The ship is rocketing towards a dark blue moon; it has no signs of any land mass, only endless seas and storms that rage on certain parts of it. Dash looked away from the computer screen, now dressed in a cool casual outfit, holding a backpack on her back.

"So this is 71-Gordion, huh? A company owned Moon? Why build a base on this water-only moon? What is the company's goal?"
Even though Dash asked that, she didn't really care; she was happy they made it back to the base, but she was hoping Twilight would answer, as Twilight finally got done dressing and wearing a cute, looking casual outfit, which made Dash all red in the face, but Twilight didn't mind and looked at the map.

"Well, I have no idea, but this place is filled with company secrets."

Dash looked confused and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Remember what I told you about the other moon being an old abandoned colony? It was owned by the company, and don't you remember seeing the drills and pipes outside? The company was trying to get something underground, drilling for it. Other units might be tasked with recovering data, while we were tasked with recovering any high-level scraps that might be resold or reused. Now, look at the moon. It's an ocean moon; no doubt they're drilling there as well, and whatever is in there, they made it the main base of the company. It must be very important and valuable, which means..."

Dash, finish the sentence. "Scraps and data are going to be in great demand for this operation. Reusing the scraps to fix broken drill parts rather than buying new parts... It sounds like cutting corners to me." Dash said, but Twilight shrugged, making Dash continue, "Recovering lost data is important as well. Reclaiming lost info and recovering the lost bases...yeah, I get it now. Alright, let's make some bank then baby!"

Twilight smiled and nodded in agreement. "Plus, we can relax for the next three days in the company-provided living area. I want to check out their research area; maybe pick up something useful."

Dash ears perked up. "Wait, what about the free days off we were given? I was hoping we were going to use them."

Twilight shook her head. "I asked if we could save them in the email, and they allowed it. Winter Eve is coming up; I want us to have the whole week off."

"Twilight...that's..." but Dash was cut off, as the ship was approaching the base and its port.

"Let's turn in the stuff, get our money, and head to the living area. We can enjoy the whole day together." said Twilight, giving her a wink while tapping the tube with the pink slime in it, causing Dash to blush and sigh.

"You've gotten way too horny now, thanks to that slime. But fine, I don't mind it...feels good on the skin."

Twilight didn't respond and watched the ship get docked at the station port on the floating base on top of the calm waters, and the door opened. Dash got out first and could see tons of shipping crates everywhere and other company ships parked in a row, just like them. She turned around and saw Twilight scanning the Apparatus three times before finally pressing a button, making the computer place the battery into a steel box and raise it up from the floor. Twilight put the backpack filled with scraps on and carried the steel box.

"I'll head to the drop-off point. I'll see you at the living area."

Dash puffed her cheeks and shook her head. "Nope. I'll wait for you!"

"But Dash-"

"Nope."

Twilight sighed, walking away while Dash waited on the ship's railing deck but notice someone, wearing a bright yellow suit and pretty small in size, walking out of the ship next to them and waited by a shipping container.

Dash smirk as she saw the two huge breast and went into flirting mode, as she jump down and walked over all cool like. The small girl noticed her and took her helmet and hoodie off, revealing her face.

"Can I help you?"

Twilight looked up and could see how dark the clouds were. The moon must have a strange weather cycle, making her wonder if this is the rainy season. She looked around the base and saw a few other workers. She bet they were heading off to another moon as well. She looked at the shipping containers and wondered what was inside. The place was a mess and was poorly lit, and the floor looked old and rusty, almost like this base was an older model. Maybe an older base that was repurposed or something. She took out Dashie's data pad, since she lost her backup, and opened the map of the area. She wasn't far from the drop-off area and kept going in the direction she was going. She soon saw the drop-off area, as she saw four workers like herself but still wearing their orange suits. They were putting the stuff they found in a collection window. She waited in line. She could tell these four workers were pretty young in the way they were acting, blasting music, pointing at each other, and dancing, while one poor soul had to put everything in the window. She could feel the steel box was getting heavy and wanted to put it down. She was about to do it, but it slipped out of her hands, causing her to panic and try to catch it, but someone caught it for her.

It was a tall female worker wearing a darker orange suit. She took off her helmet, revealing her light orange skin, and short blond hair. What really stood out were her green eyes, and her face looked familiar to Twilight, making her wonder why. The worker helped Twilight hold the box, making her smile and finally speaking to her.
"Thank you."

The girl nodded with a grin and spoke in a Texan accent, "No problem, sugar cube. Heck of a find! It looks like you got an Apparatus battery. That's a score!"

Twilight smiled, happy she was so friendly "I hope so! We need to get 400 or more to fill the quota, or we get kicked out of the job and sent home."

"Ah, I see. Well, if that's the case, then the battery will cover most of the cost, if not all of it. If I had a dime for every time I saw a rookie like you come in with a battery, well, I wouldn't be in a crap job like this. The name's Applejack, by the way. And you are?"

"Oh, my name's Twilight Sparkle. Nice to meet you, Applejack."

"The pleasure is all mine. Let's take the weight off your shoulders, shall we?" AJ took the steel box and placed it on her shoulder; there was no sign of strain at all.

Twilight suddenly remembered Lofty, remembering his strength. He was much taller and more muscular than AJ, but she was just as strong, meaning she had a lot of power in her. Twilight couldn't help but stare at AJ and blush. AJ didn't notice; she was too busy looking at the others in front of them.

"Gosh darn rookies. Why does the company keep hiring youngsters like these? Also calling the unit after that awful nickname. Lethal Company? Poor Letha is rolling in her grave. It's bad enough those stupid rookies have no respect for the company as well. Look at them. One of them is peeing openly in public..."

"It's just a term of endearment, Applejack." reply Twilight but even she knew how bad it look.

AJ sighs, not amused by Twilight's comment. "Still. I would rather not get fired if I pick another fight. You should be careful as well, you know. Even if we're on company grounds, it doesn't mean we're safe."

Twilight didn't understand what she meant; weren't they safe here? Before she could ask her, AJ got in front of her, protecting her as the rookie started to spam the bell, which acted as a call button for the stuff to be collected.

"Damn idiots didn't read the handbook. Stay back!"

"I thought the button was just to call collector?" asked Twilight, peeking behind AJ.

"It is, but you can't spam it. It's a safety hazard, you know. The bell is to get the attention of Jeb."

"Who's Jeb?"

"Jeb is the one who does the collecting. If you spam the bell, you're calling all the Jebs, and trust me, you don't want a lot of Jebs. Speaking of which, stay behind me and don't make any noise."

"Why?"
Twilight quickly found out, as the window opened up and long slimly tentacles came shooting out and a monster roar could be heard, as the four rookie screamed. AJ quickly turned around and shielded Twilight, making sure she didn't get taken. Twilight could hear screaming, and blood was splatting near them. She didn't want to look, as she could hear a rookie screaming for help, as he was trying to escape but couldn't. After the commotion, the tentacles and rookies were gone as the window shut. Twilight was breathing heavily and could hear AJ's laugh.

"See? Now you know not to press the bell more than once or twice. Jeb is a light sleeper."

Twilight looked at her with terror in her eyes and said, "Is this normal?!"

"No," simply answered AJ, "but it became normal over the years. So, yeah, I guess. You just learned the rules and the saying. Don't annoy the bell, and you don't mess with the Jeb."

Twilight took a minute to compose herself, watching as AJ put the steel box into the window desk and taking the backpack from her back and putting it next to the box. She signaled for her to ring the bell. Twilight slowly did, as AJ quickly grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Not too fast. Two rings, then wait a few seconds, then one ring. That will wake up the Jeb without disturbing him. Go slowly."

Twilight slowly rang the bell, doing exactly what AJ said. Two rings, then waiting, then another. After doing that, the window opened up, and a tentacle came out, wrapping itself around the two items, causing Twilight and AJ to step back. It took the objects inside and shut the window. Soon, a robotic voice can be heard from its speaker, saying, "You are hard workers. Keep the goo*buzz glitching*Free Her*buzz static*d work. Here's your pay."

Twilight heard that weird voice line, but AJ brushed it off, as the Jeb voice box always acts up or just fooling around like always. Soon, Twilight could hear her data pad beeping. She held it up, noticing the quota was reached, but something was wrong. AJ noticed the look and asked her what was wrong.

"Well, the quota was 400, but I think this is a glitch. The items we collected don't add up to 400; in fact, there are items here we never collected. See?"

AJ looked over her shoulder, looking at the pad, and noticing what Twilight was talking about: "Hmmm, you're right." AJ smirked, "I see now. Jeb added the Four Idiots collection to yours. Lucky girl, you'll be earning their paycheck as well."

Twilight was about to question her, but the robotic voice spoke again. "*buzzing static*The rookies*static buzz* death awaits*buzz* collection yours*static glitch* End is comin*static*nice day."

AJ shook her head and said, "Jeb, I told you. Stop saying and fooling around, ya scaring the rookie here."

Twilight was scared of this monster, or whatever it was.

"*buzz*My apologies. Nice day.*buzz and static*Please leave a review and five stars. Thank you."
With that, the robotic voice went silent, and Twilight was shaking, wondering if this was truly a normal thing.

"Twilight, relax. It was only a joke. You don't have to worry. Jeb loves to joke sometimes."

"Worry? I'm terrified. What is that thing?!"

"That's Jeb," said AJ as she led Twilight away, knowing the girl would ask a ton of questions. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. It's just Jeb. He's a nice guy....or it?"

Twilight couldn't understand, and maybe that was the best? She walked away with AJ, but noticing something, and asked her, "Wait, didn't you need to drop something off too? Wait, you don't have any scrap with you?" They headed towards the docking area.

AJ turned to her and smirked. "I was just passing by sugar cube; we had already turned in our scrap. Just coming back from the living area, my gi-huh?"

Twilight and AJ stop as they could see Dash, flirting with a small woman with big breast, wearing a yellow suit. Her gas mask was still on. She looks shy, as Dash was putting the moves on her.

"You're cute, you know?" said Dash with her charming voice, causing the girl to blush and shake her head.

Her voice was filtering through the mask. "No, I'm not. Please leave me alone. I'm waiting for someone. Please..."

Dash smiled, put her arm around her, and spoke in her flirty voice as she stared at girl's breast, "Hey, it's alright. You're a cutie. Hey, let's-"

Before she could finish, she felt a cold metal pipe smack her butt. She turned, noticing Twilight, filled with pure rage. She smacked her butt again, making her leave the girl alone.

"So, you like them busty, huh?" asked Twilight, as Dash was backing away from her girlfriend. "Or, I should say, you like them more busty than me. I'm not enough for you, am I?"

"T-twi, wait!" Dash was backed up against their ship, with Twilight smacking the ship hull with the metal pipe in her hand. "You're more than enough, Twi!"

Twilight wasn't listening; her eyes were now focused on the big, round lumps in the yellow suit of the small girl. Twilight looked at her own chest and looked at Dash, who was looking at the girl's chest, making her even more mad.

"DASHIE LOVES BIG TITTS! YOU BITCH!" yelled Twilight, slamming the pipe into the hull of the ship, bending the pipe, scaring Dash and the others.

"NO! WAIT! That's not it; I'm not into her!"

Twilight didn't believe her and slammed the pipe again. "PICK A FUCKING GOD AND PRAY! PRAY FOR FORGIVENESS!"

Dash has never seen Twilight like this. Twilight should know how much she loves to flirt, but she will never cheat. Still, the damage was done, and she has to beg for forgiveness. She has no idea why she was getting so mad, unless...
"Twi, I love you; you know that! I love your small breast, I love everything about you, and I'm not going to leave you for some big pillows!"

Twilight froze, hearing her say those words, and felt guilty. She was feeling a little insecure; her breast was never big, and it bothered her, but it was silly since Dash loves her and her body. She dropped the pipe and turned to AJ and the girl, coughing before saying, "Sorry! Also, sorry for my dumbass girlfriend here! Miss...?"

"Her name is Fluttershy." answered AJ, surprising Twilight and Dash.

"How do you know her name?" asked Dash, while Fluttershy hid behind AJ.

"Because she's my partner..." said AJ, pushing Fluttershy forward, removing her gas mask, and then kissing her.

Dash was surprised; her eyes widen when she sees Fluttershy return the kiss and blushing. Twilight was blushing as well and was surprised to see that Fluttershy and Applejack were lovers. They broke the kiss, and Fluttershy finished AJ sentence.

"She's my girlfriend. We came back from a job, and AJ went to get the keys for our living quarters." explained Shy as AJ went into their ship and took out their stuff.

"Oh, I'm sorry. So sorry how Dash acted!" said Twilight to AJ, who just laughed it off.

"It's okay, sugar cube. Shy gets flirted with all the time; I'm used to it. She's a cute gal. Don't blame the lads and lasses for hitting on her. Even more so with her cow utters!"

Fluttershy sighed, hearing that nickname for her breast: "Please don't call my breast, cow utters, AJ."

"Why not? They are huge! Be proud of them."

Fluttershy blushes, hiding her face from embarrassment and saying, "I know, but still."

Twilight was looking at Dash and sighed, still guilty about her girlfriend's actions. She just met a new friend, and Dash almost ruined it.

Dash noticed Twilight worry look. she really needs to keep her flirting under control. She didn't like to hurt people's feelings or her girlfriend. She felt horrible.

AJ noticed the two were all sad, and she smiled. "It's fine, sugar cubes. Don't feel bad."

"Are you sure?" asked Twilight.

"Yep. Besides, I'm happy Fluttershy is a pretty gal, and a lot of guys and gals would hit on her. I would rather have them hit on her and fail than be jealous, knowing Shy is my partner. Trust me, we had some crazy exes, but we're together, and that's what matters. Don't beat yourself up."

"I'll try." said Dash and Twilight.

"Good. Need help with your things? Even though Shy has cow utters; she is just as strong as me! She's a little shy, but she's strong like a cow."

"Thanks, but we can manage." said Dash, trying not to look at Shy's chest again as she could feel Twilight's cold stare.

"Non sense! Let's get moving, girls." said AJ as she and Shy entered their ship, but Shy froze and screamed in joy, making the three turn and look at her.

"LOOK! Look!" squealed Shy, pointing at the tube with the pink slime.

"What? The slime?" asked Dash, as Fluttershy squealed again and nodded as she got near it, admiring the beauty of the slime and its color. She took out her data pad, put it on record, and spoke, "Bestiary draft. I believe I met the unit that found the rare Hygroderes. It's just as the company reported from the unit. It's color is pink, not the common blue. I can't believe I'm meeting this new color species for the first time."

"Um, excuse me?" said Twilight, confused by Fluttershy's sudden behavior but quickly realizing who she might be. "Are you the bestiary writer? The one that made the bestiary and wrote all the entries?"

Fluttershy turned around and smiled, "I am! I love to study life. All living creatures. The company hired me for that reason, other than recovering scrap like the others. They need animal logs on all the creatures on the moons, as well as the environment and flora and fauna. It's fun!"

Twilight quickly hugged her, making the rest surprised.

"What are you doing?" asked Shy, blushing.

Twilight, let her go. "Sorry. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and thanks to your information on the Thumper, I was able to survive. Thanks to your information and notes, I was able to know how to avoid it. You're amazing! Thank you!"

Fluttershy couldn't stop blushing; no one ever thanked her for the work she did, even less hugged her.

"Um, no problem, but the company was the one that told me about the Thumper. We just studied it from afar."

"Still, your information on the creature was detailed."

Shy played with her fingers and said, with a small smile, "Thanks."

Dash blinks, realizing something: "Is Twilight hitting on her?" thought Dash as she could see Fluttershy, all shy and bright red.

AJ could tell Dash was getting jealous, so she spoke up, "Ha, those Thumpers aren't tough, just daisy smack-"

Twilight and Dash turned to her and finished her sentence, "On the head, and those darn funny-lookin' animals are dead like a doornail", we know."

AJ and Shy blink, wondering how they knew that. Twilight showed them the author notes on the Thumper, causing AJ to laugh and Shy to squeak with embarrassment.

"I need to edit that! How didn't I notice that!?" asked Shy, blushing in embarrassment, but AJ rubbed her back, calming her down.
After she was calm, Twilight asked her what she was going to do with the pink slime, as she hoped to keep it as a pet after they studied it, but hearing how rare it is, that wouldn't be happening.

"It be studied on and then sent off for research. The company wants to learn why it's pink and if it's the same breed. If not, a new entry will be made for it. If it's the same breed, it should be sold off to any high-paying zoos."

Twilight was sad, but she knew she couldn't do much. AJ could tell Twilight was sad, so she decided to do something.
"Shy, didn't you say this slime can make a copy of itself? Like asexual reproduction?"

"Yes. In the report, the research team was able to confirm my findings as they watched it do it asexually or being attacked, growing another version of itself, and it kept going, which is why it can become very dangerous if left unchecked. Why?"

AJ took the tube, opened the lid, and let it ooze a bit before taking out a pocket knife and cutting it. Closing the top and watching the smaller slime ooze around the floor but not getting bigger. Shy noticed this and spoke to her data pad. "It seems the pink Hygroderes doesn't increase in size when threatened or losing part of itself. I need more testing to see why."

"There. Now Twilight can have a pet, and you can study it without worry. Problem solved."

Fluttershy was amazed and nodded, but Twilight asked if she could have the bigger piece back when they were done. Shy simply said, "Why?"

Twilight gave an evil smirk and was going to explain why, but Dash stopped her and said, "Nothing! Nothing at all. Forget what she asked for!"

Twilight was confused by Dash's actions, but Shy giggled and said, "Well, alright?"

The girls were about to move out when Twilight remembered about the spider and opened the hatch, making Flutteshy scream with joy, as she had never seen one before.

After a long talk, Shy was holding the tube of the pink slime, and AJ had a leash on the spider.

"We'll be heading to the research section of the base with these cute creatures. I'll make sure to report your findings on this spider and update the Bestiary entry with it. They'll pay you extra, just like the slime." said Shy, bowing to them.

"No problem, and thanks. Hope we can see each other again!" said Twilight, waving at them.

Shy stood up. "Well, to be honest, can we meet tomorrow? I would love it if we became friends. We can talk and hang out."

Dash and Twilight blink, surprised, and Twilight quickly reply with pure joy in her voice, "Of course, that would be great! You two are really nice. I hope we can be good friends. We can even have water cooler talks!"

Fluttershy blushed heavily and nodded, saying goodbye and heading away with AJ into a different doorway of the base. Dash could tell something was off with that girl, but she brushed it off and followed Twilight inside the company building.

Inside, they could see a check-in office with robot guards. The front desk robot asked them their names and badge IDs. After that, they were led to the screening and decontamination area. The room was white and empty, but it had a scanner on the side of the wall. The machine scanned them and told them their body mass was acceptable and their clothing was fine. There was no disease or infection. White smoke blasted them, killing whatever germs that were on them. Then the room was scanning them for any weapons or contraband.

Twilight started to sweat, as she had the small slime in a smaller tube in her pocket and worried the scanners would pick it up.
The voice from the scanner said, "All is clear. Please proceed to the tram to take you to the living quarters. Your living space has already been chosen. Please follow the map and enjoy your stay. If you need supplies or food, head to the market area or for more advance items, head to the research area."

Dash and Twilight looked at each other and sighed in relief, as they didn't want the slime to be confiscated. Twilight took out the data pad, and the map showed where the tram was, and they headed there.

It wasn't long before they got off the tram and found themselves standing in a small town-looking place. It was pretty clean and nice. People are walking around and talking. They could see rows of box houses. Twilight checked her pad and could see the tram would take them to the market, but they just wanted to rest, so they walked off to find their home for the next three days.

"Damn, they really did a nice job at this place. I wish the shithole back home was like this. This place is nice," said Dash, checking everything out. "Really nice!"

Twilight checked the map again and could see their home was a row over, so they walked there, passing by the local staff and seeing people chatting. Few were wearing their suits; maybe some were heading out or just returning like them. This was a nice-looking place, and Dash was right; she wishes the station was like this.

"You're telling me." said Twilight, as they found their home and entered.

The house was nice and cozy. There was a couch, a TV, and a table. A small kitchen, a small dining room, a bedroom with a bathroom, and a few closets. They closed the door and placed their stuff down and just sat on the couch, relaxing.

"Damn, what a few days that have been, right? But hey, at least the pay is good. Maybe we can afford a nicer place when we get back home next year." Dash said, putting her arm around Twilight.

"That would be nice," said Twilight, snuggling into her girlfriend. "Really nice."

"So, what do you want to do? I don't feel like moving from here."

"Same. Wanna see if the TV has something to watch?"

Dash turned the TV on, and the first thing they saw was an ad for the company and a message telling them they could buy and sell(which needed to be approved by the company first) anything at the market. After that, the TV switched to a movie channel. They decide to relax and enjoy the movie.

Back on their ship, the loot bugs opened the closet and stepped out. They looked around, not seeing the blue or purple creatures. They started to look around the place, not noticing that they had opened the door by pressing a switch on the computer screen. When they noticed it, they ran towards it and ran out onto the docks. They started to search for anything to bring back to their nest. Two headed to the drill area, while the leader of the three ran off to the other ships.

The two loot bugs noticed the big drill and hopped down on it. Checking for any loose parts, but could pick something up with their long antennas and looked into the hole below them. They could hear something—something calling out—and they quickly ran off as they sensed the danger.

Meanwhile, the leader loot bug was looking around and hid as it saw a few robots taking away a dead person's body. It was Mercy's body, but her wounds looked very different. The loot bug didn't know this but watched as the robots took her away and disappeared into the base. Soon, two new crew members for the ship entered it and took off. The bug steps out and returns to its nest after finding an item that one of the crew members dropped. It was an ID badge that read "12-15-6-20-25."

End of the first Quota mission
3 days remaining before the second quota mission begins

Author's Note

i'm that poor soul btw. always putting the shit in the collection window, while friends fucks around lmao