//------------------------------//
// Grounded 
// Story: fyre-flye 
// by uhrora 
//------------------------------//


fyre-flye
II - 1
Grounded



Knock, knock.

"Who is it?" called Rarity from the inside of her shuttle.

"Big Mac."

"Come in, dear."

Mac pressed a button and the door slid open. He walked into the Coltpanion's room and was greeted by the smell of jasmine from a cat-shaped incense-holder atop an ornate mahogany end table. Rarity was sitting in a tub of water, using her magic to give herself a sponge bath.

"Uh, if this is a bad time—"

"Nonsense!" Rarity replied. "Oh, it's just dreadful, though. I have half a mind to sleep with one of you crew members just so I can use a shower for once. Are you interested? My standard fee applies."

"Eenope. Sorry."

Rarity sighed. How boring. She couldn't even ever joke around with him. He never blushed or got uncomfortable with her comments. Like the first time she'd ever met him:

Rarity smiled slyly. "Oh, Big Mac, are you? And how did you get that name, I wonder?"

"Why, on account of how many hooves I am tall, a’course."

Positively dreadful.

"So what can I do for you, then, Mac?" Rarity asked as she turned away from him again.

"Fluttershy's been askin' for you. Well, in a roundabout way, naturally. Said somethin' about wondering what Rarity was doing. I reckon it's what she meant."

"Ah, yes. Of course. I was meaning to get over there, actually. Just as soon as I finish bathing. It would be easier if I had more help." She hesitated, turning her head again. "Would you care to get your hooves wet?"

"Sorry, Rare. That sounds a mite slippery. I'm heading up to the bridge now. Wouldn't want to fall down all them stairs."

"No. Of course not," Rarity replied drily. Mac left, shutting the door behind him, and she rolled her eyes. It wasn't as if she wanted so terribly to seduce him—or anypony else on board, for that matter. In fact, quite the opposite, if she was going to be honest. It was simply a terrible idea. Coltpanions were taught to always keep their clients at a professional distance. And, well, she didn't think she could stay "professional" with anypony she lived with. It would just get too awkward and strange. She wasn't really sure why it had to be that way—after all, she regularly served tea and gave advice to Fluttershy, Derpy and anypony else who happened by her shuttle. Those were Coltpanion rituals, too. Not just the… well, what Applejack called the "whoring" part.

No, she didn't truly want to provide those kinds of services to Sereinity's crew members. But sometimes it was just… well, fun to joke around. Flirting was nothing serious.

Stepping out of the tub, Rarity magically called her robe to her side. She wrapped it around herself and unpinned her mane, then found her slippers. She thought about reapplying makeup, but decided not to. After all, it was unfair to show up looking so fabulous to poor Fluttershy's recovery room.





Big Mac watched Rarity leave her shuttle, then stole back inside. Parting the velvet curtains that hung over the cockpit, he switched on her computer. The Coltpanion-seeking database flashed onto the screen, opening to a page for Borears stallions. Rarity must have been searching for clients, and she had a long list to wade through. Big Mac navigated the system back to punch in Persepony as the location, fumbling with his oversized hoof. The faces of dozens of stallions and mares appeared before Mac found an option for searching a specific pony. The database could call up any pony's Coltpanion history, letting professionals like Rarity see if a client was blacklisted, where on a planet he or she was located… and how many stars he or she had earned. It didn't give names for Coltpanions one had hired before, but any of them could enter helpful comments anonymously on the site. There may have been more to the system, but that was what Big Mac had discovered in the few minutes he'd browsed.

Name? the website asked him. Mac typed in Octavia.

The database searched. Then, as if by magic, only one pony appeared. There was her image. The same fed who had boarded Sereinity and tried to take Pinkie with her. The same fed who had shot Fluttershy. The same fed who had promised Big Mac enough money for a ship if he helped free her.

It was then that Mac noticed something. Her name was in red. All the others he’d seen had been in black, with Rarity's own Coltpanion icon displaying her name in gold. What did the red names mean, then? Big Mac opened Octavia's profile.

He skimmed the information until he reached her short history. Former Coltpanion. Trained in Celestinium. Left the guild for other pursuits. Now resides on Persepony.

There was nothing else. Big Mac hurried to return to the Borears page and turned the computer off, heading back out through the shuttle. Quietly, he slipped out and closed the door, then headed up the stairs towards the catwalk.

Octavia… a former Coltpanion? She'd said she had a fillyfriend now. That was who she wanted Mac to contact. But she hadn't said who her name was, or how to find her.

It figured that she was going to make things difficult. She already had.





"Rarity! Oh, it's so good to see you!" Fluttershy gushed as soon as the unicorn walked in.

"Hello, dear. Getting bored, are you?" Rarity asked.

"N-no! Of course not!" Fluttershy protested. "Well… maybe a little bit. I don't like being stuck here."

"But the Doctor said that it wouldn't be that long, remember?" Derpy asked. She was sitting in the infirmary as well, and had been for some time now. The Doctor was giving Pinkie several tests, and Sereinity's mechanic was observing it all.

"Wite. One mo' day of bed west and you can start to 'oove awound again," affirmed the Doctor. He was holding an eye chart in his mouth as Pinkie stared at it in wonder.

Fluttershy nodded. "But I still have to sleep here for another week since the entrance to my bunk has a ladder."

"Why don't you move into one of the passenger dorms until then?" Derpy suggested. "You can get over there easy, and that way it'll be more comfortable! And private. Oh, and we could all have a sleepover down there!"

"Weren't you just talking about privacy?" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think Fluttershy needs—"

"Sleepover!" Pinkie shrieked, cutting her off. "Yes! Let's have…" As everypony turned to face her, shocked, Pinkie trailed off. She was wearing the happiest expression any of them had seen on her face since she'd boarded Sereinity. But nopony else joined in, and her smile faded. "I don't… never mind…"

"No!" Fluttershy said quickly. "That would be fun!"

"Really?" Pinkie asked, uncertainty in her voice.

"'Inkie, do you see de diffewence detween de colors?" the Doctor asked.

"Ha! You called me Inkie! Not Pinkie! You're getting your sisters mixed up!" The glee had returned to her face.

The Doctor spat out the chart and put it on the counter with a smile.

"Hey, Doctor, you want to come to the sleepover?" Derpy asked. Rarity's eyebrows rose as she realized the pegasus was blushing.

"Well, it appears it will be held in the passenger quarters. I don't think I'll be able to miss it. But remember to let Fluttershy have some recovery time. She needs rest. She's been doing amazingly so far, though, haven't you?" he asked, grinning at Fluttershy. "All that color is returning to your face."

Fluttershy smiled back at him. "Oh, I hope so."

"Speaking of your recovery, are you hungry? I could run to the dining area and get some food. Pinkie, how about you?"

"Okie dokie lokie!" his sister said with a nod.

"I'm starved!" Derpy cried.

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you," Fluttershy replied.

"All right. Well, I'll get a little something and you can have it later." The Doctor left the room.

Derpy flew after him. "I'll come too!"

Rarity sighed, watching the blonde pegasus exit the infirmary. "I do need to give that filly lessons. Nopony likes such constant availability. She must learn to play games."

"Ooh! I like games!" Pinkie exclaimed. "So are we really having a sleepover? I haven't had one since… since… well, since before everything." The smile gradually faded from her face and she stared down at the floor. "We played games." Her voice had quieted into a whisper. "We played with a ghost wheel. Then we told fortunes… mine told me about stars. I don't remember…"

"Dear, are you all right?" Rarity asked, taking a step towards Pinkie.

"I don't remember!" the earth pony yelled. Rarity froze, sharing a look with Fluttershy. They both looked surprised.

"That's all right," Fluttershy said gently after a moment. "You don't need to remember right now."

Pinkie curled up into a ball, tucking her cotton candy tail over her nose. "I had stars in my eyes once. Twice. I don't know. They drew on my skin and made me look into the stars. It was like a big sun, but the longer you looked into it the more you saw the stars… It was all just made of little tiny stars."

"Are you feeling ill? Would you like to sleep, darling?" Rarity asked, her horn sparking into life.

The earth pony ignored her. "That's how it all is, you know."

Without Pinkie's consent to use her sleep spell, Rarity let her magic aura fall away. "What's that?"

"The 'verse."





"Look at the stars. Nice, huh?"

Applejack glared at her brother. "Mac, stop that. I ain't a filly you're romancin'. And there's no time to be lookin' up across the 'verse when we've got a problem this big." She reddened, realizing that was exactly what she had been doing. And he knew it. Applejack was sitting on one of the benches inside the fuel station, which had a clear roof and ample windows to let in the starshine. On a station like this, between galaxies, there was no sunrise or sunset. There were no clocks visible, which had the effect of making a pony feel quite disoriented. Especially when a pony was used to the go, and not the stop. Applejack had been staring up at the sky, restless, when her brother had appeared out of Sereinity's air lock door. "And where have you been, mister?" she added, changing the subject and hoping he didn't catch her mistake. Even if he did, she doubted he'd say a thing.

Big Mac waited for her to finish. Then he calmly replied, "On board. I'm here now. And don't go makin' suns out of shiplights, AJ. We were lucky to get off as good as we did after Gilda's warship. Ain't much more than a dinged shuttle."

The captain sighed, relaxing her shoulders as the breath left her body. This was what always happened. She ranted to Big Mac and he took it all, then calmed her down. She really needed to give her big brother a raise one of these days from all the emotional abuse she put him through. But then, that was part of having a sibling anyway. Didn't anypony get paid for that. "Aw, you're right. Sorry. I just get so impatient, sittin' up here when we could be… out there." She waved one hoof around her, at the black and the pinpricks of light surrounding them. Being here, stuck at a fuel station while Harmony Alliance cruisers had an alert for fyre-flye models, was painfully tedious. They practically had a big red and white target painted across the top of Sereinity.

"Be patient," Mac advised his little sister. "Frettin' won't get us nowhere. And 'sides, I bet Derpy and Rainbow Dash are doing a fine job lookin' for a shuttle match."

Applejack shook her head. "Naw, it's just that, Mac! Derpy's all googly-eyed over the Doc, and Rainbow Dash is…" She trailed off. "Last time I saw her, she brushed past me. Said she was late for a fight with her husband."

"Ain't very professional," Big Mac muttered. "Lettin' their feelings get in the way of their work."

"And I've a mind to tell them just that."

"Ah well. They put out an ad message for a shuttle, right?"

"Nope. I didn't think it was a good idea to be showin' off the fyre-flye model and our need for a new shuttle right now to all the 'verse. We still ain't far from Whitefoal, and Gilda's eyes were all but shootin' acid. She might just follow us off her moon with a temper like hers. Not to mention Alliance buzzin' through the sky like silverjackets."

Big Mac gave his sister a slow smile. "We sure do make enemies real good."

"Reckon we'd get an award for it. A big, shiny one. Full of apples."

"Now, how 'bout you use them roundin’-up skills of yours and drag Derpy and Dash to a computer to search for a shuttle?"

Applejack sighed. "Aw… fine." She knew she could corral them into place, but… they were her friends. She hated throwing her weight around, but that was what she had to do as captain. Still, sometimes she just wished somepony else could give the orders for awhile. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm 'bout to stretch my legs a bit. Maybe head to the market, buy some food." He nodded across the fuel station towards the market. This far out, there wasn't much, but it was still better than most of the canned food they had on board. At some of the Core fuel stations, there were gourmet restaurants, five-star hotels, casinos and other luxury services. Here, they had just enough to keep ships and ponies going. Nothing fancy.

"Fluttershy loves strawberries," Applejack told him with a sly smile.

"I know," he replied, then turned to leave.





"Once, just once, I would love for you to report back to me. I'd like to see that happen! You are so gorram stubborn. You never do a thing I say! Fine. That's fine. That's equal. I don't order you around, and you don't order me. But Applejack—she says flap your wings and you flap your wings. You ask her for permission to do things. You…you ask her for permission to go to bed with your own wife! What the hay kind of a relationship is that?"

Soarin sat on the bed he shared with Rainbow Dash, leaning against the wall as he stared at her mournfully. His wife hovered in the air, flying to the left and then to the right as she yelled at him. He didn’t say a word. He knew it wouldn't go over well.

"Did you hear me? I asked you a question!"

But now, not speaking wouldn't go over well either. "Yes. I heard you. But I didn't think you would be all that interested in my point of view," Soarin replied in a monotone.

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "Oh, what was that? Your point of view? Do you have one of those? I thought your point of view was the captain's. Maybe we should ask her for her opinions on this fight, seeing as that's the only way I'll get you to say anything!"

Soarin sighed. "Rainbow, this is ridiculous. I don't always agree with Applejack."

"Oh, yeah? Tell me one time you've disagreed."

Soarin was silent.

"Just one time!"

"I… I like apple pie. She prefers fresh apples."

Rainbow Dash stared at her husband witheringly. "You disagree over some overpriced Core luxury food. No, I'm sorry, you disagree over the preparation of some overpriced Core luxury food. Wow! I can't believe it! Now, is that the real reason for the war? Because, you know, that seems really serious. I'm surprised you two can even stand to be in the same room as each other with those kinds of differences!"

"You take orders from her, too, you know," Soarin replied.

"It's different! You… you never say no to her. You do whatever she wants. I'm lucky she's not attracted to you or you'd have moved to her quarters by now!"

"That's not fair," Soarin growled. Especially since Gilda said Rainbow would be the one to get bored with him and move on. Not that he wanted to think about all that right now. 

Or ever again.

"I would never do that," Soarin continued. "She pays me, Rainbow Dash. I do what she says because if I don't, I don't get paid."

"Did you get that one from Rarity, or what?" Rainbow Dash snapped.

Soarin shook his head. "Look. I don't want to get into this. How many times do we have to fight about the same damn thing?"

"Until you stop obeying her like she's your master! Until you put your wife before her!"

"I do put you first. Always."

Rainbow laughed angrily. "Oh, okay. So when we planned to go on a tiny little two-night vacation last time we were on Whinnier and the captain suddenly needed you to work, you were putting me first. I see. That makes lots of sense."

"We had a job on that planet. She needed my help, or else we weren't getting paid. We need to get paid or else we can't afford to go on trips like that."

"But we don't go on trips!"

Soarin hesitated. "So this is about us not going on trips? Will that fix everything if we just go on a vacation?"

Rainbow's body went limp in the air as her wings kept her up. "You are so oblivious!" she complained. "I hate stallions! I should have been a fillyfooler," she muttered under her breath. "Spitfire would have treated me right."

"Can't hear you, Dash."

At that second, their door buzzed. Somepony was trying to get their attention.

"Probably the captain," Rainbow Dash snorted. "Go ahead. See what she wants now."

Soarin paused, then as it buzzed again, pushed himself off their bed.

"Big surprise," Dash muttered as her husband hurried up the ladder to the door.

Sure enough, it was Applejack. "Hey, Soar. Is Rainbow here?"

"Yeah. Why?" Soarin sounded tired.

"I need her to do somethin'."

Rainbow flew up the ladder, shoving Soarin aside as she exited their chambers. "Anything you want, your majesty," she sneered as she came to rest in the hallway.

Her attitude earned her a glare from Applejack. "Now, none of that from you, missy. I ain't payin' you to lock yourself away with your husband when you're needed elsewhere. Now, c'mon. We need to find a seller so we can get off this gorram station. Pick a direction and we'll go—we just need one. I'll go find Derpy and send her to you."

With a flick of her tail, Rainbow Dash turned away from her and began to walk towards the bridge, her steps quick and light. She didn't say anything more to the captain, knowing that if she did, it would not end well.





"So, you don't want to make griddlecakes again?" Derpy asked with a laugh as she and the Doctor looted the kitchen for something edible.

"As much as I would like to, I think Pinkie and Fluttershy might need a different kind of nutrition. Not just a large hit of carbohydrates."

Derpy shrugged. "Nutrition. That's another Core world luxury, I guess. In the Rim, we eat whatever we can get our hooves on."

The Doctor turned around from his rummaging in the cabinet, frowning as he looked at the gray pegasus. "But that's where most of the food comes from. You grew up on a farm, right? Surely you had plenty to eat."

An amused smile was spreading across Derpy's face. "Oh, you're real funny, Doc. Is that how you think things go? We all live on farms? And all the farms have food aplenty for those that work them?"

Before the Doctor could reply, another pony magically appeared into the dining area. The Doctor and Derpy both looked up, surprised, to see Twi standing there beside them. "Oh! Um, sorry. I was just practicing my spells, and—"

"That was amazing!" Derpy gasped, mismatched eyes widening. "How did you do that?!"

Twi laughed. "Well, it's just teleportation. I've been working on it ever since we've been, uh… here on this…"

"Grounded?" Derpy supplied.

"Right. Grounded." Though a floating fuel station wasn't exactly ground—at least not for Twi. "Anyway, I thought it might be beneficial to practice while we're not moving. Less of a chance that I'll teleport myself out into space." She shuddered.

"I've never seen nopony do anything like that before! Not even Rarity, and she's all fancy with her training," Derpy replied. "Is that real common or what?"

Twi hesitated, not sure how to answer the question.

"It's not," the Doctor said, his expression somber. "Teleportation is one of the forbidden spells."

"Huh? Forbidden?" Derpy asked, looking between the two of them. How did the Doctor know that anyway, as an earth pony?

The unicorn looked down at her hooves. "Well… it means that you're not supposed to do it."

"It means that it is forbidden to teach it except in certain circumstances. For promising unicorn teachers, or Alliance military ponies. That sort of thing," the Doctor cut in. "Which planet did you say you hailed from again?"

Twi stared at him. She'd come into the kitchen looking for food and had gotten an inquisition instead. "Celestinium. For the most part."

There was a silence as the Doctor and Twi met eyes. Celestinium—formerly Luninium. Along with Celehnon, it was one of the two sister planets of the Core: the two worlds first settled after the mass migration out of Equestria-that-was. Each of the alicorn princesses had held dominion over one planet. But, as Celestia told, Luna abandoned her own planet, protecting the chaotic and barbaric Outer Rim instead. It was a move that still made no sense to anypony. Why would Luna give up life on the great Luninium to help backwards farmers in their rebellion against Celestia? 

After the war, and after Princess Luna's exile, Celestia had formally changed the name of the great planet to Celestinium. It became a great political world, the "capital" planet, so to speak, of Harmony Alliance. And Celehnon, the beautiful world of light, became less political. Celestia had allegedly given up her home on Celehnon for Celestinium, preferring to use her former planet as a vacation spot.

"Wow, that's like the center of the 'verse," Derpy said after a moment, hoping to lower the tension. "Y'know, Rarity's from Celehnon. Trained there and everything to become a Coltpanion."

Twi attempted to smile at the pegasus. "Yes, there are many Coltpanions there."

"So… does anypony want some… muffins?" Derpy asked, starting to feel uneasy. The captain would kill her if she used any more of their ingredients for baking muffins, but something had to diffuse the situation.

"Derpy!" Applejack called, rushing into the kitchen.

Derpy jumped, eyes wide. "I'm not making muffins!" she replied defensively.

Applejack looked puzzled. "All right. I need your help. You and Dash need to find a shuttle for us. She's in the bridge."

"Aw, but captain, I was just gonna make some food."

"Sereinity's flank is just about fixed. You find us a shuttle and we can finally get off this fuel station. Get back in the air once we got a location. I will buy you one of them giant muffins you like if you just get our shuttle."

Derpy's eyes lit up. Without another word, she flew into the air and out the door, heading towards the bridge as fast as possible.

"Good," Applejack said, then looked at Twi and the Doctor, nodding curtly before she left.

"I'm not a fed," Twi said quickly, once it was just her and the Doctor. "And I have no intention of hurting your sister. Or taking her back. Or anything like that." The Doctor didn't say anything, and his stare didn't change. Twi shifted her weight to the left slightly. "You were born on one of the Central Planets too, right? Not everypony wants to stay there forever. Sometimes leaving is the only option."

The Doctor finally looked away, back towards the cabinet and its rows of canned food. "I know," he said simply, exhaling.





"Hey. Is there a way a pony 'round here could access the Cortex?"

The grizzled looking pegasus pony behind the counter at the fuel station looked Big Mac over. The sag of his eyes and the smacking of his gums cried cud. The substance was bovine in origin; one of the so-called "natural" drugs that had no effect—on cows. Ponies, zebras, griffins and other creatures had long used it as a cheap, quick stimulant. It was especially popular among the Diamond Dogs who mined the Outer Rim and didn't see light for weeks sometimes. Adding other brewed chemicals to cud created different effects—for example, one could lace it with certain substances from those with hallucinogenic properties to pure pony tranquilizers. Mac had tried cud before; nearly everypony had in the Rim. But this pegasus, rooted on a Rim fuel station with nothing better to do, looked like he'd been chewing since he was born.

"It'll cost," the pegasus replied, spitting neon green into a dirty metal goblet. Mac did not want to know what that cud was laced with.

"Just need to make a quick call. I got the bits."

The pegasus sat back in his chair. "I reckon you're an honest colt. But we got some problems 'round here lately. Some Diebe from the Rim have been hackin' the system."

Big Mac frowned. "Griffins?" he asked, recognizing the word for thieves in the griffin language.

"Griffins and them ponies that work for griffins."

Sounded like Gilda and her crew. It made sense—they were close to Whitefoal still. And if they were hacking a public Cortex system, it meant they could access it anonymously. But why would Gilda want to? What could be so valuable to do anonymously that she would travel all the way out to that fuel station? There were public machines on the planet Whitefoal orbited. It didn't make sense.

"Well, I ain't here to do any of that. Don't even know how to do any of that. Computers ain't exactly my cutie mark. My ship'll be here for a spell, and I still got another errand to run at the market."

The cud-chewer nodded, finally acquiescing. "It's three bits a minute. Right over there." He gestured with his muzzle towards a shadowy screen. "You can pay with a scan or in coin."

"Thanks," Big Mac replied, heading to the screen. He turned it on and accessed the Cortex, hoping the station was close enough to the Core to allow for a video call. Searching through the database, he stopped at a familiar name and selected it. The hailing icon appeared, and Mac waited as a connection was attempted. After several seconds, he was about to close the program—just before the icon turned green. The connection was made, and he watched as the Cortex tried to hail the recipient.

Suddenly, the plum-colored face of a mare appeared on the screen. She was smiling warmly and a faint blush seemed to have spread across her face. "Well, hi, Macintosh," she said in an enthusiastic voice, though the quality wasn't great. "I haven't heard from you in a long time!"

He nodded back at her. "Hey there, Cheerilee."

"How are you doing? Where in the 'verse are you?"

"Well, Outer Rim. We were just in Persepony the other day, as a matter of fact."

Her face fell. "You should have paid a visit! The foals would have loved it. I would have, too."

Mac had been prepared for this. He didn't hesitate in his reply. "Next time. We didn't exactly have spare hours."

"You have to make spare hours when you have a responsibility, Mac. Especially when it’s a responsibility to foals."

"Like I said… next time."

Cheerilee shrugged, looking away. "I suppose it's better that you didn't come. Things have been… strange here. There's some sort of epidemic on Celestinium. Politicians are leaving in herds. Temporarily, of course. A lot come here, so it's been busy."

"I reckon it's crowded."

"It sure is. And there's a lot of talk about Celestia, too. Some royal family emergency."

"That ain't nothing new. Always drama there."

"Well, all right. So what's this all about? You sound far away. Do you want to talk to—"

"I am far. And no, I need to talk to you. I got a favor to ask."

"Well, ask away."

"I need to find somepony."

"That's my specialty."

"She ain't easy to find. She lives on Persepony. Was a Coltpanion, but now she works for Harmony."

Cheerilee was frowning. She looked down, silent a moment before replying. "What trouble are you in now, Mac?" she asked, her voice soft.

"Not enough that I'd worry 'bout you being involved. It's fine. She asked me to find her."

"What? I don't understand."

Mac sighed. His time was ticking away and he wanted enough bits to go to the market. "I don't have spare hours now, either. Sorry. Look, I gotta find her. The name's Octavia. No last name that I know. Former Coltpanion, lives on Persepony."

"And you want me to find her?"

"No. Her fillyfriend."

The mare's eyebrows wrinkled. "So this isn't some Coltpanion you got pregnant?"

Big Mac stared at her disbelievingly. "No. It ain't. You gonna help me or not?"

"I will," Cheerilee said. "What's the fillyfriend's name?"

"Dunno. That's all I know about her. She's the fillyfriend of Octavia."

Cheerilee nodded. "Okay. I'll try. I can't promise anything, though, Macintosh."

The stallion shook his head. No fact finder could. "I know. Thanks."

"Mac…"

"Yeah?"

"Oh… nothing," Cheerilee said quickly, the blush returning to her cheeks. Mac waited for her to continue, but it appeared she wasn't inclined to do so. "So, that's all, then?" she asked, smiling a bit too easily.

"That's all. Say hi to the fillies for me."

"They'll just ask where you are."

"Well, then, you tell them I'm on Sereinity."

"May Celestia shine on you," Cheerilee said, giving the standard Alliance parting wish. She vanished from the screen and it returned to the search. Big Mac exited the system and went to pay for his time, thinking that her farewell was more of a threat than anything else.





"'ow err oo 'eeling, Inkie?" asked the Doctor, poking his head into the infirmary. He narrowly missed being hit by a flying book.

"I can't do it!" his sister was wailing. She'd thrown the book across the room, leaving poor Fluttershy cowering beneath her blanket.

The Doctor set down the basket with two bowls of soup he'd concocted and rushed to her side. "Pinkie! Pinkie. Calm down. What's wrong?"

Pinkie was trembling again. Her mane and tail had straightened somewhat and her blue eyes were round with fear. "I can't read!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled.

She shook her head. "I see the words but they don't make sense. Not anymore. They're too weird. They don't make sense. They don't make sense!" she screamed, covering her eyes with her hooves. "Nothing does anymore!"

"Shh. Pinkie, just breathe," the Doctor instructed, his arms around her. Yet even as he was trying to comfort her, his own fears abounded. What had they done to her? Pinkie had never been an egghead; she’d simply been abnormally skilled at random tasks. But she’d always gotten joy from reading in the past. Especially if that reading involved delicious baked goods recipes.

But now was not the time for reminiscing. It was the time to think about how to fix her. Pinkie had complained about not being able to read before, which was why he'd performed a vision test earlier. But everything seemed fine. Whatever was wrong with his sister wasn't in her eyes.

She had relaxed slightly in his arms, and after a few more minutes she pushed herself back out of his grip. Lying back down on the bed, she stared up at the ceiling with her arms hugged around herself.

"Pinkie," the Doctor began gently, "I know you don't want to hear this. But I need to do a blood test on you."

His sister sprang up again, terror in her eyes. "No!" she snapped. "Don't! I can't…"

"I need to find out what they did to you," he argued. "It will only be a quick test." He paused, not knowing what to say. "I… I won't hurt you. I want to help," he said, unsure what Pinkie even believed anymore. "It's vital that I figure out what kind of medicine to give to you."

"No!" Pinkie replied again. The look on her face reminded him of the old Pinkie. It was an expression she'd used when she was stubborn or having one of her tantrums. She was always such a dramatic filly. Not quite a brat, but she definitely could have her moments. Even in the old days she could go from sobbing to giggling in sixty seconds. He'd always believed that her tears were of the alligator kind, since she could bounce back so quickly. Now, though, it seemed as if her laughter was the thing she was playing at; as if she was trying to remember how it all worked. How she worked.

"Don't you want to get better?" he asked.

But she was beyond reason. She'd scooted as far away from him as she could and she was huddled around her pillow, staring at her brother like he was a stranger. Worse—like he was an enemy.

The Doctor couldn't stand that look anymore. So he did the only thing he could do and appeased her. "Okay," he said quietly.

Pinkie searched his face until she decided he was telling the truth. Burying her face in her pillow, she began to sniff into it, hiding her tears. She didn't move. After a few minutes, the Doctor turned away from her bed with a sigh. He was doing nothing but scaring her. As he moved, he met the eyes of Fluttershy. The pegasus immediately reddened and looked away, embarrassed she'd been caught. Then again, it was nearly impossible for her to not have noticed the whole conversation unless she'd been dead asleep.

He was more embarrassed she'd witnessed it all.

Then, Fluttershy did something he would never have expected. "Pinkie," Fluttershy said softly. "Maybe you could share that song you were singing earlier with your brother?" The Doctor looked back at her. The pegasus's eyes were on the floor and her face a beet red. "I… I mean, if you want to. Anyway. I know you said you wanted to share it with him…"

The Doctor smiled wanly at Fluttershy. "That's all right," he said without a second glance at his sister. He knew she wouldn't do it in this kind of mood.

But, to his surprise, he heard muffled words coming from the pillow. "It doesn't matter now if you are sad or blue. 'Cause cheering up… 'Cause I love to…" She lifted her head from the pillow. "Make you smile, smile… smile."

The Doctor smiled.





"What about Borears? We were supposed to go there anyway. Might as well make Rarity happy; she can scrounge up some decent clients while we're in the world." Rainbow Dash looked towards Derpy, who was staring blankly past the helm to the fuel station around them. Pointedly, at the stars visible beyond the fuel station structure.

Rainbow cleared her throat. No response. "Derpy." Nothing. "Derpy."

"What?" The mechanic suddenly sprung back into life, turning around towards Rainbow Dash quickly. "Did you say something?"

"Borears," Dash repeated, tapping the computer screen with her hoof. On it, several shuttles, their prices and locations were displayed. "I was saying we can go to Borears."

Derpy's attention was lost again.

"Derpy!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"Yes?"

The pilot glared at her friend. "What is up with you? Normally you're not so… well, not this much… what are you doing?"

"I was just thinking about how pretty the stars are, and how nice it'd be if I had some stallion to share them with," Derpy replied, unable to keep the smile from her face.

Rainbow stared at her for a moment. "Um… okay. Can… can you maybe save that for Rarity or Fluttershy or somepony else? Anypony else? I think now would probably be a good time to handle the job? Our captain is waiting." She remembered the interrupted fight with Soarin and her frown intensified. "Stallions aren't all that great anyway," she grumbled.

"Oh, I don't want a lot! I just have my eyes set on one," Derpy giggled.

"Uh… again… Rarity? Fluttershy?" Dash pleaded.

"He's just so… so… shiny!"

"Derpy, I don't want to hear about your little crush," Rainbow Dash snapped.

She regretted it the next second. Derpy's smile faded away and her tail lowered. "Oh… okay. Sorry, Rainbow Dash."

"No, I'm sorry… I…" Dash sighed, tapping one hoof against her forehead. "Look, let me order this shuttle—if you think it's good—and then you can tell me all about him."

"Really?" Derpy asked, brightening up.

"Really."

"Okay! Well, this shuttle's no good. Look, right here. The thrusters need to be replaced. That's why they're selling it. Thrusters are worth more bits than the shuttle is. Some ponies will go for it, cheap bits and all. We could be fine if we don't have to get far in it. But it's not reliable. Could be we have an emergency, we can't get off the ship, or we get lost out in space with not enough push to get us to anywhere. I'd say…" Derpy squinted at the screen. "I'd say we go for the Celehnon one. Hardly been used."

"That's… more bits than the captain's willing to pay."

"Right, but anypony selling a fyre-flye shuttle in Celehnon's gotta be some kind of shady.” Derpy’s eyes brightened. “Maybe it's somepony we know! Anyway, we offer them a trade."

Rainbow's eyes widened. "So we can deliver them any parts they might need from the Outer Rim while we're here."

"Or any job they need done. We make a new friend along the way!"

"Not bad, Derpy. I'll send them a message."

"Thanks! Now… can we talk about stallions?"

"Go for it."



	

Twi rapped one hoof against the door to the infirmary.

"Come in," called the Doctor. He was hoofing through a medical book while Fluttershy and Pinkie napped.

"Hi," the unicorn greeted him quietly with a sheepish smile. "I really hope I didn't frighten you earlier, with the whole teleporting thing."

"It's fine," the Doctor replied in a hushed tone, shaking his head. "Like you said, we both have Core world pasts. There's a reason we gave up that kind of lifestyle for… well… this." He motioned around at the ship interior with his head. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I'm not sure. I…" Twi's words trailed off before she began again. "This is going to sound strange. Insane, even. But I've never been sick before. I just… haven't."

The Doctor chuckled. "Well, that I find hard to believe. It's impossible. Everypony gets sick. In fact, getting sick is not a bad thing. Small viruses help build our immune system and protect us from—"

"Please, believe me. I never have," Twi interrupted. She hesitated. "Or… any time I've started feeling ill, I've been cured right away."

"All right," the Doctor replied, brow furrowed.

"Until now. I… I've been feeling a bit… I don't know. I have a headache, and my vision's a little blurry. And my chest aches a bit."

The Doctor grabbed a stethoscope from the counter and used his teeth and one hoof to secure it in place. "These things aren't made for earth ponies," he complained once it was hooked into his ears, walking briskly towards Twi. "Now, I'm going to listen to your breathing. The headache may be a lesser side effect of whatever is causing your chest discomfort."

Twi nodded and breathed deeply as he pressed the contraption against her upper ribs. She'd only seen this done in shows, and usually it signaled somepony's sudden demise. Core planet shows always ended in tragedies.

"Everything seems fine," the Doctor replied, stepping back and sliding off the stethoscope. "You sound like you may just have mild congestion. A common cold, so to speak."

The unicorn shook her head. "No, that can't be possible. I got my vaccine for the common cold as a filly, like everypony else."

"Well, there are many forms of cold-like viruses. Your immune system is still learning how to fight off Outer Rim germs. That's why further vaccinations are often necessary when a pony goes to certain planets. I dare say Whitefoal might fit the description." The Doctor saw the disappointment in Twi's face. "If you'd like, I can perform some more tests. But I'd guess that this new life has taken a toll on your body. Never underestimate the effects of lifestyle changes. Stress can wear down your immune system."

Twi nodded. "You're probably right," she admitted. "No, I don't need any more tests. I was simply wishing I could take some miracle drug and feel better instantly."

The Doctor laughed. "That's usually not how it works. Even our miracle drugs take awhile to kick in."

"I guess everything is different out here," Twi murmured. "Well, thank you, Doctor."

"My pleasure. Get a good night's rest and let me know how you're feeling tomorrow."

Twi nodded and turned to leave.

"And, Twi?"

The unicorn stopped, turning her head to face him.

"Try not to read or use any magic tonight. That might help your headache."

She hesitated, then nodded. "That’ll be a miracle on my part,” she said with a laugh.





"I've already contacted them by message. They sent back one in return, agreeing to some kind of trade. They asked to call them. Think I should give it a go?" Rainbow Dash asked. She and the captain were at the bridge. Rainbow sat in one of the chairs, swirling herself around in the seat. Applejack stood beside her, a mug of warm cider hooked in her hoof.

"Why not? Not too keen it's on a Core planet, especially with the bulletin going 'round about a fyre-flye ship. But I reckon we see who the seller is, look 'em up or ask around for credentials. It's Celehnon. We can ask somepony like Cheerilee for help."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "All right, captain. You talk to them." She shifted the computer screen towards Applejack before punching in the call to the Celehnon seller.

He picked up the call immediately. On the screen in front of her was a white unicorn, his blue mane matted. A liquor glass floated in the air next to him, enveloped in his magical aura. "Yes?" he asked in a Celehnon drawl.

"Hey there. Hear you're sellin' a part we need. Fyre-flye shuttle?" Applejack replied.

"Yes. You are correct." Despite his uppity accent, his words were slurred.

Applejack raised the cider in one hoof. "Cheers," she said.

This brought a smile to the stallion's face. "Oh, you're lovely," he replied, knocking back the rest of his drink. "Ahh. Refreshing. Now, my dear, you sound as if you're from the Outer Rim. Are you from the Outer Rim?"

"Born and bred," AJ affirmed.

"But you're willing to come all the way to Celehnon for me? Oh, that's just wonderful."

"This a good time to talk about deals or not?"

"Why, yes. Why wouldn't it be? So…" The stallion hesitated for a moment, face contorted in confusion. "You want the shuttle. But it's too expensive. So you want to trade?"

Applejack nodded. "Something like that. I was thinkin' we could bring you a part you need, do some job for you that you can't get done in the Core."

"Oh, lovely!" The stallion slurred again. "I… Well, now, I am not opposed to a trade."

"Now that's some good news," Applejack replied with a grin. What a relief.

"But I don't want any parts or Rim materials. Nothing of that sort. No, my problem is more... ah, pony-related."

Applejack hesitated, letting the words sink in. "If you're lookin' to take care of somepony, I ain't sure if we—"

"Yes!" he interrupted. "Take care of. I'm looking for somepony to take care of Fancy Pants."

The captain shared a glance with Rainbow Dash. They'd been hired to do a lot of things, but assassination was not exactly in their—self-written—job description. Putting a bullet in a pony while on a job, or for self-defense, that was different. They weren’t cold-blooded killers. "Well, I reckon I'm sorry, but you'll have to get somepony else to do that."

The unicorn apparently found that hilarious. "Oh, I know that!" he choked out between chuckles. "You're not exactly one to pass for a Coltpanion, to be quite frank."

Applejack stared at the screen blankly. "Come again?"

"I am Fancy Pants! And I need somepony to take care of me.” He offered a winning smile. “If you hire me a Coltpanion, I'll give you the part at a discount. Can you… is that possible?" The unicorn—Fancy Pants—took another swig of alcohol.

Rarity's gonna kill me, Rarity's gonna kill me. 

"Why, sure," AJ replied with a huge grin. "I got just the lady in mind." 

Oh, yeah. I'm deader than a white dwarf.