The lights flickered and slowly returned from emergency power. Wintrygust’s eyes adjusted to the new light, and she looked around the former cargo bay that had been partitioned off into the captain’s quarters. Her emotions were not complex, and they never had been, but everything she saw somehow made her so very sad. The empty bed, its blankets still strewn to one side, that she could not bring herself to sleep in again- -or the desk, a half-written letter still pinned to its surface. Everything that Wintrygust saw made her feel ashamed of what she had done, and what she had failed to do.

Scootaloo had never been much for material possessions. Being a captain, even of small ship, normally conferred some level of luxury, but Scootaloo had never taken to them. Wintrygust, as an individual not legally allowed to own property, had never fully comprehended why a real pony would forgo such things, at least at first. Over time, though, she had come to understand Scootaloo better. The younger Pegasus had never wanted wealth, or power, or status. She had only ever joined the navy for the approval of her adoptive sister, Fleet Commander Rainbow Dash.

Wintrygust crossed the room and opened a drawer on the far side of the room. She pulled out an aluminum drawer and rummaged through the various articles inside, many of which were socks- -and some of those socks that only Wintrygust had ever seen Scootaloo wear. Beneath them, though, Wintrygust felt her hoof click against something hard, and she pulled out a picture frame.

It was one of the few things that Scootaloo kept, and in all the time Wintrygust had known her, Scootaloo had never once displayed the photograph. In it, a much younger Scootaloo was standing proudly next to Rainbow Dash, then a Wonderbolt, who was pretending to look serious. Wintrygust smiled at how young they both looked: Scootaloo just a wide-eyed filly, and Rainbow Dash a young stunt-flyer, long before the Crystals took her wing and the painkillers gave way to an unending stream of alcohol.

Wintrygust unfolded the stand on the back of the photograph and clipped it into the designated folder on top of the empty dresser. She stood back and smiled, even though she was crying.

The door behind her slid open.

“Wintrygust?” said Heart.

“Dr. Heart,” said Wintrygust, assuming the happy external mask that she had been trained since birth to assume when she was speaking to racially superior ponies. “Please, come in.”

“I’d love to, but I’d rather not track blood in.” Wintrygust turned around and saw that the yellow unicorn was now stained red and orange by copious amounts of blood on her hooves and on the apron she wore.

“Oh my,” said Wintrygust. “Trixie…”

Heart shook her head. “The situation is not good.”

“How bad?”

“She’s in a terminal spiral. She saved us, but…she doesn’t have much time left. I only managed to stabilize her temporarily. This…” she paused. “This was the situation that Scootaloo asked me to contact her about. Not that it would help. I almost lost her just putting her back into the casing. Removing her would be lethal.”

“How much time does she have left?”

“Days. A week at most. Just reintegrating her into the ship’s systems will take at least forty eight hours. We won’t have long-range communication until then.”

“Thank you, Dr. Heart.”

Heart stayed in the doorway for a moment, lingering. “You did everything you could.”

“If I had just been a little stronger, maybe I could have taken you both…”

Heart shook her head. “No. You barely made it with me.” She looked down at the floor. “But I understand. If you could have made the choice…you would have left me, wouldn’t you?”

Wintrygust shook her head. “I couldn’t have made that choice. I just…I couldn’t…”

“Then be glad Scootaloo made it for you,” said Heart. She stayed only a moment more before departing, tracking Trixie’s blood through the hallway on her way back to her laboratory.

Several minutes seemed to pass, or perhaps several hours. Then, finally, Wintrygust forced herself to leave the room. As she did, she turned out the lights and closed the door.

“You shouldn’t be in there,” said a voice behind her. Wintrygust turned to find her red eyes level with a pair of blue ones.

“Ensign Blossomforth,” said Wintrygust. “How can I help you?”

“Don’t go in there anymore,” said Blossomforth. “That’s a start.”

“But why?”

“Because it’s not your room.”

“No,” said Wintrygust, trying to stay pleasant but getting increasingly annoyed. Blossomforth was the last pony she wanted to see right now. “It belongs to Scootaloo.”

“Belonged,” corrected Blossomforth.

Wintrygust’s eyes narrowed. “With all due respect, there is no evidence that the Captain is currently deceased.”

“Oh, yes,” said Blossomforth, producing a fake smile. “Because she was still alive when you left her in hostile territory.”

“It wasn’t me who left her,” snapped Wintrygust, her façade breaking down completely. “If you had just waited! I could have gone back!”

“We were under heavy enemy fire. Outmared, outgunned. I did what I had to.”

“And so did I. And that doesn’t make it right.”

“How do you think I feel? I’m the one who is going to have to tell the Fleet Commander that a breeder’s stupid mistake cost her sister’s life.”

Wintrygust blinked. “Why would you tell her?”

Blossomforth smiled, having finally reached the reason she had sought out Wintrygust. “I’m the next ranking officer. I’m in command now.”

“What?” said Wintrygust.

“Yes. And as soon as we get the Core back on line, we are going to limp back to Equestria and cut our losses.”

“But the mission! Scootaloo! We need to get her back, and find the Crimson Horizon!”

“Your opinion is noted,” said Blossomforth dismissively. “But we’re still going back to Equestria.” She started to walk away.

“Where they’ll gut this ship and move you to a better one, I’m sure.”

“What was that, breeder?” said Blossomforth, suddenly turning around.

“Noth- -no. Not nothing.” Wintrygust frowned, forcing herself to go against her instinctive programming. “Scootaloo expressly stated that I was to take command should she be incapacitated.”

“YOU?” Blossomforth burst into laughter. “You? Seriously? You realize she was joking, right?”

“She was not joking. The command of this ship should go to me.”

“To you? Why don’t we give it to the toaster? Or a gravity plate? Or the CORE?” Blossomforth stepped close to Wintrygust. “Scootaloo treated you real well. Way better than you deserved. But she was just faking it, you know.”

“No,” said Wintrygust, feeling her anger- -and doubt- -building. “No, she was my friend. IS my friend.”

“You’re not even a real pony. You’re just property, a slab of walking meat who would probably have been better off getting sold for laboratory research. Do you know what you were to her?” Blossomforth leaned in even closer, to where her nose was nearly touching Wintrygust’s. “You were her sex toy. And that’s it.” She smiled. “Hey, maybe if you’re lucky they’ll transfer you to me instead of to the knackery.” She lifted her hoof and stroked Wintrygust’s face. “Maybe you can help me with my next estrus? It’s all you’re good for, after all.”

Wintrygust slapped Blossomfroth’s hoof away from her. “What is your problem? I understand that you don’t like me, but this is excessive. Even for you.”

“Why? Because you walk around here, acting like you’re an actual pony. You’re not. You’re just a breeder. You were grown on a farm. Your parents were bred together like animals. You were sold into the navy. You are PROPERTY. It’s a bucking insult to us real ponies that I even have to look at filth like you.”

Wintrygust felt herself breathing heavily. She had never felt like this before. Even when Rainbow Dash used to beat her, she had always just accepted it as she had been trained to. She tried to control it- -she knew what the correct thing was, to let Blossomforth have command, to follow orders- -but instead she felt herself saying something completely different.

“It’s true,” she said. “I am just property. But you are my subordinate. So what does that make you?”

Blossomforth’s eyes narrowed, and one of them twitched. “So you actually want to challenge me for command? Well then, come on. Do it.” She gestured to her face. “Come and take it. Hit me, you cow.”

Wintrygust felt her hoof shaking, but every ounce of millennia of breeding was telling her not to move. She could not do it.

“I knew it,” said Blossomforth. “You can’t, can you? If you were a real pony, you could.” She chuckled dryly. “You’re worse than that failure Scootaloo. To be honest, I don’t even mind that you killed her. She deserved what she got. That little- -”

Blossomforth was interrupted by a sudden and powerful white hoof slamming against her left cheekbone. Her eyes widened in surprise as she was knocked back.

“Don’t talk about her like that!” screamed Wintrygust. She felt tears streaming down her face as she leapt on Blossomforth.

“Damn breeder! Get off me!”

Wintrygust struck Blossomforth again, this time in the side of her neck. Blossomforth recoiled, but shifted Wintrygust back and punched her repeatedly in the stomach. Wintrygust felt her wind leave her, but spending her early life with Rainbow Dash had more than taught her how to take a punch and how to ignore pain. She sank her teeth into one of Blossomforth’s wings and forced her to the ground.

As a breeder, Wintrygust was by default more muscular than a normal pony. That proved not to be much of an advantage, though, because Blossomforth had an exactly identical physique in addition to naval hoof-to-hoof training. Despite this, after several minutes of rolling, screaming, mane-pulling and wing fluttering, Wintrygust still managed to get Blossomforth off balance. As soon as she was, she drove her hoof into her nose and face again and again.

Blossomforth twisted, using her abnormal flexibility to kick Wintrygust in the chest. Wintrygust was thrown back, but Blossomforth collapsed to the ground in their mutual pile of blood and hair. Both of them stood, breathing hard, each wondering if the fight would continue.

Wintrygust slowly started to approach the other pony, but then felt something crunch beneath her hoof. She picked up her hoof and looked down, only to see the remains of a large blue contact lens on the floor. At first, she did not understand how that had gotten there, or why- -but then quickly looked back to Blossomforth.

Blossomforth looked up at Wintrygust with one blue eye beside one that was crimson red. Then she saw the broken contact lens on the floor and tried to cover her red eye, but it was already too late.

Wintrygust gaped. “You’re…”

“Don’t you dare say it,” said Blossomforth, attempting to stand but failing.

“You’re like me!”

“I’m NOTHING like you!” spat Blossomforth, sending a spray of blood across the floor.

Wintrygust crossed the floor and offered her hoof to Blossomforth. Blossomforth kicked it away.

“Those eyes,” said Wintrygust. “The white coat…you’re a breeder.”

“NO,” said Blossomforth, firmly. She tried to stand again, and this time rose shakily to her feet. “I’m not. But my mother was. She was filth, like you.”

“A hybrid?” Wintrygust shook her head. “That’s impossible. There are no hybrids. Mating with one of us is punishable by death.”

“Unless your father is close with Filthy Rich. Or is Filthy Rich, for all I know. Or care. Whoever he was, he was an idiot who couldn’t even be bothered to put in a sterile mare. And that slut probably just stood there and took it. She probably enjoyed it, too.”

“She was your mother,” snapped Wintrygust. “And one of my sisters. As are you. Don’t talk about her like that.”

Blossomforth glared at Wintrygust. “I am NOT your sister. And my mother, she did this to me. She hid it until it was too late.” She gestured toward her hair. “What do you think they did when a breeder gave birth to a pony with a mane like this?”

“They couldn’t sell you,” said Wintrygust, suddenly understanding. “Not a hybrid. But that meant you would have to live life…”

“Looking like YOU. Everything I’ve ever done, they’ve always known. Every ‘friend’ who found out. Every superior I’ve ever had. I’ve done everything PERFECTLY, and they still stuck me on this ship with you failures.”

Wintrygust sighed. The situation had changed, and she found that she could no longer sustain her anger. She took another step toward the other pony. “You are hurt,” she said. “I need to get you to the infirmary.”

Blossomforth took advantage of Wintrygust’s proximity and sucker punched her in the face. Wintrygust felt her head turn, but did not react.

“Come on,” said Blossomforth. “You didn’t have a problem doing it before. After what I just said to you…”

“Sisters must never knowingly fight sisters. That is not our way. If you had actually learned what your mother had to teach you, you would know this.”

“I’m not your sister.” Blossomforth looked at Wintrygust, and then turned away, limping down the hall. “Have your damn command. But I still hate you. And every one of your kind.”

Wintrygust watched her go, and then rubbed her jaw. It was starting to hurt, as were all the injuries she had sustained. Something inside her hurt more, though, and she did not understand why.

She looked down at the blood and pulled-out hair on the floor, and then started down the hall in the opposite direction as Blossomforth had gone. As the acting commander of the RENS Failure, the responsibility of reporting the situation to the Princess now fell to her, and she would need to clean herself up before she had to deliver the bad news.

As she walked, she suddenly noticed a completely pink pony who had apparently been watching the events unfold in silence. She was quietly munching on a bowl of caramel popcorn.

“Who are- -where did you get- -” Wintrygust took a breath, and then walked past the pony. “You know what? I don’t even care right now. Just clean up when you’re done.”

“Okie dokie lokie, captain,” replied the clingon. Her last word made Wintrygust shiver. She felt as though she had just stolen something valuable from an even more precious friend.

Rainbow Dash awoke suddenly, once again screaming. It had been the same dream that she had nearly every night: the burning ship, the purging atmosphere, and her standing alone on the bridge bleeding out as the crystal swarm poured across space. Of the two reccuring dreams she had, though, it was far from the worst. The one in the hospital where she had woken up after the battle was always far worse. On those days, she would wake up crying.

She lifted her head from the table she had been leaning on and reached behind her, running her hoof along the scarred junction where the base of her left wing gave way to an all-white one. It was still there, where it always would be.

Then the headache hit, and Rainbow Dash winced. She immediately reached for a half-empty bottle of distilled cider that she had left unfinished from the night before and promptly drained it. The effect was minimal, and Rainbow Dash threw the bottle against the wall, shattering it. Equestrian alcohol was just not potent enough anymore. She had asked Rarity to return with more of the alien beverage ryncol, but Rainbow Dash had yet to receive any so far.

Despite the lack of proper alcohol, Rainbow Dash searched her room for any open bottles, drinking them as she found them until she finally needed to open a new one. By the time that one was halfway drained, her headache was starting to fade and her outlook on the world had improved enough for her to face another day of continual warfare. She straightened her uniform and stepped out into the hallway.

She slowly began making her way to the bridge. Her hoofsteps echoed off Harmony’s high-ceilinged corridors, and it was the only sound audible aside from the almost imperceptible hum of the air circulation system and the occasional low, precise clicking of one of the violet-colored mechanical alicorns responsible for maintaining the Harmony. There was no sound of other ponies because there were no others. Despite its immense size, the Harmony was devoid of any life apart from Rainbow Dash. The miles of hallways, the cargo bays, even the hangers that had once held so many active fighters- -they were all empty. This was her command center, from where she dictated the course of the entire Equestrian Fleet- -and in that capacity, both figuratively and literally, Rainbow Dash was alone.

Even her position had become a sham. Five years prior, she had defied the will of a Princess only to have her position taken by her own sister. The effect on her career had been devastating. It had taken every bit of political capital she possessed to keep control of the Fleet, but much of the respect she had possessed before had vanished. She was acutely aware that much of the actual tactical maneuvering was now in the hooves of the Secondary Commanders, and Rainbow Dash’s own participation largely relied on assistance from Twilight.

It felt like hours before Rainbow Dash actually reached the bridge, a large empty balcony extending into a cavernous room with an enormous window. On the other side was space, black and inky, dotted by stars and the haze of the Equestrian galaxy that could only be seen from deep space. Rainbow Dash sat down and watched it for several minutes, wondering when exactly the last time that she had looked out at it and seen any real beauty had been.

“Aww, Dashie, you kook down,” said a voice beside Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash turned, expecting to see Twilight’s translucent holographic body beside her, but instead found her face inches away from a pink pony with enormous blue eyes.

“GAH!” cried Rainbow Dash, fluttering into the air and jumping back from the face- -only to bump into another identical pony.

“Yeah, Dashie, why the long face?”

“I think it’s because she’s a pony!” whispered the other one. They both giggled.

“Twilight! TWILIGHT!” screamed Rainbow Dash, backing away from the pair.

Beside her, a magical construct assembled itself into a hollow, semi-abstract representation of what the Harmony’s Core most likely would look like had she not been permanently imprisoned in a crystalline casing for the greater part of two decades. She flexed her translucent wings, and her blank holographic eyes looked around as though they could actually see.

“Oh,” she said when she saw the pair of pink ponies.

“Twilight!” cried Rainbow Dash. “You have clingons!”

Twilight sighed. “I know.”

“Do something!”

“I’ve tried. I can’t get them to leave.”

“It’s in the name,” said one of the pink ponies. “You know, ‘cling-on’?”

“It certainly isn’t because our foreheads are all ridgey,” said the other.

“I even gassed the ship with phosgene,” groaned Twilight. “I probably got ninety percent of them, but the remainder seems to have become resistant.”

“Phosgene? When the buck did you do that?”

“Oh. You were asleep at the time.”

“Great,” muttered Rainbow Dash. “I just wanted to be alone, and now this…” She pointed at one of the pink ponies. “Right. You’re Pinkie A,” she said, “And you’re Pinkie B.”

“Actual names?”

“I think we just got promoted!”

“Just wait until we tell Pinkies W through AG! They’ll be so proud!”

“Wait, how many are you?”

Both of the Pinkie’s faces scrunched. “Just us two.”

“I think I’ll just remove these two,” said Twilight. There was a low hum as her magic charged throughout the ship, and the Pinkies clutched each other in fright.

“Don’t bother,” said Rainbow Dash. “As weird as it sounds…oh Celestia, I can’t believe I’m saying this…I probably need the company. Even if they are vermin.”

“Hey! I’m not a vermin!”

“No, but I think I might be.”

“You totally are!”

Rainbow Dash produced a flask from her pocket and took a sip, pretending to be adjusting her wing. Twilight did not seem to notice- -or, at this point, pretended not to. “So…what’s the galactic situation today, Twi?”

“The campaign against the Carbanado revolution is progressing within expected parameters with ten percent lower than expected casualty rate. They have been almost entirely ousted from the Cherry Cluster as well as outer-ring section V. All my simulations save one say that we will have conquered the Dog Star within the year.”

“And the other simulation?”

“That the revolution will succeed in petitioning assistance of the colonial defense force on Open-Ceres.”

“Send a section of the eighth subfleet to occupy the planet,” said Rainbow Dash.

“We can’t,” said Twilight. “As I told you last week, the eighth subfleet took heavy losses in the Parallel Spiral region. Saboaughe is expected. A new shipment of Cores has been sent, but installation will take at least another two weeks.”

“Then sent the thirty-third. They’re in that area.”

“No, no they’re not. Not since last month. They were diverted toward planned evacuation of the red giant Duskglow.”

“I thought we had that covered.”

“We did, until you redirected all the industrial transport ships to resupply the blockade at the galactic edge. A blockade that I have since canceled.”

“Canceled! Twilight, that’s the only thing protecting us from the Crystal Empire!”

“Which we DON’T NEED. Not when those ships could be stopping pirates in the colonies or Chaos raids.”

“She’s got you there, Dashie,” added Pinkie A.

“You don’t have the authority to order MY Fleet around!”

“I wouldn’t have to if you would do your job.”

Rainbow Dash was about to either complain or give up and stomp back to her room when Twilight suddenly turned away.

“I’m receiving a message from Scootaloo.”

“Scootaloo?” said Rainbow Dash. Any thought she had about returning to her room suddenly vanished. “Put it on screen!”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “You do not give me orders, Rainbow Dash. Not now, not ever. And besides. I thought you never wanted to see your ‘sister’ again after she took your position and averted an apocalyptic war with the Citadel aliens. A position, mind you, that she would still have if she had not ceded it back to you voluntarily.”

“You know I couldn’t forgive what she did,” snapped Rainbow Dash. “Not without losing every ounce of authority I had left! She basically stabbed me in the wings, Twilight!”

Twilight leaned closer. “Yes. And I know exactly how that feels.”

She snapped away from Rainbow Dash and stomped to the edge of the bridge platform, apparently forgetting that as a massless hard-magic projection, her hooves did not actually make sound.

“You understand, don’t you, Pinkie?”

“You mean about throwing my sister under the bus to keep my career nice and shiny only to succumb to chronic alcoholism and lose everything you ever valued?” Pinkie B giggled. “Totally. I would definitely do that.”

“She would,” said Pinkie A. “I’d know. I am her.”

“Well, what would you know,” muttered Rainbow Dash. “Expecting clingons to understand…”

At the edge of the bridge balcony, Twilight focused her energy onto the empty space between her hologram and the front window. The air shifted, converting to an array of violet-colored geometric shapes that began to shimmer with different colors and refractory patterns as they assumed realistic colors and condensed into a large holographic representation of a pony.

Rainbow Dash assumed her most serious and stoic of expressions, expecting the hellish experience of having to once again face her shame head-on without being nearly drunk enough for it. Instead, though, the pony that appeared was not Scootaloo. Instead of a pair of violet eyes staring back, Rainbow Dash found herself looking into a pair of large red ones emerging from a white face and framed by equally red hair- -and sitting in the Captain’s chair.

“Who the hay are you?” shouted Rainbow Dash. “And what are you doing in that chair? Get out!”

The breeder just continued to stare for a moment. “Fleet Commander,” she said at last. “I am 3789- -no. I am Wintrygust.” She paused, and her expression changed subtly. Her eyes seemed to quiver, and Rainbow Dash instantly knew that something was wrong. She had owned a tremendous number of breeders, and she had never seen one look quite like that. “And I am…acting Captain of the CN12-88B.”

“Oh no,” whispered Twilight.

“No,” said Rainbow Dash. “YOU are property. You can’t be- -” The implication suddenly hit her, and she froze as though she had been punched in the gut. “Scoot…Scootaloo…”

The breeder nodded, and the horror that Rainbow Dash felt immediately shifted into rage. “You damn whore!” she screamed. “What did you do to her?! I’ll have your wings torn off for this!”

“No, you won’t,” said Twilight.

“Twilight! Come on! Scootaloo- -”

“Is MY Priestess. And my responsibility. This does not concern the navy, and this does NOT concern you.”

Rainbow Dash brought her face to within inches of Twilight’s blank, sightless holographic eyes. “She is my sister,” she hissed. “And this DOES concern me!”

“Really? Because you haven’t been acting like it.” Twilight turned back to the breeder. “Wintrygust, was it? Report. Tell me what happened.”

“We encountered the aberrant vessel as planned. Upon scanning, we detected no life forms and came to the conclusion that it was likely automated. Captain Scootaloo led the away-team consisting of myself and Dr. Lemon Heart…”

“Don’t use my first name!” shouted somepony off camera. Wintrygust’s red irises shifted toward the location of the shout, and then back to Twilight.

“Once on board, we attempted to reach the vessel’s Core, only to be ambushed by a group of unidentified aliens that our scanners had failed to detect. Scootaloo was separated from the group.”

“And you left her behind!” cried Rainbow Dash.

“And I am prepared to take full responsibility for that. Unwing me, if you must. Execute me. I surely deserve it.”

“Nopony is unwinging anypony,” said Twilight. “So Scootaloo is…”

“Currently MIA.”

“Tell me,” said Twilight. “Under your assessment, what is the chance she is still alive?”

Twilight had asked the question that Rainbow Dash had not even dared to think, and it felt like a knife cutting through her heart. “She’s Scootaloo, Twi. She’s alive.”

“I cannot make that prediction,” said Wintrygust, somberly. “We came under heavy fire and were forced to retreat before I could return to her. However...”

“What?”

“We did receive emergency assistant from another vessel.”

“Another vessel?” Twilight seemed confused.

Wintrygust tapped at her interface, and her image partitioned, separating between a representation of herself and a three-dimensional representation of the ship in question, as well as the data associated with it.

“Readings indicate that it does not have an active Core, meaning it is most likely alien,” said Wintrygust. “Whatever it is made of, we could not read through it. We did find, however, that it emitted a characteristic biphasic graviton wave as it moved.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she stepped back. Rainbow Dash saw that, despite being only a representation of the actual Twilight, the hologram was shaking and slowly raising her hoof to her chest- -to where the real Twilight, suspended in crystal in the center of the Harmony, had five small round scars in her body.

“No,” she said. “No…”

“What is it?” said Wintrygust. “Princess, do you recognize this ship?”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow Dash darkly.

Twilight cleared her throat- -or made a sound similar to it- -trying to regain her composure. “That ship…it is operated by an alien organization called Cerberus. Its owner…” Twilight clutched her chest even more tightly. “Five years ago, its owner attempted to assassinate me. I was nearly killed, and my medical records indicate that she removed a substantial amount of bone marrow from me while I was unconscious. Celestia knows what they used it for…”

Wintrygust’s pupils narrowed. “Cerberus…the blue-eyed woman.”

“How could you know about that?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Because I was there,” said Wintrygust. “I saw her. And I saw what she did to my brothers. Brothers that YOU gave her to have her way with.”

“I had a lot of breeders back then,” said Rainbow Dash. “And you guys get ugly when you get old. I had a lot removed. I didn’t keep track of them all. I can’t say I remember.” She did, however, remember the blue-eyed Cerberus woman well. Her hideous laugh, the stench of meat and ionization that surrounded her, her greasy hair, her horrible smile- -Rainbow Dash had confronted her and been horrified to learn just how vicious the human race was. Had Fluttershy not intervened, Rainbow Dash would have lost her remaining good wing- -and possibly a lot more than that.

“Why would she be there? HOW would she be there?” asked Twilight.

“I do not have any suggestions,” said Wintrygust. “But the fact that she seemed so interested in Scootaloo worries me much, much more. However, I doubt that the Captain was her primary target.”

“You think she was after the ship,” said Twilight. She took a breath, forcing herself to move past the loss of Scootaloo, at least for the moment. “What did you find?”

“Dr. Heart was able to confirm the Core identity,” said Wintrygust. “The ship in question has been identified as the Crimson Horizon.”

Rainbow Dash felt her breath catch. “That’s impossible,” she said. “The Crimson Horizon was destroyed.”

On the screen, the camera zoomed out, showing a more complete picture of the bridge. On one side, a cerulean pony was slumped over her controls and snoring loudly. In the background, near a nonfunctional rack of rear controls, a pink clingon waved. Pinkies A and B, suddenly excited, waved back.

Rainbow Dash pointed. “You’re probably going to want to kill that before it lays eggs.”

“Too late for that!” giggled the clingon next to Wintrygust.

A yellow unicorn stepped into the angle. “Princess,” she said, bowing.

“Dr. Heart,” said Twilight. “Is this report true?”

“It is.” Lemon Heart opened an interface with her magic and transmitted her findings to Twilight. The image of the Cerberus ship was replaced with a much more detailed account and diagram of a much different starship.

“Sweet Celestia,” whispered Twilight.

“What…the buck…” said Rainbow Dash. Even without advanced training in design, she knew how to read a scan- -and nothing in the Equestrian Fleet, not even the several secret projects that were being prepared for the oncoming Second Crystal War, came close to what was displayed before her.

“That isn’t an Equestrian design.”

“No,” said Heart. “The external architecture is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It matches no known design of ship, present, ancient, or supposed. I can’t even figure out exactly what it’s made of. But it contains pieces of material from the original ship, and the Core has a ninety-six percent homology rating to Sunset Shimmer. I know that ship, Princess Twilight Sparkle. And that IS the Crimson Horizon.”

“And you left Scootaloo on that?” said Rainbow Dash, softly.

“Yes,” said Wintrygust.

“Only because she had no choice,” said Heart. “Wintrygust could only pull one of us out, and Scootaloo ordered that it be me.”

Rainbow Dash could not help but smile, as inappropriate as it was.

“And this ship? You said there were no life signs, but that vessel is over one fifty times the volume of the Harmony. It has to have a crew.”

“With all due respect,” said Wintrygust. “You don’t. And it appeared to be populated by…things.”

“Although we could not determine if they were the crew or some manner of infestation. They did not appear sentient. Of course, then again, two thirds of the pony population does not either.”

“We’re not even sentient,” volunteered Pinkie A. “And we can talk.”

“And its course? What was it trying to do?”

“It is moving at immense speed,” said Wintrygust. “At its projected course, it will enter the Crystal Galaxy within fifty hours.”

“That is deeply concerning,” said Twilight. “I will need to warn my brother immediately. And it only gets worse that Cerberus was interested in it too. This situation is very, very bad.”

“But you already knew,” said Heart.

“What?” said Rainbow Dash.

“Why else would you have sent me out here? You knew this ship was the Crimson Horizon the whole time, didn’t you?”

“Twilight? What does she mean by that?”

“I had an inkling. I needed confirmation.”

“And you killed my sister for CONFIRMATION?”

“She’s not necessarily dead!”

“Oh, so, what? She’s been stolen by Cerberus, now? Because that’s the only other option, Twilight!”

“I understand, Rainbow Dash. I really do. But in all honesty, we have bigger problems right now.” Twilight looked up at Wintrygust. “You need to return to Equestria immediately. I have the information I need- -”

“No,” said Wintrygust.

“What did you just say, breeder?” said Rainbow Dash.

“I said no. With all due respect, Princess, there is more we can do. Our mission is not complete. If you can move us into position, we can continue to observe. We may be able to decipher its purpose, goal, creator, a weak point- -something. Because right now, all we know is the identity of its Core. Our intelligence is sorely lacking on this subject.”

“You want to try to recover Scootaloo,” said Rainbow Dash.

Wintrygust nodded. “If we can. Or receive confirmation that…” She could not finish her sentence. “Our Core is nearly depleted. She is dying, but we have enough energy to perform this task. With your permission, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“You do realize that’s a suicide mission,” said Rainbow Dash.

The cyan pony who had previously been sleeping suddenly snorted and awoke suddenly. “Suicide mission? What?”

“We are prepared to do whatever we are able,” said Wintrygust. “As Scootaloo would.”

Twilight seemed to consider this for a moment- -which, with her hyperaccelerated Core mind, was probably the equivalent of several hours to a normal pony. When she had finished, she looked up at Wintrygust. “Permission is granted. But do not engage. Whatever you do, stay at a safe distance. You are not prepared for a fight. Let my sister-in-law handle that. If it even comes down to that.”

“Twilight, you can’t seriously be relying on Cadence! With one of our most powerful Cores- -”

“I trust Cadence absolutely,” snapped Twilight. She muted the communication. “Far more than I trust you, Rainbow. Cadence didn’t violate me while I was unconscious and try to start a war.”

“Get off your high earth pony, Twilight. You’re a Core. And I did to you what we do with EVERY single other Core.”

“That doesn’t make it right!”

“No,” said Rainbow Dash, calmly. “But it does make you a hypocrite.”

Twilight unmuted the transmission. “Sorry,” she said. “I had to have a word with Rainbow Dash.”

“They totally have WAY too much sexual tension,” whispered Pinkie A.

“You have my permission to continue at your discursion, Wintrygust,” said Twilight.

“Really? You’re giving authority of one of my ships to a damn BREEDER?”

“Breeder, pony. You are all just mortals to me. I care very little for such pointless politics.” Twilight looked up at the screen. “Prepare your ship for transport. I will move you into position as soon as you are ready.”

“Yes, Princess,” said Wintrygust. Her image faded and separated into monocolored violet fractals as Twilight disconnected the communication link and allowed the hologram to fade.

Rainbow Dash watched the hologram dissipate, and then turned to Twilight. “I don’t like this.”

“You don’t have a choice. This is out of jurisdiction.”

“Listen to me, Twilight. As your friend.”

“I don’t even know if I’m still able to call you that.”

“Even if I’m not, there’s a reason why I’m Fleet Commander. What you’re doing, it isn’t a good idea. We’re already too deep here. Wouldn’t it just be better…”

“To let the Crimson Horizon plow into the Crystal Galaxy?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “It’s not our problem.”

“Yes, it is. They are our allies now.”

“No, Twilight. They really aren’t.”

“Okay then, so say we don’t. So how exactly do you think they’ll react to having a formerly Equestrian ship ram into their defenses?”

“I really don’t like getting my defenses rammed,” said Pinkie A.

“She actually does,” whispered Pinkie B.

“Do not!”

“They’ll most likely just destroy it,” said Rainbow Dash, shrugging.

“No,” said Twilight. “No they won’t.”

Rainbow Dash paused, noting a shift in Twilight’s facial expression. Even as a Core and a hologram, she was easy to read. “You know something, don’t you?”

“I know a lot of things. You may be the Fleet Commander, but I’m a Princess.”

“That ship. There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“Yes.”

“Damn it, Twi, tell me! I can’t do my job if you don’t!”

“You hardly EVER do your job!” Twilight took a deep simulated breath. “But no. You’re right. That ship…it is, or was, a porotype. For me. And its Core was one of Celestia’s students, like I was.”

“Her student? Twilight, are you saying she’s like you? An alicorn?”

Twilight shook her head. “The process for making an alicorn had not yet been established at the time. Celestia did not know how. But…”

“But?”

“Celestia took an active role in designing the Harmony. She had almost nothing to do with the construction of the Crimson Horizon. It was designed and built by government scientists led by Sunset Shimmer.”

“Sunset Shimmer? You mean the Core. Twilight, a Core can’t- -”

Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash understood. “You can’t be serious…”

“Celestia didn’t talk much about her. But something…something was wrong with her, Rainbow. There’s a reason why I became a Princess and she didn’t. If it really is her, she’s at least as powerful as me. Perhaps even more so. And what she’s planning…I don’t even know.”

“I get it,” said Rainbow Dash. She took a deep breath. “What can we do to stop her?”

Twilight was silent for a long moment. “At this point…I don’t even know if we can.”