//------------------------------// // The Trouble Center (part 2) // Story: Metroid: A Hunter in Equestria // by Cusi //------------------------------// Chapter 20: The Trouble Center (Part 2) The sun rose from the horizon, signaling the start of a new day. A day that was going to be an interesting one for a certain bounty hunter and a certain magician. Samus rose from her comfy pilot chair and stretched her body. Somewhere behind her, Tim went online. The huntress and her robot assistant exited the gunship, and in case of the human, started doing some morning work outs. Tim, having nothing better to do or learn, followed the same steps of Samus. A few minutes later, Samus’s morning was soured by the arrival of Rainbow Dash. There was something about the chromatic pegasus that irked Samus. “Heya, Samus, what’s up?” Rainbow Dash greeted, but there was something in her tone that didn’t quite agreed with the greeting. A closer look to her face would validate the suspicion. “Hello,” Samus said, somewhat wary of the pegasus, “May I help you?” Rainbow hesitated. She drew a deep breath and spoke. “Look, I just came to thank you for helping Fluttershy yesterday. I don’t fully trust you, after the things you pulled out, but I gave her my word I would at least thank you. She seems to like you just fine.” Samus regarded the mare for a few moments. “You’re welcome. And don’t worry about that happening again; I learn from my mistakes.” “Just so we’re clear, I don’t like you and I don’t trust you, but Fluttershy does. I’ll keep an eye on you.” “That’s fair. I actually dislike you very much, so I say we’re even,” Samus said. “Still, no need for unnecessary tension. You stay out of my way, I stay out of yours. Deal?” Samus offered her hand. “Deal,” Rainbow Dash gave her hand a shake, albeit with a suspecting glare. “Good, now go away. I have business to attend to.” With one last glare, Rainbow Dash flew away. “Come on, Tim. Today’s the grand opening.” OXOXO After a meaningful ‘thank you’ and a nice hug, she said her goodbyes to Nurse Redheart and Snowflake, who were seeing her off. Trixie left the hospital with a smile, carrying a small bag; a gift from Snowflake. The healthy-but-still-recovering magician took a deep breath and made her way to the center of town, where Town Hall was located. She still had some things to take care of, like making it up to Samus for all the damage she caused. And Twilight Sparkle. And the mayor. And pretty much all of Ponyville. Trixie deflated. She could just leave and nopony would miss her, but she had made her mind about making a new start, and she’ll be damned if she started by leaving without making amends for her wrongs. While she could blame the amulet for her behavior, it was ultimately her weak mind that allowed it. Trixie took another deep breath. She was weak, but not anymore. She was going to make up for her past mistakes, starting with Samus. And if she looked at the bright side, Samus was a strong individual. With any luck, the alien might reveal the secret of her strength. With renewed resolve, Trixie marched onwards to Town Hall, the first step to her new self. She marched ignoring the nasty glares the ponies around her threw her way. It only took a small magic feel of the dumbbell within her bag to reassure her that there were still ponies that could give her another chance. Snowflake was proof of that. By the time Trixie arrived, Samus was already there. For her part, Samus was very pleased. When she arrived, Time Turner was waiting in her new space. A simple desk with a simple billboard, but Samus could appreciate simple. The stallion had taken the liberty to prepare this space for her. “Good luck in your first day,” he said. After a few pleasantries were exchanged between the alien and the timekeeper, Time Turner left to return to his duties. That’s when Samus saw Trixie. “Oh, you made it!” Samus said somewhat enthusiastically. “Ready?” “Ready for what?” Trixie asked. “What are we doing? What’s with the desk?” “Welcome to the Trouble Center,” Samus said with pride. She proceeded to explain its workings to the confused magician. Trixie, for her part, nodded as she listened. “So what made you do this?” Trixie asked, once the explanations had concluded. “To strike three birds with one stone,” Samus answered. “One: this is a way I could do the community service I agreed with the princesses to do to make up for my little bout of madness. Two: I do the community service thing while still having the chance to gain something from it. Three: if this hits, it will eventually let me get more information.” “Information about what?” “Afloraltite.” “What?” “It’s a mineral. It’s used to kick-start a ship’s hyperdrive to travel in space. Without it, it would take years or even decades to reach my destination. So I need afloraltite, or a good enough replacement. Thing is, I don’t even know if there’s any in this planet.” “...So you’re looking for a rock,” Trixie concluded. “Pretty much, yeah.” “Well, you may be in luck. I just so happen to have made acquaintance with...” Trixie looked suspiciously to her right and left. She got closer to Samus and whispered the next part. “...somepony known as ‘Clyde’. Clyde may be able to help you.” Samus raised her eyebrow. “But that’s for another chapter. What Trixie wants to know now is why you summoned her here,” Trixie said. “Well, I wanted to show you the Trouble Center, since you’re going to be helping me run it.” “WHAT?!” Trixie yelled. “Actually no. Trixie figured as much. And Trixie appreciates what you’re trying to do. Her question is: Why Trixie?” “You seem like you want to redeem yourself, so I figured you could give the Trouble Center a chance at that. Also, you are well-traveled, apparently well-connected, and you seem to know a thing or two, so I figured you might be useful as a source of information. I figured right, since you already gave me a promising lead of afloraltite. Plus, I find you interesting.” Trixie pondered the answer. After a few moments, she spoke. “Trixie might as well try her luck here. If anything, it’s a start.” “Trixie!” a booming voice exclaimed loudly. Samus and Trixie turned to see Mayor Mare accompanied by a gray unicorn. Samus recognized him as Boomer, one of the guards that assisted her back in her reconnaissance mission to the forest. “Boomy!” Trixie rushed and hugged the stallion. “It’s wonderful to see you! But what are you doing here?” “Hello, Samus. Miss Trixie,” Mayor Mare said that last part with barely concealed loathing. “This young stallion was looking for you, Samus. I told him about the Trouble Center.” “Thank you, miss Mare,” Boomer thanked. He turned to Samus while Trixie returned to the Hunter’s side. “She told me today was the grand opening. I was going to ask for a favor, but why not be your first customer instead?” Boomer laughed. “Very well,” Samus said. “How may we be of assistance? And what are you offering as a reward?” “I want your help identifying and possibly neutralizing an unknown entity. We don’t really know what else to call it. I offer 5000 bits for your help, plus a bonus depending on how well you perform.” “We accept!” Trixie yelled. “You are aware you just came out of the hospital, right?” Samus asked. “Trixie is fine. She’s had much worse,” the blue mare said. “Plus, I haven’t seen Boomy in a while, so I would like to catch up.” “Betty’s right. We have so much to talk about!” Boomer added. “Betty?” Samus asked with a raised eyebrow. “Short for Beatrix. I like to mess with her,” Boomer laughed. “Trixie doesn’t mind. He lets me call him Boomy, after all.” “Right. So, about this mission...” Samus said. “There was a sighting of an unknown entity in the fields near Fillydelphia,” Boomer answered. “It drops small exploding orbs that damage the vegetation, but it doesn’t really move much. It attacks anything that comes too close with a nasty bolt, but it is otherwise not aggressive. Any ideas?” “Hmm... Trixie doesn’t recall encountering anything like that. Perhaps if she were to see it?” “Well, I did bring a picture one of the Fillydelphians took.” Boomer took out a picture from his mane. “Here.” “Trixie has never seen something like it,” the azure mare said as she looked at the picture. “Any chance you have?” Samus took the picture and gave a look at it. She recognized the object in question immediately. “Impossible! There’s no way that could... be... Unless... Tim, stay here and keep an eye on the center. I’m going to investigate something.” Boomer and Trixie gave each other a look before turning their attention to Samus again. “So, do you recognize what this is?” Boomer finally asked. “I think I do, but something is not right. Let’s go. I accept your trouble, so let’s get a move on.” Samus began walking toward her ship. “Um, the train station is that way,” Boomer said while pointing to another direction. “We’re riding something much better than a train. Follow me,” Samus ordered. Boomer and Trixie obeyed. OXOXO Once they reached the gunship, Samus asked for coordinates and Boomer was quick to provide them. The coordinates were set and the ship took off. Despite the growing uneasiness she felt, Samus was enjoying seeing the faces of her two pony companions. The ponies had apparently never flown before. Trixie seemed to enjoy it, while Boomer had a nervousness around him. It was quite funny. The trip took only around 20 minutes. Samus landed the ship on the Fillydelphia outskirts and all three travelers got out. Boomer almost kissed the ground when he got out, but managed to keep some dignity. “Alright. Lead the way,” Samus commanded. “This way,” Boomer said. They walked toward a rather damaged field, were a couple of ponies were keeping watch on the mysterious entity. Boomer got ahead and explained the situation, making sure he introduced Samus as an ally and not another thing they should worry about. Despite their uncertainty, the ponies knew better than to mistrust a royal guard. With all that out of way, Samus equipped her signature armor and began scanning the orbs depicted in the picture. “Shit.” Samus’s fears were confirmed. The floating orb was a Harmony class drone, of Luminoth origin. “Message incoming” her visor showed. She opened it, seeing it came from the drone before her. “Beware the ma-“ it read. Whatever it was trying to say, the message had been cut short before it could be transmitted. Samus gave another look at the drone. “What are you trying to tell me?” she asked. The drone did nothing to answer her. Samus gave some steps toward it, but jumped back when it shot an electrical beam at her. “Whatever it was, looks like you’re not going to give me any more answers, are you?” Another electrical beam. She sighed and aimed her cannon. A few shots from her Battlehammer blasted the drone to oblivion. Samus turned and found Trixie looking expectantly at her. “What?” Samus asked. “Ugh, you had the perfect chance and you blew it!” Trixie said exasperatedly. “Excuse me?” “That was the perfect time for an epic one-liner. Have you no showmanship?” Samus groaned. “One-liners are for douchebags.” “Anyway, what was that thing?” Boomer asked. “That...” Samus said, turning her attention to the gray unicorn, “...was a Harmony Class Drone. They are Luminoth technology; units originally designed for cleaning, but something messed up their programming.” “So you’ve seen these things before? “Yes. What I want to know is why a piece of a civilization lightyears from here would be found here? How did it get here? And what does finding it here mean?” “You said Harmony class? As in the Elements of Harmony?” Trixie asked. “Could they be related?” guessed Boomer. “I don’t know. For now, the thing had been dealt with. Let’s go back to Ponyville. There is something that’s been bothering me for a while,” Samus said. OXOXO “Here you go, 5000 bits. Plus a little extra. I’ll head back to Canterlot now. See you later!” Boomer said as he made his way to the train station. Samus, Trixie and him had returned from the little mission and were now in Ponyville again. “It was great seeing you, Trixie!” “It was nice seeing you too, Boomy,” Trixie said as she hugged the stallion. “Trixie will likely stay in Ponyville for a while, so feel free to come say hi.” “Will do,” Boomer replied. “See you later! You too, Samus.” “Later.” Samus gave one of her two-finger wave. Once Boomer left the scene, Trixie turned to Samus. “Now what? There’s still some time before the days ends.” “We got way more money than I thought we would on our first day,” Samus said. “Wanna go spend it? Tim can handle any customers for the rest of the day.” “What do you have in mind?” “Well, there’s this spa I went to the other day...” OXOXO Way above the atmosphere of the planet, a single drone flew by. As it entered the stratosphere, a protective energy bubble materialized, protecting it from the harsh temperature of planet entry. Minutes later, the drone broke the fall with its thrusters, stopping a ways before it hit the ground. The drone consisted of a spherical head with a single optical receptor, mounted on a body resembling a bird, complete with metal wings. The drone took a look at its surroundings, taking in every detail available. A few moments later, the energy bubble blinked out of existence and its body seemingly disappeared. The cloaking capabilities of the drone were not perfect, but more than good enough to fool the majority of the life forms it had encountered so far. With precautions taken, the drone began the search for its objective. Its target: Samus Aran, wanted dead or alive by the Galactic Federation. OXOXO Elsewhere on the planet, a single red eyeball watched as the legendary bounty hunter blasted the Harmony class drone. The work was done swiftly and efficiently. The eye remained hidden from sight, lest it risked facing the Hunter, which it knew wouldn’t be much of a challenge to her. It watched as the armor-clad woman discussed something with her equine companions, and then left. Still, the red eye remained stationary for several more moments. It wasn’t until the sun began its descent that the eye moved, determined to look for another suitable spot for the next delivery. OXOXO “That was a wonderful afternoon. I thank you for your visit,” Princess Celestia said to her two changeling visitors, who were just now leaving the castle after an afternoon with the solar alicorn. “The pleasure is ours. It was indeed a pleasant meeting. We hope to see you again soon,” Queen Anis, current monarch of the changelings, said as she bowed her head. “Yeah, thanks for everything! The tea and cookies were great!” Darkly, Queen Anis’ chamberlain, eagerly complimented. “You’re welcome any time you wish. I look forward to our next meeting.” Princess Celestia flashed them her signature motherly smile. “It will be soon,” Anis said with a smile of her own. “There’s still much to discuss, but I feel that things will turn out better than I hope.” “Very well. I will see you soon,” the solar alicorn said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, there are some things I need to attend to.” She left the room, knowing the guards would escort the changelings out without trouble. She made her way to the familiar balcony, where her sister Luna awaited. After a brief greeting, Celestia focused her power and began lowering the sun, at the same time in which Luna began raising the moon. “Tell me, sister, how did the meeting with the changelings go? I hope everything went well?” Luna asked. “Oh, very well indeed. It’s hard to imagine sweet Anis to be related to Chrysalis. Their personalities are completely opposite. Which is why I’m glad the changelings are ruled by Anis now. Things look very promising. With luck, we could officially welcome the changelings to Equestria before long,” Celestia answered. “And how are things on your end?” “Things are looking up,” Luna commented. “My little group got a new member yesterday, and we’re showing her around. A little hotheaded, but she means well. Boomer also came with news that the little incident near Fillydelphia has been addressed. And by Samus and Trixie no less. Though he mention Samus recognized the entity.” “Did she mention anything about it?” “Boomer said she didn’t say anything enlightening, but she was going to investigate the matter. Whatever it is, I’m confident Samus can handle it.” “Looks like you have her in high regard again,” Celestia said with a grin. “She is a rather unique character, I’ll admit.” “Well, she did come from outer space.” “And she did come from outer space. But you know what I mean.” “Relax, I’m just teasing you a little. And what about Trixie?” “Doing a lot better, says Boomer. Looks like she no longer wants to die.” Those words tensed the mood. “That’s good to hear,” Celestia said with heavy air. “Though I shudder to imagine what had to go through her head to even consider... you know...” “Yes, I know. But relax, sister. It is something you cannot understand, so it’d be best if you didn’t linger on such thoughts.” Celestia looked at her younger sister. She understood the undertone of Luna’s words, but chose not to comment on it. Instead, she figured she would return the conversation to more pleasant topics. “You’re right. By the way, the new chef says he has the recipe for a never before seen cake, and he was going to bake one tonight. Would you like to accompany me?” “A new cake, you say? It sounds like a good idea.” OXOXO “Wow. Trixie had never given herself the chance to try a spa. This is just... Wow!” Trixie said as she relaxed in the spa’s relaxing tub. “I hear you, sister. I never knew you could be this relaxed.” Samus sunk a little more so the water would cover her neck. “Rarity was the one that brought me here. And well, I actually liked it.” “Rarity? The name sounds familiar...” “White unicorn, purple mane, posh attitude. Element of... One of the Elements of Harmony.” “Oh, right. Her... Trixie doesn’t much like her. Or most of Sparkle’s friends, for that matter.” “They’re not so bad. Most of them, at least.” “I’ll take your word for it. For now, let us relax.” And before long, their time in the water was over. After Samus and Trixie were done relaxing in the spa, they exited the building and went for an evening snack. They opted to get some ice cream and went to the park. “So, I was wondering,” Samus said as she licked her orange-flavored ice cream. “Yes?” Trixie had ordered a rose-flavored ice cream for herself. “Where are you going to stay? As far as I know, you don’t have a place of your own here.” “That is true. Trixie does not have a place to stay. That is because Trixie does not need a place to stay. She has been travelling for a long time now, and camping is as comfortable to Trixie as a house is to the common pony,” Trixie said with an air of tranquility. “Trixie will set camp outside Ponyville.” “Very well. See you tomorrow at the center.” OXOXO Another day, another dollar. Or something like that (what the hell was a dollar?). Samus couldn’t remember how the phrase went exactly, but she understood what it meant. Mostly. As per routine, the day began with morning exercises, followed by a delicious breakfast at the usual café; the only difference being Tim now followed her. On her way to the trouble center, he passed Twilight and Spike, who were annoyed and excited to see her, respectively. “Hello, Spike. Hello, Twilight,” Samus greeted. “Hi, Samus!” Spike returned the greeting with energy. “Hi.” Twilight, not so much. “Still angry, I assume?” Samus asked. Twilight answered with a glare. “Oh, boy. You have no idea,” Spike said. “She made me clean the toilets twice! With a toothbrush! And I didn’t get dessert.” “And you should be glad that’s all I made you do,” Twilight admonished. “I can’t believe you let her read my diary!” “Hey, easy on the kid. It wasn’t his fault you left your diary defenseless.” Samus took a step toward Twilight. “It was HIDDEN!” The librarian yelled. “Again, under the mattress is the worst place to hide valuable information.” “I can’t believe you!” “Calm down, you two!” Spike interjected. “Weren’t you two friends?” “Ah... I don’t know how to answer that,” Samus answered. “I think of you as a friend,” Twilight suddenly said in a much milder tone. “Even after all that happened, I still consider you my friend, Samus.” Samus suddenly began feeling a little uncomfortable when both Spike and Twilight looked at her expectantly. Lucky for her, she was saved by a rather flamboyant azure mare. “Samus! Good morning!” Trixie greeted when she spotted the alien. “Oh, and Sparkle and her pet dragon. Good morning.” “Good morning, Trixie.” Although trying to be civil, Twilight couldn't fully hide her current feeling of dislike for Trixie. “I’m not a pet! And what are you doing here, anyway?” Spike didn’t really try to be civil. “I thought you were going away. Far away, preferably.” Although good at masking it, the comment still hurt Trixie. “Sorry, little lizard, but Trixie will be staying for quite a while.” “Be nice, Spike,” Samus said. “Trixie will be helping me run a little business of mine. Why don’t you come later and try to patch things up?” “Why are you taking her side?” Spike whined. “She enslaved the whole town! She turned me into a ball, for goodness sake.” “Um, Trixie is really sorry about that. She wasn’t in her own right mind.” “I somehow doubt that.” “Spike! That was uncalled for. Apologize this instant.” Twilight commanded. Despite her own dislike, she was not going to stand idly while her number one assistant badmouthed someone. “Alright, alright. Jeez,” Spike begrudgingly conceded. “I’m sorry for being rude. But you still deserve it.” “Spike, let it go.” Samus intervened this time. “She’s trying to make up for it.” “But why are you defending her? She hurt you, too,” the little drake countered. “True, but as I said, she’s making up for it. You shouldn’t be too hard on her; that would be hypocritical.” “What do you mean?” both Spike and Trixie asked at the same time. “Well,” Samus said while she put her finger on her chin in mock thinking. “I recall reading a couple of pages depicting a certain baby dragon being overcome by greed and transforming into a giant dragon that almost destroyed Ponyville.” “Oh... That,” Spike conceded defeat. “She’s right,” Twilight, none too happy knowing just where Samus read that little event from, still recognized the voice of reason. “You shouldn’t be criticizing others.” “There was also that incident with a doll and forbidden magic,” Samus added. “We get it!” Twilight exclaimed. “Now we’ll be on our way and do the stuff we were going to do.” “Like what?” Spike asked. “Like reshelving the library, of course. Someone made a mess of it last night,” Twilight answered. “That was you! You stayed up all night reading. Again.” “Yes, I did. But you’re going to help me anyway.” “Why?” “Because I’ll buy you that ruby ice cream you mentioned the other day if you do.” “Ooh! Deal!” And with that, Twilight and Spike left for the library, leaving Samus, Tim, and Trixie. “Umm, thanks for sticking up for me. I appreciate it,” Trixie said after a while. “No problem. Let’s go.” And so they did. In a few minutes, they reached their place at the trouble center. Today there were only a couple of troubles, but it was to be expected, given the place had only been open for a day. “So, how do we proceed?” Trixie asked when she saw the two requests, not yet fully understanding how the trouble center worked. “We have someone asking for help moving some furniture. The reward is some tea and cake. There’s another one asking for help looking for a lost pet that offers 50 bits.” “They sound kind of mundane.” “Well, not all troubles involve saving the galaxy,” Samus said with some content. “So let’s get moving. We’ll meet with the moving guy, and proceed to the pet guy when we’re done.” “Alright, you’re the boss.” OXOXO “Thank you so much for your help, sweeties,” said an elderly mare. “You can have as much cake as you want.” “Thank you, ma’am,” answered Samus, who was currently eating a generous slice of chocolate cake. Trixie, who was sitting beside her and was panting heavily, also spoke. “Trixie *cough* is happy to help *wheeze*. This cake *pant* is delicious.” “Oh, have more if you want,” the mare offered. “That’s alright. This is more than enough,” Trixie said as she downed her tea. “I didn’t expect you to be so tired after lifting a few pieces of furniture,” Samus commented as she sipped on her tea. “I’m still not over the magic abstinence. I still need more time and therapy.” “Oh, right. Sorry.” “No problem.” “Alright,” Samus said as she stood up, cake and tea finished. “Time to go. Thanks for the cake, ma’am. It was great.” “No problem, sweetie,” the older mare answered. “Come back anytime.” OXOXO “Here’s a picture of my sweet Snugglewhiskers. Please find him!” a white stallion begged. “We’ll do what we can, sir,” Samus said. “Yes, just leave it to us!” Trixie added. “Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!” the stallion eagerly thanked. “”He likes to roam the market, so maybe that’s where you’ll find him.” “Thank you for the info. We’ll be leaving to search for him now.” The huntress turned to leave, Trixie following behind her. As they made their way to the market, Trixie couldn’t help but comment. “That stallion’s unbearable! No wonder his cat ran away.” “Yes, but a job is a job, and we already accepted this one. Suck it up and help me search. We’re looking for a white and orange cat with a blue bow.” “Trixie knows. Hmm. It’s a shame she can’t use too much magic now; a dowsing spell would be convenient.” “Probably. Lucky for us, I have this,” Samus said as her helmet materialized on her head. “Just a few minor adjustments to the scanner and... there! I can track felines with my sensors.” “And...?” “And... I got something. Hmm. Two signals. Come on.” Samus led Trixie to an alley, where they found the stallion’s cat and his mate, a cute black cat. “Aww, they look so cute together,” Trixie d’awwed. “Sadly for them, we have a job to do.” Samus swooped in and snatched the cat with the blue bow. “Have you no heart?” Trixie admonished when she saw Samus’s lack of empathy. “I can’t afford a heart during my missions. Besides, it’s not like I killed them. Now let’s go.” “Who said that?” Trixie suddenly demanded as she looked suspiciously at the alley. “I did. What’s wrong with you?” Samus asked, but Trixie paid her no mind. A minute later, Trixie seemed to come back to her senses. “What was that about?” “What? You didn’t hear that?” Trixie asked. “No, I didn’t.” “Huh. Well, I suppose I’m hearing things. Wouldn’t be the first time. Let’s go return this cat back to his owner.” “Are you ok?” Samus almost sounded worried. “Yes, I’m fine. Being on the road makes you sensitive to small noises. Sometimes those noises are just your imagination,” Trixie answered. Samus looked at Trixie intently for another moment. “If you say so.” After returning the cat to its obnoxious owner, Samus and Trixie wandered around town for a while. Samus noted with some worry that Trixie seemed very distracted, so she suggested the mare went to her camp to do some more magic exercises and rest afterwards; a suggestion Trixie took with not much joy. Saying their farewells, they parted ways. Samus still wandered around town, looking for something to do while Trixie returned to her camp. The huntress then wondered if her favorite baby dragon would be free for the rest of the day. If anyone were to show up at the center, either they could just post their trouble or Tim would sent her an alert. Either way, she doubted it. The center wasn’t that known yet. With a plan in mind, Samus made her way to the library. She wasn’t overly keen on greeting Twilight, but she figured Spike was worth the hassle. A few minutes later, Samus arrive at the town’s library. She opened the door and found Twilight barking orders and levitating dozens of books around her. Spike was on a ladder, trying desperately to keep up with the librarian’s commands. Neither of them noticed the amused human by the library’s door. “Knock knock,” Samus said after a while of being unnoticed. “May I come in?” “Samus!” Spike greeted excitedly, which prompted him to lose his footing and fall to the ground, along with a couple of books. He quickly recovered. “What brings you here?” “Well, I have the rest of the day probably free, so I was wondering if you would like to keep me company?” Spike only looked at Twilight to ask for unspoken permission. “Alright, you may go. I could use a break, too. But this will be done before you go to bed, okay?” “Yes, ma’am!” Spike saluted like a soldier. “Okay! Have fun, you two. I’ll go visit some of the girls,” Twilight said as she picked up a saddlebag and left the library. “Any idea on what to do?” Samus asked once she was alone with Spike. “I don’t know,” Spike mused for a short moment. “Oh! There’s this new cupcake flavor Pinkie Pie invented. Wanna go try it?” “Sounds like a good idea.” And so human and dragon left for some sugary goodness. And as a little token of appreciation, Samus volunteered to help Spike with his work after their snack. OXOXO In was evening now, and Samus was trekking back to her ship after sending Tim the command to return to the ship for the day. As always, she had greatly enjoyed her time with the little baby dragon. As she walked, the bounty hunter figured it would probably be a good idea to check on Trixie. It just wouldn’t do if her partner wasn’t in good shape, would it? So taking a little detour, she quickly reached Trixie’s camp. The sight that greeted her was somewhat odd. There was Trixie, standing on her back legs doing some strange pose. She had her eyes closed and her horn glowed pink, signaling that the floating dumbbell floating around her was caused by her magic. As the mare released her breath, her pose slowly changed; her forelegs moves in a flowing movement, and one of her back legs traces half a circle on the ground to keep the balance. This continued for some time, until the unicorn finally opened her eyes and gave a high-pitched shriek. “WHERE IN TARTARUS DID YOU COME FROM?!” “K-2L. But the question is what were you doing?” Samus answered and asked with her distinct calmness. After a few seconds to calm down, Trixie answered. “Just a few exercises that help me think and calm down. I learned them from one of my travels around the oriental province. An antelope called Long Hon taught me.” “I see. Looks like a nice way to clear your head. I usually meditate when I need to clear my mind.” “So they meditate back where you come from?” “The people that raised me had a very strong spiritual connection. I was never too good with spiritualism, but some techniques have been useful to me.” “Same with Trixie.” “So what’s troubling you?” Samus finally asked. “There’s a lot going on in my head right now.” “You can start with the biggest issue.” The unicorn looked uncertain for a moment, but eventually gave in. “Fine. The whole thing with the amulet is still bothering Trixie. She knows it is safely locked away with that zebra and that there is nothing to fear, but it still bothers her.” Trixie gave Samus a pleading look. “And Trixie still feels like a failure. If you don’t mind, would you share with Trixie the story of how you got your power?” Samus gave the question a long, deliberate thought. She internally debated whether revealing some of the secrets of her suit and how she got it to a pony recently freed from a corrupting influence was a good idea. Were this any other place, the answer would’ve been ‘no’, but Equestria has proven several times to be unlike any other place Samus had visited. Plus, sharing how she got the suit would do no harm. Sharing information was, after all, a big part of the chozo culture. Samus gave Trixie a small wistful smile. “Very well. Let’s go to my ship. I bought some tea some time ago and I haven’t had a chance to make some. I’ll tell you over a cup.”