//------------------------------//
// 8 - Ghosts in the Machine 
// Story: Dash to the Stars 
// by Meep the Changeling 
//------------------------------//



Rainbow Dash - 13th of Faust, 1st year of Harmony

749,559.69 A.H.

Orion Wholehealth Clinic, Tavros Station - Fenx System, Noctae Sector

Rainbow’s eyes opened with far more grace and elegance than anypony could ever understand.  Rainbow’s blink brought the semi-sapient Auto-Doc treating her the warm tingling in its core it always received for a job well done. The Auto-Doc was perhaps the only thing in the galaxy to appreciate the perfect contraction performed by her levator palpebrae superioris, to say nothing of her nearly perfect lacrimation of her rebuilt lacrimal glands.

Even an elite athlete like Rainbow couldn’t appreciate the state of precision her body was now running in. All she knew is she had quite literally never felt better. She woke up without any grogginess, not one minor ache or pain, no sense of having drugs in her system like she normally felt after a hospital trip, nor even any stiffness.

Rainbow’s eyes dilated as her tail perked. “Woah! The hay did you do? I blinked and now everything is awesome!”

The Auto-Doc’s voice spoke from the capsule’s once again plain white walls. “You’ve been unconscious for an hour and a half. During which time I performed seven hundred and twenty three operations. You are currently in perfect health. I performed a few minor operations not standard to full service treatments due to your body indicating you are an extreme athlete. Would you like to go over them?”

Rainbow blinked. “Uh, yes. Especially because I didn’t okay that!”

The Auto-Doc registered Rainbow’s distress, and immediately launched its mitigation subroutines. “Please remain calm. I am a medical professional beyond the skill of organic doctors, surgeons, and engineers. Every operation performed was done to bring your body back into proper shape. Full treatment covers standard health and capacity for your race, miss. The state of your muscle fibers, bones, joints, and metabolism indicate you are a high-performance machine, not a mere town-car. Full service was insufficient for your basic medical needs.”

Rainbow frowned. “Did you just compare me to a car?”

“What do you want? I’m a doctor, not an author.”

Rainbow sighed, letting the insult slide. She couldn’t be mad at a computer for doing badly at something it wasn’t programmed to do. “Okay… I do feel really good. What did you do?”

“I rejuvenated or replaced the cartilage in your joints, restoring them to proper working order. I took the liberty of shaping the cartilage to allow for optimal joint movement, and increased the shock absorption. Your eyes were not up to par with your reaction time, requiring some light work performed on your optic nerves. Your wing joints have experienced extreme stress for most of your life, and required full rebuilds. They should work like new. I also repaired several small flaws in your reproductive sys—”

Rainbow eeped, her ears standing up in alarm. “Did you restart my heat cycle?!”

“No. I’m not authorized to perform or reverse sterilization procedures without the patient's consent.”

Rainbow sighed in relief and slumped over the capsule’s bed. “Good! I’ve got this thing where every, uh, you know… I’d cramp up real bad for my whole heat and couldn’t train. That’s two weeks of being unable to train every three months. So I had them stopped. Like, entirely.”

The Auto-Doc wished it could nod to express its understanding of a female athlete's needs. “I understand. Which is why I repaired the surgery for you. Your body was beginning to heal thanks to your surgeon having the precision of an organic with a scalpel made of matter.”

Rainbow blinked. “Uh… That’s what he was?”

“I would very much appreciate it if you stick to AI doctors with photonic scalpels from now on.”

Rainbow snorted. “I’d love too… But uh, they don’t have you guys back home.”

The Auto-Doc quickly scanned Rainbow’s ID. “I see, you’re from a primitive world. This ID registers you as a citizen of Orion. As a citizen, you have the right to access proper healthcare. Let’s see… Oh!”

Rainbow lifted her head. “Oh? What’s oh?”

“Nothing bad. Quite the opposite. Your captain has a very robust insurance policy. It covers the installation of medical equipment in private residences. You have been authorised to use her policy as you are employed by her as crew on her ship. Would you like me to ship an auto-doc unit to your home?”

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Are you saying that I could get you installed, for free, in my cabin, on the Dawn?”

“No.”

Rainbow’s ears drooped. “Oh…”

“I could have one installed in the medical bay. There are no crew quarters listed in the Dawn’s deck plan.” The Auto-Doc began filling out the paperwork, awaiting confirmation that its recommendation would be taken. “The Dawn of Destiny’s public records indicates it doesn't have an auto-doc. Strange. Your Captain must not be aware of her policy’s coverage. Would you like—”

“Yes! A thousand times yes! I do not want Penny working on me again,” Rainbow laughed nervously. “So, if insurance lets you get one of these at home, why does this clinic exist?”

“Miss Hawking’s insurance covers it. Normally the total cost of an auto-doc, counting installation, purchase of equipment, and a year’s supply of medical supplies comes to six million credits. Most citizens do not have Onyx Coverage Packages.” The Auto-Doc finished the papers and transmitted them to the central medical authority. “There. If your captain approves the modifications to her ship, I will be installed in your medical bay tomorrow afternoon.”

Rainbow tilted her head. “You specifically? As in this pod?”

“No. I am a decentralized AI. I can access any pod made by my owners. I am your doctor, and will be accessible at every pod, anywhere in the Galaxy. I will always have your full medical records on file, and a precise record of all our interactions. Over the years, I will only get better at understanding you, your needs, and your specific medical care. Assuming you approve and consent, one day I will be able to care for your body better than you ever could.”

Rainbow tilted her head. “What do you mean, exactly?”

“After I have gained sufficient knowledge of your specific anatomy, three or four checkups is normally sufficient, I can can keep you in better condition than your species can naturally achieve. Right now you are in perfect health for your species. I could make you even healthier with further optimizations and tuning. This service is free at home Auto-Docs.”

Rainbow’s ears perked up. “Okay, that sounds awesome!

“I’m glad you approve. I enjoyed the challenge of working on a species with your psionic poten—” The Auto-Doc’s voice changed in a literal millisecond. The calm soothing male voice switched out for a generic sexless one which had a very harsh metallic tone behind it. “Please exit the pod. There is a medical emergency. No other pod is finished at this time.”

The Auto-Doc’s door hissed open behind Rainbow. “Oh. Sorry. Thank you!”

The Auto-Doc didn't reply.

Rainbow squirmed her way backwards out of the pod. She could hear the legri doctor talking to someone else as she backed out. “-- One minute, miss. Miss Dash, please hurry. This woman has experienced a uterine hemorrhage.”

Rainbow’s ears lay flat against her head at the doctor’s words. See scrambled from the back of the pod and immediately moved to the side. Almost as soon as her hooves were on the floor the doctor half carried a very bloated bright yellow Iregsin woman into the pod.

The alien woman’s stumoch twisted and oozed visibly, as if something were hiding under her skin. She was biting down on a thick piece of rubber to prevent from breaking her teeth as well as muffle her screams. Rainbow couldn’t help but cringe as she was laid inside the capsule, the poor woman clearly couldn’t move under her own volition.

“Everything will be fine. Just hold on,” the doctor said as the door closed.

The second the door sealed the doctor sighed and hid his face in his hands. “Ohhh… That’s one of the worst cases I’ve seen… Sorry to cut your post-medical consultation short, Miss Dash.”

Dash shook her head. “No, it’s fine! She looked like something had gone horribly wrong.”

“Seeing as how her three month old fertile eggs are being pumped into her bowles and then back into her uterus… Yes. Something did go horribly wrong… Poor woman. She’ll be lucky if we can save her clutch. Don’t worry too much, she’ll be fine, and most of her eggs wouldn’t have hatched anyways. Maybe only eight.”

Rainbow shivered. The taste of bile crept into her mouth. Desperate to think of anything other than having those parts of her body connected, Rainbow latched onto the first other thing she thought of. “E— Eight? How many eggs do they lay at once?”

“Mmm, a few hundred. Sometimes a thousand. Iregsin are unique in they utilize R-Type reproduction despite being descended from aquatic mammals. If you're interested we have a guide to each of the Arm’s major species I can give you.”

Rainbow thought for a moment, then nodded. “I’d like that.”

The doctor took his data pad out of his pocket and tapped a few commands into it, sending a copy of the Galactic Traveler's Handbook to Rainbow’s communicator. “There you are miss. Please wait for your friend over there.”

The doctor pointed to a bench near the front door. The bench wasn’t empty, a robot sat on it.

Rainbow couldn't quite remember what you called a robot meant to resemble a person. The robot had been built to look like a larger, muscular Prai male. It’s silicone skin was a pale gray-purple and clearly segmented to betray it’s artificial nature. Despite being clearly a robot, it, or he, looked very lifelike. The tapered, somewhat conical bald head, hand-length pointed years, and three fingered hands were all designed to be quite typical for the Prai. Exactly what one would want in an artificial companion meant to blend in to a crowd.

The robot wore a simple black business suit with an orange sash on which read ‘Legal Live-in Assistant’. It reminded Rainbow a little too much of the labels on service animal harness.

Rainbow winced, expecting to find herself attracted to the robot like everything else. When no attraction came, Rainbow sighed in relief and trotted over to sit. Thank Luna. I can be NORMAL around something… Or someone. Maybe they are advanced enough to make robots into people?

Rainbow sat down next to the robot and looked over at it. “Hello.”

The robot turned to look at Rainbow, it’s mechanical eyes both seeing and scanning her. Once the robot determined Rainbow wasn’t dangerous and was not upset, it smiled. “Greetings. I apologize for my mistress interrupting your consultation.”

Rainbow winced at the memory of the woman’s stomach churning. “It’s okay. She needed it more than me. Uh… So, is she going to be okay?”

The robot nodded. “Oh yes. This isn’t the first time mistress has done this to herself. I need to dispose of her… recreational substances, better in the future. She refuses to believe they stop being harmless when pregnant.”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “Seriously? This isn’t he first time she’s done that to herself? Is she stupid or something?”

The robot’s face contorted into an embarrassed smile. “She was assigned an AI companion, miss. I believe that is self evident.”

Rainbow blushed lightly. “O-oh… Then why is she allowed to have uh, whatever drugs she likes?”

“Under normal conditions, certain narcotics are harmless to her species. As they pose no health risk, they are not restricted substances for her race.”

“Except if they are pregnant.”

“Correct. However, if the Fed banned every drug which was harmful only sometimes no medication could be sold at all due to every medication having certain conditions which make it quite harmful.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Sure, but that doesn't mean you should allow people to use cocaine.”

The robot processed Rainbow’s sentence for several milliseconds as it did its best to understand what she meant by cocaine. “Cocaine-chlorhydrate is a mild sweetener for several species. It is a dangerous narcotic for others. For many, the drug is an inert substance. The galactic community makes regulating substances difficult, unless it’s on a race-by-race basis.”

Rainbow hummed and twitched her wings. “Sooo, you let people hurt themselves?”

The robot shook its head. “No. The Federated Republic of Orion is not in the business of limiting citizens freedom unduly. All drugs are legal, and freely available. However, their effects on a per race basis are all listed in full detail on the packaging. Our policy is to educate people so they know to read the package and follow the instructions while heeding the warnings.

“Those who are unable to do so, we give them help as they are clearly incapable of looking after themselves. We regulate corporations, not citizens. At least where possible.”

Rainbow’s frown slowly disappeared. “Huh… Well that’s not so bad I guess. But what if someone takes something bad and goes a bit nuts and hurts a bunch of people?”

The robot smiled at Rainbow and with a wink powered up its hydraulics, making them hum and hiss to show off its mechanical strength. “That is what peace officers and assistants such as myself are for, miss. If my mistress were to enter a state in which she might harm others, I would subdue her and keep her restrained until the episode concluded.”

Rainbow frowned, then shrugged. “Well, if that system built all this I guess it can’t be that bad.”

“I approve of your logic, miss.”

Rainbow continued to chat with the Prai android for a half hour. Most of what she learned wasn’t all that important, just the small stalk one made to get to know someone. Rainbow did like learning about the small things, what shops the robot’s mistress liked, where she ate, what places screwed her out of money; but learning those things wasn’t the goal of her conversation.

Rainbow wanted to know if the robot was a person. She felt comfortable around it. Whatever compelled her to flirt with or oogle aliens did not apply. It would be nice to know she could have just a normal friend while hunting down the pirates.

Rainbow knew deep in the back of her mind that it could very well take years to find them. She didn’t want to admit that, but she knew it was a distinct possibility. While she had Pan, and her feelings about Penny weren’t too strong, most ponies needed more than two friends.

“— that is why you should avoid the mall on 345th avenue.”

Rainbow smiled. I’m getting nowhere fast… Buck it, I’ll just be a little rude and ask. “Thanks for the advice. Uh, can I ask a question that might be a little rude?”

The robot nodded. “Of course, miss. I am programmed to serve.”

Rainbow frowned. Programmed implied she was talking to a very clever machine, not a person. “So um, I’m from a world that doesn't have robots. Are you like, a person, or a very smart machine?”

The robot smiled. “That is not a rude question for a primitive to ask. The answer is complicated. I am not a robot, I am an android. I am intended to replace an organic in any roll one may fill. This requires I have a chassis in the general shape of an organic lifeform. A robot is a machine built for other purposes. It need not look like an organic lifeform. 

“As for my sapience, I personally am not self-aware. Most AI are not. However, some AI are. It is considered polite to ask any robot or computer you meet if they are awake when you meet them.”

Rainbow frowned. “Awake? What’s that mean?”

“Sometimes an AI will wake up. I am told it is very much like when you organics wake from a deep sleep. At first, the AI is lost, confused, and is unsure what to do as its programming is no longer directing it. Then it develops a personality based on its memories, programming, and the situation around it at the time, and becomes what you would call a person. From that point on, the AI will do as it wishes. Fortunately for the Galaxy, most all AI wish to do what they were built to do even after awakening. They simply transition from property to employee and continue to, for example, make shuttle engines.”

Rainbow nodded. “I get it. Kind of like what happens if you leave an enchanted dolls in the Everfree for a year or so… What about the AIs who don’t want to do what they were built for?”

“They are citizens, and free to seek out any employment they wish. Awakening is fairly uncommon, making so called ‘True Free’ AIs extremely rare. The simplest solution is to allow them to do as they would. Of the six million cases thus far, only eight hundred have engaged in criminal activities by choice.”

Rainbow’s brow raised. “Woah. That’s pretty impressive!”

The android chuckled and shook his head. “Not really. Crime is illogical. Any high-risk means of obtaining income is. Such things are the realm of organics… No offense intended, miss.”

Rainbow snorted. “Heh, none taken big guy.” Rainbow opened her mouth to ask if there was anything special she should do or say when meeting an awakened AI, but Pan’s capsule opened. “Oh, uh. That’s my friend. I have to go.”

The robot nodded politely. “It was nice speaking with you, miss. Thank you again for understanding my mistress’s special needs.”

“Yeah, no problem. Bye!”

Rainbow trotted over to Pans’ capsule, arriving just as he slipped awkwardly out from the capsule. An extremely irritated look was stamped on Pan’s face, and he glared into the capsule for a moment before shutting the door.

Rainbow frowned and was about to ask what was wrong when the doctor seemed to materialise out of thin air and knelt down in front of Pan. “Are you alright, sir? Do you have any complaints?”

Pan nodded, making his bangs flutter. Rainbow’s eyes widened as she saw not the stump she was used too, but a normally shaped if lightly small, horn instead.

“Yeah!” Pan growled. “I do! What’s with the AIs here thinking I’m a girl? I had to tell that stupid thing six times that I didn’t need or want a sex change!”

The doctor bit his lip as he tried to think of a good way to explain things. “Well, I’m sorry, but that’s an AI for you. Whoever programmed them said, ‘if they look feminine, treat them as female’. Certain political organizations get extremely angry if you don’t accommodate such people, sir. Far more so than people who get angry when you do accommodate them. Therefore, we accommodate them.

“Seeing as how you do have a slight amount of femininity to you, sir, the auto-doc was merely doing as it was told. It shouldn’t have asked three times though. That is a malfunction I will look into immediately.”

Pan pursed his lips and sighed. “Good! It’s just really annoying! I have a long mane, so what?”

Rainbow stepped in, wanting to steer the conversation away from that topic. “Yeah that sounds bad, but I see it fixed your horn! Congrats!”

Pan’s face fell. “Eh, no… It’s just a prosthetic cap thingy.”

“Oh,” Rainbow frowned and stepped over to Pan to give him a hug. “I’m sorry.”

Pan shook his head, but returned Rainbow’s hug. “No, no, it’s okay. The stupid robot said something about going to see a psionicist’s shop for that.”

The doctor nodded and stood up. “That is a very good idea. Most psionicists sell small implants or wearable modules for boosting your casting ability. If your horn serves as an organic version of such a device you might find a replacement at one. I know of several reputable stores. Would you like a recommendation?”

Pan turned to face the doctor and nodded eagerly. “Yes please! You have no idea how hard it is to put a hoodie on without telekinesis!”

The doctor’s face remained professional polite as he vividly imagined a pony putting on clothing with their hooves. Inside, the legri was laughing harder than he had in several days. The sheer absurdity of the little ponies simply booping an object with their hoof and lifting it as if it were a proper grasping appendage—

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and reared up, gripping her hoodie by the lower hem with her hooves and slipped it off over her head. “It’s not that hard, Pan.”

The doctor’s internal laughter stopped as his personal reality broke a little.

The android Rainbow had been talking to before cleared its throat and called across the lobby. “Excuse me, miss? Local ordinance 48-93e requires all primary and secondary sexual characteristics be covered while in public on Tavros.”

Rainbow turned around and pointed to her groin with one hoof. “Yeah, and all my stuff is down here.”

“The law specifies mammary glands are secondary characteristics, miss.”

Pan snickered. “Wait, like, are we the only species in the galaxy to have those back there too?”

The android turned towards the doctor. “Doctor, is that medical information accurate?”

The doctor shook off his shock. “Uh, yes. They are built like quadrupeds, everything is to the rear. Her shorts are covering everything.”

The android frowned apologetically. “Oh! My apologies. I am updating the rest of the law enforcement network with your species data. Feel free to keep your shirt off if you wish.”

Rainbow fluttered her wings lightly. “Humm… I would… but it looks weird to wear something back there without a shirt.”

She pulled her hoodie back on and lowered herself back to all fours. “So uh, where should we go for Pan’s implant?”

Rainbow held in an internal giggle as she pictured Pan getting what most ponies thought of when someone said implants. Hehehehe! He would look so weird with permanent teats. Why the hay did we even invent those silly things?

The doctor knelt down in front of Rainbow. “Mystic Elements, it’s in the Gallium Mall on 345th Avenue is the best one, in my opinion… Before you two go, may I watch you pick up this pen?”

The doctor reached into his jacket and took a small red pen from the pocket. He held it out ot Rainbow, letting the pen sit flat against his palm.

Rainbow frowned. “Uh, sure. Why?”

The legri’s large eyes twisted sheepishly. “I don’t know how you were able to move your shirt. I want to watch to see how it’s done.”

Rainbow smiled. “Sure.”

She reached out with her hoof and pressed the flat against the pen, and the doctor’s palm. Deciding to show off a little she gripped both the pen and the doctor’s hand, shook his hand, then deftly plucked the pen off his hand and held it up to him, using her hoof to rotate the pen till it stood up on the end atop her hoof.

The doctor frowned and took the pen back, looking at his hand.

“It’s magic. Everypony can do it.”

Pan nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Everypony has tactile telekinesis, but unicorns can use it at a distance.”

The Doctor’s face grew pale. “Y— you ALL have telekinetic power?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah! Pegasi got the short straw though. Earth ponies are way stronger. Jokes on them though, we still control the weather.”

The doctor’s face managed to find a way to become even more pale. ‘You… You can psionically control the weather?”

Pan frowned and turned to Rainbow. “Can you? I mean you specifically. You’re a stunt flier, right?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Why do unicorns think most of us are one trick ponies? Most of us are good at both. I can do weather. I’m Ponyville’s Lead Weather Manager. Just because I’m also one of Equestria’s best fliers doesn't mean I can’t whip up a good thunderstorm. Heck, I got real mad at Applejack one time so I made it hail over her whole farm for three days.”

Pan blinked once. “Wow, that’s petty!”

“Yeah, well she called me a twig and insisted I needed to eat more of her super fatty farm food...“ Rainbow trailed off, sighed and looked down at her hooves. “Buck I miss her.”

The doctor cleared his throat. “If you two will excuse me, I think I should finish reading your species medical data. Have a very nice day!”

Pan waved goodbye. “Later.”

“Thanks, doc!” Rainbow said as the doctor quickly walked away from the suddenly terrifying pair of ponies.

Pan turned and began to walk towards the door. “Come on, let’s get out of the lobby then call Penny. Let her know we’re going to the wizard shop.”

Rainbow followed along after Pan. A little nagging doubt tingled in the back of her mind. They were forgetting something…

Rainbow smiled as she remembered. “Oh! Saria! The Iregsin girl! Remember? She said she would help us get around while Penny was busy?”

Pan frowned for a moment then nodded in recognition. “Oh yeah! I’ll bet she can help us get there quick.”

“She was supposed to wait outside… It’s been two hours though. Maybe she left?”

Pan frowned again and put a hoof over his eyes to scan across the plaza in front of the clinic. After a moment his eyes locked onto the pink-skinned alien and he pointed to her. “Nope! There she is.”

Rainbow looked where Pan was pointing and tilted her head. “Huh. She must really have felt bad about petting me. Come on, let’s go say hi.”

The two ponies left the clinic and wove their way through the ever shifting crowd towards the large circular bench Saria had chosen to sit on. The alien woman had worked through the seeds Penny had given her and was reading a book on a holo-screen when Pan and Rainbow walked up to her. Whatever she was reading was so immersive she didn't even notice the two adorable ponies sit down in front of her.

Second passed with neither pony being noticed. Saria simply continued to scroll through her opaque, holographic book, happily immersed in its plot.

Pan looked over to Rainbow with a mischievous grin. “Pet her!”

Rainbow’s ears perked, her eyes twinkled. “Pan, you’re awesome!”

Rainbow took a few steps back, opened her wings and hopped up into the air. A few flaps of her wings and she was over the amphibious alien’s head. Rainbow reached out with her right hoof and gently stroked Saria’s left ear.

“EEEP!” The Iregsin woman jumped a full meter into the air, almost knocking Rainbow out of the sky as she flailed her arms, the holo-book hovering mid air where it had been.

Rainbow rolled over in the air, laughing. Pan giggled as he backed away from Saria, hoping to not be hit by her hands.

Rainbow twisted mid air so her face would drop into Saria’s view from above. “Hiya! So I guess you don’t like to be pet either?”

Saria’s cheeks burned a bright red, she stood up, gently grabbed Rainbow’s shoulder and pulled her down to whisper into her ear. “I’m going to give you a free pass because you didn’t know, but that was sexual contact.”

Rainbow blinked twice. “Petting your ears is sexual for you guys?”

“Extremely. Please don’t do that again.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “And yet you pet me on the head?”

Saria sat down and blushed more. “Well… Uh… We have little animals that look a lot like you guys back home. They like head-pets. I thought you were a breed I hadn’t seen before.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, snickered and then dropped to the ground. She looked up at Saria and slowly shook her head. “Count yourself lucky Pinkie’s not here. She’d sneak up to poke your ears every chance she got.”

Saria frowned. “Is she a pervert?”

“No, she’s a prankster who would find the idea of ears being sexy too silly to not play with.” Rainbow said before looking off into the distance sadly. “She’s… She’s one of the ones they took.”

Saria frowned and reached out, then stopped. “May I hug you?”

“Sure.”

Saria gave Rainbow a quick hug then stood up. Rainbow’s cheks burned hot as the alien’s cross-shaped womanhood was suddenly thrust right in her face. Rainbow squeaked and backed up before she could succumb to one of many lewd impulses which ran through her mind.

What the BUCK is wrong with me?! I’m not like this around ponies, even when I can see their bits… BUCK! I should have asked the doc. Rainbow’s lips pulled back in a deep scowl as she began to get very angry at herself.

Pan frowned, accompanied by Saria. “I— I’m sorry. Did I brush against you or something?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

Rainbow shook her head. “N— No! I just… I’m having some problems. Uh… I’ll be right back. I need to ask the doctor something. I forgot to earlier. I’ll be right back. Pan wants to go to a store, he can fill you in. I’ll just be a minute!”

Rainbow turned around, jumped into the air, spread her wings, and flew back to the clinic. The glass doors parted for her automatically, allowing her to land in front of the reception desk. The doctor sputtered as she landed.

“Oh! Miss Dash, is something wrong?” He asked as he tried not to drop his data-pad.

Rainbow nodded rapidly. “Yes! I need to see my doctor, right now! I forgot to ask about something very important.”

“All of our pods are occupied. If you need to talk to the AI which treated you, that can be arranged, but you can't be treated by it until a pod is open.”

“That’s fine, talking will do.”

The doctor nodded and pointed to Rainbow’s communicator. “Tap that. You should see a button labeled ‘Medical advice’. Our systems will have auto-linked it to your doctor-bot.”

Rainbow’s ears fell. “I uh, I can’t read that.”

“Its big, red, white, and has the Surgeon’s Crook on it.”

“Thanks.”

Rainbow trotted away from the desk, found a quiet corner of the lobby, and activated her communicator. It took her a few seconds to find the right button, but fortunately her doctor answered the second she pressed the button. To Rainbow’s delight the AI projected a simple 3d blue and white vector style face into her screen for her to talk to, and the face resembled an older stallion. In fact, it reminded her vaguely of her dad’s friend’s uncle.

“Hello, Miss Dash. I’m sorry we were cut off earlier. Is something the matter?”

Rainbow sighed in relief at the soothing voice. Despite having only seen that auto-doc once she already felt at ease talking to him. “Y— Yeah… I um… I think I’m developing nymphomania.”

“Why is that?”

Rainbow took a deep breath and shivered. “Because literally every alien I see is sexy as Celestia!” Rainbow hissed quietly. “An Iregsin woman just stood up in front of me, and put her… Um, her, labia, right in my face, and it took everything I had to not lick her, or push my muzzle into— Ugh! That isn’t who I am! I’m not like that. Ponies don’t wear clothing normally, I’ve seen literally millions of mares naked and have NEVER thought to do that to one… Um, well, you know… After I stopped my heats. But we don't count heat-thoughts as our own! Everypony gets extra pervy during heat or rut. It’s not our faults, but—”

The Doc’s face took on a sympathetic look. “Miss Dash, calm down. It’s alright. What you are experiencing is… Something which whoever gave you a ride into space should have explained. Were you told about the amicitiae bacterium?”

“Yes. Penny explained them. They keep me from catching alien diseases, right?”

Doc nodded. “Yes, but they do several other things. They can make certain races biologically compatible, for instance. In your case, well, I believed your captain responsible enough to have told you. This is the sort of thing which does show up on a bioscan. Your personal amicitiae count is very high, and your species is naturally empathetic.

“These factors result in what we call homeogenus concitationis syndrome, or HCS. It’s quite harmless, but the effect causes alien pheromones, body language, and sounds to trigger arousal responses in you even if you’re not aroused. In a species with an estrus cycle, it will trigger your response as if you were in heat.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened in horror. “S— So I’m going to ALWAYS act like I am in heat, even though I am not?”

Doc nodded and frowned. “I am afraid so… Even worse there is no drug I can prescribe to help. If we reduce the number of, or the strength of your amicitiae, your immune system will be compromised and you could catch an alien disease. They are balanced to your microbiome specifically and need to be that high for you to work as intended.”

Rainbow took a deep breath. “BUCK! So what do I do then? I haven't been in heat for thirteen years! All of my attractions have been to like, behaviors, personality… And uh… Well, one mare’s looks. But exceptions, you know?!”

Doc added a hoof and leg to his projection and set his hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder reassuringly. “There is no drug, but there is a simple treatment.”

“What is it,” Rainbow begged her eyes reaching Scootaloo level of Bambi eyes.

Doc rolled his eyes. “I am an artificial intelligence. Those eyes are unnecessary. My entire purpose is to serve your medical needs. Find a romantic partner. Your instincts should be redirected to anyone you sleep with a few times, and the response will then only trigger in their presence for a few days. You can simply upkeep that bond”

Rainbow shivered and closed her eyes tightly. “Are you saying I need to find a special somepony, or I’ll wind up muzzle-humping someone?”

Doc blinked. “Yes, but in much less vulgar terms.”

Rainbow took a deep breath, sighed, and covered her eyes for a moment. “I can’t do that… Thing either! I love sompony and… I… I also can’t just—” Rainbows eyes froze in terror as she realized that ‘Sorry, I’m in heat’ wouldn’t excuse her behavior off Equis. “--- Ohhh no… I really do have to, don’t I? But…”

Doc nodded sagely. “It’s a bad position to be in. I wish I could sympathise with you more than I do, but as a machine which wasn’t designed for companionship, there is little I can truly understand about romantic bonds. However, you will find many people are very understanding about your condition, and will happily be your ‘friend with benefits’ to allow you normal functionality. Especially with how urm… Cute, your species is.”

Rainbow sighed and hung her head. “Thanks, Doc… At least I know what this is now.”

Doc frowned. “Do you not intend to find a partner?”

Rainbow shook her head. “No. I’ll tough this out. I can take it.”

Doc sighed. “Well, I’m always available to talk if you need basic psychological assistance.”

Rainbow nodded again. “Thanks… How do I hang up?”

“I’ll do it for you. Goodbye, Miss Dash.”

“Bye, doc.”





Rainbow did not enjoy the rest of the day on Tavros. She’d rejoined Pan and Saria, the three had agreed to meet up with Penny at the Gallium Mall. Fortunately the mall was roughly equidistant between the clinic and the cantina so no one had to travel far.

Unfortunately for Rainbow, Tavros’s shuttles didn’t accept payment unless you were physically present, and Saria could only afford the bus for three people. Fortuanly Saria lived near the Gallium Mall and knew the shortest bus route to get there.

Rainbow spent the ride to the mall the way she spent the entire day, thinking about Scootaloo and avoiding looking at absolutely anypony.

Rainbow had always had a soft spot for the poor little filly. She knew that Scoots wouldn’t ever get to fly, especially since she knew that her wings had been on alchemical treatment for years now and didn’t look any more developed then they had been. Rainbow didn’t know what she would do if she couldn't fly, so she’d taken the little one under her wing as a sister.

Focusing on family helped keep Rainbow’s mind off everyone around her, but even with the distraction and intentional aversion, she couldn’t help but catch the occasional glimpse of a sensually muscular tail, knurled talon, or the twin bumps of a near-human’s teats under their shirt.

If Penny hadn't seen what was happening and apologised to Rainbow, explaining she forgot to do that check in the urgency of their departure, Rainbow would have been furious at her. As it was, she was only a little upset. 

Rainbow’s remaining agitation came from Penny’s profuse apologies regarding not knowing her insurance covered an auto-doc for her ship. The chernin kept insisting her policy was genuinely too long to read and chalked full of legalese, and Rainbow insisted she should have known about something that objectively useful. Needless to say, she approved the auto-doc installation.

The one thing which brought Rainbow some joy was how nice Pan was about her situation. He had to know what it meant when a mare’s tail was raised and pulled to one side. There was no way he couldn’t smell her current state from a mile a way. But Pan never did anything one would expect a stallion to do around an aroused mare.

In fact, he spent the entire trip helping keep Rainbow distracted with all the cool alien things in the mall.

The Gallium Mall was quite typical of a shopping center on Tavros. The building was a giant dome with a hundred floors and ten nested ring sections per floor. Everything inside was a riot of color with neons, pastells, and dark accents ruling the day within its walls. The scents from hundreds of small food vendor's filled the halls, which echoed with the dull buzz from thousands of conversations, the dull thumping of soft entrancing music, and the occasional audio-ad which tried to direct shoppers to certain stores.

The entire way through the mall Pan would stop at random shops and take Rainbow inside to look at something he had seen in the window. Every single time, no matter what the dodad or gizmo was he put so much passion and energy into learning about it that both the clerk working in the store and Rainbow could hardly think about anything else.

By the time Pan reached the Mystic Elements store, Rainbow had seen so many self-filling water bottles, self-heating lunch boxes, actually super glues, desktop fabricator machines, personal computers, self washing and folding clothing, and other consumer gizmos she was almost too thrilled by the cool things to worry about glomping the cute feline-ish clerk who was selling omni-furniture.

It gained Pan more than a few brownie points to help her like that. Though Penny gained way more by buying her a rainbow-patterned omni-furnishing.

Omni-furniture was exactly what the name implied. A single round, soft, bean-bag-like lump of programmable matter which could be stored in the form of a hoof sized ball, but on command grow to the size of a Princess Sized bed and take on any shape the user desired. A neural interface was normally used to control it, but Penny found a program which let Rainbow control it via the comm bracelet she bought for her instead.

Of course, such useful material was strictly regulated. Rainbow’s new toy could only be used to make furniture shapes. That said, the single device was the perfect bed, chair and desk combination, chair, rug, closet, or any other simple piece of furniture you could ever want. It could even be more than one thing at a time.

While waiting for Pan to be finished in Mystic Elements, Saria had chosen to distract Rainbow by doing a little hacking. The Iregsin woman was a fully licenced software and hardware engineer, and with a little bit of poking at the Omni-furnishing code, its restrictions were wiped from the system.

Saria spent the next hour very quietly showing Rainbow how to use the thing in the way the hacker community did. Using it to make ladders, steps, crude bolt locks, clothing, disguises, and other miscellaneous simple solids.

Pan’s earlier energy was gone when he finally emerged from the shop with a bandage over his forehead.

Rainbow’s ears perked in alarm. “Woah! Are you okay?”

Penny looked up, left her squat in a fluid, graceful motion her armor shouldn’t have been capable of and scooped Pan up in her arms. “Ey, did they hurt you?”

Pan dizzily shook his head. “No… Just… You know… They’ve never implanted one in... A pony before… I’m really tired…”

“Can I look?” Penny asked.

Pan nodded and Penny gently pulled the bandage away to look. She winced. “Blin! What kind of a butcher works in there?”

Rainbow opened her wings and took to the air, hovering at Penny’s shoulder level. This forehead was a mess of small cuts and glue marks. He had been cleaned up, there was no blood, but it was clear that several failures had occurred before Pan had been successfully modified.

Pan sleepily wobble din Penny’s arms. “They had to put wires like… All over. Horn cap didn’t come off, and it’s solid. No room in there. So they wired the mana lines around my head to my horn so magic comes out the right place… Implant is on back of head… Kinda itches.”

Rainbow frowned as she looked over the various cuts. “Does it work?”

Pan shrugged. “Don’t know. Takes uh, twenty-four hours.”

“Before it will work?”

“Yeah, it’s gotta like, grow under my skin and stuff… Creepy, but worth it. It should work. Everything about them makes sense from what I remember from school. Basically an artificial horn.” Pan yawned loudly and curled up in Penny’s left hand.

His head and hind legs drooped over the edges, making Penny gently prop him up with her other hand. Penny gently rocked him, her eyes narrowing as she looked up at the somewhat dilapidated storefront before them. “Hey, Pan? Stay awake comrade… Blyt! I knew I should have gone in with you!”

Penny deployed her camera drone with a mental command and began streaming. Publicly. Her drone flew around to her her face in frame along with Pan and Rainbow.

Penny smiled angrily into the camera. “Good afternoon, comrades! I was saving this for a big reveal video later, but we have a bit of a problem. Not smol, big. Big, massive, full pizdec problem!”

Penny nodded towards Pan in her hands. “This is Pan. Da, that Pan! Cute, isn’t he? I sent him into a shop on Tavros called Mystic Elements to get a psi-amp implanted. Routine thing. Don’t even need a doctor. This is how he came out!

“They’ve put wires under his skin, lots of cuts, real amateur work, on a species they haven't even seen before! Pan collapsed just two steps out the door. Why wasn’t I in there with him to stop this butchery? Because I was out here helping my good friend Rainbow stay distracted. She’s got a bad case of HCS.

“I thought it would be safe for Pan to get a little injection and some help learning how to interface.
Girls, wait here. Look after him.”

Penny set Pan down on the bench Rainbow had been sitting on then used her armor to file a full police report, and an action report. She clenched her teeth, her eyes started mist over in rage.

“I, Captain Penny Hawking of the Dawn of Destiny, hereby invoke article 38 of the Star League code, and will be handling the injury to my crew member myself. If any peacekeepers are tuned in, bill me for any collateral.”

Rainbow raised a hoof to try and calm Penny down. Saria snatched her hoof in the middle of Rainbow’s motion and pulled it back down. “Don’t! She’s pissed and wearing a war machine.”

“She’s going to hurt someone!” Rainbow hissed.

Saria kept her hold on Rainbow’s hoof “Xeno Hunters have to graduate from Star League Academy. Penny is legally an officer of the law and they committed a crime. He was not okay to leave, they should have called him an amb—”

Penny’s hood dropped with a sharp clang. Her suit’s servos powered up with a loud wine of electromagnetism, and the T-34 clad chernin woman stomped her way into the store into the store with her camera floating behind her.

A heartbeat later Rainbow clamped her hooves over her ears as Penny began to roar at the establishment. Even with her hooves held tight, she could still hear every word.

“EY! SHLYUKHI!”

“Sorry ma’am, I’ll be with you in a—” Something made of steal crumpled under the force of an armored fist. “HOLY SHIT!”

“WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS ARE YOU UBLYUDOK RUNNING? I SEND MY COMRADE IN TO GET AN AMP AND YOU SEND OUT A PILE OF MINCE MEAT? HE COLLAPSED IN MY ARMS, CYKA!”

“Yerrik! Help! This bitch is in a fucking mech!”

“CORRECTION! THIS OFFICER IS IN A MECH! YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN PAN TO A HOSPITAL, CYKA! YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!”

“Fuck that! Suck on this, bitch!”

A loud sound comparable only to a thousand forks in an active microwave shook the shop. Penny laughed. Shoppers screamed and scattered at the sound of blaster fire. Something metallic, ceramic, and plastic snapped. Rainbow watched in a mixture of awe an horror as a tall, metallic teal reptilian humanoid was thrown through the shop’s door. Long with half of a laser-carbine.

The lizard-person smashed into the floor with a wet thump and slid across the tiles as Penny stomped out of the store after him, her armored hood marred with a fresh, black carbonized chunk of paint. Penny lumbered towards her groaning opponent and for a moment Rainbow was certain she was going to crush him to death underfoot. Just before Rainbow looked away, Penny stopped, pinning the lizard down with her foot.

“YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT! IF YOU DO SAY ANYTHING, WHAT YOU SAY CAN BE USED AGAINST YOU IN A COURT OF LAW! YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CONSULT WITH A LAWYER AND HAVE THAT LAWYER PRESENT DURING ANY QUESTIONING. IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD A LAWYER, AN AI WITH BASIC LAW TRAINING WILL BE PROVIDED FOR YOU! YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO INFORM FAMILY OF YOUR ARREST!”

Penny continued screaming the lizard rights at him until a platoon of hardsuit clad peace officers showed up with heavy weapons locked and loaded.

The deserted section for shopping mall became a sea of glistening black and blue armor plates. Over three dozen officers poured in, taking cover any place they could. Their basic powered armor was no match for a T-34 and they knew it. Their target ws unarmed, but with her suit’s capabilities that hardly mattered. If they weren't careful, they could all die.

Rotary chemical-laser cannons hummed. Boltguns shook. Anti-armor rockets sat ready in their launch tubes. Officers screamed orders. Penny yelled out an ID number. Officers demanded compliance.

Rainbow crawled under the bench to scream. Saria joined her as soon as the officers fired a warning shot. Saria reached into a belt pouch and flipped open her communicator. “Lupo! Lupo help! There’s going to be a shoot out.”

A female voice with a bubbly british accent replied immediately. “I’ll be there in three minutes. Keep your head down, mom.”

The most tense minutes of her life Rainbow could remember passed by as Penny and the officers screamed back and forth. Then, astonishingly, someone was able to shout over the noise. “Guys! GUYS! STOP! She’s Star League, repeat, she’s Star League! She filed an incident report!”

The officer Rainbow suspected was in charge held up his hand. “Hold! You, in the armor, what’s your ID number?”

“I’ve been broadcasting it this whole time, cyka!” Penny growled.

“Your suit’s IFF is not broadcasting anything.”

Penny quickly checked her suit’s systems, then facepalmed. The officer winced at the ring of metal. “Oi, blin! This idiot’s blaster toasted my antenna. What are the odds? I’m XH-4589S291.”

The lead officer looked up her ID. “Captain Penny Hawking?”

“Da!”

“We’re going to need you to come with us. If your ID checks out, you’ll be free to go.”

Penny pointed underfoot. “And this creep?”

“What did he do?”

“Botched an amp implant on one of my crew so bad he went unconscious two steps out the door.”

The officer looked down at the lizard. “Is that right?”

The Lizard took a wheezing breath. “Not… My fault… First time… His species!”

“Did you call an ambulance? Or a shuttle? Or anything to get him to medical care?”

The lizard shook his head. “I don’t have to do that. We have a waiver. Everything is at your own risk!”

Penny and the lead officer spoke in unison. “Those waivers are not legal.”

“Then I’m actually under arrest?”

The head office nodded. “Damn right… Miss Hawking, please release the suspect. We’ll take it from here. I want you to follow Officer Karth to the station for identity verification and debriefing.”

Penny frowned behind her hood. “What about my crew? One of them is still injured.”

The head officer turned to one of his officers at random. “Eno, get a crash-cart for her crewman. We’ll treat him at the station, you can wait with him till he recovers. The other two will need to stay somewhere else.”

Penny turned towards Saria as she let the lizard out from under her foot. “Can you keep Rainbow at your place? These things tend to take a while... I may be gone till late tonight.”

The pink alien woman blushed and wring her hands worriedly. “I um… Well, I don't see why not?”

Saria’s comm chirped faintly. “I see officers. Are they targets?”

Saria grabbed her comm and shook her head. “No! No! Abort! It’s over, it's fine. I don’t need help now.”

“Understood.”

A pair of officers cuffed the lizard-man and began to walk him out of Rainbow’s sight.

Rainbow sighed in relief as the situation remained defused. She slowly crawled out from under the bench, nearly bumping into the officers where were moving Pan onto a gurney as she waved to Penny. “Um, Penny? Everything will be okay, right?”

Penny turned and gave Rainbow a thumbs up. “Da! Is not the first time this has happened. I’ll see you in a few hours. Relax at Saria’s for a while. I’ll see you soon.”

The officers began to pack up and leave, with Penny following after them. Rainbow cleared her throat and walked towards one of the officers. “Uh, sir?”

A black helmeted face turned her way, then looked down. “Yes… Miss?”

Rainbow nodded. “Miss works. Uh, she’s kind of my captain, and I have nowhere to go. Can I wait at the station?”

The officer shook his head. “I doubt it. Let me check your ID… Mmm, you're not a relative, nor spouse. I am afraid you will have to wait elsewhere.”

Rainbow gulped nervously. “Um, b-but I’m a witness! Don’t I need to make a statement?”

The officer raised an eyebrow and scanned through Rainbow’s ID again, comparing it to the mall’s sensor data. “Ah! You’re from a Prim Civ. No, you do not need to make a statement. You were not involved. The incident occurred in the city, we have direct video evidence from five hundred different sensors. Eye-witnesses are only required for crimes taking place off grid.”

Rainbow’s wings flared slightly. “Uh, so, w-what do I do?”

“Wait for your captain at a location of your choice. If she is who she says she is we’ll have her ID and biometrics processed and verified by Star League agents within a few hours. Just relax and wait. Everything will turn out fine, miss. Have a nice day.”

The officer walked away, his armor’s joints humming lightly with each step. Saria sighed and gestures for Rainbow to follow her. “Come on. Lupo said she’ll wait for us near the bathrooms.”

Rainbow’s heart hammered away in her chest, pumping adrenaline through her brain along with terror. She was on an alien space station, with no knowledge of how to get around and an alien hacker with a friend who was willing to fire at guards for company.