Spike takes the pony prisoner 49%
Applejack’s advice made perfect sense—space was merciless and cruel, he knew that even better than she did now. It didn’t matter-- he couldn’t kill someone just because it made sense. Even so, that didn’t mean he had to make the pony think she’d won.
Spike attempts to act like a badass and intimidate over the radio. Success.
“Alright stowaway, this is what we’re going to do. I want you to leave everything but your suit on the Prospector, then climb across. I’m telling my engineer to shoot you if you do anything she doesn’t like.”
“Alright, alright!” the mare called. “I get it! I’ll play hoofball, honest. No need for violence.”
“That will be the captain’s choice,” Spike said flat. “Assuming you don’t get yourself shot.” He switched frequencies. “Were you listening to that, Applejack?”
“Sure was,” the engineer replied. “Didn’t think ya’ had it in ya’, Spike. Sounded like she wet herself in her suit.”
“Well, I meant what I told her,” Spike said. “I want her alive, but if it looks like she’s going to hurt you or the ship, shoot her.”
“What will you do? Try to get Twilight to wake up?”
“Nah. She doesn’t need to know about Twilight. When you bring her in, make her put on four magnetic gauntlets and lock them together. Oh, and cut her suit open so bad she can’t fix it.”
Applejack whistled over the radio. “Damn, Spike. What have you been doing the last few years?”
“Forty-one years,” Spike corrected. “Reading, mostly. If it works for Buck Rogers…”
Applejack laughed. “I ain’t no adventurin’ deer, Spike. You ain’t either.”
Spike didn’t respond to that. “I’m going to make a brig. Take her to the crew deck when you’ve finished. I’ll handle her.”
“Alright,” Applejack sounded hesitant. “But I’m gonna be there when we talk to her. I want what she knows as bad as you.”
“I think Twilight would too. We’ll just bring her in for now.”
Spike floated past security on his way down to the crew quarters, and removed a pistol from the safe. He clicked out the magazine, checking each of the fourteen plastic bullets. I might not be Buck Rodgers, but I can protect my friends just as good.
This pony had almost killed the only ponies left in his whole world. Once he learned why, she would go straight back into the ice where she came from. It was better if she didn’t die—she could go into an Equestrian prison, when their mission was finally done, and they saw home again.
Spike’s intimidation skill increases by one.
Spike wasn’t sure which of the crew quarters to choose, and ultimately picked Fluttershy’s only because she was the least likely to care about the damage she was about to do to its fiber hookups.
There was no telling what this pony would be capable of—but she couldn’t do much if Spike tore the wires right out of the walls. He cut with claws and his own fiery breath, not even bothering to go down for the proper equipment. The damage it would take weeks to repair could be inflicted in mere minutes.
He took the time to remove Fluttershy’s vacuum-sealed belonging cube, tossing it in to Rainbow Dash’s room beside. The prisoner would get a bare mattress. What are we going to do if she’s a unicorn? We don’t have antimagic shackles.
The lift came to a stop at the crew deck a second later. A pony floated in front of Applejack, hooves hogtied with magnetic shackles just as he suggested. Applejack hadn’t just torn the back of her suit, she’d also removed the helmet completely. A soft pink pony was inside, with a curly sky-blue mane. No horn, just a pair of glasses with a single cracked lens. It didn’t look like Applejack had been gentle with her.
“Second Officer Spike,” Applejack said, her voice exaggerated. “Prisoner as ordered.”
“Excuse me…” The pony said, looking up towards Spike with wide, brown eyes. “Do you think you could… maybe ask your kind engineer to untie me? I don’t think my legs aren’t meant to stay this way.” She drifted a little further down, then sunk rapidly, smacking straight into the ground with a whimper.
“Do you have external controls?” he asked.
Applejack tossed a remote through the air towards him. Spike caught it in one claw.
“I want your name, pony.”
“I would really rather talk directly to the captain,” she said, her voice as sweet as expired lemonade. “Isn’t that the procedure for prisoners?”
“Fine.” Spike turned away, sliding the remote into his belt. “Then Twilight can be the one to unlock your gauntlets. She should be down to talk to you sometime in the next… forty-eight hours or so.”
The pony swore under her breath. “Cozy Glow. That’s my name. Let me go.”
“Are you an Earth Pony, Cozy Glow? A pegasus? Thestral?”
“I’m not sure why…” she glared up at him. “Pegasus.”
She’s not going to be kicking her way out of her cell, then.
“Applejack, if she tries anything, shoot.”
Applejack removed the pistol from her own toolbelt—far more complicated than the unicorn model he used, the weapon was a brace that snapped onto a foreleg and required careful twists and twitches to fire. “Pleasure, sir.”
Spike pressed the release, and immediately Cozy started to drift up from the deck. She didn’t try anything, just rose into something like a standing position, using a nearby dining chair to keep from floating away. “In there.” He said, pointing at the open door. “You can wait in there for the captain.” Don’t try anything, or we’ll… we’ll space you.”
“Dragons,” she muttered under her breath, but she moved. Drifted forward, until she was across the threshold. “We’re saving Equestria, you know. From idiots like you.”
Spike smiled toothily in at her. “We’ll see.” He reached out, sealing the door shut with a claw on the controls.
“What do you want me to do, Spike?” Applejack asked.
1. Take in the Prospector. We’ve wasted enough time and fuel. There’s information over there we might be able to use as leverage, and we need to get the Prospector repaired and docked again before we can move.
2. Wait, guard the prisoner instead. That pony had at least a year to learn about the Equinox, and the Prospector might have traps like the cargo bay did. Waiting a few more days won’t kill us.
3. Wait, repair another ship’s system in the meantime. Hydroponics has been waiting long enough to get the first crop in. Besides, pegasus locked up in a tiny room without any wires can’t cause too much trouble. It’s only a few days.