I woke up to find us drifting above what looked like Equestia. Around me I could see the ponies struggling to get on their feet. I totally regretted not putting on my armour for the space battle. I should have known this would happen and now I’m covered in burns and bruises. I gathered myself and got up on my feet, rubbing my neck again.
“Get a medical team up here now!!” Luna ordered as she approached a console. Me and Applejack walked beside her, the other ponies were unconscious besides Pinkie and a few of the crewmen.
“I regret not putting my suit on”
“Ah think we all do” replied Applejack as she looked depressingly over to Twilight and Rainbow being taken away by the medical crew.
“Ew, what happened?” asked Pinkie in pain, getting up from the floor.
I walked over to help Pinkie up on her hooves.
“You okay Pinkie?”
“No! My head hurts more than the time I tried to eat Seventy two cupcakes at once!”
“erm... okay?” I then looked to one of the medical staff. “...can I get some help over here?”
A medical pony came and took Pinkie. Pinkie was mumbling something about Muffins like a crazy pony. I went back over to Applejack and Luna. Luna was using the console.
“What is it Princess?” I asked curiously and with concern.
“Primary systems are offline all over the ship. We still have power and I have sealed off all decks with hull breaches. Luckily no-pony was on those decks when the hull was breached. I need to do a full head count of the crew and make sure everypony is okay. So far no death reports have come in”
“What about Discord’s fleet?”
“Well without long range sensors, there is no way to tell. We did quite a bit of damage to them so hopefully the wont be here for some time”
“Imma heading down to the hanger to check on Big Mac” Applejack informed before walking away.
“Alright. He still has six ships. Please tell me you have more ships Princess” I asked, praying for her to say yes.
“I... Im sorry Commander. I wish I could tell you I do but... I sent everything we had to earth. This all I have left” She looked down at the console in shame and guilt.
“It’s okay Luna” I put my hand on her side compassionately. “You have done what you can”
She smiled at me, blushing slightly. I then continued to talk.
“...Now come on. We still have time before he gets here. Lets prepare this ship as best we can”
“..of course Commander. I have notified all engineer teams. We are going to need shields and weapons back online as soon as possible. We want to at least be able to defend ourselves when Discord gets here”
“Anything I can do Princess?”
“Actually. There is. There is something wrong with the Hyper-drive. I’m getting some weird power spikes. Could you go check it out? The other engineer teams are busy and I’m no good with techie stuff. I’m just the boss”
“Sure. I’ll go take a look at it for you”
“Thank you very much Courage. I’ll remain here and sort out this mess of a ship”

“So when can I talk to Luna? I want to dance on the moon with her and ride a dolphin with her!”
“Liam. Can you go annoy someone else? I’m kinda busy fixing the drive”
“Nope! Lol!”
“Please Liam. I need to concentrate”
“Lol I concentrated once. It was really boring and stupid! I was like ‘Fuck you teacher! I ain’t gonna do no work for you bitch’ and she was like...”
Suddenly I was put off my work and was shocked by a huge spark.
“Ah! Fuck! Liam! Fuck off! I’m trying to work here!!”
“Woah! I’m sorry. Do you want me to go away?”
“For fuck sake yes! I’m trying to fix a device that I have never even seen before. I need absolute concentration!”
“Bah! How hard could it be!”
“This technology shouldn’t even exist!! It’s not easy to fix!! Now fuck off!! Seriously!!”
“Woah! Okay grumpy bum face... Cya”
He sighed and walked out of the room. I continued to focus on fixing the drive.

I must have been working on it for over half an hour or so. I was so busy I lost track of time.
“Courage?” I heard Rainbow’s voice bounce off the metal walls. “You down here? I wanna talk to ya?”
“I’m over here!” I replied.
“What are you doing on the floor” she asked, watching me mess with some wires and interfacing with my tablet.
“I’m trying to fix the Hyper-drive. What the fuck does it looked like?!?”
“Alright! You didn’t need to snap at me!”
I got up and started to get angry.
“Well I’m fucking sorry! I’ve been through a lot recently! I’m under extreme pressure and I can’t remember the last time I ate something!! Sure I had a Coffee before the last battle but that isn’t exactly nutritious!!” I then returned to my work. “Why the fuck you down here anyway?!?”
“I came to talk to you...”
“Really? Fucking really?!? We’re in the middle of a war and you want to talk?!? We don’t have time to talk! We got to fight for... whatever it is your fighting for! I sure as hell don’t know why I’m here! I got nothing to fight for anymore!”
“You still upset about your friends and family?” she asked quietly.
“Hmm...! No! Of course not! It’s not like they meant anything to me or anything!” I shouted sarcastically.
“I’m sorry for your loss Courage. I really am. I’m just trying to help you” she said in empathy.
“Well I don’t want you fucking help! I just want to get this over with so I can shoot myself!”
“Shoot yourself? Courage no. Don’t speak like that” she replied with extreme concern.
“Right. Why not? Not that it matters to anyone...”
“It matters to us Courage!”
“Too a bunch of Ponies? That makes me fell better don’t it!!” I shouted sarcastically yet again.
“What do you mean by that?!?” she yelled accusingly.
“Oh nothing! Nothing at all! Listen! Can you fuck off while I work please!”
“Well... fine! Fuck you then!” she replied, before storming out. I was a bit shocked that she swore but I pretended to take no notice. After a few seconds I screwed up a wattage calculation and shocked myself again.
“Ah fuck!” I then lent my head on the drive and started to tear up. I missed Violet. I missed Anthony and Edward. I missed my parents and my sister. I sat there wishing none of this ever happened. I wanted everything to go back to normal. I wanted it all to end. The years of emotional build up was finally coming out as I sat there in tears, alone, in the dark.

“Courage? Courage?!? Are you okay?!?” Rarity shouted in worry as she found me laying on the floor in tears. I must have been laying there for an hour before she found me
“Sweet Celestia! Are you okay?!? Rainbow told me about what happened. I came to check on you to see... and... oh dear... Come here Courage”
She held me tight and tried to shh me. I was in complete lock down. Hidden in a shell and refused to come out. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Courage. Please talk to me. Don’t give up on me now” she said, her voice full of sorrow.
“Why can’t it all just end? How could this happen to me?”
“Aw Courage. C’mon now...”
“I just want to end it all... right now”
“No Courage! You’re not killing yourself you hear me! Rainbow told me what you said. I simply wont allow it! Now C’mon! This isn’t the Courage I got to know. Your stronger than this! Now pull your sorry self together and work! Your not a quitter or a loser! You have been through the worst things possible and you still managed to pull through! Don’t give up now!”
“Why? What’s the point... I’ve lost everything. What am I fighting for? I’ve got nothing”
“I said it before and I’ll say it again... You’ve still got us! We will be here for you always! No matter what! Now C’mon! This is no time for quitting! If you quit now, you’ll regret it! I’ll be here to help you! You don’t have to do it alone anymore. If you ever need some one or just want some company, all you need to do is ask”
“Thanks Rarity. It’s just, I miss so many people. I’ve lost too many loved ones... I can’t do it anymore”
“You’re just impossible to cheer up, you know that?!?”
“Sorry... Why don’t you just leave then?” I suggested angrily
“...because I care. I’m not going to give up on you. Friends never give up on each other. I’m going to give you all the sulking time you need and I’m going to comfort you through the whole thing. Then afterwards you are going to get to work on that drive”
“If you wanted me to finish the drive. All you had to do was ask...” I got up and walked over to the drive and pushed a few buttons on my tablet. The drive began to light up and make healthy humming noises. I then put my tablet down and walked out.
“Courage?” Rarity said in worry as I walked out.

I returned to the bridge, eyes still watering, and went to speak with Princess Luna.
“I’ve fixed the drive Princess”
“So I can see. Thank you Courage” she turned from her computer to look at me. “Are you okay?” she asked with concern.
“Yeah! Just fine! What else needs doing Princess? My services are still available”
“Erm... are you sure? You look tired. Maybe you should get some rest”
“No really. I’m fine Princess”
“No. I really think you should rest”
“No seriously! What about the engines? I can help out with the repairs there” I was really insistent now.
“The engineer teams can handle it Courage. Why are you so egar to help?” she asked with curiosity.
“Just trying to be a service to you my dear princess. Please. Let me help” I smiled at her insistently.
“No Courage. It is really quite alright. I’m sure my ponies can handle it” she said resistively.
“There must be SOMETHING I can do. Something, anything!”
“Okay. I order you to get some rest! Your no good to me exhausted. Get some food and get some sleep. Don’t worry about anything else. I will handle it. I’ll summon you when I need you. You’ve done enough with the Hyper-drive”
“Well, now that it is an order I guess I don’t have a choice. G’night dear Princess”
“G’night Courage” she said with a grin as I started to walk away to my quarters.

Before heading back to my quarters I decided to stop at Trixie’s quarters to she if she was okay. When I got there I found two guard ponies outside her door.
“Sorry Commander, you can’t come in here”
“Excuse me?”
“We are under-strict orders from the Princess to keep everyone out”
“I don’t care what your orders are. I’m going to see Trixie”
I tried to approach the door but one of the guards side-stepped in front of me to block my path.
“Sorry. We can’t let you do that”
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way, I’m going to see Trixie”
“I know what your implying here and I’m still not going to let you pass” he frowned threateningly.
“Well then I guess I’ll just have too...” I then grabbed his head and kneed him in the chin. Before the other one could react I punch him in the head and then upper cut him in the jaw. They didn’t put up much of a fight. I just rubbed my hands down and walked through the door.

“Hay Trixie. You in here?”
“Hang on a second. Just in the shower- wait. How did you get in?”
“Oh, it wasn’t hard. I er... just beat up the guards you know”
“Oh... WHY are you here then?”
“I came to check up on you and to thank you for what you did back at earth”
“Oh! It was nothing” she said as she walked out the bathroom, drying her face with a towel.
“Well not really. You betrayed Discord and sacrificed your whole fleet. That’s more than nothing”
She put the towel on the bed and looked at me, lifting an eyebrow. “Well what more do you want me to say? I’m upset to have killed all my followers to join you on your hopeless quest to save equestria”
“Well.... er...”
“Did you even think about what you were going to say when you came down here?”
“Well... I...”
She then hugged me. “Thank you Courage”
“Erm...” I was really confused.
“Thank you for talking some sense into me” She was almost strangling me. She was crying with happiness.
She then became sad again. “I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I’m really sorry for torturing you, I’m sorry for hurting you and your friends and I’m sorry for sending my Tempest warriors on you! Please forgive me! Please please please! I’m so sorry!”
“It’s fine Trixie. I forgave you when you turned on Discord. Don’t stress yourself over it” I was very forgiving.
“Please! If there is anything I can do to make it up to you...” she said insistingly.
“It’s fine Trixie”
“Please... I want to redeem myself”
“You sound like Rainbow...” I mumbled quietly to myself. “Just do what you can to help stop Discord.”
“Okay, I will. I promise to do what I can” she said hopefully.
“Good. I’ll talk with the Princess tomorrow to negotiate your release” I said reassuringly as I walked at the room.

Before I could make it back to my room I was stopped by Fluttershy.
“Um... Courage. I was concerned for your health and I just wanted to take a quick look at you... if you wouldn’t mind that is...”
“I’m fine Fluttershy. No need to wo-”
“Oh no no no. I insist I take a look at you at once” she said insistently with a big smile.
“But-”
“Come with me now. It wont take long”

I was now in the infirmary getting an X-ray done. Fluttershy was very insistent on doing a thorough check of my health. The scanner went back and forth three times as it scanned me. My eyes bounced around the room in boredom as I waited for the X-ray to be done.
“Oh dear...” Fluttershy gasped as she took the print of my X-ray.
“What is it? Fluttershy?” I asked curiously, starting to get up.
“No! Don’t get up! Lay your head down and relax!” she shouted in fear.
“What?!? What is it?” I asked in concern.
“It is essential you rest your head...” she walked to the side of the bed and showed me an X-ray of my head. “Look here; You have a small cervical fracture here in your neck. That is very dangerous”
“Dangerous how?” I asked in worry.
“It’s basically a broken neck... It should have killed you by now really. Oh dear... It appears you’ve had it for some time now. We’ll have to treat you right away. I have just the thing...”
“A broken Neck?!?” I shouted in fear. “Any idea how I may have gotten it?”
She walked over to a medical cabinet and opened it. “Well a number of things could have done it. Have you been feeling regular pains in your neck recently?”
“Well I have. Very regularly. Ever since I jumped out of the plane and slammed down on the ship”
“Oh dear... That is a long time. Makes sense. That kind of force could have easily caused a fracture. You’re very lucky to still be with us”
She trotted back over to me and injected my neck with something.
“There. That should do it. Try to rest your neck easy for a while. The fracture needs more time to heal but this should help speed things up”
She then took the needle out of my neck again.
“How long exactly?” I asked, rubbing my neck.
“Well, your suit seems to have attempted to heal it but there is still a lot of damage. My professional opinion would be three weeks...”
“but your personal opinion would be....”
“...Two days. So long as you are very careful after that. That means no more jumping off things okay?” she said with a cheeky smile.
“Okay. No more jumping off things. Got it...” I said smiling back. I then jumped off the bed. “Thanks Fluttershy”
“Oh it was nothing really... I’m always happy to help... Go rest your head now...”

After that I managed to make it to my quarters and sleep. It wasn’t easy to sleep knowing Discord could show up at any second. With only one ship, we didn’t stand much of a chance but we had to do something. Discord was right at Equestria’s door step now. He already took Earth, I wasn’t going to let him do the same thing to Equestria.