----
After the group of ponies and other creatures finally made it back to the hotel, everypony cheered for the return of the Mane Six and the Peace Family. They were severely worried that they wouldn’t make it back.
Everypony congratulated Spike and his group for having the plan in the first place. Twilight wanted to tell everypony what happened, but she decided to wait until the ponies were done cheering.
Eventually, the ponies did stop cheering, and that’s when Twilight walked up to speak. Twilight explained everything that happened while she was trapped in the laboratory. She explained Future Stephen’s backstory, his plan, and the versions of the Mane Six and the Peace Family from the future.
“Wait, they were planning to wipe ya’ guys from existence and then take your places?!”, Apple Bloom asked.
“I’m afraid so, Apple Bloom”, Twilight replied. “We escaped, but there is a chance they’ll capture us again, or worse”
Everypony looked at Twilight at her friends, concerned. Worried about what might happen if they aren’t careful.
“We can’t keep waiting!”, Twilight said as the tone of her voice went from worried to stern. “We can’t let that machine run any longer! We have to shut it down! It’s the only way to end this madness!”
Everypony around her agreed. Despite all the fun they’ve been having, the overall activity that was happening within the dome was paranormal.
“We need to defend ourselves at all costs! We can’t let them capture any of us! I don’t know what they are planning right now, but chances are, it involves us!”, Twilight explained.
The ponies around her understood quickly. They needed to protect not just the Mane Six, not just the Peace Family, but themselves as well.
“Now everypony, I suggest you get back to your rooms, and find objects to defend yourself with!”, Stephen announced, with everypony obeying him and walking upstairs.
----
That night, Applejack unpacked her lasso, preparing to use it in case of a break-in. But as she walked down the stairs, she saw Apple Bloom laying on the couch with her hooves all spread out, staring at the ceiling, thinking.
“Apple Bloom, what’s wrong?”, Applejack asked.
“What if Stephen’s backstory is somehow connected to me?”, Apple Bloom questioned.
“Huh?”, Applejack wondered. “What do ya’ mean?”
“Well, in Future Stephen’s backstory, he mentioned Family Pony, which was something I watched at the beginning of the vacation! He mentioned that the mayor watched it while the dome was being built! What if that somehow connects ta’ me? I saw the dome in my nightmare before I saw it in real life, and after I watched Family Pony!”, Apple Bloom explained with a somber tone.
“Hmm, what if the Particle Accelerator is giving off minor radiation poisoning, and it caused ya’ to foreshadow what has happened up to this point?”, Applejack asked. “Ah’ mean, if Future Stephen was able to remember the filly he wiped from existence just by inserting his blood into his accelerator, then radiation poisoning makes some sense”
“But why did this have ta’ happen to me? Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo also watched Family Pony, and they didn’t foreshadow anything!”, Apple Bloom pouted.
“Ah’m not sure!”, Applejack admitted, before Apple Bloom started whimpering.
“What if, Future Stephen is going to kidnap me next?! What if Ah’m his next target?! Applejack, Ah’m so scared!!”, Apple Bloom cried, as she broke down sobbing a puddle of tears.
Applejack’s heart shattered as she watched her little sister visibly bawl right in front of her. Of course, being the amazing big sister she is, Applejack ran up to Apple Bloom and hugged all her troubles away.
“Let it out, Sugarcube. Let it all out!”, Applejack told Apple Bloom with a comforting voice. “Let all your worries flow out of your body”
Apple Bloom’s uncontrollable sobbing seemed to never end. After two full hours, Apple Bloom still didn’t stop sobbing. Heck, Applejack started crying a little. She understood why her sister was upset, but she didn’t think the problem was this bad. At a level where Apple Bloom could cry for two hours straight with absolutely no pauses. And for Applejack, Apple Bloom’s crying didn’t get annoying. While Apple Bloom was sobbing hard, she wasn’t sobbing loudly.
Apple Bloom eventually stopped sobbing, but her eyes were still filled with tears. She looked up at Applejack, clearly worried about the future.
“Don’t worry, Apple Bloom! Ah’ will NOT allow Future Stephen OR his flip buddies dare to touch even the little bow on yer’ head! I promise!”, Applejack assured Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom’s frown turned into a smile, and she wiped the remaining tears out of her eyes and off her face. She was no longer worried, thanks to Applejack being there for her.
Afterwards, Applejack pushed her little sister onto the couch’s blanket, and rolled her up like a burrito. The blanket was wrapped into a cylinder, and Apple Bloom’s head was sticking out the top end. Applejack picked up Apple Bloom, and squeezed her with love and care.
“Ah’ love you, so much, Apple Bloom! You mean a whole lot to me! And Ah’ will never stop caring for you or your safety!”, Applejack assured Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom blushed. She admired the motherly love Applejack was giving her, and the blanket that she was wrapped in was so soft and cozy.
Applejack carried her little sister up to Applejack’s bedroom, and they slept together once again. They’ve already showered and brushed their teeth, so all they needed to do was to just fall asleep, which they did easily. Apple Bloom was glad she had her sister to protect her.
----
Little did Apple Bloom know, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo also had their own insecurities about the situation. Sweetie Belle was worried about not just her safety, but everypony’s safety as well. Scootaloo was worried about Rainbow Dash. She knew if Rainbow Dash disappeared, she wouldn’t have anypony to look up to anymore. She knew she would still have her parents and aunts, but to Scootaloo, losing Rainbow Dash forever would be equivalent to losing her sister forever.
Thankfully, like Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow comforted their respective sisters and reminded them that everything was going to be okay.
Heck, every filly in the hotel slept with their older siblings, parents, ect. With everypony’s safety at high risk, they couldn’t protect themselves enough.
Meanwhile, in the Peace Family’s room, which was at the top of the building, Stephen was sitting on his bed while Flare walked up behind him.
“Stephen?”, Flare asked. “I think we need to send everypony home, so just us, and the Mane Six can deal with Future Stephen’s plan. I mean, we can always come back”
“We, can’t leave yet”, Stephen sighed. “I think Future Stephen stole important parts from the train. Parts we can’t risk replacing right now. And the tunnels have multiple exits, so we can risk anybody getting lost! Our only option is to lay low until we have our opportunity to shut the accelerator down!”
Flare’s face drooped. She wanted to protect everypony so badly, but their best solution wasn’t open at the moment.
“Hey, we’ll talk about this more tomorrow”, Stephen explained. “For tonight, do you wanna sleep with me? You know, since everypony is sleeping with their allies as well?
Flare agreed, and snuggled into Stephen’s bed. They slept close together that night. Neither the Mane Six nor the Peace Family knew how to successfully shut the particle accelerator off for good. But they needed to figure something out soon, because if they didn’t, they would toast.
----
Meanwhile, back in the laboratory, Future Stephen himself was laying in his ragged and somewhat torn-up hammock. He had a look of contempt in his eyes. Contempt for those who fail to understand his motives. He took a good look at his hooves, watching them slowly fade for a second before fading back.
“I don’t have much time left”, he murmured to himself.
He quickly looked at the progress of the security system, which was about a quarter done. But even with the quick process, he didn’t like waiting. Heck, he didn’t like sleeping in the laboratory at all. He knew if he could execute his plan, he and his friends could finally go back to living the lives they lived in their original timeline. No more isolation, no more imprisonment, no more living underneath a city of ponies who treated them horribly in their original timeline, and no more waiting.
“It will be over soon”, he kept telling himself, to no success at making him feel better.
He was quite worried, actually. He knew if he didn’t succeed with his plan, not only
would he and his friends fade from existence, but the citizens of the City of Kransitogo
would get away with literally everything they’ve done in their original timeline.
Oddly, a small part of Future Stephen thought the citizens being isolated for about a decade should’ve been punishment enough. But he kept reminding himself that they’ve been isolated in paradise. And even if the citizens hated the dome, they’d still be free if he canceled his plan.
He thought about what he’s gone through the past ten years. The amount of hiding and isolating he’s been doing. All he wanted was for things to go back to normal. He wanted to get rid of the city and just pretend it never existed in the first place.
He saw the events of The Ending of the End, The Last Problem, and Generation Five from the future, thanks to his time machine, and he knew they weren’t going to happen unless he successfully executed his plan.
He got up from his hammock and walked down to the machine. He took a good long look at it, watching it struggling to function. The exhaust pipes were spewing out a dark black smog, the gauges were shuttering and wheezing, the bolts were rusting by the minute, and the electric charge that was in the center of the machine was dying down a little. Future Stephen sighed hard.
“I only need one more part for the accelerator. But with the high amount of caution the ponies above are taking, the task is going to be, well, difficult”, Stephen told himself.
It was only a matter of time before the ponies escaped the dome, and before the accelerator stopped functioning. The thing was old, and no matter how many parts were added, they wouldn’t fix the machine unless Future Stephen had the part he needed.
After he walked back up to the bridge, he saw his friends struggling to sleep. He felt really bad as he saw Future Twilight tossing and turning, with her blanket falling off her hammock. That’s when he lifted the blanket back onto Future Twilight and tucked her in, helping her sleep better. Hey, Future Stephen may be evil, but even evil can have a strong connection with its friends and allies.
----
Unlike her friends, the actual Twilight wasn’t sleeping with anypony for extra comfort or safety. Heck, she wasn’t even sleeping at all at the moment. Instead, she was looking at a map of the train tunnels. She had overheard Stephen and Flare when they mentioned the maze of tunnels the train track was connected to.
The map was quite detailed, much to Twilight’s delight, as the extra detail made it easier to navigate. But even then, the paths were too complex in terms of direction. They were all intertwined with each other, and there were also walking paths that connected specific tunnels with each other.
She tried to memorize the paths, and eventually did so.