//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Old World Blues 
// by Wheller 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 2

 
‘SURPRISE!’ Vinyl Scratch screamed as she ran towards the pile of rocks, using her magic to pull them off. Twilight and Rarity ran after her and instinctively began pulling them off as well.
 
The cave had been opened up and buried Surprise along with it. Within a minute, they had pulled all the rocks off. Revealing the horribly twisted, mangled body of Surprise, all of her legs were broken in multiple places, along with her neck and spine. Vinyl Scratch gasped in shock. Fluttershy couldn’t look, she buried her eyes into Rarity’s shoulder, and Pinkie Pie looked as if she was going to vomit.
 
Rainbow Dash’s mouth was practically on the ground.
 
‘I didn’t even like her... but that’s a bad way to go’, Twilight said solemnly.
 
‘Give it time... she’ll be fine’, Vinyl said, unsure of herself, more hoping it to be true than anything else.
 
‘Vinyl... I don’t think she’s getting back up from that’, Twilight said, biting her lip. She hated Surprise, but nopony deserved to die like that.
 
‘Look!’ Vinyl said, pointing at the fallen mare. Surprise’s legs began to move, they twisted, contorted back into their proper shape, likewise, her neck and spine moved back into the proper alignment. Surprise’s eyes shot open and she gasped for air. Vinyl Scratch’s heart soared. ‘Surprise!’ Vinyl cried out ecstatically, she threw her forelegs around the mare and gave her a tight hug. ‘What the hell is wrong with you?! Why did you do that?’
 
‘I saw a chance... I took it’, Surprise said quietly.
 
Vinyl loosened her grip on Surprise, backing up and looking her in the eyes. ‘Surprise... I need you to promise me that you’re not going to do that again’.
 
Surprise looked blankly at Vinyl Scratch and gave no response, other than a blink. Vinyl shook her a few times. ‘Damn it Surprise! I need you to pay attention to me right now!’
 
Surprise blinked a few times and nodded in affirmation. ‘I promise anything for you...’
 
Vinyl Scratch wasn’t too sure about that answer, she wondered if Surprise was making that promise to her, or to someone else. She hadn’t used a name, so she couldn’t be sure. Regardless, Vinyl helped Surprise to her hooves and turned back to the rest of the group.
 
‘All right everypony, here we go, we’re about to start exploring a world gone by, so keep an eye out... we don’t know what... or who, we’re going to find in here’, Vinyl Scratch said as she crawled into the opening. Everypony followed.
 
Vinyl lit her horn, Twilight and Rarity did the same as they all wandered down the stone paths of the cave tunnels, descending ever so slightly with each passing step, they rounded multiple twists and turns until they found themselves at the pathway’s end.
 
Before them, was a large, gear shaped metal door, with the letters ‘EPMB’ printed upon it in white bold typeface, with a control panel next to it. Vinyl Scratch went over to it, as she had several times before and threw the switch.
 
Two hazard lights began to flash. A small buzzing alarm went off, and the air filled with the hiss of steam.
 
Something from the inside pulled the metal gear back, creating a deafening screech as metal grinded against metal. The group covered their ears, and watched as the large metal door rolled to the left.
 
They all removed their hooves from their ears and Vinyl Scratch turned and flashed a grin at her friends. ‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more’.
 
And with that, the group stepped inside. After they were all inside the door rolled back to the right and was pushed shut as it always did, Fluttershy in particular jumped and tried to take off running, but Twilight and Rarity acted quickly, the last thing they wanted was for her to run off into the unknown.
 
‘Hey! Take it easy ‘Shy’; Rainbow Dash said smiling at her friend. ‘We’ll be fine’.
 
Or, at least, Rainbow Dash hoped, she’d never been in here before, and her last experience with an old missile base was still costing her, Rainbow Dash’s wing was still healing from the time when Métis Retlsaf shot it. Fluttershy began to calm down at her friend’s words, and they slowly made their way out of the entrance hall and into the missile base proper.
 
‘THAT WILL BE FAR ENOUGH!’ a voice boomed over loudspeakers. Before them, appearing from literally nowhere were three spritebots, fluttering their wings and pointing attached submachine guns at them.
 
‘Invisibility spell’, Twilight Sparkle announced. ‘Has to be’.
 
‘Very good’, the voice said, this time from the lead spritebot. ‘Always knew that you were clever, Twilight Sparkle’.
 
‘You... you know who I am?’ Twilight asked in shock.
 
‘Yes, I know who all of you are. I’ve been watching you, all of you, for a very, very long time’, the spritebot said.
 
‘How long is a long time?’ Pinkie Pie asked suspiciously.
 
‘Let me put it this way... Pinkie Pie, have you ever felt like there was a time when you were by yourself, that you felt so incredibly alone? That you felt like the world was going to come crashing down around you? That you wanted to scream, but didn’t, because you knew nopony was around to hear you?’
 
Pinkie Pie looked at the spritebot nervously, like she had a secret that she didn’t want anypony to know about. ‘Y... yes’.
 
‘Well, to put it simply, you weren’t alone during that time, I was there. Watching, waiting, and making sure you were safe. That goes to all of you. There has never been a time, in any of your lives that you were ever truly alone’.
 
‘So you’ve been spying on us’, Vinyl Scratch said. ‘Why?’
 
‘Because all of you are far too important to let anything bad happen to, besides, it’s not just you, others too’.
 
‘Who are you?’ Rainbow Dash asked.
 
‘Well, now that would be telling! I think it best if we continued this conversation in person. Follow the spritebots’.
 
The spritebots turned and lead the way, against their better judgement, Vinyl Scratch & Co. followed them through the twists and turns of the missile base, and then they soon found themselves in the launch control room.
 
However, unlike HVMB, there was not a launch console at the end of the room. In front of the glass windows looking out into the silo, which did have a missile resting comfortably in it, was an extremely large computer screen, green in colour, and displaying the image of a unicorn mare that bore a resemblance to Twilight Sparkle, except wearing glasses.
 
Vinyl Scratch cocked her head slightly looking in confusion at the monitor, and they approached it cautiously.
 
‘Ah, yes, this is much better’, the same voice that they’d heard from the Spritebots said, only this time, it was coming from the large computer. ‘Well, come on now, don’t be shy. I am very pleased to finally make your acquaintance. I’m Doctor Emerald Sparkle, and we have a lot to discuss’.
 
...
 
Octavia was so glad to finally be getting off the train. Applejack’s incessant questioning may have finally died down, in favour of speaking with her brother and cousin. The train had pulled into the station, Octavia grabbed her saddlebags and hopped off the train as quickly as she could, hoping to put as much distance between herself and the dumb hicks.
 
Now she was looking at a map of the surrounding area, discovering the town where she needed to be at. ‘Ponyville’. Charming little town, Octavia thought to herself sarcastically.
 
She exited the train station and started down along the road to Ponyville.
 
‘Hey! Miss Octavia!’ cried a voice from behind her.
 
Octavia froze in place... that voice, she turned around and to her dismay, Applejack was galloping towards her.
 
‘Ya fergot yer newspaper!’ Applejack said as she approached her, taking the copy out of her saddlebag and handing it over.
 
‘Oh... thank you’, Octavia said unenthusiastically, taking the paper and placing it in her saddlebag. She had been done with it and hadn’t really cared. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I must be off. I seem to have a fair bit of a walk to Ponyville’.
 
‘Ponyville, shoot! That’s where we’re going!’ Applejack exclaimed.
 
Of course it was. Octavia had stopped believing that the universe was fair and just long ago. Now it was just having fun with her.
 
‘Thanks universe’, Octavia said under her breath.
 
‘What was that?’ Applejack asked.
 
‘Oh... nothing’, Octavia asked, trying to think of a way that she could use to get away from the dumb hick, nothing came to her and she began to walk. Applejack and her family walked alongside her plying her with incessant chatter about nothing in particular. Octavia struggled to stay polite. She was a lady after all, and she intended to act like it.
 
‘So ya got a place ta stay in Ponyville? There ain’t anything in tha way o’ lodgings, but if ya need a place ta bunk, we got an extra room down on tha farm!’ Applejack said kindly.
 
No. Never. Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER!
 
‘No, thank you, that will be quite all right, I only plan to be in town for the day, I... thank you for you offer, but I respectfully decline’, Octavia said.
 
‘Well all right, but if things change, Yer certainly welcome on Sweet Apple Acres!’ Applejack said with a smile.
 
‘I will... keep that in mind’, Octavia said, forcing a smile. She only hoped that her business would be finished quickly so she could get away from all this.