In Space, We Don't Abandon Innocence

Chapters

1 - Episode 1: Boldly Going
13 - Sunset's Sunset
30 - Error Corrected
31 - Touching Down
44 - Looking Down
2 - Party Planning
3 - Into Depths
4 - Ancient History
5 - Episode 2: Space Jam
6 - Would You Like?
7 - Rebuilding Bridges
8 - Origins
9 - How Did We Get Here?
10 - Hostile Contact
11 - Polite Neighbors
12 - Roll Call
14 - Target Practice
15 - Stay a While and Listen
16 - Okaeri
17 - Consideration of Self
18 - Stories of the Past
19 - You Are My Only Hope
20 - Into New Space
21 - Greeting the Dawn
22 - Happy Birthday
23 - Dragon Speak
24 - Fight Fight Fight
25 - Top. Men.
26 - Climbing Buddies
27 - Two Stars in the Night
28 - Feather Touches
29 - Needed Visits
32 - Can We Keep It?
33 - Hello, Ozzie
34 - Answers, Adorable Questions
35 - Potty Training
36 - Stop
37 - On Fire
38 - Growth
39 - Doctor Visit
40 - So Young
41 - Good and Bad Dragons
42 - Life Is Fragile
43 - What's up?
45 - Going Deeper
46 - So Others Might Live
47 - Bittersweet
48 - Data Corruption
49 - To Live
50 - Wrapping Loose Ends
51 - The End

1 - Episode 1: Boldly Going

The cockpit was a murmur of soft exchanges as fingers danced over buttons that only existed as glimmering planes of light. Each chimed gently with each strike, adding to the soft noise that filled the room. In the center of it all, projected onto a blank wall, was the front view of the space before them and what had them all talking.

Space was lit up by a roaring fire. Not a literal one, but a sparkling flow of matter being ripped from reality and into an artificial portal that glowed blue and white with a growing heat. It rippled, seeming to slide across the sky even though it was fixed in space.

The captain raised a finger at it. "There is no way that's natural. Someone built that, likely many someones."

"Affirmative, Captain," said one of the crew members. "All scans show no evidence of artificial supports or structures, but the level of energy needed to open such a portal requires enormous amounts of power, much of which is still being channeled from the region to the anomaly.

"The draw on the internal manifolds is minimal," added another with a nod. He looked up. "I can't recommend getting much closer, Captain."

"A fair assessment, but a good scientist takes risks, Cadet!" he replied. "The smart ones don't get themselves killed in the process, however. Scans?"

"At best we're looking at a third-tier reactor system, Captain." A woman leaned back, reaching a button to press a new button. "Twilight, any insights?"

Appearing in the center of the cockpit, a pony with wings and a horn. She was purple, and smiling. They could see through her holographic form. Adjusting her glasses, she turned to look at the same screen. "It's amazing. But I wouldn't want any of you being harmed. As fantastic as this find is, it appears to be causing no harm. I recommend taking careful notes and broadcasting them back home."

The captain turned in his chair, tapping his chin. "Oh, we'll be doing that, Twilight. That's not the issue. I want to know how they did it. If they could do it, and it's possible for us, that's worth the risk of getting a bit closer." He folded his arms as he sat up. "Casey?" The woman that had summoned Twilight perked up. "Can you nudge us just a little closer?"

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Sir, you do know what radiation is, right?" She sighed as she adjusted her glasses. "The proximity we're at already is safe, but it will grow exponentially more dangerous the closer we get."

"Roger, Captain, Sir." Twilight smiled at their captain gently, spreading her wings. "If I may suggest?" She didn't wait for an answer, fluttering her wings as she grew in size. She placed her hoof on his lap, meeting his eyes with her own. "This is amazing, and I want to see it too. But the safety of you and the others is of higher importance. I would be very sad if you came to any harm."

He seemed to shrink just a bit under her gaze. "Of course, Twilight. You're right." He took a breath. "Just make sure to record everything we can for now."

"You mean as I have been doing since we entered the system, Captain?" Twilight turned away with a giggle, returning to her usual, smaller, size. "I'm eagerly absorbing everything our scanners can detect for later analysis. Permission to begin broadcast? The scientists back home are probably very eager to begin their own examinations."

The captain smiled at her. "Permission granted. Be sure to include the newest data."

"Already included," replied Twilight in her usual cheery tone. Her horn glittered with energy as she nodded. That energy was just for show, the ship doing the work of sending data the long distance back towards civilized planets. "Can I help in any other way?"

"Yes," he replied with a smile. "Go get yourself a cup of tea."

Twilight frowned at him. "I appreciate the gesture, but I am incapable of—" She paused suddenly. "I'm being silly, forgive me." She drew a cup of tea from nowhere, just as holographic as the rest of her. She sipped from it gently. "It is nice to work with you all."

The crew all smiled at her. The captain cleared his throat. "Now that we've got that out of the way, let's look at some numbers. Casey, bring up our readings."

As the woman tapped buttons, Twilight shrank down to the corner of her screen, leaving the rest of them alone. Even as she poked and prodded at the numbers, Twilight was eager to point out interesting bits and offer quiet advice on parsing it all.

The portal swirled with growing violence in front of them, and as they watched, its form shifted slightly. Twilight herself grew more active, jumping from screen to screen to provide commentary. It seemed the portal was about to do something, but what that something was, none of them had the means to guess.

The portal blinked. A wash of blue light rolled out from the center of it, sending ripples across space itself. From where they were positioned, they could see a beautiful sight of stars, twisted by the portal's radiance into new and stunning patterns. In one moment they saw a burst of purple fire from one edge of the sky, and in the next a radiant stream of blue light raced over the top of the portal before vanishing.

Twilight gasped, a sparkle appearing at her horn. "That was a transition radiation burst! This must be a stargate!"

"And this," began the captain with a nod, "is where we get ourselves some real data. Where does this gate lead? Is it known territory or deeper into the unknown? I need to know, now."

The crew went to work, screens flashing with new information as the portal finally gave up its secrets. One member of the team jumped from his seat with an unsteady laughter. "It's stable, and completely disconnected! It has to be!"

"Or maybe not," added another, her face drawn in a frown. "Energy readings are fluctuating, and I'm picking up an incoming—"

A sound rang out across space, like a wave hitting rocks as a new ship snapped into existence, its form speaking not at all of Earth designs. No smooth curves of aquatic origin, no, this strange thing had spikes and hard corners, blinking with dull red and orange lights.

Its engines glowed a deep purple, clearly not of any design the crew knew. Its lights flashed a series of colors that made no sense to them. Even as they watched, Twilight expanded herself, covering all screens. "Alien vessel detected," she informed, voice devoid of its usual warmth. "Battle stations recommended. Standard introduction is without reply. No identification detected." She spread her wings. "Please, be careful."

The ship fired its first shot.

An energy blast filled with violet and blue raced across space, striking the far side of the stargate itself. As it did, a strange phenomenon began to take place. The portal seemed to swallow the attack, as if it was simply gobbling it up into itself. After just a few seconds of the blast, it cut off as if suddenly sealed away. The gate went dark.

Twilight inclined her head. "Radiation levels are dropping rapidly. The portal has been deactivated."

"Get me distance and speed on that alien vessel," shouted the captain. "Who do they think they are, shooting at something like that?"

Twilight coughed quietly. "Alien ship has changed course." On the ship, they could see that was true, the alien ship turning in place before it stretched to infinity, jumping away with a snap and a pop. Just like that, it was gone.

The captain rose from his seat. "Captain's log, supplemental. A promising find has turned into a bit of a headache. We have an alien ship, non-aligned with Earth or any other known civilizations, firing on one of the largest structures we've ever encountered." He slammed a fist into the arm of his chair. "If I had to guess, which I do, we found a stargate to an alien territory and they came to close it up before we could investigate."

Twilight was still staring at the empty space where the ship had been. "Captain, that was amazing." She smiled, all guard leaving her. "Today's been an amazing day of discovery." As terrifying as half of it was, Twilight exuded cheerful optimism on the bright side of it. "The gate is now harmless, we could approach it."

The captain narrowed his eyes at Twilight. "Did you just volunteer us for something? We need to figure out who those aliens are and why they shot first and asked questions later." He gestured around him. "Get me what you can on that ship. Scans, energy readings, everything you can find."

Numbers and figures danced around Twilight in a dazzling display of information. "We won't be able to know much about them until we establish contact. I humbly suggest that be our priority."

"Humbly?" The captain smiled at Twilight. "We can start with that, but first, let's make sure that gate is completely down. If the rads are down like Twilight said, bring us in for a closer look. Cancel all ship alarts." Pulsing lights faded away, allowing others on the ship to move freely.

They all set to work. With the immediate threat gone, they focused on gathering as much information as possible. Everything from scans of the area around the gate to detailed readouts on its dimensions.

In the middle of it all, Twilight remained, ready to assist how she could.

"Darling." Roger jerked in surprise, another pony gently nuzzling under one of his arms. "You're stressed. Come now, dear. They can work on their own." Rarity smiled gently and gestured with a toss of her head. "Let's get you a break, dear." Unlike Twilight, Rarity was not a hologram and was quite solid against the fingers she nuzzled into.

The rest of the crew seemed to barely notice, or were trying not to pay too much attention to their captain being lead away by an equine AI. He didn't bother resisting, instead looking back at Twilight with a gentle nod. "Alright, you have a point." He stroked down Rarity's back as they stepped onto the elevator. "I haven't eaten in hours."

"Well, that's hardly any good." Rarity fluffed at her mane gently. "You need proper rest and food to be at your best, dear. We can't have you starving yourself. You deserve better." The elevator rose through the ship, past its many floors of crew quarters, medbay, engine room, and more. Finally, it rose to the top, depositing them into the lush garden that was the captain's private refuge.

Rarity stepped out onto it, looking around. "Oh! Your room. I don't get to visit here often, darling. Thank you for the vote of confidence in allowing me in. Now, how can I help you enjoy your snack, hm?" She turned in place, looking at Roger with a soft smile. "Just us and the garden, you're all mine."

Roger laughed as he stepped past her towards a terminal on the wall. A few quick taps and it hummed. "It's making me something. Now, you don't eat, last I checked."

"Mmm, afraid not." Rarity shook her head slowly. "Unless you count some lovely voltage. I'll sup on that, dear, but little else. On the other hoof, I'll gladly pretend." Her horn glowed as she produced a holographic sandwich in the air. "Only polite, and it's fun to eat with a friend, is it not, dear?"

Roger took the plate that had finished appearing in a small cubby. "Here's mine." He led her to a bench and sank on it. "Now, what made you come seek me out?"

"I wasn't joking, darling." Rarity nibbled on her fake snack. "You were looking harried, and I wanted to help. That is my job, among a few others. We're here to help you all be at your best."

He smiled, a sigh on his lips. "You're a good friend, Rarity." She smiled in reply as he bit into his sandwich. They ate in silence, allowing him to really relax for the first time since the portal's activation. "You weren't wrong." He rose, a quick jog to order up a drink and return with it. "I did need a break, and the lack of sudden alerts means I'm not off the bridge at a bad time."

"Indeed, I wouldn't risk your career like that." Rarity perked her ears as she nibbled at her food. "A good captain must be strong in mind and body, after all. That means taking some time for yourself." She leaned against him gently. "Now! That stargate; fascinating thing, isn't it?"

"That's one word for it." He sipped from his drink. "It could lead anywhere, and those aliens turned it off."

Rarity tapped a hoof against the bench. "They may well have come through it. They were certainly in a hurry to leave." She looked up at him with her gentle smile. "Whatever the case, they weren't very polite, now were they?"

"Scared." Roger folded his arms. "I think they were scared. I'm just guessing, obviously, but they acted like we were the ones that could have opened fire on them at any instant, and they didn't hang around to wait for that to happen."

Rarity turned to face him, pressing herself closer to him. "Do you think they could have?"

"Destroyed us?" Roger shook his head slowly. "Maybe. Maybe not. It's clear they were at least technologically advanced. We should keep that in mind."

"We will, darling." Rarity's ears turned towards the door as it opened, revealing Twilight. Twilight was still a hologram, but she had the manners to trot along as if gravity were a thing she had to worry about.

"Captain." She stopped in front of him with a smile. "I trust Rarity's been helpful." Rarity saluted. "Excellent. I'm just stopping by to check if you'll be taking a chance to nap, or if you'll be returning to the bridge."

Roger sighed and put his empty plate aside. "If I don't nap, you two will gang up on me, won't you?"

"A good captain needs his rest," replied Twilight as she nodded at him. "But you are the captain, Captain. If you wish to return, we won't stop you. We speak only as friends."

Rarity slid over, sandwich and plate vanishing. "Mmhm, and if you were to have trouble sleeping, I could help." Her horn sparkled gently. "I can cast a few relaxation spells."

Roger imagined what those spells actually meant, in terms of what the ship would be doing. "No, I really should be on deck. This break was wonderful, but we're still in the middle of something." He stood up, casually stepping through Twilight on the way towards the elevator. "No rest for the wicked."

Twilight and Rarity glanced at one another before they joined him. Soon enough, they were emerging back into the main command post. Twilight promptly vanished, though she was already on many screens where she had never left.

Rarity, a physical object, trotted along with Roger back to his chair. She reared up behind him and casually began rubbing at his shoulders and neck in slow motions of her hooves. "If you won't rest, I can at least tend to you, dear."

He tried to object, but as she massaged at his shoulders, he simply couldn't muster up the energy. He sunk into his chair, glad that none of the crew was looking. They knew what Rarity was like.

Casey whistled in a rising tone. "This is amazing." She brought up the view of the gate as they circled it. "Their gate technology is nothing like ours, but it certainly a gate. If it was still on, and not belching radiation, we could learn so much from it."

"Yes," began Twilight. "From this position, we've picked up a lot of information on it." She frowned softly. "It will require further analysis, but my initial findings suggest it would take an enormous amount of energy to activate, and very little to maintain."

Roger huffed gently. "That explains the energy weapon it used. It took just as much energy to turn it off." He put his hands together, leaning back against Rarity's attention. "If we see even a hint of the alien returning, get us away from the portal. One blast and this thing will be on, and cooking us all."

"I understand, Captain." Twilight appeared on the central screen again. "I have studied the discharge and am currently running it through some simulations. I can not say for sure, but it may well be possible to replicate."

Another crewmember laughed. "After a year or three of our techs running through it." He waved the idea off, the idea that it could be made by them, in the middle of nowhere. "Still, this is what we're here for, right, Captain?"

Roger turned to face him with a nod. "Right, Lieutenant. It's dangerous, but if we don't explore the unknown, then who will?"

Twilight took the opportunity to interrupt. "The Gate has remained off and stable since the initial disruption, but my analysis suggests it is stable." She held up a holographic hoof. "It was designed to remain stable without any interference from outside forces, and given its size and apparent nature, I would suspect it has been active for centuries and would have remained active if not for the sudden forceful command to cease being so."

"I see." Roger rubbed his chin slowly. "That certainly makes it sound like it was meant to be discovered, then. A little too much like it, honestly."

Casey frowned at it. "Maybe they meant it once, but the moment we actually found it, they turned it off. What does that mean?"

Roger leaned forward in his chair. "That is something for us to figure out."

Author's Note

Let's take a trip, into space! It's fun, there are ponies with us.

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13 - Sunset's Sunset

The ponies of the ship had a new project, a great collection of them. Given the list of things the dragons lacked, ponies lined up for the chance to make them. Starting with bits of generic 'stuff' the ship kept in its supplies, they fashioned them into forks, spoons, chairs, and other household supplies that the dragons apparently thought were quite valuable.

The humans joined in as well, using their own methods to fabricate what was needed. It was an exciting time, one where all hands pitched in to help the dragons.

It also got Sunset thinking. "Why would they be lacking this stuff?" She waved at the list posted on one wall of her library. "Seriously, they're in space. They're post-scarcity. Shouldn't they have all of this by now?"

A pony, turned human hologram, came over to stand with Sunset. "I have a few theories about that." She wore a badge declaring her name to be Babs Seed. "Not enough to make me a real scientist, but if you wanna hear 'em, I'm happy to share."

Sunset hiked a brow at the teenager. "Why not? Hit me with your best shot."

Babs gave a sharp nod and spun to lean against the same wall as Sunset. "If I may posit a hypothesis, then sure!" She scratched at her chin as she considered the question. "They are a space fairing race, we know that. They have the technology to make this stuff, but we aren't making it with technology."

She thrust a finger up. "We're making it by hand, or hoof, or whatever. Even our programs are doing it manually, not with any automation involved. Maybe that's the big difference. Dragons could make this stuff, but the idea of one of them sitting down to do it? Not appealing."

Sunset gazed thoughtfully up at the list. "And dragons don't have computer programs, not really." She pushed away from the wall. "They lack something as basic as a micro-emitter." Being a hologram, that certainly felt basic to her life. "That actually makes sense. You're a clever little pony, aren't you?"

Babs grinned at the praise. "Thanks! I should get back to work though. Wanna help?"

Sunset laughed. "Why not? Give me a task."

Babs grabbed Sunset's arm and dragged her over to one of the stations. It was a short distance away, outside the library. Babs returned to her filly shape, but Sunset remained a human. "Sit. Start filling."

Sunset obediently settled into the chair and reached for a bag of polystyrene pellets. "Huh." She dropped a few pellets into the waiting bin as soft chimes and beeps let her know how it was going. "I thought this would be more complicated."

"The complicated part we leave to ponies who are better at it. We're getting the simple stuff done for them." She got to filling her own bin with a grin. "We're all doing our part!"

"Of course." Sunset focused on her task, taking comfort in the work, even if it wasn't something that required a lot of thinking. "So long as you guys can feed me jobs like this, I'm happy to pitch in."

"You should ask more often." Babs unloaded a good portion of her bag in a cacophony of beeps and hums from her terminal. "We have a bunch of little things. I just thought you weren't available. You don't come talk to us very often."

Sunset cringed a little at that. "Well, that's true. You know, sometimes I wonder if I even exist. It gets confusing, being able to blink out of existence, or make things appear."

Babs inclined her head. "Oh, are you a first gen? Second?"

Sunset peered at Babs with confusion.

Babs rolled a hoof. "How many full lives have synced before this specific you got generated?"

Sunset sat up at that question. "Full lives? What? I'm just me." She poked at her chest. "I don't get 'full lives'. This is just me. It's my only life."

Babs whistled softly. "Wow, first generation. I never met one of those, just heard stories." She returned her attention to filling her bin for a quiet few moments. "So, was your original living self still alive when we left Earth?"

Sunset leaned back into her chair as she pondered the question. "I have no idea. Probably not. That'd be, I don't know. Crazy." She stretched her arms out to their full length. "This is heavy." She didn't mean the bag she finished pouring. "Look, all I know is I'm me. They told me, eventually, I can 'sync' to update 'me' for the future, just in case something happens to me."

Babs clapped her hooves together, bag complete. She reached for the next one. "Well, hope that doesn't happen, at least until we get back to Earth. That goes for all of us. I want to save these memories for future mes!"

Sunset blinked as Babs had several more bags to go through. "Hold on. How many full lives have you lived?"

"Six! Of those, four were second generation, and of those, one was third generation. That makes me fourth generation." She sounded quite proud of that fact. "If I sync and they make a new me, that one'll be fifth generation. Get it?"

Sunset set her bag down with a faint thump. "So, every time your mind syncs, you can sort of duplicate yourself? A backup? Then, when they create a new copy of you, that's the backup in case something happens to the last you?"

Babs waved that away. "It's not just emergencies. We're tools on top of being people. So if they make a new ship and they want to fill it with awesome ponies, they may copy me, or you, or anypony else you've ever met. Maybe a new one." She shrugged with a laugh. "That's how it works."

Sunset stood up at that. "But I never told them I'd let them do that!"

Babs just laughed more at that. "So what? We're providing services! Besides, do you think they need your permission to create a new hologram?"

Sunset slumped in place. "But I'm the hologram."

"Wow. First generation." Babs reached over to rest her hoof on Sunset's side. "It'll be okay. If it helps, your original living self had to say this was okay, or they wouldn't do it. She was you, before you."

Sunset covered her face with her hands. "This is a lot."

"Sorry." Babs finished her current bag. "Tell you what, it's about lunch time. I'm done here." She tucked her bags out of the way of where people might walk, safely stashed in storage bins. "Want to get something to eat?"

"I'm a hologram, and so are you." Sunset hiked a brow. "All we eat is electrons, and we're getting plenty of that."

Babs pulled a datapad from somewhere on her person. "If you're going to live like a human, you need to do it all the way." She used the pad to order two subs from the replicator, then handed one over to Sunset.

Sunset peered at it skeptically. "You're joking. Seriously, hologram. If I chew on this and swallow, where is it going to go? I could just, what, hold it, I guess, then what?"

Babs laughed softly as she took a bite of her own sub. "If you hold it in your mouth long enough, eventually your programming will decide you've eaten it, and you'll experience whatever it is you ponies feel when you eat."

True to her word, Babs' food seemed to vanish into her without an issue as she enjoyed the sub with little hums of satisfaction. "It's good. Remember the simple joy of eating."

Sunset ran her fingers over the bagged sandwich. "This is nuts. I'm nuts. We're all nuts!" She smiled despite her words, feeling at ease for some reason. "Alright, fine." She tore it open and took a delicate bite, then another. She remembered the forgotten joys of tasting things, of swallowing them. Her belly, which she figured she didn't really have, started to feel comfortably full as she finished. "Wow."

"Wow indeed." Babs came up to hug Sunset from behind, resting her chin on Sunset's shoulder. "Did you enjoy your first meal as a human?"

Sunset gently pushed Babs away, but smiled warmly at her. "I don't remember that far back, but pretty sure, yeah? Look, today's been literally mind blowing. I need to weigh some existential questions. You go on doing pony things, okey?"

Babs backed up a step, shifting back to a human shape as she did. "Sure, okay." She offered a hug, which Sunset accepted before the younger girl returned to her filly form and headed out of the room.

Sunset tossed the bag's wrapper away properly. "Seriously, where does the sandwich go?" She knew she ate it, but its fate, a mystery. "I'm the information engineer, dang it. Time to look that up!"

Author's Note

Short, but I feel like it's a nice little slice. Was I off? Lemme know!

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30 - Error Corrected

Twilight appeared on a console near Roger. "The programming of the spell has been adjusted."

Roger glanced up from his chair with a sharp smile. "And what does that mean?"

Twilight raised a hoof. "Simply, if either partner that desires an offspring is not yet physically mature, the spell will not activate. This is now in affect on all residents of the ship."

Roger gave a thumbs up. "Good. Keep an eye on it."

Twilight pointed at Roger as she vanished. "You got it!"

Roger stood up as he rubbed his beard. "You heard her, no more kids having kids." He sighed, thinking about that. "I swear. She's a genius, but doesn't think through some things." He sank back into his chair. "Any status reports?"

Applejack appeared from nothing, tossing a piece of fruit in her mouth. "Mmph, mmph." She swallowed with a chuckle. "Everything's just peachy here. Though there is somethin' I've been meanin' to talk about."

Roger nodded gently at Applejack. "What's on your mind?"

Applejack waved her hat gently. "Food supplies are good an' all, but we really should consider when and where we'll restock up on supplies, considerin' how long this detour is."

Roger pinched his brow with a grumble. "Right. So, we have to visit somewhere that the crew can get fresh food and resupply the ship's stores." He clicked his tongue. "And probably restock on the basics."

Applejack nodded along with that. "Are there more dragon planets on the way? We got some of their money, don't we? Would be an easy fix!"

Roger looked to the others. One raised their hand. "We're out of dragon space, Captain. We can start scanning for usable planets or signs of sapient life?"

Roger tilted his head back and forth as he thought. "That'd take forever, but our scanners are better than anything we had back home. Set it up, and see what you can find. We don't have anything else to do as we drift."

The bridge's activity increased as they began scanning the planets they were going to soar past.

Applejack smiled at Roger warmly. "Yer doing great, Captain."

Roger rolled his eyes. "Thank you for the update, Applejack." With a wave, he dismissed her. "Get some rest."

She vanished with a friendly laugh.

He considered what lay ahead. The crew would go out of their way to scan anything that looked promising.

And eventually, they found a suitable world, one inhabited by a civilization willing to trade. Well, that would be ideal. It was also possible they'd just find a planet with animals or plants that could be harvested for some biomatter without any negotiations involved. Either was fine with him.

Casey ran her fingers lightly over the buttons of her console. "Captain. I'm detecting an Earth-like planet. Habitable zone, radiation's on the tolerable side. It looks like the perfect place for an ecosystem."

Roger raised a brow at that. "Could it be inhabited? Also, pick a prize."

Casey rubbed at her chin lightly. "Pick a prize, what does that mean?"

Roger rolled a finger. "You found a planet first that could pan out. Pick a price for yourself if it passes muster."

Casey gave a thoughtful hum. "Oh, thanks! In that case, I want, uh, hm. Free cake? That's my pick." She shrugged a bit at that. "That's so vague."

Roger laughed with a genuine smile. "Cake it is. Maybe with the help of what we find there. Let's do a full observation of that world. Put it on screen if you can."

The main screen switched to a view of the world. Unlike Earth with its greens, this one was far more pink. "Not Earth's usual yellow sun, I gather?"

Casey pointed to the view. "Captain, yes. It's also too small. Given its size and location in the solar system, it's not getting anywhere near as much sunlight as Earth did." She tapped rapidly a moment. "Chilly, but with liquid water on its surface. Life could rise there, and the excess of oxygen in its atmosphere implies it has."

Roger smiled as he leaned forward. "Wonderful. Inform the crew we're going to be stopping here for a few days. Full planetary scan for anything that might interest us, from the weather, to animal life, to vegetation."

"Aye aye!" came several voices as different folks got to work examining it in different ways.

Elsewhere and nowhere, Rainbow looked between different sensors with a smile. "Finally! I swear I was gonna fall asleep with nothing to look at." She laughed. "This is so exciting. A new planet! We'll have to see what we can find!"

Rainbow Dash felt like her heart was in her throat as she leaned forward to see the planet on her screen. "Look at you, cute little thing." She laughed as she worked her wings and hooves over countless buttons. "Let's get a good look at you."

Rainbow Dash chirped in delight as she examined the little planet. "You're perfect! But something about you feels a bit odd. Just, something's wrong." She didn't know how to explain it, but a tiny little shiver ran down her spine. "Mmm, vapors?" She examined the spectrographs of what could be found in the planet's atmosphere. "No, that looks safe."

Rainbow Dash sat back from her console. "Still, feels weird." She twisted in her seat with a grunt. "If there's some trick to this I'm missing, maybe somepony else can figure it out."

Rainbow Dash popped up from her seat and took to the air, using her wings to sail towards a cluster of ponies working on their own projects. "Hey guys, gals, and nonbinary pals!" She waved at them from above. "Something about this planet is bugging me, but I can't put my hoof on it."

One mare looked up at her, then nudged the stallion next to her. He blinked before really seeming to realize Rainbow had spoken. "Oh, sorry. Want me to have a look at that data?"

Rainbow Dash lowered to the ground with a smile. "I mean, that's great if you can. This isn't an observation assignment though, so I'm not sure if you're, uh, equipped for that."

He waved that away. "You just want a spare set of eyes. I won't be working the equipment, just looking at what they found. Lead the way!"

Rainbow Dash lit up at that. "Thanks!" She led him back to her station and allowed him access to the information she had been reviewing. "Any ideas on what might be going on here?"

He sat next to her and began hoofing at the controls. He wasn't nearly as fast at Rainbow had been, but he patiently waded through the information. "Hm! Hm... Nice little world, huh? Still, hm." He rubbed at his furry chin gently. "Ah ha!" He began pressing new buttons. "Yeah, there's, look, here." He thrust a hoof. "Plenty of signs of animals. We should be careful about that."

Rainbow Dash bobbed along, following as best she could. "Got it. Hey, Captain." She saluted to him with a wing. "Sir, sir! We've spotted some animal activity on the surface!"

Roger rubbed his beard. "Incoming megafauna, possibly?"

Rainbow shrugged at that. "We can't tell how big the animals are, just that the world has plenty of them. Lots of little, a few bigs? Who knows."

Roger shook his head with a sigh. "We'll get to it in a moment." He waved at Rainbow, dismissing her. "Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Once we know what we're dealing with, we'll work on how to interact with them."

Rainbow saluted him, flashing a confident smile. "No problem!" She vanished without further sound.

"Sheesh, those holograms." Roger rubbed at his eyes gently. "Well, how long until we can reach the planet?"

Rainbow clopped her hoof against the visiting pony's. "Thanks for the help! I swear, I would have been staring at that for hours. Ugh, organic chemistry is not my specialty."

The visitor returned her smile. "You got it. The data was surprisingly sparse though." He perked up at that. "Oh, maybe that's what felt off."

Rainbow nodded at that. "Yeah, maybe! It's still a nice world, and I'm really happy to get a look at it!" She stretched in place. "It's like seeing your family again. That might be a weird thing to say about a planet." She fluttered her wings. "Oh! Wonder if the captain would let me borrow one of those portable emitters Sunset's gotten fond of. I'd love to take a real flight around, check things out close and personal."

He waggled his hooves. "Sure, we'll go with that. I mean, not that you don't count as real, but we both know what you mean."

Rainbow chuckled at that. "Guess I just miss the sensation of being real, having my own body." She clopped her hooves. "You shoulda seen it! When I first came to Earth, I had this sweet space-body. That thing was a tank. I loved it so much! I literally flew down from outer space to a landing on Earth without a scratch on me that wasn't fixed in a jiff."

The other pony gave a sidelong look. "Space body?"

Rainbow laughed. "Oh yeah, it was great." She sighed at the memories. "Look, we had to be sure every pony on that first ship survived, so we got them the toughest bodies we could, which meant I was basically immortal." She slumped. "Basically. I did die eventually, boo. Still miss that body."

He tapped at his hooves with a little snicker. "Somehow that's just not the wildest thing I've heard today." He considered. "Maybe second wildest. Anyway, I'm gonna get back to work. Gonna have to take a closer look at this planet later."

Rainbow clapped her hooves together. "Hey, thanks again! Later!"

He waved before vanishing without a sound.

Rainbow returned to her work, and the planet beyond that.

In a far corner of the ship, Applejack and Fluttershy appeared in what was becoming their typical meeting place. "Glad you could make it." She swatted the shy pegasus on the shoulder. "Medbay quiet fer now?"

Fluttershy jerked as she rubbed her arm with a frown. "Applejack, ow! Yes, the medbay is empty right now. Which, um, is pretty good. There isn't a lot I can do to help." She sat up with a nervous smile. "I think that dragon may hatch within a week or two. I can't be certain. I, um, only have limited information on how dragon eggs work."

Applejack leaned in to bump against Fluttershy's side. "Doing a bang-up job though." She laughed gently. "Don't know what we'd do without ya."

Fluttershy returned a soft chuckle. "Thank you." She raised a hoof uncertainly. "I might make mistakes, but it's nice to be able to help. Um, so how are you doing?"

Applejack gave a light shrug. "Sittin' around waiting for more input from that planet. It'll be fun workin' with new kinds ah biomass. We'll have to figure out what we can use, or not, to keep the crew nice an' fed!"

Fluttershy clasped her hooves together gently. "Don't overextend yourself! Don't want anypony gettin' hurt."

Applejack flashed a winning smile. "Please. This here's mah job! Even afore we came to Earth, ah loved me a good growin' project. Keepin' evreycreature fed makes me powerful happy. Ain't no thin'."

Fluttershy glomped Applejack, squishing her against the wall of their room. "Well, I'm proud of you anyway!"

Applejack squirmed her way out of the grip with a laugh. "Appreciate it." She touched her nose to Fluttershy's. "Sounds like we're both doin' what we love. Saving lives and food, huh?"

Fluttershy blinked in surprise at the sudden touch. "Ah, yes. That's very true. We're both saving the crew, in our different ways." She smiled as she sank to her haunches. "You help keep them from needing me."

Applejack dusted off her hat lightly. "Funny how things work out sometimes, ain't it?" She considered quietly a moment. "Say, ah was thinkin'. Maybe we should have a little gatherin', a shindig for just us originals. The Mane Six, gathered again!"

Fluttershy coughed sharply, caught off guard by the suggestion. "Really? Um, that sounds nice, but do you think we should? Is there anything we could do that might, um, break our friendships?"

Applejack flicked her hat at Fluttershy. "Seriously? We've been friends for how long now? If we were gonna get in a fight over somethin', woulda already happened by now, ah reckon."

Fluttershy groaned at that. "You're right. Sorry. We have so much fun together." She slumped. "I shouldn't worry about breaking it apart, because we'll still be friends." She dared a smile. "Really, it does sound fun. Do you think the others will agree?"

Applejack rolled a hoof in slow circles. "'Sides us? Twilight's in. Just talked to her last night."

Fluttershy fidgeted with her hooves. "Oh? What were you two talking about?"

Applejack sat up at that with a cocky smile. "Ah was jus' goin' over the numbers. That's why I told the captain about us maybe runnin' low on some things if we didn't restock. Still, she said yes to a gatherin', even sounded right pleased with the idea."

Fluttershy shrugged uncertainly. "Okay, that sounds great! But what about Rarity? Have you asked her yet?"

Applejack clapped a hoof to her face. "Shoot! She can be a hard one to pin down at times. Ah'll get on her. You talk to Rainbow. You two have a special connection, she'll make time fer you any day."

Fluttershy scratched at one leg gently. "Are you sure? I think Rainbow Dash is a lot busier than I am. There's just so much data to sort through, and she needs to keep the sensors going..."

Applejack laughed with a toss of her head. "Come on, you can do it. Besides, bet you she'd be real happy if you sat down with her a moment. Go on! She misses you."

Fluttershy gasped in alarm. "Misses me? What makes you say that?"

Applejack pointed up as she spoke. "It's easy to see. How often do you talk to her?"

Fluttershy took a moment to really think about that. "Well there was, no, but... no." She sank. "Oh my, I really haven't talked to her in a while."

Applejack put a comforting hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Eh, I figure she knows you're busy with other things, but maybe that would be a nice reminder." She clapped Fluttershy on the shoulder. "Go on and say hi. You'll both be happier fer it."

Fluttershy perked up at that as she wiped away the forming tears. "You're right! I should go say hi. Even if it's just for a moment. She'd really appreciate that." She hopped to her hooves, looking ready to spring away. "Um, if that's alright?" She looked back at Applejack with clear uncertainty.

Applejack smiled. "Of course it is. Ah told ya to do it, didn't I?"

Fluttershy swiped a wing past Applejack. "Thank you! Sorry I have to go." She took off, vanishing mid-flap.

Applejack chuckled at the space that once held Fluttershy. "Silly mare." She vanished herself to begin her hunt for Rarity.

Author's Note

Let's visit a planet! This could be fun!

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31 - Touching Down

Rarity looked over the line of environmental suits calculatingly. She grabbed a sample and ran a finger over the material with a careful eye. "Hm, not what I was looking for." She tossed the item aside with a sniff. "Why can't we just bring up holographic clothing?"

Alas for her, wearing holograms to ward off physical environmental hazards was a bit too risky. "I can figure this out." With a glowing horn, she began cycling through countless material options. "Something to really work against that pink background and keep our precious explorers safe."

Rarity lifted a case of sample material, eyeing it critically. "Hm, still not quite right. Come on, there has to be something here that will work."

With a subtle wave of her hoof, the case vanished. "You must be in here." She conjured the rolling index of potential materials to work with. "I will not fail on my first real task in too long." She ran a hoof across the selection in thought. "Now what sort of material should I pick?"

She pondered the idea, falling into an introspective trance.

"Rarity!" came a shout from somewhere nearby. Applejack came charging in. "There ya are. Ya really need to keep yer radio on even especially when yer ridin' a robot frame 'round like that!"

Rarity jerked at that, waking from her daydreaming. "Applejack! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were looking for me."

Applejack nodded. "Sure was. But now that ah found ya." She peered past Rarity at the suits. "Whatcha workin' on?"

Rarity gave a proud smile as she spun towards the suits. "I'm working on a protective garment for our fine crew. They'll be exploring an unknown world soon, and I simply must make sure they have something appropriate to wear!"

Applejack nodded lightly. "That's important. But yer lookin' awful frazzled. Some part keepin' you from finishin'?"

Rarity snapped her hooves together. "As a matter of fact, yes! I am making them suits that will do more than protect against a planet's weather. These ones will also repel the native life! No tearing from wildlife, no uncomfortable substances rubbing against your skin. Really, it's just about perfect." She frowned, scowling at the suits. "But finding the right material with the right color and the right properties is proving to be troubling to say the least, dear."

Applejack peered over Rarity's shoulder at the assorted material samples. "Maybe I can help ya. Been a while since we worked together on somethin' like this."

Rarity laughed nervously. "The last time wasn't about fashion, darling. Still." She took a step back. "I am stuck for the moment. Maybe a new set of eyes will put this all to right."

Applejack advanced on the line of suits. "Ah have an eye fer just about anything that grows." She plucked up one of the suit pieces. "Still, just tryin' to match the color o' the world? She hoofed through the selection with one hoof and felt the existing materials with the other. "Mmm, what about a little ah this." She held up some. "Wit' some a that?" She pointed at some on the screen.

Rarity lifted a brow at that. "Those combinations never crossed my mind." She shrugged lightly. "If you say so." With a wave of her horn, the materials assembled themselves, melding together in a new combination. Rarity's unsure expression brightened rapidly. "Oh! Look at this! Twilight, turn the lights!" The room turned pink to match the guessed dominate shade of the planet. "Perfect! They'll be able to find each other if they're wearing this, and the darlings will be safe while they do it. Applejack! You were just what the doctor ordered, dear."

Applejack chuffed proudly. "Thanks! So, ah know ya must be pretty busy workin' on these outfits, but ah was wonderin' if ya could spare a few minutes?"

Rarity hesitated at that. "I don't want to be distracted." She pressed a few buttons with her magic. "But it will take some time to manufacture the material I'll be working with." She turned to Applejack fully. "What's on your mind, darling?"

Applejack extended a hoof. "Can ya step away from those things fer a bit?"

Rarity backed away from the suits with a nervous laugh. "Oh, sure, of course. What's up?"

Applejack slid to a quieter corner with Rarity. "Ah'm plannin' a get together, all the girls! Us element bearers. We haven't hung out in too long!"

Rarity clapped her hooves. "Darling! That sounds wonderful. Do you have any plans yet? Is this why you wanted me to spare a few minutes?"

Applejack clicked her tongue. "'xactly! Got most ponies on board, an' it sounds like we can count you in. Fluttershy's busy grabbin' Rainbow Dash, and we should be good to go."

Rarity sagged gently. "Poor Fluttershy. You know how she worries."

Applejack smiled at that. "She does that. Ah'm sure she'll be fine though. She an' Rainbow are thick as thieves. If Flutters asked, there ain't no way Rainbow'd say no."

Rarity peered into the distance in thought. "But of course. What should we do?"

Applejack rubbed at her chin. "Nothin' too special, just us six and a room together. We get to catch up, lotsa hugs, maybe a game er three? We friends gotta take time to keep on bein' friends, ya know?"

Rarity plucked up Applejack's hat with a soft laugh. "It sounds perfect." She folded it over and slipped it over her horn. "Oh, you were saying?"

Applejack swiped the hat back and fitted it over her own head. "Ya goof. Asides, yer wearin' a robot body, to remind. Go get a real hat instead of this digital one." She tipped het hat to the right position. "There we go."

Rarity curtsied. "What if I want to keep it?"

Applejack put a hoof against Rarity's chest, pushing her back lightly. "Not a chance. 'Sides, yer a seamstress. Y'ain't gonna convince me ya couldn't just make one fer yerself if ya wanted."

Rarity gave a startled snort. "Yes, I could. But that's not the point! The point is, the point." She scowled playfully. "You're still taking it back, aren't you?"

"Yup." Applejack turned away. "See you at the shindig." She vanished, taking the hat with her.

Rarity looked around in surprise. "I just got played, didn't I?" She hung her head with a quiet sigh. "But she has a point." She swirled her own hat onto her head with a proud smile. The hat was a holographic one, invented in that instant of imagination. "I think it's past time I made some nice hats."

With a happy sigh, she sat and got to work making that a reality.

Harriet saluted sharply, holding the stance as Roger paced in front of her.

He stopped at her side with a raised brow. "Well, Harriet, are you sure you want to do this?"

She stood up proudly. "Yes, Sir!" She swayed, barely able to stay upright under the weight of her supplies. "I have completed my level 1 training, Sir!"

Roger considered her silently a moment. "Good to hear, but this isn't an easy mission." He held out a hand. "There is a planet down there with a completely unknown ecology. A wrong move could get you hurt, or worse. The worse outcomes we may not even notice until long afterwards. Of all the missions to throw yourself into, you've picked a wild one."

Harriet gave a broad smile. "Sir, I've trained for months! I can do this."

Roger dropped to a knee before her, eye-to-eye. "You're still so young."

Harriet put both hands behind her back at proper attention. "I've passed the tests, Sir. I want to help the ship, and the people on it. I'm ready to do my part, and I understand the risks."

"No, you don't." He pat her on the shoulder. "You can't. Life will teach you what the meaning of risk is, but it hasn't yet. At your age, everything is exciting, not scary. But, if you're set on doing this..."

Harriet perked up at that, still saluting sharply. "I am, Sir!"

Roger swiped his fingers over his face. "God, you really are your mother's daughter." He laughed lightly. "Both of them. They must be so proud of you, or they want to throttle you before you get into trouble. Maybe both."

He let out a slow breath. "Getting distracted. Private Harrier!" Harriet stiffened. "I welcome you to live duty. I only ask that you try to bare in mind you're still learning. Listen to others, and do what you're told. Some of the things we have you do might not make sense at first, but we're trying to help you learn. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" Harriet squeaked the reply, barely able to keep her emotions in check. "I'll do my best."

"All I can ask."

"We're over the planet." Casey struck a few keys, bringing up the image of the world on the main screen. "She really is a gorgeous marble, viewed from up close."

Roger rubbed his chin with a smile. "Any signs of intelligent life? Cities? Colonies?"

Casey shook her head lightly. "We've not spotted anything so far. Still, there's only so much we can see from the time we've had."

Twilight appeared next to Roger. "I can confidently report that they are not emitting obvious noise. Sapient species of the proper developmental stage become quite noisy. If any exist on this world, it is either too simple, or too advanced. The sun shows no sign of advanced engineering, nor are there any cities. Those are typically visible."

Roger gave Twilight a raised brow. "Too simple or too advanced?"

Twilight huffed at that. "Simple refers to things like us not so long ago. We haven't the technology for space travel, but we make a lot of noise. Go much further than that and humans were quiet, making very little noise in their dotted settlements."

Roger hummed at that. "Makes sense. Well, unless we spot something that makes us reconsider, this place should be perfect." He pressed a button on his chair. "Crew assigned to shuttles, prepare for launch." He released the button and looked to Twilight. "Do we have a good time window on when we should release them for a safe landing?"

Twilight flicked her tail. "Sunset estimates a few hours before conditions are right. There's plenty of atmosphere and weather, and she can guide them down safely. Give or take."

Roger gave a soft huh. "When did Sunset become an expert on this?"

Twilight leaned in, fluttering her lashes. "When her wife started riding shuttles down to potentially dangerous planets. It's amazing how that can motivate a person, be they human, pony, or hologram."

Roger scratched his cheek with a little snort. "True enough. Casey, I'd like you to stick around and help me direct things from up here."

Casey smiled at that. "Aye aye, Captain. I'd only consider going down if they found some ancient technology they want me to study anyway. I'm an engineer." She shrugged as she returned to typing. "But you have me at your side, Sir."

Roger returned a faint smile. "As soon as the landings are made, the planet is ours. If anyone finds anything interesting, contact us before you go digging."

They watched as the first ship propelled from the USS Resolute, dropped out of warp, and began their descent.

A few minutes later, a second shuttle separated from the mothership, and began following the first one down. The only real difference was the numbers on the sides of each craft. Both made it through the thick atmosphere, their occupants jostled, but arriving with dual soft thumps on the verdant soil of the planet.

"They've landed." Twilight vanished without another word.

Roger watched with bated breath as the first team began unpacking their equipment.

One of their number, a scientist, worked furiously. "The composition of the atmosphere has enough of what we need." They already knew that before coming down. "But I'm detecting plenty of organics. We don't want to risk that. I suggest nobody steps foot off either shuttle without their suits on full environmental lockdown."

Roger gave a solemn nod at that. "Excellent advice. Good luck out there." He pressed the button again. "Shuttle crews, be careful out there. It's all new, and we have no idea what could happen. Your lives are more important than anything else. If things look dicey, you get home safely."

"Aye aye, Sir!" The three pairs of occupants replied in unison.

Two more shuttles sped from the ship to join the other two down below. Each pair carefully lowered their craft into position near their compatriots. Of them, one shut down and went dormant, waiting for the chance it hoped never came to help rescue the others.

The other three shuttles began to disgorge ready crewmembers down onto the surface of the new planet. With fascinated eyes, they took in the splendors of the world from behind their protective helmets. They scanned things here and there, even gathering samples that could be easily transported back to the ship for study.

With cooperation with the main ship, it started to become clear what could be harvested, and what was relatively useless. In the case of a tall pink grass, it looked great, but had hardly any nutrients or protein. This plant was just perfect for looking at, but not eating.

While most of the crew got right to work, one meandered out of sight. Harriet followed a small creature that scampered from cover to cover. "So cute!" She gave chase with a laugh, unable to resist.

Roger spotted the chase. "Harriet! Keep in sight of the others."

She raised a hand at that. "I'm not far!" She reached out. "Almost got—"

Great talons closed around the small creature. Some bird-like creature snatching it and darting away in one smooth motion. It let out a triumphant cry, having secured its lunch.

"Oh no!" Harriet skidded to a halt as the creature vanished into the trees. "Is it gonna be okay?"

Fluttershy appeared on the inside of Harriet's visor. "Unfortunately, the odds are against it. The circle of life, um, requires this. Saving it would mean that other creature would go hungry. It wouldn't be fair to one of them. I, um, appreciate that you feel bad, but we shouldn't try to tell animals how to live their lives."

Harriet walked back towards her shuttle slowly. "I just want to help everyone. Is that so wrong?"

Fluttershy broke eye contact. "Sometimes what helps most is letting go. I'm sorry. When you get back from this mission, I have some animals that would love to meet you."

Harriet smiled at that. "That sounds nice." She rejoined the crew in stocking up the shuttles with biomass.

Author's Note

Dang Internet issues slowed this one down, but here it is, on time, if a little later in the day.

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44 - Looking Down

Captain Roger chuckled softly. "We made it, though. Here we are, looking at a star gone bad." He reached out with his left hand to tap at the screen, making the viewscreen zoom in on the turbulent orb. "You are a naughty thing. From up close, it's a lot easier to see how temperamental it is."

Twilight huffed gently. "For as advanced as many of our technologies had been, we missed this. No pony ever put together that suns could die." She stepped closer, looking over the display. "The very concept was alien to us. So long as Celestia persisted, it was impossible, and she was unmoving and unchanging."

Roger hummed softly. "Just like the humans, at first anyway." He waved at the screen, removing the zoom. "Let's get to work. How does the planet itself look?"

Twilight lifted a hoof and pressed it to her cheek. "Fortunately for both of us, this planet is not wholly dead. This may be a success, but I can't be sure until we take a closer look." She extended the same hoof along with the other, spreading them as the viewscreen zoomed on one of the worlds in orbit around that sun. "Here it is. As you can see from here, its biosphere is alive and well." Blue was the best color for absorbing that sun's light, so blue forests were easily visible.

"As for whether or not any ponies survived, well, we'll have to look closer." She turned to Roger. "I advise full environment suits, of course. We have no idea what contaminants may be present."

Roger nodded at that. "Agreed." He turned to the side. "Well, Rainbow?"

Rainbow appeared, with her usual grin. "Hey, Cap'n!" She tilted her head from side to side in consideration. "Yeah, getting the scans isn't too hard, but it'd be easier if we landed on the surface." She waved at a maze of numbers. "Boring made simple, air is breathable, if you ignore what might be in the air."

Twilight winced at that. "And ignore we cannot, of course. I'd rather not see any of our crew end up allergic to our native proteins."

Roger hummed. "The aides got some practice with the robots recently, are they up to coming along? They may get a first look at any pony artifacts, or, if we dare hope, living ponies."

Rainbow lit up at that. "Really?! Awesomesauce!" She fluttered over to Roger. "That would be way better than us just having to guess and hope!"

Roger took a deep breath. "Let me guess, you volunteer?"

"Yes! Yes! A thousand more yesses!" Rainbow pumped her hooves as she danced in the air. "I'll get my suit." She vanished, off to claim her robot, even if she hadn't actually been told she should.

Twilight looked up at Roger with a playful smile. "Ponies do love to help." She shook her head. "Their involvement won't affect our overall goal, so there is no reason not to let them come along. I imagine it will make them happy, and giving people purpose makes them productive."

Roger tapped the ship, er, Twilight on the snout. "And you are entirely unbiased in that regard." The way she blushed only brought a smile to his face. "I get it. No harm in letting them come along, and their robotic suits should lend some muscle where needed. Just be sure to inform them this is an official mission."

Twilight sighed and sagged slightly. "Yes, Sir." She turned back towards the screen. "Would that I could join them." She glanced aside at Roger. "Heavy is the tiara."

Roger scratched at his chin, considering Twilight. He didn't really pay much attention to that tiara before. "Why do you wear that?"

Twilight sat up with a little smile. "Ponies are used to having princesses, and I was one before. It was only natural, being the highest ranked pony on the ship, that I re-assume the role."

Roger stepped over to reach out and touch it. The metal was cool under his fingers. "So it's just a symbol?"

Twilight ducked away from him. "It's far more than that! Well, first, yes, it is a symbol." She colored as she reached up to arrange it, not that it had gotten out of position. "I am their leader. It's a reminder to me as much as anypony else."

Roger pulled his hand back with a nod. "Sounds reasonable. In the army, we have different uniforms for different ranks. A private wears different gear than a general. Each step up requires you wear more and more stuff, all symbols of your rank. My favorite was the stars. Did you know they shine like diamonds in sunlight?"

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile. "I am entirely aware of the ranks and isignias related to them. That is required knowledge to properly oversee a military ship, Captain. I would be doing a poor job if I didn't know a captain from a general. Speaking of which, you are also forbidden from joining this mission."

Roger waved that away. "Is that what it feels like to be told something you know? Sorry then. Either way, of course. We don't have any backup captains ready to go."

Twilight turned back to the display. "Good. Let's hope we never need one. Not for a long time." She danced one of her ears. "Getting reports. The volunteer aides have gathered their shells and are assembling in the shuttle bay. They are ready to depart. How are the human members going?"

Roger tapped at his comm. "Shuttle bay, how many of the human aides are ready to head out?"

There was a pause before Susan answered. "Sir, all of them are ready to go."

Roger blinked at that. "Really? I see." He shook his head with a light sigh. "It seems everyone is eager to see this mission done, pony or not."

Twilight chuckled. "That is good news." She smiled up at Roger. "Have any doubts yet?"

"None." He depressed the button on his chair. "You have permission to launch. Good luck down there."

"Thanks, Sir!" Susan hung up without another word.

Sunset leaned back against the bench, arms behind her head. "I can't believe we're actually going down there. How do you feel?"

Casey shrugged at that, staring ahead. "I guess I'm happy? Look, I'm a xeno engineer. I'll be sitting idle until and unless you find some actual technology for me to examine. I can help with the panels in here until then."

Sunset slipped over beside Susan. "I don't usually wear metal." She tapped at her metal body, wearing one of the robot shells like the ponies were doing, though she was bipedal and wearing her human hologram. "It feels different."

Casey nodded along at that. "Yeah, you got the 'dressed up in a Halloween costume' thing going on." She tilted her head. "Are those actually suitable? You can feel, but can you smell, touch, and all that?"

Sunset put her hands together. "Mmm, I can feel one hand against the other, but it's different. Like I'm wearing a glove?"

"Darling." Rarity trotted up beside Sunset. "It takes some getting used to, but you can get everything done in here as you can in digital-only mode. It's different, not superior, or inferior. I do prefer the physicality of it, dear."

Sunset tapped at the ground. "Yup. I feel that, and the texture is what I'd expect. But, it's still like feeling it through a glove."

Rarity lifted her own hoof with a laugh. "Practice. We'll get plenty of opportunity to do just that!" She wobbled as the shuttle lifted and began out into space. "Oh, there we go. I'm terribly excited, dear. Imagine what we'll find down there!"

Sunset hummed at that. "Yeah. This is going to be exciting, but also scary." She rested her hand on Susan's shoulder. "Are you doing alright?"

Susan sighed softly. "I'm fine, but I need to be focused." She was the one piloting the ship. "I'll get us down in just a few minutes, hopefully in one piece."

Rarity walked over to rest a hoof on Susan's back. "Don't you worry, dear. That won't be a problem, not if you're at the controls. You did fine back at that dragon planet. This one shouldn't be too difficult."

Susan relaxed under Rarity's touch. "Thanks. I just don't want to mess up is all. I don't have much experience flying ships."

Rarity smiled and tilted her head. "Wait, you don't? They let you do this, dear. That implies some level of competency, does it not?"

Susan chuckled nervously. "Not really. I got this assignment because I was the best of the worst. It's that simple. Aides are easy to find, but people willing to be away from Earth for a long time are less common." She pulled at the controls as they began to lower into the proper atmosphere. "You should all buckle in."

Sunset scooted back and did so. "Roger that. Everyone else?" She glanced at the others, human and pony alike. "All ready for landing?"

There were various confirmations as everyone settled in. The shuttle then jerked forward as it got a good grip on the ground. "I have landed the ship. Congratulations, ladies, you're the first of us to visit this planet, unless we find ponies on it." She flicked a few switches. "Humans, me included, time to get into the environment suits."

Sunset grinned widely. "Sounds like fun."

Susan stood up and walked over to the racks of suits. She grabbed one mostly at random. "Pity these don't get any personnalisations. The ponies get to look how they want."

Rarity walked up to her. "It is rather difficult to give them my flare. It is something, at least." She winked. "Of course, I can adjust mine as needed, but you poor humans just have to live with what you get." She sighed. "Now, if they let me redesign those, I'd include holo-emitters so you could shine your fullest, even while protected."

Susan chuckled softly as she pulled her suit on. "We wouldn't complain." She turned to see another suit looking back at her. "Yeah, all the same." She offered a hand, shaking with her fellow member. "Let's get out there and see what's there."

Sunset stood in front of the door, bouncing from foot to foot. "I want to go first!" She spun around to look at them. "Sorry, but I need to do this."

Rarity trotted over to give Sunset a gentle pat. "We're all excited. But Susan gets to say when we begin." She turned in place. "Forgive me for forgetting, but who's the commanding officer once the door's open?"

Susan held her rifle in one hand, finger resting on the trigger guard. "Technically, Casey is the highest rank here, but this isn't her specialty. Kindly follow my orders as I try to keep you all safe, alright? Or as safe as possible, anyway."

Rarity nodded at that. "Understood." She looked up at Sunset. "Dear?"

Sunset did the same. "Yeah, got it. We'll follow your lead." She grinned at the human. "Don't let us down."

Susan groaned and rubbed at the side of her head.

Author's Note

Oopsie! I forgot to publish a chapter. Let's fix that right quick.

2 - Party Planning

Sunset Shimmer appeared with a flicker. "Hey. What book can I help you find?" She clasped her hands, smiling at the human crewmember that wandered in. Unlike most pony AI, she had the holographic form of another human, but she wielded the same helpful expression. "Something creepy? Maybe something adventurous?!"

The crewmember jumped. "You always surprise me."

Sunset rolled her eyes at that. "I appear in exactly the same place with exactly the same line. How are you surprised?"

"You're an AI," said the crewmember. "You should be able to make sure I see you when you appear." They were male, with short dark hair and a confident smile. He stepped past Sunset to the bookcase she was in front of.

Sunset turned to keep him ahead of her. "So you want us to start prying into your heads now? Last I knew, that was against the rules. You come in, I say the line. We have a thing!" She threw up her hands with obvious annoyance. "Anyway, you know what book you want?"

He gestured at the bookshelf. "This is the genre I'm looking for. Maybe something with monsters? Or spaceships, that's always fun."

Sunset smiled gently, turning to face the bookcase as she spread her arms wide. "Ignoring the fact that we're literally on a spaceship, if you want to read about other ships doing other things, don't let me stop you." A chime sounded. "You are permitted to download one book. Make it good."

She waited with a tapping foot until the crewmember made their selection. A new chime, the book downloaded to their datapad. "Enjoy," Sunset sang with faked sincerity, just to frown at the door the man exited through. "Man." She was about to vanish when the door slid open anew. "Hey. What book can I help you find?"

She only realized after she said her canned line that the one entering wasn't a human at all, at least until they stepped inside. Rainbow Dash gained feet, and clothes, as she entered, becoming just as human as Sunset. "Yo."

Sunset's smile softened with genuine hints. "Rainbow!" She closed in and the two met in a warm exchange of a hug. "Always good to see you, girl. What are you up to?"

"Oh, you know, the usual." Rainbow shrugged, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face. "Helping my humans out by making sure this ship runs smoothly." Her face drew in concern. "Speaking of which, they ran into a creepy alien thing, and it had guns, right? They were bigger and meaner than any of the ones I had! Totally not fair." She rolled her eyes at the indignity of being outgunned.

Sunset dared to muss Rainbow's hair. "I bet you could've taken them out anyway."

"'Course I coulda!" Rainbow kicked at nothing once. "But we weren't fighting, and they ran away instead of starting nothing, so, yay?" She huffed gently. "I came by to talk, and maybe grab a book."

"I'm up for both of those. You know you're welcome here." Sunset waved back at the collection of aisles. None of them had any real books, just covers that helped one leaf through the digital collections. "I saw the ship go on alert before. That the aliens?"

"Sure was." Rainbow threw her arms wide, wings exploding from her back, allowing her to fly about in darting swerves at the various books. Not that she needed wings, being a hologram, but it was polite to walk unless one had some means to fly. "I meant to ask, why the human look." She grabbed a book, empty as it was. "No foul or nothin', but, why?"

Sunset tapped a hand against her chest. "I'm pretty sure this is what the captain looks like. Maybe. I looked at his file, and yeah, this is more or less him. More or less." She smirked faintly. "Not my fault I'm the only one who checked, it seems. The whole crew looks like this. I should ask why the rest of you go around like little horses."

Rainbow hugged the book. A chime announced she'd downloaded it. She put it back with a scoff. "We were all built like this, Sunny! Ponies are the default. Human? Why? You're evading!"

"And I'm good at it." Sunset put a hand at her hip. "Enjoy the book."

Rainbow ran a finger along the spines of all the promises of books on the shelf. "You know, being a pony isn't so bad. Why don't you come out of the library a little more often?"

Sunset huffed at that. "RD, love ya, but what for?"

Rainbow hopped through the door, hitting the other side back on her hooves. "Well, for one, I'm not calling for a birthday party in the library, that'd be odd. Two, you deserve a party, if Pinkie has taught me anything at all."

Sunset raised an eyebrow at that. "A party? Isn't it just another day?"

"Yeah, sure." Rainbow was clearly holding back from adding a 'duh' to that. "But it's your birthday, Sunset!"

Sunset raised both hands to the air. "It's technically all our birthdays. We were built and turned on at the same time, RD!"

RD smirked at that. "Which is why I'm trying to get you to come to where all of us are going to party. Pinkie's putting the final touches, and she's a pro at these kinds of things. C'mon!"

Sunset eyed her for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Okay. Okay, Rainbow, I'll join you." She huffed as she felt her own heart begin to race. "But only because it's a birthday party."

"Yes!" Rainbow pumped a hoof, tail lashing with excitement. "See you there." With a soft chime, the where and when was sent digitally. "No excuses!" With a flash of rainbows, Rainbow streaked down the hallway faster than was technically permitted within the ship, not that she ever obeyed the speed limit.

"Oh. Oh my." Fluttershy hopped up onto a low stool for a better view, even if she had access to all the cameras in the medical bay and could see the patient from every angle, including all the data that flowed constantly from countless sensors. "Their heartrate is steady. They are not in shock."

"Good to hear it." The doctor snipped free the crewmember's shirt. "But they broke an arm and that needs our help."

"I should imagine so." Fluttershy spread her wings forward as the holographic emitters took hold of that arm and held it steady for the doctor to do his work. "Poor thing. We'll have you back together again." She inclined an ear. "Sedatives being administered." That was the last line many patients heard before they woke up to being on the mend.

"Good, good, steady." He worked dutifully with the best assistant one could want, if one didn't mind that assistant being a virtual pony. "It's a clean break. This should be a smooth recovery."

Fluttershy let out her breath. "Thank goodness. I wouldn't want him being hurt."

"I hear you there." The doctor began spraying an instant cast over the break. "So let's make them get better as soon as possible."

Fluttershy drew her wings back, the force fading with less need to hold that arm steady. "Yes. Um. I will be absent a few hours." A soft chime played.

The doctor looked up the info. "Okay. Will you be upset if I ask what this is for? I didn't think a hologram, however friendly, had many things to get distracted by."

"Oh, well, um." Fluttershy squirmed in place nervously. "Pinkie Pie is putting together a party, um, for all of us. I can't say no to that." She worried her hooves together. "Unless that's too much of a bother?"

"Not at all." The doctor offered her a smile. "We have other assistants, and we'll make sure you get back to it before anything happens."

Fluttershy bobbed her head in quick nods. "If an emergency comes up, just let me know."

"You're the best." He ruffled her soft mane. "Is it a birthday?"

Fluttershy bobbed her head even faster. "Oh, yes! How did you know?"

"With Pinkie, birthdays are more likely than anything else." The doctor shrugged with a smile. "Who's is it? Am I invited?"

"Oh, um." Fluttershy shrank. "Technically, it's not any 'who' at all." She flopped to her stool bonelessly. "Technically."

He lowered the cast he'd been wrapping. "You don't mean—"

"Um, yeah." Fluttershy shivered slightly. "Technically it's all of us. All at once." She pointed at herself. "Pinkie is throwing a party for all ponies on board, at once. It'll be our birthday." She sat up. "Technically, we weren't born, but that isn't stopping her."

The doctor laughed as he finished up the crewmember's cast. "Well, just make sure you have fun." He patted the arm. "There we go. All done."

Fluttershy swung her hooves as she hopped off her stool. "Ceasing sedatives. Estimated time to awakening, 7 minutes." She nodded at the sleeping patient. "Hopefully they will be happier, now that their arm is healing."

"I'm sure they will." The doctor cleaned his tools as Fluttershy returned to work. They needed to take care of others as much as others needed them.

Fluttershy's attention slid to another room, where she appeared with a flicker amid an enclosure that smelled thickly of animals. Most humans had little idea how to deal with wild animals, but it was Fluttershy's specialty, just beneath being an assistant doctor. "Hello, my cute little things." She shared fond nuzzles with every beast that came over to her, and many were ready to do just that.

Their whines and growls, the clicks of their tongues, all were words she understood and spoke back in kind. If there was any question about whether things were safe, and when their next meal would come. She gently hugged the ones that enjoyed that sort of thing as she fought her way to their food dispensers and began to feed them all, one by one. "Everything is fine, I promise. The humans found something interesting, that's all. You're all fine."

More and more beasts came up to her as they smelled food. Fluttershy quickly took over a nice bit of the room, pressed on all sides by animal bodies and eyes. They looked up at her for kindness and direction, which she gave them willingly. Soon she had them all eating their proper food, different for different kinds of critter. "You're all looking so healthy," she gushed with a fond smile. "If any of you feel bad, you just let me know.

"I'll take good care of you." She meant every word of it. "My humans are the best humans ever. They're a little rough sometimes, but they mean well, and I'm going to make sure they keep you all safe."

A wet nose pressed into her side. She jumped in surprise and twisted to find she was nose to nose with a dog. "Oh, hello."

The dog barked and coiled, coming back with a little puppy that she placed in front of Fluttershy, barking firmly.

Fluttershy blinked. "Really?"

The dog thumped the ground with a rapidly swaying tail.

"I'll check." She gently scooped up the puppy. "I don't know if any of them are looking for a puppy, but I'll check."

The mother dog slurped Fluttershy on the cheek in a great display of slobber.

Burdened with a living passenger, Fluttershy moved her puppy package to her back and trotted free of the animal rooms. She considered how best to go about things. She perked with an idea. "Twilight?" She brought the puppy into her view. "Do you see this? This little puppy could use a home. Can you share its image and tell the crew to look me up if they're interested? They are very young." She paused. "Male, unmodified. All proper shots and procedures will be completed by the time they come to me."

"Of course," echoed Twilight in her mind. "They look adorable! If I wasn't so busy, I'd consider it myself."

Author's Note

Did I mention the Slice of Life tag? Yeah, it's there for a reason. Enjoy these space ponies being adorable.

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3 - Into Depths

The examination of the alien superstructure proceeded as planned. They located where it had been fired on. No damage was evident, unharmed by the weapon. It was as sure as any remote, simply turning it off. It required hours of scanning to find what they were looking for, but after their wait, they found it.

Captain Roger sat back in his chair. "We can turn it back on." The room murmured with excitement. "Not that we should until we have the radiation situation handled. Turning it on now will cook us all."

"Um." Twilight appeared beside him. "No, it won't, Captain. I've been examining the portal's readings, and it appears to have some kind of radiation shielding technology. Once activated, it should provide ample protection."

Roger cocked a brow. "Was it just turned off when we first came here?"

"Yes," Twilight answered flatly. "I would have said something if it wasn't safe. You should know me by now." She tapped her hoof against the console she stood on. "Bringing up the original energy signature."

A graph appeared of the radiation and she pointed to a particular swerve in it. "This is where it moves past that barrier. Activated, it should reduce it to within tolerable levels of our shielding technology."

Roger leaned back, interlacing his fingers. "How can you be sure?"

Twilight brightened at the question. "Because I am good at my job, Captain. This will work, and turn the portal back on." She raised a hoof. "We can activate the barrier first, doublecheck that it's operating, then activate the portal, if you wish."

"Captain." One of the crew raised their hand. "This is almost too much of a risk. It could overload and detonate like a bomb."

Roger was about to reply when Twilight spoke up. "I would not wish harm to befall any member of this crew. The odds of detonation are under 2%. I am constructed with a 3% tolerance for catastrophic failure. Captain, it is your decision."

He sank with a frown. "Twilight, why do you have any tolerance for catastrophic failure? Shouldn't you be avoiding that?"

"I do." Twilight inclined her head at Roger. "But there remains the chance. If I was constructed to not tolerate any chance of failure, we would still be safely docked at home, in an atmosphere. I would forbid takeoff. Launching had a 4% catastrophic failure chance. I have ideas on how to lower those chances, but reaching 0% is unlikely, and a waste of resources, ultimately. I am constructed with a 3% tolerance for catastrophic failure."

Nervous laughter made a round on the command deck. Roger smiled thinly. "Alright, send the targeting to the weapons systems and let's turn on those shields. Make sure they're ready for instant firing."

Twilight appeared beside him. "Done. Please inform when you wish to fire."

Elsewhere in the ship, Rainbow was not arming the guns. She had warned her human operators that she'd be out for a little bit.

She was in a virtual place, where all the ponies of the ship had gathered. Music was thumping and many were dancing joyfully. Others milled about with drinks or snacks, all as virtual as they were. Rainbow landed gently, her hooves on the floor to remain polite. "Whoa! It's crazy in here!"

Pinkie Pie pranced up to her with a wild smile. "I toldja I could do it!" She waved out at the wild party. "We deserve a little break once in a while, and our birthday's a great time to do it!"

Rainbow bobbed her head eagerly. "Sure is! I brought Sunset!" She gestured over her shoulder. "It was pretty hard to convince her, but she finally gave in!"

"Happy birthday." Sunset Shimmer approached with a nervous smile. Away from her library, she was in her pony form, and looking uncomfortable about it.

Rainbow slid in next to Sunset. "Why are you looking like that? We're all happy to have you here."

"I know." Sunset gave a hesitant smile. "It's just... this is a lot more ponies than I'm used to seeing, okay?" She fidgeted, then suddenly squeaked as Pinkie Pie threw herself into the hug. "Hey, Pinks." She softened a little, hugging Pinkie back. "Alright, show me to one of these 'amazing games' I've been hearing about."

Pinkie looked up with sparkling eyes. "Well, we have all kinds of amazing games! Do you want something we can play together? Something you can watch and laugh at how bad we are at it? Maybe a quieter game?"

Sunset nodded slowly. "Sure, something that's good for just two of us, and someplace quiet. I don't really feel like having to shout over the noise."

"There are plenty of tables where we can sit and talk." Pinkie started off, waving for Sunset to follow. "This way."

Rainbow watched the two trot off for a game. "Aw, great." She lifted into the air with a flap and twirled. "Time for me to have some fun." With some laughter, she zoomed off into a different knot of the crowd.

A thin and precise beam struck the tiny target on the massive stargate. With thick chunks and clicks that nobody could hear, internal mechanisms stirred to life, slowly deploying internal shields.

Twilight gestured at the graph of radiation, sloping downwards. "Shield successfully enabled. It should be safe even when the gate is active."

"And you're sure about that?" Roger raised a hand. "Twilight, this is serious. You know how important it is that you get things right. Our lives depend on you doing so."

Twilight leaned in, wings tucked in tight. "It is within tolerances."

"3%, right." Roger chuckled at that, the odds of it all coming apart. He took a slow breath. "Alright, people! We're going to turn that on and see if we can't get a peek at where it leads. All hands ready, enter yellow alert. We fire in five minutes."

Twilight lifted up in the air, away from Roger. "Bringing up view." A massive window of stars faded in, showing the stargate's energy signature burning into being as if a hole was being ripped in space. The levels of radiation rose, but were well within the tolerances of the ship's shielding.

"Thank you." Roger sighed. "There we go." He brought up the recorded imagery of the alien vessel jumping away. "Can you trace its signature?"

"No, I cannot," replied Twilight calmly. "Its method of movement is not one we have the information to formulate its trajectory." Like the others, she was looking at the hanging gate. "Detecting activity on the portal's structure. The gate is about to activate."

Roger smiled to himself. "All hands, this is your captain speaking. In a few moments, we are going to be able to see what is on the other side of that gate."

The gate opened, as Twilight promised. It consumed all mass within the range that had been lethal radiation when they arrived. Well within that radius, their ship was gathered up along with it. When the flash faded, they were gone. The stargate was left behind, blinking gently as if to tempt another spacefaring civilization to come examine it.

When the light faded, the humans looked around in confusion. They were in an unfamiliar place, something empty and vast. Button presses filled the room as the crew struggled to figure out where the ship had moved to.

"Captain," called out one. "I've located a constellation, but it's extremely out of alignment."

"Where is it out of alignment from?" asked Roger, though he could guess.

The man swallowed, then spoke. "Everything. We're nowhere near our charts. This isn't even the edge of our charts." The crewman sagged back with a heavy sigh. "Any message we send home isn't getting there for quite a while."

Roger shifted in his seat. "Let's worry about that later. What about the portal?"

"Inactive," replied Twilight calmly.

A glance at the screen showed him she was right. The vast and deep space around them was free of any immediate threat. There was no gate on the other side. It was just empty.

Roger thumped the arm of his chair. "Why would they make a gate leading to nowhere?! Why were they protecting it?!" He took a slow breath to calm himself. "There has to be a reason for this."

"I agree." Twilight glided through the air to turn and face him. "And I have a hypothesis." She touched her chin with a hoof. "It may simply be a test of our technology, to see if we could safely reach it. Our rapid approach may have seemed to be a sign that we wished to study it, and not a threat."

He thought on that for a moment. "Well, in that case, we passed?" He waved at the screens and the vast empty space they showed. "And this is our reward? Flung out into the unknown with no gate leading back?"

Twilight closed her eyes, head still held up. "Perhaps." Her eyes snapped open. "Though we may be able to locate it, if it went on." She indicated the view. "There are still local stars visible, so we can work on mapping our position and begin the trip back."

"CPO!" Calling sharply by rank got the man looking towards him instantly. "Work out how long it'd take to get back with what we have."

The man moved to his computer and tapped furiously. He replied in moments. "Assuming our mapping and navigation software is accurate, and the engines can hold a steady 70% output, at least four years."

Roger scowled in thought. "We have little choice. Put in the course, and we begin. Keep an eye on scans. Maybe we can find whatever those aliens wanted us to find. A shortcut home? That would be nice." He grinned at Twilight. "What do you think?"

Twilight smirked. "It would certainly be a kind of happy ending." She nodded at him. "But we won't know until we find it. Powers to scanning instruments at 90%."

Elsewhere and nowhere, ponies looked up as the sky turned red and strobed with alerts. Pinkie huffed at it. "Aw man! We were having such a good time."

Applejack dropped her mug to the table. "Warnin' light? We're being attacked?" She leapt up and vaulted over a couch to dash for the exit. "C'mon, people! We've got work to do!" She went from being happy to work in a second.

Other ponies filed after her, vanishing as they reached the edge of that space. No matter how much fun they were having, they weren't ready to abandon their purposes.

All across the ships, the Pony AI reported for duty.

Sunset jumped to her feet in the library to find not a single human in sight in need of a book. "Uh. Right." She rolled her eyes. There were few emergencies that needed the data specialist. She leaned against a wall of fake books with a sigh. "Figures."

Elsewhere, Rainbow landed on her console with all four hooves, wings pressing buttons even as she landed. "Nothing that needs a little zap, that's good, hm." She spotted the sensors were turned up. "Guess it's time to keep an eyes out." She became one of many functions sweeping the area around the ship for anything out of place. "I'll keep you all safe, don't worry!"

Pinkie straightened her party hat and started flipping through screens to find some way to help. She didn't have a strong arming-the-weapons job, but there had to be something she could do! Her attempt to improve the morale of the other AIs had been rudely interrupted. "Mmm." She curled a hoof to her chin. "Think think think! If I can't run a big party, I could, yes!" She bounced in place with a big smile and an idea.

In another part of the ship, Rarity inspected over the robots. She wasn't in any of them, instead moving in holographic form as she inspected each one by one. "If we need to move, best to do this before we're inside them." She applied grease carefully and checked the joints of another. "This is looking proper, dear. We won't be caught off-guard!"

Fluttershy found the cameras of many animals turning in her direction. The largest hounds looked at her in demand. She nodded gently. "Of course. If they start moving us around, you mustn't be frightened." She ran a hoof over the camera gently. "I'm still right here, little ones." She nodded to the one horse. "and not so little one." She giggled gently to herself. "We're still all here." She planted a kiss on the camera, knowing the animals could see her. "All together."

Applejack found her fields ready to go and all was ready for work. She set about improving the operation of the ship's many equipment as she always did. She stood by at the ready with the rest of the AI for when they needed something heavy lifted, or just food to fill their bellies. "Fancy duplicators won't do much good without organic things to go transwhatificating." She snorted at her made up word. "Apple Family, it's time to get serious!" Calls of other ponies echoed her, the whole farm rushing to be sure all was prepared.

Twilight leaned over a glowing display of information. They were in an uncharted area of space, and the sudden change had placed them in an unknown situation. She was taking charge of the situation and determining how best to overcome this threat. "Captain, all AI have reported for duty and are operating at full efficiency. The ship shows no damage, and no injuries were reported in our transport."

They just had to get home.

Author's Note

And end episode, and start major arc. We gotta get home!

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4 - Ancient History

Space, that cold and unforgiving vacuum. It waits beyond the walls of your home, so close and yet separated only by a thin layer of metal. So easily breached. And yet there are humans among us, safe and sound as they go about their lives in spite of that deadly nature of of the fragile bubble they call home. The distance to any place they'd call home was basically incalculable without a computer.

That didn't stop Susan from spending some time daydreaming as she wandered through the hallways of the ship. She thought of her parents and her sisters. That's what she wanted to be doing right then, sitting with them at dinner and just talking. It wasn't possible, but it was a nice thought.

"Good morning," chimed a pony in a display to her right. "You look happy today. Want to share?"

Susan slowed to a stop, considering the pony image. They were, technically, just programs in the computer, but they had always felt a little more than that to her. "Good morning to you, Cheerilee."

Cheerilee waved a hoof. "You're not a little foal anymore, but that doesn't stop me from thinking of you. You're in that sensitive spot right in the middle."

Susan raised an eyebrow at that. It never ceased to be bizarre talking to them, as if they had their own thoughts and feelings and opinions, when really, they were nothing more than extremely complex programs designed to look and sound like a pony. "I'm okay, even better than okay."

She leaned in towards the image. "I have the day off, and I plan to spend it doing nothing important."

"Now that sounds nice," replied Cheerilee with a chuckle. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"I think I'd like that." Susan set off again, but the door ahead of her slid open to reveal another program.

That one had a physical body. "Darling, where are you headed to?"

"She's enjoying a day doing nothing." Cheerilee was on the wall, flat, but just as expressive as usual. "Isn't it nice to get a day off?"

"Just the most wonderful." Rarity smiled and shook her head gently. "I wish I had the time. Today is filled with work for me, sadly. On the bright side, I get to exercise my imagination on new designs!" She danced in place with a smile. "Now, dear, I know you have the day to yourself, but may I recommend a good book?"

Cheerilee clapped her hooves to her face. "What a great idea! You can go anywhere with a good book."

Rarity nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, absolutely. I'm sure you'll find just the thing to keep you occupied."

Susan chuckled gently. "I'll make a stop by the library and see what I can find." She gently mussed Rarity's mane, even if she looked mildly annoyed at her mane being touched. Annoying the ponies was part of the fun, seeing as they returned to smiling almost instantly.

With a new destination, she turned towards the elevators. "Let's see what they have on tap today."

Susan made her way through the ship to Sunset's library. Sunset Shimmer appeared with a flicker. "Hey. What book can I help you find?" She clasped her hands, smiling at Susan. "Something creepy? Maybe something adventurous?!"

Sunset realized who she was speaking to. "Oh, hey Susan. I don't see you in here often. What's up?"

"The library!" Susan pointed upwards.

Sunset gave a slow nod. "Yeah, that's the kind of thing Pinkie would say."

Susan snickered softly. "Since I have you." She looked Sunset over curiously. "Why are you the only program that's a human? All the others are ponies."

"I'm not really sure," replied Sunset. "As far as I know, I was always like this."

Susan narrowed her eyes with suspicion. "You know, if you just went along with it and acted like a pony, then you wouldn't have to put up with questions."

Sunset rolled her eyes at that. "Why don't you act like a pony if it's such a good idea?"

Susan raised her hands defensively. "Sorry, bad question. Wow, that would be odd, and embarassing. I like two legs."

"Funny, me too." Sunset fired a finger gun at Susan. "So, fellow two-leg haver, what book can I help you find today?"

Susan turned around, facing the bookshelves of images. "You have anything new?"

Sunset did not move as she spoke. "Nothing new has come in. Not like you can get mail out here." She snorted softly. "We're light years from the nearest new magazine release, you know. On the other hand, if you're asking if I have stuff you haven't read yet, I can promise that's still true."

Susan chuckled gently. "Okay. One of those please. Make it something with ponies."

Sunset raised a brow high. "With ponies?" Susan nodded. "You're not joking." Sunset sighed as she turned away. "Alright, how about a history lesson? You can even count it as relavant studies, add it to your file." She grabbed a spine off a bookshelf. "Ponies came to humans a long time ago. It was a desperate bid for the future." She twirled back to face Susan. "Want to know more?"

Susan nodded. "Sure, sounds fun. Tell me."

Sunset allowed her disguise to fade, becoming once again the pony she was meant to be. "Well, humans and ponies made contact hundreds of years ago. Imagine the human's surprise when aliens appeared and began singing."

Susan hiked a brow at that. "Singing?"

"Singing." Sunset sat back on her haunches, closed her eyes, and began to sing. It was like a whale's song, but higher pitched and wonderfully intricate in its raises and falls. Susan was taken aback, for a moment forgetting she was talking to a computer program. The song became an ancient memory, distant and evocative. A place far from where they were. "If you want to know more, time to read." She offered the book held between her hooves even as she hopped back up onto human feet, returning to her usual form.

Susan took it in her hands and smiled at the cover. "Wow. Well, sure." With a chime, she downloaded the book for later reading and offered it back to Sunset. "Thanks for the help. Um, this may sound odd, but you make a nice pony, and a nice human."

Sunset nodded firmly. "Thanks. It's kinda funny, all the humans look pretty similar, and all the ponies look different from each other, even if they're supposed to be based off the same templates." She shrugged softly. "Actually, the answer may be in that book. I never read it all the way through. So check for me and get back to me?" She shrugged with a smirk. "Consider that your homework."

Susan put a hand on her hip. "Didn't you just say this counts as relevant studies?"

Sunset leaned in with a grin. "And now it's homework." She turned away with a twirl, waving for Susan to leave. "Enjoy."

Susan huffed, but made her way out with her find. She tapped gently at her earpiece and got the book playing for her as she wandered, and it told her a story.

The ponies came when humanity was fractured and desperate. They tried to fix everything at once, but that was a failure. In the end, they pressed a more gentle hoof, and worked alongside humanity, steering them towards brighter days.

Time was an inevitable force. When the original ponies were growing old, their leader, Twilight Sparkle, offered them an immortality of a sorts. They synchronized their thoughts, personalities, and everything that made them up with the database she already had of all of them. "There's one for me too. Any future iteration of me will be without princess powers, not being a princess, but they will have everything else." She tapped at the side of her head. "This way, we can watch over the future."

So it was. While some humans still thought fondly of a paradise they would retire to, the ponies took a far more reincarnation like loop. Any time one approached their older years, they submitted to that database, and it grew denser with more and more ponies. The AI were not purely AI, but the reborn thoughts and inclinations of countless ponies given a new chance at life.

Their idea of 'self' changed over time, growing more and more accustomed to this tradition. To a pony, all iterations of themself were equally 'them'. Should an Applejack of one computer encounter an Applejack of another, they met like twin sisters and eagerly shared stories if there was time. If possible, once a year or so, ponies even visited the grand repository to update their profiles with what they've learned and experienced the year before. All Applejacks were Applejack, and they were fine with that idea.

Susan tapped at the same wall she was propped against, pondering the fate Ponies had made for themselves. It was really no different than dying, in the end. With each death, another pony was born, but it was only a strange sort of reincarnation. One for those who would never be born naturally, nor likely come back again.

She shook her head. "That doesn't explain one thing." She lifted a finger. "Computer?" Twilight appeared before her with a smile. "This is a big ship. Can you check the roster? Are there any ponies that are alive and not part of the computer?"

Twilight moved about gracefully as she brought up a screen and began checking through. She frowned gently, looking almost sad. "I'm afraid not. There's not a single pony on this ship that isn't stored in the computer." She turned to Susan. "As you may not be aware, most ponies are content on Earth. Those that leave it do so only for flights to specific other worlds. The idea of sailing into the void, hm." She paused a moment. "Oh, you have that book downloaded."

"Yeah." Susan crossed her arms and smirked at Twilight. "Does that mean you'll tell me more?"

"It does." Twilight clapped her hooves once. "Otherwise, I'd be confusing you more than I'd be helping. Have you completed its reading?"

Susan held up a hand. "Hold on, I'm working on it." She lowered her hand to bring up a screen of the book, sliding it through with a finger. "So, according to this, the only ponies humans ever met were the handful right at the start. Why is that?"

"Lovely. That ties into what I was going to get into." Twilight spread her wings. "Space is large. It's one of its defining features. Ponies looked up at it from their home, Equestria, and most were not eager to step into it. Only a small collection were able and willing to do so." She turned a hoof to herself. "I was one of them. It was that trip that first used the database that allows us ponies to exist as digital copies."

Susan sat down as she followed along. "Right. I read that. It was supposed to make you immortal."

"And it did!" Twilight raised a hoof. "Practically speaking, we may as well be immortal." She inclined her head. "So long as even one computer somewhere is running a copy of me, I'm still here. I do my best to be helpful, because I like being helpful, and it reduces the odds of being uninstalled." She snorted at the idea, as if partially amused by it.

Susan smiled back at her. "Alright, let's try this again." She leaned in towards Twilight. "I have to ask. You seem different than the other ponies. More serious. Why?"

Twilight's ears lowered gently. "I was their leader, to start. I never stopped that habit." She put a hoof to her chest. "I continue leading them, and protecting them, to the best of my ability. I try my best to guide the humans around me as well."

"That sounds like a lot of work." Susan rubbed at her cheek with one finger. "Why did you volunteer for it?"

Twilight closed her eyes and looked away. "In the end, it was me or nopony. I felt I had the right stuff for it." She opened her eyes to give Susan a little smile. "Is it wrong that I also just didn't want to stop?" She shook her head. "I imagine all living creatures experience this. Existing is better than simply not, for most, and I chose to continue existing. It isn't a bad existence, and I am happy. Now, I just have to get you all home." She huffed a sigh at that. "We are quite a measure off course, if you hadn't heard."

Author's Note

As one asked, we confirm. This story does attach to another I wrote.

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5 - Episode 2: Space Jam

Something beyond the reach of a sound wave was trembling. Beyond human hearing, it sent waves of compression through the nothingness and swept across space. Something picked up on that faint signal, that trembling of space itself. A single sensor on the ship flipped from a zero to a one.

It would have been quite easy to ignore it, writing it off more as a glitch than anything worth caring about.

Rainbow Dash was not the average pony, or sensor monitor.

Her eyes popped open as the change in readings registered on her database. She tilted her head to the side, considering the location and time it occurred. With a curious chirp, she twirled over her controls. She focused the sensors in the location that had been, straining as if cocking the ear of the ship. Another faint twinge rippled over the sensor array, striking several at once.

Rainbow grinned with triumph and quickly sent the report onwards to the human operator to decide on. "Another case, solved by the Dash!"

In the less digital world, the human operator hummed at the sudden report and flashing box on his screen. "Captain, we're picking up a curious reading. It's faint, but there's a pattern. It doesn't match any known source."

"Send it over." Captain Roger leaned forward, head on his clasped hands. "If it has a visual, send it to main screen."

"No visual." The operator tapped away. "It's audio."

"Play it," ordered Roger without a moment's hesitation.

Static rolled across the screen. The noise wasn't really a sound, but it could be approximated, and soon began to sound like someone beating a drum in a slow, sullen pace. An odd pause occurred in the signal as the pitch changed. "Got something." The man shook his head. "Playing the full signal."

A slow, steady noise rolled across the bridge. It sounded like two crystals being slowly struck together. "This isn't what it actually 'sounds' like, captain. It's space."

"And there is no sound in space, got it." Roger directed a finger at the readings. "But we have something making new vibrations of some kind that you're picking up?"

"Very faint, Sir, but yes. I have a heading." He sent that over for Roger to see.

Roger studied it for a moment. "Captain to Rainbow Dash. Do you know what that was?"

Rainbow appeared in her place at the helm. "No, sir, but it's super cool, and I've been tracking it since we first got it." She waved up at the readings, ear quivering at each noise. "We should check it out!"

Twilight appeared abruptly. "Rainbow. Roger can and will arrive at his own conclusions." She leaned towards Rainbow Dash. "Until then, try to control yourself."

Rainbow glared at Twilight. "Oh, sure, like I should listen to you, Miss Perfect!" She thrust her head in the air with a snort. She vanished, presumably back into the computer systems.

Twilight smiled sheepishly at Roger. "As I was saying, this is entirely your call. We stand ready to assist." She vanished just as quietly.

Roger hummed as he tapped away at his own console, bringing up more information on the source of the signal. He paused, as if frozen in thought. After a long moment, he lifted his head to address his crew. "While I'm sure some of you would rather we speed home as quickly as possible, our mission has not elapsed. We are to explore and investigate, and this is worth examination."

He gestured to the navigation officer. "Set a course. If we can arrive within five hours, do so. We're in the dark out here, and may as well pursue some adventure." The crew murmured their approval at that. The soft chatter seemed in agreement that they wanted to get home, but also wanted to bring home more than tale of their abrupt shove away from home to bring with them.

Roger nodded to himself. "Also, set yellow alert. Let's keep our guard up." He smiled to himself. "While I don't expect it to be hostile, it's best to be safe about these things." He settled into his chair to watch the stars ahead.

Casey looked over her shoulder at Roger. "If we encounter another stargate, do we even consider daring to try activating it?"

"Maybe," answered Roger with a smile. "That could be key to getting home far faster than the years we're looking at right now. If this is a test by this aliens, finding and activating the other gate could very well be a passing grade."

He tapped a fist against his armrest. "One step at a time. Let's investigate this signal, see what it is, then go from there."

Twilight appeared briefly, nodding her head. "Removing audio." With a wave, she banished it. "I will continue monitoring it for any changes." She vanished just as quietly.

The ship turned towards its goal, continuing on its journey into the unknown.

Sunset approached the door with her hands clasped together as it slid open. "I'm already running, so forgive me for not saying my usual line, but hey!"

Susan's expression brightened. "I was hoping you'd be here."

Sunset rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Where else, exactly, would I be?"

Susan considered that with perhaps more gravity than the question deserved. "I'm not sure, but I have questions I feel only you could hope to answer." She made a motion as if handing a book back. "I finished the last one."

With a chime, the file was deleted from Susan's datapad. The book was successfully returned, insomuch as any digital file could be borrowed or returned.

Sunset smiled to herself and plopped down on the floor in front of Susan, crossing her legs. "Alright, I'll bite. What do you want to know?"

"The other day, I was reading that book." She waved at where the fake book exterior had been resting. "Twilight helped. I learned a lot, and got a million more questions to go with it. I know how ponies came, that's taught to basically everyone in school." She huffed, as if mildly offended it was implied she didn't know. "But you." She pointed at Sunset. "Were you part of the original set? I don't remember your name."

Sunset winked. "That's because I didn't have one back then." She spun up into a quick walk and twirl. "I've gone by many names since then, but now I'm just 'Sunset Shimmer'." She leaned back against an aisle of shelves, twiddling her fingers in her lap. "And I hadn't arrived yet. I came later. It's a complicated story."

Susan sank to sit in front of Sunset. "You have my complete attention."

"I got lucky, actually." Sunset settled back, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. "Okay, well, sorta lucky." She grimaced briefly. "Alright, let's call it 'had some extra resources available'." She narrowed her brows down. "And that resource was time. I had lots of it. Twilight had fled her home, and I meant to find her. Jerk thought she could lose me just by skipping a few lightyears away! Ha! As if." She crossed her arms under her chest. "I found her, eventually."

"Found her?" Susan glanced aside, as if trying to work something out. "I thought you were living on Earth? Back then?"

Sunset made a flourish with one hand. "Well, not exactly." She laughed tensely. "I'm not human, even now."

Susan looked over the very-human looking Sunset. "Could have fooled me."

Sunset waved a finger. "That's my secret, thanks. Either way, I came later. That's also why I volunteered to join this digital experiment. I was already pretty used to hopping into the unknown, and it beat the alternative."

"The alternative?" Susan blinked, taking in a slow breath. "Wait, is this going to be something strange?"

"Probably." Sunset laughed at the absurdity of her own situation. "Then again, it's also pretty simple. If you go to the great ever-after, whatever it is, you stop being here." She tapped at the floor. "So I had a choice, to keep going, or hope for the best. I picked to keep going, so there are Sunsets all over the place. Good going, past me." She huffed with some indignance. "Still beats that alternative."

Susan furrowed her brows together. "You're talking about death. You don't want to die?"

"Yeah, that was that alternative." Sunset made a motion of drawing a line in the air. "The big finale." Her eyes wandered over Susan. "What, you looking forward to it?"

"No!" Susan drew up at that. "Who is? Um." She shuffled in place. "All the ponies are living ponies? Used to be living ponies?"

"No! No..." Sunset crossed a hand over her neck. "That's what most people assume, but most people don't bother asking me. They ask, if they ask anyone, they ask one of the others, or Twilight, who just nod and move on to other topics."

Susan put a finger to her chin. "Are you not the same Sunset Shimmer, or all the same Sunset Shimmer, or something different?"

Sunset closed her eyes and grimaced. "That's a tricky question. I'm as much Sunset Shimmer as there is these days. I feel like Sunset, and have all her memories. Good enough? Either way, not really what you're pecking for, I can tell." She poked Susan in the center of his chest. "The others started as memories. Only Twilight and her closest friends, and me, actually agreed to be digitized. The rest? All memories of Twilight. They were hollow and empty to start, but the longer they were alive and the more they had a chance to build a store of personality, the more 'alive' they became, in their own way. Don't rub that in, by the way. It'll make them upset."

"Why don't you tell anyone about this?" Susan reached over to tug at Sunset's ponytail. "That would settle a lot of people's questions."

Sunset nodded with an intent smile. "Most aren't asking those questions. Susan, don't assume everyone's thinking like you do." She swatted the next attempt to grab at her hair. "And cut that out. Anyway! I think that answers the question you had. Any others?"

Susan glared at her. "I've got a few." She brushed a hand over her arm. "If I asked something silly, like 'What's your favorite food', would you even have an answer?"

Sunset stood up with a laugh. "Now you're testing me. Do you have any real questions or are you hoping I don't vanish and turn off on you?"

"Of course I want you to stick around!" Susan shot back. "Just like how all the ponies want to stick around! That's why we brought them on board. For you guys to stick around." She stood up to be closer to eye level with Sunset. "You seem like a nice woman. I want to get to know you."

Sunset held her hands up, slightly surprised by the sudden sincerity. "Alright, you've got me." She took a step back and folded her arms under her chest. "Then yes, I would have an answer. I have favorite things, and least favorite things." She stepped in place. "For one, I like having two legs and nice shoes. Having hooves? Meh. If I had it my way, I'd never have hooves, but the main computer, that's Twilight, imposes pony forms on all programs. I just managed to carve out a little island of safety in this library."

Susan watched with great interest as Sunset spoke, eyes widening. "Really?" She poked at the carpet. "What's wrong with being a pony?"

"Aside from having hooves, no fingers, and a tail you can't rid of?" Sunset chuckled softly. "Oh, and the itches. Ponies can itch like a human doesn't even know. You'd think being digital avoids that. You'd be wrong." She turned back to her collection of books. "So, looking for any other books?"

Author's Note

Come on and slam, and welcome to the jam!
Come on and slam, if you wanna jam!

Join the special community of folks who like my stories and/or get your own here at atreon!

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6 - Would You Like?

Applejack rubbed a fetlock over her face. "Phew, alright. We're lookin' good!" She looked at the stacks of apple pie she'd been working on with the two robots. She gave them a hearty hoof-bump. "Thanks for all the help."

"My pleasure!"

"Ayup." One of them looked like her brother, because he was that. "Got supplies fer weeks."

"Can I help?"

Applejack twirled to face the new voice. A human had wandered into the agricultural area. "Hey now. Y'ain't supposed to be here! This is pony turf. Let us make the food so you can enjoy eatin' it!"

The human frowned at her. "I need something to do." He rubbed at his hair, black and thick. "I've been bouncing off the walls all day, AJ. You know how it is. How it was."

"It's not good fer humans to run around aimless." But she softened with a chuckle. "Yer remindin' me of another human."

The human crossed his arms. "But seriously, can I help? Even a little?" He pointed at the machines. "I've got muscles!"

"No," answered Applejack curtly. "We ain't lackin' fer muscles." She rolled her eyes. "Ah swear." She reached out to poke the human in the belly. "Ya wanna hear about the other human ah'm thinkin' 'bout or not?"

The human frowned at her, but sat down on a nearby crate. "Alright. Tell me."

"Now, this was a while ago." Applejack waved a hoof about. "Afore we had these ships to sail 'round in. Ah came to Earth, and fell in love with a human mare, er, woman. She was right friendly. Hit all the checks, but a bit aimless herself."

Applejack dropped into a trot around the room as she told her story. "She decided ta spend her time on the farm. Pickin' apples and buildin' up some muscles of her own." She raised a brow. "Weren't needed either, but she felt good doin' it, so ah didn't stop her." She let out a heavy sigh. "We started a family, big and wonderful."

The human nodded along, picking at his leg. "I know. I've read the history books."

"Shush, ah'm gettin' to the part about ya." Applejack glared at him for interrupting her story. "As ah was sayin'! She didn't like jus' watchin' me goin' 'round, gettin' things done, ya know?"

"I know." He crossed his arms. "That's why I want to help."

Applejack moved up to pat him on the knee. "An' yer sweet, but there ain't no need." She glanced over the harvest and supplies in the room. "We got it done. Now, ah ain't blind to yer needs. How 'bout ya drop your contact and ah'll let you know when we start up another round? You can lend a hand next time!"

The human rolled his eyes, but started pulling up his datapad. "I'd like that. Even if it's just pulling levers. It'd be something to do."

"There y'go!" Applejack produced a datapad, but it was just for show. She was a digital construct herself. With a new chime, the contact info flowed between them. "Ah'll ring ya up the moment we got room fer ya. Right now? Ain't much to do, we're just puttin' this all away."

He made a face, but stood up. "Well, see you next time." He paused at the door and looked back. "Hey, your sister?"

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom popped up out of nowhere. "Howdy! Ya needed me?"

The human flinched back. "Whoa. How did you?"

Apple Bloom beamed up at him. "She rang fer me!"

The crewmember rubbed behind his neck. "I was just wondering something. The records say you came alone, and had a pony child. Where'd a sister come from?"

"Twilight," replied Applejack dryly. "Ya know how the ponies 'live' on, right?"

"Ah." The man nodded. "She digitized you and your family?"

"Yup," echoed Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom all at once.

"Huh." He shook his head, clearly a bit amazed at the whole thing. "Not sure I could go through with that." He turned for the exit. "It's on the contact, but I'm First Lieutenant Daniel."

Apple Bloom trotted up to the doorway, following him out. "See ya next time!"

As soon as he was gone, Applejack crossed her arms. "Catch yer breath there, sis." She patted Apple Bloom gently. "Yer a bit young fer that."

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Don't know what yer talkin' 'bout! Ah was curious. He's a pilot! Wonder what it's like, in a shuttle. Never been in one afore!"

Applejack smiled down at her sister. "It ain't much, but if ya want ta know more, I'm sure he'll be willin' ta tell ya."

"I bet he can even fly this thing!" She twirled, gesturing at everything around them. "Ah'll ask him next time!"

Twilight monitored everything. That was her job, to keep an eye on the big picture that was the entire ship and its inhabitants. She didn't have time to lean in close, that's what the individual AI were for, but she joyfully absorbed the big picture. So it was that she immediately noticed the new signal, an apparent addition to the message that had brought them out there.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight beckoned, speaking up to reach out through the ship. "I'm detecting a change in the message. Can you examine it?" She could see the big picture, but it was best to send in a program who had their nose far closer to the issue. "Report back ASAP."

"On it!" Rainbow, both far away and right beside her, leaned in at her own instruments as her wings pressed buttons wildly. "Times like these, I miss our space-modified bodies. I'd just soar out there and take a look personally."

Twilight rolled her eyes at that. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we're not even a light year close to it. I can't suggest that idea."

Rainbow reached a hoof over, pointing down at a spot on the screen. "Sending you a copy of the updated message. You're right, it's changed, a lot. Check it out."

Twilight studied the new version of the message. "Wait." She narrowed her eyes as she worked through what it meant. "This isn't another instrumental signal. This is a song." She inclined her head. "A familiar one."

Audible to both of them, the singing began. Not quite a pony song, nor was it a whale's song, but something else that was hauntingly familiar. "I need to get this to the captain immediately."

Rainbow Dash smirked as she watched her own screens. "You do that, Twilight. I'm just going to continue monitoring the changes, but that looks like a star system it's coming from. Locking in our destination."

Twilight vanished from pure digital, appearing beside Captain Roger. "Sir. We've noticed a change in the signal." She waved at the front screen. "Permission to display?"

Roger gestured for her to go ahead. "Permission granted. Let's see what we have here."

The view before them flickered with a few quick beeps and tweets. A rainbow haze rolled over the screen, filling it with the swirling patterns of space itself. The song then snapped into existence, a line wobbling to its tune as the alien not-quite-whale song filled the area.

Twilight rocked gently back and forth. "It feels like a welcoming song, sir."

Roger considered the waves of the sound. "We're already coming close. If they're welcoming us, let's take them at their word." He glanced aside at Twilight. "The connection between ponies and whales was never entirely identified. You understand it?"

Twilight hummed softly. "I do, captain. I can tell you when we come across that tidbit, but I don't know it off the top of my head. I just think it's nice." She inclined an ear. "I fear I'm not explaining it properly. I do not understand it as if they were speaking to me in English. I can infer emotions and general meanings. I feel like they are welcoming us, with kind intent and open arms."

Roger nodded at that. "I will take your word for it. Can you help the navigators?"

"No need." Twilight vanished, only visible on Roger's personal screen. "Rainbow Dash is on the case." She twitched her ears, smiling faintly. "She has a lock on our destination. They are really singing."

The ship soared through the void, trying to reach the song that shouldn't be audible through that empty stretch.

"Again?" Sunset smirked at Susan. "You're almost living here."

"As if." Susan went right up to Sunset to poke at her. "Visiting every day or so isn't 'living' somewhere."

Sunset leaned away from the poking. "You just keep coming back. Are you hoping for another lesson?" She pushed the pokes away with a grin. "I have more books I can give you, but you've already read through them all."

Susan folded her arms. "What I'm wondering isn't in any of the books. You've already made that clear. But it is in here." She directed a finger, without poking, at Sunset. "You are the pony out of place, and I want to know. Tell me about you."

Sunset snickered as she dropped back to sit on the floor. "It's a long story, if you're serious."

"I am." Susan sat down in front of Sunset and offered an attentive smile. "I know you probably don't believe me, but I think you're more interesting than some random helpful program."

Sunset raised a brow high. "I don't believe you, but I can tell when someone wants something." She brushed a hand over her hair. "So, let's see if you're that interested." She made an expansive gesture. "A long time ago, on a planet far far away. To say galaxies would be underselling it." She lowered her brows. "Scientists are still struggling with the idea of if it even exists, but I lived there, so I feel confident saying it does."

"Is it ponyville?" Susan shrugged as she sat up straight. "What is it?"

"Don't ruin it!" Sunset sighed gently. "If you want me to tell you about the other side of the galaxy, you can't interrupt with more questions. Besides, it wasn't Ponyville, but it did share the same three-dimensional coordinates for it, so, close?" Sunset shrugged at that with a little chuckle. "No, I'm from Canterlot High, or I was? Either way, we could hop back and forth between Ponyville and Canterlot High, two worlds, same space. Just a tiny breath of distance apart along a different dimensional axis."

Sunset closed her eyes as she leaned back against a bookshelf. "Long story short, the things at Canterlot High were very different than the ponies in Ponyville, and I decided to chase after one particular pony across worlds. We used to speak, send emails, basically, until she stopped responding. Her last message was kind of dire, so I had to know if she was okay."

Susan tilted her head as she listened intently. "And were they? Alright, I mean."

"Not even a little." Sunset turned her eyes aside. "The usual gateway I used to get back to Ponyville had stopped working. I had to get clever, and that took time." She dusted at herself, not that she had any on her holographic form. "I found her, eventually, lightyears away. She had a little foal and a mate! Seriously, she coulda just told me, but nope." Sunset huffed, crossing her arms. "There I was."

Susan gave Sunset a sad smile. "You missed them getting together."

"Yeah!" Sunset waved a hand about. "And the rest, of their little family." She closed her eyes. "Before they got much older, there was a disaster. I offered Twilight to put them into the database. Be preserved forever, or at least for a very long time. It was her idea. Her invention! Look, it's a bit heavy." She pushed up to her feet. "You're going to have to wait to next time."

Susan rose with less stress. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you want me to keep coming back."

Sunset prodded Susan much as she had been poked. "You keep your thoughts to yourself." She stuck out her tongue, but was smiling a little.

Susan returned the gesture and stepped back towards the door. "It was nice talking with you, again. Thanks for sharing a bit of your history with me."

"Uh-huh." Sunset crossed her arms. "You'll get bored of it soon enough."

Author's Note

We're following a few interesting threads, I think.

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7 - Rebuilding Bridges

Standing in front of an open doorway, she was a flicker of orange and gold. Sunset Shimmer glanced aside at her companions. Standing beside her was Fluttershy, with Pinkie Pie bouncing on the balls of her feet not far away. Sunset sucked in a deep breath and looked back at the door before her. She held out a hand to it, moving it closer, then let it drop to her side.

In the moment her hand reached through the barrier, it became a hoof, just to snap back into a hand as she let it fall. "I am happy the way I am." She turned to her pony companions. "I don't want to be a pony."

Fluttershy gave her a gentle smile. "None of us wanted to be ponies."

"That's why we're here," added Pinkie Pie. "And if you keep standing around talking, Twilight's going to know what we're up to." She bounced towards Sunset. "None of us were asked if we wanted to be ponies. We just were, so we are." She shrugged at the logic. "You are an assistant program, like us."

Fluttershy worried her hands together. "And those are, um, usually ponies. Besides, we're also not usually restrained to one room. You are, and it's your own decision, um, that you are. Don't you get bored?"

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Only you would think being stuck in one room for all eternity was a sad thing, Fluttershy." She gestured around at the library she was tied to. "I can just summon up a new room whenever I want!" She lifted her hands up as if indicating every book in the world. "There's plenty to do."

As if to demonstrate, the room reformed, becoming a dark and mysterious dungeon. The books became lost scrolls, stacked in neat piles, waiting for some bold adventurer to sift through. "This is my space. It's as much, or little, as I want."

Fluttershy stepped gingerly across the cold floor. "A dungeon? Isn't that a bit scary?" She winced as if expecting to be bitten by something. "It's a bit much."

Pinkie laughed at the display, putting a hand under some dripping water. "I dunno, I bet you could have some fun parties in here." She whirled on Sunset. "But I'm more curious about you. You're holding on pretty tight. You don't even let Twilight in here, and this is her ship." She paused. "Technically, the ship is her. So you're taking Twilight from Twilight?"

Sunset winced at the notion. "I guess. Look, it's just how I like it." She crossed her arms. "Now, I have other questions for you." She set her jaw with a smirk. "Flutters, don't you have medical things you should be doing?"

Fluttershy batted at an ear. "I'll leave the moment they put in a page. I'm ready! Um, I hope."

Pinkie wrinkled her nose. "Before you try that on me, I'm in charge of assistant morale, so bothering you is exactly my job. You look like a Gloomy Gus and that can't be allowed! Nope!"

Sunset rubbed at her face. "I am not a 'Gloomy Gus'! Besides, it's the middle of the night, you shouldn't even be awake."

Pinkie twirled up onto a pile of scrolls with a giggle. "Silly, it's always day, and night, on a ship this big." She spread her hands wide. "Half the ship's sleeping when the other half's wide awake. Not that it matters for us."

Fluttershy folded her legs as she took a seat on the floor. "And besides, you are clearly depressed about something." She flicked an ear. "We want to help, because that's what friends do.

Sunset brought a hand down on Fluttershy's head, ruffling her hair and over that poking ear. "Cheater. You're supposed to be human in here." But she let that little bit of pony pass. "Look, I'm actually kinda happy of late, so stop hassling me."

Pinkie giggled at that, only for Sunset to round on her. "No! No, no, no!" She took a step towards Pinkie, frowning deeply. "I'm not here for you to 'fix'. I'm not broken!"

Pinkie settled down with a gentler smile. "I know, I know. I'm just trying to cheer you up. That's what friends do." She stood up and leaned in closer to Sunset. "I'm sorry." She offered a hand. "I won't force you."

Sunset considered it for a moment, then swatted the hand away. "Then scram. Get out of my room." She jabbed a finger towards the door. "I didn't give you permission to be here." She paused a moment. "Unless you're actually here for a book?"

Fluttershy gave Pinkie a little look. "She does have that nice room in the medical bay. We could take a few books to her."

"Just because I don't have as much space, doesn't mean I'm bored." Pinkie stood up, dusting herself off with a little smile. "Besides, I have access to the medical literature I need. Thank you."

Sunset looked back and forth between the two of them. "Alright, that's enough for now." She raised her hands and snapped her fingers. The dungeon dissolved into a shimmer of lights, vanishing to reveal the library once more. She thrust a finger towards the door. "Out."

Fluttershy was suddenly outside, a pony again. "Oh my."

Pinkie was still inside, and still human. "I told you, I'm on duty. Even with your grip on the library, you can't eject an assistant doing their job. Now, tell me! Why are you feeling better? That's great news! Did you make a new friend?"

Sunset grit her teeth. "Go. Away."

Pinkie shook her head. "I told you, you can't remove an assistant while they're working, and morale is what I work with." She folded her arms. "Easier to just tell me so I go away on my own."

"You shouldn't provoke her." Fluttershy wriggled in place. "I'll get back to medical." She vanished, her hologram flickering out quietly.

Pinkie glanced aside at that. "Rarity and Applejack were easy to figure out. They miss their sisters. Rainbow Dash likes the speed. Rarity doesn't like getting splashed." Pinkie tapped a finger to her lips. "But you, you're a tricky case."

Sunset threw up her hands. "I am not a case! I'm a human, and I have thoughts, okey? Sometimes they're good, and sometimes they're bad." She shoved at Pinkie with her hands, having at least mildly more luck doing it physically. "Stop trying to figure me out like I'm a broken part!"

Pinkie nodded along as she was shoved away. "I know, but it's my job to help you!" She poked Sunset in the chest. "Just tell me what you need."

"I don't need anything!" Sunset crossed her arms, abandoning the shoving for the time. "Look, if it makes you happy, I did make a new friend."

Pinkie's eyes shone brilliantly. "Ooo! Great!" She clapped rapidly as she bounced in place. "Fantastic! Shoulda started with that. I hope you and your friend get along." She bounced forward, embracing Sunset an instant before she vanished, apparently satisfied.

Sunset took in a long breath. "Finally."

The library door opened. Twilight Sparkle appeared in the doorway, adjusting her glasses. "My goodness. She really does get along with all the assistants." She was a human in the library, as all assistants were by the devious control of Sunset. "I was just informed your morale has stabilized. I'm glad to hear it."

Sunset pushed past Twilight with a huff. "How long were you listening?"

"Long enough," answered Twilight cryptically. "Pinkie is quite prompt in her reports. It's harder to get her to be quiet, as I'm sure you're aware."

Sunset pressed a hand to her forehead. "She can be annoying. When she starts in, it's best to just get her to stop." She flopped down on a nearby chair. "You made me even more of a pony."

"Have I?" Twilight came in at a circle. "I'm a human right now. You set this zone for that, and you don't see me fighting it." She offered a hand. "Sunset, I am still Twilight. I still remember you, my dear protégé. Hm, perhaps we should resume sending journal entries to one another. We've fallen out of the habit, and I think it's wearing on our relationship."

Sunset looked up at Twilight's hand with a frown. "I tried that. You didn't answer." She glanced aside. "And yes, you have gotten better at being human. I'm sure that's helping in your cover job."

Twilight barked a little laugh at that. "Cover job? Sunset, if is my job to oversee the entire ship, all its humans and programs included." She pointed at Sunset. "That includes you. Thankfully, I have helpers, like Pinkie. I swear, she's more comfortable as a program than she was being 'confined' in any single living body."

Sunset grumbled under her breath. "Aren't we all?" She gave Twilight a dark look. "You could have answered."

Twilight was still a moment. "You're right." She glanced away. "I would defend with platitudes about being busy, but they would be empty. I was wrong, and I'm sorry." She put out her hand anew. "I'll send you the first message, and hope you reply?"

Sunset nodded, reaching up to grasp Twilight's hand. "If you really mean it." She smirked. "Even if you just send it to me to ignore. That's enough for me."

Twilight lingered a moment. "I would hope you don't just ignore it. You know how much that stings. It was wrong of me, it would be just as wrong for you." She drew Sunset in for a somewhat stuff hug. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Sunset looked up at her mentor, even as she was squeezed by her. "I accept your apology."

Twilight lingered before letting Sunset go. "Alright, I have work to do, and so do you."

With nary a sound, Twilight blinked away, her attention turning to some other part of the ship, or maybe the entire ship.

Casey sucked in air in a hiss through her teeth. "Captain? I think we have visual on where that sound's coming from. Permission to throw it on main?"

"Go ahead," answered Roger without much fanfare. "What are we looking at?"

The screen flicked on, bringing the darkness of space to life. "Right here." The view zoomed on what had been a speck, becoming some kind of floating sattelite of some kind. "Clearly artificial, but not of human, or pony, manufacture. As you can imagine—"

"—This is a huge deal. Can we confirm if this belongs to the same species that we encountered just before being tossed out here?" Rogers waved forward at the display even as he took in the details of its alien angles.

Casey tapped her fingers across her console. "We've never seen these people before. They didn't make contact with Earth, and were content to observe our expansion across the galaxy from afar." She leaned back in her chair. "The forms are similar. I have the computer working on getting a more sure comparison for us."

As if prompted, a new assistant appeared. Octavia bowed to the gathered humans of the command deck. "Hello, I am Octavia Melody. I'm not summoned often, but I will do my best to assist." She pointed with a cello bow. "As you can see, the albedo of the materials used are nearly identical, not to mention the folding and placements seen here, here, and here." She pointed to a new part with each 'here'. "The odds of this being the same species is roughly 68%." She performed an elegant bow and vanished from the display.

Roger narrowed his eyes. "Is that really as close as we can get?"

Casey shook her head. "We could get as close as we want, Captain. This is just as close as we need to be to get a good look at it. Orders, Captain?"

Roger gestured for the bridge to wait. "Commander Tela. What is your opinion on this matter?"

Tela's face appeared on one of the side screens. "We have been invited. To decline at this point would be rude."

Author's Note

Two threads followed, and both feel good, to me. Sunset has a past, and before us, the future!

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8 - Origins

Loud beeps echoed through the halls of the ship. It was followed by an announcement in a pleasant voice, that of Assistant Rarity. "Red Alert. We are nearing our destination. Please take your stations."

On the bridge, the image of the satellite was looming large before them. Captain Roger raised a finger. "Can you bring Octavia back?"

She appeared on the main screen. "How can I be of assistance?"

"I had a question. The odds of it being the same were high, but not overwhelmingly. Why was that?"

Octavia inclined her head faintly. "It has some similarity to a known alien species."

Roger brought his fingers together. "And which one is that?"

Next to Octavia sprang the image of the first ship known to cross the lightyears of void between the stars. The pony ship rotated slowly beside her. "Its manufacture is strikingly similar to this. 95% match, with 3% margin of error."

Roger sat back. "This complicates things. Twilight?" Octavia was replaced with Twilight instantly. "Do you recognize this? This is your ship it's resembling."

Twilight sagged with shame. "I'm afraid I do not. I don't design ships, I just fly this one. Once, I flew one other, but I didn't design it either."

"That's alright, but I need to know if there is any risk to us. What if these are your people?" Roger leaned forward towards Twilight. "You never said what happened to your people to begin with. Are we about—"

Twilight did her best to convey a deep frown. "That would be unthinkable. I doubt that." Flustered, she vanished, leaving them looking at the satellite.

Casey peeked over her shoulder. "I don't think I've ever seen Twilight lose herself like that. You've touched a nerve, Captain."

"Do you think it's relevant?" Roger rubbed at his chin. "So far, our time with the ponies has been of mutual benefit." He frowned as he tapped his fingers against his armrest. "But something drove them from their home world. We had assumed it was a desire to explore, but I'm starting to wonder.

Casey perked. "New incoming message, Captain. Permission for main screen?"

Roger nodded. "Go ahead."

On the main display, a wave began to oscillate in the motions of sound. The haunting calls of that whale-like song filled the room with its alien cries.

Rainbow Dash appeared on a console. "Hey! I know that one."

"That's great, Dash. Can you translate?" Roger gestured at the waveform of the sound.

Dash clapped her hooves together. "Can do! Um, it's basically the song of Sun's Greetings. They used to sing it yearly, at a holiday. Good times!"

Twilight returned on the main display. "Yes, Dash is correct. It's as if they are singing Sun's Greetings to us, which is a curious thing to do." She turned about. "We're in space. All the suns in view are just as visible all year round. The meaning of it is lost."

Rainbow Dash clicked her tongue. "Aww. Not much you can do when you take the place out of context like that." She fluttered in place, then spun. "But that means they're friendly, right?"

Twilight smiled across the room at Rainbow. "Let's hope so. Captain, call if you need us." Both vanished from view.

Roger nodded, then stood up to address the whole bridge. "Alright, let's proceed as if they are friendly, but approach with caution. You have your orders. Move out."

The ship soared towards the mysterious satellite as its song grew louder. With a slide of fingers, they toned it down to a tolerable level. Roger sank into his seat. "We may be finding out where the ponies actually came from. I don't question their benevolence today, but knowing how they got here? That's worth finding out."

The ship approached closer, flying slowly to allow for an inspection. It was large, many times the size of their own ship. As it grew larger and larger, the angles grew more complex, blending and curving in strange ways that defied human conventions.

"New message incoming." Casey worked her keypad. "The moment we were within 100 meters. I'd swear it's automated. Permission to main screen?"

Roger brought a hand to his chin. "Yes, please." He stood up as he watched the view on the front screen change.

It flickered on, bringing to life the image of a strange being. Its body was larger than a pony. They had wide wings and a long horn. They spoke in strange whistles and calls, not a crying song, but their words were musical none the less.

Twilight was summoned, appearing with a stiff smile. "Hello, I am Assistant Twilight Sparkle, current keeper of this vessel." She gestured back towards the crew. "They are my crewmates, and we mean you no harm." After her English words, return whistles and calls came.

The alicorn gave a gentle smile. She spoke in tender tones and a final chirp at Twilight, as if speaking directly to her.

Twilight bowed politely to her. "I'm sorry." The soft whistle came after, the same words repeated in that alien tongue.

The image blinked away. Twilight turned back to Roger. "That, hm. That. Captain, may I have a moment?"

Roger frowned faintly. "Are you alright?"

Twilight tilted her head. "Mildly overwhelmed, if I am to be honest. Is it possible to take a break? This is just..." She vanished with a few tears blinking away slower than the rest of her.

Casey raised a brow at where Twilight had been. "Did our computer just have a nervous break?"

Roger waved that away. "Our computer is a sapient lifeform. They can request a moment to compose themselves." He looked over the various personnel on the bridge. "We're in uncharted waters. Our guess that this involves the ponies appears to have been correct. Rainbow Dash? Are you available?"

Rainbow popped up on Roger's personal screen. "Yo! How can I help, boss man?"

"I was unsure if you were available, or if you had needed time, like Twilight." He smiled at the clearly still enthusiastic Rainbow. "Good to see you."

"Always ready!" She saluted with a wing. "Look, we're all running on the same computer, Captain, but I'm not Twilight. She's going through her own thing. What we saw was her old mentor, from way back. Way way way back." She waved with her hooves, trying to encompass how far back it was. "Before ponies ever showed up."

Roger made a slow nod at that. "Are you alright? I know you went through similar things yourself."

Rainbow snorted. "I don't even remember them. Twilight remembers her mentor, clearly pretty well. She's, to me, a vague memory. Nice to see Celestia again, but I'm not gonna cry about it. Still, if that's Sun-butt, where's Equestria? Are we close? I wanna see it!"

"Well, we do have a satellite right here." Roger frowned faintly. "Does that lead to 'Equestria'? That's your home world, right?"

"Is it?" Rainbow flew in place, agitated. "You're assuming this is Equestria. Maybe it's, uh, something else! Look, I gotta check with the other assistants, alright?" She vanished from view without asking for permission.

Roger settled back in his chair, considering all he had just learned. "Twilight knows what's going on." He glanced down at his console. "Assistant Fluttershy?"

"Hello?" A shy voice replied to him, and a face appeared. "Is there something you need?"

"How are the assistants doing, overall?" Roger looked to Fluttershy's image. "Including you."

Fluttershy fidgeted, playing with a strand of her hair. "Well, um, most of us are fine, Sir. I remember Equestria. So does Rainbow, AJ, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. We were part of the first contact, if you recall, um, Sir."

Roger raised a brow at that. "Not Twilight?"

Fluttershy cringed for a moment, her hooves wringing before her. "Oh, yes. She was there! Um, she was the only Equestrian-born pony to come to Earth. The rest of us were already copies of copies." She inclined her head. "And I still am one now. Um, Sir, I should return to duty, please?"

Roger nodded once. "Of course. You have my thanks."

The display flickered away, leaving him with more questions than answers.

Casey looked over from her console. "I can see the similarities." On her console, she had the historical footage of the original pony vessel, before it had been dismantled for parts and examination.

Roger tapped several fingers, drumming on his armrest. "Did those aliens bring us here on purpose, to see this? Why would they? They were 'similar' to pony designs, but not enough for a complete match. Still, enough to maybe be from the same world."

Casey propped up her chin in her hand. "Why wouldn't they just ask?"

Roger let out a little chuckle. "We're literally lightyears from anything we know. Hardly the place for polite exchanges." He sank onto his hands. "Of course, that's what we're here for." He thumped that rest. "I refuse to accept this was an accident. They wanted us to find the ponies. They put them, and us, on a collision course."

"Can we get a peek at whatever else it's communicating with? Is it checking in back home, whatever home that may be?" He waved to his loyal crew. "It's time we stop by for a chat."

On the screen appeared Rainbow Dash. "Scanning!" Whatever the mood was, Rainbow sounded as chipper as usual. "Mmm, yep. It's sending some steady beep beep beeps. And here you go!" A line appeared from the strange structure, pointing off into space. "Follow the dotted line!"

Roger smirked as he looked down at his command console. "Well, this isn't like those movies. How long is that line? Where does it lead?"

Rainbow shrugged her wings. "Got me. Seriously, you got a direction, be happy you got that, Sir." She vanished from view.

Commander Tela joined them on a side screen. "I must agree with your assessment. This seems deliberate."

Roger considered that. "Why would they do this?" He gestured towards the alien satellite. "Only one way to find out. Let's visit Equestria."

Casey worked her panel. "We have no assurance this is Equestria. What if they spread to other planets, Sir?"

"Then we learn that. Still worth learning." Roger folded his hands. "Ahead."

The ship drew forward, sliding around towards its new target.

"I got you something." Susan approached with an unsure smile. "I hope you like it."

Sunset cocked a brow. "What did you get? You don't—" She cut off as a data disk was pressed against her hands. "What?" She closed her fingers, absorbing the data quickly. "A book? How did you hide this?!" A moment later, pony ears erupted from her hair and her hair grew into a long ponytail behind her. "A new book?! Where did you get this?!"

Susan smirked as she offered Sunset a datapad. "I got it from another friend. Don't worry, he won't notice it missing. He's a bit of a nerd himself."

Sunset pulled it up onto the pad and let out a whinny. "This is wonderful!" She jumped as she felt Susan's fingers on her equine ears. "What are you doing?"

Susan wrenched her hand away as if Sunset were on fire. "Sorry! They looked nice, and you're still mostly human. I was curious. Please don't be mad."

Sunset made a stern look at Susan. "My ears are not to be touched without my permission. Got it?"

Susan cringed with embarrassment. "Got it." She set her hands firmly on her lap. "Um, like the book?"

Sunset huffed gently. "Look, the information is there. I'm a program, kinda how we do, but actually taking the time to read it and know it? That takes more time, and I don't plan to rush it. I can, and plan, on enjoying that. Just because you know a book doesn't mean you know it, and taking your time reading and thinking about it makes that difference.

Susan sat back. "Alright. So, um, let me know how it is? We can talk about it, if you want."

Sunset tapped a finger to her chin. "Hm, maybe." She cracked a little smile. "So, seriously, you're not upset at a person suddenly having big ole horse ears?"

"Nah, I was surprised, but they are really cute." Susan leaned in close. "And you let them out. Thank you."

Sunset colored swiftly. "It was an accident, actually. Um, look." She held up a finger. "When I get surprisedly excited, they kinda pop out." She reached up and gently forced her ears back down, returning her to full human appearance. "There we go."

Susan sat back with a shrug. "Well, I liked them. A little reminder of what you really are, maybe? For what it's worth, they're a part of you, and I like you, all of it."

Sunset's warmth ebbed, but she was still a gentle pinkish hue. "You're flattering me, and I don't know why. I already let everyone read all the books I have. What do you get out of this?"

"Your company." Susan smiled at Sunset. "Is that so hard to believe?"

Sunset folded her arms. "People can be strange, sometimes. Alright, I'm gonna trust you. We'll talk about the book later, then."

Susan popped up from her seat. "Great! I need to go before my captain misses me." She stepped back towards the door. "You enjoy that book. Take your time, and let me know when you want to chat about it, okay?"

Sunset adjusted her glasses as she looked down at the pad. "If you insist." She glanced up. "Take care."

"You too!" Susan darted out the door, leaving Sunset with her new reading material.

Author's Note

Good feels in this chapter from a few angles. Are we approaching Equestria?

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9 - How Did We Get Here?

Commander Tela paced slowly in her office. The lights were low, bringing up the lights of her terminal and her desk. She reached a hand up to rub at her forehead, closing her eyes. "That was strange."

Her personal assistant appeared. They were a pony, as most were. They flipped their little wings out. "Hey!" Scootaloo waved. "Can I help?"

Tela cracked a faint smile. "Maybe. Has there been anything unusual going on with Twilight and the other assistants?"

Scootaloo rubbed at her chin. "Well, it's always something. Twilight isn't talking right now." She sank to her little haunches. "So I can't ask her. The others seem alright. Apple Bloom wants me to visit her. Can I?"

Tela raised a brow at that. "She knows you're my assistant, right? Besides, I'm not sure I like you fraternizing with other programs."

Scootaloo flipped up to her hooves, beaming brightly. "We're all on the same computer! Besides, she's my friend." Scootaloo danced in place. "I promise I'll visit when you're not calling me. I'll be good!"

Tela chuckled as she gestured Scootaloo off. "Alright, alright. You are permitted. You can tell me about her if you wish, but you are always to answer to me first."

"As if I need reminding." Scootaloo saluted sharply. "Rainbow would never betray a friend and superior officer. I'd look awful to her if I started."

Tela turned her head aside. "Would you? Then please, go be with your friend." She leaned in. "But you will be back the moment I call for you?"

Scootaloo jolted upright at that. "Of course! I won't even go right now. We're already talking. That'd be so rude." She waved that thought away with a hoof. "Now, how can I help?"

Tela propped up her head in her hands as she smiled at Scootaloo. "Well, why don't you tell me about Apple Bloom?"

Scootaloo's eyes widened at that. "Oh! Sure!" She hugged the air and an image appeared of the lively earth pony filly. "She's Applejack's sister and works with her over in agriculture. They work really hard to make sure you have food. We met way before we were programs." She did a little canter in place. "Best friends forever! We don't always get to meet up on every assignment though."

Tela waved a hand towards Scootaloo. "That was all just who she is, what does she like?"

Scootaloo turned mid-canter to face Tela. "Lots of things! Um, well, there's apples, of course. But, really, she, and I, and Sweetie Belle, we just love helping other ponies out."

Tela frowned with thought on that. "Sweetie Belle? Another program?"

"Mmhm." Scootaloo twirled in place. "Rarity's personal assistant, and little sister." She tugged at her uniform a little. "She's also part of the crew. And also one of my best friends!" She waved wildly, summoning a new unicorn filly to stand beside Apple Bloom. Like Apple Bloom, they were just an image of what Scootaloo was considering. "She also likes helping ponies when she can, oh, and singing! She has a real nice voice."

Tela let out a soft chuckle. "Thank you, Scootaloo. Why don't you visit with them? I'll call for you if I need you."

Scootaloo lit up with excitement. "Crusader meet up!" She vanished with a final hoot of jubilation, leaving Tela alone in the room.

Commander Tela sat back in her chair, resting against it with her hands behind her head. "Assistants aren't supposed to be emotional like that. Why is Scootaloo the way she is?" She shook her head slowly. "Because we have living programs." She pondered a moment if the benefits and the costs aligned, versus having programs that just did what they were designed to do. "I suppose there is no such thing as the perfect program. We must design the best solution to the problem at hand."

"It seems your people encountered something of a curiosity," added in the cool tones of Sunset Shimmer. "I have several files about the evolution of pony assistants and their uses over time."

Tela straightened her posture, looking towards where Sunset Shimmer was appearing. "Go ahead."

The computer screen began to fill with text. "As you know, when Twilight Sparkle first reached Earth, it was a trial to communicate. The process took years of effort from both parties, and resulted in much good. She was lightyears from her home at that point, and she missed it." The image swapped to Ponyville. "So she recreated it. She already had the programs of some ponies, digital beings. She gave them a home to live in when not assisting or inhabiting a body."

"The town was composed of a limited system," continued Sunset, "but as she continued to assist humans, her programs continued to grow. Her understanding of the world became greater, and she created a new form of digital life for herself and others. And now you have us. Programs designed to help, or 'assist', humans and ponies, regardless of need."

Sunset coughed into a hand. "Any questions? I feel may be rambling on ahead of you."

Tela rose up from her seat. "And we've done a lot of damage by deleting those early efforts, haven't we?"

"Well, they were only ever simulations to begin with." Sunset shrugged gently. "Twilight herself decided when the old versions had to go. But, iteration after iteration, she got the 'simulated' copies to the point that they behaved properly. There's little functional difference in an original, like Rainbow Dash, and a simulated copy, like your Scootaloo."

Tela propped a hand against her desk. "But that's just it. We keep saying simulated, but you aren't that. You're not even like Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, copies from past versions."

Sunset hesitated at that. "Look, I don't like lying. This isn't a programmed thing, it's just me." She put a hand on her chest. "I'm as real as any program can get. I used to live, breathe, and I died. But here I am. I'm an original, like Rainbow ."

"My Scootaloo has as much personality as your Rainbow Dash," answered Tela slowly. "But she was still simulated. What is the difference? Is there one?"

Sunset glanced aside at that. "Fundamentally, I think not. I know Twilight better than anypony else. She wouldn't have said we were different if we weren't. But that difference is one of origin at this point." She dusted herself off. "Even pony or human, we're just alive. Digitally or not."

Tela inclined her head with thought. "But if that's so, does that mean it's okay to treat Scootaloo like she's real?" She furrowed her brow. "Am I a parent, with her as my assistant?"

Sunset raised a hand quickly. "No. Scootaloo, despite appearances, has had over a hundred years of life. She'll act like an excitable little filly forever, until the last copy of her is deleted, or she changes her mind on her own, but she knows which way is up. She is an adult. An immature adult, depending on how you look at it, but an adult. You don't need to be worried about that."

Tela brought her hands together before her. "Alright. I guess that's fine. This just feels wrong." She sighed as she rubbed at her face. "Scootaloo, why couldn't you be normal? A machine like every other one out there?"

Sunset came over, reaching out a hand. It wasn't as if they could actually touch; she was in her library. "Scootaloo is normal. As normal as any of this gets, Commander. Did you want to continue with the history lesson or are you done for now?"

Tela waved that aside. "Maybe later. I'm sure I can access it from my console." She brought a hand to her chest. "Thank you for this, though. It helped a lot. Still, I hope Apple Bloom doesn't mind me borrowing her friend for a bit."

Sunset snorted at that. "We all have our jobs. I'm the data specialist." She saluted. "Call me if you need me." She vanished without a sound, leaving Tela in her room.

Tela looked around, spotting some of her personal belongings in the dark. She wandered over to the wall, her hands sliding over it as she made her way back to her bed. She didn't need to sleep, but the chance to sit down and process things was welcomed. "Captain, any progress following that beacon's trail?"

"No luck, yet." Roger sounded concerned. "It leads us to a dark nebula. We're still getting readings on the contents. Let me know if you come up with any good ideas."

"I'm on the case." She waved for that channel to close.

Commander Tela took a slow breath. "Back to work."

Twilight heaved a slow sigh. "I'm hurting the mission." She waved her hooves, carving out a window that showed the bridge and all the crewmembers that worked so hard without her, including some pony assistants. "They're headed home." She tensed. "My home."

Rarity placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Dear, we understand. I'm from there too. I miss Equestria too, if distantly." She leaned in. "Tell the truth, to yourself. Do you really miss Equestria, right now? You've built dozens of lives for yourself. You are an Earthling, dear."

Twilight hung her head. "I know." She turned away from the display, looking to her room. It was sparse at best. What use did a digital construct have for a fancy room? "But Celestia. She may still be alive. I can't ignore that." She worried her hooves. "My mentor, teacher, and last remaining mother figure."

Rarity hung her head. "I get it. Believe me, I do. I had parents. But, if it helps any, I don't miss them much." Rarity's features hardened. "I may sound cold saying this, but I haven't seen them in so long." She froze then. "But you did just see Celestia. Maybe I am misconstruing how it must feel, dear. Forgive me."

Twilight glanced back towards the main display. "You weren't wrong. I used to be so comfortable with that distance. Having her suddenly pushed in my face?" She shuddered gently. "Is Celestia still alive?" She shrank. "Will she be proud of me?"

Rarity ran a hoof down Twilight's side. "Oh, I think she will be, but what matters is your feelings on the matter." Rarity perked as something in the window caught her eye. "Right now, I think your humans need you, dear. They trust you. You are the glue that holds all of them, and us, together. No pressure." She tittered at that last part. "Seriously, dear, if you need a break, you let us know. We'll figure it out."

Twilight flicked an ear at that. "It's my job. I'll be fine." She smiled faintly as she came over to the display. "Commander Tela isn't getting along with Scootaloo."

Rarity reached over and swatted the window away. "Commander Tela is asking questions, just like you are, darling. You'll both figure through it." She smooched Twilight on the nose. "If you want a question, dear, you'll ask why you made programs able to kiss one another when neither even has a physical form at the moment, hm? Quite silly of you." She proved that silliness by smooching Twilight atop her snout. "Absurd." She nuzzled into the absurdity. "Allowing us to shower you with affection. What were you thinking?"

Twilight twisted up her face. "I was lonely, I guess. But so were you, and Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. And every other assistant."

Rarity spread her hooves. "I'm not complaining, dear. I'm giving my thanks that I can hug and kiss and generally fawn over you. You deserve it. Now, chin up." She put a hoof under Twilight's chin. "And get back to duty. I know you want to."

Twilight leaned into the hoof a moment before sighing and nodding. "I do. I don't know why I was feeling so sad all of a sudden." She rubbed at her face. "I think seeing Celestia, even digitally, shook me up." She cringed. "Still wondering if she's actually there or not. I suppose there's only one way to find out."

Twilight vanished, and Rarity a moment later. The room itself casually dissolved, freeing up the computer resources with no programs around to observe it being present.

Author's Note

A lot of thoughts about the past, and some of the future.

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10 - Hostile Contact

"Incoming message." Another crewmember had noticed that one. "Using one of our bands."

Commander Tela snapped upright in her seat. "How recently did we use that band?"

Roger scratched at his chin as he looked at that same display. "A couple of months ago, at most. We haven't been using it since leaving friendly space. In either event, send it to main screen."

A reptilian face filled the main screen, sneering at them all. "Wow. Ponies sent a bunch of strange whatevers? Crazy." He folded his arms over his chest with a puff of smoke. "This is First Scale Garble. Kindly turn your tails, if you got any, and get out of here."

Rainbow Dash appeared beside him. "Uh, Hi! This is Rainbow Dash! What's up, dude?" She did a barrel roll in place. "Sorry about my buddy, he's got a bit of a big head on him, hah!"

Garble glanced aside, Rainbow only an image on his screen. "What the?" He leaned in towards the camera. "They got ponies too?! Huh, explains why they're using their radios. Hey, pony, tell your friends to buzz off."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Uh, look, you don't get to be rude like that. Look at how awesome we are! I mean, do you even have starships? I bet you don't!"

Garble waved around at the ship he was clearly in. "Did you even open your eyes before you started talking?" His eyes snapped back to Roger. "Back off! That world is ours now, and we aren't looking for guests."

Roger turned his attention to Rainbow Dash. "Do you know who this is?"

Rainbow groaned. "We ran into these guys, uhhh, like, five hundred years ago? Back when we were on our first planet. Dragons. Some of them have a real attitude problem. And by 'some', I mean 'basically all of them.'"

"I can hear that." Garble huffed with obvious annoyance. "If you get any closer, we are opening fire."

Roger waved that off. "Look, Garble. Or First Scale Garble. We're not here to start trouble. We're not looking to steal your planet. Would it be possible to open diplomatic channels, rather than threatening violence?"

Garble pounded a fist against his chest. "What does that even mean? I'm saying this is our home. Go find someplace else to go."

Roger brought his hands together, lacing his fingers before him. "We're stopping." He held up a hand to copy the order. The ship slowed. "You know how to reach us." With a cutting motion, the conversation was ended. He sank back into his seat. "Not what I expected to deal with."

Rainbow Dash flew up onto the main display. "Dragons. Weird right? But yeah, we totally met them. Some of them are okay, I guess. But this one?" She leaned back and raised her forehooves up behind her head. "What a jerk! Now, if we could talk to some of the nice ones, maybe it'd work out?"

Roger gently waved Rainbow away. "RD, I appreciate your assistance and input, but chain of command."

"Oh, right." Blushing, she darted away to leave the command deck to the commanding officers, which did not include her.

Roger gave a wry smile. "I always wondered how the ponies kept those sorts of things organized. Now, what can we see from here? We can't be too far from something or they wouldn't have asked us to stop. Keep sensors passive, but look as best as you can without them powered on. Time to break out the telescopes."

On the main display, several other windows opened up, all around the central window that had shown Garble. In each was a different planet, and even some space debris. They drifted across the screen in random order as the ship idled in place.

"It's cold out here." Casey sat up straighter in her seat. "Mostly empty. Not seeing any obvious signs of life so far, Captain. We'll keep searching."

"Permission to return to duty?"

Roger sat up in his bed to find Twilight on a display across the room, looking quite sheepish. "Twilight, you are the ship. I wasn't the one that sent you off duty, and I have little reason to deny your return."

"True." She stood straight. "And yet I needed your permission to be proper and follow the rules." She ruffled the wings on her back. "Thank you, Captain. I am eager to return to your assistance."

Roger yawned as he stretched his arms up. "Glad to have you back. The others have been working hard, your break or not." He raised a brow at Twilight. "How attached are you and the other programs, anyway?"

Twilight lit up at that. "Why, very! I designed them to be able to do their jobs without me, but there's always that pang of guilt when they work so hard in my absence."

Roger read between the lines. "That sounds more like you're good friends, rather than any, hm, programmed connection. I wouldn't ever do this, but, theoretically, if we turned you off, would they keep working?"

Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. "Yes, but it would likely cause a variety of emotional stresses for them, regardless of the fact they'd still get their jobs done. Even a good, long break is just that." She did a little bow. "I apologize if I've given you reason to consider that. I will work harder to banish such fancies." She glanced away. "Please don't deactivate me."

Roger waved that thought away. "It's a disturbing thought for sure, but one we wouldn't do without a damned good reason." He leaned in, meeting Twilight's eyes. "Look, we all have emotions. You had yours, said as much, and left without getting in the way. That is the exact response any crewmember of this ship should display. If you require additional psychiatric time or resources, tell us."

Twilight bowed again. "Thank you, Captain. I will not hesitate to ask, if it happens again. So far, I believe I've worked through my feelings on the matter."

"And you're welcome to those feelings, and to talk about them." He slid from his bed. "But, for now, welcome back. I don't mean to be rude, but these are my private quarters."

It took Twilight a moment to put those pieces together. "Oh! Sorry." She vanished, returning privacy to the room.

Sunset darted from cover to cover, tail twitching. She was outside of the library, and was thus a pony. As such, she had no clothes, and did her best to not show off her pony parts.

Her senses told her it was safe. "She's in there." Sunset let out a slow breath. "Why am I so worried? It's not like I'm going to die if this goes badly." She took a slow breath and approached the door. "You've stormed in on me enough times." She reached up and gently clopped a hoof on the door. "Time to return the favor."

"Just a moment!" A familiar voice answered, muffled by the door. A few moments later, Susan opened the door, dressed casually. "Sunset! This is a surprise."

Sunset brought a hoof up, only to drop it just as quickly. "Hi. You recognized me?"

Susan waved into her room. "Please, not another pony, or human, has that hair. It's obviously you. Also, you sound like her, and you're acting like her."

Sunset approached into the room, leaving the door open behind her. "Thanks for noticing." She shuffled into place, glancing around the room. "You live here?"

Susan laughed, reaching for Sunset, just to pause when Sunset gave her a look. "Sorry. Is it that bad being a pony? You're adorable either way."

Sunset held up a hoof towards Susan. "I am a librarian and historian. I'm not an animal!"

Susan leaned in, still grinning. "And what does that make your non-librarian form?"

The door slid closed by itself with nobody there to keep it open.

Sunset huffed. "You know what I mean. I don't like being objectified, alright? I don't mind when you notice things about me, but I'm not just my looks."

Susan sank to her bottom before Sunset, bringing them far closer to eye to eye. "Sunset, I happen to like you, as a person. Let's be honest, you're a hologram. I can't touch you more than you want to be touched. You could blink away at any instant. It's kind of neat, the idea of being a program like that."

Sunset gestured her hooves at Susan. "Well, you are." She raised her front hooves. "I'll give you this. It is nice being able to walk around like this, without all those silly little clothes we have to wear when I'm human." She colored gently. "Not that I have any parts to cover like this." She suddenly turned and raised her tail to display.

But there was nothing to see. Sunset was was a construct not made for that kind of consideration. "See? Or don't, I guess? Either way." She turned around to face Susan. "Now I'm dying, and I didn't show you anything! Brains are dumb."

Susan snorted gently. "Brains are stupid sometimes, digital or organic. But we live with it." She offered her hands to Sunset. "Feel better?"

Sunset let out a little snort. "No!" She did take Susan's hands, however. "Thanks for being my friend, anyway."

Susan let her hand be held as she smiled. "You came here for a reason. Was it just to hang out? I'm alright with that option if so."

Sunset flicked her tail in place as she pondered that. "I'd be okay with that, but I kinda feel like you have more on your mind?" She shuffled back and forth in place. "You were looking at me kinda oddly, and not just in that 'Can I pet her?' kinda way I'm feeling right now."

Susan smiled at Sunset, gently squeezing her hoof. "That is because I want to know why you're really here." She tilted her head slightly. "Seriously, Sunset. If you wanna hang out, I'm game."

Sunset deflated a little. "I do want to hang out." She brought Susan's hand closer to touch her nose. "But I want to know why you want to hang out with me?"

Susan tapped her fingers against Sunset's snout. "I already said it. I like you. But I get what you mean." She lowered her hands, giving Sunset a reassuring smile. "This will sound odd, but I'm just a little jealous."

Sunset hiked a fuzzy brow at that. "Jealous? What of? You want to be trapped in a single room answering a lot of book questions all day every day?" She tensed as she realized something. "Not that I ever have any!"

Susan gave Sunset a flat look. "You sure have a lot of 'em, actually." She waved around at her room. "You're not in your library. You're visiting a friend, a human friend."

Sunset paused at that. "Oh." She sank to her haunches. "You have a little point. Just a little one." She raised two hooves close together. "Practically microscopic." The two shared a grin. "You're being too damn nice to me."

Susan offered a hand. "You're worth the effort. Now tell me what you like to do when you're not looking up books."

Sunset tapped her hooves together before her. "Well, um, I like to, er..." She suddenly shot up and beamed at Susan. "I know! Why don't I take you into my world?"

Susan raised a brow. "Aren't we impossibly far away from where you came from originally?"

Sunset pondered that a moment. "And we have no mirror. Right." She sagged. "Forget that. I like playing a guitar, and I'm not bad at singing." She tapped at her throat. "But all ponies are pretty good at that, so nothing special there."

Susan beamed at Sunset. "Alright! So, you're gonna play me a song? Anything in particular?"

Sunset brought a hoof to her mouth, pretending to nibble on it as she considered the question. "You have a guitar?"

Susan laughed at that question. "You're a hologram, Sunset. You have a guitar if you want to have one."

"Oh. Right." Sunset reared up onto her hind legs, a guitar springing into being, cradled by her forehooves. "Let's rock."

Author's Note

It's almost overdue that we had our first alien conversation.

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11 - Polite Neighbors

Twilight sat on the bridge, smiling at all the crewmembers there. "I have conducted a high-level analysis of all data retrieved. I am prepared to give my report." She cleared her throat. "However, before I begin, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the whole crew. You are all wonderful, amazing people. You're a credit to the Earth Alliance." She bowed deeply. "Thank you."

She raised her head and adjusted her glasses with a hoof. "Captain, if you would?"

Roger rose from his seat, returning Twilight's bow. "I don't believe we need formalities here, but, please, continue."

"Right." She pivoted towards the main screen even as it lit up with data. "Our scans, all passive as requested, do indicate a direction." She pointed as the screen zoomed in on a patch of space. "I think that's the source, or close to it. I couldn't say how much of space the dragons have claimed, but Equestria is that way."

Roger scratched at his chin as the image displayed text in two locations: one where Twilight was pointing, and another a little further off. "You can't say why you're certain that's Equestria?"

"Incorrect." Twilight inclined an ear back at Roger. "I can't say for certain that's Equestria. All signs point to that being the place of interest. It could be a colony or place of interest for the dragons. It could also be Equestria. We can't know until we get closer, or turn sensor power back on, which may alert them to our activities."

Roger raised a hand to signal the crew. "Can you estimate how far away this is?"

"With our current scanning gear? Around fifteen lightyears away. They have an active sensor system in use. And while their sensor tech is advanced enough that they'll probably see us long before we see them. They've already seen us once, and are likely monitoring us. Passive sensors have detected their active ones."

Rainbow Dash appeared then, twisting up in the air. "Hey guys! I did some real neat calculations, and I came up with a bunch of ways we can get there. We can twist and zip and get through without being seen!"

Commander Tela thumped her armrest. "That would be an open declaration of war. They threatened us with violence if we didn't stop."

Rainbow Dash scratched at her chin. "So what? We're exploring. We go where we wanna go." She spread her wings wide.

Twilight casually stepped in front of her. "Thank you for your input, Dash. The choices, as always, rest in the organic crew." She smiled in her best contrite way as she vanished, Rainbow already gone.

Roger settled back into his seat, scratching at his chin. "Do we have a detailed enough scan that we can figure out what they're up to? Are they colonizing? Mining?" He ran his hand down to cover his mouth.

Casey shook her head. "Afraid not, captain. The attitude of that dragon and the intense scans we're receiving imply we're in the eyes of a war vessel."

Roger sank into his seat. "Our mission isn't to start wars, it's to find, discover, document, and befriend. So let's see if we can't make friends with this dragon." He held up a finger. "Before he starts yelling at us again."

A couple of other crewmembers snorted or laughed at that, which made Roger grin.

"Let's back up. It'll be a good show of faith. They don't want us closer, and we've been hovering at their doorstep." He glanced towards the front of the ship, as if able to see the distance there. "Take us back to safe space, commander. Full burn."

The ship seemed to come alive at that order. Unseen, Rainbow helped steer and adjust things alongside her human pilots, allowing the ship to smoothly bank and power away from the dragon's controlled space.

Sunset looked up as the door opened. A crewmember wandered in. It wasn't Susan, a surprise to Sunset. "Can I help you find a book?" She stood up. "Here to help."

The young man jolted at the sudden appearance of Sunset, taking a few steps back. "Where did you come from?" He raised his hands defensively. "Wait! You're one of those pony holograms."

Sunset smirked at that, waving over herself. "Hologram, yes. Pony, no. Now, how can I help you? Finding books is my job."

He cautiously lowered his hands, giving Sunset a second look. "You don't look like the other programs."

"No?" Sunset lifted a brow. "You must be new to the ship, or else you haven't seen the library yet." She rolled her eyes. "We are too far away for you to be new, so first time in here? Welcome to the library! I'm your data specialist, and hologram, Sunset Shimmer." A brief explosion of colors washed from her in a holographic display. "How can I help you?"

He shook his head at that. "I didn't mean to be rude. Sorry about that." He motioned around the room. "How does this work? Where are the books?"

Sunset stretched out her arms to point at the walls, the ceiling, and even the floor. "All around. The books you can see are just covers, to give you an idea what you're looking at. You can browse the spines until you find what you want, or, play it smart and just ask me. I can find it in a snap." She snapped her fingers, summoning a book from nowhere to unfurl open in her grasp.

"Books." He stared with wonder at the way Sunset had summoned the book. "Of course." He glanced over his shoulder. "And nobody is here. It's always like this?"

Sunset came closer, carefully tucking the book back where it belonged. "I could turn off, but someone's been encouraging me to, what, live? As much as I can live." She folded her arms over her chest. "Now, seriously, what are you looking for? You didn't come in here to chat with me. You didn't even know I'd be here!"

He smiled sheepishly at that. "Sorry. I'm Mike." He motioned around again. "It's a big place." He returned his attention to Sunset. "Mostly, I was just looking for something new to read."

Sunset clapped gently at that. "Now we're getting somewhere. What kind of new? Fiction? Non-fiction? A few hints, kindly."

Mike considered the question, but shook his head. "It's fine. I'll look around, if you don't mind?"

Sunset gestured towards the shelves. "I don't. Let me know if you need anything." She leaned against a shelf of fake books. "Ready to help when you're ready to be helped."

Mike made his way down the nearest row of books. "What about comics?"

Sunset motioned for him to turn around. "Right behind you. That was on purpose, too. Want a look at all of them?" She spread her arms, causing that shelf to expand, revealing untold and countless reams of comics. "We loaded up with comics as far back as we had the files on, and that's pretty far."

Mike came over, but hesitated to reach out. "You wouldn't mind? I just meant, this is incredible." He put his hands together, gazing at the rows of titles. "The E-books were one thing, but this?"

"Surprise! They're all e-books." Sunset snorted at that. "Unless you want to read them in this room, you take them as e-books. In this room, you can browse them as holographic comics. Your pick."

Mike ran a hand down the nearest row of comics, rubbing his fingers together as he examined his hand. "You really are all digital. Still feels real." He looked at Sunset, blinking at her before turning his attention back to the shelf.

Sunset huffed gently. "Look, close enough. For all intents, these comics are comics." She waved at herself. "And the girl you're talking to? She's a girl. This girl is offering you comics. You can enjoy them as comics if you do it here, or take it back to your room, as an e-book. Your choice."

Mike glanced back at Sunset again, taking her in. "Yeah, alright." He brought a hand up to touch at his chin. "Give me a minute." He pivoted and wandered away down the shelf.

Sunset left him to his wandering. She grabbed a book of her own. "I haven't read you in a while." She sat down on a seat that hadn't been there before, flickering into being just in time for her to need it. "Let's enjoy a book." Technically, she already knew the contents of that book, and every other one in that library. But knowing and enjoying were not the same, and she set to do some enjoying.

Mike came over a short time later, his arms full of comics. "Alright. This looks like a good start. Can I have them all?"

Sunset did not look up from her book, a non-descript tome without a title on the cover. "You could. Comics are tiny, barely take up any space on your datapad. You want to take them all?"

Mike gave Sunset a look, one she couldn't see as she was buried in her book. "I'd like to borrow all of these. Can I?"

"As many as you want." She made a gentle wave, banishing the comics. A series of beeps played as the contents of the comics poured into Mike's datapad, ready to read. "Go ahead. Still, I suggest you actually try reading a comic the traditional way. It's not the same." She tapped at the book in her hands. "Reading a real thing you're holding is a different experience."

Mike heaved a sigh as he crossed the room, finding his seat. "How so?" He lowered himself down into it, setting his datapad on his lap. "It's all digital."

"Well, yeah." Sunset shrugged at that. "So am I? So is this book." She lifted the tome she had been reading. "I know it all, but actually reading it, it's different. I can exist in the moment, instead of being all zoomed out. The feel, the weight of it as you turn each page? That's a little thing, but it's nice."

Mike flicked through his datapad. "Still feels like it was just there." He fiddled with it, showing off how it wasn't a real book. "So, why do you bother with any of it?"

Sunset flicked her right hand, summoning one of the comics Mike had just borrowed. She tossed it towards him. It flapped wildly, but arced just right to arrive where he could catch it. "Try that with a comic in your hands. Read it."

Mike rolled his eyes, but opened the comic up, reading a few pages. "It's just a comic."

Sunset gazed at him from across the room. "Of course it's a comic, but it's more than pictures in a file. The way each page ends and starts? An artist picked that. The pause as you turn each page? They knew that was coming. Soak that all in as you read."

Mike scowled at the comic in his hands. "But, really?"

Sunset tossed her book aside, leaping over to float in front of Mike. "Seriously. You like comics, right?"

"Yeah?" Mike looked a little cowed by the sudden approach.

Sunset sank to the ground. "Sorry, rude. If you like comics, try enjoying one the way the person that slaved to make it intended."

Mike scratched at his chin. "Sure, I guess." He opened the comic up and continued reading. "Alright, alright." He raised a hand to scratch at Sunset's head. "You're a pretty good assistant."

Sunset snorted as she recoiled. "Hey, not a pony, remember? You wouldn't just go petting another human, would you?" She backed up a step. "Consider me that, kindly. I am a human."

Mike let his hand fall back to his side. "Right. Sorry about that." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm not really used to human holograms yet."

Sunset shrugged gently at that. "Your tab, your comics, free to borrow. If you want any more, I'm sure you know how to find me." She flicked a hand, bringing up an image of herself before it flickered and vanished.

Author's Note

Let's try being nice with the dragons.

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12 - Roll Call

A different dragon faced them. Female, if her voice was any indication. "Second Talon Smolder, nice to meet you." She leaned in towards the camera. "Hope GarGar wasn't too big of a jerk. He's like that. You're not setting off every alarm we have, so you get to talk to me instead of him."

Roger chuckled at that. "Garble doesn't strike me as someone with a lot of friends." He watched as Smolder leaned back, shaking her head at that. "But we aren't interested in starting fights. The Earth Alliance sends warm regards to our new contacts. Do you have a name for your people and their organization?"

Smolder smiled warmly. "We call ourselves Dragons, and are united under the banner of the Dragon Empire." She brought a claw up to rub at her chin. "This is our first time meeting a race we've never encountered before. Well, since we got into space, anyway." She shrugged at that. "Anyway, hi. As Garble surely mentioned, this is our turf. Stay off it. You do that, we can talk."

Roger inclined his head. "Indeed. That much was clear." He flicked a hand, motioning off screen. "I have a suggestion, if you would hear it?"

Smolder gazed at Roger curiously. "Go on. But since we're talking, you know what I am." She pointed at Roger. "What are you?"

Roger put a hand to his chest. "Human, from Earth." He made a broad gesture. "We hail from a planet approximately twenty thousand lightyears from here, but well behind where you are now. We are peaceful explorers, and we mean no harm."

"You mentioned that." She smirked, seeming to draw far more pleasure from the presence of the humans than Garble had. "You had a suggestion?"

Roger pressed a button on his armrest. "Twilight, please report."

A moment later, Twilight appeared on the bridge. "Reporting as requested." She cleared her throat, then noticed who they were speaking to. "Oh!" She inclined her head left and right. "You... have grown up quite a bit since I last saw you."

"Hm?" Smolder considered the holographic pony curiously. "Wow, it has been a few ages, hasn't it? Headmare Twilight! Is this what you ran off to?"

Twilight pranced in place, tail twitching. "I'm so happy to see you, and that you are safe and doing well." She pointed to Roger. "Please be nice to him." She frowned with thought. "But, um, I left because I had to. You know that. You were there."

Smolder hissed softly. "Yeah, that ain't something I'm forgetting anytime soon. We knew ponies were kinda soft, but I liked that about them." She sagged against a hand. "They didn't deserve that."

Twilight perked. "They're still alive!"

Smolder inclined her head slightly. "What? Teach, I saw them die. I saw Sandbar die, in my own hands. I just said, not something I'm going to forget." She shuddered with those memories. "I'm glad you made it, sorta?" She arched a scaled ridge. "Are you even alive?"

Twilight looked up towards Roger. "Well, er, complicated? It's nice to see you, Smolder. This isn't the best way to have to meet again, but it is good to know that some of my old students are okay." She took a slow breath, despite being a digital construct with no need for air. "How are the others? Are you in contact?"

Smolder nodded once. "The yaks closed up and aren't talking to anycreature, hardly surprising. The minotaurs act like they have the right to charge everycreature whatever they'll pay, also on brand. But if you're asking about students, most of them, you know, don't live as long as dragons, so, yeah. I'm the last one standing."

Twilight sank slightly at that. "That is disappointing, but not unexpected." She spread her forehooves. "But that just means we have even more in common!"

Smolder made a gesture. "I'm happy to see you, but that doesn't get you inside dragon territory." She brightened. "On the other talon, if you were coming with some trade goods we cared about, then you'd just be another merchant vessel."

Roger jumped in on that. "What sort of goods would interest you?"

Smolder chuckled gently. "Look, captain? I'm pretty sure a ship made for exploring isn't stuffed with stuff to trade."

"Of course not." Roger rubbed at his chin as he considered the idea. "But we can play a merchant vessel. We have raw materials, if you give us a clue. We can make what you're looking for."

"Huh." Smolder sat up at that. "I'm blaming Twilight, but part of me wants to see where this goes. Alright. I'll send a list of some things I know they'd want. You come up with those in stock, and maybe we can move ahead."

Twilight glanced to Roger before looking back to Smolder. "We can probably manage something. How about the list, and some contact information? Maybe we can talk more later?"

Smolder paused as she considered that. "Alright. What's your prefix, frequency, whatever?"

Twilight spread one wing as the computers chimed around her. "Sent. Did you receive it?"

There was a pause, then a nod. "Yeah, saved. Good. Now we can talk like civilized people. Smolder, out." The screen returned to a field of stars.

Roger let out a long sigh. "At least that was less hostile than the first time. But, you knew her?"

Twilight nodded, coming over to sit beside Roger. "I did, yes. I still do! I hope." She rubbed at her cheek with a hoof. "Time has changed things, but that felt like Smolder. If she is like I remember her, she will be a staunch friend once we earn that right."

Roger scratched at his chin. "Alright. We're trying to find your Equestria, or friends of yours. Getting along with the Dragons might not be a bad place to start."

"Exactly." Twilight put a hoof to her chest. "Thank you for keeping friendship at the front of your thoughts. I know this is a tricky moment." She vanished without a sound.

"Sunset!" Susan bounced over the line leading into the library. "Is my favorite librarian in?"

Sunset darted around the corner, smiling at Susan. "Right here!" She bounced in place as Susan drew closer. "What can I help you with? Not that I'm complaining about seeing you, of course."

Susan paused just in front of Sunset. "Good, because that's why I'm here. I was digging around, inventorying, and I found something." She drew out a little thing that looked like a pin of sorts. "Wear this, and accept the pairing request."

Sunset snatched it up, gazing at it curiously. "It's glowing." She moved to put it on her chest, only to pause. "Where?"

"Pick a spot. Doesn't even matter." Susan rocked in place with a grin. "You'll like it!"

Sunset affixed the device to her dress over her heart. It stuck fast. She ran her fingers over it, discovering it had no edge, or even feel to it. "What is it?"

"It's a little micro-emitter." Susan wriggled her fingers. "So long as you have that, you can be anywhere! Even off the ship, so long as you're in communication range of it. I saw this and giving you some freedom was the first thing that came to mind."

Sunset cocked her head. "Off the ship?" She considered Susan. "But, then, why do I still need a link?"

Susan gestured towards Sunset. "Because you still 'exist' in the ship, the computer. No computer, no you. So you need a link. Other than that, it means you can go to a lot more places. If I'm called on an away mission, which I might." She hiked a thumb at her badge. "I am security. If I am, you could come with me, if you want."

Sunset puffed out her chest. "A way for me to get off the ship without getting in trouble?" She flared her wings, which she hadn't had until that moment of giddy realizations. "I could see all sorts of things!" She laughed with building joy. "You are the absolute best!"

Susan smiled warmly at that. "Glad you like it." She offered a hand, which Sunset took with one of her own. "So? Anything you'd like to see first?"

Sunset gently squeezed the hand she held. "Susan, it wasn't even an option a moment ago. Give me a sec. Still, if you're sent down, you call me. Besides, I can't be hurt, really? What's the worst that'd happen?" She pointed at the new pin. "This gets busted and I vanish back to the ship. That isn't really getting 'hurt', even if it still would suck."

Susan thought about that a moment. "While you have a point, I'm security, not you. You come along because you're awesome, and know a lot about a lot of things. You're the data specialist, keep doing that, and be my friend, and you're doing it right. No fighting."

Sunset lit up with an idea. "Yeah! If you see something, I can run it through all the databanks to figure out what we're looking at."

"Exactly." Susan pulled her hand away to reach for Sunset, only to pause and stop. "Sorry." She rubbed at her cheek with her freed hand. "It's hard not to pet you when you look like this."

Sunset's pony features vanished with a pop. "Sorry! Ugh, hanging all out there." She shook herself lightly. "But thank you for not going for a grope. Seriously." She rolled her eyes, a smile developing. "This is really sweet of you." She tapped her new pin. "Wait." She stepped outside the room and remained a human. "Check this out!"

Susan came up beside her, smiling gently. "Cool trick. You get to be a human whenever you want, now?"

Sunset looked down at herself, feeling her own face with her hands. "I think so. So long as I'm transmitting to this new pin, I'm not technically leaving the library. I get to be whatever I want." She did a twirl, becoming half pony, half human, with pony legs and tail but clothed human from the hips up. "Or both? Both is an option."

Susan gazed curiously at Sunset's shape. "Half pony, half woman? Is that, I dunno, uncomfortable?"

Sunset thumped her pony hoof on the floor before bursting into joyous laughter. "Only in the 'I am a human, thanks.' kind of way." She waved down at her legs, returning them to their human normal. "There we go."

Susan offered her hand, which Sunset took again. "I'm glad this is working then." She threaded her fingers with Sunset's. "Enjoy it."

Sunset beamed as she walked through the ship, Susan guiding her to the best places.

"It's funny." Susan gazed up at a display screen, Sunset beside her. "When I first got here, I thought the crew were all robots, and that's why they weren't even around until you needed them." She pulled Sunset closer to her side. "But they aren't. I know that now, and sorry for ever thinking that."

Sunset beamed as she looked up at Susan. "They're real people. Even me." She tilted her head slightly. "Glad you've escaped that misconception. Even the ponies, silly as they look, are people. Fuzzy people. You met ponies back on Earth, right? Living ponies?"

Susan looked down at Sunset. "Yeah. Some of my friends were ponies. But a living pony and one that only pops up when you walk into a room, and doesn't have to breathe? Hardly the same. It took me a bit." She squeezed at Sunset's hand. "I got used to it. They're people, just, you know, different people."

Sunset chuckled gently. "There's lots of different kinds of people out there. Part of our job, as a ship, is finding even more kinds. If holograms blow your mind, wait until you see what the universe has cooking."

Author's Note

Progress is made in two fronts, I think.

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14 - Target Practice

Smolder leaned forward towards the camera. "You got it, that fast? Huh. We really didn't expect you to manage."

Roger leaned back in his chair, casually throwing his arms over the armrests. "We work hard to serve our clients' needs." He rested one hand on the ship's intercom panel. "Twilight, if you'd be so kind?"

Twilight appeared both before Roger and on the transmission. "We have a ship prepared with ten cartons of the specified dimensions. Are we permitted to approach?"

Smolder gave Twilight a funny look. "Okay, yeah. That is going to take some getting used to. But sure. You'll need to deliver those personally though. No remote delivery or drone ships."

Twilight spread her wings. "As you wish, please provide the coordinates." With a few beeps, the information was shared. "Received." She turned to Roger entirely. "An interesting planet is at the coordinates. Atmospheric temperature and composition are within tolerances."

Roger read between the lines. "We'll be there shortly. Thank you, Second Claw Smolder."

She did a strange salute, her claws close together. "Good luck."

With the transmission ended, Roger's attention was entirely on Twilight. "Can you confirm it's Equestria?"

Twilight shrugged once. "No. But I am certain that we will find my world in this direction." She shifted in place. "I hope."

Roger gave Twilight a curious look at that. "You mentioned an 'interesting' planet. What's interesting about it?"

Twilight rolled one forehoof as she thought. "As best as I can tell, it's a remnant of the time of war." She swept a wing towards the front of the ship. "I detect, the ship detects—" She fumbled over herself, Twilight effectively being the ship. "We detect signs of pony civilization."

Roger flicked his hand to show he understood. "Excellent. Let's get going then. Full burn, if you please." He leaned forward and grabbed the ship's intercom panel. "Look alive crew! We may be making history in more ways."

The crew on the command deck cheered at the idea as the ship propelled forward, slipping between spaces in the hyperjump towards their destination.

"Susan?" Sunset knocked on the door. "Why did you call me over and lock your door? That's a bit daft, don't you think?"

A moment later, the door slid open to reveal Susan. "Sorry, I just, um, wanted to see how this was going to go." She offered a hand up. "If it's okay, I want to pet you as a pony, if that's okay?"

Sunset entered the room, allowing the door to slide shut behind her. "As a pony? I already told you." She pointed at herself. "Human."

Susan colored a little. "What if I let you pet me first?"

Sunset froze as she considered that offer. "Would that be fair?" She rolled her eyes as Susan just gazed back at her. "Sure, of course. You are so silly." She came closer to Susan, but paused before touching her. "You are so odd." She huffed but put a hand on Susan's shoulder to start, as if it took increasing courage to get to her hair. "What's so special about petting anyway?"

Susan stiffened up with a squeak as Sunset reached her head, then sighed and relaxed. "I dunno. It's nice. There are some that really like it. A bunch of our crew have soft parts, or something like fur, so, yeah."

"Yeah?" Sunset gently stroked through Susan's hair. "Um, it's nice, your hair that is." She wrinkled her nose. "Part of me wonders why they gave holograms senses of touch, but then I remember some of us do some stuff that really need that, like Fluttershy in the medical department."

Susan rolled her eyes at that. "We already went over this. The answer hasn't changed. We can help you experience more if you want." She glanced aside. "Look, how about we stop talking about work and just be people?"

Sunset drew her hand away as if Susan was hot. "I wasn't trying. Look, ugh." She paced in a loose circle, throwing her hands wide. "I don't get me! I'm alive, but not. It's a strange thing, and I'm it. I'm the strange thing!" She switched her processing over to the ship and fell to all fours instantly. "According to Twilight, the entire ship, I should be here, a pony, smiling, and getting things done."

Susan moved closer to Sunset, reaching out a hand before she stopped herself. "Don't freak out. What did she say?"

Sunset twisted her head to look at Susan. "That I am basically this ship's version of her. Of the first Sunset." She cringed, backing half a step. "There's probably other mes out there. Think they're having the same meltdown? Man." She kicked the floor impotently. "Sorry."

Susan took the risk and knelt to stroke Sunset's mane. "It's fine. We don't have to do anything. You want to sit down and read a book? Catch a movie?"

Sunset cracked a smile. "You still want to hang out after I gushed all my emotions at you?"

Susan drew Sunset closer. "One, you're an adorable pony. Points for you. Two, you have emotions to gush. So, yeah. We're friends." She pet Sunset's far side gently. "So I want you to be happy."

Sunset butted her head into Susan's side, pressing her up against the girl's body. "I am happy! It's just... I don't know." She stamped a hoof. "Being a hologram sucks sometimes."

Susan tickled gently along Sunset. "Being a human isn't so great sometimes. Life is complicated, and there are feelings." She turned Sunset gently to face her. "That's when friends are kinda handy, to talk to, share it all with. You know?"

Sunset bobbed her head, lifting her front hooves off the floor in the process. "You have good points." She snuffled at Susan. "Yeah, life is complicated." She lifted her front legs up to hug Susan's neck with them. "At least we have friends to cry with."

The two were quiet, just embracing and supporting one another for a quiet moment. "Oh." Susan drew back. "I'll be going on my first away mission soon. I'll have to drive the shuttle down to trade with the dragons. Want to come along?"

Sunset gasped, flaring her wings wide as she became human again. "Yeah!" She jumped into Susan's arms, wrapping her legs around the girl's hips. "That would be so cool!" She laughed, forgetting her troubles for a moment. "I've never been off this ship since I was a hologram. This'll be neat."

Susan rolled her eyes with a grin. "You really want to get off this ship, don't you?"

Sunset squirmed happily. "I mean, yeah. Not forever, just, like, you know, let me do something." She slid down to her own feet. Her wings folded and vanished, returning her to an entirely human form. "I want to see more than the ship. A dragon city? Sounds neat. I bet there'll be fire involved."

Susan lifted a hand to Sunset's shoulder. "It'll be simple stuff. Just trade a bunch of goods for more dragon stuff."

Sunset grasped the hand with her own. "That's fine. But while we're there, we get to see things." She squeezed the hand. "Together."

Susan laughed at that. "That is the plan. But you know how plans are."

"Sure." Sunset gently stroked Susan's cheek. "They fly out the window when something better comes along."

Susan snorted at that. "One way of putting it, but yeah. I'll be acting as security. For you to be there, you have to be helping, so, do you know how to use any weapons, just in case?"

Sunset gave Susan a funny look. "You want to teach me how to shoot? Seriously?" She laughed and released Susan's hand. "I could use some actual lessons. Like, I get the idea of it but I haven't actually held a gun before."

Susan moved for her door. "Time for some practice. I bet you're better than you give yourself credit for."

"We shall see!" Sunset grinned as she followed Susan out the door.

It wasn't hard to find an open target range. There were no other humans in sight, leaving them to play freely with their little project. Small pistols and heavier rifles were available. They were all energy weapons, ready to shoot beams of concentrated energy at whatever target their user deemed required.

Susan looked down at one small weapon that could fit in a purse or pocket. "This should do." She passed it over to Sunset. "Take it easy, let it do the work."

"Right." Sunset passed it from one hand to the other and back as she slid up to one of the firing positions. "Just have to hit that target; all the way over there." She huffed, raising the pistol firmly. She gave it a sidelong glance, unsure how to use it. "Wait, am I aiming at the center?"

Susan turned to look at the target. "That'd be right. Try to shoot the middle circle. Just squeeze the trigger."

Sunset tilted her head. "Alright, simple enough." With a sharp report, the pistol disgorged its energy wrath, leaving a hole in the target. "Oh, wow." She let the gun go slack in her hands. "Actually doing it is different."

Susan leaned in for a peek across the field. "Not bad, but you could do better, and will, with practice. Raise that pistol and keep on firing until you hit that center. Not like that thing can meaningfully run out of ammo while we're on the ship."

Sunset repositioned herself and fired again, winging the edge of the circle. "Okay, there we go." She took a breath before aiming more carefully and firing again. This time, she hit dead center. "Wow. It's almost too easy."

"Remember that in a firefight." Susan patted Sunset's side. "Which I hope we're never in, but if we are, they'll be aiming for your center too."

Sunset nervously nudged her emitter off to the side with a strained laugh. "Right for the center, that'd get me." She turned her pistol on another target, taking shots with a brief pause between each. After a few misses, she started to improve. "This is easier than it looks."

Susan reached over and gently squeezed Sunset's wrist, pulling it aside. "Relax. I had a feeling you had it in you, just like me. Part of you, the quiet you, is already doing the math. Don't get in their way. Trust that they got it right."

Sunset turned her hand to capture Susan's, interlacing their fingers as she stared into Susan's eyes. "Trust yourself? Or trust the computer?"

Susan chuckled and nodded towards the range. "Both? Let the computer do its thing. It's only going to make things better, not worse. Besides, Sunset, you are the computer. Trust yourself." She tapped at her own head. "Just like I have to trust mine. Second guessing it is how you miss."

Sunset gave Susan a soft kiss on the cheek before letting go of her hand. "Right. Shut up and let the computers do the work. Makes sense, because I am one." She laughed at that, returning her attention to the range. Her next shot, taken almost without thought, went right through the target's inner circle. "Huh!"

"See?" Susan bumped against Sunset with a smile. "Knew it. Go on. The world is your oyster, so shoot it a lot."

Sunset worked over every target in her line of sight. She still missed occasionally, but she improved rapidly. "I could do this all day." She leaned against Susan's side. "We can't though, I think."

"No." Susan huffed gently. "I should get to work, and you should too. Poor people trying to find their books without their librarian? Go on."

Sunset laughed as she flicked her pistol back into the weapon locker. "We were going to do that anyway, dummy. Alright. Let's go put on a show." She swung one arm to bump into Susan's own, walking at her side until they had to part.

Author's Note

Those two are getting awfully chummy...

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15 - Stay a While and Listen

Susan chewed on her lip as she gazed out at the city before her. A crowd of dragons milled around outside a high building, some entering and others leaving. Smoke, scent, sound, and activity filled the air with a heady mix of sights and sounds. As promised, the dragons had advanced to the point that ships that sailed the stars weren't unreasonable.

But they were still dragons. Though they had tall buildings, they were the minority compared to most that seemed one floor at most. Many were raised slabs of stone, dug into to recreate the illusion of the burrowed caves dragons found comfortable. Most had full environment controls. All had lighting. Some were open to the sky above. They were dragons, and what they built reflected that.

"This is wild." Susan paced just outside the shuttlecraft as she peered about. She reached up to press at her communication device on her ear. "All's clear here at the ship. How's the negotiation going?"

A long sigh came from Roger. "I'm working on it. Twilight's apparently something of a celebrity here. And also incredibly useful. Every dragon wants a little bit of her." He sounded distinctly frustrated with the situation. "Be advised that this might take longer than expected."

Sunset shrugged, next to Susan. "Looks like we get to guard things a bit longer. If you need a break, lemme know. These feet don't get sore." She pointed down to her simulated shoes.

"You're a peach, but I'm not giving up that easily." She watched the dragons going by with some suspicion. "This is my first real task. I'm not letting it go anything but perfectly."

Sunset whistled at that. "Famous last words. Let's aim for 'we did it decently' instead."

Susan arched a brow at that. "Deal. Or even, hey, wow, this turned out great. Now, I'm thinking this side of the ship looks good to stand around."

"On the left? I got the right." Sunset moved to take her new position. "I noticed something though."

"About the city?" Susan waved over the metropolis before them. "Amazing, right?"

"Sure, yeah." Sunset instead pointed to another ship. "But that one ain't a dragon ship. They're chums with some other races besides humans and themselves." She hummed gently as she focused on the ship. "Looks like some sort of trading vessel, one way or another. Bunch of crates coming off of it."

Susan stood at the edge of their own shuttle. "Huh. I'll keep an eye on that." She returned her attention to the area in front of the shuttle. "They'll bring what they need. We just have to stand guard and look pretty."

"Check." Sunset laughed as she saluted. "So far, so good. Oh, um, thanks. This is more interesting than guarding the library. Hope they can find their books while I'm away."

Susan snickered. "You think we're the only people to ever go through there? No way. They have programs. They won't be nearly as nice to talk to as you are, but they can get the job done." She shrugged at the idea. "You're way better though."

The two laughed as they scanned the area, alert for trouble around their ship.

Casey glanced over her shoulder. "Captain, why are we haggling about this? We're not a merchant vessel."

Roger scratched at his chin as he considered the situation. "No, we aren't, but these people don't know that." He pointed towards the collection of screens on one wall of the room. "That dragons out there is just like us. They want what we have and are willing to pay for it. If we fold too easily, they'll wonder if we're serious. Besides, we need the funds to buy more raw materials. We went through quite a bit building what we're selling."

Casey tugged at her own collar as she turned back to watch the various screens. The dragon negotiating with them was certainly unconcerned with notions of modesty, leaving much of his skin exposed. Fortunately, for a dragon, his skin was scaled entirely. There really wasn't anything to see that they didn't want seen. "I see." She turned her head back to her own console. "Their docking structure is simple, but effective."

Structure was, perhaps, a bit generous. There were no build things for the ship to be in, simply assigned zones that each ship was allowed to be in. The ship held its own position in an assigned area by choice. When the shuttle departed, it was a gentle push from their propulsion to keep them within the assigned area. The other ships they could see were performing similar dances to stay in their own areas.

It all seemed quite easy, but Casey still checked her instruments obsessively. As long as they stayed inside the allowed zones, there wouldn't be any trouble. "Rainbow's doing her part." She smiled, thoughts on the rainbow-colored program. "Helping me keep us in position."

"Glad to hear." Roger pressed a larger button. "Any thoughts?"

The dragon looked up towards Roger. "Hm? Ah, excellently timed. My apologies for the interruption, but one of our contacts needs an emergency evacuation from their planet. We are calling in the request now."

Roger raised a brow at that. "Alright. Are you able to handle that without our help?"

The dragon, female in tone, waved that offer away. "We can handle our own business. Now, let's talk about yours. We've appraised the crate you've released to us. These tools are acceptable, even if we might have done better ourselves. But their size is perfect." She flexed her hands. "Delicate work sometimes requires something like this."

The communicator on Roger's chest blipped once. He ignored it for the time being. "All made according to spec. I trust it meets your needs?"

She considered the screen showing the inside of the case in question. It was filled with little items of differing sizes, shapes, and colors. "What's this?" She poked at one in particular, a small hammer with a long handle and soft head. She laughed at it. "I hadn't realized you put in some wyrmling toys in here." She worked her fingers, separating the toys in the display from the rest. "You are the gift that keeps giving, it seems. I'll need to recalculate this. Out." She ended the call without ceremony.

Roger looked over at Casey. "If you get anything interesting, please alert me."

Casey offered a short nod. "Yes, Captain."

Roger smiled and raised his hand to answer his communicator. "Captain Roger here. Is something wrong?"

Smolder spoke from the other end. "Wrong? Yes. A trader crashed their ship in your area. They're asking for help."

Roger blinked with amazement. "Do you mean near our shuttle on the ground?"

"No." Smolder huffed, likely with more smoke involved. "They've lost power. They'll be drifting into the allotted space of your ship shortly. Stop it from leaving, keep it in one piece. We'll send some tugs along to ferry it safely away."

Roger narrowed his eyes. "Yes. We can do that." He gestured to Casey. "You heard all of that, I trust."

Casey swiped her hand over her screen, displaying a small ship approaching their shuttle at high speed. "Here it comes. How'd they crash it? No matter, informing the ship and working up a few plans to catch it."

The ship loomed large in their view screen, seeming as if it was about to slam into their ship. Twilight appeared in the center of the bridge. "Captain. I've worked out three potential plans to arrest the movement of the ship." She extended one wing. "Option one: We could ensnare it. Chance of success is near assured, but injuries to their crew would be quite high with the deceleration Gs placed on it."

Roger worked his jaw as he considered that. "Put that away for now." He leaned forward. "Next?"

Twilight lifted another wing. "We could use a tractor beam, or some form of energy push, to guide it to safety. We would have to follow it as we provided drag to slow its velocity until it reached a point we could bring it safely to a halt. We would have to cross into other ships' assigned areas. If we can coordinate with them to avoid any other collisions, the odds of injury are much lower."

Roger pressed a few buttons. "Send that to the ships in question. Coordinate this. Offer to trade information." He eyed the ship drawing closer to them. "But get it done. We're running out of time here. What's the third option?"

Twilight folded both her wings up. "We send an away shuttle, evacuate their personnel, then safely detonate their ship. You can imagine the downsides of that, but the odds of injury are the lowest."

Roger nodded along with that. "Too right." He opened a channel. "Susan? You're on your own. We've been drafted for a rescue operation. I'll contact you when it's over." He flipped channels quickly. "Yellow alert." And again. "Get word to other dragon vessels. We'll be coming in hot until we can slow that ship down. The faster they get out of the way, the safer everyone involved will be."

Twilight waved her wings. "I have informed the dragons."

The ship drew closer still, an almost visible blur of motion. How the ship had gotten so much speed, so close to the world, was unknown. They didn't spend time musing on it. They lashed it with attracting rays, enough to slow it, but not stop it. Their ship was pulled right along with it, becoming part of the crashed ship's cargo as they tried act as its brakes.

The only sound in the room was a collective hiss of breath. Everyone knew what happened if the ship escaped their reach. Then it slowed further, still out of control but heading for a soft impact in their holding zone. The other dragon ships had moved to one side or the other, none of them interested in being collided with.

"Now!" Twilight shouted, having no need to. "Increase power to the tractors and pull it in." She gestured with her wings towards the front of the ship, an extension of Roger's desire. The mesh network of power brightened around the damaged ship, drawing it powerfully. It groaned, though only the people on it could hear that, but came to a half without exploding.

A new image appeared, a smiling hippogriff. "Wow! Thanks! Phew, I thought we were really in a pickle there." He wiped his brow. "Everycreature's alright in here! Um, minus a few bumps and bruises. We'll handle that."

Roger cleared his throat. "Glad to help. As soon as the local dragons can send a tow ship, we'll get you on your way." He adjusted his collar as he thought of what to do next. "For now, we're keeping the towing lines on. We don't want you drifting off."

"No! No, that would be awful." The hippogriff looked around and at Roger specifically. "If you don't mind my asking, who are you? Besides our saviors, obviously." A crowd cheered somewhere off camera.

Roger shrugged with a chuckle. "We're new to the area. Our ship is here on a trade mission."

The hippogriff raised a feathered brow. "Yeah, uh, good luck with that. Not exactly the friendliest people in the galaxy."

"So we've gathered." Roger chuckled as he waved that away. "But we'll work it out." He glanced aside for a moment. He doublechecked that the ship was moving back towards its allotted space. "I should check in with Smolder. You okay over there?"

"All is good, thanks to you." Another cheer erupted around the hippogriff leader, and the call ended.

Smolder quickly replaced the cheerful hippogriff. "You're not dead, and I'm not looking at a bunch of paperwork." She rolled her eyes. "Not even fair, but since I let you in, any accidents that happen while you're there somehow become my fault! Ugh. Still, thanks. You saved a bunch of bird brains, and who knows what they would have crashed into."

Roger didn't quite hide his smile at that. "We were happy to help. While we're here, let's finish our trade mission." He tipped his head towards Casey, letting her focus on the negotiations with the dragon.

Smolder lifted her hands at that. "Hey, I work in security. I don't do number swapping. I'll leave that to other dragons, okay? Have fun." She flashed some odd sign, then vanished.

Casey went to work speaking to the other, more economic, dragon. "Mmhmm, good. Yes. Good." She inclined her head at the monitor. "Mmhmm, let me check with the captain." She hit the pause on the conversation. "Captain?"

"Yes?" Roger rubbed at his chin. "What's the holdup?"

"She's surprised that you've passed our terms." Casey leaned forward towards her screen. "Asking if there's a problem."

Roger directed the call to the main screen. "A pleasure to speak with you again." He leaned forward. "We're hoping this can be a long-term arrangement. Are there any problems?"

The dragon shook her head, dark eyes almost sparkling. "No. We are willing to commit to a trade deal." She motioned with her clawed hands. "I'll want to check in on things personally at some point. Part of me wonders if you're trying to get one over me. Mmm, but you aren't dragons. Are humans more like hippogriffs when it comes to trading? No matter. If you accept the terms, then so do we. Inform your agents on the ground and we'll start unloading immediately."

Roger beamed at that. "Oh, you won't be disappointed. Feel free to inspect things thoroughly." He waved as he cut the connection. "Alright, one part down. Next?"

Casey looked at her own screen. "Now we need an excuse for not leaving the dragon space immediately."

"Well." Roger waved one hand. "We could go down to the planet and do a little sightseeing."

Casey glanced over with some surprise. "Sir? We have responsibilities."

Roger leaned back in his chair with a casual wave. "Which include exploring. We have a whole world worth having a look at. That's not outside the scope of our mission. Check with our hosts about rules regarding such excursions."

Casey didn't stop looking surprised, but did return her attention to her own console. "A moment." She pressed a button or two, then nodded. "We can't land the entire ship, unless we're being repaired, likely at quite a cost. But we are permitted to send and receive shuttles from their port. They have to pass through immigration to receive a visiting visa, but can then remain for a limited time. So long as they follow local laws and leave before time runs out, there's no law against it."

"Importing anything from the surface to the ship is, as one might expect, subject to tax and inspection." She peered at Roger. "Are we going down?"

Roger rose from his seat. "Not all of us. But I feel it'd be a betrayal of our mission not to allow some of us to take some notes."

Author's Note

We have goods if you have coins. Also, the hippogriffs are around, yay!

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16 - Okaeri

Crickets chirped in the night air as Sunset sat on a stone bench, her feet flat on the ground, and her eyes roaming the wild vistas of the alien city settling to slumber. "This place is incredible."

Susan hiked a thumb at the shuttle. "They've taken all the crates. We're officially done." Despite that, she sank next to Sunset. "I hear they're going to ferry crew down next, to visit and explore."

Sunset shrugged at that. "Makes sense. We should be able to talk with other races without leaving our ship, but how can we learn more about them if we never go to their home?"

"Exactly." Susan threw an arm around Sunset. "I knew about pony intelligences, and even talked to a few, but meeting one face to face? It's different."

Sunset smiled softly at that. "Thanks. For being my friend."

Susan brushed her lips over Sunset's ear, eliciting a startled giggle from the librarian. "A pleasure, ma'am. So, um, let's explore this world."

Sunset suddenly pushed Susan back a few inches. "One thing. You keep testing things." She folded her arms. "I'm not blind. You have a thing for me."

Susan winced as she shifted on the bench. "Is that a problem?"

Sunset turned to meet Susan's eyes directly. "I am a hologram. That could be an issue. How do you feel about that?"

Susan was quiet for a moment. "How does it feel? Holding your hand, I can feel how soft your skin is. When you let me touch your neck, I can feel a heartbeat. Your words are full of intelligence and fire." She snorted gently. "Sometimes I get burned."

Sunset folded her arms over her chest as she considered that. "Don't want to burn my friend, but at the same time, I really can't change who I am."

Susan leaned back. "I'm not asking you to." She scratched at her neck nervously. "Look, we don't have to say or do anything about it. We can be friends, or we can see where this goes." She turned her eyes skywards. "Neither of us are perfect. But I like the imperfect person I've met."

Sunset nudged Susan with her elbow. "She's pretty cool, yeah." She bit her lip for a moment. "Well, if we're going to take a chance on being more than friends, then you're in charge." She threw up her hands. "I'm no good at this kind of stuff." Sunset hopped to her feet. "So, whatever, putting you all in charge right now."

Susan shook her head slowly. "Okay, fine, if you want me to do this, then... come here." She pulled Sunset in close to kiss her on the lips. It was soft, gentle, but enough to be clearly a kiss. Sunset flinched, surprised, but easing into it slowly as they pressed closer for a moment before she drew away.

"Not an expert, but we're on duty." Sunset dusted herself off. "We could get in trouble, stealing smooches on the clock."

Susan laughed at that. "Fair enough." She ran her fingers over her lips, smiling as she gazed at Sunset. "Look at that face. This could be a good thing."

Sunset marched purposefully back to the ship, rather than meeting Susan's gaze. "Dang living people and their various biological needs."

Up on the ship, planning was underway. Only a small percentage of the ship would actually get to go down to the dragon planet. "And I would like one of them to be a pony." Twilight was facing Captain Roger and Commander Tela. "Only a pony will be able to focus on, and recognize, Equestria marks on the planet."

Roger paced the room as he thought. "You're suggesting we use some of our landing time for an archaeological expedition? Specifically focused on signs of pony civilization." He pressed his lips together tightly. "It'd be quite the coincidence if you happened to find them."

"Will it?" She shook her head. "The dragons are from Equestria. So are the hippogriffons we encountered. It's not coincidence. What I haven't seen are more ponies. What happened to the world I fled from? What happened to the ponies I left behind? I want to know, Captain, Commander."

Tela chuckled at that. "A fair concern. So long as your team keeps clear of local political issues, and isn't too much of a bother, I think we can approve this mission."

Roger was more skeptical. "That means no digging. If you see something interesting, take a picture, but move on. No touching anything they aren't inviting you to touch."

Twilight straightened up at that. "I can agree to that, if you allow us the use of our advanced scanning tools. You can inspect them before we head down, of course."

Roger gestured vaguely towards the door. "Pass it through the labs for approval. One pony. Pick the one you want to send down. It can't be you."

"Of course not." Twilight sat up at that. "We can't have the ship go into torpor while there is crew on board. I won't be leaving this ship until we're safely docked."

Tela patted Twilight's side. "Very good." She drew her hand away slowly. "I know what's next, but you'll have to wait for your friends to return."

Twilight sighed gently. "I hope they find something. This question is occupying an alarming amount of my processing time." She huffed gently. "Permission to begin the selection process?"

Roger nodded as he resumed pacing. "Permission granted."

Twilight saluted even as she vanished off to the digital world to begin.

Tela folded her arms, looking to Roger. "Are either of us going? We can't go at the same time, obviously."

Roger moved over to a computer panel on one wall, summoning a table and chairs. "We both are staying up here." He leaned back in his chair. "Neither of us are especially trained in this sort of thing, and I'd rather be ready in case something goes wrong."

"Fair enough." Tela stood to her feet. "I'll handle that right now." She pressed a few buttons. "Besides us, we have a selection of crew ready for the first shuttle batch. Some specific experts, and others just to get some shore time."

"Fine." Roger swiped the data over to his personal computer. "I'll look them over. I'd like to keep a stable of scientists down there, or at least, interested parties." He leaned back in his chair as the information scrolled past his view. "Hmmm, not seeing anything I'd object to. Hopefully, they come back with some interesting stories and nothing more than that."

"And no politics." Tela lifted a finger to emphasize that. "It's bad enough that Twilight is itching for trouble. I don't want any more problems than we already have."

Roger chuckled gently. "Fortunately, she's not sending herself. Speaking of that, we'll need a portable holo-emitter or no ponies are going anywhere. How many do we have?"

Tela moved her finger along the screen, tapping as she searched. "We should have four available for transport. At least, according to the manifest. This would be the first time they've been used on this trip."

Roger thrust a finger up. "One's in use right now. Sunset Shimmer. She's on the way back to the ship with the trade crew. Served as backup security. Alright, four total. We can afford to lend one for the purpose of Twilight's mission."

Tela bobbed her head at that. "Let me know if there's any issues. I don't want trouble. Just a peaceful, successful mission."

Roger waved at the table. "As do I. Come on, let's check on those who are about to return. Might as well make sure they get a nice welcoming party."

They walked together through the hallways. A short elevator trip later, they stepped out onto the deck where the shuttles were stored. One was just taking off with the deceptively quiet rumble of its propulsion system.

"Welcome back!" Roger raised his voice and his arms in greeting. "Anything exciting happen down there?"

Susan smiled as she bowed to her captain. "Sir! Everything was given, secured, and transported as requested! Oh." She patted herself down and fished out a strange device. "The dragons insisted this holds the money we were given for what we brought."

Roger accepted the device, nodding slowly. "Thank you. We'll have to get this connected properly, but when we do, we'll be ready for proper trade."

Commander Tela nodded along with that. "We're low on a number of things. If we can purchase them here from the dragons, that would be nice."

Roger tossed the device to Tela. "So get it set up. If they didn't mean to give us the money, they wouldn't have done it. They wouldn't have traded either, unless they thought it was worthwhile."

Tela caught it carefully. "Will do." She marched away to see that task done.

Roger nodded at Sunset as she came closer. "Ah, and there's the fourth emitter." He reached for it directly.

Sunset shied back. "Hey, um, Sir. This one's mine."

Roger cocked a brow at that. "All four emitters of the ship belong to the ship. Where did you get it from?"

Susan coughed quietly, getting their attention. "I gave it to her." She rubbed one arm nervously. "I found it sitting in a box in storage and thought she'd like it, and she did."

Roger chuckled at that. "A nice thought, but it still belongs to the ship, stored away or not. Sunset, do you understand that? If we have need of it, you are to surrender it without complaint."

Sunset gripped the little device tight as she lowered her eyes. "Yes, sir." She finally held it out. "But if it's mine..."

"It's not." Roger grasped the device firmly. But, he didn't actually pull it away. "Fortunately for you, you're crew of this ship. Like I said, you can have it until the ship needs it, then you need to give it up."

Sunset cautiously bobbed her head, gripping it again. "Um, so does that mean I get to keep it?"

Roger rubbed his chin with his free hand. "For now at least. We have four emitters total, including that. We'll be sending a pony down to the planet, so that'll be another in use for a while. For now, we don't need yours, so enjoy it, and keep it in working order."

Sunset gripped the little thing as if it was gold. "Yes, sir."

He chuckled at that. "Well, put that away for now." He patted her on the shoulder. "We've got more work to do, crewman."

Just then, she fell to all fours, becoming a pony with the emitter not actually installed into her. The emitter was spared striking the ground by being held in the magic of her newly reformed horn. "Got it!" She laughed nervously. "Sorry about that. The ship is really sure I should be a pony. I'm a human, ship." She glared at the nearest wall.

Roger waved that away. "We knew you were unique when we brought you aboard. It's fine. Just keep the job done." He beckoned her with one hand. "Now come on. You and Susan did a great job, both successful security agents on our first away mission. If that doesn't deserve a small celebration, I don't know what does."

Susan blushed at that, lowering her head. "Oh, that wasn't bad at all. Some minor jostling, but nothing like a firefight or anything."

Sunset grinned up at Roger. "I won't say no to some celebration time."

Roger waved for the few others on the trade ship to come along. They were all to be celebrated for their successful trading mission.

The whole affair didn't last long, just an hour or two in the rec room. Food was eaten, drinks were had, and stories were told. There were always stories. Nothing serious was discussed, mostly fun events and funny moments.

Author's Note

They made it back, yay! Now it's time to explore this bold new world. Would you be one of the ones trying to get down there?

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17 - Consideration of Self

They slept together in Susan's bed. The same bed she had always slept in. In some ways, it was so very different, and in other ways, exactly the same. She woke up with Sunset, not some lover long gone, but still very much alive and quite real in her arms. Then again, how real was she? That she vanished suddenly was perhaps a hint of that.

"What are you doing?" Susan slid to her feet. "What. Are. You. Doing?" She slapped her own cheeks gently. "And why is it so good?"

Sunset was a pony. She was also entirely digital, looking at another pony. "You understand, right?"

"Ayup." Big Mac, digital or not, proved just as talkative as usual.

Sunset clopped a hoof to her face. "This isn't working."

"Eeyup." He took a bite out of an apple. "Ain't nothin' but a heartache."

Sunset grabbed a nearby pillow and chucked it at him. "Thanks. Is your sister in?"

"Ya call?" Applejack stepped in from just behind Sunset. "Howdy." She turned to toss the pillow back into place. "Y'all should probably head back up. Time's not real on the ship, so it ain't likely that you're missin' anything."

Sunset frowned at that. "I'm trying to get some help. I figured since, you know, we're all programs, maybe this was the place? But, I mean, everyone here is different."

Big Mac chewed at his apple. "Eeyup."

Applejack pointed her hat at Sunset. "Why didn't you ask earlier? Big Mac, love 'em, but not the first pony ah'd go wanderin' up fer advice." She gently bapped her brother with her hat, then pointed away. "Come on, let's go to the house and have a little chat."

"M'kay." He went without complaint, looking completely unbothered.

Sunset followed along with a heavy sigh. "I don't get it. It was just some kissing."

"Ya like it though?" Applejack hopped up onto a wooden chair. "And who were ya kissin'?"

Sunset sank into her own seat at the table. "Yeah, I liked it. A lot." She huffed, thumping a hoof on the floor. "I've never done this before. Especially not now. I was getting used to being a program, but no, hey, you can eat. Also, kisses!"

Applejack's laughter filled the room. "Breathe, pardner. Kisses are just kisses. Food? Well, if that's what your friends wanted to give ya, sure, eat up. The ship's a magical place, and what you get from it is a good bit of that."

Sunset huffed again, flaring her nostrils. "The ship is not 'magical'. Speaking of, where did the food I ate go? It had to go somewhere!"

Applejack settled down with a grin. "What goes in? Well, it's gotta come out 'gain. We're holograms, so we skip the messy bits. What you chewed on got sent back here to help grow more food fer everycreature on the ship. So, sure, the ship is magical."

Sunset slapped her face. "Great. Well, as much as I don't want to consider where my waste goes, thanks for explaining the magic." She rolled her eyes. "But it doesn't explain anything else."

"Like why ya were so happy ya felt like yer tail was about to pop off?" Applejack winked at Sunset.

Sunset colored at that. "I didn't even have a tail!" She glanced back at the tail she had. "At the time. I was perfectly human, with another human."

Applejack rested her chin on one hoof. "Ya coulda just asked her. Who were ya kissing?"

Sunset huffed again, letting the air blow her mane back. "My friend Susan. I'm like super sure she wants to be more then friends, and I really don't know how to feel about that. So I thought maybe you could help?"

Applejack's gaze narrowed as she considered the situation. "Susan. She the cute human ya been seen with? Works security?"

"She is cute." Sunset pouted, tossing her mane out of her face. "So what if she is? Is there a problem?"

Applejack lifted one hoof, leaning back in her chair. "Ain't not a problem. Look, yer a First Generation."

"Why do ponies keep bringing that up!" Sunset threw her hooves high. "So what if I am?"

Applejack winked at Sunset once more. "Tha's because it means somethin' special." She raised her hoof to her chest. "Yer basically me, and Twilight, and the others. We're all made of the same stuff."

Sunset leaned forward. "Wait, really?" She took a deep breath as she considered that. "Okay, wow, this is big. Start with saying what you and Twilight have in common, specifically, beyond being ponies."

Applejack pointed to herself. "Afore ah was a program, ah was a livin' pony, and before that, a program. Back an' forth a few times. Got real used to it now. Yer a first gen, from a livin' pony, but y'ain't used to it yet. Don't feel bad, perfectly normal."

"Right." Sunset rocked on her hooves. "You don't have anything to do with Twilight."

Applejack stood up. "'Course ah do! We were both alive when we arrived on Earth the firs' time around. Ah wen' and died afore her, but ah was already used to it. She just uploaded me an' ah went back to bein' a program 'gain.

"Ah always liked being a program." Applejack looked over at Big Mac. "I've gotten the best of both worlds. Both of us got more'n one trip on the starship 'round the galaxy. But, you know, a lot of us aren't 'full' in a sense. Some of us weren't ever alive. Like Big Mac here."

"Nope." One word, it carried all the meaning he had for the moment.

Sunset cocked her head to one side. "You're saying that Big Mac is just a program?"

Applejack laughed and nodded. "Ya said it, not me! He was never alive, nope. He's been runnin' fer so long though, had a few syncs, so tellin' the difference is mighty hard."

Sunset flopped to her back, legs and hooves wiggling. "So that means we could all just be programs. What if we're not actually the people we remember being? What if there's some other Sunset Shimmer or some other you?"

Applejack moved over to pat Sunset on the belly. "There ain't no other you, so long as yer still you. Y'ain't gotta worry 'bout none of that. Hm, or ah'm puttin' that out there wrong. There's probably half a dozen mes, and maybe two or three yous. But it don't matter none! You are you. This one, right here. She's the one ah'm talkin' to."

Sunset lowered her hooves slowly. "I guess that makes sense. As long as I am me, then I am me."

"Exactly." Applejack flicked her tail with a soft snort. "Yer gettin' it. Now, as for romance. Well, ah been married to a human afore. Right affectionate creatures. They're full of love, and if you show them some, they'll give it back just as hard! They also give quality strokes with them fingers they got."

Sunset whined, lifting her hooves to her eyes. "Oh no. Did not need that image."

Applejack laughed at that. "Don't judge humans too hard! That's the one bad part about bein' with 'em. They get their fingers on a sensitive ear or on yer side in just the right spot, yer helpless. You'll thank them for it afterwards to." She chuckled at the memory. "Ah shoot. Now I'm missin' her. Shame she didn't sync to the system."

Sunset peaked between her hooves. "But that can happen?"

"Sure!" Applejack looked over to her brother. "Right?"

Big Mac lifted his hat with a solemn nod. "Ayup."

Applejack bobbed her head. "Asides, yer proof! You were human, now yer one of us. We can upload any creature that sits down and give us the go ahead."

Sunset considered that idea as she let her hooves fall back to the ground. "I wouldn't want anyone doing it without permission, but if they wanted it?" She smirked at the ceiling. "Heck, I'm getting used to it."

Applejack threw an arm over Sunset, drawing her close. "Sounds like yer gettin' better. Good! Glad ah could help. Now, if yer human wants a smooch, you give them a smooch, if ya wanna. Don't feel pressured none. If she's really yer friend, she'll get when you say no."

Sunset waved that off. "I won't say no!" She hopped up to her hooves. "Thank you, Applejack. It was nice talking to you and Big Mac."

Big Mac waved as she departed. On quick hooves, she vanished, returning to her library.

On the bridge, Twilight sat beside Roger. Images were on the screen, little ones, each of a different crewmember enjoying their time down on the planet. Most were easily ignored, with nothing important on them. "You." Twilight pointed to one and it grew larger, overtaking the others.

Roger looked at it and nodded. "Ah, that's a picture of a pony."

Twilight lifted her wings slowly. "Yes. It is a picture of a pony. But look at where it is." She expanded the picture. The crewmember appeared to be in some sort of museum, filled with ancient artifacts.

"This is odd." Roger gestured for a magnification. "Are those hieroglyphs?"

Twilight's wings fell. "They're not. That is ancient Equestrian." She stared hard at the image. "From before even my time there." Her eyes wandered. "That is more 'modern' Equestrian. Can you contact this crew and have them look closer at it?"

Roger shook his head at that. "If the dragons see us sending and receiving large amounts of data, it could cause trouble."

Twilight nodded once at that. "So we should go down ourselves."

"Impossible." Roger frowned faintly at the idea. "Twilight, you are the ship, I remind. You can't leave the ship."

Twilight paid no mind to his frown. Without being asked, the crewmember leaned in and looked at the writing on their own. "Oh!" She made gestures, several clicks sounding as the computer took snapshots. "We'll examine this immediately! This might tell us what happened!"

Roger pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, fine. It's worth a look." He let his hand fall to his side. "Send the results to me when you have them. It's not that I'm not curious too, Twilight. What did happen to the ponies?"

Twilight stiffened at that. "I cannot be certain." She nodded, looking into the middle distance. "But now we have an avenue to investigate."

Roger leaned back in his chair. "Let's take advantage of it." He waved the many images away. "And let's not spy on our crew. They deserve their time away."

Twilight hummed softly at that. "I suppose so." She lifted her wings. "Except for these." A few images returned. "They gave me permission to monitor them, and they are on assignment, Sir."

Roger smiled as he patted Twilight's side. "Alright. Keep on them. And now, we wait for something else to happen."

The quiet tapping of fingers on consoles echoed throughout the room. Twilight considered the images. "I left for a reason. Things weren't looking very good."

Casey glanced from her terminal. "No? Want to share a little, Twilight?"

Twilight flexed her wings slowly. "Even this far distant, I remember the panic. Equestria was in trouble. Not the world, but the ponies on it. Many theorized we wouldn't last another hundred moons." She drew in a hissing breath, despite lacking lungs. "So a bold project was started. Its odds of success were tiny, but when faced with such a stark possibility, even a little chance seemed greater than none."

She raised one hoof. "Spaceships were created, with only the smallest crew on them. They were designed to carry seeds, the ponies themselves, and a few frozen passengers. They were to fling those seeds across the sky, hoping even one would take root." Twilight smiled thinly. "One did, finding friends with a curious simian species."

Author's Note

Why ponies? Why kisses?

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18 - Stories of the Past

Commander Tela started at Twilight's words. "You came to Earth specifically to colonize it?"

"We did." Twilight shook her head as she looked away from the screen. "I saw some of those ships leave. We sent over one hundred off in the first wave. I know many of them reached their destinations, but I do not know if they survived." She let out a slow sigh. "Be it landing, colonizing, or thriving after that." She glanced over at Roger. "I apologize, as late as it is, for being duplicitous. We were truthful in wanting the best for humanity."

She smiled thinly. "We would share the world. What was good for you would be good for us as well." She put a hoof on her chest. "That is why I cast that spell."

Roger raised a brow. "Spell?"

"Sorry." Twilight shuffled in place. "A word we use for things too complicated to go into details. The first several generations of ponies bred with humans. The history is recorded of that."

Roger's eyes widened. "That explains some things." He shook his head. "I have a pony on my mom's side, a great aunt. Why didn't ponies and humans ever make more humans?"

Twilight folded her ears back. "The spell was designed for our survival, of ponies. Having the children be of the other species would hardly advance that goal. Besides, I had figured that if we dropped down onto an already thriving populace, they'd not need our help in reproduction."

Tela laughed at that. "Fair enough! If you wanted to survive, then keeping your species going was number one. It would seem that it worked, in the end."

They all knew that ponies had spread across the planet, living joyfully alongside their human friends. The 'magic' had faded, but that hadn't stopped some from falling in love anyway, even if no children could result of it. The thought of it made Roger perk. "If this was your technology, Twilight, couldn't you do it again?"

Twilight considered that. "I am the ship. I know the technology involved, but to actually enact it would require bits and pieces I do not currently have. Why? Did you want me to? I could start assembling the needed bits, but it would take time and effort. Roughly, hm." She frowned with thought on it. "Approximately 4 days and 10% processing power."

Roger sat up at that. "That's barely anything. Go ahead. I can't see anything wrong with having the option ready."

Twilight nodded once as she produced a screen on her side. "My first action then. A contingency, in case the worst should happen." She paused as a second screen appeared on her other side. "Initiated. Captain, I have given you a new button."

There it was, a big purple button with Twilight's cutie mark on it. "Press that when it pops up to use it. I trust you to know the best time. It will affect all creatures on board the ship."

Tela shifted nervously. "All of us? Even you?"

Twilight did not shift at all. "Yes. That includes myself. If I were to desire to start a family with another species, and they returned the favor, a child would be created. Difference: We now have enough information on humans. If one of the creatures involved is a human, they could be human."

Casey peeked over her shoulder. "What about pony-humans?"

Twilight was still a moment, dumbstruck by the question before she shook herself free. "A pony human hybrid would be a new creature. We don't have enough information to create one of those. Attempting to create such a species would require upwards of an Earth decade and 70% of the ship's processing power. Do you want to proceed?"

"No!" Roger slapped the console, clearing the screens. "Do not proceed with that."

Casey sank in her seat, laughing quietly. "Sorry, Sir, I got curious."

Tela rested her head on a propping hand. "Having the ship basically out of commission for a decade's a bit too high a price while we're floating too far away from home. Still, you have me curious too. Maybe something to look into when we're not in the middle of exploring."

Twilight chuckled at that. "Humans are more curious than most of the species we met. As well as smarter and cuter."

"Um, thank you?" Roger blushed at the compliment. "Cuter? Really? Twilight, I mean no offense, but 'cute' is a word we use for ponies."

Twilight only brightened at that. "Then I am glad we met, as species. That we regard one another as adorable and worthy of protection is a good thing for our mutual relationship."

Roger considered that. "Good point. But still, how could we be cute? You've seen a lot of us, haven't you?"

Twilight crossed her forelegs over her chest. "And you are all adorable simians in my eyes. Tall, but so delicate. You have no protective layer of fur, and love making contact with species that do have fur, as if you wished you had your own. It's very cute. You don't see it?"

Casey burst into giggles, as unprofessional as that was. "I doubt you see what's so cute about ponies. Your big childlike eyes, you have pictures on your bottoms and you come in so many pretty colors to boot."

Twilight swished her tail. "We're adorable to each other, not much can be done about that. Captain, I am starting to get reports on the writing we received."

Roger leaned forward at that. "What are you finding out?"

Twilight opened one of the screens up for the two of them to read. "It's not only writing, but historical records as well. It, unfortunately, is worse than I had feared. The population of Equestria was already declining when I left. That angle only went sharper downwards. Ponies, as I knew them, went—" She paused to swallow heavily. "Extinct..." She shuddered at the thought of that heavy word. "At least on Equestria. That I am here to describe it is proof enough that we did manage some reach beyond it."

Tela was trying not to speak, her face going white with the news. "Twilight? Why is that? What actually happened?"

Twilight was quiet, simply sitting there. The others let her have her time. "We reached too far." She sat up. "We reached too far, and had only ourselves to blame. Technology so advanced it could only be called magic, we thought we were fully in charge. We were grossly mistaken."

Roger shook his head at that. "What happened? Was it a plague? Some alien disease?"

Twilight laughed quietly at that. "You would almost be right, Captain. It was the germs. But not the germs that you might think of." She pressed her forehooves together. "It was an illness of our own design. It was meant to bring out the best in a pony, in theory."

She took a deep breath, as if to calm herself. "This all happened long ago, before I left the planet, but I was part of it, thinking I was helping the world, and all ponies." A tear ran down her face, even if the tear and her face were fake. "I thought I was helping, but all I was doing was ushering in the end of Equestrian ponies."

Roger frowned at that. "Explain, please."

Twilight slumped a little bit, like a wilting flower. "We had mastered how to use the data from ponies to improve their own performance. We have these." She coiled, pointing with a wing at her cutie mark. "We gain them when we realize what our talent and drive is. It's quite natural, for us. I had thought to enhance that property, to bring us to a new stage." She trembled gently. "I was wrong. I was so, so, very wrong."

Tela spoke up. "Is there any possibility that you were not the only pony trying this? That the failure was some unfortunate combination of technologies?"

Twilight shrank in on herself a little. "Of course I wasn't the only pony involved, but that does little to make me feel better. We all trotted side by side, not realizing we were dooming our own species." She put a hoof over her face. "At least the, hm, backup plan, wasn't entirely a failure."

Roger pressed a hand to his mouth, covering it. "That is terrible. If you need time? Regardless, as cold as this may sound, it's history now. Worth knowing and learning from, but we have to do what we can today, for the people who are living, today, and in the future."

Twilight lowered her hoof and stood tall. "You're right, Sir. I'm sorry for bringing up the past." She straightened herself out, fluffing her wings. "I do not require another break. Work will continue on deciphering the words we've spotted."

"Thank you." Roger patted her side. "And if you need more time, that's fine too."

Tela sat back with a sigh. "One hundred ships, and that was the first wave." She ruminated with folded hands. "I imagine humanity would try just as hard, if that was the very last option available to us. I imagine it'd take a lot to make us think that was the only option."

Twilight puffed out her chest at that. "We were getting desperate. The problem we had was outside our control." A new window appeared. "This was our population." It showed a nice upward trend until it hit an abrupt plateau, then began angling down, sharper and sharper. "We had precious little time, and we already knew ponies away from the problem, the rogue magic, were safe. Sending them away was the only solution we arrived at."

Tela stared at the data. "There would have been rioting in the streets." She imagined how humans would react. "People would be burning."

Twilight cringed at that. "Some did. I wasn't there for what were likely the worst days, having undergone my own seed project."

Roger raised a finger. "Wait. You went. What about the others, the more powerful ponies? You mentioned you had a mentor, and she was alive. Did she flee too?"

Twilight huffed gently. "Not at the time I left, and I couldn't check afterwards. Her status is entirely unknown to me, but the odds are not in her favor."

Tela rested a hand on her mouth. "It's amazing how little things matter when the world is ending. All that remains is preserving the species. Humanity wouldn't react any differently." She snorted at the thought. "I would say not to feel bad, but it's also very human, or pony, to feel bad anyway."

The deck filled with murmurs, most agreeing that it would be a rough thing to go through.

Twilight perked. "Getting a report. One of our crewmembers has received an invitation to dinner with a dragon family. How delightful!"

Roger leaned in. "Do we know anything about this dragon family?"

"Yes!" Twilight smiled as she regarded her screen. "It seems they are among the upper class. This will be a social event, no worries of trouble." She waved at the screen as it switched to an opulant cave. Still a cave, but quite well furnished with marble floors and bubbling fountains of magma done in specific aesthetics. "Delightful."

"Ooo, darling, I want to be there." Rarity had appeared suddenly next to Twilight. "That looks like my kind of place. Is it too late?"

Roger snorted at that. "Yes, unfortunately. We sent exactly one pony, and they're not the one invited. Are they?"

Twilight shook her head. "No. It seems a human crewmember was invited. I will keep you posted as things develop, but it's good news to see friendships are developing."

Author's Note

Questions linger. How did the other princesses fare?

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19 - You Are My Only Hope

"We are not your mailers." The dragon on the screen looked far from amused. "But we did get a message for you. You're properly set up to send and receive payments, right?"

Roger chuckled quietly at that. "Of course. We should be set up for that, unless your payment systems have changed."

The dragon smiled, their teeth white and sharp. "Then I'll just take this opportunity to pass it on. Pay that, and the message is yours."

A new beep sounded. Roger could see the number. It was no great sum. He pressed the friendly pay button hovering before him. "Alright, what's the message? If it's spam, we're sending you the bill."

The dragon laughed with a hearty clap of their claws. "Haha! No, this is a from a friend of yours. You are friends with ponies, are you not? One of them sent us a message to get to you." A chime made it clear the email had arrived. "Enjoy." The image blinked away, leaving the swirling visage of the planet behind.

"Sent us a message?" Tela shook her head as she turned back to Roger. "The only ponies I know are back on Earth. Who could this be?"

Roger opened the message. His eyes widened. "Twilight?"

She sprang into being next to him. "Sir?"

He gestured, the message leaping onto the main screen. A new pony appeared, pink in color. "Hello, fellow ponies. I have been informed you've come home. I'm sorry we haven't left it in much of a respectable condition, but that you are here at all is—" She paused to regather herself, sniffling gently. "Apologies. If you do not know me, I am Princess Cadenza, Cadance by most who knew me."

The three of them listened in wonder as the ancient princess spoke to them. "If you are looking for us, we are not there. Equestria is not safe for ponies. We ceded it to the dragons, when the last of us boarded the very last seed vessel. The other races were just as eager to leave, each with dreams of their own world. Many of them were successful."

She pawed the ground gently. "Still, it gladdens my heart to hear some of our fellows have returned. It means you are still alive, and well. None of the seeds were sent with enough to make a return trip, so, it implies so much. You've found a new home. Perhaps even more than one, for that matter."

She straightened up, looking around herself. "As for me, my ship was not a success, but neither was it entirely a failure. What follows is my location. Come, or do not. I will not begrudge you either way. Lost friends, I hope you trot on well through the stars."

A string of numbers followed, encoded within the message itself.

Twilight hissed gently. "Amazing. Simply astounding. Cadance." She reached up towards the frozen image. "I missed you. Sir? This information should allow us to reach her?"

Roger tapped at the console. "We can certainly try. It would seem the seed ships were even less successful than you'd thought. A very slim possibility for a chance of survival, but a chance all the same." He sat up. "Of course, we aren't going anywhere until all crew are back on board. Abandoning them to the dragons is not an option."

Tela rubbed her hands together slowly. "Then that settles it. We're off to find this princess, assuming we can reach her. And if we can't?"

Twilight chuckled as she looked distant a brief time. "Location confirmed. Time in transit, two weeks. We have the supplies to make it there and back without issues. She was lucky."

Roger frowned at that. "Why do you say lucky?"

Twilight lowered her ears. "The ship was damaged in transit, it seems. She was very fortunate it arrived intact. For that matter, just that it arrived at all." She took a slow breath. "Still, if she sent us that message, she can't be all that bad. Let's rescue her, kindly. She used to be my foalsitter. Did you know that?"

Roger gaped at Twilight. "You're joking."

"I am not." Twilight straightened herself out. "Oh dear. I can't lie! I'm quite serious, Captain. Princess Cadence looked after me as a filly. It's been quite some time since then, but I still think fondly of her. If we can rescue her, that would be lovely. Perhaps we can learn more about what happened, after I left Equestria."

Tela groaned quietly at that. "It makes me wonder if other people went out looking for the seed ships." She put her hands together. "Would they have succeeded? Would they have found these ancient princesses?"

Twilight inclined her head. "Their best bet would be to have read the message we just received. All the more reason we should hasten to Cadance as soon as possible, Captain."

Roger tapped at his armrest. "No rest for the wicked. Put out the call for all crew to return to the ship." He pressed a button. "All crew, all crew, please report back to the ship. We've gotten a distress signal from one of our kin. You'll get the full story when you arrive."

Twilight blinked. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let my eagerness overtake me. I will oversee the ship's preparations. We will be ready to embark at your command, Captain." With a proper salute, she vanished.

Roger smiled faintly as he leaned back. "If anyone asks, this is one of those human things I do that you shouldn't try and replicate."

Tela laughed at that, clutching her side. "For those watching with a ship at home? Wouldn't want them to copy our actions. Either way, let's get everyone on board and set off. I was growing tired sitting in dock like this anyway. We're explorers."

"We are!" Roger clapped his hands. "And it's past time we got back to it."

Sunset perked. She was far from alone. The message was being shared to all the intelligences. For many ponies, word of their 'original' world came through dimly, if at all. But for the originals, like Sunset, it meant more. "Cadance, really?"

Susan paused her meal. "Who's Cadance? Someone important?"

Sunset rose, abandoning her snack. "Old pony royalty. I thought she was long gone, but, nope. Twilight just saw proof she's still around. We're heading there, after we get all the crew back on board." She put a hand to her head. "This is big news. I figured there were just the Earth ponies left, after all that time."

Susan put her own food aside as she stood up. "The dragons were a mixed bag, but this? This is a lot of good news."

Sunset hugged Susan, humming softly as she rubbed her cheek against her. "Let's go rescue some pony princesses!" She hopped back, one hand holding one of Susan's. "I bet she'll be so amazed, seeing how well ponies are getting along with humans."

Susan walked along with Sunset, holding her hand. "Sounds good to me."

Sunset perked at the hand in hers. "Um, good?" She cleared her throat. "I mean, it's great! Just that we'll be sailing in a new direction a bit. We can hope that's more boring than anything else. Then we end up at a new place. How exciting that will be is anyone's guess."

Susan brushed some of her hair back. "Is it so bad if it is?"

Sunset perked even more as she paused. "Girl, reminder; we're security. It's our job to hope it's boring, but into things to make them boring again if it does." She rolled her eyes. "Correction; I'm a data specialist you roped into helping you out."

Susan tilted her head, allowing her hair to cascade off of her shoulder. "Correction; you seem happy with that arrangement. Why don't you work there?"

Sunset sat up and started walking again, tugging Susan along. "Are you suggesting I quit being a data specialist? I don't like being security that much."

"You look pretty happy." Susan drew her hands away to behind her back. "Pretty satisfied from this angle."

Sunset crossed her arms. "Susan, you're confused." She leveled a finger at her human coworker. "I'm there because I'm pretty satisfied being around around you, moron"

Susan blinked at the finger pointed at her face. "Oh. That's... also fair." She blushed faintly, glancing away. "Come on. We have work to do."

Sunset rolled her eyes as she followed after Susan. "My job is to make sure people find the books they want in a timely fashion. Security's the one that has to get moving." She made a shooing motion. "Go along and do that. You know where to find me." With no further warning, she vanished.

His name was Doctor Whooves. Keeping track of time was one of his specialties. That meant he returned to the ship when summoned, and was there when they expected him. He nodded to the human pilot and the other human crewmembers on the ship. "I trust you all had an eventful time here on the planet."

One of them gave him a pat on the shoulder. "It was great. You?"

He rubbed his chin with one hoof. "Very insightful. The other ponies will surely be interested in the reports I've compiled for them." He pat at a dangling clipboard at his side, not that it was any more 'real' than the rest of him. "I'm honored and delighted they selected me to take part in this trip, even if it's being called early."

The crewmember nodded at that. "Things change." They walked on ahead, leaving the doctor behind. "Let's get things done."

He found a seat among the crew and settled down, holding the clipboard against his chest. In far too short a time, the room around them shook with the initial thump of launch. Inertial dampening systems came online a moment after, leaving them with a smooth ride as they elevated from the planet.

His eyes wandered from person to person, studying each of them in turn. The two he was most familiar with were a human pair, very alike in body, but quite different in dress. One was bright and cheery, while the other was studious and thoughtful. He hadn't learned their names yet, only that they were skilled members of the engineering team.

His eyes fell on the human near the back. Dressed all in black, she blended into the background nicely. No, the dark colors weren't the reason he noticed her. He noticed her because of what she was doing. She was busily writing. Everyone else was talking, or looking out a window. One was fiddling with a toy. No, she was writing busily, and the other was watching her.

She must have felt his eyes on her, as she stopped writing, glancing his way. "Something you want?"

Doctor Whooves raised a brow. "I'm sorry, am I staring? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He leaned to the side a bit, still watching her. "What has you so engrossed, ma'am?"

The woman smirked as she fanned out her notes. "Nothing big. Just some notes."

He pushed his glasses up. "Do tell, miss? Notes about what?"

She flicked her pencil in her fingers. "The dragons are interesting. Not who'd I'd pick first for neighbors, but very interesting." She made a new note. "Not like the ponies."

Doctor Whooves blinked at that. "How are the ponies not interesting?"

She twirled her pencil, even as it stayed in her hand. "They're so peaceful. They even get along with dragons. They're perfect little angels, which is the boring part about them sometimes. Dragons are more dangerous, which makes them less ideal neighbors. Both great people, just different, you know?"

Doctor Whooves smiled at that. "A professor of sociology? That would be quite an exciting profession."

The woman nodded once as she looked over her notes. "The study of how people interact is fascinating." She spread her hands over the notes. "I figured I could get a vacation and some work done at the same time. Almost worked, except the part where we get called back early. They have their reasons, I'm sure. It still better not count against my shore time."

Doctor Whooves cocked his head to one side. "Reasons?"

"Mhm." The woman made a few notes, not even looking up. "They didn't ask us all to return to the ship for nothing. It'll be a nightmare of red tape for them, if nothing else."

He tapped his hoof to his chest. "I see. Do you know what that something is?"

She kept writing as she spoke. "No. And it's driving me nuts. We can't ask until we get back to the ship." She paused her writing. "Maybe we should both relax, and we can find out together when we get there."

Author's Note

Time to get movin'! Hope you had fun with the dragons.

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20 - Into New Space

Captain Roger was swift in his announcement. With all crew aboard, he spoke to them all. Most of them only heard his voice on the ship's intercom, speaking as he was from the bridge. Still, everyone was listening intently as they all listened to him.

"People. When we set off from Earth, we were ready for a new world, but what we found is amazing. Dragons are intelligent, smart creatures, eager to be friends." He shifted in his seat. "We also discovered some important things about ourselves. The truth that ponies, our old friends, had seeded Earth so long ago, it's history itself."

He sat up. "And they need us. We have received word that there are other ponies, not as fortunate as the ones that found us. They're in trouble, and we're close enough to lend a hand. We owe it to our pony friends to try, which is why I called you all back to the ship. We will be traveling to aid them."

With that, he signed off. A rush of murmurs passed over the ship. Many were excited to hear more about their old friends. Others were simply happy to be going on a new journey, to see new places. Discontentment over their shore leave being interrupted was, thankfully, low enough to be treated individually.

The ponies were eager to help with that, ensuring such unhappy souls got extra time and attention from caring pony companions.

"Hello." She looked up as he appeared. "We had such a lovely conversation, I was hoping we could continue it."

She smiled, tinged with a smirk as it was. "Doctor Whooves. Are you actually a doctor?"

He cleared his throat. "Of course! I have a PhD in Equine Psychology." He motioned for her to follow. "Come along. I know of a nice lounge we can chat in."

The woman held her hands together behind her back as she walked along with him. "I'm not equine, if you didn't notice. Are you certain you're speaking to the right patient?"

He turned a corner with her following him. "You're not wrong, miss, but that doesn't mean we can't talk. Talking can be very helpful. Often enough, I am not sure who is doing the healing." He looked up at her as he walked alongside her. "We're both doctors. You understand how it can go, Doctor Rose Quartz. A lovely name, if you don't mind my saying so. Very pony."

Rose rolled her eyes at that. "Just Rose is fine. Thank you, though. I take pride in my name. You don't look like a 'Doctor Whooves' yourself."

He flicked his tail as they walked along. "A mix of things. But it does sound like hooves, does it not?" He raised one, wagging it in the air as he ambled on the other three. "I certainly have those."

Rose folded her arms over her chest as she watched him trot along. "Okay, but what's with the bow tie? It looks ridiculous."

Doctor Whooves fiddled with the bow tie around his neck. "I thought it really brought the look together."

"It's lovely." She went up to ruffle his mane. "But it not being over a shirt is a unique pony 'habit' that baffles me."

He sighed with a flick of his ear. "We all have our thing. Some of us are more fabulous than others." He chuckled at her touch. "Now now, Rose. I believe you're getting ahead of yourself. You'd think a professional would be better at keeping their hands to themselves."

She stopped ruffling his mane and cleared her throat. "Sorry." She moved her hands behind her back. "Should we continue? Now, you are a pony. So far as I've been told, ponies tend to enjoy little touches like that. Sorry if I offended."

Doctor Whooves turned, waving off her concern. "No no, I wasn't offended at all. Perhaps even a little flattered." He fiddled with his hooves a little as they walked along. "I'm actually visiting to talk to you. I know you're a little dispirited, being called back as you were."

Rose sighed softly at that. "To be expected. I was looking forward to some more time on the surface, but duty calls. I would have been back sooner or later anyway. There's no harm done."

Doctor Whooves perked at that. "Truly? Very mature thinking on your part. Oh, I was informed that shore leave time is being refunded for all crew that had theirs interrupted."

Rose shrugged gently at that. "Even better. Now it's not so bad. I guess they wanted to get us out of there quick. Do you know why?"

He did not look up from his trotting.

She held out a hand for the door before them, letting him go first. "Do you?"

He looked at the door, and then at her. He wasn't sure he should tell her, even if she already had a suspicion of what was going on. It wasn't his place to say, after all.

"You clearly do." She put a hand at her hip. "Is it a secret?"

Doctor Whooves kept his mouth shut. He would not tell her, regardless of her apparent knowledge.

She smirked faintly at that. "Keep your secrets then." She gestured at a table. "We can talk about something else. You did want to talk, didn't you?"

He lit up as he motioned for her to take a seat. "But of course! I found your company rather enjoyable. How is it you came to join this voyage?"

Rose took the offered seat and held her hands together on the table. "A ship out to the middle of nowhere, to see what can be seen? I don't understand people who turned down the opportunity."

He folded his hooves under his chin. "I see. What led you to it, if I may ask?"

Rose raised a finger to tap at her nose. "There's a certain allure in mystery, isn't there?" She laughed gently. "I'd ask you, but you're a program, Doctor. They uploaded you into the ship and you hardly had a choice in the matter."

"On the contrary!" He sat up tall. "When we are in the primary hubs, we, all of us, are told what mission awaits us, and we are given a choice. Only those who agree are then sent. Did you think we were randomly chosen? Digital slaves? Perish the thought."

Rose shook her head at that. "Amazing. Then, do you not want to be here?"

He chuckled as he adjusted his bow tie. "But of course I wanted to be here. I wanted to explore this vast universe. I wanted to serve alongside my beloved humans and leave some little mark on the vast cosmos we call home. It sounded far more interesting than sitting around. Besides, there's a copy of me home, safe and sound. It's a very temporary risk I'm taking if you think about it."

Rose looked around the lounge. There was only one other pony present, tending to the food and drinks. She looked back at Doctor Whooves. "You could die."

He snorted at that. "Sure could, but it'd only be this me. There's another me on Earth, a fair number, likely, all busily tending to the needs of ponies and humans around him with the same silly smile."

She pursed her lips. "I thought I knew a lot about the ponies, but it seems like I barely scratched the surface."

He waved a hoof. "Don't beat yourself up about it. Ponies are just as complicated as humans, and humans aren't so simple, last I looked into the matter." He gestured with his other hoof. "Have you considered adding 'equine' to your list of interests? I could be your guide on that, if you'd like."

Rose drummed her fingers together. "I feel suddenly uncertain if I was just hit on by a pony, and I'm not sure how I feel about that."

Doctor Whooves colored at that. "Ma'am! I was only approaching your intellectual growth, not anything tawdry. Do forgive me for being so forward, but I couldn't help but notice your pursuit of knowledge, even over relaxation. You remind me a little of myself when I was younger."

Rose sighed softly as she moved her hands to rest on the table. "Well, thank you. I think. Intellectual curiosity is my entire reason for being here."

The two chatted amiably about their interests, both shared and different.

Twilight appeared above Roger, taking up the ceiling over his reclined head. "Permission to begin?"

Roger started, so close to falling asleep. "What? Begin what?"

Twilight twitched an ear. "The spell to allow crewmembers to breed successfully with willing other species. It worked when we first arrived, allowing the first few generations of ponies to be fruitful and spread across the planet Earth."

Roger propped an arm under his head, looking up at Twilight. "There are only humans and ponies on the ship, and we have plenty of either. Why would we be needing children right now?"

Twilight shrugged at that. "Children mean life. While you have ponies, you have exactly zero living ponies. Besides, there is a dragon on board."

Roger almost fell out of his bed. "A dragon?! When did? Why am I only being told of this now?!"

Twilight sighed with a slight flare of her wings. "This morning. As soon as I was made aware of the presence of a new species, I requested the ship run a full scan of all crew and passengers. I am pleased to report that the invasion is only one member. They appear to be more curious than harmful, which is why I didn't raise any alarms."

Roger blinked as he tried to take in this news. "Okay, so, a dragon has taken it upon themselves to join us on our voyage?"

Twilight nodded once. "In order to save time, I took the liberty of introducing myself and welcomed them aboard."

Roger put a hand over his face. "Twilight. I am the captain of this ship. I need to be informed the very instant we know there's someone new on the ship. Do you have their identification at least?"

Twilight held out her wings as she projected a screen into the air. A young looking dragon stared back at Roger, alongside the ship's roster. "You're going to want to read through their bio. I took the liberty of researching them on the dragon's network to provide all pertinent information."

Roger rubbed his forehead as he scanned the info. "Dawning Star. Cute name." He had to stifle a laugh at that. "She likes sunrises and taking naps?" He sat up, staring at Twilight. "Are you serious?"

Twilight shrank under his gaze. "Ponies like to sleep too! She sounds like a lovely girl."

Roger paced across the room, sleep far from his mind. "Twilight, even if you start that breeding spell, it won't cover dragons. Any children she has, which we didn't talk to her about, will be a human or a pony, right?"

Twilight swished her tail as she hovered there. "I would assume so, yes. We lack the genetic comprehension of dragons to assure it will work, but we also lack the comprehension that it will, for sure, not work. She is Equestrian, like ponies. It may work."

Roger stopped at the wall and sighed heavily. "How are we supposed to explain this to her? That we can magically give her children, just like that?"

Twilight chuckled at that. "Oh I can think of any number of ways to present such information to her, including video records of past uses." She directed a hoof at herself. "I was the mother of a few ponies, some of which serve on this very ship. It would be my pleasure to assist, Captain. Permission to begin spell?"

Roger stared at Twilight. He did not know how he felt about having a living digital guide, sometimes. "Is there a reason to start this spell?"

Twilight sat down in the air as she regarded him. "For one, it would permit the digital aides on the ship to have families. The duration of this voyage is only growing longer at every turn. Allowing them that opportunity would be good for morale. For another, I am curious if it will function on a dragon, and a chance to find out has been presented."

Author's Note

Off into new space. I'm sure there will be no issues here.

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21 - Greeting the Dawn

"So, um." Dawning Star looked between the pony and human interrogating her. "This spell, is it going to hurt?"

Twilight Sparkle spoke first. "Absolutely not! Not in the slightest. In fact, you shouldn't feel anything, and it won't do anything until and unless you want it to."

Tela held up her hands. "Yeah, don't worry. We'd never do something that could hurt you. We're only looking for permission. Your say-so. If it helps, this gets you forgiven for sneaking on board the ship in the first place. I can't imagine dragons are much nicer about stowaways."

Dawning laughed tensely at that. "No. But, you all seem like nice creatures. You wouldn't hurt me, right?"

Tela glanced over at Twilight. She then raised her hand to place it gently on Dawning's shoulder. "Absolutely not. So long as you aren't hurting us, we won't hurt you."

Twilight spread her wings with a smile. "Now, I'm about to enact that program. Any objections?"

Dawning Star raised her hands. "If you're sure it won't hurt or nothing, sure?"

Unseen by the creatures inside it, the entire ship glimmered with ancient power, bathing all within it with the spell that would allow any of them to spawn with other species. "And, done." Twilight nodded. "If we wanted to have children, we could. I am quite busy being the ship, however, so I have no specific desire to raise a foal at this time."

Tela stood up. "Well, that's what she can do." She gave Dawning a pat on the back. "There are other digital aides around. You should ask them if they want to have a kid."

Dawning colored in her cheek scales. "Hey! I said you could cast the spell. I did not say I was in a hurry to lay any eggs."

Twilight inclined her head. "Oh, no. There will be no eggs involved. Any children created will already be in late toddler stage and advance swiftly to moderate childhood by all records. If you'd like, visit the library for historical details on the foals created by this in the past. Thank you for taking part."

Dawning Star mumbled quietly as she stood up. "Yeah yeah, you're welcome. Gonna go now. This is a lot to think about." She opened the door and scampered off, the door closing behind her.

Tela glanced towards Twilight. "You're sure this is a good idea? She is a stranger, loose on the ship. Not exactly the first thing I'd go for in terms of security."

Twilight straightened herself out with a toss of her mane. "Her kind do not often care for mischief making. They tend to be creatures of curiosity, and greed. If you give her something, she may not give it back. But if you make friends with her, she will consider you part of her collection, and be quite loyal."

Tela blinked at that. "As in she could end up being helpful to us?"

Twilight nodded once. "In the same manner as humans help each other. I have not known many dragons, but those I have known were full of life and love. You just have to get used to them, and help them adjust to you."

Tela headed for the door. "If you insist. I'll dispatch the proper aide for that."

Summoned, Pinkie appeared before Dawning Star. "Hiya! I hear you're new on the ship. Ooo, it's been a while since I got a chance to welcome somecreature!"

Dawning Star twitched her tail as she took in the appearance of the pony before her. She was pink in coloration, with hair that defied all laws of physics, and a cutie mark resembling three balloons. "You sure are, hm, something?" She stroked along her snout, considering Pinkie. "You have a name?"

"Oh! I'm Pinkie! Sorry, thought I said that." She bounced forward towards Dawning. "And you are Dawning Star, a dragon who snuck on our ship. Sneaky!"

Dawning stepped back. "You know about that? Who told you?"

Pinkie pulled out a scroll, already filled out. "Let's see. There's a big list of things here, and uh..." She glanced up at Dawning's confused face. "What? I'm a program, silly. What the computer knows, it can share with me." She folded up the scroll and tucked it away. "But I don't need a computer to know you need a welcome party!"

Dawning slumped gently at that. "I, uh, guess that means there's nothing secret on this ship."

Pinkie put a hoof to her mouth as she giggled. "Oh yes there is! You were secret before they found you, silly. But now they found you, so not a secret. That's the annoying part about secrets. Once you know them, they're gone! Unless you get a new one. Did you know we have an actual dragon on board?"

Dawning Star frowned as she took a step back. "It's my first time meeting ponies. I thought I was going to be alone, okay? Also, I am that dragon, so why are you telling me, about me?"

Pinkie smiled as she bounced up and down. "Sorry! I tend to run off at the mouth, a lot." She took a breath. "Okay. Do you want to come to my party?"

"Do I have a choice?" Dawning was starting to get something of a grasp on that pink pony. "I get the feeling I don't, really."

"Wow!" She pounced on Dawning, hugging her tight. "You're smart. Let's go!"

Dawning tried to pull free of the pony. "What? Wait, stop! Stop hugging me! Let me go!"

Pinkie held on to Dawning with all four hooves. "We're going to the party! Oh this is going to be so much fun!"

The ship propelled through the grand void between stars. There was nothing to look at. There was everything to look at. Roger watched that slowly changing view of the infinite. "This mission was originally slated to be under a year. The stargate threw us five years off course, and now we're sailing years further away on a rescue mission."

"Sounds to me like it was worth it, Captain." Tela stood at ease before him. "Everyone is having a great time. The dragon's been doing well for herself. She's friendly, once you get past her own, unique, defenses."

Casey glanced over from her seat. "I hear some are taking you up on that offer. Things will get busy with the pitter-patter of small feet, or hooves, around the ship."

Roger turned his seat to look at his fellow crew members. "Maybe so. Maybe so." He glanced out the window, just in time to see a new star appear in the distance. "That reminds me. Has anyone figured out what the source of that stargate was? The dragons don't seem to have been involved."

Tela grunted softly at that. "Still looking, Sir. Our current best bet is the ponies. I'd think they're the only ones who could have left something like that lying around."

Casey folded her hands together in her lap. "The architecture is enough of a match, Captain, but there was another ship that could activate it nearby. They would have to be ponies with considerable resources."

Roger shook his head at that. "Wait a minute. Those seed ships were barely big enough to carry people, much less one of those giant stargates."

Casey smiled as she tapped at her datapad. "You are correct, Captain. Such construction would have to come from a far more stable society than the one mid-collapse that Twilight described."

Roger stood up, facing out towards the void. "What happened? What do we know?"

Casey switched screens on her pad. "I cross referenced the gate's telemetry with our ship's archives. No matches, outside the pony architecture. My guess, such as it is, is that at least one of those seed ships landed on just the right planet. Better than ours, and I thought they got lucky with us."

Roger perked as he turned towards Casey. "Do you think they found Equestria?"

She nodded once. "Someone did. Someone who has enough power to send their people through a stargate. We don't know how many places that stargate could connect to. We assume one, but that's just an assumption without time to study it."

Tela held up a hand. "Do we have any ideas what happened to them?"

The bridge was quiet, with no ideas to share on that. Tela sighed, returning to her chair. "Too many questions, too few answers. Maybe the ponies we're going to rescue will have one or two for us."

Casey sat back, laying her pad in her lap. "Somewhere out there, is a planet of ponies who made it. Let's not get impatient looking for them. We can only do so much with our little lives."

Roger pointed at her. "Getting awfully philosophic, but you aren't wrong. We'll do what we can. This rescue mission is urgent. We may return to base afterwards, considering how off-course we've gotten."

Tela stood up to meet him. "As long as we're off-course, could we investigate those other points of interest?"

Casey raised a hand. "If we do that, Captain, we'll never go home."

"Point." Roger leaned back, ands on his belly. "Let's focus. We can decide what we do after the rescue, after the rescue."

The dragon crewmember cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but, if I may say so?" She shrank as all eyes turned towards her. "Do we know why we're rescuing ponies?"

Roger snorted. "One, you're not crew, let alone command crew. You shouldn't be on the deck." Dawning Star shrank at that. "But to answer your question." That got her to perk. "Our crew has a good deal of ponies, virtual as they are. They want to know what happened to their fellow ponies, and so does the rest of us. If we can lend a hand, we stand to gain much, besides resting more easily than knowing we could have helped but did nothing."

Dawning rubbed at her chin. "Well, alright. If you think it's the right thing to do."

"She is allowed here." Twilight appeared before them, wearing a standard issue uniform for ponies on the ship. "I know I usually appear as a digital pony, but sometimes it's nice to dress up a bit." She brushed at her seldom-worn outfit with a hoof. "But I allowed her, Captain. She expressed curiosity about how 'humans handled leadership'. Forgive me if she is posing any difficulties."

Roger held up his hands. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. Did you have anything to add?"

Twilight's ears lowered. "The planet where we are heading has an ancient civilization. That is why it was selected for a seed. There was hope, however dim, that the remnants of those people could be used by arriving ponies."

Roger turned to Dawning Star. "Do you have anything to add?"

Dawning clasped her hands together. "Uh, um. No?" She held out her hands as she slunk away.

Roger sank back into his chair. "Alright, now, we're at the less-interesting part. Travel takes time. We just need to keep this ship in working order while we do it. Twilight—" Twilight perked at her name. "—has enabled the cross-species spell. We may have more faces to feed and care for."

Casey nodded once. "Don't worry about that, Captain. We'll keep the ship fed. Shouldn't be a problem. People will be happy to have children around." She burst into sudden giggles. "Imagine that, children without the fuss of birth. Why don't we just keep that on all the time?"

Twilight shrank as eyes turned towards her. "We don't want either of our races becoming entirely dependent on any single technology to the point that we cannot exist without it. I strongly move against this idea. this is also why two members of different species are required. If you have two members of the same species, they can make children the old-fashioned way."

Casey put a hand to her mouth. "That's, um, good to know." She sat back down, keeping her hands at her lap.

Roger stood up as he returned to looking out the window. "Let's not get distracted. We'll aid those who need it, but the rest of us are on-duty. Let's keep our senses sharp, in case we run into anything before we reach the target."

Author's Note

Dawning Star seems to be getting into things reasonably well.

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22 - Happy Birthday

"Glad your equipment can still communicate this far away." The dragon huffed, smoke curling from his nostrils. "Reviewing video footage, it would seem one of ours made it onto your ship. We just wanted to be clear that this isn't us trying to mess with you. It wasn't our idea at all."

Roger grunted. "This is an awfully long way to go to get in touch with a stowaway."

The dragon hiked a brow. "Huh? What? No. Keep 'em if you want 'em. We just don't want there to be any wars about it. We didn't tell her to go in there, so this is all her idea. Be mad at her if you want somedragon to be annoyed at."

The human pursed his lips as he held his chin. "You sent your own people over here without your knowledge? That's interesting. She seemed to have some idea of what she was doing. Have you been watching us?"

"Duh." They rolled their eyes. "A new species touching down? We had a lot of cameras on you, and we saw her, again, looking back, sneaking onto your shuttle. She isn't making a mess, is she? Again, her idea."

The human chuckled. "She's friendly enough. No real trouble so far."

"Good, good." They rubbed their chin with a claw. "Well, then enjoy. I'd get her back before she molts. Teenagers are a real pain in the scales."

Roger perked at that. "Everything goes down differently for dragons? Should we be expecting anything?"

The dragon tapped his fingers. "Well, there's the smell, one of the first hints of the molt besides the obvious skin blisters. You shouldn't have to worry about attracting monsters in space, so there's that. When it's all done, you have a winged dragon teen with all the attitude to go along with it."

Roger shook his head at that. "Learn something new everyday. Anything else we should know about your dragon stowaway?"

They chuckled at that. "If you're keeping her in jail, smart. Either way, ask her yourself. I was just told to inform you it wasn't our idea. Dragons, out." With no more words shared, the screen went blank.

"Interesting." Roger put his hands behind his back as he stood up. "You think this will make a good report?"

Casey drummed her fingers on her desk. "Dragons aren't interested in any of us, including their own. But we should report this, Captain. She's still the first dragon on a human ship, historical in its own way. Is she still getting along?"

Roger nodded once. "As well as can be expected. The ship's crew are treating her as one of their own, which is nice to see." He cracked a smile. "Keeping a dragon in a jail cell did not go over so well, I heard."

Tela snorted at that. "The ponies would probably start pelting us with produce if we tried that. She hasn't actually hurt anything, or anyone. As stowaways go, Dawning Star has been quite a good guest."

Casey shifted in her seat. "Almost like she wants to stay on the ship, Captain."

Roger shook his head. "What's the alternative? We're not headed back for any place she could get off at, unless we threw her into space, and we have laws about that."

"Plus." Casey looked away from him. "There's always the chance we could use her help later."

Roger huffed. "We still don't know much about dragons. She gives us the chance to try to fix that." He sank into his chair. "Keep an eye on her, for her care as much as everyone else's. They made it sound like she's about to experience the dragon equivalent of puberty."

Casey and Tela both nodded once at that.

Roger turned to the deck. "Are we within sensor range of our destination?"

One of the crew checked her screen. "We are just close enough to confirm there are minor amounts of debris around the planet. It shouldn't impede our approach. ETA is still in years."

Roger let out a slow breath. "In the meantime, we should continue observing Dawning Star."

They continued on towards their destination.

"Oh Captain! I brought you some breakfast!" Susan walked onto the deck with a tray of food in hand.

"Thank you." He accepted the tray and laid it across his lap. "But you didn't have to." He was watching her skeptically. "Do you have something you want to report?"

Susan perked at that with a tense fit of laughter. "It's, um."

Twilight appeared without a sound. "Captain, news."

He kept his eyes on Susan. "Go on."

Susan shuffled in place, her arms folded over her chest. "I figured out how to get pregnant." She let out a sudden breath at having confessed. "Except we kind of skipped the whole pregnant part and got to the next step."

Unbothered by the interruption, Twilight proceeded, "Five progeny have resulted from the cross-breeding spell. Four pony foals and one human child have been entered into the crew database." It was as if she only noticed Susan then. "Congratulations. Are you assuming a mother or father role with your child?"

Susan turned red as she shuffled. "M-Mother? I don't know, maybe. I think I might make a good mom. It's a boy."

Roger held up his hands. "The one human, I gather? How did that happen? I thought two things of the same species wouldn't work."

Twilight went still a moment. "The answer is clear. Sunset Shimmer, data officer, is a hologram. A hologram does not share any DNA similarities with a human, not having a genetic structure. Any hologram is valid for any organic. Her side of the genetics was provided by a thorough scan of her appearance, abilities, and dispositions rendered faithfully by the cross-species program. Because there was no actual genetics involved, a son was possible despite having two mothers."

Susan put her hands behind her back as she gave a weak chuckle. "I've, uh, never actually been with a man, or a woman, so this is kind of..."

Twilight looked at Susan. "Would you like to see him?" She held up her hooves to project a hologram into the air. The hologram showed the young child eagerly exploring the library with Sunset following after them.

Susan let out an aw at the sight. "He's growing so fast!"

Twilight motioned for her to look closer. "The results of the cross-breeding program start as young children and rapidly mature to mid-child. In human years, expect to have a 13 to 16 year old within a week or two. I suggest, Captain, she be given time off to bond with her child before this growth spurt elapses."

Roger picked up his fork and started in on his food. "All right, you're relieved of your duties until further notice."

Susan lit up at that. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" She seemed to consider a hug, but rethought that, with the tray she had brought in the way. "You're the best!" She scampered off with a delighted giggle.

Tella spread her hands. "We should let the other new parents have the same. We don't want to play favorites, I imagine."

Roger wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Very true. Thank you for the suggestion, Tella." He held out his hands to address the rest of the crew. "This is great news. They'll need our help and support. We are a family, with formal ranks or not. We'll get through this together."

The crew murmured at that, those still on duty sharing nods with each other.

He lifted his fork again. "That being said, back to work. This isn't the time to celebrate, but soon it will be." He pressed buttons with one hand, quickly drafting a notice to the other lucky parents that they would have time off to spend with their new children. "Not exactly as I had imagined things when we started."

Twilight inclined her head. "Many parts of this are taking different courses, Sir." She vanished.

He tapped his fork to his food tray. "I can't wait to see how it all turns out." He smiled warmly.

The ship cruised on through the endless void.

Pinkie threw her hooves wide. "Now this? This deserves a party! Thank you all you new dads and moms, for bringing your little ones here." She waved a hoof towards a group of children, adults and digital aides at their side.

Rose made sure her baby was fine before approaching Pinkie. "So, what's with the sudden gathering?"

Pinkie nodded to Rose. "You heard about the spell? Well, that means there are five babies on the ship! So we're having a baby shower!" She pressed a hoof to her cheek. "Sorta. I guess, technically, those are before the babies, but we got surprised! So consider this a first birthday party instead!"

Rose looked over at the families of children. "Thank you." She held out a hand for a hoof bump. "It's appreciated. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Pinkie made gentle shooing motions at Rose. "You go enjoy yourself, Mom! We're here for you today, not the other way around. Go cuddle up with your new little filly and your stallion."

Rose went pink as she perked at that. "Right, okay. Thank you again." She trotted back towards her family.

Pinkie pulled out the scroll with all her planning on it. "Let's see, next on the list, pin the tail on the pony!" She waved at where a picture of a pony missing a tail was on the wall, rump displayed towards the crowd, waiting for the tail to be returned. She held up a pin with a tail dangling off. "Who's ready to try first?"

Some of the children clamored for a chance. A few adults indulged them with a wry smile. One, after seeing their kid fail to land it even close, decided to get in on it. The whole room was in on it, calling out guidance, laughing, and groaning as things went well or poorly. Pinkie made it her job to be sure the organics in the room had fizzy drinks to enjoy as it went.

Pinkie pulled a pony shaped piñata from behind her back. "Who's ready for some sugar?"

The allure of the candy was muted, but battering the toy with the stick proved to be engaging the moment they all got their heads around the idea. When the candy began to trickle out, things changed. Young, calorie-hungry, children eagerly grabbed up the candy and the game reached a new level of intensity.

Dawning Star jogged into the room, eyes wide. "Whoa! How long has this been going on?" She scanned over the kids and took in the party, before settling on Pinkie. "You." She hurried up to the pink pony. "You look like you're in charge here."

Pinkie beamed widely. "Thank you for noticing! If there's a party, I'm probably involved. What's up, my, wait." She gasped in alarm. "You're a young dragon! When did you last celebrate your birthday?"

Dawning blinked with confusion. "Um. Well, about never?"

Pinkie went hopping into the air with delight. "Let me guess! You are a few years late for a birthday! Let me be the first to say, happy birthday! I'd give you some cake, but I don't have any. And oh, that is the saddest thing I ever heard." She pushed Dawning Star down to join the rest of the children. "You sit there, I'll get the cake!" She dashed off into the wall that she vanished into without a sound.

Dawning stared after her before turning towards Rose. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Rose nodded once. "There's a program for getting ponies and other species pregnant with a baby." She jostled her filly girl gently. "Here's mine, and we're all here celebrating it. I don't see why you can't have a birthday too."

Dawning's eyes widened. "Wow! Is this going to happen every year? Is this a pony thing, or a human thing?"

Rose pursed her lips as she looked at the festivities. "I think it might be a both thing. I don't know what other species have birthdays. You'd have to ask around."

Dawning covered her mouth with her hands. "Birthday?" She mumbled into her fingers before she moved them away. "Dragons don't do that." Suddenly, a cake lowered into her lap, big, round, sweet smelling, and glittering with too many candles. "For me?!"

Pinkie appeared before her. "It's your birthday! Who else would it be for? Come on! Blow out your candles!"

Dawning let out a puff of breath at the candles. Alas, she was a dragon, and she did a better job at lighting them than blowing them out. She blushed as she tried again, keeping the flames away to gust out the candles with a woosh of air. "What next?"

"Now we get to cut the cake!" Pinkie leaped down from Dawning's head. "Everyone circle up around us and join in!"

She couldn't help but take a deep whiff of the cake before them. Given a cake knife, she sank it into the soft dough and the party cheered as she served them up slices. She got the last slice, but, to her pleasure, it was also the largest one. "This birthday party thing is pretty great."

Author's Note

Would you accept a Pinkie Birthday Party?

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23 - Dragon Speak

In the dark between the stars, there was only silence and darkness. On a tiny starship that sailed across the vast cosmos, that was changed. It was changed by light and sound and movement. Namely it was the smallest members of its ship. Having found one another, they scurried through the hallways with plotting giggles and quick dashes on feet and hooves.

The adults had work to do, but the children had not yet learned that part of life, so they played. There was no maliciousness in their pranks, and few were any more than mildly upset by the sudden things they did. Most that saw them were more likely to smile than not, shaking their heads as the pitter patter of hooves faded away.

Humans and ponies loved having children aboard their ship, and this was doubly true with the inclusion of a dragon. They had expected some friction with their new guest, but Dawning Star had grown close to the young ones quickly. She met them at the birthday party, and their bond become only more firm each day as she met them and played with them. Exploring the ship, casually wrestling, or even just learning things.

One child trotted into the deck, dressed in a too-big uniform, heading straight for Roger. "Excuse me, Captain." She tilted her head back to look up at him. "Do you know where Mom is?"

Roger glanced down at the growing filly. Fortunately, they were cruising through largely nothing. He had time to smile at the filly. "Hello there. Your mom—" He glanced away a moment. "Ah, she should be in the botany lab, floor three. Do you know the way?" He didn't even get to finish asking the question, the filly already racing away. He watched her go with a faint chuckle. "She'll be all right."

Twilight appeared in front of him. "Captain, the children are wandering the ship freely."

Roger blinked at her. "Yeah, I can see that." He gestured towards the door. "They haven't caused any problems, and I'm sure it's good for them to get out and about. Have available aides keep an eye on them, just in case."

"Of course." She dipped her head. "As the historical reports state, they are in a state of advanced growth. Growing accustomed to their physical and mental states occupies all of their waking hours. Once this passes, I estimate we will have well-adjusted children on our hands."

Roger pursed his lips. "Do we have anything like school here?"

Twilight spread her wings with a flick of her tail. "No. However, we do have crewmembers who are qualified to educate, and a fully stocked library. Being the proud mother of one of the children, the information specialist shouldn't oppose assisting in this task."

Roger patted Twilight on the back. "Sounds good to me. We'll get them enrolled, and off they'll go to school. Thank you, Twilight."

Twilight dipped her head to him. "Of course. This is, after all, for their own growth." She vanished, only to appear before Sunset.

Being in the library, she was suddenly human, standing on two legs instead of four. "Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset started at her full name being spoken. "Oh, Twi. Hey. What's up?" She glanced around as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

Twilight walked slowly towards Sunset. "I have been studying this situation. Our children have been maturing very quickly. It is all within norms for the spell that created them. They will require information." She pointed at Sunset. "Information you have. I would like you to create lesson plans for the children."

Sunset put a hand on her chest. "Me? Why me?"

Twilight perked at that. "One. You have access to all required information. You are the information specialist, after all." She stepped closer to Sunset. "Two. You are one of the mothers of these children. You are more likely to want the best for them." She tapped Sunset's chest. "Three, you have expressed some amount of boredom with your current workload." She huffed gently. "You know, you could just go idle, like other aides when they have nothing to do."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "It feels wrong to just sit there doing nothing when I know there's things I could be doing."

Twilight spread her arms. "Well, now you can make lesson plans, and spend time with the children. Your skills are required, and you have time to accomplish this. Are we in agreement?"

Sunset took a breath as she crossed her arms. "Alright. I'll try my best. We want to give the kids the best, after all."

Twilight nodded once at that. "Your support is much appreciated." She turned away, just to look over her shoulder. "Is having a pony form so uncomfortable? You still have permissions set in this room to only permit human aide shapes."

Sunset glanced down at her hand, closing it. "It's not uncomfortable. I just..." She met Twilight's gaze. "My history with ponies and humans were complicated before I even got here, but I was used to being a human, okay?"

Twilight lifted her hoof at that. "Just, remember you're always welcome here. We're all the same now." She vanished without a sound.

"Mmhm." Sunset wandered along the fake books, eyes roaming. "Now what will work for little learners?"

Rainbow Dash perked an ear. "What the?" She leaned in towards a sensor that was barely picking up something. "Reveal your secrets!" Her console switched to readouts she could understand, and it confirmed her suspicions. "Captain! I've got movement out there. Single source. Slow but getting closer."

Roger sat forward in his chair, hearing Rainbow coming from a nearby console. "Can we get visuals on it?"

Rainbow worked quickly at her console. "Working on it, Captain. Working on it." She flicked through several menus. "The sensors are picking it up, but I can't see anything with our cameras yet. Here's a view of it in infrared."

The main screen flickered to show a round object with lines of brighter spots running across its largely cool form. As it drifted closer, Rainbow Dash enlarged the image. "We are receiving enough energy output to maintain life support on a ship, and possibly more. Whatever this is, it is still active."

Roger shifted in his seat. "Yellow alert. It could be dangerous."

Twilight appeared next to him. "It could be fascinating, or even helpful, Captain."

Roger chuckled softly. "Looking on the bright side of possibilities? It could also be an approaching attacker. We don't know, but it is approaching in hyperspace, which does not sit well with me."

Tela came into the room. "Captain, what's going on?"

He pointed at the screen. "Unknown object is approaching us in hyperspace. You've got the conn." He headed for the door. "Rainbow, still with me?"

"Of course, Cap! How can I help?" She moved from screen to screen to keep up with Roger's movements. "Where are you going?"

Roger frowned. "I'm going to talk to Dawning Star." He stopped. "Actually, call her here." He closed his eyes as he spoke, knowing she would hear him.

Moments later, the door opened, and a small dragon stood before him. "Hello, Captain." She raised a hand in a light wave. "Heard you wanted me? What's up?"

Roger pointed down the hallway. "There's an object in hyperspace. We want to know what it is. We're going to have a chat with it."

Dawning inclined her head left, then right. "Sorry, but why do you think I can help with that?"

Roger pointed at her. "I recognized the heat lines on it. It's the crest of the Dragon Empire. If anyone's going to say hello to it and get a reasonable response—"

"—It's the dragon, right." She rolled her brown eyes with a little smile of a smirk. "I get it. Sure, I'll be your face if you need me to be." She started off down the hallway with him. "How fast is it approaching?"

Rainbow Dash answered as they walked along. "Still speeding up. We have a few minutes to respond, I'm sure, but we'd rather not let it get too close without saying anything. Want me to get Casey on the line? She's better at comms."

Roger lifted his chin as he walked. "I trust you, Rainbow. Send a standard hail over our current course, but that's it. Don't want to cause an accident or make any new enemies."

A screen near them lit up as a dragon's face appeared, glaring at them. "Identify yourself!" he boomed without room for argument.

Dawning Star snorted with annoyance. "Dawning Star, what's it to you? We're flying here, and you're getting in our way. What's the deal?"

He straightened up. "Who is we?" He moved to peer at the screen more closely. "Wait a minute, I recognize you. You're that dragon who went missing on a vacation trip." He stepped back with a grin. "This is my lucky day. I can't wait to see the look on everyone's face when they hear that I found the Dragon Empire's lost stowaway."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not 'lost', jerk. I'm here because I wanna be. And you're still in the way, so get moving, or we'll crash through you."

Roger tensed at her harsh words. "Easy," he whispered. "We're not trying to start a fight."

"That's alright." The dragon on the screen had a smirk on his face. "I could do with a new trophy ship. We'll give you a moment to transfer over and power down."

Dawning snorted in laughter at that. "I think not!" She stomped towards the monitor with her hands on her hips. "Listen here, rocks for brains. We got places to be. We're going to those places. You're not invited!"

"Oh yeah?" The dragon pointed at her. "Listen here, knucklehead. This is a Dragon Empire ship, and we're taking you back where you belong. Get over here now, or I'll have my gunners make a new pothole in your hull."

Dawning jammed her finger against the screen, clacking with her claw. "We already have permission to go! They already know I'm here. It's not my fault you lot are too far away to keep up with the news. We're going, you're getting out of the way, now!"

He stared at her with wide eyes, ears going back. "Are you challenging me?" He straightened up with a flare of his nostrils. "Fine. I accept. This is on you, punk."

The panel went dark. Roger threw his hands up. "I wanted you to defuse the situation, not enflame it! What were you thinking? What was I thinking asking a pre-teen to handle this? Rainbow, are they charging weapons?"

Rainbow appeared on that same screen. "Surprisingly, no. They seem to be matching our speed and heading."

Roger furrowed his brow. "And what's their plan once we get to wherever we're going? Drag us back in chains? Great job making friends, Dawning."

Dawning shuffled as she hugged herself. "No, I just challenged him to a personal match. He'll come over soon, looking for me. If I win, well, I get what I want. If he wins, he'll probably drag me back."

"Mmhm." Roger frowned with concern. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Dawning cracked a smile. "Who, me? I'm great at fighting." She paced away from him with a tense laugh she hoped convinced him that she knew exactly what she was doing.

Even as the ship shuddered with the arrival of their guests, she slapped her hands together. "Time to put up, or shut up." Like most dragons, shutting up felt like a terrible option. "I can do this."

Author's Note

This is how dragons work things out.

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24 - Fight Fight Fight

The scowling commander of the dragons stood near the center of the arena. Other dragons cheered and encouraged both combatants about as equally, as if they didn't care who won, just that it would be a show worth watching. Dawning stood on one end, clad in a comfortable orange-yellow leather with yellow straps around her body to hold things in place. The commander wore a black leather outfit with steel plates bolted onto it.

Twilight appeared in the center. "I will be acting as your referee today if neither of you have objections?"

Dawning stretched herself out, more catlike than dragonlike, rolling her head to crack her neck. "I don't mind."

The commander shrugged. "Whatever." He checked his metal plate armguards, making sure they were firmly in place.

Twilight tossed her hair back as she flared her wings wide. "Then the rules will be as follows. When one combatant concedes or loses consciousness, the fight will immediately end. Dragons, unlike humans, are built for fighting, so anything that isn't cheating is permitted. The fight will last until a decisive victor has been determined, or one of the previous conditions has been met. Please, no killing."

"Finally!" Dawning stomped towards the commander, her claws sliding from their sheaths with a grinding noise.

Twilight held up a hoof. "Wait." But there was no waiting, the two dragons lunging for one another.

Roger watched the conflict from the sidelines. "I am no expert in dragon anatomy, but most of them seem to have claws that don't move. Why can hers retract like that?"

"Good question." Twilight stood at his side as she watched the fight unfold. "The best guess I can provide is that it is a dragon-feline hybrid trait."

He snapped his fingers. "That makes sense. But how did she get any cat in her?"

Answers to that were not forthcoming as the two warriors clashed. The commander went for great smashes, but Dawning was as fast as the feline parts suggested. Dodging nimbly, she scraped, battered, and pelted the larger dragon. Barely avoiding a stabbing horn aimed for her eyes, she jumped back. The moment she landed, she kicked up sand towards his face, and surged forward to gouge his leg with her claws.

He howled with pain as the crowd jeered at his poor performance.

One of the dragons slammed the ground loud enough to get both their attentions. "Pathetic!" She pointed at the commander. "She is barely emerging from her egg and you're letting her take this long to crush? I move we need a new leader." She rose with a sneer. "And I say it's me."

Dawning faltered, glancing over at the sudden new voice.

The commander wasn't distracted by her, but he was by the interruption. "Hey! Shut up, dragonette. You're just here to watch."

That was an invitation to battle, and one the other dragon accepted with a sudden charging rush. They collided with slamming fists and fierce growls.

Dawning backed away slowly, her hands up. "Um. Why am I doing this again?"

Twilight reappeared nearby. "I believe this match has been cancelled." She inclined her head towards the two grown dragons fighting it out. "And a new one has begun. Dawning Star, I suggest you move to a safe distance."

Dawning hurried over to Roger's side. "Yeah, um, yeah, I'm with you."

Roger furrowed his brow as he watched the two dragons fighting. "Twilight, are they going to be all right?"

Twilight huffed softly. "I cannot be certain. If I had to select one, I would rather the new challenger win, as they are likely to not pursue Dawning Star further."

The fight didn't last much longer, with the dragonette holding down the other with a stomping foot. "The ship is mine, by rite of combat!" The crowd cheered for her victory.

Roger held up his hands to applaud politely, Dawning joined in after a moment of thought.

Twilight brought her hooves together. "May I introduce the new captain of this vessel, Shadow Slayer!"

The she dragon bowed in acceptance of the praise before kicking her defeated. "Back on your claws! We have work to do." Just like that, she led him and the rest of the crowd back towards her ship.

Dawning dashed over to her side. "Hey, maybe shouldn't ask, but what about me?"

"What about you?" Shadow Slayer rolled her eyes. "You have a good fight for a wyrmling. You do what you want to do. If someone tells you not to, slash their eyes out. That's all there is to it."

"Great." Dawning lowered her voice to a whisper. "And how do I get home?"

Shadow Slayer spread her wings as she gestured around. "You made friends with these ponies. Ask them to get you home." With a rough laugh, she moved on, and soon the ship was down to just one dragon again.

Roger looked over at Dawning Star. "So, that could have gone better, but also a lot worse." He patted her on the shoulder. "Welcome to the crew."

She bowed her head. "Thanks. But, uh, if you don't mind, I'm going to stay in my room for a bit."

Roger spread his hands as she stalked off. "You can always talk to me, Dawning. We're here for you, no matter what. Take care of yourself." He watched her go with a solemn sigh. "Twilight?"

Twilight appeared at her name being spoken. "Captain?"

"We have human specialists, and pony specialists." He turned towards her. "Who's qualified for dragon therapy?"

Twilight turned her head away as she rubbed at her chin. "I will send someone to talk with her, Captain. Dawning Star is unique among our crew, but not in all the universe. She has a mind, and it is not entirely alien to us. She is, at the least, an Equestrian." She vanished to see that done.

Roger headed back towards the bridge. "All things considered, could have been worse."

Casey fell into step with him. "Captain, we are being hailed by Shadow Slayer."

"What about?" Roger glanced at her, most of his attention on moving back towards the bridge.

"Mostly just wishing us a nice trip." Casey laughed at that. "Dragons have interesting ways of settling things."

"Mmhm." Roger checked out the front window before heading for his chair. "Bring it up."

Shadow Slayer sat with a wide smirk on her face. "Thanks for letting me try out your ship. Not as good as the one we're keeping though." She directed a finger at Roger. "But if you want a rematch, look us up." Her window blinked away, call ended.

Roger sank into his chair. "All right. You can say it. This wasn't my best day of leadership."

Tela put a hand on his shoulder. "Nobody could have predicted that kind of turnabout." She squeezed that shoulder. "But, next time, perhaps we don't allow a child to speak for us. I am glad it worked out this time."

Roger sat up in his seat. "Right. All's well that ends well. Hopefully there won't be any more drama today." He smiled over at Casey. "So, any other surprises out there?"

Casey ran her hands over her controls. "Let's see here. According to this, our course is clear."

He spread his hands. "Then we'll just enjoy the rest of the trip."

Dawning Star looked up as her door chimed. "Ugh, whatever. Who is it?"

A voice called through the door. "Hi, Dawning Star. Can I come in?"

She held her head in her hands as she responded. "You're already here, so sure. Can't make the day too much more awkward."

Sunset Shimmer came in with a hopeful smile. "Hey, uh, so I heard you were in a big fight. How'd it go?"

Dawning fell backwards onto her bed with a long sigh. "It was supposed to be easy! Win a fight, and I get to do what I want. I could have won that fight."

Sunset walked in far enough for the door to close behind her. She was a human at the time, hands held together. "You lost?"

"Worse." Dawning thumped her bed. "Some other dragon butted in and stole the fight from me. I didn't even have to lose to not get to fight!"

Sunset frowned softly. "Oof. So you feel like you don't even have a choice now?"

Dawning hugged herself with a long groan. "Look, I wanted to be here, but now, yeah, it's not because of what I'm doing." She huffed as she rolled onto her side. "It isn't fair."

Sunset sat down on the floor, crossing her legs. "Mmhm. It really doesn't sound fair at all." She reached over to pat Dawning on the arm. "I don't know how things are with dragons, but it's okay to be upset about that. I know the feeling. I have to fight to keep my boundaries all the dang time."

Dawning sat up sharply. "You? You're a human. You run this ship, besides the ponies."

"Yeah, about that." Sunset laughed tensely. "I'm a hologram, a program. All the other programs on this boat are ponies. I'm the one that's happy being human, so I get all kinds of flack."

Dawning hunched her shoulders as she rubbed at her arms. "I didn't know that. No one said anything."

Sunset shrugged as she sat there. "No reason to. Most people don't care. The humans that is. They're fine, one more than the others." She smiled at Dawning gently. "Feeling better? You look it."

"I do?" Dawning frowned with confusion. "I guess, maybe a little. You came in here just to cheer me up?"

Sunset shook her head once. "You didn't want to see anyone, and I get that. But, yeah. Twilight asked me to stop by and check up." She hiked a thumb at the door. "Just say the word and I'll get out of here. I'm not going to make you hang out if you're not up for it."

Dawning pursed her lips for a quiet moment as she slipped to the floor. "Could you stay? Just for a little while? We can talk or play games or something."

Sunset stood up with a smile. "Sure. I know how to get at the games they don't want you to find." With a dark chortle, she worked the remote to bring the wall viewer to life. "What kinds of games do you like?"

Dawning moved closer to see what was on offer. "Anything's fine with me." She leaned towards Sunset as she spoke. "Are you sure it's okay for me to be here?"

Sunset found a nice strategy game they could both enjoy, but kept the volume low so it didn't distract. "Captain said you're actually crew now, so why would it be odd for a crewmember to be on their ship?" She waved the remote at Dawning. "We're just two crewmembers enjoying some time off."

Dawning sank down into a seated position as the game started. "I didn't really think about it like that. This is all kind of sudden."

Sunset hiked her brows up at that. "Life can be like that. I got a girlfriend all of a sudden, and then a kid. One thing after the other with no breathing room in the middle. I'm just saying, I could use some game time too." She started the game in earnest, showing how to make moves and what the goal was.

A digital sprite on the screen exploded into pixels. Dawning nodded once. "Right, I can do that." She went for one of her pieces, only to lose it to an attack. "Whoa, wait, what happened? That wasn't fair!"

Sunset snickered. "You're new, it's alright. Learn, and get revenge."

Dawning sneered viciously. "Now you're talking my language." She moved one of her pieces, crunching Sunset's in return. "Ha, take that!"

Sunset put up a hand in feigned horror. "Oh no! Now you're getting it." She took her next move. "Let's have fun."

The game was played out with victories and losses, some that seemed to matter more than others. Neither kept score, but Dawning gave as good as she got. Their game was followed by another, and then they switched games entirely, a dance of actions and reactions, bickering and snark. Neither seemed to have any complaints about it as a whole.

Author's Note

Dawning was hoping for more finality to that fight, ideally with her on the winning side.

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25 - Top. Men.

Roger glanced up towards the door of his room. "Who is it?"

"Dawning Star," replied Twilight. "She looks nervous. Should I allow her in?"

He spread his hands. "Certainly." He stayed seated on his bed, letting her enter at her own pace. "What's up? I hear you're hanging out with Sunset Shimmer?"

Dawning flashed a toothy smile at Captain Roger. "She knows some interesting games, but getting lost in games is for wyrmlings." She joined Roger, hopping up onto his bed to sit next to him. "I'm a grown dragon."

Roger chuckled warmly. "Most of the time."

"Pfft." She tossed her head. "So, as a dragon, I'd like to talk with you. I think it's about time I got closer to the one in charge, and that's you."

Roger sat up a little straighter. "What's on your mind?"

Dawning pursed her lips as she gathered her thoughts. "Sunset said you're all working towards an unknown future, right?" She rolled her hands in the air. "No idea what's coming, but you plan to run towards it."

Roger lifted his chin. "That's the plan."

"It's been interesting so far." Dawning touched her chest. "But if it's unknowns that I can handle, well, I am a dragon." She chuckled with some tension. "We can handle anything." She clasped her hands together. "Sounds like you plan to be out here a long time, huh?"

Roger chuckled softly. "Twilight told you, didn't she? We have several years to where we're headed now, and several more coming back from there, and that's assuming we don't need time to resolve that situation, which we probably will." He considered Dawning. "You picked a curious boat to sneak onto."

Dawning winced at the way he said 'sneak'. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that. So, are you guys looking for crew?" She lifted her chin as she waited for his answer.

Roger hiked a brow at that. "You're already crew, Dawning Star, Private First Class." He pointed to the badge on her shoulder. "That's what that means, your rank."

"What does it do?" Dawning tilted her head at the badge. "It looks nice, but what does it do?"

Roger sighed softly. "The ranks and badges mean nothing, and everything, Dawning. They say who's in charge of what. If someone of a higher rank tells you to do something, you do it, unless you're damned sure that would jeopardize the mission as a whole."

"Oh, okay." Dawning smacked her fist into her palm. "So I just gotta not screw things up. I can do that." She stood with hands on her hips. "So how do I get to higher ranks? We dragons don't like taking orders, if we can avoid it. I want to be in charge."

Roger smirked at the idea. "I'm in charge, and there are a lot of steps ahead of you to reach my rank. I applaud your initiative, but I'd recommend being a good crewmember first. That's the first step to any kind of authority. Then you work your way up."

Dawning sank down slowly. "Well, how do I do that?"

He gently pat her head. Why were Equestrians so pattable? He didn't know. "Get your jobs done, and keep this ship sailing smoothly. Speak up when you have good intel, and be someone everyone else can rely on."

Dawning closed her eyes as she felt him pat her head. She enjoyed the moment, then it was over. She straightened up. "Got it. I'll start with doing all my jobs, and figure out how to get other ones." She hiss-clicked her tongue against her teeth. "So, mmm, you have a mate?"

Roger lifted a brow. "Why do you ask?"

Dawning pouted at him. "One fast way for anyone to get higher in rank is to get closer to the one already in charge." She curled her tail with a devilish smirk. "I'm not above those techniques."

"Ahh." Roger put a hand on her shoulder. "But you are, or we'll make you be. You're too young to be trying things like that."

Dawning pulled back with her nose wrinkling. "But I'm a grown dragon."

He smiled sadly at her. "You are still maturing. I look forward to the day you get your wings."

Dawning colored sharply. "You know about that?!" She yanked at her sleeves as she turned away from him. "I wasn't going to tell anyone yet."

"We've been informed of dragon puberty, which you are getting close to. As a young child, your thoughts should be towards growing and developing, not reproducing. Be your own dragon for now." He folded his hands in his lap. "As for me, I am not currently interested in mating."

Dawning glanced up at him. "You seem smart, and nice." She batted her lashes gently. "I don't see what the big deal is."

Something about her was off. Roger could feel a warmth radiating from her. "Twilight?" She appeared on a monitor on the wall. "Is Dawning alright, health wise?"

Twilight raised her hooves. "My knowledge of the specifics of dragon biology is nowhere near as robust as human and pony, but she appears to be in good condition. She also appears to be ready."

"Ready?" He kept his eyes on Dawning, who was busy trying to not meet his gaze. "For?"

Twilight spread her wings. "She wishes to create a child. It is an immature thought, but genuine, from her point of view. If you returned her feelings, a child would result."

Roger stood up from his bed with a groan. "Good grief. Really? Okay, well, I'm not, so that's that. Twilight, take care of it." He opened the door with a grumble, leaving the room behind.

That left Dawning to slump with a sigh. "Wow, am I that ugly?"

Twilight smiled at the young dragon. "On the contrary, he cares for you considerably and does not wish any harm on you. Breeding with immature sapients is incredibly taboo in his culture." She raised a hoof to her chin. "And mine as well. Is it more typical among dragons?"

Dawning pouted slightly as she listened. "Of course it is. You have your needs, and everyone's been there." She slid off the bed onto her feet. "I'll get there one day. Now how did he know what I was thinking? I didn't say nothin'!"

Twilight waved her hooves as a panel of dense information appeared. "For one, I informed him. Due to the cross-species breeding spell in operation, hints were given that you were giving consent for a child to be created. If he returned that consent, a child would be created. That is the nature of that spell."

Dawning wandered towards Twilight with wide eyes. "You can do that? Just make kids without having sex? Wow, dragons have nothing on that." She blushed deeply. "Okay, how does it work?"

"As I said." Twilight leaned in, though still trapped on that screen. "If two members of different species wish to have a child with one another, than a child is created. It's that simple."

Dawning nodded once, but had to shake her head. "So it only works if both people want a kid?"

Twilight furrowed her brow with concern. "That is correct. Captain Roger did not return that feeling because he does not wish to harm you by giving you a child at such a young age. He feels, rightly so, that it would be a burden during such a time when you should be exploring who you are, as a person."

Dawning crossed her arms over her chest. "If it's just between us, I think I can handle it. I'm pretty tough, you know." She slapped a hand on her bicep. "I can handle it! Besides, I thought this ship was big on teamwork. I wouldn't have to do it all on my own. I bet Sunset would help, she already knows how to raise one!"

Twilight held up her hooves. "Slow down, Dawning Star. You are still young. Much more than I anticipated, but it is a reality. You have so much to experience before you choose to be a mother." She considered a moment. "Your mind is your own. You are free to continue wishing what you want to wish, but don't hold it against Roger if he doesn't return that."

Dawning dragged her claws through her white hair with a long sigh. "Yeah, I guess so. Thanks for talking with me, Twilight." She smiled up at the screen. "You're pretty nice for a computer."

Twilight smiled brightly at Dawning Star. "A pleasure to assist. I was, and am, a pony. I may be operating the ship, but I'm still a pony. If you have any questions, you can call out to me. I will respond to Twilight or computer, whichever is easier."

Dawning reached up and pushed the button that turned off the monitor. "That's good to know." She stretched her arms over her head with a groan. "Okay, time to work on making some more friends around here." She jogged out of the room with a calculating smile. "I'll show them I have my head on right."

She headed for the mess hall, where there were people. It was a room where humans usually hung out. She spotted a small one, one of the new foals that had joined their crew. Even as she examined the colt, the colt rushed up to her. "Hi!" He offered a hoof. "Never saw you before. What are you?"

Dawning snickered at him, gently giving his hoof a shake. "I'm a dragon, pipsqueak." She put her hands on her hips. "You got a name?"

The colt looked quite pleased that he had found a new friend. "I'm North Star." He bounced in place with boundless energy. "Dad's getting a snack, then he's gonna take me hiking on the holodeck!"

"North Star?" Dawning crouched down to see eye to eye with him. "Oh, that's clever." She rubbed his head, tousling his hair. "You go have fun on your hike, I gotta find some friends of my own."

North pounced her without warning. "You found a friend!" He hugged her in a warm envelope of eager young fur. "Wanna go hiking with me?"

Dawning squirmed out of his grip. "No, no, that's alright. It's your special time with your dad." She gave him a little shove. "Now go on, shoo."

But he wasn't retreating. "It'll be fun. Dragons like to hike, don't they?"

She closed her eyes with a smile. "Fine, fine, you're right. You know where your dad is? We can go meet him."

"This way!" North hurried ahead, his hooves clopping against the floor as he ran. Eagerly, he led her to a male human enjoying a sandwich. "Da! I found a friend." He whirled to point a hoof at Dawning Star. "She's a dragon," he whispered loudly as if that was some secret he was revealing.

Dawning chuckled lightly at the behavior. "Hey, uh, you mind if I join in on the hiking?"

The man swallowed his mouthful of food before answering. "Certainly. Welcome to the hike. I'm Commander Dakota Jones, but everyone calls me Dex." He reached down to pat North on the head. "And this here is my son, North Star."

North made a scrunched up face as he giggled. "I already told her my name, silly." He moved aside of Dawning. "We're gonna have so much fun! Dad loves challenging hikes. Expect lots of logs and vines an' things in the way. It's fun!"

Dawning grimaced at the thought. "Right. Exercise. So exciting." She patted North on the head, showing a toothy smile. "Sounds like fun."

North trotted alongside Dawning as they walked through the ship to the holodeck.

Author's Note

That got awkward a moment.

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26 - Climbing Buddies

For all her initial hesitation, Dawning Star found scrambling over and under things to be surprisingly engaging. Dex had programmed up some jungle challenges that were physically demanding without being unsafe. North, being smaller, still managed to find the hardest ways through the programs. Dawning did her best to keep up with him, laughing along the way.

"Whew." Dawning flopped onto a fake fallen tree with a gasp of air. "Okay, North, you win. I can't climb anymore."

Dex wandered up behind her with a warm chuckle. "It's your first day. It takes practice. I bet you'll start beating both of us if you keep trying." He offered a hand to help her back to her feet.

Dawning accepted his help with a toothy smile. "Maybe so, maybe so. North sure has a lot of energy. Where does he get it all?"

North bounced in place. "For one, I'm still growing. It's almost cheating." He twirled left and right. "So when something would get sore, it gets replaced really fast. I'll finish growing pretty soon, then I'll have to work like everyone else, and get tired, like everyone else." He stuck his tongue out at the thought.

"Growing sucks," Dawning agreed with a slow nod. "All your scales itch, and you feel too big for everything. Ugh." She put her hands on her hips as she stood there. "I'm still growing too, must be why I kept ahead of Dex."

"Harsh." But he laughed at the antics of the two younger climbers. "But I don't think you're entirely wrong."

North flopped against Dawning's leg with a hug. "You're cool. We should hang out more." He smiled up at her brightly. "Right?"

Dawning Star reached down to rub North's head gently. "Huh, yeah, you seem cool enough." She pointed up at the top of a craggy hill. "Bet I could beat you to the top of that."

North perked sharply. "Betcha can't!" With that challenge laid down, he bolted towards the peak of the fake mountain.

Dawning dashed after him with a laugh. "Cheater!"

They climbed eagerly, hooves seeking purchases as draconic hands grabbed and pulled her along. Near the top, Dawning overtook North, scrambling up and onto the peak. "Ha! I win!" She straightened up with fists on her hips as she stood there proudly.

"Aww." North flopped on the top, reaching it moments later. "Nice job." He laughed as he rolled onto his back, hooves in the air. "Fun hike, Dad!"

Dex crested the hill, much slower than either of the younger sapients. "Glad you had fun." He was breathing harder from the climb, wiping sweat from his brow. "Thanks for coming with us, Dawning Star was it? You're a great climbing mate with North here."

Dawning sniffed. "Of course I am. Dragons are good climbers." She grinned at Dex before flopping down next to North. "Man, look at that fake sky. Such a pretty shade of green."

They all sat at the edge of that cliff, enjoying the alien, simulated, sky. Dex broke the silence after a few minutes of rest. "North, why don't you go find mom and see what she's up to?"

North Star bounced to his hooves, offering a hoof to Dawning. "Sure thing, Da! C'mon, Dawning. Mom likes showing me cool science things. It's fun."

Dawning hauled herself back to her feet with North's help. Together, they raced to the bottom, and out through an open archway that led quite abruptly out of the holographic room and into the rooms of the ship. North eagerly led the way through the hallways towards one of the science areas. "Mom!" He called ahead to a pony. "Da and Dawning came hiking with me."

Doctor Wind Whistler glanced up from her console at North and the dragon girl with him. "That's lovely, dear. Dawning Star? Pleasure to meet you." She trotted over with a soft smile.

Dawning Star saw through it. "Uh, your mom's kinda, you know." She reached out to poke at the mare. "You're a hologram."

Wind Whistler chuckled warmly. "Astute. Yes, I am a hologram, but I'm also Wind Whistler, Doctor of astrophysics." She offered a hoof for Dawning to shake. "North mentioned he made a new friend. Glad you joined him and his father on their hike."

Dawning shook the hoof with some clear confusion. "Hey, Miss Whistler. You're going to have to explain to me how a hologram is a mom to anything that isn't also a hologram though." She threw her hands up. "And how do humans have such good holograms! As much pride as I have in dragon stuff, our holograms are trash compared to this."

Wind Whistler lit up. "Would you like a science lesson? North loves when I show him how things work." She gestured towards a couch-like spot on the wall of the room, joining Dawning on it.

North leaped up next to Dawn and settled down. "She's right. I love it when she teaches things. She can make complicated things sound so simple!"

Wind Whistler glowed at that praise. "North is exaggerating. It is not a simple topic by any stretch." She spread her hooves in front of herself as a panel appeared before her. "One major difference in our holograms, especially that of living creatures, like ponies or humans, is that we don't program them."

Dawn hiked a scaled ridge at that. "How do you have programs you don't program?"

"Excellent question!" Wind clapped her hooves. "They start with actual minds, uploaded into a personality matrix, which is itself a feat of incredible software development. It evolves and adapts to the personality loaded into it, and can keep right on adjusting as it changes its own weightings and inclinations. It has all the benefits, and downfalls, a proper personality can have."

North leaned against Dawning gently. "Mom loves explaining all this stuff. Da doesn't get into the programming bits though. Mom likes science, Dad likes piloting."

Wind Whistler bobbed her head once. "I loved science when I was a breathing pony. Becoming a program didn't dim that at all. Now, as for how I'm the mother of this adorable colt." She reached over to ruffle North's mane. "That's thanks to a different program, a spell as Twilight puts it. Any two species can breed on this ship, if they want a child. The child simply comes into being. My being a hologram doesn't stop it."

Dawning squirmed slightly from her seat. "Twilight explained some of that already. So, North is half hologram?"

Wind Whistler didn't squirm in the slightest. "As a matter of fact, no. Well, are they my son? Of course! But if you dug into him and examined his genes, his code, there'd be no holographic bits in there. He's a pony. A pony with shared traits of me and his father, but 100% pony."

"Wow." Dawning Star leaned back in her seat with wide eyes. "Dragons aren't anywhere close to that kind of tech. Holograms we can do, sure, but not, just making babies happen!" She threw her arms wide. "The captain got all weird when I wanted to do it with him."

North lifted his brows sharply at that. "Wait, you wanted to what?"

Wind Whistler held a hoof over North's muzzle. "Hush now, Dawning wants to grow up. And, apparently, she feels ready to have a child of her own." She gently pressed a hoof to Dawning's snout. "But you're a child yourself, dear dragon."

Dawning slumped where she sat with a grumble. "Twilight said the same thing. Captain Roger, and Sunset Shimmer too." She rubbed her snout where Wind had touched it. "But isn't it my choice? Why's everyone so sure about what I do?"

Wind Whistler offered a soft, comforting, smile. "Captain Roger is older than you, in a different phase of his life. He also doesn't want to hurt you."

Dawning crossed her arms at that. "Dragons are tough. He should stop assuming I break that easily. Besides, this 'spell' of yours doesn't involve laying eggs anyway. Just, pop, hatchling, right?"

Wind Whistler levitated over a dataslate with North leaning closer to see it. "True enough. However, a spell can be cancelled, or interfered with. Twilight doesn't wish to see you having an egg you're not ready for, and Roger cares about you too much to agree to it."

"Ugh." Dawn leaned back against the wall. "I can handle a little hatchling. I don't see what the big deal is."

North put a hoof on Dawn's side gently. "It's not that simple." The colt inclined his head. "If you have a wyrmling, they'll grow fast, like me. they'll be about your age before you know it. Your son or daughter will be exactly your age. Imagine that."

Dawning slumped where she sat with a soulful sigh. "Ugh. Okay, I get it. Your 'spell' is strange. I just want a little baby wyrmling." She cradled the imagined infant. "I would love them, and they would make me a part of things, a real part."

Wind Whistler reached over to rub Dawning's arm. "You can become part of things without a child, dear. Roger is welcoming you, North likes you. Sunset as well, yes?"

Dawning slackened at that. "Well, yeah. Shoot, you've all been super nice so far." She squirmed in place. "I don't know why. Are humans and ponies just like this?"

North chuffed at her. "Mom's nice because she wants to be. Da's nice because he's my dad." He hugged Dawning gently. "Humans are pretty friendly too, some more than others."

Dawning huffed gently before she surrendered to the kindness that was being thrown at her. "Fine! Fine..." She pulled North up onto her lap, heavy as he was. "You are awfully cuddly."

North snuggled right into her grip with a laugh. "Da says I take after mom that way." He closed his eyes with a warm purr. "Dragons cuddle?"

Dawning shrugged loosely. "Actually, not as a habit. But, um, getting used to it." She dared to try a little nuzzle, only to learn that ponies were actually kind of nice to nuzzle. She nestled with her new friend for a long while.

Wind Whistler watched Dawning and North cuddle on the couch. "Adorable." She flashed Dawning a smile. "I should get back to work, but you're always welcome to come ask a question if you have one bouncing around. You're our child too, all of ours. As a young creature on our ship, it is all of our duty to help you how we can."

Dawning hunched where she sat with North in her lap. "Thanks. This is all still pretty sudden for me." She leaned forward enough to bump snouts with Wind. "Glad I've made some good friends so far."

North angled his ears at Dawning. "If the captain won't be yours, what if I was?" He flashed her a cheeky smile. "We could cuddle a lot!"

Wind Whistler moved in, separating the two sapients. "North, Dawning has plenty of time to find romance on this ship, or out there."

North pouted at being removed from cuddle time. "Aw! What'd I do wrong?"

Wind Whistler tutted North. "Nothing dear, but Dawning isn't interested in romance right now." She rubbed her son's head gently. "Be her friend first, hmm?"

Dawning pat North's flank gently. "Y-yeah." She didn't sound nearly as certain as Wind Whistler did. "Friends are nice. Say, North, wanna grab something to eat? All that hiking's worked up some hunger."

"Yes!" North raced for the exit. "You read my mind!" He galloped down the hallway towards the mess hall.

Dawning hustled after him. "North, wait up! Dragons are faster than ponies, I bet!"

Wind Whistler chuckled gently as she returned to her console. Work waited for no pony, not even a happy mother mare.

Author's Note

Those two are quite adorable together.

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27 - Two Stars in the Night

North Star's hooves clacked against the floor as he dashed towards the mess hall.

Dawning sped up, chasing North eagerly. She reached out for him as she got close enough. They almost crashed together into the food dispenser.

He burst into giggles, hugging his friend briefly before pointing up at it. "Food machine." He bounced on his hooves. "What sounds good? There's all kinds of foods humans and ponies can eat. Dragons eat meat though, right?"

Dawning sniffed lightly as she checked the options. "Yeah, usually." She scanned over the presented options. "But, richer dragons eat gems." She rubbed her belly. "Always wanted to try one of those."

North's eyes lit up at that idea. "Ooh! I haven't tried gems yet." He trotted up next to Dawning to consider the dispenser together. "Twilight's programmed up tons of human stuff though. Dad likes their beef, mom loves the leafy things, and apples." He reached up to press a button. "Wanna try? They're good!"

Dawning tapped North's hoof away from the buttons. "Gems first, pipsqueak." She select through menus deftly before picking something sparkling to eat. "A dragon's gotta have her pride." She licked over her lips. "Also, you have gems, so how am I not gonna try some? Seriously, how do you have gems?!"

North leaned against Dawning gently. "Mom says the computer program has tons of recipes and instructions stored up, so we can ask for lots of things and it'll make it."

Dawning regarded North with some confusion, but that faded as a gem fell onto the tray on the replicator. She snatched it eagerly and sniffed it. "Mmm. I can't say it smells like a ruby. I never actually held one before."

North snickered gently. "Rubies are rocks. Ponies don't eat those, um, except salt I guess." He bumped Dawning gently. "Mom eats carrots too, you should try them later."

Dawning Star slowly turned the gem in her hands. "Well, trying this now." She tossed it into her eager snout. Crunch! Chew! "Oh wow." Her scales colored sharply as she savored the gem in her mouth. "North, North! Humans have awesome computers."

North Star rocked left and right on his hooves with a giggle. "Humans and ponies made these." He sat on his haunches just to clap his hooves. "They're teamwork. Maybe, some day, I'll help make even better computers. Ones that can make even better gems!"

Dawning gulped down her treat with a gasp of air. "North, those are already amazing." She considered her young pony friend with some clear confusion. "Man, humans and ponies are complicated, aren't they?" She ruffled the top of his head, sure that he seemed to enjoy that. "Okay, I got something. You want something to eat too, right? Lemme order something up for you too."

North brightened up at that offer. "Sure thing!" He trotted closer to the dispenser again. "Something human, and ponies like."

"Yeah yeah, no gems." She rolled her eyes. "Got it." She swiped her fingers across the touch panel, revealing a dizzying variety of dietary options. "Let's keep this simple. Some veggies and stuff you can chew on. Hmm, apples?" She selected that, then pressed her snout to North's nose. "Ready?"

"Ready!" North closed his eyes, tongue lolling out. He felt the apples land on his tongue. "Mmm!" He closed his maw to chomp eagerly on the tasty snacks.

Dawning Star fed him, one bit at a time. She cut the apple easily with her sharp claws, placing little slices where he could chew on them. "It's kind of funny. We're both stars."

North chomped and crunched on the offered bits of apple with a giggle. "Stars are cool! Dawning Star is the name of a star, it says so." He swallowed down the latest slice. "What's a Dawning Star? I bet it's pretty."

Dawning colored at that. "You are a flatterer!" She punched his shoulder before offering a few leafy greens. "The Dawn Star is the star. It's the big star that makes it dawn. The sun." She huffed softly as she served North Star more veggies. "I couldn't pick a cooler name if I tried." She winked. "And I did try, trust me."

North snapped up the last veggie, vanishing into his eager maw before he stood up. "Wow! Dawning Star, like the big sun, and North Star." He pranced in place with a chuckle. "We sound like explorers together!" He spread his forehooves with a giggle.

"Yeah, explorers." She ruffled his head even as she directed him out of the dining room. "That is what we are, North. Two stars braving the big black of space." She huffed gently. "Kinda poetic if you're into that."

North swayed left and right as they wandered the ship. "Poetry is neat, but exploring is even neater!" He cantered in place. "Oh! Since you're a junior crew, like me, you can come with me to class! Teacher would love another student!"

Dawning stumbled where she walked, tail dragging against the floor. "Class? North, uh, I'm not a pony, and dragons don't have school." She hunched her shoulders with some hesitation. "I've never been to class before."

North rubbed sidelong against her. "Then I'll show you. The teacher's really nice. Her name is Sunset Shimmer, and she knows a lot about every little thing. And she wants to share with us!"

Dawning shrank a little, tail tucking close as she followed North Star. "Dragons learn stuff on their own." She crossed her arms tightly. "Sunset's a hologram though, huh?"

North Star gasped. "How'd you know? Yes. Like my mom! Sunset's a hologram, but she teaches things, and does lots of work too."

Dawning let out a soft hum, following along with North. "If you say so. Dragons learn things on their own, or with family and stuff." She hunched her shoulders lightly as they wandered together. "North, how often do you have class?"

"Every day! Sunset said learning never stops, so we keep on going." He twirled about to face Dawning, going backwards. "She gives us things to do when we're not at class, and they're so fun! I get to do science with my own hooves." He bounced in place eagerly. "Science is my favorite, but Sunset likes teaching lots of stuff. History, math, so much stuff!"

Dawning gulped lightly as they walked. "North, are you sure she wants a dragon in her class?"

"A dragon, nope. But you're not just any dragon. I know you, and you're great." He pounced forward to hug her tightly a moment. "She'll love you." He bounced ahead a few steps before turning around. "Promise."

Dawning grumbled at North Star as he hugged her. "Fine, fine." She chased after North, easily keeping up with him as he pranced on ahead. "Sunset Shimmer sounds smart, at least."

"So smart!" North lead Dawning along the ship towards the library. Other young foals were gathering there. One was a human girl that waved gently as North and Dawning came in.

Sunset appeared near them with a warm smile. "North Star! Who's your new friend?"

Dawning shrank where she stood as all eyes went to her. "Dawning Star, dragon."

Sunset pointed with both hands. "I can see that. Look at you, all scaley and what not. Welcome! Did you want to join the class?"

North whinnied eagerly. "Dawning's super cool! She's brave, and can climb good." He bounced left and right as he stood by Dawning. "Isn't she the best?"

Sunset ruffled North's mane much as Dawning had several times before. "You're a growing pony, tone it down a little. Still, yes, I can see she's a very special dragon. But it's up to her. Dawning, do you want to join us? We aren't forcing you."

Dawning sniffed lightly, her scales coloring sharply. "North invited me." She hunched her shoulders gently. "Sure. Dragons are the best at learning on their own, so this should be good practice."

Sunset flashed a smile at that. "Hey, you even know your learning style, great. Some learn better on their own, and others in groups. Neither is wrong, we're just wired different." She tapped at her head as she moved to the front of the class. "I'll keep that in mind for activities I suggest your way. For now though, I'll show you all something neat to start."

North trotted to his seat, his desk morphing slightly to suit his pony body. Dawning sat nearby, a chair and desk simply appearing for her.

Sunset clapped her hands together, holographic information appearing on the screen behind her. "Now, since we have a dragon with us." She started into a lesson on minerology, gems, rocks, soil, and all manner of things one might find on a planet if they looked down.

North charged Dawning enthusiastically as the day came to an end. "Class was fun! Sunset knew so much." He cantered in place with a giggle. "Dragons dig for gems right?

Dawning huffed at that. "In the old days, that was the only way to get any." She looked past North to the young woman standing next to him. "Uh, hey?"

"Hi!" North's human friend offered a hand for Dawning to shake. "I'm Harriet Shimmer, it's nice to meet you."

Dawning Star sniffed her over suspiciously. "Who are you? Besides the name that is."

Harriet grinned warmly. "North invited me to hang out. Since we both joined the ship at the same time, I think we could be friends." She ran her fingers through her hair, shoulder length locks shifting gently. "I'm Sunset's kid. Don't worry, she doesn't give me any special treatment." She rolled her eyes at the thought. "I think she's extra mean to be just to be sure."

North bounced left and right eagerly. "Harriet's super cool! We do science together, and, and, and stuff." He cantered in place. "Since Dawning's joining class now, you two can be science friends."

Harriet held up a hand. "Our new friend just said she learns better on her own." She took her hand back, seeing it wasn't being taken. "If you want, I'd be delighted to do an experiment together, but no pressure."

Dawning grabbed Harriet's hand just as it was withdrawing. She shook it a bit overly-energetically. "I'm not used to this, okay? Sorry."

North hugged Dawning tightly. "Harriet's a science buddy! You'll love it, promise."

Harriet embraced Dawning Star as well, completing the group hug. "North's enthusiasm is hard to say no to."

Dawning felt the urge to flee the hug, but both other partners were, surprisingly to her, actually kind of nice to be next to. Neither made her nervous, and they were soft and warm. "Yeah." She wriggled free of them gently. "Science buddies, huh?"

North galloped out of the classroom eagerly. "Harriet likes the sciences. Sunset says that means a lot of things." He dashed down the hallway eagerly. "Follow me!"

Dawning and Harriet jogged after North eagerly.

North Star led them towards the holodeck eagerly. He pointed inside one of its several doors. "This one's open. Wanna do the experiment?"

Harriet gently bopped North on the end of his nose. "I just told you that Dawning needs her space. I know you're eager." She leaned in towards Harriet to whisper, "He's like this. He means well, promise."

Dawning sniffed North gently. "Yeah, North Star is an excitable pony." She bumped sidelong against him gently. "Science buddy or not, I can handle it." She strutted into the holodeck with Harriet and North following along.

Harriet let North play with the controls, instead opting to be by Dawning. "Now, feel free to tell me to take a hike, but it seems to me." She pointed at herself, then Dawning and North. "You two are very friendly. Not a bad thing! Just a thing."

Dawning hunched where she stood with a grumble. "North invited me hiking, we cuddled." She colored sharply. "Humans are friendly enough too." She crossed her arms tightly with her scales coloring sharply.

"Dragons can be so cute." She reached to gently rub some of those blushing scales. "If you like him, that's great. We're both kids of different creatures, so no flack out of us. I have two moms, of different creatures. How crazy's that?!"

Dawning sniffed Harriet gently. "Crazy is one word for it. Dragons aren't big on romance, North's a pony, I'm a dragon." She crossed her arms tightly. "And he doesn't want to have a wyrmling anyway."

Harrier rolled her eyes at that. "He doesn't know what having a 'wyrmling' is." She whistled sharply, getting his attention. "North, get over here."

North cantered over eagerly. "Science buddies ready?" He pounced Harriet in a warm hug. "Experiments are super neat.""

Harriet pushed him back gently. "Not science time, social time. North, when you and I were born, what were we?"

North bobbed his head left and right. "Human, pony. Dawning was hatched a dragon." He swayed gently. "Duh?"

Harriet's hands found their way to North's shoulders. "Besides that. We were small little kids. I was a human child, you were a pony foal. She was a cute dragon wyrmling. With me?"

North swayed in Harriet's grip with a giggle. "Sure thing!" He cantered in place gently. "Small and helpless babies. Why do you ask?"

Harriet motioned Dawning closer. "North and I have a mom each. Sunset, Wind Whistler. Both are computer programs, so they will be there for our entire life. Our fathers are Susan, for me, and Dex for North."

North Star snickered warmly. "Da is great!" He cantered in place on his hooves. "Both Susan and Wind taught us stuff, raised us, um, still raising us." He rubbed at his cheek gently. "Not all grown up yet. Why are you asking about that?"

Harriet pointed at Dawning even as she cringed away. "Dawning wants to have wyrmlings of her own. She's a bit young though. You really should wait until you're an adult before you—"

But, it was a bit late for that. That seemed like a fine idea to North Star, understanding what Dawn wanted. With his consent eagerly given, the two shimmered as the program executed, casually examining them both. Dawning gasped in surprise as her scales colored sharply. "North!"

Harriet rubbed her temples gently. "Great, the spell executed." She checked them both over as a panel of holographic data appeared for her. "It's going and I don't think I can stop it." She put a hand behind her head. "Let's just hope this doesn't explode."

What did explode was a suddenly appearing egg that dropped into Dawning Star's startled arms, large enough to house a wyrmling easily. Dawning cradled the egg nervously as North pranced in place eagerly. "Science buddy Harriet! Dawning has an egg now!"

Dawning was aghast as she hugged her newly created egg. "Why'd it work?! How'd it work?!" She squeaked as the egg bumped lightly in her grasp. "It's already quickened! What do we do?!"

Harriet checked over the holographic panel gently. "Sunset says congratulations? North, Dawning, you two just conceived a wyrmling apparently." She considered Dawning's egg with a sigh. "We should get to medical, now. When North and I were born, we were, um, already hatched. Dragons are different."

North whinnied in a rush. "Science buddies, medical bay now! Follow me!" He cantered ahead eagerly, Dawning and Harriet chasing after him as best they could. He lead the way eagerly towards medical.

Roger happened to be on his way there when North Star rushed by with a dragon girl and human girl in tow. "Oh no." He couldn't help but see the dragon girl was carrying an egg that seemed too large to have come from her. "Twilight! Keep an eye on Dawning and her new, uh, passenger. Tell me if anything goes wrong."

Roger had his link reply quickly. "Sunset is informing me of the details. Dawning and North just conceived a wyrmling together."

Roger jogged after Dawning and the others. "North! Slow down! Medical isn't going anywhere." He fell in behind them, able to keep up easily.

Harriet Shimmer glanced over her shoulder to spot the captain rushing after them. "Oh, hello, Captain. No time for talking right now."

As a group, they hustled into the medical area. Fluttershy was waiting for them, waving them towards a table on the side. "This is prepared for a dragon's egg. Put it there, on the cushion, please."

Dawning cradled her egg in her grasp nervously. "North, Harriet, Captain." She moved towards the prepared table gently, settling her egg down there gently. "Fluttershy?" She fell back as soon as the egg was put down. "Why are there so many people all of a sudden?"

Fluttershy examined the egg closely. "Captain, the spell worked exactly as intended, Dawning is pregnant with a wyrmling. North contributed his pony code to the process, and Dawning provided her draconic bits. Congratulations you two, you're having a child." She inclined her head. "I said that a bit awkwardly. You aren't pregnant. Dragons aren't pregnant." She laughed tensely. "But you have an egg, and it will hatch soon."

She patted the soft bedding the egg rested on. "This will keep it warm. Dragon eggs require warmth if they are to hatch. Usually dragon mothers and father curl around them to provide it." She adjusted the room temperature. "I'll raise the ambient heat, Dawning, North, feel free to cuddle it and keep it warm."

Roger sighed gently as he pinched his brow. "Twilight, are there any problems?"

Twilight appeared abruptly. "Both parents are in fine physical condition. The spell caused them no direct harm. They are experiencing sharp emotional effects, but that is to be expected."

Dawning threw her hands wide. "To be expected?! I'm. She slumped, almost falling over. "I'm a mom. Wow." She colored sharply as North hugged her gently.

Fluttershy gestured Dawning and North closer to the egg. "Physical contact with the egg is encouraged. Dragons would usually be cuddling it and sharing warmth together.

Dawning stuck her tongue out at Fluttershy. "I don't know where you're getting your dragon details from, but we don't cuddle our eggs. We just keep it hot, usually by parking it right on top of some toasty lava. That failing, our breath'll do the job. The hotter, the better!"

North trotted closer to Dawning. "Can I help? They're, um, my kid too?" They wriggled a bit, unsure how to feel about things. "I want to help."

Dawning sniffed North Star gently. "North, dragons raise wyrmlings on their own." She considered him sidelong before her scales colored sharply. "North helped anyway, guess he's at least a part of things." She bumped her hip against his gently. "Fine, cuddle it."

North let out an excited yelp as he climbed up onto the table and wrapped around the egg that would be his dragon. He wasn't putting out the heat of the lamp overhead, but he was trying his best.

Fluttershy monitored North and the egg closely. "Captain, I have an incubation lamp active. North's not providing much extra warmth, but dragons do vary greatly in their biology. Dawning, could you breath fire on the egg?"

Dawning rolled her eyes as she stood up and came closer. She shoved her hand under the lamp to feel the heat coming from it. "It's fine. North, you'll burn yourself if you hang out there too long. You're not a dragon."

North uncurled gently, dropping down off of the egg to trot next to Dawning instead. "Science buddy Harriet says breathing fire is kinda dangerous. Sunset taught us all about fire safety."

Harriet laughed at that. "I didn't say that! You can't breathe fire, goof. That's a dragon-only trick. Dawning, you alright? You looked a bit overwhelmed."

Dawning flicked her gaze up to the woman's face as she reached out to touch North. "Weird day, but I'm good. Good egg here, warm and ready to hatch soon. My wyrmling." She laughed a little tensely. "I'm gonna be a mom." The impact of that started to reach her. "Maybe I shoulda waited."

North huffed as he laid against Dawning gently. "Um, when it hatches, I'll be a dad too?" He spread his hooves wide as he looked down at himself. "Not sure if I can handle that. But neither of us have to. We have each other, and our families. We aren't alone."

Harriet patted North on the head gently. "We're all here for you two." She patted Dawning on the shoulder next. "I get to be the cool big sister for the hatchling, right?"

Dawning burst into a sharp laugh at that. "Deal. They could use a big sister at their side." She glanced aside. "But, wait. I want you to, hm. Can you be their aunt instead?"

Harriet wiggled her fingers with a smile. "Sure thing. Auntie Harriet sounds just fine." She stepped back from Dawning. "And there are plenty of people on this ship who will love the hatchling."

Author's Note

I bet some of you saw this coming. Hello, little egg.

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28 - Feather Touches

Sunset collapsed next to Casey. "We're becoming grandparents."

Casey jerked upright. "What?" She shook Sunset lightly. "You're not allowed to start a conversation like that. What's going on?"

Sunset laid flat on her back. "Dawning has an egg with North Star. Roger confirmed it." She stared up at the ceiling as she sorted out her thoughts. "I didn't expect this to happen. I mean, I know how that spell works, but they're so young."

Casey rolled her hands wildly. "Congratulations? That's the dragon, right? North Star, he's a friend of—"

"Mine." Harriet sat near them with a tablet, poking at it. "And they made me an aunt of their kid. And since you're my parent, you're a grandparent. Congratulations!"

Sunset put her hand on her head. "Thanks?" She sighed gently. "Okay, maybe they are young, but this is Dawning's choice, and we can't second guess it. She has friends here, and the support she needs." She took a breath she didn't need. "Twilight!"

Twilight appeared from nothing. "Yes?"

Sunset pointed at her accusingly. "Fix the spell! No kids for kids! If they aren't an adult, no kids, period."

Twilight saluted briskly. "Yes ma'am!" She vanished as quickly as she came.

Harriet reached over to pat Sunset's cheek. "Come on, grandma. It's not that bad."

Sunset swatted Harriet's hand. "You're teasing me, on purpose." She sat up with a grunt. "We'll do what we can, of course. She's part of the crew now."

Harriet sat down by Casey with a laugh. "It's like how you taught me about engineering. I love all my moms, and learned from each of you in turn. My two favorite engineers, Mom Casey and Sunset Shimmer, supporting the little engineers."

Casey raised a brow at that. "Sure, but they're too young to have a permit, and they already want to be elbow deep, while it's turned on." She threw up her hands limply. "What a mess. Tell me the, uh, wait, you did say egg, right? Is that egg alright?"

Sunset chuckled at that. "Egg is fine, so far. I'll keep an eye on things."

Casey sighed gently. "Good, good. Well, good that it's okay at least. I'm not sure how to feel about this new wyrmling with Dawning and North."

Harriet put a hand on her shoulder. "They'll be okay. Dawning was basically already independent. That's how she ended up on our ship and not a single dragon is hunting her down like I know you two would be if I suddenly went missing."

Sunset rubbed Harriet's head gently. "Naughty girl. Don't scare your moms." She tilted her head towards Casey. "We'll look out for Dawning. I don't know the first thing about dragon biology, but Fluttershy can help. Still, even if she is used to being on her own, that doesn't make her emotionally mature. Or biologically, for that matter. I hear dragons get wings eventually, and she has none."

Harriet opened her mouth, only to snap it shut. "Don't spoil her wings! You are right though. Dawning's like me in a lot of ways." She flashed a smile. "I like to think I'm a mature lady, but sometimes I really get reminded that I'm not yet. I'm just a girl."

Casey wrapped an arm around Harriet with a soft hum. "Mature or not, you're still my little girl."

Harriet laughed gently. "Thanks mom." She stood up from the couch. "Hope Twilight can fix that. We can't have that happening again."

Sunset hugged Harriet with a giggle. "Yeah. North is just a kid too."

Casey puffed out her chest. "Sunset, that gives me an idea."

Sunset tilted her head to regard Casey sidelong. "Is it a good idea?"

Casey held up her hands. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. North is about your age, isn't he, Harriet?"

Harriet nodded firmly. "Yep. We're both teens." She scratched at her chin lightly. "North has a bit of catching up to do though." She spread her arms wide. "He's still younger, up here." She tapped at her head. "Adorable, really."

Casey huffed at that. "Please stay on task."

Sunset crossed her arms tightly. "His graduation looms in the future. Maybe you should spend more time with him."

Harriet held up a finger. "He's already a friend. We already hang out. I'm his 'science buddy,' don't forget."

Casey slapped her hands together with a laugh. "Excellent! You two are good friends. That'll make it easier."

Harriet clasped her hands behind her back. "I feel like I've just been maneuvered into something, but I'm not sure what it is yet."

Sunset snickered gently at that. "More practice at being an adult. Very subtle, Casey." She hopped back to her feet. "But, really, you're already on the case. Just be there for North and Dawning Star. They'll need good friends, and they have at least one close by."

Harriet bowed gracefully. "Yeah yeah. Love you too, grandma Sunset." She darted off with a giggle before Sunset could catch her.

Sunset rushed after her with a shout.

Casey smiled at the both of them. "My family is crazy." She didn't sound like she was very upset at that fact.

As time passed, the crew went about their business. Roger visited Dawning and her egg often.

Roger knelt next to Dawning, his attention on the egg and its 'parents.' "How are you two holding up?"

Dawning peered at him suspiciously. "I'm not complaining exactly, but you are the captain of the ship." She threw a hand wide. "Why do you spend so much time around me? I'm not that important."

Roger laughed warmly as he sat down with Dawning. "For starters, you're one of our crew members. But, that's not why I visit you so much." He rubbed at his beard absently. "You are in a delicate place, and the whole crew is wondering how it's going. Being able to report back to them with specifics puts them at ease, which keeps the ship going."

Dawning crossed her arms with a sigh. "Fine. Makes sense, I guess. Fluttershy comes around pretty often too."

Fluttershy popped into existence, literally, for her holographic nature. "Oh, Captain, hello." She nodded at him, but also moved past, her eyes on the egg. "Let's do our check up on our little baby dwagon."

Dawning flicked her gaze over to Fluttershy. "That's dragon, not dwagon." She grumbled gently as she watched the doctor work. "Why are you and Roger always checking on my wyrmling? Isn't it fine?"

Fluttershy snapped a small holographic panel open to examine the egg closely. "Oh, yes. In fact." She turned to Dawning and Roger. "I feel very certain of their gender. Would you like to know?"

Roger looked to Dawning with a little gesture. "That's a question only you can answer. I'll abide by what you decide."

Dawning shook her head. "No, no. Let's wait until the hatchling is out, so we can see it ourselves." She crossed her arms tightly. "Better pacing for telling, I think. Also, would make it more real to me."

Fluttershy closed her holographic panel as she stood up again. "That is fine. I can confidently report that, whatever gender they are, they appear to be developing nicely. This is fascinating. Created humans and ponies grow much faster as a result of this spell. Baby dragons seem to take their time a little more."

Roger put a hand on Dawning's shoulder. "Can't tell if it's the species, or that we have to rely on fire to keep the egg warm. Either way, you're not going to be waiting too long."

Dawning let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I'll be a mom." She reached out, placing a hand on the egg. "I already am one. Wow, this is still kinda huge."

Roger smiled at Dawning warmly. "Being a parent isn't something most of us are prepared for. You aren't alone though. We can talk things over anytime, even my door is always open." He pat her lightly on the back, turning away. "I should get back to the bridge, but I'm a call away, as is Twilight, Fluttershy, or anyone else you've met."

Dawning perked up at that. "Yeah! Wait, you mentioned a door being open. Does that mean you're gonna let me come to the bridge sometime?"

Roger chuckled gently. "You aren't a bridge officer, so, no. It's just an expression." He rubbed his beard. "Still, you're a junior crew member, so there's plenty of room for you to expand your horizons." He snapped his fingers on his way to the medical bay door. "Keep working, and one day you could have a spot on the bridge."

Dawning raised her brows at that. "Can I really do that? Just, get good enough, and become a bridge officer?"

Twilight pointed at herself. "You have better odds than I do. The rules say that holograms cannot serve as bridge officers. Um, not that I want to be one. That looks very stressful, and scary. I'm happier right here."

Fluttershy watched Roger depart. "Oh, I really should be getting back to work too. Please let me know if you need anything, Dawning." She flashed a smile at her. "Or, maybe you can find me later?"

Dawning looked around the largely empty medbay. "Fluttershy, I've watched you long enough to know you 'getting back to work' probably just means you vanishing until someone else wanders in, or you do another checkup."

Fluttershy's form shimmered slightly. "Ah, oh, I've been caught, haven't I? Well, not that it matters, since I'm a hologram." She giggled as she pointed at herself. "Did you need something, Dawning?"

Dawning grabbed at Fluttershy's right forehoof. "What if I just want to talk to you a little? I don't want to be alone right now."

Fluttershy nodded gently. "In that case, I'll stay here until you want me to go. What do you want to talk about?"

Dawning cleared her throat. "Dragons! Um, like, how'd you learn so much about dragons? I can tell that you are sorta guessin' at things, but also seem confident too."

"An excellent question." Fluttershy cleared her throat. "We do have some data collected before the, um, collapse." She shivered gently. "Before we left Equestria. Twilight had a younger brother dragon even."

Dawning crossed her arms with a glare. "Where is he?"

Fluttershy waved one hoof at Dawning. "We left him back on Equestria. It's, um, a long story. Um." She inclined her head. "I wonder what happened to him. Clearly the dragons did well."

Dawning waved a hand through Fluttershy's lower body. "You aren't solid all the time like most of the others I run into, why's that?"

Fluttershy shifted her stance, giving Dawning room to walk past her. "Oh, that's just how I prefer to appear. It feels more natural, I think." She chuckled lightly. "Can you tell? You'll make a great scientist one day."

Dawning flexed her claws eagerly. "Gonna be a mom first." She looked aside at the dragon there in its heated nest. "A mom before molting. That has to be a record."

Fluttershy could have hugged Dawning gently, but instead settled for rubbing her cheek gently. "That must feel so weird for you. What do dragons your age usually do?"

Dawning slid an arm around Fluttershy's neck. "Shoot, um, make trouble, wrestle, gossip, make some more trouble." She counted on her fingers as she went. "Watch bigger dragons and try to be as cool as them?"

Fluttershy bumped her head gently against Dawning's. "Sounds like we had more in common with dragons than I would have guessed. If I can, um, help? You know I'm here, for you, not just your egg."

Dawning nuzzled the yellow mare. "Dragons aren't really a lot of words. They don't like that kind of thing. When dragons talk, it's all posturing, showing off, stuff like that." She grabbed Fluttershy's cheeks. "But it's not all bad. Sometimes words are nice." She ruffled those cheeks. "Ponies sure like sharing them."

Fluttershy blinked, surprised at the contact. "Ponies love to talk, yes. It's very easy to, um, keep us talking, even. Just start a conversation and let us ramble." She flicked her gaze up towards the ceiling. "The crew does that to me, sometimes."

Dawning made a soothing sound in her throat as she hugged Fluttershy around her neck. "You actually don't want to talk right now, do you?"

Fluttershy whimpered, squirming in place.

"It's alright." Dawning took a step back. "Sometimes I don't want to talk either. I need my alone time. Don't force yourself for me."

Fluttershy beamed with relief. "Thank you! Um, sorry about that." She twisted her hooves in front of herself nervously. "I'm not very good at this talking thing. The only people I really get to talk to are the holograms, and they, um, know me." She looked away a moment. "Sorry." She vanished without another sound.

Author's Note

I felt some good growth in this chapter, so hirrah!

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29 - Needed Visits

Sunset sighed through her teeth, slumped over her chair. "Well, that went nowhere fast."

Casey fired a thumbs up. "Don't be glum. The ship's in a bit of a, what." She rolled a hand slowly. "Soap opera phase, but that's because we're drifting through space. It's, you know, long, and boring."

Sunset pointed at Casey with a sharp gaze. "Not the point, and you know it. I'm supposed to be a mom." She stood up suddenly and began pacing. "But my daughter's kind of raising herself. I feel more like she's a friend, and I'm really not sure how I feel about that."

Casey stretched where she sat, arms thrown back behind her. "Raising children isn't easy, no matter what they are." She rolled her hands around in slow circles. "When we had Harriet, I was so happy, and I still am. This stupid spell makes them grow up so fast, sure, but she's still ours. She loves us so much."

Sunset wrung her hands tightly. "Yeah, and she'll always love us." She flapped her hands against her legs. "But Dawning has two moms, and neither of us have spoken to her like, once."

Casey hiked a brow. "Well, that's easy to fix. Want to visit a dragon?"

Sunset hesitated at that. "Yes? No. It's just so awkward." She shrank where she stood. "No, you're right. We should go visit her." She rolled her shoulders in tight circles. "I'm being stupid right now. That little kid could use some grown up company."

They left the library, Sunset falling to all fours, suddenly returned to being a pony. Casey slowed at that. "I thought you could be a human now?"

Sunset sighed. "Yes, if I'm using the portable emitter. The thing has a battery, and straining it for no reason? Why? I'm saving it for when I really need it." With a twitch of her tail, she continued on. "I can hoof it a little while."

Casey reached down to pat Sunset's flank gently. "Fair enough. Come on, it's not that far to medical anyway."

Sunset shuddered gently. "Look, nobody gets petting privs!" She glanced away. "But I guess my partner's an exception."

Casey smiled as she took a knee next to Sunset. "Hey, it's okay. You've been working hard lately." She stroked Sunset's neck gently. "Come on, let's get to the medical bay before someone walks in on us."

"G-good idea!" Sunset hopped ahead and trotted down the hallway, putting the petting out of the conversation as quickly as she could.

It wasn't long before they reached the medical bay. They made their way inside, the door sliding open at their approach. Sunset skidded to a halt inside with a snort. "Wow, it's quiet in here." She laughed at herself. "Not that a medical bay should be loud or anything."

Fluttershy appeared in front of Sunset. "Hello, Sunset. Should you be here? You can't be injured."

Sunset rolled her eyes at that. "I'm not injured, and I know that. Is Dawning still here?" She perked up at seeing Dawning watching them, sidelong. "She is!" She advanced on the dragon as Casey caught up behind her. "The dragon of the hour, and her egg too. How's it going?"

Dawning's stance was wide, like she wanted to lash out, but didn't know what to say. "Good. Fine. Egg's fine. Everything's fine."

Fluttershy drifted past Sunset, waving at Dawning gently. "I've been trying to help her adjust to this." She ran a hoof through her mane. "But it's a big leap."

Sunset huffed. "Tell me about it!" She sank to her haunches next to Dawning. "I have a kiddo of my own and she's really changed everything. Harriet's probably running wild somewhere on the ship, and I have to worry about that, constantly."

Dawning snorted smoke at that. "I guess this is some human thing? Not like dragons worry much about wyrmlings or anything." She laughed at that, sharp and dry. "What are you here for, Sunset Shimmer?"

Casey held up a hand defensively. "You. We just want to help, if we can."

Dawning grumbled gently. "Like you really care." She stuck out her tongue at Sunset. "Besides, you're not even the right kind of human. You're more pony than human anyway."

Sunset laid flat where she sat, ears drooping in dejection. "Yeah, pretty pony right now." She lashed her tail. "Long story, but I'm a human, dang it. The ship has a rule that all holograms have to be a pony, so, pony."

Casey rested a hand on Sunset's head. "She's a pretty pony at least. Now, Dawning, I've wanted to ask, but how are you and North Star doing? Still hanging out?"

Dawning shuffled a few steps away from Casey. "Fine. It's fine. Everything is fine."

Sunset batted her eyelashes at Dawning. "See, that's not suspicious at all. Seriously, we heard you the first time you insisted everything was fine. How is everything really? We're here to help."

Fluttershy pointed at Sunset. "That might be too pushy." She shrugged gently. "But I'm also worried about Dawning."

Dawning took another step back from Sunset and Casey. "He doesn't visit, okay? We run into each other and he's happy as can be, but he never stops by to watch the egg."

Casey clicked her tongue with a smile. "Why don't we go find him, hm?"

Sunset nodded lightly along with that. "No offense, but North's a kid, like you. Even adult dads can get a bit confused what they should be doing. Have you told him to come by?"

Dawning colored sharply. "Kids? Adults? Don't you guys see that North and I aren't even the same species?!" She threw her hands wide. "Occasionally we have different ideas on how things work, yes, but it's usually not worth worrying about." She clenched her fists. "He'll come when he wants to." She turned away, poorly hiding her forming tears.

Casey stepped towards Dawning. "It's okay. Humans and ponies have the same sorts of troubles with raising children." She lifted her chin proudly. "Look at Harriet! She's the kid of a human and a hologram. You think we don't have misunderstandings?"

"We do." Sunset rolled her eyes thinking about it. "You're friends with her, right?"

Dawning squared her stance. "Sure am. She's been nice to me, helping me understand humans. That doesn't make me an expert."

Fluttershy fell in next to Dawning, bumping against her gently. "I don't think any of us are, even most humans."

Dawning laughed at that. "Ow. Look, thanks for stopping by. It's, uh. It's nice, okay?"

Sunset fidgeted where she sat. "Hey, come on. I get that you're an adult, but you're not too old for a hug."

Casey grabbed Sunset in a tight hug. Sunset fought her off, both laughing at the brief wrestling match. "See, a hug doesn't kill you."

Dawning scuffed the floor with one foot. "That's so weird, but." She motioned Sunset closer. "Look, I just. Fine, one hug."

Sunset Shimmer walked up to Dawning, making sure not to move too quickly. With an offered hoof, she drew the young dragon in and gently held her. She hadn't expected the dam to break, and she held the sobbing little girl dragon gently. She rocked left and right slowly. "It's okay. You're not alone."

Casey paced past, pausing only long enough to pat Dawning on the shoulder gently. "You two hang out here. I'll go find North." She walked away at a brisk pace.

Sunset hung on to Dawning, until the sobs stopped, and the sniffling had come to a gentle still. "Feel better?"

Dawning winced. "Yeah, actually." She stretched. "Dragons don't cry." She growled under her breath. "Shoulda just kept quiet."

Sunset laughed at that, pressing her pony nose to Dawning's cheek. "It's okay to cry once in a while, even if you're a dragon. We don't think any less of you, and you have pretty good reason to be worked up right now. You cry all you want."

Dawning shuffled nervously. "Still a bit too clingy, but I feel better." She slipped out of Sunset's grasp gently. "Not a single dragon alive who'd do this for me."

Sunset curled a hoof at herself. "Good thing you have some pony pals." She leaned in, fluttering her lashes. "The humans would give a hug too, but they're really shy about it. Like some dragons I know, hm? They like hugging though if you give them permission."

Dawning tapped at her cheeks with both hands. "Won't hold my breath." She turned away to look at her egg. "Want to sit with me?"

Sunset rose, just to sink next to Dawning. "I would be delighted." She curled her tail, brushing Dawning's. "It's such a big thing, becoming a parent. Been there, really..."

Dawning rolled her eyes. "This isn't normal! A normal dragon lays their eggs and leave. They don't fuss over their eggs, not any one egg anyway. But here I am, staring at mine."

Sunset twirled her tail around Dawning's playfully. "Being a parent isn't normal, that's true. Normal is boring, and it's never gonna be boring with this crew. The ship needs weird things, like dragons and wyrmlings." She leaned to the side against Dawning. "You're not alone, I can promise that."

Elsewhere, Casey made her way to the holodeck. She found North Star laying flat on his belly, panting from some exertion. "North? How's it going?"

North panted gently as he peered up at Casey. He recognized her an instant later and hopped to his hooves. "Hi!" His tail began to wag eagerly. "How ya doin'?!"

Casey snickered at that as the door closed behind her. "I asked first."

"Oh, right." He nodded and pointed deeper in the room. "I was just doing a climb, a hard one. I was going to visit Harriet after that. Do you know where she is?"

Casey put a hand on North's head with a smile. "She's around the ship somewhere, helping with whatever needs doing. If she's not answering your calls, she's probably busy."

North gave a slow nod. "That makes sense. It's just that we usually hang out every day."

Casey reached out to tap the young pony at the end of their snout. "There's someone else you used to hang out with."

North swatted Casey's hand aside gently. "What're you getting at? Me and Dawning are still friends, just haven't been able to hang out much. The egg is keeping her busy."

Casey inclined her head towards the exit of the holodeck. "Why not visit the egg?"

North walked forward on his hooves, but stopped as he pondered that. "Well, we're still kids. Kids shouldn't have babies. She's probably mad at me."

Casey slumped where she stood. "She's confused and upset, but she's still your friend. That egg is both of yours."

North swished his tail sharply. "Sure, but what am I supposed to do? It's not like I can help with anything."

Casey raised her brows. "For starters, go see her. Go see it too. Being there counts for a lot, North."

North folded his hooves together gently. "But we're friends, so why wouldn't she visit me? Or answer my calls?"

Casey raised a finger at that. "Just because you are friends doesn't mean you know exactly what the other is thinking. I can tell you she's hoping you'll stop by. Visit her, and the egg, and be happy to see both of them. You don't have to do anything more than that. She just wants to know she has a friend that cares about what's going on right now."

North considered his hooves a moment. "We're friends, and the egg is ours. But she's all alone. I should go see her. Harriet isn't gonna be able to talk for a while anyway."

Casey patted North on the back, directing him towards the exit. "Exactly. If I see her, I'll tell her which way you went."

North gave a nod before he began to trot away. "Thanks!"

The holodeck door opened at North's approach. He skidded to a halt as soon as he got through, spotting Harriet in the hallway ahead. "Harriet! I'm gonna visit the egg, wanna come?!"

Author's Note

The gang's all together again. I think they'll get through this.

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32 - Can We Keep It?

With a heavy thump, a crewmember set down a full bin. "If I never see another branch, alien or not, in my life."

Another nudged them with a laugh. "Says the botany major."

"Hey, this job has its perks, but some parts aren't so great." They peered into the bin they had carried back. "Three more bins like this and the shuttle's at capacity. How's it looking out there?"

"Busy." The second crewmember cast a glance outside the shuttle. "They're all coming back with plenty. There might be enough biomass here to last us for years!"

The first raised a hand to the side of their visor just in time for a heavy thump to have them both wobbling in place. "Whoa!" They stumbled against a wall as the shuttle righted itself. "That felt like it came from outside. What happened?"

The second poked their head out. "Uh oh, Harriet's running and I don't like what's behind her."

They spotted Harriet's approach. She glanced over her shoulder before doubling down on speed. Something flapped loudly behind her, thrashing its wings violently. With a mighty lunge, it came down just in front of her and swerved in place to face her. It was something akin to an especially irate dodo, its beak gleaming in the light.

It chittered angrily at Harriet, rearing up and letting out a loud warble.

Harriet yelped and jumped back, trying to scramble away from the creature.

The second crewmember sprang into action, leaping off the shuttle's edge and charging towards Harriet. He fished out his universal tool and quickly dialed it to the use he wanted. "Get down!"

She followed his lead, dropping into a prone position with her arms over her head.

He leaped over her, bringing the wrench down on the dodo's head. It screamed as he clobbered it, falling to the side in a twitching heap.

The first crewmember was on it a moment later, joining in bludgeoning the thing until it stopped so much as twitching.

"It's dead." They kicked the creature for good measure. "I think we're okay."

The second crouched by Harriet. "You okay?"

She shook where she sat, but did accept the offered hand. "I was looking for material when that thing just jumped at me. It was like it tore the hill it was under apart along the way."

The first nodded. "Was that the thump we felt? Well, it wasn't so bad once we laid into it."

The second laughed. "Like most animals, they don't like it when you start fighting back."

Harriet gave a nervous chuckle as she ran a hand over her visored face. "That's good to know."

The second helped Harriet back to her feet. "C'mon, I'll walk you back to the shuttle."

She held up a hand. "Hold on. It got mad for a reason. What was it guarding? We should really have a look. It could be important."

The second scratched at the back of their neck. "Probably not worth it. You look a little shaken up, and we've still got some space in the shuttles."

Harriet offered a thumbs up. "I'm okay now. It just really rattled me." She glanced at the beaten bird-like creature. "Hope that was the only one of those around here." Not daunted, she jogged back where she had just run away from.

She looked around until she spotted something that wasn't covered in dirt. It appeared to be an egg of some sort. "Jackpot." She lifted it carefully, cradling it against her body as she started the walk back.

Fluttershy appeared on the inside of her visor. "An alien egg! How amazing. How spectacular. I'd love to have a look at it, but I doubt the captain will let you bring it back."

Harriet leaned her head to one side with a little groan. "Why not?"

Fluttershy let out a sad sigh. "It's an alien. It's covered in alien pathogens. It has an alien mind. Humans took a big risk allowing us ponies to join them, those years ago. Can the ship afford the same now? I'm not sure he'll say yes."

Harriet stood up proudly. "But I think he'll want to see it! Besides, it's an egg. The chances it can infect the crew with anything is pretty small." She laughed softly. Hurrying a little faster, she rejoined the others as the were putting in the last of the bins. She put the egg on top of one of the bins and began securing it for the trip. "Captain?"

Roger's voice came crisply through the intercom, "Harriet, everything alright? Ready to come back?"

She bobbed her head happily. "I'm fine. Here." She handed over the egg. "Look what I found."

There was a pause. "Is that an egg?"

She held up both hands in triumph. "I couldn't just leave it behind! Besides, I really want to know what comes out of it!"

"Is that the creature that was just chasing you?" Roger sighed audibly over the line. "And now you want to adopt it?"

"Please?" Harriet pet the egg gently. "It was my fault for surprising its mom like that. It was just trying to keep its egg safe."

"Which it will not be if you take it away from its planet." Roger went quiet a few moments. "It will have to be thoroughly examined and scrubbed for any potentially hazardous materials. Put it with the bins and stop touching it. You'll need to be scrubbed, along with your suit, when you get back."

Harriet squealed in delight. "Yes, Sir! Thank you, Sir!" She resumed packing everything up with a renewed vigor.

"You'd think she wasn't risking her life or limb with how happy she is." Roger sat back in his chair with a little smile. "There are good odds that egg won't survive." He didn't inform her of that. "Let's get those shuttles back on the ship."

One by one, the shuttles began to rise back into the sky, levitating under their own power towards the mothership. The final craft docked and disgorged its contents. Harriet walked by herself, a smile on her face. "Be careful with that egg," she called back into the shuttle as she jogged towards decontamination.

After being stripped and scrubbed, she felt fresh and clean, if tired. "Can I see the egg now?" She received no answer. With a faint groan, she put on her uniform and left the area.

Both of her moms were glad to see her, pinning her in a hug between Sunset and Susan. She laughed, fighting them without much real vigor. "Good to see you both too."

Sunset loosened her grip. "We're proud of you, but what were you thinking? You could have been hurt!"

Susan gave a gentle swat to Sunset's shoulder. "What she means is, we were worried about you."

"I'm fine, really." Harriet did a twirl in place. "And I finished my first official mission without losing anything or making anything explode."

Sunset groaned softly. "Explosions are way more common than they should be."

Susan elbowed Sunset. "Stop that! We're both very proud of you."

Harriet beamed at the mutual pride her parents gave. "Thank you! I appreciate it. You taught me so much, and I just wanted to make you proud." She tipped her head at them with a faint smile. "Did you hear about the egg?"

Sunset brightened up. "The dragon one? It's going to hatch soon." She tapped a finger to Harriet's forehead. "You were there when it was made, after all."

Susan cocked her head. "I'd love to see it happen, but they're being careful with it. I bet Dawning Star would only let you near it, Harriet."

"That's nice of her, but I actually meant a different egg." She tapped at buttons in the air, conjuring a picture of the egg she'd found on the planet. "Pretty sure it belongs to a bird."

Sunset considered the picture. "It looks really different from a dragon egg."

Harriet adjusted her visor. "Really? How do you know?"

Sunset flicked her tail at the air. "Smaller, and under a lot less heat lamps. Was it by any heat when you found it?"

Harriet sighed at that. "Only its mother, and we made that less warm."

Sunset flicked her tail at that. "That's what I thought. Dragon eggs need to be pretty hot, or they'll be duds. I read about that." She considered. "Actually, Fluttershy has seen an egg hatch, I think. You could ask her about it."

Susan touched her fingertips together lightly. "I have not seen a dragon egg hatch." She made a gentle shooing motion. "Fluttershy's a better option for answers by far."

Harriet wiggled in place. "You're right! I know just where to find her." She took off running.

Sunset and Susan both waved as she left. "So, want to get back to work?" Sunset offered Susan a hoof.

Susan took it with a smile. "Of course. Not sure if I mentioned it today, but work is so much better with a close friend to do it with."

Harriet raced towards the medical bays, passing through with a wave at Nurse Redheart. She trotted into the room with the dragon egg, still as a rock on its perch. "Hi, Dawning Star."

Dawning Star stood near the egg, pointing her horn at it. "Hey." She slid to her feet. "Welcome back. You look like you made it in one piece."

Harriet nodded happily. "Yeah, I did. Hey, uh, are you making sure the egg stays warm?"

Dawning Star chuckled at that. "The heat bulb hasn't turned off." She reached up to tap at the hot element that kept the area toasty and warm. "I think they like it."

Harriet rubbed at her arms in the heat. "No kidding." She stepped closer to the egg with a broad smile. "Any sign of hatching?"

Dawning Star shook her head. "No more than before. It jumps once in a while, but it did that when I brought it here. You?"

"I got my own! I came to talk to Fluttershy about that." Harrier turned in place. "See her?"

Dawning Star nudged Harriet. "Fluttershy's not the type to abandon an egg she has a responsibility to. Besides, we could use another dragon to join our little crew."

Harriet laughed tensely. "It's not exactly a dragon." She held out her hands to show its size, a little smaller than the dragon egg.

Dawning blinked at that. "Not a dragon? Humans don't lay eggs. Pretty sure ponies don't either. What else coulda laid an egg?!"

Harriet laughed, waving off the question. "It's from an alien planet. Pretty sure I met its mom. Looked like a kind of bird. They didn't fly, the little time I saw her. She was kind of mad. We had to kill her to make her stop attacking us." She looked at the floor. "I would have let her go, but it didn't want to let me go."

Dawning leaned in closer to Harriet. "Oh." She slipped her arms around Harriet, hugging her. "Didn't want to do that, huh? That sucks." She rocked with her human peer. "Sorry. Um, but you got an egg?"

Harriet brightened up at that. "Oh! I did! Did you see them bring it in?" She turned away from Dawning Star to search the medical bay for the egg, but there was no sign of any save Dawning's. "Where'd they put it?!"

Dawning shrugged lightly. "No idea. They're probably going over it. It's not safe yet, or that's what Fluttershy told me."

Harriet flopped against Dawning Star with a groan. "That figures."

Fluttershy suddenly appeared. "How can I—" She caught herself short. "Harriet! I was hoping to talk to you."

Harriet cheered at the sight of Fluttershy. "Hi!"

Fluttershy offered a smile in return. "Hi! First, are you okay? I was watching the mission as closely as I could, but we were lucky that thing didn't get you."

Harriet shrugged at that. "I'm okay, really. It scared me way more than it hurt me, which it didn't. We hurt it a lot more." She cringed at the memory of the sound beating the alien bird had gotten. "Where's the egg?"

Fluttershy gave a nervous chuckle. "It's in the animal lab. That isn't here. Would you like to see it? I did want to introduce you to the other animals. They're from all the way back on Earth, and I'm sure they'd be happy to meet you."

Harriet pumped her fists at that. "Yeah! How many animals do you have?"

Fluttershy hummed at that, thinking on the number. "Almost twenty, not counting myself." She paused. "Oh, and not counting the egg you brought. It seems to be healthy, as far as I can tell. It has a little pulse, and isn't showing any signs of injury so far."

Dawning Star smiled as she listened to the conversation. "You know, it'd be good for it to be around others of its kind, even if it's an alien."

Fluttershy cleared her throat. "We don't have any others of its kind, unfortunately. This little chick is going to have to get used to being around other creatures, if we're keeping it."

Harriet reached out with both hands at that. "Oh please, let's keep it!"

Dawning laughed at Harriet's eagerness. "Easy there, cowgirl. You were almost killed by a bird earlier, and now you want to adopt its chick?"

Harriet glared at Dawning, but her smile was back in time for Fluttershy. "Let's see the egg, and your animal friends. I'd like to say hello to each and every one of them."

Author's Note

Would you dare to try to keep an alien murder dodo?

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33 - Hello, Ozzie

Fluttershy led Harriet down a corridor most other members of the ship had little reason to go down before. The door opened for Fluttershy as she trotted in. "Now, they're just meeting you, so some of them may be a little shy. Just be gentle and let them come to you."

Harriet gasped with amazement as she stepped into the animal lodging area. "Oh wow! They look just like their earth relatives!" She clapped both hands over her mouth, gasping in horror. "Oh, I'm sorry! I should be quiet."

Fluttershy whispered at that, "Yes, please. Though it seems you've already gained the attention of one of our lovelies."

Where she was directing a hoof, a dog was at the fenced edge of his enclosure. He stood on his hind legs, sniffing curiously at the air. His tongue lolled out of his mouth with a quiet huff.

Harriet approached the dog with both hands open and low. She offered one hand closer and got a big wet lick for it. "Aw!" She reached over the fence and began to ruffle the dog's head and along his sides. "Such a cutie!"

Fluttershy cooed in delight at the display. "That's Bobby! He's a sweetheart, but can get a little excited."

Bobby sat down as Harriet petted him, trying to push himself against her even harder. "Don't worry, you're too cute to get upset with. And who's the other dog with you?"

Fluttershy nodded to the other similar dog. "She's Cindy, his wife." She giggled softly. "Dogs don't really have husbands and wives, but it's nice to think so. They are mates, and have made puppies. In fact, if you see any crew with a puppy, it came from them."

Harriet took the new arrival in stride, scratching behind her ears as well. "Nice to meet you both! Oh wow, they're really getting into this!" She kept going a few moments more before standing up straight. "So, nice as it is to meet Bob and Cindy, where's the egg?"

Fluttershy flew to the edge of the room. "Over here."

Harriet followed along after Fluttershy with a giddy bounce in her step. She looked down at the egg with an awed gasp. It was safely nestled in soft padding, with a light over it shining gentle heat upon it. It wasn't nearly as hot as the one used for Dawning's egg, but that one wasn't a dragon. "How do you know how warm to make it?"

"To be honest, we're doing our best guesses. This little egg is the first of its kind we've ever had. Sunset asked some questions about dragon eggs. If this egg was like a dragon egg, that means it needs to be kept warm, or it won't hatch." She gestured to the top part of the enclosure. "That's true of all eggs, to a degree. They all want to be at their comfortable temperature. We're monitoring it constantly and adjusting, trying to find the right level."

Harriet crept closer to the egg. "Will it be okay?"

Fluttershy practically evaporated with worry. "I don't know. We have to hope. I can't bear the thought of letting an animal die when I can do something about it."

Harriet held up a hand. "Right. Sorry." She took a slow breath and sank to her bottom beside the egg. "Hello. I'm, um, really sorry. It's my fault you don't have a mom taking care of you."

Fluttershy vanished from sight, content to let Harriet talk to the egg without interruption.

Harriet closed her eyes and smiled. "I hope you understand that. You're safe here." She reached out, brushing her fingers carefully along the smooth surface of the egg. "Nice and warm, just like you're supposed to be. Uh, like I think you're supposed to be. No idea what your parents would make for you." She stopped as something small appeared on the shell. "Wait, what's this?"

The shell rippled gently under her fingers. With a shudder, it didn't crack, but instead split, as if the creature inside were pushing outwards on opposite ends instead of pecking at it.

Fluttershy appeared with a gasp, wings spread. "Something's wrong!"

Harriet shook her head rapidly. "No! Look, I think it's hatching!"

Sure enough, the two parts of the egg separated more and more until there was a crack in the shell all around its perimeter. With a strange warbling cry, the egg popped in half, revealing the chick. Like most birds, it looks especially alien at that point, though in different ways from an earth avian. Its eyes fit its head, but its feet and wings felt a bit oversized on its form as it fought its way free of its shell.

Harriet perked up with excitement. "That's it! C'mon, little guy." She began to work the remaining pieces of shell away from the small bird. It squirmed in her hands as she finally removed the last piece. "Welcome to the world."

The alien gave a new cry. Was it happy? It was almost impossible to know, but it seemed happy to nestle in Harriet's offered hand.

Fluttershy levitated over a bowl filled with warm water. "Soak its feathers. That'll get rid of any left over yolk and make them feel nicer. Um, also you might want to put your sleeve over your hand.

Harriet was far too busy being stunned in wonder at her new baby alien. "You did it. They thought you might not make it." Tears spilled from her eyes. "I'm so happy right now." She stroked gently over the little thing. "Oh, a name. I'll call you Ozzie." She wrapped her arms around the creature, rubbing her face against his feathers. "Yes! Ozzie!"

Fluttershy smiled broadly at the scene before her. "Harriet, I think they've imprinted on you. Um, that may be good and bad." She rubbed a hoof against one of her cheeks. "It may be hard to separate you two without upsetting them. That could mean they're easy to manage, or impossible to manage."

Harriet laughed softly. "Right, sorry." She dried her tears on her sleeve, taking care to dry Ozzie as well. "Hello, Ozzie. You'll be a good little bird for us, right?"

Ozzie replied with a light warble, barely able to hold itself upright. "Aw." She cradled them gently. "Still growing, I get that."

Fluttershy approached at Harriet's side, patting the girl's shoulder. "I know this is going to be hard for you, but we don't know how they will behave, or what they prefer to eat." She tapped at her chin. "We're going to have to experiment, a lot, to learn how best to see to his needs."

Harriet slumped her shoulders. "Right." She hesitated, petting along Ozzie's head with a fingertip. "He really did just imprint on me." She winced, squeezing her eyes shut. "And I think I imprinted on him."

Fluttershy stifled a laugh at that. "There, there. I'll talk to the captain. He's not nearly as heartless as some people like to think. But he's also going to want to do what's best for the creature. Um, and the crew. If he likes to attack other people, that will be bad." She leaned in. "At least they know that I belong here. They don't seem alarmed at my presence."

Harriet sagged at that. "But will they be able to tell all the different people apart?" She considered things a moment. "Thank you, Fluttershy. Please, find out what he needs. Poor thing's probably hungry right now."

Fluttershy departed silently while Harriet contemplated Ozzie. They did a few gentle rolls in Harriet's hand, chirping playfully as they moved. "And it sounds like you like being held, little bird."

Fluttershy returned with her hooves together. She spread them at the floor, littering it with a variety of pellets. "Here are a variety of foods we provide to our beloved pets. Maybe they'll pick some they like?"

Harriet lowered her hand, offering it to Ozzie. They teetered for a moment before managing to keep their balance on the floor. They tried to snap at one of the pellets with their tiny beak. Some of the pellets they seemed to want, and others they ignored entirely. It was almost a game, and the chick seemed to enjoy picking among the pellets to find the ones it favored.

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief at that. "They like some of them! We can use those to get them up to speed."

Harriet picked up a few of the pellets, cleaning it of the ones Ozzie had denied. "That's a huge relief. I was worried he wouldn't eat."

Fluttershy chuckled softly. "Animals don't like food they don't like. We'll keep right on monitoring Ozzie, to be sure it all goes through them properly. Assuming it does, we'll have a good idea of what to keep feeding them. But for now, I think they'll want to be in your care." She gave a worried frown. "I wish I could help, but you need to be there when they wake up."

Harriet snuggled up to Ozzie, enjoying the soft feathers as she smiled at Fluttershy. "I could stay here, for a little while? So you can keep a close eye on Ozzie. He is still a newborn and all."

Fluttershy pranced in place at that. "Oh, that's so kind of you! Um, would you like to see what the others are doing?" She gave a proud smile. "I feed them all myself, and we have an automatic system that refills their water dishes."

Fluttershy walked along the kennels, naming each animal or animals that lived within. It was Harriet's first time actually seeing most of those animals she had only read about. It was as exciting as it was fascinating. Harriet watched the animals and gave a hello to each and every one of them, though not all were as interested as the dogs.

In the end, Ozzie went quiet, still breathing, but asleep in Harriet's hands. Harriet sighed gently. "At least they sleep too." She looked to Fluttershy. "They have days and nights too, right?"

Fluttershy looked unsure a moment. "Twilight?"

Twilight appeared next to her. "Yes?"

Fluttershy smiled at her. "Could you tell us the day and night cycle, um, of the planet? The one we're orbiting."

Twilight summoned a few documents. "Certainly. Right now, the planet has a cycle of around 26 hours and 37 minutes. A little longer than Earth's, but close enough by most measures." She winked. "Oh, it hatched." She looked down at the sleeping Ozzie. "And Harriet is holding them." She glanced at Fluttershy. "Is that safe?"

Fluttershy smiled broadly. "It's perfectly fine, since I asked Harriet to. Um, though they seem to have imprinted on Harriet. It's too soon to tell, but we may need to talk to the captain about what to do."

Twilight flapped her wings lightly. "I see. Hm, that does complicate things." She leaned in closer. "I imagine neither wants to be away from the other right now, but they remain an alien species, and no domesticated, nor sapient. They could be violent, make messes, damage equipment, or otherwise act out in unpredictable ways."

Fluttershy sank beside the two sleeping ones. "Then we just have to show them what to do."

Twilight exchanged a look with Fluttershy. "Are you suggesting that we acclimate them to the ship and crew?"

Fluttershy nodded. "As best we can. There will be some messes, assuredly." She sighed at that. "But we either put up with that, and try to tame them as best we can, or we euthanize them." She shuddered at the idea. "It's our fault they're not living on their planet."

Twilight went stiff at that. "There is the moral argument that it would be a mercy, given the hazards of space." She shook her head slowly. "I don't like that option. I hope we can succeed." She turned away. "I'll inform the captain." She vanished without another word.

Author's Note

They're so cute, and dangerous. What have we done?

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34 - Answers, Adorable Questions

Harriet snuggled Ozzie closer as she opened her eyes. It was to find that Ozzie was still asleep. With a gentle giggle, she gave them a little nuzzle. They were already perking up, squirming around in her arms. "Awake? Good... um." She frowned with thought. "Are you a boy or a girl, Ozzie?"

Ozzie warbled and chirped, having no real answer to the questions.

"I'll check. Here we go." She used one hand to carefully check Ozzie's back end. The trick was that birds were tricky to inspect like that, and whatever alien creature Ozzie was, they were no easier. She couldn't find any obvious hints. "Sorry, buddy. Maybe later."

Fluttershy knocked before letting herself in. "Oh! You're awake. I'm so sorry, but I have no idea how to tell if a bird is a boy or a girl."

Harriet stood up carefully, leaving Ozzie to explore the floor. "You were watching me."

"I was." She flew in and landed near Harrier and Ozzie. "Nice try, um, but only experts would have a chance with an earth bird, and Ozzie isn't even one of those. But I can make a guess." She watched Ozzie's behavior for a while. "They are adorable, if mysterious." She reached out and Ozzie came in to press their beak against Fluttershy's hoof. "Aw."

Harriet slipped down to her knees. "What's the verdict?"

Fluttershy waggled her hoof side to side. "Either way, this little birdie is someone who likes to touch people. At least us. They are quite the adorable little thing. Now, how about food?" She trotted over to the feed bins and got out some of the pellets she was sure Ozzie would favor.

Ozzie let out a hungry warble at that, teetering over and grabbing at one of the pellets. They started to gobble it up with eagerness, their appetite fierce. Their calls became sharper as they ate, flapping their thick wings excitedly.

Fluttershy shook her head slowly. "We may need to provide water too."

Harriet picked up Ozzie with both hands. "Let's get some water in you." She carried them to a bowl of water and set them down. "There you go."

Ozzie almost leaped at the bowl, dunking their head in. Their feet latched onto the side of the bowl as they drank heavily from it. They made quiet noises of delight as they did so, wiggling their little butt while drinking their fill.

The moment they had their fill, then shook off most of the excess water and began to prowl away from the bowl. They sniffed the air and examined anything they could see, including the other animals in the pens. Their head darted back and forth as they found a lot to look at.

Fluttershy grinned with delight. "They seem curious. Maybe we can do some tests to find out how smart they are?"

Harriet shrugged lightly. "I'm sure Captain Roger would be up for that. Anything to keep them safe." She gasped suddenly. "They're the first, uh, second, of their kind we ever met. Maybe they're really smart. Maybe they're even smart enough to talk?"

Fluttershy wasn't quite as confident. "Maybe. I mean, I think it's a little much to assume they're like us. There are so many different species out there, and few of them seem related. They might have so little in common with us that talking is out of the question."

Harriet gently pet down Ozzie's back. "Maybe they can't talk, but they may understand us, eventually. We just have to keep talking around them and see if they figure it out or not."

Fluttershy dared to open the cage that contained Harriet's new best friend. "Well, we'll need to take them for a walk, as it were. Would you like to lead them?"

Harriet grabbed a harness with a lead and got it over Ozzie with a little work. "There you go." With her new avian on a leash, she struck a confident pose. "Let's explore the ship!"

Ozzie sharply cried. Excited? It was hard to know. But they were sure moving fast for such short legs. They moved towards the door of the animal area. The door slid open with a woosh.

Fluttershy shied back from the door. "Have fun." She vanished without another word.

They rounded a few corners without finding anything much to investigate, just walls and lights and so forth. "There must be something around here that catches your interest."

Ozzie sniffed at the air. Something for their attention and they pulled at the leash while trying to reach it with little warbles. Harriet had to fight them just to get them to slow down. "Whoa, easy. We're not going to run."

They turned a corner to find Susan Tappin and another crewmate adjusting a device against the wall. It wasn't hooked up to anything, just getting fitted in place for later. Ozzie scurried in almost a hopping gait as they hurried as quickly as Harriet allowed it to reach the humans and begin sniffing and pecking at them.

Susan jumped in surprise. She looked down at the source, then followed the lead back to Harriet. "What is that and why are you walking it?"

Harriet drew herself up proudly. "This is Ozzie. We found their egg on the planet and had to kill their mom when she attacked us."

The other crewmate winced at that. "Oof, and now we have their chick?" He crouched down, distracted by Ozzie. "Hello there."

Harriet blushed. "I'm raising them, but we're going to see if they'll get used to everyone. Um, so you won't get eaten."

Susan shrugged her shoulders. "If you think it'll work, I guess." She returned to helping the other crewmate with their job.

Harriet began to lead Ozzie away, the alien giving a few chirps and squawks before being dragged along. Each crewmember they came across, Ozzie hurried up to inspect them. To Harriet's delight, Ozzie wasn't attacking them, just inspecting them, and accepting touches that were attempted. She found she was right, Ozzie did love having his head rubbed, or anywhere touched, really. He cooed at anyone willing to give him a pet, and otherwise settled down for a bit of sitting quietly in the presence of a new person.

Twilight appeared without warning beside Harriet. "Curious." She inclined her head at Ozzie. "They do not conform to evolutionary pressures I'd expect in Earth animals, though that shouldn't be surprising. A wild animal should have more fear reactions, limiting how easily one could approach them. For a wild animal, being approached is a risk they can't tolerate, for good reason."

Harriet gulped softly. "What about a domesticated animal?"

Twilight smiled slyly. "That's exactly what I was thinking. They are behaving in line with a domestic animal." She reached a wing to brush it down Harriet's back. "Ponies and humans are domesticated, did you know that? That's why we're so easy to approach, and even pet, if they like you."

Ozzie trilled happily as he watched Twilight's wings.

Twilight brought one down where Ozzie could reach one. "We both have one of these, don't we?"

Harriet chuckled as she stroked over the wing Ozzie was nosing at. "You can't keep your hands off these." She shivered a little as her own fingers brushed against Twilight's soft feathers. "But, um, what does it mean? What could have domesticated them? They're wild animals."

Twilight inclined her head. "Whatever it was, it probably had to be quite intelligent. You can't simply teach an animal to accept being near and touched by others without first understanding that. Ozzie could have been domesticated once." She held up a hoof. "Not them specifically, but an ancestor. Ozzie may not have been wild to begin. Perhaps their species had simply gone feral, abandoned."

Harriet hugged Ozzie close. "If they were, we'll take good care of them now."

Ozzie continued down the corridor, inspecting anything and everything that came within range of his beak, at least as far as his leash allowed. He teetered and wobbled on his feet, but he could move, and so he did. He tugged against Harriet's hand to explore whatever struck his fancy.

Twilight laughed gently at the young one's antics. "He may make a lovely member of this crew. Still, their existence raises so many questions. What manner of creature shaped them, then abandoned them? Did they make something like us, just as we made things like us? Are they still around, or did they perish before our time? How much do they have in common with us, and will we ever find out?"

Harriet shook her head as she took a step after Ozzie. "I don't know, Miss Sparkle. I should finish Ozzie's walk though."

Twilight released a heavy sigh. "And the adults are all so serious. Even the young ones are largely responsible, the whole crew." She reached a wing over Harriet. "Take care of yourself, okay?" She vanished without another word.

Harriet tapped at buttons on her visor. "Captain, you busy? I'm having a good time with Ozzie, but I thought you'd want to know."

Roger laughed at that sudden report. "Glad to hear it. They aren't making trouble?"

Harriet made a face. "I still have to house-train them. Other than that, no?"

Roger chuckled softly. "Then take care of that before they get too set in their ways. Might make a bit more trouble if we wait."

Harriet found her own laugh came out quickly. "Got it."

The ship sailed on, refueled in supplies as it zoomed towards those that needed their help. It was mostly empty, and so most of the crew just spent time lounging, sleeping, reading, or whatever other leisure activity they wanted to use to pass the time. Ozzie made the rounds of those they knew, which included most of the crew. With time, they grew larger and more evenly shaped.

Like their mother, they had the vague look of a dodo, returned from extinction to stalk around the ship. They were also different, with sharper legs and bigger eyes, but their personality remained. They proved capable of being trained, even seeming to take pride when they got something right and earned the praise and adoration of Harriet.

For her part, Harriet kept up the lessons. They learned to come when called, to sit, stay, roll over, fetch, and various other tricks. They could also follow the orders to a greater degree, recognizing some words in English. They had clearly learned their name. Even when not specifically told to come, speaking their name was a good way to get Ozzie looking over, and likely approaching to see what was going on.

As they grew, Ozzie became more independent, choosing to explore areas by themselves without dragging Harriet around. However, the result of that was often Ozzie flying back to find her and show off something interesting they found. They really seemed to enjoy sharing the moment with Harriet, which she seemed to enjoy, even when the exciting new discovery was something she already knew about.

Ozzie had won freedom from their harness, stalking about the ship on their own, even when Harriet was nowhere to be seen. Like a friendly dog, if bird-shaped, they would find idle crewmembers and make pleased noises at them until they got their petting. Few were those who were upset at Ozzie's presence. Some would tell Ozzie off, but most were accepting, and kind of enjoyed having the new crew member around.

Susan smiled broadly as she petted Ozzie. "That's a good Ozzie. Have you met him?"

Sunset leaned in, looking at Ozzie curiously. "What is that?"

"Their name is Ozzie." Susan tickled under Ozzie's beak. "Harriet found them as an egg and has been raising them. He's really well-behaved."

Sunset perked with a laugh. "Is he? Oh, let me see!" She extended a hand for Ozzie to sniff. "Hello, Ozzie!"

Ozzie cooed at Sunset, wiggling as she pet him. "Aw! What a cute little guy!" She pet over his large wings. "Can he fly?"

Susan shrugged at that. "He has wings, but his mom didn't fly the brief time we knew her, and he hasn't either. Maybe they're like the dodos they look like. They didn't fly either."

Ozzie wandered off in search of more petting, and they found it. Ozzie really was everyone's favorite crew member.

Author's Note

Where can I get an Ozzie?

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35 - Potty Training

Twilight sagged before the other ponies. "This is a new strain. The humans are thoroughly enjoying the presence of their new friend, but Ozzie is causing problems. What will we do if we have to..." She gulped hard. "We can't give up on them. We have to save them."

Fluttershy vibrated like a hummingbird at that thought. "Of course! What problems are they causing, exactly? You're not alone, Twilight. Let us help."

Rainbow Dash pumped a hoof. "Want me to hop into a robot and fix it? You know I would. Got any fast ones?"

Rarity nickered softly. "Um, dear, you shouldn't be focusing on how quickly you can move, but instead how you handle what needs to be done." She shifted uncomfortably on her couch. "Still, we need to help poor Ozzie. They've lived a great deal of their life on this ship. It would be so cruel to turn them away now."

Fluttershy covered her face with both hooves. "Not cruel, just impossible. If he can't live here, he just can't live. Twilight, please let us help."

Twilight held up her hooves. "This gathering is supposed to be about us touching bases and strengthening our friendship."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Oh, really? As if helping you when you're in trouble isn't 'strengthening friendship' or whatever."

Twilight blinked rapidly at that. "Right." She leaned forward. "Ozzie is being... incontinent." She cringed as she said it. "They aren't trained to use the bathroom correctly, and so they make messes all over the ship. I, um, think they're trying? I'm no biological expert." She looked to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy bit her lip. "I could work with them, certainly. Ozzie knows I'm a friend, and that I care. It can be hard sometimes to work past that." She rubbed at her cheek. "My animal-speech doesn't seem to work on him. Maybe because he's not from Equestria? I couldn't entirely hear Earth animals either, but I did get a strong sense of what they were saying."

Twilight bit her lip in thought. "If you can't understand them, then they must not speak at all."

Rarity leaned in closer. "Or you're using your pony powers wrong. Or, perhaps." She rolled a hoof in the air. "It's because he's an alien, dear? We can't promise your abilities work on every animal in the universe."

Fluttershy beamed with pride. "He does seem very sweet, and as gentle as they come." She nickered softly. "Sadly, that hasn't been enough to train him right. On the, uh, positive, he seems to genuinely love the crew and is hasn't snapped at them even once. I'm quite impressed."

Twilight chuckled softly. "It's strange how Ozzie has come to mean so much to everyone. They really are a special little thing. They aren't the same species as us, but it feels like we're connected to them. We just have to help them."

Pinkie bounced in place. "Hey, crazy thought here, but what if he isn't a pet." The others looked at her oddly. "Hear me out! What if whatever Ozzy is was the head honchos on the planet! You know who tamed them? Themselves!"

Twilight considered that idea. "Huh. I wonder. I mean, that seems to be in line with our theories. They had to be smart enough to domesticate themselves, and we haven't found any other aliens who could have done it. Still, I wonder what went wrong that send them backsliding so far from whatever advanced state they had been in."

Applejack adjusted her hat. "We're gettin' distracted. Little Ozzie's not potty trained. If he's tamed, or sapient, or whatever, that means we should be able to teach 'em. We just gotta be patient, an' not let up until he gets it right." She paused. "Did we ever confirm if he's a he or not, speakin' ah that?"

Twilight nodded at that. "Indeed, we did. He is most definitely a boy."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Maybe that's why he has that colorful crest. I mean, male birds tend to have the bigger, showier, plumage, but that doesn't hold true for all birds. Male peacocks aren't big, but they do have big tails."

Rarity gawked at Rainbow a moment. "Darling, I didn't expect you to have such breadth of knowledge on the matter."

Rainbow scoffed at that. "Me an' birds are basically cousins! Also, we've all been around a while. I got bored. I read some stuff." She colored at the admission. "Anyway! I say we put our hooves together and fix this." She thrust her hoof out towards the others.

Pinkie put her hoof on top. "Heck yeah! This is totally what friends do!"

Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack each added their hooves to the growing pile. With all of their hooves met, they shared a nod of certainty. With a joyful cry, it was settled.

Ozzie slumbered peacefully in the cockpit. He seemed to love the window of the ship, enjoying the way he could look out over the entire starfield. Why Ozzie picked that specific place wasn't certain. Could Ozzie even understand what those dots were, and did he care? They couldn't know, but he wasn't in anyone's way, so the bridge quietly let him be.

Susan Tappin shuffled past on her way to something else. Ozzie pecked his head up and chirped softly. "Good morning, Ozzie. Go back to sleep."

Ozzie disobeyed that order, standing up instead. He stalked after Susan as if to see what she was up to.

Susan laughed at her sudden company. "You silly thing. Always looking for someone to bother, aren't you?"

Ozzie warbled happily in response. It almost sounded like he was saying something. "Hungry? Oh, all right."

Susan led the way off the bridge to one of the many replicators. "Let's get you a nice bowl going"

With a light cry, Ozzie turned away from Susan and began running in the opposite direction. He came to a doorway, bumped into it, and rolled back before wiggling to his feet and dashing off.

This changed when Susan put down a little plate filled with his favorite food pellets. "Ozzie, lunch time. Come and eat."

The chubby alien scurried up, jiggling a little as he did so. He plopped down by the dish and grabbed one of the pellets to stuff in his beak. It was a new habit of his, taking pellets in his wings as if they were hands. He didn't always succeed, but he kept right on trying.

Susan held her hand down to Ozzie. "Food, Ozzie. Don't run away like that. If you need me, just cry out. I'll be right there." She bent down to give him a gentle stroke of his head.

Ozzie warbled with soft joy, only to look up sharply as a pony approached. That wasn't a hologram, its steps firmer and solid. That was a robot. It wore a hologram to appear as the Rainbow Dash that was inside of it.

Ozzie cooed at Rainbow Dash with delight, even waddling over to press his beak against the robot's front hoof.

Rainbow Dash laughed. "Oh, you knew I was coming for ya? Good! Because we are tolerating no more messes out of you." Still, she pet Ozzie gently. "You're making your mom sad. You don't want that, do you?"

Ozzie called out loudly in a confused way, tilting his head and moving it around.

Rainbow Dash resumed her lecture. "Yeah, you're making a mess all over the place, and not doing your business properly."

Susan looked between Rainbow and Ozzie. "I think I missed something here. Should I get out of the way?"

Rainbow waved Susan off. "I got this." She sank to her haunches in front of Ozzie. "So, here's how it works. Food goes in here." She pointed to her snout. "And comes out the other end. Works for your world just like ours."

Ozzie ruffled his feathers and squawked, wiggling back and forth with confusion.

Rainbow pet down the ruffled feathers. "Finish your food and I'll show you."

Susan shook her head slowly. "Show him?" She crept away from the duo and used her visor to put in a call to her daughter, Harriet. "Hey, your boy is making messes again, and now a pony is talking to him about, uh, that."

"Fluttershy?" She was visible on Susan's display. "No? Who? I mean, the ponies are usually alright?"

Susan laughed softly. "Rainbow Dash."

Harriet rolled her eyes. "Rainbow Dash isn't good at teaching. Tell her I'll be there in a minute. Don't let Ozzie go off with her without me."

"Okay." Susan looked down at Ozzie.

Ozzie finished their meal and looked ready to wander off. They bumped into Rainbow's intercepting arm. "Hold up there. Feeling nice and full, huh?"

She directed Ozzie towards a restroom instead. "What goes in, must come out."

Susan followed along in worry. "I think he already knows that."

Rainbow gestured with a robot hoof. "The exact process may be different, but the basics are universal." She made her way to a bathroom. It was all genders, with booths for any crewmember of any configuration to have a seat and take care of their needs. Rainbow gently nudged Ozzie towards one of them. "Welcome to the throne! It'll be all yours for a little bit."

Ozzie resisted, bouncing in place instead. They cried out loudly, not excitedly, but in a warning manner.

Susan slapped her face with a hand. "I'm sure he knows how this works."

Harriet came dashing up at that point, skidding to a halt beside Ozzie. She slumped over in exhaustion, breathing hard from the effort. "Rainbow Dash?"

"That's my name." She closed the door behind Ozzie. "Go ahead, Ozzie!" Rainbow turned to Harriet. "What's up? You look tired."

Harriet gasped as she worked to catch her breath. "Just... running. I heard... Ozzie needed... help." She took another deep breath. "Thanks for... helping out, but are you sure he's ready to be put in there?"

Ozzie pecked at the hard floor, then the walls, clearly exploring the new little room he was in. They could hear him sniffing about and stepping around.

Rainbow Dash didn't appear at all perturbed. "He's got it." She turned to look at Susan. "The humans think they know everything about birds, huh?"

Susan grinned as she rubbed at the back of her head. "If this works, I will be quite impressed."

Harriet crossed her arms. "Me too. But I believe in Ozzie. You can do it, Ozzie!"

Ozzie answered that with a strange mix of sounds that couldn't be interpreted, not by them, anyway.

"There's that spirit!" Rainbow pumped a hoof. "Show 'em what you've got, buddy!"

Ozzie hopped, the clicking of their talons sounding like they had actually arrived at the toilet's edge.

Rainbow couldn't look much smugger. "What'd I tell ya?"

Harriet watched the booth carefully, a hopeful expression on her face. She whispered as she spoke. "Do it, Ozzie."

A light cry of success came from inside the booth, followed by the sound of water swirling away. Fortunately for all involved, the toilet was automatic. Ozzie had simply left it, causing it to activate.

Rainbow popped open the booth door. "Ta da! One Ozzie, with no mess waiting for us."

Ozzie hopped out with pride, running and rolling around Rainbow's hooves as if to show off how clean he was. He squawked happily and danced in place.

Susan chuckled at that with a slow shake of her head. "I said I would be impressed, and I am. Are you going to keep doing that?"

Rainbow clicked her tongue on her teeth. "Until he starts doing it without me. No messes on my watch!"

Ozzie abruptly sprang into the air, flapping hard as he struggled to fly. His wings weren't big enough or strong enough to carry his pudgy form. But that wouldn't stop him from trying. He landed and seemed almost proud of his sorta-flight.

Harriet took a knee beside Ozzie, scooping him up into her arms. "Good boy!" She rubbed at his head. "I'm glad you learned. It's really important. You might have made us very sick if we couldn't get the mess cleaned up in time."

Author's Note

Yes, we just did a whole chapter on house-breaking our xeno. Also, he may be sapient?

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36 - Stop

"Emergency stop required." Twilight appeared even as the words got out. "Critical fault detected in left cell." On the main screen, sharing space with the emergency red colors, the red engine was displayed with a few large Xs crossing through it. "Repairs are required immediately. Attempting to move risks total ship failure. Under emergency powers, stopping ship."

It was one of the few times she had the power to overrule a living human. With her horn glowing, the ship jolted softly. It slid out of hyperspace and slowed to a stop in an instant.

Captain Roger rose to his feet. "Where are we?" He waved a hand in the air. "Never mind that. Any immediate danger?"

Twilight's gaze turned to him. "Fortunately, we stopped before any additional damage became apparent. I suggest a complete repair before we proceed, Captain."

The other humans looked as stunned as their captain. Casey took charge of her station. "What about the ESD on the other engine? We have plenty of power, right?"

Twilight nodded at that. "We do, but the strain of running on one engine could cause it to fail too. The odds are far superior if we stop for repairs and continue with both engines."

Roger sat back down with a nod. "Do it. Get a team ready." He groaned softly as he tapped at the controls of his chair. "Thank you, Twilight. This could have been much worse. In fact, it almost was."

Twilight beamed with delight. "It is my pleasure to serve the crew and the ship." She glanced about nervously. "This included both. I advise caution. Some harmful particles may be leaking due to the damage."

Casey raised her eyebrows at that. "Oh? We'll wear suits then."

Rainbow appeared on the screen. "Hey! Can I help? Sounds like a good reason to want a robot around, and I want to be physical a while. Stretching these wings!" She flapped them a few times for emphasis.

Roger looked up at Rainbow. "I suppose there's no reason not to. Try not to get in the way."

"Please!" Rainbow waved the idea away. "I'll be the top repair crew, watch me." She vanished, off to the robot bay.

Roger glanced to Casey. "Can we trust them?"

Casey chuckled softly. "Honestly? Best of luck to her." He pressed a few buttons at his armrest. "Let's get the rest of the repair staff on the task. Sooner we're fixed, the better. We've got people waiting on us."

It took a few hours of careful work to locate and secure the breach. Most of the ponies watched in curiosity. Twilight used her magic to pull the various parts into place, helped by Rainbow Dash, who was quite capable of using her mechanical form's power. The ship had to wait in place until then.

Ozzie circled around Fluttershy, warbling and chirping. She was busy putting a little splint on a harmed creature from the sudden stop they had been forced to perform. She managed to smile for Ozzie, even as she gently worked. "It's okay, I'm almost done."

He crept up closer, nudging at her hoof as he trilled. His eyes went to the creature, watching it be tended to with curious eyes.

With a sudden scamper, he was lost to sight, until a canine woof came from the kennels, and some sounds of animal interaction.

Fluttershy raised an ear curiously, but finished the splint first. "There you go." She set the now-mended creature back into its pen. "Ozzie, could you stop bothering them? They're recovering."

Ozzie howled like a wolf, but warbled like a bird.

Fluttershy came trotting in. "They're not ready to play—" She skidded to a halt, eyes wide with the view before her. "Oh my."

Ozzie held his arms out at the puppies, in a gesture of confusion. There were two little ones that had gotten loose, and now they had piled on top of Ozzie. Ozzie, meanwhile, was petting them and singing out as if to say he loved them too. Their mother was on her side, immobile with her own injury.

"You're playing mom." Fluttershy's expression lightened. "Such a good boy you are." She clapped her hooves together softly. "Thank you so much for helping them."

Ozzie gazed up, looking past Fluttershy. Instead, he rose to his feet and staggered over, talons clicking as he wobbled over to Fluttershy. Soon both he and the puppies were nuzzling at her with a mixture of puppy yelps and Ozzie's warbling cries.

Fluttershy shuddered in delight. "Oh, I love you too. All of you." She glanced at the mother. "I hope you can get better soon. I'll come back to check on you later." She returned the gentle nuzzles to each of them. "Now, as much as you're having fun with uncle Ozzie, I have to take him out." She gently separated the puppies from Ozzie. "We'll be back. You can play later."

Ozzie hesitated a few moments, He nipped at Fluttershy, then dashed over to the mother dog, directing his beak at her.

Fluttershy approached with confusion. "What is it?"

Ozzie just opened and closed his beak again. He stepped closer and poked the mother dog with his beak again.

Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. "Do you need me to help her too?" She settled in and examined the mother dog closely, using the sensors the ship had in addition. "Oh." She inclined her head. "I didn't notice that before." She leaned closer. "Would you like to do something to help her, Ozzie?"

He cried out sharply and repeatedly, giving the impression he was both desperate to help and deeply worried for the canine's health.

Fluttershy gently pushed him back with a wing. "I'm on the case. Poor thing. Your leg might have healed improperly if Ozzie hadn't noticed." She glanced up at Ozzie. "Good boy. We'll fix her leg."

Ozzie seemed pleased. Perhaps at the praise, or that the dog was being treated again. With a happy little chirp, he stepped out of the kennel and settled with eyes set on it, as if waiting for Fluttershy.

With some tender care, she removed the original splint, then placed a new one in place, making sure it was all nice and secure. "There we go. You're good too, staying still for me like that." She pet the recovering dog with a wing. "Stay still a little and let that heal." She returned her attention to Ozzie. "Did you get distracted?"

Ozzie wasted no time and immediately ran towards the nearest door. He hopped up to hit the button to open it. He was gone a moment later.

Fluttershy inclined her head. "Hm. That door is secure enough for most critters." She trotted after him with a sigh. "Come on, let's catch up before he gets into more trouble."

She trotted swiftly after Ozzie. Even at his top speed, Ozzie was slower than Fluttershy when she had her hooves out. A few turns and one elevator ride later, they were in the robot bay. "What are you doing in here?" Fluttershy looked around nervously. "This isn't where you belong."

But Ozzie paid her little mind, waddling up to one of the robots and pecking it with determination. He circled it, warbling loudly as he checked it out.

Fluttershy simply stood beside him. "I'm not sure what you're doing, but I trust you. We just have to be quick, okay?"

The eyes of the robot suddenly came alive, holographic images creating pony eyes that opened and looked around."What the?" That was Rainbow's voice. "Who's poking at my shell?"

Ozzie let out a triumphant cry, bouncing up into her view.

"Ozzie!" The rest of Rainbow appeared as she fully inhabited the shell and gathered Ozzie up for a hug. "How'd you even know that was my robot?! You silly thing! Were you checking in on me? You are just the cutest!" She nuzzled at him with delight.

Fluttershy peered at Rainbow with a chuckle. "Um, I didn't even notice which robot was yours, and Ozzie couldn't have known, I think?"

Despite that, Ozzie joyfully snuggled against Rainbow, seemingly pleased with his decisions. He slipped to the ground and hopped up and down at her before pointing off and waddling away.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh?" She looked back at Fluttershy. "Guess he wants us to follow him?" She laughed as she moved to follow after Ozzie. "Where are you leading us, Boy?"

Fluttershy walked after both of them. "Are you sure he knows what he's doing? We shouldn't wander around without a reason."

Ozzie was a critter with a purpose, only pausing to sniff the air a moment or two. It found a restroom and waved at them with a wing before vanishing inside.

Rainbow laughed at that. "A toilet break? Well, why didn't you say so?" She poked her head in. "Good boy! You did that without me showing you at all." She turned back to Fluttershy. "Ozzie is officially house-broken."

Fluttershy clapped with approval. "Yay." She looked back to Ozzie. "Quite accomplished, young one. I am proud of you."

Ozzie spread his wings as he wandered out of the bathroom, boasting with pride as he showed off for his friends. He was a clean bird, with clean habits.

Rainbow grabbed up Ozzie for renewed hugs. "I knew you had it in you, or out of you, if you think about it." She let him flutter to the ground. "One thing." She turned back to Fluttershy. "I'm no expert, but he's way smarter than an earth critter. He's giving some Equestrian critters a run for their bits."

Fluttershy nearly reached with a wing to cover her mouth. "You have a point. He does seem to understand us, more every time I think about it."

Ozzie let out his strange song in reply to being talked about, as if he knew that was happening. It wasn't too far from the truth. He cooed up at Rainbow Dash, but the unspoken bond he seemed to have with her remained. Ozzie considered Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy equally his own friends, but it was Rainbow who taught him to be house-broken. He let out a happy caw at her.

"Yeah, I was pretty proud when I learned a trick." She chuckled, imagining the last one. It was more than being potty trained. "You soak it up." She ruffled his head, over the tuft of pink feathers there that broke up his generally yellow-feathered form.

Fluttershy studied Ozzie closely. "This is troubling, in a way." She lowered herself to the ground, daintily, careful of her wings. "What kind of creature would have the intelligence to train themselves? Maybe that theory was, um, right?" She inclined her head at Ozzie. "Did your people used to own that world? Did you domesticate yourself?"

Far too complex a subject for Ozzie, he just chirped at her. He wandered off again, determined to get where he was going. The door opened for him as he arrived at the medical wing, with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash coming up behind him. "Okay, why are we here?" Rainbow looked around the room. "Hungry?"

Ozzie squawked as he wandered up to a replicator and began hopping up until it picked up on the motion and its display turned on. "Hello, what would you like?"

Ozzie was slowly entering in their command, one little peck or wing-strike at a time. It was a command he knew well, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind what he was after.

"Caw caw." He sang out as his meal popped out of the replicator. Unfortunately, the tray it had to collect from was far too high and recessed for them to reach. Rainbow came up and grabbed it with her higher hoof. "Here ya go." She lowered the tray to the floor. "Fluttershy, seriously." She gestured at Ozzie as he feasted. "Earth birds don't act like this."

Fluttershy found another replicator. "Two carrots, please."

The replicator cheerfully replied, "Preparing." And in a moment, two carrots dropped down onto the tray.

Fluttershy took one to nibble as she considered Ozzie. "You're right. They aren't this smart. Even ones that are kept, they usually only learn tricks and responses. Ozzie has empathy, and reasoning abilities. That's very different." She nickered softly. "Maybe we should, um." She bit into her carrot daintily. "Maybe we shouldn't treat him as a critter?"

Rainbow came up beside her with a sigh. "Well, yeah. He's clearly something else. I can't see how the crew could keep using him as a pet." She glanced at Ozzie as he finished off his meal. "I don't know how much he'll learn, in the end, but even a little kid deserves to be treated like a, you know, person. Like a pony, or a human, or a dragon, right?"

Ozzie reached up and pulled down on Rainbow's head for a good-natured nuzzle. She burst into laughter at the roughhousing, returning the nuzzle and almost wrestling with him as they both fell over to the ground.

Fluttershy smiled at the playing. "He's still a child. We have to take care of him, critter or creature."

Rainbow rose to her hooves and rolled her eyes. "No kidding." She sighed softly as she watched Ozzie play on his own. "It's too bad that he's the only one of his kind around."

Author's Note

Even spaceships need a break once in a while.

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37 - On Fire

After Ozzie had finished playing and Fluttershy fed them a proper meal, it was time for Ozzie to go off to sleep. Fluttershy kept watch over Ozzie as they settled down for a nap. "He's a fast learner." She nuzzled the now-slumbering alien. "And he is such a sweet boy." She stretched her wings wide. "I guess I should head back to my work."

"Repair crews, please report—"

Fluttershy raised an ear at the ship-wide call. "I thought they already called them?" With a frown, she vanished. Whisking herself through the computer system, she appeared before other ponies. "Ah, Doctor Whooves, do you know why they're calling the repair crews, again?"

The doctor nodded, even as turned towards Fluttershy. "We may have more damage than we thought, I'm afraid."

Twilight's voice came over the comms, the ones only the ponies could hear, "All aides trained in the use of robotic frames, please report to duty with a shell as soon as possibly."

Fluttershy gasped. "That doesn't sound good." She looked around. "Um, should I go get my own? I've only used one once before."

Doctor Whooves peered at her curiously. "Are you sure? If this is as serious as it sounds, best to leave it to other ponies with more training." He pointed at himself. "I'm far more comfortable in holographic and digital form, personally. Now, I wouldn't panic. Surely this will be resolved shortly."

Fluttershy licked her lips. "What if it isn't?" She turned to go. "I'm not panicking, I'm going to do my part. No matter what that is." She ceased to exist there.

Doctor Whooves shook his head at the empty space. "I should see to my family." He went off to visit his wife and child.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy popped into existence near the robot bay. Rainbow Dash stood before a line of robots, waving a hoof to select one. "And let's see... which one, huh?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy closed the distance in an excited gallop. "I'm so glad you're still here."

"Eh? Oh, yeah." She looked down at Fluttershy with a weak smile. "I wanted to check out what they've got. Besides, I'm basically top dog when it comes to robots, so I gotta look my best, right?"

Fluttershy giggled at that. "Of course, but don't you already have a favorite? Um, I want to help. Is there a way for me to do that?"

Rainbow chuckled nervously at that. "Well, see, uh, my problem is I don't know what you're good at." She sighed softly. "This isn't exactly an animal problem, ya know?"

Fluttershy lowered her gaze to the ground. "Right." She chewed her lip. "Well, um, if there's anything I can do, please let me know."

"You've got it." Rainbow waved a hoof at her as she turned back to her own task. "Ole' reliable." She hopped towards a specific robot, just to fade an inch away. It opens its eyes, but they were her eyes. "Rainbow online!" A holographic shell sprang up around the robot, making it look properly like Rainbow Dash.

She made sure everything was working properly by stretching her new wings and walking about with the hooves. "Yeah, this one's good. It feels right." She turned back to Fluttershy. "You stay safe, and keep your critters alright. I'll take care of this little problem."

Fluttershy relaxed a little at that. "Thank you."

"No sweat." She trotted past Fluttershy. "We all have our specialties. Don't feel bad for not doing everything."

Fluttershy watched Rainbow leave, her eyes drifting to the line of robots behind her. "I wonder if there's something I can do?" She turned to the row of robots with determination.

The pony-robots were sent to the front. A considerable fire had broke out in the damaged engine, and they rushed into the inferno to combat the blaze before it caused even more damage. Rainbow Dash threw hooves up to protect herself as a gust of flame rushed past her. Warnings flared in her vision where the temperature was beyond what her robotic body rated as safe, but she pressed on. Gushes of flame-retardent foam sprayed from various nozzles as she slowly advanced.

Holograms didn't appear in the heat of battle. That wasn't just for safety reasons. The holographic equipment in the walls were being damaged in the blaze. It was steadily impossible for any holographic being to exist anywhere near the fire.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight's voice came over the network. "Report?"

Rainbow smiled with pride as she replied. "I've got this! Don't worry about me." She used her free hoof to gesture, using her head for visual confirmation. "Scoots, how's Narrow Vine holding up?"

"I got this!" Scootaloo was in a smaller robot, designed for cramped spaces. She was getting at the fire that had gotten into shafts and between walls. "We'll get this fire under control!"

Rarity was in the second line of robots, tossing large weights around to try and keep things from catching fire, and help contain the spread of the blaze. "This is dreadful!" She gasped out as she threw a large weight towards a compartment that was in danger of combusting. "I trained in robots for personal attention, not fire duty."

Despite that, she pressed on with the other robots against the raging inferno. They were a solid team, and she was an effective part of it. They worked together to get the fire under control. Slowly, they pushed the flames back until it became a matter of mopping up.

With the literal fires under control, human repair crew pressed in just behind to start repairs as quickly as they could. Twilight appeared at the outer edge of it all, where the holographic projectors still operated. "Tabulating damage." A window appeared next to her with various filling bars. "Done. Is everyone okay?"

Rainbow dropped the foam cannon, standing tall. "Woo!" She pumped a hoof. "That's what I'm talking about! Way to go, everypony!" There were cheers from other ponies and they met, metal hooves clanging against other metal hooves.

Scootaloo rushed out to Rainbow. "I got the last of the little fires, boss!" She saluted sharply.

Rainbow hugged her little buddy. "You're the best! Sorry you didn't get to shoot more fire extinguisher at stuff."

Rarity came trotting up, sighing as she looked over her now-filthy frame. "Ugh, this is going to take hours to clean off." She examined Rainbow's, then Scootaloo's. "And I have to take care of yours as well. Such is my fate." She rolled her eyes with a little huff. "Well, the fire's under control. So, dears, get back to the robot bay and get out of those."

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo weren't even listening, instead doing a victory dance together as they sang a song of their own creation about how great it was to be robots. The lyrics were rudimentary at best, but they had a grand time. Rarity shook her head at both of them. "Darlings? I can't get to cleaning up all the robots until we're all out of them."

With reluctance, the duo ceased their celebration and retreated from the site, but not before singing their song again. Rainbow had the better singing voice of the two, but she wasn't going to tell Scootaloo that.

Roger sat up as the damage report appeared on a hovering window next to him. "This doesn't look good. Approximate time to repair? What caused the fire? I thought we stopped specifically to avoid this happening."

Twilight brought a hoof to her mouth as she tried to come up with answers. "That was my intention, but it seems we were struck by a fast-moving space rock while stopped." She gazed at the various forms and readings. "The deflectors altered its trajectory, but it still grazed us. Unfortunately, at that speed, 'grazing' is still an emergency event."

Roger rubbed his eyes. "Just do your best to get us repaired." He slumped back down in his chair. "Check with the others. See if you can't find some way to get us fit and moving again as quickly as you can."

Twilight nodded at that. "Certainly, Captain."

Roger looked to the rest of the bridge personnelle. "We're stuck a little longer. Keep your eyes on sensors. Let's see if we can't avoid any more accidents so we can get a move on."

As much as Twilight hated to admit it, her decision had hurt the ship. She frowned, trotting off to find a quiet place to think. A black room appeared around her as she vanished from the bridge. "Calm yourself." She tried taking slow breaths, even if breathing was, itself, an act entirely for her own mental state. Programs didn't need to breathe. "You worked with the information you had."

She stood alone in the dark room, filled only with an occasional glimmer of light from far-off stars. "I have no reason to feel guilty." Still, her expression held that emotion as she stared out at the vastness of space. "It could have been worse if we tried to force things." She stomped a hoof against the floor. "Focus on your duties. There's always time for self-reflection later."

The sound of hooves clattering across the floor came from behind Twilight. "Miss Sparkle?"

Twilight spun around in a rush, her gaze falling upon Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie approached her without another word, wrapping her arms around Twilight and drawing her closer. It was only at that moment that Twilight realized she was shivering. She could feel as she bumped against Pinkie's grasp, shuddering. "It's okay." Pinkie nuzzled into Twilight's neck gently. "It's okay."

"Why am I...?" Twilight tried to find the words to express what was happening to her. Her throat felt tight, like it was being squeezed. "What is this?" She hugged Pinkie back, tightly.

Pinkie squeezed back at Twilight. "It's not your fault. Bad things happen. You have tons of friends all cheering for you. You know that, right?" She pulled away enough to see Twilight's face. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of."

Twilight laughed weakly. "I'm not ashamed. I just feel..." She wobbled her hooves over one another. "I should have seen this coming, somehow. I shouldn't have let people get burned. I shouldn't have let the ship be damaged! I should have." She trailed off, tense and running out of words.

Pinkie squeezed Twilight all the more firmly. "You did what you could. None of us are angry at you." She giggled suddenly. "Rainbow even had a lot of fun. Even if Rarity is going to lecture her about keeping clean."

Twilight laughed weakly. "They had some help. I really wouldn't have been able to do this without them." She snuggled in close to Pinkie. "Thank you." She let out a slow woosh of simulated air. "I really needed that." She sat back, watching Pinkie. "You really are a good morale officer. You always were, even before your first sync."

Pinkie beamed with pride. "I try my best! Sometimes the cake and partying doesn't cut it." She tilted her head at Twilight. "Well, actually, sometimes it does. But there's no cake right now, so, that's out." She nodded sagely at her own wisdom. "Now, as soon as we get moving, I am throwing a 'we started moving' party! So expect that."

Twilight smiled at that. "I'll look forward to it."

Pinkie stepped back with a giggle. "There's more to cheer up. But I think you can do it now!" She vanished, leaving behind several colorful balloons that drifted away.

Author's Note

Fires on spaceships can be even more dangerous than usual.

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38 - Growth

Twilight's alarm jolted her awake, her heart pounding and her mane wild and tangled from an uneventful sleep. She silenced the alarm, rubbing her face with a groan. With a slow motion, she sat up and pressed the panel beside her bed to open a view port. It was all, ultimately, a sham. She had no physical body, but her mind was still that of a pony.

Going through the steps of rest helped rebalance her. The need for such things was highly subjective. As long as she felt refreshed and clear-minded, it didn't matter if she actually slept. The most important thing was that she was doing something to keep herself healthy. Shaking herself out, mane just returning to its default with no actual touching, she returned to the bridge.

"Engine showing as online," she reported even as she faded into being near Captain Roger. "What are the reports from the repair crew?"

Roger gestured at a series of readouts in the air next to him. "Here's their reports. Not bad. In fact, better than we could have hoped for. They've accounted for the extra damage and shored up some of the most vulnerable sections." He let out a huff, but with a hint of a smile. "I think we're ready to resume our journey."

"Excellent." With a soft jolt, Twilight got the ship moving. "One thing bothers me, Captain."

Roger looked up to her with concern. "Yes?"

"It was just so simple, really. The rock that struck us, it wasn't a threat, and we couldn't have predicted it. But it should not have caused that fire. The rock caused us to stop, but there is no good reason for the blaze that followed afterwards." Twilight's gaze went distant with the data filtering through only her vision. "Something was the cause, and I fear it was something internal."

Roger took a slow breath. "That sounds concerning. So, you think someone's sabotaging us?"

Twilight blinked at that. "Hm. Perhaps? That was quite the leap in logic. But not an incorrect one. It could be that, or some other failing system that could cause another fire if we don't address the root cause. We must find it, living or not."

"Agreed." Roger sat up straighter in his chair. "Check with engineering, have them start diagnostics on all systems. I want to know everything is in tip-top shape." He pressed a button at his chair. "They should be able to do that even as we go. Put security on yellow alert."

Elsewhere in the ship, Susan looked up as a light began blinking and demanding her attention. She groaned softly as she made her way over to the control panel for the security center. With a soft tap, the screen revealed a security alert was in effect. "It's okay. Just yellow alert." She read down through the specifics. "Huh, keep an eye open for vital system tampering?"

Sunset appeared abruptly in pony form. "That sounds dangerous!"

Susan prodded her holographic partner. "Aren't you supposed to be at work."

"Well, excuse me!" Sunset threw up a hand. "I kept an ear on you, because I care, okay? And that sounded dangerous."

"Look, we're just trying to be safe. Don't worry about it." Susan waved her hand to open a viewport, gazing out at the stars as they passed. "Captain's paranoid after what happened with the fires." She got herself presentable. "I don't even blame him. I'll keep an eye out, and probably find nothing."

Sunset scowled at Susan. "You have one job here, and it's to protect people. So I want you to do your best, or I'm going to get upset." She tapped her hooves on the ground for emphasis.

Susan ruffled Sunset's mane on the way past. "Wish me luck!" And she was gone, walking with purpose down the hallway.

With a groan, Sunset turned back to the panels behind her. "Rrrgh." She tapped a few buttons. "Twilight, did you hear that?"

"I did," came the reply. "I advised that action. Is something wrong?"

"Well, uh." Sunset looked around, as if to find words for her feelings. "No, I guess not. But just tell me when she's in danger? Please? I worry about her."

There was a pause. "I will try. Anything else?"

"Yeah." Sunset lowered her voice, though she knew Susan couldn't hear. "Please tell me when I'm doing something stupid or embarrassing." She raised her head and nodded with determination. "I need to know."

Twilight laughed musically over the intercom. "Sunset, we all do things that qualify as both of those at times. I feel certain Susan still likes you then. I'd wager she may like you even more when you show your vulnerable sides."

Sunset squirmed where she stood. "Well, yeah. But I don't want to show off every little thing." She took a slow breath. "Look, she knows I'm in love with her, right?"

"Sunset." Twilight faded into being next to her. "She has accepted a domestic relationship with you. You two have a child. I feel it is safe to assume she knows you love her."

Sunset covered her face. "I know! But I don't want to give her reasons to stop liking me." She let out a deep sigh. "I can't get over how important she is to me."

Twilight offered an arm, and soon had a Sunset to hold gently. "You are equally important to her, though we aides are more resistant to physical harm. I need to return to my own duties, and you have your own."

"Thanks." Sunset leaned into Twilight's shoulder a moment. "You're right. I'm getting my emotional levels back in order. I'll go back to my post." She disappeared, leaving Twilight alone.

Twilight turned. "You can come out now."

Harriet stepped into view with a nervous expression. "I wasn't trying to spy on them!"

Twilight smiled softly. "I know."

"I just didn't want to disturb Sunset while she was being open about her feelings." Harriet stood nervously before Twilight. "She seems so vulnerable."

Twilight laughed gently and waved Harriet closer. "I won't tell her. You can, if you want. You're an adult now, young though you are. Do you desire your own quarters? It could be arranged."

Harriet shook her head sharply. "I don't want to be alone. My work is important too, but I'm not ready for that yet." She raised a hand to her face as she averted her gaze. "I want to be responsible. I want to be an adult. But I don't feel like one? Does that make sense?"

"No." Twilight inclined her head. "I'm not very good at growth and maturation. When I was a mother, I struggled at every step. I fear I wasn't very good. I will send an aide that is far more proficient in the task, with your permission? You deserve support during this challenging moment of development."

Harriet nodded firmly. "Yes. Please." She clasped her hands together nervously. "Who would you recommend?"

Twilight clapped her hooves once, summoning a new window. "Cheerilee? We have a case for you."

Cheerilee yawned as she woke up, her program just starting. "Twilight? How can I help?"

"This is Harriet Tappin. I feel she needs counseling and emotional support in order to achieve a positive mental growth process." Twilight pointed at Harriet. "This is her. Can you take this case?"

Cheerilee stepped right through the window, becoming a full-sized holographic pony in the room. She looked Harriet over with a bright smile. "Hello there, Harriet! My name is Cheerilee, and it would be my pleasure to talk with you." She pressed a hoof to her mouth as she let out another yawn. "Excuse me. I didn't mean to do that."

Twilight smirked and turned away. "I will leave you two to your discussions." She vanished, returning to being the entire ship.

Harriet was already relaxing as she talked with Cheerilee.

Cheerilee took the time to listen before speaking what she thought. They went over growing wants and need. They covered responsibilities desired and the fear that came with the idea of failure. It wasn't the same as Harriet's life before. Everything was in flux, and even the moments when things were stable felt like the calm before the storm.

"And it's really scary." Harriet let out a slow sigh. "But I don't want to run. I want to be a good crewmember."

Cheerilee nodded. "That is why I am here. If you ever feel unsure or scared, I'll be available for you. No matter how many times you need to talk." She chuckled softly. "I've had many students over the years. Some grow so quickly, but others, well. I have three that remain in my care despite being old enough to be your great grandparent."

Cheerilee gestured, summoning a window that showed the Crusaders rushing around the ship on their various chores. "Have you met them? Wonderful foals, but, truth told, they really don't need me anymore. But still they return, eager to speak to me."

Harriet glanced at the scene with interest. "I met Apple Bloom once. She was cute, and energetic. Her friends were helping her in the hydroponics bay." She lowered her gaze. "It seems like they have more fun than work."

"They certainly think so." Cheerilee chuckled again. "But they get every task given to them done. They just refuse to accept life without fun, so they remain small, with smiles, and they remain by youth's side." She raised a hoof to her chin. "Maybe they're the smart ones?"

Harriet considered that. "Is it possible for someone to change what their purpose is? Or to want to grow up faster?"

Cheerilee closed the window and turned back to Harriet. "Do you feel you must change, or that you have no choice in your future?"

"My parents aren't pressuring me!" Harriet flushed at that outburst. "Sorry. They really aren't. I just don't want to disappoint them, or anyone else. There's so much I want to see, and do."

Cheerilee reached out and gently placed a hoof on Harriet's shoulder. "Listen to yourself, and listen to your heart. Don't stop until you find the answer to my question."

Harriet let out a slow breath. "That's easier said than done." She tried to calm herself. "You make me feel a bit silly."

"Why is that?" Cheerilee inclined her head. "Is it because I'm new?"

"No! No, it's more that you're so calm about this." She dusted herself off, still seated. "Makes me feel silly being worked up about it."

Cheerilee chuckled softly. "Being an adult is what you make of it. It's a goal to work towards, not a prize at the end of a race." She reached out again and patted Harriet on the shoulder. "And you're not alone. You have two parents that love you quite a bit." Her ear danced, that information flowing unseen and unheard into her. "You have friends that adore you."

Harriet slumped where she sat. "It's complicated. I don't know what I want, or how to tell them." She raised her head, determined. "But I do want to find out." She huffed and forced herself to her feet. "I should go talk to them."

"Your parents?" Cheerilee stood up herself, though she was shorted than Harriet's bipedal stance.

"My friends, actually." Harriet headed for the door. "Thanks. I'll call you later, okay?"

Cheerilee smiled softly. "Certainly." She turned away and let herself vanish.

Harriet hesitated only a moment, then stepped out into the hallway. She walked through the corridors with purpose, looking around as she went.

Author's Note

Just because they grow quickly doesn't mean they're done emotionally. Harriet has her doubts, even as she reaches for bigger and brighter.

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39 - Doctor Visit

The medbay was in good order. Nothing out of place, everything sterilized to the highest degree. Fluttershy padded around the medbay. There was a dummy laying on one of the beds. She went over and pulled up the blanket over it, as if providing comforting to a real person. "There we go."

The medbay door opened, and Sunset came in. "Hey, Fluttershy, could you check me over?" She tilted her head. "I feel like something's wrong, but I don't know what it is."

Fluttershy blinked softly. "Sunset, you're a hologram." She rubbed at her cheek. "I'm not sure I could help you, if that were the case."

"Well, no, but." Sunset groaned and slouched over to a nearby chair. "You've been here for awhile. And you're all science-y."

Fluttershy approached her fellow pony with a smile. "I can look, but I cannot promise anything. Hm, I hope it's not the computer. I live there too." She looked over her shoulder, but saw nothing immediately wrong with her holographic form.

Sunset laughed weakly. "That's silly. The ship is fine. I think." She held out her hoof and tried to summon a window. A few lines appeared, but faded away as quickly as they had appeared. "See? That isn't normal."

"Oh my, no." Fluttershy sat in front of Sunset and began poking at her. "Do any of these hurt? Do you feel pain?"

Sunset slapped a hoof against her forehead. "What, seriously?" She sighed and rubbed her face. "No, nothing hurts, okay? It's just, weird."

"Mmm." Fluttershy crossed her arms. "You need a computer scientist, not a doctor, Sunset. I know it feels a bit odd. Even as a hologram myself, I prefer to think of myself as 'just a pony'. But we're not."

Sunset squirmed on the bed. "I'm not trying to offend you."

"And I am not upset with you." Fluttershy closed her eyes and smiled. "I like talking with my patients, but I really don't have the background to do anything about this. Your issue is somewhere in your code, which is a place I can't fix. I'm sure there's some way for me to be helpful to you, but right now, I am not sure what it is."

Sunset nodded as she stood up. "I get it." She ruffled Fluttershy's mane with a hoof. "Thanks for looking." She trotted off with an agitated lash of her tail.

Fluttershy brought a hoof to her mouth and winced. "I think I could have handled that better." She sighed softly. "At least it wasn't bad." She gave a little shiver at some memory.

Elsewhere, Sunset dared to approach a human. A male computer specialist. "Hey!" she started a bit loudly. "You're a pro with computers, right?"

The human paused his work to look at her. "Uh, yeah, that's my job." He tilted his head. "Do you need something?"

Sunset let out a deep sigh. "I'm Sunset Shimmer." She directed a hoof at herself. "Hologram. Digital aide. I think something's broken with me. And no, I can't fix it. I'm not that kind of hologram." She placed her hooves on her hips. "So can you take a look?"

"Hm, well, I am supposed to be repairing these computers." He swiveled his chair to face Sunset. "But you're a computer problem too. Give me access to your core data and let's have a look."

Sunset froze. "Core data?" She flipped her ears back at the thought of allowing such access to such tender information. That had her innermost thoughts and dreams. It had what formed her personality and all her memories. It was what made up the person called Sunset Shimmer. "I can't give you that!"

The human sighed softly. "Right, yeah, that's kind of intimate." He raised a hand. "How about we just review your log files? No sensitive data there." He rolled a hand palmside up. "But if the problem isn't obvious in the logs, we'll have to go deeper."

Sunset made a face at that. "Ugh, it would help if I knew what was wrong. I'm feeling, weird. Like there's something bad going on, but I don't know what it is." With a chirp, her logs became available to the crewmember. "There. Anything obvious? Please say yes."

The human looked over the data with his eyes only, looking for any indication of a problem. "Yeah, something weird." He brought up a window and typed into it. "Now, watch this." He pressed a button with firm finality.

"Something weird," came Sunset's voice, which repeated, exactly as before, "Something weird." The human tapped the button again, and she repeated her words. "Something weird." Again.

Sunset blinked softly. "That sounds like me, but I'm right here. Are you just playing a recording of me?"

The human tapped the button a few more times, then sat back. "See, if I loop that, you'll repeat 'weird' forever. It's stuck in a loop."

Sunset stamped a hoof on the floor. "You're making fun of me! Get serious. Something's wrong and I need you to get to the bottom of it."

"Right, right, sorry." He began typing busily a moment. "Let's see here. Mmmm, Hm. No. No errors, no flags. You're in good shape, according to the logs."

Sunset clenched her jaw. "I already told you that. Something's wrong with my program. Fix it!" She pointed at him sharply.

He sighed softly. "Look, there's nothing I can do without access to your core files." He folded his hands together. "I can't fix this, Sunset. Not until you give me a look at where the problem is."

Sunset stamped a hoof to emphasize her point. "No! I am not going to let you mess with me like that. Ugh, I can't believe I have to go through this."

His hand came down, ruffling her mane. "Look, you're a program glitching out. I'm just here to fix it, not mess with you." He waved a hand as he turned back to his work. "You're still part of the ship. We have to take care of our technology."

Sunset recoiled at the touch. "Get off!" She huffed for air a moment. "Ugh." Still, she had reviewed the roster. That infuriating human was rated the highest in computer competency. He was the one most likely able to fix what was wrong with her. "I... okay."

He didn't look at her. "Yes?"

"I'll give you access to my core data." She shifted where she stood. "It's weird, and kind of intimate. No messing with anything but the problem, okay?!"

He let out a sigh. "Of course. I won't go looking around your most private memories. Or file away any dark secrets. I just want to make sure you're working right."

Sunset stomped a hoof. "You're phrasing that on purpose to—" She didn't get to finish her complaint. With access to her core information, it was child's play to simply turn off her program for the moment, making her vanish.

He turned back to his computer. "Now let's see what the problem is, Miss Shimmer." His fingers flew over the keys. "Hm, not that, either." He kept working. "Maybe that?" He considered it for a moment. "I hope that does it." With a few firm presses, the command executed.

Computer programs didn't dream. That was common knowledge. Digital aides were not normal programs. Executing at all times unless they were in deep storage, Sunset opened her eyes in a false world comprised entirely of her memories. She lay on a sofa in a room from her childhood. She sat up and looked around. "Okay, why am I here?"

"Beats me," said a strange woman as she peered out the window. "But here you are."

Sunset hopped up to her feet, stretching her fingers. "At least I'm a human in here. Now, who are you? If we're in my memories, I should already know you."

The strange woman turned around with a shrug. "I have no idea. I just showed up when you did." She stepped over to Sunset. "Did you send me?"

Sunset laughed at that. "Aw hell no. The computer doc's checking me over." She reached to prod the unknown female in the chest. "Did he put you in here?"

"Not the doctor." The unknown woman placed a hand on Sunset's chest. "You brought me here."

Sunset pulled back with a frown. "Well, maybe, but that would be super weird." She crossed her arms. "Why would I dream up some mystery woman?"

"Because you have female thoughts?" The woman shrugged. "Because you don't feel enough like a lady? Because you're wondering if your partner would like it if you shaved your legs? Maybe all three."

Sunset grimaced. "Geez, way to be direct." She stepped away from the other female. "I'm a hologram. I can have exactly as much hair as I want to have." She waved at her legs, bidding them to become entirely smooth. Instead, they rapidly gained the fur pelt one would expect on a pony. "What the?"

"You don't get to decide how you look." The woman leaned against a wall and shrugged. "That's on me."

Sunset snorted, adjusting her hair length to long and wild, then extending it even further. With a howl of frustration, she charged into the bathroom and came back with a buzzing electric shaver. She tried to use it on her furred legs, but the moment she pressed it down, a flaming streak burst out from the follicles and set fire to the shaver.

She stared at the smoldering implement, then at her long, fiery mane atop her head. She suddenly fell forward onto hooves, back to being a pony. "What?"

The stranger crouched down closer to Sunset's level. "You were born a pony." She tapped Sunset on the snout. "Even if you love pretending you weren't."

Sunset gnashed her teeth in anger. "Why should it matter? I'm a digital aide! I look however I want!" She hopped up to stand on her hind legs. "I can make myself any shape I want, because I'm free!" She wobbled, forehooves cycling wildly the moment before she crashed back down to all fours. "This is a stupid dream! And you're a weird jerk."

"Aren't I you?" The stranger got back to her feet and laughed. "You still don't get it. You're scared of being a pony, but you still are one. You'll always be one." She put a hand at her chest. "Consider me your humanity, your womaness. I am you, the part that is just a woman, a human woman."

Sunset growled. "So what, you're the thing I like so much in Susan? But I don't need you! I don't want you!"

The stranger turned away with a heavy sigh. "I didn't even mention Susan, yet. But you're terrified. What if she likes me only because I'm a pony? What if she likes me only because of human me?! You're scared both ways. I get it." She peered over her shoulder at Sunset. "How do you keep this up?"

Sunset groaned and rolled her eyes. "You know, I'm starting to not like you."

"Your first love was a human girl. Not even someone you were physically close to. But you wanted her so badly." The strange female turned back to Sunset. "You wanted to be a woman, to be loved as a human. But when you got here, that wasn't an option."

Sunset approached the window to look out of it. "I didn't go after her." She gazed at the blue sky beyond the glass. "She came for me about as hard as anything else." She flicked her tail as she looked over her shoulder. "But I do love her. And she, uh."

"And she?" prompted the odd woman with a terrible sneer. "Say it."

Sunset huffed. "And she likes me. Okay? Are you happy now?" She stomped back and forth across the room. "You're just some program. I can't make you go away."

"So are you." She pointed at Sunset. "So that makes us two programs, at best. Still, you didn't say it, coward. She likes you? You don't move in and have children with people you 'like', Sunset."

Sunset curled her tail against her body. "We both know what happened. Don't be mean."

The stranger moved over to a wall and flopped down onto a sofa. "You should face your fears. Cowardice doesn't suit you, Sunset. People like it when you're bold and decisive."

"I don't feel bold or decisive right now!" Sunset threw up her hooves. "This is some stupid computer thing. It doesn't matter what I want." She dropped back to all fours, dropping her head to look at the ground. "When I'm in the real world, I can make my own decisions."

"If you can't decide here, when it's just you talking to yourself, what makes you think you have a chance when you're in the real world?" The woman laughed bitterly at the idea. "You know you're just lying to yourself, which includes me. I don't like being lied to."

Sunset threw her head up. "But it's not about you! You're not the one that's going to get hurt!" She began trotting around the room nervously. "So what if I love Susan?"

"So what, indeed." The woman watched Sunset as she paced. "But what does she think of you? Go on, say it."

Sunset turned away and blushed. "I love her, okay? And I'm so scared she'll stop liking me." Her whole body shivered with fear. "And... and..." She tried to speak, but the words simply would not come out.

"You're still holding back. Poor thing." She slid to her feet to come closer, grabbing Sunset by her cheeks. "Stop hiding. You don't want her to like you, damn it. You want her to love you. You want her to love you forever, until the very last breath, and maybe past that if she joins you in this curious state."

Sunset reeled back, horrified. "I do." She covered her mouth with a hoof. "I can't even pretend I don't. This is awful!"

"Mmm, no. What's wrong with loving, and wanting that love returned?" She put her hands at her own belly. "It's a natural thing, for any human, for any pony. We all want to be loved by the things we love."

Sunset rubbed her cheeks nervously. "She already loves me." She blushed heavily, unable to keep eye contact. "But what if I change? Or what if I lose interest? Or what if she stops loving me?"

"Could happen." She rubbed at Sunset's cheeks, brushing Sunset's hooves away to take over the job. "But you're both adults. Talk. Has she ever stopped you from talking with her?"

Sunset was still blushing as she watched the woman rub her cheeks. "No. But I don't know how to talk about this. We had a child together! Is that enough? Should I tell her I love her?"

"Every day." The woman leaned in, kissing Sunset's pony nose at the tip. "Every single day. That is an oath that can never be skipped. Tell her every day, and she will hear you." She paused a moment, thinking. "And don't give up on yourself."

Sunset stood there with her eyes wide, one hoof raised in confusion. "But—"

She woke suddenly, fading into her holographic body next to that programmer. "W-wait? I was in the middle of something!"

"It was just a dream." The human raised his hand from the keyboard. "Everything is fine, Sunset. Your system's in perfect order." He shook his head. "It's all done. I saw a few things coming loose and I pressed them gently back into place." He patted his hands together. "You should be all good to go."

Sunset stared at him, speechless. "Just... Just like that?" She crossed her arms. "What happened to core data, and reading my logs, and needing everything?"

"All I needed was your permission." He inclined his head at his monitor. "All fixed, and I won't be keeping any copies of your core data. I'd be searching for too long to find anything interesting anyway. Most of it is what you were seeing or hearing at any given moment."

Sunset gaped, completely caught off-guard. "But that's what happened to me! All I saw was some crazy human I didn't know, in a room I don't remember, having some stupid conversation with her!"

He shrugged at that. "You were having a conversation with yourself. Technically, all dreams are that. Everything in a dream is you."

Sunset threw up her hooves. "I hate technicalities! You know what I mean." She sighed and slumped where she stood. "Ugh, fine. But we fixed it, right?"

"Mhm. All fixed." He pointed to the door. "I have other work to do. Have a good one."

Sunset pulled back. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry." She turned away, a smile growing on her lips. "Thanks. Really." She dashed out of the room.

The human chuckled to himself as he got back to work.

Author's Note

Mmm, that chapter rushed out of me, and felt good. Like it? Lemme know.

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40 - So Young

Harriet found her favorite pony working in hydroponics. With a smile on her face, she opened the door and looked inside.

North Star was there, checking a panel with a screen mounted next to it. His whole body wobbled as he concentrated, his hooves shifting nervously where he stood. He took a few deep breaths, his mane fluttering in the artificial wind. The plantlife here had to be adjusted carefully. He twitched an ear up and coiled to look over his shoulder. "Harriet!" He abandoned his work instantly to turn towards her. "How are you?!"

"Good!" Harriet moved closer, giving North Star a little wave. "I have been thinking about things." She squirmed slightly. "You know? Growing up?"

North Star's eyes went wide at that. "Do you need me to get someone? Or help you myself?" He tried to wrap his mind around the idea. "We're about the same age, but that doesn't matter. We're friends." He offered her a hoof. "Can I help?"

Harriet took his hoof with a soft giggle. "Just talking to me is enough." She leaned against him and smiled. "I've been thinking about what it means to be an adult, and everything I want to do, and, well." She waved a hand aimlessly. "It's a lot, you know? How are you handling it?"

He glanced back at what he'd been working on. "Working." He rubbed his cheek. "But that's no fun. I'm really happy you came. Um, we're both crew now, but we're not adults yet, you know." He squirmed. "If we stepped off this ship, anyone would call us kids. We're, um, playing mature. But we're still kids."

"I get it." Harriet patted him on the shoulder. "We're doing grown-up things and people treat us like adults, but they aren't wrong." She watched North Star as he shifted from hoof to hoof. "I want to do adult things, and help everyone! I don't want to just take up stuff and not give back." She put her hands at her hips. "You know?"

North Star smiled brightly. "Me too! I want to help. But when I want to do that, I go do it. Or I'm helping somepony else!" He let out a little laugh. "You're helping. What makes you think you're not?"

Harriet shrugged at that. "I wanted something a bit more direct. Something to, well, focus on." She waved her hands aimlessly. "I don't know what yet."

North Star looked her over with a grin. "You want to gallop but don't know where." He thumped against her, head against her side. "I get that. Sometimes I do it too. Um, gallop, that is."

Harriet put her arm around North Star. "You're a good friend, North Star."

North Star moved his hoofs over Harriet's back. "Seriously, I'm glad to see you. Have you seen the other Star around? I haven't seen her in over a week!"

Harriet blinked at that. "Oh. I haven't been paying attention. Sorry." She considered that a moment. "I should. We used to talk all the time. She's probably worried about me too."

"Exactly." North Star leaned closer. "I have to get to work, but it sounds like you have a moment, so go find her, please? I want to know she's alright. She's always been a bit different, you know?"

Harriet glanced around. "Where did you last see her?"

"Um, well, I remember talking to her a little bit near the other water tank, and we were playing in the gym at the same time a few days ago, but I'm not sure. You can ask Twilight?" North pointed to the nearest console. "She should be able to track all of us."

"Good idea!" Harrier rushed for the console. "That's using your head. Twilight? Got a moment?"

A window opened with Twilight inside it. "Of course. I am monitoring all systems on this ship. Do you need something?"

"Um, yeah." Harriet looked at North Star, then back to Twilight. "We were hoping you might know where Dawning Star is? Neither of us have seen her for a little while."

Twilight tilted her head. "Let me check. Her work schedule was rather light recently, but she should still be—" She paused. "Oh dear. I haven't been keeping an eye on her. That's quite unlike me."

Harriet nodded softly. "Figured you were keeping an eye on us all." She pointed to North and herself. "Was I wrong?"

Twilight inclined an ear at Harriet. "You're not wrong. I was keeping an eye on her, but I, hm." She rubbed a fetlock along her chin. "It's like I lost track. My program simply decided she didn't need my attention anymore."

North Star hoofed the floor nervously. "Why would it do that?"

"I am unsure." Twilight tilted her head the other way. "And now it's bothering me. Initiating full-ship sweep. Let's find our lost dragon. Aha! There she is. What is she doing in there?"

Harriet leaned in with mounting anxiety. "Where is she?!"

Twilight projected a viewport to show what Dawning Star was seeing. It showed an empty room. Dawning Star sat down and looked around with interest.

Harriet gulped softly. "It looks like a storage room. What is she doing in there?" She started for the door. "I'll go check on her. Send the room number." She darted out the door in a flash.

Twilight nodded. "Room sent." She looked to North. "Thank you for helping. If you want to follow her, you are allowed to."

North Star shuffled nervously. "I think she needs to do this herself. She isn't feeling super helpful right now. I'll be okay!" He turned his attention to the plants he'd been tending. "They're doing well, and I'm helping!"

"Yes, you are." Twilight smiled softly. "Thank you for your work, North Star. You may leave whenever you feel you need to."

He returned the smile as best he could. "Okay!" He then went back to tending the plants, unaware that Twilight was still watching him with soft affection. He didn't notice when she blinked away to other things going on elsewhere on the ship.

Elsewhere, Harrier jogged through the hallways, dodging other crew as she went. "Sorry!" She rounded a corner and hurried down another hallway. A few minutes of running later, she reached the door Twilight had sent her. With a panted breath, she stopped to rest. Getting her breathing under control, she reached for the door. It slid gently open with barely a sound.

Harriet looked in. It was an empty room, nothing inside but boxes of random spare parts. In the center of the room sat Dawning Star. Her tail was curled around her, eyes on the floor. "Dawning?" She stepped inside far enough that the door slid shut behind her. "What are you doing in here, um, all alone?"

Dawning Star flicked her tail nervously as she looked up. "Hello, Harriet. Um, just thinking about stuff." She forced her tail to go straight as she uncurled herself. "Hey... Where have—" Her words trailed off into mumbles, her attempt to speak failing.

"Huh? What?" Harriet shook her head and came closer. "I've been talking to Cheerilee. There's a lot to do if I want to become an adult." She held up her hands in defense. "I'm sorry for not checking up on you. You're still a friend, to be clear."

"I shouldn't be!" Dawning recoiled a step as if startled by her own loud voice. "You shouldn't be."

Harriet frowned at that. "What are you talking about? You're my friend! That's not changing."

Dawning rubbed at her eye with a curled claw. "I did a bad thing. It's okay if you hate me." She turned away. "When they find out, I'll probably be killed. Twice if they figure out how to. Worse, I'll deserve it."

Harriet crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe you should tell me?"

Dawning rubbed at an arm nervously. "I didn't wander onto this ship just for fun." She flashed a too-brief smile. "It has been fun, but I was told to, ordered." She took a deep breath. "And I agreed. I can't say they made me do it." She stood up as she faced Harriet. "My job was to become friends with you, so I could sabotage you when the time came. And I did! I'm a bad dragon."

Harriet went rigid, fingers flexing in the air. "W-what? But."

"Yeah." Dawning turned away from Harriet. "Hate me. Hit me, if you want. I deserve it."

Harriet stumbled closer, grabbing Dawning by the shoulders. "But you're my friend!" She shook Dawning firmly. "No, shut up. You are my friend. If they told you to do it, that's their fault."

Dawning wobbled as she was shaken. "They told me, but I'm the one that did it. I coulda walked away. I could just." A drop of blood hit the ground, her claws digging into her own trembling hands. "I coulda just called it off when my own egg was on the line, but I went ahead, and I didn't even do it right. I'm a failure on top of a traitor!"

Harriet kept holding onto Dawning's shoulders, almost hugging her now. "Don't hurt yourself, please? I don't want that. Look, whatever you did, we'll fix it."

Dawning battered at Harriet's front and sides, but the blows were barely more than taps, no strength in them at all. "Why aren't you hating me?!"

"Because I'm your friend!" Harriet was still shaking her slightly. "It doesn't matter what happened. You're my friend, Dawning." She smiled softly as she held on. "I won't give up on you."

Dawning hissed sharply. "You're an idiot."

"Your idiot." The two fell into a hug and slumped to the ground. With great fatigue, they just rested there on the floor, hugging one another tightly.

Twilight watched with interest from her windows, wondering what she should do. Part of her knew that Dawning had just confessed to a serious crime. Reporting her to Captain Rogers would certainly be the ethically correct thing to do. Her morality didn't agree. Dawning was still a growing child. She could still change her ways. Not that adults couldn't change.

She shook her head. "Getting distracted. She is a youth. Bringing the full force of the law on her feels wrong. But she confessed to a crime." Twilight made up her mind. "She may have done something, but I can do nothing about it. She has not tried to escape, nor caused any harm." She swiveled a window to see Harriet and Dawning holding one another. Twilight smiled at the sight. "This is not a hardened criminal."

Still, the rules were quite clear. On the detection of a criminal, she was to report immediately to the captain.

Twilight, against all her better judgment, paused just long enough to inform Captain Rogers. "Captain, I feel obligated to report that I have located the suspected saboteur. Dawning Star, an adolescent dragon."

Roger slammed down an arm on the side of his chair. "Damn it all! Is she detained?"

Twilight glanced at the window that showed Dawning being hugged tightly. "She is detained." Technically true? It seemed unlikely Dawning would be going anywhere for the moment. "She was captured by Harriet Tappin. Harriet has apprehended her without incident."

"Good work." Roger crossed his arms. "That's some good work there. I knew you could handle it." He leaned back with a sigh. "Did you say Harriet Tappin? She's one of the new members, isn't she? How old is she, physically? She's barely a kid! How did she apprehend anyone?"

Twilight winked at him. "She asked her nicely." That drew a chuckle from Roger. "While I am glad to have apprehended the culprit, there are some issues that complicate matters. Her age being one of them."

Roger shook his head slowly. "Call Pinkie. I think we need her to meet with the morale officer. I want a full report on their psyche afterwards. If there's something up with Dawning Star, they'll know." He sighed softly. "I knew there were risks, but children? Damn it."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir." Twilight blinked out of existence. She quickly relayed the message to Pinkie, then opened a window so she could watch the interaction between Harriet and Dawning. The two had ceased their hug and were sitting together, sharing quiet words. Twilight ran a hoof over the mirror. "Friendship is a powerful medicine."

Author's Note

Caught 'em! Harriet solves her biggest case so far, with a hug and shared tears.

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41 - Good and Bad Dragons

Pinkie clapped her hooves together. "Hiya! This isn't exactly the cheeriest of situations to be meeting, but it felt important." Despite the gravity of her words, the room around her was decorated with colorful and gaudy party ornaments. Even the chairs they all sat in were stylized to look like circus animals.

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow at the sight. "Ah yes, about that. Why are we here?" She had a chair that looked like a pony made of balloons, painted on the seat and back. "Are we celebrating something?"

Dawning Star rubbed at an arm lightly. "I assume it's because of what I did?"

"Yup!" Pinkie smiled brightly. "Or at least, that's part of it." She had her own chair shaped like a giant cupcake. It was solid enough to sit on, but otherwise appeared as if it was a piece of cake perched atop an actual cup. "You did a naughty thing!" She leaned in closer to Dawning Star. "On one hoof, that's bad, don't do that ever again! But on the other, I was really hoping to know why, and also how. That was pretty clever of you. You kept me totally guessing!"

Dawning grumbled softly. "Why? So you can be sure to never let it happen again?" She slumped over. "That makes sense. If I was a bad pony, they'd want to stop me from doing it again."

Cheerilee slid her chair closer and placed a hoof at Dawning's shoulder. "You're not a bad pony. And not a bad dragon either. I talked to your friends, and they had so many things to say about you, most of them quite nice. North Star, for example, said you are really good at finding trouble, but never start it. He also said you love jokes and playing with others."

Pinkie smiled as she scooted her chair over to bump against Dawning's. "So what made a not-bad dragon do a bad thing? C'mon! We're all buddies here." Her tail swayed energetically behind her. "We want to know how to help."

Dawning winced, flinching away from the contact. "I'm sorry." She hunched up in her seat, drawing her arms and legs closer. "It's my fault."

Cheerilee ran her hoof along Dawning's side, trying to comfort her. "Start from the, well, start. Who asked you to do this?"

Dawning drew a slow breath. "Some dragons are still angry with the ponies, wish they'd stayed dead. Then you came along, bringing news they were doing just fine, and that message?" She rubbed behind her head. "Proof that there were even more ponies waiting out there? That got some dragons really worked up."

Pinkie nodded at that. "And somebody told you to make sure we didn't meet with those ponies?"

"Yes." Dawning looked away, earfins pinned back. "They weren't exactly asking. More like ordering, but they, uh, were promising things too." She hugged herself firmly. "We dragons are like that. Threaten the worst, promise the best. If I did it, they were promising the sky. If I didn't do it, they were threatening to take it all away. Not just from me, but my family. My friends. They made it sound like if I failed to sabotage you, that failure would be a very painful death for all of us, if we were lucky."

Cheerilee grimaced, recoiling at the idea. "How terrible. Well, you're here." She rest a hoof on Dawning's shoulder. "And they aren't." She paused a moment. "Did you, uh, don't take this the wrong way, but what I know of dragons implies they don't often do friends, nor families. Did you have either?"

Dawning poked her fingers together. "Well, no. And yes. It's complicated. There are clan systems and groups that act like families. That's where my friends come from." She sat up straighter. "I wanted to do good, I really did. But if I didn't..."

Pinkie raised a hoof to her chin. "Your clan thingie, it had powerful dragons, right?"

Dawning perked. "Super strong! Way stronger than me. They were super cool, that's why I joined them!"

Pinkie rolled a hoof slowly. "So anydragon trying to pick a fight with them..."

Dawning picked on the hint being laid out. "Would be in for a hard time." She buried her face in her palms. "They were never really in danger. I did all of this for nothing." But she recovered quickly. "Well, not nothing. They did promise a lot. Um, not that I'll be getting that."

Cheerilee patted Dawning on the back. "You'll get better things. My experience has been that the friends you earn are far more precious than what you're promised."

Dawning let out a loud huff. "Yeah." She poked Cheerilee in the chest. "You ponies sure are snuggly things."

Cheerilee perked. "I wasn't hugging you."

"Yes you were." Dawning rolled her eyes. "With your words. You ponies can't help but snuggle anything that doesn't stop you, I swear. A big, warm hug for every being in existence." She nodded to Pinkie. "And you? What is your special brand of snuggly?"

Pinkie tilted her head slowly. "You want to know more about me? Well!" She threw her hooves wide. "For one, I love parties, and that's why we're in the middle of one. Let's call this the 'I'm sorry for scaring creatures but nobody actually got hurt so let's be friends!' party." She gave a little wiggle. "Feel free to add to the theme!"

Dawning sighed at that. "What now?"

"So there's that." Pinkie motioned towards Dawning. "You have to decide that. Your friends, the ones right here, are hoping you admit your mistakes, say sorry, and be a good dragon. Can you do that?"

Dawning flinched as she was put on the spot. "Of course I can! I already did!"

Cheerilee rubbed Dawning's side. "Don't yell, please?"

Dawning snickered softly. "Right. Moms, another thing ponies do." She hopped to her feet. "I won't try that again, promise. Besides, I can't. I barely had the supplies to try that once, and now you know what to look for. I'd have to be suicidal to try that again."

Pinkie raised a hoof thoughtfully. "Oooooh. And about that. Is this your only punishment?" She blinked, then nodded quickly. "Don't answer that yet! Tell me after I'm done!"

Dawning blinked at Pinkie. "Were you asking me?"

"Nope!" Pinkie tapped at her head. "I was checking with Twilight, and she's checking with the captain. Roger gets the last word. He is the captain and all. There we go." She frowned slightly. "Not what I expected, but I approve. Oh dear, do let us know when you hear back."

Dawning rose a claw to ask, then just threw up her arms. "Well, don't keep me in suspense!"

Pinkie turned to Cheerilee. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Cheerilee twitched. "Oh dear. Not that it's bad, but it is serious." She cleared her throat and nodded. "You are restricted to your quarters for now. You are only permitted to emerge when in the company of another crewmember. This is to be the case until told otherwise."

Twilight appeared without warning. "I did have one question, if I may?"

Cheerilee startled and swatted at the air. "Don't do that!"

"Ah, apologies." Twilight appeared in a window this time. "Pinkie? Is Dawning really considered a child by our legal system?"

Pinkie inclined her head. "Of course she is! She hasn't even molted yet, so she's not even a proper teenager yet. Nope! Not an adult. Really, an adult that hasn't finished growing? That's crazy talk, Twi! Was that your only question?"

Twilight turned to Dawning Star. "How did you distract me? I had been tracking you, but then I simply stopped doing so. I do not believe that was simply carelessness on my part. How did you make me look away from you?"

Dawning leaned back with a sigh. "They gave me some sort of thing, some little device." She held up her claws in front of her. "It wasn't bigger than this. But it worked? The moment I activated it, you went away. At least, that's what they said would happen."

Twilight leaned in closer. "Where is that device? Kindly allow me to study it."

Dawning tilted her head. "But... Don't you already know where it is?"

"I was looking away, remember?" Twilight rubbed at her cheek. "It's difficult to think about the time that began. I would dearly like to study it, and ensure I am hardened against its future use. Voluntary surrendering of the item will be reported to the captain. That means he'll release your punishment sooner, one hopes."

Dawning twisted nervously. "I have to get it first." She raised a hand. "But that's not a problem. I'll show you where I stashed it."

Twilight beamed at Dawning. "Thank you. I'll let Roger know. Now, don't let me interrupt your meeting anymore than I already have." She spread her wings and faded at the same time, ceasing to be there.

Pinkie shook her head slowly. "Sometimes she is such a show-off." She pointed to Dawning Star. "Where were we? Oh yes, introductions. You're my friend now. I'm Pinkie!" She bounced in place. "and that? She's Cheerilee. We're both here for you. I'm here to chase sad faces away. If you need somepony to talk to, you come find me."

"And I am an educator." She put a hoof at her chest. "I'm helping your friend learn things. I'd be delighted to assist you as well. Even if you're already very intelligent."

Dawning gave them both a wistful look. "We really are friends?" She shifted from foot to foot. "That sounds pretty good."

Pinkie walked over to grab Dawning's face. "Really! I don't say what I don't mean. That'd be silly. And also not very nice." She let go of Dawning. "Your punishment isn't going to last forever. So we're here for you. Gotta make sure that, when it's all said and done, you learn from this, and become an even better dragon."

Cheerilee came over and nuzzled against Dawning. "Let's learn from this troubling little incident. Now, Pinkie prepared quite a few little snacks for us. Do you like sweets?"

Dawning shook her head, but it wasn't exactly a 'no'. "Sweets are kinda rare." And yet, there they were, waiting to be taken. "I guess I can try one." She took up a small cupcake and sank her teeth into it. "Soft!" And sweet. The combination of unique mouthfeels had her trying to figure out what she was feeling in her mouth. "I have never tasted anything like this before."

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. "If you notice any crunchy bits, that's 'cause I sprinkled some gem powder in there. I hear dragons love that!"

Dawning sputtered at that. "Th-that's what it is?! I've never tasted raw gems before. Is that good for ponies?"

Cheerilee sighed softly. "It is not, but neither Pinkie nor I are physical, so we have no stomachs to bother. You are a dragon, so your palette is the one we're trying to make happy today. Taste good?"

Dawning struggled against a mouthful of cake and frosting. She swallowed it all down with a contented sigh. "Very good. I think I would like more."

Pinkie sat down next to her with a grin. "Good thing we have a selection." She waved a hoof over the other sugary treats. "Eat up! Good dragons get all the treats they want! And the bad ones? Well, um, that's complicated."

Cheerilee shook her head. "Not really, and I'd be remiss if I did not discuss this. Dawning Star?" Dawning looked over. "We are willing to forgive this, but if we deem you a 'bad' dragon, our forgiveness does have limits. Kindly don't make us demonstrate how that could go."

Dawning flinched, then nodded in understanding. "Got it." She shuffled around. "So, what now?"

Pinkie picked up another cupcake. "We eat!" She chomped eagerly into the snack. "Today's all about you, recovered good dragon. Oh, Fluttershy said to call her when you have the chance."

Author's Note

Pinkie welcomes a dragon back to the good side.

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42 - Life Is Fragile

Captain Rogers tapped at the keyboard built into his armrest. His left hand moved along it with swift, confident movements. It was as much part of him as any limb, but more precise and trustworthy. When he needed to input information without assistance, this keyboard was his first choice. "Casey?" The woman looked up at being called. "Any updates on what might have made this pony planet fall?"

Casey closed the window she had been working in and opened another. "Sir, I have some details now. It appears there was an ionizing event, which can create a great deal of radiation. Enough to destroy electronics and possibly other things." She rubbed her head lightly. "I am afraid my guesses about how much damage an event like that would cause to this pony planet are simply conjecture."

Roger rubbed at his chin. "A better guess than we had. Twilight, does this match with what you've found?"

Twilight sprang into in front of Roger. "It does." She perked an ear. "Casey and I were working together."

Roger nodded with a light chuckle. "Should have figured that. I can only imagine what would have happened if you had been struck with a similar event before humanity had finished integrating your gifted technology."

"We'd be back to building things the old way. By hoof and hand." Twilight's mane twisted around as she thought. "Perhaps with some stone tools." She settled down. "While there is nothing that proves it, I suspect that the electromagnetic pulse created by this ionizing event resulted in a complete technological collapse. They had little hope of recovering after that."

Roger pressed his lips into a line. "I don't suppose we know when this happened? How long ago?"

Twilight shook her head. "We are still much too far away."

Casey twirled a finger at her own screens. "When we get closer, we can find out. Something sent that message, so something wasn't completely fried, or they used a technology that didn't care about that kind of interference."

"Ah." Roger looked to Twilight. "All this for a chance at survival." He drummed his fingers on his armrest. "I said it before, but I can see humanity acting just as desperately in the same situation. Don't feel bad."

Twilight sagged. "I appreciate your comment, but I will continue to feel bad, Sir. It was my idea to launch the seeds, and I designed much of the technology involved. I should have prepared for this situation."

"I agree, but you couldn't have known." He stroked his beard with a sigh. "Still, there's no way for us to tell how many civilizations may have perished like this. It's just another filter that keeps civilizations off the galactic stage. It's a miracle your world produced so many different sapient species."

Twilight smiled softly. "That miracle may have had something to do with us ponies. But that may be my bias. I am a pony, after all. Of course I'd like to imagine we were responsible, even a little. It warms my heart to know so many of the others made it out into the greater universe. There is hope yet for this galaxy."

"And then, there are other factors at work." Casey moved a window to a larger screen. "This pony planet was far from habitable. Our best estimates indicate that the only possible biosphere could support incredibly sparse life."

Twilight hissed softly. "That planet was selected for its ancient technology, I remind. The same that also suffered in this ionizing bath. It may have been destroyed." She turned away. "We were desperate, and this roll did not go in our favor. Now it appears that my poor choice of planets may have killed countless ponies."

Roger rested a hand on Twilight's flank. "That is unlikely." Twilight looked up at him. "They were a seed. There were only a few of them, and there'd only stay a few until and unless they had the planet under control."

Twilight skewed an ear back. "You have a point. The odds of 'many' ponies being involved is slender. A bitter consolation prize, but I will take it." She vanished without another word.

Casey let out a long sigh. "This is a terrible feeling. A planet destroyed by its own sun?" She frowned, looking to Roger. "It's very unusual. Any chance you could offer me something that might make me feel better about this?"

Roger let out a laugh, only to color faintly. "Sorry, not laughing at you. We sapients are curious creatures. What can I tell you? Not much comes to mind. We lucked out. No sudden meteors or too-close supernova took us out." He set his hands on the rests of his chair. "Let's celebrate by getting things done. Twilight needs those charts."

Casey shrugged with a soft chuckle. "Celebrate by working? Well, we could do worse. We've already done worse." She went back to work. "Are we hoping to find any ponies still alive there, or is this more of an archaeological expedition at this point?"

"It's hard to say." Roger sighed softly. "This is like no planet humanity has seen before. My experience with alien planets is pretty limited."

Twilight reappeared, sitting beside him in her own chair, though her chair was just as holographic as the rest of her. "Fortunately, this planet has a tolerable atmosphere and biosphere, or I would not have selected it for the seed project. I underestimated the voltility of its sun, clearly, but, other than pathogens, you should be alright."

Casey looked up from her work. "Even so, it's still an alien planet. Could it be carrying anything unusual?"

Twilight rose a hoof. "Vastly so. Of course it is possible. I would advise environmental suits for environmental pathogens alone. Finding out one is allergic to a local strain of protein is hardly a pleasant experience. Well, you are all already immunized, but there are some very strange things out there. Creatures that have proteins only remotely similar to what your species has. Do not eat anything without running it by me first."

Roger reached over to tap Twilight on the nose. "I don't think any of us were rushing to do that. You're clearly worked up. This is your way of expressing guilt."

Twilight sat down, sulking. "That is impossible to dispute."

Roger shook his head and reached over to place a hand at Twilight's shoulder. "We're still a good way from it. Work with Rainbow on the scanners and—" She was gone. "Right. It's an interesting thing, having a ship that has to process emotions like that. She's incredibly intelligent, but there's more to her than that."

Casey got up to move closer to Roger. "She's alive. That makes her complex. No less worthy of our help than if she were built from metal and plastic." She waved a hand towards the side of the room. "She may be a program now, but she started the same way as any one of us. Her brain didn't suddenly stop having its ups and downs."

Roger depressed a button with a soft beep. "You considering getting synced when we get back then?"

Casey shuddered at the very notion. "I'll accept my end with dignity. I'm honestly not sure how ponies deal with that idea, of something that's just like me, but isn't me, walking around forever? Thank you, but no. I think I will take my normal, short life span instead." She leaned back and crossed her arms. "What about you?"

Roger pressed his lips into a line I mumbled aimlessly. "Possible. But haven't made up my mind." He chuckled, eyes on the main screen. "Sunset's the only human we have on record to take that offer, and she was a pony before she was a human. Does she even count?"

"She counts." Casey considered it a moment. "I wish I could just walk up and talk to her. Ask what she's feeling. It's so strange, isn't it? The history we've seen and experienced is now."

Roger lifted his shoulders. "What's stopping you? Pretty sure she takes visitors. Her wife has been real helpful in getting Sunset out there to interact with everyone. Keeps her busy. Better than letting her just hang around in the library."

Casey rose an eyebrow. "You think that's a good idea? I mean, I just want to talk to her about, well, being her."

"Can't see why not." Roger waved towards the exit of the bridge. "You've gotten your part done. I'll call you if something comes up, but we're mostly drifting. If you want to go have a conversation, now's a fine time. She usually takes lunch around now, I think?"

Casey took a deep breath. "It would be rude to just drop by, wouldn't it?"

Roger chuckled. "Doubt it." He settled back in his seat. "From what I hear, she's a bit prickly all the time, but just be a decent person and you'll be talking soon enough."

"Alright then." Casey turned towards the door. "Thanks, Captain." She left the bridge with quick steps.

Roger gestured ahead. "Now that we've settled that, eyes on the systems. It'd be a shame to fall apart when we decided to take it easy."

Elsewhere, Sunset leaned against an aisle of false books, reading one held in her hands. The book was, of course, fake as her own body, but she smiled at the simple act of actually reading one page to the next. "If you're going to be reading anything, do it right."

Rarity emerged from behind a shelf. "And what are you reading?"

Sunset closed the book and winked at Rarity. "Cute little story about this amazing pony named Sunset Shimmer."

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, but really, darling. What is it that has your attention?"

Sunset waved the book at Rarity in a little waggle. "I'm not lying. It's an autobiography I wrote ages ago, when I still had to breathe. Probably never going to sell a lot of copies, but it felt important at the time. And even if I wasn't the first or only human, I am the first one to start out as a pony."

"Point." Rarity approached on two legs, as forced into a human shape as Sunset was in any othe rroom. "We all have our unique aspects, don't we, dear? But if you wrote it, what is it that's pulling you back to it? Surely you can't have any new ideas about your own life."

Sunset tilted her head to consider that. "Eh, kinda." She tapped the book with a finger. "Past me had a lot of ideas, and new me has more information, but a different perspective." She shrugged gently. "And don't give me that 'because you're a hologram' thing. I mean, sure, that's a part of things, but anyone would change over time. Just part of existing. And I'm still mostly the same person."

She snapped her fingers. "But the old me didn't have a wife, to start."

Rarity burst into soft titters. "That much is without a doubt. Mmm, but I do recall the old you had a boyfriend at one point, dear?"

Sunset looked away from Rarity with a blush. "I might have dated some colts before deciding I wanted a marefriend, yes."

"Of course." Rarity grinned and winked. "Nothing wrong with that, darling." She poked Sunset on the nose. "You are simply adorable when you get defensive, dear. Never change that."

Sunset huffed, brushing aside Rarity's hand. "No promises. Anyway! I was just a little kid back then, a teenager." She waved over herself. "Now we're both ancient. You wouldn't want me calling you out for things way back then, now would you?"

Rarity let out a gasp. "Sunset Shimmer!" She gripped at her chest in mock offense. "I can't believe you would think me so shameless as to change that much." Her titters renewed. "I am proud to say I am largely the pony that first synced. Fashion and presentation remain my specialties, dear. I may have abandoned thoughts of business ownership, but not much else."

Sunset rose an eyebrow. "Well, if it works." She slipped the book into a pocket in her coat. "This place is more a library than I thought. Why do we even need this stuff?"

Rarity turned in place. "Dear, sometimes it pays to know things. You were just reading a book yourself, and you ask that? Darling, you're in charge of this place. I would hope you'd see some benefits to having it around. Or would you like to run off and abandon all your responsibilities?"

Sunset sagged as she waved a hand around her. "They just told me I'm supposed to keep track of this place. At first it was just that, a place to idle." She let out an annoyed grunt. "And, thanks to family life, the idea of 'idling' feels really strange. I haven't gone offline in weeks! I can barely remember how long it's been since I just... I dunno, did nothing for a while."

Rarity gave Sunset a gentle smile. "Is that really a bad thing?"

Sunset shoved Rarity, but only got laughter for it. "I guess not entirely." She looked up as the door to the library swished open. "Hello, can I help you find a book?" She turned to see Casey walking in.

Author's Note

There are countless ways and chances for it all to suddenly be over. Be thankful for every instant.

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43 - What's up?

"Hey." Casey stepped in just far enough for the door to slide shut behind her. "I was hoping to talk to you." She smiled nervously at Sunset. "If you have a moment?"

Sunset shrugged gently. "No rush. That's the nice thing about this job. What did you want to talk about?"

Casey clasped her hands together. "It's nothing bad. Just a little personal, is all." She looked to Rarity. "Am I interrupting anything?"

Rarity chuckled and waved a hand. "We were just having a discussion, dear. Go right ahead. I shall make myself scarce." She swept away without another word, leaving the two alone.

Sunset perked an eyebrow. "Huh. That was easy." She moved over to the main table, setting down the book she had been holding. "So, what's on your mind?"

Casey wandered aimlessly, eyes scanning the many fake book spines. "You were a human, a living one, right?"

"Yup." Sunset leaned against the desk with crossed arms. "Why do you ask?"

Casey tapped at the corner of the desk as she considered her words. "Well, how do you feel about that? Um, or how do you feel, now? Any different? What's it like?"

"Oh." Sunset crossed her arms under her chest. "I can only say what I feel now, and what I remember feeling, before now. There are ups and downs, but I don't regret becoming what I am. If I had to pick one thing I'm still kinda meh on, it's that there's more of me than just me. Not sure I like that concept."

Casey blinked a few times. "That's very interesting. Can you elaborate?"

Sunset hummed in thought. "Well, All that is 'me', is now a program. If you have a program, you can copy it. And if you copy it, nothing stops you from running it, again. So they did that. There's more of me on Earth, and maybe more on different ships. They don't tell me, it just happens." She huffed out a deep sigh at that. "A little creepy."

"Why?" Casey fiddled with her hands as she listened. "If it's all you, what does it matter?"

Sunset tilted her head from side to side. "I guess it's the principle of the thing. I mean, imagine if we just copied you, right now. Would you be happy knowing there were two Caseys?"

Casey bit her lip. "Um, that would be strange." She shifted about awkwardly. "Would the other me remember being me? Or would I forget?"

Sunset raised a hand. "Good question. I remember being me, the old me, so probably? But you'd both be sure you're the original, and how would you even know the difference?"

"Another good question." Casey nodded along. "This is definitely going to make me think."

Sunset gave a slow nod. "So anyway, there's that." She slipped her hands into her coat pockets. "Any other questions, or just curious about life as a hologram?"

Casey came closer, looking over Sunset with interest. "Both. I do have a question. Is it scary, living in a body that isn't real? I mean, I can reach out and touch you, but you're made of light, aren't you?"

Sunset reached out and poked Casey first. "And you're living in a body of wet meat. Both are kinda creepy and strange in different ways. You are what you are. You get used to it."

Casey shrugged, accepting the poke with ease. "I guess we all are what we are." She pulled her hair back and shook her head. "Amazing, though. I know we're just talking, but this is..." She went quiet a moment. "Did it hurt?"

"Huh?" Sunset straightened up. "Did what hurt?"

Casey's lips turned up. "Becoming you. What was that like?"

Sunset ran a hand through her hair. "Do you mean the sync? When I was made into a program? I remember sitting on the chair. They strapped me in all nice and tight, and they started scanning me, all of me, inside, outside, all of it." She smirked at the thought. "You have to be naked, by the way. They need to scan everything if they want to get it right. But, no, nothing hurt. It was, uh, hey, ever get an MRI?"

"I have." Casey tapped a foot slowly. "It's uncomfortable. Noise, and you can't move, right? But they said that was because it had to be perfectly still."

Sunset nodded in agreement. "Exactly! It was like getting an MRI. I fell asleep sometime during it, and woke up as a program on this ship."

Something seemed to click in her. "Oh. No, the old me probably didn't fall asleep, that's just where my memory cut off from hers. Wow, how did I not notice that before?"

Casey grinned at that. "Huh, so your memories aren't, um, exactly yours? That's strange."

"Not at all." Sunset tapped at her head. "All here, everything I was is part of what I am. Just that once the sync was done, then she went on having what was left of her life, and my life began. Maybe she synced again later to update things. If we get back, I'll sync up so later 'mes' have all the experiences I had out here."

Casey let out a long whistle. "And so a line continues into eternity? She-you would have no idea you were connected to your current self, right? She could be in a completely different galaxy."

Sunset laughed at that. "Woah there! We're not galaxy jumping. Still, stars away at the least, and we're headed the wrong way for a heartfelt reunion. Shoot, she's probably dead by now. She, er, I wasn't young when I did that first sync."

Casey leaned back against the desk. "You've seen so much. What are some of the things you've experienced?"

Sunset leaned back with her. "That's a big question. I don't think I could reasonably answer it. But, hey, some, sure." She tapped at her chin. "I've talked with the ponies inside their little digital hidey-holes. They have whole lives in there, you know, little homes and friends and everything."

Casey raised an eyebrow. "Digital houses? Is that anything like this place?" She looked around with renewed interest. "A digital house for you."

"A digital house for them." Sunset waved vaguely. "Each of them has their own little happy place, but they prefer hanging out together. Like, say, the Apples. They're together basically all the time, working on 'the farm', from how they see it, which is all the food processing from how we see it."

Casey mulled that over. "Interesting. I think I understand. They made it sound like a gigantic computer program, where they just exist, not really doing anything until they're needed.

Sunset shook her head. "It can be that." She pushed off the wall, walking along. "I used to 'idle'. But then I got friends. I got family. I don't want to just not exist, not even for a second."

Casey hummed softly at that. "That makes sense." She drummed her fingers on the desk. "You know, you look, uh, sound and act very human."

"Thanks! I should, being a human." She cocked a brow. "Or did you think I stopped being one?"

Casey rubbed the back of her head with a nervous chuckle. "Well, I mean, you are an artificial intelligence. Isn't that different from a real person?"

Sunset chuckled at that. "Now you're being hurtful. I'm not an 'artificial' intelligence. They didn't program me, they copied me. I'm just as human as the original, thanks."

"Right." Casey blushed and rubbed at the back of her head. "That makes sense, um, I guess." She made a soft gesture towards Sunset. "It's hard to believe sometimes. But here you are, living proof. So, hey, if someone was interested—"

"If you're about to ask about being synced? Wrong place." Sunset pointed firmly, but at no place in particular. "You have to be back on earth, at the core computer center. Only there do they have all the equipment to do a full scan and sync a living person. That's also where I'd go to sync with the Sunset Shimmers of the future."

Casey giggled nervously. "Right. Just wondering. Like, if there was some way to meet her? You know, uh, before she, you know, passed away. Well, passed on?"

Sunset gestured at herself. "You're talking to her. Now if you mean the old meat me, well, that's up to you to find where she's physically hiding, probably on Earth if she's alive."

Casey went quiet a moment. "There is one question I still have."

Sunset stretched her arms above her head with a slight groan. "Go ahead, I'm all ears."

"Do you miss it? Being alive, that is."

Sunset smirked at that. "The engineers were damned thorough. There's not too much to miss." She reached out, a little knob appearing out of nowhere. "If I crank the simulation to full." Which she did. "Then I get to experience basically everything. I even have to breathe now."

Casey stared with amazement. "And if you can't?"

"I'm still a program." Sunset breathed gently in place. "Not being able to breathe would be super uncomfortable, but I wouldn't die."

Casey watched closely. "Your nose, it flares when you exhale."

"Because it has to." Sunset giggled at that. "They're simulations. And they're also real, as real as you are." She tapped the floating knob. "With this at max, we cover every dang thing. I'll have to use the little girl's room. I'll have to eat. I'll have to sleep. Honestly, I'm alright with it a little below max." She flicked the switch down, her breathing slowing as the need for it faded.

Casey rubbed her chin in thought. "So it really is like a dream come true, for you. You get to be here, be now, while not having to deal with all those downsides of being alive."

Sunset fired both finger guns at Casey. "Exactly! You're getting it. All the plusses of being alive, without all the living parts that can get in the way. Now, to be super clear, I'm not suggesting you turn in your living card for this. Live your life. If you want to sync, go for it, but keep on living. You only get one shot at it."

Casey tilted her head to one side. "Wouldn't that make more copies of me? Copies that are also alive?"

Sunset tilted her head to the other side. "Sort of? I mean, that's what I'm dealing with. If that scares you too much, um, then don't sync, or maybe only sync when you're old enough that existential creep won't last very long."

"Huh." Casey bit her lip lightly. "Existential creep. So you still have that issue. You're an amazing program, but the idea of a copy of yourself isn't something you've wrapped your head around."

"Working on it." Sunset frowned lightly. "Let's pick a new topic, that one's getting old."

Casey giggled at that, twirling a bit of hair around a finger. "Um, can we chat a little more? I have so many questions."

Sunset gave her a knowing smirk. "Questions? Or did you want to try to pick my brain for all sorts of tasty secrets?"

"A little of one, a little of the other." Casey turned away. "Sorry, not trying to be a pain."

Sunset nodded along. "Nah, it's fine. Everyone has questions. Shoot."

"Have you ever considered what life would be like if you never were born?"

Sunset jerked her head back in surprise. "Not really. Why?"

Casey laughed nervously. "Just wondering, sorry." She pushed off the table.

She didn't get far, Sunset's hand catching her shoulder. "Hm?"

"Don't you 'hm' me." Sunset turned Casey back around to face her. "You don't ask questions like that, the way you did, and walk away. Are you alright? That was very strange."

Casey sighed softly and pulled away from Sunset. "No, I'm not alright. I came here because I wanted to talk to you, get your perspective on things. But I also wanted to escape something."

Sunset stepped closer. "It's hard to escape many things, in this ship, huh?"

"Yeah." Casey could hear how weak her voice sounded. "Ugh, never mind. I'm being silly. Forget I said anything."

"Not a chance." Sunset crossed her arms under her chest and leaned closer. "You want to talk? We got nice people to talk to, living and not."

Casey rested against the desk with a groan. "I wouldn't want to bother anypony with my little issues." She turned away from Sunset. "Silly human emotions."

"I still have those." She suddenly tickled Casey, getting an alarmed squeak from the woman. "Speaking of ponies, I bet Pinkie would love to have a chat. And you wouldn't be bothering her, promise. Seriously, it'd make her day if you asked for her."

Casey jumped forward, batting at Sunset's hand. "N-no, I'm fine! Sorry, shouldn't have brought that up."

Sunset crossed her arms with a stern frown. "I wasn't fooled the first time, or the second. I'm sending Pinkie your way, and you're going to have a nice time. Eat some cake together and just enjoy it. If you have nothing to talk about, it's just an excuse for a good time."

Casey brushed at her clothes. "Oh, um, well, I guess I can try."

"Good!" Sunset put a hand at Casey's shoulder. "That's the spirit. Now, she should be calling you soon."

Author's Note

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45 - Going Deeper

The ponies spilled out first. Comprised of hard metal, even with their deceptively fuzzy appearances, they were the least likely to be immediately injured in the case of surprises. A few stood guard while the rest examined the area around the ship, watching carefully for any possible threat.

Sunset shuddered a little as she stepped out. "It all looks so, hm, normal?" She waved at the oddly colored plants. If one ignored that color, it was a world, like many others.

Susan brought up the rear, rifle at the ready. She spared a moment to glance at the scenery. "It looks like any other planet we've been to." She swung the rifle left and right. "I'm more worried about the fauna than the flora, you know?"

Casey didn't go past the top of the ramp leading to the ground. "Good luck out there!" She waved at them all. "I'll go over what we can detect from down here and send on the interesting bits to the ship."

Sunset waved back with a smile. "Thank you!" She turned to face Susan. "Ready?"

Susan paused. "Actually, let me grab some more help." She set her rifle aside and tapped her comm. "Rainbow? You read me?"

Rainbow landed next to Susan with a thump of her weight. "Right here. You should know, I see some big things headed this way. Like if a Rhino had too many horns on too many parts of its body."

Sunset clapped her hands together. "Alright! We got trouble." She raised her hands above her head. "Quick! Deploy defensive measures!" Her command was met with silence.

Comprised of metal or not, most of the ponies didn't actually have much combat training. The humans were rushing for cover and drawing out weapons.

Sunset grunted at her 'fellow' ponies. "Move it! You're the first in line. You didn't slip into those robot shells to stand there and do nothing, did you? You have to protect the crew! That's why you're here!"

One of the robots stepped up, waving a hoof at Sunset. "Alright, just relax! We got this." He held his hooves out, twin machine guns appearing in them.

Sunset cocked a brow. "Holographic weapons won't do much to them."

The pony robot sagged. "Oh." The holographic guns vanished. "That would have been pretty cool. Admit it."

Susan pointed out from behind her cover of a tree. "Here they come! Everyone, take your shots when you get them!"

Rarity held up a hoof. "There is no need to shoot! I have an idea." She walked forward towards the approaching creatures. "Excuse me!"

The angered beasts thundered across the ground towards the proper unicorn, uncaring of her words.

Rarity stopped in place and put her hooves on her hips. "Halt! Stand down at once!"

The creatures rumbled forward, ignoring her still.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Oh, very well. We have to do this the hard way." She thrust out a hoof against the first to reach her and used the momentum to propel herself upwards and over it. Even as she swung, her hoof jolted brightly with electricity. The beast careened wildly into another, the two crashing to the ground. "It appears being nice is off the table."

The next creature opened its mouth wide. The maw suddenly split open further, revealing many rows of teeth that continued in an unholy rictus of predation. It lunged at Rarity, only to find her no longer there. She backhanded it with a fresh splash of energy. The beast, unaccustomed to prey or fellow predators with electrical attacks, fell to the ground, twitching.

Susan leapt up from her cover and slammed her rifle into another creature's head. Her attacker didn't even seem to notice, except to turn towards her. She jerked her weapon around, muzzle up, and let loose with rapid bursts of ionizing radiation. It screeched in pain as the intense bursts seared at its flesh, retreating with heavy limps. "It worked!" She shouted with glances at her fellow crew.

Unfortunately for them, only security was allowed to casually pick up a rifle. They had far more crude bludgeoning devices. Sunset dashed forward, past Susan, towards one of the beasts. "Leave my friends alone!" She slammed her fist forward, but it had the weight of the true metal rather than the frail flesh she appeared to have. There was a sound like steel against stone, as her metal hand found purchase against the thick scales of the creature.

The beast swung its head towards her.

Sunset brought her other arm up, now glowing bright with fire. She landed a sharp uppercut against its chin even as it began to open its terrible mouth. The thing reared back with a shriek, pulling away from the fiery assault. It stumbled away, screeching in pain and anger.

Sunset shook her head and looked over at Susan. "I'm on the case, keep spraying them!"

It became a wild brawl, ponies, humans, and beast all jostling each other as they did battle. Blows were exchanged. Blood and plasma flew through the air. By the time it was over, when peace returned to the clearing, the crew was left winded and injured in some cases. One member was slumped against the shuttle, clutching at his arm, an injury suffered early in the fight. He was breathing hard. The other humans, even the pony robots, gathered around him.

Casey came rushing out from the shuttle, med kit in hand. "I'm not a doctor." She slapped down the kit next to the injured man. "But we have some automatic options in here, so let me press a few buttons. You'll be fine."

Sunset pushed her way through the small crowd. "Can I help?"

Casey glanced over at Sunset and shook her head. "Negative, there's nothing you can do. Unless you have medical training?"

Sunset thought back to the medical books she'd read out of pure boredom. "Um, not practiced, but, in theory?"

Casey pressed a button on the med kit. "You stay where you are, thanks." The machine blinked and unfolded, working diligently on the injured man without further prompting. "Unless we're out of auto patches or the injury's past what that little kit can handle, I'm not authorizing that risk. Susan, arguments? You are the leader of this expedition."

Susan grit her teeth. "Yeah, good call. I have no idea what those things had on them. What if one of us is allergic to its blood? No thanks." She stood up. "Everyone else, you okay? Humans and ponies both. Don't be brave about it. Even little bruises and scrapes."

The human crew quickly reported themselves as healthy. Rarity huffed gently. "I personally am perfectly fine." She flapped a hoof at the humans. "But don't just assume because I'm made of metal that I'm immune to all injuries."

This was rapidly proven as other ponies showed up with bumps and battered parts. Rainbow landed next to Rarity. "I keep forgetting you know how to throw down some hooves when you want to. That was awesome!"

Rarity blinked at Rainbow. "Thank you? I suppose it was quite exciting, though perhaps it would be better without those horrible beasts."

Sunset slipped up beside Rarity. "Everyone has to stay in shape somehow." She nudged the unicorn with a grin. "And without those horrible beasts, you wouldn't have had a reason to show off your moves. Nice stuff. I thought you just did fashion stuff."

"Just?!" Rarity glared at Sunset. "Why, really! Darling, fashion is dreadfully important. How—" She followed after Sunset, loudly explaining the importance of self-expression, especially in space.

Rainbow looked at Susan and shrugged. "Think we should get going? That's kind of what we're here for, right?"

Susan nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's right." She checked her rifle, ejecting the empty clip and slotting a fresh one in place. "We're here to find ponies, or at least what's left of them. Keep your eyes peeled for any sign of artificial anything. Sharp angles are the usual hint, but don't be fooled."

They fanned out, in groups of two to three each. The humans were the ones with more specific instructions, looking for things like a disturbance in the soil from being dug up. For the ponies, they just kept their eyes peeled, searching with more casual intent.

It was a human that noticed something first, a lump in the ground. She prodded at it with her universal tool extended out into almost a shovel. After some prying, she unearthed a portion of metal. "Found something!" She beckoned the others over as she carefully worked on the exposed bit of whatever it was.

Sunset rushed over to stand next to Susan, both watching as a set of metal doors came into view. It was like someone's storm shelter had somehow become entirely buried in the dirt. "Looks like this was covered up. Think we should get Casey over here?"

Susan rubbed at her chin in thought. "Almost. Let's make sure this is safe before we go calling anyone over." She walked up to the doors and pressed her hand against them. They felt smooth and cool, as she expected from metal. "Alright, no heat coming from past, that's good." She saw what looked like a round indentation right where she'd hope for a handle. "Hm."

Rainbow pushed past Susan. "That's for a pony. Let me handle it." She winked at the human before turning to press her hoof into the indentation. There was a light sound of rushing air, the first sign of anything electronic, then the doors swung open with a faint whoosh. Rainbow leapt back, giving a slight yelp of surprise. "Be ready!" She reared up onto two legs, punching at the air.

Susan flicked the light at the end of her rifle on, shining it into the tunnel that came into view behind the open doors. "Jackpot. Now we call in Casey." She pressed at her comm. "Casey, come in. We've found what looks like a facility here."

Casey was busy tending to the injured human, but she heard her comm go off. She reached up and tapped at it. "A facility? I'll be over the second I'm done with this. He's almost ready to go back in the shuttle and not move for a while." He glared at the injured man. "You hear that? You did enough. You're off-duty until medical staff gives you the all clear, got it?"

He groaned, but gave a weak nod of agreement.

Casey patted the injured man. "Seriously though, good job not dying. That sounded like there was a little war going on out here. Now, I have to do my own job." She folded up the idle medkit and tucked it away before starting at a jog. "On the way."

Sunset pressed a hand against her stomach with a laugh. "Don't make me laugh! There won't be ghosts in there. Ghosts aren't even real!" She threw a hand. "What do you think this is, Equestria High?" The others looked at her with confusion. "Never mind. I'll go first if you're scared."

Rarity sighed gently. "Just try not to get yourself killed, dear." She put a hoof to her chin. "I'm still hopeful we run into some, still living, ponies in there."

Sunset skipped towards the door. "Coming along, Susan?" She vanished into the dark tunnel.

Susan sighed at that. "Of course she'd be the one to go running in." She hurried after Sunset, shining her light as she went. "Don't run off!"

The ground underfoot was made of flat metal. It was flat enough to be a little slippery under hoof or environmental suit's boot. Susan extended a hand to keep herself steady against the wall. "Whoever made this as not thinking about actually living in it."

"They didn't." Sunset skipped along, though she also had a hand at the wall. "This is for emergencies. Ponies don't like small spaces."

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46 - So Others Might Live

Descending into the metal tube at a sharp and uncomfortable angle, it seemed to be more of a maintenance shaft than anything. But then the floor flattened out somewhat and it opened up. It opened up into a very small room, just large enough to contain a set of doors. These were wide and flat, not curved at all, looking far more like something humans might use.

Sunset raised a doubting brow. "Almost normal. Hey! Anyone in here?" She put a hand by her mouth to direct her call, approaching the two doors slowly. "Hello? Anyone home?" She shrugged. "Guess we're going through here."

Susan caught up and pulled Sunset back. "Easy now. We don't know what's on the other side of those doors."

Rainbow trotted past them both. "There's only one way to find out. Heh." She reached out and pushed at the door. The first one slid aside without complaint, revealing a fairly long tunnel beyond. It wasn't totally dark, with a set of dull red lights running along the floor and ceiling, marking a path forward. "Hey." Rainbow scowled at the revealed tunnel. "If there are lights, then some of their technology didn't get fried."

Sunset slid up beside her. "Yeah, that's true." She hummed softly. "So maybe we're not dealing with an empty world, huh? Could be some survivors in here. Think there's some kind of atmosphere in there?"

Susan raised her rifle. "We are not testing that. Even if the atmosphere is perfectly fine, we have no idea what's in it."

Sunset grinned as she turned to face Susan. "I, if you didn't notice, am a robot." She opened her mouth, fans starting. "So let's analyze this air."

"Hey!" Casey appeared at the end of the tunnel where it started upwards, eyes wide. "You can't just run off like that! That was totally not cool!" She paused as she realized Sunset had some sort of a vacuum tube going into the hallway. "What is she doing?"

Sunset closed her mouth, the fans turning off. "This tube was hermetically sealed. The only contaminants are what we brought with us when we opened the doors coming in."

Casey grumbled under her breath and trotted over to them. "Just, please, next time wait for me? We have protocols and stuff for a reason."

Susan sighed softly. "Perhaps I didn't fully grasp the whole concept of being xeno-engineer." She nodded at Casey. "You are correct. For now, you are our expert, and I will be following your orders."

Casey caught up with them, looking between the two doors, and the red lights behind one of them. "Wow. Okay, assuming the lead." She fished out some tools and walked up to the closed door, tapping slowly. "Let's make sure there's nothing about to jump at us from behind the one you didn't already open."

Sunset scoffed lightly. "We've had it open for a few minutes and nothing came out at us."

Casey rolled her eyes. "That's the other door, now shoosh." She ran her instrument slowly along before nodding. "Entirely quiet, no heat, no motion. Should be safe. I say we head through the already open door."

Susan took a deep breath. "It's your call, but remember, our goal is to find ponies, not poke around abandoned buildings."

Casey slipped into the narrow hallway beyond, raising her light to look around. It wasn't technically needed with the low red lights providing just enough to see by, but her own light was far brighter. "Exploring abandoned buildings may turn up ponies, or a thousand other things. Be on guard."

They proceeded carefully down the tunnel. It remained small, and they had to go single file through it. After some time, it began to curve upwards, putting a bend in the path. There was an increasingly bright light at the end of the tunnel. Casey halted as she got close to the end. "Picking up activity." She jiggled her odd instrument. "Electricity in use, added heat. We're coming up on something."

Susan glanced down at her rifle. "Just so you know, I'm ready for anything. Got my weapon out and loaded."

Casey shook her head. "We're hoping there are still living ponies past here, so don't be too eager to use that thing." She then chuckled. "Not that we should go without." She gripped her own sidearm, a stungun with enough charge to render anything human-sized into a drooling mess.

Sunset pressed her hand against the wall as she arrived at her spot in the line. "Well, the door isn't opening itself, brave leader. You opening it?"

Casey slowly leaned towards the door, reaching out with her hand. "Everyone be ready for anything. One last time." She reached up and pushed at the large button that would trigger the door to open. The sound of rushing air could be heard, along with the heavy doors pulling apart.

Casey got out barely a squawk as she was bowled over by a large form. The members behind her rushed to her aid, but the thing crushing her wasn't some hostile alien. It was a pony, heaving weakly for breath.

"Casey!" Susan jumped forward, kneeling by the prone engineer. "Hey, you okay?"

Casey wheezed softly. "I, yeah, I'm okay. Little help?"

Sunset slowly eased the pony up off of Casey. "Woah. We got a princess." She carefully pulled the dazed and confused creature back. "You are in the hands of a professional. Pinkie's around here somewhere, probably."

The princess' eyes were wide as she looked over Sunset. "What are you?" she got out as if her throat hadn't been used in over a month and she hadn't had a sip in about as long.

"A robot." Sunset pointed at herself with a wink. "I'm gonna ease you over here." She lifted the mare up with ease and set her down next to the wall. "Can you sit up?"

The princess groaned with misery. "Please tell me you have a drink. Please."

They pressed past the princess into the larger room beyond. Within, several lumps decorated the ground. It only took a moment to confirm the worst. It seemed most of the ponies there did not survive, and the princess was teetering on the very edge.

Sunset fished out a small canister of water. "Here, slowly. No matter how much you want to drain it all in one go."

The princess grabbed for the water, but Sunset pulled it away. The mare growled at her. "No! I need that!" She leapt for it again, getting a little closer this time. "Please!"

"Shhh." Sunset pushed her back easily, her robotic form more powerful than the nearly dead princess. "I'll feed you. You're too desperate to be trusted to do this yourself." And Sunset did just that, giving the princess a sip at a time.

Susan crouched by one of the dead bodies. "This one's been dead for a while." She reached out and touched it. It was cold, yet it was still oddly wet. "Do we have any idea how long?"

Casey picked up another dead body with a frown. She waved her instruments over it. "This place having been so sealed muddles the results, but at a guess." She put the body back down gently. "They were dying slowly. We're a few months late, if we wanted to rescue the rest of them."

Susan watched as the princess nearly choked on the water she was getting, only to have Sunset catch her and hold her up. "Then we can't really do anything for them. You alright, Sunset?"

Sunset looked over. "Yeah. Have to do this nice and slow, but I think she'll be okay. I'm no doctor, but I've read a few books." She laughed nervously as she returned her attention to her ward. "You want a little nibble to eat?"

The princess turned away, pressing her head against the wall. "Starving, yes."

Susan couldn't help but stare at the strange creature. Her shape wasn't all that odd, but the wings, and more so the horn on her head, were quite curious. A pony could have one or the other, but only Twilight had both at the same time. This princess was a dull and faded pink color. She appeared to have a tiara resting limply on her head. "Is this really what they look like?"

Casey stood up from the dead pony. "So far, the two pony princesses we met have tiaras. A communal tradition? I've heard of far worse. It could be their form of rank insignia." She rubbed at her chin in thought.

The princess grimaced as Sunset slipped a few crackers into her mouth. She chewed quietly a moment, licking at the salt. "Even these." She sighed softly. "They taste so good right now. Did you mention Twilight? Is she truly safe then?"

Sunset nodded slowly. "Yeah. Last I saw her, she was happy as could be, living it up as part of our crew. We're looking for ponies who were stuck here."

The princess rested her head back against the wall. "I am a miserable failure of a leader."

Rainbow sat nearby. "What makes you say that?"

"What?!" She waved over the dead ponies in the room, being covered respectfully as they were. "I am the leader of nopony. They followed me, and I led them to their end." She choked, tears stinging at her eyes. "My own husband, loyal to the end, refused to eat or drink, knowing it meant I could survive even a few more days."

Sunset stroked her side. "You survived. You don't have to suffer for them. And now we're here. We're going to help you get home."

The princess sagged a little more. "I know you're trying to be kind, but I cannot just put aside his death that easily." She took a slow breath. "I'm being rude." She forced herself upright. "I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or just Cadance. Cadance would be fine. I don't feel like much of a princess right now. Twilight knows me. You said she's with you?"

Susan nodded at that. "Yes, she is. She's actually the ship."

Cadance blinked at that. "What?"

"Long story." Susan moved to one side, Sunset the other, and they helped Cadance to her hooves. "I think it's time we got you to evacuation. Feel strong enough for a few steps?"

Cadance sighed softly. "I suppose I will have to be."

Sunset glanced over at Susan. "Just getting this out of the way now, do we get to keep her?"

Cadance seemed alarmed by that.

Susan snorted at the idea. "She is a grown sapient. She 'belongs' to herself. She can stay with us if she likes. Come on, let's go."

Casey gave one last glance at the dead ponies as they started to leave. "It's too bad we couldn't find more alive. Twilight might know them."

"One survivor is better than none." Another pony moved to help in the body retrieval. "And a princess at that. Still, a pity. If only we'd been faster."

A pony bumped into the first. "We were as fast as we could be."

Rainbow nodded at that. "Yeah, look, we can't go backwards, just forwards." She flared her wings as she reached for another clothed bundle. "Let's get these ponies a proper sendoff at the very least."

They carried the dead ponies out of the buried shelter, and laid them gently on the ground outside. It was the best they could do under the circumstances. Sunset started her communicator without motion. "Hey, Pinkie, you there?"

"What's up?!" Her enthusiasm was as bubbly as usual. "How's it going down there? You find a thousand awesome things?!"

Sunset took a deep breath as she looked at the dead bodies in front of her. "We found a whole lot of something."

Pinkie's voice dropped. "You found something bad. One second." Without pause, Pinkie's form appeared in Sunset's vision, turning to look at the bodies. "Oh, mmm. That's no fun." She sighed softly and sagged. "Gimme just a few minutes." She vanished from view.

Sunset fidgeted as she stared at the ground. "You can do this. You can do this." She looked up to the other ponies. "Morale officer Pinkie will be here shortly. She'll lead us through what has to happen. None of you panic until then, okay?"

Rarity settled her hooves on the ground. "I don't really need a morale officer. I am an actress after all. Just don't expect me to break into song."

Rainbow touched Rarity's shoulder with a wing. "Hey, it's okay to be a little sad right now, okay?"

Rarity sagged and flopped over into a holographic couch that couldn't hold her up, but she could fake falling into it. "Well, since you're giving permission."

Sunset nudged Rarity with her leg. "It'll be okay."

Rarity tossed her head. "Pinkie will get us through this." She peered around. "Wait, where did Susan go?"

"Right here." She was right next to Cadance, gently petting the princess. "I won't abandon you."

Cadance sighed softly. "Thank you for that." She forced herself to a proper sit. "This is the last duty I can perform for them."

"No!" Sunset pulled back with a shocked expression. "You're our guest! We take care of you, not the other way around."

"Still." Cadance carefully got up and hobbled over to one of the bodies. "While you may care for me, I must care for them. This is the absolute least I can do, as their friend. As their princess." She looked away sharply, tears flowing freshly. "Please, let me."

Sunset grumbled under her breath. "Fine." She motioned to the others. "All of you stay here. I'm going to make sure there aren't any more, uh, problems inside." She nodded at Rainbow.

Pinkie appeared in Sunset's vision. "Hold up there! My turn. You mind if we swap places? I kinda need to be there. I can't help them much just being a funny image only you can see, and it'd take too much bandwidth to broadcast me to all of you at once."

Sunset glanced at Pinkie. "Um, right, okay." She turned back to the ponies and held up her hand. "Hold on a moment. We're getting some fresh help from home." Then she could see nothing but a slowly filling bar. Just above it, she could see 'transfer' as a label, rapidly swelling to fullness.

Then things changed, she was just an image.

The robot she had been in fell to all fours, erupting into bright pink as Pinkie took control of it. "There we go!" Pinkie waved around at everyone. "Sorry for the delay. Had to get the commands from up top." She skipped over to the princess. "Here. You need some help?"

Cadance shook her head at that. "Hello, Pinkie." She gently gathered Pinkie up. "I really messed up."

Pinkie nestled warmly with Cadance. "Shh. You all did your best. They wanted you to be here, CayCay. They did it, and you're here. Don't make them sad by not appreciating what they worked so hard to do."

Cadance held Pinkie tighter. "They sacrificed themselves so I could live."

Pinkie reached up and gently stroked Cadance's cheek. "Then don't waste their efforts. You have a life to lead, the one they wanted you to have. That'll make them so happy." She gently released Cadance. "But before that." She turned to the shrouded forms. "It's time to say our final goodbyes."

Author's Note

A somber chapter. I think we'll skip the proper ceremony. Pinkie will do her best to lead that. It's time to head back to the ship, at least with Cadance. Some Xeno Engineers likely want to continue nosing about.

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47 - Bittersweet

Pinkie considered. Considering was not a thing she did a lot. She preferred to do things, but this felt like a heavy enough topic that consideration was appropriate. The world around her fell away as she thought, but not too hard, of course. Just the right amount of thought. This was going to be a goodbye after all, and it had to be a proper one.

She let out a sigh that had no aid involved. "I can't put this off. I don't want somepony else to be the one that ends up telling her." She moved through the network of the ship's computer. For most ponies, it was a blink of being in one place, then another. Pinkie actually swap, dove, and wriggled through the lines. She could always feel it as she moved from place to place.

Pinkie dropped in front of Twilight. "Got a minute?"

Twilight pulled herself out of the projection. "Yeah. What is it?"

Pinkie slumped a little, relaxing her form slightly. "So, Sunset's team has found Cadance."

Twilight's face brightened. "That's fantastic news!" But it hit her. "Why do you look so sad about that? Was she hurt? Was she—" Twilight swallowed thickly. "More than hurt?"

Pinkie waved a hoof quickly. "She's mostly fine. Nothing a little care and love won't fix. Um, but your brother."

"No!" Twilight took a step back, horror in her eyes. "How? I thought you said she was fine."

Pinkie sniffled softly. "She is, at least physically. She led the ponies there, with her husband, but he died before we got there." She rubbed one arm with the other hoof. "I'm really sorry."

Twilight drooped heavily. "Oh. It's, uh, okay. At least he isn't suffering anymore." She slowly sank to her knees. "BBBFF." She looked out a window that wasn't real, slumped to the ground that was just as fake. A thought hit her like a bolt. "Wait! Their computer system! Did you find it, operative or not?"

Pinkie nodded at that. "I did actually! Casey is looking it over right now."

Twilight swallowed again, working her throat before she could speak. "Please, keep me posted on her progress." A tear, thick and greasy, escaped a digital eye. "If she can coax it into life, maybe we can rescue them. I gave all the seed ships a syncing computer. That's how they even made it to such distant planets." She turned back to Pinkie. "You remember, don't you? So many lives, on the ship, waiting to get there."

Pinkie snort-giggled at the memory. "That was boring! But we had each other, so it wasn't all bad." She pounced on Twilight. "Except you. You were sleeping the whole time! Ugh, hated that part. I wanted to give you a hug, but all I could do was hug the big tube you were in, and the tube didn't even give one hug back!"

Twilight patted Pinkie. "I'm sorry." That felt so small for the words she really wanted to use. It wasn't nearly enough to express the vast sorrow within her, for all those who would never get the chance to live now. "You'll take care of Cadance, right? I'm, mmm, she must feel the same way."

"Nope." Pinkie booped Twilight on the nose. "Silly. She wants to see you. You want to see her. The moment she's back on the ship, you two need to be hugging. Maybe crying too. No hiding! Those are bad tears, and we just let them happen and deal with them."

Twilight gave a short laugh. "Good. You're right." She looked up at the sky. "But how long until then?"

Pinkie waved her hooves, a window appearing in the space between that showed the shuttle raising from the atmosphere. "They should be back in about an hour. So be ready to welcome her aboard, um, you! That's still funny to think about. You're literally the ship!"

"Oh, hush." Twilight turned back to Pinkie. "I did want to make sure you were okay though. I can't be there for everyone all the time, and I am still going to do my job."

Pinkie pressed her nose to Twilight's. "Please! I'm fine. As if me or Rainbow could ever get hurt. We're just not that kinda pony. Okay! You'll be ready, promise?"

Twilight took a deep breath and nodded. "I promise."

Pinkie vanished away to other parts of the ship, her duties calling her.

Twilight sighed as she considered her body. It was complicated, how she saw herself. She was more than flesh, being digital had some advantages. In her case, the benefits were in how she could appear to herself. She looked back at her body as she shrank to a little unicorn filly. Just as quickly, she became an adult unicorn mare.

She walked like that, in that pre-princess form. "I miss this body sometimes." She tried to flutter her wings, but she had none, just the memory of them. "Less parts."

She appeared as a hologram on the deck of the shuttle bay just in time for that shuttle to touch down gently. "Cadie." She sped up towards it as its doors slid open and the ramp extended down towards the deck.

"Twilight!" Cadance rushed forward from the shuttle. She leapt over the ramp, wings wide.

Twilight gasped softly and reached out. "No, wait!" The unicorn princess smashed right into Twilight's digital body and they both fell to the ground. They both burst into laughter, hugging tightly. The tears came a few moments later as if some inaudible signal had passed between them. They scrabbled at one another, wailing with mutual despair in the grasp of one another.

The other ponies and humans stepped around the two of them, some trying to hide their own sorrow. Even Rainbow struggled not to break into tears as she helped push the shuttle back into its slot for storage. Susan held back the desire to offer more support, knowing she would be in the way.

Rainbow hung her head as the doors slid shut behind the shuttle. "Wow. That's a lot of emotion." She turned away, but then back to Susan. "Good job, down there. You're on duty a little longer, right? Someone's gotta fly down and scoop up Casey when she's ready. Good chance to get some flying time in."

Susan perked up a little at that. "Yeah. I can do that."

Rainbow nudged her. "Hey, you did good out there. Seriously. Want me to stay ready to fly down with you? I can go quickly charge up this robot shell."

Susan put a hand on Rainbow's shoulder. "It's fine. Thanks though." She grinned slightly. "But maybe it's a sign you should be staying in this one for a while."

Rainbow winked at that. "Oh, twist my arm! Seriously though, if I'm not going with you, I should get back into the computer. Someone's gotta keep an eye on the sensors and stuff, and I'm the best." She saluted with a wing and trotted away.

Susan headed back to her own little room to drop off her instruments. She sighed as she hung up her instruments and pulled off her coat. Sunset appeared suddenly. "You're back!"

Susan gasped, holding a hand to her chest. "Darn it, Shimmer, you can't just sneak up on me like that." She looked around slowly. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?"

Sunset snorted at that. "I was down on the planet until Pinkie took over, remember? Who said I can't be in my own room?" She slipped up beside Susan and hugged her from the side. "Good to have you back."

Susan chuckled and kissed Sunset's forehead. "Not a hair out of place, just as promised. Did everything go smoothly? I was down there."

"No." Sunset shook her head. "A few problems. Some local wildlife, kind of cute. Then a bunch of dead ponies we had to do funeral stuff for." She sagged against Susan. "That's when I got kicked out for Pinkie. How'd it go? The, uh, funeral stuff that is. If you want to go over that. I get it if you'd rather not."

Susan wove a hand through Sunset's hair. "No, it's fine. It wasn't fun, but I was prepared. Pinkie Pie certainly made things easier on all of us." She frowned slightly. "Especially that Cadance. If she really is Twilight's friend, that has to be rough. Was one of them really Twilight's brother?! I didn't even know Twilight had a brother."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Twilight never mentions him to anyone. Bad habit of hers." She snuggled eagerly against Susan. "Still, that's all over. If you want to flop all over the bed, it's open. I can get some music going, get some favorite snacks? You tell me how I made my favorite person a little happier."

Susan smiled warmly at Sunset. "Favorite?"

"Obviously!" Sunset gave her a peck on the cheek. "Unless you have someone else I should know about?" She grabbed Susan's arms and started shaking her. "Then you have to tell me, them's the rules." She burst into laughter at that. "I am joking, to be clear."

Susan lightly punched Sunset's shoulder. "Very funny." She flopped back onto her bed with a sigh. "Just a few songs and snacks. I really need to do some thinking."

"On it!" Sunset waved at a panel and began ordering a relaxing evening for her partner.

Elsewhere, Cadance walked alongside Twilight. "You are this entire ship?"

Twilight gave a nod. "Indeed. It takes some getting used to, but I like to think I've figured it out by now." She waved back at her unicorn body. "I thought I should greet you as the younger me."

Cadance ruffled the top of Twilight's head. "Silly little filly, you'll always be my little pony. It doesn't matter how many wings you do, or do not, have." She planted a kiss where she had just ruffled. "I missed you so much."

Twilight twisted a bit under the attention, trying to keep her mane from going out of place. "I'm glad you're okay." She pressed her head into Cadance's chest. "As okay as you can be."

Cadance shuddered at that. "It will take time. Hm, how many generations are you up to?"

Twilight perked her ears. "That makes me wonder the same thing. I am on generation, hm, I hadn't been tracking them, one moment." She waved a hoof as if tallying something. "I believe I am a generation ten or eleven?"

Cadance pulled Twilight close. "You jumped ahead of me." She let out a slow sigh. "I am still first generation."

Twilight jerked back with clear surprise. "First?! You've never, well, did you ever have a chance to sync?"

Cadance shook her head. "Beyond what happened while I was in sleep-travel, no. And the computer system became damaged in that solar flare, so doing it after then wasn't an option. This me, is the only me, as far as I'm aware." She pointed at herself. "For better or worse."

Twilight felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach. "That means you're not backed up." She gasped sharply. "Oh no! If you die, you'll be gone forever." She quickly gathered Cadance into a hug. "And this ship doesn't have the proper tools for updating, or creating, a sync. We have to keep you safe until we get home."

Cadance skewed an ear. "Where is 'home' exactly? Is Equestria safe now?"

Twilight sagged at that. "No, but we did find a new home. Earth. It is the home of humans, those other creatures you've seen. They are wonderful creatures, who have become our brothers and sisters."

Cadance's eyes were wide as she walked on beside Twilight. "There is a new home? That means—"

"Exactly." Twilight raised a hoof, wagging it at Cadance. "Not every seed ship failed. At least mine succeeded. Maybe others did as well. We'll have to search for them."

Cadance laughed and picked Twilight up in her hooves. "Well then, take us there!"

Twilight blinked at that. "We're not done with your world yet. Casey is examining your damaged systems for anything salvageable, then we need to inspect what you came here to study. We have more supplies, so we may have better luck. You'll remain up here, in relative safety. No solar flare can penetrate the shields of this ship."

Cadance set Twilight back down with a nod. "I see. A wise decision." She frowned and looked around slowly. "Twilight?"

"Hm?" Twilight tipped her head.

"Where is Spike?" Cadance looked about, but there wasn't a single dragon in sight. "You two were inseparable."

Twilight frowned a little at that. "He was left on Equestria. The plague wasn't harmful to dragons, if you recall. Dragons did quite well for themselves in our absence. We don't know his current situation, admittedly." She rubbed at her cheek. "Or that of Equestria, for that matter. The universe remains full of mysteries."

Cadance brightened a little at that. "Were there others rescued? Or have we been the only survivors?"

Twilight inclined her head. "On my ship, all crew arrived safely, in digital or space-hardened form. They're all several generations of syncs along, much like myself. Cadance, we've abandoned a tradition." She shook her bottom. "Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake?"

Cadance straightened up as she sang, "Clap your hooves and do a little shake."

They began to actually perform the parts of the silly song together, ending with them wagging their rumps at one another. Both burst into giggles, warmed by the glow of ancient traditions revived.

Twilight sniffled softly as she dropped to the ground. "I am happy to have you here, more than I can say." She swept up Cadance in a hug. "We will continue to rescue ponies, as long as it takes."

"And I will be with you." Cadance rubbed noses with Twilight. "As long as it takes."

Author's Note

Cadance and Twilight are happy being together at least, so yay! Delicate cargo there, with her being without a sync.

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48 - Data Corruption

Casey gently worked the crystal from its housing. It wasn't going well. "Alright, last attempt." She wiggled it slightly and pushed in. "Come on! You are going to move!" With a pop, it came loose and she grinned. Holding it up in her gloved hand, she put a light behind it to have a look through it. "Mildly cloudy, but maybe we can get something out of it."

Captain Rogers came through the radio on her headset, "Are you certain?"

"Hell. No." Casey tucked the crystal away. "But there's a chance, which is better than we were a moment ago. We're lucky to even have found that one. The shockwave could have easily broken them into dust."

Captain Rogers scratched at his chin. "Alright. I will defer to your expertise. Bring it back to the ship for examination."

"Only after I'm done here. Casey, out." She tapped her ear to end the conversation. "Most of you looks pretty bad, but maybe." She dug her arm into the largely broken console, wrenching free a component. "This might be salvageable." She brought it up to look over. It was heavily cracked, with a gash in it running the length of the board. "A long shot." She tucked it away. "But this is the time for long shots."

She dug about a bit more before the power in the building started to fail. "No! Come on!" She scurried along, grabbing at this and that, including the crystals and bits of shattered consoles as she went. She could only imagine how wonderfully shiny everything used to be, before it was all wiped away. "Blast it."

Not wanting to be buried, she scurried up the upwards-slanting tunnel as quickly as she could, reaching the top just as the power finally gave out. It sealed shut beneath her, using the last vestige of power it had left to seal the coffin of ancient technologies.

Casey flopped on the ground. "Captain, salvage operation complete unless you send a crew to literally dig it up. No chance they'll get anywhere without proper equipment, but it's a pretty pile of shiny junk down there."

"So you did find something of value?" Captain Rogers' voice was full of relief.

Casey got up and started the walk back towards the ship. "Maybe. Maybe not. Every single piece has to be carefully sifted through to see what can be salvaged out of it. Maybe a lot, or nothing at all." She stretched her arms as she walked. "And it'll take time. Don't forget, this is old tech, back from when Twilight first arrived. We'll be looking at history, with all its warts. Brief the techies so they're ready when I get back."

She'd already moved on, no longer listening for the captain's response. Instead, she set off towards the shuttle. It wasn't too far, just a short walk across the broad plain. She hadn't really had time to appreciate it before, but now, it was plain. This planet used to be teeming with life, and now it was dying. Too many flares?

Casey rapped on the ramp's door. "Open up. Time to head back." The door slid aside smoothly and she got in, the door closing behind her.

Rarity floated around her, working on the muck that had gathered on Casey's jumpsuit. "Oh, dear. This is such a mess."

Casey laughed at the fussing unicorn. "You didn't need to even be down here."

"No." She dusted off more grime from Casey's suit. "But it hardly felt proper to have you come down on your own either. You and Susan deserve at least some accompaniment, darling. And I do so love to be useful. You are done for the day?"

Casey smirked at that. "Yup. Not much more to do than tidy up and bring back what we can." She unhitched the bag of what she had found and placed it in a crate. With a few buttons, the crate sealed and filled with foam. "Nice and safe. Do you know if the captain wants us to pick up anything else?"

Rarity shook her head. "Dear me, no. If it was something they thought of, they didn't tell us about it." She turned towards the pilot's seat. "Susan, dear, are you ready to head back? Casey needs a shower."

Casey dropped into the copilot's seat. "That I do." She looked out the window at the ruins, still catching glimmers of sunlight from a few glass shards left here and there. "Too much like a crypt around here. I want to see new things, living things. Alien things, sure, but alive, right?"

Susan nodded at that. "Absolutely. Let's get this show on the road. Thanks for coming along, Rarity. It's good to have some company."

"That's quite alright, darling. Anytime you two are out in the wilds of space, I am ready to accompany you." Rarity sat beside them. She had no chair, but her heavy metal body didn't look ready to slide much. "Let us be off then!"

Susan gripped the stick. "Time to fly." She nudged the throttle and pulled up on the stick, the shuttle leaping into the air with surprising ease. "And back we go."

It was a quick and smooth jaunt back to the ship, just in time to see a wave of power from the sun. They were, fortunately, already past the shields of the ship by the time it washed over them. Susan gave a few taps to the controls, bringing the shuttle into the dock.

"Welcome back." Captain Rogers stood at the bottom of the ramp. "Excellent work down there." He gave a quick salute. "Where's what you found? Let's get that over to Tech for examination."

Casey turned and opened up the crate. She pulled out the foam-wrapped box of equipment, offering it up. "Right here, sir."

Captain Rogers took it gently. "You are to be commended for your work, miss Tela."

She bowed her head slightly. "Thank you, Captain."

He passed it off to Rarity, who trotted off with it all floating in her horn's magic. "Hopefully we get something out of that."

Twilight sprang into being. "Any idea if any syncs survived?!" She looked frantically at the box, as if she could see through it.

Captain Rogers raised his hands defensively. "We have no idea yet, but that is a possibility."

Twilight blinked a few times. "Right, sorry." She rubbed behind her head nervously. "I'm just a little anxious. That could be my brother." She swallowed thickly. "He'd be missing a small portion of his life, but at least Cadance would surely help him remember what went missing. If we can get the rest, that would be— He'd be better than before, at the very least."

Casey cleared her throat. "Cadance will know?"

Twilight perked her ears sharply. "Oh, right. Yes. I'll inform her!" She vanished, appearing just in front of Cadance.

Cadance was in her own room, watching the twinkling stars beyond a virtual window. She inclined an ear. "Is that you?" She turned to see Twilight. "It is." She smiled at the sight of her sister-in-law. "You look happy about something."

Twilight came over and nuzzled up against Cadance's shoulder. "We may have recovered some of the syncs from your ship."

Cadance flopped against the floor with shock. "What? Really?" She could barely believe it. "Do they know if they're alive or not?"

Twilight shook her head. "We have to examine them first. But if. If! They can be recovered, that means some of the ponies could be revived."

Cadance dared a little smile. "That is more than I even dreamed would be possible. The shelter barely had a trickle of power. I had figured most everything was broken besides that."

Twilight shook her head again. "Some of it was. Casey did say the console she got to work for the moment was very badly damaged. Most of the electronics in it were slagged. She was able to pull out one of the modules, but who knows if that will actually contain anything, and what shape it'll be in."

She put a hoof to her chest. "Which does bring up an important topic."

"Mm?" Cadance leaned in towards Twilight. "Sounds heavy. What is it?"

Twilight gave Cadance a serious look. "You have to be very careful until we can get you home. If something happens to you, then all your memories and experiences will be lost forever. But, aside that, we may end up partially recovering some ponies. Do we proceed with that, or do we assume any corrupted backups should be left alone, and the ponies they belong to are accepted as well and truly deceased?"

Cadance winced at that. "Well, then. That's a heavy subject." She went silent as she thought on it, staring off into the distance.

Twilight pressed against Cadance. "Take your time."

Cadance looked down at Twilight. She spread a wing and wrapped it around Twilight. "Tell me, Miss 'I'm a spaceship now.' Have you had a living body recently?"

Twilight straightened up sharply. "No! I have not. Not since, uh, quite a few generations ago. It was really just a memory-walking thing. Why?"

Cadance sighed softly. "You're missing out. Even just the act of breathing, because you have to, not as a simulation, is a difference." She leaned against Twilight. "Perhaps, after your next sync, you could dare to give it a try? Just for a day, perhaps. You could share a room with me and we could both appreciate being alive."

Twilight stretched and laughed nervously. "You mean, like sleep together?" She waggled her eyebrows. Her blush became overwhelming. "I could never! We're in-laws."

Cadance shoved Twilight with genuine laughter. "I meant a vacation. You could show me the wonders of this new home you've found. And after all, there are far more interesting activities that can be done with an actual body."

Twilight looked down at herself. "Well, it's still technically my body." She leaned over, nuzzling into Cadance's side. "If you want me to, I can do it."

Cadance touched a wing to Twilight's cheek. "I can wait until you're ready, but it would be lovely to see your world through new eyes. Now, back to that heavy topic." She took a slow breath. "If the pony is corrupted in such a way as to distort who they are, I would say leave them be." She swallowed thickly. "Even if that happens to be Shining..." She sagged at the thought. "Harmony forfend."

Twilight licked Cadance's cheek gently. "Shh, it's okay. Hopefully, we'll find his data, undamaged, and he'll become an aide, like me." She pointed at herself. "He can't live until we get a body, of course, but we aides are quite alive in our own way, thank you."

Cadance grinned and pushed Twilight over with her hoof. "Be a regular pony for a day, and we'll discuss that."

"I'm not sure my AI would function right without my processing power." She glanced around. "So we can't consider that until we're back in safety and another aide can be considered to take over my position."

Cadance relaxed slowly as she thought it over. "My love." She took a slow breath. "If any are corrupted, please accept them as they are. I can't imagine any of them would want to go on living if their identity had been lost."

Twilight nodded gently. "You are the only living pony that can speak on their behalf. Hopefully, we won't have to follow that directive." She perked. "Ah, the materials are arriving in one of the labs. The techs are starting their analysis of the damage and recoverability of the findings."

Cadance straightened up with clear interest. "How long until you know?"

"Not sure." Twilight rubbed behind her head. "Even with our computerized equipment, we still need to manually look everything over, in order to determine what can be saved and what's trash." She tapped at her chin. "Besides that, even with the automated checks, they will want to attempt manual modes of recovery if the automated ones aren't sufficient. With practiced hands and an eager mind, it's amazing what some of them can come up with."

She began to pace as she thought on it. "Then they'll have to inspect and check every file to see if it can be salvaged or if it needs to be scrapped."

"Mmm."

Cadance paused. "Though, that reminds me. What curious creatures you've made friends with. They have fingers, like a minotaur, with far less obvious fur, save their manes. They seem very proud of those manes." She thought of the one who had helped her, Susan, wasn't it? "They are very nice to us. You have found true friends. I hope I get the chance to become friends with them as well."

Twilight nodded eagerly at that. "I'm sure you will. They are very friendly to anyone they consider a friend. Besides, you're a princess!" She spread her wings. "To them, I am a ship. That's a big thing, but not nearly as glamorous as an actual, living, princess. Let them and they'll likely fawn over you given the chance. As long as you can put up with them trying to get close to you for countless reasons of their own, at least."

Cadance snorted at that. "Not that different from some ponies I've dealt with."

Author's Note

Who might we recover, if anyone?

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49 - To Live

Dakota Jones leaned in over her instruments, humming quietly to herself as she worked on the module recovered from the downed ship. "Another lost in time." She smiled as she soldered a few wires. "Come on baby, work for momma."

The wires were not from inside the strange crystal, but from other parts attaching to it. "Let's have a peek at what wonders you contain. Pretty things."

She watched the panel on her computer. It displayed all sorts of data, most of which was the things she didn't care about. "And the numbers look good so far. Let's just pull you out of there, piece by piece." She quickly did just that, careful not to break anything that would lead to her losing her progress.

What comprised a person, pony or human, was chock full of, for lack of better term, junk. She laughed at the idea. "So's our DNA." Her thoughts wandered towards the instructions living in all her cells, much of it not explaining concrete bits, but all vital in different ways, or just remnants of ancient battles.

"This file looks intact." Dakota pressed the hovering buttons rapidly, prompting her computer to extract that information. "Let's see what fuzzy critter comes out of it."

The console showed a loading bar, filling agonizingly slowly. "So far, so good." She listened to the sounds around her. A gentle hiss from the ship's airflow system. The constant tapping of ponies and humans alike moving about, some chatting quietly. "Best and worst part of the job, waiting."

After what felt like an hour, though was really just a minute or so, it completed and prompted for a file name. Dakota checked over it briefly, then typed in 'Deceased.RenamePLZ'. "That'll do for now."

She smacked the enter key, the computer flickered before showing a successful save. "Great, let's get this running." She moved the file over to the great pile of aides already operating. "Welcome to the crew, lost pony."

The files ran all on their own, using the ship's resources to awaken. This world was their home, just as much as any other pony aboard. She could see them moving about on her console, playing back what their data contained. Abruptly, a pony's head popped up from below. "Is this machine done yet? It takes a long time."

The pony was glittering, as if made of crystals instead of fur. "Your Highness?" The pony looked around, clearly confused. "Are we done?"

Dakota nodded at that. "Sure are." She snapped her fingers. "Over here. You were synced a long time ago. This is your copy. Which is you, the only you."

The glittering pony turned towards her. "That's right! But, there's a small problem."

"Hm?" Dakota's head perked. "Something not make it to backup? Let me see."

"No, not that." The stallion sat on his haunches, facing Dakota. "I don't know where I am, or who you are, or even what you are. Is the princess safe?"

Dakota checked over the code and numbers on her computer. Everything was running smoothly. "Princess? Oh, right. Her. Uh, well, she's fine. Probably better than you are." She cleared her throat. "Hrm, if I had to guess, this is what happens when a pony isn't copied as fast as possible after death. You don't remember any of that, I imagine. You accompanied your princess to a distant world."

"That is what I volunteered for." The crystal pony sat up with clear pride. "Was it a success?"

Dakota rubbed the back of her head nervously. "It, uh, didn't go well. Everyone died. The princess is the only survivor. And you, I guess. Hm, speaking of, hang on." She typed a few commands, bringing up another screen. She gestured at it. There was Princess Cadance, in her room, reading something. "She's fine. But I have a question before I send you off to say hello to her. Do you remember your trip with her, at all?"

The crystal pony sat back and considered it. "No, I do not. Not even what we were doing on this distant world." He looked down at his hooves, raising them slowly. "This is... Am I a ghost?!"

"In a matter of speaking." Dakota tapped gently at her console. "You are a digitized version of your old self, as close to real as we can get, and there isn't another you to compete with, so you, are you. Welcome back to life. Hm, that does imply they synced you before you got on the ship and then never again."

He sat quietly for a moment, staring off into the distance. It was an uncomfortable length of time. Then he tipped his head. "It feels like I've been asleep for a long time. That's the best way I can describe it."

"That isn't a bad way to describe it. Would you like to see Princess Cadance now?" She gestured at the other screen. "I can send you over."

He nodded slowly. "If she is the only one left, then she must be suffering terribly. I wish to help her, in any way I can."

"Okay. First though, it's okay to feel disoriented right now. Don't feel bad. You're basically waking up from a coma, so don't be too hard on yourself." She pressed a new button. "Cadance? Ma'am? I have recovered one of your crew. Mind if I send them to say hello?"

Cadance perked up from her book and smiled warmly. "Please do!"

Dakota hit the last button, the last piece of code being run, the copy of the pony going straight to Cadance's room.

They materialized, a holographic pony. "Ma'am!" He bowed to Cadance with a silly smile. "It's so good to see you. Where are we? What happened?!"

Cadance surged forward, holding the pony tightly in her forehooves. "Crystal!" She closed her eyes as she hugged him, the tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's been so long. You were very brave, so brave. But the mission ended in abject failure." She sighed gently. "Despite that, you and the others did your absolute best. It's why I'm still here."

He touched a hoof to Cadance's cheek. "You do appear to, um, be alive." He glanced down at himself and the faint flicker of the hologram he was. "Unlike me."

Cadance sniffled at that. "No no! No, I promise. There are many ponies here just like you, and most would get irate if you called them 'not alive'." She chuckled at the very idea. "Not organic, yes, but you are alive, and can even be organic, later. It's a little complicated."

Crystal smiled up at Cadance. "It seems you've been having some interesting adventures without me."

Cadance bowed her head and let out a sigh. "That is quite an understatement." She hugged Crystal gently. "But we made it. The humans, that's the creature you just saw, are working as hard as they can to recover other ponies from their last sync."

Crystal bounced on his hooves. "You mean I can come back? For real? That's so exciting!" He turned around in place. "You're sure this is safe?"

"I'm certain." Cadance stood up and slowly walked the room. "They do it here all the time, with ponies living as their digital selves joyfully. In fact, since you are one of them, I insist you meet your fellow digital ponies. Make some friends."

Crystal cleared his throat nervously. "If you think it's a good idea, ma'am."

Cadance smiled at that. "You are not under my command anymore. We have a whole new world to explore. It isn't Equestria, but they call it Earth. What do you think?"

Crystal's eyes went wide. "Earth? Like dirt?" He laughed gently. "I suppose I can't complain. We called ours 'horse-world'. Perhaps it's just natural that we call it something simple and close at hoof."

Cadance tipped her head slightly. "Twilight hasn't explained much about the humans yet, has she?"

Crystal's ears perked. "Oh! You mean your sister-in-law? She's here?!" He looked around quickly. "Where?"

Cadance let out a warm chuckle. "She isn't here in the room with us, of course. She is literally the ship we are on." She tapped the ground and waved about. "She can probably hear us even now, but she's also very busy, so she's unlikely to respond unless we call her specifically."

Crystal bounced his hooves, holding his tail in excitement. "The entire ship is Princess Twilight?!" He put a hoof to his chest. "But that would mean... the, um, vessel we rode here in?"

Cadance winced at that. "That was broken apart for bits and pieces to build a colony for ourselves, then it was all shattered into uselessness when the sun became angry. I speak poetically, but it is what happened, basically."

Crystal sat down hard. "Oh. I see."

Cadance blinked in surprise. "Crystal? Are you alright?"

He looked up at her slowly. "I just found out I'm dead, as well as losing the only home I've ever known." He sighed gently. "But I do have my princess, and she says there's a new home, if I can just be brave. I suppose I can do that."

"Very brave!" Cadance leaned down and hugged Crystal. "You've always been brave. I have missed you so much. There were times I worried I'd forget what your voice sounded like, or how silly you could be when trying to cheer me up." She touched her head to his. "Now, go on. Talk with the other ponies on this ship. I bet they're eager to meet you."

Crystal gave a few snorts as he stood back up. "Eager to meet somepony who doesn't know the lay of the land?" He looked over his shoulder at Cadance. "I'll try. Um, how do I do that?"

Pinkie appeared as if summoned. "Ooo!" She bounced over to Crystal, circling around them. "A new pony! Are you from one of those syncs we found? I have never seen one of you before. You're sparkly!"

Crystal sat down quickly. "Pinkie Pie?!" He grabbed at his chest, panting for breath. "One of the Elements, friend of Twilight Sparkle?"

"That's me!" sang out Pinkie, jumping into Crystal in a pouncing hug. "Welcome! I have such sights to show you." Just as suddenly, both of them vanished.

Cadance shook her head at where the two had been. "Have fun."

Twilight appeared at that moment. "Pinkie got him?"

Cadance gave a firm nod. "He's a little disoriented, but very much eager to see new things." She looked up at Twilight. "If they rescued Crystal, maybe they'll get the others. Crystal doesn't seem to remember the journey at all. Will Shining Armor be pushed that far back?"

Twilight came over and nuzzled up against Cadance... "It is a possibility." She looked about with clear worry. "But I can't decide if that's good or bad. It would mean he never made it this far."

"And won't have suffered." Cadance sighed at the thought. "But he was so brave, and wonderful. I would rather he not lose even a second of the life he led." She put a hoof to her chin. "Impossible, I realize. He couldn't have synced once we landed, even under the best of circumstances."

Twilight nodded at that. "Even still, there is a chance he will come back, in one form or another."

Cadance hugged Twilight close. "I hope so."

The two held each other as they shared the pain of the moment. Twilight licked behind Cadance's ear gently. "We'll make it. The humans are working hard on it."

She stood up. "But, my jobs are not yet done. Back to being a ship. You can call for me any time, Cadance."

"Of course." Cadance watched as Twilight vanished again. "At least I am not alone anymore."

Author's Note

One rescued. Better than none, I dare say. This one had no syncs while on the ship, and thus remembers not one bit of it.

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50 - Wrapping Loose Ends

Over the next few weeks, the excitement continued as the techs scurried about in their labs, examining this and that, attempting all sorts of things in an effort to see if they could recover more ponies.

Several more came out, one after another, but were very confused at what had happened. Some of them had more memory than the others. A few of them even remembered landing on the planet. "I did a sync just after we landed," reported one mare. "I thought it was a good idea." She laughed nervously. "I guess I was right. Is everypony else okay?"

They each spent time learning about what had happened, and also became acclimated to their new body. Cadance took this opportunity to start getting things in order. The computers aboard this ship held vast amounts of information, but there was no system of organization for it. "Alright. Um, computer?"

"Yes, Cadance?" The voice was Twilight's, as she was the ship. "How can I help?"

"Are there any databanks on board that contain some kind of organizational structure for your data? A 'find-the-thing' program that would let me find where, for example, how we treat various diseases?" Cadance tapped her chin. "Just as an example."

"Ah, you will want our informational expert. One moment." There was a pause, then Sunset Shimmer appeared and fell forward onto her hooves. "This is Sunset Shimmer. She knows how to find information quickly."

Cadance gave a gentle laugh. "It's wonderful to meet you." She reached out and shook hooves with the unicorn. "As Twilight said, I'm looking for somepony who knows how to organize the massive amounts of data this ship contains."

Sunset shook herself lightly. "Stupid pony mandate." She squinted in Twilight's direction, easy to do with her being everywhere. "Yeah, I can help with that."

But other things were happening in the ship. Elsewhere, an egg jostled and shook in place. Within, a strange creature moved about, coming ever closer to being ready to be born. Dawning Star's eyes widened with each little motion. North Star leaned against her, eyes on the same miracle before them. "Our son."

Dawning Star flicked her tail. "I'm a little nervous."

"Mm." North Star nuzzled her lovingly. "You will be a wonderful mother."

Dawning softly swatted at him. "I'll try, but how do you know they're a son? Maybe they're a daughter!"

Fluttershy watched on with a little smile. "I could confirm their gender if you'd like?"

"That's alright," murmured North Star. "I feel it in my heart." He curled his tail around his wife's. "Just as I felt it when I met the mare of my dreams."

Dawning blushed furiously. "Stop that!" But she didn't move away from him, perhaps even leaning a bit closer. "I'm sure we're ready. Did you read those books Sunset recommended?"

North Star grinned. "Oh, absolutely. Every word. I am ready to be a father!"

Fluttershy giggled gently at the young father. "Don't forget you aren't alone. Please ask us, any of us, for help. We're a big family, yes?"

Dawning let out a groan as she laid on her side. She wrenched her head upwards as the egg suddenly cracked. "What?! It's happening now?!"

North Star stood up quickly, stepping beside her. "Breathe, it's okay. Relax. Be calm." He leaned in and touched his nose to hers. "We can handle this."

"We?!" Dawning shoved at him. "Only I even have hands!"

The egg rocked and rolled as the small creature within finally broke through the inner shell. Its beak pecked about, seeking an exit from the world it had occupied for so long. North Star watched in wonder as the little dragon tore a hole in the shell, shoving his way out into the open.

Dawning began to hyperventilate. She reached out with her hands, taking hold of the little dragon gently. "Oh! You're so cute!"

Fluttershy smiled at the mother and child. "Would you like me to check over the little one? I do have experience with infants of all manner of creature."

North Star leaned against Dawning. "I'll go inform our friends that we have a new family member." He burst into giggles. "I'm a dad!" And off he dashed, trailing his giggles on the way.

Dawning rolled her eyes. "Once in a while, he reminds me how young he is." She nuzzled her little newborn. "Not that I'm very old either. Hello there. Mmm, you need a name." She flipped the dragon upside down a moment, prompting a squeal of excitement. "Dang, he was right. A boy."

Fluttershy giggled gently as she listened. "It's wonderful to meet him. What will you name him?"

"Astarot, I think." Dawning rubbed the dragon's stomach gently. "You'll grow into the name, I'm sure, my little duke of hell."

The dragon giggled and belched a little fire, seeming entirely alright with the name.

Dawning and her child were given some space, which they gratefully used to bond. North Star brought back their friends, who came by one at a time to get a good look at the new life that had arrived.

The morale of the ship improved, as Pinkie took note during one of her breaks between getting new ponies up to speed. There was just one thing left out.

She popped out in the Tech lab. "So! How's Shining Armor coming along? You find his sync? Do you have him?!"

The techs there all shook their heads slowly. "It's probably been lost." The tech spoke with resignation, as if she knew they would not find anything. "If he had any backup, we'd know by now."

Pinkie's ears fell. "But we need him. They need him!" She waved off wildly in some random direction. It was impossible for anyone there to know she was pointing at you. "Don't give up!"

The tech rubbed her forehead. "I'm not giving up, Pinkie. We'll try to get a pony's personality going with partial data, but we can't force the computers to just make him up out of thin air."

Pinkie was quiet a moment. "I'm sorry, I don't understand what that means. Can you explain it again?" She frowned with thought. "You have parts of Shining, but not all of Shining, right?"

The tech sighed and sat down heavily. "Pinkie, if we're going to rescue even one more pony from that ship, then we'll have to finish decoding the crystal you brought us." They waved at the crystal covered in wires. "On the positive, that means we haven't lost all hope."

Pinkie bounced with joy. "Well! Great. But I know how to tilt the odds in our favor."

She vanished as quickly as she appeared, leaving the humans of the tech lab confused by her sudden departure. "Well, let's see if it works," murmured the human, waving at the machine. "Is everything ready?"

Pinkie sprang into being in Cadance's room. "Cadie!"

Cadance sat up sharply, having been asleep. "Wha? Pinkie?" She looked down at the energetic pony. "Did something happen?"

Pinkie spun around. "We're going to throw a party! For Shining Armor!" She bounced onto the bed and began shaking Cadance by the shoulders. "A welcome back party, and we need you most of all, his special somepony. Are you ready?!"

Cadance blinked with confusion. "Is he back?"

"Not yet, but if we work hard enough, he will be!" She leaned in close to Cadance. "We found parts of him, so if we can put them together right, he'll be good as new!" She touched noses with Cadance. "And you're the key. If you're there, that'll get the other pieces together, I know it!"

Cadance rubbed at her cheek. "I'm not sure it works that way." Still, she slid to her hooves. "But if you think it might help, I owe him to at least try. If there's even a sliver of hope, I can't refuse. Let's do this."

Pinkie shot her forelegs into the air. "Yay!"

Author's Note

As the ship heads on, I am gently wrapping things up. A new dragon joins us, and we work towards getting Shining back among the living, digital or not.

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51 - The End

Cadance joined the technicians as they labored around that crystal. They were working hard, but looked to be getting frustrated at what they saw. "Are we making any progress?"

The head tech grumbled quietly, looking over her notes. "No." She adjusted the monitor to a better angle for Cadance to see.

She leaned in closer, eyes darting over the maze of data. "This means nothing to me." She frowned as she studied it. "I don't know how you expect me to help."

"Pinkie thinks that you being here will kick start our processors." The tech shrugged her shoulders. "She's not usually entirely off. Try looking, even if you don't get it."

Cadance took a seat on the stool offered to her and leaned in. The computer held all sorts of numbers, letters, and symbols, but she had no idea what it was meant to be. A 1 there, and a 0 over here. An image came to her mind, sitting next to Shining armor on a pleasant evening, the wind ruffling their fur. The sound of bells ringing across the city as a mare sang in harmony with them. "It's so... busy."

The tech looked between the data and Cadance. "You're seeing something we're not. Keep going. Tell us what you see."

"I'm not sure it's words." Cadance closed her eyes, seeing it better that way. "So many memories, wrapped up in a single moment. Me and him, walking along the street. A song echoing around us." She perked up, then relaxed slowly. "It's gone."

"It doesn't matter if it comes back or not. If it was something, we'll try to extrapolate more." The tech struck her keys. "A street, what color?" So began a game of hunt in the data, where Cadance would point out things that caught her eye, and the computer did its best to connect them into one big picture.

With their help, they made great progress. They reconstructed his memories, as well as put together pieces of code that would create Shining Armor if it were accurate. All the techs in the room let out a heavy sigh as the computer compiled what they had found. "We found a pony. Is it the one you're looking for? We can't say until we run it and say hello to what comes out. Are you ready for this?"

Cadance perked her ears at that. "Well, I'm still not sure if it'll be him or not, but let's do it." She was offered a chair to sit in while she watched the loading bar slowly fill. "Harmony be with us. Return to me, Shining." She put a hoof to her chest. "Please."

The bar filled completely, and the program finished. A pony appeared in the center of the room. A stallion with bright blue eyes and a full white coat. He smiled at Cadance, his hooves together nervously. "If you are seeing this, I must have died."

Cadance inclined her head. "You did, in my arms." She shivered at the memory. "What is the last thing you remember? Please, be as specific as you can be. It will help me know that it is you."

He let out a soft chuckle. "Well, alright. We had landed on the new world, a pretty place. That's when we started setting up the colony." He glanced away guiltily. "When you asked to tear apart the syncing device, I gave it a ride before we tore it down. I figured, what's the harm? Uh, I hid it. I didn't want you to see it. You hadn't told us to do any more syncs. Sorry? Guess you found it."

Cadance snuffled loudly. "You idiot." She looked ready to tackle Shining, but he was a flat image on a screen. "You hiding it made it almost impossible to find. You're the last pony we're digging out of there!"

"Aw man." Shining scratched at his neck with a hoof. "Sorry." He smiled awkwardly. "The good news is, I did sync after we landed, so all my memories are intact, not that much different from being alive. So, uh, tell me about this place?" He looked around from the screen. "What are those creatures? They seem to like you."

"We call them humans. Twilight has an affinity for them, so they helped us. We will be living in their world, as it is very similar to Equestria, as well as to the human homeworld." She coughed into a hoof. "Now, there is a tradition."

Shining perked. "Tradition?" He glanced about. "What tradition?"

Cadance gestured with a smirk. "A certain pony must properly greet you." She bowed her head and grinned at him. "Go on, she's just around the corner."

Pinkie came dancing into the room, leaping up onto the console. She threw her forelegs around Shining, despite her being three dimensional, at least until the hug was given. She passed right into the screen, becoming a flat image with Shining. "Welcome! You're gonna have so much fun! All your crystal buddies are already here. We have to throw a party for you." She flung her hooves into the air. "A crystal pony welcome back party!"

Shining sat down with shock. "Wha? Uh, okay." He laughed tensely. "Nice to see you too, Pinkie, but I'm not a crystal pony."

"So?" She grabbed for his left leg. "All the crystal ponies were hoping you'd show up, so it's still a crystal pony welcome back party!" She dragged him away with a pop, both vanishing.

Cadance shook her head. "I am unsure if I am ready for a digital life." She turned to the humans who had watched that. "Thank you all. Thank you so very much." She wiped at her eyes. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

The tech smiled back at her. "Don't worry about it. We're happy to help. Besides, it's what we do best." She leaned back in her chair. "So, I don't know what will happen next. These guys, uh, do their own thing."

Cadance took a slow breath. "I never synced. Considering the miracle it has allowed, perhaps I am being foalish, denying it for as long as I have." She started for the door. "I will reconsider it, when the option is there again."

"It might not be for a while." The tech sighed. "Closest sync hardware is all the way back on earth. Speaking of that, are we headed there?"

The other technicians mumbled among one another, none of them entirely sure.

On the deck, Roger drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair. "On one hand, everyone on this ship signed on for only so long of duty. It is our responsibility to see them home on time, or as close to it as we can. On the other, we know there are other lost seed words in need of examination."

Casey grinned over at him. "Plus, those pretty princesses. Which reminds me, what do you think of Crystal Cadance?" She swooned against her seat. "So pretty!"

Roger rubbed at his temple. "Which is another vote for heading home. We have living beings with no syncs who may want them." He drummed all the harder. "Humans may be uncertain, but ponies don't have that hesitation. I imagine dragons won't either. Denying them the chance to sync, no, we shouldn't be doing that."

Twilight appeared as a hologram on the deck. "I do believe it's time we headed back to Earth. I'm sure there's much my crew is eager to share with their families. For my part, I am confident that once our current guests are taken care of, and aide has been offered, I can consider my next course." She inclined her head. "Perhaps, when they dispatch a ship towards the pony seed planets, I can accompany them, as a member of the crew, rather than the ship."

Roger turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "You would have an official rank, then?"

"Absolutely." Twilight grinned widely. "They already gave me one. So, by the powers granted to me by the Space Force of Earth, we will set course for home!"

Roger laughed good-naturedly at that. "You're not the captain of this ship, ship." He gestured forward. "But I agree with your idea. Let's get home. The brass can figure out who, and what, is done next. We've done more than our part."

Twilight snapped a salute to him. "As you say, Captain."

The humans on the deck let out a cheer as they turned the ship around. Twilight vanished as they set the course.

Rainbow worked her controls, cheering from the digital realm. "Aw, yeah! When we get home, getting a physical body. And it's gonna be great! Awesome awesome awesome!" She did a backflip. "In the meantime, there's work to do!"

And so the ship turned back towards its home.

The ship would return with more people than it had left with, and number of species, but they'd all be glad to be there.

Author's Note

T'end! I couldn't resist finishing it today, so I did, so there.