//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Among the Stars // by Typographical Error //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Amet Terra Part 15: Explanation “I was wandering under black skies Clutching at what is mine” “No chance of escape No use in hiding Into the eye of the storm With the silver lining” “So, tell us exactly what is happening.” Rainbow said. They were sitting in Rainbow’s room, which was the only one big enough to fit them all. After Twilight had read the note, they had moved Cora’s body down to the cryo level. Then they had returned to the city. But Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling, the one that was slowly eating her alive. They were stuck, with no way of moving. Doctor Whooves was pacing in a circle around the room, while the others were sitting on the bed. Twilight sat away from the group, her back to them, facing the window. Doctor Whooves came to a stop, biting his lip. “Ok, well....We are stuck.” he said lamely. “We are not moving.” “How is that possible?” Rarity asked. “I thought we had ten years...” “No. We don’t.” Whooves said to her. “Somehow, the internal clock froze on the instant, and has been running off that moment ever since.” He took a deep breath and resumed his circle. He walked for almost a minute, then stopped again. “The truth is much worse. And I don’t know if you want to hear it.” They all looked at Twilight, who was staring at her reflection in the window. Pinkie swallowed. Her color was almost gone, and her hair was razor straight. “Whatever she learned, we deserve to learn it as well.” she said, voice low and sharp. Doctor Whooves nodded. “We have been here for longer than you think.” he said, not meeting their eyes. “We haven’t been here for close to three hundred years. We have been here for close to four hundred.” Silence. Deafening silence filled the room. Slowly, one by one, they exchanged glances with one another. Realizing the truth. Nopony was coming. They were truly, for the first time in their lives, alone. Whatever hope they had sealed away, vanished instantly. Nopony spoke for what seemed like forever. “Are...are you sure?” Fluttershy asked. Whooves nodded. “Completely. The atomic clock wouldn’t be wrong. Four hundred years.” “But, isn’t there some way we could contact Equestria?” Applejack asked. “A radio or something.” Whooves shook his head. “Even if there was a radio, we would be too far out of range, and it would take years for them to receive it.” At that moment, Twilight stood up. She walked towards the door, passed the ponies. “There is nothing we can do. And we are going to have to live with it.” Then she opened the door and walked out. Emotions were flooding her body. Fear, pain, anguish, despair, all vying for a place in her heart. Almost without a second thought, her magic took her to her home. She opened her eyes to her room. She didn’t want to move, didn’t want to breath. She almost ripped off her suit, one of the only things tying her to this ship. Just to get herself off of the floor, she walked to the bathroom, turning on the shower. As soon as the water was hot, she stepped underneath. She let the water take away as much of the pain as she could. But it was not only on the surface. It was deep within her. Finally, she gave in, falling to the floor under the water. Tears erupted from her eyes. Deep, powerful sobs emanated from her, filling the room with the sounds of despair. She cried, and cried, and cried. The tears seemed unending, continuing to flow from her violet eyes. She tried to let the tears take away what the water could not. but all it did was pour salt in the open wound. It wouldn’t matter how many tears she cried, nopony was going to save them. Finally, the tears began to slow. The sobs turned into shudders. She picked herself off of the bathroom floor, eyes red and puffy. She turned the water off, dripping water and self pity. Instantly the air jets blew her dry, but she hardly felt it. She trudged back to the bedroom, not wanting to hear her own heart beating in her chest. She flopped down on the bed, depression settling over her like a blanket. She laid there, not moving, for almost an hour. She could feel the pain sinking further in, tearing at her very soul. A knock at the door made her tilt her head up, but it fell back almost immediately. “Go away.” she said, voice hoarse from crying. Another knock was her reply. “Fine! What do you want?” she tried to yell, but her voice broke on almost all of the words. The door slid open, and Doctor Whooves stood there, looking uncomfortable. “I..uhh...told them everything.” he said, walking inside. “They understand what is going on, and are willing to help with anything we need to do.” Twilight snorted, a river of pain flowing down her throat from that action. “What can we do?” she asked, sitting up. “We are stuck, with no idea of how to get going. We don’t even know where we are!” “That is what I came here to talk to you about.” Whooves said, sitting on the edge of her bed. “We need to find out where we are. And the only way to do that is to go outside and take a look.” “You can do it by yourself.” she said, turning away from him. “I can, but what if something were to happen to me?” he asked, touching her shoulder. She pulled away from it. “I need another pony to watch my back.” “Can’t you get one of the others to help you?” she asked, getting off the bed and walking away from him. Just the sound of his voice was hurting her. “I can.” he repeated. “But I would rather have you.” he said, walking up to her. “I trust you Twilight, and you need to start trusting us.” She turned, wiping her nose on the back of her hoof. “Alright.” she sniffed. “Let’s get this over with.” Part 16: On The Way After Twilight had put her suit back on, reluctantly, they took the elevator down to the ground. Doctor Whooves was worried about her. She had taken the hit worse than any other pony. She seemed completely depressed. And all Whooves could think was that she might try to follow Cora’s lead. But he shook that feeling off. Twilight was a smart pony. She would never try something so foolish. They walked back to the wall, and Whooves brushed his hoof on the wall, bringing out the stairs. They walked up, Twilight rather slowly. The sun was almost setting on the city, and Whooves thought that it might have been better to let this wait until the next day. But they were already here, so no use in turning back. They reached the top of the stairs and turned down the long hallway. They finally reached the end, Whooves opening the door. They walked passed the screen, it’s glowing green hoof print so inviting. They walked passed it, but Twilight wouldn’t take her eyes off of it. Whooves shook his head, opening the panel in the wall. He pressed his hoof against the screen, feeling the electric current roar through his body. His breath seized in his throat, but released when the current stopped. He pulled away fast, and looked over at Twilight. Something, not quite a smile, was on her lips. “Nopony believes me until they try it.” she said, then walked into the elevator, Whooves right behind her. He pulled the map out of his hood, and pointing at a spot. “Here is the hatch. It is on the bottom floor, all the way to the front of the ship.” He pressed the correct button, then sat back as the elevator sank like a stone. “It will take us awhile to walk to the front of the ship. I would say about--” He gasped as the elevator suddenly stopped and changed directions. According to his stomach, they were now going sideways. “Well, that was new.” he said, standing up. Twilight almost smiled at that. Almost a full minute later, the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened onto a strange sight. A room, almost as big as Rainbow’s home, waited for them. It was almost completely empty, except for a row of silvery-white suits on one wall, and a row of tools on the other. Twilight was the first to walk out, followed by Whooves. He walked over to the suits and pulled two down, starting to put one on. “What do you think you are doing?” she asked, walking over to him. “Putting on the suit so that I don’t implode.” he said sarcastically. “Do you have any idea how to work those?” she asked, natural curiosity and bossiness taking over. “It isn’t that hard Twilight.” he said, slipping the rest of the suit on. It flowed over his body and came to rest on his shoulders, head exposed. “I just need to get a helmet and attach it to an air supply.” He turned his eyes to the walls. “According to the map, there is a closet here, somewhere.” He scanned the walls until he saw a blinking red light. Smiling, he walked over and touched it. With a hiss and the sound of scraping metal, the door opened. Inside sat more shelves. But these held domes of plastic instead of suits. Whooves walked over and pulled one off of the shelf. He turned his attention to Twilight. She sighed, but walked over and pulled down a helmet as well. She looked down at her face reflected in the plastic. It looked older, more sad then she remembered. “We just need to get you a suit and an air supply he said, walking further down the shelves. A ways down, the plastic domes turned into small, white rectangles. Twilight could see a couple tubes and straps attached to them. Whooves pulled one down and propped it on his back. Twilight helped him attached the tubes to ports on the suit he was wearing. When she was finished, he raised the helmet and put it on. A small hiss broke the silence as he sealed it. “Now go and get your own suit.” he said, but it came out as a muffled noise thanks to the suit. She nodded and walked out of the room, Whooves right behind her. She pulled down a suit and put it on, shivering against the cold of the fabric and metal. She put on the helmet, the same hiss sounding. Instantly, any noise that had been there, like their hoof steps, was cut off. But a brief blare of static made her jump. “OK, good. The com link works.” Whooves said. He was touching a place just under his chin. Twilight reached up to her own neck. She could feel a small bulge there. “Press it.” he said. She pressed it, and felt the give of a tactile switch. “This is so weird.” she said. “Feels like I am, about to be frozen again.” “Wait here. I will get you an air supply.” Then he walked away, leaving her with her thoughts. When he came back, he seemed to be struggling with the supply. She trudge over and helped him, feeling the weight of the small rectangle. It had to weigh twenty-five or thirty pounds. She put in on her back, pushing her front legs through the straps. Whooves attached the tubes to her suit, and she could feel a blast of cold air on her face. At last they were ready. Whooves looked over the room again until he found another red light. He touched it, and the wall slid away, revealing another, much smaller room beyond. “This is the airlock.” he said, turning back to her. “It will drain the air and then open to allow us outside. There should be a couple tethers in here.” He walked in, looking over the walls. “Here they are.” He pulled a couple white, slightly elastic rope from a port on the wall. “There should be a couple hundred feet in here.” He clipped the end to her suit, then pulled the second down and did the same. He closed the door behind them. The only thing that was in front of them was another wall, and a red light. Whooves looked over to Twilight, hoof at his throat. “Ready?” he asked. Twilight didn’t respond at first. But then she took his hoof in her own. “Ready.” He pressed the button. Part 17: Light and Dark The sound of air being sucked out met their ears. But it slowly faded away as less and less air was in the chamber. Finally, there was no sound at all. Then, silently, the wall in front of them opened. All Twilight could see was black. Black, and stars. She smiled, a real smile, and she pushed away from the ship. Her hooves left the metal, and didn’t touch back down. She laughed, her first genuine laugh in a long time. She could feel herself floating, and it was wonderful. But then she suddenly, stopped. She turned around, confused. Whooves was holding her tether, smiling. “Hold on there. I don’t want you going out without me!” he said. Then he jumped into the air with her. Together they pushed away from the ship, facing the empty black. Twilight couldn’t take her eyes away from the stars. They were so beautiful. And they were so many. She doubted, even if she had ten years, that she would be able to count them all. “OK.” Whooves said. “I am going to need you to remember a couple things as I say them.” “Alright. Go ahead and be a genius.” she said. “OK.” he said. He was silent for a moment. “That looks like Sirius. And below that looks like Epsilon Eridani below that. Got that Twilight?” “Epsilon Eridani below Sirius.” she repeated. She had been messing with her tether, trying to get turned around. Finally she had managed it. And what she saw made her freeze. “There is Wolf 395.” he said. That is to the right of Sirius.” “Doctor.” “Hold on Twilight.” he said. “Ha. That is the sun. Can you believe that? It is to the left of Wolf 395.” “Doctor!” “Twilight what is it? I am busy.” he said, trying to turn around with his tether. But he finally did it, and he turned to face Twilight. “Oh....” There floated Twilight, silhouetted against the ship. But what lay beyond that is what made him stop. Floating in space, making the ship look like a tiny spec, sat a planet. Bright, so bright it hurt to look at, it sat there, defying everything they had known. Two gleaming yellow suns, Centauri a and b, so huge and bright, stood behind the planet. Then another, even larger star, Centauri Proxima stood beyond those. This was a dull orange, and it looked to be farther away than the other two. But it still dwarfed everything in sight. Twilight couldn’t take her eyes off the planet. Landmasses loomed out of seas of blue. Water, real water, covered the surface. She could see small islands and huge continents. Fingers of land stretching deep into the heart of the water. She could pick out deserts and forests. Tundras and plains. Wispy black and white clouds hovered in the atmosphere. As they moved towards the dark side, flashes of light suddenly broke the black, then were gone as fast as they has appeared. Lightning and storms raged, while the triple suns rose over the horizon. Three moons floated in its orbit, the sole witnesses to its beauty. “I...I...wha...” Whooves tried to speak, but was unable to. But Twilight voiced what he was thinking, in three simple words. She put all her depression, all her fear and pain and longing to the words. They filled her with a sense of hope and spirit, something that had been gone for the past days. “We are home.” Part 18: Preparation They reached the airlock, stupid smiles plastered on their faces. They piled in, Whooves shutting the door behind them. The same sound of air rushing met their ears, except in reverse this time. As soon as was possible, Twilight ripped her helmet off. “I can’t believe it!” she screamed. “We are here! We’re here!” She grabbed Whooves and pulled him into an embrace. She couldn’t stop the rampant joy that was filling her. Spreading from the tip of her horn to the base of her hooves, she felt a was glow. A glow that filled her, erasing any for of doubt in her veins. They had made it. They were, finally, home. Whooves pulled off his helmet, gently prying the mare off his chest. He smiled down at her. “Yes, yes we are.” “Well, what are we waiting for?!” Twilight asked, rushing into the other room. “We have to tell the others! We have to get off this thing!” Whooves smiled, walking into the other room with her. “I think the first thing to do, is try to contact the colony.” “And how do we do that?” Twilight asked impatiently. “Why can’t we just land?” “Because we don’t know anything about this planet. If we have been in orbit, then why didn’t they land us? We need to contact them first.” Twilight huffed. “Fine.” She raised a hoof to her ear, the stupid smile reappearing. “Rainbow, get the others. Tell them to meet in your room again. We have something to tell them.” “More bad news?” she replied, sounding depressed. “Fine, but I am not sure they can take this on a daily basis Twilight.” Then she was gone. Twilight turned back to the Doctor. “Lead the way.” she said, pointing towards the elevator. Whooves chuckled, Twilight smiling behind him. She pressed the button for the bridge. Instantly, her stomach was shoved to the right as the elevator took off. A minute later, it was pushed upwards as they dropped. It finally came to rest at the bridge. Whooves jumped out, galloping over to the controls. “There should be a way to link to the com station on the planet.” he said, his hooves hovering over switches and buttons. “I just have to find the right ones...” There was a pause. “Ah, here it is!” He hit a series of switches followed by three button presses. There was a brief pause, then a small light on the panel lit up. “We should be connected now.” he said. He cleared his throat. “Hello. This is the colony ship E.S.S.S. New Beginnings. We request permission to dock.” He waited. Nothing. Nopony replied. “Do you read me Nova Equine?” There was no reply. “Please, Nova Equine colony one, reply if you are receiving me!” Nothing. Whooves turned to Twilight, fear creeping into his eyes. “This is bad. Really bad.” “Why aren’t they responding!?” Twilight asked, panicking. “They should be there!” ‘You’re right. They should be.” Whooves said, turning back to the control panel. “They also should have seen us floating in the atmosphere. What is going on down there?” This was the last thing Twilight wanted to hear. “C...can we s...still land?” she asked, whole body shaking. She could feel the loss taking the spot of the joy that had bloomed in her chest. Whooves shook his head. “I don’t know. But I need to think.” he said, turning to face her. Why don’t you go up and tell the others about the planet. I will stay here and try to figure this out.” Twilight nodded, turning to leave. She looked over her shoulder as she stepped into the elevator. Whooves had pulled out his map and placed in on the floor. He was slowly tracing the tip of his hoof along the white lines, muttering to himself. Then the doors closed, and he was blocked from sight. The elevator rose to the top level. As it did, she raised a hoof to her ear. “Rainbow? Is everypony there?” “Yeah, we are all here. What’s taking you so long?” “We had to make a stop. I am on my way.” “Alright.” The call ended. Twilight sighed. How was she going to tell them the planet they were longing for was right below them, and they had no way of reaching it? She didn’t know, and she didn’t want to think about it. The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. She walked out, passed the screen, and into the other hall. It took her longer than normal to walk down the hall and down the stairs. Her hooves felt like lead, weighing her down. She trudged down the empty streets, finally reaching Rainbow’s home. She walked into the elevator and let it take her up to Rainbow’s room. With one last sigh, she put on her best smile, and opened the door. They all swiveled their head towards the door when she opened it. Expectant, slightly apprehensive, expression were shared on all their faces. She smiled at them, then walked over and flopped on the bed. A moment of silence passed before anypony spoke. “Well, aren’t you going to tell us what all the fuss was about, Darling?” Rarity asked, walking over to her. Twilight nodded, pulling herself off the covers of the bed. “I have some huge news, girls.” she said, looking each one in the eyes as she said it. “This whole time we thought we were stuck. Floating with no way of getting to the planet. But, as I have just learned, that is not true.” She paused and took a breath. “Girls, we have arrived.” There was a moment of silence as the new information settled. They exchanged glances with one another, then turned back to Twilight. “You...you aren’t jokin’ with us now?” Applejack asked. “We...we really are here?” Twilight nodded. “I saw the planet with my own eyes. It’s real, and it’s right outside.” she said, standing up and walking to the window. She looked out over the city that had been her home. But her real home was just under the ship. And it was waiting for her. “Well, why aren’t we landing?!” Rainbow said, jumping up into the air. “We should be leaving this bucking ship now!” “That’s just the problem.” Twilight said as Rainbow slowly fell to the floor. “We tried to contact the planet, and nopony responded. We don’t know what is wrong.” “So what does that mean?” Derpy asked, floating over to Twilight. Her crossed eyes were looking hopeful, but also downtrodden. “It means we can’t land yet.” Twilight said, turning away from the window. “But trust me. As soon as we find a way, we are going to land this rust bucket. Once and for all.” “How soon do you think that will be?” Fluttershy asked. “I can’t say. But I hope soon. But, just to be ready, I want you to pack your stuff. Anything you want to take along, take it now.” She walked over to the door. “Because we wont be coming back.” She opened the door and walked into the hall, leaving them alone. She decided she didn’t want to walk and teleported over to her room. She pulled her suit off and stepped under the shower. She didn’t cry this time. There was no reason to. They were closer than ever before to their goal, they just had to wait a little longer. She turned the water off and let the hot air blow her dry. She had not noticed it, but her stomach was yelling at her. She teleported over a freeze dried bar and chewed it slowly. Her mind was racing, yet she couldn’t come to any real thoughts. Finally, she was finished with the bar, and her eyes were finished with the day. The sun was sinking in the sky. She walked over and turned off the lights, then crawled into bed. Against all odds, her eyes closed and sleep took her far away. Part 19: Reality Her dazed and beaten mind gave her a break that night. There were no dreams of fire and ice and pain. There was only light, and joy. She saw Ponyville, and all the friends she left behind. It showed her all the times she had back home with friends right there on the ship. Both good times and bad times. From Nightmare Moon, the the Grand Galloping Gala. Times she would never be able to have again. But that is not all. Her mind also created visions of what the surface would look like. The triple suns rising from the south west and north. Mountains and valleys and forests continuing into infinity. Bright blue skies above her head. She didn’t want to leave, but something made the precious dreams go away. “Twilight.” Her eyes flashed open. She was staring up at the ceiling of her room. She tilted her head down, and didn’t see anypony. Shrugging, she rolled over and closed her eyes. “Twilight!” Her eyes opened again. She looked around and didn’t see anypony. Then she realized where the voice came from. She raised a hoof to her ear. “Hello?” “Oh, good. Twilight.” Whooves said. “I need you to come down to the bridge.” “Ugh..what?” she groaned, stepping out of bed. She walked over and opened the window. There was no glow on either side of the dome. “Doctor it’s the middle of the night.” “I know. I’ve been down here all that time.” he said, slightly annoyed. But I think I found the solution to our problem!” “That’s great and all, but can’t it wait until morning?” “Twilight!” “Fine, fine.” she groaned. “I will be down in a couple minutes.” “Thank you.” The call ended. groaning, Twilight walked over and put on her suit. Next she turned on the lights, the bright glare waking her up. Finally she was ready. Instead of walking, she decided to teleport over. Her room disappeared, and the bridge, with Whooves smiling, appeared. “Glad you could join me.” he said, walking her over. He stopped her when she was standing in front of the map. Tell me what you see here.” he said, pointing to the area that encompassed the cyro level and bridge. Twilight looked, but nothing jumped out at her. “I don’t know.” she said irritably. “But I assume you know.” “I do.” he said. He pointed at a spot on the map, just over the cyro level. “See this line? These lines mark structural points and separate levels. Normally, this line would be insignificant. But then I noticed, why is it so thick? It is twice the diameter of the outer hull! Now why would that point need to be so protected?” Twilight shrugged. It was too early for this. “I didn’t know either. Then I started looking further.” He pointed at several spots along that line. They looked like small tubes inside the metal. “I saw those. I had no idea what they were, but it got me thinking. Why would the bridge, which is normally located at the top of a ship, be at the very bottom?” Once again, Twilight shrugged. “I understand why the cyro level would be, but not the bridge. But the weirdest part was, my team didn’t design this part. This was never in our original plans. They added this after we finished it.” Finally, Twilight was waking up. “So what does that mean?” “I wasn’t sure I started looking further into the blueprints.” he said, tracing a line from one of the tubes all the way to a central point on the ship. “These lines carry electrical signals from the main generator to everywhere else in the ship. Normally, there would be no reason to worry about these. But then I noticed that there is a small cut off point, just above the thick line.” “So what are you saying?” Twilight asked. “I am saying this in no ordinary section of the ship.” he said, smiling proudly. “This, is an escape pod.” Twilight just stared at him as the words sank in. Finally, a smile appeared on her face. “You’re saying we can land?!” Whooves nodded. “Just as soon as I can figure out the combination for it. Shouldn’t take more than an hour.” “Oh, this is fantastic!” Twilight yelled, jumping around the room. “We can finally leave!” She stopped mid jump, then she looked over at Whooves. “Once you get this done, there is a couple things I need to do. And one will require you.” Whooves nodded, turning back to the panel. “I will give you a ring when I am done.” “Alright.” Then she teleported home. She collapsed on her bed, that warm glow of hope and joy spreading through her again. Escape. They could finally leave the ship! A soft sigh escaped her lips as she thought about seeing the sky, feeling the wind again. She just wanted to lay there, dreaming about the world below, but she had things to do. She walked out into the hall and into the elevator. She punched the button for the top floor. The door opened onto the familiar scene. She walked to one of the stacked and pulled out a blank piece of paper. She looked around and found a small, almost dull, pencil. She held the paper and pencil in her magic for a few minutes, thinking of what to write. Finally, she knew what to do, and she began to write. After she was finished, she put the paper in the sleeve of the suit and walked back to the elevator. She turned and saw the door, the one that wouldn’t open. She would be back for that later. The doors closed and she was dropped down a floor. She went back into her room and dumped whatever she had in her saddlebags out. She put them over her back and walked back into the elevator. It took her down the bottom floor, and she left the building. She hated to think it, but if something was wrong on the surface, they would need food. She trotted over to the cafeteria and filled her bags with as many of the bars as they would carry. Once she was done, she teleported her bags home. She didn’t want to have to carry them around for the next half hour. She walked back out of the cafeteria, and looked around at the city. So much to explore, and they didn’t have any time to. All she could do was admire the work that the engineers and scientists put into the ship. The forethought they had to include something like this into the ship. Then she started to think how lucky she was. She could still be trapped in ice, not knowing that the planet was right underneath her, and she couldn’t do anything about it. She could also be dead. She was one of the only ponies, besides Rarity, to ask what the survivability was. She had a thirteen percent chance to die. That was almost too big to rick the trip. But it had been too late to back out, and it had been her idea to volunteer. She couldn’t back down and have them wake up on the planet without her. But, if she had not asked them to come along, this wouldn’t have happened to them. Was it her fault that they were now floating in space? No, she told herself, you can’t start thinking that. No pony could have predicted this. But a small voice kept telling her that if she hadn’t thought of coming, then this wouldn’t have happened. She walked away from the cafeteria, back towards the wall. A burst of static in her ear made her start to sprint. It was still dark, and only one pony would be calling her. “Hello!” she said as she galloped. “Twilight! I figured it out!” he said, a smile present even in his voice. “I just have to hit these buttons and off we go!” “That’s amazing!” she replied. “Now get your flank up here, I need your help with something.” “I will be there as soon as possible!” Then the call ended, leaving a huge smile on Twilight’s face. Finally, she reached the wall. She brushed her hoof against the light. The steps slowly extended. She waited for a few moments, then he appeared at the top. He galloped down, three at a time, until he reached her. He was breathing hard, and held up a hoof to make her wait. “Wow...labs are NOT good for cardio.” he said, smiling. “Anyway, what do you need?” “Just follow me.” she said, sprinting off towards her home, Whooves right behind her. They reached her home and piled into the elevator. She pushed the button for the top floor. Whooves looked at her. “Haven’t we been there before?” “We have, but there is something I need your help with.” “Oh, Celestia. Is it the wrong planet or something?” he asked, rolling his eyes. Twilight laughed. “No, nothing like that.” The doors opened and she stepped out. “There is one room on this floor, just like Rainbow’s room. But I can’t get the door open. I was hoping you could get it open for me.” She ran her hoof along the door to demonstrate. Whooves walked over and began to tap along the outside of the door frame. He worked all the way around, then he turned back to her. “I don’t think I could do anything. There isn’t any form of control box. If there was one, I could see if I could get it open.” Twilight let out an exasperated sigh and slumped against the wall. “I just wanted to see what was back there!” Whooves looked back to the door, then back at her. “Why don’t you try to open it?” “I told you, I did! I tried, like, twenty times!” she replied, annoyed. Whooves smile and walked over to her. “No. Why didn’t you open it.” he said, tapping her horn. Twilight’s eyes widened. “Do you think that will work?” she asked, walking over to the door. “ I can’t believe I hadn’t tried that yet!” “It should work the same as a normal door. Just use that spell and it should open.” “Ok.” she said, touching the tip of her horn to the door. “Here goes nothing.” She closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow, as did the door. She imagined herself brushing the light with her hoof, and the door opening. She pictured it as clearly as she could. Then, without warning, she felt herself falling forward. She opened her eyes and found that she was laying in the middle of the, open, doorway. Whooves helped to pull her to her hooves. “Guess it worked then?” he said, walking past her. She brushed herself off then walked in after him. It looked like an exact copy of Rainbow’s room, without the window. The bed covers were turned down, making it look like somepony had just slept in them. A suit, the one thing that Cora had been missing, was thrown over the side of the bed. The only thing that this room had that Rainbow’s didn’t, was a desk. It sat in the spot where the window would be. Twilight walked over to it. Several objects were strewn across the top. A pair of white saddle bags were hung over the back of the chair. They were sealed with a buckle that matched her Cutie Mark; A golden Caduceus. Twilight looked over the contents on the desk. It looked like she had done the same thing Twilight did, only take pictures and books. She picked one up, eyes fogging over as she did. It had Cora on it, but she was not alone. A stallion, also white but with a light blue and yellow striped mane, was standing next to her. He was wearing a fancy tuxedo and she was wearing a beautiful dress that matched her teal eyes. Twilight flipped the photo over. Written in fancy script was: Me and Lightning at the Gala. That sure was an eventful night! Next to that was another. Cora was sitting on a park bench, Lightning smiling down at her. It looked like he had just told a joke, because she was laughing. On the back was more script. Ponyville park. Neither of us knew how soon our lives would change. Twilight pulled up the next photo. Cora was standing, clad in a wedding dress, next to Lightning, who was once again in a tuxedo. He was smiling, red lipstick from Cora still on his own lips. They were both smiling huge for the camera. Friends and family stood behind them, smiling and laughing. She turned it over. The very best day. She told herself one last picture. She found one that was at the head of all of them, one that looked the most worn. It was Cora and Lightning standing in front of a house. Lightning was on his hind legs, carrying Cora in his front legs. He was smiling down at her, and she was staring back at him. Even through the photo, she could sense the love they shared. She flipped it over, and was greeted with a long note. Dearest Lightning, I am sorry for what I am about to do. If there was a way to fix it, I would have already done it. But as I have learned, there is no way around this. I want you to know that every waking moment I spent aboard this ship, and every sleeping second, I was thinking of you. You were my one true love, my guiding angel through the last seven years of our lives I didn’t want to grow old and die without you. If you could talk to me, you would probably say that this is selfish. You don’t know how many times I walked back down there to look at that hatch, the one that kept us separate from one another. Oh, how I wanted to open it. Open it and let us be together once again. But I couldn’t do that to you. I won’t let another pony die for my own selfishness. Just, if you ever wake up, just forgive me. I didn’t want it to come down to it, but it has. I just want you to remember our special times. Our first dance at the Summer Sun Celebration, after you tripped and fell into the fountain. Our first kiss at the Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant, listening to Octavia’s newest piece. Our wedding night. I just want you to think of those times, not about this. That, to you, is my final wish. I am going to say this twice, in this note and another. I want to be buried near the sea. Either on the beach, or on a cliff overlooking the ocean. You know how I loved the ocean, and I want to be there forever. I am trying to think of anything else to say to you. All I can think is, I love you. I need you to remember that. I have, will, and still, love you. Never doubt that love. It is what has kept us together all these years, and what will let us see each other once again. Someday. Until we meet again. Goodbye, my love. Your dearest, Cora Tears falling from her eyes, Twilight picked up all the photos and book, placing them in the saddlebags. These needed to be kept with Cora. They would be safe there. Turning, she saw Whooves watching her, his eyes fogged over. She took one last look around the room. She walked over and picked up her suit, carefully folding it and putting it in with the pictures. One last look revealed nothing else. She walked back out of the room, Whooves behind her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Whooves stopped her with a hoof on the shoulder. He nodded, pulling her into an embrace. She melted into his fur, looking for a place to hide her sorrow. They stayed like that until her legs went numb, then broke apart. “We need to get off this ship.” he told her. “As soon as possible.” Twilight nodded. She opened the door to the elevator, and they walked in. She dropped it down one floor, then walked into her room. She brushed the light, revealing the window. The fake sun was rising over the horizon. The others would be awake soon. “Alright.” she said, her voice breaking on the word. She cleared her throat. “Get down to the bridge and set this up. I will call the others and tell them to get ready.” Whooves nodded, then galloped out of her room. Twilight sighed. She walked over to where her saddlebags had appeared. She put those on behind Cora’s. She took one last look around the room. Remembering, she pulled the letter out of her sleeve and laid it on her pillow. The one mark she would leave on the ship. She closed the window, turned off the lights, and walked out of the room. The scraping metal sound seemed louder this time. Something sounded final about it. She walked into the elevator and pushed the button for the last time. On the way down, she called the others. She told them to gather their stuff, they were leaving. “Meet by the wall.” was what she ended each call with. She was the first to reach the wall, but soon all the others were there, saddlebags and hopeful expression on each of them. “Are you all ready?” Twilight asked. “Once we leave, there is no way to come back.” They nodded. They had been ready for the whole night. “Alright.” she said, turning to walk up the stairs. “Let’s leave this place.” Part 20: The End They reached the cyro level. It seemed to be much larger than it had before. Twilight turned to face the others. “OK, I want you, just for the landing, to go back to your freezing chambers. If we crash, it will protect you from some damage.” She raised her hoof to her ear. “Whooves, are we ready?” “Yep. As soon as you say the word, we can launch!” Twilight looked one more time over whole group. Her eyes landed on a specific pony. “Hold off for a minute. I am sending somepony up.” She walked over to Fluttershy, who was putting her bags into their compartment. “Fluttershy? I want you to launch the ship.” Fluttershy’s reaction was just as she had predicted. Her eyes grew wide and she retreated a few steps. “But...but...Twilight I...” she stuttered, unable to speak. Twilight reached out and touched her shoulder, smiling. “I think, considering who you used to be in Ponyville, that you should do this.” she said, turning her towards the elevator. “I just feel that it is right.” Fluttershy took a couple steps forward. “Ok....I guess so.” then she entered the elevator and was gone. Twilight smiled, then started to walk past the rows of chambers. She stopped at one, the one that they had put Cora in. She opened the compartment above and placed the bags in. She didn’t forget her promise. She was going to bury her. But she added a new promise to that list. Lightning was going to be present when they did it. Looking down the hallway, she could see the others had climbed into the chambers. The last one out was Derpy. She looked slightly worried, watching Twilight as she came closer. “What’s the matter Derpy?” she asked, standing next to the grey Pegasus. “I don’t want to go back in.” she said. “I don’t want to go to sleep again.” “Don’t worry.” Twilight said, soothingly. “We aren’t going to be frozen again. This is just for our protection.” “Alright then.” Derpy said, climbing into the hatch. Twilight shut it as best as she could, then walked down to her own. She climbed in. But, since she had kicked her hatch off, she just stared at the open doorway. She raised her hoof to her ear. “Whooves, are we ready?” “We are. I told Fluttershy how to do this, and we are ready. Fluttershy, just that button there.” “OK. We are ready down here. So tell her to go.” “Roger that!” The call ended, leaving Twilight to hear only the sound of her breathing. Up above, Fluttershy was staring at the control panel. “Are you sure?” she asked, looking over her shoulder. “Very sure. When you are ready, do it.” “O...OK...” Her hoof descended. Epilogue Dear princess Celestia, There is no reason for me to be writing this, you will never see it. I think I just had to say this one time. I never though that this would have happened to me. I don’t know what twist of fate decided to use us for this. But we survived, and for that, I thank you. I don’t think I learned anything about friendship from this experience. But there is one thing I learned. It is something that may sound like I have given up, but it is so much more than that. It is a lesson that we all have to learn. I, and my friends, new and old, had to learn the hard way. I hope that no other pony needs to learn it this way. Princess, I learned; That sometimes, everything just fades away. But, when everything seems the worst, there is a spark that can set your world straight again. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle Among the Stars Lyrics~ Pendulum-'Crush' and 'The Vulture'