"Celestia! Celestia where is my helmet?"
>You slam shut the door of the compartment where your flight suit is normally kept
"I'm not joking around, I need it or I'm going to be late!"
>"Did you check your suit closet?"
>Her voice trails down the hall from her stretched out position on the sofa
"Of course I fucking checked it! It's the only place it ever is!"
>"Try checking again then!"
>You grumble and push another large box out of the way
"Look of this is one of your practical jokes then please stop, I need to leave."
>You hear a groan from the living room, followed by the sound of her getting up
>A pink haired head pokes round the door
"Well?"
>"Anonymous, did you try looking with your eyes?"
"What the fuck else am I supposed to look with horse?"
>"Your feet apparently."
>You're about to follow up on her cheek when she raises her hoof, pointing at the top of the wardrobe behind you
>There sits your helmet, untouched since the last time you used it
"Well... How about that."
>"You're learning fast, my faithful student."
>You can feel the patronising stare even though your aren't looking at her
"Shoosh, now do we need to go over everything again or are you okay?"
>You grab your helmet and walk out of your bedroom door, passing Celestia on your way down the hall
>"I'm well versed in the houses appliances yes."
"Good, now I'll be back at the usual time, heat up anything you want. Don't touch the cake cupboard until you've eaten something at least mildly nutritious."
>You go through the usual list of do's and dont's that she's used to hearing as you load your firearms and zip closed pockets
"I'll call you during the day to check up, but don't call me unless you absolutely have to, okay?"
>"Yes Anon, I am aware of the rules."
>She seems down, and her mane isn't as prismatic and excitable as it usually is >Somethings up
"Hey, you alright?"
>"I'm fine Anon."
"That's exactly what someone who isn't fine would say."
>She huffs slightly
"Go on, spit it out."
 
>"I want to come with you."
>You pause for a moment
"No."
>One of her eyes twitches
>"Why?"
"Look, it's not you, it's uh... Me."
>"Nice try, why can't I come? Really?"
>You sigh
>It had been over a month since you found her, and things had taken a turn for the worst
>Galactic shipping lanes were being shut down everywhere, and the uprising of anarchist movements had made a once relaxed job into one of constant danger
>Whatever they were fighting for was none of your concern
>You hadn't told Celestia, she didn't need to know about all that, not yet...
"Look, I wish I could take you, I really do... But my ship is small enough, and I don't have any flight seats that would support your proportions."
>"Are you calling me fat?"
"W-what? No! I'm just saying-"
>"Anon, relax... I'm just kidding. I just wonder what's out there sometimes, it was always a dream of mine..."
>You're sure it was, but at this rate you'll be late for work.
>The one thing that seems to have improved about the situation is your pay
>With higher risk comes higher reward, and more demanding deadlines
"Look, I'll see what if I can get some time off over the next few weeks, maybe we'll get out there then, eh?"
>"You promise?"
"I can't promise it'll happen sun horse, but I can promise to try?"
>Her budding smile sinks from her face
"Look I'm really sorry, I'll see you tonight okay?"
>"Alright..."
 
>You sigh again and turn for the door, before stopping
>Celestia looks up
>"Anon?"
"Yeah, hang on..."
>You turn around, walk past Celestia, and pull the larger plasma rifle off the weapon rack on the wall, slinging it over your shoulder
>You then proceed to the door, and exit the bungalow, leaving the pony to her daily activities
>You trudge down the garden path towards your courier, which is now a shadow of its former self
>Several new layers of armour adorn it's once gleaming white hull, and the whole thing looks a lot more aggressive and intimidating
>The multicannon that used to fold out from the nose had been replaced with a stationary railgun, firing tungsten slugs with enough kinetic energy to crack five meters of hardened steel
>It's wing mounts had also been given a much needed upgrade, gone were the daft laser pointers that you had previously used to tickle enemy shielding, in their place were a set of 'state of the art' torpedo tubes, each warhead completely interchangeable for maximum combat effectiveness
>While a lot of your new stuff had been provided by the company, some of it had been purchased off your own back, at great expense
>Unfortunately, this was still a Courier, and thus would never be a match for some of the larger and more deadly warships out there
>That's just another reason you don't want Celestia coming along, not until you get an upgrade
>That upgrade, with any luck, should be delivered to you later in the year
>You just have to last that long
 
>Sitting down in your pilots chair, you grip the familiar worn rubber of it's flight stick
>A few buttons clicked, and the ship springs to life, the sound of its fusion reactors cycling up filling the central cabin
>You pull up your route to Kremainn, which keeps you away from the more dangerous regions of local space
>It took you a while to map all this out, but you have safe routes planned both to work, and to some of the larger economical valuable systems, in case you need anything specific
>You also have one to take you out to LHS 3591, where Edwards robot facility is
>Over the past few weeks you had been convening with him more often, mostly to discuss the wing replacement for Celestia, but also to gain more information about her previous owners and their habits
>And any information on her sister... Of which there is little
>The ship begins to rise from the ground, blowing hot air across your neatly cut lawn
>It seemed your hope of Celestia leading you directly to Luna was inherently misplaced
>The connection only works if both conduits are one with uh... You've forgotten
>Some spooky space magic thing
>The point being that while Celestia is capable telepathic communication with her sister, she can only reach out so far if Luna isn't picking up
 
>Which means she's either without magic, a horn, inside a faraday cage or... Gone.
>The last option on that list is not one you consider in good conscience, bit it remains an option none the less
>As your courier rises from the ground, you take a peak at the window of your home
>Celestia isn't in her usual spot, waving as you depart
>You hope she didn't take what you said too personally, it's just that your job is hard enough without having to worry abo-
>"Frame Shift Anomaly detected."
>Your sensors flicker for a moment, and your info tab reads '1 new contact'
>And then, just as quickly as it appeared, the contact vanishes
"Odd..."
>You shrug to yourself, it was probably just a larger ship dropping in somewhere above you
>Without giving it further thought, you twist your flight stick up, allowing your finely tuned engines to rocket you off into the sky
 
>"Gutamaya Echo X-ray Oscar, please watch you speed on approach, proceed to landing pad three five."
>The deep rumble of a large frigate passing by as you enter Wohler terminal rattles your teeth
>You curse under your breath and continue to your assigned pad, landing with little difficulty
>You're five minutes late, but given the current situation you know your boss won't care
>"Touchdown, welcome to the station Anonymous, good to have you back."
>They know your name now, which you feel is a plus.
"Thanks Sal, it's good to be back."
>She chuckles over the microphone before disconnecting to assist another vessel with entering the station, leaving you alone to your thoughts
>Hopefully today won't be as bad as usual
>Your pre checked delivery schedule shows you have a relatively quiet route that should take you through the more civilised regions of space, but you know well enough that the job you receive in the morning is rarely the job you end up doing
>You get up from your chair and give an involuntary stretch, eliciting several large cracks from your spine and legs
>With the touch of a button, the landing ramp at the bottom of your ship descends, allowing you to exit
>Your boss waits for you at the bottom, a worried look on his face
>"Good day Anonymous."
 
>He's using terrestrial language, and the way his feet are shuffling suggests he's about to ask you something risky
"Uh... Good day to you too sir."
>"Look, I'm gonna to cut to the chase."
>Here it comes
>"I need you to run an Intel mission, we've been hired by the Feds to scout pirate activity in one of the more 'active' anarchist regions."
>Wait, what?
"Hang on a second, you want me, a cargo hauler, to run a military scouting operation in the middle of Anarchist territory? Are you nuts?"
>"Look, I know it's a change from your usual shtick-"
"It's more than a change! It's not even remotely related to my job! I'm not a soldier sir I-"
>"They're paying 200,000 credits to the pilot for this Intel!"
"I don't care about-"
>Wait... Did he just say 200,000 credits? That's a lot, more than 6 months of your salary
>If you had that amount of money you could... Well, you could do lots of things.
>It's still not worth it, you aren't risking your life for rainy day money
>Then it hits you
 
>Celestias wing, you could buy it for her with that and still have change enough to lay off work for a few months...
>You could keep your promise, and maybe use the time to find her sister...
>A smile spreads across your face, and an unnervingly happy one at that
"You know what, I'll do it."
>"Wait, really? What's with the sudden change of heart?"
"Nothing in particular, I just found a use for the money."
>"Something pretty for your lady friend that you keep saying doesn't exist?"
"No sir I- Actually, what the hell, sure."
>I mean she's kind of a lady, and she's your friend right?
>"Thata boy, took you long enough. You should bring the gal round to Wohler some time, lots of good places to eat out here."
"I'll consider it, she hasn't been in the ship yet."
>"I'm sure she'll love it, it's a fine vessel, never failed you once I hear. Now, back to business, if you could just sign here..."
>Her passes you a tablet, which you sign with the provided stylus, locking in the mission as yours
>"Now as always-"
>"Sir?!"
>A fuel caddy with a set of cracked orange goggles runs over, waving a scanner
>"What is it Jonathan? I'm in the middle of something."
 
>"S-sorry sir, but I was just doing a routine scan of the couriers internals, and I found this in the hold. Heat signature, big one, it's like somethings alive in there..."
>He takes the scanner in hand and looks at it, before frowning
>"Odd, what do you make of this Anon?"
>He flips the scanner over and shows you the heat signature, allowing your growing suspicion to be confirmed
>There, in the hold of your ship, sits a heat outline of a crouched horse, resting on its legs behind what you assume is your lab equipment
>You are beyond livid
"Oh t-that... I think it's just a busted radiator, nothing bad."
>The caddy raises an eyebrow
>"Would you like it fixed? Something like that can cause major problems if left unchecked."
"No! No, it's fine. I'll fix it myself later tonight, gotta work on my mechanic skills right?"
>You make a screwing motion with your hand to emphasise your point, hoping to God they buy it
>Your boss looks at you with the most 'hmm' expression you've ever seen, before shrugging
>"Okay then, suits me. Anyway, good luck Anonymous, I'll wire you your payment once you return with the Intel. You don't need to bother docking on the way back, everything you need to know has already been uploaded to your ships computer system."
"T-thanks, I'll speak to you later then..."
>"Indeed, happy trails."
 
>With that he marches off, leaving the caddy to linger for a moment awkwardly before going back to his business
>You turn around curtly, stumble back up the ramp, raise it, and them slam your head off the medical cabinet to your right in rage
>You signed the contract, the mission is yours, you can't go back on it without risking a fine, or worse, possible jail time
>Why? Why did she have to do this today, why not any other god damn day?!
>You strut down the corridor, your footsteps rattling the metal containers in the shelves above you
>There's the cargo hatch, near the back of the ship, just in front of the fusion reactor chamber
>You grip the aluminium handle, and rip it upwards, light spilling into the inhabited hold
>Celestia makes no attempt to stifle her gasp
"You. Out. NOW!"
>Her pink head appears from behind a box
>"Anon I'm really so-"
"I don't fucking care, get out of the cargo hold! Before I come down there and drag you out!"
>You step back to allow the now obviously terrified horse to climb the hold ladder
>She soon stands before you, her eyes averted
"Explain yourself."
>"Anon I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"I don't want your fucking apology! Tell me why you snuck into my fucking cargo hold after I explicitly told you not to."
>"Anon..."
 
>She puts on her sappy innocent face to try and pacify you, but you're having none of it
"If the next words out of your mouth aren't an explanation then I swear to god I'll belt you into the next fucking system!"
>You don't know where that came from, possibly a little harsh, but given she disobeyed a direct order of yours the threat of corporal punishment isn't out of the question, even if you don't intend to follow up
>"I just wanted to know what it was like!"
>Her eyes glisten slightly, as of she's about to cry
>"You always vanish, go off on grand adventures and leave me all alone! You come back with new things and stories to tell, and I never get to see any of it! If it isn't dangerous, and the ship is clearly big enough, then why am I not allowed to come along!"
"Because it is dangerous! It's one of the single most dangerous jobs in the galaxy, and you just jumped in on a day I'm not sure I'll fucking walk away from!"
>She opens her mouth to respond, but you cut her off
"I don't want to hear it, you've been a very bad pony!"
>You can feel your anger waining slightly, and that last sentence wasn't uttered with the conviction you desired
>Never the less, the message seems to have gotten across
>"I-I'm sorry M-Master..."
 
"Celestia... I'm not your master, but you need to learn that when I say things, there's usually a good reason for it. You're old enough to know that, aren't you?"
>She's like a bajillion years old anyway, she shouldn't have to have this explained to her
>Mind you, given what little you know about her past, she may have had no power to choose at all, so perhaps you allowed her a little to much freedom in the chain of command
>Of course you view her as an equal, but she's inexperienced in the galaxy outside of her previous masters home, and thus lacks the judgement of someone who's spent enough time out there to know all the do's and don'ts
>You've noticed she's independent enough, but that independence is seemingly tied to the assumption that she's in charge, which isn't the case, and is probably related to the occasional spouts of wise omnipresent advice she gives you when you're making dinner
>"Yes ma- I mean Anonymous."
>You give her a smile and pat her on the head
"I'm still furious with you, and you'll hear about it later no doubt, but right now we have bigger fish to fry."
>She gulps in response, but you doubt anything will come if it
>A rap on the hull of your ship startles both of you, and a muffled voice quickly follows
>"Anonymous?! You leaving or what?"
"Aye! Sorry sir!"
>"No worries, just get going!"
 
>You turn from Celestia and jog back down the hall, towards the cockpit
>She follows, stopping occasionally to look at something glowing or otherwise interesting
>Celestias saving grace may be that the mission will leave you enough time to drop her back home before you head out
>You pull up your assignments panel, and flick through the completed (and still not deleted) job forms, before finding the current date
>The mission is listed with a skull and telescope, indicating that it's a recon job, and the target location is... Fuck
>Wolf 217
>A solid 300 light years away
>Celestia appears behind you
>"S-so this is where you fly the ship?"
"Yes, now be quiet a moment."
>The target pirates will be meeting in the ring system of Wolf 217 2A, a large gas giant orbiting the systems second star at an alarming proximity, meaning your weapons will cook in seconds
>The report says that they are making an exchange of some sort, of what you don't know, but from the looks of things it must be valuable
>It also suggests caution, but you knew that, thankfully the belt should give you some cover
 
"Right... Well, my hope was to take you home, but I don't think that's happening, I've wasted enough time already."
>She nods in understanding, the smile of exhilaration nearly appearing on her thin lips
"But, here's what will be happening. From here on in, you listen to, and do, EXACTLY what I say. Got it?"
>"I understand."
"Can I trust you? Promise me."
>"I can promise to try?"
>Unfunny, but honest, just like a lot of her vocabulary
"Hmm, good enough."
>You flick a switch on the dash and press the start up button, allowing the cores to whirr to life
>This also depolarises the canopy, giving your pony companion a good view into the station beyond
>"Woah... Where are we?"
"Wohler terminal, Kremainn."
>"It's... It's huge! Is this the capital of your planet?"
"Heh, we've left my planet far behind Celestia."
>You tilt your stick up, and allow the craft to rise from the landing pad, it's magnetic locks disconnecting independently
>Sal the flight control gal checks in on the comms
>"You've got a clear shot Anon, normally I'd enforce speed restrictions, but knowing you..."
"You know me too well, have a good day ma'am."
>"Fly safe... Ish."
>The radio shuts off just as you align the courier with the station 'mail-slot', the comical name given to the entry/exit port, and allow it to drift.
>"Anon?"
"Yeah?"
>"How fast does your spaceship go?"
"Fast enough to get the job done."
>"And how fast does the job require you to go?"
>You smirk
"You'll see..."
 
>With practiced grace, you guide the ship out of the station, passing through the protective shielding
>You smile on as the look of amazement on the sunny horses face grows, and her wavy prismatic mane slowly flutters to life, the refection of the massive ringed planet clearly visible on her inflated pupils
>"Wow... It's bigger than I imagined it."
"It's space, it's the biggest thing there is. The universe is filled with amazing sights."
>"And sounds?"
"No, just sights. Maybe if you're on a planets surface there might be some amazing sounds, I dunno."
>As you continue to discuss the wonders of the universe, a new contact slips in
>"What is that? It's huge!"
>You tear your eyes away from the control panel you were busy potting your route on
"Oh, that? That's a Cutter, Imperial ship, reeeealy expensive."
>"It's rather ornate, I'd say it's fit for royalty."
"You wouldn't be far off, that ship is a favourite of..."
>You trail off as you notice the sharp and jagged strip of torn and burnt metal that rides up along the once smooth side, as well as a spattering of bullet holes, suggesting that a group of smaller ships had been punching above their weight
>Celestia hasn't noticed it, she's turned her attention back to the planet that looms overhead
>"So, what happens now?"
>You finish inputting the route, and set it to jump according to distance, as opposed to efficiency
 
"Now, we activate the FSD."
>"And what does that do?"
>You flick a switch on your flight stick
>"Frame Shift Drive, activated."
>She watches as the little red bar fills up in the centre of your HUD
>"Ready to engage."
>The engine hums, and your heat sinks begin pool, sucking up the FSDs enormous radiation output and venting it into space
>The red bar now reads 'throttle up to engage'
"Well Celestia, you ready to go interstellar?"
>"Whatever do you mean?"
>You slam down your accelerator in response, taking the ship up to 600m/s
>"Three."
>"Two"
>"One."
"Hold on to your teeth Sun horse!"
>"Engage."
>She lets out a piercing shriek as the courier vanishes in a flash of light and two long trails of smoke, leaving Wohler far behind