crunch, crunch
The dirt and gravel ground underneath Beta's hooves as he trotted down the dirt road. He walked next to Delta, who was only half-paying attention to where she was walking and instead stared into space. Bay opted to listen to the conversation of those in front of him rather than talk to Delta. His ears swiveled around, gathering information on the conversation of the ponies ahead of him.
Directly in front of the pair walked the royal sisters, who were whispering to each other. Ahead of those two were the Elements, and leading the group were the crusaders. The road was thin, but the group was close together, and Beta could hear all the conversation that occurred in front of him. They mostly asked Rainbow and Scootaloo about their time in bay's utility pod.
"... There were also buttons and switches and robo-eyes watching us! Don't worry, I protected scoots and me." Bay grinned at the sound of Dash's gravelly voice weaving vivid tales.
"That's not what happened! You spent most of your time asleep!" Beta's smile grew wider at Scootaloo's counterexample.
"That's how good I am at protection! I can do it in my sleep!" The group ahead laughed. A gust of wind blew everyone's manes to one side, excepting those of the alicorns'.
crunch, crunch
Ponyville grew closer. Delta was still staring. The crickets chirped around them. Funny how familiar those were. Real, natural creatures. There were hardly any left anymore.
The group was now bathed in the yellow light of the primitive Victorian styled electric streetlamps. They had just been installed, less than two months ago.
Celestia stopped, and so did everyone else, save for Delta. She kept walking forward, straight into Celestia's hind legs. The princess whirled around, and Delta squeaked in embarrassment, grinning sheepishly.
"Heh, sorry." Delta blushed.
"It's quite alright. I forgive you." Celestia smiled. Delta turned and walked back to Bay's side and leaned against him. The solar princess addressed the Elements.
"My sister and I are quite tired, and feel as if we should not fly at night while also being exhausted." She turned to Twilight. "So, Twilight, may we stay in your library?" Twilight let out a little gasp when the question was asked.
"U-um yes! Of course! I only have two beds, but I can sleep on the couch." At this, Rarity stepped forward.
"Oh, Twilight, that's quite all right." She turned to Celestia "I can take one of you if you don't mind." Celestia smiled.
"Of course, my little pony. I am grateful for your offer." She smiled and then addressed the whole group.
"It is decided, then. I shall stay with Miss Rarity, and Luna will stay with Twilight." Luna nodded. "I bid you farewell, my little ponies, until tomorrow." The princess of the sun then leaned over to Luna and whispered something into her ear. Luna nodded. Celestia turned away. to bid the ponies good night, and then each member of the group went their separate ways. It was then when Bay noticed a dampness in his mane. He swiveled his head around to face Delta and found that she was drooling profusely into his fur.
"Del." The alicorn snorted. "Del!" The second time she jerked awake, blinking.
"Huh! Whuzza?" She stumbled backwards, tripping on her hooves and falling to the ground. Bay stifled a giggle at her clumsiness.
"C'mon. Let's get you to bed." She mumbled something, and Beta stamped his hoof on the ground a couple of times. The ground opened up, revealing Bay's utility pod. He climbed down the ladder and called up to Delta. With a flash, she teleported into the craft. As soon as she did, the alicorn looked around for a moment, before seeing the beds. She stumbled over and promptly fell onto one face-first, her hind legs hanging off the edge of the bed. Within a few seconds, Bay could hear muffled snores. He used his wings to silently hover over to her and lift her legs onto the bed, before covering her with the blanket.
"G'night, sis," He said, quietly. She snorted softly. Bay smiled and flew to the door in the back of the pod. It slid open, revealing a cramped compartment built for a figure much different than his own. Multiple wires and small steel boxed covered the walls. The metal slid closed with a hiss behind him.
Luna and Twilight trotted through the door of the library, only to be greeted by a wall of books. through a hole in the barrier, they could see a figure made of pots, pans, and kitchen utensils waddle towards them. It wielded a kitchen knife and pot lid as a sword and shield.
"Go away! I'm warning you! This is your last chance!" Spike's voice wafted out of the pile of stainless steel. Twilight and Luna laughed at the sight.
"Spike! It's me, Twilight!" Spike propped up the colander he wore a helmet.
"Twilight! Oh, thank Celestia you're here!" The two princesses levitated the blockage of books out of the way, revealing to Spike the lunar princess.
"Oh! Your majesty!" He gave a little bow, his "armour" clanking together. "What are you doing here?" Luna smiled at the question.
"My sister and I are just staying the night. I presume you are aware of the 'situation' that arose in Ponyville?" Spike frowned.
"What, you mean the demented mare's voice screaming in my head? Yeah, I remember." He was silent for a moment, then he grinned. "Good thing that's over. Hey, is there anything I can get you guys?"
"Oh, could we get some tea, Spike?" Twilight asked. He nodded.
"Sure, but all we have left is chamomile. Is that all right with you?" He looked towards Luna. She smiled kindly back at him.
"That would be wonderful. Thank you." Spike spun around and began his journey to the kitchen. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Luna's smile disintegrated, and she spun towards the lavender unicorn by her side.
"Twilight," she began, "did you keep the memories I have given you?" Twilight nodded nervously. "Good. Keep those safe. Look at them as soon as possible, but not tonight. The orbs release a magical impulse when activated that is usually blocked by the crystals. Here, however, my sister would sense it immediately." She put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.
"Listen to me. We have much less time than I thought. We must hurry. The Humans have returned."