The tram came to a halt, announcing its arrival at the mess hall. Everypony in the group felt the pangs of hunger in their stomachs, so they decided to see what was available. They entered the bustling room, unsure where to head to.

“Can I help you with something?” Applejack turned to see a tall, broad-shouldered man looking at the ponies.

“Oh, hey. We’re with Cap’n Lieia, an’-“

“Whoa! You’re Grisova’s pals? Damn…”

“Yeah, Ah guess you could say that. Well, she’s busy at the moment. She hooked us up with these fancy things, too. Anyways, could ya point us to some grub?”

“Oh, right. Just head over to that wall. You can choose your meal there.”

“Much obliged, pardner!”

“No problem! Enjoy your stay!” He waved at her, before heading to the wall flickering with dozens of holoscreens. As she stood in front of it, she indecisively skimmed over the available meals, grimacing whenever she noticed a meal containing meat. Eventually she chose a plate of fries, settling down at a table. Others followed suit, until Celestia remained. She froze with indecision. She scrolled through the selection, darting this way and that, an-Hold it right there.

Pasta with… sugar? My, it seems they have something for everyone! Very well, it is settled.

She tapped the screen, and, sure enough, it popped out in front of her moments later. She held it aloft with telekinesis, and went to join the rest of ponies at the table. A couple of Coalition marines scooted sideways to free up some space. She thanked them as she set the tray down. She craned her neck to take a bit of her meal. As she munched on the mouthful of macaroni, she became aware that she’d drawn quite a few stares to her.

“Pssst! Princess! Use the fork!” Twilight whispered. Celestia reached out with her magic, grabbing said piece of tableware. The spectators only grew in number. A rustle of feathers and Rainbow Dash was hovering mid-air, giving the soldiers the evil eye.

“What, you’ve never seen anypony eat or something?” The sight of a pegasus drew their attention to her now.

“What is it? What’re you staring at?” One by one, they turned back to their meals, though they did cast the occasional glance towards the ponies.

“Oh, my, that was simply delicious. Wouldn’t you say so, Celestia?” Luna mumbled as she finished off the last of her toast. A nearby marine turned towards them.

“Coalition takes good care of their own. Our guys put their lives on the line every day.” Celestia nodded graciously.

“We appreciate their efforts. Lieia certainly has proven she’s a good friend to us.”

“You mean you know her? The most ruthless woman ever to join Marine Corps?” The man leaned closer, whispering. “You don’t want to sneak up on her. She nearly killed a dude who thought it’d be a good idea to prank her. Poor bastard got scared shitless. He quit the Corps next morning. You do not screw with Grisova. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was a robot. I mean, quite a few people have tried to get her to loosen up, but they all failed. There’s something about her that’s… off, for lack of a better word. She instils fear by simply being around. No idea how she does that. How’d you meet her, anyways?”

Celestia gave the man a short version of Lieia’s time on Equestria, leaving her romance with Lieia out. The marine gave a low whistle when she finished.

“Wow, that’s one helluva story. Sounds something like the good Captain would get herself into.” A disembodied voice rang through the multi-leveled mess hall, and most of the soldiers stood up, clearing out, leaving only a couple of dozens remaining. The talkative marine also stood up, waving goodbye to the ponies. One by one, the ponies also left, either in pairs or alone, until Celestia was left. She didn’t know where to go first. She wanted to go to the medical deck, see if Lieia was out yet, but she’d been told the surgery would take several hours. She stared at the empty bowl in front of her. Well, best get to it, then. She stood up, deciding to take a stroll around the ship, to clear her mind.

Applejack stopped in front of the doors, examining the letters above them.

“Gym. Ah think Ah like how that sounds. Ya up fer some exercise, Rainbow Dash?” Said cyan Pegasus grinned challengingly.

“Bring it.” They trotted inside, and were instantly awed by the rows of treadmills, weights, and every manner of exercise machines imaginable. Numbers of both humans and aliens were present already. The whole room practically screamed ‘BEEFCAKE’.

“Whoah… These guys don’t mess around, do they, AJ?”

“Nope. We don’t. Not when it comes to Vasari.” A deep, baritone voice rumbled from behind them. They turned around to see a tall, muscled man peering down on them. He was broad-shouldered, built like an ox. Applejack felt certain he could snap her spine like a twig.

“You sure you should be around these parts, missy?” He leant down, inspecting her with a steely grey eye.

“Don’t worry none ‘bout me, sweetums. I can handle myself. And so can she.” She indicated to Rainbow Dash.

The man blinked in surprise, then roared with laughter.

“Well, I’ll be damned! You’ve got some nerve, lady! Name’s John Murphy.” He extended a hand and Applejack shook it.

“Ah’m Applejack. This here’s Rainbow Dash.”

“Nice to meet you. Say, what gives? How’d you get aboard?”

“We’re with Lieia. She took us along for a tour of the fleet.” John’s eyebrows rose at that.

“You’re with Grisova, huh? Why didn’t ya say so? Feel free to use any of the equipment we got here.” He strode off, busying himself with weightlifting. Ranbow Dash leaned closer to Applejack, whispering.

“Boy, Lieia wasn’t kidding when she said she’s got a reputation.”

“Ah hear that. Come on, let’s get goin’. Ah wanna see what they got in store.”

“Um, Rarity? Where are we going?”

“Lieia mentioned that some of the ships in the fleet are actually cruise liners. I intend to see what they’re like. We do need to find a transport, however, or we’re stuck aboard this dreary ship.” She turned around, hearing footsteps, and saw an Asli jogging down the corridor.

“Oh, excuse me? Could you help us, please?”

“Kylieh’e, har. Nori’tye sa brei’llar.”

“I’m sorry, what?” The blue-skinned alien repeated in her sing song voice.

“Nori’tye sa breillar, har.” She eyed the two ponies for a moment longer, and then chuckled slightly.

“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. My name’s Dalyara’Sholas. May I know yours?”

“I’m Rarity and this is Fluttershy. A pleasure to meet you.”

“So, how can I help you?”

“We’re sort of lost. This PDA isn’t being cooperative with me.”

“Where’re you trying to get to?”

“The hangar. We’re trying to get to one of the ships. I was told it was a cruise liner before the war.”

“Akkan? You’ll want Prosperous for that. It’s a place where one can really unwind.” She tapped her own earpiece, bringing up a three-dimensional hologram of the Kol.

“Set path to Hangar Bay B.” A green, pulsating line flashed in life on the wall, and Dalyara smiled.

“There we go. I’ve transferred the location to your PDA, so just follow the line. Once you’ve arrived, just commission a shuttle to Prosperous.”

“Thank you very much, my darling!”

“Think nothing of it. Alright, I’ve got to hurry. Stay safe. Queral’e, har’l!” Dalyara took off, jogging away, leaving the ponies to follow the green guideline.

“HEY! Get out of here!” The exasperated engineer shouted, chasing after the evasive pink pony. How’d she’d gotten inside the reactor bay was beyond him.

“Someone get a tranquiliser gun here! She’s more slippery than a damn politician!” A Xalathii joined the merry chase, but to no avail. Minutes later, the requested tranquiliser rifle arrived, and was handed over to an Asli sharpshooter. She took aim and fired.

*psch*

*thud*

“Got her! Better take her to the medical deck now. How did she get in here?” The engineer shrugged.

“I honestly have no idea! She just appeared from thin air! Captain’s going to have a fit when he gets a wind of this.” He phoned the security crew, instructing them to take the unconscious pony to the care of medical staff.

Rarity trotted up to one of the deck crew, tapping his hip lightly.

“Ahem. Excuse me?”

“Yeah? How can I help?”

“I was wondering where I could request a transport to take me and my friend to a different ship.”

“Oh, just head over there, miss.” He pointed to a raised terminal a ways off.

“All outbound fliers should report there.”

“Thank you!”

“Don’t mention it.” The man strode off, leaving Rarity and Fluttershy free to requisition a shuttle. Half an hour later, they were heading for the Prosperous.

Fluttershy was awed by the lush plains. The brilliant curve of the dome above her stretched far. She pranced about, relishing the peace and quiet. Rarity was behind her, nearly gushing with surprise.

“My, this is simply amazing! How did they build this? I could spend my whole life here! Lieia wasn’t kidding when she said these were cruise liners! What shall we do now? Oh, let’s see if they have a spa!”

“Oh, I’d love to go to a spa.” She tapped her PDA, bringing up the map. After a few moments, she found the required location.

“My, you seem to be getting the hang of it, Fluttershy!”

“Oh, thanks.” The butter-yellow mare smiled shyly at the compliment.

Luna stepped through the doors, her heart stopping for a moment. Rows of strange devices were lined along the walls, a soldier in front of each. The room was awash with noises emitted by the machines. A nearby marine turned to her, waving amiably.

“Hey there! Welcome to the Game Room! Take your pick!”

“Game Room? Pray tell, what purpose it serves?”

“Video games, of course, for the consummate nerds! The best and the newest in the market! I always come down here in my free time. I hold the high score in Space Impact on this ship. Want to give it a go?” Intrigued, she stepped up to a free machine at the marine’s side, inspecting the screen.

“See the controls? You move around with that joystick and fire by pressing that button. Tap the screen to start the game.” She did as instructed, and the screen flashed, displaying a small spaceship that was flying around. She took hold of the joystick and immediately flew straight in an enemy that had appeared on screen. The marine chuckled.

“You’re supposed to shoot ‘em, not ram ‘em.” A new ship appeared and Luna was more cautious this time. Moving around, she let loose a stream of bullets, obliterating the row of enemy ships. She grinned, dropping lower down, avoiding an enemy projectile, blasting the culprit to space dust. She kept deftly avoiding the enemy shots, all the while whittling away at the enemy numbers, defeating the first boss easily. She grinned victoriously at seeing the monster explode.

“Take that!” On screen, Luna’s ship flew to top of the screen, boosting away as her score was displayed.

“That was quite fun!” The screen changed, displaying a cliff on bottom as the ship arrived, and Luna was in control once more…

Two hours, many deaths and restarts later...

Luna chewed her lip nervously as she confronted the last boss. It was a huge thing, nearly impervious to her fire. It had a tiny weak spot, and she always was mere moments away from death. A group of marines were spectating, cheering her on, as she kept relentlessly hammering away at the monster. Mere moments later, it died, disappearing in a huge explosion. The screen went blank for a moment, and then the speakers rumbled.

“Congratulations! You have won the game!” On screen, she could see a list of names and scores. The current top score beat others by a wide margin, and then was replaced by her name. She’d beat the marine’s score by several hundred points. She entered her name, settling her high-score firmly in top.

“Man, that was awesome! You’ve really got a knack for gaming, miss!”

“Please, call me Luna.”

“Alright, Luna. Want to try something else?”

“I would indeed!”

Twilight was up to her ears in the digital counterpart of a realbook. She was soaking information up like the proverbial sponge. She had lost all track of time in her pursuit of knowledge. Occasionally, she wondered what her friends were up to.

Celestia wandered through the quiet hallway, unable to devote herself to any meaningful activity, absorbed as she was by her concern for Lieia. She trotted up to a window, idly examining the nearby ships. The fleets were miniature cities, truth be told. Soldiers and crewmen alike earned their credits and spent them on food, weapons, and other necessities. Her eyes followed a trail of fighters that flashed past the window, and she sighed. Twilight and her friends were spread throughout the fleet, exploring the human ships. Last she’d heard of Luna, the alicorn was busy with some sort of entertainment systems. Pinkie Pie was under constant guard since her latest mischief. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were in the medical deck, getting their sprained muscles tended to. The competitive ponies had nearly broken a couple of exercise machines. Rarity and Fluttershy were the only ones not to cause trouble, living the life of luxury aboard Prosperous.

Three hours later

Celestia stepped off the tram, glancing around to make sure her mane didn’t get caught anywhere. She headed down the hallway, entering the medical deck moments later. She trotted up to the reception desk, coughing politely to get the man’s attention.

“Hello! How can I help you?”

“Is Lieia Grisova receiving visitors at the moment?”

“Hang on, let me check… Yeah, she got out of surgery an hour ago. She’s in room 412.”

“Thank you.” The man nodded in response, turning back to his screen and Celestia set about to find Lieia’s room.

The doors parted with a quiet beep and Celestia entered the room. A single bed stood near several medical machines. In the bed lay Lieia, pale as death. When she heard Celestia stand by her bed, she opened her eyes and grinned weakly.

“Hey there.” Now that Celestia was closer, she saw a grid-like arrangement of thin, red scars across Lieia’s body.

“Lieia… what did they do to you?”

“Oh… just some augmentations. When they replaced my neural lace, they rewired my haptics for more precise handling.  Dermal reinforcements to toughen my skin. They shaved a couple of microseconds of my reaction time, too.” Celestia leaned closer.

“How do you feel?”

“Like death warmed over. Ah. They drugged me up with something fierce. I saw lobsters flying on bears for some time.” She tried to sit up a bit straighter, but Celestia laid a restraining hoof on her chest.

“You have to get some rest, Lieia. I’m not going to let you overexert yourself.” Lieia reluctantly complied, and Celestia sat down beside her.

“So, how’s everyone doing, Celly?”

“Better than I thought, actually. Twilight’s reading as usual, Pinkie Pie has a squad of soldiers on her, Rainbow Dash and Applejack also had a visit here following a too-enthusiastic competition. Rarity and Fluttershy seem to be enjoying themselves aboard that cruise liner. Luna has taken quite a shine to those video games.”

“Whoa. Hold the phone. What did Pinkie do?”

“Apparently, she managed to get in the reactor bay. The eyewitness told she simply appeared inside.”

“How does one get inside the most secure place of the Coalition flagship?”

“Very easily, it would seem. It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie. Twilight tried to find an explanation for how she does all the things, but…” She trailed off.

“I get it, I guess. So, the gist of it is that she defies logic?”

“More or less.”

“Well, how about you? What were you up to today?”

“Uh… well…” Celestia stammered.

“Go on. I won’t laugh.”

“Nothing.”

“Huh?”

“I couldn’t do anything! I just couldn’t stop worrying about you. I’m terrible at controlling my feelings, no?”

“It’s okay. I understand. At least, I think I do. God, these painkillers are making my brains slower than a snail on weed.” She shifted closer to the edge of the bed, winking at Celestia.

“I saved you a spot.”

“What if someone comes in?”

“They know better than to disturb a sleeping EXO. Come on, then. Oh, wait a minute. I taste blood.” Celestia barely restrained herself from screaming in terror.

“What?”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing, really. My lace’s still meshing with my body. I wouldn’t mind a glass of water, though.”

“You just wait here.” Soon enough, she returned with the requested item.

“Much obliged, Celly. Well, hop in, then.” Celestia climbed in carefully, curling up at Lieia’s side, feeling her fingers caress her cheek.

“Still. What if someone does walk in? Then what?”

“Y’know, at this point, I don’t even care.”

Somewhere else, two security officers were ogling the screen, shocked at seeing the alicorn and human share a kiss.

“Dude! What the hell am I lookin’ at here?”

“D’ya think we should report this?”

“You got a death wish, do you? Grisova's going to tear you a new one if she hears of this!”

“…We didn’t see this.”

“Nope. I was busy with, uh… stuff.”

“Ditto.”

“…”

“Why is your nose bleeding?” Next Chapter: Chapter 15 Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 32 Minutes