//------------------------------// // Chapter 28 // Story: Sleeping in the Light // by Wheller //------------------------------// Chapter 28 'RUN!' a squeaky sounding voice belonging to a young filly cried out from behind them. Kelso turned to watch as three young fillies, a pale yellow coated earth pony filly with an auburn mane tied up with a bow, a silvery white unicorn filly with a frilly mane, and an orange coated pegasus filly with a purple mane darted past them, running as if their lives depended on it. 'What was that all about?' Kelso asked as they continued to watch them run. 'I think... I think I know them', Sparky said, thinking back to the old photographs her grandmother kept. 'I think... that was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo', Sparky said. Garnering looks of surprise from the other members of their party. It was not every day when three of the Republic’s most famous ran by them. 'What are they so worked up over though?' Dizzy asked. That was when they heard it, the roaring growl of a bear. Kelso's eyes widened and her ears drooped as she turned to look. This was no bear, no bear that they had ever seen. Running at them was a midnight blue bear cat like creature, with white spots that dotted its' coat, almost as if the bear creature was a representation of the night's sky. It was far larger than any bear that they had ever seen, and even odder than that, it sported a long tail, worst of all, it was madder than hell. Kelso and company let out a scream as the bear creature passed through them. Despite this being a memory where they were unable to be harmed, they had shielded themselves instinctively as the bear creature 'trampled' them. As it passed Kelso moved her forelegs away from her face and then turned to face the direction that the bear creature was running in. ‘After those fillies!’ she cried out. No sooner than they started running, did they miraculously find themselves running alongside Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo as they took off down the path through Whitetail Wood. The mechanics of the memories were certainly helpful, as Kelso had doubted that they would have been able to catch up with the three fillies under ordinary circumstances. They were running for their lives, after all. Sweetie Belle turned her head and looked back, the gigantic bear creature was hot on their hooves as they ran. 'This was a bad idea!' Sweetie Belle cried out. 'Shut up and keep running!' Scootaloo shouted back at her as they continued to run like no tomorrow. 'There!' Apple Bloom cried out. Kelso and company looked up to discover that what Apple Bloom had seen was none other than a very familiar looking collapsed cave. With a final burst of speed, each of the three fillies pushed themselves as hard as they could, leaping forward and threading the needle of a small opening in the rocks. Kelso closed her eyes, and continued to charge forward, unwilling to watch as she passed through the rocks and into the cave. They heard the bear creature slam into the rocks and yelp out in pain. It let out a loud growl and began to walk away. The fillies let out a sigh of relief and hugged each other close, breathing heavily and happy to be alive. ‘Kids...’ Hopely complained between wheezes. ‘I don’t like kids... kids make trouble’. ‘As if we don’t?’ Viola said with a smirk as she sat down on the cave floor, wiping the sweat from her face. ‘Yeah Hopely, come on, we’re not much better’, Kelso said as she pulled her fedora off her head and used it to fan herself to help cool off. Running like that had probably not been necessary, but here they were anyway. 'Okay, I think Cutie Mark Crusader animal trainers is out', Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked back at her friends. 'Yeah', Sweetie Belle said nodding her head in agreement. 'That idea was way better on paper, is the Ursa still out there?' Apple Bloom crawled over to the entrance hole and took a look out it. Kelso too, having the advantage of being taller than the filly was able to peer out from it from where she was standing. The Ursa, as it had been called was indeed still out there, pacing back and forth outside the entrance. 'Yeah, an' Ah don' think its gunna go away anytime soon' Apple Bloom said with a frown as she climbed back down from the rocks. 'Great!' Scootaloo said in annoyance. 'We're stuck here, and we're going to lose a whole day of crusading for this!' 'Animal training was your idea dodo!' Sweetie Belle cried out. 'Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of!' Scootaloo snapped back. ‘They are most definitely children’, Dizzy said with a smirk. Suddenly, there was a flash of light over their heads. Slowly, and steadily a number of small hidden lights began to warm up, almost as if they detected the three small fillies and knew to turn the lights on for them. The so called Cutie Mark Crusaders looked up and around at their surroundings. Apple Bloom looked to her friends and smiled. 'Day's not over yet Crusaders! There's still a chance our talent might be as potholers!' 'As what?' Scootaloo asked. 'Ponies that explore caves!' Apple Bloom said. 'Come on! Let's take a look, we got time'. The Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded and got up and started to walk around. ‘These kids have to have no idea what’s down here’, Sparky said as they followed the three fillies on a downward path towards the giant metal door to EPMB. Upon arriving at it, the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other for a moment, they had never seen this place before, and their curiosity was getting the better of them. ‘Cutie Mark Crusader Potholers right?’ Scootaloo asked. ‘Right’, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said. They went over to the control console for the door and studied it for a moment, it was a relatively simple device, and it was pretty clear what they needed to do to open it up. ‘Pull down to open’, Scootaloo read off the control panel. ‘Seems easy enough’, she added before reaching out and pulling the lever down. Hazard lights began to flash, and the air filled with the hiss of steam. They heard something from the inside reach out and take hold of the door with a loud thump. The door began to pull backwards, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with Kelso and the passive observers, covered their ears as the deafening screech of metal against metal filled the air. The door then rolled open to the left, and allowed the three fillies, and their shadows entry. ‘Cool!’ the three of them all cried out together, taking a step inside. They got a few steps in when the hazard lights began to flash once again, the door rolled back to the right and began to slide shut with the same deafening noise that they had heard on the way in. ‘Somepony needs to grease that or something’, Scootaloo said after the door shut itself. ‘Too right kid’, Sparky said with a nod. ‘When FutureTec turned this place into the Whitetail Industrial Complex, I’m really glad they took out that door’. ‘What is this place?’ Scootaloo asked. 'Query acknowledged, beginning playback'. A tinny artificial voice barked over a loudspeaker. 'Head researcher’s log, Doctor Emerald Sparkle reporting. This is likely to be my final entry. Hello, if you are hearing this, it means that I’m no longer in control of the Everfree Plains Ballistic Research and Development Facility, wether by the hooves of that bitch or otherwise, the systems have gone over to automatic, and I’m probably dead. I don’t know who you are, or what you want. For all I know, you’re probably Cultus Mechanius scum from Fillydelphia come to pick over what’s left of my installation. Well, I guess I can’t stop you... In the off chance you’re simple travellers who lost their way or maybe even Ponyvillers who’ve taken a wrong turn. I ask that you leave this place be, let my legacy... actually, on second though? Come on in. I’ve left a number of technical manuals behind to teach you how to work all of my technology. Destroy it, use it, I don’t really care anymore. I’m old, so so old, and I don’t care anymore. Do what you will, who knows? Maybe you’ll accidentally kill that bitch in the process'. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other and smiled. ‘That’s not a good look’, Hopely said with a frown. ‘That means they have an idea!’ ... ‘Are ya’ll sure it’s a good idea ta be messin’ with that?’ Apple Bloom asked. Kelso turned to discover that the memory had changed to another room that too was familiar with them. EPMB’s missile control room, and known today as the control hub for the Discovery Project at the Whitetail Industrial Complex. Scootaloo was standing at the mainframe terminal reading an instruction manual telling her how to work it. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were sitting on the metal floor plates of the room, looking around at several books that were lying haphazardly around them. Sparky took a look at one of the manuals, raising an eyebrow in confusion. ‘High end networking: So easy a foal could understand it?’ she asked rhetorically, as she read off the cover. ‘By Emerald Sparkle, no less!’ ‘Oh it’ll be fine’, Scootaloo said in response to Apple Bloom as she continued to fiddle with the keyboard for the Missile Bases mainframe terminal. Scootaloo tapped another key with her hoof, and jumped slightly in surprise when the screen crackled to life. Kelso and company turned their heads towards the screen, watching as a masked figure with glowing green eyes appeared before them. ‘Manehattan Relay here, why isn’t your video feed working?’ ‘Uh... it’s working just fine! I can see you!’ Apple Bloom said. The pony on screen let out a loud sigh in annoyance. ‘Try the gain’. Apple Bloom quickly motioned to Scootaloo to pretend to try and fix it. Scootaloo responded by rotating a few dials on the control console back and forth. ‘There! It should be workin’ now!’ Apple Bloom said. ‘Well your unit still doesn’t appear to be operational pal. Who is this?’ ‘Well, Ah guess that shouldn’t be surprising, considerin’ how old this stuff is’ Apple Bloom said bluffing her way through this conversation like it would be her last. The pony on the other end let out another sigh, and nodded his head in agreement. ‘Ain’t it the truth? Most of these installations are still using the original thermionic valves manufactured over a thousand years ago! And the Manehattan Hub is the only place set up to make more. I assume that’s what you’re calling about right? Getting replacement parts?’ ‘Uh... yeah! That’s exactly what we’re callin’ ‘bout’, Apple Bloom said, unable to think of a better reason to explain the misplaced call to whoever she was talking to. ‘Alright, I can do that; just give me a sec... Need anything special? Or just the standard package?’ ‘Uh... the standard will be just fine, thank ya’, Apple Bloom said. All right... well this is ready to submit, I just need your name, rank, and your chapter affiliation, and I can dispatch a team to bring it to you. ‘Uh, no no, that’s okay! Ya’ll don’t need ta send anyone ta us. We’ll come and get it!’ Apple Bloom said, her eyes widening with nervousness. She didn’t know who she was talking to, but the last thing she wanted to do was reveal who she was and where she was at. ‘You’ll... you’ll come get it?’ ‘Y...yeah! That’s not a problem, is it?’ Apple Bloom asked. ‘A problem? A problem?! Hell no it’s not a problem! Oh thank the great machine, you have no idea how much time and resources this saves me, I wish everypony was like you! But no, everypony just calls up the Manehattan Relay and asks for replacement supplies. “Oh... what do you mean that it’ll be six weeks before you can have somepony out?! That’s insanity”, yeah, well. That’s what happens when the delivery orders stack up and all our saracens get filled up that we have to start sending hospitallers and templars to do the job, and even then we’re still backed up! Anyway, I love you for wanting to come and get it yourself; I still need your name, rank, and chapter affiliation. Otherwise, the chapter master is going to have my head’. Apple Bloom swallowed hard, she had no idea what was even the right thing to say. ‘The chapter master?’ she asked. ‘Yeah, he’s a real stickler for procedure, got to make sure the paper work is filed exactly right, otherwise, it’s my arse. Xerxes is kind of uptight like that, what, just because he’s descended from the founder of the Cultus Mechanius or some shit’. ‘Cultus Mechanius?’ Apple Bloom asked instinctively, realising immediately that that was a poor choice of words. The pony on screen was silent for a moment. ‘... what the... you... I... The FUCKING Cultus Mechanius! The organisation we belong to? What do you think I’m talking about? WHO IS THIS?’ he cried out, becoming flustered at Apple Bloom’s question. ‘Uh...’ Apple Bloom stuttered, looking to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo for help. They had nothing. ‘Sorry can’t tell ya!’ Apple Bloom said. ‘Oh... a wise guy eh? Look, I’m tracing you right now pal, we’ll see how smart you feel with internal security all over your fucking arse. Dumb bitch, a few more moments and I’ll have your sorry arse in a sling... hold on here... I’m showing you... that installation isn’t supposed to exist anymore... well, whoever you are, I’ve just dispatched a Templar strike team to your location, have a nice day’. ‘Uh, what are they going to do?’ Apple Bloom asked. Usually they just go in shooting; they let someone else sift through the ashes to figure out what was going on. Goodbye, next news on you will be when I read the after action report. The metal masked pony’s face disappeared off the screen. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo looked at each other nervously, wondering what they had gotten themselves into. ‘You don’t think... you don’t think they’d really hurt kids would you?’ Dizzy asked, looking to Sparky for answers. ‘I don’t know’, Sparky said with a shrug. ‘I think we’re about to find out though’,