Scootaloo held her breath. What to do, what to do... maybe, if she just kept quiet, the ponies on the other side would go away—

"If there's nopony there to open the door, then we're gonna blow the damn thing off its hinges! C'mon—if you're in there, this is your last chance."

Deciding it would be better to face whoever was there on as close to her own terms as possible, Scootaloo took a deep breath and lifted up her right foreleg. She pressed her hoof onto the surface of the big red button that would release the lock on the outer door and cause it to slide open; although she couldn't see it, she felt its round shape at her hooftip. Then, after that moment of deliberation, Scootaloo pushed it. Something inside the metal door in front of her clicked and it slid to the left with a mechanical gasp. Light poured into the hall as the door disappeared into the wall. Once the door had opened completely, Scootaloo blinked.

Standing in the doorway was a large tan-coloured stallion wearing a sheer off-white outfit that covered almost his entire body down to his hooves. Despite his impressive stature, the stallion wasn't particularly bulky; he just stood tall above her on slender legs. He gazed straight ahead with cerulean eyes, head darting back and forth as he looked at the hallway above Scootaloo. "Huh? Anypony there?"

"Um... hi there," Scootaloo mumbled. The stallion did a double take and looked down to where the little orange filly stood, nearly trembling.

"Why, hello there, little one!" the stallion's voice boomed. "Are your parents around? I need to speak with them about some very important... grown up stuff."

Scootaloo cleared her throat. "No, sorry, dude. I'm the captain of this here ship. Any crud you wanna talk about... you gotta talk to me." She puffed out her chest as she did this, trying her best to feel large.

In response, the stallion just laughed. "C'mon, dearie... there's no way in Tartarus a little filly like yourself could pilot a ship like this. The Bureau would never let you get a license, let alone off the ground."

It was then that a voice came from behind the stallion. "Erm... sir?" A cream-coloured unicorn mare in a similar outfit walked up alongside the stallion, clipboard and pen levitating magically alongside.

The stallion turned his head to face the mare. "Yes? What is it, Fir?"

"It's just that... we just did a scan, and there's no organic heat sources aboard besides this filly at the entrance."

The stallion blinked. "Well I'll be. We've got a ship thief now, don't we?" he said, turning back to Scootaloo. "Which planet did you steal this bad boy on? I haven't ever seen anything like it in all my years in space... the build is quite unlike any from the Kindred planet—"

Thinking fast, Scootaloo cut him off. "Oh, it's from the Kindred planet, alright. It's... erm... it's a new design. Only a few prototypes have been manufactured... and my daddy was able to buy me one." She contorted her lips into a smug grin, trying to feign that rich-girl attitude she'd seen Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon put on display countless times.

"Aha, so your folks have money. That makes sense. Come to think of it, I may have seen your father at a... um... an esteemed social gathering of the elite upper class..." the stallion said, trailing off. "Ahem... anyway, I'm sorry about the whole tractor beam thing. You see, we go around attaching ourselves to abandoned ships to see if we can find anything of worth inside and then we melt them down so they can be used for scrap."

"Oh, cool!" Scootaloo said. "So you're kinda like the street sweepers of space?"

"Umm... I guess you could say that," the stallion replied, raising an eyebrow. "Or the garbage collectors, though that really only works if all of space is just one huge garbage can, and..."

"Hey, dude, can I ask you a question?" Scootaloo interrupted.

"Of course, miss. Ask away."

"You guys know that my ship isn't abandoned now, so can I go?"

The stallion just laughed. "Sure you can, but why not stay awhile? Your ship isn't going anywhere, I promise."

"I dunno, dude," Scootaloo responded. "I got places to go, places to be... I'm a busy pegasus. You gotta understand that."

"Believe me—I understand. But even a busy pegasus such as yourself has gotta eat, right? I'm sure you've got plenty of food aboard, but our ship's cook has a wonderful fresh salad and it would be a shame if you never tried it especially now that you're already here."

At this proposition, Scootaloo's belly gurgled. "You drive a hard bargain, dude, but I'll take it." The stallion smiled.

"Absolutely delightful—I'll let her know we've got one more for dinner tonight. Should only be an hour or two from now."

"Awesome! See you then." Scootaloo reached for the red button that would close the access door.

"Wait!" the stallion cried, before Scootaloo could press it.

"Yes?"

"Don't you want to come aboard and chew the fat with me and my crew? We don't bite, I promise. I'm sure you have many a tale about the Kindred planet's elite that my... erm... less fortunate shipmates would get a kick out of."

Scootaloo paused for a moment, pondering over the situation in her head. But then she spoke. "Oh, why not? You ponies are already being so nice with the whole salad thing... no reason I gotta shut myself away before then." She lowered her foreleg back to the metallic floor and, for the first time since she had opened the door, took a few steps forward. The stallion moved aside to make way for her as she entered the vehicle.