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.