From the moment Sunset had seen her, she knew she wasn't going to stop smiling. Sure, travelling up into the planet's orbit by shuttle might not have been as quick or efficient as a simple teleport, but as far as the young Captain was concerned, seeing her vessel for the first time was worth it. And it wasn't hard to miss either, being pretty much the only ship moored at the orbital drydock, an enormous, circular construction that normally housed a dozen or so of the fleet. The Phoenix, latest and most advanced ship of Equis. The pride of their people. And she, Sunset Shimmer, had been tasked with being the one who led both it and its crew. It was an honour bigger than anything she'd ever expected to achieve in her life, yet here she was. While it bore largely the same sleek design and predominantly silvery colouring of its older siblings, the Phoenix was not only slightly smaller, but sported light-blue streaks down its side, in stark contrast to the red that was favoured by the rest of their space navy. A number of smaller ships were around it, no doubt completing last-minute adjustments and inspections, but to her eyes, it was perfect. "Well...there she is."

"Indeed," said a voice to her side. Sunset turned, smiling further as she looked to her partner for this trip. Twilight Sparkle, newly-graduated from the Equis Academy of Science, and one of her personally-selected officers for the Phoenix. Like her, she was decked out in the standard uniform of those serving aboard such vessels. A predominantly ultramarine blue outfit covering all except her hands and head. But the difference was in their collars. While Sunset sported a rim of red indicating her role as one of the command staff, Twilight's was a lighter shade of blue, vivid sky to be exact, showing her to be one of the science team. Adjusting her glasses slightly, Twilight looked to her Captain, smirking slightly. "I'm surprised you didn't bring a camera to take a picture."

Sunset chuckled, then pointed to her own head. "No need. I'm gonna remember this moment for the rest of my life."

Twilight smiled back to her, then glanced down to the object she'd been holding. A tech pad, upon which seemed to be all the necessary schematics for the Phoenix. "It's a remarkable ship. I can't see a single part of it that isn't an improvement on the models we've been making before now."

Sunset looked to her slyly. "Sure, she's high-tech, but you've gotta be more excited about this, right? We've made it! We're part of the fleet! You get to finally go out there and see all the things you've been studying!"

Twilight blinked to her, then casually set her pad aside, took a deep breath, then grabbed Sunset by her arms and pulled her closer as she began jumping up and down with joy. "We made it, we made it, we made it, wemadeitwemadeitwemadeit!" Then, after letting her friend go, she cleared her throat, grabbing her pad again and, after quickly blushing, spoke more normally. "I assure you, I am most definitely excited about this."

Sunset, taking a moment to recover, soon regained her smile. "Yeah, I can tell." Then, after just a few seconds, there was a beeping from Twilight's pad. Both girls looked to it, with Sunset rolling her eyes soon afterwards. "Let me guess. Rainbow?"

Twilight nodded. "Yep. Looks like she's pretty impatient to get going."

"Sounds like her," Sunset concurred. "But, there's protocols to follow, and we've gotta go through all the steps before we're cleared to go."

"Well, we'll see to them soon enough," Twilight replied, pointing ahead.

She had the right of it, as the two and their tiny shuttle were soon at their destination, approaching the Phoenix's hangar bay. In less than a minute, the automatic piloting system had taken them through the shield that passed over the entrance of the bay, keeping the air in, before safely landing. With a hiss, the shuttle's doors opened, allowing them to exit. Sunset took a moment to look around, seeing a couple of other shuttles already parked here, as well as various maintenance crews working their trade. However, her attention was soon drawn to a new figure approaching them from one of the many doors that lined the outside of the space. Sunset knew who it was, and so walked alongside Twilight to greet her. Once they were close enough, the new figure saluted. "Welcome aboard, Captain."

Sunset saluted back. "And to you, Communications Officer." After a brief silence, the two laughed together, moving forward and embracing. "Seriously, it's good to have you here, Rarity."

"It is certainly good to be here," the other girl answered. After they separated, she continued. "I'm happy to report that all systems, both long and short-range transmissions, are in top order. We've been testing them all morning, and I assure you that there will be no issues with keeping in-touch with home."

Sunset nodded. "Good. If anything happens out there I don't want to be unable to call for help."

Rarity waved her off. "Oh pish, Sunset. This is just a routine back-and-forth. Go to the edge of the system and return to make sure everything works. I very much doubt anything will happen on such a dull mission."

Twilight raised a finger. "Never underestimate the potential for things to go wrong." Sunset opened her mouth, ready to agree with her friend, only to be halted in her tracks by a loud clanging noise that echoed across the bay. All eyes turned, and there, in the corner of the room, they saw that it was just a toolbox that had fallen from its resting place atop a supply crate. There was nobody close to it, so after just a few moments of staring at it, everybody just shrugged and got back to work, with Twilight giving the toolbox a disapproving glare. "I see somebody's going to have to review proper tool placement procedures."

Sunset glanced from that spot to her two officers and back again before eventually settling on Rarity. "I'm guessing everything else is ready to go?"

Here, Rarity faltered somewhat, looking over her shoulder. "Well...things were ready to go...right until about an hour ago." She sighed. "Our esteemed Chief decided to look over the engines she's responsible for, and felt that there were a few tweaks to make." She paused, but only for a moment. "And then a few more...and a few more, and..."

Sunset raised her hand, understanding. "Message received, loud and clear." After taking a breath, she raised her forearm, upon which was the standard multipurpose bracer of those serving in the fleet. She tapped the screen at its centre to get it going, then spoke into it. "This is Captain Shimmer. Do you read me, Applejack?"

Only a second or two of static passed before she got her answer, as her screen lit up and showed the smiling face of a blonde girl with a few splotches of grease on her cheeks. "Howdy, Sunset! Make it onboard okay?"

Sunset smiled to her. "We did, thanks. Now, a little birdie told me that you've been working on the engines?"

Applejack chuckled. "Ah know, ah know. But y'all can tell Rarity that she ain't got anythin' ta worry about. Ah spent years at the engineerin' corps back home, an' they taught me a few tricks of the trade ta really coax all we can outta machines like this."

Twilight peered over Sunset's shoulder, looking to Applejack's image. "I hope you haven't strayed too far from the regulation specs, AJ?"

Applejack blinked, looked off to the side, then back to the others. "Define...too far."

Twilight winced, imagining all the ways that engine was going to look. Sunset was not as concerned as she was, though there was one notable question that needed to be asked. "The Phoenix will still fly, right?"

Here, Applejack beamed. "An' then some! Yer standin' in the best ship in the fleet, Sunset, an' ah've jus' made her better."

Rarity clasped her hands together as she mulled her friend's words over. "I've known her as long as you have, and trust me, she wouldn't make a claim like that unless she was certain she could back it up."

Sunset nodded to her. "Alright then. We'll be heading off shortly, so make sure it's all where it's supposed to be before we go, AJ."

Applejack saluted. "Ya got it, boss."

And with that, the image flickered before cutting out, leaving the three girls to their thoughts. "Well then," Twilight began. "I suppose we'd better get to the bridge?"

Rarity smiled. "Agreed, Twilight. I've already sent word to the Alpha Outpost, letting them know we're on our way."

Sunset nodded. "Then let's get going. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

So off they went, the three of them together, finally exiting the hangar bay and entering one of the adjacent hallways. There were plenty of new crewmembers here going about their work, or heading off to their assigned stations, and all of them either saluted or stood at attention as Sunset walked by. With a smile still on her face, she was sure to nod in acknowledgement and appreciation to each of them as they did this, prompting a slight smirk on Twilight's part, who then playfully nudged her elbow into Sunset's side. "Think they'll do this every time they see you?"

Sunset groaned briefly at the thought. "I hope not. It'll get old really fast."

However, as they passed one hallway in particular, they stopped at the sound of a familiar, nervous voice. "Oh dear! Do I have it? I know I left it in here somewhere!"

The three looked on as another girl was busy on her knees, looking over what appeared to be a small box of medical equipment that had been dropped to the floor. She was frantically searching for something, and Sunset, spotting a small device just behind where the girl was kneeling, walked over and picked it up before offering it to her. "Looking for this, Fluttershy?"

The girl, who was clad in a mostly white uniform to denote her as part of the medical staff, turned in surprise, then calmed down and smiled as she realised who it was. "Oh, Sunset, it's you." Then, seeing the device that was being offered to her, she accepted it happily. "Yes, thank you, this is it." She then busied herself in collecting everything else that had been spilled from the box, after which she stood up and turned to face her commanding officer. "I guess I was just a bit too eager to get to the medical bay. Tripped and dropped my equipment."

Sunset reached out, patting her on the shoulder in reassurance. "No need to apologise. We're all excited to be here right now."

"Glad to have you with us, darling," Rarity remarked.

Twilight nodded "Any patients we get will be lucky to have you looking after them." Then, she considered her words and giggled nervously. "I mean, not that we want any of the crew to be in need of medical services, but..."

Fluttershy smiled to her. "It's okay, I get it." Then, the looked to Sunset. "So when are we leaving?"

"As soon as I get to the bridge, I guess," Sunset answered.

"Eek!" Fluttershy responded. "Then I'd better get to my station. I don't want any of these things falling over when we launch!" she said, gesturing to her box.

But Twilight, unsurprisingly, was quick to reassure her on that particular count. "Don't worry. These ships are designed to be amble to dampen the usual kinds of turbulence that gets experienced during atmospheric travel." After seeing Fluttershy stare at her nonplussed, she spelled it out more clearly. "It won't shake."

"Oh, good," Fluttershy said with a more relaxed tone.

Rarity then started to look to her with some curiosity. "Fluttershy, I trust you left that rather mischievous pet of yours in the care of your family before coming aboard?"

Fluttershy started darting her eyes left and right, then spoke in a tone that very much indicated she was giving out lines that she'd been rehearsing. "Oh, certainly. I know it's not proper protocol to bring pets aboard these ships, so I left Angel safely with my parents. And you can rest assured that there will be no animal shenanigans at all from him."

Sunset, folding her arms, gave her a piercing look. "You smuggled him aboard and he's now hiding in your quarters, isn't he?"

"...Yes. Yes he is," Fluttershy admitted with slumped shoulders.

Though this was certainly a breach of the usual rules of the ship, Sunset nevertheless softened in her tone shortly afterwards. "Well, it's too late to drop him back off before we go, so I'll let this slide today. But the next time we're back home you have to leave him in your family's care, okay?"

Fluttershy sighed. "Understood."

Though disappointed, the young medical officer perked up again when she suddenly heard the voice of another, that being Rainbow Dash, speaking to all over the ship's speakers. "Just wanted to check in and report...again...that all systems are ready and able to go. Immediately. As soon as I get the word. No idea when that word will be, but here's hoping it's soon."

After having looked up to the ceiling during that announcement, Sunset eventually turned to Twilight. "On a scale of one to ten, how much should I charge Rainbow for insubordination for that one?"

Twilight giggled. "Come on, let's get to the bridge before she decides to up and take off without you."

So, they bid farewell to Fluttershy and let her get off to her station, then proceeded down the hallway, eventually coming across an elevator at the end. Getting inside, Sunset looked to the control panel on the side. "Bridge." There was a brief bleeping sound, followed by a near-silent whirring as the elevator responded to the command. Even with the previously-mentioned dampeners, they could feel the rising of the thing as they ascended up to the requested level, stopping shortly afterwards. With a slight hiss, the doors opened, prompting a smile for Sunset. "And here we are."

Stepping out, she looked to her new bridge. It was a sleek and very advanced-looking place, with a massive viewscreen on the far side. Her command chair was right in the centre of course, encircled on all sides by the stations of various other crew members, all of whom were going about their duties. And there, situated right between her chair and the aforementioned screen, was the pilot's station, at which sat an unsurprisingly impatient-looking Rainbow. "Nice of you to join us."

Sunset shook her head, then walked over to her chair. There was a brief quiet as the looked to the thing, knowing that she was about to take her first moment of truly being in command of the vessel. All watched her, then saw her finally sit upon it. It was comfortable, sure, but to Sunset it just felt right. Like she was meant to be here. Twilight stood beside her, sharing her smile over the important moment. Rarity, meanwhile, was moving over to her own station and began looking through all the various messages the ships was receiving. Sunset, taking a deep breath, looked to her friend. "Any last-minute things we need to take care of?"

Twilight nodded to her. "Just one last thing." She looked upwards slightly. "Begin AI bootup sequence. Authorisation Sparkle alpha three-two-seven."

There was a short while of utter silence, then a series of bleeps and bloops was heard across the bridge. At the end of it all, a new voice, female in its sound, was heard. "AI now in effect. Designation P-N-K-I. Please state your request."

Rainbow leaned back into her chair and smirked. "Imma call her Pinkie."

Twilight frowned. "It's against regulation to try and humanise our tech, Rainbow."

Rainbow shrugged and got back to her station, opening the floor for Sunset to give the request. "Please run a ship-wide diagnostic."

There was another pause, after which the newly-activated artificial intelligence responded. "All systems operational. Mission parameters are to disengage from orbital drydock and head for the system rim. Do you wish to depart?"

"Yes!" Rainbow shouted.

After another bleep, the AI answered. "Apologies, only those of Captain-level clearance may confirm."

Rainbow groaned, much to Sunset's amusement, but before she had a chance to really answer, Rarity interrupted. "Apologies, Captain, but we're receiving a priority signal from Equis."

Sunset raised an eyebrow to her. "Who is it?"

Rarity gave a knowing smile. "It's the Council's frequency."

Sunset, getting the message, smiled back and nodded to her, then turned her attention to the viewscreen. "Well then, put her on."

Rarity nodded back, then pressed a few buttons at her console. All turned as the main viewscreen flickered into life, and it wasn't long before a new image came up. It was that of an older woman who now smiled to all of them. Sunset rose at attention, as did everybody else on the bridge. "Councillor Celestia. How can we help?"

Celestia raised her hand, giving them permission to be at ease. "Nothing official, Captain. I just thought I'd call in to wish you all good luck on your maiden voyage. The Phoenix is a fine ship, and I don't doubt that it's in the best possible hands it could have been in."

Sunset's smile widened. "Thank you, Councillor. We won't let you down."

"I'm sure," Celestia replied. "Now then, I believe you have a journey to undertake, so I shan't take up any more of your time. Safe travels. Celestia out."

Sunset nodded to her just in time for the image to disappear, showing instead the normal sight outside of the drydock they were still connected to. Soon, Sunset realised that everyone on the bridge was looking at her, no doubt awaiting her first command. So, not wanting to keep them waiting any longer, she sat back down in her chair, once more enjoying the feel of it, before looking ahead, pressing a button on her chair's armrest to speak to the whole ship, and announcing her wish to all. "This is Captain Shimmer. Take us out."

My first serious sci-fi story. Enjoy

It was often said, especially by those who were more inclined towards superstition, that it was a bad idea to stare directly into Travel-Space. Though by far the most popular form of long-distance travel, the otherworldly, multicoloured kaleidoscope feel of the experience had left many uneasy and wary, leading to all sorts of speculations. By stark contrast, Sunset rather enjoyed looking at it. Like every graduate of the academies, she had studied this a great deal, but rarely had she experienced it first-hand. Now, here she was, witnessing it through the viewscreen of her very own ship. She smiled as she leaned back into her captain's chair, listening to the sounds of all around her as they went about their respective duties and assignments. Eventually though, she turned to Rarity, who was still reviewing communications logs. "Any word from the outpost?"

Looking back to her, Rarity shook her head. "Alas, no. I told them we were coming, but they haven't responded yet."

Sunset considered that. "Well, we are in a new ship, Rarity. Could it just be something wrong with our side of things?"

Rarity, borderline offended at the implication that any communication tech wasn't pulling its weight, replied. "I assure you, Sunset, everything is in working order. Either their own tech isn't working or they simply haven't bothered to respond."

Looking ahead to the viewscreen again, a small pang of concern started to creep into Sunset, after which she glanced to the other side of the bridge, where Twilight was looking at her own monitors. "How are AJ's adjustments to the engine holding up?"

Looking back to her, Twilight actually seemed pleased to give her report on that front. "Whatever she did to them, they seem to be working just as well as she said. I don't think I've seen speeds like this in any of the simulations."

"Heh, I'll say!" Rainbow remarked from her pilot's chair. "This baby's flying like nobody ever flew before! We'll probably set a record for one of these trips or something!"

Leaning forward, Sunset smirked. "Just don't get too excited, Rainbow. Remember, we're a science and exploration ship, not a racing vessel."

Rainbow shrugged. "Nothing in the rulebook that says we can't be both, right?"

As if on cue, Twilight again turned on her chair, this time looking to Rainbow and pulling a small book from her pocket, which she displayed for all to see. "Actually, for a number of reasons, it is in the rulebook!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, but while Sunset took a certain degree of amusement from the interaction, her thoughts soon turned to the task at hand, as the voice of the ship's AI chimed in. "Now approaching destination."

Sunset looked up. "Thank you, Pinkie."

Twilight frowned slightly. "I thought we agreed that naming the computer wasn't happening?"

Though a touch uncertain, Sunset eventually mellowed. "Meh, I kinda liked the name idea."

Rainbow snickered under her breath. "Hehe, score one for me."

But, there was a mission to undertake, and so all looked on as the image of Travel Space soon became the regular sight they were used to, that of vast blackness with a myriad of bright stars. They were at the very edge of the Equis system now, and before long their eyes noticed the tiny, shining dot right in the centre of the screen. It was the orbital outpost, the demarcation point beyond which lay the unknown and the alien. Looking to Rarity, Sunset gave a nod, and the former understood the silent instruction, pressing several buttons on her console. After a moment, she turned back to her captain and nodded, giving Sunset leave to start speaking. "Outpost Alpha, this is Sunset Shimmer, Captain of the Phoenix. Since getting here was our first mission, I don't think I'm wrong in saying we're all pretty happy to see you." She waited for a minute to see if she'd get an answer, but after a quick glance to Rarity, who shook her head, the young captain looked again to the viewscreen. "Outpost Alpha, this is Captain Shimmer. Do you read us?"

More silence, and this time Sunset just outright walked over to Rarity's communications desk. "Anything?"

"None," Rarity answered. "They're definitely receiving our message, but nothing's coming back."

"Are they ignoring us?" Rainbow asked with some mild irritation.

Another shake of the head from Rarity. "No, it's not that. It's..." Slowly, her eyes widened, and she turned to her leader. "It's a communications jam!"

It took only a moment to understand what her officer was telling her, and so Sunset rushed back to her chair, swiveling it to Twilight's direction. "What do the scanners say?"

Looking to her monitors, Twilight soon narrowed her eyes. "I'm getting something. A vessel right on the edge of our scopes. I'm not reading any kind of registration."

Sunset showed greater concern than before. "Pirates?"

Twilight looked back to her. "Uncertain."

Again, Sunset turned to the viewscreen. "What's the status of the outpost?"

"It seems it's undamaged, save for the communication block," Twilight explained.

"Wait!" Rarity exclaimed, getting everybody's attention. "I'm getting something. It's garbled, but I think the outpost is getting something to us!"

"Put them up!" Sunset ordered.

Her command was carried out immediately, as the viewscreen now turned to a very static-heavy image. But as the seconds passed, new images began to make themselves known. Figures, human in their shape, becoming clearer and clearer. The voices, however, were still a mess to make sense of. "We...couldn't...need to...got hit...can't track..."

"This is Captain Shimmer!" Sunset called to them again. "What is your status?"

This time, the message was clearer to hear, though the images still suffered from static. "We read you, Phoenix! Everyone here is alright, but we've just been hit. Communications were knocked out by that ship and we've just managed to get it back and running again."

"Who attacked you?" Sunset asked.

"We don't know!" the outpost officer answered. "As soon as they appeared on our scanners, we hailed them. They didn't answer, and instead sent a shot out that rendered us unable to call for help."

A cursory glance at her chair's monitor revealed that they had the right of it. Some small device had indeed been embedded in the side of the outpost, no doubt having been made to inflict some sort of communications malware to their systems. Sunset, taking that information in, nodded solemnly, before looking again to Rarity. "Send word to Command about this." After seeing Rarity nod back to her, she then addressed Rainbow. "Think you can catch up to them?"

Her pilot beamed, looking like she'd been given the best news of her life, and so gave her captain a wink and a thumbs up. "You bet!"

Twilight snapped her head towards Sunset. "Wait! We can't chase them! We're not designed for pursuing criminals and pirates!"

Sunset looked to her. "The rest of the fleet is in the middle of maneuvers on the other side of the system. By the time they'd get here our targets will have escaped. Besides, given how far away they are already, we're the only ship fast enough to catch up to them anyway!"

Twilight grimaced, but eventually sighed, acknowledging her commander's reasoning. "I'll see what I can do. Maybe we can transfer some power from nonessential systems to our weapons. Since, again, we weren't meant for combat, they'll need as much of a boost as we can give them."

Another nod from Sunset. "Alright then." She pressed a button on her chair to address the crew as a whole. "This is Captain Shimmer. Prepare for engagement! This is not a drill! I repeat, prepare for engagement!" Though aware that she'd likely caused a small panic among her crew, she knew she had to let them know what was coming. Taking a breath, she gave her next command. "Rainbnow...do what you do best!"

Cracking her knuckles, the pilot chuckled before getting to work. "Yes, Ma'am!"

Within seconds, they were zipping back into Travel-Space, returning to the brightly-coloured menagerie of images upon their screen. The situation and the mood was tense, but they knew they had to be on their toes for this. They didn't know what they were rushing into, but they also knew that they couldn't allow this attack to go unanswered. It took only a minute for this particular jump to get them where they needed to go, and thus the viewscreen returned to its normal sight of space, with Rainbow pointing straight ahead. "Thar she blows!"

There, right in the centre of the screen, was the offending vessel. From the looks of it, it appeared to be an old, modified cargo freighter, though it was certainly a lot more spry than most models of that type, managing to fly away at a decent speed. "Hail them!" Sunset ordered.

But before Rarity could do so, Rainbow yelled out. "INCOMING!!!"

There was indeed a shot fired from the enemy ship, and Sunset was not going to take any risks as to how strong it was. "Raise shields!"

Her order was carried out swiftly by Twilight, who managed to erect the defensive, yet invisible barrier of the Phoenix just in time. Although, its status as unseen was only until the projective collided with it, at which point where was as rippling effect to indicate its presence. The missile, by contrast, was not so durable, having exploded upon impact. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief, feeling grateful that the attack hadn't done anything, but she assumed a more professional stance as Rarity called out to her. "Captain...they are trying to hail us."

Sunset's eyes narrowed, and she considered that for a moment before gesturing to the main viewscreen. "Alright then, let's see what they have to say for themselves."

Rarity nodded, and shortly afterwards the screen changed to that of what had to be the crew of the other ship. The interior looked just as old and patched together as the outside, with the crew looking like they more than suited that kind of environment. By contrast, the man at the centre, a rather well-dressed gentleman with a styled hairdo, smirked as he addressed the Captain. "Greetings, fellow spacefarers!"

His demeanour was friendly, but Sunset knew it was only surface-level. He was putting on a false diplomacy, but even with that in mind Sunset knew she had a duty to remain cordial unless given cause not to. "This is Captain Shimmer of the Equis vessel Phoenix. Identify yourselves and explain your actions."

The man shrugged with fake innocence. "I do apologise, Miss. Our ship is old, as you can tell, and or weapons systems malfunctioned. I do hope nobody aboard your fine ship was hurt?"

Sunset maintained her calm, at least for now. "No harm done. But I ask again, who are you?"

"Ah," the man said. "I am merely a travelling merchant. Far be it from me to take up the time of a commander of the Equis fleet. So, I shan't bother you any longer. My crew and I will simply be on our way."

Naturally, Sunset wasn't having it. "You know, we've just come from a nearby outpost that was recently attacked. And here you are, an unregistered vessel, just a stone's throw away from it."

The man chuckled. "My dear Captain, I assure you, it is mere coincidence that we were in the area. I mean, surely you have no reason to suspect us of foul play?"

"We do now," Twilight called out, getting everyone's attention. "I took the liberty of running your image through the Equis network's database." She got up from her station, pointing straight at him. "You're Doctor Caballeron! A criminal wanted in at least a dozen systems!"

Instantly, Sunset's head snapped back in the direction of the viewscreen, followed shortly by her folding her arms. "And if I recall right, one of the things you've been charged with is smuggling illegal weaponry, such as communication dampeners, yes?"

Caballeron blinked. "Yes...well...we're certainly not up to anything bad now. It's just me and my two crewmen."

"Really?" Twilight asked with skepticism in her voice. "Then why do our readings indicate there are four lifeforms on your ship?"

The man's reaction was instant, and the transmission ended, leaving only the image of his ship, which was now turning away from the Phoenix. Everyone got back to work in just as fast a time, with Twilight taking further readings and relaying them. "They're powering up their engines. If we don't do something now they can get to Travel-Space soon!"

"Weapons?" Sunset asked.

Rainbow looked back to her. "We can fire, sure, bit I don't wanna if there's someone being held prisoner over there."

Sunset nodded. "Agreed. Target their engines. We can at least try to keep them here." Her orders were carried out as soon as she'd said them, and within moments a single stream of blue light shot forth from the forwardmost point of the Phoenix, hitting the opposing vessel in its rear. After a few seconds, the latter ship began to cease its movement, with clear damage to the hind sections. "Report!" Sunset called out.

"No sign of any harm to the lifeforms on-board," Twilight answered. "But they can still fight back if these scans of their weapons are anything to go by!"

"Let em fire if they want!" Rainbow declared. "In case you forgot, their little pot-shots were useless against our shields!"

"Be that as it may, I'd rather not let this fight drag on longer than it has to," Sunset countered. "Twilight was right when she said this ship wasn't meant for battle. If we can bring this to an end quickly, then we should." She quickly glanced around the room. "So, any ideas?"

"I think I might," Rarity announced. When all had turned to her, she explained. "I studied communication blockers like those nasty toys of theirs back when I was training for this posting back home. I know what they do to interfere with a ship's signal systems. And I also know that those same tricks can disable a good deal more than that."

"You think you can hack their ship?" Sunset asked.

"She might," Twilight assured her. That ship they're using? It's a repurposed civilian freighter. Their system protections aren't as good as ours, so they'll be more susceptible to infiltrations."

Nodding to her science officer, Sunset then looked back to Rarity. "Then by all means, bring them down!"

"Heads up!" Rainbow called. "They're not going down without a fight!"

Sure enough, she was right. But this time, the enemy ship wasn't bothering with just sending communication dampeners like they had before. This was a straight-up pulse stream, much like what they themselves had used not long ago. The only exception was that this one was bright red in its colouring. As with the previous attack, it collided with the shield, and while it did not penetrate, there was enough impact to send a slight rumble through the vessel. "Target their weapons!" Sunset ordered.

"Aye-aye, Captain!" Rainbow responded. And so a second burst shot from the front of the Phoenix, hitting the area where the opposing shot had come from. Rainbow smirked and punched the air with delight. "Direct hit! They're not going to do anything to us now!"

Sunset nodded, then looked to Rarity. "How's it coming?"

"Almost...there....and...got it!" the communications officer replied.

Looking ahead, Sunset saw that the effect of her systems tampering was taking effect immediately, with many of the lights on the ship beginning to flicker, as if no longer able to stay alight. Twilight, having been monitoring the situation, turned to her captain. "It worked! Systems are failing all over their ship!"

Sunset frowned. "Life support?"

Twilight sighed. "Yes, that too."

A solemn nod from the young captain, who then pressed a button on her chair's armrest. "This is Captain Shimmer to teleport officers, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Captain," a voice called back.

"I want everyone on that ship transported off it before it's too late. Send the bridge crew to the brig. As for the one in their hold, send whoever it is to the medical bay for Fluttershy to look them over."

"Understood, Ma'am!"

As soon as the command had been given, Sunset watched as the last of the lights on the ship finally went out. After just a moment, there was a beeping on her armrest to indicate that there was an incoming message, which prompted her to press the button again. "Did we get them?"

"We did," her subordinates replied. "The criminals are secure in the brig.

"And their prisoner?" Sunset asked.

"Um...you might want to head down to the medical bay, Captain. I don't think this is what any of us was expecting."

With a remark like that, Sunset got up from her chair immediately, turning to Twilight. "You're with me."

Twilight followed her commanding officer away from the bridge and towards the elevator they'd arrived on, leaving Rarity as acting commander in her absence. The two stood in silence for a time as they watched the monitor of the elevator, seeing themselves descend further and further into the ship. Eventually, the doors opened again and they began walking down the hallway with haste. Both of them were quiet the whole way, no doubt worried about what state this unknown prisoner was in, given the reactions of those working the teleports. Eventually, they made it to the medical bay and entered, seeing it for the first time. It was a pristine white room filled with all of the medical equipment Fluttershy had been hauling earlier. And speaking of whom, the good doctor was here, turning to them with concern. "Captain!"

"How's the patient?" Sunset asked.

Fluttershy nervously poked the ends of her fingers together. "Well...um...see for yourself."

And so she stood aside, revealing the one in question. Sunset had been fully expecting some bound or injured person now unconscious upon one of the medical beds. What she had not expected however was to find, of all things, an egg. Largely lavender in its colouring with dark purple spots, it was about the size of their heads, now resting gently upon the aforementioned bed. Sunset looked to Twilight, who was equally surprised, before exclaiming their shared sentiment. "What...is this?"