//------------------------------// // These Are the Unusual Voyages... // Story: Starring Trixie // by metroid_freak //------------------------------// Another show, another Bit. Another show, a few more Bits. Maybe after a few more shows, she’d have even more Bits. After that, maybe she’d be able to finally settle down, find a nice place to live, and retreat from the public eye and recuperate, at least for a while. That was the life; no worries, no Bit-hunting, and no more endless miles made every day, fueled by nothing more than sheer determination. No more Bit-grabbing, no more Bit-grabbing… Who was she kidding? As it stood, Trixie once again found her life in a less-than-perfect state. All the while, she looked for something, anything on which she could lay the blame. In her eyes, there was only one, one body against which she directed her rage. The ‘humans’ and their ‘Federation’. Their so-called ‘technology’, those accursed tools of Tartarus that once they’d made planetfall those years ago, had nearly put her out of business. She didn't know, nor did she care about how it appeared; all she knew for sure was that the line between eking out a modest living and falling into complete and utter destitution was growing dangerously thin and the showmare worried greatly about which side she would find herself. That’s what spurred her to find the largest population of potential customers she could and with any luck, amaze them with a career-salvaging performance of a lifetime. At last! No more worrying about where her next meal would come from, no more anxiety over what trick the humans and their ‘Federation’ would use to pull the proverbial wool over everypony’s eyes. Indeed, if there was anything Trixie trusted less than wheels, it was the humans and their ‘Federation’. With that in mind, she embarked on her journey from Ponyville to Canterlot, emboldened by determination. What she found, however, shattered whatever delusions still existed in her mind. She could only stare in shock and bitter disappointment when, upon her arrival to Equestria’s capital, she saw them. The humans had several names for them. Vessels, star-ships, or some other nonsense. They were everywhere, all shapes and sizes dotting the skies above Canterlot and the new Federation research center therein. ‘Federation research center’; in Trixie’s mind, one would never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. She sighed, her face contorting into a visage of pure anger before finally settling on one of annoyance as she approached the city. “Eep!” she squealed out quite uncharacteristically, surprised by the hum of a shuttle as it soared just a little too low overhead. Her brow furrowed and she huffed in frustration but soldiered on regardless, determined not to allow a few off-worlders to deter her. A few off-worlders? The showmare had barely entered the greater Canterlot area when she realized how ridiculous and hopelessly optimistic such a statement was. It seemed as if Celestia was operating some kind of intergalactic cabaret and all of humanity was invited. All around her, ponies and people alike mingled peacefully, happily. It was enough to make the showmare want to violently vomit, so much so that she neglected to watch where she was going… “Oof!” she grunted as she crashed head-on into…she shook her head and re-focused her attention… “Watch it!” she snapped as the man returned to his feet as well. She looked him up and down in disgust. Everything about him foreign, felt…dangerous. Everything from his strange, alien attire to his pointy ears. It was all so…wrong! “My apologies,” he replied in a monotone voice completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. “Are you hurt?” As Trixie dusted herself off, she noticed him produce a small, rectangular device from a side pocket on his uniform and her eyes widened as he pointed it at her, emitting a series of beeps as he studied her. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is fine, no thanks to you!” she spat as a nasty thought suddenly entered her mind. With that, a blue glow suddenly enveloped the pointy-eared man and levitated him into the air. With a smug grin, she flicked her head and suspended him upside down. She frowned as the man’s expression remained the same as before; she could see no trace of panic or fear on his face and he addressed her thusly. “I apologize for earlier but I must inform you that this is most illogical…” “Shut up!” Trixie shouted, giving him a few shakes for good measure, taking no notice of the crowd gathering around her. “Maybe this will teach you some manners!” There was a clattering sound as the man’s equipment fell from its pockets, eliciting a few concerned murmurs from the crowd. “You there!” Trixie froze as the gruff voice of a Royal Guard met her ears. “Stop that at once! He is a guest of the Princess and nopony is to bother him! Release the Ambassador immediately!” Trixie gulped; she may not know much about humans or their cohorts but the word “ambassador” was instantly recognizable. Frustrated and exhausted after the stress, she set the pointy-eared man down, gently so as not to attract any more trouble. It seemed that Celestia valued her new pets quite a bit and as much as Trixie loathed them, she wasn’t willing to risk any disciplinary action over them, not when she had a show to put on. She simply could not risk jeopardizing her chances by invoking the ill-will of any of the city’s higher-ups. “There’ll be no more of that,” the guard added as the man dusted himself off. “You’re lucky he wasn’t hurt.” He turned to the pointy-eared hobgoblin. “Are you alright, Ambassador Vitok?” “I am quite unharmed,” he replied curtly. “There is no need for alarm; this mare was simply unfamiliar with me and as such, saw me as a threat, prompting her to react the only way she knew how.” “Um…are you sure we shouldn’t report her, sir?” the guard asked. “How do you know all this?” The man shrugged. “It is only logical.” Logical? What part of any of this was ‘logical’? As much as his summation confused her, Trixie thought it best to simply keep her mouth shut and thank her lucky stars that the situation hadn’t ended much worse. “Alright, if you say so,” the guard replied with a shrug of his own. “Pleasant day, Ambassador.” The man gave him a curt nod and continued on his way. “As for you,” the guard continued, centering his gaze on Trixie. “Showing a little more respect towards the Princess’ guests wouldn’t kill you.” That was it. If there was anything Trixie couldn’t stand, it was a lecture on good behavior. Apologizing to Twilight and her entourage had been difficult enough but the line had to be drawn somewhere. “Hmmph!” Trixie replied, as she about-faced and walked away with her nose in the air. The guard rolled his eyes and left as well, leaving the showmare to her own devices once again. The rest of her journey into Canterlot was considerably less action-oriented, which suited the exhausted showmare just fine. Towing one’s cart from sea to shining sea on a constant basis would make anyone tired and Trixie was certainly no exception. Despite the use of magic to ease her burden, the showmare found herself searching for a quiet place to rest for the night. A quiet place to rest seemed like an impossible dream at first. Canterlot had always been a bustling city but thanks to the addition of several thousand humans, the activity had been doubled. Everywhere she turned, they were a step ahead and it wasn’t long before she had been turned down by every inn and bed & breakfast in the city, prompting her to explore other options. It wasn’t until the sun was setting that she finally settled on a place to stay, at least for the time being. A small grassy field about a kilometer out of the city beckoned to her and by nightfall, she had made it. It was quiet and surprisingly secluded, the perfect place to sleep and maybe even practice a few tricks for the upcoming week. With a yawn, she parked her cart, placing a couple logs in front of and behind each wheel to secure it. She wiped her brow with a front hoof and collapsed onto her back on the soft grass, letting the cool blades tickle and cool her. Trixie had always liked the stars. Luna’s handiwork never ceased to amaze her, which ironically, increased her trepidation. A shooting star was a rare treat, even by Luna’s standards. As such, Trixie held the phenomenon very close to her heart. Now, despite the streaks of light above her, she found no solace in her favorite time. So many of those damned star-ships came and went that she could never be sure if the star she found herself admiring was because of the moon princess or one of…them. Why couldn’t they just leave, disappear, go back to their own world? It almost seemed like they had some ego to stroke, given the way they flaunted their so-called ‘technological prowess’. It was that ‘prowess’ that on more than one occasion, had almost landed her in the poorhouse. Trixie wasn’t exactly a fan of technology. As a purveyor of the art of prestidigitation and home-spun illusions, she felt the threat of the Federation’s technology firsthand, their ‘holograms’ and other assorted nonsense making her best work look like nothing more than common card tricks and sleight-of-hoof. Her pride was the first casualty, followed swiftly by her pocketbook. And now, it seemed, the stars, the once-unreachable treasures that she cherished so much, were now, like her, at the mercy of the humans and their ‘Federation’. If there was anything the Great and Independent Trixie loathed, it was being at anyone’s mercy. With a frustrated sigh, she got up and looked over at the lights and general excitement emanating from Equestria’s capital. Part of her envied the other ponies for living in such a happening locale while another part hated what had become of it. No, no, I refuse to involve myself with such awful creatures, she thought, shaking her head. For a time, she considered practicing her new routine. It certainly could use some sharpening up, especially if she planned on impressing the Canterlot crowd who had already been spoiled by the technology possessed by the Federation. Ah, the wonderful burdens of the famous and talented. At least, that’s what Trixie told herself as she tried to escape the onset of depression. That’s it, she thought, shaking her head once again. I can’t just sit here all pathetic and whiny. I am a showmare! I am the greatest talent ever to grace Equestria! I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! With her patented grin of infinite smugness and renewed vigor, she trotted off towards Canterlot, determined to size up her opposition…or at least find a half-decent bar. She gave the stars one last quick look and started down the path to the city. A slowly-building hum persisted as she walked, growing louder and louder with every second that passed. Trying to swallow any fear, Trixie stopped walking and directed her attention towards where she thought the noise was coming from. Seeing nothing around her, she looked up just in time to see a large shape descending from the stars. Her eyes widened upon realizing that it was heading straight for her. She took off running as fast as her legs could carry her, hoping to escape the incoming Object of Certain Doom. Behind her, all manner of lights and signals flashed as if Tartarus itself had just opened its hungry maw, eager to snap her up like a terrified animal cracker. Although she dared not look back, the lights were intense, so much so that they nearly blinded her as she kept running. Finally, after sprinting a fair distance, her legs seized up and refused to go any further, forcing her to take a quick breather. A talented showmare she was but a track star she most decidedly was not, a trait for which, at this time at least, she was not particularly proud. Fortunately, whatever it was seemed content with simply settling down in the clearing and not pursuing her any further. On that note, a hiss followed by a sickening and familiar crunch grabbed her attention as she realized what she’d left behind in her panic to escape her untimely demise. Fear suddenly forgotten, she gathered what little strength remained and took off towards the clearing. *** Another happy landing, I thought as the ship came to rest on its four landing skids. I wiped my brow and breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the time, I was more than happy to sit back and let the ship’s computer handle the small stuff like the logistics of getting anywhere. I sat up from the captain’s chair, a seat I surely did not deserve, and winced as almost every bone on by back cracked. Ah, sweet relief. It was a small price to pay for comfort after a long and harrowing flight. With no one else on board as per usual, I was free to come and go as I pleased, which was exactly what I intended. Until, that is, I heard something over the ship’s exterior communication array. I ran over to the COM console and turned the volume up. Sure enough, an angry and very effeminate voice reached my ears. Eager to satisfy my curiosity, I activated the external sensors and brought up a visual on my ship’s viewscreen. “Oh bloody Hell,” I muttered as my eyes took in the sight of a light-blue pony mare yelling some extremely unflattering colorful metaphors that I couldn’t help but think were meant for me. And to what end? Why was she so angry? “That figures,” I said to myself as I grabbed my jacket and headed to the nearby turbolift. “I’d like to make planet fall just once without one of the locals pitching a fuss. And here I thought Equestria was the ‘land of love and tolerance’.” I exited the turbolift after a few moments and made my way to the starboard loading ramp. Due to the planet’s so-called ‘persistent magical residue’, beaming wasn’t an option. Too much radiation from all the ‘magic’ or whatever it was called. Basically, it made beaming extremely dangerous. It was a short walk from the turbolift to the starboard receiving area. At 165 meters long, it was hardly a chore to travel from one part to another, a feature for which I was always grateful. I disliked large ships for the most part, especially since I had acquired this one with relative ease. After all, who was I to be picky? It wasn’t every day that Starfleet auctioned off a decommissioned but still very useable starship for relatively cheap. Well, I use the term ‘cheap’ loosely here; I’ll run naked through a Borg Cube before I ever work for a Ferengi ever again. It was simple and small but quick and smart, as Nova-Class science vessels were known to be. I wasn’t the greatest operator in the world but I knew the basics and usually let the ship’s computer do the rest. I simply jaunted about from planet to planet, doing odd jobs and eking out a living. It wasn’t especially glamorous or lucrative but it was exciting and that’s all I really cared about. And now I had a furious magical talking horse outside kicking the hull and just waiting for a moment in which she could kick my ass. I shrugged; I’d had worse. Far, far worse. Dealing with an angry local was the least of my problems. As it stood, I had a slow power drain to deal with and no idea of how to fix it, which is why I found myself and the Ranger on the outskirts of Canterlot after being told by every dock engineer at the Federation base that, on account of the high traffic volume that day, I had to find somewhere else to land. So I picked the most open-air location my damaged sensors could find and did as instructed. I hit the button to lower the cargo ramp and took another deep breath, this time of fresh and clean Equestrian air, a real treat after being trapped in a glorified tin can for a fortnight. As I strolled out into the moonlit world, an extremely irate voice hit me like a tonne of bricks and I could only assume that is hailed from the mare in question. “…and furthermore, the Great and Powerful Trixie does not appreciate…” “Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first 163 times,” I replied with a dismissive wave as I walked down the ramp. “I get it; I interrupted your stargazing and you’re pissed. I understand but… hey!” I yelped in as manly a fashion as I could manage as she ran and tackled me to the ground the second my feet touched the ground. “Alright, alright, I’m sorry I scared you or whatever, just get the Hell off me!” With that, I gave her a firm but not too hard shove and she fell onto her haunches with an annoyed huff. “Okay, now that that’s settled, let’s discuss this like adults. Who are you?” “Your flying trash heap crushed my cart!” the showmare cried, gesturing to a half-hidden pile of broken wood nestled under one of the Ranger’s footpads. I face-palmed; as I suspected, my already-shoddy sensors had also been nearly blinded by the residual 'magic', resulting in such an embarrassing (and probably expensive) oversight. “Nice to meet you, ‘your flying trash heap crushed my cart’. I’m ‘guy who owns this flying trash heap',” I replied, only slightly annoyed. “Well?” The blue mare tapped a front hoof impatiently and looked at me expectedly. “Well what?” “What are you going to do about this?” she demanded, gesturing to what remained of her cart once again. I shrugged. “Well, that is…I, um…y’see, I don’t actually have that many Bits on me so…” It was true. Sure, I felt bad about wrecking her property. Really bad, actually. There was nothing I wanted to do more than help her but my hands were more or less tied at the moment. All I had were a few credits, the closest thing to money the Federation would accept, and I needed them to get my ole’ crate space-worthy again. I reached into my pockets and grabbed the two Bits I possessed and showed her. “See?” I jumped as a light-blue glow enveloped them and whisked them away to the blue mare. “Hmmph. It’s a start.” “Well, I’d give you my two bits on the situation but since you already took ‘em, I’ll just be on my way now.” I replied, heading in Canterlot’s direction. “What?” the blue mare demanded in disbelief. “You can’t go! You haven’t reimbursed me for my trouble!” “Look, it’s hard to explain right now so let’s just say that once I get my ship fixed, I’ll have a hope in Hell of helping you but for now, I’m kinda stuck. You’ll just have to wait ‘till I get back, alright?” I offered, knowing full-well that they weren’t terms with which she would agree. Too bad she didn’t have a choice. “Oh no you don’t! You’re not leaving me here!” With that, she galloped over to me and gave me an expression that practically screamed “I’m watching you”. “I’m going with you. Trixie has to make sure that you don’t try anything funny before you pay her back!” “Did you…did you just refer to yourself in the third person?” I asked incredulously. “Maybe! What does it matter? Somepony as great and powerful as I ought to show it!” The only reaction I could think of was the ever-useful face-palm, which I immediately put to good use. “That’s not much of a reason.” I mumbled. “You doubt the talents of the Great and Powerful Trixie?” She narrowed her eyes at me. Now it was just getting weird. “Ugh, no!” I replied with a groan. “Look, I wasn’t trying to…y’know what? Why don’t I just grab what I need and…you just shut up?” I smiled as she tried to come up with a clever retort. Failing to do so, she simply “Harrumphed!” and walked quietly beside me. I couldn’t believe how long she kept her mouth shut. I figured that it was either because of my early explanation finally sinking in or because the presence of the Federation was making her very uncomfortable. Her reactions seemed to suggest the latter when, as we passed a group of chatting and laughing ensigns, she changed sides to avoid walking too closely to them. I decided to let her off the hook. “You don’t like us very much, do you?” I asked as gently as I could. The last thing I wanted was to have one of the locals freak out at me and wreck my chances of fixing my ship in a timely fashion, not to mention running the risk of pissing off the local constabulary. “Was it that obvious?” she spat. “Okay, okay! Just chill! You’re gonna blow a gasket or something. It was just a question. If you don’t wanna answer, then that’s just fine.” “…No.” “Okay, that’s fair,” I replied, trying not to rile her up any more than I already had. Surely, pragmatism was my best ally at the moment. “May I ask why you hate humanity so much?” “Well…” she began, having calmed down a little as if the conversation was helping her get it out of her system. “I…I don’t hate all humans…” I nodded slowly. “…just the Federation and you.” There it was. Looks like pragmatism was a one-way street after all. I groaned. “Okay, I’m sure that not everyone was glad to see them but…what did they do to you? I mean, Starfleet came here to protect your world, right?” She gave me a blank look. “You do know what Starfleet is, right? It’s a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada…” “You done?” she interrupted. “Yeah, I’m done. Look, let’s just get what I need from Requisitions and then we can get outta each other’s hair and never see each other again, capisce?” “That’s fine with me! Hmmph!” As one might expect given the circumstances, the only part of that entire evening that went smoothly was parts requisitioning. Thanking my lucky stars that I had enough, I exchanged what few credits I had and we were soon on our way back out of Canterlot. All the while, the blue mare said nothing. The silence gave me time to think. As rude and self-centered as the mare was, I couldn’t deny my responsibility pertaining to her troubles. She was right; I had an obligation as a human to show her that we weren’t all as bad as she plainly thought we were. Plus, I did feel bad about crushing her cart. Damn sensors; how did they work? Once again, I cursed my lack of technical ability. “Just so you know, it’s gonna take me a little while to make this repair,” I said as we reached the ship. “Are you hungry? You want something to drink?” “Trixie doesn’t want anything from you,” she shot back with her nose in the air. Her cheeks suddenly went red as a low rumble emanated from her stomach. “Maybe but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need anything,” I replied, opening the starboard cargo hatch at the top of the loading ramp. “Look at it this way; if you starve to death, how will I ever be able to pay you back? You might as well have something to eat.” I gestured for her to join me. As much as she tried to hide it, I could see the wheels turning and after a few moments, she approached the ramp…and stopped. I smiled in spite of everything. Of course she’d be hesitant to come aboard. “Look, why don’t you just wait right there and I’ll bring you something, okay?” I offered. Her stomach grumbled one more time and she nodded, but just barely. “I’ll be right back.” With parts in hand, I headed to the turbolift and after a few seconds, wound up in the small ship’s galley, whereupon I raided the meager storeroom. More than once, I had to stop myself and wonder what she could eat. Good thing I had the perfect tool for these situations at my disposal. “Computer,” I exclaimed, my command followed by a beep of acknowledgment. “Um…okay, here’s the thing. I’ve got a hungry…pony-thing out there. What do I feed her?” “Analysis indicates that like most equines indigenous to Earth, Equestrian ponies are partial to hay, oats, and apples in particular.” the computer replied. “Seems simple enough,” I muttered, going over to one of the galley’s small replicators. “Hmm…” I hummed, checking the power levels necessary for replication. There wasn’t much but it was probably enough for at least one meal. One meal. That was it. Then what? “Screw it,” I decided as my stomach growled in protest. “Computer, three Red Delicious apples on the double.” I exclaimed to the replicator. There was a beep and after a moment, the fruit appeared in a wave of blue and white light. I knew that they probably weren’t as good as the ones found locally but they’d have to do. Besides, I doubted very much if the hungry mare would refuse free eats even if they were reconstituted recyclables. I returned to the clearing shortly after, apples in hand. I found the blue mare sitting patiently a couple feet away from the ramp, looking at me expectedly. “Well?” she demanded. “You’re welcome,” I replied, setting them down in front of her. There was silence, save for some crunching noises and various om nom nom sounds as Trixie made short work of…no, scratch that…devoured the small snack provided for her. It was as if she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days. I made a metal note to check back with her after my repairs were done in case she was still hungry. After all, in my mind, feeding her until she exploded was the least I could do for wrecking her cart. “Hey,” I said. She looked up at me mid-chew. “I’ve got a couple things to do but I’ll be back in a half-hour or so. If you like, you could come on inside and…” She shook her head vehemently. “…never mind. If you wanna stay out here, it’s cool. I just thought that you might be bored or something.” “…thanks…” I paused and turned to her. “What was that?” “Didn’t you hear me the first time, human?” Trixie demanded. Ugh, ‘demanded’. I know I’ve probably overused that word a lot but man, was she ever demanding! “You bet your sweet ass I did. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.” “Bet my sweet what?” I couldn’t help but smile at her apparent outrage at such a bold and crass statement. “Never mind. I’ll be back,” I replied, following my outdated-yet-still-functional tricorder to the source of the problem. A power conduit in need of some patching up, nothing too serious and fortunately, nothing I couldn’t handle. Anything more and I was pretty quick to schedule a trip to the nearest Starbase. I finished in a fairly timely fashion, mostly due to the fact that it wasn’t a very involved repair. It was then that a small but nagging thought wormed its way into my head. I returned outside to find the blue mare sitting on her haunches, staring glumly at the remains of her cart. What began as a small nagging thought began to grow as I looked at her. She might have tried to hide it but I could see right through it. That cart was all she had. It was her shelter, her stage, her pack-mule if need be, and I had destroyed it in the blink of an eye. For the first time in quite a while, I felt like a first-class heel. It was then that a strange yet strangely interesting idea popped into my head. “Hey,” I called, walking down the ramp to join her on the grassy knoll. She looked up at me but didn’t say anything. I could see the inner struggle taking place simply by studying her facial features; it was 'cry vs. bitch' and although she tried to hide it, I’m pretty sure 'cry' was winning. “Look, I’m really, really, really sorry about your cart,” I began, hoping for any gauge-able response. “Why…why should you care?” she sniffed, clearly losing the aforementioned battle. “You’re just…you’re just…” “…just what? A ‘human’? Y’know, you may not have noticed but we’re not all the same. I don’t know who got your tail in a knot but trust me, some of us are actually half-decent.” “Hmmph, I’ll believe it when I see it,” Trixie mumbled. “What do you mean “when you see it”?” I asked with a smile. “As far as I can see, I’ve been a shining example of humanity ever since we met. Um, besides crushing your stuff, of course.” “I…I guess you haven’t been too terrible…” the showmare replied hesitantly. “There. Was that so hard? Now, I have an idea. I don’t know if you’ll like it but…” “Ugh, would you please just get to the point already?” Trixie interrupted, clearly irritated. “Of course, my queen,” I replied, complete with a low, sweeping bow. “I was just about to suggest that, unless you’ve got something holding you back here, you could come with me.” There was a pause, during which Trixie’s facial expression changed several times. She went from surprised to skeptical to something that screamed “you’ve got to be kidding” in (insert obligatory “10 seconds flat” reference here). “You’ve got to be kidding.” Can’t say I was too surprised to hear that. “Just think about it!” I continued, ignoring her obvious disgust with my suggestion. “You’re a traveling magician, correct?” “I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! I am no mere ‘traveling magician’!” she protested far louder than necessary. “Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re like the Siegfried and Roy of Equestria,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “‘Cept without the tiger. Look, if what you’ve told me is any indication, you don’t have much keeping you here, especially now that I’ve demolished your RV. Sorry again, by the way,” I added as she glared at me. “Just think; you could travel almost anywhere in the galaxy performing in front of thousands of different worlds! You know how many people that is? You’d become the most famous pony who’s ever come outta Equestria! Wealth and fame are just a warp away! So…whaddya say?” I extended my hand towards her. She was quiet, obviously giving the idea some thought. “So…let me get this straight…” she began. “You want me to travel all over…up there…” She gestured up at the stars. “…with you…and you’ll just take me…wherever I want to go just so I can perform my routine?” Her expression conveyed a look of doubt so I answered quickly to alleviate as much of her anxiety as I could. “That’s what I said. And you don’t have to worry about food or shelter or anything,” I assured her, still holding out my hand. “I’ve got more than enough room and the ship’s replicator can make you anything you want to eat.” It was true. Out of the Ranger’s eight decks, my habitat used up maybe half of one so I had room to spare. As for food and supplies, Trixie was a small pony and a mare at that. I seriously doubted she’d ever eat me out of house and…ship. I watched as she looked up at me and slowly extended her right front hoof…and slapped my hand away. “Ugh, I can’t believe I even considered going up there with you and that…that…thing,” she exclaimed defiantly. “Now I suggest you leave. Trixie has had quite enough of you and your…human-ness.” I sighed and shrugged. “Suit yourself,” I replied nonchalantly, heading back up the ramp. “Getting outta your hair sounds just fine to me. Man, I can’t decide what to do first! Maybe I’ll take a nice, hot shower. Or will I eat first? Or should I take in a children’s card game on the holodeck? Decisions, decisions…” I reached the top of the ramp and prepared to close the cargo doors. “Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Trixie. I hope you find what you’re looking for.” With that, I closed the doors, watching her disappear from sight until all I saw was cold, grey metal. With a sigh, I made my way back to my bridge and prepped the Ranger for takeoff. Ensuring that she kept her distance from the departing starship, I switched the viewscreen on and focused on the starboard side of the ship. Fortunately, Trixie had moved far enough away and I could take off safely. As I slowly rose into the air, I happened to look down at the starboard camera and a strange and most unexpected sight greeted my eyes. Standing on her hind legs and waving her front ones as frantically as she could, Trixie desperately tried to get my attention. It seemed that she had reconsidered. Smiling, I wondered how I should deal with the situation. I wasn’t leaving her, no way. A gentleman never rescinds an offer of kindness. That wasn’t the Starfleet way. I mean, sure I wasn’t in Starfleet but over the years, they had taught me a thing or two. I guess being a bleeding heart was one of those things. Either way, I couldn’t seem too eager, not with her. She’d never let me hear the end of it if I swept back down as if summoned by an Egyptian Pharaoh. No, if we were to get along in the future (and by “get along”, I mean not tearing my face off around her), a couple of rules needed to be established here and now and I had a pretty good idea of how I was gonna do it. I waited until I was a few hundred meters above the planet’s surface and activated helm controls, switching to manual. I eased the nose of my ship towards the horizon as if I was about to blast up into space and leave her forever. As I did so, I glanced at the starboard camera to do a quick check-up and, to my amazement, found her still reaching up towards the ship. “Alright, I think I’ve made my point,” I exclaimed to no one in particular. “Computer, let’s try something new.” A chime told me to continue. “Try to determine her magical frequency using a spectral analysis. When you do, isolate that frequency and beam it directly to the bridge.” “Acknowledged.” the computer replied. I know, impossible, right? Well, this was a science ship. Maybe it had some kind of gizmo that could pierce the magical radiation surrounding the planet. At least, I hoped so. My hunches were usually pretty good. They had to be. My technical knowledge sucked. “Unique radiation signature isolated. Commencing transport.” Meanwhile… Hard as she tried, Trixie couldn’t fight the small sniff that escaped her the second the Ranger disappeared into the starry ocean. He was gone and with it, her chance to be something else, something more. She looked over at her crushed cart and fought back tears. It was her fault. Her fault for being rude and obstinate with someone she hardly knew, someone who only wanted to make things right for wronging her. True, she was scared but that had never stopped her before. Since when did she cower in fear of the unknown? That didn’t sound like the Trixie she knew. So, in order to better cope with the situation, she did the only thing she could think of: she got angry. “Yeah, you’d better run, you big…you big…jerk!” she cried, rearing up onto her hind legs, only this time not trying to get his attention. Well, not in a good, positive, happy-go-lucky way anyway. “I’m better off without…without…” She suddenly felt cold and shivered in place, the very embodiment of clichéd misery. Wait, was she getting…warmer? The sensation spread quickly as if someone had come from nowhere and wrapped her in a warm embrace. The sensation only lasted for a moment as she felt her body get tingly and light and she almost felt like she was floating. “Wait, what’s going on? Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh…!” With that, a bright blue and white light surrounded her and she whisked her away into the darkness. *** “…aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh…ooof!” Trixie grunted as she felt her body gently hit something metal. She rubbed her eyes and quickly looked around in disbelief. Shaking, she looked up to find a familiar face staring back down at her, a face wearing a smug smile. “Have a good trip?” I asked, unable to keep a degree of satisfaction from infiltrating my voice. She looked at me in shock and then with realization as it began to click. “You…you did that on purpose, didn’t you!?” she demanded. I couldn’t help but notice that she did not refuse my attempt to help her up. “Again, you bet your sweet ass,” I replied, pulling her to her feet. “But…but…you…” she sputtered, clearly bewildered at the sudden turn of events. “Hey, I wasn’t just gonna up and leave you there,” I assured her. “That’s not what us humans are all about. Someday, I hope you’ll believe me.” If not today, then when else, I wondered. “Oh! Well…I…” Trixie stammered. I put the ship back on autopilot and gently wrapped my hoodie around her. “It’s okay, you’re safe. Everything’s gonna be okay now.” I felt her stop shivering and tied the sleeves about her neck to keep it on. Seeing the look of uncertainly still present in her eyes, I gently led her to the starboard viewport. “Look out there,” I said, pointing out to space. “What do you see?” “It’s…it’s the stars…” she replied quietly. I nodded. “That’s right. Something tells me you’ve spent a lot of time just…looking at them, wondering what was up there.” Okay, I know that was lame but I had to calm her down somehow so I took a shot in the dark. Sue me. “Am I right?” She nodded slowly, so slowly that I almost missed it. “Well, that is what we’re gonna figure out; we’re gonna travel to those stars and see what they’re all about. Sound good?” “…yes.” Her answer was so quiet that I almost didn’t hear it but I wanted to be sure that she was okay with it. “One more time?” “Yes. I want to see the stars.” I have to admit that I was quite surprised. There must be something about the night sky that fascinated her and something told me that sharing some of the universe’s majesty with her would do us both a lot of good. Who knows? It’s a big universe. There was bound to be something for us out there. After a minute or so of staring out at the stars, I carefully placed a hand behind her neck and guided her to the turbolift. “T...Trixie demands to know where you are taking her!” There it was. I had been wondering when her dominant personality would make its appearance. “Relax, would ya? I’m just showing you where you’ll be staying.” We entered the turbolift and after a moment, wound up on the lower deck and my humble abode. “As far as I know, these are the officer’s quarters,” I explained, gesturing to the small row of private rooms. “They’re bigger than the regular crew quarters so you’ll have plenty of space for…well, for pretty much anything you want. Um, there’s a bed, a table, even a personal replicator so you can have a bite to eat whatever you like…” I trailed off as I saw her studying the row of door intently. “Oh, I stay in that one right there, that captain’s room,” I added, pointing at the door just across the hall. “At least, I think it’s the captain’s room.” “Trixie does not recall asking where you slept.” “Well, Cole was just trying to be polite and let you know, in the very likely scenario that you’ll need my help with something.” “What was that?” “What was what?” “What did you say?” she asked impatiently. “I said you’ll probably need my help and that’s why I…” She shook her head. “No, before that. I…I think you said your name.” “Oh yeah, I guess I did. My name’s Cole,” I replied, holding out my hand by way of a somewhat belated introduction. “Cole Stevens. It’s nice to meet you…officially.” There was another pause as Trixie considered her options but eventually, she relaxed and tentatively allowed my hand to gently grip her hoof. She retracted almost immediately and gave me a stern expression as I let out a small chuckle. “How many times do I have to say it? You can relax! No one’s gonna hurt you!” I reminded her, hoping that would alleviate her fears. “Now, if you’re done being all scared and stuff, why don’t you go ahead and pick out a room?” She did just that. It didn’t take her long before she settled on a commander’s room across the hall and to the right of my own. After that, we spent some time discussing what we could do to make it feel more like home. I suggested some plants to make the room greener like Equestria and less Spartan like the rest of the ship. Unfortunately, due to an overall lack of supplies and considerable shopping hiatus, anything fancier than a few ferns and shrubs would have to wait. She didn’t seem to mind, though, and it wasn’t long before she collapsed on the bed and fell asleep, exhausted from the day’s excitement. I smiled and gently tucked the covers around her. I took her hat, which had fallen to the ground along with her forgotten cape, and hung them up on a couple of nearby hooks. With that, I turned the lights off and returned to the bridge. My bridge. My home. I watched Equestria become a tiny speck as we slowly cruised away and yawned. Ever the cautious one, I made sure that the deflector shields were active; satisfied that they were, I yawned once more and allowed the turbolift to take me back down to my quarters. The door opened for me and I shuffled in, nearly collapsing upon reaching my spacious bed. I propped myself up on my elbows and laid back against my pillow and looked out at the stars. They really were beautiful, even if we didn’t really just ‘look’ at them anymore. Like Trixie, there was something about them that beckoned me, dared me to discover their secrets. “Space; the final frontier,” I murmured to myself, mirroring one of Starfleet’s greatest as sleep began to overtake me. “These are the voyages of the starship Ranger…”