In the thirty-third century, ponies regularly travel to other stars using spaceships equipped with artificial intelligence. These “Spaceplones” look like mechanical ponies with engines and wings, and their friendship-capable artificial intelligence keep the pilots company and enable travel at superluminal speeds using the Friendship Drive.

While ponies can change their profession more easily, to a spaceplone, the purpose they were built for is part of their identity. Multi-role designs exist, but most ships are constructed for very specific purposes.

However, when ponies designed the computer architecture for the artificial mind of the spaceships, they used the minds they were familiar with as a template and ships can experience many aspects of the equine condition much in the same way ponies do.

In today’s episode of “imaginary dichotomies”: Freighter and combat spaceships.

Based on my (as of yet unfinished) other story “Friendship Drive Charging”, a crossover between MLP:FiM and the game Elite:Dangerous https://www.fimfiction.net/story/472354/friendship-drive-charging it is recommended you read at least some of that one first for context.

In the future, ponies have settled on other planets. Transport with starships is common.
These ships are spaceplones - voidcraft plane ponies equipped with artificial intelligence sophisticated enough to feel true emotion and experience friendship.
The friendship between the pilots and the AI is not only necessary to maintain the pilot's sanity on long, lonely journeys, but also to keep the FTL Friendship Drive operational.
What is life like for these ship AIs for whom the words ownership, friendship, and employment are almost synonymous?
An introspective story from the life of Connie, a heavy freighter.
The setting is mostly inspired by the game Elite Dangerous and its famous misunderstanding of the ship computer's voice line "Frame shift drive charging". However, the FTL experience is vastly different and the story also incorporates ship designs and ideas from Star Citizen and other scifi. Cover art by Reterica. Design of Dirius' OC used for Pinwheel with permission.
i am very open to comments and welcome them
Proofreading is being done by Vayandas and Triton Mk IX. Thank you so much, my spelling really needs it <3
now with a discord server: https://discord.gg/axcw2DB7ZC.