//------------------------------// // Old Friends // Story: Rainbow Dash: Space Pirate // by Wooden Entity //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash sat bored in her chair on the bridge resting her head on her hoof. It was a nice chair. While the hole bridge was - like the rest of the ship - more patchwork than anything else with cables running over the floor and missing casings on the walls her chair was rather high-quality. It was really cozy and even got real leather which wasn't easy to find if you lived in a society of vegetarians. "Scoots, anything new?" She asked spinning a pen between the fingers of her left artificial arm. Scootaloo turned around from her terminal to face Rainbow Dash. "Nope. The only one that reported was Cleaver babbling something about seeing his ex-wife flying around in front of his ship. Maybe we should cut him off the booze." "Hm ... let him drink. He's better when he's drunk." Scooatloo turned back to her terminal to keep on working. Damn, this is taking way too long. They were now for over an hour in this fog waiting for their target. An informant told Rainbow Dash that a convoy should pass it today. He wasn't sure what it was exactly containing but his sources told him it had to be something extremely valuable. We already manipulated the trade routes and are searching with our ships in the hole fog. Where is this stupid thing? Even though FTL-drives were known for a long time now they weren't actually common. The exorbitant energy consumption allowed their installation only on very large ships which made them uninteresting for civil purposes. Gladly there were other ways for traveling - like the portals. No one knows who built them. When ponies and griffins went out for the space the first time they were already there. With them immediate jumps from one solar system to another were possible. For travels in a solar system ponies and griffins were using the trade routes - FTL-accelerators placed on important places in the system making it possible to fly within seconds through the hole system. Very useful but easy to disrupt. "Rainbow, it's Cleaver again. This time he and his group seem to really have found something!" Scootaloo shouted excited. "Told you that he didn't had to stop drinking." ******************************************* Applejack was patrolling along the trade routes again. Usually this was a calm but boring job in this area but someone had to do it she thought. When she went off the farm leaving back her family she originally intended to fight the crime and help the people and not to fly around in the empty space only left with her thoughts and a mug off coffee. Twilight in her position as princess once offered Applejack a job in her part of the equestrian empire but she declined it. She wanted to work up in the police by herself and not be the one who got there because she was the best friend of the princess. Now she was working in the police forces of a small independent state outside of Equestria far away from her home and her friends. "Mayday, mayday!" She suddenly noticed on the radio and turned it louder. "This is Transporter-Phi-Delta-6 we are under heavy attack by a pirate ambush and need help immediately!" Applejack turned her ship towards the origin of the signal and accelerated to full speed. "Central, this Officer Applejack. Ah received a distress signal and follow its source. Sending its coordinates now." She called over the police radio. "Coordinates received. Sending reinforcements." Somepony answered or some griffin answered. Griffins were fairly common in this region of the space so it was very good possible that the voice on the radio belonged to one. After some time she reached the source of the signal and stopped her ship. It were two freighters and single small defense ship. In the distance Applejack could still see the attackers flying away. "They stole our cargo. You must stop them!" "Are yah gonna be okay on yah own?" "Yes. We have only minor damages." "Okay. Then wait here for the reinforcements. Ah'm going to follow them." Applejack accelerated again and headed for the direction of the pirates. "Here is Applejack again. The pirates are trying to escape. Follow my coordinates." Slowly but steady she got closer to them. "Hand over the cargo and give yahself up to the police!" She eventually said to the pirates as she got close enough for a radio transmission. "Fuck off you stupid cunt!" One of the pirates answers. Intending for a warning shot she started to aim at one of them but then suddenly something appeared in front of her out of the fog. It was a huge class-3-battle-cruiser with a skull and crossbones on its side. "Ohhhh shit..." Immediately she changed the direction of her ship while she tried to dodge the weapon fire of the cruiser, but her attempts were futile and she took a hit, making her immobile and defenseless. ******************************************* "Damn, good shot, Scoots!" Rainbow Dash proudly clapped Scooterloo on the shoulder. "Learned from the best, I guess." She answers shy while scratching the back of her head. "Hey Captain!" A voice said coming out of the speakers of the bridge. "What is it, Cleaver?" "The ship is still intact. What shall we do with it?" Scooterloos leaned over her terminal to take a look on it while Rainbow Dash waited for her to say something. Cleaver was from time to time a very useful member of the crew but he tended to see some very odd stuff when he was drunken ... and he was always drunken. "He's right. It seems like we only disabled its engine and weapons ... oh ..." "What is it?" "Its pilot is still alive." "Huh ... seems like this is our lucky day." "Why?" "Police Officer make great hostages." Rainbow Dash said with a sinister grin. ******************************************* "Huh? Who's gonna surrender now, bitch?" One of the pirates shouted to Applejack. The pirates managed to cut a hole into the hull of her ship and to connect hers to the cruiser via an airlock. The only thing stopping from them from taking over it was now a yellow earth pony taking cover next to hole shooting at everything that moved. "Oh, I like it when they struggle!" "Shut up, Cleaver!" Suddenly a female voice said. It sounded familiar to Applejack but she just couldn't say where she knew it from. "Hey, Officer I-fly-alone-into-the-dangerous-fog. I make you an offer. Surrender yourself and you won't get killed, okay?" "Forget it! And it's Officer Applejack!" She fired some bullets around the edge without leaving her cover. "Hey, that was my hat!" The female voice sad again. "Wait, what did you say, was your name?" "Applejack!" "You must be kidding me." Suddenly the female began to chuckle. "What's so funny?" Applejack asked confused. "You'll see. Cleaver take my gun." "What do you plan?" Cleaver asked. "Applejack, I'm weaponless and coming over to you now. Promise me to not shoot at me, okay? It will all make sense when I'm there." Applejack was afraid that this might be just a trap but it seemed like didn't had much to loose in this situation. Gritting her teeth she agrees. "Okay, but don't any try tricks on me, pirate!" "I won't." "But Captain, you serious?" "Don't worry, if I am right she won't lie to me." Applejack took position and aimed at the entry hole while she heard slow steps coming from it. Eventually a blue pegasus with rainbow-colored mane and a hat with a hole in it's middle walked out of it. Applejack recognized her immediately and dropped her weapon in shock. "Rainbow Dash..." "Hey, Applejack, long time no seen, huh?" Still shocked she sad down on the ground. "Yeah ..." Slowly she seemed to compose herself again and began to chuckle and shook her head. "What in tarnation?" "Would you now please surrender? I promise you, you won't get hurt. You know me, Applejack." Rainbow Dash tried to reach her hoof out for Applejack but she just pushed it to the side. "Hell, I don't!" "Come on it's me!" "You aren't the Rainbow Dash I'm used to know!" "Rainbow Dash, hurry up we got company!" Suddenly a voice calls over the radio. "Yeah, just one moment, Scoots!" "Scootaloo?" "Yeah. Long story..." "Not one moment, Dash! They've got two bloody cruisers! We have to get out of here." Rainbow Dash went slowly to the windows of the cockpit to see the cruisers by herself. "What the...?" Applejack sat herself back into the cockpit next to Rainbow Dash. "Who is here going to surrender now?" She mocked her before activating the police radio again. "This is Officer Applejack. I'm in the my ship on the side of the pirates cruiser. Do not fire, I'm trying to reach an agreement with the pirates." "The pirate ship must be destroyed at all cost." A scrambled voice came from the police radio. Rainbow Dash turned her head to Applejack while she was clicking confused on her terminal. "Everything is working ..." She faces Rainbow Dash. "Something is blocking my transmission!" "Hell, I ain't it!" "The missed Officer named Applejack could not be saved and must be assumed dead. Do not hold back!" "What the?" They both shouted out. "Did you piss someone off this morning?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What? Hell no!" "I am not going to repeat myself again. COME BACK TO THE SHIP OR I FUCKING FLY AWAY ON MY OWN, RAINBOW DASH!" Scootaloo yelled over the radio. "Heard you loud and clear. We're coming over." She grabbed Applejacks hoof and tried to drag her with her but she just kept sitting in her chair watching in the emptiness of the space. "What the hell is going on here..." She whispered almost inaudible. "Now come on, AJ! Do you want to fucking die out here or what?!" Rainbow Dash yelled at her. She shook her head. "Well your ship is probably still better than death." After they stood up and ran over to the cruiser, Cleaver closed the hatch and pushed off the air lock together with Applejacks ship. On the bridge Scoolatloo yelled on Rainbow Dash without facing her. "God damnit, we must get ..." Turning towards to two of them she suddenly stopped. "Applejack?" "Hey..." "Yeah, yeah, happy reunion of best friends and all that crap, now get us out of here!" Rainbow Dash said before sitting down in her chair again. "Oh ... yes." Scootaloo moved back to her Terminal and started to turn the Cruiser in the opposite direction of the their attackers. "Starting FTL-drive."