The landing ramp descended, and Brown followed his beloved Commander down it. From the way she moved, he could tell that she was not a soldier, not in the traditional sense, anyway. She was not like he was. From the way she acted to the very way that she moved, it was clear that she was strong, trained from decades of conflict, forged into a pony that was more than worthy to give him commands- -but it was also clear that she herself received orders from nopony. She was not a child of a formal command structure, but a private entity. In Browns eyes, she was an artist of sorts, one dedicated toward battles that would further her own ends and nopony else’s- -and Brown was happy to serve her.

“Brown,” said Five, looking over her shoulder at him. “Why are you following me?”

“Is this not our destination?”

“No. The airship is refueling. I am amazed that such a derelict still stays in the air- -virtually hemorrhages fuel. Needless to say, I am also stealing some of the fuel. But that is beside the point. Go back inside.”

“But what if you require protection?”

Five’s eyes narrowed. “I did not create you to protect me. I do not require it. I created you for Rainbow Dash. Or was I mistaken in assuming that you would be an adequate guardian for her?”

“No, Commander,” said Brown, suppressing his tears. “No. I will follow my primary mission.”

“Good.” They had neared the terminal edge of the landing ramp, and Five stopped. She reached into her bag and removed a package. She tossed it to Brown. It landed in his fluff and adhered.

“What is this, Commander?” he asked, pulling something out of the plastic sleeves.

“One of the two foods I can eat: Blando Strange’s extra-dry oyster crackers.”

Brown removed one of the crackers from the package and took a bite of it. It tasted like nothing. It was not even salty.

“So very…bland,” he said. “I would rather have sketti.” He paused. “Sk- -et- -i.”

Five looked back at him, confused. “Are you trying to sound cute? Because you’re failing with great vigor.”

“No, Commander,” said Brown, standing at attention. “It appears that I have a genetic inability to pronounce ‘sketti’ properly.”

“Weird. Try not to say it around me, then, it’s annoying. Also: you can’t digest pasta. You are not yet weaned. Start with these, and water. And remember: if you do not eat properly, keeping you alive falls on me and it is rather draining.”

“Yes, Commander,” said Brown.

“Good. Now, go back to Ms. Dash. I have stuff to do.”

“Yes Com- -” Brown suddenly shuddered as he looked beyond the Commander into the land beyond. The corroding wooden deck and the dirty mostly cybernetic ponies at the station did not bother him. Instead, he fouond himself looking at the sliver of sky that he could see just over the Commander’s head.

“Brown,” said Five, not sounding especially concerned. “Are you damaged?”

Brown put his hoof to his head. He suddenly felt terribly dizzy, and had a splitting headache. The whole world seemed to be shifting, as if he had just seen the impossible and his mind could not correlate what he was seeing with reality.

“The sky,” he said. “Not- -not right. Red sphere, color of flame, and white sphere, together, never apart in the yellow sky- -where have they gone? What is wrong? Something is wrong- -”

“Red sphere and white sphere?” said Five. Then a look of understanding crossed her face, and she actually seemed somewhat amused. “Brown,” she said. “This is an order. Go back inside. Go be with Rainbow Dash.”

“Hi-o,” said Proctor, pushing past Five from outside, entering the ramp.

“Proctor?” said Five. “Where did you come from?”

“A factory, probably,” said Pinkie_Proctor. He switched to Proctor_Dash. “Had to fly ahead. I got Rainbow Dash a present. Come on, lord of the fluffy. You can watch too.”

“O- -okay,” said Brown. He looked back toward the Commander, and saw that she had vanished. He looked out carefully, trying to avoid looking at the sky- -but could not find her. “Yes,” he said to Proctor. “Let us return to Rainbow Dash.”

“Okie dokie lokai.

Five watched Brown staring at her, or more precisely, through her. His mind was unbelievably pliable. Proctor could still see her, of course- -she was not invisible; that was a talent reserved for only a truly select set of unicorns. Rather, she had simply reached into Brown’s mind and made him unable to perceive that she was standing directly before him.

She watched as he scanned the crowd as though she was not there, and then as he ascended the ramp back onto the rusted and vibration-prone airship with Proctor.

“You seem concerned,” said the shadow with blue-green eyes as it pulled a tendril of itself out of Brown’s head. “Of course, this thing is and Exmoori. I am sure you aware of the implications of that.”

“I am,” said Five, not entirely out loud.

“I don’t think you are,” said the shadow, following her at the edge of her consciousness, drifting alongside her. “Celestia went through a great deal of effort to exterminate them.”

“Celestia was a power-hungry tyrant,” noted Five indifferently.

“That is true,” said the shadow. “But this thing you have created- -this creature. I am impressed, but its mind is dangerously strained.”

“I know,” said Five, walking along the creaking platform amongst the unshaven stallions and the cyborgs. “But just then. What he referred to of the sky. What did he mean?”

“He described what he saw. Or would have seen. Or should have seen.”

“A red sphere and a white sphere?”

“The sun and the moon, over five millennia ago. Before Celestia separated them into night and day, and before her power forced the sun to burn yellow.”

“Five millennia?” said Five, impressed- -but also concerned. Although she had access to that memory, she had not given it to Brown. In fact, she had given him almost nothing, aside from the most basic context within the world. Things that she thought he might need, like the races of ponies, the types of technology he might encounter, how to use money- -but almost nothing else. When she had initially created him, she had expected a pliable but unthinking drone. Instead she got something intelligent, something that already knew how to fight, something that remembered what he had once been. “I wonder. How much is in that mind of his?”

“A great deal,” said the shadow, smiling.

The door to their “cabin”- -really more of a large shipping crate- -creaked as it opened. Brown was immediately struck by a strong, unpleasant smell. A sound of heaving and of a torrent of liquid falling into a plastic bucket filled the air.

“Come on, honey,” said Gell, who was holding Rainbow Dash’s hair as she continued to empty the contents of her stomach into a pail, “get it all out. It’s okay.”

Rainbow Dash heaved again, but not much came out. She moaned into the bucket.

“Really?” said Proctor_Dash, pushing past Brown. “Really? You’re Rainbow Dash, and you get airsick?”

“Hey,” said the real Rainbow Dash, angrily lifting her head out of the bucket and wiping away some of the vomit on her chin. “I’m Rainbow Dash. I don’t usually travel by air- -oh Celestia!” She shoved her head back into the bucket and continued to fill it. “Eew,” she groaned. “It came out my nose that time.”

“Rainbow Dash,” said Brown, not knowing what to say next. He had a desire to help her- -it was his primary objective- -but he did not know how to stop her pain.

“It’s okay. Don’t touch me, Brown.” She stood up, blowing her nose into the bucket.

“Here,” said Twilight_Proctor. “Try these.” He produced a box of dark colored, dried fruits.

“What are these?” said Rainbow Dash, looking as though she were about to continue emptying her stomach. “Not really in the mood for food.”

“They’re made with ginger,” said Twilight_Proctor. “It helps with motion sickness.”

“Thanks,” said Rainbow Dash, taking a fruit. She chewed it slowly. “Oh, wow,” she said, swallowing it quickly. “That is gross.”

“And yet in incredibly high demand.”

“I was not aware that Pegasi become nauseous in flight,” said Brown.

“We don’t,” snapped Rainbow Dash. “I do. If I can’t see the sky- -oooh. Nope. Stay down, gross fruit- -no. It’s the same with boats. They tried to station me on a carrier for a mission with the Wonderbolts. That ended very, very poorly.”

“Well,” said Proctor_Dash, his wings slowly beginning to materialize. “I got you something that might help.” He produced a large glass bottle filled with a substance layered into several colors, but strangely lacking a label.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “No way! Rainbow gin?! Where did you even get that?”

“There’s a Pegasus caravan outside. I charged all their fuel cells for them in exchange for this.” He handed it to Rainbow Dash. “Take it. Although I love rainbow gin, I can’t actually drink it. Actually, come to think of it, I think I’m just programmed to believe I love rainbow gin because you do so much.”

“Oh, wow,” said Rainbow Dash. “Thank you.”

“That was the gift?” said Brown.

“No. That was incidental,” said Proctor_Dash hurriedly. He produced a different object; this one was a small device that fit in his hoof.

“Where are you keeping all this stuff?” asked Gell, finally releasing Rainbow Dash’s hair.

“A lady never tells,” said Proctor_Rarity. Then, as Proctor_Dash. “This is something I’ve been meaning to give to you forever. Except I couldn’t find the right memory chip for it.”

“Um…what is it?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash took the chip from Proctor and looked at it closely. It was small and difficult to manipulate with hooves, but easy enough to hold with the claws in her robotic arm.

“My memories,” said Proctor_Dash. “Well, some of them. Specifically, everything that pertains to Scootaloo.”

Rainbow Dash felt her eyes drop, and a sharp surge of excitement and pain inside her heart. “Scoots?” she said. “You mean my Scootaloo?”

“Yeah!” said Proctor_Dash, excited. “I know how proud I am of her- -and I’m not even the real Rainbow Dash, so I figured that you would really like this!”

“What kind of a name is Scootaloo?” asked Brown.

“Hate to agree with the fluff, but I was thinking the same thing.”

“It is a great name,” said Proctor_Dash angrily. “And you two are hardly in a position to criticize.”

“Yeah,” admitted Gell. “My parents gave me a dude name.”

“How do I use this?” said Rainbow Dash. “Proctor! Show me how!”

“Just put it in the port at the manipulator module.”

Rainbow Dash searched her gold-colored robotic hoof, and eventually found what Proctor was talking about: a small vertical slit installed where her hoof extended between two of the golden plates that formed the end of her leg. She inserted the chip with her mouth. As she did, a hologram appeared before her. It displayed something that looked like a user interface, complete with a semi-translucent but color-correct 3D Scootaloo in the center. Rainbow Dash was surprised to see it look up at her and smile.

“Scoots,” she said, tears filling her eyes, despite her attempts to stop them.

“Who is this ‘Scootaloo?” asked Brown.

“She was my- -I mean Rainbow Dash’s…sister?”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow Dash. “Yeah she was.”

“By Satin- -she looks just like a little demon,” said Gell, looking closely at the picture. “The little wings, the orange coat, the purple hair- -well, a male demon. That’s basically what they look like.”

“Scootaloo is actually pretty famous on her own,” said Proctor_Dash. “I mean, there’s a lot of data there. But the highlights, with pictures.” He pointed at Rainbow Dash’s arm, and she felt it shudder as the interface shifted on its own, changing. It became a still picture. In it was an adult Scootaloo, looking more beautiful than Rainbow Dash had ever imagined. Floating next to her was some kind of animal, apparently captured in mid-flight. It looked something like a moth, but with fleshy bat-like wings and more eyes than any normal moth.

“Unholy nuts!” said Gell, leaning so close to the hologram that her nose passed through. She pointed at the animal. “Do you know what that is?”

“Um, no,” said Rainbow Dash.

“That’s a varnaq!”

“Yes,” said Twilight_Proctor. “That is Bloody Mary. Scootaloo summoned her in her teen years. It was her loyal pet through her life.”

“No way- -she tamed a varnaq?”

“Is that significant?” asked Brown.

“You don’t- -” Gell sighed. “A varnaq is a type of demon,” she explained. “I mean, not like me, or my people, but like what you would probably call an animal. They’re vicious and carnivorous, known for carrying off ponies back to Tartarus. I mean, even I don’t even get near them. And she tamed one.”

“So…it’s pretty epic?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“There yeah it is,” said Gell, as though it were obvious.

The image shifted again. This one showed an adult Scootaloo, dressed in some sort of absurdly tight garment. She was holding a helmet under one hoof and leaning against a vehicle. Rainbow Dash recognized it being one of the same kind that she had seen in Appleloosa- -a motorcycle.

“Scootaloo was also a prodigious daredevil,” said Twilight_Proctor. “She was born lacking wing abductor muscles, and as such, never flew for more than a few seconds.”

“She- -she never flew?” interrupted Rainbow Dash.

“No.”

“Oh,” she said, feeling suddenly dejected. “If only…that’s my fault, isn’t it?”

“How could it be your fault?” asked Gell.

“If I had been there. If I had taught here, maybe she would have- -”

“She was born defective,” said Brown, bluntly. “Nothing you could have done would have assuaged that.”

Rainbow Dash glared at him, fully prepared to jump over Proctor and wring his fluffy neck- -assuming she could find it- -but Proctor continued.

“Anyway…despite being unable to fly, Scootaloo was known as one of the first motorcycle riding ponies. And for her experiments with early back-mounted repulsion packs. The wings helped with that. She was the first pony to break the sound barrier on a motor vehicle. And…” the image changed. Now it showed Scootaloo wearing some kind of bizarre armor, standing before a vast and complicated schematic; it appeared to be out of a magazine. “She spent much of her life researching interdimensional travel. She eventually achieved it, and…”

The image shifted again, now showing a painting. It showed a middle-aged Scootaloo standing on the back of an enormous varnaq. She was dressed in power armor, with a pair of scantily clad stallions clinging to her legs. Above her head, she was wielding an oversized crystalline hammer- -which was on fire. She was about to bring it down upon a force of undead, laser-wielding centaurs that her varnaq was already starting to tear into.

“Holy buck,” whispered Rainbow Dash. She turned to Proctor. “Can I have a poster made of this? This is epic! Did this really happen?”

“Maybe,” said Proctor_Dash. “I like to think it did. After her daredevil career got to boring, she started a life as an interdimensional adventurer.”

“What the- -an adventurer? Is that even- -oh wow…”

“And, in addition to being a famous stuntpony, a brilliant inventor, and a guardian of peace in the multiverse, she also chaired the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” The image changed again, this time showing semi-adult Scootaloo standing beside to familiar ponies. One was clearly Sweetie Belle, although she was dressed in a black and strange dress that was clearly made by Rarity and wearing a significant amount of eyeshadow. The other was Applebloom, her nearly luminescent green eyes seeming to stare out of the hologram. At that age, she looked surprisingly similar to her sister Applejack. The three of them were standing next to a tall, purple alicorn who was presenting them with a kind of award- -an alicorn that Rainbow Dash realized was Twilight.

“What is that?” asked Brown, stepping forward. He put his hoof through the hologram, distorting it. The shift seemed to distract him for a moment, and he pawed at the image, causing it to shift like water.

“What?” said Rainbow Dash. “It looks like some kind of award- -it’s got their club’s symbol on it- -”

“No,” said Brown. “The monster. The purple one.”

“Monster?” said Rainbow Dash, surprised. “You mean Twilight?”

“She has both a horn and wings. This is impossible. Ergo, she is a grotesque monster. What is she?”

The hologram vanished as Rainbow Dash brought back her hoof, and slammed the metal of her robotic limb into the side of Brown’s face. Punching him was like punching a column of concrete, but the mechanical appendage was strong, and still forced him to take several steps back. His eyes widened in shock and confusion.

“You- -you hit me,” he said, sounding genuinely hurt.

“Don’t talk about my friend like that!” snapped Rainbow Dash. “Twilight was one of my best friends! If you call her a monster again, I will drop you out of this airship!”

“But…Rainbow Dash…” The skin around his eye was discoloring with a substantial bruise, and beginning to swell. Then, almost imperceptibly, it sparked with blue magic and began to heal. “I apologize, I did not- -”

“Out!” said Rainbow Dash, pointing.

“At least give me a chance to- -”

“Get out!”

Brown looked like he was about to cry, but instead took a deep breath. “As you wish. I will be outside the door if I am needed.” He walked past Proctor and pulled the mechanism that unlocked the door. He stepped outside and slammed it closed.

Rainbow Dash was breathing heavily.

“Wow, Dashie,” said Gell. “That was pretty hot.”

“Not now, Gell.”

“Actually,” said Proctor_Dash. “That might have been a little harsh. The poor guy’s never seen an alicorn. I mean, I wanted to hit him too- -but he doesn’t even know what one is.”

Rainbow Dash did feel a little bit bad, especially as she thought about it a little more. She still could not get over the rage she was feeling, though. It was not just Brown calling Twilight a monster, but calling Scootaloo “deformed” just because she had trouble flying.

Rainbow Dash snatched up the bottle of rainbow gin, the colors rocking under the motion of the bottle. “I’m going outside. I need some air.”