Chapter 6
“Why can’t I see her!?” he yelled, his voice breaking on the last word. His anger was reaching a boiling point, but Lunar stood completely still, taking his anger as if it was an injection. His eyes showed the pain he felt, but it also showed the experience he held. All the ponies he had seen die right in front of him. He knew he had almost no chance to save her, but he was going to give it his all.
“I don’t want you infected as well.” he said calmly, placing a hoof on Whooves’ shoulder. “As far as we know, the others could be infected as well, but they aren’t showing any signs. You just have to be brave, and trust me.” He turned and walked down the hall, back towards the lab. Whooves let out a yell of frustration, then turned back to the window.
It was almost more than he could take. Behind a veil of plastic, slightly foggy with her fevered breathing, lay Twilight. Her once warm, glowing fur was now a pale shadow of what it once was. Her eyes were closed, but she was still awake. She didn’t have the strength to open them. She shivered, her fever rising even as he stood there watching. He couldn’t take it, seeing her like that. He should have been there, he should have stopped them from going. They might have been able to catch this thing before it struck her down.
He softly tapped on the glass, once, twice, three times. He waited for a reaction. With a slight stirring, one eyelid fluttered open. The eye was glassy and bloodshot, but it still lit up when she saw him. He waved, giving his best hope inspiring smile. The corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly, but then her eye closed again, and he was lost from sight. her breathing slowed, and he knew sleep had found her. He stomped his hoof and turned around, trying to remember where he had come from. The hospital was a labyrinth of turns and corners. And with a look down the hallway, he knew he was lost.
Sighing, he walked towards the door that Lunar had disappeared through. When he reached it, he saw no handle. He pressed his hoof against the wall, and the panel flipped over. He was seriously starting to get annoyed by those things. The scanner read his hoof imprint, and the door opened with a loud hiss. He stepped inside, and was immediately floored by what he saw.
It looked like the contents of the entire ship's computer had been dumped into one room. Row upon row of screens and computers. Schematics and diagrams across the walls. Machines that he had no idea the purpose of, blinking and whirling away. Tables covered in test tubes and burners. Some were even working, creating tiny columns of smoke. Lunar was standing at the far end of the room, smiling at him as he took in the sight.
“Pretty nice isn’t it?” he said, smirking. “My baby. I designed it after we constructed the rest of the base. Everything we need for any situation.” The smile dropped from his face. “At least, that’s what I thought.”
“You mean, even with all of this, you still couldn’t find out what was causing the disease?” Whooves asked, not able to believe it. Lunar shook his head, looking at the floor.
“I was never able to find the problem. But this virus is different. it is still the same strand of virus that infected us the last time, but it is slower. Taking a longer time to kill. And that is giving me hope. I will find it this time. I promise.” His eyes were filled with such hope that Whooves had no choice but to trust him. Lunar turned back to the screen he was looking at, on which spiraled strands of DNA. It was a few moments until Whooves spoke.
“Um..How do I get back to the stairs.” He could tell Lunar was smiling without even seeing it.
“Two lefts, a right, then another left. They should be right there.” Whooves nodded.
“Alright. See you later.” He started to turn, but so did Lunar.
“Wait! Come over here please.” he said softly. Whooves trotted over, standing a few feet away from him.
“I know you want to see her. And I know how you feel about her.” Lunar started.
“I don’t have any feelings--” But Lunar cut him off with a smirk.
“Don’t think I am dumb. I had to help repopulate a planet, I know the look in your eye, when you see her, all to well. The best thing I can do for her, is to be left alone. And the best thing you can do for her, is to leave her alone. Understand?” Whooves nodded, starting to turn. But once again, he turned back. He closed the few feet between Lunar and him in two easy strides.
“I want you to do whatever you can to save her. She means more to me than this planet does, and I don’t want to lose her. Do you understand?” he asked, voice as hard as the steel underhoof. Lunar didn’t flinch, not in the slightest. He just nodded.
“I will do everything in my power, and maybe, if I am lucky, something outside my power. But I will not stop fighting until either we all die from this thing, or I save you all. I swear on all those who have died before us. I will find a way.” Whooves nodded one more time, then turned and left the room.
*****
His door slid open, the soft whirring sound breaking the unworldly silence. He turned on the lights, looking around at the room that Moon Fire had left behind. He unbuttoned the tunic, letting it slide off his fore-legs and onto the floor with a clink of metal. His hooves carried his to the bed, almost like they had a mind of their own. He fell onto the bed, just realizing how tired he was.
He shouldn’t be here. He should be with Twilight. Or with Lunar. He should be helping, not laying in his room. But what could he do? He didn’t know anything about microbiology. He let out an exasperated sigh as he realized that Lunar was the only one who would be able to do anything. It just wasn’t right.
He felt his eyes closing, even though he didn’t want them to. He tried to make up a plan for the next few days. Tried to think of what he would do if she died, but his foggy mind wouldn’t allow it, and before he knew it, he was gone.
*****
His eyes opened, looking up at the ceiling of his room. His mind took it’s time remembering the events of the past day, but when it did, he jumped out of bed. As fast as possible, he put his tunic back on and raced out the door. It was just one night, he told himself, it couldn’t have gotten that bad in one night.
A single sun was rising in the east, and puffy white clouds floated in the sky. Looking around, he saw none of the others, and he guessed that they were still asleep. His hooves pounded against the ground, and he pushed through the plants. He reached the hospital dome, pressing his hoof against the scanner and rushing inside. The grey walls passed in a blur as he ran down the stairs. Doors flew by, but he didn’t look at them, didn’t even think about them. There was only one door that mattered.
At last, he reached it. The quarantine room. The window, curtains drawn to, and the door, emblazoned with both the bio-hazard and radiation warning symbols, were the only thing blocking him from her. Why were the curtains pulled to? He looked up and down the hall, but he didn’t see Lunar anywhere. He galloped down the hall, stopping at the door to the lab. He opened it, but Lunar was not inside.
He galloped back to her door. He looked up and down that hall again, but nopony came into view. He looked at the scanner, it’s screen pulsing a soft green, it’s intricate grid glowing softly at him. He knew he shouldn’t, knew it would risk them all, but he didn’t care. Taking a deep breath, he pressed his hoof on the screen.
He watched the line slowly move up his hoof, the laser reading each and every groove that was carved into it. It scanned twice, both up and down, and he watched it the whole time. He knew he would have access, why shouldn’t he? He was the commander. The green light died, and a small beep rang out into the silence. A loud hissing sound followed as the airlock on the door was broken. It opened a fraction of an inch, and Whooves knew there was no turning back.
He slid his hoof into the opening, prying it open even further. Cold, manufactured air hit his face, cooling the fur and making his eyes water. The door opened completely, and he stepped inside for the first time. He didn’t want to look, but he needed to. He needed to see her, see if she was alright.
The veil of plastic was gone. In fact, everything but a heart monitor and the bed was gone. Twilight sat up, which was an improvement on yesterday. Her fur was even paler than before, and he had large bags under her eyes, but she still smiled when she saw him. With the smallest movement, she waved him over. He walked over, standing as close as possible as he could get. He looked her up and down before he spoke.
“I’m so sorry this had to happen to you.” he said. “I should have been there to stop you guys.” But Twilight shook her head.
“Don’t blame yourself.” she said, her voice raspy and dry. It sounded like a leaf in summer, ready to break at any moment. “It would have happened to one of us eventually. It just hit me first.”
“Lunar is doing everything for you. You just have to hang on.” He was holding onto something. Something he knew he should say, but wasn’t sure it was a good idea. He looked up, seeing the look in her eyes, and he knew he had to say it.
“Twilight. Twilight, I love you.” He looked away, afraid of what she would say next. But he felt a hoof on his cheek, and he turned back to her. He placed his hoof over hers, holding against his cheek. Her eyes were large, and bright, but also foggy with tears. She had a smile on her face, but a weak one at that.
“I know you do” she said, voice breaking on the last word. It sounded like every word caused her pain. The heart rate machine started to slow, but Whooves paid no attention to it. “I have known for a while. And..and I....I.......love...........” The light left her eyes, and her hoof fell limply to the side of the bed. Whooves stared down in horror.
“No....No Celestia, no!!” he yelled, tears falling down his face. “Please, Twilight! Come back, Please. Don’t leave me...”
*****
Lunar had been working ever since Whooves had left him, and when he saw himself in the reflection, it showed. Him bright blue mane was a rat’s nest, even more than his usual untidy style. Large bas were under his eyes, and the eyes themselves were wide and tired. His limp, caused by an accident back on Equestria, was getting worse due to not resting his left for hours. But he couldn’t rest. He had rested last time, and look what happened.
Pulling himself away from his reflection, he turned back to his desk. An open computer sat waiting for him to make a command. He pushed the log button, sitting back and looking at the white screen as it popped up. He sighed, looking around the room. Beakers and tubes were scattered. machines stood open, waiting for their next operation. It had been a long night, and it showed.
He turned back to the screen. “Science officer’s journal, day.....I really have no idea anymore. We have had another outbreak of the virus, and with such a small population, that is the one thing that I was afraid of. But there is hope. The virus has mutated, and it doesn’t kill as fast as it did. But that doesn’t mean that we are safe. It will still kill, and we have no idea when.”
“I am trying to isolate the virus, keep it away from other cells so that I can find a way to kill it, but it seemes to rely on the Equine cells more than anything else. It will die if I separate it. Instantly die, like I cut its throat. Until I can find a way to keep it alive, but isolated, this will go no further.”
“The virus doesn’t act precisely like other viruses. Yes, it takes over Equine cells and makes them produce the virus instead of nutrition, but there is one difference. Instead of killing the host cell, like most viruses do, it keeps it alive, just barely, to make is keep producing cells indefinitely. It seems like the only way to kill the virus would be to kill the cells. And in so, killing the host Equine. Well, kill the host before the virus does. I can’t do that. But if I can’t find any way, I might have to aid the patient towards the inevitable end.” He pressed the button, and the journal stopped recording. He stood up, looking around the room. He decided something. He had to tell Whooves what might become the only option with Twilight.
*****
He sat bolt upright, a scream escaping his lips. He looked around, eyes wide. His room. He was in his room. Taking a deep breath, he realized what had happened.
“A dream...” he said, voice shaking. “It was just a dream.” He swallowed, falling back onto the bed, limp. He was shaking all over, and he could feel sweat dripping down his neck. He stared up at the black ceiling. He hadn’t turned the lights off. He guessed they turned off by themselves.
That had been...wrong. He couldn’t believe that his subconscious would make his see that. It had been so real. The feeling of her hoof against his skin. Her fevered breathing and shaking voice. The tears on her lashes as she took her last breath. It had been too much. But it did bring something up, a question he wasn’t sure he should ask. Would she love him back? Was all this just a waste of time?
He was pulled from his thoughts be a knock at his door. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and answered it. Lunar was standing on the other side, looking slightly nervous. His heart and stomach dropped out of his body, and a cold flush ran down his entire length. Lunar was tapping his hoof, a habit that Whooves had noticed while they were touring the colony. He also carried his saddlebags with him.
“Is she...is she...” Whooves couldn’t complete his sentence. Lunar shook his head.
“No, no. Her condition is the same. But that is what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Don’t you think it could wait until morning?” Whooves asked. He could only guess what time it was, and it certainly didn’t feel like morning. Lunar shook his head again.
“I would prefer not to wait. Could I come in?” Whooves nodded, stepping aside and letting him through. Lunar stopped a few feet in, looking around.
“Wow...the last time I was in here, was a hundred years ago. But yet, it’s still the same.” He looked around again, lost in memories, but he shook his head, turning to look at Whooves. “She has the virus, that much we know. But the virus has changed, and for that I am grateful. If it hadn’t, she would be beyond help by now. But that is also a problem. If it has changed into something worse. Something unthinkable...” His voice trailed off, his eyes filled with pain. He blinked, looking back up to Whooves. “Then I feel that we only have one choice.”
“And what would that be?” Whooves asked, not liking where this was going. Lunar reached into his pack and produced a vial. he handed it to hooves, how held it as delicately as possible. He couldn’t understand any of the technical gibberish, but he did understand two words.
Lethal substance.
“You want to....euthanize her?” Whooves said, disgusted. Lunar nodded slowly. Whooves opened his mouth, but Lunar held up a hoof.
“This is a last resort. It the virus doesn’t kill her, but instead keeps her alive in terrible agony, this will be the best way out. And I won’t leave the decision up to you, or anypony else. I mustn't do harm, and watching a pony live like that, is harm in my book.” he reached over and took back the vial, dropping it into his bag.
“So what is it you intend to do?” Whooves asked him, not liking the turn he had taken.
“I intend to do exactly what I told you this afternoon. I will work until I drop from exhaustion. I will do my bucking best to end this here. But if I can’t do it by saving her life, then i will end this, and at least save her soul.” He walked towards the door, pressing his hoof against the screen.
“You don’t have to kill yourself over this.” Whooves told him. Lunar turned around, their eyes meeting. And in the brief moment, Whooves saw all the fear, all the pain, and all the sorrow he had felt the last time this had happened. He had watched ponies die, right in front of him, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Lunar broke his gaze away, turning back to the door.
“Yes, yes I do. I owe them. And I owe her.” He opened the door and left Whooves alone. When he said ‘her’, he had put feeling into the word. He couldn’t help but think that Lunar hadn’t been talking about Twilight.
*****
“Are we going to have to do this everyday?” Rainbow asked, talking around the thermometer in her mouth. She winced as Lunar stuck a needle in her foreleg, drawing out some blood. A nauseous feeling spread through her stomach at the sight of her own blood, bright red against her cyan fur, but she kept her breakfast down, through just barely. Lunar pulled the needle out, placing a gauze and wrapping a band around her leg. Then he pulled the thermometer out of her mouth.
“You will do this every hour if I tell you to.” he said, somewhat brashly, looking down at the thermometer. “You have no fever, but I will have to run blood work on this. Could you tell Applejack to come in please?” Rainbow hovered over to the open door, calling Applejack’s name. She walked in and sat down on the chair, holding out her foreleg.
He had decided to test each and every one of them, even himself, to see if they had been infected. He also wanted a sample of healthy blood to see if he could isolate the virus in a small batch of blood. He placed a new thermometer on her tongue, then unwrapped a new syringe. Her eyes twitched slightly as the needle broke her skin, but she stayed strong. She was the last one to be tested.
Lunar pulled the blood out, then did the same with the syringe. The tiny ruby of blood slowly rose up from the puncture, then broke and seeped into her fur. But before it could spread, Lunar placed a cotton ball and a band around it.
“I should have the results be tomorrow morning, if not sooner.” Lunar said, taking the thermometer out of her mouth. “So can you tell the others to meet back here around the same time tomorrow morning?” She nodded, turning and walking back out of his office. Lunar sighed and shook his head, wondering what the results would show. Were they all infected? Was he infected as well? He put the vials in a foam lined case, and placed it in his bags. He turned and walked out, headed back to the lab.
It was going to be a long night.
*****
Red. It was all red. Red and black. Black and red, flowing together and forming a single wall. A wall, radiating heat at her. Heat and pain. Pain and heat, blending together to form her worst nightmares. She writhed and squirmed under its glare, but she couldn’t get away. A wail, high pitched and frightening, was coming at her from all sides. She finally realized, it was her own scream, inside of herself. A scream that couldn’t escape her clenched jaw. She wanted it to end, one way or another. she could feel it, wave after wave, spreading through her form, until it was in every corner of her body.
Suddenly, it stopped, and she felt a wave of cool seeping into her scalded muscles. It flowed over her, but not in the same way as the pain. It flowed like water, not fire. It soothed and caressed. She could feel her muscles relax, and her body sink into the bed. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, and cautiously, one eye fluttered open.
The room was exactly the same as it had been the last time. The only difference was that the lights were off. The heart rate monitor and other machines cast a green and blue hue over the room. She sighed again, flipping over in the bed, looking at the blank wall. She had no idea what that had been, but she knew she was sick. And it wasn’t a normal sick. Something was wrong with her. She just didn’t know what. Her eyes started to close, even though she was willing them to stay open. They fell shut, and within moments, sleep had claimed her again.