief decontamination, the outer door opened for them, too. Fluttershy stepped out, expecting to be surrounded by trees and thick undergrowth…only to find bare ground for several more feet.
More ponies were working at the edge of the clearing, cutting away undergrowth and pulling up trees. “Is this…okay?” she said aloud as they passed the working ponies.
“We need to make space for Hub expansion somehow,” somepony next to her said. “Besides…none of these trees or plants are special. There's at least a hundred more of each of these in the forest.”
Even with that answer, Fluttershy watched sadly as a tall, beautiful tree was uprooted. She shook her head and wandered away. “Just a few trees, just a few,” she told herself. “Just enough to make space for us.” She grabbed her scanner and stared at her map before her train of thought continued this way.
Her map marked a few features, like lakes, rivers, rare trees, and traps (none of which were set off yet). She looked up and saw that everypony else had wandered away to do their own tasks. There was some chatter over the radio, but somepony else, from Hub or headquarters, reminded them that they were supposed to be for emergencies.
With a gulp, she pushed her way forward through the underbrush. She kept glancing at her map to make sure she didn't accidentally stumble into one of the traps.
After maybe three hours or so, and maybe a mile from the Hub, she spotted something moving in the trees…something big. She readied her scanner, her heart pounding, as she tried to duck and hide in the undergrowth.
She tried to keep her shivering down to a minimum as whatever the creature was stepped out in front of her. Her eyes widened as she took in the size of it. It was as big as three ponies, maybe even bigger. Each of its limbs was from a different animal…but it still managed to move with grace as it crept towards the Hub on all fours. It was…terrifying, yet majestic.
It paused, lifting its head and scanning the area with its glowing golden eyes. She held her breath, wondering if it had noticed her. But it didn't seem to notice anything, and continued to move forward.
And stepped right into a trap.
Black ropes shot out of the ground before she could blink. It roared out in surprise as its limbs were bound and it was pulled to the ground. It snarled and pushed back up, refusing to be brought down. To her horror, electricity flowed through the ropes, coursing through the strange creature.
The creature thrashed and hissed, trying to throw off the bonds. Still, they refused to budge, and crackled with electricity. “We caught a big one!” a voice said over the radio. “Maybe it's one of those Imposters!”
The creature’s head whipped in her direction at the sound. She gasped and stumbled backward. It just growled at her, still struggling to break free. She could see wisps of smoke coming from its skin, and saw how limp its long body was becoming.
She felt her heart ache in pity for it. Even if it was scary-looking, it didn't deserve to be hurt like this. So, she carefully and slowly stepped forward. “It's alright,” she said in the most soothing voice she could. “I'm going to help you…if you just stay calm.”
It growled at her, but that didn't deter her. Lots of creatures snarled and fought back when they were scared. She kept slowly inching forward, eventually reaching the base of the trap, while still being out of the way of the creature's limbs and mouth.
She pressed the panel on the side, and it and her suit beeped, recognizing each other. A list of options lit up, most of them confusing to her, but eventually, she found one that said: 'Release'. She pressed that one, then darted back several feet.
The electricity turned off, and the bonds became limp. The creature blinked, staring at her for a few seconds, then quickly pulled himself free.
The sound of approaching hoofsteps made her gasp. “You have to leave, now!” she said. She pointed in the direction of the tall tree off in the distance. “Go that way, nopony should be over there.” She made a small shoving motion with her hooves. “I'd bandage your wounds, but…”
Its ears twitched as the hoofsteps grew louder. “…thanks,” it said, darting into the undergrowth and disappearing. Her jaw dropped, and she stared in the direction it had gone for a few seconds.
It was long gone before she could fully articulate her shock. Just seconds later, a pony in a lime-colored suit came crashing through the undergrowth. “Where is it!?” he said, panting heavily. His head whipped around, his eyes landing on the trap. “Why is the trap off!?”
More ponies in different suit colors emerged from the undergrowth. The one in the blue suit turned to Fluttershy. “Yellow, what happened to the trap?”
Fluttershy blinked. It took a second for her to realize that they were talking to her. “Um…there was something big in the trap, um, Blue,” she said. “It kept thrashing around…but the trap turned off, and they ran away.”
Lime glared at her. “And…what did you do to try and stop them?”
“I, um…I…” Fluttershy froze, internally panicking. Could she have done anything if she wanted to stop them? Were the others suspecting that she had freed them? Lime groaned loudly.
“I can't believe that you'd let it get away!” Lime snapped. “A big creature, maybe even one of the Imposters, stumbles into a trap, and you don't do anything to keep it from escaping!”
Fluttershy flinched and whimpered. “Hey, knock it off,” Blue said, stepping between her and Lime. “She's new. She wouldn't have any tools to stop them if they were an Imposter. And you yelling at her isn't going to fix anything.”
Lime growled, backing away. “Probably in league with them…” he muttered. He marched back into the forest, leaving Fluttershy with the others.
Blue sighed. “Don't take it personally, Yellow,” she said. “Lime got stuck on a Skeld that was almost taken over. He's been overly-suspicious of everything ever since.”
“Almost taken over?” she asked, confused. Blue blinked, and opened her mouth to explain, when a voice crackled over their communicators.
“No time for chatting, ponies,” they said. “Keep scanning the perimeter and do your tasks. Return to the Hub in four hours.” Blue gave a look that said she was sorry, and wandered off into the forest, following some kind of device.
Left alone, Fluttershy hesitated for a few moments. Then, slowly, she headed in the direction that…creature had gone in, even though they were probably already long gone.
For the rest of the day, she pushed through the thick undergrowth, scanning any animals she came across—from insects to birds, and even a few small mammals. They all ran at the sight of her, but she managed to get several quick scans.
Then, instructions came over the communicator to head back towards the Hub. She turned and did so, meeting up with the others. Lime still seemed grumpy, so she gave him a wide berth.
They passed the groups that were clearing small areas of forest, and those who were constructing new buildings. Once in the Hub, everyone went their separate ways, citing tasks, food, or sleeping.
Fluttershy stood there awkwardly for a few moments, before wandering over to the cafeteria. She was given a tray of cooked vegetables on rice, with a glass of milk and a small slice of cake. The vegetables were a little overcooked, and the cake was a bit mushy, but at least she didn't have to eat it cold and directly out of a can.
After that, she headed to her room. Her dormmate was already lying down, fast asleep and snoring. She removed her suit, put it in her locker, and fell into bed.
The day left her so tired that she quickly joined her dormmate in sleep.
The next morning, Fluttershy checked her suit. She was surprised to not see a list of jobs or even a mission, but rather, instructions to board the next Skeld.
“Did I do something wrong?” she nervously asked her dormmate as they got suited up. “Are they sending me back home?”
Her dormmate just shrugged, stumbling towards the cafeteria. Fluttershy followed, barely able to stomach the oatmeal from her nervousness. She kept looking at her given instructions, but the only information it gave was when the Skeld would land, and that details would be given on her arrival.
She headed over to the Skeld landing site with some trepidation. A Skeld was already there…though not a very new or good-looking one. It was old and dented, and ponies were working to not only fuel it, but to fix exterior parts of it.
This did nothing to rid her of her nervousness, of course. She gulped, and saw another group of ponies standing nearby, watching the ship being worked on. She slowly approached them, and they turned to glance at her.
“H-hi,” she said. “Um…were you all told to get on the Skeld, too?” Several nodded. “Why? Where are we going?”
“Pfft. Newbie,” Lime whispered to Orange, who snickered.
White, a pegasus, turned and gave the two of them a stern look. She turned back to Fluttershy. “First time?” she asked, to which Fluttershy nodded. “Okay. Sometimes…headquarters realizes they need ponies to work at a different Hub, instead. So, they send a Skeld over which will take everyone to the next Hub they're supposed to be in…or a Hub they'll make another transfer in.”
“Oh,” Fluttershy said, feeling a bit more relieved. She hadn't messed up, and wasn't being sent home… “Are you the pilot? Where are we going?”
“I am, of a sort. Navigator, technically,” White said with a nod. “Soaring Skies. But you can just call me by my suit name, it's much easier. We're headed to Hub C013…which is pretty similar to this one. Surrounded by jungle and everything.”
“Then, um…if it's so similar, why are we leaving?” she asked. White just shrugged.
“That's just what headquarters decided,” she said. “They probably have more jobs for us there. Scouting and mapping missions for me, a…chosen mission for you…”
As they talked, a pony walked out of the ship. “The brig is empty,” they said. “And there's no logs or evidence of Imposter attacks.”
“Is the ship ready to fly yet?” another pegasus in a black suit snapped. “I can’t stand all this waiting.”
“Hold it…yep,” one of the mechanics said. “You'll have to do a few in-flight jobs, but she's good enough to take off and land.”
White sighed. “In-flight jobs…just wonderful,” she said. She headed towards the entrance ramp as the mechanics stepped back. The rest of the group followed close behind her.
“Well, if everyone is here for their flight…” she said, glancing at the group. Seeing their size, she lifted a hoof and reached for the blue button, one that would close the entrance ramp—
“Wait wait wait!” somepony shouted. Everyone turned and saw a pony in a brown suit run up to them, panting and jumping through the Skeld entrance.
It was now clear they were a unicorn. “Phew,” he said, leaning against the wall to catch his breath. “Almost didn't make it! Didn't see the orders because I slept in, and I thought the landing site was much closer to my room…”
“Save it,” White said with a sigh. “Try not to be late next time, okay? Anypony else!?” she shouted out into the Hub. When there was no response, she shrugged and closed the entrance ramp.
The group proceeded deeper into the ship, a few of them shooting Brown annoyed looks. Everyone headed to the cafeteria and gathered around a specific table, one with a large red button in the middle. “Wait here,” White said. “I'll set up the autopilot. This flight should only be a few hours long.”
She left, headed towards the front of the ship. Just a few minutes later, Fluttershy felt the engine rumble, and a great acceleration as they shot upwards. Everypony's boots connected magnetically with the floor, and they were buckled to the seats, but she still gripped tightly onto the edge of the table.
Then, just a second later, it was over. The ship had reached a point between the sky and the stars, and was sailing along the edge of the horizon…at least, that was what White said over the ship's communicators. Fluttershy was still reeling from the acceleration.
“I'm returning to the table now,” White said. “The ship is on autopilot and will reach the next Hub within a few hours. Your tasks should be assigned by the time I get there.” There was a click as the communications shut off, and everypony stared awkwardly at each other.
Just as White entered the room, something flashed on Fluttershy's screen…and on everypony else's. She glanced at it and saw a to-do list of tasks on the ship, and…something at the top that seemed to measure how many overall tasks had been completed.
Everypony wandered off down the halls, several staring at their screens. Fluttershy bit her lip, checking her first task. “Fix wiring…I hope that's not too hard,” she said. She wandered away, constantly checking her map to see where the wires that needed fixing were.
It was a simple enough task—find panel, pop it open, connect wires of the same color together. And apparently, there were only three panels that needed fixing, and she had already done two of them!
She hummed and entered Storage (though it took her a couple of minutes to find it). The panel was across the room from her, and she headed towards it.
A flash of movement caught her eye. She relaxed when she saw it was just Black, looking around for one of his tasks in here. She continued to the panel, popping it open and looking inside.
Just four wires to connect. She hummed a small tune as she connected the first two…but she as she was reaching for the third, she heard something from behind her—the quiet hiss of a helmet behind removed.
She turned towards her crewmate. “I don't think it's safe to—” She froze. The creature standing behind her in a black space suit…it looked almost like a pony, but it wasn't a pony. Their ears were too large and hairy, their pupils too much like slits…and their teeth were too sharp, she realized as they grinned, showing off their fangs.
Her heart was racing. She had only overheard a few things, but she knew that this was an Imposter, a batpony. One bite from their fangs, and the toxin coating them would knock her unconscious for hours. The batpony grinned wider and took a step towards her, their leathery wings flexing under their suit.
She gasped and backed away. She hit the wall, and the batpony chuckled. “S-somepony, please help me!” she cried.
The batpony chuckled again. “First time on a Skeld, isn't it?” he said. “These walls are too thick for anyone to hear…and there's no way to start a meeting without pressing the button or reporting a fallen crewmate.”
He licked his lips, showing off his sharp fangs and making her gulp. “Too bad you won't be able to do either…” he hissed.
Fluttershy whimpered and closed her eyes, her body trembling as she prepared for the worst. But suddenly, the batpony hissed, as if shocked, and yelled, “Traitor! You'll pay for this! You'll—” His voice was suddenly cut off, and she heard something fall to the floor with a thud.
She slowly cracked one eye open. The brown-suited unicorn was staring at her, standing over the fallen body of the batpony. She swallowed. “T-thank you,” she stuttered, before glancing down at the batpony. “Is…is he…”
“He's fine,” Brown said. “Just having an…out-of-body experience. He'll be sent to a Medbay as soon as we land…though he'll probably be thrown into prison as soon as they notice his fangs or wings.”
“…how did you do that?” she asked. “Everypony keeps saying that…there's no way to fight back against the Imposters…”
Brown paused. “Well…crewmates don't have a way to fight back against Imposters,” he said. “Other Imposters, though…”
She stared at him, her eyes slowly widening. Her knees wobbled, and she slumped to the ground. “Are…are you going to attack me, now?” she said weakly.
“…no,” he said. “I've repaying a favor. Don't expect mercy if our paths cross again.”
Before she could ask what he meant, a shadow was cast over them. They both turned and saw another pony in the doorway, glancing between them and the unconscious Imposter in shock.
Fluttershy opened her mouth, about to explain that it was okay, they had been an Imposter, but the pony darted past them. Once they were within a few feet of Black, something popped up on the screen on their wrist, which they quickly pressed.
A loud klaxon sounded. “Red has reported a body,” a robotic announcement said. “Proceed to the meeting room.” The same announcement flashed on Fluttershy's screen, informing her that her suit had gone into emergency mode.
Red ran out of the room as quickly as possible. Fluttershy shivered, glancing back towards Brown. “W-what do we do?” she squeaked.
“Just as the instructions said,” he told her with a shrug. “Go to the meeting room.” He meandered after Red. With a gulp, Fluttershy followed behind him.
Her heart was racing in her chest, her anxiety building. It didn't help when she and Brown were the last ones to enter the cafeteria, and everyone else stared at them. Brown glanced back, waiting for her, and they both took a place at the round table with the button in the middle.
As soon as they were situated, a screen popped up. It said ‘Discussion', and had a timer that was already counting down. As soon as it appeared, Red pointed a hoof at her and Brown.
“It's Yellow and Brown!” he declared. “Both of them!”
“Do you have any evidence for that?” Blue asked. Red vigorously nodded.
“I saw them both standing right next to the body…just talking! Neither of them bothering to report it!” Red said, slamming his hooves on the table. “They're both Imposters!”
Fluttershy shivered. “Wha…n-no, I…”
“Oh, please,” Brown said. “If you had taken a second to look, clearly Black was an Imposter himself. Did the fangs and bat wings not give it away?”
“Well…” Purple said. “If Black was an Imposter, there should only be one more. Trends show that two is the average number of Imposers…”
“Forget the average!” Red snapped. “They're both sus!”
The group immediately started yelling at each other, throwing around terms Fluttershy didn't understand and pointing hooves at each other. Brown tsked and rolled his eyes. “Amateurs,” he said. “I swear that ponies get dumber the more of these flights they go on.”
No one else seemed to hear him. The yelling grew louder, and Fluttershy whimpered, wishing for nothing more than to hide under the table.
Just when the yelling seemed loudest, a hoof slammed onto the table, making everyone go silent, turning towards whoever had done it. White gave them all a stern look.
“Enough,” White said. “It's almost time to vote. Everyone, go around the table and tell me what task you were doing before the meeting started.” She gestured for Blue to start, who calmly said what she was doing.
Brown fidgeted nervously, muttering to himself as they continued. Fluttershy recalled what she had heard before—Imposters couldn't do tasks. And if he couldn't think of something, they might figure him out.
Soon, it was her turn. “Um,” she said. “Before Black tried to attack me…I was fixing the wires in storage.” She felt a rush of courage and placed her hoof on Brown's shoulder. “And…Brown came with me to get the fuel can!”
“Wait…'tried' to attack you?” Red said, raising an eyebrow. “What's that supposed to mean?”
“I, um, got scared and closed my eyes,” she said. “And when I opened them, he was unconscious. And…Brown, you were on the other side of the boxes, right?”
Brown stared at her for a few seconds. “…oh! Yes. Trying to find that dratted fuel can, of course.”
A few of the ponies nodded in sympathy. Red glared at him, suspicion clear in his eyes. Green, the pony next to Discord, eagerly said that they had been in the middle of a Medbay scan.
“I'll watch you complete that after this meeting,” White said. Orange and Lime gave their tasks…but Red was silent. “Red? What were you doing before the meeting?”
“Um…” Red said, shifting nervously. “Funny story…I can't remember my task, just that I saw the two of them talking…”
“SUS!” everyone else shouted. The table beeped, and holographic screens appeared in front of all of them, showing images of each suit.
Each image was quickly joined by an ‘I voted’ button. Beside her, she noticed Brown tap on Red's image, grinning. She bit her lip. He's not guilty…but I can't vote for Brown… After a few seconds of thought, she decided to skip the vote.
Not that it seemed to matter—everyone had voted for Red (except for Red himself, who voted for Brown). A panel opened with a hiss, releasing the wire-like ropes Fluttershy had seen used in traps on the surface. They wrapped around Red, holding him tightly.
“I'll take him to the brig,” White said. Lime and Orange booed, but she silenced them with a glare. “Nopony is going out the airlock! I know things are bad, but we can do better than sentence each other to certain…” She shook her head. “Just…be reasonable, won't you? Meeting's over.”
White hauled Red away, though he loudly complained that he was innocent. Green wandered after White, and the others slowly filed away towards their own tasks.
Fluttershy's suit exited emergency mode, and her list of tasks came back up. She turned to Brown, who was watching her. “Um…why don't we…work together?” she offered. “I still need to fix those wires.” Even though she was extending the metaphorical olive branch, her heart was pounding like crazy.
“Oh…alright,” he said. “It'll get the crazies off my case, at least.” She gulped, and with shaky hooves, headed back towards Storage.
She went through all of her tasks, one by one. Brown followed her silently the whole time, glancing around for other crewmates. Eventually, since there were no attacks and no sabotaging, all of the tasks were completed…well, very nearly all.
No one commented on the fact that tasks were still left as they landed. Fluttershy quietly asked White if it was okay, to which she shrugged.
“The next group will take care of it,” she said. “For now, let's just…land and worry about it later.” She turned to the doors, frowning and fidgeting as they landed.
They all marched off the ship. A few ponies seemed to be reading data from the ship's logs, refueling it, or even just patching up certain parts, just like before it had left the last Hub. A group of suited ponies was standing there, waiting for the checks to be done so they could board.
The only instructions Fluttershy had now were to claim a dorm, rest, and wait until morning for more instructions. She was so tired that simply falling into a bed and into a deep sleep was all she wanted to do…but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Brown gesturing towards her, heading towards some kind of storage locker.
She hesitated. He would have had ample opportunity to hurt her earlier, if he wanted to…but she wasn't naïve enough to completely trust an Imposter. Still…she was curious about him, and why he said he had owed her a favor.
So, she followed him into the locker. It was small, barely bigger than a closet, and stuffed with cleaning supplies and mechanical parts. Brown had turned on the overhead light, and was searching the walls for something.
“No cameras. No bugs,” he said, turning to her. “We can talk without them overhearing…as long as we don't start screaming and shouting.”
“O-okay,” she said nervously. They stood there in awkward silence for a few moments, Fluttershy scuffing her hoof on the ground.
Finally, Brown sighed. “Well…I suppose I owe you yet another favor,” he said. “For watching my back…I always forget what tasks there are in which room.”
“I…still don't understand why you owed me a favor in the first place,” she said, removing her helmet. Enclosed areas were safe to breathe in, for a little while at least. “Maybe you have me confused with someone else? I haven't met any Imposters…”
“Oh, but haven't you?” he asked. His horn flared with magic, and his suit was removed. He looked like a normal, grey-furred pony…aside for a few things, like the fang sticking out of his mouth, his unusual blue horn, and the nub of a second horn on the side of his head.
His horn kept glowing, and his body morphed and twisted…becoming long and serpent-like, covered in thick brown fur. His limbs became mismatched, and he towered above her. “Recognize me now?” he asked, grinning and showing off his fangs.
“You're…” She took a few stumbling steps back. “You're the Imposter from before…the one in the trap.”
“Correct,” he said with a nod. “And I wasn't going to let you have some kind of power over me…I despise owing favors.” He scowled. “I was planning on vanishing after this, leaving you confused without even knowing who or what I was…but I guess that's off the table, now.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, tilting her head.
“You helped me out back there,” he said. “When it would have been easy to just point at me and get me arrested. So, now I…owe you another favor.” He grumbled, crossing his arms.
“I…you don't have to do that,” she said. “I wasn't even thinking about favors…I just wanted to help you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Look. You're getting a chance to get out of one—and only one!—more Imposter attack.”
“How, um…how do I know that you won't attack anyone or sabotage everything?” she said.
“You don't,” he said bluntly. “But hey, if you want to get rid of me, just call an emergency meeting and tell everyone I'm a draconequus that snuck in.” Seeing her blank look, he continued, “That's my species: draconequus. Imposter could refer to one of several different species, you know.”
She hadn't known that, and now felt a little foolish for not knowing it. She had heard about all the different forms an Imposter could take, and had never considered that they might all just be different species.
But more importantly…would she call an emergency meeting and betray him like that?
She already knew the answer to that. Even if she was a little scared of him, he had saved her earlier…and was promising to save her again. Even if it was only one more time…and if he was interested in hurting her, he could have done it several times before now.
With a sigh, she put her helmet back on her head. “I'm…not going to report you,” she told him. “But if you hurt anyone, or try to hurt anyone…I won't protect you.”
“Fair enough,” he said with a shrug. “And since we're going to be around each other for a while…the name's Discord.” He held his lion-like paw out to her.
“I'm F-Fluttershy,” she said. She tentatively took his paw and gave it a quick shake. The corner of his lips twitched in amusement.
His body twisted in ways that didn't seem comfortable or natural, and with a flash of light, he looked like a semi-normal pony again. He pulled his suit back on and walked out the door as though no startling revelations had happened inside.
She followed him…only to find him staring at the web of hallways in front of him. “Ah…I only know how to get in, out, and onto ships from here,” he said in a low voice to her.
She blinked, and glanced down at her hoof, with only one reminder on it right now. “Well…most ponies from that flight will be choosing a dorm, to sleep in,” she said. “That or getting something to eat…”
He looked at her almost expectantly. With a gulp, she headed down one of the halls, towards the dorm area. She entered the building with him right behind her, and she glanced over the lights by the doors inside.
Most of them were taken by at least one pony. But there, in the back, she saw a door with two green lights. She pressed a hoof against the scanner beside it, and one light turned red, the door opening for her.
She sighed as she stepped inside, taking off her helmet before the door was even fully closed. She felt Discord's presence behind her, and glanced over her shoulder.
“I'll be bunking with you,” he said, sliding in through the door after her. He tapped his hoof against the scanner, and though there was a spark from it, it accepted that there were now two creatures claiming this space, and he was one of them. “After all, an Imposter could sneak in here and…well…”
She felt her blood grow cold. “Could…could they really?” she asked, her voice becoming a hushed whisper.
He tilted his head, as though pondering. “Well…it's possible for them to, but it's pretty unlikely,” he admitted. “If they've come this far past security, they'd probably have their eyes on bigger targets. Like the reactor, or the main computers, or the quarters of anypony who can fly a ship…” He paused, seeming to notice how bad her shivering had gotten.
He sighed, rolling his eyes and sitting on the nearest bed, taking off his helmet. “Look. I'm not going to protect this colony, the headquarters, or any of the ships. I'm just here to look out for you, and when that's done, I'm leaving on the next flight…and completely sabotaging it.”
He started glancing around the room. “Are there any security cameras around here?”
“O-only in the halls…” she said a bit nervously.
“Good,” he said, standing up and peeling off the rest of his suit. He walked towards the door, his body slowly morphing from the shape of a pony to that of a…a draconequus, he had said. He pressed one of the buttons by the door, it is clicked loudly, the red light telling her it was locked.
“I can't stand shifting for so long,” he said, floating back over to his bed and flopping on it. “Especially into such a short, soft, bland form.” He stretched out across the bed, his legs and tail hanging off the side. “Anyway, is there anything interesting to do in here?”
“I…think you can access the Hub Network here,” she said. “But…can we really room together? I’ve only shared my room with…a mare before…”
“No rules against it,” he said. “I've checked. And there might be rumors going around, but frankly, I don't care." He banged a fist against the wall, and a panel fell off, though some wires kept it from clattering to the floor.
She watched as he tugged at the wires, somehow attaching them to a screen he pulled out of nowhere. There were some sparks and flashes that made her flinch, but Discord didn't even bat an eye.
“What are you…doing?” she asked with a tilt of her head, setting her helmet in her locker.
“Working to access the Hub Network,” he told her. A particularly large spark arced away from him, and she jumped, grabbing her helmet again.
“I'm…going to the cafeteria!” she said quickly. “Do you want anything?”
“Whatever they're serving, minus the grass or hay, plus an extra dessert,” he told her. “If they have a vending machine, I'll take a soda. Grape.”
“Ah…okay,” she said, putting on her helmet. She headed outside and towards the cafeteria. Today's meal was seasoned grass with apple slices and cake.
She ate all of the food on her tray, barely tasting it as her thoughts swirled. She remembered to grab a to-go box, collecting more apples and cake. She found a vending machine next to the entrance, but it only had water and a few popular brand sodas. No grape.
She went back to her dorm room, glancing around to make sure the coast was clear before she opened the door. Discord was still in his true form, messing with the wires…though they weren't sparking nearly as much, now.
“I got you apples and cake,” she said, putting the container next to him. “They didn't have any grape soda, though.”
“Shame,” he said, popping open the container and grabbing one of the pieces of cake. His nose wrinkled when he took a bite, but he kept eating.
“…do you need anything else?” she asked. He shook his head, his attention now focused on the dinner he was devouring. She checked her suit for tasks…finding none, and seeing that it was getting late, she removed her suit, set it carefully in her locker, and flopped into her bed.
“Night,” she told Discord. He grunted in response, and she turned away, letting her exhaustion take hold before she started thinking of everything confusing that had happened today.
She didn't know how long she had been sleeping…but she was woken up by a bright light shining through her eyelids, growling and grumbling reaching her ears.
With a quiet groan, she opened her eyes and turned towards the source of the light and noise. Discord was sitting up on his bed, holding the screen he had connected to a web of wires. The screen was shining brightly, and Discord was growling and glaring at it.
“What are you doing?” she mumbled sleepily, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“Setting up a forged file,” he snarled. “So that I'm in their system if they run an identity check on me while I'm watching over you. Try being the keyword!”
“Why?” she asked, feeling a bit more awake…especially with the bright glowing light.
“Because of these questions!” he snapped. “Name and suit color? Easy. But then it asks where I was born, where my training station was, my birthday…how am I supposed to input stuff like that without it immediately being flagged?”
She yawned, rubbing at her eyes. “You mean...it wants to know which station was your school?” she asked.
“School?” he said, wrinkling his nose. “Why can’t they just say that? You ponies and your need to make things more complex than they are...” He bit his lip. “Good chaos, what do you name your stations?”
“...I went to Cloudsdale Mark IX for space training,” she said. “And I worked in Ponyville Veterinarian Substation to learn about Animal Handling.”
“Hmm. Would those work for me?” he said. He punched in a few things. “I can at least put down Cloudsdale...what about for specialty skills? I don’t think claiming to be a vet is going to cut it, since I put my job down as ‘Imposter Studies’.”
“...a friend of mine is a researcher. I think she went to Canterlot’s Substation of Gifted Unicorns,” she said. “But it’s pretty prestigious, and it might raise some questions...”
“Too late, already in the system!” he said. “Ooh, I’ll even throw in a few made-up awards to sound legit!” He quickly tapped at the screen, plugging in information.
She just sighed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea...I thought you wanted to lay low?”
“I want to blend in,” he said. “There is a difference, believe it or not. One leads to ponies ignoring me, the other is much more fun—ponies think I’m one of them and treat me as a respected comrade.” He sighed. “It’s delightful, how easy it is to trick them sometimes...”
She shivered, and he turned his attention back to the screen. “Oh, for the love of... ‘additional ways pony spends time’? ‘Can be used as additional skills, or as an Imposter Test’?” He rolled his eyes. “They can’t just say ‘hobbies’?”
He sighed and leaned back, counting on his fingers. “Let’s see...I enjoy causing chaos and panic, infiltrating ships, confusing ponies...”
“I don’t think you should put down any of that,” she said. “Maybe you could say you...like traveling in space and making...riddles?”
He paused, staring at her. “That works,” he said, typing it in. He frowned at whatever the next question was. “Say...could you feed me some good info for the rest of these? I barely know anything about your pony customs.”
She blinked, then slid out of bed and approached him. “Alright, I can try,” she says. “But I might not know a lot...most of our files are filled automatically by workers.”
“Ah, but you think like a pony,” he said, tapping his forehead. “You know instinctively what will set off alarm bells and what will barely make some curious pony bat an eyelash.”
“I…guess so,” she said. She sat down on his bed and looked at his screen. It contained some filled-out information, including his name and a photo of his pony form…though his fang and second horn were hidden because of the angle he chose.
He tapped on the next empty section, and a keyboard appeared. “Alright. Favorite foods…do ponies have cotton candy that rains chocolate milk? Or hot sauce smoothies?”
Her stomach churned at the latter food, and she quickly shook her head. She suggested a few dessert-like items to him, a few of which he plugged in.
They worked for some time, filling in information that she hadn't even thought about them including in their files. But finally, the whole form was complete, and nothing stuck out to Fluttershy as a red flag…though she warned him that she was half-asleep and not that attentive.
“Good, then we're at the baseline for the ponies reading this…stuff,” he said. She knew that she should be appalled, or scold him for talking badly about headquarters…but to her surprise, his comment made her giggle. He blinked, staring at her in shock for a few seconds.
“…don't expect another favor,” he said. “The file wasn't necessary, and I could have gotten those answers from any other pony, so I don’t owe you anything.”
“That's fine,” she said. “In fact, I…never expected that you would feel the need to owe me anything in the first place. I just…wanted to help you.”
He grunted and looked away, turning the screen off and shoving it back into the wall with the rest of the wires. He flopped onto his bed and turned away from her, seeming content to pretend she wasn't there.
With a sigh, she stood back up and went to her own bed. As she closed her eyes, she heard the sound of rain pattering on the roofs of the Hub, lulling her right to sleep.
She woke up with a loud yawn the next morning, stretching and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. The events of yesterday came rushing back to her, and her gaze flicked towards the bed on the other side of the room.
Discord was sprawled out across it, his long body too large for a bed built only for ponies. He was fast asleep, and didn't look ready to wake up anytime soon. She chuckled a bit at his sleeping position…but shook her head, reminding herself that he was not a friend, only a very temporary ally.
She rolled out of bed, slowly pulling on her suit. There was already a small list of tasks waiting for her, but no jobs or missions to go on.
Partially wondering why she had been sent here, she left the dorms and headed over to the cafeteria. Breakfast was bland toast, topped with the information that butter was a luxury item, and jam would have to wait until crops grew.
At least there was cold water to wash it down with. Once she had eaten, she headed over to the garden to finish the first task on her list. It was a cleared area, open to the sky, though protected by a thin fence.
It was filled with several types of plants, which she recognized as native to her home. Everything was planted in neat rows, labeled with what they were and how long ago they were planted. While she found have loved to check all of the plants and make sure they were all happy and healthy…it would have to wait until she completed her tasks.
She had to search for a watering can for a while—it had been hidden behind bags of mulch. But once she found it, she filled it with water from the hydrant, and set to work. She walked down each row of plants, giving them all plenty of water.
As she was working on one of the last few rows, she heard galloping. She lifted her head and saw Discord rushing towards her, his suit on.
He opened the gate and entered the garden, panting. “I had no idea where you were,” he said, frowning. “How am I supposed to watch out for you if I don't know where you are?”
“Sorry,” she said. “I just…thought it'd be nice to let you sleep in.”
He stared at her for a few moments. “…that was thoughtful of you,” he said. “But next time, at least leave something that says where you've gone.”
“Alright,” she agreed with a smile. She kept watering the rest of the row, and glanced up to see Discord giving her a strange look.
“What are you doing?” he asked, staring at her.
“Watering the plants,” she responded, continuing her task.
“...it rained last night,” he said. “You didn’t hear that?”
She nodded, remembering how it had lulled her to sleep, but continued watering. He sighed. “Look, this is ridiculous. Can't you just...not do it, since nature already took care of it for you?”
“Bad idea,” Green said from the gateway. They both jumped and glanced over. “Look, I understand how you feel. But headquarters—and some more zealous crewmates—won’t see it as logic. They’ll just see it as you not doing a task, and then you’ll be put in the brig, and...” She sighed. “Look, just complete your task lists and not worry about logic, okay? Besides, you shouldn’t trust rainwater that wasn’t made by pegasus hooves.”
She wandered off down the hall, and Discord stared after her, wide-eyed. “...wow,” he said. “That’s the fastest I’ve heard somecreature going from being borderline helpful to borderline xenophobic.”
Fluttershy frowned at the watering can she was holding. “...do you think I’d really get in trouble for following logic?” she said quietly.
“Probably,” he said. “Since most ponies like to act on emotion and throw each other into the brig instead of discussing things in a calm and rational way.” She shivered and continued watering.
“So, um...what tasks do you have today?” she asked, trying to change the conversation.
“Dunno,” he said with a shrug. “How do you know what to do, anyway?”
“SolR contacts us through...our...suits...” She froze, staring at him. “Oh...even if you’re in the database, that suit isn’t...a real one, is it?”
“...not really,” he said. “It’s patched up from old, lost suits and a bit of magic...actually, most things on it don’t even work.” He tapped the screen on his hoof, showing how it lit up, but the text on it was garbled and illegible. “See?”
She frowned. “That could be a problem,” she said. “I always get daily tasks to take care of in base...as well as missions related to my position. If the crew doesn’t see you working...”
“Ah,” he said. “Yes, that could be very bad...I can easily claim made-up missions, especially ones where I can tag along with you...but I haven’t a clue what sort of tasks need to be done.”
“Well...one thing I know is that everypony needs to swipe their cards in admin,” she said, pulling out her own card and showing it to him. “They can be rather finicky, though...”
“I don’t have one of those,” he said. “But that’s easy enough to fake.” His horn flared, and he pulled out a card that resembled hers, just with his photo and name instead. “Could you show me where admin is?”
“In a second,” she said. “And I have to swipe my card there, too.” He waited for her by the gate until she had watered everything. With that task taken care of, she led him towards admin.
“So...what’s the point of the card thing?” he asked on the way there.
“I think it’s to keep a record of who’s on base,” she said. “A good swipe tells headquarters who was in the base at which times...”
“Bet you a meal that no one actually reads the data,” he said. “I mean...hundreds of ponies, in dozens of bases? There’s no way they’d hire someone to keep track of everything when they could just hire them for something that actually furthers their...colonization of this planet.”
“Maybe they read the records later, if something bad happens?” she said as they entered the admin building. He just rolled his eyes.
The administration building was small, but packed full of…things. All sorts of machines that accepted files and collected information, with a satellite dish on top that transmitted everything to headquarters. Honestly, Fluttershy wasn't completely sure what it all did…but Discord, seeing that the two of them were alone in the building, began tapping at one of the computers.
“List of tasks, list of tasks,” he growled at it. “C'mon…aha!” He slammed his hoof down on the enter key, with a spark of magic. The computer popped and sparked…and a printer nearby began printing a long, receipt-like list.
“Heh, I can use this list to fake tasks,” he said smugly, approaching and watching it print. “…um. Is it going to stop anytime soon?”
“I…don't know,” she said. “I don't know how many total tasks there are.” She glanced over at the computer he had been messing with…and saw an error message and a corrupted file or…five.
“Er…why don't you show me that card swipe,” Discord said, almost a little nervously. “Just so that I know what to do.”
“Alright…” she said, nervously looking at the computer and the printer. She headed over to the other side of the room, where a card scanner loomed on the table, waiting.
She carefully swiped her card…too slow. A little faster…too fast. A medium speed, then? Bad read, swipe again. She sighed, closing her eyes and summoning her patience as she swiped again.
Finally, the swipe was accepted, and the green light lit up. “So…swipe until the green one lights up,” Discord said, holding his own faux card. “I'll give it a shot.”
He swiped, but neither red nor green lights lit up. “Hmm,” he said, a grin spreading on his face. She had a bad feeling about it…especially with the sound of the printer still running. “What if anything stuck in here was approved, card or fake card?”
A spark of magic was sent into the reader. He swiped, and the green button lit up. “That's…that's sabotage,” she said, staring at the machine.
“Oh, I can do things that are much worse,” he said, tearing off the finally-finished task list and tucking it into his pocket. “This is a very minor thing that will cause a little confusion at headquarters. It's not going to hurt anybody, is it?”
“I…guess not,” she said. She stared at her task list…but paused. “Have you gotten breakfast yet?” His stomach growled, answering her question. “Why don't we do that, first.”
She led him towards the cafeteria. “I'm not a huge fan of the food served in Hubs,” he told her. “Picking a fruit in the jungle and eating it fresh, or roasting a large fish…that's a good meal.”
She swallowed, looking a bit green. “Please…don't mention eating fish.”
“Right…vegetarians,” he said. “Keep forgetting that. Nearly every other intelligent thing here eats meat…or something more out of the ordinary.”
Her stomach roiled a bit at the thought. “They do…?” They turned into the cafeteria, and Discord got in line. She stood beside him, but not quite in line.
He got breakfast, though he looked very displeased when told there was nothing he could put on his toast. “What about honey? Peanut butter? Not even ketchup or hot sauce?”
The pony working behind the counter just blinked. “We…don't have any of those. We're waiting on the next shipment to get some.”
Discord rolled his eyes and grumbled, taking his tray and sitting at a table that was separated from the others. He started to remove his helmet, and Fluttershy panicked. “Wait, what about…”
“About what?” he asked with a grin as he set his helmet aside. His fang was gone, as was his second horn. He looked very much like a normal unicorn now, aside from the bright blue horn that stood out against his grey fur.
She blinked, a little confused. He dipped his toast into his glass of water before munching on it. “I'm not foolish enough to always leave hints,” he told her. “Though it does take a little more effort to not show them.”
He kept eating. “Now, where were we…ah, yes. The intelligent species on this planet mostly eat some kind of meat. Batpony diets are a mixture of blood and insects, centaurs and gargoyles are omnivorous…Kirin eat vegetarian diets, but they'll definitely eat meat in a pinch. And right now…well, let's say there are pinches everywhere.”
The mention of meat eating still made her a bit nauseous…though the details made her a little more curious. “If batponies drink blood…is that why their fangs have toxins?”
“To knock out their prey, so they don't fight back,” Discord said with a nod. “Changelings have something similar—they produce a goo that encases their victims and leaves them only semi-conscious. They use it to save their food sources for later.”
“Do they…eat ponies?” she asked with a shiver.
“No, actually. They just soak up their love…which I've heard isn't exactly a pleasant experience for the pony. That's also why they shapeshift, so they can absorb the love that others have for whatever poor sap they've replaced.”
Fluttershy had to admit that she was becoming a bit more intrigued. “So…do they eat anything besides love?”
“Maybe some other emotions, and plants…maybe fish,” he said. “But a lack of positive emotions to feast on tends to make them go a little…” He waved his hoof in a circle next to his head.
She pressed her hoof against her lips before she chuckled. She asked a few more questions, which he eagerly answered in-between nibbles of his toast. They sat there for several minutes, as she asked questions about the diet and even a bit of the culture of the Imposters.
Imposters were still scary, but…hearing another side, and thinking of them as different, fascinating creatures, made them feel…a little less so.
Discord soon polished off his toast, and seemed glad that it was gone. They both stood up and headed out the door. “Why don't I join you on your tasks…and then you can help me with mine?” He patted the pocket where he had tucked that long lost and winked at her.
“Alright,” she said, checking her screen. “The next task is…” They spent the rest of the morning going over her tasks, Discord making a few snide comments about each one…if nopony else was around. If there was somepony, he acted the part of an alert bodyguard, standing near Fluttershy and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
They then went back to the cafeteria, where Discord choked down most of an alfalfa sandwich, not exactly looking thrilled with having to do it. He got a second helping of dessert (chocolate pudding) before he was told he couldn't have anymore, at which point he got three sodas from the vending machine.
“They're not grape,” he said as he chugged one down. “But it's calories, and more importantly, calories that aren't contained in some kind of hay.”
“You…really don't like hay, then?” she said. He quickly shook his head as he downed another can, tossing it towards a recycling bin.
“Care to rest in our room a bit…and then help me with tasks?” he asked. She nodded, and they headed back to the dorms, him munching on a snack cake from the vending machine.
Once in the privacy of their room, Discord sloughed off his suit and shifted into his true form. He swallowed the remaining snack cake, then pulled the crumpled list out of his pocket.
“Now,” he said, twirling a pen between his fingers. “How many of these tasks do you usually get in a day?”
“About five to seven,” she said. “Though some can be longer than others.”
“Got it,” he said, jotting something down. “And…could you tell me which of these tasks are on a ship, and which are in Hubs?”
She nodded and sat down. They poured over the list together, and Discord would put either a ship icon, house icon, or question mark next to each of the tasks. It took them long enough that by the time they finished, their stomachs were growling, and her suit told her evening had come.
Discord typed something on his makeshift screen, and shoved the list under his pillow. “Another pony meal,” he grumbled. “Take your bets—will it be grass, or hay?”
“That's not all we eat,” she said as they both got into their suits.
“Yes, but it's an unpleasantly large part of it,” he said. “I noticed that the grass in all your Hubs is short, if present…what, do you all just get hungry and pop your helmets off for a quick snack?”
She couldn't help it—she laughed. And as she laughed, a grin grew on Discord's face, suggesting that had been the reaction he was hoping for. Her laughter didn't abate until they had reached the cafeteria, which earned her a few odd looks.
Fortunately, the meal tonight was daisy sandwiches. Discord still wasn't thrilled, but he did have to admit that it was marginally better than eating grass.
She chuckled, and the two of them talked about small, insignificant things as they ate and got ready for bed.
Over the next few days, Fluttershy and Discord went from a tentative alliance to a tentative friendship.
He would guard her during her tasks, and she would help him fake his tasks. While Discord genuinely didn't seem to understand ponies sometimes, and she found his magic strange and confusing…they also managed to bond over small things.
Discord could find humor even in the simplest or smallest of things, making her laugh and smile. She often fussed over him, checking his fur to see if his burns from the trap had healed (surprisingly, they were nearly gone). He would grumble about it, or tease her for acting motherly, but he would never push her away.
They slowly got more used to sharing small gestures of affection, too. Things like hugs, or draping forelegs over each other…things that brought them close together. Discord seemed to be a very tactile creature, taking touch however he could get it, while she found herself…enjoying being close to him.
As they went on missions together or spent time in the lab together (more like Discord followed along behind her), their friendship grew. Occasionally, he caused minor acts of sabotage, but none of it seemed like it could hurt anypony, so she didn't think much of it.
“But…you're sure this will be safe?” she asked as he played on one of the lab computers.
He waved a hoof nonchalantly. “All they have in here right now are fuzzy herbivores. They won't hurt a thing…unless they got into the garden somehow.”
She glanced at the wall of cages next to them. Most of them were filled with rabbit-like aliens, either sleeping or munching on processed kibble (made of leaves and grass). They were being domesticated to act as pets…and if there wasn't a one-pet limit, she would have adopted them all, if it meant being able to give them better food and cages.
“Are you sure that…none of them will get hurt?” she asked. She placed her hoof near a pure white bunny with a grumpy expression, who nuzzled against her.
Discord was quiet for a few moments, and when she glanced back, she realized that he was staring at her with…she couldn't find a word for his expression, but it made her blush. He blinked, and it was gone. “Yes, the fuzzballs will be fine,” he said. “After all, nobody would dare to harm the…valuable lab specimens, right?”
She nodded, looking sadly at the bunnies. Once they were out…they would be specimens no longer. She took a few steps back and away from the cages.
He kept typing away on the computer. “And finally…’Unlock All Cages'.” He pressed the enter key, and there was a loud click…or more accurately, many soft clicks going off all at once.
The rabbits didn't seem to notice at first. So Fluttershy, biting her lip, stepped forward and began opening a few of the doors. Discord was still typing on the computer, making files vanish left and right. “Wiping everything out on here,” he told her, “So there's no evidence it was either of us.”
“Ah, that's smart,” she said, nodding in approval as she opened more cage doors. The rabbits were beginning to take notice now, a few brave ones hopping to the very edges of their cages.
Finally, one brave bunny hopped out and landed safely on the floor. He paused for a few seconds, then began to hop around, sniffing things in the room. Other bunnies joined him one-by-one, though Fluttershy needed to help a few of the more nervous ones down, and wake the sleeping ones.
Eventually, all of the bunnies were on the floor, hopping around curiously. “Computer's wiped,” Discord said. “Now, there's only one thing left to do…”
“Release the rabbits?” she said, her hoof hovering over the button that would open the door. He grinned widely and nodded.
With a press of her hoof, the door slid open. The rabbits lifted their heads, curious. Fluttershy quickly and quietly told them directions—how to get out of the lab.
She made sure her helmet was secure as the first few rabbits hopped out the door, soon followed by the rest of the horde. She rushed along beside them, guiding them towards the front door, and heard Discord snickering to himself behind her.
Once they had made it to the front doors, Fluttershy opened them and entered the decontamination chamber. A fine mist sprayed over her, the outer doors opened…and the rabbits suddenly swarmed towards the open, grassy area they could see.
Discord caught up to her just as a shriek rang out, from near the garden. “Rabbits! Alien rabbits! They'll eat everything!” A few more shrieks followed.
Fluttershy winced. “…maybe we should have done this at night,” she said.
“What, and risk missing this fun?” he said with a laugh. He seemed amused by the panic ponies were in, watching somepony in the distance trying to catch a particularly agile rabbit. “C'mon, you have to admit this is a little funny.”
She heard someone in the garden wailing about how the small rabbits were definitely going to leap over the fence with ease. She bit her lip before a smile could spread across her face, but Discord gave her a smug look, having seen her lip wobble.
“How do we get them out of the Hub?” she realized. “The front gates won't open to let them out…” Discord's eyes slowly widened, like this revelation was new to him, too.
“Give me…five minutes,” he said. “Then usher the rabbits towards that corner of the wall, over there.” He pointed to a corner not far from the lab. She slowly nodded in understanding, and he rushed towards that area.
She slowly headed towards a large group of rabbits, hopping around and chewing the short grass around them. A few ponies stood nearby, seeming torn between grabbing the small things and cowering from the alien creatures.
Fluttershy herded the rabbits closer together, whispering instructions into a few of their ears. Their noses twitched in understanding, and she flew away to deliver the word to more rabbits.
Five minutes passed…and it was time for her to give the signal. She gathered one lone rabbit in her forehooves, and carried them back towards the lab…but before she could enter, the rabbit struggled, and they ‘accidentally' slipped from her hooves, hopping towards a specific corner.
Given the signal, other rabbits began to follow. She was about to herd others that way…but felt curious. So she went to look at the corner Discord had told her to send them to.
In that specific corner, parts of the wall appeared to be…sawed or chewed off, right from the bottom. It wasn't that much, but there was also a hole in the ground, one that a few of the rabbits dug at to make even wider. A steady stream of rabbits crawled their way through the hole…and a glance around told her that nopony seemed to have noticed this point of escape yet.
With a smile, she headed back towards the heart of the Hub, to ‘capture' more rabbits. Along the way, she saw Discord misleading ponies—”Why worry about these ones? I saw one about to chew on a wire over there!” or “Ooh, don't touch that one. That one bit someone through their suit once.”
There was a lot of panicking and chaos, which Discord seemed to greatly enjoy. After several minutes, Fluttershy scooped up the last rabbit and ‘accidentally' tripped on her way back to the lab, at which point the bunny raced towards and shot through the hole provided for it.
She smiled as she stood up, and felt Discord drape his foreleg across her withers. “I'd call that a job well done,” he said. “They're all out, and there are still ponies freaking out about them being around.” Indeed, there was the undeniable sound of panicking ponies around them.
“Are you happy that they're all free?” she asked him.
He shrugged. “I'm glad they caused some chaos, and that you're pleased with the results.” She stared at him for a few moments, and he bashfully looked away. “…and I guess I am happy that they're free now.” A small grin spread on his face.
She beamed at him…though her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his grin. She imagined seeing that smile on his true face, and her heart skipped another beat. She shivered, taking a deep breath. What was happening?
“Well, after that fiasco,” Discord said. “No one would blame us for grabbing an early dinner, right?”
“I don't think so,” she said as he withdrew his foreleg. “I've heard that it's supposed to be tomato soup today.”
“Ah, good, hearty, simple soup,” he said with a nod. “…I wonder how you ponies managed to mess this one up. Perhaps garnished it with flecks of grass?”
She couldn't help but snicker, and he continued rambling and joking about pony cuisine all the way to the cafeteria…especially since everypony else was more focused on imaginary bunnies than on them.
The next morning, Fluttershy had orders to board the next Skeld.
“It's probably because the rabbits escaped,” she told Discord over breakfast. “They don't have a job here for me anymore because of that, so they're sending me to another site.”
He nodded in understanding. “Right…” He poked at his eggs, seeming more interested in playing and arranging them into patterns than eating them.
She tilted her head. He was quiet ever since she had told him the news that morning…which didn’t seem like Discord. Even when he was silent, he seemed to radiate an aura of energy and mischievousness …one that was now missing.
“Is everything okay?” she asked him as they headed to the Skeld. He flinched, avoiding her eyes.
“It's just…if I protect you on this ship,” he said. “That's my end of the deal covered. I'll disappear into the night, and won't see you again…”
She frowned. That thought was…rather saddening. “Maybe, um…you can visit,” she said consolingly. “Or I can visit you, in the woods…maybe we'll be lucky and you won't have to protect me!”
His lips twitched into a smile. “That would be lucky…and I could visit,” he said, his mood lifting. “But no point in hoping now…our flight awaits us!”
She smiled, and they both headed towards the Skeld together.
As it turned out, they were lucky. There had been an Imposter on board, but someone had seen them vent away from their sabotage of the electricity, which they immediately reported when the lights were back on.
Discord had confirmed later that they were a changeling...and that now, the flight was totally safe (unless he decided to cause some trouble). “And since I didn't need to step in and protect you, I still have to hold up my end,” he said. “So, I'm afraid you're stuck with me for a while longer.”
That seemed like happy news to her…and even Discord didn't seem heartbroken about it. In fact, he looked…rather pleased.
A few hours later, and the Skeld finally landed in their new Hub. Discord and Fluttershy got out together, glancing around at the new Hub. “More jungle,” he commented, gesturing to the environment around the Hub. “What, do they have a rule that says ‘Fluttershy must stay in jungle areas'?”
“Well, jungles probably have more animals,” she said as they headed out of the landing area. “And animals are my area of expertise, so…”
Before they got very far, a disbelieving voice called, “Fluttershy?” They both turned to look, and saw a pegasus with a cyan suit. Their eyes were magenta, and rainbow-colored bangs hung in front of their face…Fluttershy immediately recognized her, and felt herself tearing up a bit.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy cried. She opened her hooves, and the cyan-suited pegasus rushed into them, squeezing her in a tight hug.
“I didn't think you were coming for another few years!” Rainbow said, stepping back and looking her over. “This is amazing!”
“It is,” Fluttershy said with a wide grin. “I didn't expect to be in the same Hub as you, Rainbow.”
“Not just me,” Rainbow said. “With you here, the whole gang is back together again!”
Discord cleared his throat, making them both jump. Fluttershy felt embarrassed that she had forgotten he was there for a moment. “Hi, outsider here,” he said with a wave. “Who is this, and what gang is she talking about?”
“Oh, Discord,” Fluttershy said, “This is my friend Rainbow Dash. We grew up in New Cloudsdale Station together, and went to space training together.”
“Different specializations, though,” Rainbow said. “We still both learned them from a Ponyville substation, though…which is where we met the rest of our gang.”
“And you said…everypony's here?” Fluttershy said in awe. “Rarity, Applejack…even Twilight?”
Rainbow nodded, and gestured for her to follow. “C'mon, I'll take you to them.” She began walking into the Hub, talking a bit about her experience and recent events as Fluttershy and Discord followed behind her.
“So…what should I know?” Discord said quietly. “About this group of yours, I mean.”
“Just that we trained at Ponyville Substations at some point, and have different jobs,” Fluttershy responded. “They can all tell you about themselves when we meet them.”
Rainbow guided them into the cafeteria. A pony in a pink suit was making dessert behind the counter. One in a purple suit was reading over data, as one in a white suit planned suit modifications on a screen. One in an orange suit sat with them, munching on some apple pie as they worked.
They all looked up…and gasped in delight as Fluttershy removed her helmet to show who she was. Before she knew it, she had been pulled into a tight group hug, and everyone was exchanging quick nuzzles to reaffirm that they were all there.
Discord coughed, making Fluttershy glance back at him. “I hope the meal today is pancakes, because this is awfully sappy,” he said.
Fluttershy blushed, but Pinkie giggled. “I don't know who you are, but I like you already! The meal today is sandwiches, though. Pancakes aren't until next week!”
Discord grinned and chuckled, taking off his helmet. Fluttershy separated from the group hug and stood by his side. “Discord, this is Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack.” They all waved when their name was said. “Everyone, this is Discord. He's a new friend I made here on Polus.”
Rarity glanced between them, and a knowing smirk formed on her face. “Just a friend, or perhaps…something a little more?”
Fluttershy blushed brightly, inching away from Discord. Glancing over, she saw he had done the same. “I-It's not like that!” she said. “Though, um, we have been sharing a dorm room…”
“But that's just so I can keep her safe from Imposters!” he quickly interjected. “Keep an eye out for her and all that.”
“Ah. My apologies,” Rarity said. There was still a hint of a knowing gleam in her eye, one that kept the blush on Fluttershy's face warm.
“Well, since you're here,” Applejack said to break the tension. “Why don't you sit down and tell us how Polus has been treating you, sugarcube?” She sat down and patted the seat next to her.
Fluttershy sat down, as did the others. Cupcakes were placed in front of everyone, including Discord, courtesy of Pinkie. Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy launched into a tale of everything that she had seen so far…though she deliberately left out certain facts. Her friends probably wouldn't trust Discord, even with her word of approval, if they found out his secret.
After eating the very delicious cupcakes, that seemed to stun Discord with how good they were, the group of them stood up and headed towards the dorm building. “I'd let you room with me, Flutters, but I'm with AJ,” Rainbow said. “Actually…we're all rooming with someone else right now. Sorry.”
“That's fine!” Discord said, throwing a foreleg over Fluttershy's withers. “We can keep on bunking together, right Flutterbutter?”
She nodded, feeling a little flustered…especially when Rarity had that knowing smirk on her face again. “It's not like that, Rarity!” she quickly said.
“Right, of course,” Rarity said, not seeming completely convinced. “Well…as wonderful as it was to see you again, headquarters does want me to finish fixing suits and making headgear. Not to mention the fabric making to be done.”
“And I'd better get back to work if we ever want up breathe easy without suits,” Rainbow said. She left with Rarity.
“Technically we can already breathe in the atmosphere, but the chemical composition is just different enough that you'd start to feel dizzy at some point,” Twilight told everyone. “But, on that note…there's some research I need to do.”
The others gave similar excuses, citing work and heading in different directions out of the building.
Discord wandered down the hall, eventually finding a room with two available spaces. He and Fluttershy claimed it and slid inside. He shifted to his draconequus form, popping kinks out of his back. “That was…an experience,” he said, sitting in bed.
“What do you mean?” she asked as she removed her suit. “They seemed to like you well enough…”
“Because I'm a pony,” he said bluntly. “It's hard to completely like someone else when you know that if they saw this,” he gestured to his body of mismatched parts, “they wouldn't hesitate to arrest you, perhaps throw you onto the operating table to see how you tick.”
“I…guess that's true,” she said. “Still, you were nice to them regardless…thank you.”
“…being rude is more suspicious,” he said, popping a panel off the wall. “I'm going to recreate that screen from our last room. I'll try not to wake you, if you want to rest.”
“Thanks,” she said, lying in bed. “Skeld flights are…tiring.”
“Especially if they're boring ones,” he quipped. She chuckled, and with a smile, allowed her tiredness to take her.
The first few days at this Hub were like those at any other Hub—take care of tasks, help Discord fake his, visit the lab, rinse and repeat. But, as a bonus, her friends were there with her, and she could visit with them at any time.
One day, Rainbow let slip a piece of information that caught both of their attention. “They put up an entertainment building a month ago,” she said casually. “But they're still working on getting some actual entertainment from Equestria Prime. There's not even any of the Daring Do films yet!”
“What do they have right now, then?” Fluttershy asked.
“Just documentaries,” Rainbow grumbled. “The only ones who like them are eggheads like Twilight. But at least we'll get something good eventually.”
She eventually had to get back to making clouds, leaving Fluttershy and Discord alone. “What's that entertainment building all about?” Discord said as they both stood on the Medbay scanner.
“It's somewhere where…there might be games or movies,” she answered. Discord fiddled with the medical computer until it had him down as a completely normal unicorn (with a body very similar to a certain pegasus's). “They were popular on Equestria Prime. It must have been added to make it seemed more like home.”
“Hmm,” he said. They continued through real and fake tasks, and ate supper with her friends. But before they went back to their room, he said, “Flutters, I'm curious. Could we check out that entertainment building?”
“Of course!” she said brightly. They headed towards the building and went inside, finding it rather…plain. There were no games in the lobby, and only two sets of theater doors, with nothing playing in either of them at the moment.
They ducked into the left one, which had enough comfortable seats for about ten ponies. Fluttershy headed to the back, where she turned on the holographic projector.
The lights in the room dimmed, and a grand total of three movie options appeared. “Oh, that's just sad,” Discord said as he took his seat. She couldn't help but nod in agreement, though she scrolled through the options.
A documentary about entertainment buildings, one about the Lunar Society…and one about SolR and Polus. Discord inhaled sharply. “That one,” he said as she had The History Between Polus and SolR selected. “Let's play…that one.”
She didn't like the tone of his voice, but still selected the film. The lights in the room slowly darkened, and she hurried to the seats, taking a place to the right of Discord.
After the lights had darkened, a hologram appeared—one of a very small planet, covered in cities and buildings, a moon orbiting around it.
“Behold, Equestria Prime,” a computerized voice said. “A small planet, brimming with magic…and ponies.” A population graph appeared, showing an extremely large increase, as images of ponies absolutely covered the planet.
“As the population increased, Equestria Prime looked to the stars,” the voice continued. “One alicorn sister, Luna, helped create lunar colonies to deal with the extra population. But the other, Celestia, founded SolR…and began to search even beyond the solar system of Equestria Prime.” Pictures of the two alicorn sisters appeared.
Fluttershy watched in awe as Luna traveled to the moon, building the first colonies there. Celestia pointed her hoof spaceward, and ships traveled past the moon, filled with machines to scan for planets…specifically livable ones.
After years of waiting, the ships finally found something to report back to SolR. Another planet appeared next to the image of Equestria Prime, completely dwarfing it. It was covered in forests and mountains, deserts and plains…and it looked empty to Fluttershy. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Discord's eyes narrow.
“This planet was dubbed Polus…and by some, Equestria the Second,” the voice continued. “It hosted a surplus of magic, an almost-breathable atmosphere, lots of fertile soil and edible plants…and plenty of space, enough for triple our current population.”
“And also at least five different species who were living here…” Discord grumbled. Fluttershy quickly squeezed his hoof, glancing around to check that they were safe.
“SolR immediately began building ships for far-light travel, and designing stations and colonies that could be set up around the planet. Everything was going well, and within the next few years, the first group of colonists was sent, preserved in cryosleep.”
The documentary continued. It detailed the discovery of the Imposters that tried to sabotage their work and drive the ponies away. How the alicorn sister Luna came to the planet herself, and disappeared, joining the batpony Imposters instead of working for SolR. How the colonists still pushed on, soon joined by others who would help them.
She kept glancing over at Discord…and noticed that as the documentary continued, he looked more and more upset, grinding his teeth.
“And so, we brave workers of SolR forge on. To create a new home, one where all ponies can live in harmony,” the narrator finished. The screen slowly darkened, and credits began to play…but Discord stood up and stormed out before the first name could even appear.
She quickly jumped to her hooves and followed him. “Discord…Discord, wait,” she said. “Please, calm down…”
He whirled towards her, his eyes blazing yellow and red…and glowing. “Calm down?” he said, mimicking her voice. “Why would I need to? I can't think of a single reason to even be angry!”
She froze, and he continued ranting. “I can't imagine why seeing a pony propaganda piece would upset me! Was the fact they all think they're the good guys upsetting? Not at all! Or that they glossed over how the original species living here were driven out of their homes? Haha, it'd be crazy to get mad over such a little thing like that, wouldn't it!”
He kept marching down the hall, leaving her frozen in place. “I'm so calm that I'm going to send a present to headquarters! A lovely little virus to wipe out as many of their files as it can.”
She managed to pry her hooves from the floor, rushing in front of him and standing in his way. “Discord, please,” she said. “Don't be hasty…”
“Oh? What should I be?” he said. “A methodical planner who doesn't care how many species get hurt in my selfish, selfish plans? Oh wait…that's ponies.” She flinched, but couldn't find the words to argue.
He stepped past her. “I feel very angry, and I'm going to do something about it,” he said. “Don't try to stop me…or wait up for me.” He kept marching, and the look in his eyes…it made her shiver. She didn't want him to look at her like that again.
And so, feeling guilty about her lack of strength, she turned and walked the other way down the hall—back towards their dorm room.
She sat in bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering when Discord would return. She didn't feel like sleeping at all, so waiting for him was the only thing to do.
He came in several minutes later, throwing the suit into his locker and shifting into his true form. “It's done,” he told her with a grunt. “I sent headquarters the virus.”
She frowned and turned away from him. “I don't want to hear about it,” she said. Why had she even bothered to wait for him? All he cared about right now was his sabotage.
“You don't even know what files it's wiping out,” he said. She didn't turn back around. “…the Hub planning ones. So they can't place any more new Hubs anywhere for a few months, at least.”
“You must be pleased,” she said, keeping her voice as neutral as possible.
“I am,” he said. “Especially since the next files it'll go after are those…’documentaries'. No more propaganda entertainment for the pastel puffballs. If they don't catch it in time, at least.”
She sat up and turned to look at him. “I understand that…the documentary didn't exactly take all facts into account…”
“’Didn't take all facts into account'?” he said, mimicking her voice. “The only ‘fact' they took into account is that ponies are good, everything else is bad, rah rah rah, smug superiority. They have the gall to act like…like we're the ones doing wrong, fighting back against the invasion. Because that's what this is, an invasion.”
He began to pace back and forth as her eyes widened. “And they decide that, that what's the first piece of entertainment their brave explorers can enjoy? A propaganda piece, to reaffirm that they're the good guys, and that they don't have a single, solitary thing to feel guilty about! They can just keep on pushing us out of territory, making us move home and lose land and…other things…”
His anger seemed to die out, or be exhausted for now. With a great sigh like a deflated balloon, he fell back onto his bed, pressing his hands against his face. “Ugh…” he groaned, then rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around himself.
She waited for a few minutes, but he seemed disinterested in talking anymore. She couldn't find the words to say to him, so she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.
She laid like that for minutes, thinking deeply. Sleep was just outside of her reach as Discord's rant played over and over again in her mind.
The next day, Discord didn't join her as she went about her assigned tasks. The others barely saw him, Pinkie saying he only came to get his meals to-go, and that he was likely eating them in his room.
Fluttershy felt…guilty, almost. She wanted to talk to him and say a few things, but she didn't want to accidentally set him off on another angry rant. Even if…he was right, and changed her perspective on things.
Still, she avoided going back to her room until the evening. She helped others in their tasks, spent time in the lab, and pointedly avoided the entertainment building. But after supper, when everypony else was either heading to bed or going to watch a documentary, she reluctantly headed back to her room.
Discord was sitting on his bed, playing with something on his screen. He glanced up at her as she entered, then turned his attention back to what he was doing.
After removing her suit, she took a deep breath and approached him. “Discord, I want to talk about this,” she said, keeping her voice steady.
“That's new,” he quipped, not looking up. “You seem more like the type that stays silent and lets things happen.”
She scowled, but quickly got a hold off her anger before it exploded. “I'm being serious,” she said, her voice becoming stern. “I want to talk about that documentary, and what you did.”
He closed his eyes, and with a sigh, tucked the screen back into its panel. He placed his hands together and set them on his knees. “Very well,” he said. “How would you like to begin this lecture, then?”
“First of all,” she said, “I don't like that you sent a virus to headquarters. What if it wipes out something important, like the files about who's here on Polus? Someone could be forgotten here.”
“Seems ideal, being stuck and left alone on the planet you were going to live on anyway,” he said, his grin showing off his sharp fangs.
“Secondly…” She paused, and took a deep breath. “You were…right, about some things.”
His eyes widened, and he seemed genuinely shocked. “I was?”
“You're…right that this is an invasion,” she said slowly. “I can see that now. But…remember what the documentary said, about our home planet filling with ponies? That was true. There's…not going to be enough space for everypony. There isn't enough space for everypony. That's why it's important we colonize here.”
“And you just had to pick the planet that was already occupied?” he said.
“…it was the only habitable one we found,” she said. “There's…still some searching going on. But we've already filled the moon, drilled into our planet and filled it with more buildings, and we're building space stations as fast as we can.”
“But it's still not enough,” he said. “You just want more, and more…if you gave a pony everything they wanted, they wouldn't be happy. They'd have to make sure no one else had more than them before they could even think about being even a little happy.”
She paused. Quietly, she said, “Do you think…that I'm like that?”
His expression shifted; he seemed to be caught off-guard. His head lowered, and he looked away. “…no,” he said. “You're…different. You don't seem like the rest of them.”
“But…other ponies are good, too,” she said. “Rarity is the most generous soul I know—” Discord quietly scoffed. “—and Rainbow Dash would never abandon a friend who needed her.”
“But none of them would save a trapped Imposter,” he said. “You're the only pony I can think of who…who has some regrets about what SolR is doing here. I've seen your face whenever someone outside the Hub takes down a tree, or when one of the traps goes off.”
She flinched. She hadn't realized her feelings had been so transparent. Discord sighed, rubbing the bridge of his snout. “This would…all be so much easier if you weren't a pony,” he groaned. “Though if you were more like me, you wouldn't be you anymore…”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, tilting her head. “I don't…I don't understand…”
Before she could say anything else, he grabbed her and crushed her against his chest. She gasped, surprised, but felt…safe, in his arms. She could hear his heart beating wildly as she laid her head against his chest.
“Things would be easier,” he said. “Because I wouldn't have to feel so conflicted about all of this. And yet, in any other circumstances, I wouldn't have felt the need to protect you! Wonderfully paradoxical, isn't it?”
“You're…conflicted about us being friends?” she asked quietly. She heard his heart skip a beat, and she held her breath, wondering and deep down hoping that maybe…
“…it's a little more than that,” he said slowly, in a voice barely above a whisper. Slowly, he locked eyes with her, and bent his neck, his face coming closer…until his nose tapped against hers.
Her face flushed, and her eyes widened. His eyes glanced away, not able to meet hers any longer. Slowly, she closed her own eyes and added her own pressure, trying to convey her feelings—they were unsure, but they were there.
Slowly, he pulled away, tucking a strand of her mane behind her ear. “I adore you, you little pastel alien,” he whispered. “Even though I'd rather like to see SolR's planned invasion all go up in flames…”
She was torn between smiling and frowning, between which of her feelings she should express. “You can tell me everything,” he said, scratching behind her ear. “The good and the bad. I'm a big draconequus, I can handle it.”
“…I adore you, too,” she said slowly. “At least, I believe I do…it's hard to describe.” She narrowed her eyes. “But I'm still not happy with the fact that you sent a virus to headquarters.”
“The virus will leave some files alone,” he told her. “It's going to target non-essentials first…after wiping out Hub plans.” He looked away guiltily. “Because as soon as it targets something important, somepony is actually going to notice and do something about it. This…isn't my first virus, but it's the tamest one yet.”
“You’re sent other viruses?” she asked. He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Long before I met you. Back when I thought that scaring them off would be easy…back when I was learning that they had such a control over technology that nothing electronic I threw at them would scare them or hurt them.”
He looked away. “Actually…most of my sabotages have been tamer since I met you. Nothing dangerous, just…inconvenient.”
“Still chaotic, though,” she said with a smile. “Like freeing the rabbits.” She still remembered his pleased expression after they had all gotten out, how her heart had beat rapidly…was that when her adoration began?
He smiled fondly at the memory, nuzzling behind her ear. “That was good chaos,” he murmured. His claw began stroking through her mane. “Is there…anything else you want to lecture me about, Shy? Or could we have a moment?”
“A…moment?” she said. She racked her brain to see if she recalled anything else she wanted to talk to him about…he made it hard to focus, though, with that adoring look he gave her, the gentle way he held her…
“A moment of…us, being two creatures who adore each other,” he said. “Goodness, I've become terribly, terribly sappy. I blame you for that.”
She giggled as he poked her nose, a smile spreading across her face. She leaned up and nuzzled his cheek, feeling his face warm up as she did so. “Yes, we can have a moment,” she said.
He wrapped his arms even more tightly around her, and she nestled into his chest. “Good…” he purred. “Thank you for indulging me.”
His nose pressed itself against hers again, slowly followed by his lips pressing against hers. She returned all the nuzzles and kisses he gave, relaxing and feeling safe in his arms.
The two of them agreed that for now, they would keep their relationship a secret from the others. Discord, because it was special to him and he didn't want to reveal it to ponies (besides her, obviously), and Fluttershy, because she worried that telling her friends might make them try to find out more about Discord…and even with his forged file set up, Twilight would probably see through it.
Still, Rarity and Applejack gave them a couple of knowing looks…especially when they couldn't help but lean on each other, or drape their forelegs over each other’s withers. Even Pinkie suspiciously gave them more desserts that could be shared between two ponies. Rarity offered matching headgear especially made for them, but Discord declined the offer.
“You may look good in SolR hats, but I do not,” he told Fluttershy in private. “I prefer Chaos brand hats.” He put a top hat on his head whose stripes kept changing colors, which made her giggle.
It couldn't have been more than three days after they had told each other how they felt that Discord groaned, “I am so bored of being in a Hub. Shy, care to come over to my place? It's only a few hours away from here.”
“But…tasks,” she reminded him, holding up her wrist.
He whipped out his screen, and with a bit of typing, her wrist screen flickered and changed to Mission: Explore the area and scan animals. “No tasks today!” he chirped. “And the perfect excuse to leave the Hub. C'mon…I’d really like to show you my place. Please?”
“Well…” she hesitated for a moment, but only a very brief one. “Sure. Let's go!”
“After breakfast, though,” he said. “I can't believe a Hub exists where there's actually some good food.”
“Pinkie is an amazing baker,” Fluttershy said with a nod. They headed to the cafeteria, where they both ate their fill of fluffy, delicious pancakes. Once finished, they headed towards the gate, both getting scanners and radios before being decontaminated and released.
Discord galloped forward through the woods, dismantling both of their radios with magic. “Can't risk them tracking us,” he said, messing around with the innards until they were useless and then sealing them back up again.
“That's…smart,” she panted, galloping to keep up. “You said…your home is hours away?”
He nodded. “But I can teleport us there…it'll take a lot out of me, though. And I want to get away from the Hub before I do it.” She nodded in understanding, and kept galloping beside him.
After about an hour or two of galloping and trotting, during which Discord pointed out interesting trees or unique plants, and he suddenly paused, tilting his head. “…this seems far enough,” he said. He morphed into his true form, his suit disappearing. He raised his fingers and snapped, and both of them were enveloped in a flash of light.
Fluttershy blinked spots out of her eyes…and gasped. She was in a surreal area, filled with pink and teal grass, and plants that seemed to grow in every color but green. She looked up, and saw that Discord was wobbling on his feet, leaning against a tree with a purple trunk to support himself.
“Whoo,” he said, catching his breath. “Fun fact—teleportation is a magic drainer.” With a few deep breaths, he straightened up and smiled as though he had never been tired. “Miss Fluttershy, I formally welcome you to the Land of Chaos!”
“It's…amazing,” she said, drinking in all the colors. She could see the normal forest nearby, but its colors looked almost dull in the middle of all this vibrancy.
“Isn't it?” he said, puffing up his chest. “This is just the outer ring, too–creatures get easily turned around in here if they're not welcome.” He moved forward, gliding through the neon foliage. She followed close behind him, not wanting to get lost.
In just a minute, the trees thinned out, as did the underbrush. Things were still vibrant, but this cleared space seemed to hold even more wonders—a collection of mysteriously floating rocks, a brown lake that smelled strongly of chocolate, and a tree that twisted in a spiral as it grew towards the sky.
Discord leaned down to match her eye level, grinning. “Impressed? I've spent years making and collecting things I like,” he said. “Chaotic things…”
“And…before you met me, you lived here?” she said, still taking everything in.
He beamed and nodded. “If you wish, I can show you my specific living area…my ‘house', if you will.” She nodded eagerly, and he guided her past oddities and mysteries. “I like to switch things up, have new houses…I lived inside of a live tree, once. It was an interesting experience.”
“I've never really had a house,” she admitted. “Just…apartments. Either one shared with my family, or one provided by my training station…”
“Well,” he said. “The house I currently have might not be…terribly impressive to you. But right now, it's home.” He headed towards the mouth of a gaping cave, which seemed more like a hole in the ground…and without hesitation, hopped inside and disappeared into the shadows.
She hesitated at the edge, but his paw crept from the darkness, offering itself to her. She took it, and allowed herself to be guided into the underground cave.
The first thing she noticed was that only the entrance was dark—now, the two of them were in a tunnel lined with bioluminescent mushrooms. Discord guided her down the short path, which angled them further into the ground…and stopped at the entrance of a dark cavern.
“One moment,” he said. He clapped his hands, and the space filled with light…Fluttershy gasped, her eyes widening as she took everything in.
They were in a cave, certainly, but this one seemed to be carved in a way that made it…homey. There was a thick purple rug covering the floor, and posters and paintings were hanging on the wall. Above them, there was a glowing crystal—the source of the light. In one corner, there was a small pool of clear water, fed from an outside source.
There was a large pile of thick moss in another corner, which Discord laid down on, making himself comfortable. To the side, there was a crate, stuffed with all kinds of fruit. “Aren't you worried that would rot?” she asked.
“Nope,” he said. “Magic crate.” He stood up and headed over, digging through the fruit. “It's close to noon…oh, try this one! It's very sweet.” He held a purple fruit out to her.
“But…my helmet,” she said, gripping onto it as though it would keep her safe (which it did).
“The atmosphere is perfectly breathable for ponies,” he said. “Just take it off and eat some fruits, then put it right back on. It'll be fine!”
She still felt nervous, but slowly sat down on the edge of his moss bed…and removed her helmet. Her first breath of Polus air was…not bad. It was crisp, cold, and fresh, something the filtered air in Hub buildings lacked…but it tasted different, feeling a bit odd in her mouth and lungs.
Before she could linger on it, Discord placed the native fruit in her hooves. She peered at it curiously for a few moments, then took a bite. It was very juicy, and as he had said, very sweet.
She polished off the rest of it, then gave him an approving smile. He beamed and offered her another fruit. After about five native fruits (which all tasted good to her…Discord seemed to know her tastes well), she felt full…and a little bit dizzy.
Remembering Twilight's words, she slipped her helmet back on and took a few breaths of filtered air. “Aww, already?” Discord said with a pout. “I was hoping for a cheesy, sappy moment to share…”
“Later,” she said with a smile, her dizziness abating. His pout slowly vanished. “Could you…show me more of the Land of Chaos?”
He perked right up at that, and guided her back out of the cave, clapping his hands again to make the crystal grow dark. He led her around the area, pointing out things that shouldn't exist, memorabilia of things he had participated in, and things that would make Twilight's logical mind break.
She enjoyed the tour by taking in the spectacle, and not thinking about why or how it all existed besides ‘chaos'. After a few hours of wandering and touring, she saw something tall, very tall, out of the corner of her eye, and turned her head to look.
It appeared to be dozens, maybe hundreds of Skelds, all stacked on top of each other to form a precarious metal tower. “What…is that?” she asked, catching Discord's attention.
“My trophy collection!” he said, stepping forward and presenting the tower of ships. She craned her neck, and was only barely able to see the top. “I save all the ships from my victories…I probably have at least a hundred in here.”
“Wh…why do you keep these?” she asked. She could help but notice the large holes in some ships, the black burn marks on others. “And…where are…” She swallowed, not sure if she wanted to finish that question.
“Oh, the ponies who flew them are fine,” he said. “I didn't have a use for them, so I just dropped them off at random points on the planet.” He grinned. “I can't promise they made it back to their Hubs or headquarters, though…”
“As for why I keep these…” he said. “I dunno. They remind me of good moments, I suppose. And stacking them is fun.” He sighed wistfully. “Maybe when I have enough, I'll push it over and knock one of those stations out of the sky.”
She stared at him in horror. “The headquarters? But…there are ponies living there!”
“And I'm sure that they all have fancy escape pods or ships to file into, and they'll see it soon enough to run for it before it hits them.” He stared up at the tower, patting its side and showing how stable it was. “Besides, I'll need a lot more ships before I can make a statement as grand as that.”
She still eyed the tower a bit nervously. It was a symbol of how different they were—he hunted these ships as though it was a game, while taking care of them in-flight was one of her many jobs. Was this just…a sign they were incompatible?
Discord coughed, jolting her out of her thoughts. “Another thing is…the view at the top is pretty spectacular,” he said. He held his lion part out to her. “Wanna see?”
She hesitated for a second. But after taking a deep breath, she slowly placed her hoof in his paw. He smiled and pulled her close, making her squeak.
To her surprise, the ground rippled underneath them, and a small portion started to float up, with them riding on top. “I can show you the world...” he said. “Of Polus, of course!” He thrust his claw into the air, and the rippling ground flew faster, circling around the tower of ships.
She closed her eyes at the sudden speed, pressing herself closer to him.
After a few seconds, they came to a stop. She felt herself being guided forward, until her hooves were standing on solid metal. “Alright,” he told her in a hushed voice. “Open your eyes.”
She did so…and the first thing she did was look down at her hooves. Her vision swam as she realized how high off the ground they were, her legs wobbling. She felt faint.
But before she collapsed from fright, Discord suddenly cupped her chin and tilted her head upward…and she gasped. From this height, she could see the vast area that the forest covered…the mountains in the distance that seemed to glow, and a glint far, far away that may have the ocean.
Her breath was stolen away, and she plopped down into a sitting position. Discord took a few steps back, giving her some space as she drank in the sight of it all. This was even more amazing than the view from headquarters.
“It's…so beautiful,” Fluttershy said. Discord paused and came back to her side, staring out at the same view as her. “Are they…are we really going to get rid of all this, for…for more homes?”
“Sounds like that's the plan,” Discord said, plopping down next to her. “And hey…what did your planet look like, before it was stuffed to the gills with buildings and ponies?”
She hesitated. “…I don't know,” she said. “By the time I was born, we had almost completely filled Equestria Prime…the Lunar Society was filling up, too, and space stations weren't being built fast enough to support everyone…”
“So…this is the first time you’ve seen nature like this?” he asked, gesturing to the landscape sprawling out in front of them. “It must be paradise to you, huh?”
“Well…there's gardens and greenhouses back on Equestria Prime,” she said. “And zoos, and virtual simulations of what our planet used to be like thousands of years ago…but none of it has been this…much.” She gestured to the wide, wide area covered by untamed forests, tall mountains, and raging rivers.
“And all of it…it's so real,” she said. “It isn't being controlled or corralled…” She froze, then stared sadly in the direction of the distant Hubs, where she knew that ponies were hard at work trying to break and twist all of this free nature to their own will.
“Yeah…aside from all the neighbors, this place is great," he said. Her eyes lowered. “Hey, ponies aren't the only bad neighbors. Just the worst ones.”
He stood up and pointed east, where she could make out some sort of tower in the distance. “Over there's a changeling hive. A little north of them, there are some batpony camps, trying to take the land.” He pointed west, towards a desert. “The gargoyles and centaurs have a peace treaty, but it's tentative at best. And the Kirin are encroaching on their territory, so there's going to be more fighting over there, wheeee.”
“Has Polus always been…?” She paused, looking out at the beautiful planet in front of her. “Has it always been this…contested? Was there ever any room for a single species?”
He sat back down next to her, staring in the same direction as her. “...there wasn’t always this much fighting,” he said after a few moments. “Oh, there was a skirmish here or there—I freely admit that I started a few—but things weren’t this bad until...” He frowned, glancing at her and looking away.
She tilted her head, confused...but her eyes slowly widened. “When we came,” she said. “When we started making colonies...”
“Creatures were pushed out of their homes,” Discord said with a nod. “And there was less land for us as the colonies spread...creatures starting running out of places to go to. Frontal assaults on SolR led to capture. Trying to coexist with each other? Might end up drawing too much attention to the area. ‘If so many creatures can live there, I’ll be great for us!’”
He snorted. “I swear...that Gemstone friend of yours irked me, what with her generosity schtick. Like you ponies aren’t the greediest creatures in this galaxy.”
“Rarity...” she gently corrected. “And...she really is a generous pony! You shouldn’t say she isn’t because of what other ponies have done.”
He scoffed. “Right. Like I said…you ponies aren't the only bad neighbors, but you're the worst.” He scowled and tossed a piece of metal off of the tower, which soared far away from them. “Present company excluded, of course.”
She looked away. “I'm…not that much better,” she said quietly. “The whole reason I came was because…I was selfish. There wasn't room on Equestria Prime, and I…I wanted to see a healthy planet, one where I could find a home…!”
“But hey…your opinions have changed a bit since then. In some areas, at least,” he said. “And if you want a home here…I can help you find a place. A nice clearing, where no trees need to be torn up, where SolR could just…plonk your house in. I don't agree at all with their colonization, but I'd help them if it meant helping you…want do you say?”
She hesitated. “I…can't,” she said. “I'm…very far down the line to actually have a home and live here, compared to other workers, at least.”
“What?” he asked. “But…isn't that a major reason ponies work here? To find where they'll live?” She shook her head.
“I'm only trained enough to spend five years here,” she said. “Then, after that, I could sign up to stay—not to live here, but to work more, after more training—or get on a ship to go home.” She reached out and gripped his paw. “Discord…when that time comes, will you come with me?”
He paused, his smile slowly falling, and he pulled his paw away with a sigh. “Fluttershy,” he said. “If I asked you to leave those pony colonies and live with me here on Polus, what would you say?”
She froze, and frowned in thought. “I…couldn't,” she said. “They could track us down through my suit, and we could both be arrested…but if I didn't have my suit, I'd be spending an even longer period of time breathing the air…and eventually, my suit would run out of air anyway…”
“But would you still want to?” he asked.
“Yes," she answered immediately. “Yes, I…I want to be with you! If it wasn't for…”
“Literally everything that stands in our way,” he said. He sighed and continued, “That's…how I feel about going to Equestria Prime. If they found out who I was they would arrest both of us…and you already know how I feel about shapeshifting for long periods of time.”
“So…” she said. “What do we do? Do we just…keeping doing what we do now, hoping we don't get caught, or…separate and never be able to see each other again…?”
He frowned, going quiet for several minutes. “…it's going to be five years before we need to make that decision, right?” He wrapped an arm around her withers. “Let's just…not worry about that for now, okay?”
“…okay,” she said quietly, leaning against him. They watched as the sun sank lower in the sky. “…we should go back,” she said. “Before everyone wonders where we are.”
“Good point,” he said with a sigh. With a snap of his fingers, they teleported to the edge of his territory. He stood up and stretched, wriggling his fingers in preparation before snapping them again and sending them a few yards away from their current Hub.
He quickly shifted to his unicorn form and leaned against her, exhausted. She guided him back into the Hub, where they greeted the others, who were completing a few tasks before bed.
As they ate cafeteria food and trundled off to their beds, Fluttershy thought about what they had discussed. Discord was out like a light as soon as he was in bed, not even bothering to shift back to his usual form. She tucked him in, smiling…though the smile felt forced.
She stared up at the ceiling as she thought about their future, wondering what it would look like…if things could really, truly work out for the two of them.
Her suit told her to board a Skeld mid-morning. She informed her friends (and Discord) over breakfast, and a tearful goodbye was shared.
“Send us a message when you arrive,” Twilight said. “Maybe…I can try and contact headquarters, to see if we can all work in the same Hub again soon.”
“That would be nice,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “But you don't have to go through all that trouble for me.”
“Hey, friends helping friends isn't trouble!” Rainbow said, patting her back. “You take care of yourself…and Discord, you know what to do if anypony else tries to push her around!”
Discord nodded, straightening up. “They won't know what hit them,” he said with a bit of a grin. He had told the group that he was traveling on the same Skeld as Fluttershy, and no eyebrows had been raised…though Rarity gave Fluttershy one of her knowing, encouraging looks.
There were only five other ponies on the same flight as them. They were all glaring and regarding each other with suspicion already. “Oh dear,” Fluttershy said as they approached the ramp with them, waving goodbye a final time to their friends.
“It'll be fine,” Discord said in a quiet voice to her as Blue closed the ramp. He wandered towards the head of the ship, while everyone else went into the cafeteria. “Even if they're paranoid, all they'll do is lock someone in the brig.”
“What are you whispering about?” Lime asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. Orange shivered, looking very tempted to press the emergency button.
“Exchanging sweet nothings,” Discord said. “It's much too sappy to be heard by others. Right, lovebug?” Green flinched at the nickname, glancing around and over his shoulder.
“Right, Cordy,” she said, catching on. Lime glared at them both suspiciously. Green muttered something about changelings and codes. Red just stared at everyone silently.
It was an awkward few minutes before the ship took off and Blue finally returned. “Tasks,” he told them, pointing at his wrist. Fluttershy checked hers and saw…oh, wow, a pretty sizable list. She swallowed, but almost everyone had bolted away from the table, as though fleeing from everyone they were trapped with.
“I don't like the look of this,” Fluttershy said to Discord as she stood up and headed towards her first task. Fixing wires…Déjà vu.
“I know they're a little…twitchy,” Discord said as she popped open the first panel, fixing the wires inside. “But if there's no sabotage and no attacks, then none of them are going to have a reason exactly to point hooves at each other.”
“That's true…” she said. She closed the panel and went onto the next one, but an announcement was made that an emergency meeting was called before she could get far.
She and Discord both went back into the cafeteria.
Orange was standing there, shaking, his hoof on the button. As soon as everyone was assembled, he pointed a hoof at Blue. “He's not a real pilot! He's an Imposter! I know it, I saw him drop a coffee mug in admin, it was sabotage!”
The group all began yelling at each other, accusations with barely any evidence being tossed willy-nilly, from standing next to vents to just standing around suspiciously. Fluttershy gulped, glancing nervously at Discord. He seemed just as stunned as her by the sudden explosion of emotions.
Voting came and went, but with no majority votes on anything, no one was voted off. Everyone wandered back to their tasks, glaring at each other. Fluttershy headed back towards the next panel to be fixed, clinging to Discord's hoof.
She fixed the wires, and whispered to Discord, “Are any of them even Imposters?”
“…Red's a changeling,” he said in a hushed voice. “But he's nervous, too. Must be his first time.” He crept towards the vent on the floor. “I'm going to take down the security cameras. This group seems paranoid enough to watch those instead of doing their tasks, and the last thing I want is for them to see me out myself by taking out an Imposter.”
She nodded in understanding. “I'll…stay here. If that's okay.” This group…even if there was just one other Imposter, this group seemed volatile enough to vote anyone off.
He nodded, and popped open the vent, shifting into his true form and darting inside. She sat next to the vent, waiting for him to return.
A few minutes later, the vent flung open, and Discord popped out, shifting to his pony form. “Okay,” he said. “Cameras are down…not sure if anyone saw me, but they can't catch me doing anything on camera now.”
Before she could say anything, alarms began blaring, red lights flashing. “What's going on!?” she said, jumping to her hooves.
Discord said words that she couldn't understand, in the tone of profanity. “Fool sabotaged the reactor,” he said. “If two creatures don't fix that, this ship is going to explode.”
“We, we have to fix it!” Fluttershy said. She rushed out of electrical, freezing in the doorway before darting left.
“Other way!” Discord shouted. She stumbled on her hooves as she made an about-face, rushing towards the back of the ship instead.
Before she could get there, the alarms turned off, and the lights stopped flashing. She froze in place, waiting to see if things were fine, or if this was merely the calm before the end.
Discord trotted up to her side, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Vented to catch up,” he told her quietly. “We're safe now…two other creatures fixed it.”
She sighed, leaning her head against his chest. “This flight…it's too much,” she told him. “I just want…to get there, with all of this over with…” He wrapped his forelegs around her to comfort her.
Another emergency meeting was called. They reluctantly pulled away from each other and headed towards the cafeteria again. Blue watched quietly as everypony entered.
“We need to figure out who the Imposter is,” he said. “Did anyone notice anything suspicious before or during the reactor meltdown?”
They were all silent for a few moments. Glares were exchanged between creatures. Finally, Red raised a shaking hoof…and pointed it at Fluttershy. “I saw her running away from the reactor,” he said in a nervous tone. It was hard to tell if his nervousness was real or faked.
The glares were turned on Fluttershy, and she quivered. “I was…I just got turned around, trying to run towards it,” she said. “I was with Discord, Brown, in electrical…”
“That's a lie!” Orange crowed. “I saw Discord coming from Security just before the meltdown, there's no way he could have gotten between those rooms!”
“…unless he vented,” Lime said. The group began discussing wildly, trying to decide whether Discord or Fluttershy was the more suspicious of the two.
She glanced over at Discord, who seemed to be sweating nervously. The group seemed pretty evenly split on who was an Imposter—Lime and Blue seemed to think it was Discord, while Red and Orange pushed that it was Fluttershy. Green stayed quiet through it all.
The voting screens came up. The other five all voted, but she couldn't tell for who. If Green voted for Discord, he'll be put in the brig…he'll be found out as an Imposter, she realized. The only way to keep that from happening was with a tie vote.
And so, she nervously bit her lip…and voted for herself.
The time for voting ended, and icons filled the screen. Lime and Blue voted for Discord. Discord had voted for Red. Green…had skipped the vote.
Fluttershy's name had three icons next to it.
Discord looked horrified as ropes coiled around her. She tried to give him a reassuring smile—she may be put in the brig, but a scan after they landed would show that she wasn't an Imposter. Better for her to be caught, without any secrets, than him.
“I'll take her to the brig,” Blue said. In another sense of déjà vu, Lime and Orange began to boo. Blue, though…seemed to hesitate.
“Airlock! Airlock!” Lime chanted. Orange joined in, and slowly, so did Red. “It’s the only way to get rid of Imposters for good!” Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she felt as if the world had fallen out from under her. This wasn't supposed to happen…both she and Discord looked at Blue with wide, fearful eyes.
“I…I don't…” Blue said nervously. Orange marched forward and grabbed Fluttershy's ropes, dragging her away. She began to squirm, to try to get away. This isn't how it was supposed to go!
“Fluttershy!” Discord cried. She saw him trying to follow, but being pushed back by both Lime and Red. Green and Blue stood on the sidelines, nervously trying to calm everyone down…they vanished from her sight as Orange dragged her around the corner.
She struggled against her bonds, but they refused to loosen…especially with Orange's tight grip on them. She heard bursts of magic from the way they had came, which only encouraged her to struggle even more.
She felt a loop or two loosen…but Orange let her go, pressing a few buttons to open the inner airlock door. She was roughly shoved inside, her helmet snatched off of her head before the inner door closed once again.
There was only a small window in the inner door, but it was enough to let her watch as Discord suddenly tackled Orange to the ground. Lime and Red rushed up and pulled him off before he could do anymore. Discord's eyes locked with Fluttershy's.
“You maniacs!” he shouted. “You can't do this; you're going to kill her without even checking if she's innocent!”
Orange stood up, rubbing his jaw. “Sometimes,” he said gruffly. “We need to make unpleasant choices in order to keep ourselves, and everypony else, safe!” His hoof moved forward, towards what Fluttershy was almost certain was the button that would open the doors behind her.
Discord snarled, a sound that made everyone, even Fluttershy, freeze in fright. “You…made…” he growled. His eyes glowed, and he began to transform.
He tore right through his suit as his body elongated. His hooves shifted to mismatched limbs, his snout widened and narrowed as he bore fangs at them. His wings flared out as he loomed ominously over them. They all seemed to be frozen in shock or fear.
“The wrong…choice.,” Discord growled. He raised his fingers into a snapping position.
The crewmates gasped. Some cried, others yelled, others ran away. Fluttershy tried to struggle out of her bonds and make it to the door.
Discord snapped.
Something exploded in another room. The lights went out, and warning lights began flashing. Her suit pinged, telling her the levels of magic were dangerously high. The crewmates were yelling and running around, shouting about the reactor, the lights, and communications. She managed to slip out of the rope, but there were some red numbers flashing overhead.
“Discord!” she yelled, rushing over to the door and banging against it. Though no one had yet pressed the button, she knew what those numbers were counting down to. “Discord!”
Her voice knocked him out of his stupor, and he rushed to the door. “Shy!” she heard him yell, his voice muffled through the glass. He snapped his fingers, but they only sparked uselessly, his knees wobbling.
He began pulling on the door, slamming buttons and pressing everything he could find. She looked around for something to help, but she knew that they wouldn't leave a way for an Imposter to open the airlock from the inside and escape. Discord's magic hummed around him, gathering inside him. But with a door of metal-resistant magic and only seconds left on the clock…she knew it was over.
His head whipped towards her, his expression pained and desperate. She placed one hoof against the glass, as though she could reach out and caress his face. “Discord,” she said as a tear escaped from her eye. “I love you.”
The numbers dropped to zero, and the metal doors behind her slammed open.
She felt herself being pulled away with a great force, icy hooves squeezing her skin as wind rushed away from her. The same icy hooves reached down her throat and started pulling the air out of her lungs, and her vision quickly became spotted and started fading to black.
She felt her tears freeze on her cheeks, and the last thing she remembered was Discord's pained expression…and his roar of rage as the door opened.
Her world went dark.
“NO!” Discord screamed. He bore his fangs and gripped the handle of the door, his claws unsheathing as a burst of adrenaline-fueled magic coursed through his veins.
With a surge of strength, likely fueled by magic, he tore the door off of its hinges as easily as tearing paper. The air in the ship began to rush out of the still-open airlock, and another siren blared in the halls. He didn't care—who needed air, anyway?—except that the outer door of the airlock was closing.
He let the rushing air pull him along, shooting him out into space. The cold vacuum, and the pressure, made him uncomfortable, and his magic automatically flared out to protect him. But Fluttershy doesn't have this magic! he thought in a panic, scanning the space for a bright yellow spot.
There, not far from the ship! He shot towards her, opening his arms. He collided with her, wrapping his arms tightly around her as they spun, his impact sending them flying through space.
She was cold, her face pale, too pale. After stopping their spinning, he sent a tendril of magic into her, to warm her skin. His magic continuously went off around him, creating anything that could save her, from a new suit to oxygen masks.
He quickly slapped an oxygen mask onto her face, holding her close to his body. He pointed himself back to Polus, specifically his home. He rocketed towards it, using his magic to pull dust and debris into a ball around them to shield them…and to keep himself from focusing on the fact that she hadn't taken a single breath of oxygen yet.
They hit the surface of the planet hard. The magic-made meteor fell apart like it was nothing, but his magic kept them from being injured.
With a snap of his tail feathers, the two of them teleported to the cave he called home. He quickly laid her on the ground, tearing off her mask and pressing his lips against hers and breathing air into her lungs, pulling back and waiting, praying for a reaction.
“Fluttershy,” he gasped, pressing his paw against her chest. He pressed his lips against hers again, breathing air into her lungs. Her chest rose…but her heart refused to beat, no matter how much he tried to start it.
He could feel himself starting to panic. Time was slipping away from him, and for all he knew, it could already be gone—but he couldn't let that happen.
And so, with a cry, he pressed his paw and claw against her chest, this time pushing magic through them.
The magic pumped through her, and for a second, he could feel a heartbeat under his palms—but it was weak, and with a pitiful wheeze from her lips, it was already gone. “No, no, no!” he said. He pushed against her chest again, sending an even larger burst of magic into her.
Her body thawed, and her heart stuttered. But the spark of life inside of her kept going out, over and over. With a cry, he pushed against her chest over and over, using more and more of his magic.
It could have been seconds, or weeks, but finally…finally, her heart beat, and kept beating. She took gasping, wheezing breaths, and her heartbeat was slow…but she was alive!
He fell backward with a cry of relief. He wiped tears out of his eyes, and looked back at his Fluttershy with a smile...and he saw what his magic had done to her.
He stared at her, horror and guilt filling his heart. With a heavy, weary sigh, he picked her up and gently set her on his moss bed. “How can you forgive me after this…?” he whispered, stroking her cheek.
He was terrified that the answer would be that…she couldn't.
Fluttershy felt…warm. And comfortable.
But that didn't seem right…she remembered a nightmarish scenario. She remembered freezing, feeling the breath sucked out of her…or had that all just been a nightmare? But it was so vivid…and her body felt weighed down.
With a groan, she opened her eyes and managed to sit up. She was in Discord's cave…and Discord was sitting several feet away, his back facing her. “Discord?” she said, making him flinch and glance over at her.
He slowly approached, but he didn't meet her eyes. “How are…you feeling?” he asked. “You went through…something very bad, after they voted you off…”
So that nightmare she remembered was true. But even as her heart raced, she smiled softly at him. “Then you…you saved me.” Discord flinched, pain clear in his eyes. She tilted her head, though her ears felt funny…kind of heavy. “Discord…?”
He looked away guiltily. “Fluttershy, I…I couldn't save you…completely. Your body was completely frozen, and out of oxygen. I…I had to…” He bit his lip and avoided her eyes.
“Discord, what—” she started to say, but then paused. Something about her mouth felt different. She slowly ran her tongue along her teeth…and realized that they were sharper than they should have been.
She blinked and looked down at herself. Her body was the same, but with slight differences. Her pale-yellow coat seemed a shade paler, and more ruffled than before. Her cutie mark seemed…off. The butterflies didn't look so much like butterflies anymore. She shifted to try and get a better look…and realized how off her wings felt.
Slowly, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath…and turned to look, spreading her wings.
They were leathery yellow bat wings.
She gasped and stumbled to her hooves, flapping her…her new wings in shock. She wobbled, her knees growing weak, and plopped back down to the ground.
Discord was still avoiding looking at her. “You…you were gone,” he said quietly. “I had to use magic to bring you back, but…you already know that my magic, it…”
“It changes things,” she said in a quiet voice. She rang her tongue over her…her fangs, trying to get used to the feeling of her new mouth. “I'm…a batpony?”
He shifted. “Maybe not…completely,” he said. “You look like one, but you're still all pony underneath. Things about you could still be different from a batpony, like…your diet.” Fluttershy gulped, going a little green as she imagined eating what batponies ate.
“…but I can't go back,” she said, closing her eyes to try and keep back her tears. “If I'm seen like this on the colonies or ship, they'll arrest me…and I certainly can't go back to Equestria Prime ever again…” She thought of the family she had back home, and felt a tear escape from her eye.
“I'm…so sorry,” he croaked, placing his paw on her shoulder. “I was so desperate to not lose you that…I didn't even realize what my magic had done until it was all over.” He looked away. “I'd understand if you couldn't forgive me.”
She pressed herself against him, wrapping her forelegs tightly around him. Her mind swirled with emotions—sadness, confusion, anger—but one thing was clear to her. “I don't…blame you,” she said. “You…saved my life.”
“And ruined it,” he reminded her…though his arms wrapped around her. “Wait for a while before you force yourself to forgive me, okay?”
She wanted to tell him she wasn't forcing herself, but he stepped away, towards a chest full of fruit. “Why don't we…see what your diet is now,” he said, grabbing a bunch of grapes. “Figure it out before you start to feel hungry.”
“Yeah…” she said quietly. He plucked off one grape and held it up to her, popping it into her mouth. She slowly chewed, wincing as she accidentally poked herself with her fangs. Chewing felt weird, and the grape tasted…the same, but off.
She swallowed, but shook her head. “That didn't feel right,” she explained. He frowned, tossing the bunch of grapes aside and picking up a mango, holding it out to her. She stuck her fangs in, taking a bite.
After a few minutes, and many attempts with different fruits, they figured out that she could suck the juice out of fruits—namely, apples. Oranges and other juicy things could sustain her, but she told him that apples tasted the best to her…though it could have just been a preference from back when she was…normal.
“Well…” Discord said. “Apples aren't native here. I know a few fruits that are similar…but I also know of a Hub that's about to produce a very large apple crop.”
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “I don't want to…to steal anything,” she said quietly.
“I know,” he said. “But, if we sneak into the Hub…” He quickly explained his idea to her, wringing his tail nervously. Even when he finished, he fidgeted, looking sure that she would reject it.
She pursed her lips and thought.
“We're going to be caught,” she whispered to him. They were both in their suits, quietly walking towards the Hub where her friends were in the dead of night. Though Discord had procured a helmet that matched her suit in color, he couldn't connect it back to the SolR network. Her suit had been exposed to space; her ship destroyed…so she was likely assumed to be a lost explorer.
Which isn't completely wrong, she thought.
“No, we're not,” he whispered back. “Even if we are…that's where you use Plan B, right? And I can get us out of there without trouble.”
“B-but what if they don't lock us in a brig?” she stuttered nervously. “What if they catch us, and, and they…”
“What can they do? Toss us into lava?” Discord quipped. “Trust me, everything will be fine. Just stick by my side.”
She gulped and inched closer to him, squeezing his hoof tightly. At least there was one advantage to her new form—she could now see much better in the dark. The two of them crept into the Hub with ease, climbing over the wall and heading towards the garden where all the apples would be kept.
Getting into the garden was easy enough—Discord's magic melted the lock into nothing, letting them slip through. Looking up at the trees and the apples they held, Fluttershy could see how much care Applejack put into her plants. It almost made her feel guilty for taking her crop…but the apples were so big and juicy, she could already feel herself drooling.
“They look…so tasty,” she said. Her hooves were already reaching up and grabbing the biggest, reddest ones she could see. Her stomach growled, and she had to resist the urge to take her helmet off.
“They do look tasty…” Discord said. She saw him pluck several apples with his magic, tucking them into his suit. She followed his example and pocketed her apples.
In the middle of their impromptu harvest, Fluttershy's larger ears pricked up as she heard an out-of-place sound—hoofsteps, approaching the garden. “Someone's coming,” she hissed at Discord. They both darted behind a tree, with her pressing against his chest and listening as the hoofsteps came closer.
They stopped outside the fence, a flashlight shining into the garden. There was a familiar, tired sigh. “Of course some varmints would get into the apple crop,” Applejack said. “It was looking like a good one, too…”
Fluttershy froze at her voice, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. Discord gave her a gentle nudge. “Hey…this is your chance, right?” he whispered to her.
She shook her head, burying her face into his chest. “I can't…I can't do it,” she said. “She won't believe that it's me…”
“She will,” he said, giving her a nudge. “Even if she doesn't…you can still say goodbye, right?”
She hesitated, then nodded. Slowly, she pulled away from him and stepped out from behind the tree, into the light. “…hi, Applejack,” she said quietly.
Applejack blinked and stumbled backward, stunned. “…Fluttershy?” She focused the light on her, narrowing her eyes. “But you…we heard the report from headquarters that your ship went down. Everypony on it has been declared lost…”
Fluttershy swallowed the lump in her throat. “I…I know,” she said. “But they sent me out the airlock before it went down…and I was saved.” She took a few steps back. “But…I am lost. I can't come back to the Hubs, now…”
“What are you talking about?” Applejack said. “Sure, you'd be a mite suspicious, but a quick scan will show that you're still the same Fluttershy…”
Her heart hurt at those words. With a heavy sigh, she reached up to grab her helmet…slowly pulling it off to reveal her bat-like ears and large, sharp fangs. Applejack gasped, stumbling backward, the light shaking as her grip on the flashlight trembled.
“I came to…to say goodbye,” Fluttershy said slowly. She blinked quickly before tears could fall from her eyes. “And to…deliver a message. Something important.”
“…oh?” Applejack said, sitting down and holding the light steady. She was listening.
Fluttershy took a deep breath. “…we're not the first creatures on this planet,” she said slowly. “And we—I mean, ponies—don't have any more of a right to it than the creatures that lived here before us.”
“The Imposters…”
“They only want to defend their homes,” Fluttershy said. “They…don't want to lose their homes…” She slowly picked up her helmet, pausing before putting it back on. “And, um…if it's no trouble, could you relay that sending anycreature out of the airlock is a bad thing to do?”
Applejack nodded slowly, seeming stunned. “Thank you…” Fluttershy said, slipping her helmet on. “I'm sorry I had to take some of your apples. Good…goodbye, Applejack. Can you tell the others that for me, too?”
Once Applejack had slowly nodded again, Fluttershy ducked back behind the tree, pressing herself close to Discord. He wrapped his forelegs around her, and his horn began to glow.
With a flash, the two of them were just outside the Hub. Discord beckoned her along, and they quickly darted through the dark trees. Only when they were far away did Discord ask, “Do you…feel better, after that?”
She thought about it for a few moments, then slowly nodded. “I'm...happy to have gotten that off my chest,” she said. “And Applejack will tell everyone what I said, I'm sure of it…unless she thinks it was all a dream…”
“Hey, the missing apples are proof that we were there, right?” Discord said, hopping across stones in a river. He stamped his hoof on the far side and created a small stone bridge for her, one that fell apart once she was by his side. “She'll tell everyone…everything you said.”
“But will anything change?” she asked. He looked at her helplessly. She saw that he wanted things to change, too…but he couldn't lie and say things were guaranteed to be different.
They walked the rest of the way home in silence.
A week passed, and Fluttershy adjusted to her new body. Discord helped her re-learn to fly with her leathery wings, and offered her a shoulder to cry on whenever she was struck again with the fact that she would never be able to go back to Equestria Prime.
He did other things, too—offered her new foods to try, taught her games to cheer her up, even carved a small section out of his cave to act as a room just for her. It was the little things like that, and the stories and jokes he told, that started to make her feel a little bit better.
She was in the middle of wistfully telling him about one of her favorite drinks, tea, when his ears suddenly shot up, a look of alarm crossing his face. “What is it?” she asked, worried.
“Someone's here,” he said. “I felt them enter my territory.” His head whipped in the direction of the intruder.
“…I'll see who it is,” he said slowly. “But whoever they are, they could be dangerous…” He glanced nervously back at her.
“I can hide in the bushes,” she said. This statement was enough to help him relax, and he nodded in approval. She headed towards the nearest bushes and hid, creeping along with Discord as he headed towards whoever had stumbled into his land.
She had gotten used to her body enough that she was able to tap into her natural sneaking skills, moving through the undergrowth without making a sound. Her ears were pricked up, her eyes focused on Discord.
He stopped, suddenly, his own eyes focusing on something. She followed his gaze and saw…a pony in a yellow suit, standing still and glancing around nervously. It was no one she recognized.
Discord grinned, and with a deep breath, disappeared in a flash of light. He reappeared right in front of the pony with a puff of red smoke, making them shriek and stumble backward. “Who dares enter the Land of Chaos!?” he bellowed.
“L-l-lemon Twist from SolR!” the pony said, quivering. “I'm not as tasty as my name sounds! Don't eat me!”
Discord laughed loudly, his voice slowly shifting back to normal. “Ha! I'd rather eat paper and glue than one of you pastel ponies,” he said. Lemon Twist inched back from him, slowly and shakily getting back onto her hooves. “Still…SolR isn't exactly welcome here. Why did you come?” he growled.
“A-a-are you the draconequus?” Lemon Twist stuttered, her eyes scanning up and down his mismatched body. “SolR sent me to…relay a message to you…”
Discord sighed, rolling his eyes. “Alright, spit it out.”
She gulped. “Headquarters wants to know if…there's anything we can give you, in exchange for you leaving our colonists alone.”
Both Fluttershy and Discord's eyes widened in surprise. “SolR is negotiating now, then?” he said. “You should know that no tribute will make anyone just roll over and let you waltz into their territory.”
“We know,” the pony said. “We're…offering to pay for the spaces we're looking at. Now, ah…is there anything that could convince you to at least not attack our ships?”
Discord glanced over to meet Fluttershy's eyes. This wasn't much, but…perhaps it was the start of a better ending. For everyone involved.
“Well…” Discord said, turning back to the messenger. “I am in need of a supply of apples…” Fluttershy allowed herself to smile…and to feel a bit of hope.