//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Among the Stars // by Typographical Error //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Emptiness Part 5: Realization “This place is so empty, my thoughts are so tempting I don’t know how it got this bad” Twilight looked around as well. All she could see were the metal walls. She looked to her left and all she saw were more walls, a dead end. To her right was the hallway, and the corner. “I think we should go that way.” she said, pointing. She started to walk, her hoof steps muffled by the suit she was wearing. She looked at the stalls, thinking how wrong this was. She should be in there. But then another thought struck her. If they were awake, and it wasn’t time yet, how far away were they? Panic rose in her throat, gagging her. How long would they have to wait? The hallway seemed even longer than she had thought. It seemed to grow as they walked,its walls closing in. Twilight began to feel claustrophobic. She hoped to Celestia that the whole ship wasn’t like that. Turning, she saw the others right behind her, similar expressions of worry on each of their faces. Pinkie’s hair had gone straight, and she was looking a little drained. “What all do ya think is here?” Applejack asked, voice trembling slightly. Twilight could see she was having a reaction to being stuck in a small space. “I don’t know, but we will find out soon.” The corner was right there. Twilight sped up slightly, hope rising. She turned the corner, and slipped to a stop. Her jaw dropped open, unable to believe it. A wall. Exactly the same as the ones they had passed. She bucked at the wall next to it, frustration boiling to the surface. “What are we supposed to do now?!” she yelled, sinking to the ground. She closed her eyes, letting her head hit the side of the wall. A second later, she heard a small, metallic Whoosh! Her eyes flashed open, and she scrambled to her hooves. Next to the blank wall, a small metal hatch had opened. Inside a screen glowed faintly, an outline of a hoof imprinted on it. Twilight looked at it, then back at the others. “Should I?” They nodded. She pulled her hoof out of the suit. She took a deep breath, and pressed her it against the screen. Twilight gasped as a small electric current ran through her, freezing her in place. A light blue line ran up and down the screen, making the front of her hoof glow. A beep rang out into the air, and Twilight found she could move again. She quickly pulled her hoof away from the screen, and it slid back into the wall. Twilight bent down to examine it, pushing her hoof back into her suit. But she could not find the hatch anymore. It had sealed perfectly in the wall. Then, with a soft sound of metal on metal, the wall slid open. Looking at it, eyes wide, Twilight realized that it was actually a door. Slowly, she stepped into the room inside. It was eight feet by six feet, covered in the same metal as everything else. She motioned for the others to follow her. They did, but a little apprehensively. Twilight noticed a plate that was a different color from the rest of the room. She ran her hoof along it. With another metallic scrape, the hatch opened. Inside sat about twenty buttons, all blinking white. Except for one. The biggest button, sitting on top of the rest, glowed green. Under the button, a small inscription read “Information”. Looking around at the others, she pushed it. Immediately, the doors shut. With a surge, Twilight’s stomach dropped down to somewhere near her pelvis. Lights along the outside of the walls blinked as they rose. She could feel a pressure pushing down on her, blood leaving her head. Then, just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Twilight’s stomach rose up into her chest, then settled back into its original position. With the same metallic scrape, the doors opened. The first out was Rainbow, who had flown over their heads. “What was that?” she asked, breathing heavily. The others filed out, walking unsteadily. “I have no idea.” Pinkie said, smiling. “But we need to do it again!” Some color had returned to her, but not a lot. Twilight looked around at the new room. She shook her head. it was just another room. Metal and cold, maybe twenty by twenty feet wide. But something caught her eye. A screen, much larger this time, was implanted into the wall. It was glowing with the same hoof-print as the last one was. She walked towards it, unsure about it. Once again pulling her hoof out of her suit, She touched the screen, feeling the same electric surge as last time. But she didn’t cry out. When she could move again, she stepped back, not sure what was going to happen. Instead of doors opening, words appeared on the screen. FILE: NBO37....PLAY Twilight stared at them until they flashed away, then a giant face of Celestia replaced them. She gasped and skittered back a little, then she realized that it was a video. The video Celestia stared at the screen for a second, the spoke. “Greetings, and welcome the the colony ship, New Beginnings!” she said, a smile on her face. But then the smile slipped. “If you are hearing this, then the unthinkable had happened, and you have been awoken before your time.” Twilight heard somepony sniff, probably Rarity, but she didn’t turn. Her eyes were focused on the screen. “For this, I give my up-most and sincere apology. I also give my condolences.” she said, her tone grave. There is no way for me to know what year it is, but you will know.” The image shifted so that she was only taking up half the screen. On the other half, a bunch of number appeared. “This is how long you will have to wait until you land.” Twilight looked at the numbers, feeling her heart sink. 9y:05m:23d:13h:07m:12s “All I can say, and hope, is that the wait is not too long, and you are able to make planetfall.” Celestia said, eyes dropping. “Below this screen will be several hatches, which should open soon. Inside, will be a couple items, which I will talk about.” As soon as she said that, several metallic scrapes sounded, and three hatches opened. Twilight looked down at them, unable to make horn or tail of any of them. “In the top drawer is a small communication device. You will be able to talk to anypony who is also wearing it. All you have to do is put it in your ear, and it will do the rest.” She paused, as if waiting for them to do it. Twilight scooped out six and handed them out. They were small, about half the size of her horn. Black, with a small nub on one end. She figured that was the end for her ear. She inserted it, and waited. A moment later, a feeling of warmth spread through the side of her head, making it go numb. Then a small amount of pressure, and nothing. The warmth faded, and Twilight touched the device. It was held in her ear, somehow. She tried to pull it, but felt a sharp stab of pain. She look around an saw that the others were experiencing the same thing. It had a small plastic curve on it, which ended about an inch from their mouth. “The communicator had now embedded itself in your head.” the video Celestia said. “To remove it, all you have to do is press a small button on the side, and it will come free.” Twilight told herself to try that later. “To activate it, all you have to do it tap the side, and say your name. Then you will be able to contact, and be contacted by, anypony.” Twilight heard “Applejack” from behind her. She turned and looked, seeing the others repeat the same process. She reached up and tapped her device. A small sound of static could be heard. “Twilight Sparkle” she said. A slight beep, then nothing. She reached up and tapped it again. “Rainbow Dash.” she said. More static, and the sound of deep, then worried breathing. “You there?” she asked quietly. Rainbow winced, then smiled. “That is so weird!” she said. Twilight heard it twice, once from Rainbow, and a second time, about a second late, from the device. She smiled. “Well, at least we know that works.” She turned back to the screen. The video Celestia started talking again. “In the second drawer will be a map of the ship. It is not that big, but you will get lost if you do not know the layout.” Twilight pulled out six and handed them out. She could see a complicated map of the layers of the ship. She would take a better look later. She looked back up, and was disturbed to see how grave Celestia’s face was. “One final thing.” she said. “In the third drawer. If the wait is too long, long enough that you will not make planetfall in your lifetime, then you have a choice. Live out that life, or use that.” Twilight looked down in the drawer. A few syringes, and ten vials sat in small, soft, containers. Large red letters spelled out “Lethal Substance”. “Please, only use that as a last resort. I pray that nopony needs to hear this message. But if you are listening, I am very sorry.” She gave a small bow, then the screen blinked to black. Part 6: Discoveries Twilight felt her heart break. She turned to look at the others. Each had their own emotion plastered on their face. Fear, depression, anger. But they were all feeling the same thing. Pain. Twilight sat down in front of the screen. She had never felt this way before. Completely helpless, out of control. She could feel tears build up as the pain and sadness broke to the surface. Applejack walked over and sat down next to her, embracing her. “We are going to find a way out of this.” she said, pulling away. “We just have to focus.” Twilight looked up, hope gone. “There is nothing we can do.” Twilight said, looking back at the ground. “We are stuck until we land.” “Well maybe we can--” Rainbow Dash started. Twilight jumped to her hooves. “There isn’t a bucking thing we can do!” she yelled at them. They all gasped, and Fluttershy ran behind Rainbow. Reaching down, she picked up a map of the ship, and started to examine it. The others just stared at her, aghast. Breathing hard, Twilight found the room they were in, and started to plan a route in her mind. “It looks like there is a door here.” She pointed a few feet from the screen. “If we follow that, we should be able to find something.” She walked over to the wall she was talking about. She looked at it for a second, then knocked her hoof against the wall. A hatch opened with a metallic scrape. She pressed her hoof against the screen, and the door opened. A blast of fresh air blew her mane back, forcing her to close her eyes. When she could see again, she stepped into the hallway. Lights blinked on as she walked in. She let out an exasperated sigh. More corridors. At the far end she could see another corner. She could feel frustration rising again. She was getting tired of halls and corners. Turning, she looked and saw that the others were standing in the doorway, avoiding her eyes. Suddenly she felt guilty. “I’m sorry for saying that.” she said to them. “I don’t know why I did that.” “It’s quite alright.” Rarity said, walking up to her. Her mane was hanging ragged from the side of her head. It was probably good that there we no mirrors for her to look at. “You are under a lot of stress, and we understand that. Just show us how to get out of here.” Twilight nodded, smiling. “It seems like if we go this way, there are a lot of large buildings.” she said, starting to walk away. “we might be able to find food and stuff there.” She was getting closer to the corner. She held the map out in front of her, making sure it was the right way. Light was flooding in from around the corner, lighting up the corridor. She heard the sound of wings. Rainbow Dash flew over her head, rounding the corner. They continued walking, almost there. When they stepped into the light, they were stunned. Rising out before them was a city, bright and gleaming. Towers rose up to a ceiling that was almost out of sight. At the very top of the dome, which Twilight figured out that it was, was a bright ball of light. it cast a aura of heat and light over everything in the dome. Looking down, she could see roads built into the city, with small objects sitting on rails in the road. She turned and looked behind her, around the side of the corridor. What seemed like an entire forest had been grown right inside the ship. She could see Rainbow Dash flying around the forest, cheering as she did. When she saw them, she flew back over. “I can’t believe this!” she said, jovial. Her breath was ragged from flying so fast. “The city is HUGE! It looks like it could hold all of Ponyville and Canterlot combined!” She did a loop in the air, then landed next to Twilight. “What do you think that is?” she asked, pointing at the forest. “I have only read books on this.” Twilight said, thinking back. “But I think it is an oxygen factory. Did you find a way down?” she asked. The hallway just ended there on a small balcony, and the ground was at least three hundred feet down. Rainbow shook her head. “No idea. I could carry you, but I don’t trust myself in this suit.” she said, flexing her wings. Applejack walked up next to Twilight. “Maybe it is like the doors, with a hidden panel, or something?” she said, looking around the small balcony. “Maybe..” Twilight said. She concentrated, her horn glowing. She normally could do this spell with no trouble, but she could barely get her magic to work right. Slowly, she could feel the control coming back. She opened her eyes, and saw a small spot on the wall glowing. She laughed, the spell fading. She ran her hoof over the spot, and the hatched opened. She stepped back, looking at the rest. “Anypony want to do the honors?” she said, looking around. She was practically ran over by a cyan blurr. “I DO!!” Rainbow said, pressing her hoof against the screen. A small squeal escaped her lips as the electricity flowed through her. When the scanning was done, she pulled her hoof away fast, looking at Twilight. “Why didn’t you tell me it did that!?” she asked, indignant. “Why did you think I didn’t want to touch it?” Twilight responded, smiling. “Something should have happened by--” She was interrupted by a loud grinding sound. Then the entire balcony started to shake. Rainbow and Fluttershy jumped up in the air, afraid of what was going to happen. With a deafening metal on metal scrape, one side of the balcony lowered. Metal stairs extended from the walls, creating a staircase that went all the way to the ground below. When the final stair extended, the grinding and scraping stopped, leaving them stunned. Twilight walked forward, putting her hoof on the stair. It felt cold and solid, but also sturdy. She put her whole weight on the stair, then turned to look at the rest. “I think it is safe. But we should try to get down as fast as possible.” She looked at Rainbow and Fluttershy. “Why don’t you just fly down. It will be safer.” Fluttershy looked worried, but Rainbow nodded. “See you in a few minutes.” and she took off, pulling Fluttershy along with her. Twilight started to walk down the stairs. Her mind kept taking her back to the thought of being stuck on the ship for ten years. She didn’t know how they were going to survive it. Even if they did, would their sanity be intact? Would all of them even survive? She shook off that though, focusing on the metal underneath her. Pinkie Pie walked up next to her. “What do you think will be down there?” she asked. Her color had drained almost completely, and her hair was pencil straight. Twilight shook her head. “I have no idea. All I can hope for is food and a place to sleep.” The fact that they weren’t allowed to eat 24 hours before the freezing had caught up to her. Her stomach was practically eating itself. “Why would they build something like this?” Pinkie asked. “If we were supposed to sleep for the whole time, why would they even need it?” It was a good question, one Twilight could not answer. “All I can think is that they planned for the worst. If the entire population of the ship woke up, they would need a place to stay. 500 ponies down in the Cryo-level is not a really good idea.” Pinkie nodded, dropping back a few steps. Twilight continued to focus on the stairs, not wanting to think about the frozen ponies, some of whom were friends. A few minutes later, they reached the bottom of the stairs. Rainbow and Fluttershy were waiting there for them. Twilight sighed. “Alright, let’s get this over with.” Part 7: Exploration The six of them were standing at the base of the nearest building. Looking around, they could see tower after tower stretching away from them. It seemed endless, but Twilight knew it would have to end sometime. She gave each of them a map of the level they were on. “OK, let’s spit up into groups. The Pegasi can cover the east side.” She pointed east, out towards the tallest towers. “Unicorns can cover the west side.” She nodded at Rarity, then pointed out towards the forest. “And Earth ponies can over this section, the south. I want everypony to meet back here once you are finished. If you get lost, just call up Rainbow or Fluttershy to get you out. Everypony understand?” They nodded, but they all looked apprehensive. “Alright, let’s go.” Twilight said, starting to walk away. Rarity trotted to catch up with her. They walked in silence for a few minutes, both thinking their own thoughts, until Twilight spoke up. “I am sorry this had to happen to you, to all of us.” she said, looking at the ground below her. “I didn’t want any of it to happen.” “It is not your fault.” Rarity said, stopping in her tracks. She made Twilight turn around and look at her. “Don’t blame yourself. There is no way you could have predicted this.” “I know, but I made you guys come along.” she said, eyes fogging with tears. “I made you all promise that if I went, you would come too. It is my fault you are here.” She pulled away from Rarity, walking ahead. When they reached the west side of the city, they split up. Twilight wandered into the first building she saw, while Rarity continued down the road. Twilight was amazed as she walked through the hallways and rooms in the building. All the doors, leading to bedrooms, were locked with the hoof-scanners. She would try opening them every once in awhile, just to see if they would open. She found another elevator, taking it from floor to floor. Each floor was the same, until she reached the top. She stepped out of the elevator, and gasped, rushing back inside. The final floor had obviously seen life. Papers and other objects littered the floor. There was even some stains that looked like coffee. She looked up and down the hallway, but she could only find a single room, which was opposite the elevator. She pushed her hoof against the scanner. But instead of the familiar shock, she was met with a loud beep. Confused, she tried again, with the same result. She walked away from the door, looking at the papers on the floor. All she could tell was that they were schematics of the ship. One word seemed to be written over and over again. “Unmovable”. She walked back to the elevator, taking one last look at the floor, then she left the room. The rest of the passed the same way. Building after building of deserted rooms. The fake sun had sunk down to the horizon, just above the forest. Twilight met Rarity back in front of the stairs. They waited for the others, who showed up a few minutes later. “Find anything?” Twilight asked as Rainbow landed in front of her, completing the group. “Well, in the east section, there seems to be a cafeteria.” she said, smiling. “All the food was stored under this level. But it was, like, freeze dried. I don’t think we will be eating gourmet while we are here.” “There was a ton of sciencey stuff here.” Pinkie said. “I didn’t understand any of it, but you might, Twilight.” Twilight nodded. “OK, we have housing and food. That was all I was hoping for.” She took a deep breath. “Did you see any sign of life, or pony activity?” They all nodded. “No, it was all deserted.” Applejack said, looking around. “Why, did you?” “No.” Twilight lied. “I was just wondering. I think we should go get some food, then find a place to stay.” They all agreed, starting to walk to the eastern section. She didn’t know why she lied, but she did. She felt that they didn’t need to know until she could figure out what it meant. But it still nagged at her mind. What did unmovable mean? And who was the pony that had lived here? But, most importantly, where were they now? They reached the cafeteria. Twilight stared in wonder at the building. it was bigger than any of the others. It looked like a smaller version of the dome they were walking in. Inside, rows and rows of benches and tables rose out of the ground. They were made of the same metal as the rest of the ship. Rainbow Directed them to a door at the far end of the room. Inside was another, smaller room, with a hatch in the floor. Applejack pulled it open, and they all crowded around the opening. A ladder descended down into a cellar. Rainbow flew down inside the opening, and lights blinked on as soon as she did. Quickly, she grabbed a small packet of something, then flew back up to them. She landed softly next to Twilight, the small packet held in her teeth. She dropped it into her hooves, then handed it to Twilight. “Want to take the first bite.” she asked, a sly smile on her lips. She had not forgotten the electricity incident. Twilight, not wanting to give Rainbow the satisfaction, took the packet with pride. She eyed the wrapping, silver with black lettering on the outside. “Dehydrated daffodils and oats” it said, and Twilight felt her hunger back off slightly as she read it. She opened the packet with her teeth, releasing the aroma of flowers into the air. She sighed when the smell hit her nose, memories of her old life flooding back. But she shook her head, clearing them. She didn’t want to remember those now. She pulled the food out of the packet. It was in the shape of a chocolate bar, but was green and light brown instead of dark brown. She could see individual petals and oats in the bar, but they were all mashed together, packing as much food into the smallest possible item. Twilight looked around, uneasy. They were all watching her, curious expressions on their faces. Rainbow Dash was trying to hold in laughter. Taking a deep breath, Twilight bit down on the bar, and gasped. The sweet and bitter taste of flowers exploded on her tongue, followed by the dry taste of oats. It rolled over her taste buds, pleasure filling her. She chewed slowly, savoring each flavor. It was better than anything she had ever eaten before, even at Canterlot. Three hundred years of hunger slowly began to ebb away as she took another bite. She hadn’t realized it, but she had closed her eyes. Opening them, she saw the others staring at her, surprised. “Well?” Rarity. “How is it?” Twilight grinned, unable to believe it herself. “It is amazing. I don’t know what the scientists did, but they deserved a raise” she said, laughing. “we might even be able to survive on this stuff.” She called on her magic, a purple aura surrounding a crate in the cellar. She raised it out of the hatch, dropping it down in front of them. “Dig in.” she said, opening the crate. Inside sat dozens of the bars, enough for weeks of meals. Applejack rushed forwards, followed by Rainbow Dash. “Bet I can eat more than you!” Dash challenged, grabbing three of the bars in her teeth. Applejack jumped up with seven in her hooves. “Ya think so?” she replied, ripping the packaging off and eating a bar in three bites. “I would like to see that!” “Girls! Girls!” Twilight called, bringing their eating contest to a stop. “We don’t know anything about this stuff. I think we should only eat one or two for now, until we see how we react.” Rainbow rolled her eyes, but threw back the extra bars, as did Applejack. “You are seriously no fun, Twilight.” Rainbow said, walking away from her. Applejack gave her bars to Rarity and Fluttershy, who seemed to savor them as much at Twilight did. When they had all eaten their share, Fluttershy turned to Twilight. “Umm...What do you..um.. think we should do now?” she asked. Her eyes were half closed, and she looked the worst out of the bunch. She probably needed rest, especially since her heart had stopped. “I think we should all go pick a room to stay in.” Twilight said, turning to look out the way they had come. “So if you saw anything you liked, call it now.” She was practically bowled over at rainbow rushed for the door. “Dibs on the penthouse!” she yelled as she flew into the air. Twilight stared at her, confused. “Penthouse?” she asked, looking around. “What are you talking about?” Rainbow pointed to the tallest tower in the city. It looked out over the whole of the dome, including the forest. From the ground, Twilight could see the fake sun glinting off metal and, for the first time, glass. Twilight looked back at Rainbow, a look of exasperation on her face. “You would choose that.” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “Alright, everypony else find a room. Tomorrow, I want us to meet back where we first came in. We have a lot to do.” They all said goodbye and went their separate ways. Twilight knew exactly where she was going to go. She backtracked to the first building she entered, the one with the locked door at the top. This was going to be her home so that she could find out who the pony was, and what he, or she, was looking for. She took the elevator up to the second to last floor, picking the room farthest from the door. Inside, there was a bed made of some sort of fake wool, with a small bathroom was attached to the bedroom. She turned one of the knobs on the wall and water, real water, poured out of the tap. She drank as much as she could, then removed her suit. Stepping under the tap, and washed herself, trying to get rid of the stiff, clammy feel in her fur. When she was finished, she turned the knob off, and screamed when a blast of hot air hit her. In seconds, she was bone dry, her fur puffed out. She stepped out, retrieving her suit. She walked back into the bedroom, and sat down at the foot of the bed. She stared at her suit, one of the only things she had from Equestria. The rest was stuck above her freezing chamber. She would need to get those tomorrow. Calling her magic, she started to pull at the metal and plastic fibers in the suit. Slowly, the hood began to rip off. She began to do the same with the fabric on the right front hoof. Finally, it was done, and she had a pile of fabric on the bed next to her. She sighed, then threw the suit to the ground next to her. She got up and walked over to the wall next to the door. A small blinking light sat there. She ran her hoof down the wall, and the lights turned off. She walked back over to the bed, throwing herself on top. She didn’t know how she was going to sleep, but she was so tired. Crawling under the covers, she wondered how the others were taking it. They seemed to be fine, but that could just be a front. What else was waiting for them here? This was only one level, and the schematics showed more. But she put that all aside, she was so exhausted. Finally, she closed her eyes, and sleep found her. *For you fans of music, I am going to start putting lyrics under the chapter name that, hopefully, go with the chapter. Enjoy! ~Lyrics....Sum 41-Pieces