Apple paced back and forth, insides a tight little ball. Her heart beat an elevated rate in her chest.

Then she checked her wrist for a (nonexistent) watch. Then she tapped her foot, arms crossed, as if the time would pass faster.

It didn't. But it always seemed to in cartoons.

Then she fell to the ground dramatically. "Aaaaagh! Guys! Is there any way to make this stupid rocket go any faster?!"

She got no response. In fact, neither of her companions seemed to be paying the slightest bit of attention. Yin-Yang was silently arguing with himself, and Fan was typing away on his phone, muttering to himself.

"Listen to me!" Apple wailed.

"How about we don't!" Yin-Yang yelled, then corrected, "No, Yang! We should listen to our teammate. NO! She's stupid, just like you!"

Fan looked up from his phone with a little grin. "I'll listen to you; I'm a huge fan!"

Apple punched the air. "We have to make the rocket go faster. We have to save Marshmallow in time!"

"I thought you hated each other," Yin said, sounding confused.

"Just like I hate you!"

Yin-Yang punched himself in the face, then fell to the ground with a loud crash.

"There are more important things than hatred in this mortal world," Apple said dramatically. "We never got the chance to be friends. She can't die." Her voice grew hoarse.

Fan gasped. "You and Marshmallow, friends?! What an absurd notion! I have to write this down..."

Combined with Yin-Yang's weird act, it was clear nobody was listening, even to her. She sighed sorrowfully and walked up to that big window at the side of the rocket to watch the stars go by.

"There are more important things than hatred in this mortal world," Apple repeated under her breath.

She put her hand on the railing.

"Oh, Marshmallow... I'm sorry I ever hated you. If only I knew how dumb it was... maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. I promise, I forgive you. And I'll be the best friend I could ever be."

She closed her eyes and sighed. She could scarcely even picture Marshmallow's smile. The only thing she could remember was common stuff, like the sensation of Marshmallow's pillowy fist plowing her with enough strength to send her careening twenty feet, or how her squishy body got an imprint like a glove every time she hit her.

'There are so many good times that she can't die now!'

The first day they ever met suddenly flashed back to her consciousness. So did the times she helped her with math problems, and their celebration with Paintbrush after winning episode seven's challenge.

'...There are actually hardly any good times where we were both happy...'

Oh, there was also their truce. The warm union of their hands in a totally-radical handshake.

Tossing aside the masks of hatred like rifles on a battlefield, they saw one another in the fresh light.

It was unforgettable!

It was also one of her only fond memories of Marshmallow.

Apple had begun to smile at the memory, but then frowned.

"If I fail, I won't even have many good memories with her. What's wrong with me...?"

'My tummy-aches weren't saying bad things after all. And now, I miss her. I need to bring her back!'

Her imagination painted her as a legendary space admiral, wearing a deep blue hat and coat, gazing over an interstellar fleet. Apple, the first Apple to ever set foot in space. The finest flier in all of the scholar system. The one who'd stepped on every planet and moon.

The one who was still bitter and sad about her almost-friend that she could scarcely remember's death.

'Wait. I shouldn't be here imagining stuff. I should be finding that speed-up button!'

Apple whipped around and began to run... Only for her to fall on her face and then upside down as the whole rocket spun. Yin-Yang was on top of her, still tossing and turning. Fan was on top of them.

Apple was left paralyzed with pain for just a second before it clicked:

'It landed! Yes! Now to find her!'

She tossed both of the boys off her her with strength she didn't even know she had and yanked the door of the rocket ship open, smiling hopefully. "Great! We're here-"

Mars. It was an extremely red place, surprisingly enough.

Nothing at all like the pictures. Wasn't it supposed to be the yellow planet?

Her heart snapped in two, then cracked into halves of halves, and then disintegrated into powdery dust.

Nothing broke the red emptiness but a single egg.

Without thinking, she wailed, "Guys, look! Marshmallow's turned into an egg!" She leapt out of the rocket. "This is awful!"

For a second, nothing existed on that planet or any other planet but her and Marshmallow. Apple ran as fast as she could and scooped Marshmallow up in her arms.

She was so, so cold.

She stared at her in disbelief, then hugged her close.

'She deserved so much better than to become an egg.'

"I'll take the egg; maybe we can bring her back," Apple told her teammates, then quieted. "I hope... I'm so sorry, Marshmallow." She bumped her face against the egg gently, affectionately. "I wish it didn't have to be this way..."

Apple's energy and determination was gone for the entire return flight. She cradled Eggmallow, tears threatening to come to her eyes at any second.

'Test Tube has to be able to bring her back. Or maybe MePhone was lying and he can bring her back.'

"I was always all alone before I met you," she murmured to her, "And now, you're my bestest friend, and I wasn't there for you. I'm so, so sorry I failed you. I'll make it up to ya someday, I promise..."

She gently kissed the top of the egg. She didn't let go of it for a second during that flight.

XXX

Apple couldn't remember a single happier moment in her life. She shoved the egg into Fan's hands and ran for Marshmallow.

"MARSHMALLOW!" Marshmallow turned to face her in surprise, smiling. "You're okay; I'm so glad!"

"Me too!"

MePhone4 rudely knocked Marshmallow to the ground. Apple grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "I-I was really worried about you," Apple babbled. "I tried my best to be the one to bring you back, but I didn't see you on Mars. I'm so, so, so glad you're okay! I don't even care that we lost!"

Marshmallow looked caught off guard for a moment, then smiled. "Aww, thank you so much for making an such an effort to bring me back."

"Effort? Uhh, what's that mean?"

"When you make an effort, you work hard at something. You failed, but... You look like you've been upset." Marshmallow scanned her for bruises, then added, "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

Apple rubbed her eyes clean of the tears she didn't know she had. "No. I'm just stressed, whatever that means. But now we can finally be friends, which... is enough to possibly get me a little emotional, haha." She rubbed her eyes one more time. "Sorry about that."

"No reason to say sorry. Now we have a truce to abide by, so there's no reason we couldn't be friends. I think looking at the stars alone made me think of how important having people to confide in and talk to is."

Marshmallow extended a hand to her with a smile.

"So that's why, from this day on, we should be friends," she giggled, "if you want to, that is."

It was a moment that Apple would always remember.

Apple didn't reach for her hand. Instead, she gave her a quick, tight hug.

She wasn't half as cold as that egg was.

'But that's not even the best part.'

She stopped hugging her and smiled at her.

'I'll never be alone again!'