“―and then when we factor in the cost of replacing the large laser array...oh, look! We’ve crossed the half million C-bit mark, and we haven’t even touched the bill for ten tons of ablative plating…”

A resigned Slipshod merely lay on the clinic’s patient bed like a deflated equine-shaped balloon. Squelch’s persistent brow-beating notwithstanding, the earth pony ‘Steed pilot was receiving a very poignant education on the pathology of ‘whiplash’. He was forced to admit that he’d never before suffered from the condition, and had only really seen it portrayed on entertainment dramas.

Those portrayals had led him to the―apparently erroneous―conclusion that the condition was a largely fictional one that was concocted by ambulance-chasing lawyers for the purposes of obtaining more House-Bits during a lawsuit. After all, the characters who were claiming to be suffering from the condition would always appear to be perfectly fine and mobile in the scenes immediately following the purported catastrophic accident, only to show up in court in a wheelchair and moaning like the living dead.

Now he realized that the portrayal had been surprisingly accurate. Slipshod had had little issue climbing out of his crippled and fallen ‘Steed not six hours ago. He’d not hesitated at being winched up the belay lines lowered from the hovering DropShip and had merrilly trotted to his quarters for a change into a fresh uniform while the ship’s crew worked to salvage the Wild Bronco.

The pain hadn’t kicked in until about four hours later, when the earth pony discovered that so much as twitching a hoof elicited a groan and a desire to not move that part of his body ever again. He’d very carefully―and very slowly―limped to the Med Bay and informed Doc Dee of his impending death. However, in lieu of last rites, the ivory unicorn had instead administered some pain killers and an order for two weeks of bed rest.

Slipshod had hardly been devastated by the physician’s order. Not that he did a whole lot on the ship when he wasn’t at the controls of his ‘Steed―which was going to be out for at least a month anyway―but now he could claim that it was “doctor’s orders” and not just his general reluctance to exert himself beyond the bounds of his employment contract. He was paid to pilot ‘Steeds, and little else. If anypony on the ship expected him to perform other duties, then they first needed to approach Squelch so that she could renegotiate his contract...and his pay.

However, it seemed that his “bed rest” order didn’t stop his boss from descending upon him to give him a verbal lashing thorough enough that it left his pride hurting as much as the rest of his body. “Mig’s going to be rewiring consoles for the next two days, and has informed me that we are now officially out of myomer sinew. Restocking that adds in another two hundred thou…” The unicorn glared down at her bedridden pilot, “I don’t suppose you want to take a guess at what our profit off this contract is going to be...before I factor in all those fun little ‘luxuries’ like, oh, I don’t know, everypony’s pay!”

The emerald mare took a deep breath and let it out slowly through her nostrils, “I swear the only favor you did me was not dying...so that I don’t have to pay out your death benefits to your next of kin.” A thought struck the mare and she glared briefly at the stallion before tabbing over to another screen on her tablet, “...which, I just remembered, had better not still be m―” She jerked, scowling at the screen. With a growl, she slammed the pad down on the mattress beside Slipshod and stormed for the door.

“Update that! I don’t care who you put down, but it’d better be changed before I come back for it!”

The earth pony winced as the Med Bay door slid shut. He let out a defeated sigh and reached out for the tablet. Displayed upon it was his company personnel file, which contained all sorts of fun little tidbits of information like his employment history, job performance reports―which he made a note to review while he had the opportunity―and...his beneficiary information.

For which Squelch was still listed as the primary recipient of all his assets in the event that he was killed in action.

In the stallion’s defense, this form was usually updated only once a year, and it hadn’t―quite―been a full year since the two of them divorced. Not that there was exactly a long list of other ponies that he could think of to put in her place. The rest of his family members were already dead. As far as he was concerned, there really wasn’t anypony else in the Sphere he could replace Squelch with, despite their...problematic past together.

Still, he knew that she had been serious about wanting it changed. No reason to antagonize her any further than the damage he’d allowed to happen to his ‘Steed already had.

He knew that she was being a little overdramatic on that front. Yes, the repair bill for the materials was going to be pretty high, but he’d been there for the contract negotiation. He knew what they were being paid for this job. They certainly weren’t going to be seeing quite as much of a windfall as they would have if his Bronco hadn’t been thrashed like it was, but they were going to fly away from this system with more money in their account than what they’d arrived with, and that was better than a lot of merc companies could say, even three years into their operations.

At worst, properly arming the Rainbow Dash was going to need to wait another contract or two.

Slipshod finished altering the information on his record and pushed the pad aside. He’d look over Squelch’s official opinions of his performance as a pilot later.

“Hmm,” a stallion said from beside him, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” the new arrival remarked. The earth pony glanced up to see Doc Dee looking down at the pad. “I don’t think I’d trust a wingpony to cover my flank if they knew there was a payday waiting for them if I bought it out there.” The unicorn physician floated out a bottle of pills towards him. “But, it’s your flank on the line, so…” He shrugged. “Take two of these three times a day, with meals. Come back here and see me if the pain gets worse.”

Slipshod took the bottle and looked over the contents. “Thanks, Doc.” He then looked back at the pad, which now listed Valkyrie as his beneficiary. “I could put your name down if you want. Or will that be too tempting the next time I get wheeled in here?”

“Heh,” the unicorn chuckled, tapping his chin with his pen, “I have been wanting to purchase a second boat…”

The earth pony stallion smirked, then his eyes drifted to the only other pony in the room besides the pair of them. “So how’s our marathon napper doing these days?”

“Still hasn’t so much as twitched,” the unicorn responded, his tone shifting from amusement to something more professional and concerned as he stepped closer to his other patient. “Her injuries are all treated, save for what appears to be a lingering case of mana burn.”

“‘Appears’?”

“It’s not true mana burn,” the medical pony replied simply, “but it is quite similar in its presentation. I suspect that it’s a result of another unicorn looping her ley lines into the stasis chamber’s spell matrix. Whoever did it did a good job, obviously―she survived―but ‘good’ doesn’t mean ‘perfect’. My guess is that it’s left her in something of a comatose state.”

“How much longer before she wakes up?”

The pony shrugged. “Anywhere between the next five minutes or the next fifty years.” Doc Dee thought for a moment. “Or maybe the next five hundred years in her case,” he amended, “if she really is an alicorn.”

The earth pony’s ears perked. “You think she might be a real alicorn?”

“I have performed every test and scan that I can,” the unicorn said, “and I have discovered no signs that those wings of hers were grafted on. And I specify the wings because I ran a sequence on her DNA, and it came back ‘unicorn’. Very pure unicorn, too. Her parents, grandparents, and most of her great grandparents were all unicorns, it looks like.” Doc Dee flashed a wry smirk in the prone pilot’s direction. “If that kind of insular heritage doesn’t scream ‘nobility’, I don’t know what does…”

“Would an alicorn have unicorn DNA?” The earth pony asked.

The white stallion shrugged. “No idea. But, like I said, the wings aren’t fake, as far as any test I know about can tell.”

“...So who do you think she is?”

Before the physician could render his answer, the door to the Med Bay slid open, and a pale yellow earth pony mare with pink eyes and a cyan mane came trotting in, a look of concern on her face. “Hey, Slip, sorry I wasn’t by sooner. I just got off my shift.” Her eyes scanned over the stallion laying on the examination bed before her head turned to the ship’s doctor. “Is he going to be okay?”

Slipshod spoke up before the medical pony could. “Hey, High Gain. I’m fine,” he assured her, grinning up at the mare and folding his legs in front of him. He did his best to suppress the wince of pain the movement caused him. “Just a little whiplash.”

“Ooh...sorry to hear that,” the mare cringed sympathetically, “my mother had that after her car accident. She could barely put her saddlebags on for a week!” She flashed the stallion a wan smile. “So...I take it that tonight’s not happening then?”

The earth pony shook his head, smiling, “‘fraid not. Even without the whiplash, I bit my tongue pretty good.” He opened his mouth and stuck out the indicated muscle, giving her a clear view of the glistening red marks that his teeth had made when he’d been thrown from his harness in the battle. “Hee?” He withdrew his tongue and offered the sunflower mare an apologetic shrug. “I wouldn’t be much use. Sorry, but it looks like you’ll be a solo act tonight.” He thought for a moment and grinned. “Unless you can convince Channel Lock to join in!”

“Pfft,” High Gain waved her hoof, dismissively, “only when she’s drunk; and you’re the only pony on this ship that can mix a Salty Diamond Dog that she’ll actually drink! She won’t touch the ones Cookie makes and she curls her nose up completely at anything else! Seriously,” she mumbled under her breath, “what kind of pony only drinks gin?!”

Slipshod laughed, “that’s because Cookie refuses to deviate from the published recipe he has, and I add a ‘special ingredient’ to my grapefruit mix!” He winked at the other earth pony.

“Please tell me what it is so I can make them for her,” she pleaded.

“And render myself obsolete?!” The stallion protested in mock indignation. “Why would you ever need me to come by again if I gave you the secret to putting Channel Lock ‘in the mood’ whenever you wanted?”

The yellow mare smirked at the prone stallion and poked him playfully in the nose. “I’d never do that to you, silly! You know that sometimes I need a stallion, and you’re the only one I know on this ship that fits the bill,” she chided him, grinning broadly at the pony. “You’re the only one who really puts in the effort!” She beamed.

The ‘Steed pilot laughed again. “Ha! How can I not, the way you hit those high notes!” But he continued to shake his head. “But my answer on the secret ingredient is still a hard ‘no’, High-Gee.” The mare outwardly pouted, but there was still a playful glint in her eyes, and he knew that she wasn’t genuinely disappointed in his response. Well...maybe just a little, below the surface. “Honestly, I’m just terrified of giving you that kind of power over your bunkmate. The things you’d have her doing with you…” He made an effort to shake his head in a somber fashion, but a smirk snuck through his feigned seriousness.

“Eh, you’re probably right,” the mare acknowledged with a shrug, “but you can’t blame a mare for trying.” She glanced over at the physician, who had been very pointedly reviewing some patient files in a part of the Med Bay that didn’t give him a vantage point from which he could overhear their conversation. No, not at all. Not that either had been speaking in a particularly discreet tone anyway. “How long’s he going to be out for, Doc?”

The medical stallion opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, looked over at Slipshod, as though waiting for something, and then turned back to the mare to answer her question. “He―”

“I’ll be by next week,” the earth pony pilot answered her, “I might still be a little achy, but my tongue should be perfectly fine by then. I won’t be busting out the moves like I usually do,” he warned her, smirking wryly, “but I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

“Oh, gag me!”

Both earth ponies turned their heads towards the open Med Bay door to see an azure pegasus fluttering in. Doc Dee frowned, looking around his clinic which was the most crowded that it’d been in months. “If I’d known that I was hosting an ‘open house’ today, I’d have laid out cheese and crackers…”

“Don’t mind me, Doc,” Valkyrie waved her hoof at the white unicorn as she touched down beside the other mare, “I won’t be long. I just heard that Slip was here and wanted to see if I should call dibs on any of his things.” She eyed the prone stallion briefly, frowning. “He doesn’t look like he’s dying.

“Damn. Guess I won’t be piloting the Bronco on our next op after all, huh?”

“Thank you for your concern, Val,” Slipshod replied with a sardonic smile. His hooves very slowly and subtly reached out and darkened the screen on the pad displaying his updated beneficiary information. “It means a lot to me. Really.” He looked back at High Gain, who was frowning slightly in the direction of the other ‘Steed pilot. “I’ll be by next week. Promise.”

The yellow earth pony tech sighed and wrapped her hooves around him in a brief hug. He tensed up immediately, but only the tiniest whimper escaped his lips, which High Gain seemed to take no note of. “Feel better soon,” she gave him an extra squeeze before letting him go that had the stallion wondering if he’d actually managed to make her angry in some way and she’d been out to punish him. Though, knowing the earth pony tech like he did, she probably needed the hug more than she believed he did. So be it.

Slipshod waved after the departing mare before returning his attention to the scowling pegasus. Now he frowned too. “What?”

The mare shook her head. “Nothing,” she sighed. The pegasus ‘Steed pilot took a deep breath and looked over at the doctor. “He’s good, right?”

Doc Dee cast his gaze to the prone earth pony, not saying a word. Slipshod met his stare stoically. The two held their locked gaze in silence. The golden earth pony began to shift uncomfortably, his eyes wandering away beneath the withering glare of the physician. Finally, after what felt like nearly a minute, prompting Valkyrie to glance in confusion between the pair of stallions, the unicorn pursed his lips.

“I’m good―”

“Luna’s black ass!”

Both ‘Steed pilots whipped their heads around to stare after the DropShip’s doctor, who was storming away from them towards his office. Somehow, despite the fact that the door was attached to servos which were most assuredly moving at the exact same speed as they did for every single automated door on the ship, this time it felt like the door closed ‘harder’ behind him.

“―Just some...whiplash…” He looked back at Valkyrie. “What was that about?”

“Beats me, but I bet it was your fault,” the blue flier remarked. She rolled her eyes and looked back at her companion pilot. Her expression was―a little―softer than it had been a moment ago. “You’re really fine though, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good, Val. Just got bounced around the cockpit a little. How about you?”

The mare snorted, shaking her head. “Unbelievable.” The stallion quirked his brow in confusion at the mare's hostile-sounding tone. “You almost die, I don’t get a scratch because you took the beating for me, and you ask how I’m doing? You’re an ass.”

“I...apologise?” The stallion said, not even trying to hide how thoroughly perplexed he'd become by the mare's atitude. Was she genuinely angry at him because she didn’t get hurt? “Next time you can get shot to shit...in your paper-mache ‘Steed…

“What exactly am I supposed to say here? What did I do wrong? Live?”

“Well, for starters,” the mare sneered, “you’re not supposed to ask how I’m doing, when you’re the one laid up in Med Bay!”

“I’m not ‘laid up’,” he protested, “I’m just here for some pain pills for my whiplash.” He held up the bottle and read over the label. “I don’t even think these things are the good stuff...yeah, they’re just straight Ibuprofen.” He frowned. “Wait, really? Not even codeine?” He looked back towards the doctor’s office. “That’s harsh, Doc!

“I mean, a Vicodin or two wouldn’t go amiss here―”

Valkyrie slammed her hoof down on the deck plating, startling the earth pony stallion. “Could you be serious for once in your fucking life!” She had his rapt, wide eyed, attention now. The mare jabbed a wingtip in his face, glaring at him. “You do not get to play ‘hero’ and get yourself killed for me; do you understand?! That noble, ‘crystal knight’ bullshit? That doesn’t happen between you and me.

“I am not your fucking damsel to rescue, you shit-stain!”

She was mad. Honestly, it didn’t take some sort of expert in psychology or anything to see that. Everything from the ire in her tone, to the piercing fire in her eyes, to her puffed out plumage broadcast ‘pissed off pegasus mare’ to anypony who would have seen this scene playing out. There was more to it though. There usually was, in Slipshod’s experience. Most ponies were a lot more complicated than they wanted to let on.

Yes, Valkyrie was mad. That much was true. However, he could sense that she was masking the reason for that rage...and its target. She wasn’t angry at him.

She hated herself.

The mare hated herself for following his orders, and leaving him to die. It didn’t matter that it was the right call. It didn’t matter that it had all worked out. For over a minute down on that planet, from the moment she’d throttled her Parasprite away from him and towards the LRM Carrier, she’d been convinced that she’d just left her lance-mate to die, and that she’d never see him again.

Valkyrie was a mercenary. She was supposed to care about the pursuit of the C-bit above all else. Leaving a comrade to die shouldn’t have bothered her. But it did.

And she hated herself for that. It was like a sign that she was failing at becoming the kind of pony that she was supposed to be. Veteran mercs didn’t bond with the other pilots in their outfits. That sort of thing led to stupid, selfless sacrifices. That was a desirable quality in a ‘Steed pilot employed by genuine militaries, sure. 'Star nation before self' and all that. Giving your life for House and ‘The Cause’, whatever it happened to be.

But they weren’t real soldiers. They were mercenaries―soldiers of fortune. They risked their lives for C-bits and glory, not each other. They certainly didn’t throw their lives away in selfless acts of heroism.

Valkyrie knew this. He knew this. Then she’d seen their situation, heard his orders, and now...she was feeling remorseful about actually following them. Because what she saw as him making a selfless sacrifice was making her feel like a piece of shit, since she wasn’t sure that she’d ever have given the same order in his situation.

He couldn’t have her thinking that way. He couldn’t have her feeling that way.

“What are you, an idiot?”

The mare balked, her eyes widening in surprise now as the earth pony pilot on the bed frowned at her, issuing the pegasus a disappointed expression. “You think that’s what I was trying to do? Is your head so far up your own flank that you think I’d die for you?” The stallion let out a cackling laugh. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re a fine slice of flank I would love to slam up against the headboard for five minutes.” He let his gaze wander along her spine. The other pilot immediately folded her wings to her sides again, obscuring most of her figure as she cast him a wary look.

“But let’s be real here: no flank is worth dying for,” Slipshod pointedly informed her. “Least of all yours.” Valkyrie seemed oddly offended by that notion, funnily enough, but the stallion pressed on. “No; I gave that order because that’s what would save the contract,” he stressed.

“A lesson about merc work they only teach you at the good schools: Mission first.

“Hey, I get it,” he acknowledged, “you can’t spend C-bits you don’t live long enough to collect. But there’s a limit to even that. You let enough contracts go tits-up; suddenly you don’t have any contracts at all. No contracts means no C-bits to spend, alive or dead.

“If a mission can’t be salvaged, then you bug out, sure,” Slipshod conceded with a shrug, “but if there’s a chance…” He jabbed a hoof at the mare. “...Then you take it!” His lips broke out in a hungry grin. “You take it, and the C-bits that come with it.” He spread his hooves wide. “And the booze, mares, and good times, that come with the C-bits.

“That’s why I gave you the order to press on,” his serious expression was back again as he regarded the pegasus mare, “because that was the only way to salvage the mission and get paid. If you moved your flank fast enough, there was even a good chance I’d survive to collect too!” His grin returned once more. “And I was right. Good on you for that hustle. I really appreciate it.

“But, if you need a little 'noble fantasy' in your life,” he folded his hooves under his chin and flashed a broad smile at the mare, “then I think, that in this case...you’d be the ‘crystal knight’, and I’m the ‘damsel’ that got rescued. So how about you come a little closer and let me give my big, strong, hero a kiss...” He puckered up his lips expectantly.

The mare balked again, then her face broke out in a wry smirk. “Ha! Kiss this!” She smacked her flank with one of her wings.

“Oh my, don’t mind if I do!” The stallion perked up, leaning a little further forward. “But you’ll have to back it up here for me first. My preemptive apologies if this doesn’t feel as good as it could’ve. Like I was telling High Gain: my tongue’s a little on the fritz.” He opened his mouth and waggled the injured muscle.

Valkyrie’s mouth worked in silent consternation for several seconds before she slammed it closed and took a deep breath, nodding her head in acknowledgement. “Okay...that one was my fault.

“Whatever. I’m out. Drop dead for all I care,” the winged pilot said as she turned around and headed for the door. “Save your tongue fuckings for High Gain or whoever.” One of her wings flipped up, all but one of her pinions curled inward.

“We don’t―” The door closed shut. The stallion sighed, finishing lamely, “―do that stuff…”

Ah well, at least he’d brought the ‘Steed pilot back around out her self-loathing despair. One less dark cloud that he was going to have to deal with on the ship. Squelch’s still existed though, and would continue to.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that he could do on that front. Not yet.

Slipshod’s eyes shot open.

At first, it was difficult for him to pinpoint exactly why this would have been the case. He was usually a pretty sound sleeper. Had he heard something? His ear swiveled slowly, but he wasn’t able to hear anything more than the normal humming operations of the ship as it cruised leisurely in its orbit above the planet that Ferrous had sent them to guard. It wasn’t a sound that had woken him.

It was...something else.

Odd, as usually that didn’t wake him up either...

The earth pony crept slowly out of his bed, mindful of the aches in his back that the painkillers Doc Dee had prescribed only did a minimal amount to ease. Mostly they just took off the worst of the pain’s edges. Honestly, it was no great comfort. Fortunately, he also had the physician’s bed rest order to help keep him comfortable.

Valkyrie wasn’t super appreciative, he imagined. His being confined to the ship meant that she was saddled with the sole burden of continuing their protection contract. The bright side there was that Mig and Tig had managed to get the Rainbow Dash operational enough to move around on its own, and outfitted it with a few spare weapons from their reserve. The large laser, two medium lasers, and six-pack SRM launcher meant that the heavy ‘Steed was more powerfully armed than either of the other two could be. Though it was still woefully lacking in the bite it would have, once a proper weapons compliment was purchased.

It did mean that his Wild Bronco was going to be unable to be rearmed until they made port on a more developed world than this backwater mining colony.

Still, even the sight of a heavy ‘Steed should give any mercenary outfit that was only fielding vehicles pause and make them reconsider a raid. With luck, all that Valkyrie would have to do all day was sit there, look intimidating, and twiddle her pinions!

The stallion moved stiffly down the corridor of the quiet DropShip. Technically, the ship never really ‘slept’. There was a shift on duty and awake at any given time. However, the reality was that the third shift was much more lightly staffed than either of the others, simply because the Steel Coursers didn’t have the ‘Steed pilots to run twenty-four hours ops. With just him and Val, the most they’d ever pull is a twelve or maybe a sixteen hour day. Though the latter was really pushing things.

Tired pilots often became dead pilots when the shit started to fly.

So most of the Galloway’s crew was scheduled for duty when the ‘Steeds would need work, since that was the primary purpose of the DropShip: maintaining the ‘Steeds. It was currently night time where Valkyrie was planet-side, so she was sleeping in the quarters that Ferrous had set aside for her. Which meant that the support crews on Galloway were asleep too.

The only ponies awake were the skeleton crew that kept an eye on the DropShip’s systems and the comm pony keeping their ear to the radio in case somepony called. Other than that...the ship was dead.

Except...something.

Slipshod kept up his stilted walk down the spine of the ship, letting his senses draw him to wherever the...sensation was.

He came to a stop outside Med Bay.

Cautiously, the earth pony reached up and depressed the panel that would open the door. Like most of the rest of the ship, the medical ward was dark, save for a few dim lights that were always on, illuminating key controls, like the light switches. Slipshod reached out for one such switch nearest the door.

The lights slowly brightened until the room was awash in a soft white glow. The stallion’s eyes went instinctively to the bed that had been consistently inhabited by the mare that they’d rescued from the derelict in the Canis system...only to find it empty!

He didn’t have to go far to find its former occupant though. A crashing sound from off to his right drew the ‘Steed pilot’s attention instantly. In the back of his mind, Slipshod knew that he shouldn’t have been entirely surprised by what he saw, but it was still a rather...unique sight.

A purple alicorn, with a long deep blue mane streaked with violet and magenta, was currently standing amongst a tray of fallen medical implements. Her amethyst eyes, a near perfect match for her coat, constricted into near pinpricks as her head snapped to look over at him. Her stance widened and her horn began to glow with purple light.

“Woah woah! Friend! I’m a friend!” The stallion sputtered hastily. He wasn’t sure what spell the alicorn was about to blast him with, but he was confident that he wouldn’t have enjoyed the results regardless. “You’re okay; you’re safe! Nopony here’s going to hurt you! Just put down the...spell…?” The earth pony finished lamely, not quite knowing how to properly phrase the request that he was making.

“Who are you?” The mare demanded in a voice that sounded equal parts angry and tired. Honestly, to Slipshod it looked like she barely had the energy to stand up straight. He wondered how potent any spell she might cast could actually be. Not that he was all that keen to find out, mind you. “Where am I? What is this place?”

“My name’s Slipshod,” the stallion replied as calmly as he could, remaining in the doorway so as not to make the newly conscious mare any more anxious by being approached by a strange earth pony. “You’re aboard the DropShip Galloway; and this is...the Med Bay...of the DropShip Galloway.” The stallion frowned. “I’m sorry, you’re last two questions were really similar…

“You should probably really not be out of bed,” he went on, clearing his throat and gesturing towards the patient bed that she’d vacated. “I don’t think the doc wants you up and about quite yet. You were in a bad way when we found you―”

“What unit are you with?” The purple alicorn demanded in her wavering, yet firm tone.

“Um...the Steel Coursers,” Slipshod said.

The mare furrowed her brow, shaking her head. “I don’t recognize that unit. What regiment? Who’s your commander?”

“We don’t...have a regiment?” At least, he was pretty sure they didn’t. “And Squelch is our commander.”

“‘Squelch’?” She replied skeptically. “What rank is he? Under whose command? What General?”

“Uhh...her ‘rank’ is ‘commander’, I guess? I mean, she’s more of an administrator really,” Slipshod shrugged, wishing he’d had a little more time to prepare for this encounter. Truth be told, he wasn’t as awake for this as he probably should be. He really wished that Squelch or the doctor were here right now, but he was reluctant to start crowding this mare with more ponies until she was a little calmer. “And we don’t have...a general. We’re sort of...freelance?”

“Freelance?” The notion seemed to confuse the mare.

“Listen,” the earth pony began, deciding that he needed to take charge of the conversation and direct things. Hopefully he’d even manage to answer some of her questions along the way. Celestia knew he wasn’t doing so great at it now. “We found your DropShip in the Canis system. It was in a bad way, and so were you.” He slowly gestured at the Med Bay. “We brought you on board and patched you up.”

The mare looked down at herself, seeming to take note for the first time of her condition. “...Right. We were attacked…” She closed her eyes, her hoof massaging her temple as she winced in pain. “We were...going to a meeting…

“Canis?” Her questioning gaze returned to the stallion.

Right. Five hundred years. That system might not even have had the same name back then. “Um, in the Sirius Cluster?”

He saw recognition wash over the mare’s face. “Yes! The Sirius Cluster,” she nodded, seeming very grateful to finally have a firm answer to a question that satisfied her, “we were on our way to meet with the Lunar Empire…”

It was Slipshod’s turn to look confused. “The who?”

However, it seemed that she wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. “...I was going to tell them about Cozy Glow...Get them to come back to The League…” Her expression was drawn in grim lines as she murmured her recounting of events as best she could remember them. Her eyes closed, her head shaking in slow, sad, movements. “Tirek destroyed so much...they were afraid. It wasn’t their fault…”

Her eyes snapped open and she locked her gaze on Slipshod. “We were attacked!”

“Yeah, we kind of figured that much,” he offered, “your ship crash-landed on a moon back in Canis. It’s a miracle you survived, honestly.”

The alicorn frowned once more. “Ship? I made it back to the ship?” She looked away, her eyes moving as she scoured her own memory. “...I don’t recall. I remember...going to the meeting. No…” She cocked her head. “...That’s not right. I was going to the meeting...but we never made it. We were ambushed…” Her eyes slowly grew wide. Haunted. It was an expression that Slipshod recognized. He’d seen many a veteran in the bars he went to while planetside with those eyes.

She whipped her head back towards the earth pony. “Did anypony else make it?” She didn’t wait for his response as she quickly peered around the otherwise empty medical ward in an attempt to find any trace of her companions.

The stallion swallowed, not relishing being the one to supply the response that she was dreading...yet that she fully expected. “No. Everypony else on the ship was dead.

“I’m sorry.”

Her eyes closed and she bowed her down. There was a brief shudder from a contained sob. Then, shortly after, a sharp inhalation of breath and her head raised back up. Her expression was set in stoic lines, but the stallion knew that they were merely a mask she was wearing for the moment. “I understand,” she replied in a husky tone, “I need to speak with your...commander. Immediately.

“I need to get back to Canterlot. Cozy Glow can wait. Chrysalis is making her play.”

Slipshod stood still in the doorway. “Um...I don’t think―”

The purple mare’s expression hardened even further as she cast a baleful glare the stallion’s way. “We don’t have time for you to think! If we don’t rally every regiment of the Royal Guard now, everything could be lost!” And with that, the alicorn made an attempt to storm past him, out of the Med Bay.

Her ‘attempt’ was rather paltry. She stumbled and collapsed after only two steps.

“Shit,” the earth pony sighed before slapping at a nearby control panel. “Dee? Your patient’s awake, and she’s determined to hurt herself all over again. You better get down here ASAP.” He released the comm button and hurried over to support the struggling purple mare.

“Listen, you’ve still got a lot of recovering to do before you’re ‘rallying’ anypony, alright?” The stallion cautioned as he made an effort to get her back onto her hooves. Her legs were barely willing to support her weight, it seemed.

The mare at least allowed herself to be aided back to the bed, albeit with some reluctance. “We have to get back to Canterlot as quickly as possible,” she insisted even as she meekly climbed back onto the bed and all but collapsed upon the mattress, clearly exhausted. “There’s no telling what kind of damage Chrysalis has already managed to do. The whole Celestia League could be at risk!”

“I’m...fairly sure it isn’t,” Slipshod offered meekly. This pony was the better part of five centuries out of date on the stellar-political starscape. He was pretty sure that it was going to be impossible to not shock her with at least one or two of the inevitable revelations that she was going to be encountering soon, but the earth pony was hoping that the shock could at least be minimized in some way by breaking the news to her in the right way, in the correct order.

He just had little idea of what it was that she’d need to hear first in order to lay the foundation for future revelations.

The purple alicorn was shaking her head. “You don’t know how dangerous she is,” she insisted breathlessly, “she’s come so close to victory so many times...if we let our guard down for even a moment―”

The door slid open, and a disheveled white unicorn stallion came galloping inside. His horn burst to life, floating several diagnostic implements to him from various cupboards around the clinic. “What happened?” He demanded in a tone that wasn’t―quite―bordering on accusing Slipshod of being responsible for this somehow.

“I...was on my way to the galley for a snack,” the stallion stammered, “I heard a crashing sound and found her over there,” he gestured to where the mare had spilled the tray earlier. “I called you and got her back into the bed.

“I guess patients have always been difficult to deal with,” the physician grumbled as he began evaluating his now conscious patient. Slipshod, for his part, took the opportunity to back away and give the medical pony the room that he needed to do his work.

The listless mare continued to insist that they needed to get to Canterlot on Equus as quickly as possible. Doc Dee was responding with a slew of noncommittal statements as he continued to make certain that his patient had not managed to undo any of his previous treatments somehow. A few minutes later, he was confident that her condition wasn’t likely to worsen any time soon and so took the time to more directly address the mare’s concerns.

“Miss, if you’re feeling up to it, I’d like to ask you some questions,” the medical pony began, “it’ll help me build a medical history for you, and perhaps speed your full recovery. Will that be alright?”

The alicorn initially looked like she was going to refuse his request, but she hesitated and then sighed. “I...suppose that’s reasonable,” she relented. Her lips cracked a small smile. “my Court Physician is the same way. If you’re anything like her, you’re likely as not to sedate me unless I acquiesce, aren’t you? Very well, Doctor, ask you questions.”

Dee exchanged a brief look with Slipshod at the mention of a 'Court Physician' but then shrugged and returned his attention to the prone mare and retrieved a tablet to take notes on. “Okay. First: your name, miss?”

The mare chuckled. “Really? Very well. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” She rolled her eyes. “I suppose that next you’ll want to know my profession?”

Again, the stallions exchange a brief look. The white unicorn affixed a professionally detached expression to his face and proceeded to begin entering the responses that he was being given. “I see. Um...sure. Your profession would be appreciated.”

“Princess,” the mare supplied patiently.

“Of course. Age?”

“One Thousand and twenty-nine.”

Somehow, the doctor managed to maintain a completely straight face as he dutifully made the notation. “Many patients have a habit of lowballing me when I ask them that.” He peered down at the alicorn. “Shall I assume that’s not the case this time?”

The mare shifted uncomfortably for a moment before muttering under her breath. “...One thousand and forty-seven.”

“There we go. I weighed you while you were unconscious, so we don’t have to go through that fact-finding expedition,” he murmured, earning an affronted frown from the mare before continuing, “any family medical history that I should be aware of?”

“My mother died of pancreatic cancer,” she replied. “My father technically died of heart failure, but at ninety-eight years old, I’m not sure that’s really a sign of any sort of ‘underlying medical condition’.”

“Fair enough,” the doctor nodded in agreement, “are you taking any medications or have any allergies?”

“No, and no.”

Doc Dee made the last little notations and lowered the pad. “Well, that’s enough for me to at least finally get you in the system as something other than ‘Unknown Mare’,” he smiled down at the purple alicorn. “Now, how are you feeling? Any pain? Discomfort? Nausea? Headache? Anything?”

“A slight headache,” the mare admitted, nodding her head. “It’s hard to walk, and I do feel pretty tired.”

The unicorn stallion nodded. “The headache is likely still the residual mana burn. The last two are classic post-stasis side-effects and usually abate a few hours after waking. I’ll have the galley send up a fruit bowl. Simple sugars and water will help get your metabolism back into gear. Honestly, it’ll do your body a world of good to get nutrients through some means other than IV tubing.” He stepped away and headed for his office to place the meal request with the ship’s kitchen.

“Mana burn? Stasis?”

With the doctor otherwise occupied, Slipshod decided to answer her questions. “You were in stasis when we found you on your ship. You were in a bad way. The doc says they used your own magic to keep the stasis spell running somehow.” He’d have offered more details, but the stallion was still a little hazy on the specifics of how it had all worked too.

She seemed to understand what must have happened though, as her eyes widened with comprehension. “Oh! That was rather creative,” she said, nodding. Then her expression fell as she must have remembered that those same ‘creative’ ponies had all died. She sighed and looked back at the earth pony. “Please. We need to get to Equus as soon as possible―”

“On the contrary,” another mare announced. Slipshod and the prone alicorn both looked towards the Med Bay door to see a green unicorn stepping through. It seemed that Squelch had received notification that their guest was awake now as well. “This ship ‘needs’ to stay in orbit until we’ve fulfilled the terms of our security contract,” she countered. “Unless you’re carrying enough C-bits in that mane of yours to cover the penalty for defaulting…?”

Twilight frowned at the newcomer, casting her an incredulous glare. “I beg your pardon? Who do you think you are―?”

“I ‘think’ I’m the mare who owns this outfit and this ship,” Squelch shot back with an equally imperious stare at the purple alicorn. “Thus, I think that I have unilateral control over where it goes and when.

“Who do you think you are?” The viridian unicorn countered.

The other mare’s wings arched in clear annoyance. “How dare you! I am your Princess and I will not be subjected to that kind of tone from you or any other pony, young lady! Now, as your Princess, I order you to take me to Equus immediately!”

“Princess, huh?” The outfit’s commander didn’t appear to be the least bit impressed by their patient’s claims, and with good reason. “Look, I bet that carries a lot of weight in the Federated Moons, but you’re way outside their borders right now, ‘Your Highness’.” The unicorn executed a mocking bow that was not well received by the alicorn. “But I’ll be sure to have House Belle contacted as soon as I can.” She looked to Slipshod and shrugged. “Maybe there’s a reward for long long ancestors?”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” the purple mare sputtered indignantly, “or what the ‘Federated Moons’ are. How can you not recognize me?! I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle of the Celestia League!”

The silence in the Med Bay was deafening. It also lasted long enough that the purple alicorn’s initially imperious expression started to wilt ever so slightly. Likely because Squelch continued to look just as unimpressed as she had a minute ago, and because Slipshod was idly rubbing the back of his neck while wearing an uneasy expression.

Squelch smirked. “That’s quite the demotion you’ve given yourself there, Queen Twilight,” the unicorn chided.

“Queen? I’ve never called myself a―” Twilight’s expression contorted with confusion. Then Slipshod watched it quickly morph into a look of abject terror. She all but lunged off the exam bed. The earth pony stallion managed to catch her before she fell again, but only barely. “It’s her! It’s Chrysalis! She’s not the real me!” The mare was screaming at the top of her lungs in a panicked fervor. It was all that Slipshod could do to hold the alicorn back, and his efforts were certainly not doing his already aching body any favors.

“We have to go there and stop her now, before she can do any dama―uhhh~!”

The purple alicorn went limp and collapsed in the stallion’s hooves. Slipshod experienced a brief moment of panic himself, afraid that she’d somehow died, until he spied the floating syringe slowly withdrawing from her neck. It drifted away from the mare, and back towards Doc Dee, who was wearing a very concerned expression of his own. “Get her back onto the bed, please,” the physician instructed, using his magic to assist the earth pony in getting the larger equine back upon the cushioned sleeping surface.

“Well...that got exciting,” Squelch remarked as she lent some of her own magic to the task as well. “Aren’t the crazy ones always fun?”

“Hmm,” the white unicorn stallion grunted as he proceeded to evaluate his patient for any indications that she’d managed to harm herself in her fervor. “I’ll likely need to keep her sedated for a while.” He looked back towards the outfit’s commander. “If she is delusional, then ultimately caring for her is beyond my scope. We’re going to need to get her to a more suitable treatment facility.”

The emerald mare frowned. “Lupine might have a hospital or two worth a damn,” she noted, gesturing broadly at the planet below the vessel, “but the nearest decent facilities are almost certainly back in Canis. Can you look after her here for a month until we finish out the contract?”

The physician was clearly not happy about the prospect, but said, “as long as she doesn’t get too combative. I’d like to suggest posting a guard in here from now on, if only to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.”

Squelch nodded. “Noted. I’ll let Flechette know to have somepony in Med Bay until further notice. Anything else?”

Slipshod ventured, “...so, neither of you think she’s actually Twilight Sparkle?” He winced upon seeing the pair of dubious frowns being shot his way.

“You mean the Twilight Sparkle that’s never left Equus...ever?” His boss remarked wryly. “Do I think she’s that Twilight Sparkle? No. Doc?” She looked over at the other unicorn.

The physician opened his mouth to make a reply, but the earth pony cut him off. “Nah, you’re right. It’s stupid,” both he and Squelch paused to look in the direction of the ivory stallion as he stalked towards his office in a huff, each wearing matching confused expression. “...I’m just tired is all.” He flexed his aching shoulder. “And sore from wrestling a crazy mare. I’m going back to bed.

“Good night, Squelch,” he said as he walked stiffly past the green unicorn and left the clinic. The mare grunted in reply, but remained behind for a while longer.

Well...she was awake. So, Slipshod supposed that accounted for ‘phase one’ of his plan going according to...plan. He really was tired. However, the issue before him now was how to proceed on to ‘phase two’? He wasn’t entirely sure what that phase was yet, exactly; but he was positive that it wasn’t ‘take a JumpShip all the way to Equus’. That was, like, phase seventeen. At the earliest!

Phase two might have to become convincing Twilight that laying low and keeping as far away from Canterlot as possible was the right thing to do. For now. Obviously, there would come a time when her identity would need to be revealed to somepony, but that was going to be a ways off. Perhaps even a long ways off.

It wasn’t enough to just have Twilight Sparkle. They need resources, material, BattleSteeds...and Slipshod had exactly zero idea of where he was supposed to get any of that, in quantities that would matter. Yet. With a little time, he should be able to come up with something.

The more immediate concern: how did he convince Squelch to let the ‘obviously crazy mare’ stay on the ship indefinitely?

He’d sleep on it and come up with something by morning.

Thank you so much for reading! As always, a thumbs up and comment are always greatly appreciated

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