//------------------------------// // 7 - Necessary Upgrades // Story: Dash to the Stars // by Meep the Changeling //------------------------------// Penny Hawking - 749,559.69 A.H. The Iron Tiger Cantina, Tavros Station - Fenx System, Noctae Sector Penny remembered the Iron Tiger Cantina well. She’d first met Steele there, back in her younger more naive days before she even knew that Mina names consisting of a metal which ended with an extra vowel ment their family was Old Blood. Mina’s Old Blood families were something to be feared. Not for reasons of violence, but for the economic might they collectively wielded. The twenty five metallic families had been the ruling elite of the Mina’s homeworld before it was destroyed during the Battle of Tilctew. The dyson swarm the Mina now lived in had been such a drain to construct that their race had done little else but create livable habitats. Old Blood families were the only reason the Mina had a presence outside their star system these days. Before the battle destroyed their system, the Old Blood had used their genetic engineering mastery to terraform all seven planets in their system to Gaia World status. Paradise planets, created on demand by only a few families working together over a few hundred years. A feat no one else had accomplished but the First Race, as far as the Galaxy knew. Today, the Old Blood families dominated the Transformatives industry. Collectively, they were what allowed the Mina to be of note to the rest of the Arm. The Iron Tiger Cantina was not a very nice looking building, but it was not rundown. Its tall gray and blue tower-like five story presence dominated the small park it had been built in. Many people believed the park was owned by the cantina, and served as outdoor dining. It wasn’t, but the cantina never bothered to correct anyone. Inside, the Iron Tiger was large, open, a bit smokey, smelled of exotic drinks and comfort food, and packed with modified individuals. Penny was relatively certain that no one who came here was rocking an original part in their whole body. She had no problem with their extreme lifestyle choices, but it did give the place a certain atmosphere. One which few would describe as positive. If I don’t get Pan to understand the value of differing opinions in a community, he’ll wind up here one day. Penny sighed as she looked around the cantina at the elaborate customized, often highly sexualized, bodies of the people before her. I don’t think he would be truly happy here… These people change on a whim. Nothing is permanent about them. They are addicts, when you think about it. Her assessment was not born of ignorance. Steele had loved the Iron Tiger so much she had purchased it to spend time with Non-Mina who enjoyed Transformatives as much as she did. She even offered free nano-injections to regulars who couldn’t otherwise afford them. It had not surprised Penny that Steele still owned the place. They had shared one of the upstairs rooms for years. Penny could remember hundreds of drunk people talking to her about how they still didn’t feel right, or fit in, or couldn't do what they wanted to do. If they could just get that one last shot, or treatment, or topical cream, it would all be better. Penny’s eyes fell on a person who had gone to elaborate lengths to make themselves into a semi-humanoid cephalopod. They had dozens of tentacles which they used to get around on land, as well as manipulate their utensils, cup, data pad, and communicator. They also had a somewhat humanoid upper body with two heads and six arms. Their skin was a violent electric blue which pulsed and rippled faintly, using a chameleon-like set of color changing cells to animate ocean waves across their skin. Penny whistled quietly. It’s a shame they’ll change that in a few days. That’s art right there. I’d love to have that skin… If it turns off. Penny got a few looks as she walked around the Iron Tiger in search of Steele. Most casual, some fearful, and others… Well, she couldn’t help but notice some of them were very lustful. Normally, she’d flirt back with the cute ones, but that was before Pan had come aboard. “Hey babe! How much organic is left in that thing?” Someone called in a rather aroused tone. Penny smiled and waved in the voice’s direction. “It’s just an envirosuit. I’m Chernin.” “Awww… Well, come back when you get some chrome, girl!” “Chernin can't be modded you idiot!” Another patron laughed. “The fuck is she doing here then?” “Vicarious enjoyment?” Penny laughed and shook her head. She knew this crowd well enough. Even if most of those who might still be alive from when she lived here would be entirely unrecognisable. Penny looked past the host of aliens as she searched the Cantina for anyone her computer recognised. The only way to find Steele in this mess would be by biosignature. Her vision became hazy lights clustered around simple geometric shapes as her glasses focused on bioscan data. The tables, chairs, and stools didn’t change in appearance. They were the same artsy geometric polygons they had always been. The entire place was quite intentionally plain. Soft lighting, muted colors consisting of grays, whites, and blacks. No wall art. No plants. No scultures. ‘The Iron TIger, where you are the decor’. I see they are still holding onto the old theme. The AR overlay in Penny’s glasses drew an arrow, directing her towards a table near the center of the room. Her T-34 had found Steele. Penny turned and walked over to the table. Her old flame appeared to be female this month, and rocking a relatively subdued look. Penny nearly choked on her own spit in shock. Steele’s body from the waist up was her natural Mina appearance. Humanoid, creamy green skin, large slanted oval shaped eyes, all black with pale gray irises, a small nose, long black silken hair, small perky breasts. She was wearing a loose fitting white t-shirt which almost hid her body armor with it’s billowy mass, and had a tan messenger bag slung over one shoulder. The blin is she doing going natural?! I haven't seen her like that since our second da— Steele’s lower body was that of a quadrupedal hooved animal. She’d gone centaur. Penny frowned as she took in the fur which was a slightly darker green than Steele’s skin, and equally dark silken black hair. The coloration and general build reminded her of how Pan and Rainbow’s specific equine bodies were constructed. Ey! There it is. That’s the cheater I partially tolerate. Penny crossed the floor, weaving through the crowd of modified individuals to make her way to Steele’s table. The armored woman squatted down at the table across from Steele and nodded curtly. “Steele.” Steele looked up from her datapad and plate of deep fried Kalien Bullworms, and smiled revealing her natural ‘every tooth is a fang’ teeth. “Penny! Long time no see… Still mad?” “Let’s not do that today, blin,” Penny grunted. I called. You knew I was coming. Why the excited greeting? The Mina woman sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s been centuries. I’m on my eighth rejuvenation treatment since we broke up. You guys really do carry a grudge forever, don’t you? I’ll apologize again if you’d like.” Penny closed her eyes and groaned. This! This is why I don’t want to be real friends with her. We do this every time. “That won’t change anything, Steele.” Steele sighed, a frown parted her lips. “No, it won’t will it? But I am truly sorry I hurt you, so I will keep apologizing. You’ll believe me one of these centuries. I am sorry I didn’t tell you I’m polyamorous. I was young too and worried that aliens wouldn’t understand the minutia of our culture. I didn’t realize another spacer and could visit me rather than me visiting you exclusively. Your job made hiding my relationships impossible. Someone who wasn’t young and stupid would have told you. I am sorry.” Penny reached up and rubbed her temples with her suit’s arms. The gesture would have been suicidal for a lesser mech pilot. Penny pulled it off without even ripping out hair. “Steele, I’m here to buy a ship.” The green alien nodded once. “Yes. We’ll get to business after pleasure. I’m a different person now, Penny. I still like you. I want to be friends.” Penny rolled her eyes and gestured to Steele’s equine half. “Da, so different. How old is this body? A week? Did you get it because you wanted to pretend you were someone else to get back into someone's life?” Steele’s eyes appeared to turn cloudy as her secondary eyelids closed in shame. “You know that I regretted that as soon as I tried it.” “Da… Still hurt deeper than any knife.” Steele cleared her throat. “And for your information, Penny, this body is a gift to my wives. I let the two of them pick it out and I will be staying in it until they get bored of it. I’ve settled down.” Penny raised a skeptical eyebrow. Steele laughed. “I may look twenty, but I’m almost as old as you. It took me a few lifetimes to mature, that’s all.” Penny was floored. Her jaw dropped. “You? Settle down?” “Yes. I’ve been married to them for the last twenty years. Happiest years of my life! I just wish they weren't dead set on staying on that backwater world… I’d like to visit more often. But you of all people know how business can be.” Penny shook her head in disbelief. “Well, if that’s true, pozdravleniya, staryy drug.” Steele’s face brightened as she smiled. “Old friend? Sounds like someone's warming back up to me.” “In your dreams, Steele… Can we talk shuttles now?” The Mina nodded. “Sure, you’re too distracted by that to be any fun anyways. What are you looking for? Something automated, I’d imagine. An AI cargo-hauler? Is that ancient Lada finally out of space for your toys?” Penny’s eyes grew cold. She stared down at the table for several moments. Steele frowned. “Oh… Oh, Penny. I’m so sorry. I know how much that old thing meant to you.” Penny  closed her eyes. “The Hoatzin was like my pet, Steele. I remember when I fixed her up as a young adult. My first shuttle. My first ship.” Steele nodded solemnly. “Did her drive coils burn out? Those couldn’t possibly have had any more life in them.” “Nyet. She was shot down.” Steele blinked, all four of her eyelids moving in an X pattern. “Shot down? Poachers don’t normally carry anti-ship weapons. What have you been up too?” “I picked up a friend who wanted to travel with me,” Penny said quietly to avoid drawing in excess attention. “Some pirates decided we were too close to their ship and opened fire.” Steele’s tail flagged in alarm. “Oh no! Is everyone alright?” “Da, they are in a clinic across town.” “Thank goodness!” Steele sighed and relaxed, starting to tap command sinto her pad to ready it for a company wide search of their inventory and their wholesaler’s inventories. “You’ll need a new shuttle within a week or your cash will dry up. I can try to find you another Lada-Class, but nothing that ancient will be in useable condition. Are you okay with a model six hundred? It’s visually similar to the Hoatzin’s ancient three hundred series.” Penny pursed her lips as she thought the offer through, then shook her head. “Nyet… I.. I can’t replace it. It wouldn’t feel right. I’ll get something new.” Penny’s eyes narrowed as she looked Steele in the eye. “New, but sturdy, functional, and utilitarian focused. None of this, sleek, shiny, designer, sobach'ye!” Steele laughed and shook her head. “Please, Penny, I know you! Give me your price range and I’ll find something you’ll enjoy owning.” Penny’s cheeks flushed. She folded her hands in her lap and leaned closer. “I… I can’t afford more than two hundred thousand credits right now.” Steele’s face pinched in on itself as she leaned into her left palm. “Penny, honestly, you need to stop singlehandedly funding half the bloody wildlife preserves in the Arm!” Penny snorted and waved her left hand in dismissal. “I don’t fund half of them, blin! I fund mabey four percent.” “Whatever! It hardly matters!” Steele exploded, jumping to her hooves. “The animals will survive without you spending the returns on your trust fund investments and most of your ad revenue on them.” Penny sighed. “This again? It’s my money, Steele.” Steele bit her lip, stamped a hoof, then sat back down. “Honestly, you’re the worst kind of quintillionaire. You know damn well those ‘charities’ put less than half of each credit into the actual cause! You could save just as many endangered critters if you saved up for a few decades, bought your own planet, and started your own foundation. Then you’d have enough money left over to buy ten brand new shuttles every other month!” Penny shrugged, her T-34’s pauldrons groaning as they moved. “Why would I buy that many shuttles? I’d rather help more animals.” Steele rolled her eyes. “They are animals, Penny!  I made my own species as a fifth grade science project. You don’t need to protect them all.” Penny’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Natural lifeforms are a natural wonder in need of preservation. Many of the most interesting scientific developments come from them. They are important, suka!” Steele closed her eyes and raised her hands. “I know that! But you seem to want to personally protect all of them. The Arm is too big for even someone of your wealth to pull that off.” “Da, but I can do a lot of good.” “I’m just sayin you would do more if you invest better! Don’t spend like a commoner. Seize hold of what you like, use your power and influence. Make a REAL change.” “I’d have to hire a manager, you know I’m bad with business practices. That’s why I’m not papa’s heir, unlike you.” “Don’t bring my dad into this, Penny! This is about you being financially irresponsible.” Penny took a deep breath. “Steele, I have no idea how I would untangle my finances now. I have accounts that are older than you. I have deals that are older than you. I have thousands of accounts and arrangements. I would need an AI and decades to untangle this mess…” Steele’s cheeks puffed out and turned a rather angry shade of yellow. “Then get started this evening!” “Suka blyad! Are you going to sell me a shuttle or lecture me on accounting?” Steele took a deep breath to calm herself. “Those things are related, you know! I can’t give you a shuttle on credit if I know you won’t be good for it. Two hundred small ones won't get you anything like what you want, and will only cover the worst versions of what you need.” Penny blushed sheepishly. “Oh… Well, blin.” Steele closed her eyes. “Would you stop swearing, please?” Penny snorted. “You speak Chernin. You know that’s not swearing.” “You know that everyone else doesn't know what it means and you substitute it for cursing.” The armored woman offered her ex-lover a sheepish smile. “Da, but not swearing is very hard…” “Sure it is,” Steele slumped slightly, shook her head, and pulled a data pad out of her satchel. She tapped a few commands into the portable computer, read the results of her search and sighed. “Penny, there isn’t a utility shuttle in your price range with shields even half as good as your old Lada.” Penny bit her lip. “Ey, I’ll make do.” Steel shook her head slowly. “No. You won’t. You were shot at. By a modern ship. Not some old dusty relic like the Dawn. You need better shields. Pirates don’t just leave a system they can raid. You’ll run into them again when you take your friend home.” Penny pursed her lips. Does she think the pirates are after Pan? Maybe I should be more honest. Penny gently stepped around the table, remaining squatted down to stay at a conversational level. Once she was next to Steele she began to speak quietly. “You have a good point. We do need good shields. Pan’s not the only one I brought with me… Nova Wing tracked our conversations, decided to see why someone kept calling a primitive world, and abducted some people. I’ve got one of their friends onboard… We’re going to try and save them if we can.” Steele blinked, then her eyes widened. “You’re messing with prims? Penny, hon, please tell me you got permission!” “Da, I have video of their nation’s leader giving permission. Both of them have got IDs and everything.” Steele sighed. “Trafficking primitives is a crime. I am required by law to see their IDs before I can sell you a shuttle.” Penny nodded and used her neural interface to send Steele a copy of the Dawn’s crew roster. The Mina’s data pad chirped as the message came in. Steele took one look at the document and sputtered. Her eyes glowed from within as she looked at Rainbow’s ID. There was a reason few Mina kept their natural eyes. Penny knew that expression. Shock, and recognition. Penny smirked. “Look familiar, comrade?” Steele shook her head. “No! Just absurdly sexy. Is that rainbow hair natural?” Penny frowned and shrugged. “I don’t know. But you know what I do know?” Steele looked up from her pad. “What?” “I know that Pan was able to call my ship because he had a Mina bioship’s transceiver. His homeworld is in the K3. A bit out of the woods.” Steele nodded in agreement. “It is. And it wouldn’t be the first time one of our explorers crashed while exploring there. Wow… I don’t suppose I can get coordinates? I’d like to visit.” Penny smirked. “I hope your wives would be okay with that.” Steele rolled her eyes. “Not like that! These people are fascinating. I could make a fortune farming their DNA.” Penny raised an eyebrow. “That’s still sex.” “Technically yes, but my girls are fine with my occasional services for the National Genebank…” Steele trailed off and paused. She turned to look into Penny’s eyes with an odd look on her face. “Penny, you said you had video permission?” Penny nodded. “Da.” “Can I get a copy?” Penny frowned, her stomach tightening with indignation. “To verify these aren’t forged?” Steele nodded firmly. “Yes. I know you love people with fur and helping those in need. I can see you forging IDs for them.” Penny gave her armor the command and a copy of the raw unedited footage of Celestia giving permission was transmitted to Steele’s datapad, along with the most up to date version of the Equestrian translation data. “There. Are we okay now?” Steele waited a moment longer to watch the clip for herself. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief. “Yes. We’re more than okay. Sorry, Penny. I can’t break the law.” Steele tapped away on her datapad as she searched the listings for a shuttle once more. Penny could tell there was something she wasn’t saying just by looking at her. The last time Steele had that look on her face was when there had been a Legri guy in her bed when Penny boarded her ship on a whim. “What are you up too?” Steele kept typing, then stopped, scanned her thumbprint, and signed her pad’s screen. “I am getting you a shuttle. I’ve got one I can take two hundred for. Brand new, utility, good shields…” Penny raised an eyebrow. “I thought there weren't any in my price range.” “There aren’t. But this isn’t about you. This is about protecting people, Penny. People are to me what animals are to you,” she turned her pad around. “Sign here, pay me the two hundred, and I’ll have an Argas shuttle delivered to the Dawn in three days.” Penny sputtered, stumbling backwards far enough to bump into someone at the table behind her. “An Argas! I can’t pay for a billion credit shuttle, cyka!” Steele smirked. “You’re not. I am.” Penny pointed to herself with both hands. “Have you forgot that I’m a civilian? I don’t have a licence to own military ships, Steele!” “I do,” Steele said simply. “I’m buying it. The extra day will be for me to strip out the military grade weapons. At which point I can give you the title.” Penny’s mouth opened and closed several times. “But the cost! You and I both know wealthy people don’t have all of their assets in liquid form. That billion is going to sting hard.” Steele threw back her head and laughed. “Tax write off. Charitable donations are a thing, Penny.” Penny froze, the wheels in her head began to turn. Steele’s lower half resembled an Equestrian. Her reaction on seeing Rainbow’s ID. The fact that the last call made from Pan’s crystal had been to the Dawn… The fact that before she had been given the Dawn as a gift she was often on it with her father. “You know who Rainbow is,” Penny said evenly. Steele tilted her head. “Beg pardon?” “You were that explorer. I know Mina are visiting their homeworld still, because they know. You know who Rainbow is. You know who her friends are. That’s why you want to help.” Steele shook her head. “No need for a conspiracy theory. I want to help because it’s the right thing to do and we both know the Star League will have a hard time tracking down a Nova Wing ship inside of a year.” Penny smiled. “Come on, I know you. You’ve got a stake in this.” Steele shook her head. “I don’t have any stake in this. It’s the right thing to do, and an easy way I can help people in need who can’t get Federal protection because the government can’t enter the K3.” Penny frowned. Maybe I’m wrong… I don’t think I am, but her bullshit excuse is at least a good one. “Okay. If you say so, ” Penny bent down and signed the papers Steele had drawn up, wincing as the money left her account. I hope seventy five thousand is enough for some custom equipment for Rainbow… I’d make it myself but she needs an armorer, not a mechanic. For the first one, at least. Then I copy the design. Heh heh! Steele nodded in satisfaction and finalize the sale. “We’re done here. It will be at your ship in three days. I won't be delivering it, I have to attend to some business. I am already a little late. See, I heard an old friend who kind of hates me needed my help.” Penny nodded and held out her armored hand for Steele to shake. “Thank you, comrade.” Steele smiled brightly at the Chernin’s words. “Is that forgiveness?” Penny smiled. “Ey, a little. Don’t push your luck, you crazy cyka.” The two gave each other a polite smile and headed their mutual ways. Each dead certain the other was going to do something illegal in the near future. Twilight Sparkle - 14th of Faust, 1st year of Harmony 749,560.24 A.H. Formicary, Subhive ruins -- Tustea, Noctae Sector Twilight returned from a black void she couldn’t remember entering. She was on fire, within and without. The flames were invisible, the smoke intangable, the pain was not. She opened her mouth to scream. No sound came out. The world around Twilight was blurry, fuzzy, and dim. Everything was wrong. She had to flee, and yet, she could not move. Blind panic pulled Twilight’s mind in countless directions. As the fear peaked, a truly massive presence gently pushed into her mind. Twilight felt a sharp pinch somewhere. It felt like the back of her neck, but she couldn’t tell precisely where it had come from. The pain faded away with the pinch, but her fear remained. “What’s happening? Where am I?” Her voice sounded off, as if the shape of her mouth had changed. Or she was missing teeth. Twilight felt like she should have blinked as she processed the alien thoughts. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. “Where am I? Who are—” Faint memories, mostly fuzzy but with certain very sharp elements came flooding back to Twilight without the alien’s prompting. “Zuul! Right. Um… Hive mind. Of big, weird, saurian things. With teats for some reason.” Within the halls of Twilight’s mind a hundred million voices laughed in unison. Twilight could see hazy shadows moving near the edges of her vision. She couldn’t turn her head to see them. It didn’t feel like her head was being held in place, she simply couldn’t move. The things at the edge of her vision were manipulating something. It looked oily, like a thick syrup, or thin taffy. Twilight tried to frown. “Why can’t I see you? Why can’t I see anything? It’s all… Dim.” Zuul reached into Twilight’s mind and played back her memories of their first encounter for her. Then it played back its own memories. She could feel the Hive’s own thoughts as the memories unfolded as if they were her own. Twilight saw her pod falling through the sky through thirty eyes. She wasn’t quite used to how those eyes saw things. Blues were sharper, yellows were muted, and she was fairly certain she was also seeing heat along with a visual representation of arcane fields. It made everything look truly alien, but it was still recognisable. It was curious about the falling object some of its drones had spotted. Falling things normally burned to nothing, this had not. It had reached out to try and catch the object, but didn’t want to destroy it. The telekinetic power it drew upon was focused through the drones to try and slow the pod’s fall. It wasn’t quite enough. The pod crashed into the roof of an ancient palace the Hive remembered living in, working in, despising, looting, defending, and ignoring. The decaying timber supports and crumbling clay tiles slowed the pod more, smashing it in several places. The pod continued through a wall, bounced up into the air as it struck hard stone, spun end over end, then slammed hard into the side of an ashen hill. The hive sent a drone to investigate the pod, hoping whatever it was would be recognisable after such a horrible impact. Its fuzzy memories of a dead world indicated it was some sort of outhouse. That couldn’t be right. Then the hatch opened, and Twilight fell out. Twilight did her best to recoil in horror at the alien view of herself as she fell limply from the pod. She was able to very slightly thrash within the confines of whatever she was floating in. “AAA! NO! STOP!” Twilight begged, every fiber left in her being pleading with the alien intelligence to not show her any more. Twilight was drenched in her own blood. Jagged shards of metal from the pod had plunged into her at random points. Her face had been smashed in by the impact. Her hind leg hadn’t been broken, it had been severed. She was covered in her own sick mixed with fuel, oil, and other chemicals from the escape pod’s engines. The mixture was extremely reactive, more so than Twilight remembered even florine being. Chunks of skin and fur slid off her body as the chemical cocktail rapidly dissolved the tissues which held them in place. Twilight slid from the pod, and lay in a heap as her magic sparked around her. Each spark was one of the tiny scraps of magic left in her system doing their best to keep her alive. A survival reflex unicorns had evolved in the very first days of their existence. A certain sign of immediate death from grievous bodily trauma. Twilight’s guts churned as she did her best to accept that she had survived the fall. Yet one detail nagged at her conscious mind even more than the images of her battered, dying, body. “I… I thought you said my brain was exposed?” Twilight paused, taking a deep nervous breath. “I don’t want to… How did I survive that?” Twilight began to panic again. Genuine sympathy flooded down the telepathic link from the Hive to Twilight. The drone moved towards the dying alien. It crawled along on all fours, using its hands to enhance its maneuverability. Instinct compelled it to move, demanding it eat the dying meat before it went bad. The Hive override its decision immediately, wondering if the dying alien could be saved. It picked Twilight up to check for any injuries it couldn’t see with her current angle, and found many more. The pod’s leaking fuel had found its way into her guts through a large cut made by the pod’s safety harness. Time was of the essence. The hive extended it’s mind from the drone to the alien to determine it if could speak. It could, but it did so in sounds mapped to meanings. An interesting, fairly crude and limited system of communication, but also something new. New, and thereby fun. The hive attempted a greeting Twilight didn't respond. The hive mind pushed itself towards her, psionically linking their minds on a deeper level. The sudden connection gave Twilight’s magic just a bit more energy to work with, and the sparks around her body intensified, keeping her stable rather than slowing her demise. The hive spoke with the pony’s words, hoping Twilight was a drone from another intelligence such as itself. A disposable tool which could be used to greet another mind after all these years. Zuul’s half of the conversation was as Twilight remembered it. Twilight's on the other hoof… Twilight wanted to rest her face in her hooves and moan into them so loudly the entire world would vanish into her embarrassed/distressed scream. “I… I just shouted butts for four minutes...minutes! To the tune of a DJ-Pone3 song. I don't even like Vinyl’s music,” Twilight muttered bitterly. Zuul agreed. “So… Uh, I definitely had a concussion! How did you know what I was saying? If my speech centers were that damaged I shouldn't have been capable of even thinking in words.” The hive chuckled. Twilight frowned. “That does sound like me… Uh, question. Sometimes you think of yourself as a her, other times as nothing. What do you prefer?” Twilight’s muscles twitches as they attempted to perk ears. “What may be it?” Anything is more interesting the worrying about how hurt I am right now… Zuul debated with herself for a moment. Letting her theory brew as well as waiting several seconds to feel new minds emerge within her and others die. Her suspicions did indeed hold merit. Twilight wished she could nod. “That is interesting. You could write a paper on that!” “Why is it important for me to know how badly I was hurt? What are you doing to me right now to fix it?” The hive hesitated. Twilight could feel its fears and worries as if they were her own. It didn’t want her to be upset or hate it, but there was only bad news to tell. Twilight’s heart bubbled nervously. The unnatural feeling made her feel even worse. “What… What’s left?” Twilight’s stabilized mind returned to her memories of their first encounter. While she felt those memories she had been shown were genuine, the mare still wanted to be absolutely certain she could trust Zuul. Not that she had much choice. Twilight giggled as part of her memories stood out to her. “I thought you wanted to cuddle me.” A small amount of embarrassment trickled down through the hive into Twilight. Twilight frowned, her heart went out to the poor person. Why is it that every fifth friend I make wants to be romantic with me? Well… At least Zuul’s got stallions available. Maybe there’s a chance? Regardless, at least I won't have to just pretend I don’t notice they like me, like with Rainbow. Still could be pretty awkward. I guess we’ll see. “Yeah…” Twilight sighed. “I’d want one heck of a hug myself. Maybe some cuddles, too.” The hive buzzed with uncertainty. Twilight felt it sigh with fear. Twilight bit her lip. “Okay…” The mare felt the desperate need to change the subject. “What are you doing to fix me?” To Twilight’s amazement, Zull felt relieved that she had changed the subject. Twilight wanted to get up and run, but she couldn’t. Instead she lay there, silent, as the minutes ticked by. The hive panicked too, not wanting Twilight to injure herself by suddenly flooding its grafts with adrenaline they could not yet handle. Twilight paused. “Wait… Is this some kind of necromancy?” “Sure.” Twilight felt Zuul root around in her mind, sticking to one particular area .Several moments passed before Zuul stopped. Then, after the panic had passed, she spoke again. “Is… Is there anything else? That you’re doing, I mean.” Twilight remained quiet as she did her best to process what was happening to her. Half an hour flew by in silence, during which Zuul created a new section of functional spinal column substitute, and was able to successfully graft it to what remained of Twilight’s original skeleton. With the new section in place, a pelvis could be installed to begin work on legs. The Hive paused as an important thought occurred to her. What if Twilight didn’t want to be just like she had been? What if she wanted to be different? Twilight’s currently cornialess eyes sparkled. “I could be taller?” Flashes of memories flooded Twilight as Zuul showed her memories of various creatures it had made. Attempts to rebuild an ecosystem by an intelligent mind which knew nothing about ecosystems. It had once made many things, great, small, specialized, and general purpose. There had also been a faze where it had made everything extra fluffy for no adequate explained reason. Twilight’s mind whirled as she came up with a plan. “Could you do more than looks? Could we make me more powerful?” The image of Twilight easily able to crush the pirates and take her friends back burned bright and hot within her mind. Zuul took immediate notice. That doesn't sound good… “What are those?” Twilight thought about it. “If I don’t do that, you’d need to send one of those special drones into space to help me. Would that be a problem?” Twilight felt a few tingles of fear leak through their shared connection. “I understand… In fiction hive minds are most always evil all devouring swarms.” Twilight hummed as she mulled the idea over for a while. She’d often wondered what it would be like to have a friend always at hoof but had always come to the same conclusion. “How would I have privacy, if I let you do that?” she said at last. It was an acceptable price to pay for the power to save her friends. If only because it would let Twilight have drones of her own. “And how many drones would I be able to take with me?” Twilight laughed. “Hey, six like, eight meter tall dino-sharks isn’t anything to sneeze at.” Twilight sighed. “Imaginations are powerful things, aren’t they?” A wave of agreement washed over Twilight as Zuul chuckled. Twilight wished she could roll her eyes. “Go ahead and give me that organ. As for the rest of my body, I have a plan. Are you still reading my mind?” Twilight frowned. “But… I’m talking?” Twilight decided to ignore how injured she had to be at the moment. “Yes. Right now I am actively thinking back to a very special book, Anatomy of an Alicorn. I know it cover to cover, reference image to reference image. Can you see it?” The hive was quiet  for several long moments. Twilight sighed. While time was of the essence, so was power. If she had to find a way back to Equestria to get Luna, the trail would grow even colder. But if she became an unstoppable warrior herself, that might take less time. Especially since they would need to work out how to make an FTL drive from scratch. Or at least, find a way to radio a distress signal. No… We won't go back to Equestria without them. I will scour the stars till I find all of my friends, or until they are avenged. “Good enough. Let’s go for that… And I will talk you through some modifications I might like. Can we make it more durable without making it look ugly?” The hivemind cracked its metaphysical neck.