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Chapter 12,828 words
Chapter 22,047 words

Chapter 2

Chapter 2
By Distrance

“Oh I think it’s just awful what Rarity is going through.” Fluttershy exclaimed to the group of friends, trotting away from Carousel Boutique. “I know!” Pinkie Pie replied, “Maybe… maybe we can cheer Rarity up with a party!” Twilight held her hoof up to object, but Pinkie Pie continued. “…with only her close friends to lighten her up.” She smiled. “You know…” Twilight said. “That’s not too bad of an idea, Pinkie. It would help keep Rarity’s mind off of these things.” She pronounced. “I just hope she is going to be fine today without us there to keep here company.” Twilight worried. Rainbow Dash, who was hovering slightly above the group, interjected. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. Rarity is tougher than she looks, I’m sure she just needs time to vent.”

“You’re probably right, Rainbow.” She said in agreement. “But at least now we can focus on the big Salespony Extravaganz-whaaa?” she trailed off, looking ahead towards the Ponyville marketplace. Everypony had left, leaving only the salesponies and themselves, unhitching their tents and gathering their unsold goods back into carts. “Oh no, no, no! We spent so much time at Rarity’s we missed the whole thing!” She yelled.

“Well howdy there girls, how come ah didn’t see ya’ll ‘round here today?” a familiar voice asked behind them. “Oh, Applejack it’s you.” Twilight said as they looked behind them to identify the voice. “Applejack something super-terrible happened to Rarity today, so we had to stay there to help cheer her up!” Pinkie Pie told her. She began in a change of subject, “were there games and candies at the Extravaganza like I thou-” Pinkie was cut short by a confused Applejack. “Wait, Rarity was in trouble, what in tarnation happened?” she worriedly questioned. “It’s just terrible. Rarity’s mother passed away last night in Manehattan.” Fluttershy informed her. Applejack held her hoof over her mouth. “None of ya’ll bother to tell me? Heck, ah would of packed up right then and there if ah had known.” She exclaimed.

“We’re sorry Applejack it’s just tha- that…” Twilight’s words were cut short by a sudden sickness that erupted within the entirety of her body. Her head began to spin and she felt woozy. “You okay sugarcube?” Applejack asked curiously, as her voice began to become distorted. Twilight couldn’t respond as her vision began to dim, and with the buckling of her hooves, she blacked out.

Twilight could see something… in the darkness, through her eyelids, a faint picture. There was a stallion leaning over her, as he fiddled with something below her vision, a determined look upon his face. He was caked with dirt and grime as he talked to himself. Before her mind could conduct a theory about the strange pony, the picture had faded out, and for a short period there was nothing.

***

The stallion pondered for a moment as he gazed intently upon the mare resting before him. “Twilight Sparkle…” he repeated. He remembered who she was, at least, from what he had heard. A big-shot unicorn, served under Princess Celestia herself back in the day. ‘Leader’ of the Elements of Harmony, some super mystical power that he had heard, was even more potent than both princesses combined. But… he thought. That’s all behind us now. The princesses are missing or dead, the Elements, destroyed, and the ‘legendary’ mane 6 scattered… He drifted his eyes towards the empty pod, just inches from Twilight's. This whole world has gone to shit.

He approached the pod and swept his hoof across the viewing glass. I could have all of this disappear… I would be happy again. He argued with himself. But how can I just forget the past, my life, my REAL life. He closed his eyes and stood in silence. The only sounds heard being the pumping of the still fully active machines. No. he thought, opening his eyes, stepping back from the empty pod in revelation. Twilight has saved the world TWICE, by Celestia she is going to do it again!

With no more of a thought, the stallion hurried back to Twilight’s pod, and began unlatching the sides of the glass. He retracted the lid from its original position, and motioned his hooves towards the IV’s in her arms, unplugging one of the few located on her body. WAIT! He called to himself. Twilight’s body began to fidget and the heart sensor installed into the frame of the pod began to beep erratically. The stallion rushed to correct the problem before had serious injured her. A past reminder from a certain pony returned to his thoughts:

“Their bodies’ natural adjustment to the nutrient tubes rejected our own solvent.”

“Bah, you idiot.” He scolded himself, quickly attempting to replace the removed IV back in. Successful, Twilight’s body began to calm itself and return back to its somber position, and the monitor beeped a normal tempo. He sighed and sat back, regaining his composure. He began to brainstorm once more, there has to be another way… He pondered. His eyes began to grow in size as he brought up a new idea. He twisted his head back to stare at the unoccupied hibernation pod he had recently thought of delving himself into. If I can’t bring her out from the outside, I’ll bring her out from the INSIDE!

He put his hoof to his cheek. How do I even work these things? He asked. He motioned towards the table and the TV which he had recently discovered. He opened the compartment on the sides of the desks, mostly empty. The last compartment however, held a large, binder, in which appeared to be packed to the brim in papers. He pulled it from the drawer; he blew on the front of it which sent dust flying off of its cover. There was no label; only the faint signature of what he could make out was one of the scientists.
Opening the binder and placing it upon the desk, he noticed a wide assortment of different papers. There were Lab results, personal messages, and other incomprehensible documents that he ripped from the binder without a second notice. After a moment of aimlessly spreading papers out among the desk, he pulled a thick, bonded notebook from the folds of it. It read:

Introductory Manual: Hibernation and You

The stallion shook his head and smiled, this was just what he had been looking for. He flipped open the notebook, and scrolled his hoof down the table of contents. “No, no, no, AHAH!” he exclaimed. “How to and History: Z45-2x Hibernation Unit” he read aloud. He flipped to the appropriate page, and read:

History:

The Z45-2x Hibernation Unit is a revolutionary device formed by the scientific team of LunTec Co. Lead by Dr. Heartfield, an expert on the effects of psychoactive soporifics, put his team to the test in order to create generated hallucinogens in which the brain could be tricked into belief. After the initial chaos of The Great Cataclysm, the recently formed Solar Corporation pushed millions of bits to fund Dr. Heartfield’s works, and only 4 months into the project they had completed their first prototype, the Z08-1x Hibernation Unit. Initial tests proved positive, brain scans showed a calm demeanor to the regularly apocalypse-distraught patients. However, there were noticeable side effects: Memory loss, anxiety, nutrient rejection, and in rare cases schizophrenia.

Because of this, the Z08-1x Hibernation Unit was deemed too dangerous by Dr. Heartfield himself, who attempted to claim a different approach to Solar Corporation’s brash demands. However, Solar Corporations involvement and funding set Dr. Heartfield’s team to complete a 2nd line of mass-produced Hibernation Units. Dr. Heartfield responded by abandoning his research and opting out of the project. Solar Corporations perseverance, however, pushed them to complete the new line of Hibernation pods, dubbed the “Z45-2x Hibernation Unit.” The kinks of the Z08-1x, while improved, was still less than satisfactory, showing similar results to its predecessor. Nonetheless, the units were pressed for release, and are currently available today, albeit dangerous as before.

He sighed and thought of this seemingly dangerous foe: Solar Corporation. Who were they exactly? He had never heard of them, at least not from any other pony he had met in the wasteland. What kind of business sells defunct machines to the populace? He rolled his eyes. Nevermind.

He scrolled his eyes down the page until he ran across the How to section.

How to:

Setup:
If you’re reading this section, you are currently in possession of a Z45-2x Hibernation Unit. For installation, please refer to page 109, otherwise, you are currently seeking in activating your Unit. While best done in accompany of another, this Unit can still be activated solo. Use is simple: turn the machine on using the switches located on the back of the machine. Set the wave focus of the machine to your liking; refer to page 115 for wave focus prep. Standard Z45-2x Hibernation Units is pre-programmed to the buyers order, wave focus preparation for advanced users only. Make sure nutrient tubing is unharmed, place medicinal ingredient supply in the supply case of the unit. Make sure supply is in securely.

Use:
To put your unit in use, place the subject/yourself within the bedding portion of the unit, set subject in an appropriate and comfortable position. Close the glass lid down and secure its safety lock. Lock can be easily undone within the unit after consciousness is regained. Install IVs in the main vein sections of the body; refer to page 56 for main vein locations. Then, activate the machine to the users consent. A trigger device is located inside the unit, located near the front legs on the side of the machine, labeled “Start-up.” Consciousness is lost within a period of 2-5 minutes.

Extraction:
To exit the machine after use, the user himself must have remembrance of the Hibernation Unit’s ID, to which his subconscious must repeat to itself. This process reawakens brainwaves or ‘snaps’ the subject out of hypnosis. Refer to the back of your unit for Hibernation ID.

He finished reading, and slowly closed the manual, placing it back within the binder. I don’t really have a choice he thought. There’s nowhere else to go but forward from here on. He hastily placed all the scattered papers back into the binder, shut it, and placed it back in its original location in the empty drawer. He got up and walked towards Twilight’s pod. He lowered himself down and searched for the ID number. A silver coating of steel and an engravement on the pod bared the system’s ID.

Solar Alpha 146J he read. At least they kept it simple he reassured himself. He stepped back up and approached his own pod. Solar Alpha 371B he etched into his mind. He took a minute of silence to remember everything up until this moment. I’m ready... he told himself.

All too slowly, he rechecked all the unit's setup. It was in place, already set, just for him... He lifted himself up from the ground and slid into the open pod. It was surprisingly comfy, the padding he laid on was more comfortable then the rags he’d sleep on out in the dust storms above. He closed the lid with his one hoof and searched around him for the IV needles. Let’s see… he thought, remembering old teachings of pony anatomy. Nodding to himself, he injected himself, one by one. He sighed, needles weren’t his favorite thing, but he withstood placing them. “Moment of truth,” he whispered to himself, It was time. He let in a large gust of breath, and began. With his left hoof, he pressed the button to start the machine. Instantly he felt a warm, tingly sensation overcome him. A certain comfort that rolled among him, his eyes felt weak and tired. He struggled for a moment to stay awake.

Twilight Sparkle, here I come. He announced faintly to himself, before finally closing his eyes.

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