Meanwhile....
The small crew arrived at Rivet's Rest, the spacecraft landing with a creaky thud.
"Alright, crew! Let's get off this rust bucket," Erin chirped, "Twilight, you go with Orion to find some better clothes than...that."
Orion's little tail wagged. "Ooh! I know a perfect place!"
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?!" Twilight asked.
"You look like a pedestrian," Erin answered before turning to Ava. "Ava, you come with me."
Ava tilted her head, her feathers ruffling slightly. "Wait, why do I have to go with you? I wanna go shopping with Orion and Twilight!"
Erin crossed her arms, her beak clicking in mild annoyance. "Because someone has to help me find the right parts for this junk heap, and I don’t trust you not to spend all your credits on shiny nonsense."
Ava gasped, placing a dramatic wing over her chest. "How dare you? I am a responsible adult!"
Erin raised an eyebrow. "Last week, you spent half our repair funds on neon feathers and a singing toaster."
"It was a cool toaster," Ava muttered, kicking the ground.
Twilight smirked, crossing his arms. "Wait, hold on—a singing toaster? Now I kinda wanna see that."
Ava brightened instantly. "Right?! It sings little tunes when the toast pops up! It’s adorable!"
Erin groaned, rubbing her temples. "This is exactly why you’re coming with me. No more impulse shopping."
Ava huffed. "Fine. But I better get a snack out of this."
Erin waved her off before turning to Twilight and Orion. "Alright, you two, go find something decent for Captain Pedestrian over here. And please make sure he doesn’t end up looking like a lost tourist. And meet us back at the ship."
Orion saluted excitedly. "You got it! I know just the place!"
Twilight sighed, his tail flicking. "Can’t believe I’m getting a forced wardrobe change."
Orion beamed, already leading the way. "You’ll thank me later! Come on!"
As Twilight followed, still grumbling under his breath, Erin turned back to Ava. "Alright, let’s go find the parts before this ship falls apart mid-flight."
Ava stretched her wings dramatically. "Lead the way, boss. But if we see another singing appliance, I’m buying it."
Erin groaned. "No, you’re not."
With that, the group split up, each on their own mission—one to repair their ship, the other to make sure Twilight didn’t look like a complete disaster.
Orion and Twilight arrive at a clothes store, where a snake was slithering around, putting clothes on different racks.
"Mystic!" Orion called.
Mystic's tongue flicked as she looked up towards the door. "Orion! You're back! I sssee you've brought Shadow Paw–"
"Twilight," Twilight corrected, "my look alike is somewhere in this universe."
"I sssee..." Mystic slithered over.
"Erin said he needs something that makes him not look like a pedestrian," said Orion.
"How do these clothes make me look like a pedestrian?" Twilight complained. "I look just fi–"
Mystic put her tail up to Twilight's mouth, silencing him. "Hush, darling," Mystic said smoothly, her eyes scanning Twilight from head to toe. "Fashion is not about what you think looksss fine—it's about what makesss others sssee you properly."
Twilight groaned, his ears twitching in annoyance. "Pretty sure I don’t care what others see."
Mystic ignored him, circling around him with a critical eye. "You carry yourself like sssomeone who expects the universsse to throw a problem at him any second… very tenssse, very guarded." She tapped her chin. "That means you need something sssstructured, something sharp—but also something that says, 'Don’t mess with me, or you’ll regret it.'"
Twilight sighed. "Can’t I just get a jacket and call it a day?"
Mystic smirked. "Oh, no no no, darling. I don’t do boring."
Before Twilight could protest, Mystic had already slithered toward the racks, quickly pulling together different pieces of clothing. She held up a sleek dark coat with reinforced shoulders, a high collar, and subtle silver detailing. "Thisss," she declared. "Strong, but not overbearing. A presssence without screaming for attention."
She then added a fitted black shirt with thin red accents that matched his eyes, along with dark combat-style pants. "And thessse. Functional, but stylish. You don’t want to look like a drifter, but you do want people to think twice before picking a fight."
Twilight blinked. "…That actually doesn’t sound too bad."
Mystic flicked her tongue, pleased. "Of course not. I am the bessst, after all." She gestured toward the dressing room. "Now, go try it on before I change my mind and put you in something bold."
Twilight hesitated but eventually took the clothes and muttered, "If this ends up being ridiculous, I’m blaming Orion."
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidNQCshFzF
Meanwhile…
"Ooh! Look at this, Erin! It's painted glass!"
"I told you, Ava, we're only here to get parts, and that's it," said Erin.
Ava groaned. "You're so boring!"
Erin rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “And you’re easily distracted. We need ship parts, not shiny trinkets.”
Ava pouted, holding up the painted glass to the light. “But look how pretty it is! Imagine this in the cockpit, all colorful and glowing—”
“Ava.” Erin gave her a flat look. “Unless that thing can hold our ship together when it inevitably falls apart, put it down.”
Ava huffed but reluctantly set the painted glass back. “You’re no fun.”
“I’m practical,” Erin corrected. She scanned the market, her eyes spotting a stall with various mechanical parts. “Come on, that vendor looks like they have actual ship components.”
Ava dragged her feet dramatically behind Erin as they approached the stall. The vendor, a gruff-looking badger in a grease-stained apron, glanced up as they neared. “Need somethin’ specific, or just browsing?”
“Fuel stabilizer, engine coolant, and a proper wiring kit,” Erin listed off immediately. “Something durable. No cheap junk.”
The badger grunted and began digging through his stock. "You got creds for all that?”
Erin nodded. "1,500 am I correct?"
The badger shook his head. "3,000."
Before Erin could speak, Ava leaned against the counter, closing Erin's beak with her foot. “Now, now, friend,” she cooed, tilting her head. “That price seems a little steep, don’t you think? Why don't we make a deal? Surely you can do better than 3,000?”
The badger snorted, crossing his arms. “I don’t do deals, bird.”
Ava’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she pulled out a deck of cards from her pocket, shuffling them between her wings. “Oh, come on. Where’s your sense of fun?” She flipped a card into the air, catching it effortlessly. “How about a little gamble? If I win, we get the parts for 1,500. If you win, well… we’ll pay full price.”
Erin groaned, rubbing her temples. “Ava, no. We are not gambling for ship parts.”
Ava waved a wing dismissively. “Relax, Erin. I’ve got this.”
The badger eyed her warily, then grinned. “You think you can outplay me? Fine, bird. But if I win, the price goes up to 4,000.”
Erin’s eyes widened. “Ava—!”
“Deal!” Ava chirped before Erin could stop her. She pulled up a crate and sat down across from the badger, fanning out the cards.
The game began. The badger played confidently, but Ava was faster. She played her cards with a cocky smirk, her eyes darting across the table as she calculated each move. A small crowd started to gather, murmuring amongst themselves as they watched.
Erin stood behind Ava, arms crossed and feathers ruffled in frustration. “If we lose this, you are paying the extra 2,500.”
Ava winked at her. “Don’t worry, Erin, I never lose.”
A few tense rounds later, the badger slammed his final card down, grinning triumphantly. “Hah! Full suite! Beat that, devil bird!”
Ava smiled sweetly. “Oh? That’s cute.” She laid down her own cards, revealing a perfect winning hand.
The badger’s grin vanished. The crowd let out a mix of gasps and chuckles.
Ava leaned back, stretching her wings. “Looks like we get our parts for 1,500.”
The badger scowled but, to his credit, didn’t argue. He grumbled something under his breath and started gathering the supplies.
Erin blinked. “I can't believe that this actually worked.”
Ava beamed, grabbing the box of parts. “Told you! Now, can I get that painted glass?”
“No.”
"AWW!"
ns 15.158.61.17da2
