It was Tank that spoke first. "So, what do you think of our ship?"

"It's... erm... very tidy." Scootaloo smiled weakly.

"Ha-ha! Clean? C'mon, your daddy must keep your house cleaner than this dump."

Scootaloo gulped. "Eheh... I mean, I guess I just thought it was clean for a ship with so many ponies on it."

"Fair point, I suppose. I mean, I can tell you're trying to be polite, but I really know that it's because you thought we looked like snobs." He winked as he said this.

"Wh-what? No, dude, I—"

Tank laughed. "I'm just messin' with ya, kid. Lighten up! Anyway, I was wondering... now that you're here on our ship, why don't we just take you on back to the Kindred planet? I mean, I know you've got your own ship and all, but this part of the system ain't no place for a filly like you, don't ya think? I'm sure your parents would love it if we got you back home in one piece for 'em." Tank paused; Scootaloo opened her mouth as if to speak, but he spoke again before she could get a word out. "And spare me the excuses, Bolt—I know that you ain't supposed to be out here. Maybe you have a license—I ain't got the authority to look into that. But there's no way in Tartarus that your parents'd let you out this far from the planet."

Scootaloo sighed. "Okay, you got me. Maybe I went out a little further than I'm allowed to. But I can get back on my own, I promise."

"I dunno, filly..."

Scootaloo started whimpering. "My parents are gonna be super upset with me if they find out I went this far out. Pretty please?"

Tank just looked down at his hooves and adjusted his napkin. "We have a pretty strict policy, but I'll talk with my supervisors about it and see if we can make an exception." He looked back up and smiled. "Especially for a sweet little filly like you."

Scootaloo returned the smile. "Thank you. I'm super grateful for all this helping me you've been doing..."

"Hey, no problem!" There was a knock on the door. "Oh, good... lemme get that." Tank stood up and walked over, and then pulled the door open.

In walked the chef, a pink earth pony with a short, light blue mane, wearing that same uniform as the ship's other inhabitants. She was balancing a large rectangular platter on a foreleg as she walked in, and she didn't stop walking until she reached the centre of the table. There, she set down the platter and, carefully lifting each between her hooves, placed down a plate for Scootaloo and a plate for Bolt.

"Thank you, Ms. Slice," Tank said. "This looks absolutely scrumptious."

And it did; Scootaloo's mouth watered at the sight of voluminous, verdant mountains of lettuce and other leafy greens, dotted with the occasional crimson circle of tomato, three-shaped slices of crisp yellow pepper, and crispy brown crouton cubes. Wherever the hay these ponies came from, their culinary differences from Equestria didn't seem to be that large. Thinking of the Gamsco's boxes aboard her ship, Scootaloo grabbed a fork and, without another moment's hesitation, shoved a bite into her mouth. The glorious crunch of fresh salad in her mouth was almost too much to bear.

"How is it?" the chef asked.

"This is... awesome," Scootaloo breathed. "Thank you so, so, so, so, so much."

"Of course," the chef replied, smiling. "I'm glad you liked it... that's high praise coming from somepony like you."

"Ah, but why wouldn't she?" Tank interjected. "Your salads are simply the best out there. Now, if you'll excuse us..." The chef nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

Once the chef had left, Tank began eating. Scootaloo watched him as he ate; he was very meticulous and careful, wiping off his muzzle with his napkin in between nearly every bite. At one point he looked up to see her staring at him; Scootaloo's face quickly flushed and she shoved the tines of her fork back into the mass of salad on her plate before putting another bite into her mouth.