74. Entering the Ruins
Once again, my body wakes me up in the morning at the usual time, courtesy of that internal alarm clock established from waking up at the same time practically every day. I don't know whether that's a curse or a blessing.
It takes me a while for my eyes to fully open, as I feel extremely comfortable and I don't really want to wake up. Despite that,I feel exceptionally refreshed this morning, probably because I had one of the best sleeps I've had in a while last night, for whatever reason. Though I don't know why I would have; it's not like I spent yesterday working all that hard because of the...hold on a minute, something is wrong.
My blanket feels a lot more snug around my body than it should be, and it feels remarkably...furry. I realize exactly what situation I'm in a few seconds later when I discover that the “blanket” is breathing. My eyes widen in shock and horror when I realize exactly what situation I'm in.
Rainbow must have never left my cot last night. I say that because she is coiled around me, her two front hooves still wrapped around my chest. Her head is resting over my shoulder, her cheek pressed against mine. Every time she exhales, I can feel her chest moving, the air tickling my ear gently.
As my shocked eyes gaze out at nothing, I can feel my cheeks heating up rapidly...which tells me I'm blushing like a fucking girl again. Though this time I think that can be excused, considering I apparently fell asleep like this with Rainbow last night. Gah, we're so close I can smell her. Not that she smells bad, though. Just...ugh, this is awkward.
How could I let myself fall apart like that, last night? I was doing just fine on my own...but...I have to admit that I feel better than I have in a while. It's almost as if a weight's been lifted from my chest, as cliché as that sounds. Even despite that, I can't help but feel embarrassed as hell. Did I really say something so cheesy and sentimental?
Okay, I can think about that later. I need to get up before Rainbow wakes up, otherwise things will get ten times more awkward than they are right now, and that's the last thing I need.
My arms are still wrapped around Rainbow, as they had been last night as well. Extricating myself from her grasp will be difficult. With a quiet grunt, I retract my arms, which had been tucked beneath her front two legs. Just as I try to get out from under her hooves, I happen to glance at her face...only to see that her eyes are open. I freeze, realizing that this is now the worst case scenario.
“Hey,” Rainbow whispers, drawing her head back to look at me. She looks a little sheepish, but at the same time, she looks really happy, for whatever reason. “What is it with you? I just can't wake up normally while you're around.”
As she says that, she puts on a cheeky grin, which is accompanied by a blush. Anyway, now that she's awake, I quickly extricate myself from her embrace and get off of the bed, leaving her there. Rainbow's head follows me as I move, her smile becoming tempered with disappointment.
“Sorry. I shouldn't have fallen apart on you last night,” I say awkwardly, trying not to look at her. Instead I occupy myself by searching for a separate set of clothes to wear for today. I'm going to be working pretty hard today, so I should probably use my work clothes.
“What? Why are you apologizing?” Rainbow demands, shifting on the cot until she's upright and sitting on her haunches. “You've gone through a lot and lost so much...I'm not going to blame you for grieving.”
“I'm not talking about that. I mean how I...fuck it, I'll just be blunt,” I correct her with a sigh. After grabbing a set of clothes, I turn back to face her. “I was talking about how I invaded your personal space without asking. You know, that thing I hate when ponies do it. It was hypocritical of me.”
“I didn't mind,” Rainbow reveals, her blush reappearing. I raise an eyebrow at that. Rainbow's not that much of an affectionate pony, so I thought she would have been more annoyed at me. In response to my incredulous look, Rainbow continues. “I'm not so cruel that I'd turn you away when you're hurting. If hugging me makes you feel better, go for it. Just...not in public. I gotta keep it cool out there.”
“Hugging doesn't make me feel better. Or...it shouldn't. It actually makes me rather uncomfortable,” I admit to her. Now it's Rainbow's turn to raise an eyebrow.
“Really? Then why did you hug me last night?” she asks curiously, tilting her head to one side. Ugh, this is why I wanted to leave before she woke up. This conversation is just getting more and more awkward, now that she's asking me questions to which even I don't really know the answers.
“Fuck if I know. I wasn't thinking,” I reply, throwing up my hands in frustration. “I just wanted to say I'm sorry for doing that without asking.”
“Ugh, quit that! I already told you I don't mind,” Rainbow huffs. She steps down from the cot and approaches me. “I'd have hit you if I had a problem with it.”
“Hah! And that's another thing about you that I find awesome,” I tell her. When Rainbow looks at me curiously, I explain. “A lot of human girls, if they had a problem with someone, would usually give them the silent treatment...or worse, make them feel like shit through guilt. Then there's you. You just hit the fucker and boom! Problem solved.”
“Right? It's just easier,” Rainbow agrees, chuckling at my explanation. We fall silent then, seemingly having nothing else to say on this subject. “So...what's the plan today?”
“I'm to go see Opal in her tent this morning. It seems like we're going to start opening up the ruins soon,” I answer. I wonder how long it will take to enlarge the ruin entrance enough to get equipment inside. Likely it'll take several weeks to find a way to get from floor to floor safely, now that I think about it.
“Finally, right? We've been waiting around up here, doing busy work,” Rainbow complains, hopping off of the bed. She then proceeds to stretch herself out like a cat, groaning with pleasure. “I'm ready to do some real exploring! You think they'll let me go off on my own?”
“Likely not. It's dangerous inside the ruins,” I warn her. I don't think we'll run into any more of the Oppressed, considering it has been over three thousand years since they existed. I'm surprised that Maka lasted that long, to be honest. Besides, they're not the only danger inside of those ruins. I would know, considering how I was nearly impaled by a spike and I almost fell to my death in an elevator shaft. Twice. “Hell, I won't let you go off on your own.”
“That just means you'll have to come with me,” Rainbow remarks slyly, leaning in closer to me and looking as smug as ever.
“We'll see. But for now I have to give the miners a path to follow,” I grunt. Rainbow looks utterly bored by the prospect, but she can get over herself. There are plenty of buildings that I'd like the miners to unearth. The dorms are first on my list. Even if my dorm has been cleared out, I still want to see it.
After shooing Rainbow out of the room, I get changed into something more comfortable. It's cold outside, so I don a light jacket as well, though I suspect it'll be warmer underground.
Once I'm finished, I rejoin Rainbow on the deck and the two of leap off of the prow of the airship like badasses and fly our way to the ground, where the camp is already busy with activity. The entrance to the ruins has been surrounded by ponies with shovels and pickaxes, and one of the piles of lumber has been relocated to that area. There's even tables set up for carpentry, and I can see some ponies already trimming down some of the lumber.
“I guess they've already started opening the ruins,” I observe, half speaking to Rainbow and half speaking to myself. Sure enough, the hole in the ground is much wider and deeper than it was before. There are large piles of dirt in the area due to all the digging efforts. I start to wonder why they're just leaving dirt in the middle of the clearing, but then I see several ponies loading the excess dirt into carts and rolling it away to make more room.
I don't know why, but I half expected to have to coach these ponies through everything. It's good to see that the ponies know what they're doing.
As I approach the tent where Opal and Vinyl sleep, I notice that Rainbow is still following me. “You going to follow me in here? I doubt you'll be able to to help with anything,” I ask her pointedly.
“What else should I do? I'm not part of any of the work groups here,” Rainbow asks defensively. “Besides, I've done too much work already. I think I'll just relax for today.”
“'For today?' Please, if I let you slack off for even one day, you won't stop,” I tease her, much to her chagrin. “If you want to explore faster, maybe you should help with the digging.”
“Ugh, I don't want to dig,” Rainbow complains, eyeing the dig site with distaste.
“For somepony with so much muscle, you're the laziest pony I know,” I comment. Rather than insulted, Rainbow preens herself at the backhanded compliment I just gave her. “Seriously, though, wait out here for me.”
“Do I have to?”
“Would you just...wait the fuck outside, you stubborn pony. You came to to explore, didn't you? Where would be the fun in that if you knew everything you were going to see?” I reason with her. I mean, I don't mind if she joins me in there, but I feel like she'd just sit there and look clueless the whole time. I'd really rather not be distracted by a bored Rainbow while I'm trying to concentrate.
“Fine...just hurry it up. There's ruins to explore!” Rainbow urges me. She stubbornly plants her ass right outside the tent and watches me impatiently. Really? This pony annoys the hell out of me sometimes.
Whatever. Anyway, I push aside the tent flap and make my way inside. It's a rather complex tent, with interior flaps of fabric dividing the tent into three separate rooms. Two of them I assume are for sleeping areas, while the third is the largest and is the one that I'm standing in right now.
Four sets of eyes look up at me from the table in the center of the room. Sure enough, those are the four project leads: Opal, Steel Rivet, Flash, and Rough Hammer. You know, I'm getting really tired of calling them by both names at once. That's it. They're Rivet and Hammer from now on.
“Good morning, Seth. We've been waiting for you,” Opal greets me with a smile. She gestures to me with a hoof, indicating that I should join them at the table. “We've already started enlarging the opening to prepare for our entry.”
“So I've noticed. How early did you all get up? You've made more progress than I expected,” I reply, moving to stand between Rivet and Hammer. On the table is what looks like a rough sketch of the surrounding area, with one marked area representing the ruins entrance, and several branching lines that look like removal paths for the dirt.
“An hour and a half ago,” Hammer answers, looking proud of himself. “My ponies are very skilled, and together with Steel Rivet's construction ponies, we are making solid progress.”
“The only issue I'm seeing is the metal framework around the entry. It's rusted, but still strong. Without a great deal of force, it's not moving,” Rivet reveals, tapping the ruins entrance on the map. Hm, he must be talking about the hatch framework.
“Can we dig around it?” Opal asks.
“Yes, but then it would take more time and it would still be an obstacle if we want to get equipment down there,” Hammer reasons.
“Okay, if all you need is a strong force, I can do that,” I suggest, lifting and clenching my fist so that they can see it. If I can break through a stone wall just by defending my back, I think I can handle getting rid of a simple metal frame.
I have done a few tests during my time with having this magic. I remember that when I first got it, I was told I beat the shit out of one of the deadliest predators in the Everfree with mostly my bare hands. I thought that my magic gave me super strength or something. Technically, it doesn't. It cushions and protects my body from exterior forces. Sometimes, that protective force is greater than the force of the object pushing against it. Hence the appearance of having super strength. And yes, Twilight was the one who came up with that theory.
“Ah yes, your magic, correct?” Flash chimes in, looking excited. After I nod, he grins and rubs his two front hooves together like a madman cackling with glee. “Excellent! I've been hoping to see it in action, ever since I heard about you from the Battle of Canterlot. Simply seeing you use it to fly isn't enough to satisfy my curiosity.”
“Observe if you want, but I'm not a damn test subject,” I remind him coldly. I hated it back when Twilight looked at me that way, but at least is was somepony I was familiar with. I barely know this guy.
“Of course not. I apologize if I implied anything of the sort,” Flash retracts, giving me an assuring smile.
“Let's move on. Now that we're planning to enter the ruins, we should know a little more about what's inside,” Opal rejoins, sliding the incomplete map towards me. She levitates a quill and inkwell over to me, obviously intending for me to use them on the large amount of white space left on the map. “Do you think you can sketch what you remember of the interior?”
“I can. I should be able to show you the interior of the Math and Computer wing. That's the one we're currently camped above,” I say. Dipping the quill into the inkwell, I start drawing a very rough sketch of the building's outline. “However, this building is adjoined to another that's dedicated to science. Unfortunately, I don't know much about that one's layout because it's a fucking maze.”
“This is a math and science building!?” Flash looks like someone told him it was his birthday. “I just cannot believe our luck. I can't wait to see what we can recover!”
“Myself included,” Opal agrees, smiling at Flash's excitement. She and the other project leads watch me closely as I start drawing a basic floor plan, sketching in doors and classrooms, hallways and stairwells.
“All of the floors of the MC wing – that's Math and Computer by the way – share this same design up until the bottom floor, where the front entrance is. I assume we'll be starting to tunnel there,” I explain. Heh, I feel really important right now, knowing that they're all depending on me for this information. “But the problem is getting down there. The stairs aren't stable. I nearly died the first time I tried using them.”
“So what do you propose we do?” Rivet questions. It's a good thing I thought of this earlier, otherwise I'd be yelling at him for wanting me to handle it. “I assume you have some ideas?”
“I do, actually. I was thinking about this earlier. You see this blank square I drew here?” I answer, tapping the spot in question. “That's an elevator. It's human technology that allows humans to quickly move from floor to floor without the use of stairs, by way of a metal box that uses pulleys and an electric motor to work.”
“Fascinating! Does it still work?” Flash demands, hardly able to contain himself.
“Of course not! It's been three thousand years. The thing was barely holding on when I saw it the first time, and then it fell apart. All of the elevator cars are now permanently in the basement levels, leaving just an empty shaft,” I tell him flatly, much to his great disappointment.
“Of course! We can set up a scaffolding to get us from level to level!” Rivet exclaims, slapping the table with a hoof. Seconds later, he seems to realize something. “But I'd have to be careful in how it's constructed, because we'll need to get heavy loads down there.”
“In the meantime, we can search the upper floor for artifacts, right?” Flash asks Opal hopefully, like a child begging his mother for candy. I almost want to facepalm.
“That's right. In fact, I think it's time we finished up here,” Opal decides. After making sure that we've all had a chance to look at the map, she rolls it up and places it in her saddlebags. “Seth, I'd like you to go with Rough Hammer and help with enlarging the entrance, as you're the only one that can move that frame for now. Steel Rivet, you get to work on designing and implementing that scaffold. Flash, you're free to do as you wish once the entrance has been completed.”
All of us make varying sounds of acknowledgment and agreement, and then our meeting ends with the five of us leaving the tent and departing, each of us heading to our respective jobs.
As suggested, I head straight to the dig site to see how far they've gotten. Once again I'm taken by surprise how much more efficient ponies are at jobs like this. With the combination of magic as well as an efficient rotation system – where the ponies that get tired switch out for fresh ones – they're much further along than they were before. Part of the roof of the school building is now visible, though parts of it have been demolished to enlarge make the entrance larger.
The hatch that I need to get rid of is there, attached only to one side of the roof. As I reach it, I power up and almost punch the thing, but then I realize that if I did that, it would likely fall to the floor below and break that as well. So instead, I dive into the ruins and break the hatch from below, such that the weight of the frame falls onto me. Because I'm more than capable of bearing that weight on my own, no further damage to the building is sustained.
With that out of the way, the combined mining and construction crews are able to work on the entrance anew. By the time the sun passes the zenith, the entrance has been completed, and Rivet's team are already starting to transport slabs of lumber down into the ruins. Of course, this is all after one of the scientists casts a spell to reinforce the structural integrity of the floor. I think that's the same spell Twilight used to keep my upper floor from collapsing. It's a useful spell, but it has its limits. Maybe I should try learning it sometime.
Recently, a tent had been constructed over the ruins entrance to keep out the elements in the case of a future storm. Along with that, a ramp was also implemented so that heavy objects could be taken down into the ruins without much trouble.
Now that the entrance is completed, the project leads are about to step inside the ruins for the first time. All four of them, along with Rainbow, Vinyl, and Twilight, are standing with me just in front of the entrance. Opal, Flash, and Twilight look so fucking happy about this it makes me want to groan every time I see their overly enthusiastic grins. Rainbow and Vinyl are just standing with me, and Hammer and Rivet are near the workers, directing them even now.
“All right, enough waiting around. Let's do this!” Rainbow declares, even though she's not even part of the project.
“I agree. The sooner we get inside, the sooner I can take a look at more of mankind's past glory!” Opal concurs. Without waiting for the rest of us, she moves into the tent and enters the ruins. Making sounds of agreement, Twilight and Flash follow her, soon disappearing from view.
“Let's go too. All this talking about the ruins has made me want to look around too,” Vinyl determines.
“Yeah! C'mon, Seth, lead the way!” Rainbow urges me.
“Fine, fine, I'm going,” I grunt in a resigned fashion. Together, the three of us enter the ruins, walking down the ramp into the old stairwell.
The air isn't as musty as I remember, probably because of the increased airflow through this area. The other thing I notice is that the stairwells have been blocked off by barricades. Good to see that they're taking my advice and keeping away from the stairs. That spell I mentioned before can't be used on the stairs very effectively, as it only affects flat surfaces, and thus could only effect one surface on the entire staircase.
“Oh wow! Look at this, Flash!” Opal exclaims. I look over to see that she's standing over the skeleton of the soldier that I took my rifle from. Rather than being disgusted, she clearly looks fascinated. I guess that stems from her nature as an archaeologist. She's probably seen a lot of old remains. “This skeleton is in remarkably good condition!”
“Ugh, mom. Obsessing over dusty old bones again,” Vinyl comments, facehoofing. She looks around the hallway. “I'm more interested in just exploring. It feels like I've stepped into the past down here.”
“Right? It's like another world,” Rainbow agrees, repeating her sentiments from the last time she was in here with me. She moves up to one of the doorways and peers inside. “Huh? Is this like...a mini concert hall?”
“What? Let me see,” Vinyl too sticks her head inside of the door. “Can't be. These walls aren't set up for acoustics. Look, they're all flat. That'll butcher the sound.”
“That's a classroom, you idiots,” I correct them both, joining them in the old class room. As they watch, I move over to one of the broken down tables, where the professor would usually stand. “Look, you see how the floor is raised into separate levels? That's so the students sitting at the tables can all look down and see the teacher clearly.”
“That where the students sit? This is a big room. How many students are in a class?” Vinyl questions as she climbs on top of one of the raised areas, peering under one of the more intact tables. “Hey, there're old wires under here.”
“Depends on the class. For classes like foreign language, you get maybe twenty to thirty students. For math and computer science, you get classes of up to ninety. That's why this classroom is so big, and why they needed to change up the layout so that all of them could see the teacher,” I explain to her. For some reason, I remember how I once told Twilight that I'd never tell anypony anything about my race. That was back when I first got to Equestria. Now I'm freely telling that information to my friends. Heh...this world really has affected me.
“Up to ninety!? That's a lot...” Rainbow exclaims in awe. I shrug. It was a number that I was used to. Plus no one really noticed me in classes that large.
“Hey, what is this thing?” Vinyl calls to me from one of the upper levels of the classroom. She's standing over a smashed piece of machinery that I recognize instantly. Just as she's prodding it, I smack her hoof away.
“Don't touch it, idiot. No doubt Flash will want to look at this,” I snap. It's not dangerous, but she might damage it. “It's an old projector. Like those things you ponies use to watch movies, except a hell of a lot more advanced.”
“Oh that's awesome! Do you think we'll have something like this eventually?” Rainbow chimes in, joining Vinyl and I by the wrecked projector. My response is a shrug. I could care less if ponies figure out how to use this or not. I'm just here for my own reasons.
“What's something like this doing in a classroom?” Vinyl inquires next.
“It's just a learning aid. The teachers use them to show slide shows and videos to supplement the lessons,” I answer. Now I'm moving around the room, noticing how things have changed. Curiously enough, I notice old collapsed cots and musty bedrolls tucked beneath tables or tucked against the walls. If I remember right, Maka and her unit used this building for their last stand. I guess it shouldn't be that surprising that they used these rooms as makeshift barracks.
Vinyl looks like she's about to ask something else when she's interrupted by Twilight poking her head inside of the room. “Seth, can you come here for a second? There's something I'd like you to identify for me,” she asks me with an excited expression. I sigh, but I do follow her. This is part of my agreement after all.
That's essentially how the next week goes. I spend most of it in the ruins, looking through old classrooms and identifying old human relics. This is rather ironic. I used to joke with Amaryllis that it might be funny to see the reactions of those who eventually dug up the remains of our civilization, but never did I think I'd actually be there, observing. It's not as funny as I'd hoped it would be, back then.
Most of our exploration is limited to the first floor until the scaffolding is completed. However, just this top floor is pretty large. It had two parts to it: the classroom hallway, and the offices. Opal and the others spend half a week just in the classrooms, gathering artifacts such as old projectors, computer monitors, and other such technological devices that are still somewhat intact.
The offices are a big waste of nothing, to be honest. The place looks like it was ransacked, with old torn papers all over the place, the desks falling apart, and any technology that might have been there was ripped to shreds. I guess the Oppressed must have come through here. Because of that, there's a lot of skeletal remains in the offices.
“What are these?” Opal asks me while we're searching through the ruins of what I think was the office of the head of the computer science department. It's a large office, so it too had been converted into a makeshift barracks.
I look down at the objects levitating in front of me thanks to Opal's magic. Wow...she really doesn't know what this is. I give her a deadpan stare. “These are shoes. They're old and damaged, but I think they used to be running shoes.”
“You should give those to Rarity. She might even make you a set,” Rainbow suggests. I shrug. I have no need for running shoes. I can fly, after all. Actually...
“I just might. Maybe it'll be better than walking around outside with scarves wrapped around my feet because I'm wearing flip flops in the middle of fucking winter!” I complain, my voice getting steadily louder in a comical display of annoyance. Rainbow and Opal both laugh at that, and the latter sets the shoes aside and continues with the exploration.
Nothing of note really happens until Rainbow gives out one of the funniest sounds of surprise I've ever heard her utter. “What the hell was that?” I ask, snickering as I look over at her. Rainbow is standing next to one of the old cots, and she seems to be flipping through something, a blush suffusing her face. “Rainbow, what the hell are you looking at?”
“I don't know...I think I found a book on human anatomy. It's...a bit weird,” Rainbow answers. I raise an eyebrow and storm over to her until I can make out a magazine in her forehooves. My eyes widen, and I too start to blush when I see what it is she found.
“Give me that!” I snap, immediately snatching the magazine from her and incinerating it with my magic seconds later. “Why the hell...where the fuck did you even find that!?”
Rainbow runs a hoof through her mane in embarrassment, and then she points to an old leather bag next to the cot closest to us. A quick look inside tells me it belonged to one of the soldiers that used to live here.
“Oh my god...these blasted soldiers...” I groan, trying hard not to have an aneurism because of the sheer stupidity of this situation. I guess I can't blame the soldiers, considering they were likely the last bastion of mankind and had very few females...but Christ this is embarrassing.
There's an awkward silence between us for a moment...until Rainbow gives me a knowing grin. “So...that's why you never want us to see you na...” she begins.
“Shut up. Shut your goddamn mouth right now!” I cut across her quickly, wanting to avoid this topic more than anything. Still, just that one command from me causes Rainbow to lose her composure and promptly crack up like crazy, rolling around on the floor. Every time I think she's about to calm down, she looks at me again and loses her shit all over again. “Stop laughing! It's not that funny!”
Vinyl pokes her head in through the door upon hearing the racket. “Is something going on in here?”
“Absolutely nothing!” I snap, further amusing Rainbow. Confused, Vinyl eyes us suspiciously before backing out of the room to where Opal is.
“Okay...okay...I think I'm done...” Rainbow chokes out after a few minutes of laughing, getting to her feet and wiping away the tears that had formed in her eyes. “I can't believe you burnt it to a crisp!”
“I'm not talking about this. What else was in the bag?” I say, changing the subject. Rainbow chuckles again before reaching into the bag once more.
“There's a bunch of old papers, some weird metal box things, a can of some weird liquid, and...hey, is this that magic thing you keep using?” Rainbow lists off to me. Upon hearing that last item, I walk over to her and look in the bag as well.
The can she'd mentioned was in fact a can of Monster energy drink, though the logo looks different than I remember. It's probably deadly toxic now...as if it weren't toxic before. But the magical thing she mentioned is in fact a handgun of an unknown make. The metal boxes are magazines for said gun.
“Yeah, it is. Stands to reason there'd still be more guns in the building. Let's see if it works,” I decide, taking the gun and twirling it around my finger once, just for fun. I try to cock it, but the slide is jammed. Essentially that makes the gun useless. “Nope. Figures. Not even my rifle worked when I found it.”
“Mr. Seth, sir!” A random earth pony enters the room next, saluting to me. I raise an eyebrow at being called in such a formal fashion. “Mr. Rivet wanted me to let you know that the scaffolding is just about complete, and the next few floors are open for exploration.”
“Yes! Let's do some more exploring!” Rainbow exults. After I dismiss the messenger with a nod of my head, the two of us leave the room and join Opal, Vinyl, and Twilight on their way back to the elevator shaft.
Sure enough, there's a wooden scaffolding descending down the shaft in the form of a spiral ramp, which flat partitions by every floor to make transporting equipment easier. On the underside of the ramps, I can make out very complex architectural designs, such as patterns made from the triangle shape that is the strongest of all architectural shapes. Clever...very clever. In fact, I can tell how sturdy the scaffolding is just by stepping on it. It doesn't shake or even creak.
This ramp opens the way all the way down to the ground floor. It won't be long before we start tunneling to find the other buildings.
Now that more than one floor is open for exploration, Opal brings all of the achaeologists down with her, and Flash brings all of the scientists. They all spread out and start looking through the different floors, finding artifacts and bringing them up to the surface for later study. According to Opal, she plans to find as many artifacts as possible, and then spend time studying them when waiting for the tunneling to complete.
I take this time to visit some my old classroom as well. The one I stop by is my old coding class on the second floor. Vinyl and Rainbow accompany me, as they'd immediately volunteered the moment I told them what I'm doing.
I press my hand down on the table, feeling it wobble unsteadily beneath my touch. “I sat here, so long ago,” I say, more to myself than to Rainbow or Vinyl. Walking around the table, I begin to feel a sense of nostalgia as I look back up at the wrecked board. “Next to me was a girl and her stupid boyfriend, who would always rant about sports to her....and nothing else. I remember it used to piss me off.”
Rainbow and Vinyl remain silent, deciding to let me reminisce without interfering. Mentally thanking them, I continue to recall the kinds of things that happened in this class.
“There was also a darker skinned human next to me that would not stop talking. It doesn't matter if you were talking to him or not. If he heard a question, he would answer it, even if it were rhetorical,” I recall, chucking a bit at how angry I used to get at the guy. I guess he's dead now, anyway. “It made me want to shove a sock down his throat.”
I look around at the ancient room one last time, and then I wordlessly exit into the hallway, closely followed by my friends. I return to the scaffolding and head down to the ground floor, which is different from the others in that this is where the MC building adjoins with the Science Building. In addition to that, there's a staircase that leads down to the outside. It's just as I remember it. One of the doors is caved in and a cascade of earth had surged in through the hole left behind. Some of the miners are already down here, getting rid of the dirt and getting ready to start a tunnel.
I look around the lower level, seeing the old study room and its plush leather chairs that are now rather ratty looking. I used to sit there and finish my schoolwork before class. It feels surreal, to be down here on this level again. Only this time, I'm here with my friends and practically an army of other ponies. I'm going to rediscover my past and come to terms with my old memories. That way I'll be able to leave it all behind for good, and finally I can have some closure.
I can hardly wait.
Sorry about the long wait. However, I am finally done with finals, and I'm going to spend my holiday getting a tan in florida and writing more of this arc!
Finally, we've entered the ruins. The place is a mess, with the crumbling classrooms, the staggering stairwells, the demolished doorways, the fractured floors, the ancient artifacts, the collapsed cots, the scattered skeletons, the...
That One Pony : We get it, move on!
...right. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this first incursion into the old building. Oh, also I should thank that one commenter who gave me the quite hilarious suggestion that I expanded upon in this chapter. He knows who he is.
Finally, leave your comments and tell me what you think. Seriously, you have no idea how much they inspire a writer. 
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MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
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This makes me sad.
Very good, it make me think, how many things are underground? after all, maybe all the city is underground and they only need to go to the door to find it
Clips load the magazines, which are then loaded into the handguns.
5398215
Fixed
So I was reading the 72nd chapter earlier and imagine my elation when the story updates!
So, I've finally caught up after I think starting a week ago, and if I didn't say before, I'm thoroughly enjoying this story! Sorlsor, this is now one of my top favorites, and its realistic! Well.. in the sense that the characters are very well written. So I guess I'm saying that all act in character to their names.
Also, I rather enjoyed the ending of last chapter, and the beginning of this one, so cute!
Merry Christmas, Terran! No hurry on the next chapter even though I'm quite eager to see if they ever encounter any live Oppressed!
good chap, sad but good.
BWHAHAHAHA! I still can't believe you did that!
This chapter was awesome
Starting off we have Seth waking up after his emotional night to find that he slept cuddled up with Rainbow. He's embarrassed, but not angry about it, like he may have been at far earlier points in the story. He tries to get out slowly, but Rainbow awakens. She's obviously pleased about their positioning, and her reaction once he does get up she becomes disappointed. If her feelings hadn't already been made clear before now, this scene would have certainly confirmed it. Honestly, Seth is really friggin oblivious that he hasn't picked up these subtle clues yet. Or maybe it's intentional obliviousness. We'll see eventually, though it was interesting to note that he seemed very happy upon waking up, certainly enjoyed the embrace and was definitely more embarrassed about the situation and looking weak in front of her then feeling angry with himself. I like that he apologizes to her about invading her personal space, since this has been an issue for on several occasions (though I don't think there's been a tonne with her specifically, since she prefers her personal space as well.). Rainbow offering to hug with him in private if it helps him was sweet, and though Seth wasn't all that comfortable with it, with all the memories and emotions affecting him in the ruins, he'll certainly need her help to get through it all.
After they arrive at the camp we have Seth discuss the layout with the project leaders. It's good to see that he knows how to operate well in the advisor capacity and we'll likely make interacting with the others in a professional manner far easier. In a more casual manner though, he's likely to still get snippy with them (especially Opal. I'm just waiting for the moment she gets a little too excited about a discovery. Twilight too). Exploring the ruins was interesting. We get to see the ponies reaction to things as mundane to us as classrooms and projectors. Maybe if there are still some working (or at least relatively intact) devices left the ponies might be able to reverse engineer some of it with magic. Watching a Daring Do film on a projector instead of a black and white cinema reel would certainly make Rainbow's day. The best bit of the exploration was Rainbow finding the porn mag. That was just hilarious. She kept looking through it until Seth saw what it was. I can't wait to see what Vinyl, Twilight and Pinkie think when they hear about it.
The last part of the exploration, when he finds his old coding room was a little sad, but very strong. He remembers where he used to sit and the annoying people around him. Despite how the irritated him, he misses it, and the rest of his world. He's being strong now, but as he sees things like this, it's going to really affect him. Seeing his old dorm is going to hurt, but seeing Amaryllis' dorm...
Great work, I can't wait to see further exploration of the ruins and seeing him come to terms with his memories.
5401819
I told you I might!
5404197 Wow....
my first thought about the description is weird
is this guy still a human? a pony?
and whats with king sombra for a cover pic?
5407663
He's still human and will always be human, as human turned pony isn't something I'm a fan of.
As for King Sombra, I unfortunately have no better image to use, as I don't have any artist acquaintances that are willing to draw for me.
5417017 Do i look like a furry in real life? Sorry sir, i am human. but thank. *Tea*
gentleman my friend.
Doesnt work
7457376
Fixed
I have to give credit where it's due. I've been reading this story for awhile now and you've really impressed me. Seth is not like most human protagonist and l I'm grateful for that. I can't wait to finish reading this. Ps: you like dragon age too? Awesome! Dragon age origins for the win!
>not telling them aboot the security room so they can get the computer's power supply working
gayy lmao