//------------------------------//
// Stunned and Confused 
// Story: Cryo-7 
// by Metal Pony Fan 
//------------------------------//

	At the cemetery gate, Radio checked his scanner again.  "She's here," he told Tekrin, who stood beside him, "or, at least the phase pistol is.  There are several lifesigns, so I can't be sure."

After she ran off, Radio had been unable to find her.  She must have teleported away, because even his scanner was unable to detect the pistol she carried.  With her out of range, his only recourse was to go to the elder and explain what happened.

And he had silently led him here, to a large cemetery.  Older graves, marked with headstones and simple chiseled markers mingled with hasty wooden monuments consisting of boards with names and dates carved in rough lettering.  Ponies dressed as Silver Mane's sister had, with ribbons and flowers in their hair, mourned in front of the wooden gravestones.

"Elder Tekrin!"  A stallion without decoration ran up to them.  His muddy hooves were as brown as his mane, and stood out from his pale grey coat.    "Has there been some change?"  His breathed wheezed between words as he talked, his illness probably nearing the final stages.  "For once, I have completed my work, and no more comes calling."

Tekrin nodded.  "Yes, Gourd, things have changed.  You will not have to bury any more today."  He put a hoof on the stallion's shoulder.  "You have grown worse since I last spoke with you.  Please, go to the healer's building and rest, but first tell me if you have seen my daughter."

"I have.  It has been a week, I almost believed she would not return."  He coughed lightly, a foreshadowing of what awaited.  "But she did not wear flowers.  I know there are still some to be found, so it is odd."  He looked over at radio, tilting his ear towards him.  "Tekrin, I have not seen this colt before, and I can not hear the sound of his breath.  Has the transmitter been repaired?"

"There is no time, Gourd, I will explain later.  Please wait at the healer's place."  Tekrin started off for the back of the cemetery.  "Follow me, Healer.  If Gourd is correct about the flowers, time is short."

Radio did as told, following as Tekrin started to run, following a path he must have travelled many times before.  "What's the big deal about flowers?"

They wove through several rows of wooden headstones before Tekrin stopped suddenly.  "Flowers are for the living."

Radio tripped over his hooves trying not to run into the older stallion.  He landed near another pony, on the mounded dirt of a meticulously maintained grave.  Sparrow was slumped before a wooden marker bearing a single word.

"Hunter."

The Pegasus gasped and jumped back.  "No..."  He stepped forward, about to reach out, but couldn't.  He couldn't bring himself to check for a pulse, couldn't bring himself to confirm what he already knew.  "Why?"  He asked.  "You couldn't have known, so, why would you...  How could you..."

Radio didn't finish the question.  He knew the answer already.  Any good parent would give their lives for their children.  His own had proven that to him long ago.  His mother was all but killed saving him from the Hydra, and his Father risked everything trying to secure freedom for him and Ribbon.  It was only natural that Sparrow was still willing to give hers for the son she could no longer save.

The colt drew a long breath, tried to calm his shaking, and said the only farewell that came to mind.  "You were a good mother."

"She was."  The phase pistol lay by her outstretched hoof, next to a withered patch of small yellow flowers.  Tekrin picked it up.  "I should have left these where they were, forgotten and hidden."  He walked forward and kissed his daughter on the forehead.  How he could be so calm standing next to his daughter's body was beyond Radio's comprehension.  There was no emotion in his voice.  He may as well have been talking about leaving his laundry on the line too long.  "Find rest, my little Sparrow.  You were a good mother, a good daughter, and a better pony than I ever was."

Radio only realized the source of the old stallion's composure when he turned the pistol on himself.  "Stop!"

The energy weapon flashed, and Tekrin dropped on his side.  It was so quick, so quiet, that it didn't seem real.  There was barely even a thud as the elder's body hit the soft ground.

Radio took a slow, heavy step forward, then another.  He was kneeling next to them before he knew it, phase pistol in the dirt in front of him.  Why didn't he dismantle it?  He clenched his teeth.  None of this would have happened.  His eyes burned and he ground his teeth.  He picked the pistol up and removed the power pack.  Tears started to flow.  Why didn't he at least do that much?

He screamed and punched the ground, dropping the phase pistol.  He hit the dirt over and over, packing the clay to a hard surface.  He kept hitting until it started to hurt, then he hit it harder.

The blue light on the side of the pistol in front of him faded as the charge in the weapon's capacitor drained.  There was a crack from one last punch, and a splitting pain that followed, racing up the colt's leg.  Why was it blue?

Radio leaned on his left hoof.  His right was damaged, possibly a broken bone. It sure felt like one, anyway.  But why was that light blue?  When he disassembled the other phase pistol, the light was red.

He scooped the pistol up in his wing and stuck the battery back in.  That blue light came back on, glowing to life within a second or two.  He ran the tip of a feather over the light, and it moved.  It only moved a little, like a loose button.

Radio pressed down on the light.  There was some resistance, and the sound of a straining spring.  Radio pushed a little harder.

The button clicked in, and the light turned orange.  Radio pressed it again, and it turned red.  One more made it turn green, and one last push brought it back to blue.

Radio looked at Tekrin.  His body had no marks, no damage or burns.  Neither did Sparrow's.  He limped up until he was standing over Sparrow, and laid his head against her side.  She was still warm, and...  breathing!  It was faint, but she was breathing, her heart was beating, she was still alive.

Radio limped over to check Tekrin.  The grass in front of him moved under his breath.  He was still alive as well.

A stun setting?  All that, and the pistol was locked on a stun setting?  Radio laughed as he fell over, clutching at his right hoof.  He flinched as something fell on his face, a drop of water.  Still laughing, a small turn of his head aimed it skyward.  "This is just perfect!" he shouted at the clouds as raindrop after raindrop fell on them.  "Way to set the mood!"

He looked back at the two immobilized ponies.  The crisis was over, their planet and ponies out of immediate danger.  But, they couldn't bring themselves to look forward.  Would there be others like that in the village?  How many ponies would be pulled back by the faces of the past, the faces of those lost?   How could he hope to help them all?

More importantly, would he be able to stop the suicide attempt before it succeeds?





Across the lake, the quarry landscape gave way to a vast graveyard of a different kind.  A junk yard, filled with electronic debris and the leftover scrap of countless ships.  Trails were cleared through some parts of the wreckage, linking what appeared to be a small, single story house with various spots scattered among the salvage.  Plants grew in barrels and pots, all covered from above to keep the rain away, and certain pieces of wreckage showed signs of being cleanly, and recently, dismantled for parts.  Strawberry led Astral and Twilight through the maze of parts, quietly focused on the house in the distance.

Astral stopped at a muddy piece of paneling, probably the exterior of a ship, to inspect it.  He wiped some dirt away to reveal a set of numbers, most likely a registration code, repeated in standard, curraxxan, and a few other languages.  The standard numbers were prefaced by the letter "c," marking the ship's home system as canterlot.  The rest of the numbers gave additional information about the vessel.  "Nice place you got here.  If I'm reading this code right, this particular patch of wreckage came from a seventy-two year old ship.  That would make it the Sevus, sister ship to the Serus, and the original colony ship that brought ponies to this planet."

Strawberry stopped and looked back.  "Most of this was part of the Sevus.  It was the largest ship ever to be dumped here.  None of the other ones even come close."

Twilight looked at the numbers.  "Out of curiosity, how many ships were dumped here?"

"My grandfather catalogued twenty-seven, and I've found at least fourteen more, including one that might have a fixable subspace relay."  The pink pony scratched her chin, then shrugged.  "I guess that doesn't matter any more.  But there haven't been any more ships, not since I was a filly."

"Out of curiosity, again," Astral called, "exactly when was that?"

Strawberry thought for a moment.  "Nineteen years ago, almost twenty.  A lot of ships came at once, but after you left, there weren't any more."

Twilight looked over at Astral.  "Um, how much of a difference is there between  a year here and one on Canterlot?"

"About a day."  Astral walked up to Strawberry.  "You barely look old enough to have been born when I left here, but you said you watched me go?  I'm finding that a little hard to believe."

"I'm just short."  Strawberry sighed.  "I was nine.  You were about my age, and you flew a small cargo ship with bright green markings.  You landed in the middle of town, instead of the outskirts like the other ships.  You let several ponies out of the ship and tried to talk to the Elder, but he didn't have time for you.  The settlement was being flooded with newcomers, ships were landing all around, and there was a strange light in the sky, like a nearby star had gone nova."

"Yeah."  Astral shook his head.  That was pretty much what happened.  Only that star was a massive thermonuclear detonation wiping Serus from existence.  "Then a mob formed around my ship, and I was forced to leave."

The pink mare nodded.  "And I tried to stop you.  I tied a note to a rock and launched it over the crowd with a slingshot.  I missed and hit you, and the whole crowd started throwing rocks.  I wanted you to wait, but you ended up leaving even faster."

"I still have the scar.  That was you?"

"Wait a minute," Twilight started.  "If you're..."  She pulled back suddenly.  "No, it's nothing.  Can you please take us to see your grandparents?"

"Oh... yeah...  We should try to get there before it rains."  Strawberry smiled weakly and started off at a trot.  "This way."

"Rain?"  Twilight looked up.  "But it's sunny."

Astral tapped her shoulder then pointed back the way they came.  Dark clouds were gathered on the horizon, not far away.  "Looks like the storm's over the settlement now.  It'll be on top of us in about an hour." Astral glanced back to see how far Strawberry had gone, then leaned over to Twilight.  " What is it?" he whispered.  "What were you going to ask?"

"I hope it's nothing, but..."  Twilight shook her head.  "I'm a little concerned.  If she's almost thirty, and Pinkie has been here for fifty..."

"I wish I didn't see what you're getting at, but you're right.  That doesn't leave a lot of time for logistics."

"That's a terrible way of putting it."

Astral shrugged.  "If you have a better euphemism, I'd love to hear it.  For now, how about we get moving before she leaves us behind."





"You think he's dead?"  A young colt peered down at Radio, silver mane bobbing as he inspected the muddy Pegasus.  "He looks dead."

A filly, slightly older, stood next to him.  It was raining pretty heavily, and both of them were soaked to the skin.  "Of course he isn't, Sil, he's looking at you and blinking."

"Oh, right."  Silver-mane poked the older colt.  "Are you sure?  He isn't moving."

"Yes, I'm sure.  You didn't move for three whole days, and you're still alive."  She pointed at Radio's colorful mane.  "Besides, this is the new healer, the one who saved your life.  He wouldn't just die out here."

"I guess."  The colt looked over at the other ponies on the ground.  "You think he needs help burying these other two?"

"Maybe, but isn't that the elder and Mrs. Sparrow?  I thought they were ok."

"They aren't dead either," Radio finally spoke up, "they're just sleeping."

"All the way out here?" the filly asked, raising an eyebrow in skepticism.

"It's a long story."  With a groan, Radio sat up, mud running down his back.  He favored his injured hoof, leaning heavily on the other one.  "Why are you two out here?"

"Sil woke up, so we came to visit our parents."  She pointed at two nearby graves next to a smaller, empty one.  "And, when it stops raining, we will fill in Sil's grave."

Radio stared down at the two foals in disbelief.  They shouldn't be going through this, nopony should.  "When it stops raining, I'll help you.  but first, can you help me real quick?  My leg is broken, and I need you to bring somepony that can carry these two back to the hospital."

She nodded once.  "You mean the healer's place, right?  We can bring help."

She started off, her brother following after her, but Radio called after them.  "Wait, do you two have anypony to take care of you?   Any other family?"

The foals exchanged glances before answering, "no, healer."  They both said it, but the filly was the louder of the two and continued, "we will manage though.  Mother taught me to grow crops, and Sil was learning father's trade.  We will do what we have to."

"Good," Radio managed a small smile.  "You always need to look forward.  Don't forget that when you grow up."





Twilight and Astral had caught up to Strawberry well before she made it to the house.  Predictably, it was built with the materials at hoof, wreckage, wreckage, and more wreckage.  The main structure, and most of the roof was a single piece of curved hull, arching over an walls of cobbled together panels.  Each panel was small enough to have been moved by an individual pony, and arranged like shingles, forming a metal snakeskin to guard against the elements.

The pink mare stopped next to the door, where a water spiggot was secured to the exterior wall with twisted wire.  As the other two waited,  she connected a small hose.

"There."  The valve squeaked as Strawberry turned the water on and started rinsing her hooves off.  "Granpa set up a filter a long time ago, so this water is safe."  When she was done, she turned the hose over to her visitors, letting them rinse off.  "It used to be only for drinking water, but when I noticed that the other water smelled and tasted different, I started using filtered water for everything.  Cooking, bathing, watering the plants,rinsing my hooves after crossing the lake, all of it."

Twilight blinked and turned her attention from the streaming water to their pink guide.  She couldn't quite put a hoof on it, but she was starting to get a little itch in the back of her mind that Strawberry was leaving something out.  "Wait, when you noticed?"

"Mm-hmm."  Strawberry nodded absentmindedly.  "I had to expand granpa's filter system, but it gets me by."

"Oh..."  Things snapped into place for Twilight as Strawberry set the hose down and walked around the corner of the house.  "Oh, please, no..."  I, me, everytime Strawberry spoke, the words she used...

"Twi."  Astral touched his hoof to hers as she stared after the pink mare.  It took him a bit longer to figure it out, but the tears forming in the alicorn's eyes filled in any remaining gaps.  "Why don't you wait here a minute?"

"Astral," Twilight pulled away from the touch.  She didn't deserve to be to be comforted, not now.  "She didn't go in.  She didn't go in the house."

"I know."  Astral watched the alicorn for a second.  She was frozen in place, not wanting to follow, not wanting to face what lay around the corner.  Damn it!  Before they landed, he was reassuring her that everything would be all right.  Now this?  "We should probably follow."

There was no response.  No movement from the purple mare.

"Twilight?"  Astral prodded.  They had to face this.  "Follow her."

Twilight looked over at him.  "I don't want to."  She shook her head slowly.  "I don't..."

"I know."  Astral touched her hoof again.  "But I'll be right here with you."

She started towards the corner in hesitant, jerky steps.  Astral could tell that she wanted to turn around and run each time her hoof hit the ground.  He followed behind her quietly, blocking any escape.  

There was no running from this.  

They found Strawberry sitting in front of three squared off stones, each one etched with a simple picture.  One was a crystal hidden among twisted metal, one was a simple circuit board, and the last, the one that Strawberry rested her hoof on, was three balloons.

The pink mare glanced back at her visitors before looking back at the stone with a smile.  "You were right, grandma.  She came to find you."  There was a small box in front of the stone, sealed with an electronic lock.  Strawberry picked it up and ran a hoof over it.  "I don't know what this is," she held it out to Twilight, " but, she said you would know the password."