“Aria T’Loak?” said Scootaloo, stepping down a set of small stairs.

The platform was nearly vacant, save for a blue woman- -who Scootaloo assumed to be Aria- -and a well-dressed four-eyed man. Scootaloo saw Aria’s brow furrow, and she handed a datapad back to the four-eyed man before turning.

“Whoever you are, now is NOT a…” she paused when she looked down at the pair of visitors. “Great,” she said, sighing. “More ponies.”

“More?” asked Lyra, stepping past Scootaloo.

“Wow. And I thought Sjdath was ugly. I mean, how can a blue, talking unicorn be THAT ugly?”

“I am green,” hissed Lyra, coldly.

“Clearly. I haven’t been having a good day today.” She leaned forward. “The only reason you two aren’t red smears- -assuming you bleed red, I don’t actually know- -is because one of you is adorable. So I’m going to be nice. LEAVE. NOW.”

“You are the governor here, I presume?”

“Governor?” Aria laughed. “No, not quite. This space station, you see, is MINE. I own it. Through my own blood, sweat and tears…but a lot more of other people’s blood and tears, really.”

“Then you are who I need to talk to. I am Captain Scootaloo of the Royal Equestrian Navy, and this is my associate Lyra Heartstrings.”

Aria looked down at Scootaloo, and the pony began to feel herself sweat. This blue-person was not like the other blue-person they had run into before. Aria was far more threatening, but Scootaloo was not sure why. She was just harder- -like how Lyra was far more threatening than a pony like Carrot Top or Muffins could ever be.

“I’m sorry,” said Aria. “How am I supposed to take that seriously? ‘Scootaloo’? I mean, come on…and just how young are you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Scootaloo. “What matters is that I am an officer of the Royal government, and I was told that you could help us.”

“Told by whom?”

“Her,” said Lyra, pointing behind her. Scootaloo turned, and to her surprise, she saw the blue girl that they had met earlier. She was far back from them, leaning against a support post and pretending to look into a club nonchalantly.

“How did- -you knew she was there, didn’t you?”

“I did,” said Lyra. “She’s not exactly stealthy.”

“Next time, TELL ME!”

Aria looked up. “Oh,” she said. “I know her. That’s Fenok’s girl.”

“Wait…you know her?”

Aria smiled. “Yes. She’s grown. Not much, but a little.” She leaned back. “Her mother and I were…friends. I was even at Fenok’s wedding. It’s somewhat rare to find a pacifist krogan…and weirder that he ended up with Alaelia. Well, I suppose I do have something to look forward to.”

“What?”

“Fenok always sends me chocolates when I’m in port. He knows exactly what flavor I like, too.” She shrugged. “It’s really, really sappy, but it makes me happy.” She stood up. “Hold on a second.” She raised one hand and flicked it forward. A powerful sphere of blue energy shot outward, curving through the air and slamming into the pillar inches from the girl’s head.

The girl looked wide-eyed at the hole next to her, and then at Aria.

“Go home, Zedok,” called Aria, pointing.

“Zedok?” said Lyra as the girl turned and ran. “What an unfortunate name.”

“Says a one-eyed horse working for a captain named…ahem… ‘Scootaloo’.” Aria sat back down. “Well, my day has improved slightly. So talk.”

“You said there was another pony,” said Scootaloo. “Can you describe her?”

“Pale purple. Violet and blue hair. Horn sticking out of her forehead, like that one. Lots of metal.”

“Metal?”

“On her back, in her head. Really ruined the aesthetic.”

Scootaloo and Lyra looked at each other wide-eyed for a moment

“Do you know where she went?” asked Lyra.

“Yes,” said Aria.

There was a long pause. “And…?”

“And you actually expect me to tell you?”

“You blue primitive,” snorted Lyra, stepping forward and charging her horn. “I don’t have time for this!”

The four-eyed man beside Aria immediately drew a weapon and pointed it back at Lyra.

“Wait! Lyra, stop!” cried Scootaloo.

“She’s withholding information! I should- -”

“Lower your magic! That’s an ORDER!”

Lyra looked down at Scootaloo angrily, but eventually stepped back. Scootaloo looked up at Aria, “Madame T’Loak- -”

“No.”

“But we need- -”

Aria raised a hand, silencing Scootaloo. “You walk in here like you own the place, flash credentials that frankly sound more made-up than anything else, and then threaten me and expect me to just GIVE you information? I should have you butchered and served to me on a fine platter. And don’t think I won’t. I’ve done it before.”

“We are investigating the loss of an exploratory ship in this area,” said Scootaloo, quickly. “It went down with all hoofs, but by the time we got to it, it’s engine, weapons, and much of its metal had been removed.”

“As well as the Core,” said Lyra, softly. Scootaloo nodded.

“And?”

“And…um…well, we tracked the thieves here. We assumed that you might know where we might find them.”

“So I’m supposed to be omnipotent? Hundreds of ships come into Omega each day. They bring stuff in, they take stuff out, and I don’t ask questions as long as I get my cut of the deal. Surely you can’t expect me to keep track of everything?”

“Then find out,” said Lyra.

“Vashiel,” said Aria, looking up at her assistant. “Did that horse just give ME an order?”

“Our vessel has a full magical cannon unlike anything that you primitives have ever seen,” said Lyra. “And we would not hesitate to knock this facility out of orbit.”

“So you have a ship?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Well I have sixty eight. All ready to…well…I suppose I would let them choose what they do. Rip your tiny ship to pieces and sell it for scrap, or board it…and then board you.”

“Go ahead and try. I’ll cut their hands of and wear them like a necklace.”

“No, you won’t,” said Scootaloo. She actually reared up and pushed Lyra back. “Now I’m starting to see why they stuck you on a deep space mission! I mean, come ON! She’s the ruler here, you’re going to talk to her like THAT? You’re going to put my entire crew in danger?!” Scootaloo turned around, looking up at Aria. “Madame T’Loak, please forgive me and my associate.” Scootaloo bowed. Lyra did not. “Lyra!” hissed Scootaloo. “Bow to her!”

“I bow to no mare.”

“It’s just that that ship is really, really valuable,” said Scootaloo. “And I’m sure the Equestrian navy will pay handsomely for its return.”

“Payment is something I can understand.” Aria leaned forward. “But I just can’t help you. I don’t know what ship your pony friend is on right now, and I don’t know of any ships with weird alien scrap. Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry to have bothered you,” said Scootaloo. “But if you find anything out, please let us know.”

“Bye,” said Aria, waving, indicating that they were supposed to leave.

As Lyra and Scootaloo turned slowly and walked away, the baterian leaned closer to Aria. When they were out of earshot, he spoke.

“Mistress,” he said. “I understand that you made a deal with the vorcha Sjdath, but would it not be more profitable to…renegotiate that offer, with these two? If that ship is as important as they say, you could earn considerably more than what it would ever receive as scrap.”

“Yeah, probably,” said Aria.

“Then why not do it?”

“Are you really that thick?”

“Mistress?”

“What have those two ever done for me? Do you really think I’m just going to trust any two tiny horses that walk into my sitting room? I don’t even trust you, Vashiel.”

“I as- -assure you, Mistress, I would never do anything against your will!”

“Of course not. Because I would castrate you, and then force you to choke on your own tiny, tiny genitals. But appearances to the contrary, I do trust Jack. And I still have a SMALL amount of faith in Sjdath. That…” she leaned back. “And the fact that I like to keep my word when I can. When your word is law, reputation is more critical than you could ever imagine.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Glad we understand.” Aria plucked the pad out of the baterian’s hand and went back to reviewing shipping manifests. “Now, go away. Send Jenny to me, and have her bring a glass…no, a bottle of Turian brandy…and have my chocolates delivered as SOON as they get here. Today has been…strange.”

“Yes, Mistress,” said the baterian, backing away quickly.

Likewise, when Scootaloo believed herself to be out of earshot from Aria, she turned to Lyra.

“Are you INSANE?!” she cried.

“That depends. Do you have a copy of my psychological evaluations? Because there’s a reason I’m out here.”

“You just walk in there and- -and- -why do I even bring you on these missions? Why? WHY?”

“Because we got what we wanted.”

“No! We almost caused an intergalactic incident, and I was almost the youngest naval captain in all of history to die in combat! I mean, did you see her? She had MAGIC!”

“And so do I.”

“You- -ohhh,” Scootaloo put her hoof against her forehead. “This is what I get for working with a unicorn. Arrogant, overconfident IDIOTS. I should have brought Muffins. You do realize that our ship has a ball turret and a forward cannon that could barely even take the paint off this place, let alone destroy it, right?”

“So I bluffed,” said Lyra, shrugging. She looked down at Scootaloo. “Don’t act so innocent. Do you really think the Equestrian government would actually give her a reward for that ship?”

“I- -um- -well- -”

“You assumed that once we have the components, we would just teleport back to Equestrian space and never have to see her again?”

“N- -no, I- -”

“It’s okay. That’s what I was assuming.”

Scootaloo sighed. “But it didn’t even help. We’re no closer to finding out what ship the Core is on.”

“Of course we are. Don’t you listen?”

“No.” Scootaloo paused. “Oh wait…”

“She said that she saw another pony, one with metal on her back. And unless you were incompetent enough to let Trixie wander around this pit, that can only mean one thing.”

“That she saw the Core.”

“Somepony got it out. And without killing it, somehow.”

“So, what? You want to ask these aliens if they’ve seen a pony?”

“No need to waste the time. If the core is ambulatory, it is conscious. Which means we can detect it.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “If we scan all outgoing ships…unless you can find it here.”

Lyra shook her head. “I’m not like them. I can…feel it. That it was here, that it might be here somewhere…but there’s too much interference for me. It takes a Core to find a Core. Ours may be vastly inferior to most, but it should still work.”

“She.”

“Excuse me?”

“Trixie is a ‘she’. Not an it.”

“It’s a Core. They don’t have gender.”

“I’ve checked. She is a she.”

“Eew.” Lyra shivered slightly. “I’d rather not think about that. She’s just equiptment, Scootaloo. Now come on, for all we know, EQX is flying away right now. Let’s find Fluttershy and get out of this dump.”

“Where is Fluttershy, anyway?” asked Scootaloo.

Not far away, at the edge of a dark and dirty alley, a group of baterians gathered around Fluttershy.

“Come on!” said one of them, leaning on his nervous-looking friend. “Put it in her mouth! You know she wants it!”

“I don’t know,” said the friend in response, his two main eyes flitting around at the others. “What if…what if she bites down?”

“Trust me,” said the volus proprietor of the impromptu event, counting the credits that it had eraned him on his omnitool. “She won’t.”

“O…okay,” said the baterian. Shaking, he reached down and unzipped a flap on his trousers.

“What is that?” laughed his friend. “That’s- -that’s the littlest meat I’ve ever seen!”

“No it isn’t!”

“Believe me,” said the volus. “I am Vol-clan, and- -SHHLLLK- -even I’ve never seen meat that small.”

“Well, you all can have a poke in the eye,” said the baterian.

He took a deep breath, and then held out his hand, the tiny cube of ham suspended between his shaking fingers. He held his breath as the varren pup below him looked up with its wide, fish-like blue eye. It then promptly jumped up, grabbing the meat out of his grasp with its long tongue. It snapped the ham into its mouth, and then sat down, wagging its tail at attention.

The baterian looked at his fingers, and then down at the varren in awe. The others, all of whom had been holding their breath, did the same. Then they started cheering and clapping.

“See?” said Fluttershy, patting the spines on the dog-like creature’s back. “Training is easy with a little positive reinforcement.”

“And I always thought you had to beat them to get them in line! That krogan dealer totally lied to me!”

“Oh, no,” said Fluttershy, signaling for the varren to return to its owner’s side. “Negative reinforcement will only make them act out. They just need a little love.”

“How do you know so much about varren?” asked a quarrian who had joined the group.

“Oh, well, I used to raise skags back home. They’re not that much different. Except the ones that shoot acid.” Fluttershy sighed. “There is just nothing like riding your favorite skag on edge of the Tartaran blood-sea on a cold night.”

“I can understand,” said the volus, moving funds in his omnitool. “I grew up on an island in the Sea of Plenty on Irune. It was, indeed beautiful- -SHHLLLK- -especially during the spring storms when it would rain ammonia. Oh, how I- -SHHLLLK- -miss the smell.”

“Your planet has an ammonia atmosphere?” said Fluttershy. “Your windows must be so clean!” She leaned in closer to him. “I’d just love to see it someday…and maybe see you out of that suit. Are your people hairy? Because I imagine you like some kind of rotund rodent.”

One of the baterians leaning against a wall sighed loudly, fighting back tears from all four of his eyes.

“Basheen,” said Fluttershy. “What’s wrong?”

“I used to go to the beach with…with my wife…”

“Oh, Basheen. What happened?”

“She…she left me.” He burst into tears. “I never treated her right! The last thing- -the last thing I said to her- -I yelled at her! I didn’t- -I didn’t even- -mean it! I miss her- -so- -much!”

“Oh, there, there,” said Fluttershy. “You clearly love her dearly. You just need to reach out to her and try to apologize.”

“But what if- -she doesn’t love me anymore?”

“Then at least you still have all these friend to help you through it.”

The baterian began weeping and wrapped Fluttershy in a tight hug.

“Hey!” said the volus. “Hugging the pony is not included in the varren-training fee! It costs extra!”

“At least you still have a wife,” said a female baterian, putting her hand on the male’s shoulder. “My whole family was taken by the Reapers. Trust me. Do everything you can to get her back, because at least you can.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” gasped Fluttershy. “Do you need a hug too?”

“N- -no!” said the female baterian, defensively. Then, more quietly. “Yes.”

The first baterian released Fluttershy, and she hugged the female.

“My planet is ruled by robots,” said the quarrian in the group. “Can I get a hug too?”

“Wait your turn,” snapped the female baterian.

“Fluttershy!” cried a voice. The crowd parted, and Lyra stepped through. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Giving my new friends some advice on training their adorable little doggies,” said Fluttershy, lifting a nearby varren into a hug- -and causing Lyra to take several steps back upon seeing the snarling, drooling creature. “This one is mine. I named him Baron.”

“‘Mine’?”

“He’s just a little runt, and his mother abandoned him, so I figured- -”

“Please tell me you’re not going to bring that- -that thing on the ship?”

“It kind of is my job.”

“Do you give hugs to?” asked one of the baterians to Lyra. Lyra glared at him, and then grabbed one of his legs in her magic and tipped him over.

“Lyra!” cried Fluttershy. “That was just mean!” She rushed over to the baterian. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. But that was really rude. What did I ever do to you?”

“You existed, primitive.” She turned back to Fluttershy. “Come on. The captain is waiting.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy turned back to the group. “Sorry. I have to go.”

The entire crowd groaned in unison.

“It’s okay. When I come back, I’ll be sure to visit you all!”

She waved as Lyra forced her away from the crowd to where Scootaloo was waiting.

“I can’t believe you,” said Lyra. “Conversing with aliens.”

“They’re actually really nice. The baterians, well, they can seem just a little bit scary at first, but they’re really just frustrated. Did you know that they are covered in a fine fuzz?”

“You mean like we are?” said Scootaloo, joining them.”

“Well, no,” said Fluttershy. “Finer, but not as soft.”

“Not as soft as you, you mean,” muttered Lyra.

“I am pretty soft.”

Scootaloo and Lyra started walking, with Fluttershy flapping slowly overhead while holding her varren, Baron. Seeing three small, colorful horses had already attracted the attention of many of the passerbys- -but seeing one flying drew even more attention.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” asked Fluttershy from above.

“Not yet, but we’re close. We just need to- -”

Before Scootaloo could finish, a krogan was thrown through the window of a bar, nearly flattening Scootaloo in the process.

“Oh, crap,” he said, rubbing the back of his head.

“YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASY!” screamed a familiar voice.

Just as the krogan was beginning to stand, a mass of gray feathers darted from the inside of the bar through the broken window, swarming him.

“Ack!” he cried, weathering repeated hoof strikes against his face and torso. “Get it- -get it off of me! Oh shi- -it’s BITING ME!”

Muffins released him and continued her relentless but not particularly effective beating. “You think it’s okay to just TOUCH a girl’s muffin like that! Do you? DO YOU!”

“Get off me you little bi- -”

“I will kill you, and murder YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY! The streets will run red with the blood of MUFFIN THEIVES!”

“Muffins!” cried Scootaloo.

“That’s it,” said the krogan, drawing an exorbinantly large gun from his belt. “I’m going to- -” His body jerked, and he suddenly went still. He looked down at the hole in his right upper chest, and then down at Lyra, who’s horn was still charged with orange light. Muffins stopped attacking, and the krogan fell to his knees and then forward.

“Lyra!” cried Scootaloo.

“I don’t have time for this,” said Lyra, stepping forward toward the wounded but not dead krogan. She prepared for a second strike into the krogan’s lowered head. Before she could fire, though, the krogran drew a blade and impaled Lyra through her side.

Lyra looked down at where the blade had penetrated her armor, and then at the other side where the tip was emerging. She then looked at the krogan. “Was that supposed to hurt?”

“Kind of, yeah.”

“This won’t.” Lyra charged her horn.

“NO!” cried Fluttershy, throwing herself in front of the krogan. “You can’t!”

“One magic bolt to the head should be more than adequate.”

“That’s not what I mean! Don’t you know that krogan are an endangered species?”

“Fluttershy, he tried to stab Lyra,” said Scootaloo. “Actually…” she lifted her hoof and poked the sharp point of the blade that was emerging from Lyra’s side. “He kind of did. How are you not, you know, dead?”

“Reasons,” said Lyra curtly.

“He was just scared and lashing out!”

“Um, no,” said the krogan. “I really was trying to kill her.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be bleeding out or something?” snapped Lyra.

“No. You only hit one of my hearts. Hurts like the dickens, though.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said Fluttershy, hugging the krogan’s massive head. “It’ll be okay.”

“Your hair smells nice.”

“Aww, thank you!”

“He’s a muffin theif!” cried Muffins, one of her eyes focused on Scootaloo and the other apparently on the ceiling. “BURN HIM AT THE STEAK!”

“You mean ‘stake’,” corrected Lyra.

“Oh,” said Muffins. She frowned. “But that doesn’t make any sense…”

“Muffins!” cried Scootaloo. “What are you even doing here? Why aren’t you, you know, where you can’t fight giant…frog…lizard…things.”

“Krogan,” said the krogan.

“Well, then, either bag my groceries or SHUT IT.” Scootaloo turned back to Muffins. “Well?”

“Well, um…Carrot and I figured that while we were docked, we should try to get some supplies, so…”

“Wait,” said Scootaloo. “Carrot is here too?”

“Yo,” said Carrot Top, stepping out of the broken window. Upon seeing her, Scootaloo, Fluttershy, Lyra, and the krogan all gawked. Like them, she was wearing her planetary landing uniform- -but unlike them, she was not wearing all of it. Rather, she was wearing almost none of it. The only parts she had retained were the undergarments, which consisted of socks and the standard-issue panties.

“Carrot!” sputtered Scootaloo, blushing and turning away. “What are you- -why are you- -where is your uniform?!”

“Oh, back there, somewhere. Probably.” She pointed back into the bar. “Hey, you’ll never guess what I learned! You see those poles on the stage there? If you dance on one, they give you MONEY!”

“You mean like they do back in Equestria?” suggested Lyra.

“You can do this in EQUESTRIA?” Carrot gaped. “Then why the hay am I in the agriculture ministry? I mean, I’ve made like…” She extended her left hoof and summoned an omnitool, causing the other ponies to jump back in fright. “Like, sixty thousand credits so far.”

“What is THAT?!” cried Scootaloo.

“What?” Carrot looked down. “Oh, yeah. The omintool. Neat, huh?”

“WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?”

Carrot paused for a second. “Hmm. You know, I’m not really sure. I’m pretty drunk right now, so, eh, could have been anywhere. But check this out!”

She flicked her hoof forward and the orange shape of the omnitool shifted, producing an immense fork. “I mean, look at this thing! Now I don’t have to eat out of a trough!”

“I will pay you five hundred credits to eat out of a trough,” said the krogan.

“See? I can get paid literally to EAT here! This place is great! Also, I may have bought a few dozen crates of alien stuff. You know, apparently those space carrots are pretty valuable, too.”

“Get. Your uniform. Back. ON,” demanded Scootaloo. “Does nopony accept my authority anymore? Did I authorize any of this?”

“Maybe?” suggested Muffins. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Hey, guys!” called Carrot Top back into the bar. “Which one of you has my pants?”

“Are you dressed like that?” asked the krogan to Fluttershy, who was still clutching his head. “You know, under that uniform?”

“Oh, no,” said Fluttershy. “I assure you, I am completely nude under this.”

“Why are you still here?” said Lyra. “Go away!”

“You go away.”

Scootaloo just could not take it anymore. She started walking back to the ship while the others argued. “Why, Rainbow Dash?” she asked herself. “Why did you do this to me?”