//------------------------------//
// Baby, it's Cold Inside 
// Story: Cryo-7 
// by Metal Pony Fan 
//------------------------------//

By the time Astral left the medical bay, led by the gryphon from earlier, Fluttershy had passed out in Twilight's embrace, aided by a simple sleeping spell.  Even so, the alicorn refused to let go of her, insisting on getting her friend tucked in bed herself, then staying by her side.

The last thing Twilight said to Astral was that it was all her fault.  Fluttershy's transformation, not finding them sooner, not waking up before Fluttershy so she could have been there for her, she blamed herself for all of it.  Astral sighed as the gryphon, mostly recovered from his date with the wall, tried to guide him away.  No matter how Fluttershy felt about giving in to her feral side, she saved his life after he had passed out.  No matter how Twilight felt about it, she saved both of them from certain death by asphyxiation.

Out in the hallway, the armored gryphon rolled his wing joints, sighing heavily as they made unpleasant popping sounds.  "Your friend was pretty upset back there.  What was that all about?"  He turned his neck his neck side to side, repeated the painful sounding noises.  "When you guys were first brought in, she was covered in blood.  I mean, completely drenched, face, wings.  Like a rabid wolf that just visited a petting zoo.  What is she?  I saw the fangs when they were cleaning her up, and with how hard I hit the wall, I'm guessing dragon-pony of some kind."

Astral shook his head.  "It's kind of complicated," he answered, brushing off the questions.  "How long have we been out?  And why were we in the closet?"

"About four hours," the gryphon answered with a shrug.  "And the closet had a door, so it kept away the crowds."

"Crowds?"

The gryphon nodded.  "Yeah, whole crowd of ponies, all Tankrit, murmuring something about the princess coming for them."  He headed off down the hall with a sigh, forcing Astral to follow.  "Nobody cared to explain what that meant, and Boss hasn't told me anything either.  I've been in medical for who knows how long, trying to keep some kind of order.  Then, they bring you, bloody dragon-pony, and a celestial in like it's no big deal. The planet below could have gone up in a fireball for all anybody keeps me informed.  All I know is that Growl asked to see you."

"Fluttershy and Twilight," Astral corrected, "not a dragon pony, just a victim of a retrovirus.  And, not a celestial, just a princess."  That was going to take some getting used to he mused.  In the meantime, He would be get answers he could from Growl.  She owed them that much at least.  "So, where-"

"Here we are."  The gryphon stopped at a plain, utilitarian door.  The color matched the wall where it sat, and the only visible hardware was a keypad lock which was torn off, dangling from the wires beneath.  He pulled on the lip of the door, and it creaked slightly open before tilting on the hinges.  "She's in there," he pointed.

"Uh, thanks."  Astral gave the damaged door a quick once over.  It wasn't as simple of a door as the outside suggested.  The thickness alone proved that.  He squeezed between the door and the frame, entering a tiny room with bright green lights and equipment lockers.  Another door, already open, sat opposite the one he entered.  He could feel the chill emanating from it.

A sharp, almost electric smell accompanied the cold.  A sterilization field?  Astral walked up to the other door, a small red indicator turning green as he approached.  At a touch, the door slid open.

Cold air blasted by him, and he shivered, realizing he wasn't wearing his jacket.  His breath steamed in front of him with the sudden temperature drop, and he steeled himself to step forward.

This was the morgue.  He recognized it from the video Growl showed him earlier.  Two active cold storage chambers in the center of the room provided most of the light, and the green mare stood next to one of them, her face illuminated from below by the chamber and a data pad.

He took a step towards her.  He breathed in, making a sharp hiss as his hoof touched the nearly frozen deck.  "Damn, that's cold," he whispered, pulling his hoof back.  He decided to call out instead.  "You wanted to see me?"

Growl looked up from her pad, then motioned the unicorn over.

With a groan, he started over, wishing he had gotten used to wearing shoes when he was younger.  The cold stung.  It bit at him, especially up through the frog of his hoof.  "Those equipment lockers in the other room have cold weather gear in them, don't they?"

She stood beside the second container, seemingly oblivious to the cold.  She sighed a great cloud of steam.  "Obviously."  She pushed her pad away.  "But we won't be long."

Astral nodded his agreement.  "How long have you been in here?"

"A few minutes," she shrugged.  She quickly narrowed her eyes in doubt at her own statement, then slid her pad back over, consulting it with a quick glance.  "Forty-five," she amended.  "The cold reminds me of home, and I lose track of time."

Astral shifted on his hooves, trying to minimize the time spent in contact with the floor.  "Why did you call me down here?"

In answer, she opened the container.

A mare in her early thirties, a pale, tan unicorn with a short golden mane, lay there with her throat torn open.  Her eyes were open and glazed over.  Blood, so much of it, matted the area around her wounds.  It looked like there was an attempt to clean her up somewhat, but the amount of blood made it difficult.  There were four main injuries that Astral could see; the neck, one small entrance wound from the shot to her chest, a small split in the skin around some sort of metal implant near her horn, and a bite mark on her right hoof.

"Official cause of death is the wound on her neck.  But the shot to the chest would have done the job after a few more seconds."  She gestured to a single robotic arm mounted on a sliding track on the ceiling.  "Scans show that the bullet hit a rib and shattered.  Fragments of bone and metal punctured both lung and heart, and the shockwave ruptured her aorta.  She was bleeding out.  Even if she was shot on the operating table, she wouldn't have survived without a complete respiratory system replacement."

"I know her."  Astral sighed, putting up with the discomfort to stay still as he brushed his mane back with a hoof.  "She was the waitress at the restaurant, the one that guy," he pointed to the other container, "took me to after we loaded twenty-something crates of apples on my ship."

Growl nodded solemnly.  "It seems that was his M.O.  I've been gathering intel on Eckrt from other systems, and I've pieced together that he had a standard plan for moving contraband.  First, he would hire an unsuspecting cargo carrier for a mundane job, or get his client to hire one.  Then, to gain the cargo carrier's trust, he would help with the load up, striking up conversations, and many times he even took entire crews out to dinner.  He, or an accomplice would then place a tracking device and construction drones on the ship.  The actual attack would take place somewhere en route to the destination, to make it seem like a random act."  She fiddled with her pad for a moment.  "It seems the only restaurant near that Apple farm in your original report is closed for renovations, will be for an entire month.  And, get this, the company doing the work had a computer error recently give all their workers a day off.  Made the local news."

"They orchestrated the whole thing."  The unicorn shook his head.  "So, who is she?"

"Her given name was Noon Wind, but she went by the name Visor in her criminal career."  Growl tapped her forehead.  "Probably because of that thing near her horn.  From what I found, she was a commercial transport pilot in training, and suffered brain damage during a crash on her first flight.  Equipment error, nothing she could have done.  After spending several months functioning about the level of a toddler, she broke out of the hospital in the middle of the night, disabling computers and surveillance systems, dispatching several guards, and stealing millions of bits worth of rare medicines and equipment.  Hot wired a medical transport to get away."

"I have the feeling you aren't done yet."

"Not by a long shot," Growl smirked.  "Her suspected deeds span the galaxy.  Information crimes mostly.  Industrial espionage.  Sabotage.  Occasionally a theft made possible by disabling a state of the art security system.  Everything she did was meticulously planned, and made possible by the computer implanted in her head."

"Who makes implants like that?" Astral asked.  "I haven't heard of anything that small integrating that well with neural tissue.  She was controlling what?  A dozen drones?  Eckrt had like five."

"His computer wasn't implanted," Growl pointed out.  "He had a transmitter implant, but it only sent commands to an external interface.  No one makes neural implants like hers, the technology just isn't that advanced yet.  I have a few more resources to check with, but at the moment, it's a mystery.  I'll keep investigating, but at the moment, the station is safe."

Astral rolled his eyes.  "And we haven't gotten so much as a thank you."

Growl looked away, unexpectedly cowed by the offhoof remark.  "Well, you have it, my thanks, I mean.  And my apologies.  I'll repeat them as you wish, make them official, hell, I'll broadcast an official statement across the Assembly if you want."  She looked back up at the unicorn.  "Your crew saved mine.  I can never repay that.  If your celestial hadn't been here-"

"She's not a celestial," Astral interjected.

Growl paused for a moment, raising an eyebrow at the angry tone.  "You called her that yourself, back when we first met."

Astral stepped back, making the mistake of sitting down.  He jumped right back up with a yelp.  "I was wrong," he admitted, "I know that now.  The celestials were monsters.  Savage beasts of hatred and flame.  She... isn't like that."

Growl sat down with a smirk, taking pride in her tolerance for the cold.  The smirk faded, and her head tilted.  "Then, what is she like?  She saved my security team from space, teleported a drone into a wall, then flew out an airlock with no gear whatsoever.  Then, after she teleported all of you back here, she goes out and destroys the ship Visor set on a collision course with us, shielding the entire station from a reactor breach."  Growl shook her head.  "These aren't the actions of a pony, they're the actions of a goddess."

Astral stared at the green mare for a moment.  "Back up, ship on a collision course?"

"You were unconscious," Growl explained, nodding.  "There was a ship on a collision course with us, most likely a suicide protocol enacted upon Visor's death.  I'm not exactly sure if Ms. Sparkle actually destroyed it, or it self-destructed, but that doesn't change the fact that she saved every living being on this station from being vaporized."

Astral blinked.  "I- I see," he stammered.  How big was this station again?  It was the smallest one in the system, but it wall still a freaking space station.  Hell, the Philomena was seven stories tall, and it fit in one of several cargo bays.  How massive would a shield have to be to protect such a structure?  "Explains the magical exhaustion."

Growl nodded.  "She teleported back on board, and promptly passed out.  It didn't take long for a crowd to form around medical.  Everypony wanted to come see the hero, or the celestial, and the Tankrit were talking about the princess returning.  Whatever she is, she's popular right now."

Astral shrugged.  "Does that mean you won't try to punch her in the face again?"

Growl winced.  "I'll admit, that may have been an overreaction on my part."

It was Astral's turn to raise an eyebrow.  "May have been?"

"Yes," Growl sighed, "it was definitely an overreaction.  But of those who claimed to know me, one killed a friend of mine, and used me as tool to perpetrate the enslavement of thousands, one tried to steal thousands of bits from station payroll, one attempted to kill me in my sleep, and one banished me and my husband from our home.  Not in that order, of course."

"Oh."  Astral chuckled sheepishly.  "I think she'll probably forgive you then."

"Why?"  Growl asked.  "There is no reason for her to.  For everything she's done, I owe her a debt I can never pay back.  Why do you think she even cares to forgive me?  She owes me nothing."

Astral smiled.  "She said you were a friend of hers, or something like that, right?  She tends to take that pretty seriously."

Growl contemplated that for a moment, then stood up.  "In that case, I'll apologize directly.  I'm still not sure I believe her, but I will listen this time."

"I'm sure that's enough for her.  Now," Astral pointed back towards the door, "can we please get out of here?"  Growl nodded and started towards the door, with Astral beating her out.  He watched her slow walk with an unbelieving eye, shivering as he chaffed his hooves together himself up in the antechamber.  "And before I forget, how sure are you that the station is safe?  I can probably pull some favors and get a ship out here for defense."

"There are already two Galactic Assembly Light Cruisers parked alongside us.  A small research vessel, and a recon swoop are docked, scanning the surrounding space, and several fighters are on standby in the shuttle bay."  Growl closed the door behind her.  "It's kind of hard not to notice when a fusion reactor goes nova in an inhabited system, especially an important one like Canterlot."

Astral peeked in the nearest locker, confirming his suspicions that they held boots and parkas.  "But how can you be sure it's only Eckrt and Visor involved with this?  You can't be certain they don't have associates who would want to finish the job."

"Yes, I can."  Growl looked down again.  "This attack was revenge, for Eckrt.  It was that mare's personal vendetta to make everyone involved pay for what happened to him.  There was no reward, no monetary value to the job, and no criminal would take on a space station in GA territory without a fleet to back them up."

"She did," Astral pointed out.

Growl nodded.  "And she was fourteen weeks pregnant with Eckrt's child.  Take that how you will."  She took a step towards the door, then turned around.  "Damn, I forgot my pad."

"Whoops," came a familiar voice from outside, "excuse me, coming through!"

"Whoa!" exclaimed the gryphon guard.  "Hey!  You can't just-"

Ribbon slid through the opening, and shot past Astral and Growl.  "Good to see you up," she said to Astral as she ran by.  "James was looking for you, surgery's over," she said to Growl.

Both of them exchanged glances as she ran into the morgue.  And they followed her back in when they heard the sound of a storage container opening.

They found Ribbon standing above Noon Wind's corpse, breathing in shaky, out of control, breaths.  She trembled.  And not from the cold.  Her face bore a look of sadness as she looked down on the body.  "It won't work," she said quietly.

Astral's heart nearly stopped when the dead mare moved, head turning slightly.  But that was all.  There was no other motion.  Her glassy eyes now pointed in Ribbon's direction, but they didn't focus.

Ribbon shook her head.  "This is an old station.  The systems you're trying to access aren't powerful enough.  It's over.  Please, stop this."  The rainbow filly went silent for a moment, then slowly nodded her head.  "Yes, I'll listen."

Growl, who had been watching intently, suddenly heaved a sigh and walked out into the antechamber, motioning for Astral to follow.  She sat down with her back against the lockers.  She closed her eyes.  With another sigh, she tilted her head back until it clanged against a locker door.

Astral quietly sat down opposite her.  "The implant?" he asked.

Growl nodded.  "There was a low-level power source, but when I performed the scans, there was no neural activity."  She shrugged.  "Well, that's why Ribbon's here, to catch the things our scanners miss."

Astral watched her carefully.  "If you don't mind me saying, you seem more upset by this than I would have expected."

She lifted her head to level her gaze at the stallion.  "I've listened to individual's dying words before.  What that girl is about to do will carry with her the rest of her life.  As much as we would like our enemies to be faceless minions of evil, the truth is usually much more complex.  I mentioned that someone tried to kill me in my sleep?  His son is standing outside the door."

Astral glanced back at the door, catching a glimpse of the the security guard stretching and yawning.  "That gryphon kid?  And he works for you?"

"Yes." She answered plainly.  "I'm also hung up on the thing with the foal," Growl continued.  "It was too late to do anything by the time we found out."  She shifted, sitting straight and staring at the floor, deep in thought.  "As Ms. Sparkle pointed out when we spoke several days ago, I am in heat.  I don't know exactly how old I am, so I never know if a heat may be my last, and it's next to impossible for a gryphon and a pony to naturally conceive outside of one."

Astral crossed his hooves.  With the door between antechamber and morgue left open, the temperature was starting to drop.  "And why are you telling me any of this?"

She shrugged.  "Who knows.  Maybe I'm actually starting to trust you.  Anyway, you never answered my question."

"Which one?"

"What is she like?"

"Twi?" Astral asked

"Pet names," Growl mused, "so, I was right, she really is your mare?"

"What?  No!"  Astral scoffed.  "As if.  No, we're just...  We're just not, OK?"

She smiled and waved it off.  "Alright then, just crewmates.  Don't have an aneurysm.  You two remind me of me and James, so I assumed..."

"Well, you assumed wrong."  Astral scratched his neck, awkwardly looking away from the mare.  "Can we change the subject?"

She shrugged his question off.  "You're pretty defensive about this, aren't you?  So adamant that nothing exists between you two.  Have you told her?"

Astral raised a hoof in front of him in a questioning gesture.  Why wouldn't she just drop it?  And what did she even mean by that?  "Tell her what?" Astral demanded.  "There's nothing between us!  I don't even know if I want there to be."

Growl crossed her hooves in smug satisfaction.  "Then, it is something you might want?  Something you've thought about?"

Astral's eyes rolled back as he shoved his face into his hooves.  "Fine, yes," he mumbled, "I have thought about it, you damn interrogator.  More than I probably should.  We're working together right now, and our relationship should stay purely professional."

"And you want to keep it that way?  Strictly business?"

Astral lowered his hooves in defeat.  With a sigh, he admitted, "No."  He didn't look up as he continued.  "I'm trying to keep it simple, but it doesn't feel like it's staying that way.  I'm not sure how we stopped fighting, but any bickering we do anymore isn't serious.  I don't want to call it flirting, because I may be horribly wrong, but it sure feels like we have some chemistry there."

"What makes you think you're wrong?"

"For starters, I tried to kill her when we first met."  With a sheepish chuckle, he added, "to be fair, my ship was under attack, and I jumped to the conclusion that she was a celestial.  I'm also pretty sure she's too focused on her mission to even consider her own personal life right now.  And more than that, she's... beyond me.  From what I understand, she was once a powerful ruler, loved by her people, and even now, she's a professor at the university I almost dropped out of.  She's on a first name basis with the president, extremely skilled with magic, dangerously so, now that she isn't holding herself back, and part of the most powerful auditing organization in the galaxy."  He pointed a hoof at himself.  "I'm a homeless freighter pilot, who lucked into her presence by almost dying.  I don't even have a ship anymore.  Even if the Philomena can be repaired, I don't have the funds to do it.  It will happen at her command, by her power, not mine."

Growl nodded in agreement.  "Sounds about right.  The only thing you have going for you is the will to kick and bite and spit in the galaxy's face."  She straightened up a little.  "Nothing you just said really matters though.  Wanna know how James and I met?"

"Sure," Astral eagerly took the opportunity to pull the spotlight off of himself, "why not?  You already mentioned something about breaking his leg, so I bet it's a good story."

This produced unexpected laughter from the green mare.  "It is now.  It was the day my life, as I know it, truly began.  At the time?  I thought it would be my last."

Astral listened quietly as she continued.  "I was found unconscious by a hunting party in a remote mountain range.  Luckily, one of the group had been off planet before, and he recognized that I was a pony.  I've been told the other two were arguing about how to cook me when he came along."

"They dragged me home alongside the carcass of a froe deer.  I regained consciousness along the way.  My first memory was two trails of blood in the snow.  My second memory was waking up to the sharp poke of talons, and seeing children stare at me."  She chuckled, shaking her head.  "They had stuck me in the orphanage, with five cubs that had never seen a pony before."  She managed a small smile for their memory, but none for the one that followed.  "My mane and most of my tail had been chopped off, and left sitting at the foot of the bed.  They were a tangled, bloody mess, and it was easier for them to get at my wounds that way.  Some property of the ore in the mountains prevented any signals from making it out, so they couldn't send for help.  They also tried to feed me."

She leaned forward, wrapping her hooves around her midsection.  "I've felt a lot of terrible things in my life.  I've been poisoned, stabbed, shot, stabbed with poisoned weapons, and thrown off a cliff or two, but the hunger I felt that winter outweighs any other pain I've felt."  She shook her head.  "A gryphon colony in winter is not a good place to search for vegetables.  I was given two ration bars after being rescued, and like a fool, I ate them both that day.  They were the last in the village.  All I ate for the next three days were bulbs of garlic and a koll root.  After that, I chewed the bark off firewood, rejoicing when I found a bit of moss to add some flavor.  The villagers would sometimes bring me bundles of dried herbs that they found forgotten in a pantry.  A few times, they tried to force feed me fish, or meat stew, or roasted bird, but it only made me violently ill.  After two weeks, a traveler came through, and was convinced to take pity on me and part with a sack of flour, and half a jar of pickled beets.

I made those beets last a week, and the flour lasted two more.  No one in the camp knew how to use flour for anything other than preparing meat or thickening stew, and I quickly learned that I was not a baker.  I ate one burned, lumpy biscuit for breakfast every day until the flour ran out.

After that, I was desperate.  I had gone a month on what most ponies would eat in a few days.  Water was never an issue, but I was wasting away.

After another two painfully long weeks, a wandering monk came into town, on a martial journey.  James, he called himself, of the Stone Feather Hall.  He set up camp on the outskirts of town, and laid out an offering for any who would give him the honor of a battle.

No one would even approach his camp.  So, mostly, he was quiet.  He would stroll through the village every so often.  Any questions the villagers asked him were politely answered, and he helped hunt and gather firewood.

One day, the hunting party brought back some sort of root for me.  I ate it whole.  It was bitter, and soggy, and tasted like a moldy potato, but I would have gouged my eye out for another.  They told me that the monk was the one who found it, told them where to dig.

I ran out before the hunter was done speaking.  I headed straight to the monk's camp.  He sat in the middle of a ring scratched into the dirt.  All the snow had been cleared away, and laid out on a rug behind him were his battle offerings.  Smoked meats, jewellery and trinkets, jars of oils, perfumes, and magic crystals.  Nothing I cared about at the time, but, there on the end of the rug, were three whole jars of pickled beets, and a bundle of turnips.  Turnips!

I stepped into that ring out of desperation.  By that time, I was shaking when I walked, and you could see my ribs under my coat.  He had food, something I could eat, and I wasn't thinking straight.

He tried to introduce himself, and I remember shouting at him, demanding to know, 'if I fight you, I get to take anything I want, right?'  He looked so confused, but he nodded.  I just shouted again, 'fight me!'

He lunged forward from his seated position, claws out in front of him.  I charged to meet him.  I don't know what I was planning to do, but I tripped before I could do it.  It was probably the only thing that saved me, because I managed to get under his claws, earning this as he passed me."  She pulled at her mane, showing Astral two thin scar lines near her ear.  "I kicked out blindly behind me, hitting his leg.  It made a terrible noise, and I scurried away like a rat.

Standing on opposite sides of the ring, our eyes met for the first time.  Then, without taking his eyes off me, he grabbed the ground with his injured claw, and twisted his upper body, snapping his shoulder back into place.  Then, he put his weight back on it, stomping the ground to test it.

That was the moment I realized I had no chance.  He walked towards me with a slow pace, a regal creature, eyes burning with with the pain I inflicted, and the determination to ignore it.  Looking into those eyes, I surrendered.  Before he could raise his claw against me again, I fell before him.

I don't remember if I managed to say anything, but I was dragged back to the orphanage pretty quickly by the village elders, blacking out somewhere along the way.  I woke up alone in bed.  The only sound was the crackle of the fireplace.  I didn't hear the cubs, and when I looked around, I saw that the other beds were empty.

I limped out into the main room, and the only one there was the monk, seated at the table.  I sat across from him, eyes locked on his.  He stared at me a moment, and I could see his concern as his eyes wander over my body.  I was a mess.  I was bleeding from our short fight, covered in dirt from collapsing, and didn't have enough muscle control to keep myself from swaying as I sat.

'Don't worry,' he told me.  'Whatever the others may say, you were the only one to accept my challenge.  I don't care that you didn't fully adhere to the traditional etiquette.  I am still grateful.'

He lifted his claw from behind the table, holding out the bundle of turnips.  I don't remember if I thanked him or not, but I nearly jumped over the table for them.  I attacked the turnips with tears streaming down my face. While he still held them, I downed at least two, only stopping when I doubled over in pain.  My stomach had been empty for so long, that it was painful to actually have enough to eat.

I blacked out again, and woke up in a tent, covered in blankets.  The monk sat there beside me.  He spoon fed me turnip stew and warm tea for the next three days, until I was able to move again.  He promised he would do what he could to make sure I had enough to eat while we journeyed out of the mountains.

The journey took four months.  It was originally supposed to take five weeks, on a planned route through villages so we could stop and trade.  All while maintaining the straightest path towards civilization.  But in the second village, we got lucky and secured two cases of ration bars.  Two hundred and eighty-eight meals, and I could carry them all.  I was so happy that when the trade was over, I kissed him.

Things changed after that.  I was no longer in danger of starving, and my weight was slowly returning.  We traded trinkets for more vegetables whenever we came across them, but James was careful not to let me eat myself sick.  Also, since I was finally getting somewhat proper nutrition, my mane and tail started growing back for real.  And he paid very close attention to not letting either get tangled or dirty.  He even stopped putting the oil and perfumes out as a prize.   We were no longer focused on getting out of the mountains, but on enjoying the trip.

As my strength returned, I joined him in his training.  We continued his martial journey, and by the end of it, I had partaken in as many fights as he had.  Possibly more.  I was less intimidating than him, and was challenged by a wider range of fighters.  Sometimes because I was more in their weight class, sometimes out of pure curiosity.  How can she fight?  She doesn't have wings, a beak, or talons.  James and I would also spar nightly when we had no challengers, and help each other apply ointment before retiring to our beds.  Then, one night, instead of resting, he wandered off to stare at the sky.

I followed him.  When I sat next to him, he put his wing around me.  He explained that we would be beyond the jamming effects of the mountains by next nightfall.  He could call for a shuttle to come find us, and take us to the spaceport.  And from there, I could make it back to a pony planet, and maybe find out where I came from.  He asked if that was what I wanted.

I told him, since I accompanied him on his journey, he should accompany me on one as well.  He smiled, and agreed follow me to the ends of the universe, but he gave one condition.  By completing the martial journey with him, I was an honorary member of his aery.  He wanted me to become a true member.

We made love for the first time that night, on the mountainside, solid rock under my back.  The glow of a nearly full moon lining everything with silver light.  Afterwards, as he lay there, stroking me cheek before falling asleep, he gave me my name.  We married three days later.  A warrior's wedding, it was called, two champions of the martial journey joining their fortunes.  And his Aery welcomed me with open claws.  Best of all, there was a hydroponic farm a short walk from his monastery.  I never went hungry again."

She sighed softly.  "He kept his word.  I accepted his condition, and he accompanied me on every journey without complaint."

Astral blinked.  He waited for her to continue, but she didn't.  "That was quite the story," he finally said.

She nodded, taking a little bow.  "Thank you.  Life has been... interesting since I met James.  We've been together twenty-one Chorian years, and each one has been a string of stories that refuse to end."

"Maybe you should write a novel."

"Maybe I will."

Astral held up a hoof.  "Just one thing I don't understand."  He brought that hoof to his forehead.  "What was the point of telling me any of that?"

"He was a monk on a remote planet, completing a string of challenges so he could one day take his place as head of an influential monastery.  He was a respected leader in his community, and his family held a great deal of power on the planet.  I was a starving, crazed pony that attacked him for food.  Now we own a space station together."  She shrugged.  "At least you and her are the same species."

" Ugh," Astral shook his head, "no, this isn't-"

"I'm just saying it's possible," Growl interrupted.  "And one way or the other, you might want to settle things soon.  Either she'll reject the idea, and you can move on, or she'll accept it, and getting bored on long flights won't be an issue anymore."

Astral buried his face in his hooves.  "Why does everypony jump straight to that?"

"Straight to what?"  Twilight asked as she pressed past the outer door, shuffling her wings to keep from pinching them to her side.  "Did I miss something?"

"Nothing!"  Astral shouted quickly.

Twilight stared at him.

He cleared his throat and gestured over at Growl, who had visibly stiffened since the alicorn had entered the room.  "She was telling me about how she met James, back on Choria."

"In the entryway to the morgue?"  Twilight shuffled her wings again.  "Couldn't you do that somewhere warmer, or more appropriate?"

Growl shook her head, pointing to the other door.  "Ribbon's talking to our corpse right now.  I want to be here when she's done."

"Speaking of," Astral stood up, "how are Mac and Fluttershy doing?"

"Fluttershy's calmed down a little" she answered, "and Mac's in and out of it, but he's out of surgery.  He'll need a few more to fully recover, and constant monitoring, but he's out of danger.  Fluttershy woke up, and is watching over him in temporary quarters that James arranged.  That might actually be the best thing for her right now.  She's calmed down, but when I tried to talk to her, she ignored everything I had to say."  Her eyes narrowed slightly as she processed the conversation up to that point on a slight delay.  "Wait, did you say, 'talking,' to the corpse?"

"He can fill you in," she replied tersely, pointing back at Astral.  "Preferably somewhere else."

Twilight frowned.  "You still don't like me, do you?  What's it going to take to convince you that I'm not trying to lie to you?"

"Nothing!"  Growl looked away.  "There's nothing you can do do," she said much quieter.  "There's nothing you have to do.  I know... but I still need some time to think about it."

"Oh."  Twilight lowered her head.  "Sorry, um, take as much time as you need."  She leaned over towards Astral.  "Um, also, Silver tried to contact the shuttle, but Berry said the communications system is too damaged to maintain a call."

"Use the com in my office."  Growl still refused to look at Twilight, but she at least took her eyes of the floor.  "Your crew has been granted full security clearance and access to this station.  You may come and go as you please, and make use of station resources as necessary."  Her ears twitched, and she stood up.  "Looks like it's over.  Do me a favor, and have the guard send Mezzo down here."

Astral opened his mouth to ask why, but shut it when Ribbon stepped into the doorway.  She walked slowly.  Small steps.  Her expression was one of shock, unblinking, gaze unfocused.

"Ribbon?" Growl's voice was soft to match the younger nurse, gentler than Astral could recall ever hearing it.  "Are you alright?"

The small unicorn jerked her head towards the voice, as if surprised by the presence of other ponies.  "They..."  She swallowed hard, dry, painful, then blurted out, "they were going to name him Fresh Start."  Growl threw her hoof around the young mare as she started to cry, letting her bury her face in green fur.  "They were going to stop!  Why didn't they?  They didn't have to do this!  They hurt everypony!  Why?  They were going to stop!  Why didn't they?"

"I don't know, Ribbon."  Growl mouthed the word, 'go,' to Astral and Twilight, then pat her junior on the back as she mumbled the same words over and over.  "It was their choices that caused all this.  Not yours.  You can't change things now.  You don't even have to understand them.  You have to accept it happened, and try to move on."

Astral and Twilight exchanged glances, then left, squeezing through the damaged outer door one by one.  Twilight went first, relaying Growl's request to the guard, who quickly ran off, then quickly smoothing out her feathers while Astral made his own way out.  "What was that?" She whispered to him.  "What's going on?  I thought that guy was dead, how can he talk?"

Astral shook his head.  "She had some sort of neural implant, it kept her mind around a little longer."

Twilight raised an eyebrow.  "Kind of like a magic imprint.  Did she happen to mention why she was trying to kill everypony?"

Astral looked at her for a moment, distracted by mention of of the magic imprint.  "This was all revenge for me killing Eckrt," he explained when his mind managed to move past it.  "They were lovers."  Astral pointed down the hallway.  "Growl's office is this way."

Twilight nodded and started walking along, keeping the wall close to her left.  "Astral, could you stay on my right?  My jacket wasn't in medical, and I'd rather not show off my wings more than I have to."

"Sure."  Astral moved beside her, and rhey walked along like that.  "Your jacket is probably still on the floor in the cargo bay.  I'll go get it after we call Silver."

The unicorn felt something soft brush against his side, and looked back, not quite trusting his first assumption as to cause.  Twilight's wing was folding back up after nudging him in the side.  She just nudged him with her wing?  He could still feel the ghost of the touch on his fur.  So soft!  

Twilight stared at him as he stared at her wings.  She cleared her throat, and repeated herself, words the other pony missed due to his preoccupation with her feathered limbs.  "I said, thanks, I knew I could count on you."

Astral looked up.  "Huh?"

Twilight shook her head.  "Never mind.  Why are you staring at my wings?"

"Nothing," the unicorn tried to play it off with a shrug.  "I was just thinking the feathers looked soft."  Astral clamped his mouth shut, realizing he just blurted out the truth without thinking.

Twilight stopped and looked back at her wings, as though she had never considered that quirk of her anatomy.  She unfolded her right wing part way, and brought her hoof to meet it.  "I guess they kind of are."  She ran her hoof back and forth once or twice before extending her wing to Astral.  "What do you think?"

The stallion couldn't decide if he should look at her eyes, or the offered appendage, so his stare bounced between them.  "I thought you didn't want me to touch your wings."

"Oh."  Twilight pressed her lips together as she pulled her wing back slightly. "Well, things were kind of different then.  I trust you not pull out any feathers this time."  Astral's eyes stayed locked on hers as she extended the wing to him again.  "Just don't make it weird, or anything."

A wordless nod was the only answer as his eyes drifted down.  He visually traced the lines of large primary, and smaller secondary feathers.  He raised his hoof slowly, noting the angle of the feathers before he gently ran the back of his hoof along them.

They weren't exactly soft.  He ran his hoof along them again.  No, they were stiff, but pleasantly smooth, perfect for catching the wind during flight.  His eyes were drawn to the leading edge of the wing, from the first joint to her back, where downy feathers ran along until they transitioned to fur.

That looked much softer.

He ran his hoof over the mingled fur and feathers there, and she reacted by pulling her wing back with a yelp.  "Ok!  That's making it weird."  She gave her wings a flap or two before folding them tight, face reddening.  She started walking again.  Her pace was much faster this time.  Astral had to rush to keep up.  "S-so," she stammered, eyes locked firmly ahead of her, "was it as soft as you thought?"

Astral stole another glance at the spot where her wings joined the curve of her back.  "Softer," he admitted.

Her ears perked up, and Astral's eyes fixed on the movement, until she glanced back, and they made eye contact.  "Good," she said with pride, "preening is so time consuming.  I should have taken you up on your offer to help."  She offered a brief smile, still expressing her pride in her grooming, before looking back down the hallway.  "How much farther to the office?"

Astral looked around the hallway, more as an excuse not to look at her, than for the sake of answering her question.  His mind was racing as he considered the ramifications of what she just said.  Didn't she say that preening was an intimate act?  Then again, he told her wasn't that big of a deal on Serus, and she might be considering it from his perspective.  He eventually settled on looking back.  "I think we passed it."

"Oh."  Twilight turned around, and Astral followed suit.  "Are my wings that distracting?" she joked.

The stallion shrugged.  They were, for some reason.  But, so was the rest of her, now more than ever.  Even her words, her actions.  He was paying more attention, or perhaps closer attention, to little things.  Things that he wouldn't have noticed before, were now things to think on, to ponder.  Things like being taller than her echo, or the average mare, but still a little shorter than him.  Things like being there, looking straight at him when he woke up earlier. "Twi, just before I woke up in medical, what were you doing?"

It was her turn to shrug.  "Waiting for you to wake up.  I woke up a bit before you."

"There's the office."  Astral pointed to a nearby door.  "Did you try to wake me up at all?"

She bit her lip.  The jig was up, no sense in hiding it anymore.  "I wasn't trying to..."  Stopping outside the door, Twilight paused, letting out a distressed sigh.  "Astral, how important do you think first impressions are?  And what if it were possible to have a second first impression of somepony?  Should it change how you see them?"

"Is this about Growl?" Astral asked with some confusion.  "Is she that different from what you remember?"  No, the unicorn realized quickly, there was another possibility.  "Or, is this about the imprint in the crossover circuit?"

Twilight nodded slowly.  "You held her hoof when she was scared," she said quietly, "and that memory is mine now.  And, it's disorienting, but there's more than just that."

Astral moved closer, lowering his voice to match hers.  "What sort of more?"

"More," came the noncommittal answer.  "Impressions, feelings, random thoughts.  She was born of a single facet of my personality, my concern for the future, and was separated from me long enough to fill in other parts.  She was a completely unique entity.  Now that she's part of me again, I'm forced to look at things from her point of view as well."

She opened the door before Astral could ask anything else.  He had so many questions, but they would have to wait.  For now, he felt relieved that the friendly unicorn Twilight he met hadn't simply disappeared.  Though, that relief came with worry for the effects this may have on the real one.

He followed her into the office, and they found a human sitting on Growl's desk.  He faced away from them, arms crossed, and wearing a filthy security uniform.  The outline of previously worn chest armor was painted on his back in clean cloth surrounded by cloth marred with dust, splatter, and dull red discoloration.  The armored vest itself lay on the floor beside the desk, two long gashes torn into the ballistic fabric.

He looked up at a large screen, talking to a double size video of the blind pony on the other side of the subspace call.  "So, how exactly did you narrow it down to three pilots?  Surely more than that would have responded to such an easy job."

Silver nodded.  "Correct, Mica.  Fourteen responded total, still fewer than expected.  Narrowing it down to three was a simple matter of reading the responses.  Any pilot flying under a questionable company or organization was removed from consideration, as were any that were less than professional with their application.  That left the three.  It was rather astounding how many freighter captains felt comfortable calling me, 'honey,' while asking me for work."

Astral suppressed a snort, earning a glare from Twilight.  

Silver tilted her head.  "Has someone else entered the room?"

Mica glanced back at the door.  "Oh, hey!  You're finally up.  Your friend was just telling me how this all started."

Astral stepped forward, putting on a scowl befitting a much older and grizzled pilot, possibly one with a beard.  "Now listen here, honey," he drawled in a terrible Hoofton accent, "here's why ya oughtta hire me, 'stead a' one a' them other fellers that want this here job."

Silver closed her eyes, looking down as she smiled and tried not to laugh.  "Mister Plane," she said shaking her head, "you might not believe me, but that was, word for word, one of the responses I received."

"Oh, I know it is."  The unicorn chuckled.  "I was two seats over while the guy was dictating it into his pad.  I'm pretty sure he was drunk enough that he doesn't remember giving me your contact info."

Mica turned back to the screen.  "Is it bad that I want to visit this place now?"

"Nah," Astral said with a shrug.  "Hoofton's great.  It's a cargo trade hub, cheap used gear, widespread availability of parts and repair equipment, and decent security."  The stallion looked up at Silver's image.  "So, how did you end up picking me out of the last three?"

Twilight violently shook her head, trying to signal to the other mare that she shouldn't answer that.  She only succeeded in making herself feel like a fool.

"Twilight made the final decision," Silver answered.  "I'm not sure if she had a specific selection method or criteria in mind though."

The alicorn heaved a sigh, relieved that the blind mare had not gone into more detail.

Silver shrugged.  "I showed her the info I gathered, which included pictures, and she said, 'number three's kind of cute, let's go with him.'  She also liked that his mane was blue," Silver added with a smirk, "because it reminded her of her brother, father, first boyfriend, and all the big, strong royal guards in her home town."

Twilight wanted to curl up in a hole and die.  As Astral turned to face her, she pointed a hoof at him.  "You wipe that shit-eating grin off your face right this second, or I will do it for you."

"What, and mess up this pretty face?"  Astral failed to choke back a chuckle.  His laughter died quickly though, cut short by a weary sigh.  This didn't help things any.  Neither did his short talk with the alicorn on the way over.

For her part, Twilight couldn't find the energy to stay mad at him.  He didn't press the issue, and the tired look on his face was draining her just by looking at it.  She should have kept her mouth shut about the imprint.  She didn't want things to be weird between them.

She was happy being friends, knowing that they could rely on each other.  But, she didn't see it that way.  Worry for the future, her future, made her echo appraise the stallion she met in the nether under a different light.  The resulting analysis was unexpected.

What was it she called herself?  A residue?  Twilight sighed.  That residue was part of her again, but it had changed.  Like pouring the last of your chocolate milk into a glass of strawberry milk, she was a little different because of it.  Not by much, but the change was there.  

"Twilight?" Silver prodded from her seat on screen.  "Did you, by any chance, forget that I can't see you shake your head, again?"

Astral looked up quickly.  "Again?"

"Yes," the alicorn ground out, like she was forcing her words through a cheese grater.  "Again.  Can we move on to the important part?  Please?"

"Of course."  Silver nodded.  "You mean the part where you spent several minutes fantasizing, comparing him to the old captain of the night guard, and wondering if he could be convinced to try on the armor?"

Astral looked back at Twilight and raised an eyebrow.

Her face went red.  She waited for him to say something so she could shoot it down and redirect the conversation.  When no words came, she looked over at him.  He was watching her quietly, eyebrows raised in interest.  She could deal with a quip or needling, but this quiet curiosity was not was she was expecting.

"I always had a fascination with the night guard," she explained honestly, blush deepening.  "But there weren't many unicorns in it."

"Well," Silver shrugged and relaxed back into what Astral realized was Celestia's chair at the top of the tower, "I was expecting more of a reaction.  Perhaps a fight.  Did something happen between you two?  Cause nopony ever tells me anything.  The reports you sent me were very bland."  In a cold voice, she continued, "leaving the planet of horrible illness, headed to monster world now, thanks, bye."  The blind mare let out a snort, and bit down on her lip to keep herself from pouting.  "Then, I have to find out from a coded transmission, from some deputy director of system something or other, that somepony tried to kill you?  Damn it, Twilight!  We've worked together for three years now.  We're friends, and I was worried sick!  Would it kill you to take two minutes out of your day and let me know you haven't been horribly murdered?"

Astral raised a hoof, like a student looking for the teacher's attention.  A useless gesture, he quickly remembered.  "In our defense, we have been unconscious since-"

Twilight put a hoof on Astral's shoulder, stopping him.  "No," she said softly, "she's right."  She looked up at the screen.  "I'm sorry, Silver.  I treated my messages to you like a chore, a business formality, something to check off the to-do list.  You're more important than that, and I won't let it happen again."

Silver nodded.  "You better not.  And put more detail into your reports."

Twilight returned the nod.  "I will."

Silver smiled.  "Little things, like whether or not there was wind, did the jungle smell, how did the food on the Solomon's Ring taste.  I can't be there, so include things like that."

Twilight nodded again.  "Yes."

"And even if you have nothing to report, maybe just let me know that you're safe?"

And she nodded again.

"Oh, one more thing."  Silver crossed her hooves.  "I can't buckin' see you, so quit nodding your head."

Twilight slapped a hoof to her face.  Before she could mutter an apology, Astral shouted out, "She just nodded again!"

"Hey," Twilight scolded.

"Twilight?"  Silver sighed.

"I did not!"  The alicorn responded.  "And I'll try not to anymore.  It's just... it's kind of hard to remember that you're blind.  When we first met, I couldn't even tell."

Silver jabbed her hoof in the general direction of the screen.  "Flattery will not get you out of this."  She pulled her hoof back and pointed it at a slightly different spot.  "And you quit trying to get her in trouble."  Her hoof made one last stab, obscuring most of the video feed.  "I'm guessing, in case it isn't obvious."  She lowered the limb.  "Anyway, I have a lead on another Cryo-chamber."

"What?!"  Twilight's demeanor changed immediately.  Her eyes went wide, and she ran forward, jumping up, and supporting her front hooves on the desk, getting herself closer to the screen.  "Where is it?  What do we need to do?"

"We need to take a second, breath, and calm down," Silver said in a soothing voice.  "You're benched for this one, Astral and Mac can-"

"Mac just got stabbed in the kidney," Astral interrupted.  "He'll be fine though... eventually."

"Shit."  Silver cleared her throat.  "Anyway, Astral, and I can probably handle this.  I was -"

"Why am I benched?" Twilight demanded.

"I was contacted by one of the other bidders on Mac's chamber," the blind mare continued, ignoring Twilight.  "He demanded to know what we planned for the occupant."

Twilight squinted at her.  "He knew it was a Cryo-chamber?"

"Indeed."  She held up a pad.  On it were sales listings of best-selling audio books.  "He claims to have opened one before.  And also claims to be tracking down the chambers for noble reasons."  Her hoof shifted, running over a small notch filed in the side of the pad's casing.  She slammed it down, and swapped it for another pad, with two notches in the case, showing a picture of a well dressed unicorn, surrounded mostly by other unicorns.  "You might understand my skepticism."

"Chairman Steel Catch of Tirassa," Twilight read off the bottom of the picture.  She studied the pony shown.  He was a deep crimson color, thin, a little ragged looking, and had a few early grey hairs in his wine-red mane, but those things tend to come with the stress of taking a political office seriously.  The most notable thing about him were his eyes.  They were a striking silver color, sharp, like the edge of a blade.  She examined each of the other ponies in the picture.  She didn't recognize any of them, but she didn't like the look of the pony on the Chairman's left.  He was an earth pony, heavyset, with a light grey mane, green coat, and a look of disgust as he watched the ragged unicorn.  Then again, that look of anger could be the side effect of an ill-timed shutter.  "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing."

Silver shrugged.  "Then, I'm sure Mr. Plane could tell you."

"Ok, yeah," the unicorn reluctantly agreed.  "I've been there before.  Once.  And I had planned on never going back."

"That bad?" Mica asked, breaking his silence for the first time in a while.

"Tirassa, the planet of clouds, is outside the Galactic Assembly.  They're a little behind in terms of technology, lagging a little behind in some ways, but nothing major.  The main problem is societal."  He looked back at Twilight.  "Ponies with wings have no rights."

"What?" Twilight asked in horror, hoping she had misheard.

"It's a planet of clouds," Astral continued, "Pegasi more or less ruled the planet for most of its history.  There was an established monarchy, and peaceful coexistence for millenia, but the line of Kings started to grow cruel as the Galactic Assembly started to grow in power, and the idea of elected governments started to circulate.  They were especially cruel to those who lived beneath the clouds, eventually stirring up eternal storms to lock the ground bound unicorns and earth ponies away from the sun.  Two hundred years ago, there was a bloody war, and the pegasus king was overthrown.  Now, unicorns and earth ponies live on the surface, the mountains, and in massive flying cities, with laws, rights, and a political structure similar to our own.  Pegasi live in small cloud settlements, or segregated districts of the major cities, and have a different, much less fair set laws.  Murder, rape, and theft are about the only crimes against them that can actually be prosecuted.  They can be banned from anywhere for any reason.  Taxes are unfair.  And they are forbidden from lots of types of work."  Astral shook his head.  "I already told you my grandmother had wings, well so did my dad.  It's just dumb luck that I don't have them too.  That planet was disgusting, and I wouldn't trust anyone from there, especially not their leader."

Silver nodded.  "Thank you, Mr. Plane.  Now that you understand my hesitation, allow me to give a counterpoint."  She swiped the the pad screen, and several news articles appeared.  "I've been researching our good chairman, and it seems that he has a rather mixed popularity rating.  He is a direct descendant of the unicorn who killed the last Pegasus King, and is highly regarded as the planet's strongest mage.  However, he has made some controversial changes.  Among these are a minimum wage for pegasi, and taking away the right of hospitals to turn them away.  His most recent proposal is to add protections against harassment and fraud in the laws concerning pegasi."

Mica uncrossed his arms and used them to support himself as he leaned back.  "So, you're saying he may be as noble as he claims to be?"

"I do not know, but he was adamant about wishing to speak face to face.  He declined to say what about, and wouldn't divulge the identity of the pony from the cryo chamber.  Although, he did let slip that it's a she, and the impression that I get is that she is rather important to him."

Twilight nodded slowly.  "So, you wanted to send Mac and Astral to investigate.  Radio and I would be at risk."

"Guys?" Silver leaned towards the screen, the pale blue irises of her otherwise white eyes filling the screen with color.  "Did she just nod again?  She did, didn't she, I'm pretty sure I heard it."

"Oh, come on," Twilight scoffed, "I was nodding to myself, OK?  And even if you heard me, how could you tell I was nodding and not shaking my head?  Hmm?"

"You shake your head faster than that little slow nod you do when you repeat things."  Silver pulled her face away from the screen.  "And who's Radio?  Is he, 'we picked up a new crew member and two leads, heading to Sevus now?'  Did you even get any of the messages I sent you?  There must have been at least a dozen."

"Um," Twilight scratched her neck, "no?  At least, I don't think so.  I haven't checked.  And the shuttle's main panel got a little beat up, so I can't go back and look now."

Silver sighed.  "What's it going to take to get you to check your messages?  You can access them from almost any computer, just get a pad or something.  I have more than a few, and would be happy to give you one.  Or, you could, I don't know, just drop by literally any store in the galaxy and buy one?"  She felt around her desk with a hoof.  "Anyway, we're getting off topic.  I was told about the damage to both the Philomena and the shuttle, so I managed to arrange transport.  It's for two ponies only, on a cargo ship making the run to Tirassa anyway.  They leave in about three hours, and I arranged for them to do a flyby of the station."

Twilight groaned, arching her weary back at the thought of another teleport.  "That's barely going to be enough time to rest.  Can't you convince them to wait?" she whined, "I just shielded an entire space station from a fusion reactor going nova."

"Yes," Silver shrugged, "good thing you aren't going then.  Also, apparently, the explosion was visible from here, because everypony on the news was talking about how brilliant it was to use a tiny shield really close to the explosion to cast a shadow that covered the entire space station.  Speculation has been spreading across the planet.  Was it some experimental military technology?  A powerful alien?  Did the president decide to hold another training day?"  Her ears perked up.  "Oh, and perhaps you could clear something up.  There are bits riding on this, so answer truthfully."

"Not another bet," Twilight mumbled.

"Chrysalis says the shield was a few meters wide.  I say it was smaller, pony sized, like you stuck yourself in a shield bubble and braved the storm that way.  Who won?"

The alicorn chuckled nervously, letting herself off the desk.  "Neither.  The shield was only about as wide as a dinner plate.  I just put it extremely close to the epicenter of the explosion.  And, out of curiosity, how often do you guys place bets on things I do?"

"Every time you leave the towers."  The blind mare answered with a dismissive wave of her hoof.  "I'm not sure why we bother.  Celestia wins every single bet, of course."

"Is that so?"  Twilight's ears drooped slightly.  "Say, Silver, do you think you could tell her that I want to talk to her when I get back from Tirassa?"

Silver picked up another pad.  "I thought I just said that wasn't happening."  She ran her hoof across the surface of the device.  Instead of a screen, thousands of small round dots rose and fell on actuators, responding to her touch.  "I'll clear my schedule and accompany Astral.  If I hurry, I can make it to the spaceport in time.  You can come take care of desk work for a change.  Also, you haven't finished grading last semester's finals, Luna wanted me to remind you."

"No," Twilight protested.  "Another pod has been opened, I have to go.  And I graded everything.  I just haven't entered the numbers into the system.  They're on my desk, in my room."

"Wait, wait," Astral stepped in between Twilight and the screen, "no.  Neither of you are going.  Aside from from the planet wide hang up with wings, there is also a cultural disdain for disabilities or weakness."

Silver raised an eyebrow.  "So, I should probably find somepony else to accompany me?"

Astral sighed.

The blind mare shrugged.  "I guess I'll wear my old military uniform as well."

"No!" Astral shouted.  "Neither of you are going!  Why can't this guy just come meet us here?"

Silver shrugged, unphased by the other unicorn's outburst.  "I do not know his reasons, but it isn't like you have a say in any of this.  You are just the driver."

Astral's head cocked to the side.  "Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"That was a little harsh," Twilight chided, "he's been a great help so far.  You should give him a little more consideration."

"Only a little?" Mica asked.

Astral glanced back at the human.  "Thanks."

Mica answered with a shrug, "you're welcome."

"If you do go," Silver cautioned, "you have to make sure your wings stay hidden.  No walking around like you are now."

"Not a problem.  I only took my jacket off because I had to teleport into space.  It's not like we'll be fighting robots or dealing with nukes this time," the alicorn looked over at her pilot, "right?"

"Why are you asking me?  If I had my way, we'd never have to deal with nukes."

"Wait," Silver's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "what jacket?  I helped you pack, and the only clothes you own are your academy robes, the ones I can hear from down the hall."

"Astral got it for me," the alicorn stated proudly, earning a surprised look from Astral.  "It's a really nice one."

"How?"  The blind mare ran her hoof over the tactile display of her pad again.  "He didn't charge it to the expense account I gave him access to."

Astral's mouth fell open in disbelief.  "First of all, I'm right here.  Second, I'm not completely broke.  Do you have some sort of problem with me?"

"If I did," came the curt reply, "you would know it."

Before Astral could respond again, he felt something brush against his side.  He knew what it was before turning around, but seeing Twilight's wing folding up confirmed it.  She shook her head to stop him from saying anything else.  "Silver, I promise I'll be careful.  And Astral will be with me the entire time."

Silver folded her hooves on the desk in front of her.  "On one condition," she lifted a pad in her magic, "you go get yourself one of these, and get it set up for messages before you leave."

Twilight nodded.  "I will."

"Then go!"  Silver shoved her hoof at the screen, prompting the alicorn to run from the room.  "And stop nodding!  You have one hour before I send rendezvous information, you better reply promptly."

Astral groaned and followed Twilight, pausing only to stick his tongue out at the mare on the viewscreen.  Once they were both gone, and the door had shut, Silver let out a weary sigh.  "Did he make some rude gesture as he left?"

Mica shrugged.  "I wasn't watching."

Outside the door, Twilight paced back and forth.  Astral stood there watching her.  She muttered to herself.  "Pad, pad, pad.  Earth tech has better touchscreens, Curaxxan tech has better durability.  But pony tech might have a magic interface, that could be useful."

"Why did you stop me back there?" Astral interrupted.

Twilight looked up, saw him staring at her, and nonchalantly looked away with a shrug.  "Silver has an odd sense of humor, insulting and self-depreciating at the same time.  That thing about the expense account was probably a joke."

He wasn't convinced.  "Probably?"

She glanced back, saw that he was still looking at her, and turned away quickly.  "Y-yeah."  Wait, why was she getting so flustered over just that?  She shuffled her wings nervously, the small movement letting cool, refreshing air under them.  Astral was always very direct, so holding eye contact wasn't an odd thing for him to do.  "She only jokes with ponies she likes though, and that's a very short list.  You should hear some of the things she says to me."  She glanced back over, and found him staring at her wings again.  "Um, Astral?"

"Huh?"  He tore his eyes away, meeting her gaze for a second, then walking off.  "Yeah, OK, probably a joke then.  You need a pad, right?  Let's go see if we can find one somewhere.  Pip mentioned there was a department store in the Commissary, we can start there."

"After we get my jacket," Twilight reminded him as she started following, watching him closely.

She wasn't sure if she imagined it, but when she caught him staring at her wings, there was a slight blush on his cheeks.  It was gone now, replaced by a stone face of concentration.  Every few seconds though, the mask faltered, and he moved his head to look back.  He never followed through though.  Each time, he looked forward again, placing that silent look of focus back on his face.

Twilight saw it, and considered saying something, ultimately deciding against it.  Things were already weird between them, and she didn't want to make it worse.  No, she corrected herself, not weird, just different?  Still, she didn't want to bring it up until she was sure.

Instead, she watched him in silence, thinking and contemplating.  As Silver said, she picked him because he was kind of cute in his ID photo.  The listed experience given by all three pilot's was fairly comparable, and the cover letters were similar.  Astral merely caught her eye.  What a stupid reason.  But, it turned out to be the right choice.

No, wait, there was one other reason, one she had kept from Silver at the time.  And one that she would keep secret from Astral as well.  His message was the only one with proper grammar throughout, and was devoid of repeated spelling errors.

Still, it turned out to be the right choice.

He provided the experience and instinct she lacked.  She could supply the book smarts and raw power.  They were learning to work well together, and they were even compatible for magic resonance.  She suspected it on the Philomena, but proved it during atmospheric entry on Picus.

Her echo said it, didn't she?  That Astral possibly held the qualities of a focuser?  If it was true, and they could use the resonance link on top of that, there was no limit to what they could accomplish.  She had to tell him.

She stopped.  "Astral, before we go..."

He stopped, looking back slowly.  "What is it?"

"I-"  Meeting his eyes, she remembered something else about focusers.  She rolled her hoof on the ground, considering her words carefully.  "I haven't had chocolate milk in a very long time."  She bit her lip, silently cursing herself, both for chickening out, and for not remembering an important detail sooner.  "And, um, I'm kind of hungry."

The stallion scratched his neck.  "Yeah, we haven't eaten in a while, have we?  After we get your jacket, we can grab something while we look for the pad."

"Thanks," she responded quietly.  He looked unsure for a moment, and she was almost sure he was about to continue the conversation, but he turned away and kept walking instead.  She followed along, purposely hanging back a couple steps, instead of walking side by side.

As she walked, she remembered another caster-focuser pair.  They were rare, even in Equestria.  Resonance links were seen as an ancient custom, more of an oddity than a necessary magic boost.  And focusers were much the same, a curiosity.  Few existed, and though there was some prestige in being one of a focused pair, it had little real impact beyond bragging rights.

In fact, the biggest impact either held was personal.  It was like that for the focused pair she remembered.  One was a studious mare with strong magic, and the other a dark colored stallion, grounded and confident.  They were inseparable, weathering everything life in Equestria could throw at them with an unshakable bond.

Her parents always walked side by side.