Shades of Equestria

by Typographical Error

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Steam and water vapor flowed over the metal floor like waves on an ocean. It curled around their hooves, licking at their suits, leaving behind some of itself with every movement. Stunned, the four ponies stood completely still, staring down at the pony. A soft warning alarm was ringing, but none of them hear it. All their attention was on the pony who had just dropped into their world.

Slowly, almost as if he was worried it was fake, Whooves reached out. He laid a hoof on the pony’s chest, which was covered in a suit, just like theirs. Wires were running from ports on the suit, just under the neck, to the inside of the chamber on the wall. He slowly moved his hoof over the place when his heart was. A worried expression grew over his face. He turned back to Fluttershy and Rarity, who were watching with concern. He took a deep, slow breath, then opened his eyes and looked at them.

“I need you to go up top and gather the others.” he said. “Tell them to come to the central dome, and wait for us. We will be there soon.”

“But...what about-?” Rarity started to ask.

“Just do it!” Whooves snapped, causing Fluttershy to whimper. But they both nodded, turning and galloping up the stairs. Whooves turned back to the pony on the table. The worried expression had reported. After a couple seconds, he looked up at Twilight. “Can you help me lift him up?” he asked. Twilight nodded. She slid her hooves under the ponies body, while Whooves did the same. Together, they lifted the frozen pony off of the gurney. Slowly, Whooves took one hoof away, shifting the weight to the other. He reached towards the pony’s head, feeling around for something. He smiled when he found it. The metal zipper that was on the back of all of their suits. Biting his bottom lip, he pulled at it. A few moments later, they heard what sounded like glass breaking, and the zipper came free. He pulled it back until it was equal with the pony’s pelvis. Nodding at Twilight, they lowered the pony back onto the gurney.

“What was that for?” Twilight asked, watching as Whooves began pulling the suit away from the pony. Dark blue fur started to appear, as well as a light blue mane. White tints on his muzzle and hooves shown dramatically against the blue. Wings showed themselves. Finally, the suit was pulled off his upper body, laying over his legs.

“Something wasn’t right.” Whooves said, looking down at the pony. “I couldn’t hear through the suit.”

“Hear what?” Twilight asked, annoyed at not having straight answers.

“The heartbeat.” Whooves said, leaning down over the pony. He pressed his ear over the pony’s chest again, the worried expression back. He closed his eyes, listening intently. Twilight watched him for what felt like a minute. She was fearing what Whooves must have been fearing. The pony was dead.

Suddenly, Whooves eyes flashed open, and a smile appeared on his face. Standing up, he waved Twilight over. She gently laid her ear across the pony’s heart, closing her eyes as did Whooves. She strained against the other sounds in the room. The soft alarm, the sound of the air conditioning, her own breathing. Canceling out these sounds, as she had learned to do while trying to read with one of Pinkies parties going on, she just listened for that one sound she wanted. Seconds ticked by with nothing happening. She was about to tell Whooves he might have heard something, when...

….............................................Thump...............................................................Thump.....................

She backed away, running into Whooves as she did. “He’s alive!” she almost shouted, jumping up and down in one spot. Whooves nodded, walking back over to the pony.

“Yes he is. We might actually have a chance now.” he said quietly. Twilight walked over, standing on the opposite side as Whooves.

“What do we have to do now.” she asked.

“Well, we have three options. One: Spare him, and leave him frozen until we get this sorted out. Two: We can unfreeze him, and maybe he can help us. Or Three: We cut off the life support.” Twilight gaped at him.

“Why would we do that!?”

“Come on, Twilight! We both know us getting everything fixed before we either starve, or just plain old die, is a slim chance. What if this pony was just a civilian. A pony who wouldn’t understand anything about the workings of the colony! He would be better off dead.”

Twilight looked down at the stallion. Wisps of steam were rising from his fur. She said something so quietly, that Whooves couldn’t hear it.

“What was that?” he asked, moving closer.

“He isn’t a civilian.” Twilight said, louder this time. “If I am right, then this is LG.”

“The pony from the journals?” Whooves asked. “You think this was his plan!?” Twilight looked up, a familiar yet old fire in her eyes. She knew she was right, and once again, ponies aren't believing her.

“If you were stuck on a dying planet, would this not be your plan as well? To save yourself? It’s LG. I am positive.” She looked over the three buttons above the chamber on the wall. “We are getting him out. And we are getting him out right now.” Whooves nodded, still looking skeptical. “So what do we need to do?”

“Well, we need to get the suit back on him.” Whooves said. “Then....I am not really sure.” Twilight nodded, helping Whooves put the suit back in. Already, the suit and fur were feeling warm. That had to get him back in soon, or face the same type of wake up that they had.

With a grunt, they lifted the gurney and the stallion into the chamber. They shut the door, and instantly, the alarm shut off. Whooves sighed, taking a step back.

“So what now?”

“I think it has something to do with those buttons.” Whooves said, pointing to the buttons above the chamber. They were blinking in order. Red, then yellow and green, then all at once. Whooves walked forward, raising his front two hooves. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at Twilight. She rolled her eyes, nodding vigorously. Whooves turned back, touching the three buttons in the order that they lit up. Red, then green and yellow at the same time. Then, when they went dark, he slid his hoof across the entire display, hitting them all at the same time. He jumped back, unsure of what was going to happen.

The alarm came back on, this time, louder. The three lights were flashing on and off, completely in time with the alarm. Twilight took a couple steps toward the chamber, her hoof out. She placed it on the metal, but jumped back when she felt that it was scalding. Suddenly, she was afraid that they had just killed the pony. But then the alarm shut off, and the lights stopped flashing.

Stunned, she walked forward again, gingerly placing the hoof on the door again. Strangely, it was cool to the touch. She wrapped her hooves around the handle and pulled. A blast of steam slammed into her, and she fell back coughing. Whooves rushed forward and helped her up again. She looked inside, seeing the same sight she had the first time they opened the door. The stallion sitting in the chamber, completely dead to the world. She pulled the gurney out, happy to find that it was much lighter this time. As fast as possible, she unzipped the suit, pulling it halfway off again. She laid her ear against his chest, listening. The heartbeat should have been much faster now, more than once a minute. But nothing. No sound at all.

She fell back against the wall, eyes fogging over. Whooves walked forward and embraced her, and she clutched at him like a lifeboat.

“I really thought it would work.” she said, her voice thick. Whooves nodded against her shoulder.

“I did as well.” he said. “I guess now we have to-” he was cut off by a small sound. A sound that Twilight would always remember, until the day she died. She looked, just in time to see the stallions chest fall as he exhaled. She broke apart from Whooves and rushed over to the table. Whooves stood on the other side of the table.

The pony breathed in, his chest rising slowly. After a few breathes, his eyes fluttered open. Twilight gasped as she saw that all of them, even the pupil, was a brilliant white. He blinked several times, looking up at her. She smiled slightly, reaching down to push his mane away from his face. “It’s alright.” she said quietly. “You’re safe now.” The stallion blinked one more them, then his eyes widened in panic. His fore-leg flashed out, grabbing Twilight’s leg. He pulled himself up, jumping off the table. As he did, his legs collapsed underneath him, and he went sprawling on the floor. He pulled himself back up, flapping his wings slightly to get himself aloft. rushing over to one of the corners of the room. He stood there, breathing heavily, watching them both. Slowly, the panic left his eyes, and his breathing slowed to almost normal.

Twilight’s heart was racing. The pony had scared her half to death, but it looked like they had scared him worse. Can he see? she wondered, looking over his pure white eyes. As a test, she waved her hoof at him. The white eyes tracked it perfectly. The pony opened his mouth a few times, but no sound came out. After swallowing a couple times, he tried again.

“What year is it?” he asked, his voice hoarse and raspy.

“I don’t know” Twilight said. “But--”

“What year is it!” the pony yelled, his voice breaking on almost every word. Twilight looked up at Whooves, who quickly, did the math.

“It’s 1420 A.L.” he said. “Give or take a decade.” The stallion looked shocked. His legs gave out, and he knelt on the floor.

“A hundred years...” he said. “I can’t believe it.” He looked up at them, taking in each and everyone of their features. “What...what is up there...” he asked. Twilight and Whooves exchanged glances. That one looked was all the stallion needed.

“It’s that bad?” They nodded. The stallion shook his head. “All of our work..gone..” He stood up, pulling his suit over his shoulders, pulling the zipper up as best as he could. “Thank you for finding me.” he said, walking towards them. He held out his hoof, and they took it one at a time. “I am..was..the lead science officer here.”

“LG..” Twilight said under her breath. The stallion looked over at her.

“I see you found my journal.” he said. “Yes, my name is Lunar Glow.” The two introduced themselves, and Lunar raised his eyebrows when Whooves said his.

“I think I remember you. Didn’t you lead the group that was studying time and relativity?” Whooves nodded.

“Yes, that was me.” he said, nodding. “And this is-”

“Twilight Sparkle. One of the Elements of Harmony.” he said, bowing his head slightly. “It’s more than a pleasure to meet you. Can I assume the others here as well?” Twilight nodded, brushing her mane back slightly. Lunar’s eyes instantly saw that healing gash on her temple.

“What happened?” he asked, his hoof barely touching it.

“Oh, a little trouble with re-entry.” she replied.

“I think I have a cream or something down here for that....” he looked around the room, as if remembering it from a long time ago. “How many of you are there?”

“Including you, there are nine of us awake.” Whooves said. “Almost five hundred are still asleep.”

Have any of you....died recently?” Lunar asked, eyes wide. Twilight and Whooves exchanged curious glances.

“No, we are all still alive.” Twilight said. “Whatever the virus was seems to have died off.”

“Oh, good. You saw Moonfire’s message.” Lunar said, sighing. “Yes we were the last to go. I, for some reason, hadn’t caught it yet. But Moonfire and the others weren’t as lucky. Moonfire caught it a day before that message was made, and you saw how fast the disease ravaged his body. When he died, any order we had collapsed. The other ponies left the colony, thinking they might be able to find a cure on the planet somewhere. I knew better, I knew there was only one way to save myself.”

“You froze yourself.” Whooves said. “And in doing so, killed any of the virus that was in or on your body.” Lunar nodded.

“Exactly. And it appears that the virus....How long have you been here?” he asked.

“About a day.” Twilight said.

“I would hate to be wrong about this, but I think the virus has died off.” Lunar said, looking them over. “You would know if you had it by now.”

“We should probably tell the others what is going on.” Twilight said, pointing at the stairs. “They are probably worried.”

“We should. Lunar, would you like to come with us, see the rest of the colony?” Whooves asked. Lunar chuckled slightly.

“I don’t want to. But I guess I have to.” he said, gingerly taking a step forward. He seemed able to walk, but he was limping slightly. After a few steps, he fell into a rhythm with his limp, and he started to walk faster. He slowly walked up the stairs, Whooves walking behind him in case he tripped. As they walked up, the damage started to become obvious, but nothing compared to what it was at the top. None the less, Lunar’s eyes were wide as plates as he took in what his home had become.

“Not what you expected, is it?” Whooves asked.” Lunar shook his head.

“I was expecting damage, of course. The lightning storms are enough to do some damage, but this is insane! We built it so perfect, and this is what nature has done to it.”

“This probably isn’t what you wanted to see when you woke up.” Twilight said, catching up with them.

“Anything is better than being stuck in that chamber. You guys know what it is like to be frozen.” Lunar said, looking over his shoulder at them. “But last time, you were awaiting a planet that was coming, you knew it was there. Here....I was waiting for something I wasn’t even sure was going to show up. It might have been one hundred years in there, but it felt like a thousand.” Twilight and Whooves exchanged glances. They could tell this pony was going to have a hard time getting used to things.

Finally they reached the top, and Lunar gasped. He stared up at the cracks in the ceiling, and the broken and hanging lights. He rushed to the door, opened it, and galloped outside. Whooves and Twilight rushed out after him. But he hadn’t gone far.

He was standing just outside the door. his mouth open wide. His eyes reflected the two suns perfectly. However, they reflected the colony just as well. They could almost see his heart break as he looked around at what used to be him home. He turned back to them, blinking several times.

“Where are the others?” he asked. Whooves pointed at the central dome. Lunar nodded and started walking towards it. The other two fell behind, not saying a word. When they reached the dome, Whooves pressed his hoof on the screen, and the door opened. The walked in, seeing Rainbow and the others waiting for them.

“What is going on?! Applejack asked, standing up. “Rarity said you found another pony and...” Her voice trailed off as Lunar walked in. The others stood up as well, gaping at the new arrival. It was silence for a few moments.

“Ummm...Hi I guess.” Lunar said lamely, kicking at a piece of debris on the floor. Those three words brought the others out of their trance. They rushed Lunar, causing him to back into the wall closest to him.

“Oh Celestia, where was he?” Derpy asked, floating above him.

“He was in cryo. That is how he survived the disease.” Twilight answered.

“Does he know how to help us?” Rainbow asked.

“We aren’t sure, but we think he-” Whooves started, but he was interrupted by Lunar.

“Excuse me. “He” still remembers how to talk.” he said, slightly annoyed. Whooves nodded and waved him on. Lunar cleared his throat, gesturing to the ponies to give him some space.

“Yes, I survived the disease by storing myself in the cryo chamber. But, we aren’t safe yet. We will have to wait to see if the virus has indeed died off, or it has just mutated into something better, or something worse.”

“So what do you want us to do?” Rarity asked.

“For now..just relax” Lunar said, starting to walk around the inside of the dome. “I want to wait a few days before we even start to repair the colony--”

“So ya know how to fix this?” Applejack asked. Lunar nodded.

“I was the lead science officer, so I oversaw most of the construction here.. Somethings...” his voice trailed off as he touched a screen. A graph comprising of colors, which were constantly shifting, filled the screen. He stared at it for a few moments, a small smile growing on his lips. He turned the screen off and turned around, but the smile was still there.

“Something might be beyond me.” he finished. “But for now, I just want you to stay in your quarters, or inside one of the domes. I pray that the virus is gone, but it might not be.” A moment of silence filled the room, then the sound of hooves rang out as they all turned to the door.

“Whooves, wait. I need to talk with you.” Lunar said. Whooves turned back and walked over to him. Twilight watched as Lunar took him over to one of the screens and brought up some schematics. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, so she just followed Pinkie out the door.

Outside, she looked over the colony. She watched as the others turned and went towards the doors. Shielding her eyes, she could just barely see the ships hull in the distance. The colony made her remember something on the ship. Something she owed her, and all of their lives, to. Looking behind he to make sure that Lunar was still inside, she took of galloping towards the ship.

*****

“So you’re saying, you took apart your own ship to build this!?” Whooves said, completely bewildered. Lunar nodded, bringing up both the schematic of the ship he had traveled in, and the colony. He did a quick overlay of the two. After a few moments, Whooves saw what he was talking about. Certain curves and straights lined up perfectly with each other. And in some places, it looked like entire parts had just been copied and pasted from the ship.

“It required a lot less effort, and a lot less fuel, to get it here this way.”

“So what are you saying? We have to dismantle New Beginnings to repair the colony?”

“Yes. And for that to happen, all five hundred colonists will have to be woken up.”

“But...we aren’t prepared for that!” Whooves said, running his hoof through his hair. “We don’t even have a food supply!”

“I didn’t say it had to be tomorrow. I wasn’t even thinking it would be in a week.” Lunar said. “I’m a pegasus, but I am not an airhead. I know we aren’t ready. We have to get the food producing again, and he have to make sure the water supply, once again, is perfectly clear.”

“How long do you think that will take?” Whooves asked.

“I don’t know, maybe a month. We have some crazy, genetically modified plants in the colony. I just hope the seeds are still alive.”

“So where should we start?”

“The water supply.” Lunar said, turning off the screen and walking towards the door.

*****

She tried to calm her breathing, but the run had taken too much out of her. The sounds of her deep breaths rebounded back on her as she walked down the long hallway. A single, normal hoof step, then three muffled steps rang out as she walked down the hallway. Rows and rows of chambers, with hundreds of ponies inside. But only one mattered to her.

She finally reached it. Number 126. She touched her hoof to the old metal, wanting to open the chamber door and peer inside. But she knew she couldn't. Not until they were ready. The body of Cora, the pony that had saved them. The pony that had led her to the ideas that freed them, was laying inside. After they figured out how to get off the ship, they moved her body down her, so that it would stay safe, and more importantly, preserved, until they were ready to bury her.

She looked to the chamber next to Cora’s. Inside lay her husband, Lightning. Before she had killed herself, she wrote one last letter to him. Twilight didn’t tell any of the others, but she had kept it. It was safe inside her saddlebags in the colony. But she had come here for the rest of what Cora had left behind. She didn’t want Lightning to find out like that. Waiting for his wife to emerge. Not seeing her come out, and opening the hatch himself. No, she didn’t want that to happen.

She reached up and opened the small compartment above Cora’s chamber. Inside sat a pair of white saddlebags. The buckles attached to the straps were the same as Cora’s mark. A golden Caduceus. She lifted the lid, looking at all the pictures and books that Cora had left behind. She wish she had been able to meet this pony. She probably would have liked her.

She pulled some of the books aside, and she heard a small metal clink. She reached in and pulled out something small, metal, and gold. A ring of gold inlaid with different color crystals. As she turned it over in her hoof, she knew what it was. Cora’s wedding bracelet. Ponies weren’t allowed to wear jewelry during the procedure, so she must have put it in her bag. twilight flipped it over so that she could see the inside. There was an engraving along the inside edge. Twilight realized that it was their names, bound together by carved vines and flowers. She realized how much they must have loved each other. She placed it carefully back inside the bag.

Shaking her head, she threw on the bags. There was no use thinking about the past, and what could never happen. She turned back the way she came, leaving the still, silent pony to rest. The open hatch to the planet was waiting for her, sunlight pouring in. She looked back once, remembering something that Cora had written. Actually, she had written it twice.

The plants closed around her as she stepped off the metal. But she paused, looking around at the landscape. The mountains off to the distance appeared a little greener than the plain that they had landed on. And behind them looked like clouds. But not typical clouds. They were the clouds you would see if you were standing on a beach during a storm. She smiled as she looked at them. She knew over the mountains was the final goal she has set herself. The final thing she wanted to do. As she took off towards the colony again, she was smiling slightly.

Cora had said it twice. She wanted to be buried near the sea. And now, as twilight looked at the mountains again, she knew. She would be able to honor that last wish.

Comments

[Nopony in Particular]

Yay!!!!!!! First Anthropology, then this!!! It must be Christmas in July!

[Typographical Error]

866501 Um..What was that about Anthro? And I am glad you liked it.

[Nopony in Particular]

866610 It updated last night, but I didn't read it til this morning , then I saw this. So its sort of like christmas but in July!

[Sky Spark]

I was right I knew who LG was I didn't even have to get to the name. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Luna_lolface.png
It was a good chapter I waited all day to read I can't wait for the next update .

[TheHappyBrony313]

Dude, this is the most awsome plot i have ever read so far, and i love it! Good job, man

[pinkie pie(WB)]

this should be a featured story and u should try to get it on ed u need more publicity for this series man!

[Typographical Error]

872601 Tried to get it on EQD, they didn't take it. I have a one shot in production that I think will do well. I will try to get that on EQD.