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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