//------------------------------//
// Introduction part 2: Security Guard With A Grievance 
// Story: Tribulation (the introduction) 
// by JC Borch 
//------------------------------//

The mission was not going well at this point. I was having trouble keeping the crew calm, and my periodic hallucinations weren’t helping matters. I was chosen to be captain of security for my exemplary military service and two previous trips into space, but I had no previous experience handling civilians. I learned just how differently soldiers think in contrast to civilians. We had not found Gary yet although he was running out of places to hide. The scientists hadn’t been helpful and mostly kept to themselves, whereas the maintenance crew had been downright obstructing our affairs. I feared that they might be hiding things from me.

TRIBULATION CHAPTER 2: SECURITY GUARD WITH A GRIEVANCE

Lars Leland was a well-built man, muscled and also rather short, always with a cleanly shaved face and neatly trimmed, blonde hair. A man of just 34, he already had several accomplishments under his belt which had earned him the spot as head of security for the spaceship PC Mournheld. His responsibility was securing the lives of 205 men and women; scientists, soldiers and mechanics.

But he wasn’t alone up here in the vast expanses of the sky. With him was also his oldest friend, Ulrich Pendragon, just a year older than Lars. Taller and faster, Ulrich is a bit more haggard to look at with messy red hair and a small beard that covered his mouth. He had recently begun to shave his cheeks to display the cut on his left cheek. Originally a simple shaving accident, the wound had settled as a scar and the stories of how he had gotten it grew ever more imaginative.

“This is the life, eh?” Ulrich said and slipped his naked form into the large, bubbling tub. “Everyone else is doing patrol or working, but the two of us can do just as we please.”

“Mmm,” Lars said, not quite listening. He was trying to relax, but he had way too many things on his mind. Even now, sitting in this warm water and bathing all the grime from his body, he could not release his duties as a security officer.

“Come on, old pal, relax,” Ulrich said and slapped his friend on the back, nearly sending his friend nose first into the water. “It’s been two weeks already. Gary don’t have a whole lot of other places to hide in, we’ll find him.”

“I still don’t think he’s the killer.”

“Who would you rather think the killer is? Dr Williamson? Or Private Kim?” Ulrich said the last part with a grin and nudged Lars. “I bet you wouldn’t mind searching her cavities for concealed weapons.”

“I’d rather not think it about any of the people onboard,” Lars said and sighed, leaning back against the wall and rested his head, starring up into the ceiling. “I wonder how they’re doing down on the Earth. A whole month gone by and still no word.”

“I’m certain they’re all right. We were warned that contact with Earth might be impossible.”

“Well you can’t blame me for wanting to get into contact with my family?”

Ulrich gave a disgruntled grunt, but eventually nodded in agreement. “I wouldn’t have left Charlotte for anything in the world, you know. I never understood why you chose this mission instead of staying home and watch your daughter grow up.”

Lars still hadn’t told him; in fact, only Wendy knew besides himself. Lars was afflicted with the Crimson Plague, an epidemic that had ravaged mankind and for which no cure was known. It only killed the weak and the old and a man as strong and vigorous as Lars would not experience the tiredness and fatigue associated with it. But he was ill nonetheless, with the very disease that had forced this billion dollar spaceship into the air to research the possibilities of survival in space. He didn’t need to take any medicine yet, but stress and raised blood pressure in general would make him nauseous and faint. As far as Ulrich knew, Lars was just experiencing adverse effects from the antifreeze and some trouble from acclimatising himself to life in space.

“This is extremely important and I’m the most qualified for the job,” Lars simply replied.

“Lars Leland, the man who always put the safety and happiness of others before anything else. Striving to get a medal and a reward ceremony?” Ulrich teased.

“The future of mankind is at stake. Who wouldn’t do it with such a burden on their shoulders?”

“Certainly not me. Call me selfish all you want, but the army has plenty of qualified people.”

Lars didn’t respond. The whole conversation was ruining his mood, of which there was little left to ruin. He sank deeper into the tub so that only his face above the nose was visible, making bubbles with his mouth. It would just so happen that Kim, one of the young recruits Ulrich was wowing with his tales, entered. She wasn’t fazed by two naked men together in tub. She came from a society with a looser sexual morale and even in the heat from the water acted as professionally as expected.

“Kim McManus reporting in,” she said and put her closed right fist under her chin.

“I know who you are, Kim, at ease. What is it?” Lars asked and returned to the surface.

“Well,” she said, flustered by being addressed so casually. She was a pretty young lady of 28 with long, smooth, black hair. “Philip Leonard wants to see you, sir. He says it quite urgent.”

“I’ll be right there,” Lars replied, but he was firmly shoved back into the water.

“Not so fast,” Ulrich said. “You just got in!”

“But I’ve been trying to get that weasel to talk with me ever since Gary went missing. This is important.”

“And allow him to think that we dance just because he starts singing? I say let him cook for a bit. Tell him to wait or leave a message, we’ll get back to him.”

Kim looked at Lars, still standing in honour, waiting for the final judgement. He sighed and shrugged. “You got a point of course. Very well, as Ulrich said.”

“Y-yes, sir!” she replied enthusiastically and turned around, through the door that melted on her contact and gone.

“You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about dipping your thing in that,” Ulrich said, only because he knew there was no chance of her hearing it.

“Drop it,” Lars said and disappeared completely from the surface.

***

He emerged thirty minutes later, smelling freshly of shampoo but otherwise completely dry and in his deep purple uniform and black metal boots. He was surprised to find Kim sitting in the corridor outside the unisex changing rooms, nervously clenching the purple fabric she herself was wearing. She stood up like shot from a cannon and stood in honour again. Lars chuckled to himself and wiped his mouth.

“Yes, Kim, how may I help you?” he asked.

“Philip Leonard requests meeting you, alone, in the machine room beneath the ship. He says it’s important.”

“You could’ve just left me a message,” he said.

“I realise that, sir, but it was urgent,” she replied, still without looking at him, afraid to enter eye contact with a superior.

“Very well. Did he say why?”

“No, sir, he did not, not even on my insistence.”

“All right then, guess I’ve no choice.”

Ulrich was already gone as he had patrol duty to take care of, but had insisted that Lars remained behind and enjoy the time he had left here. The spa was for everyone to use aboard the ship regardless of status. It was one of many boons that had been provided for them, but Lars definitely preferred his own shower. He had trouble unwinding and just wanted such a simple thing as bathing to be over with quickly. Still, it was nice to spend some time with his oldest friend. They had grown up together and had been thick as thieves all their life.

The spa was part of a common room in the middle section of the ship. The walls had been painted white to signify the impartiality and lack of rank in here. Everyone had equal right to use the facilities in here, not just restricted to the spa. There was also a cinema that would show movies every night, an all purpose court that could easily be redesigned for tennis or soccer or lacrosse, the national sport of Prima City, and a café.

There was only one way out of here, aside from the various emergency tunnels that would naturally only be used in case of an emergency, god forbid. The bubble used for transport around here was set into a depression in the floor and was surrounded by a metal cage that acted as the foot for a small statue. The image of John Kilburne, the greatest hero of the war nearly 2.000 years ago was placed her to inspire courage in the team and remind them that mankind had suffered greater crises and survived.

Lars took a moment to admire the statue. John Kilburne was dressed in the iconic clothing that had inspired freedom fighters for many years: tall brown leather boots, blue jeans, a white shirt, a black trench coat, dense shades; his long hair tied up into a ponytail and wielding a revolver in his left hand. Perhaps Lars’ likeness would one day be put up on a pedestal for people to gaze up at in awe and reverence.

A single bubble system would be unrealistic back in Prima City, but with a population of only some two hundred people, it hadn’t caused any problems yet. Other exits had been clearly marked if a fire erupted and people needed to evacuate quickly. There were more bubbles hidden inside the ship and were perfect shelters due to their resistance to almost any thinkable disaster. They were not hermetically sealed, however, and would prove ineffectual to sustain life in a vacuum.

People wandered round, chatting merrily and able to forget their duties for a few hours. For Lars, duty now called and he had a job to do. He was eager to finally get a chance to talk to Phil. Damn bastard had lips sealed tighter than a clam. At least you could knife a clam and pry it open.

Lars approached the bubble and announced his desire to go to the machine room far below, deep into the bowels of the ship. The spherical taxi opened a hatch and Lars climbed inside and got comfortable on a bench. The hatch closed again and the interior filled up with foam that pressed him firmly against the walls. So shock absorbent was the material that he could not even feel the bubble move as it tumbled around like a ball inside a pinball machine.

It was a roller coaster of a ride and something that commuters had to endure each and every day. Few people had access to cars anymore, only those with money or companies that needed to haul large cargo around. Of course, cars wouldn’t be feasible either when they had to exploit the space they had as sufficiently as possible.

It came to rest only seconds later. One major reason for not finding better alternatives was the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It could cover America coast to coast in less than an hour and space would only be minutes away.

Lars emerged from the ship and looked not to be overall fazed by the trip. A man like him, who had grown up in Prima City, was used to a ride like that.

The machine room was inexplicably covered in black paint. One reason might be a lack of anymore colours to use or to heighten contrast to the common room. It was always hot down here, like an early day of spring where not a wind is blowing.

He was in a narrow corridor that slithered forward, with many doors that lead this way and that. The maintenance crew also lived down here, but their dormitories were fortunately cooled down lest they should perish in the heat. Other doors led to the various mechanical parts of the ship, like the engine, the power distributor and the main computer that ensured things were running optimally.

When Phil had said that he wanted to see Lars down here, he had implicitly meant near the bubble. Despite this, the place was deserted and only the hum of the machines sounded. Lars was discontented with this behaviour. When inviting someone, you had better show up at the appointed place. Granted, Lars had taken his time and Phil had his own duties to attend to, but he could have left someone here to guide him. Lars didn’t know the layout of the machine room or where Phil could possibly be.

He was about to leave and contemplated a proper reprimand when he spotted something by his feet. Lars crouched down and ran a finger through the liquid... it was blood. He looked ahead and saw that someone had been dripping as they walked towards one of the engine rooms. Whoever it was had tried to stop the bleeding by pressing hard against the wound, but was losing too much to effectively handle it without bandages.

Lars feared for the worst and quickly rushed into the engine room. Here and there, small trickles of blood adorned the stairs downwards. They were still wet, and though it could have been a worker who had cut himself on a tool, it still disturbed Lars.

The pockets of these jumpsuits blended in completely and were a good as impossible to discern at a glance. He took from one of these pockets the standard issue concussion beam blaster handed out to all the security personnel. It was shaped like a musical horn with a nozzle in one end and a sphere in the other. Turning the sphere would result in various intensities of power in the blaster and cranking it all the way up to twelve could even turn it into a welding torch at the risk of overheating and exploding.

The temperature was intensifying down here, but the all purpose jumpsuit shielded him from the brunt of it. The working uniforms of the maintenance crew was even better isolated and they were barely inconvenienced from the warmth.

Lars didn’t know exactly what the engines looked like or how they worked. The vital parts were encased with the same sturdy, protective material of the bubbles, just sprayed dark grey to match the surroundings. There were two enormous square blocks in here and plenty more in other parts of the ship.

The blood trail was leading him to the engine on the right. It stopped abruptly and Lars looked the intricate machine up and down. He knew that there were accessible points if the need arose to enter the engine and check something up, but that would normally be done by specialised robots. Still, someone could enter if they wanted to. Lars had access to all parts of the ship as his position as captain, even down here. He ran a hand across the area where the blood stopped and the hatch opened for him.

The engines were covered all around with an industrial-sized freezer to keep the temperature down. It was too cold inside for anyone to survive long in there so the engine that needed a check-up would be turned off completely before anyone ventured forth. Furthermore, there was no way to get trapped. The hatch could be opened easily from both sides. But then again, if your hands had been tied behind your back and you were bleeding from a wound on your torso, it would get much more difficult.

Phil Leonard was lying here, covered in a thick layer of ice, his position demonstrating the despair he must have gone through. He was dead, not from a loss of blood, but hypothermia. Lars quickly closed the hatch again, not because he had been rocked from the sight of it, but because of the bone-chilling frost. The blood was fresh, so whoever had been behind this had to be close by.

“Gary!” Lars bellowed angrily. “I swear to Christ, if you did this, I’ll make you pay!”

Something moved down at the end of the hall. He had been watched by someone that quickly retreated again, but Lars would not let him get away. Whoever this was had been stealing their rations, killing their livestock and now had three lives on his conscience.

Lars rounded the corner as well, but the shadow had disappeared already. Lars was not the fastest runner and was more of a confrontational guy. He hated these games and it always frustrated him how short his legs were. Still, this guy shouldn’t have disappeared like this. Perhaps into the engine? Lars ran a hand against it the smooth surface. It was quiet and was probably just a backup in case they needed more speed. Defrost the insides and you would have an excellent safe house.

The door had to be around here somewhere and Lars carefully searched the exterior with his hands. Trained mechanics would easily be able to find it, if nothing else, based on their deep understanding on how these machines worked.

Lars never did find that door, however. He never heard the person sneaking up on him, nor did he even have a chance to see his attacker. The last thing he felt was a sharp blow to the back of his neck and the rage behind it. The crude iron rod fell to the ground next to him, abandoned like he himself was. He was alone down here and no one but Kim would know he had come here.

He tried to push himself up again, but his limbs would not react. He tried to scream, but only a hoarse whisper escaped his lips. He panicked, but could not move. He had never felt so despondent before in all of his life, like a kid trapped in a well.

A pool of blood formed under his cheek. It was hot and sticky and he could feel it on his skin. The crimson colour swirled before his eyes and after just seconds of lying there, a small whirlpool had formed beneath his unmoving face. He was staring in disbelief as his blood became transparent. He could see into the pool and gazed at a wooden library beyond. Was his life passing before his eyes? It couldn’t be, he had never seen that location before.

A small purple and green dragon came into view and stared back at him with a raised eyebrow. It could actually see him.

“Twilight, an inter-dimensional portal has opened downstairs,” it called.

“What?” came the response, followed by the sound of hooves on wood. A purple unicorn with dark purple hair soon emerged and pushed the dragon aside. “Oh my gosh, you’re right... what am I looking at?” she asked.

“Help... me,” Lars whispered.

“Come again?” the unicorn asked. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Help... me,” Lars whispered again, but the unicorn simply shook her head.

“If you can hear me, can you tell me who you are? And what you want?” the unicorn asked.

His voice failed him completely and he was gurgling his own blood, sending a feast of bubbles rippling across the surface. He had managed to retain his consciousness for this long, but that was soon going the same way as his mobility. A pair of large hands reached under his armpits and heaved him up.

“Wait, why did you call? Hello!” the unicorn asked, but she was gone as well. The portal closed and left was only his blood and nothing more. He fell once more into the darkness he had gotten so used to, uncaring for what would happen to him.

***

Lars had no dreams that night. It was like when he had been frozen, so he had to have been put into a medical coma for whatever purpose. He could not say for how long he was out, but he was eventually woken by voices. He was too tired to stir, but felt the familiar feel and scent of his capsule. So he was back in his room at least.

“Cut it out,” Ulrich said from somewhere miles away.

“Don’t fret so much, I just want to take a look at your scar,” Wendy said.

So it was those two he could hear. Lars was glad to be visited by his friend and that cute doctor. If only he could tell them.

“There’s nothing to look at. I cut myself when I was shaving, end of story.”

“This is not a simple cut... you must’ve burnt yourself.”

Why did they have to argue? Couldn’t they just be happy that Lars was alive and getting around? He tried desperately to wiggle his toes or flap his arms or something to get their attention.

“You’re out of your mind, you know that?”

“Look, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. You overcharged your gun during practise, right? It overheated and exploded and then a piece nicked you?”

Lars put all his efforts into moving his body. He groaned with the effort which eventually caught their attention.

“Lars, you’re finally awake! I was starting to worry about you!” 

He opened his eyes and saw his room in all its redness. The lights were dimmed, no doubt to better help him sleep, and the lid was opened as well. The lid would only be closed during extended sleep.

“Don’t try to move your body at all,” Wendy said. She looked tired and had her sleeves rolled up. “The assailant severed some of your spinal nerves, but I was able to repair the damage after seven hours of surgery. Your body needs rest and time to integrate the new nerves, so don’t try to move for a few days.”

“It’ll be okay, buddy. After all, you have me to take care of your duties in your absence,” Ulrich said and beamed down into the pod. His otherwise unruly red hair looked even more rebellious today. He always had been one to worry. Strangely, Lars was usually the one to get himself into a jam despite being the more cautious of the two. “Listen, I know you can’t have any, but if you awake later, well... I left some of your muffins on the nightstand.”

“Get some rest, captain,” Wendy said and dragged Ulrich out.

Once again, Lars was left to the darkness. Thankfully, the medication was wearing off and he was allowed to dream again. If he had died up here, what would become of his family? He didn’t want to dwell on it and slowly soared back down among them. There he found his refuge and it worked better than any pills he could swallow. Whenever the going got tough, he simply relished his memories of beautiful Charlotte and their newborn daughter Diane.

He could almost smell the hair of his little daughter as she jumped up on him, falling asleep on his stomach after a long day of play. He was starting to feel his body again and that was more than a dream. He blinked, unsure what was going on. He woke to find a familiar grey pegasus all tuckered out on his abdomen, her face covered with crumbs. He tilted his head and saw that his muffins were gone, but he didn’t really mind. He reached out a hand and stroked her blonde mane gently. She smiled in her sleep.

Why did these things keep happening to him? This wasn’t the only time that he had encountered these ponies and it just kept happening. He rested his right hand on her slowly heaving body and relaxed in his pod. It was always under great stress that he was visited by these eldritch equines, so they were most likely nothing but fabrications of his disease-addled brain. Still, hallucinations had not been documented as a symptom of the Crimson Plague, so perhaps he was truly going insane? Before any answers came to him, sleep overtook him again, aided by the warm bundle on his stomach.

***

He woke next morning to the flashing of bright lights and noise. He shielded his eyes and tried to orient himself, but he was still drowsy from sleep and his body had only just recovered from an injury that could have paralysed him for life. He looked up at the cheering face of his second-in-command and saw that many others from the security force were here, even a few lab coats.

The mood was high and dominated by Lars’ return to health. They had somehow managed to put up streamers and a get well banner all while he slept.

“Ulrich, why did you think this was a good idea?” Lars said and rested his left hand on his brow, too tired to properly move it.

“You ate your muffins, so I knew that you could move again and that you had gotten your appetite back. Licked clean!” Ulrich said.

“But I didn’t -” Lars stated, but knew the futility of discussing this. Whether his fantasy of talking ponies was real or not, it always ended up impacting the reality.

“Besides, when I told everyone that you had gotten better, I simply couldn’t keep them away.”

Just to prove his point, Kim shuffled over, nervous about approaching a superior officer. Like everyone else, she was dressed in her security uniform. You were defined by your work in Prima City, and most work uniforms doubled as personal clothes.

“Uhm, Captain Leland, Sir,” she said and fidgeted with her hands.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Ulrich said with a smile and clapped Kim on the shoulders, before going over to a group of young officers who he frequently entertained with his wild stories.

“I just want to tell you how sorry I am for leading you into that trap,” Kim said and looked at her feet.

“Don’t sweat it,” Lars said and relaxed in his pod.

“I’m just glad I told Officer Pendragon about the whole thing as well. He was very curious when he came out before you.”

“You told Ulrich?” Lars asked interestedly.

“Oh yes, he was very anxious about knowing the details. To think, if I hadn’t told him, he would never have come down to check up on you.” As if feeling a chill, she began to rub her arms. She smiled down at Lars and then went away to mingle.

Several other officers came over to check up on him and extend their best wishes and congratulation; even Wendy came to him to check if he was all right. What he really wanted some answers, but none of the people he talked with knew much. It started to annoy him greatly and he lay fuming for a while until finally Ulrich came back to his side.

The party had started thinning as people went back to their various duties. They only had a few minutes to spare to see their captain before heading back out. But Ulrich was still here, and he had a slice of cake in his hand which he offered to Lars. He accepted and pushed himself up in a sitting position and took the cake.

“Now,” Lars said and began eating the cake. It was a lovely chocolate-strawberry arrangement, “would you mind telling me what I have missed while I was out?”

Ulrich nodded and started explaining. They hadn’t found the culprit, but it was in all likelihood Gary. The iron rod had been left behind and was full of Gary’s prints. Knowing that they had been betrayed by the refugee that they had sheltered, the maintenance crew surrendered and confessed to everything.

“I couldn’t very well arrest them all, so I let them off with a reprimand. Those involved will be forbidden from enjoying the recreational facilities of the ship for a month,” Ulrich said and finished his recounting.

“Good choice. Still, I’d never thought Gary would do something like this... and leave evidence like that behind,” Lars said.

“He hasn’t had a drop to drink for weeks. He’s probably delusional at this point.”

Lars looked at up Ulrich, his eyes not really seeing. Ulrich had said something about delusions... if two people were seeing things not there, could it be a coincidence? There might be something wrong with the air filtration! But that should have afflicted a larger group of people. No matter how Lars wracked his brain, he couldn’t come up with any good excuses for the ponies he kept seeing other than insanity.

“You all right?” Ulrich asked.

“I’m fine, just... trying to make sense of it all. Have you found Gary yet then?”

Ulrich shook his head. “No. From the machine room, he would have access to the tunnels running under the ship. But he just alienated his last friends on board, so it won’t be long before he has to surface again.”

“Why did the maintenance crew harbour him in the first place?”

“I’m not sure,” Ulrich responded and scratched his chin. “I think they believed in his innocence, much like you did.”

“That’s it? There has to be more to it than that,” Lars said, but Ulrich simply shook his head.

“I doubt it. Most of them aren’t too clever.”

Lars raised his eyebrow in perplexity over that statement. “Most of them have degrees in engineering and are highly educated people. They aren’t exactly the overweight slobs with grease stains on their bellies you can find docked under your car.”

“Doesn’t matter, does it? Gary has found a hole to crawl into, but I’ll look through the status rapport to see if the main computer has picked up on his trail somewhere.”

“So, did Wendy say when I could get up again?”

“Not until tomorrow,” Ulrich said and placed a hand on Lars’ shoulder. “She actually told me you should take the week off, but we both knew we couldn’t restrain you for that long.”

Lars resigned himself to the fates and relaxed in his pod again.

“Don’t do something I wouldn’t until tomorrow then,” Lars said.

Ulrich nodded with a grin and left the room. Lars was now all alone and already bored out of his skull. He felt around his uniform and found the computer lodged to his collar like he preferred. His duds weren’t bloodied, so he could assume this was a spare pair that Ulrich had probably dressed him in.

With nothing to do, Lars finally found the time to go through some of the paperwork he had pushed aside for a rainy day. It wouldn’t get much rainier, not even being able to move out of the bed. He sighed and filed through the various items with a bored expression. He’d much rather be out on patrol and look for Gary. He was just thankful he lived in a time where spinal injuries were a minor surgery.

After a few hours, Wendy visited him again and checked his mobility. She made him lift his arms and legs and wriggle hands and feet. It was hard to do it with his joints aching, but Wendy was apparently satisfied. She slapped a patch on Lars’ neck that would help him sleep, and when he woke, he would be back to his old self again. He had his doubts he could sleep again already, especially with an itchy patch on his neck, but he soon dozed off again.

***

His dreams this time around were more difficult to remember and wholly inconsequential. It was about midday back on Earth when he fell asleep and it was very early morning when he awoke again. His limbs were stiff and his throat was dry and he wasn’t entirely sure what had awakened him. He blinked his eyes and stared into the darkness, trying to get his bearings. He felt something brush against his hand and saw that a mint green pony was studying it curiously.

Seeing that Lars was awake, the lights turned on by themselves and lit up the room. The pony looked up at him in panic, frozen to the spot. It was a unicorn this time with big, curious, yellow eyes and a harp on her flank. What had been in that medicine?

“Relax, I’ve seen too many ponies by now to care,” Lars said and covered his face with his left hand to shield his eyes from the light.

“You can see me then?” the pony asked enthusiastically.

“Why shouldn’t I? I’ve already seen a grey pegasus, a purple unicorn and I think I saw the pink tail of another. What’s so special about you?”

“I’m not really here! I’m just dreaming I’m here. None of the other people could see me. Where are we? Who are you?” she asked inquisitively and eagerly.

“I’m Lars Leland, head of security and captain onboard the spaceship PC Mournheld. What about you?”

“I’m Lyra! Lyra Heartstrings... you know, I was once a human too!” she said and began to bounce excitedly.

“Is that a fact?” Lars asked and relaxed in his pod. Perhaps this would all go away if he just played along with it. “How does that work?”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to be a unicorn! So when my fiancée and I found a magical portal, we immediately entered it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t particularly happy about being unicorn. We kind of broke up after that. He sells donuts in Canterlot now, but he still comes to Ponyville to see me from time to time!”

“Heh,” Lars said. He began to chuckle, first lightly then slowly climbing to a hearty and deepfelt laughter. He couldn’t help himself. The absurdity of the tricks his mind was playing on him was enough to split his sides. He clenched his face tightly with his hand as the roar of his merriment watered his eyes.

“What are you laughing about?” Lyra asked heatedly.

“I’m sorry, but that’s just the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard,” Lars said, his cheeks aching from the effort. He couldn’t remember the last time he had let loose like that and just laughed and laughed. It was like a lifetime of sombreness broke like a levee and a flood of mirth filled him.

“Oh yeah? Well... I came here thinking humans were nice beings, but I can clearly see that they’re all still jerks,” Lyra said angrily with tears flowing down her cheeks. She stormed out of his room and through the door which she no doubt had no access to open.

“Wait... come back,” Lars said, still giggling slightly.

He was barefoot and didn’t want to bother finding his boots. The floor was comfortably warm though and he quickly forgot all about footwear. He didn’t understand himself what had made him lose control like this but it felt good.

The hall was empty however. The pony, Lyra as she had called herself, was already gone and left Lars standing smiling sheepishly. It was only then that he realised he had been running, that he was standing. It looked like his recovery was complete. He felt so good, in fact, that he decided to skip protocol and just go on an unannounced patrol right then and there. He was about to go back inside to fetch his boots when he noticed another light down the hall.

It was quiet, but the lights were on in Wendy’s room. The doctors and nurses and other medical staff were divided among the sections so that all parts of the ship had a little clinic and sufficient health personnel. Wendy, the head doctor of the security department, was also trained as a coroner.

Lars went down the hall, sprinting more because he could than any perceived notion of urgency. He didn’t know the exact time of day, but it had to be early morning. The ship was quiet and there no one about. Someone out on patrol could have hurt themselves or perhaps Wendy had had something to do. Most of all, Lars just wanted someone to converse with. He felt vigorous and alive and anyone awake would do.

He entered the office of Dr Williamson and nearly slipped on the blood. Normally his boots would prevent any disasters, but as previously stated, he had neglected to bring those with him. The only reason why he didn’t fall headfirst into the pooled blood was a quick grab around the doorframe. All his remaining giddiness drained out of him at that very moment.

Gary was here in the middle of it all. Wendy’s private quarters were designed as all other private quarters with a pod at the other end and a desk on the left. The doctor in question was lying in front of her bed with most of her head missing. Blood was sprayed up on the wall and all over the pod and gliding down the floor towards the entrance. A discarded gun had nearly drowned in the thick liquid and Gary stood next to it.

He turned his head and looked at Lars with big, frightful eyes. His face looked like it had aged a decade or two in the weeks that he had been missing and his features were harrowed and emaciated, his eyes the eyes of a madman.

“This is not what it looks like,” Gary said quietly, almost inaudible. He smiled weakly.

“Gary, you son of a bitch,” Lars said and waded through the gore. “You killed Burton, James, Leonard and now Williamson... why?”

“It wasn’t me... it was “him”!” he said, his shoulders heaving as laughed quietly and manically.

“Him?” Lars asked.

“You don’t know what he’s like,” Gary said slowly and looked down at Wendy again. “When you’re not around, he’s always bossy, insane even! He beats us and he can’t keep his hands off the women. Burton knew, that’s why he had to die. James found out, so he had to die as well. And then he tried to blame me!”

He cocked his backwards and laughed dejectedly. Lars was starting to get nervous and reached inside his uniform where his hand fortunately found the gun it sought. He pulled it out and set the intensity to low. He wanted to bring Gary in, not kill him. Killing someone so brutally required the gun to be cranked up dangerously high.

“But Phil believed me,” Gary said and looked down again, wiping his nose with his uniformed arm. “He hid me where “he” could not find me and he brought me food. But “he” found out! And “he” killed Phil and blamed me again. I had to run. So I hid in the tunnels. But Wendy found me. She believed in me and told me to come here when there was no one around. She told me that Lars would believe me. But “he” found out and she had to die as well.”

“Of course I believe you,” Lars feigned and took the sobbing Gary by his shoulder. “I’ll put you in a cell until I find him, all right?”

“Yes! Put me in a cell and so that bad man can never get me!” Gary said and grabbed Lars’ shoulders. “Lock me up and throw away the key. I’m tired of running and fearing and shaking and hiding.”

Lars was getting increasingly uncomfortable with the situation and felt he had no other choice but to pacify Gary. His actions were getting erratic and unpredictable and it was merely a safety precaution when Lars fired the gun into Gary’s abdomen.

It was a low, low intensity and Gary simply crumbled into a heap on the floor.

“Can you tell me who “he” is?” Lars asked. Gary looked up at him and smiled. He mouthed a word that sent shivers up Lars’ newly repaired spine, before chortling and then closing his eyes.

Lars knew of course that Gary was not in his right mind, but to see a finger pointed towards that man made Lars sweat coldly. His forehead was clammy and his rebellious locks sticky. He would need a haircut soon, but that was not on his mind right now.

By the time that he gotten Gary stowed away, it seemed the whole ship knew what was going on, in turn because he had sent a distress signal to the rest of the security force.

The jail was a small room at the back part of the security section. No one had anticipated it would be used very often, perhaps as a place for a few drunks to sleep out the night, so there were only two big cells here. The force fields surrounding the cells were penetrable only by the security team. The access was further restricted whenever someone was inside and only a handful of people could get in to Gary.

Chairs and a table in the corner were the only furniture outside the cells and Lars collapsed on one of them and looked up at the naked red walls. It was peaceful now, but morning was giving way to day and the usual bustle following was already starting up. Ulrich entered, both delighted to see his friend was mobile again, but also confused at the sudden activity.

“What the Hell is going on?” he asked and rushed over to the corner where Lars was sitting.

“I got him,” Lars said and put his hands behind his neck.

Ulrich looked over to the cell where Gary was lying. The effects had probably worn off by now, but he was sleeping soundly, thinking himself safe. “Amazing,” Ulrich said and put his hands on his side. “Now that is what I call a comeback. Bravo.”

“It’s hardly an accomplishment,” Lars said sourly. “He managed to kill our therapist, one of our head scientists, a mechanic and a doctor. I just hope the mission hasn’t been put in danger.”

“You caught him, that’s what matters,” Ulrich said and smiled broadly as he always did. “Besides, those deaths were only minor setbacks. Their work will be continued by others... well, maybe not Dr Burton’s, but you get my drift. Hey, where are you going?”

“Taking a shower,” Lars said and strode across the floor. “Can’t remember when I last had one.”

***

It was midday when he went out on patrol again. He had treated himself to a trim as well and his hair was shining and short, just the way he preferred it. His bloodied uniform had been replaced and reports had been filed. It still aggravated him that they couldn’t contact Earth and he missed his family badly.

It was his heart that led him as he wandered around aimlessly. He eventually found himself up on the bridge where only a few people usually worked. They checked the instruments and interpreted the data that they received from the central computer for maximal performance.

The bridge was placed in the middle of the ship in accordance with the layout: four circles connected to a fifth. As one might guess, the middle portion contained most of the mechanical aspects of the spaceship in the bottom, the bridge on top as well as the common room sandwiched between them. But there were other things up here too. The communication equipment that should, in theory, put them in contact with those back home, was placed in the upper portion as well.

The workable area was relatively small and contained only a wall with a monitor and a sound detector. No one would be in here usually as they had given up a long time ago to get it to work and no mechanic had been able to find anything wrong. The conclusion had been that they had been insufficiently equipped to establish a link with Earth so far into space. He was therefore surprised to see a familiar face up here. Young officer Kim sat at the controls and sobbed into her arms. She looked up when she heard Lars’ footsteps.

“Hey sir,” she said feebly and dried her eyes.

“Hey? You will address me properly, young lady,” Lars said sternly.

“Y-yes, sir! My apologies, sir! Please don’t reprimand me, sir!” she said and stood up with her fist under chin. She quickly relaxed, however, when she saw that Lars was smiling at her. “Don’t do that to me,” she said and slumped back into the chair.

“What are you doing up here, Kim?” he asked, genuinely curious to find his youngest officer up here. “Already homesick?”

“No. I miss my boyfriend,” she said glumly and looked at the wall of machinery in front of her. She rested her arms on a little shelf protruding and Lars took a seat next to her. “We promised I would call him every week, but I haven’t been able to contact him in a month.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I have family back on Earth as well. I left a beautiful wife and a newborn daughter to go on this trip, and now I can’t even tell them how much I love them.”

She looked up at him surprised. “You left a newborn daughter?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes. I didn’t have the strength to tell them that I had the Crimson Plague, so this is my escape and my punishment. When we get back to Earth, they’ll have made a cure and everything will be fine.”

“My grandmother told my dad the same,” she said and grumbled. “It will never change. My boyfriend has the plague as well. We were going to get married when I suddenly got the draft; else I’d never left him.”

“He’ll be fine, Kim. He’s still young after all.”

“I know. But it still feels like he’s dead, that everyone is dead. There’s nothing wrong with our equipment, is there?” Kim asked.

Lars shook his head. “There’s just something interfering with the signal, like a solar flare or a magnetic field that we didn’t take into account.”

She was about to reply when both of their computers vibrated and emitted a low hum. Lars took his off his collar and twisted the ends to reveal an emergency signal. Gary had been found dead in his cell. Lars could not believe the red words etched in light on his screen. He carefully read the short message again, but his eyes were not playing tricks on him. Gary had been found dead in his cell.

He put his computer away and rushed towards the bubble again. All of the five sections had numerous access points and one wasn’t far away from the communications room. Kim followed him, although she had no real reason to. She could have stayed and tried to talk with Earth, but that would probably be a waste of time.

“Listen,” Kim said as they reached the end of the hall. She started fidgeting again as she always did when addressing a superior. “Did... did Gary tell you anything?” she asked.

“Just maddened ranting,” Lars replied and called the bubble to him.

She looked like she wanted to pursue the subject, but was afraid of continuing. Instead, she simply took a seat next to him and rode through the ship towards the security section. She followed him as he ran, which wasn’t hard to do. Lars was a small, muscular man and had never been quick on his feet.

Ulrich was there already, along with the new head doctor and a few security officers who protected the scene of crime. How could Gary have died in his cell? He had nothing on him to make a noose, no sharp objects and the walls were soft. It was impossible to die in your cell through conventional measures.

“You were first on scene?” Lars asked and Ulrich nodded.

“Aye. I thought maybe I could convince him to start talking. When I came back here, I found him like that.”

Lars pushed his way through the guards and to the cell. The shocking sight was not Gary dead, nor the curiously handsome, somewhat androgynous doctor. All around him lay bottle after bottle of liquor; whiskey, vodka, wine, beer. The whole place reeked of booze and urine.

“How did he die?” Lars asked and squatted down next to the doctor.

“Massive heart attack,” the doctor said. His voice was like silk, yet his eyes were hard. “He’s got approximately 380 mg of alcohol per decilitre blood in his system. It’s a wonder he didn’t die before.”

“He always could take his drink,” Lars mused. “Is this suicide?”

“Unlikely. Even if I hadn’t found traces of a funnel in his oesophagus, someone would still have had to supply him.”

Lars looked at Gary. He would be about sixty by now. Memories of watching Gary on the screen when Lars was only a boy of ten flashed before his eyes. He remembered how highly praised Gary had been, how he had always been on the forefront of advances in space technology. Tragedies and booze had eventually eroded his fame and no one had ever thought that he would actually make it into space. It had been Lars’ idea, as head of security, to bring him along as part of their security team.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Ulrich behind him.

“He wasn’t the man he used to be,” Ulrich said with a hint of melancholy in his voice.

“I know,” Lars said and got up again. “This is bad, you know?”

“How so? It must’ve been suicide, right?”

“No,” Lars replied and shook his head. “Someone forced all that liquor down his throat. We’re either dealing with a vigilante or perhaps... perhaps we never got the real murderer.”

“Does it really matter?” Ulrich said and shrugged. “Gary was obviously the murderer. He died because someone was angry at him and I don’t blame them. I really don’t.”

“But-”

“Leave it. The only one who has access to that cell is you, me and a handful of other officers. We just averted one crisis, let’s not make another one.”

Lars stared up into his old friend’s eyes. This was the first time that he had ever seriously doubted his friend, but perhaps that was all because of the last thing Gary had told him. “Ulrich.” The poor fellow had been too afraid to even say it out loud and could only mouth it.

“Come on, why don’t we watch a movie?” Ulrich asked. “I hear they’re playing some sick B-movies all day.”

“I... I better finish my round first. Why don’t you take care of this mess and then we’ll meet back up again tonight?”

“Heh... very well,” Ulrich said and smiled again. “Yes, yes, I understand. We’re not up here to relax, but you can count on me.”

“Thank you.”

Gary had been out of his mind when Lars last saw him alive. The things he had said were only excuses and ramblings, yet they kept nagging Lars. He strolled out of the prison, past a paler Kim and down the hall towards the bubble. He didn’t trust Gary, he couldn’t, but something had been woken which now ate him alive. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate if his mind was this filled with worry, but could he even trust his own psyche anymore? He had seen things no man was supposed to and he shivered at the thought of those ponies.

But how could he put himself at rest? He lingered by the bubble, unsure what direction to tell it. He could talk with someone, but he couldn’t think of anyone. Either because they would think of him funnily or, if Gary was right, then Ulrich was in control of things around here. No, he needed confirmation from a source that wouldn’t squeal on him nor lie to him. The central computer.

“Maintenance level,” Lars said and a hatch opened in the side of the bubble.

He would be able to know everything from there. It was very simply, really. It was Ulrich who handed over the status reports and if there were any inconsistencies with what he got directly from the computer, then Gary had been right. Of course, Lars just wanted to be sure that Gary had been lying. He trusted Ulrich with his life.

He wandered down the hall and looked around. He wasn’t down here often and last time had nearly resulted in his death. If Ulrich really was behind the murders, he had to have been the one to knock out Lars as well. Ulrich would never do that!

The central computer room was in the middle of the hall. Few people had access since the computer in here kept an eye on the entire ship. Private footage of bathrooms, confidential conversations; this thing knew it all.

The door vanished at his touch and revealed a small room. At the very back stood a black column from ceiling to floor, a square pillar with a single little slot in it. The important things were stored under the floor and all this room was designed for was the interface part. Lars hadn’t had to use the central computer himself yet, but he knew how it was to be done.

He placed his palm on a plate next to slot which analysed not only his fingerprints, but also his chemistry and DNA. Restriction of access to the data here was of the utmost importance, so they had taken every precaution to prevent unlawful admittance when building it. The plate gave a little hum to indicate it was working. This continued for a few seconds and then gave a ping to indicate that he could remove his hand. Like with a vending machine of old, a little green button was promptly spat out. With it in his possession, Lars returned to his quarters.

He sat for a long time by his desk, discussing back and forth with himself whether to breach the trust of his best friend and open the computer. It was like a Pandora’s Box of trust, except there was a higher chance of it containing something good than something bad. He finally went ahead and twisted the ends so that the tube was revealed. It looked like any ordinary computer, except it explicitly stated along the length of it and on the ends that it was “Amassed data collection for spaceship PC Mournheld.”

A further twist of the ends revealed a screen, but not a keyboard. This was a read-mode only computer to ensure that there was no fiddling with the data stored on it. How could he have been so foolish? Ulrich would never have been able to falsify the data stored on this thing without Lars noticing. The very notion was preposterous. Lars simply treated it from that point onward as a regular report and skimmed over the important things.

Yet, he was now in possession of a report straight from the horse’s mouth. There was simply too much data for Ulrich to possibly find any discrepancies between this one and what he usually received. If one were to quickly locate something furtive about anyone onboard the ship, the first place to start would be look them up. It couldn’t hurt.

“Ulrich Pendragon. Successfully cryogenically frozen 7 M 16 D 1,982 Y ATG (16 June 4068 AD).”

Nothing unusual there. That’s what it said about all of them. Yet Ulrich’s entry contained an additional line that Lars had never seen before. 

“Wakened again 8 M 3 D 1,982 Y ATG (3 July 4068) due to system failure.”

He had to read that last part twice before he realised its significance. Ulrich had only been frozen a few weeks, not the entire three years. Lars skipped down further to see if it had registered him reentering, but it hadn’t. What had he been doing for three years?

Lars scrolled down further, but it only got worse. He had used his authority to get into the provisions, to steal of the fruits and vegetables and to slaughter the chicken. Not that Lars could blame him. What else were you supposed to eat or drink... but for three years? It had to be a mistake somehow.

“So, you decided to weigh the words of a madman higher than mine.”

The words behind him made his blood run cold. He had been so absorbed in his read that he hadn’t realised Ulrich had entered. How much had see him read?

“Ulrich... why didn’t you tell me? You could have woken me up!” Lars said and got up to greet his friend, seeing him in a new light. He fell silent and his smile vanished when he saw that Ulrich had pulled his gun at Lars.

“It’s always like this and I am goddamn tired of it,” Ulrich said, his face contorted in rage. “You always have to outshine me. No matter what I do, you’re always there breathing on my neck.”

“Snap out of it, man!” Lars said and started yelling, but Ulrich seemed to ignore him.

“You knew that I had a crush on Charlotte, and then you married her. You knew I wanted to be an astronaut, so you became one as well. My pod didn’t malfunction; it was designed to wake me after a few weeks so I could take care of the ship. But not you. Oh no, you could just sleep all you wanted.”

“You idiot!” Lars cried out even louder which finally got Ulrich’s attention. “You know why this always happens? Because you never take things seriously! No one wants to date the class clown! And do you think I wanted to become an astronaut? If I hadn’t followed you all the way, you would never have come this far.”

“Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!” Tears of rage streamed down his face. “I hate you!” Ulrich said and fired his gun and hit Lars in the shoulder. He stumbled backwards and slumped against the wall.

“Please. I know you must have gone out of your mind with loneliness, but do you really want to kill me? We vowed to always be friends... forever,” Lars said.

Ulrich’s chest heaved from his uncontrollable breathing. “Friends? Don’t make me laugh!” Ulrich finally seemed to calm down, the anger in his eyes replaced with a maddened gleam. “I’m sick and tired of you, Lars. It will be over in an instant, so don’t try and squirm too much.”

Ulrich aimed the gun at Lars’ head. He had to come up with something fast lest he should meet his end here.

“What do you want to do?” Lars asked. “You can intimidate the crew, but you’ll be held responsible when we land back on Earth. Please, just put the gun down.”

“Oh, we’re not going back to Earth... ever,” Ulrich said and smiled. He laughed merrily to himself, thinking about the truths he was about to reveal. “Do you know? The government didn’t want to tell us, but Prima City was about the only place in the world with any humans left. The Crimson Plague mutated and killed anyone it infected. There is no Earth to return to. We’re just going to fly through space until we find a new place to live.”

“I don’t believe you, Ulrich. I have the Crimson Plague!”

For the first time, Ulrich looked genuinely frightened. His hand holding the gun quivered and he took a step back, as if Lars was a leper to be avoided at all costs.

“Y-you selfish... bastard!” Ulrich said, livid and infuriated.

He fired another round into Lars, but his shaking had twisted the knob at the end and lowered the intensity. It was just a few notches from a kill blast, but still felt like a knee to the stomach.

“You brought the disease with you, even knowing how dangerous it was? ARE YOU INSANE?!”

“It’s manageable,” Lars muttered, his wind taken from him. “What... do you think the pills were for?”

“You truly are a despicable man, Lars. When I become the king of the new world, your name will be forbidden. We will start a new colony of man in space and you will not even be a memory.”

“I may be despicable, but you’re still an idiot. This ship doesn’t have enough fuel to even make it out of the solar system. It’s not too late to reverse the ship and head back.”

“You’ve never been able to get it, Lars. Goodbye,” Ulrich said calming and walked leisurely towards his old friend. “How does it feel to die to die a useless man, a meaningless death? You diseased, miserable little -”

What Lars was would never be found out. The ship decided to give a mighty lurch at just that moment, throwing Ulrich off his feet and cracking his skull on Lars’ desk. Ulrich sank down on the floor, his head lolling to a side.

Even with everything happening, Lars couldn’t help but cry. He had not cried since he was a small child, yet here he was, wailing over the death of a friend, his own hopelessness and the words that Ulrich had spoken. He felt so unhappy, lying on the floor, curled into a little ball of pain, that he didn’t care what would happen next or even why the ship had suddenly decided to bounce like a bronco.

He would probably have died then and there had it not been for the appearance of another one of his vision. He saw again that flying candyfloss that had preceded his descend into madness. So it was a tail, then? Yes, he should have realised that earlier. Of course it would be the tail of a pony, because why not?

He looked up into the blue eyes of the mare, her fine coat a lighter shade of pink than her bubblegum mane and tail. She looked so happy. Was she glad that he would die here? How rude.

No, that wasn’t it. She wanted him to follow. She had been wagging her tail like this when they had first met too, but he hadn’t been able to see the rest of her. The pink pony went to the entrance and looked back, smiling at him. 

He had to hurry up. He couldn’t disappoint her, not when she was putting her faith in him like that. But his left arm was useless now. Didn’t matter, he could still use his right arm if he absolutely needed it. He clasped the wall and forced himself up. Shaking, bleeding, but otherwise fine and wholly determined, he walked slowly at first, with long heavy steps.

The ship’s initial movements had only tossed him on his face, nothing else. It rocked again, but he wouldn’t be knocked over like that. As long as you did it right, it was virtually impossible to slip in these boots. Poor Ulrich. Lars’ heart nearly broke at the sight of his oldest and best friend lying there with his head opened like that. What hurt even more was the nasty things he had said. But the pink pony was waiting, so he wiped his face and assumed his professional mien and followed her.

Damn, the bleeding was getting pretty bad. As high as Ulrich had cranked that gun to penetrate a guard’s work clothing like that, it was a wonder it hadn’t blown up in his face. Still, the uniform had stopped most of the energy from the shot and Lars’ shoulder hadn’t been pierced all the way through. Only the loss of blood was getting to him now. Not even pain could stop him. Where was this pony taking him?

He thought at first she might be leading him towards the bubble. They were walking that way, but she stopped halfway there and placed her hoof on a panel on the wall. He stared blankly, first at her, then at the panel.

Of course, the emergency tunnels! But they led down towards the escape capsules. Really a useless feature. They were nowhere near anywhere that could be constituted as habitable. To put it in an analogy, they had equipped a cruise liner on an endless ocean with motorised lifeboats and no paddles. Even if he went inside one, where would he go? It was a long way back to the earth and small things like the safety capsules could never bring him home.

But the pink pony was quite insistent, so Lars opened the panel for her and she slipped inside. Lars followed her and stooped down since the floor-to-ceiling ratio was less than in the preceding hall. The pony was of course unencumbered as it was already smaller than Lars. It skipped ahead merrily, even as the whole ship shook and rocked. What the Hell was going on out there?

The tunnel sloped down and twisted and turned as it steadily led down to the very bottom of this section. As one might expect, this was not exactly the optimal way to get there. Even in the direst of situation, bubbles would still be working and this was simply an emergency tunnel. However, the pony that he was following either didn’t trust the bubbles or didn’t know how they worked and had thus required of him to use that roundabout way.

To make matters worse, there wasn’t any light on here either. Lars tugged at the computer mounted on his collar and was soon engulfed in a bright green light strong enough for him to see the pink pony even as she was getting a good way ahead of him. Was that balloons on her flanks?

She stopped up again when they reached the other end and he turned off the light again. She wouldn’t be able to open this panel either... so how could she have known that this tunnel was even here? He had more questions than answers, but he didn’t feel this was the right time to be talking. They needed to concentrate on getting out here, for what good that would do them.

All sections were equipped with emergency equipment in case something terrible would befall the ship. It was a relatively small area that only the maintenance crew would see regularly. It was required of them to keep everything here in a proper state for a quick getaway.

Lars followed the pony to the middle of the floor. About fifty bubbles double the size of the standard ones stood gathered here spread around. No one else was down here, so perhaps the catastrophe upstairs wasn’t all that bad? Or perhaps they were all dead already. He put a hand on one of them and looked down at the candyfloss-mane pony.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, panting and sweating. He wouldn’t have time to ask a lot of questions, but this was one he needed to hear the answer to.

“You’re a good man,” the pony answered. “You do not deserve to die here. You have a connection with us, so take a bubble and escape.”

“Your voice... you’ve been singing to me in my sleep?”

“Well, not so much to you as in just your presence.”

“I don’t understand anything. What is going on here?”

“Your friend found a portal to our world and thought he could fly through it. But the portal isn’t strong enough for this entire ship to fit through. It will be destroyed in the process. But you can survive in one of those bubbles!”

A loud creaking sound rent the air and it sounded like the whole ship was capsizing and sinking. Truly an absurd thought of course, but the sounds were frightening and no less dangerous for that matter.

Lars put his palm on the hatch and it opened to him. The inside was also different than the smaller bubbles. Rather than filling up with foam, it was equipped with a cryostasis chamber for those long journeys through the infinite space. Theoretically capable of preserving living tissue forever, there were some practical limits that greatly restricted how long Lars would be able to survive.

He was starting to get second thoughts and bit his lower lip. A sudden explosion from somewhere far above him quickly made him realise the severity of the situation, however, and he compliantly crept inside.

It was difficult, to say the least, for him to climb inside with only one good arm, but the pony pushed him from behind and helped him inside. It wasn’t very spacious, so the only thing in here was the sleeping pod. There were no controls for steering the bubble inside to preserve space and the only way to direct it was the computers all people had stuck to their necks. Just in case you had lost yours, one would be provided for you inside. If you were in a hurry, as you would most likely be if you were racing to get inside a space lifeboat, coordinates had been built in to all the computers that astronauts carried with them so all they had to do was close the hatch and away.

Lars would not be going to Earth, however. He looked back at the pony and grabbed his shoulder in pain. “What about you?” he asked.

“I have my own ways to get around. Don’t you worry, Lars! I’ll be fine,” the pony said and saluted.

“Will I see you again?”

“No, I don’t think so,” the pony said and shook her head. “You will end up in Equestria, but I can’t tell you when. I might not have been born when you land or I might be long dead.”

“Then at least tell me your name. You know mine; it wouldn’t feel right not to know yours.”

“Pinkie Pie!” she said happily.

Another explosion, this one much closer than the other, made the room wobble. Lars gave Pinkie a last, weak smile and then closed the hatch. The last he saw of her was her leaving and then mysteriously disappearing, like she had done the first time they had met.

Lars clambered into the cryo-pod and closed the hatch on that as well. A familiar scent spread throughout the small chamber and stung his nose so that he was afraid he would get a nosebleed. He knew it to be the antifreeze, but it was still an unpleasant feeling. Antifreeze, and anaesthetic in one. The very last thing he felt was the bubble vibrate to life and then plunge deep into the dark space.

Would he be all right? That was all he could think of his eyelids got heavier and heavier. And then, nothing.