"Friendship Cottage, please check your trajectory, you're deviating a few degrees from the landing pontoon's azimuth."

Twilight nearly jumped off of her seat when she heard the blurred voice coming from the radio. She briefly shook her head to refocus on her current task, that was: Making this ship land without wrecking Canterlot's spaceport. Not quite an easy deal, especially when taking into account all the parameters that made a landing more difficult than what it seemed from the ground.

Releasing the right control lever for a moment so as to toggle the lateral correctors, Twilight's stare abnormally lingered on her hand.

A bright purple color, thus as usual. Coated by the normal gloves that all pilots wear, made of some kind of adhesive leather, letting her upper phalanges free. Nothing differed from what she had always known, but somehow, that hand seemed new. Or at least, a little foreign.

"Friendship Cottage!" said the controller's voice, getting impatient. "Rectify your trajectory."

Twilight jumped again, before pressing the button on top of her lever and enunciating out loud:

"Roger. Correcting trajectory."

Once the mic was off, she said to herself:

"Get yourself together, Twilight! This is not the time to fail!"

This time, her movements were more confident. With her right hand, she triggered the correctors, while her left hand slowed down the ship, preparing it for landing on top of the support designed for it.

She put her doubts in a corner of her mind, but it still intrigued her. Why did she react like that? She had not even answered the first call, when it was the procedure! Procedure that she had learned by heart at the pilot school. And that feeling... Damn it, this was not the first time she was using her hand to pilot a ship, wasn't it?! She had nearly committed an irreparable mistake because of foolish sensations like those!

But now wasn't the time to think about that. Landing was the priority. It was her ultimate test, and also the first time she had, quite literally, the life of other people in her hands, including her crew. Oh, of course, there had been training courses in space, but always accompanied. Here, she was alone and in charge.

The speed was decreasing, she was aligned with the hangar. Everything would go fine. Everything had to go fine. Her hands were clenched on the sticks, slightly shaking.

It's a shame she was so stressed. She didn't even enjoy the view, despite it being wonderful, the dream of many young flightless humans. The spaceport, immense cluster of gray and of round shapes, with an uncountable number of control towers pointing to the sky. It was the only zone in the whole country where no one was ever seen flying, this part was solely dedicated to spaceships. In the distance, one could make out the rest of the city, which the spaceport was the center of. And the ultimate point, the perfect middle of all those lives and buildings, was the EGCC, Equestria's General Control Center. The second largest dome of the region.

A little stepping noise was heard behind Twilight, followed by a door opening, and an orange hand, meant to be reassuring, landed on her shoulder without her giving it even a glance, focused on her action.

"It's the last step, ain't it?" her second-in-command smiled.

"Applejack, don't distract me please," the purple human answered a bit abruptly. "Get your hand off."

The woman named Applejack obliged, letting the pilot to her own devices, observing in silence, behind Twilight's leather seat, crossing her hands behind her back. Incidentally, the orange woman couldn't help herself but to intertwine her fingers over and over, amused by it, for a reason she couldn't grasp.

Suddenly, without a warning, a voice came out of a loudspeaker, making the pilot jump once more.

"Hello hello, here is your gunner, I'm letting you know that I'm bored."

Behind it, the two heard another unhappy voice yelling:

"Pinkie!"

"What?" the first one answered, as if she hadn't done anything wrong. "I'm keeping the crew informed of my state, it's important, isn't it? It's not like I have anything else to do."

"Stop distracting the captain!" the second voice kept on scolding.

Indeed, Twilight was completely tensed up on her control levers, fingers even more clenched than before. Applejack sighed and pushed a button on the instrument panel, cutting the cockpit's loudspeaker and the two others in their argument.

The pilot didn't relax however, nor did she take the time to thank her second-in-command. On the ground, men were busy helping with the landing, bright signs waved in a precise manner, according to a strict code. Apparently, Twilight was arriving at the right speed and everything was going smoothly.

She only had to make the ship touchdown. With her foot, she pressed on a pedal that made the ship vertically go down above the landing space, consisting of four metal arcs onto which she had to put the ship.

The rest was done by the lever, progressively, she wedged the Friendship Cottage in place almost perfectly, even if she took some time to do it.

"Maneuver ended," the voice on the radio said, before adding with a way less formal tone. "Good job, captain. The commander awaits you in his meeting room, you and your second-in-command. The rest of the crew is asked to see their respective supervisors."

Twilight suddenly blew out all the air she had held back in a long sigh of relief, letting go of her controls.

"Congratulations! A perfect landing!" Applejack joyfully complimented. "Just goes to show you had nothin' to worry about!"

The captain wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her glove and allowed herself to do something she usually thought to be too inconsiderate: turn off the ship with her magic. Her hands were too clammy to do any other action anyway. So, she turned on that horn she had on her forehead – as some humans had – and cut the ship's main power, or, as they said in the field, pushed the off button. In reality, it wasn't a button, but more like a giant lever, followed by a series of knobs to turn. But aerospace was like this too: a sometimes surprisingly simple vocabulary.

She slumped tiredly on her seat, taking a moment to breathe. She had done it. The final test to become a pilot in Equestria's fleet. Finally!

"Alright, Imma tell the others to go see their supervisors," Applejack said, patting her captain's shoulder. "I'll wait for ya down there."

Her right-hand woman walked out of the large semi-circular cockpit, the door shutting behind her, leaving the horned human alone, in the midst of all those fading lights.

Now that the reactors were shut down, she could distinctively make out the sound of this civilization around her. Equestria, Canterlot. Teeming with millions of lives, engine noises, reactors.

Soon, she would be far from all of this, on a mission, somewhere else, in space. What would her first task be? Resupply the moon, first base ever built on a place other than earth, kingdom of the great Luna? Or would she be sent to New Equestria, the great colony? Take samples not far from the Draconnequine system, with its six stars in perfect rotation? So many possibilities!

The same excitement as the one she felt when she had signed up for pilot school rose in her. She jumped off her seat, heading out the door, and threw herself down the ship's central hallway.

It was a light ship, quite classic, the model most represented in Equestria's fleet. Thirty-five thousand three hundred and twelve ships, about forty-two point thirty-four percent of the whole fleet, according to the most recent data publicly available. Twilight knew it, she had learned it by heart. She also drew a plan of the spacecraft in her head as she went down the corridor. Of course, knowing one's ship was among a captain's first duties.

Behind her, the cockpit with an air-tight door. On her left, the captain's quarters and, on her right, the second-in-command's. Then, still on the right, a meeting room and, logically on the left, the kitchen and cafeteria. In the middle of the hallway, there was a ladder, going to the ceiling. The turret, a classic defense system, mostly used to destroy asteroids on the way.

It was also weird, when one thought about it. All spacecraft were equipped with at least a bare minimum of defenses, and the crews, even the tiniest ones, were composed of at least one gunner. All of this despite the fact that no form of life intelligent enough to pose a threat had ever manifested itself. Being overly cautious was certainly better than being caught off guard, but to go as far as to buy gear worth thousands, if not millions of bits, for each spaceship... Oh well.

On her left again, the laboratory. Very useful in case of the discovery of an unknown matter. It could also be used as a sickbay. Then, on her right, the rest of the crew's quarters. Another door and then was the engine room on the left and the depot on the right.

It was a bit like a house in space, in a straight line and where the entrance was located at the end of a corridor. And very crooked, the house. And made of metal. Okay, outside of the fact people were living in it, it was nothing like a house. But Twilight enjoyed the comparison.

The ramp allowing the crew to get to the ground was already deployed and Applejack was waiting for her captain down there, her hand still raised in the air, waving to the rest of the crew which had just gone away. She turned around towards Twilight when she heard the sound of her steps on the cold metal of the pontoon and greeted her with a frank smile.

Her appearance was quite peculiar when looked at in more detail. Her outfit was the usual one for a second-in-command, required and practical, but she had the weird habit of topping it with a hat totally typical from the great countryside, dating from before the technological rise of Equestria. Long blond hair, going down to the middle of her back, and a skin with a relatively light orange. And her renowned accent that was sometimes encountered in the population.

Twilight walked up to her side, without bothering to stop, and Applejack followed her rhythm. The captain was in a good mood, but she still had trouble initiating conversation with her own crew. Crew which had been assigned at random, like many but not all, towards the end of her training, six months prior. At least, she was able to talk to them and to have a bit of respect shown towards her. And, in the worst case, her right-hand woman seemed full of good will and way more easily authoritative. She would assist her a bit and all would be well.

They both headed out the hangar by the great door, leading to one of the spaceport's hallways. Large enough to fit a whole street, house included, in it, and so long that the end was lost in an endless glimmer of small flickering lights, signaling an arrival, a take-off, and so on.

If from outside, that huge complex looked modern and metallic, inside, it had a little hint of medieval look in its conception. Maybe it was the ceiling, fifteen meters high, forming a vault, or that constant noise of metal being hit, reminiscent of the forges from the olden days. Twilight was incapable of putting her finger on the precise reason.

Or, again, maybe it was because the end of the hallway, which led to the EGCC, had fully retained its architecture, dating back more than a millennium ago now. An inside looking like stone, statues of heroes from the past, portraits... It probably influenced the general impression the rest of the spaceport gave off.

The EGCC was a maze of hallways and stairs, of elevators, that had been progressively updated along the years and the technological progress. A legend even said that a bunch of secret passageways existed in those walls, reserved only to the elites and the princesses, allowing them to move rapidly without being seen. Even if, in itself, it was really childish to believe it.

And nearly at the center, the council room, which Twilight had already visited during her training. But this time, she would get out of it as an official pilot. The double-doors of her future were opening.

An auditorium, with successive and elevated rows of seats and desks. A few people were already here. Seven of them.

In the first row, Captain Whooves, pilot of the TARDIS – a tall human with brown hair and skin – sitting next to his second-in-command, Derpy Hooves, who he was trying to calm down the excitement of, as she couldn't stop speaking.

Not too far from them, still in the first row, Captain Octavia Melody was calmly blowing the smoke from her tea, legs politely crossed, while her second-in-command, and pilot of the Symphonia, Vinyl Scratch, was listening to music behind an imposing headset, bopping her head to the rhythm, tapping the desk with her hand.

In the back, among the last and highest rows, Captain Lyra Heartstrings, pilot of the Humanity, seemed to be elsewhere, staring at her own hands with a weird fascination. Her second-in-command, Bonbon, looked a little bit embarrassed by the fact they were so far away from the front, because of her captain's eccentricity.

Behind the central desk, the one reserved for the leaders, turned towards the rest of the assembly, the chief commander Shining Armor addressed a discreet smile to his little sister when she entered the room, before returning to the formal stance expected of his rank.

"Looks like all that was missin' was us," Applejack whispered to her captain.

The two of them walked in after the commander had gestured his hand towards them, and took a seat in the front row. Twilight then noticed that, behind Shining Armor, sat down on thrones located way higher, on a balcony, the princesses, with their great ethereal hair, were observing them in silence, with a calm face.

Applejack and her captain realized it was too late to bow. But the princesses weren't the kind to hold it against them, especially with Twilight. In fact, they sent them a little benevolent smile, way more in line with their temper than those serious faces, which they quickly went back to.

Shining Armor cleared his throat to be sure that everyone was paying attention, including Vinyl, who took off her helmet, as well as Lyra who received a little nudge in the ribs from her second-in-command. Then, the horned began:

"First of all, congratulations to all of you for successfully passing the last test to become members of the Canterlot fleet. Many are the applicants each year, and almost as many fail. You represent the elite of our pilots."

At this moment, a perfectly incongruous noise was heard, immediately followed by Bonbon becoming bright red, suddenly lowering herself on her seat. Shining Armor didn't blame her for this rumbling and pursued:

"I'm sure you're all waiting for your first mission departure, alone in space, with eagerness. This is why you are here. You will all go, today, in..."

He looked at the great clock located in the back of the auditorium, displaying two pm.

"... an hour, precisely. You will be heading towards the Crystal Constellation, to join our outpost there. Once you arrive, princess Cadance will give you orders regarding the exploration mission to which you are assigned."

"What!?" Vinyl suddenly shouted, standing up, visibly outraged.

The others had confined themselves to displaying disappointed faces, but on the whole, they shared this sentiment of injustice. Exploring had nothing interesting going for it, ninety-five percents of the journey consisted in waiting for something to show up, and the five percents left were only comprised of banal discoveries.

The commander didn't reply, not even deigning to look at the horned woman.

Octavia gently put her cup back in her saucer, ordering with her calmest voice:

"Vinyl, sit back down."

Her second-in-command turned a revolted face towards her.

"Captain, we're not going to...!"

Octavia looked at her sternly and Vinyl immediately gave up all protest, sitting back on her chair with a grumpy face.

"If no one has any questions," the commander resumed. "Join back your respective ships. At three, you'll take off."

"Yes, sir," the new recruits replied without much motivation.

Shining Armor's horn turned on and the door opened. The captains and their second-in-commands stood up and began to leave.

"Captain Twilight Sparkle," the commander shouted out, before she and Applejack left.

The second-in-command smiled and went ahead, saying:

"I'll organize preparations."

Twilight thanked her with a glance, before turning back to her brother. The princess had left their thrones by a corridor located behind. Lyra and Bonbon went past them and headed out. They were now alone in the room.

"What is it, commander?" Twilight asked.

He laughed a bit, hearing her formal tone, and his sister giggled as well. Nevertheless, he quickly took back his serious face, looking a bit worried.

"Don't be reckless, please. Space is dangerous."

"What do you think could happen to us?" Twilight smiled, shrugging. "We're going on exploration. The only risk is to get lost, and judging by our equipment, the chances of that happening are slim."

The commander looked left and right, checking if they were truly alone, before he added in an undertone:

"I shouldn't tell you this, but strange things have been happening recently near the Crystal Constellation."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll ask Cadance, she knows more than I do."

Twilight rubbed her chin with one hand, her mind now imagining what kind of dangers might lay ahead of them.

"In any case, stay careful, Twilight."

"Come on, now! That ship has to be ready to take off in an hour!"

Applejack looked with firmness at the crew in front of her.

Rainbow Dash was one of those winged humans. Her skin was a pale blue like the sky, her rainbow hair medium short, tied in a bun for practical reasons. Indeed, she was the mechanic of the ship, wearing her work overalls and a few oil stains.

Pinkie Pie, the gunner, candy pink and with straight hair, was negligently picking her nose, with an expression that seemed as affected by all this as a duck is by the stock exchange prices. Her clothes were pretty heavy, allowing anyone to guess easily what her post was. She was most likely going to be the hardest crew member to manage.

Rarity, a white horned with purple hair, tied in a bun as well, was only wearing an ordinary outfit, albeit very stylized and probably picked with the greatest care. Her work clothes were only limited to an apron, and she wasn't wearing it most of the time. Yes, she was a cook, a rare thing for a horned, but she carried out this task without complaining.

And Fluttershy, in her white biochemist coat, with her long and curved pink hair and her yellow skin. A winged human, a flying, as they were called. She had also been trained in medicine.

It was the classic composition of every crew. Each one had their role, and had to stick to it.

"What are y'all waiting for!?" Applejack raved about the inactivity of her men, or rather her women.

"Well, the truth is," Rainbow explained. "I already checked the engine before we took off for the test, so I don't really have anything else to do."

"The turret is loaded," Pinkie distractedly added. "And I doubt it'll be of any use."

"I did the inventory of the supplies during the flight," Rarity followed, crossing her arms.

"And I have all the materials I need," Fluttershy whispered while slightly looking away, hands in her pockets.

Applejack opened wide eyes.

"Y'all got nothin' to do?" she said in disbelief.

"No," the crew answered in sync.

"Right... Well, get in, then. We'll wait for the captain to take off."

The fateful hour was approaching. Even if the mission wasn't promising to be of utmost thrill, all were excited just by the idea of going, finally, into space. And not just a little trip around the planet, no, a real journey beyond the system, far away. A jump into the almost-unknown.

And that feeling was shared by all the crews. The hangars were slowly opening their sliding roofs, and each member prepared themselves on their own.

"Friendship Cottage reporting," Twilight said into her mic, the radio being linked with all the ships in the expedition. "Everything is in order on our side. We're ready to take off."

She magically pulled down the levers for the third preheating phase and got ready to turn on the reactors. Applejack was, as the procedure required, by her sides for the takeoff, solemnly standing behind the chair. The horned woman strengthened the grip on her controls.

No chief had been designated, but Twilight had felt inspired to take the floor first. A kind of rivalry existed in this promotion, notably Twilight towards the most privileged, Octavia, and having her get to take center stage by initiating the conversation was out of the question.

A voice suddenly pierced everyone's eardrums on the radio.

"A coffee! Bonbon! Where's my coffee!?"

"Turn off the radio!" Bonbon lectured, before slamming her finger on the button to cut the mic.

Lyra looked particularly excited. For an unknown reason, the fresh-mint colored horned couldn't stay in place, tapping buttons and levers without activating them.

"Calm down, captain!" Bonbon scolded with more vigor than a second-in-command should. "What has gotten into you!?"

Lyra stared at Bonbon with big eyes similar to those of a child to which one had just announced the best news in the world. She suddenly reached out her hand towards Bonbon, spreading her five fingers right in front of her face. The second-in-command recoiled a bit by fear, and astonished.

"I don't know why," the captain delighted in each word, with a large smile, close to madness. "But I feel super happy to have hands today!"

And she went off in a great laugh, holding her hands right in front of her, which didn't reassure her second-in-command one bit.

"A coffeeeeeee!" Lyra asked again.

"Never before takeoff!" Bonbon tried to reason. "It's against the rules!"

"I need a coffee!"

Lyra's eyes searched around, anywhere where a potential and improbable coffee machine might have been.

"After the takeoff!" Bonbon maintained, gaining back some firmness.

"Argh!"

Lyra growled and suddenly turned on the motors, beginning all the procedures with nervous, quick and shaking movements. She smashed the mic switch and threw into the radio:

"Humanity, ready to take off! Move your buns, I want my coffee!"

"TARDIS, ready to take off," Captain Whooves replied with a slight sigh, next to his right-hand woman, also piloting.

"Symphonia?" Twilight called.

In the cockpit of the Symphonia, Octavia was finishing, with her usual calm, a new cup of tea. Sat down in her seat, a bit far from the control panel, she was the only non-horned human to be captain in this promotion, with Whooves. As such, piloting, which was easier done with the help of magic, was reserved to her second. Not like Octavia couldn't have done it herself, but it was almost beneath her at this point. And Vinyl was busying herself with energy.

"Yeah! Symphonia ready to blast!"

The captain had a little smile, but added:

"Vinyl, a little calm please."

A slow music rose in the cockpit, a classical one, chosen by Octavia. She softly raised her hands and mimicked the gestures of a conductor, with slow and inspired movements. Even if it wasn't her favorite genre, her second-in-command tuned herself, out of respect for the rhythm, with the music's beat, and continued her actions in a softer way.

"Takeoff phase initiated," said the control tower's voice. "Good luck!"

The reactors vibrated, levers were pulled, and the four ships took off in a throbbing sound.

First in line, Lyra and the Humanity split the sky, the captain moved by her desire to have her coffee, followed by the TARDIS, then the Friendship Cottage, and, finally, the Symphonia, moving at a really calm pace.

Immediately, Lyra turned to Bonbon, who was bringing her a still warm cup with a smile. The horned swallowed the beverage in an instant, displaying a face of total relaxation right after. She took in a deep breath, before letting it out, far from all this agitation she had felt.

Next to their ship, which was built on the same elongated model as the Friendship Cottage, another one, more rectangular and illuminated in white, passed by.

"Allow me to take the lead," said the voice of Captain Whooves on their radio.

"Please do," Lyra answered with a blissfully happy smile, as the controls were operated by magic.

Behind, the Friendship Cottage was about to get to their level. A sudden playfulness coming to her, Lyra turned her radio on.

"Well then, Captain Melody, getting left behind? Doesn't look like the top of the class of our promotion!"

The Symphonia was indeed losing a bit of ground compared to the others. The ship was of a rounded design, and its cockpit was clearly separated from the rest. It was a sphere in front of the ship, attached by a small corridor. The whole thing looked like a beast with a long neck, without legs and spotting fins. Some kind of sea creature.

Inside, the music was coming to an end. The captain, who had stood up, carried away by the music, was concluding by little gestures following the melody lowering in volume, which explained their loss of speed. Once the last note played, ignoring Lyra, she said:

"Vinyl, B-side."

Her right-hand woman smirked and didn't need to hear that twice. With her horn, she changed track, still piloting the ship.

Octavia sat down, intertwining her hands and putting her head on top of it with a little satisfied smile.

The new music began. A music that had nothing to do with the previous one. From classic, it was now dubstep. And right from the first noise, Vinyl stepped on the gas, launching the ship forward. Taking on a sudden acceleration the Symphonia went past the other spacecrafts like a shot, forcing them to pick up the pace to not be left behind. Even if she was calm of nature, Captain Octavia had her pride.

"Ha ha! Always the same!" Applejack laughed.

Twilight had just adapted her speed to the one now imposed by the Symphonia. It was no use competing to see who could go the fastest, Octavia had the upper hand with her ship. Darn privileges. Speaking of the devil.

"We're stabilizing at cruising speed until we get to the first cape," Octavia informed.

"TADRIS, Roger that."

"Humanity, Roger that."

"Friendship Cottage, Roger that."

Twilight activated the cruise control and relaxed a bit. They were going to head in that direction for a while, to get to the first cape. In other words, she didn't have to touch the controls, except in case of major trouble.

Yet, Applejack and her stayed there, gazing upon the space under their eyes. The emptiness. What they had always dreamed of, what they had heard about for as far as they could remember. And that state of awe, faced with the immensity of the universe, was shared by all the crews.

In the end, Applejack gave a little tap on Twilight's shoulder.

"Well, I'm going to check that everyone's doin' their job!"

And with those words, she headed out by the door, leaving her captain alone in front of the universe.

In the first part of the hallway, things were quiet. Aside from that blue arm which grabbed her as soon as she was out, pressing her against the wall.

"So then, giving me orders now?" whispered a soft voice.

"Rainbow! Stop! It ain't the time for that!" Applejack reprimanded in a low voice, refusing to be seen in such a situation.

"Oh? Not the time? I think it is."

The flying's grip had softened and her face was right in front of Applejack's, so close she could feel her breath and smell her perfume, oh so intoxicating to her senses.

"S-Stop, I tell ya," Applejack tried, with way less conviction.

"We can settle that in your quarters if you want."

Applejack was about to accept the very tempting proposition of her lover, when her eyes widened, staring at something behind the flying. The latter turned her head.

The gunner was climbing down her ladder. She froze on the spot and stayed blocked in her movement, looking with big round eyes at the couple, both of them stunned.

A heavy silence settled. Then the pink one burst out laughing, almost to the point her jaw dropped. A laugh that amplified and attracted the rest of the crew, as the two lovers quickly got away from one-another. The gunner would have them pay for her silence, but it was better if that truth didn't come out. Applejack glared at Dash, as Pinkie kept on laughing, still on her ladder.

In fact, after a few seconds, that laugh, not understood by Fluttershy and Rarity, mostly became worrying. She wasn't even catching her breath, the laugh growing, again and again, going so far as to piss off the two lovers.

"Now, listen, Pinkie..." Rainbow Dash began.

But she was cut. All of the sudden, the laugh evaporated, the soft and pink hair of Pinkie inflated like a balloon, and her own body toppled, letting go of the ladder. She fell heavily on the floor, unconscious.

Author's Note

The awkward moment where I realize I've become worst at characterization.

Also, space adventure, yay! I'm open to comments about the translation ("second-in-command" is really annoying. In French we just say "second")

And yes, went full-on references for the ships.