"Intensive care unit. Constant care suites. General administrative. Contagious disease quarantine..."
Floors flickered and flashed by on the hospital elevator's display as it descended beneath the ground. Valey watched the location readout unhappily, ears folded and the screen's light reflected rectangularly in her eyes. "You know, when I said I'd rather talk to the windigo than Crystal, I didn't mean we should actually go do it."
Shinespark sighed. "There's no research levels this password will let us reach, and Chauncey said to use this password, so we're going to the one place we've been before and hoping he'll... know how to find us, or something."
"Meh," Valey insisted. "Meh meh meh. I wanna go back to the ship and take a nap."
"You were the one who suggested we go here now, Sister," Nyala reminded her with a tone of worry. "And now you want to go home?"
Valey closed her eyes. "Heh. Yeah, the Dream really is our home, isn't it...?" She sighed. "Bananas, I don't know what I want. I need to move! Maybe fight someone again. I need..."
The elevator dinged at the psychiatric ward, and the doors slid open. From there, Valey didn't even have to remember the way, her nose guiding her around a corner and down a concrete staircase as Shinespark ensured Nyala didn't trip. They reached the foal's room outside Puddles' containment chamber... and the door was already open.
"Yup," Valey muttered, leading the way. "Looks like he's already... Woah, huh? Ironflanks!?"
"Valey!" Maple jumped, having been seated in contemplation on the room's little bed, all alone.
"Maple? What are you doing down here?" Shinespark narrowed her eyes. "This is supposedly where the windigo is!" She glanced around. "And I'm impressed. This is interesting decor for a prison. But how come you're here?"
Maple folded her ears. "How come you're here?"
Valey narrowed her eyes. "Looking for Chauncey. He invited us to check out his labs, and we figured that was as good a place as any. Now how about you? I thought... we agreed we weren't getting into anything too deep, so everyone who went anywhere went as a team, with me, and everyone else stayed back at the ship."
"I'm sorry!" Maple squeaked, then wilted. "I just..." She sighed. "I was talking to Jamjars. She said something about how she had gone to see Puddles, alone, and had been fine, and the windigo had been upset she didn't bring more friends, so I thought alone might be a good way to deal with her and..." She stopped, sinking against the bed. "No. I'm sorry. I just... needed to contribute, and..." She clenched her teeth. "I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry. I should go back to the ship."
"Did something happen?" Valey asked, sensing waves of stress radiating off her friend.
Shinespark approached Maple's other side and sat down. "You sound like you're not okay."
Maple sniffed. "Do you really want to talk about it?"
Valey patted her on the back as Nyala looked around. "This is a weird place to come for solace," the armor murmured. "I don't like it. Something nearby feels... wrong."
"Hey. We don't need to talk." Valey gave Maple's shoulder an encouraging nuzzle, leaving her wing draped around her shoulders. "We just wanna be there if something happened. Screw Chauncey, we'll sit down here as long as you need and then go wherever."
"Did Sirena's cutie mark break?" Shinespark whispered.
"N-No." Maple wiped at an eye. "I-I just... I was helping Gerardo and Slipstream; they were making friends at the administration building and looking through records to get a better idea of the k-kind of history a place like Izvaldi has..."
Valey hugged her harder, figuring if it worked for Starlight, it would work for her. "Did Birdo offend you, or something?" she consoled, letting Maple rest her face against her coat. "I can totally trash him until he gets his manners back on straight, if you want."
Maple tearily shook her head.
"Did you learn something?" Nyala asked softly. "Something about this place?"
"I did," Maple whispered. "Why everything is so spread-out and uncrowded, why there are old buildings nobody needs, why there are so few people. We found census data from twenty years ago. Then, at least, the population..."
She hiccupped. "Less than half of newborns lived to be a year old. That doesn't count stillborns. There were other statistics too... I..."
Maple started shaking, and Valey and Shinespark both sat at her sides. "That's not something I wanted to know! I can't do anything about it! Even if it was today and not from when I was a filly, I wouldn't be able to do anything about that! We saw the total population numbers, too. That many... I... I couldn't do anything and I needed something to d-do and I came here but haven't gone in and a-and..."
"Bananas. That's rough." Valey rubbed her back.
"I t-told Gerardo and Slipstream I was going back to the ship," Maple choked. "They're still looking at why it happened. I don't w-w-want to know! I want to forget that could ever happen..."
Shinespark dropped a tear of sympathy. "Could have been me. I'm nineteen. Same time period. Good thing all of us are alive, right?"
Valey kept her eyes dry, allowing Maple's tears to make her coat wet for her. "We've gotta get you to talk with Amber," she muttered. "And Willow, and me, and bananas whoever else. I dunno how to get you over this foal thing, but it's messing you up even worse than me in Ironridge. Think a hug will do for now, though? My nose stings in this place. It's not really the best for feelings."
"I wish I could cry," Nyala said. "I'd cry with you."
Maple hissed a shuddering breath. "I don't know why I can't get over it! It makes so many things so hard for me, like being happy for White Chocolate... but at the same time, anyone who can get over that many foals has something wrong with them..."
"Does us being here help?" Valey asked, still holding her. At the very least, she knew what wouldn't help: mentioning a word about Crystal.
"A l-little. Why?"
"Because you look emotionally steamrolled." Valey patted her back and smiled. "I've already been around the wringer once today, and Sparky did want to see what the windigo was like. The two of us could go in there while you and Nyala wait and get, like, flattened in solidarity?"
Shinespark almost chuckled. "That's the worst idea I've ever heard. We shouldn't be going in there emotionally compromised, for any reason. I am curious to see what would happen, though. So I guess if you didn't want to leave immediately..."
Nyala tilted her head in thought. "If the windigo is stuck in a pony body, I wonder if they feel similar to how I do. I'm curious too."
"Don't ask that," Maple warned. "About... going in there, because it's a terrible idea and I will say yes. I feel like I need to do something..."
"Hey." Valey winked. "Terrible idea? Sure. Maybe you do need to do something. We're all leaning on each other already, right? Maybe it won't know what to do with this much trust and nice stuff."
"This is a terrible idea," Shinespark repeated. "And I'm forcing everyone out the moment it says something that would make it hard for us to leave on our own, or it tries too hard to hurt us. But I'm fine, Valey's frustrated but fine, and maybe you'll get to actually do something."