Chapter 5
“This is the water supply!?” Whooves gasped, looking around at the massive room. They were about two stories underground, and Whooves had no idea how far away from the colony they were. Lunar had led him to a small building, no bigger than a shed, that they had not noticed before. Stairs led them to a long hallway, lit with white lights. After minutes of walking, Whooves really had no idea, the hallway opened up here.
“Yes, this is it.” Lunar said, laughing at his expression. “Took us a good month just to get it carved out. Another couple weeks to get it filled with water from the mountains.” Whooves just stared around at the dome. It looked to be about a half mile in radius, and a mile high from the water line. He had no idea how deep it went, and he really didn’t want to find out.
“So, what are we here to do?” Whooves asked. Lunar pointed at a small building, just a few feet wide, that was protruding from the dome wall. “We have to find out if the water is drinkable or not.” he said, walking towards it. Whooves looked over the dome again. The sound of water rebounded off each wall, seeing to come from all sides at once, except, the side facing the water. He shook his head, trotting to catch up with Lunar.
“Do you expect it to be polluted?” he asked when he had caught up. Lunar shook his head.
“The electricity is still running, which means the automated cleaning systems will still be doing their job. But after all these years, they might have broken down. This is just to make sure.” Whooves nodded, turning to look back at the lake of water again. It was too dark to see what the water looked like, as there were only lights along the small pathway they were walking. Suddenly, a question popped into Whooves’ mind.
“What did the colony used to be like?
*****
Twilight was laying in her bed, looking up at the ceiling of her room. Her saddlebags, along with Cora’s, were laying together on the bed next to her. Her left front hoof was barely brushing Cora’s. She didn’t want to look in it. The last time she had, back on the ship, she had found exactly what she didn’t; times from a life that was no longer there. She knew one day, she and she alone, would have to break the news to this Lightning stallion. And she didn’t know she would be able to on that day.
She was brought back to reality by a knock on her door. She stepped off the bad, stretching slightly, and walked over to it. She pressed her hoof against the screen and the door opened. Rainbow was standing on the other side, looking slightly worried.
Umm...hi.” she said lamely. “You doin’ alright?” she said, not looking her in the eyes. Twilight could see how uncomfortable she was. Smiling, she embraced her.
“I’m fine, Rainbow.” she said, letting her go. That seemed to cheer her up.
“Great! We were going to explore past the colony. Do you want to come?” Twilight looked over her shoulder into her room. Nothing waited in there except sadness and boredom.
“Sure. Let’s go on an adventure.”
*****
Whooves had been waiting behind Lunar for the better part of five minutes. The small building contained only a single light, and a panel of gauges and screen with various readings. Lunar was looking back and forth between the gauges and a piece of paper he had brought along in his bags. As he did he mumbled to himself. Whooves wasn’t sure what he was saying, but some parts didn’t sound good.
Finally, he took a step back, sighing. “Well, it’s not exactly mountain spring water..well, it is, but..you know what I mean.”
“Drinkable but not exactly crystal clear?” Whooves said. Lunar nodded.
“We should be fine. When I can get more help, and more ponies, we can get this back up to perfect conditions.” He looked through the window at the water. “It’s amazing how we relied on this for our survival, but it killed so many of us before.”
“What do you mean?” Whooves asked, looking at Lunar. “The disease didn’t come from water, did it?”
“Not the disease that destroyed the colony, no. But years before that, there was another non-contagious disease. Later, we found out that it was a parasitic infection. But that was only after major research was conducted. Eventually, we found that a type of “life”.” he put quotes around the words with his hooves. “Existed in the water. When I say “life”,” he did the quotes again, “I mean life as we have never seen it. No discernible cellular organelles, along with what seemed like no DNA at all. Whatever it was, it would attach to the inside of the esophagus and stomach, then slowly turn to body into a parasite producing machine. In a way, it was like the cancer of Equestria. Eventually, we were able to route out the problem, and instal filters and put chemicals in the water to clear them out. But we still had major casualties.”
“It must have been terrible.” Whooves breathed. Lunar nodded, putting the piece of paper back in his bags.
“But it was nothing to the disease that would come later. For that we had no cure, no ideas, and most importantly, no ponies to aid in the research. If I had more aid in the lab, I might have been able to devise a cure, but I was too late as it was. And in the end, I was the last one left.”
“Do you wish that you had gone with the rest of them?” A light flared in Lunar’s eyes, and he looked Whooves up and down.
“This colony is my child, my baby. I watched it being built from nothing, and saw it turn into the proudest achievement that Equestria has made. i would give anything to see it continue. My life it I had to.” He turned and walked out of the building, leaving Hooves to stare after him.
*****
“Where are we going to go?” Twilight asked as she and Rainbow rode up in the elevator.
“Well, I was flying around yesterday, and I saw this forest type place not too far from here. It had a small lake in the center, and I thought it was time that we actually had fun again.” She smiled at Twilight. “When was the last time you went swimming?”
“I can’t even remember.” Twilight said. “But don’t you think we should stay near the colony?”
“Come on Twilight!” Rainbow said as the doors opened. “Where is your sense of adventure?” She spread her wings, floating alongside her. “What happened to the Twilight who would go into the Everfree forest just to get a view of the stars?”
“She got trapped along with the stars.” she answered, looking forward. “But you are right. I could use something like this.” She gave her best smile, opening the door to the outside. The others were already waiting for her, and they smiled when they saw that she was coming along. Applejack looked up at Rainbow, who was still floating in the air above them.
“So which way is it?” she asked. Rainbow looked around for a minute.
“Umm...” She turned on the spot, looking at the landscape. Applejack gave her a sarcastic look.
“You have no idea where we are going, do you?”
“No I do! It’s just.. I will be right back.” Then she shot off into the sky, until she was just a speck. They watched her circle a couple times, then fly back down towards them.
“It’s that way.” she pointed opposite the sunset. Twilight just decided that was going to be east until they got the red directions set up. They all nodded, turning and walking in that direction. Looking behind, Twilight saw that the second sun was at the highest point. They had time, just not a lot of it. They stepped past the last dome of the colony, and continued walking.
“We probably should have told somepony.” Fluttershy said. “I mean, umm, what happens if we get lost, or, umm, somepony gets hurt?”
“We won’t get lost.” Rainbow said. “I can just fly up and look. And if somepony gets hurt, I can fly them back as well. We are fine, Fluttershy!” She nodded, but still looked unsure. They trudged on, the wheat type plants rising up to their eye level, then falling down to their chests. More and more of the strange “trees” were growing. Occasionally, one of them would trip on the roots that connected all of the “trees”. Twilight kept looking for something, something that would show there was sentient life, possible just an animal, on the planet. But there were no birds in the sky, and no squirrels or rabbits on the plain. It seemed so...barren without life like that.
Rainbow finally broke their silence. “There it is!” she yelled, pointing at the horizon. Twilight looked up, and sure enough, it was. It looked like someone took all the “trees” on the plains, added thousands more, and placed them all in the same area. Vines wrapped from tree to tree, not even touching the ground in some cases. Roots completely covered the ground, giving way to a new type of forest floor. Their branches, and intertwining vines created a thick canopy that Twilight was sure would support even brawny Applejack. The entire forest cast a dark shadow, and they could feel the air getting cooler as they got closer. Twilight looked around, glad to see her mouth wasn’t the only one hanging open.
They finally reached the edge of it, and they all stopped. Their eyes, which had been in the light of two suns all day, couldn’t penetrate the darkness they was two feet in front of them. Rainbow looked down at them, not really sure of it. “Anypony want to be first?” Rarity smiled up at her.
“I think, since you showed us this, you should be first!” The others nodded in agreement. Rainbow just looked at her.
“Fine.” she turned and flew into the dark of the forest. The others smiled at Rarity, then followed Rainbow in.
*****
“So where are we going now?” Whooves asked, shivering. After they had left the reservoir, Lunar had taken him back to the central dome. He showed his a staircase that looked like it had been swallowed by the earth. It descended floor after floor, and it didn’t seem like it would stop. The metal raining clanged under their hooves, and the glare of the lights cast long shadows down the stairs and on the walls. And as they went, the air grew colder. Whooves wouldn’t have been surprised if he would start seeing his breath yet.
“The garden.” Lunar answered shortly. “We wanted to keep it out of harms way, so we made use of a natural sinkhole that was here. We just...expanded on it. Don’t worry, we are almost there.” Whooves snorted, but it looked like Lunar was right. The stairs bottomed out, and a landing spread out in front of them. Three doors waited for them. A single door, and a pair of double ones. Lunar walked over to the double doors and pulled them open.
“Gosh, it has been so long..” he breathed, pulling out a pair of goggles and a bright white suit. He tossed them at Whooves, who caught them in his front legs. “You might want to put those on.” he said, pulling out another pair for himself.
“What are they?” Whooves asked, looking down at them. The goggles were so dark that he could barely see when he put them on. The suit was made of a rubbery type of plastic. he slipped it on over his flight suit. he felt weird, standing in two suits at once. He hoped Lunar wasn’t just doing this for a laugh. But when he looked up, Lunar was standing in the same gear he was wearing.
“You will see.” he said, a smile on his lips. he turned to the single door, brushing his hoof down the wall. A panel flipped over, and he pressed his hoof against it. A short beep, then the panel flipped back into the wall. He turned back to Whooves. “Ready?”
“I guess.” he replied. As soon as he said it, the door opened, and he gasped loudly.
*****
They had been walking for what felt like an hour. Twilight wasn’t sure they would be able to find their way back out, even if they did find the lake. The forest had just grow darker in their time walking.
“Are we lost?” Derpy asked, looking around. Rarity nodded.
“Yes, Rainbow. Are we? I don’t want to be stuck in this forest forever. And this humidity..” She pulled her forelock down so she could see it. “It’s making my mane curl!” Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“Relax Rarity.” she said, floating down so that she could look at her. “Pegasi have a natural sense of direction.”
“Uhh, Dashie?” Pinkie said.
“Hold on.” Rainbow replied. She was now flying backwards. “Even if we were lost, I could just fly up and see.”
“Rainbow?” Twilight said.
“Hold on a sec!” she said. “You know, you really need to start trusting me. I bet if Twilight was leading this, you would follow her no questions asked.” As soon as she said that, she flew straight into a tree. She slid down the trunk, landing on the ground with a thud. She shook her head and looked up at them all.
“And that is why I trust Twilight.” Rarity said, a smile on her lips. The other laughed, and after a moment of frowning, Rainbow had to join in. Twilight couldn’t remember the last time she laughed. Maybe Rainbow was right. She needed this.
*****
“Dear, mother, Celestia.” Whooves said, eyes wide behind the goggles. Lunar just smirked at him, leaning against the wall.
“It’s something, isn’t it?” he said. Whooves could only stare.
As soon as Lunar had opened the door, light spilled out onto the landing. Instantly, Whooves felt the suit heat up, creating a warm glow around his entire body. Even through the goggles, the light was still intense. Shielding his eyes, he looked up at the ceiling. A hundred feet up, sat a glowing ball of light. Twenty feet in diameter, it shone its light down towards the garden. Whooves looked back at Lunar.
“Is that..What is that?” he asked.
“That, is the light that served as the sun if any of us would have woken up early. It was in--”
“In a central chamber, with building that seemed to go on forever, almost touching the sky.” Whooves finished. Lunar nodded.
“Right, you would know about this.” he said, looking sheepish. It was a moment before he spoke. “Anyway, we removed it, and placed it in here. Constant sunshine for the crops.” Lunar sighed, looking around the chamber. “Crops that are dead now.”
The other thing that Whooves had noticed, were the rows of crevices in the metal. Each one was filled with a black-brown looking substance that he figures to be a dirt and compost mixture. Small, yellowing, dead plants lay in the dirt. From his experience in Ponyville, he knew there were carrots and tomatoes. Lettuce and daisies. Everything they would need. All dead.
“So what will we have to do?” Whooves asked.
“Well, we have to decide what went wrong.” Lunar said. “And, as that is still working,” ge pointed up at the fake sun, “then we can assume it was the water supply. Now, we just have to find out where and how it broke.” He pointed to a pair of doors at the other end of the room, which was the size of a Hoofball field.
“Control room is in there. Come on.” Lunar said, starting to walk. Whooves walked behind him, wondering what they could do to fix this. They finally reached the doors, but Lunar didn’t stick his hoof out. Instead, he just turned a handle. This surprised Whooves more than anything else that day had. Inside the door, was a collection of panels and screens. They were all black, but Lunar touched a small button on one of the panels, and they lit up. Each flashed something different. Words and numbers that Whooves had no idea what to make out of them.
“So, how will we know where it is broken?” he asked, looking over the screens.
“Like this.” Lunar said. He touched a screen, and an image flashed up. Whooves stared at it for a good half minute, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. The closest he could think was that it was a computer chip or a motherboard, but he knew that wasn’t right. Channels and pathways were shown in dark blue, criss-crossing one another over a light blue plane. Dozens of dots blinked across the entire screen. However, two or three, right in a row, were glowing red.
“This, is a map of the water lines that are on the ceiling here.” Lunar said, tracing his hoof over the lines. “Like you have heard before, the geology on this planet isn’t that stable. So occasionally, we get an earthquake. It is more than likely that we had one in the last hundred years, one that might have caused this damage.”
“So how do we repair it?” Whooves asked. “Do we have to get into the ducts or something like that?” Lunar shook his head, smiling.
“No, nothing like that. We just have to....Well, watch.” He placed both his hooves on the screen, one in the center and one close to the bottom. He moved both up at once, and the entire image shifted on the screen. It was no longer a two dimensional image. It was a three dimensional model.
“This system was built so that we would never have to go into the duct-work.” Lunar said. “These dots show where the obstruction or breakage is. So all I have to do, is bypass that part. He touched a dot, further back from the red ones. It was near one of the criss-crossing sections. As soon as he pressed it, Whooves heard the somewhat muffled, but still distinctive, sound of metal on metal. The red dot disappeared, and Lunar moved to the others.
“It’s a simple system of sensors and valves. All I have to do is press the dot, and the valve reroutes the flow to another part of pipes.” He pressed another dot, and the last red mark disappeared.
“For something like this, simplicity is key.” he said, smiling. He pressed another button on the panel, and Whooves saw the lights dim for a fraction of a second. He looked at Lunar, who just smiled. “Nothing to worry about. Come on, let’s see if it worked.”
He led him back out into the main room. But something was different this time. Unlike the complete quiet that had been there last time, there was a new sound. A vague humming and grinding.
“What’s that sound?” Whooves asked, turning to Lunar.
“I assume you are familiar with a Geneva Drive?” Lunar asked. Whooves nodded.
“Of course. We have used a few back at the labs. But you are saying...” his voice trailed off. Lunar just nodded. Whooves broke into a smile. “You’re kidding! You build a drive and incorporated it into the farming!?” Lunar nodded.
“It is a copy of the one that is on the ship. We just tweaked it a little. Every day, it triggers a smaller drive, one that only runs for two hours, to water the plants down here. After that one runs its course, it triggers the first one to pick up where it left off. And the cycle repeats every twenty-four hours.”
“But, there was no water flow, so the entire thing shut off.” Whooves guessed. Lunar nodded.
“But now that we have that going, we can get the food supply back up and running. We just have to get everything planted.”
*****
“Rainbow, this is amazing!” Twilight practically screamed. “I can’t believe you found this.” Rainbow just shot her a smug look and dove towards the lake as fast as possible. They had been walking for about a half hour more, until they found it.
Almost a perfect circle, the lake was the most beautiful thing Twilight have ever seen. Crystal clear waters, enough so that she could see the very bottom of the lake. The canopy of the forest parted naturally, giving light and warmth to the water after the cold darkness they had walked through. Gravel beaches with fluorescent, multi-colored stones lined the water. The smallest of waves splashed over the beaches, creating a soothing beat that calmed Twilight’s frayed nerves.
Rainbow splashed down into the water, creating a crater two times her size. It collapsed, waves and ripples spreading out from the center. She resurfaces, mane plastered down over her right eye. But she was smiling as broadly as she could. “What are you waiting for, come on in!” That broke them, and they rushed straight into the water. Rainbow and Derpy started to use their wings to have races on the water. Rarity was making sure he mane stayed out of the water, until she was pulled under by Applejack. Fluttershy and Pinkie were seeing who could stay under the longest. Twilight just floated on her back, watching them. It felt so good just to have fun again. Just to relax.
But something didn’t quite feel right. She had a growing headache, which wasn’t anything new, but she also felt lightheaded and queasy. But she pushed it away, focusing on being happy and content for the first time in a long time. She kept one eye open, watching the others play and have fun. She relished every minute of it.
Slowly, the sounds of play faded. After about an hour, they were all just floating along time Twilight. Derpy had even fallen asleep, her head on Rainbow’s chest. Twilight looked up at the sky. It was growing orange and red.
“We should probably get back soon, before it gets dark.” The others nodded, climbing out of the water. As soon as Twilight touched land, he head went spinning. She took a couple more steps, then fell to her knees. The others rushed to her side, but she waved them away.
“I am probably just dehydrated.” she assured them. But it didn’t feel like that. She shakily stood up, taking a couple more steps. But she fell again, landing on her side. Her head felt like it was ready to split open from the headache, and her stomach wasn’t far behind. As fast as possible, she crawled over to the forest edge, and voided her stomach. When she could move again, she fell to the ground, looking up at the fading sky. Against her will, her eyes started to close. The last thing she was, before black, was her friends scared faces looking down at her.
*****
“How long will the repairs take?” Whooves asked. They had exited the garden, and were back up in the central dome. Lunar shrugged.
“Couple weeks, maybe a month. Two maybe. It just depends on how fast we can work.” He was sitting at another computer, looking over schematics of the colony and ship. “If nothing else goes wrong, we can get this fixed before the electrical storms hit.”
“And when will that be?”
“Well, according to the colony’s internal clock, sometime in the next two to three months they are supposed to hit.”
“Will we be able to--” He was cut short by static in his ear. He pressed his hoof against the communicator. “Hello? Who’s there?”
“Oh, thank Celestia this works!” a voice relied, garbled by static. The voice was high pitched and worried.
“Who is this?” Whooves replied again.
“It’s Pinkie Pie!” the voice said. “And we have a problem.”
“What’s the problem? Where are you guys?”
“We went out in the forest, but that doesn’t matter now.” she said, voice getting higher. She swallowed before she spoke again. “Twilight is sick. We think it’s the virus.”