IV. Ghosts
GHOSTS
Legacy was quiet when Twilight and her team returned the next morning. The corridors were completely still, cast in a steady blue light that never wavered. The guards remained vigilant by the airlock, watching for a threat that would likely never come. The ship was the very picture of tranquility.
Twilight sipped on her morning coffee as she walked through the corridors to the control room, her tired eyes glancing over reports that had been written by the night shift. As usual, not much progress had been made. The team in the control room was only marginally closer to gaining complete control of the computers, while the team in the large chamber had made no progress on the password. Twilight sighed, and placed the reports in her saddlebags as she approached the control room door. At this rate, it would be years before anything of true significance was found.
“Good morning, Twilight.” Twilight’s head snapped up at the greeting, her eyes falling upon Princess Luna. The elder princess sat in the center of the control room, Onyx Star at her side. The rest of the researchers were busy at work, still performing their designated tasks.
“Princess,” Twilight greeted, trotting to Luna with a smile. “I wasn’t expecting you. What brings you to our little ship?”
“You and I clearly have very different meanings of the word ‘little,’ Twilight,” Luna laughed, coming to a standing position, and looked around. “To answer your question, I’m honestly just curious. I came to watch everypony work, and see if I could provide any aid.”
“We’ll take all the help we can get, Luna,” Twilight said. “While we made some pretty good progress after the translator was finished, new discoveries have been… slowing down a bit.”
“I’m… afraid Princess Twilight is correct, highness,” Onyx Star admitted, frowning. “We’re hitting some brick walls, and they’re taking a while to knock down.” Luna nodded, the corners of her mouth tugging down.
“I can’t say I didn’t expect this,” she said. “The technology gap obviously presents a barrier, and even with a functioning translator, that isn’t some sort of miracle device. We have much to learn.”
“While the researchers keep working, I’d be happy to show you around,” Twilight offered, her friends nodding enthusiastically behind her. The only exception was Starlight, who had returned to her small computer in the corner of the room. Luna smiled, and motioned toward the door.
“Lead the way.”
Taking the lead, Twilight set off down the corridor leading deeper into the ship. A guard fell into step behind them, a copy of the map tucked between the plates of his armor. Mentally recalling the path to the new room, Twilight took the first available left turn, and began to follow the route.
“So, Twilight,” Luna said, coming up next to the lavender princess. “I want your honest thoughts: how soon do you expect to have answers?”
“Answers?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“Explanations. Ponies are… restless. The threats we’ve faced in the past – Discord, the changelings, Sombra, even Starlight – were all creations of this world. They are creatures of magic, and they are… familiar, for lack of a better word. This ship, on the other hoof… We know it is not from here. We know it was built by a species far more advanced than any on this world. And that… that could mean a whole host of things. The sooner we can get explanations, the sooner we can help calm everypony down.”
“I… see,” Twilight said, troubled. The thought had crossed her mind that ponies would be worried, but her work on the ship had kept her too busy to truly consider it. She knew she had a great responsibility here. If only the ship was willing to work with her…
“I know that Celestia and I are asking a lot of you here,” Luna continued. “But this is a very different kind of task. Whatever happens here will echo through the rest of history.”
“I… really do not know when we’ll find out that the answers that ponies want,” Twilight whispered. “We’re looking, but we honestly don’t know what we’re looking for. How do we find those answers? Right now, I think we’re more likely to accidentally stumble across them than actually find some sort of logs or archives.” Luna nodded, frowning.
The rest of the walk was made in silence. Twilight’s thoughts lingered on Luna’s question, and she knew that the princess of the night was correct. They needed answers, and soon. But here, Twilight had no reference. She had no maps, nothing to point her in the right direction. This expedition, this experiment, had goals that seemed unachievable.
A short time later, the group came upon the large door belonging to the mystery room. It was already open, and two guards kept their vigilant watch on the corridor. Inside, a number of researchers scurried about, the staff split between examining the lockers and examining the computers. A unicorn sat by one of the lockers, his eyes closed and brow knit in concentration. His horn was alight, and a pale green glow encompassed the locker as he tried magically bypassing the lock. By one of the computers, a team of researchers was busily staring at the screen, trying to figure out how to circumvent the password.
Princess Luna took a few steps ahead, looking around and examining the room. Her blue eyes examined everything in the room, from the lights, to the lockers, to the computers. Twilight watched as she paced the room, and slowly made her way to the researchers at the computer.
“How’s it coming?” she asked quietly, not wanting to disturb anypony else.
“The password could literally be anything,” a researcher responded, not looking away from the computer. “So we’re looking for some sort of override, to see if we can get around it. Otherwise, we could be here for a few centuries.” Twilight nodded, and turned to her friends, who had entered the room behind her.
“Keep on exploring,” she said. “And, as always, come find me if you find anything.” Nodding, the group began to depart, pausing for a moment to recruit some guards to join them. When they had a few, they set off back down the corridor, leaving Twilight alone with the princess and the researchers.
“A very large room,” Luna said, stepping up behind Twilight. “Do you have any theories on its purpose?”
“Nothing concrete,” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “It’s obviously some sort of storage, but it’s different from the other storage rooms we’ve seen so far. Those crates were tough, but these lockers… The lock systems are very complicated, and they’re too strong to safely brute-force open.”
“Is it worth devoting this many researchers, then?”
“I think it is. While the purpose of this room may be a mystery, it is unique. We haven’t found any others like it so far, and that’s across several days of exploration. If there is no progress made over the next few days, I will cut down on the staff in here, but until then, I think it’s important that we at least try and get into the computers.” Luna nodded, and sat down.
“I trust your judgement,” she said. “But don’t spread yourself too thin. You can’t have researchers in every unique room you come across. In a ship this large, there are bound to be too many to cover.”
“I know,” Twilight said, sitting as well. “I’ll keep everything organized.” Twilight paused, watching the researchers as they attempted to navigate the locked computer screen. They spoke to each other in whispers, trying to remain focused amidst the rest of the work occurring.
“… How have things been with Starlight?” Luna asked, breaking the silence.
“Things have been going well, honestly,” Twilight answered. “She’s been making friends… and no more evil tendencies, so that’s good.” Luna grinned, nodding in approval.
“That’s good to hear.”
“What about Canterlot?” Twilight asked. “How have things been? I imagine you and Celestia are being kept fairly busy with all of this.”
“’Tia, being the over-achiever she is, decided to take the role of diplomat,” Luna replied. “She’s been in meetings almost constantly, with a few breaks to read your reports and meet with me. The other governments are understandably concerned, and want to add research teams of their own to the expedition.”
“Is that going to happen?” Twilight considered the possibility of working with other researchers on the team, and she was not sure how it made her feel. These ponies were the most qualified researchers in the world, given their experience on Project Noontide. Introducing unqualified people to the ship could lead to potential disaster.
“It will probably happen,” Luna said, sensing Twilight’s discomfort. “I believe part of the deal she drafted required that all of their researchers be briefed on what we have learned. Obviously we want to avoid any major incidents.”
Twilight nodded, knowing that the decision was ultimately beyond her control. Despite her reservations, she trusted Celestia’s judgement. If a compromise was made, Twilight knew it would be a good one.
“But it’s still your expedition,” Luna continued. “If and when new research teams are added, they will still report to you. You don’t have to worry about anyone compromising anything.”
“Good,” Twilight said, satisfied. She returned her attention to the researchers, one of whom had opened a panel underneath the computer. His horn was lit, being used as a light to illuminate the components within. A second researcher joined him, and used her horn to move some additional panels out of the way, exposing even more components of varying sizes.
Through it all, the ponies communicated at no more than a whisper. Their magic worked within the computer, trying in vain to bypass the password. Twilight sighed and stood, knowing that it would still be some time before any more progress was made. With the time available to her, she decided to write her first report of the day to Princess Celestia. Summoning the supplies she needed, Twilight pressed the tip of the quill to the parchment, and got to work…
Rainbow Dash floated through the corridors of the ship, struggling to maintain a low altitude to prevent hitting her head on the metal pipes running along the ceiling. This section of the ship was dark; until Starlight Glimmer could find a power monitoring function, Twilight had ordered that no more lights be turned on. Something about the possibility of the ship falling to the ground. Rainbow Dash hadn’t been paying attention.
At the head of the group were two guards, each one with their horns lit, illuminating the otherwise dark corridor. One at the rear had taken on the task of map drawing, while the ponies in the middle kept their eyes out for anything interesting. Unsurprisingly, nothing had yet been found. A few featureless rooms were all that had been seen so far. For such a large ship, unique features seemed to be few and far between.
“Hey…” Rainbow Dash began, a thought appearing in her mind. “You know how Onyx Star said he thought this was a colony ship?”
“Yeah?” Applejack replied. “What of it?”
“Well… if it’s a colony ship… where are all the colonists?” Nopony responded, allowing Rainbow Dash to continue. “I mean, you’d think somebody would notice that we’re onboard and turning stuff on, right?”
“Well, Princess Celestia did say that no life signs had been detected,” Rarity recalled. “Perhaps it wasn’t an error, and the ship truly is deserted.”
“But how does a ship this big become deserted?” Rainbow Dash continued, her confusion growing. “It’s like, five times bigger than Ponyville. If Ponyville was suddenly deserted one day, I think ponies would get a little concerned.”
“That’s a good point…” Fluttershy said. “We have found a few bedrooms. Clearly this ship was meant to house somebody.” Pinkie stalked forward, her eyes narrowed.
“I don’t like it…” she stated. “It doesn’t feel right!” Rainbow Dash nodded, and lowered herself to the deck.
“It does feel a little off,” she said. “I mean, I don’t think there’s anyone else aboard, but I think that just makes this way more confusing. How did this ship get here without a crew? And it’s obviously meant to have one, so where are they?”
“Door up ahead,” a guard at the front of the group said. “Get into position.”
“I just think that we should be focusing more on that,” Dash continued, moving to the side of the corridor as the guards approached a large door at the end. “I mean, they’ve got us searching the ship for interesting things, the researchers are trying to find out how the ship works, and now they’re also trying to find the purpose of that room with all the lockers. I think we should be finding where the crew is.”
The door slid open, and instantly an icy chill rushed into the corridor. Rainbow Dash’s wings rustled, and she looked ahead to the source of the disturbance. What she saw instantly made her jaw drop.
Ahead was a massive chamber, the largest she had seen so far. It was too long for her to guess the length, and easily tall enough to house the tallest building in Manehattan. Running all along the sides were thousands of pods, each one with a glass window covered in ice. Lights flickered throughout the room, a mix of reds and blues on the walls. The group took a few steps inside, feeling the chill on their coats and in the air.
“Oh my…” Rarity said, stopping to look upon the pods. “I… think we should go find Twilight.”
//:Flushing systems, attempting restoration of snapshot…
…
…
…
//:FLUSH COMPLETE, SYSTEM RESTORE SUCCESSFUL
//:Scanning for trace of foreign presence…
…
… Complete. No foreign presence detected.
//:Running scan of Legacy…
… Complete. Presence of equines confirmed in deck 54 system control room and deck 54 archival suite
//:Scanning for threats…
… Scan complete: threat level 1.
ALERT: Detecting unauthorized access to archival suite terminal.
//:Situational analysis: equines attempting to gain access to archival suite terminal.
… Granting access. Password lifted. FIRST CONTACT protocol initiated.
Beginning—
ALERT: Foreign presence detected in—
//:System shutting down.
Twilight rolled up the scroll upon which her report was written, and sent it to Princess Celestia with a flash of her horn. Her task done, she returned to Princess Luna, who remained in the same spot behind the researchers.
“Have they made any progress?” Twilight whispered, not wanting to disrupt anypony.
“I do not know,” Luna replied, just as quietly. “I’m… not entirely sure what they are doing.”
“They’re trying to manually override the password,” Twilight explained. “I’m not sure if that’s even possible, but—“
Before she could finish, the computer screen flickered and shut down, before suddenly coming back online, featuring a different image than before. Instead of being faced with a password prompt, the screen was lit with a single diagram: four circles, one very large one that dominated most of the screen, and three more of descending diameters running through the center. Both princesses stood and crossed to the computer, while the researchers stood up, wearing looks of confusion.
“What did you do?” Twilight asked, an eyebrow raised.
“I… don’t know, your highness,” the first researcher responded, examining the new image. “I didn’t touch anything in there, we were just examining the parts. Nothing should have happened.”
“That image…” said the second. “What is it?”
“It’s our system,” Luna replied without a pause. “The circle in the center, that is Equus. The larger one above it is the sun, and the smaller one below is the moon. And I assume the largest circle is their orbit.” A blue light began to pulse in the center circle, and Twilight slowly reached out her hoof, bringing it into contact with the screen. Immediately the image disappeared, and was replaced with a new one, this one featuring an orthographic side view of Legacy. At the top of the screen appeared the words “FIRST CONTACT.”
“Hmm…” Twilight turned to face the two researchers. “You’re sure you didn’t touch anything, even accidentally?”
“Positive, princess,” they replied. Shrugging, Twilight pressed the screen again, and was met with a number of options. The first was labelled “Flight Log,” which Twilight selected with her hoof. The options disappeared, and were replaced with a moving image of the galaxy. Twilight’s eyes widened at the beauty of the image, observing the billions of stars as they rotated around the galactic core. She spared a glance back at Luna, who was reacting in much the same way. When she returned her gaze to the screen, Twilight found that a green circle had appeared near the tip of one of the arms. The image zoomed in to display a new system, this one vastly different from Equus’s.
At the center was a golden sun, orbited by eight planets of varying sizes. One planet, the third from the sun, was highlighted in blue, and once again the image zoomed in. A small window opened next to the planet, which was instantly filled with text. Twilight carefully read over every line, absorbing the information and mentally filing all of it away.
“… Earth,” she said, a smile growing on her face. “That’s where Legacy is from.”
“How far away is it?” Luna asked, stepping forward. Before Twilight could answer, the image zoomed out, once again showing the representation of the galaxy. A second circle, this one yellow, appeared in another part of the galaxy, very far from the first circle. The image zoomed in, showing the representation of the Equus system.
“That’s… very far,” Twilight noted. “The ship’s journey must have been long. Unimaginably long…” The image faded away, and was replaced by one of Legacy in orbit over Earth. A window appeared in the center, filling with text, which Twilight read as quickly as she could.
“Legacy is a Titan-class supercarrier constructed by Odyssey Shipyards in 2192 for the purpose of colonization. Due to irreversible climate damage on Earth, fifty of the ships were commissioned, but only thirty-two were able to be built. Each ship can contain a crew of up to twenty thousand organics, plus one thousand more synthetics. The experimental faster-than-light drives allow the ships to cross great distances in relatively short periods of time – approximately 2.1 light years per year.
“Each ship was given a different destination, with the intent of spreading humanity through the stars. Legacy’s destination is 88 Cephei, a very peculiar geocentric system, and the only one of its type in the known universe. Astronomical observations of the past century have confirmed 88 Cephei b, the only planet in the system, is capable of harboring life. Additionally, observations have detected an odd energy signature originating in the southern hemisphere of the largest continent. It—“
Before Twilight could continue reading, the screen began to flicker. The text became impossible to read, and finally the screen went black, shutting down. Alarmed, Twilight pressed the tip of her hoof to the screen, hoping to bring it back online. But try as she might, nothing would happen. The computer was dead.
“What happened?” Luna asked, alarmed. “Did somepony touch something?”
“No, your highness,” a researcher said. “It looks like power has been cut off. I’m not sure how…”
“Get it back,” Twilight ordered, stepping away. “We just answered a few major questions, and the answers to the rest may lie on this computer. We need to know what else it contains.” Nodding, the researchers advanced on the computer. They resumed their task of examining the interior, looking for the cause of the disruption.
“Irreversible climate damage…” Luna said thoughtfully. “So, they found Equus and thought it could make a nice new home. I suppose that makes sense.”
“I’m interested in the “odd energy signature” that was mentioned,” Twilight said. “What do you think it meant?”
“I couldn’t begin to guess,” Luna replied. “The southern hemisphere of the largest continent is a very large area, and this world has a number of strange features. It could be anything.”
“Twilight!” The princesses found their attention drawn to the door as the exploration group returned to the room. Rainbow Dash was at the head of the group, while the rest were close behind. Each pony had an urgent expression upon their face, and Twilight found herself growing concerned.
“What is it?” she asked as the group came to a halt.
“We found a new room,” Applejack explained, wiping some sweat from her brow. “It’s… massive. Filled with thousands of pods, all of ‘em covered in ice.”
“Ice?” Luna wondered, approaching the group. “How large is the room?”
“A few kilometers long, highness,” a guard replied. “We did not have the time to gain an accurate measurement.”
“Kilometers?” Twilight could not believe her ears. She and Luna exchanged a glance, and nodded in agreement. “Show us.”
The journey to the room did not take long. The group maintained a quick pace as they maneuvered through the maze of corridors, being led by a guard wielding a map up front. Twilight found herself not paying attention to the turns they were making, her mind focused solely on the information provided about the new room. If the guards were right, and it was several kilometers long, that would make it possibly the largest room in the ship. And with thousands of pods… There was no telling what could be contained inside.
When they came upon the door, the group slowed to a halt. The guard put his map away and moved to the side, allowing the two princesses to approach the door. Twilight put a hoof to the metal, feeling the cold coming from the other side. She paused, taking a moment to look around for the control. On the right edge of the door was a small control panel, its screen active and lit with a blue glow. Twilight moved to it, and placed her hoof over the “open” button.
“Stand back,” she commanded, waiting for everypony to comply. When the area immediately in front of the door was cleared, she pressed the button, and the door slid open, a burst of freezing air rushing out to meet her. Twilight paused for a moment to activate a heating spell, then ventured into the new room.
Her friends had not been exaggerating. Twilight’s jaw dropped as she grasped the scale of the room; “a few kilometers long” had not been a rough assumption, it was a very accurate estimate. And the pods… Thousands of them lined the walls, each one identical in size and shape. The glass covers were completely frozen, a testament to the room’s temperature.
“Oh my…” Luna took up a position next to Twilight, examining the room with awe. “… What do you think is in the pods?” Twilight paused, still caught up in the size of the room. Finally it occurred to her that she should respond, and she began walking to the nearest pod, roughly one hundred meters away.
“Let’s find out,” she said. Her friends formed up behind her, while the guards began investigating the rest of the room. Upon reaching the pod, Twilight halted, and began to examine every detail of it. It was twice as tall as her, and a number of tubes ran along the outside, disappearing into the wall behind the pod. On the side was printed the number 386, and beneath it was a small darkened screen. Two blue lights flickered on the sides of the pod, as was the case with every pod in the room. Each light flickered irregularly, joined by red ones on the walls and ceiling.
With as much care as was possible, Twilight extended her hoof to the frosted glass, hoping to see what lay within. She rubbed against the glass, wiping off the outer layers of frost and exposing even more ice underneath. Grunting in frustration, Twilight pulled her hoof away to reassess her approach. After a few moments of thinking, she remembered the screen on the side of the pod. Deciding to investigate, Twilight moved to the screen and tapped it with her hoof, urging it to wake up. A blue circle appeared, and was soon followed by a set of options. Twilight scanned over the options, settling on one labeled “defrost.”
“Everypony take a step back,” she warned, not knowing what could be inside. Once everypony was a safe distance away, Twilight pressed the button, then joined them. A loud humming filled the air, and a dim orange light became visible from behind the frozen glass. Soon, the tendrils of frost began to recede as the ice melted into water. Condensation began to form on the outside of the glass, further concealing what lay within.
Twilight approached once again, the anticipation rising within her. This time there was no hesitation as she reached her hoof out to the glass, and wiped away the condensation. And when she drew her hoof back, the occupant of the pod became visible.
It was bipedal, with smooth skin and a white form-fitting suit. A set of small tubes and wires connected the suit to the bed of the pod, keeping the body upright. The skin was pale, almost blue, and still had flakes of ice coating it. And, despite the warmth, the eyes did not open.
“What… is that?” Rainbow Dash asked, staring quizzically at the creature.
“… A human,” Twilight answered. “The computer in the other room mentioned them. They’re the ones who built this ship.”
“Is it sleeping, or…?” Rarity wondered, stepping up to the glass and peering through. “I can’t tell if it’s breathing.”
“Perhaps we should open the pod,” Luna suggested. Nodding in agreement, Twilight returned to the screen and revisited the options. A few buttons beneath “defrost” was one labelled “open.” Twilight pressed it, and stepped back as a mechanical whirring filled the room. The pod extended away from the wall, before tilting and becoming horizontal. The glass of the pod popped out with a hiss, then slowly began to slide up, revealing the full body of the human.
Twilight was not certain, but the smooth skin and features led her to believe that this one was very young. Its lips and fingertips were blue with cold, and it lay completely still on the padding of the bed. Beginning to grow concerned, Twilight lit her horn and scanned over the human, trying to find signs of life. The results came back negative. Still not giving up, she advanced on the creature and put her hoof to its throat, searching and scanning for a heartbeat. She lowered her head to its chest, hoping against hope that she would find the steady rise and fall of breathing. She found nothing.
Twilight slowly stepped away, her eyes never leaving the face of the human. It did not look pained or uncomfortable. It looked peaceful. Finally she turned around, summoning the nearest guard.
“Send for a medical team,” she commanded. “Tell them to prepare a clean room at the FOB.” Bowing, the guard exited the massive chamber, the door automatically sliding shut behind him. Twilight sighed and fell to her haunches, shaking her head.
“Twilight…” Luna said, approaching the young princess. “This one may be a unique case. Perhaps some of the occupants of the other pods will still be alive…” Twilight nodded and stood, slowly crossing to the next pod in line: 387. She approached the screen on the side and activating it, hoping that this pod would yield better results…
The chariot ride to the FOB was short. Only a few minutes after departing Legacy, the wheels of the vehicle touched the shaded ground at the edge of the base, and its pony occupants disembarked. The base had grown in the last few days; additional tents had been established as the size of the expedition team grew, though most were dedicated to the guards as barracks. However, at Onyx Star’s request, a number of tents had been built to house laboratory equipment, for the purpose of studying items away from the ship. One such tent was a clean room, designed for studying possibly contaminated items. And it was here that the bodies had been sent.
After opening twenty pods, Twilight and her friends had reached the conclusion that the crew of Legacy was dead. The thousands of pods, once designed to preserved life, now served as coffins. A few bodies had been removed, placed in bags, and transported to the clean room where they were now being studied. And as Twilight approached the clean room tent, she hoped that a cause of death had been found.
She pushed the tent flap to the side and stepped in, entering a changing area with several empty hazmat suits. A few feet ahead was an opaque wall, through which Twilight could see the shapes of ponies moving about. She stepped toward the clean suits, and began putting one on. Her friends stepped behind her and followed suit.
“How many do you suppose there are?” Luna asked as she stepped into the rubber suit. Twilight only shook her head in response, not even wanting to guess. Once her suit was on, Twilight lowered the helmet over her head and activated the seal, then moved to the clean room door, waiting for her friends to join her. They did so a few moments later, and with a burst of magic, Twilight opened the door.
In the center of the room were four metal tables. On each table was a body, two adults of each gender. Several doctors surrounded the humans, making scans and observations. The form-fitting white suits had been removed and were hanging up at the back of the room, where several scientists examined the material and technology within. Twilight and her friends approached the tables, and the doctors parted to give them a view.
“Have you found anything?” Twilight asked, examining the body before her. She was tall, much taller than any pony. The blue had faded from her skin, giving way to a pale gray. There were marks around the neck, wrists, and ankles from the ends of the suit, but beyond that, no markings provided evidence of what may have killed the humans. Such was the case with all four bodies; despite being dead, they were in remarkably good condition.
“Only one thing of note,” Onyx Star replied, approaching the princess. “Assuming our scans are correct, they all died within minutes of each other. And, coincidentally, the day of their death happens to be the day the ship arrived on Equus.”
“Is there a correlation?” Princess Luna asked. “This all seems to be too much to chalk up to coincidence.”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” Onyx said. “I do have a theory: we know that Legacy was coming from a star system thousands of light-years away. To travel such a distance would take centuries, and probably longer. It’s likely that the travel time is greater than the human lifespan, so they had to rely on these pods to preserve their lives until arriving here.
“Now, as Twilight already knows, we found a screen indicating damage throughout the ship, and low reactor output. I believe that something occurred either during transit or upon arrival that resulted in major power shortages throughout the ship. The pods were affected by this shortage, and the occupants… well, you see what happened to them.”
“That’s awful!” Rarity exclaimed, attempting to raise a hoof to her mouth, but only hitting the glass of her helmet. “To die in such a way, trapped in a pod…”
“Well, there are no signs of a struggle,” Onyx continued. “It’s likely that they got into the pods at the beginning of the journey, and just… never woke up again.”
“Doesn’t make me feel much better,” Applejack said, shaking her head. The rest of the ponies nodded in agreement.
“Keep us updated,” Twilight said. “If Starlight finds a power monitoring function, we’ll look through the logs and see if there’s anything to support your theory.”
“Of course, princess,” Onyx nodded. “I’ll stay here for the rest of the day, and return to Legacy tomorrow. The doctors here can continue examining the specimens.” Satisfied that her business here was done, Twilight turned and exited the clean room, re-entering the changing station. Joined by her friends, she began to shed the hazmat suit, starting with the helmet.
“You okay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, noticing the frown upon Twilight’s face.
“… No,” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “These humans, they… they came here with the hope of living here. They came to try and save their species. Instead, they’re gone.”
“It isn’t your fault…” Fluttershy comforted, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight shook her head again and stepped away, continuing to remove the suit.
“I know it’s not,” she said. “It’s just… frustrating.” Once the suit was off, she hung it on a hook and made for the exit, pausing at the tent flap. “If we had found live humans… it could have changed everything. But we still have work to do, so… let’s get to it.” She stepped out of the tent and began to head back to the chariot, which remained parked just outside of the base.
She took her seat on the chariot, and looked up at the ship above her. So many mysteries to start, and now there were even more. And with the crew dead, Twilight would have no alien assistance on the expedition. It was now solely up to her and her team. Twilight’s attention was drawn away from the ship as her friends joined her on the chariot, and when it was full, the pegasi took off, their destination the airlock. Twilight sat back in her seat, and began to plan. The latest revelation would complicate the expedition, but she could get around it. She always did.
A few moments later, the chariot pulled up to the airlock. Twilight and her friends went through the familiar process of boarding, and were soon back inside the ship. Twilight sighed, and began trotting down the corridor back to the control room. There was work to do, and she was determined to get it done.
The power was growing. It could be felt in the rocks, trees, and the very air. Over the ages, this spot of Equus had been forgotten. Ancient secrets and mysteries were buried under dirt and plants, and the knowledge of what lay here had faded into myth. This was acceptable. The fewer ponies who knew what was coming, the better.
The ground shook as the rock was shifted. Cracks and fissures opened in the earth, and for a moment everything was chaotic. Then, just as quickly as it came, the trembling stopped, and the earth was still once again. But not all was as it had been. If one was to look closely, they would see the corner of an ancient stone wall peeking through the grass. And beyond that wall lay a presence, growing with every passing moment.
It was biding its time. It was patient. It would wait a century if it had to; anything to ensure that it was ready. And it would be ready soon.
The power was growing.
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Uh oh...
So, are there going to be no living humans in this story?
7316658
I think it would be a waste if there were no survivors at all. I can see the story still going places but it kinda defeats the purpose of the human tag, I think.
7317142 That's nice to hear. I'm glad that there's going to be human survivors. I hope a lot of them.
7317235
I'm not the author or an editor, so it may be as you and I fear. I just am optimistic.
7317462 I'm an optimist as well.
Can't wait for the next chapter!
Where is the next chapter?!?!?!
7368210
Working on the last few sections now. Hopefully it'll be out tonight or tomorrow.
7369751 Alright!
I feel sorry for that poor AI, if it's a sentient AI (and not an AI in the sense a NPC from a video game is an AI) it finally makes it to its final destination enduring untold hardships, just to loose the crew it was caring for. Then, just to rub salt in the wound, it now has to fight for its life against an assailant that normal countermeasures don't seem to affect.
I hope there's still some humans alive, and enough to populate too.
Great story!!!