The Parliament of Dreams

by Wheller

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

It was oddly quiet aboard the Leninov, at least, it was as quiet as it could be. The ship’s reactor plant and engines caused a low, steady hum that was always present, but otherwise, the common area of the main compartment was silent.

As Dizzy and Sparky stepped back into the room, they noticed that DC Hopely had come back from the cockpit, and was sitting with Shortfuse, helping her write the translation algorithm for the Leninov’s computers. At the other end of the room, Amarilla and Juan Carlos had taken seats near the port food dispenser, and were drinking out of juice box like containers. Amarilla’s had an image of an apple on it, while Juan Carlos’ had the image of a carrot.

‘Este sabor es falso!’ Amarilla cried out in disappointment.

‘Sí Señora’, Juan Carlos added as he continued to slurp his processed, liquefied carrots.

Sparky noticed Grandma V over in the corner, lounging on one of the seats and staring sadly at a holo photo. Sparky turned to Dizzy, who gave her a small smile and nodded.

Sparky smiled back at her, and trotted over to Grandma V. ‘Hey, Grandma, what are you looking at?’ she asked.

Grandma V looked up and smiled, using her telekinesis, she turned the holo photo to show it to Sparky. ‘Just thinking’, she said.

Sparky took a look at the image. There was Grandma V in the far corner, wearing a pair of violet goggles and grinning like an idiot. Sparky couldn’t help but smirk. She then turned her attention to the others in the holo photo. Counting Grandma V, there were seven ponies total in the image, each of them looking at the camera and smiling brightly. Standing next to Grandma V was a lavender coated unicorn with a deep purple mane.

‘That’s Twilight Sparkle, this was taken when she was inaugurated as Prime Minister of the Equestrian Republic’, she said with a smile. ‘This is Rainbow Dash Next to her, then Fluttershy, then Pinkie Pie, then Rarity’s next to her... and then Applejack’.

Sparky took a closer look at holo photo, closely examining the smiling faces of each of the ponies in the picture. ‘You all look so happy!’ Sparky said.

‘Ah, those were the days. That was the last time we were all together. After the Republic was founded, we all got wrapped up in something or other...’ Grandma V said with a frown. ‘Twilight Sparkle and Rarity worked themselves to death... Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy withered away, Rainbow Dash died in an accident in year thirty five... and the Applejack just disappeared one day...’ Grandma V said, let out a sigh, she looked up towards Amarilla and Juan Carlos, and then over to Shortfuse and DC Hopely, and then back to Sparky, as if reminiscing about the time she spent with her friends, rather than actually seeing the people in the room for who they really were.

‘You really miss them, don’t you?’ Sparky asked with a frown.

Grandma V nodded her head. ‘Yeah... yeah I do. I’m the only one left. They’ve all been dead for, forty, fifty, or sixty years at this point’, Grandma V said. She looked back down at the holo photo in disappointment. ‘I shouldn’t even be here; I had my time in the spotlight. It came and went... now?’ she said, she turned her head to look towards Sparky. ‘I’m old Sparky, so incredibly old’, she said firmly. ‘I had my time, I played the part of the hero of the story. Now? It belongs to you and your friends’.

Sparky looked at her grandmother in confusion. ‘I don’t understand’, she said with a frown.

‘Maybe not right now... but you will’, Grandma V said with a smile. ‘You were always a bright young kid, you will’.

...

DC Kelso’s eyes flashed back and forth as she wrote up her situation report. The holographic visor of her Police Information Processor had manifested a keyboard before her eyes; she only had to look at the letters that she wanted to type, and they would manifest themselves into the report.

She was sitting in the passenger seat of DCI Viola Auditore’s unmarked police car; she was just about to finish up her report when DCI Auditore looked over to her. ‘Kelso?’ she asked.

‘Yeah Guv?’ DC Kelso asked as she finished typing the last line.

‘You did great out there today’, DCI Auditore said, offering her a smile. ‘I’m glad you had my back’.

‘I’ll always have your back Guv’, DC Kelso said as she finished up her report. She filed it and dispersed the holographic visor from her eyes. She brushed the earpieces out of her ears and fumbled them back into her pockets.

‘We dealt a major blow, Kelso, cut off the head of the snake, and the body dies! We keep up the pressure, and we’ll spell the end of Kirsk Zazz’s criminal empire once and for all. We’re cleaning up this city!’ DCI Auditore said.

‘Amen to that!’ DC Kelso said. She turned her eyes back forward towards the road. ‘Guv! Watch out!’

DCI Auditore saw it too, standing in the middle of the road was a pegasus pony dressed in almost all orange. DCI Auditore hit the manual controls and swerved around the pony. The car hit the kerb and smashed headlong into the side of a building at full speed.

...

DC Kelso must have lost consciousness. She opened her eyes to find herself lying on the sidewalk. Her detective coat had been ripped up, and stained with her own blood, she tried to pick herself up and get to her hooves, but she didn’t make it more than a single step before falling back to the ground. She dragged herself across the pavement, not sure where to even go. But she knew that she couldn’t continue to lie here.

‘Guv?’ she called out. There was no answer. ‘Guv?!’ she cried out again. There was still no answer. DC Kelso dragged herself across the ground; the car had crumpled into a pile of scrap after the crash. DC Kelso must have been thrown clear, and picked herself up and collapsed in this spot. She continued to drag herself up towards the front of the car, discovering DCI Auditore lying on the ground; she too had been banged up quite a bit, and was bleeding all over the sidewalk.

‘Guv!’ DC Kelso cried out as she pulled herself over to her. DCI Auditore lay motionlessly on the ground; she placed an ear to her superior’s chest. She wasn’t breathing.

She started to panic. She couldn’t lose DCI Auditore, not now, not after what they’d done, not when there was still so much left to do. DC Kelso picked herself up and started chest compressions. ‘Come on Guv! We’re not done yet! We’ve still got a city to clean up!’ she cried out. She counted to thirty, before stabilising DCI Auditore’s head with a hoof; she brought her mouth around her superior’s, breathing twice before continuing chest compressions.

Something caught DC Kelso’s attention, something in the corner of her eye. She turned to look at it, while continuing with chest compressions. It was the pony dressed in orange that they’d almost run over. It was a pegasus mare, her coat was a light grey, and her mane a dark green, and she was slowly walking towards them, dragging her hooves as she walked, her eyes were looked off in random differing directions, and it was almost as if it was a zombie shuffling towards them.

‘You?!’ DC Kelso cried out. The mare did not respond. DC Kelso turned her head back to DCI Auditore, breathing for her again, and continuing chest compressions. She looked back at the Pegasus mare, she was still approaching them. ‘Who... who are you?’

The mare said nothing, continuing to shuffle towards them.

Suddenly, DCI Auditore sputtered. She let out a gurgled cough and opened her eyes slowly. ‘Hopely?’ she asked.

‘Guv! Guv! It’s me! It’s Kelso!’ DC Kelso cried out.

‘Kelso?’ DCI Auditore asked sleepily, she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

‘Yeah! Guv! It’s me! It’s Kelso, come on now, stay with me!’ DC Kelso said firmly. She turned her head back towards the approaching mare; she’d gotten closer, much closer, as if she had picked up the pace. DC Kelso could see her clearly now. There was no life in her face, her expression was blank, and she shuffled towards them as if someone else was pulling her strings.

DC Kelso was also able to get a better look at what the mare was wearing. Was she wearing a space suit?

‘Kelso?’ DCI Auditore asked again.

‘Guv! It’s me! I’m here!’ DC Kelso said. She turned back towards the approaching mare. She’d stopped moving, and she opened her mouth to speak.

The sound of sirens filled the air, some random passerby must have called for emergency services; DC Kelso glanced down the street to see an ambulance rounding the corner. ‘Guv! Stay with me! Help is coming!’ She said reassuringly. She turned back to face the zombie like mare... only to discover that she was gone.

DC Kelso blinked in confusion, but she couldn’t get one thing out of her head. That mare, she’d definitely been wearing a space suit.

Comments

[KingOfTheMuffins]

My response at 12:04 AM: bananas...

[Zero Moment]

My response at 12:11 AM: The hell?

[StatusQo]

Ponys, in space, that are zombies. awsome.

[Spiffers]

The car hit the kerb and - curb? Maybe you intentionally used that spelling.

someone random passerby - should just be some, not someone

OK... so... still not sure what's happening right now... Keep developing Wheller, keep developing this story

[Apocalypse Pony]

ZOMBIE PONY OH GODRUN

[SCaitan]

Hmm...Leninov or Ice Wind?

[Carnelian-Quasar]

I'm thinking "The Impossible Astronaut". But that's just me...

[Macon Mixx]

So, Sparky, you know how you were worried about DC Hopely offing herself? WELL WAKE UP AND WORRY ABOUT YOUR GRANDMOTHER INSTEAD!!!!

[LongshotLink]

I noticed it near the beginning. This sounds an awful lot like 2001: A Space Odyssey

[TwilitLightning]

Zombies in Space suits, eh?
Is this going to turn into some sort of Nazi Zombies thing? Sounds kinda like Ascension on Black Ops.
Hm, actually that might actually turn out quite well...
Well, Ponies in Space suits, Can't beat 'em.

--TwilitLightning