//------------------------------//
// Update: Sequel 
// Story: Look Up 
// by Dark Avenger 
//------------------------------//

The door to the library creaked as it slowly opened, and an earth pony mare wearing a Stetson stepped in.

"Hello?" she called out sheepishly.

"Huh?" Spike poked his head out from behind one of the adjacent rooms. "Oh, hi there, Applejack! Good to have you back." He chuckled. "Boy, you sure had us worried."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Applejack said. Her forelegs shuffled nervously as she looked around. "Is Twilight here?"

Spike pointed to the stairs at the far end of the chamber. "She's down in the basement sorting books. Not that the ones down there need it, but..." He laughed again. "Well, you know how she loves to keep stuff organized."

Applejack nodded. She closed the door behind her and made her way toward the stairs. Once she reached them, she gulped as she stared down into the dimly lit abyss before her.

Oh dear... This place always gives me the creeps... What with all these doohickeys Twilight has down here...

Right now, however, all the machinery she dreaded appeared to be powered down. Only a small lantern hanging from the ceiling was lit, though the shadows it cast still kept the mare on edge as she tiptoed down the steps.

"That you, Spike?" Applejack nearly jumped when a familiar voice called out. She looked down and gave a sigh of relief when she noticed her friend, who was sitting in front of a large bookcase at the far wall.

"Could you bring me my 'to do' list?" Twilight said, oblivious to who actually came in. Her horn glowed as it levitated a stack of books off the floor and arranged them on the shelves.

The farmpony took a deep breath and slowly approached her from behind. "Uh... Twilight?" she said.

"Oh!" Twilight wheeled around. "Hey there, Applejack," she said with a smile. "What brings you here today?"

"Well, uh... Ah just came to ask that... well..." She looked around awkwardly cleared her throat. "Ah dunno if y'all noticed, but... We didn't bring everypony home."

Twilight gave her an odd look. "What do you mean?" She turned back to the bookshelf and levitated the next stack of tomes to their appropriate place. "We went to Dodge Junction and brought you back. End of story." 

She frowned. "Mind you, it wasn't easy with you deciding to make a run for it..."

Applejack scratched at her head. "Yeah, Ah know, but anyway... Aren't you forgetting somepony?"

The unicorn got up and walked to the other side of the room to inspect a pile of scrolls. "Uh... no?" she said.

"Seriously?"

Twilight shrugged. "I guess." She floated the scrolls to a desk and sealed them away in one of its drawers.

Applejack frowned. "Twilight," she said in a more serious tone. "Are ya kidding me right now?"

Twilight just stared at her, confused.

"Our friends?" Applejack went on. "From Ponyville? Elements of Harmony an' all that?"

"Applejack, what are you trying to get at?"

"Rarity and Pinkie, that's who!" The farmpony raised her voice. "Are ya tellin' me we just left 'em there?"

Twilight gave her a stern look. "No, we didn't."

"Yes we did." Applejack stomped her hoof. "You were there, weren't you? They never came home with us."

Twilight sat down and crossed her hooves. "They were less than five miles away from Dodge Junction when they fell off the wagon. That's roughly a thirty minute light jog. A train goes through the place every five hours. If my very uncomplicated calculations are correct, they probably got home with one of them yesterday evening." She turned back to the bookshelf again and prepared the next stack. "So instead of yelling at me, shouldn't you be at their places and apologizing to them too?"

"But they didn't come back with any of the trains!" Applejack said. "Ah've been waiting for them at the station all day. Even this mornin'. There's no sign of 'em!"

Twilight paused and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, there's always a slight chance of delay." She then giggled and rolled her eyes. "Unless of course we're talking about them having the ridiculous idea of going for the train tracks instead of heading back to Dodge. I mean, the nearest settlement is almost two days away at gallop speed." She shook her head and smiled. "I'm sure at least Rarity knows better than that."

Applejack gulped. "Ah... Ah think we better talk to Rainbow Dash. When those two get home..."

"Come on, don't be silly, Applejack." Twilight walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder. "They probably just got held up somewhere. For all we know, they like the place and wanted to stay a while."

"Nope!" A high-pitched voice from above made them both jump. "But we did have to go on this really loooong and booooring hoofcar ride."

The mares looked up, and their jaws dropped as they found themselves staring right into Pinkie Pie's mile-wide grin.

"Pinkie?" they said in unison.

"Yep, that's me!" she said with a giggle. Taking a few steps back, she ran up to the edge of the stairs and leaped off, doing a couple of somersaults before landing perfectly atop the tall pile of books Twilight had been busy organizing. "Tada!"

Applejack was the first to regain her composure. She immediately ran up to the pile and, ignoring Twilight's protests, clambered all over the precious tomes until she was face to face with her friend. 

"Pinkie, focus!" she said and shook the grinning mare. "Where's Rarity?"

Pinkie giggled again. "Last I saw, she was blasting clouds apart with her magic while screaming 'RAINBOW DASH!'" Her friends winced as she decided to imitate Rarity's voice, including its volume. "Why?"

Twilight and Applejack glanced at each other, a look of horror on their faces. Moments later, the ground vibrated slightly, and they could faintly hear a series of explosions, followed by somepony screaming in the distance.

"Uh oh..." Twilight said.