//------------------------------// // What do we do now? // Story: Our Legacy, Their Story. // by MerlosTheMad //------------------------------// Humans were in a golden age. Everyone enjoyed the freedoms of choice and the pursuit of happiness. Not only that but it was a perpetual golden age. Anyone could under take whatever education they wished, live any life they wished. Across the surface of their lunar paradise were terraformed havens and bastions each carefully maintained to produce the desired weather and entice the sincerest of emotions. The domes and structures covered their home of Elysium in it's entirety. Advanced hover cars and public transports zoomed their occupants across the surface and through parts of the world's under belly. All of them busy with their daily rituals. Some rushed to jobs from homes and others went to enjoy themselves at the ever ongoing metropolis' celebrations. Life though for humanity was for better or for worse at it's core, as it has always been. There were helpful people, there were rude jerks that hung around public outlets and there were overly cheerful law enforcement officials distributing the occasional ticket in the name of public safety. Everyone still had to make a living and while not everyone pursued the one they wished, they could enjoy their free time mostly unmolested. The only difference now was that the life which their living supported could in theory never end, if they so wished it. Over the course of humanity's journey from their home of origin they had continued to push the envelope of science, out of necessity. Technology had it's limits, as did people. But death was no longer one of them. Difficult circumstances, dangerous cosmic environments and a struggling population of refugees had demanded nothing less. The journey had been a dark one, but once the answer to their prayers had been discovered things had taken a turn for the better for all of mankind, finally. It had many names. Generally called the warp manifold, known in history as Carson's High Fidelity Matter Transporter, religiously praised as the gateway to Heaven, or to some simply... hope. With the power to traverse the cosmos in a matter of minutes by bending localized space to meet a far away place, humanity could seek it's destiny unmolested by even the rigors of the universe. Choosing where and when to go their civilization now thrived. Earth was but a distant historical footnote. Still, with the universe so close to humanity's finger tips, life was not without it's dangers. The trio of Equestrians looked around the brightly lit room not sure what to say or think or even do. Inside the newly opened area lay row after row of great glass cylinders. The containers went three high to the ceiling and each was nearly three times the height of your average pony such as Twilight. Each capsule also contained a generous amount of a blueish liquid filling it to the brim. As well as an equine form. They all held a little Pony within. The three misplaced ponyvillians stayed standing next to the doorway unmoving. After a minute had passed before anypony moved the door shut quietly behind them. The first to make any movement was Octavia, who turned Apple Bloom suddenly away from the sight. It wasn't quite at all what she had been expecting. Apple Bloom squawked at the startling loss of control of her head in the mare's hooves and tried to fend her off. Twilight kept looking at the room's contents, and walked further into the stifling interior. This can't be right, what is this? Who are these ponies? What's wro- Twilight's thoughts continued as she surveyed what laid before her. Surely the others should be here, have I gotten the room number wrong? What even are these. Or is it who are they? This doesn't seem like something that should be possible, what could explain these containers and other apparatus and what are they for? She shook her head only just realizing that Octavia was following and talking to her, and that she herself had begun walking down the corridor. Her questions echoed her own thoughts it seemed. "-Twilight! What is all this? I don't understand." Octavia was trying to hold a foreleg over a drug along Apple Bloom's eyes, the filly was likewise trying to get the older mare to loose her of the oppressive grip, insisting she was fine. "Nrg, Tavi I'm a big girl and I ain't scared lemme go!" With a pop she escaped the cellist's grasp, who then merely looked worriedly down at her young friend. Twilight had turned to gaze back at a cylinder in front of them locking her solitary eye with it. She sat down on her haunches and tried to get a grasp of what they had found. Inside the containers were what she supposed were... Equine fetuses, not entirely developed. In some of the containers they almost looked Apple Bloom's age though, with fur and developed features. She grimaced and fought down some wooziness. "Twi'? Who are they?" The filly plodded over to sit beside the librarian pony and gave the capsule which Twilight was staring at an uneasy glance. "Why do they look so... so... Horse apples I don't even know. What's going on Twi' I thought the others were here, this can't be them. Can it?" The filly looked back to Twilight then the cylinder again, a look of shock patterning her face. Octavia had stepped away, she looked around the room then back at Twilight, who was in a trance it seemed. She decided to search a little and make sure it was safe at least. In truth Octavia just didn't want to think about what was all around her right that instant. The room was expansive it seemed but entirely filled with the tube like things completely taking up the space except for the walkway in the middle. There could easily be a hundred of these containers or more. The back wall was several hundred strides away from the door they had entered through. She paced down the corridor until she came halfway to the end. Another door led elsewhere at the end of the path she could see, but otherwise the room appeared empty. She peaked woefully at the disturbing sights from the corners of her eyes. She stopped and gasped, she felt the strange appendages on her back twitching. She sat down hard on the ground hurriedly and looked at her back. Strings be damned! The eerie triple jointed arms had loosed themselves from their unseen home in her back. What's the deal with these things! She looked wide eyed back at her two companions to see if they'd noticed her. They had not. "Okay Octavia, just focus. Calm down and breath.' There was a quiet click that made her jump from her newly begun trance. Looking backwards over her shoulder she reinspected her flank. "Oh, well... That was easier than I thought it would be." Her new invasive limbs had retreated. She sighed relief and started walking again. They must react to my emotions. Celestia send I never run into my old conductor... As she walked back she accidentally looked up at the capsules and shuddered again, she got a reign on her emotions though to prevent another visitation of her unwanted limbs. Just what are these humans up to, and how did they... No, I don't want to think about it. We should just move on from this place. Octavia wondered though, could she abandon children? Is that really what these even were? Some of them looked like young fillies, but others looked... She caught snippets of Apple Bloom talking to Twilight which thankfully distracted her from her thoughts. "Twilight snap outta it, come on who are these ponies?" Apple Bloom spoke matter of factually to the lavender unicorn and poked her in the metal plate that made up her chest with a single bleached olive colored hoof. The startled unicorn looked down at the filly just realizing she was standing there in front of her. "I'm sorry, what Apple Bloom? I was miles away..." She ran a hoof through her mane's forelock brushing it back a little. The filly sat down hard and slouched somewhat giving Twilight yet another worried look with her head canted to the side. Octavia clopped closer from their side. "We're alone in here Twilight, the room ends in another door. More importantly though what should we do now. I'm not sure about you but I expected cages or someone to rescue," Octavia gestured around to the wall of glass. "not this." Her voice may have sounded a little more sullen than she'd meant it to, Octavia could feel herself getting tired and frustrated. Twilight followed the gesture wearily. "I'm sorry you two, I can't get my head around it. I thought for sure... What I read on that compact library device had clearly stated that twenty three of us had been taken. It didn't say where though, now that I think about it.... But I learned from another search that specimen were kept in this gene-ward place. In this block." Twilight paused briefly to hold a hoof up in thought. She sighed after a moment relenting to cluelessness. "I don't understand any of this though." Octavia sat back and folded her fore hooves over each other. Looking back the way they'd come in she spoke again. "From the sound of it they could be anywhere then. I'm not sure what or who these are but I get the feeling they aren't... Well you know." She sighed unable, or maybe unwilling to find the words. "Native Equestrians? I guess... but I don't understand why though." Twilight studied the floor still in thought. Apple Bloom was tapping on one of the glass walls. Octavia nodded to the statement and spared the filly a content look. "Should we check the other rooms then perhaps? There were quite the number of them, maybe you just remembered something wrong and they're still here, somewhere. Right Twilight?" Apple Bloom turned around and piped up. "Yah! They could still be here this place is huge after all Twi'! Buck up we ain't outta options ye-" The filly paused long enough to yawn loudly. "Yet! Ehheh." Twilight smirked at the two's chipper optimistic change of tone. "We mustn't despair Twilight, staying here with these..." Octavia yawned in response to Apple Bloom. She pardoned herself and muttered about the action being contagious from the filly. "-disturbing tubes isn't helping us any in the least." Twilight nodded but paused before speaking. She cocked an eyebrow at her companions. "Octavia, Apple Bloom, how long have you both been awake?" The two earth ponies looked at each other then back at Twilight. The farm filly answered first. "We'd been talkin' for a while when we were discover'd Twilight. But, I mean we can't have been awake more than ten hours or so, let's look around some." Octavia smiled as she spoke then rested a hoof on her shoulder realizing what Twilight was getting at. She spoke over to the other mare and nodded. "Actually, I think we should find a place to rest a while. We don't want to push ourselves especially with Apple Bloom in our care." The filly gave her an incredulous look. Twilight grinned and slowly got up. That settled that then. "That's probably a good idea Octavia, let's see if we can find a better spot though at the very least." She tried to avoid looking again at any of the surroundings. Behind her Apple Bloom batted away the other earth pony's hoof from her. She muttered irritably while following after their group's leader. "Ah ain't no foal Octavia I know when I'm fine or not fine..." Twilight barely heard the cellist chide back. "I'm only trying to help and look out for you." The door opened again for Twilight and she reentered the hall with the two of them slightly behind her. The corridor's strange yellow glow was still there and still just as unwelcoming. "So which direction should we take?" Octavia looked up and down the foreign hallway. Luckily Twilight had spotted something earlier, but it had been just a curiosity at the time. "There was a lounge back in this direction, if that means what I think it would at say, Ponyville Hospital it should have a couch or something. Maybe even food." The two ponies commented the prospect, even Octavia with a hoity- "Oh that sounds splendid." Twilight was glad they seemed to have put their discovery from that room out of mind, for the group's unicorn she couldn't help but dwell on their now unfortunate prospects or what they were to even do next. Tossing and turning. That kinda seemed like all her life was these days... No, in fact it was far worse. Her friends were gone, her joy had left her and with them both her life was therefore lost altogether. To the pegasus mare it seemed as though she were trapped under a cavalcade of oppressive feelings and circumstances. Unable to find sleep she simply remained laying as she was, hooves tucked under her head. She'd been trying to end the day for what would soon be two hours. It instead felt to her as it had every night before this one for far too long. It instead felt as though an eternity rather than two hours had passed since she lay down, as it always did. She focused her thoughts on rest and put out of her head where her friends could be or how they had been taken away from her. "This isn't working..." She pushed herself off the bedding and looked around the confines of her prison. It may as well be a prison. She thought somberly. I'm helpless and trapped. I'm unable to help them. I don't even know where they are. Rainbow Dash lazily slid off the side of the strange bed, her thoughts weighing her energy down. She walked to the window and stopped to stare up at the starry sky for the hundredth time since they had been taken from her. Since they had all been taken from her. "I'm a mare of action darn it...!" She yelled to no one. "Looking up longingly at stars isn't what I'm good for. Moping about doing nothing isn't my style..." Her head drooped low enough to touch the floor and her legs sagged where she stood. The rainbow mane that was so suited to flowing and whipping behind her in the wind instead swept forward over her face. All the regret had made her mind a mess of unease. Sleep would be impossible tonight she decided. Rainbow leaned back and sat on her floor, then tilted her head up slowly to watch the stars. For the rest of the night she watched them all as they shined dimly in the sky. She wished with all her heart, that she would find them, or they would find her. She wished to see them again. Morning began to creep over the horizon before she stopped. She paced back and forth across the floor, enjoying the lack of noise. She'd come to hate the racket her molested hooves made on other different and solid surfaces. The carpet itself was rather thick and a deep clean blue. It was the first truly comfortable bit of interior decorating or furniture she had come across on this place. She wondered to herself if there was any beauty to be had on this moon world... Even the bed from the laboratory had been unsettling. Twilight stopped her pacing to hold a cup briefly, then took another drink of water before starting her rounds again. The soft surface was almost therapeutic for her. The ice cold liquid tasted sweet as well and she felt it helped calm her nerves. She still wasn't positive on just what she had to consume or how much now. She had not yet discovered a limit for her appetite or thirst. Again she resumed her planning, they'd come to a cross roads the unicorn mare had realized. The three of them were in unknown dangerous territory, with no way of knowing when or where the humans could show up. Despite the abandoned appearance of the place they had managed to get to, for which she was grateful. The ever present why haunted her. Furthermore looking further into this structure could take weeks. She wasn't sure of it's size but if the endless hallways that seemed to be the standard for every single place she found in this bizarre world were any indication... Apple Bloom... Celestia knows she could never forgive herself if anything happened to the little filly crusader. The painful thought that if she was here her two friends could also be was an ever nagging reminder of just how rotten this misadventure was. Twilight continued to pace endlessly upon the room's cushioned floor. She glanced at the 'digital' clock which lay on the counter top of the kitchenette. This one was a great deal bigger than the one in lab. What she couldn't figure out, was that it had a great many buttons as well. What were those for? She had wondered right away. Everything the humans had made seemed to be covered in buttons, buttons and more buttons. She thought if she never saw another button ever again she could live out the rest of her days in peace... Amongst other things that is... She re observed the machine briefly and it's panel. A few of the buttons were even stranger than the others. They had things like popcorn and meat on them. If the device made food that was impressive indeed, but after it roared alight once and woke her two companions earlier she had decided not to experiment with it again. At the moment the device read the time as 19:41. Twilight couldn't be sure, but if she had escaped the lab late at night.... It must have been close to the human's 22:00... Then it could possibly be the second day of her sojourn to the gene ward, depending on how long she'd been sleeping in those tiny metal tunnels. After getting in the fight with that first machine she'd wondered once or twice if her horn would ever recover from that overloaded shield. She wanted to test her magic, but decided to wait until later. More rest for her tired magical periphery couldn't hurt. She ceased her staring at the dim lighted clock which had transformed from a glance and looked at her two pony companions. Smiling she couldn't help but be eternally thankful she'd found them when she had. Octavia snored loudly from where she lay on the big cushy human furniture, a package of crackers they had found in the cupboards spilled slightly over the cushion in front of her. Laid over her was a small blanket that had adorned the back of the couch when they'd entered the room. Also under the blanket and cradled against the back of the sofa, resting her head on the cellist's forelegs was... Nopony? "Apple Bloom?" The filly was gone. "Yes Twi'?" The unicorn nearly jumped out of her own fur coat. Breathing a couple heavy breathes she calmed down and faced her night time assailant. "Oh, never mind it was nothing. Sorry if I woke you up, I was just thinking out loud my little pony." Twilight laid on the carpet and tucked her legs in under herself now considering some rest of her own. One of them should stay awake but the room did seem secure. After a moment she added to her intended soothing words. "Can't sleep?" Apple Bloom looked aside from the unicorn, her expressions stayed flat. She was considering what to respond with. "Was just wondering is all Twilight. About home, what everyone else must be doin'." The librarian began to reassure her but was cut off. "What happens if we're stuck here Twi', how are we even going to get home?" "We will Apple Bloom, if I have to make a spell so strong it cracks reality then I will, and we will get home. But whatever we have to do, we're getting home." She pulled the filly in close for a hug, but she didn't return it. Instead she ran a hoof over one of Twilight's metal forelegs. "Did-... Does it hurt Twilight? What they done?" Apple Bloom looked up at her older friend regretfully. She reached up and traced along the side of the glass and metal covering part of the older mare's face. "I hate them..." Even with all her lessons of tolerance and love Twilight was hard pressed to find the right words. "No Apple Bloom, it doesn't hurt. For that I'm grateful as well. We shouldn't dwell on our past though, nor should we harbor... hate. What's done is done. We should look to brighter days, and to do that," She sighed on the inside, she couldn't blame the filly for feeling this way. "we have to keep a calm peace of mind, and never let hardships make us bitter. Even towards those who wrong us. In the end kindness and understanding will always be stronger." What else could somepony say to hate? Twilight asked herself even as she spoke, did she even want to discourage the filly's emotions towards the humans....Did she herself hate them? Twilight caught the filly's young hoof and held it with her own eliciting a squeeze. She smiled in hopes to reassure her and seed sincerity into her words... Do I hate them even knowing they aren't all... bad? "Come on, let's go join Octavia," As though to emphasize her name the cellist snorted a response mid snore. "we need to keep our strength up to find the others quickly after all my little pony." "Yah... okay Twi'. You're right I s'pose." She bent to nuzzle the girl's mane lightly, then led Apple Bloom over to their friend. The two of them settled in on the opposite end of the sofa from the musician, Apple Bloom nestled between Twilight and the back. Soon the filly sighed and was fast asleep once again. Twilight was awake a while yet, features calm in the dimly lit human room. Slowly she too drifted asleep. ATCHOO She sneezed for what seemed like the dozenth time in the last ten minutes and rubbed fiercely at her muzzle with a hoof to rid herself of the itchy feeling. "Would you please try and stop that, you could give us away to the wrong set of ears sneezing that loud." A chestnut stallion chastised her, peaking over his shoulder to look. "I'm sorry! It's dusty in here.... and it makes my nose itchy." She wrinkled her face trying to rid herself of the feeling. Sitting on her rump in the corner she'd hoped to avoid some of the stray particles floating in the old store room's air. But alas everywhere in the space was permeated with the invasive dust which plagued the poor light grey mare. "It's not as though I'm not trying..." Her head drooped slightly in defeat. He gave her a somber frown. "I know you are Derpy, I'm sorry for being rude. I don't mean to be so... short with you. It's just the state of things getting to me is all." The stallion looked back at the door where the others they were expecting were supposed to enter. "Humans just seem to have this innate ability to put me on edge no matter what the circumstances is all. It's always been quite the bother." "It doesn't help any that they're late either, I've got the heeby jeebies." She shuddered and looked around the stark room and it's filing cabinets again, then checked to see if their air vent was still open. She knew it would be but she still checked neurotically every few minutes. "You're sure of this, Doctor? We can trust these... people?" He spared her a doubtful smirk he'd meant to be reassuring. "Yes Derpy, I think we can trust them. Humans are capable of great works and good things after all, even these ones I'm sure. They just... Fall victim to very deeply engrained demons. To their credit I will say that from my experience they for the most part aren't actively as bad as most races. I have met some nasty ones let me tell you..." Derpy rolled her eyes as he started another one of his trade marked recollections. She steered him away from it skillfully before he could get started by leaning forward and tilting her head at him. Then she finished with a cough and a raised eyebrow. Somehow that always got him back on track. "Doctor..." He looked at her with a start. "Oh right." His gaze drifted from her back to the door and away from her, slowly. "Anyway, as I was saying humans just... Well, most are simply apathetic or selfish. Not because they don't care either I believe, given the right circumstances most of them will jump to the aid of others. Quite the contrary humans more than anything give in to fear, not hatred or malice, and they let that rule their lives." Derpy did her best to show she paid close attention to him. At the moment it wasn't a problem with him looking away, for which she was grateful. She just always felt bad when she couldn't meet his eyes. "However, there are those that would surprise even the Princesses in terms of valor, Derpy. I've seen it." He turned again to look at her, the pegasus pony managed to straighten her gaze briefly and looked at him doubtfully from under her blonde mane. "I hope you're right Docto-" The door was rapped three times, their as of yet unintroduced friends had arrived cutting her off. Nightmares found her here, the dark shape which had hunted her so relentlessly was there and did so once again. At first Twilight didn't recognize it's presence but soon it hunted her once more, screaming her name. The miasma sought to envelope her, to yell at her, to seize her soul. She could feel it's very being on her back, stifling her breath. Twilight began trying to reason with it, calling back for it to stop. It refused to relent though, it even seemed to double it's efforts to catch her from her shouts. Whatever it was in her dream, Twilight was terrified by the sheer insanity of it's cries and dark body. The frantic unicorn mare couldn't even begin to imagine what it was. She just wanted to be home, she just want to be safe. A voice called out to Twilight through the darkness. It was so far, but she reach for it because she had to get away and at any cost. The two humans crept along quickly through the corridor. They were lightly armed and armored so as to remain sneaky and move as fast as they could. The leader spoke back to her subordinate. "Are you sure that this is the right way?" She didn't trust the man that had been placed under her for this mission very much, or as she saw it, a frivolous chore. Compared to her own his view of how things worked seemed to be more than a little black and white. To her everyone could be suspect of anything. He tilted his and gave his best really? look that he could under a helmet. "I'm sure of it, trust me. The last door opened down here was this way..." After another minute of silently creeping down the hall and trying to keep their awares, they arrived at their destination. He pointed to the door and nodded minimizing their noise. The leader opened a small case and laid it down, the interior of the room came alive on it's screen after she poked at the keys for a moment. The man looked through the window of the door, the lights were still on inside. "Oh, that makes sense they came here because this is... Huh why didn't they tell us that before we left?" The leader shrugged from where she was crouched. She could see on the screen that the room's contents were juvenile clones of the pony things, Equestrians, whatever they were called. "Hmph, they must not have thought it had been important. I wouldn't put it past them. I also can't... see that getting overlooked though it's not unreasonable. Surely they're not this unprofessional." He watched her cycle through the cameras inside as she ranted. He offered a question hoping to change the subject from his upper leadership. "So are they inside still?" "No doesn't look like it, frell. We don't have time to look around this entire place either. Tell ops we've come up empty we're leaving." She closed the device and got up from the tiled floor. Her partner looked up and down the hallway pensively though an idea storming and brewing in his head. "Come on Clare lets look around first, we haven't seen anyone or anything yet. Besides, I think if it was dangerous here we would have run into something by now." She raised the visor of her helmet to look at the older man. Her eyes were a striking green complimented by a stern gaze and framed by soft cheeks. Her hair was matted under the helmet and a pale, almost sun bleached blonde. It was cut close to her jawline just falling beneath it. "One hour, that's all... I'm only even considering this because of how important it is we find them." The leader named Clare stared without emotion at him as she strode past and lowered her battle visor again. For her the HUD inside her helmet flickered back to life. He sighed and followed after her closely. 'Out of all the folks they could've sent why'd they pick the hard case acting like she's got a vendetta and a fight to pick with the whole world?' She hefted her custom laser rifle, it looked like a simple standard model. But a friend had made this for her based off the common military issue LG MK7. All that meant was that it used stock parts but the gadgetry inside gave whatever she shot a little more of a whollop than the traditional lunar guard infantry rifle. They walked tactically back down the hallway, at first the subordinate thought they were heading back towards the very small maintenance shaft they'd used to access the locked down block. But after a couple rooms she stopped and checked it quickly with the system hacker she had. He pulled security with his semi automatic TOR industries rifle. It was slow, and inaccurate at long ranges past 200 meters. But anything that got hit with it wasn't getting back up, it was his baby. Still, he hoped he wouldn't have to use it. The programmer turned activist had never had to hurt anything before. Twilight was being shaken, she was also on the floor now somehow. The voice was still there, calling her name. It wasn't actually far away from her though, she realized. They were actually just whispering and quite harshly to her. Twilight rubbed an eye, her only eye really, with a metal tipped hoof gingerly trying to make out what was said. "aaAH! What!? Who-?" She replied startled, before two other sets of hooves clamped over her mouth hurriedly. "Be quiet Twi'." Apple Bloom spoke alongside Octavia's "Do you want it to hear you?" Twilight shook her head no and they released their grip on her. Hear what though? Twilight got up and looked at the time on the small counter bound white box thing the room possessed. It said that it was two in the morning. She whispered to Octavia who was looking out the window of the door to their haven. "Octavia? What's going on, is somepony there?" The cellist looked back and fell to all fours again before rushing back to them. "Not some somepony Twilight, someone! Apple Bloom woke up to a scraping, and said she heard voices outside. She woke me up and I caught sight of two of them outside." Octavia's hushed yell faded to a normal whisper after it became apparent how silly it sounded. "Oh, I see... We should avoid them then. Okay just let me think a moment girls..." Twilight paused to think about what to do. Octavia looked back to the window past her dark mane and re approached it, to keep watch. We could play it safe and just leave, but where would we go next? I just wish that once we could find some... one that was helpful, or Celestia forbid it actually nice! Okay this line of thought isn't helping. Hm, we shouldn't stay here though this place must not be abandoned after all. What I should find then is more information... After waiting for minutes that felt like hours Apple Bloom interrupted the silence. "The three of us could still look 'round if there's only the two of them Twi'." Apple Bloom's face told the mare exactly what the filly was thinking. That they would abandon the chance of finding the other ponies. Twilight decided that rested they should now look for another information screen. She didn't know where to go from here, except for some other scarcely related ideas for escape that would come later. "We...may Apple Bloom, just trust me though no matter what okay? We won't leave anyone I promise. Octavia is it clear right now?" The cellist pony turned around and nodded. Twilight ceased whispering finally. "Okay, here's the plan you two. We're going to keep looking, but carefully. I'm going to keep an eye out for one of the small tunnels I used to reach you both as well, we'll take those if we find one. They probably don't know we're here so we have that to our advantage." Apple Bloom sighed relief at that. "But we're also looking for another information screen, that device I told you both about earlier. If we find the others great... But we need to figure things out again, that means studying." Apple Bloom groaned at that... Twilight smiled at the filly. "Heh, I'll be doing the research Apple Bloom, if we get the chance. You both will just need to help me keep anything important straight in my head and watch my back. The last time I used one I... almost felt like I'd studied too much." Octavia heard Apple Bloom gasp and saw her give the librarian an incredulous stare. What was odd about that? Twilight had begun packing some extra food that had been in the room when they arrived. "Anyway..." Twilight paused. Her plan was basically to hope they found something she realized. It was not a very good plan. How long can I keep us going... If we don't find anything. Or what if we're the only ones left. She pushed the defeatist thoughts out of her head. "Anyway let's go, if we can put some distance between us and those people we should be able to search easier, so lets go to the lift again and start from another wing of this place." Octavia and Apple Bloom nodded and the three made to leave. "Thought they was called hue-mins Twi'?" "They are Apple Bloom, people would be a generic plural form of their... Uhm, Octavia?" The cellist looked at Twilight's prompt. "Yes Twilight? What is it?" The unicorn raised an eyebrow at her recently acquired friend and smirked pointing at what she was carrying. Draped over the musician was the blanket from the couch. "What!? It's cold out there, can't a girl afford herself some creature comfort in these uncivilized times?" Apple Bloom and Twilight were both trying desperately hard to suppress there laughter from Octavia's choice of words. "I think you need to meet a friend of my sometime Octavia, you two would get along really well." Twilight grinned from Apple Bloom back to Octavia. "She sounds jus' like Rarity, Twilight." The farm filly again broke into giggles and rolled over once on the carpet to try to stem their flow. The musician took the outburst from the two with poise and pomp however. She wouldn't give in to their jostling. Besides they seem to think it's funny, I can't say my sophisticated Canterlot mask has ever made someone... laugh before, but when in Roam. She couldn't help but join in with her two friends. There was a noise outside that abruptly cut the two mares short as they heard it. Their ears immediately swiveling to where it came from, above them. Sshhh They both shushed the filly at the same time and watched the ceiling, serious looks on both their faces. Apple Bloom cut her laughter short and watched them, stopping before she asked what was wrong after catching their movements. Luna's stars we got careless, darnit, have we been heard? Octavia slowly back up while pushing Apple Bloom along towards the door. The bulky man held an ice pack to the top of his head and grumbled as he was stopped by yet ANOTHER red light. "It could be the end of time itself and I swear red lights will never stop being irritating." He said to no one but himself irritably. The stop light flashed green and he zoomed out through the wide intersection, from there he turned onto the Flyway that would take him up and away from the military zone his unit's ship was docked at and out to his own residence zone. 'Come on grandpa get out of the damn way.' He drove quickly with only half of his mind on the road. After a thought he flipped open his cell phone, using the voice option on it didn't really ever cross his mind when he used it. Twenty four messages on digits and four on voice, Smorgas grimaced. That was unusually low for his social life considering he'd been gone for a month. He flashed a look of vexation across his face raising both eyebrows, then held the phone to his ear to listen to the messages. "Smoooorgas Happy Birthday! This is your mother dear, I just wanted to let you know tha-" The offensive measures bridge officer grunted and skipped over the offending message. He played the next. "Oh and I left her some of yo-" Skipped again. 'The day I get some peace of mind from that woman is the day I opt to have my body donated to science. She'd probably still try to write to my corpse.' He grinned at his own joke and played the third message. "Smorgas my main man... err, soldierrr, listen buddy about that money I owe you... While you go-" It seemed he had his first order of business before going out to party with the crew this weekend. He'd wring that weasel Jeremy's neck as soon as he got settled back into his routine at home. He did have two weeks shore leave to enjoy so no rush... But twelve thousand credits was no laughing matter to the seasoned soldier, which equated to two months pay. Hell would freeze over before he left someone off the hook with that kind of a debt. He eased the icepack off his skull and fingered the healing split in his scalp. The crack he'd taken to the head had been pretty bad. The rest of his friends hadn't noticed he'd been knocked out right away apparently. The bridge commander had smacked him awake himself. It'd be a while before he heard the end of that at work... The goose egg that still adorned his head was receding at least, his inter control was making fast work of healing the concussion, welt and split in the skin. "Not fast enough though..." After placing the icepack back between his head and the headrest of his seat he picked his phone up again to look back at the screen. He jerked the steering wheel to the right to move into the slow lane and pass another cruiser in the fast one. "LEARN TO DRIVE cripes, friggin' neanderthals." He looked at the phone again. Last message... Smorgas clicked the phone's final message for him and tiredly then held it up to his ear. "Honey, it's your mother again. Now before you hang up I just want to say this is important." Smorgas hesitantly eased his thumb off of the cancel on his phone. "There's been some trouble with the Block sweety, I'm going to be busy for a while alright? So don't worry about me if I can't get back to you or talk there's just some big wig business that mommy is dealing with alright? Love you, enjoy your time back and stay safe! Oh and I hope you like your birthday present too, you worry me so much staying by yourself all the time. Honestly you should just ask out that nice Jackson girl from your work she seemed so lovely and smart. Oh! And stay away from that Darrick boy he's only tro-" Smorgas sighed as he laid the phone on his passenger seat. I'm eighty two years old mom, give it a rest... He laughed to himself, which grew into a raucous stream as his cruiser turned off into his exit from the Flyway.