A new age has dawned in Equestria. An age of exploration beyond the skies. Twilight and her friends have signed up for this voyage. Even though they must leave Equestria, they have high hopes and dreams for it. But what happens when those dreams come crashing down?
Cover made by my good friend, gifted with Photoshop talents, Pinkamena Diane Pie (PhoenixBrave)
She opened her violet eyes to the light coming through her window. She smiled at the thought of meeting her friends and having fun today. The smile faded when she remembered what day it was. Today was the day that they had to leave.
Twilight rolled out of bed and, sluggishly, walked over to her closet to remover her saddlebags. She knew that they weren’t allowed to take much, so she just packed a few photos, books, and things to remember her life here by.
Sighing heavily, she walked downstairs, dreading when 10:00 A.M. finally came. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw that Spike had made breakfast for her. Underneath the glass of juice, was a note. She pulled it out and read it.
Dear Twilight,
I didn’t want to have to see you until the very end. I will be waiting at the amphitheater by the launch site like everyone else. Enjoy this breakfast, because who knows how long it will be before you can have another. See you in a little while.
Sincerely, Spike
She sighed, heart feeling heavy. She had hoped that it was going to be easy, but evidently it was not. Twilight looked over the probably delicious meal. Spike must have forgotten that Applicants are not allowed to eat 24 hours before the launch. She got a quill and parchment, and wrote: Zecora, here is a final gift before I leave. With that, she teleported the meal over to Zecora. She was not coming along on the journey, so she could use a little comforting.
Twilight took one last look around the library. This was where she had her first slumber party. This was where she met all of her friends for the first time. Where so many life-changing moments had happened. Now she was leaving it forever...
She could feel the back of her throat burning from holding in a sob that was threatening to erupt. But she cleared her throat and turned away. “No” she told herself, “No crying, today is a happy day.”. But it didn’t feel happy. When she couldn’t bear it anymore, she closed the door and locked it behind her. Spike would be moving in with Celestia, so the library was now under city control again.
The only stop she had to make before she went to the launch site, was to drop the keys off at the mayor office. The mayor seemed sad to see her go, but she had seen many people leave in the past couple of years, Twilight was just another. When she couldn’t think of anything else to procrastinate with, she waved goodbye to Ponyville, and teleported to the launch site.
*****
She opened her eyes to the amphitheater inside the Control Center. It was filled with families, some crying, some just dabbing at their eyes, others had no more tears to cry. It was ten minutes until they had to be prepped, so she looked around and picked out the five families, in particular, that she wanted to see.
*****
Applejack was standing with Big Mac. She had her head laying against his side. She had a smile on her lips, but it was one filled with grief. She looked up at Big Mac.
“Now, promise me that you you will get some help at the farm, at least until you can be shipped off as well, OK?”
“Don’t worry, Ah will. It’s goin’ to be pretty lonesome around the farm without you there.”
“You still have Applebloom and Granny Smith.”
“But Ah won’t have my little sis.” a tear rolled down his muzzle and landed on her hat. She beamed, then stood up and embraced him. They stayed like that until a voice came over the intercom.
All Applicants: Please report to the proper departure area immediately.
Applejack released big ma, then swallowed a couple times.. “That’s me...” she sniffed, voice shaking. “Goodbye, Big Mac...”
“Goodbye.” he hugged her one last time, then watched her leave his life, possibly forever.
*****
Rarity, who was obviously distraught, was standing with Sweetie Belle, who was crying.
“It’s not like you won’t ever see me again. Its going to be 9 years, then you can make the journey.” she said, trying to comfort her sister.
“Nine years! I don’t want to wait that long!” she cried, stamping her hoof.
Rarity dropped to her knees so that she could be on the same height with her sister. “Sweetie Belle, I am doing this so that you and I can have a better life. In 9 years I will be waiting for you on that platform, and it will be like I never left. You understand, don’t you?”
Sweetie Belle had stopped crying. She looked up at Rarity with red, puffy eyes. “I guess I do.”
All Applicants: Please report to the proper departure area immediately.
Rarity stood up when she heard the announcement. Then she looked back down at Sweetie Belle. “Can I get one last smile, please.” Her sister looked up and gave Rarity her biggest smile, then jumped up and embraced her.
“I’m going to miss you so much.” she said into her coat, voice thick. Rarity hugged her back, then set her down on her hooves. A smile almost covered the pain she was feeling.
“I will too. More than you know.” then she turned and left the filly’s world.
*****
Fluttershy was definitely the odd one out. Most of the Applicants were with family or friends. She had her animals with her. Angel was sitting on her head, eyes showing the expressions he couldn’t.
“Now Angel...um....your going to have to take care of yourself.” she turned to the other animals. “You are all going to need to. I..um...have showed you where to get food and stuff, and...um...you should remember...” Angel jumped down from her head. He stopped then squeaked twice.
“Oh Angel! Would you do that?! Thank you! Thank you!” she picked up Angel and spun him around. She stopped abruptly and put him down. “Sorry..” she giggled. “Do you know how to feed all of them?” Angel looked at her, hurt, then squeaked once. “OK...yeah you have been with me for a while..”
All Applicants: Please report to the proper departure area immediately.
“Oh...I..um..have to go guys. Please be good. Remember, I love you!” She turned, and was gone.
*****
“But why can’t I come with you?” Scootaloo whined, front legs crossed over her chest.
“You know why, you have to be 18 to take the trip, and you-” Rainbow Dash began.
“That’s going to be 8 years from now! I don’t want to wait that long! I..I...” she couldn’t finish her sentence.
Rainbow tilted her chin up so that she would look directly into her eyes. “It’s going to be 8 years for me to. Do you think that I don’t enjoy our time together? You are the closest thing I have to a family, and I love to spend time with you.” she reached around to her saddle bag and pulled out a couple of books, wrapped in paper. “Here. I wanted you to have these.” she gave the books to Scootaloo.
“What are they?” she asked. It was not like Rainbow to read.
“Open them.” she said, wanting to see the expression on her face. Scootaloo unwrapped the books. She looked down at them, not sure what to say. One was “A Juniors Guide to Flying” written by...
“YOU!?” she looked up, confused.
“Yeah, I wrote that a while ago, but that doesn’t matter. Look at the second one.”
Scootaloo shifted the books so that the bottom one was on top. “Oh my...” It was a photo album. Every picture from every afternoon they had spent together, put in one place. Rainbow saw a single tear fall onto the album. She looked up at Rainbow,not caring to hide the fact that she was crying. “Please don’t go...I need you here.”
All Applicants: Please report to the proper departure area immediately.
Rainbow stood up when she heard that. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have to go. I’ll see you in 8 years.” With that, Scootaloo’s best friend disappeared.
*****
“Will I be able to make cupcakes there?” Pinkie Pie asked. She was standing with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who were looking solemn. “I mean, will I be able to bake for parties-” she stopped suddenly, fearing the worst. “CAN I EVEN THROW PARTIES?! Oh dear what if I can’t throw parties! I don’t want to go back to being sad Pinkie!”
Mrs. Cake reached out and held her shoulders. “I am sure that you will be able the have parties still, and even if you are not, you will find a way to.” she embraced Pinkie. When she let go, she wiped a tear away.
“Who will help in the shop if I am not around?” she looked slightly depressed. “Are you going to hire someone else?”
“Without your cupcakes, I don’t think that we will have as many customers as we used to.” Mr. Cake said. “So I think we can manage on our own.”
“OH!” Pinkie gasped, “I just remembered!” She reached back to her saddlebags and pulled out a slip of paper. “This is the recipe for my cupcakes, I didn’t want to hurt you business, so I wrote it up for you.” she handed it to Mrs.cake, who looked at it, dumbfounded.
“Your giving us this?”
“Of course, you need something to remember me by.” she said, smiling.
All Applicants: Please report to the proper departure area immediately.
“Well, that’s me.” she jumped up and embraced them both, then she left their lives.
*****
Twilight looked around, and saw who she was looking for.
Her parents were waving at her from the far end of the amphitheater. She galloped through the other families, and slid to a stop in front of them. They embraced and sat in silence for a few minutes. They had said their goodbyes yesterday.
Twilight broke the silence. “You will come along as well, won’t you?”
Her father looked down at her, his expression sad, but also proud. “As soon as we can afford to send both of us along, we will.”
“I don’t understand why you won’t let me pay for your trip.” Twilight said, her head on her fathers shoulder.
“Because, this is a HUGE change.” her mother said. “We want to make it when we are ready.”
Twilight changed the subject, slightly annoyed with her parents. “Did you ever think that this would have been possible?”
“Not when I was a filly,” her mother said, staring around at the Control Center. “But the last few years have been crazy, so anything could be possible soon.”
Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by being tackled in the stomach by something small and purple.
“Spike!” Twilight coughed, pushing the small dragon away. “I told you not to do that.” then she noticed his expression. She knelt down so she could be on his level. She held out her fore-legs. He ran into them, hugging her tightly. Twilight hugged him back, heart finally breaking.
“I’m going to miss you so much.” he said, tears making his scales shine. “Can’t I just come along?”
“We have been through this before. The journey is lethal for dragons, at least for now. But I am sure, that in the next couple years they will fix that. And don’t worry, every time there is a new shipment, I will be standing on that platform, waiting for you.” she stood up and looked at her parents. “I will be waiting for you as well. Now you are going to need to take care of Spike, until he can move in with Celestia. He will eat hay and oats, but he LOVES jewels. So if you could find some as a treat every now and then, he would love that.”
She turned back to Spike. “I have something for you.” Out of her saddlebag, she pulled out a giant diamond. It was the same size as Spike’s head. His jaw dropped when he saw it.
“Twilight, thank you! Thank you so much!” She handed it to him. It was almost as heavy as he was. She turned back to her parents.
“That should hold him for a few days, until you can get some more.”
All Applicants: Please report to the proper departure area immediately.
She jumped when she heard the announcement. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she reached out to her parents. They embraced. Spike forced himself into the hug as well. When they were finished, Twilight let out a choked “Goodbye” then she turned and disappeared into the mass of ponies.
Part 2: Departure
Twilight walked toward the line of Applicants heading off to the departure point. She waved over Applejack and the rest out of the massive crowd of ponies. Together, the 6 of them walked towards the giant doors at the end of the amphitheater. When they reached the doors, they saw the line splitting 3 different ways, as were the ponies: Earth ponies on the right, Unicorns to the middle, and Pegasi to the left. The 6 friends stopped and formed a circle.
“Well this is it.” said Twilight, she looked at the line slowly passing them. “I can’t believe that we are leaving...”
“Forever.” added Pinkie.
Applejack and Pinkie Pie’s line was moving the fastest. They would have to leave soon.
“Best of luck to y'all, and see ya on the other side.” said Applejack. She pulled Pinkie along, and soon they had disappeared in the crowd.
Next to leave was Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. They vanished into the mass of floating wings and bodies.
Rarity and Twilight looked at one another.
“This is the last time...” Twilight started
“...We will be in Equestria.” Rarity finished. She looked around at the lines. “It’s not just me, right? This is crazy.”
Twilight smiled. “No, it’s not just you, this is truly insane.” They stood in silence until they reached the front of the line. There, 3 doors waited. A pony waited outside, until the light above the door turned green. When it did, the next pony in line walked into the room, and the light turned back to red. After a few minutes, the light turned back to green, and the door opened. The cycle continued until it was Twilight and Rarity’s turn. They turned to look at each other one last time.
“Good luck.” Twilight said.
Rarity nodded. “Same to you.”
The lights on their doors turned green and they walked in.
*****
Rainbow Dash entered her room. It looked like a typical hospital room, except for the rows of silver suits hanging from the walls. There was a door to the far side, which opened a moment after she arrived. A pony in a white coat and a face mask on walked in.
“Hello. Could you tell me your last and first name.”
“Dash, Rainbow.” she said nervously.
The doctor consulted his notes. “Ah, Applicant number 274. Profession: Weather Clearing. Is this correct?”
“Y..yes.”
“Good. Now could you put this on, and we will start the process.
*****
The doctor handed her one of the silver suits that were hanging on the wall. Fluttershy removed her saddlebags, and took the suit. The doctor took the bags and tagged them with her name and number: Name: Shy, Flutter, Applicant number: 275. Then he took them from the room, and let her get dressed.
The suit was made from some sort of metallic material. It went over her entire body and over her head. She had to tuck her mane and tail into the suit. Her wings folded into flaps on the side of the suit. She pulled it over her head, but it was zipped down the back so she could not close it. The doctor returned.
“Your bags will be stored in a stall above your compartment, when you are rejuvenated, all you will have to do is stand up and open the stall.” He reached over to a tray on the table. He retrieved a plastic container and, at the same time, pulled a vial out of his coat. Opening the container, he pulled out a syringe. Fluttershy instantly retreated slightly, but then returned to her previous spot. There was nothing to be afraid of.
*****
The doctor pulled out some bright amber liquid. She carried it over and injected Twilight in the shoulder.
“This is so that your veins don’t break when you are rejuvenated. Afterwards, it will leave your system within 14 hours.” The doctor walked back over to the table. She threw the syringe away, then brought over a couple of pills.
“Swallow these. These will keep your internal organs from rupturing during the freezing process.” She handed her the pills, along with a glass of water. Twilight swallowed them. They left a burning taste in her mouth, and a slight film on the back of her throat. After that, the doctor slid the hood on over her face and horn.
*****
The doctor zipped up her suit, leaving her feeling trapped. Next, wires were hooked up to ports on the suit, next to her jugular vein.
“These will measure you heart rate while you are under. If it drops below a certain point, you will be immediately woken up.”
“What happens if I do wake up?” Rarity asked. “What do I do then?”
“The ship will have full luxuries and amenities at your disposal. Hopefully you won’t be to far from landing.”
“What if I am too far from landing?” she asked, fear rising in her.
The doctor didn’t answer, she just walked back to her table and made some notes. Rarity had a sudden thought.
“What is the rate of survivability on this journey?”
The doctor looked up from her notes. “No pony has ever asked before. Every Applicant has an 87% chance of surviving”
“So 13% of the time...”
“You will die.”
Rarity swallowed.
“Now if you will follow me into this room, we will begin the procedure.”
*****
Applejack followed the doctor into the next room. This room was smaller, but it had more equipment. What appeared to be a metal box sat on the middle of the floor. Above it rested a machine that was coated in ice crystals. Mist and steam was falling to the floor all around it. Below that was the top of the metal box, supported by wires. A large tube, also covered in ice, was coming out of it.
“This is where the freezing takes place. Before we start, is there is anything you would like to say of ask, you can do it now.” he said.
“How, exactly, does this work?” she asked, staring up at the machine.
The doctor walked over to the machine. “Well, you lay down in here.” he pointed to the metal box. “Next we lower the lid. When it is secure, liquid helium pours down this tube and freezes you instantly. As for the rest of your journey, small streams of liquid nitrogen will continuously re-freeze you until you are rejuvenated.”
“And, once again, how long will it be until that?”
“300 years.” the doctor answered.
Applejack looked at the box. That is where she would be spending the next 300 years, trapped in metal and ice. She could still back out. But she wouldn’t do that to her friends.
“Alright, let’s do this then, shall we?”
*****
Pinkie Pie walked over to the box. She got in and laid down how she was told, flat on her back with her fore-legs crosses over her chest. She watched the doctor walk out of sight, but he still continued to talk to her.
“If you would like to back out, I would completely understand.”
It was too late for that. She had signed up and given her word to Twilight. She was in this until the end. Through the metallic suit she said, “No. Start it up.” There was no going back now.
The lid started to descend. The light in the box grew smaller and smaller until, with a clang, it sealed. She started to hear machinery grinding, then a puff of air came through the tube. It pressed her suit against her stomach, slightly tickling her. That was the last thing she would feel for 300 years.
The liquid helium poured in, freezing her with a small smile still on her face. Afterwards, the helium was drained and the lid was removed. A frozen pony sat in the box where a moment before, a live, warm mare had laid.
*****
The doctors pulled the now frozen ponies out of the containers and laid them on gurneys. As they wheeled them to the storage area, they passed countless other doctors and frozen ponies. From there they were loaded onto the ship, according to their Applicant numbers. It started with the rainbow mare, who was 274, and it ended with the pink mare, who was 279. When they were safely stored, the ship was ready to sail.
*****
The families watched as the ship, carrying their loved ones, started up for the first time. Smoke rose from it thrusters, lights along the outside blinked to life. It was named, New Beginnings. Considering what was about to happen, it was correctly named.
The ship rose into the air. As it tilted its nose towards the sky, the ponies on the ground knew that this was a momentous occasion. This was the first civilian journey to ever be undertaken. Future generation would watch this video, and they would never forget.
A distant rumble from he ship said it was just about to depart. Sunlight glinting off its hull. The glow from its thrusters intensified, until it was painful to look at. Then, with a Sonic Rainboom, and a shock wave that reached the ponies standing a mile away, it left their world.
Part 3: Re-awakening
They said they wouldn’t dream. They said that it would be just like falling asleep. They would be frozen, then wake up without any knowledge of the trip. But that was a lie. They felt the passage of time, constantly. But it was not second to second. It wasn’t even minute to minute. Sometimes, it would pass so slowly, a second felt like a year. But other times, the years would pass by in seconds. But they were awake, and conscious, for the whole thing.
They couldn’t move. Every muscle in their forms fought against the ice. They could feel their muscles move, scream against their bonds, but nothing happened. Eyes would not shut, and mouths would not close. The ice pressed down on them, shoving them to the brink of insanity.
It was impossible to tell what they thought of. But they had to think. They were almost forced to. Their minds, more active now that their bodies were inactive, brought up memories, good and bad. Created insane lies, and crazy truths. Stories and paradoxes formed, then died just as fast. But deep down, passed all the happy, or sad thoughts, they were all doing one, simple, completely sane, action.
They were screaming at the top of their lungs....
She didn’t know how long it had been since she heard a sound other than her own voice in her head. But when Twilight heard the extremely loud sparking, snapping, and breaking, it was the loveliest sound she had ever heard. But what followed it was the worst experience in her life.
Slowly, as slow as a glacier moving across the poles, she began to feel again. But as feeling returned, so did pain. Her shin burned. Scalding hot, flaming hot. She could not yet scream, so the sound in her throat was stuck withing her brain. The fire built, her skin felt like it was melting. Then, it stopped, and was replaced by a cold that penetrated straight to her heart. She could feel it down in her lungs. Finally, she was able to scream. And scream she did. It was a shrill scream, filled with pain and hate. It reverberated back at her from the close walls of the chamber. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the cold stopped, and she found that she could move.
She extended her back hoof, all the joints popping as she did. She did the same with her others limbs, all experiencing the same result. That was when she noticed the walls. So close and dark. Her muzzle was only a few inched away from the ceiling. She began to hyperventilate. Claustrophobia set in, as did panic. She started to throw her hooves against the walls, trying to escape. Finally, her back hoof dented the metal, and light poured in. She threw her front leg up, her eyes searing from the attack. Pain radiated from her eyes, flowing back towards her brain. A slight whimper escaped her lips as she tried to run away from the light. Slowly, over the course of minutes, the pain faded. She lowered her leg and looked at the opening, a small glimmer of hope flaring in her heart.
She threw her hoof against the wall again, and the opening grew larger. She continued the act, her hoof growing numb as she did. Finally, with one last kick, the hatch fell way, slamming into the ground. She slid herself out of the chamber, and her hooves landed on more metal. She looked up and down the hallway, eyes wide as plates. It extended as far as she could see, then turned a corner. White, florescent lights glowed from the ceiling. She looked around in wonder, not knowing how bad the situation was.
A loud clang made her jump out of her skin. Turning, she saw a dent in the metal of the stall next to hers. She stood still, heart pounding. Another clang, and a scream of “HELP!!” made her rush over. She pulled at the handle, panic rising again. With a final heave, the stall door flew open, its hinges squeaking. Inside sat Applejack, her metal suit covering all but her face.
“Twi?” she asked, pulling herself out of the stall, Her voice muffled by the suit. Her visor, the only clear part on the suit, was fogged from her heavy breathing. Twilight hurried and pulled the zipper down, freeing her face.
“Yes, it’s me.” she said soothingly, embracing her. She unzipped her own hood, a blast of cool air met her fur. “I’m right here.” She let go and looked at Applejack. Her eyes were wide and her chest rose and fell rapidly. But other than that, she looked perfectly fine. She looked just the same as when they left Equestria.
“Do you think we are the only ones?” Applejack asked, looking down the halls. But a piercing scream answered the question for them. It was coming from the stall next to Twilight’s. Applejack galloped over and pulled the handle, muscles flexing as she did. With a single heave, the hatch came loose. A white and purple Mare sat inside, huddled in one corner. She shivered and pressed herself farther back into the stall.
“Rarity...” Twilight said, reaching in to touch her. Her hoof had just brushed her fur, when Rarity practically jumped out of the stall. Her visor was completely fogged over, and her chest was rising and falling much to fast inside her suit. She turned on the spot several times, unable to see.
“Where am I!?” she yelled, still turning. “Who are you? I can’t see!” She stood stock still. Twilight walked up to her slowly, staying out of reach of her hooves.
“Rarity, it’s me.” she said calmly. “It’s Twilight.” She walked closer. Rarity seemed to unfreeze when she heard the voice.
“Oh, Twilight! Thank Celestia!” She turned on the spot, looking for her. ‘I can’t see!” she repeated, her voice sounding panicked.
“Well, if you would give me a moment.” Twilight said, while Applejack was holding in laughter. She unzipped Rarity’s hood, which slipped off her face. Her eyes flashed between Twilight’s concerned face, and Applejack laughing one.
“Oh.” she said, blushing slightly. “Well, I can see.” She looked up and down the hallway. “Where is everypony? Weren't we all supposed to be woken up at the same time?”
Twilight felt a pang in her heart. “I think...I think we are the only ones.” she said, eyes dropping. “I think we should--” She was interrupted by another scream. Her head snapped up, turning towards the sound.
“Pinkie Pie!” she yelled, running towards the door. “Go see if Rainbow and Fluttershy are awake!” she said, galloping towards Pinkie’s hatch. Sh reached it and heaved it open. Pinkie almost oozed out, her eyes closed.
“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted, unzipping the hood. “Pinkie, please talk to me.” Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. She stared around, then looked up at Twilight.
“Oh, thank Celestia you are here!” she exclaimed, jumping up and embracing her. “It was terrible! I was burning, but I wasn’t burning--” Twilight stopped her.
“I know” she said, gently pushing her away. “I know. Come on, Rarity and Applejack are up as well.” She pulled Pinkie to her hooves. Looking over, she could see Applejack pulling a limp body out of a stall. Rainbow Dash was already out, hood down, leaning against the metal. Panicking, she galloped over. She reached the body just as Applejack put it on the floor. Through the visor, Twilight could see a yellow face, eyes closed. The visor was clear, not fogged up the slightest bit..
“She isn’t breathing, Twi.” Applejack said, panic in her voice and eyes. “She’s not breathing..”
Twilight unzipped the hood, exposing her face. As quickly as possible, she pressed her muzzled against Fluttershy’s. She exhaled deeply into her lungs, Fluttershy’s chest expanding. Then she crossed her hooves over Fluttershy’s heart and started to pump. “Come on, Fluttershy. Pull through.” she breathed, tears starting to fall. She lowered herself and again breathed air into her lungs. Tears fell onto Fluttershy’s face. She started trying to pump her heart again.
“Please...Fluttershy...Don’t do this to us!” Twilight dropped her ear to Fluttershy’s chest, and listened. Nothing. She breathed in more air, then pumped her heart again. The others just looked down, unable to comprehend.
She laid her ear against her chest again. Nothing. Tears came pouring out of her eyes, and she slumped over Fluttershy.
“No...please, Fluttershy.” she cried, laying her head on Fluttershy’s chest. Her heart split, she felt dead. She didn’t want to move, she just wanted to lay there. The rest had started to cry as well, grouping closer together. Twilight’s chest spasmed with her cries. It felt wrong for her to be breathing.
Thump.
Twilight’s eyes flashed open, her cry stopping. She looked up at the others, but none of them moved.
Thump.
She looked down at Fluttershy, then pressed her ear against her chest.
Thump...thump.
A huge stupid smile spread across Twilight’s face. She breathed one last time into Fluttershy’s open mouth. After she did, a loud cough and splutter erupted out of Fluttershy. Her eyelids slowly raised, their aquamarine irises reflecting Twilight’s tear streaked face. She blinked a couple times, then looked around.
“Umm...hi..” she said, her voice hoarse. Twilight grabbed her instantly, pulling her into a bone crushing hug.
“Oh, thank Celestia!” Twilight said, her body shaking. “You’re alive!” She pulled Fluttershy to her hooves, still embracing her.
“Why...um...why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, blushing slightly. She looked around at the tear stained, fearful faces around her. “What happened?”
Applejack cleared her throat. “Well, your heart had stopped, sugarcube.” she said softly. “We thought you were dead...” her voice trailed off as she ran over and embraced her as well. So all six friends were embracing one another, the trauma of their experience falling away. Rainbow was the first to speak. She looked up and down the deserted hallway, walls filled with other frozen ponies.
“This place is so empty, my thoughts are so tempting
I don’t know how it got this bad”
Twilight looked around as well. All she could see were the metal walls. She looked to her left and all she saw were more walls, a dead end. To her right was the hallway, and the corner.
“I think we should go that way.” she said, pointing. She started to walk, her hoof steps muffled by the suit she was wearing. She looked at the stalls, thinking how wrong this was. She should be in there. But then another thought struck her. If they were awake, and it wasn’t time yet, how far away were they? Panic rose in her throat, gagging her. How long would they have to wait?
The hallway seemed even longer than she had thought. It seemed to grow as they walked,its walls closing in. Twilight began to feel claustrophobic. She hoped to Celestia that the whole ship wasn’t like that. Turning, she saw the others right behind her, similar expressions of worry on each of their faces. Pinkie’s hair had gone straight, and she was looking a little drained.
“What all do ya think is here?” Applejack asked, voice trembling slightly. Twilight could see she was having a reaction to being stuck in a small space.
“I don’t know, but we will find out soon.” The corner was right there. Twilight sped up slightly, hope rising. She turned the corner, and slipped to a stop. Her jaw dropped open, unable to believe it.
A wall. Exactly the same as the ones they had passed. She bucked at the wall next to it, frustration boiling to the surface.
“What are we supposed to do now?!” she yelled, sinking to the ground. She closed her eyes, letting her head hit the side of the wall. A second later, she heard a small, metallic Whoosh! Her eyes flashed open, and she scrambled to her hooves.
Next to the blank wall, a small metal hatch had opened. Inside a screen glowed faintly, an outline of a hoof imprinted on it. Twilight looked at it, then back at the others. “Should I?” They nodded. She pulled her hoof out of the suit. She took a deep breath, and pressed her it against the screen. Twilight gasped as a small electric current ran through her, freezing her in place. A light blue line ran up and down the screen, making the front of her hoof glow. A beep rang out into the air, and Twilight found she could move again. She quickly pulled her hoof away from the screen, and it slid back into the wall. Twilight bent down to examine it, pushing her hoof back into her suit. But she could not find the hatch anymore. It had sealed perfectly in the wall.
Then, with a soft sound of metal on metal, the wall slid open. Looking at it, eyes wide, Twilight realized that it was actually a door. Slowly, she stepped into the room inside. It was eight feet by six feet, covered in the same metal as everything else. She motioned for the others to follow her. They did, but a little apprehensively. Twilight noticed a plate that was a different color from the rest of the room. She ran her hoof along it.
With another metallic scrape, the hatch opened. Inside sat about twenty buttons, all blinking white. Except for one. The biggest button, sitting on top of the rest, glowed green. Under the button, a small inscription read “Information”. Looking around at the others, she pushed it.
Immediately, the doors shut. With a surge, Twilight’s stomach dropped down to somewhere near her pelvis. Lights along the outside of the walls blinked as they rose. She could feel a pressure pushing down on her, blood leaving her head. Then, just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Twilight’s stomach rose up into her chest, then settled back into its original position. With the same metallic scrape, the doors opened. The first out was Rainbow, who had flown over their heads.
“What was that?” she asked, breathing heavily. The others filed out, walking unsteadily.
“I have no idea.” Pinkie said, smiling. “But we need to do it again!” Some color had returned to her, but not a lot. Twilight looked around at the new room. She shook her head. it was just another room. Metal and cold, maybe twenty by twenty feet wide. But something caught her eye. A screen, much larger this time, was implanted into the wall. It was glowing with the same hoof-print as the last one was. She walked towards it, unsure about it.
Once again pulling her hoof out of her suit, She touched the screen, feeling the same electric surge as last time. But she didn’t cry out. When she could move again, she stepped back, not sure what was going to happen. Instead of doors opening, words appeared on the screen.
FILE: NBO37....PLAY
Twilight stared at them until they flashed away, then a giant face of Celestia replaced them. She gasped and skittered back a little, then she realized that it was a video. The video Celestia stared at the screen for a second, the spoke.
“Greetings, and welcome the the colony ship, New Beginnings!” she said, a smile on her face. But then the smile slipped. “If you are hearing this, then the unthinkable had happened, and you have been awoken before your time.”
Twilight heard somepony sniff, probably Rarity, but she didn’t turn. Her eyes were focused on the screen.
“For this, I give my up-most and sincere apology. I also give my condolences.” she said, her tone grave. There is no way for me to know what year it is, but you will know.” The image shifted so that she was only taking up half the screen. On the other half, a bunch of number appeared.
“This is how long you will have to wait until you land.” Twilight looked at the numbers, feeling her heart sink.
9y:05m:23d:13h:07m:12s
“All I can say, and hope, is that the wait is not too long, and you are able to make planetfall.” Celestia said, eyes dropping. “Below this screen will be several hatches, which should open soon. Inside, will be a couple items, which I will talk about.”
As soon as she said that, several metallic scrapes sounded, and three hatches opened. Twilight looked down at them, unable to make horn or tail of any of them.
“In the top drawer is a small communication device. You will be able to talk to anypony who is also wearing it. All you have to do is put it in your ear, and it will do the rest.” She paused, as if waiting for them to do it. Twilight scooped out six and handed them out. They were small, about half the size of her horn. Black, with a small nub on one end. She figured that was the end for her ear. She inserted it, and waited. A moment later, a feeling of warmth spread through the side of her head, making it go numb. Then a small amount of pressure, and nothing. The warmth faded, and Twilight touched the device. It was held in her ear, somehow. She tried to pull it, but felt a sharp stab of pain. She look around an saw that the others were experiencing the same thing. It had a small plastic curve on it, which ended about an inch from their mouth.
“The communicator had now embedded itself in your head.” the video Celestia said. “To remove it, all you have to do is press a small button on the side, and it will come free.” Twilight told herself to try that later. “To activate it, all you have to do it tap the side, and say your name. Then you will be able to contact, and be contacted by, anypony.”
Twilight heard “Applejack” from behind her. She turned and looked, seeing the others repeat the same process. She reached up and tapped her device. A small sound of static could be heard. “Twilight Sparkle” she said. A slight beep, then nothing. She reached up and tapped it again.
“Rainbow Dash.” she said. More static, and the sound of deep, then worried breathing. “You there?” she asked quietly. Rainbow winced, then smiled.
“That is so weird!” she said. Twilight heard it twice, once from Rainbow, and a second time, about a second late, from the device. She smiled.
“Well, at least we know that works.” She turned back to the screen. The video Celestia started talking again.
“In the second drawer will be a map of the ship. It is not that big, but you will get lost if you do not know the layout.” Twilight pulled out six and handed them out. She could see a complicated map of the layers of the ship. She would take a better look later. She looked back up, and was disturbed to see how grave Celestia’s face was.
“One final thing.” she said. “In the third drawer. If the wait is too long, long enough that you will not make planetfall in your lifetime, then you have a choice. Live out that life, or use that.” Twilight looked down in the drawer. A few syringes, and ten vials sat in small, soft, containers. Large red letters spelled out “Lethal Substance”.
“Please, only use that as a last resort. I pray that nopony needs to hear this message. But if you are listening, I am very sorry.” She gave a small bow, then the screen blinked to black.
Part 6: Discoveries
Twilight felt her heart break. She turned to look at the others. Each had their own emotion plastered on their face. Fear, depression, anger. But they were all feeling the same thing. Pain.
Twilight sat down in front of the screen. She had never felt this way before. Completely helpless, out of control. She could feel tears build up as the pain and sadness broke to the surface. Applejack walked over and sat down next to her, embracing her.
“We are going to find a way out of this.” she said, pulling away. “We just have to focus.” Twilight looked up, hope gone.
“There is nothing we can do.” Twilight said, looking back at the ground. “We are stuck until we land.”
“Well maybe we can--” Rainbow Dash started. Twilight jumped to her hooves.
“There isn’t a bucking thing we can do!” she yelled at them. They all gasped, and Fluttershy ran behind Rainbow. Reaching down, she picked up a map of the ship, and started to examine it. The others just stared at her, aghast.
Breathing hard, Twilight found the room they were in, and started to plan a route in her mind. “It looks like there is a door here.” She pointed a few feet from the screen. “If we follow that, we should be able to find something.” She walked over to the wall she was talking about. She looked at it for a second, then knocked her hoof against the wall. A hatch opened with a metallic scrape. She pressed her hoof against the screen, and the door opened. A blast of fresh air blew her mane back, forcing her to close her eyes. When she could see again, she stepped into the hallway. Lights blinked on as she walked in. She let out an exasperated sigh.
More corridors. At the far end she could see another corner. She could feel frustration rising again. She was getting tired of halls and corners. Turning, she looked and saw that the others were standing in the doorway, avoiding her eyes. Suddenly she felt guilty.
“I’m sorry for saying that.” she said to them. “I don’t know why I did that.”
“It’s quite alright.” Rarity said, walking up to her. Her mane was hanging ragged from the side of her head. It was probably good that there we no mirrors for her to look at. “You are under a lot of stress, and we understand that. Just show us how to get out of here.” Twilight nodded, smiling.
“It seems like if we go this way, there are a lot of large buildings.” she said, starting to walk away. “we might be able to find food and stuff there.” She was getting closer to the corner. She held the map out in front of her, making sure it was the right way. Light was flooding in from around the corner, lighting up the corridor. She heard the sound of wings. Rainbow Dash flew over her head, rounding the corner. They continued walking, almost there.
When they stepped into the light, they were stunned. Rising out before them was a city, bright and gleaming. Towers rose up to a ceiling that was almost out of sight. At the very top of the dome, which Twilight figured out that it was, was a bright ball of light. it cast a aura of heat and light over everything in the dome. Looking down, she could see roads built into the city, with small objects sitting on rails in the road. She turned and looked behind her, around the side of the corridor. What seemed like an entire forest had been grown right inside the ship. She could see Rainbow Dash flying around the forest, cheering as she did. When she saw them, she flew back over.
“I can’t believe this!” she said, jovial. Her breath was ragged from flying so fast. “The city is HUGE! It looks like it could hold all of Ponyville and Canterlot combined!” She did a loop in the air, then landed next to Twilight. “What do you think that is?” she asked, pointing at the forest.
“I have only read books on this.” Twilight said, thinking back. “But I think it is an oxygen factory. Did you find a way down?” she asked. The hallway just ended there on a small balcony, and the ground was at least three hundred feet down. Rainbow shook her head.
“No idea. I could carry you, but I don’t trust myself in this suit.” she said, flexing her wings. Applejack walked up next to Twilight.
“Maybe it is like the doors, with a hidden panel, or something?” she said, looking around the small balcony.
“Maybe..” Twilight said. She concentrated, her horn glowing. She normally could do this spell with no trouble, but she could barely get her magic to work right. Slowly, she could feel the control coming back. She opened her eyes, and saw a small spot on the wall glowing. She laughed, the spell fading. She ran her hoof over the spot, and the hatched opened. She stepped back, looking at the rest.
“Anypony want to do the honors?” she said, looking around. She was practically ran over by a cyan blurr.
“I DO!!” Rainbow said, pressing her hoof against the screen. A small squeal escaped her lips as the electricity flowed through her. When the scanning was done, she pulled her hoof away fast, looking at Twilight.
“Why didn’t you tell me it did that!?” she asked, indignant.
“Why did you think I didn’t want to touch it?” Twilight responded, smiling. “Something should have happened by--” She was interrupted by a loud grinding sound. Then the entire balcony started to shake. Rainbow and Fluttershy jumped up in the air, afraid of what was going to happen. With a deafening metal on metal scrape, one side of the balcony lowered. Metal stairs extended from the walls, creating a staircase that went all the way to the ground below. When the final stair extended, the grinding and scraping stopped, leaving them stunned.
Twilight walked forward, putting her hoof on the stair. It felt cold and solid, but also sturdy. She put her whole weight on the stair, then turned to look at the rest. “I think it is safe. But we should try to get down as fast as possible.” She looked at Rainbow and Fluttershy. “Why don’t you just fly down. It will be safer.” Fluttershy looked worried, but Rainbow nodded.
“See you in a few minutes.” and she took off, pulling Fluttershy along with her. Twilight started to walk down the stairs. Her mind kept taking her back to the thought of being stuck on the ship for ten years. She didn’t know how they were going to survive it. Even if they did, would their sanity be intact? Would all of them even survive? She shook off that though, focusing on the metal underneath her. Pinkie Pie walked up next to her.
“What do you think will be down there?” she asked. Her color had drained almost completely, and her hair was pencil straight. Twilight shook her head.
“I have no idea. All I can hope for is food and a place to sleep.” The fact that they weren’t allowed to eat 24 hours before the freezing had caught up to her. Her stomach was practically eating itself.
“Why would they build something like this?” Pinkie asked. “If we were supposed to sleep for the whole time, why would they even need it?” It was a good question, one Twilight could not answer.
“All I can think is that they planned for the worst. If the entire population of the ship woke up, they would need a place to stay. 500 ponies down in the Cryo-level is not a really good idea.” Pinkie nodded, dropping back a few steps. Twilight continued to focus on the stairs, not wanting to think about the frozen ponies, some of whom were friends.
A few minutes later, they reached the bottom of the stairs. Rainbow and Fluttershy were waiting there for them. Twilight sighed.
“Alright, let’s get this over with.”
Part 7: Exploration
The six of them were standing at the base of the nearest building. Looking around, they could see tower after tower stretching away from them. It seemed endless, but Twilight knew it would have to end sometime. She gave each of them a map of the level they were on.
“OK, let’s spit up into groups. The Pegasi can cover the east side.” She pointed east, out towards the tallest towers. “Unicorns can cover the west side.” She nodded at Rarity, then pointed out towards the forest. “And Earth ponies can over this section, the south. I want everypony to meet back here once you are finished. If you get lost, just call up Rainbow or Fluttershy to get you out. Everypony understand?” They nodded, but they all looked apprehensive.
“Alright, let’s go.” Twilight said, starting to walk away. Rarity trotted to catch up with her. They walked in silence for a few minutes, both thinking their own thoughts, until Twilight spoke up.
“I am sorry this had to happen to you, to all of us.” she said, looking at the ground below her. “I didn’t want any of it to happen.”
“It is not your fault.” Rarity said, stopping in her tracks. She made Twilight turn around and look at her. “Don’t blame yourself. There is no way you could have predicted this.”
“I know, but I made you guys come along.” she said, eyes fogging with tears. “I made you all promise that if I went, you would come too. It is my fault you are here.” She pulled away from Rarity, walking ahead.
When they reached the west side of the city, they split up. Twilight wandered into the first building she saw, while Rarity continued down the road. Twilight was amazed as she walked through the hallways and rooms in the building. All the doors, leading to bedrooms, were locked with the hoof-scanners. She would try opening them every once in awhile, just to see if they would open. She found another elevator, taking it from floor to floor. Each floor was the same, until she reached the top. She stepped out of the elevator, and gasped, rushing back inside.
The final floor had obviously seen life. Papers and other objects littered the floor. There was even some stains that looked like coffee. She looked up and down the hallway, but she could only find a single room, which was opposite the elevator. She pushed her hoof against the scanner. But instead of the familiar shock, she was met with a loud beep. Confused, she tried again, with the same result. She walked away from the door, looking at the papers on the floor. All she could tell was that they were schematics of the ship. One word seemed to be written over and over again. “Unmovable”. She walked back to the elevator, taking one last look at the floor, then she left the room.
The rest of the passed the same way. Building after building of deserted rooms. The fake sun had sunk down to the horizon, just above the forest. Twilight met Rarity back in front of the stairs. They waited for the others, who showed up a few minutes later.
“Find anything?” Twilight asked as Rainbow landed in front of her, completing the group.
“Well, in the east section, there seems to be a cafeteria.” she said, smiling. “All the food was stored under this level. But it was, like, freeze dried. I don’t think we will be eating gourmet while we are here.”
“There was a ton of sciencey stuff here.” Pinkie said. “I didn’t understand any of it, but you might, Twilight.”
Twilight nodded. “OK, we have housing and food. That was all I was hoping for.” She took a deep breath. “Did you see any sign of life, or pony activity?” They all nodded.
“No, it was all deserted.” Applejack said, looking around. “Why, did you?”
“No.” Twilight lied. “I was just wondering. I think we should go get some food, then find a place to stay.” They all agreed, starting to walk to the eastern section.
She didn’t know why she lied, but she did. She felt that they didn’t need to know until she could figure out what it meant. But it still nagged at her mind. What did unmovable mean? And who was the pony that had lived here? But, most importantly, where were they now?
They reached the cafeteria. Twilight stared in wonder at the building. it was bigger than any of the others. It looked like a smaller version of the dome they were walking in. Inside, rows and rows of benches and tables rose out of the ground. They were made of the same metal as the rest of the ship. Rainbow Directed them to a door at the far end of the room. Inside was another, smaller room, with a hatch in the floor. Applejack pulled it open, and they all crowded around the opening.
A ladder descended down into a cellar. Rainbow flew down inside the opening, and lights blinked on as soon as she did. Quickly, she grabbed a small packet of something, then flew back up to them. She landed softly next to Twilight, the small packet held in her teeth. She dropped it into her hooves, then handed it to Twilight. “Want to take the first bite.” she asked, a sly smile on her lips. She had not forgotten the electricity incident.
Twilight, not wanting to give Rainbow the satisfaction, took the packet with pride. She eyed the wrapping, silver with black lettering on the outside. “Dehydrated daffodils and oats” it said, and Twilight felt her hunger back off slightly as she read it. She opened the packet with her teeth, releasing the aroma of flowers into the air. She sighed when the smell hit her nose, memories of her old life flooding back. But she shook her head, clearing them. She didn’t want to remember those now. She pulled the food out of the packet. It was in the shape of a chocolate bar, but was green and light brown instead of dark brown. She could see individual petals and oats in the bar, but they were all mashed together, packing as much food into the smallest possible item.
Twilight looked around, uneasy. They were all watching her, curious expressions on their faces. Rainbow Dash was trying to hold in laughter. Taking a deep breath, Twilight bit down on the bar, and gasped. The sweet and bitter taste of flowers exploded on her tongue, followed by the dry taste of oats. It rolled over her taste buds, pleasure filling her. She chewed slowly, savoring each flavor. It was better than anything she had ever eaten before, even at Canterlot. Three hundred years of hunger slowly began to ebb away as she took another bite. She hadn’t realized it, but she had closed her eyes. Opening them, she saw the others staring at her, surprised.
“Well?” Rarity. “How is it?” Twilight grinned, unable to believe it herself.
“It is amazing. I don’t know what the scientists did, but they deserved a raise” she said, laughing. “we might even be able to survive on this stuff.” She called on her magic, a purple aura surrounding a crate in the cellar. She raised it out of the hatch, dropping it down in front of them. “Dig in.” she said, opening the crate. Inside sat dozens of the bars, enough for weeks of meals.
Applejack rushed forwards, followed by Rainbow Dash. “Bet I can eat more than you!” Dash challenged, grabbing three of the bars in her teeth. Applejack jumped up with seven in her hooves.
“Ya think so?” she replied, ripping the packaging off and eating a bar in three bites. “I would like to see that!”
“Girls! Girls!” Twilight called, bringing their eating contest to a stop. “We don’t know anything about this stuff. I think we should only eat one or two for now, until we see how we react.” Rainbow rolled her eyes, but threw back the extra bars, as did Applejack.
“You are seriously no fun, Twilight.” Rainbow said, walking away from her. Applejack gave her bars to Rarity and Fluttershy, who seemed to savor them as much at Twilight did. When they had all eaten their share, Fluttershy turned to Twilight.
“Umm...What do you..um.. think we should do now?” she asked. Her eyes were half closed, and she looked the worst out of the bunch. She probably needed rest, especially since her heart had stopped.
“I think we should all go pick a room to stay in.” Twilight said, turning to look out the way they had come. “So if you saw anything you liked, call it now.” She was practically bowled over at rainbow rushed for the door.
“Dibs on the penthouse!” she yelled as she flew into the air. Twilight stared at her, confused.
“Penthouse?” she asked, looking around. “What are you talking about?”
Rainbow pointed to the tallest tower in the city. It looked out over the whole of the dome, including the forest. From the ground, Twilight could see the fake sun glinting off metal and, for the first time, glass. Twilight looked back at Rainbow, a look of exasperation on her face.
“You would choose that.” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “Alright, everypony else find a room. Tomorrow, I want us to meet back where we first came in. We have a lot to do.” They all said goodbye and went their separate ways. Twilight knew exactly where she was going to go.
She backtracked to the first building she entered, the one with the locked door at the top. This was going to be her home so that she could find out who the pony was, and what he, or she, was looking for. She took the elevator up to the second to last floor, picking the room farthest from the door. Inside, there was a bed made of some sort of fake wool, with a small bathroom was attached to the bedroom. She turned one of the knobs on the wall and water, real water, poured out of the tap. She drank as much as she could, then removed her suit. Stepping under the tap, and washed herself, trying to get rid of the stiff, clammy feel in her fur. When she was finished, she turned the knob off, and screamed when a blast of hot air hit her. In seconds, she was bone dry, her fur puffed out.
She stepped out, retrieving her suit. She walked back into the bedroom, and sat down at the foot of the bed. She stared at her suit, one of the only things she had from Equestria. The rest was stuck above her freezing chamber. She would need to get those tomorrow. Calling her magic, she started to pull at the metal and plastic fibers in the suit. Slowly, the hood began to rip off. She began to do the same with the fabric on the right front hoof. Finally, it was done, and she had a pile of fabric on the bed next to her. She sighed, then threw the suit to the ground next to her. She got up and walked over to the wall next to the door. A small blinking light sat there. She ran her hoof down the wall, and the lights turned off.
She walked back over to the bed, throwing herself on top. She didn’t know how she was going to sleep, but she was so tired. Crawling under the covers, she wondered how the others were taking it. They seemed to be fine, but that could just be a front. What else was waiting for them here? This was only one level, and the schematics showed more. But she put that all aside, she was so exhausted. Finally, she closed her eyes, and sleep found her.
*For you fans of music, I am going to start putting lyrics under the chapter name that, hopefully, go with the chapter. Enjoy!
Her dreams were filled with ice. Ice and fire. Fire and pain. She didn’t want to sleep, but she had to, she was so exhausted. She never woke, through all her dreams. But she wished she had. Terrifying images flowed through her brain. But it was not all bad. After the pain and ice faded away, her troubled mind showed her Ponyville. The home she had left, now so far away, but so close in her mind. She could almost touch it, but she could never reach it. Slowly, the vision faded away, and she opened her eyes to the cold metal ceiling of the ship.
Twilight didn’t want to move, but she had to. She moved her legs, slowly setting them on the cold floor. She looked around. Everything was as she had left it, bathroom door open, scraps of her suit on the ground next to her bed. Groaning, she stood up, eyes almost shut. She walked over and pulled her suit on. The fabric slid over her clean fur, encasing her in warmth almost immediately. She looked around her room again, noticing something that she had not the night before.
A blinking red light sat off in one corner, a little over eye level. She walked over to it, curious. When she reached it, she raised her right hoof, the one she has opened in the suit, and for just this purpose. She brushed her hoof against the wall, not knowing what to expect. A second passed, then the familiar sound of metal scraping hit her ears. The smallest vibration ran through the floor. Twilight backed up, afraid of what might happen. But something extraordinary took place.
The wall retreated back into the floor,leaving a gaping hole where the wall used to be. She could see the entire city, even the forest beyond. The fake sun was not up yet, so the only illumination came from lights along the sides of the buildings. She walked closer, seeing her reflection staring back at her from the almost invisible glass. It looked scared, worried, and out of place. Her torn suit gave her the look of a refugee, which, technically, she was. Pressing her forehead against the glass, she looked straight down. The streets expanded out, forming a giant web throughout the city.
She sighed, brushing the light again, closing the wall. Her room went back to being a dark, unfamiliar place. She walked into the bathroom to get some water, and to plan her day. She would have started the morning off by making a checklist, but she had none of the materials, and no idea where to look for them. She decided, since she was up early, to go back up to the next floor. Walking back out into the bedroom, she took one last look around. This would be her home for the next ten years, she had better get used to it. Shaking her head, she brushed the door with her hoof, and walked out into the hallway. She got into the elevator and pushed the button for the top floor.
The door opened, and she stepped out into the hallway. It was the same as she had left it yesterday. Papers littering the floor, stains on the floors and walls. She took a deep breath and picked up the paper that was lying at her hooves. Complicated schematics and designs of the ship and its engine covered the page. She began to read, filing all the information away to be used later. Most was technical nonsense, stuff she didn’t understand. But now and then, something jumped off the page, something she understood.
Slowly, she filed through the pages, putting them in piles according to the content they included. An idea started to form in her mind, but she was unsure about it. More, she hoped that it was not true, as it would ruin their very lives aboard the ship. She stood up, joints popping as she did. She began to walk towards the door, and winced as a crackle of static filled her ear.
“Twilight!” Rainbow’s annoyed voice said in her ear. “Where are you? We have been standing out here for, like, an hour!”
“Oh, sorry!” she replied, rushing into the elevator, and pushing the button for ground floor. “I just lost track of time. I will be there in a few minutes.” An exasperated sigh returned to her.
“Fine! Just hurry up.” Rainbow said impatiently. Almost three hundred years, and she was still the same. Twilight smirked as she descended. The elevator doors opened, and she galloped out to meet them. The building passed in a blur as she ran, but not as fast as her mind was working. All of those schematics showed the engine and its various parts. Why would that pony have been examining the engine? The only answer she could find filled her with fear.
A minute later, she could see the others standing under the balcony where they had entered. Rainbow was impatiently flying in circles above their head. Twilight ran up to them, breathing hard, and Rainbow dropped down on the ground next to her, shaking her head.
“Well, looks who finally decided to wake up.” she said, eyeing her bed ravaged mane. Twilight shook her head, which did nothing to fix the problem.
“Oh, whatever.” she replied, walking over to the wall. “Who is going to see us here anyway?” She started to scan the side of the wall, finally finding what she was looking for. A blinking light was embedded in the wall. She ran her hoof over it, then turned back to the others.
“I want to go back to the cryo level. We all have some belongings there, and it would probably be good to retrieve them.” She said, turning back as the steps started to appear. “And, maybe, another pony will be awake.” she said, more to herself than the others. But she doubted it. It was just a mistake that they were awake, a glitch. It was almost impossible for another pony to be awake.
Part 9: Something New
Twilight and the others began to climb the stairs. Still impatient, Rainbow flew over their heads, perching on the balcony hundreds of feet above them. Even over the great distance, Twilight could see her smirking. But she was not going to let her have all the fun. Focusing her magic, she enveloped all of them in a deep maroon aura. She concentrated on the balcony above them. The familiar feeling rose in her stomach, like she was falling down a long drop. She could feel the floor disappear, then reappear a second later. Opening her eyes, she found that she was staring directly into Rainbow’s stunned face. That look was worth the fatigue she was now feeling.
She took a couple short breaths, then smiled. “Shall we continue now?” she asked, stealing the smirk right off Dash’s face. She turned, looking down the hallway they had come through yesterday. She didn’t want to go back. She could feel her body pushing her away, yelling sense at her. But they needed to go back, even if it was just for their stuff. She took a step forward, then another, body fighting her the whole way. Finally, she was walking at a brisk pace, the others right behind her.
After the long walked, they reached a blank wall, and Twilight ran her hoof down it. The door opened, and the room with the screen came into view. She looked around at the room, remembering it as the place where she had been given her prison sentence, ten years aboard the ship. She looked behind her, noticing that she was not the only pony having a reaction to the room. They all seemed to be in different states of nervousness or fear. Even Rainbow, who traditionally played it cool, was walking close to Applejack and Fluttershy, wings flared out behind her.
A blinking red light sat on the opposite wall. Twilight remembered this door, however. She ran her hoof down the wall, and a hatch opened. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her hoof against the screen inside, wincing as the electricity ran through her form. A small beep rang out, and she pulled away, holding her hoof close to her body. She doubted she would ever get used to that, no matter how many times she went back. The elevator waited beyond, and she trotted in, remembering the feeling that she had felt in her stomach before. She pressed the button when they were all in, and it dropped like a rock.
“WEEEEE!!” Pinkie cheered at they plummeted towards the very bottom floor. Twilight had to agree with her. Even though she was scared out of her wits, she was having a fun time. When they reached the bottom floor, and after her stomach had dropped back into her abdomen, the doors opened. She could see another hallway beyond, and she knew what was waiting. Row upon row of frozen ponies. She knew she was supposed to be in there, sitting, frozen, alongside her friends. But no, she was awake, and she was going to have to deal with it.
They walked down the hallway, turning the corner to see the rows of hatches, all shut. Except for six, which stood open, almost inviting them in. Twilight walked down to them, longing filling her heart. She hated what it had felt like while she was frozen. But anything would have been better than feeling trapped. She looked up, seeing something that she had not noticed before. Another hatch rested above the chamber in which they had lain. She pulled it open, and inside sat her saddlebags, looking the same as when she had given them to the doctor. She pulled them down, setting them on the floor. She pulled up the straps, looking down at all the remained of Ponyville.
A few pictures of them and Spike, a few of her parents, and one of her and Celestia when she had been at school. She pulled out the books she had brought along, smiling as she read the titles she had picked almost three hundred years ago. “Tale of the Elements of Harmony” and “Starswirled the Bearded’s Guide to Advanced Magical Concept”. Nothing that she would need on her next home, but something to remind herself of her past life. She was so lost in memories, that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt something touch her mane.
Turning, she saw a brush held by a light blue aura. She could see Rarity smiling, her horn glowing the same color. Her saddlebags stood open on her back, and Twilight could see more objects like the brush resting inside. She closed her eyes as Rarity began to brush her mane again. “You brought mane-care products?” Twilight asked, almost annoyed at herself for not thinking she would.
“Of course.” Rarity responded, floating the brush over to her own mane. Her expression was that of complete seriousness. “We must look our best, even if nopony will ever see us.” Twilight shook her head, but was smiling at the same time.
“I should have known. Did anypony bring anything useful, like a board game or something?” Twilight asked, already knowing that none of them would have. They shook their heads, grinning at her attempt at a joke. “Well, I supposed we will have to find something to occupy ourselves with for the next ten years.” She started to walk back towards the far end of the hall, wanting to get out of there. But something stopped her. She held up her hoof, silencing the others who had been laughing at Rarity’s choice of luggage. They could see her ear pricked straight up.
“I thought I heard something.” she said, turning to look at them. Then she really did hear something. A muffled sound, like a combination of a whimper and a cry. Then it happened again, louder this time. It was coming from one of the stalls. Twilight’s eyes widened, realizing what it meant.
“Somepony is awake!”
Part 10: Hello
She rushed over to the hatch, her mind racing. Somepony else was awake, they weren’t alone! She reached the hatch just as the pony inside began to panic, hooves colliding with the metal. She pulled hard, and the hatch opened. She threw it to the side, the door colliding with the stall next to it. Looking inside, she could see a pony in a suit violently spasming against the chamber. As careful as possible, she gently touched one of the ponies legs, making them freeze in place.
“It’s OK.” she said soothingly, gently taking the ponies front hoof in her own. She could feel violent tremors shaking the ponies body. “You are safe now.” She began to pull the pony out of the chamber, meeting no resistance. Rainbow had galloped over, and she supported the ponies body as they slowly lowered it to the floor.
The ponies visor was fogged over, as it normally was. The pony slowly turned on the spot, trying to see something through the hood. Hooves scratched at the suit, trying to get it off. “Hold still.” Twilight said quietly. The pony stopped immediately, looking in the direction of Rarity. Twilight reached up and unzipped the hood, which fell down to rest in front of their chest.
Bright, slightly cockeyed, amber eyes looked out at them from a grey, extremely scared face. A yellow mane hung limply down the side of her face, almost covering one of her odd eyes. The eyes looked them over, taking them in one by one. She stopped when she saw Rainbow, eyes widening with recognition.
“Rainbow!” she yelled in a slightly husky voice. She ran over and embraced the pegasus, who looked shocked. The grey pegasus looked like she was trying to hide herself inside Rainbow’s fur, her body still shaking.
“Derpy?!” she said, prying the grey pegasus off her waist. “What...huh...I didn’t know you were taking the trip.” she stuttered.
“Rainbow.” Twilight said, waving her hoof at her. “Who is this?”
“This is Derpy Hooves.” she responded, turning the pegasus to face Twilight. “She was on the weather team back home. I can’t believe this happened to her.” She put her hooves over Derpy’s ears. “She isn’t all there, you know, in the head.” She pulled her hooves away from her ears, looking down at her. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I am fine, now.” she said, turning to look at them all, then she looked back at her chamber, its door hanging open. “I just don’t know what went wrong. It was dark, and it hurt, really bad.”
“None of us know what went wrong.” Rainbow said, looking at Twilight. “I guess we will--” She was cut off by a loud bang from the chamber next to Derpy’s. Her eyes widened, looking back and forth between the the hatch and Twilight. Applejack galloped over and opened the chamber, not wanting to waste any time.. As soon as she did, a suited pony burst out, tripping and falling to the floor. It got up fast, and stood completely still, sides moving rapidly with its breathing. Quickly, Twilight unzipped their hood.
Light blue, intelligent eyes met their own. A short, spiky, dark brown mane rose off a lighter brown coat. He looked at them for a moment, fear obvious on his face. Then his eyes fell on Derpy, and his hard gaze softened when he saw her. She galloped over and embraced him, smiling the whole time. “Are you OK?” he asked her, an accent coloring his words. She nodded, smiling, and he looked over her shoulder, directly at Twilight.
“What happened to us?” he asked in his strange accent, his words filled with fear and pain. Twilight cocked her head, listening to him.
“Are you from Trotland?” She asked, placing the accent. The stallion nodded, letting go of Derpy.
“Doctor Whooves.” he introduced, shaking their hooves one by one, his own trembling violently. “And it seems you have already met my companion, Ms. Hooves.”
“You’re a doctor. A doctor of what?” Twilight asked. He shrugged, a small grin breaking through his fear.
“Everything.” he replied smiling. “But, as I asked before, what happened to us? Where is every other pony?”
Twilight exchanged nervous glances with the others. Applejack nodded, telling her to get it over with. Twilight took a deep breath. “Nopony else is awake. You woke up ten years early.”
The smiled died on both of their faces, replaced with fear and hopelessness. “Are you sure?” Whooves asked, voice showing emotions that his face did not. Twilight nodded, and Derpy slumped against his side, tears welling in her eyes.
“We woke up yesterday, same as you. If you will follow us, we can get you settled for your stay.” Derpy nodded, as did Whooves. Twilight sighed, then waved them down the hall, and they followed silently, lost in despair. Twilight felt terrible, Having to tell them that their lives were ruined. But she told herself that it was not her fault that they woke up. It was just another glitch.
She walked them into the elevator, bringing them up the the top floor. When the doors opened, she walked over and pressed her hoof against the screen, starting the introduction video. She watched as they learned exactly what was happening to them, seeing the rest of their hope diminish. But something caught her eye. Once again, the video showed how long they would be staying on the ship.
9y:05m:23d:13h:07m:12s
Twilight blinked, then looked again. The numbers had flashed away, but they stuck in her mind. No, she thought, you are being silly. It’s not possible for them to be the same... The Doctor and Derpy had implanted the communicators in their ears, and had each taken a map of the ship. But they only stared in apprehension at the euthanizer, not knowing what to think about it. Where they thinking of using it, Twilight wondered, or were they thinking it was a disgusting idea? She would not have blamed them if they had thought of using it.
When the video finished, they turned back to Twilight and the others. “What should we do now?” Derpy asked, staying close to The Doctor. She seemed to trust him completely, and so did he. Twilight could only remember trust like that.
“We need to find you a place to stay.” Twilight said, opening the door to the city. They made their way down the hallway, eventually reaching the end. The city spread out beneath them, gleaming in the rising sun. Both Derpy and The Doctor shared the same expression, one of amazement and excitement. Twilight smiled, loving how they had regained some of their life. She wondered if they had looked like that when they had first seen the city. She pressed her hoof against the screen, releasing the stairs, and beginning to climb down. The Doctor trotted up next to her, keeping a little space between them and the others.
“You figured all this out in a day?” he asked, staring around at the ship. His steps were slightly jerky, muscled still regaining motor control. Twilight grinned, nodding.
“I did, but it is not as hard as it looks. The ship pretty much pointed us in the right direction.” She looked over the city, picking out the building she lived in. It wasn’t as tall as the one Rainbow chose, but it still towered above the others. “You can choose any of these building to live in, they are all furnished in the same way. But you will have to have two separate rooms, as there is only one bed per room.” The Doctor nodded, overwhelmed.
“How much of this have you explored?”
“All but the north side. We found food and supplies, along with some labs. But what those are for, I have no idea.” Twilight responded.
“Well, it looks like I can practice my trade again.” he said, grinning. Twilight smiled at him. She felt they were going to get along just fine. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Derpy trotted over and stood next to The Doctor. They stared around at the massive buildings for a few moments, then looked down at Twilight.
“What do we do now? The Doctor asked, that nervous expression reappearing.
“Well, you just find a couple rooms that you like. All the building on this side are appartments. But everywhere else is for science or food storage.” The Doctor nodded, walking towards the closest building.
“I guess I will go here. Anything special I have to do?” Twilight shook her head.
“Just slide your hoof down the wall next to the door, and it will open. Inside you will find a bedroom and a bathroom.” She paused, thinking. “And I think that is all. You probably want to get settled and shake this whole thing off, so we will come back later. If you get hungry, call one of us, and we will tell you where the food is.” The Doctor nodded, followed by Derpy.
“Thank you for helping us. This whole thing would be unimaginable without other ponies to talk to.” That statement brought back the thought of the one pony, the one who had lived above her. Alone, without anypony to talk to. Twilight just nodded and smiled, then started to walk back to her house. The others just watched her go, not sure what to say.
Somehow, she found herself back up in the top floor, surrounded by stacks of paper. She continued to stare at them, ideas and thoughts floating in and out of her mind. They were solid, thought out ideas, but she just didn’t want to believe them. Instead, she thought about her parents. Had they taken the voyage a few years after she had? Was she going to be older then them by the time they reached their new planet?
That started her thinking about the new home, Alpha Cenponi. The planet, named Nova Equine, or New Equestria in layman's terms, was where she was supposed to wake up. Light Years away, but the closest stars to Equestria. What was it going to be like, she wondered, on the planet's surface? Triple suns, what were those going to look like? Would there be forests and plains like on Equestria? Or would it be deserts and mountains? She could feel hope building in her chest, only to be shattered by reality. She was stuck here, and she shouldn’t be thinking about that was lying ahead.
She looked over the piles of paper again, this time noticing something she had not before. Over in the corner, at the far end of the hall, was a crumpled up paper, almost hidden from sight. She walked over to it, slowly. She floated it towards her, smoothing it out with her magic. It showed a picture of a section of space, stars gleaming happily. But written around the outside, in something dull red, were a series of words. No, Twilight realized, two words, written over and over again. Staring at it, her heart beat faster, and her breathing started to increase. She could feel her stomach contracting, fear taking over.
She dropped the paper, backing up against the wall. Almost instinctively, her hoof flew to her ear. “Doctor Whooves!” she practically screamed when she hear the beep. A stallions voice replied to her.
“Twilight? Can I help you?” he asked, sounding worried. Still breathing fast, Twilight replied to him.
“I need you to get over here, right now.” she told him, looking down at the paper. “Hurry!” then she hung up. She took a step towards the paper, which was now the most feared thing in her tiny world. She traced the words with her eyes, not wanting to believe.
“When everything is said and done Two looking for answers, if only one”
Doctor Whooves galloped out of the front door of his building. Turning, he could see Derpy looking out of the window down at him. He waved, almost tripping as he did. Picking himself up, he continued on his way. He could almost hear Derpy laughing, and he smiled slightly as he ran. He reached the wall, and he stopped looking around. He just remembered that he had no idea where Twilight lived. Just then, static filled his ear, and her voice flowed out.
“East side! Third building on the right! Top floor!” Then her voice cut off, leaving him in silence. He shook his head, then turned and ran towards her home.
He was scared. Something had to have gone wrong. Terribly wrong. But what could it be. His mind went into overdrive as he ran towards her home. Finally he reached it, and he flew through the door, mashing the elevator button. The door opened and he rushed inside, mashing the button again. He felt his stomach drop out as the elevator rose. It bounced back as he reached the top floor and the doors opened.
He rushed out of the elevator, and into a bizarre sight. Twilight was pacing in a circle, piles of papers surrounding her. Her suit had been thrown to the side in apparent annoyance. Her expression was one of fear and worry. But when she saw him, it lit up.
“Oh, thank Celestia!” she said, trotting over to him. “I need your help!” She lifted a piece of paper off the floor with her magic and floated it over to him. He plucked it out of the air, staring down at the field of stars and the words. It was a moment before he spoke.
“Where did you find this?” he asked, not sure what to think.
“Up here with all the rest of the papers.” she pointed at the piles littering the floor. “They all say the same thing. “Unmovable”. It says that on every page.” Doctor Whooves sat down on his haunches and began to look through the pages. Twilight just watched him, biting her bottom lip.
“All these schematics. They all show the same thing.” he said, filing through them. “Do you have any ideas?” he asked, looking up at her. She shook her head.
“No. I was hoping you would.” Twilight said, crestfallen. Her one shot at information was gone. Doctor whooves went back to looking at the pages. Silence once again fell over them. The only sound was the rustling of pages, and the occasional sigh from Twilight. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Whooves spoke.
“We could go to the Bridge.” he said, looking at her. She had laid down on the floor, but now she jumped up as fast as possible.
“You’re right! I can’t believe I didn’t think of this!” She rushed over and embracing him. “Wait,” she said, letting go of him, “Do you know where it is? He reached down into the hood of his suit and pulled out the map of the ship. He unrolled it on the floor so that Twilight could look at it as well. Their eyes slowly took in the entire ship. They had not realized it before, but it was enormous.
“Here!’ Twilight said, pointing at a spot on the map. “That’s weird. It is just above the cryo level.”
“And look at this.” Whooves said. “There are a pair of thrusters on the main part of the ship, but also on the cryo level. And what is this?” He ran his hoof along a thick, white line running just above the Bridge and the cryo level.”
“I don’t know. But we need to make that our first destination.” She rolled up the map and handed it back to him. “Ready?” He nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”
Together, they walked into the elevator and took the stomach floating trip down. They made their way back to the wall. Twilight brushed the walls, releasing the stairs. When they reached the top, she looked down at the city. Just two days ago, it had seemed so beautiful. Now that beauty was marred by the information she had just learned. Whooves was standing next to her, unsure about their whole situation. Finally, Twilight turned and began the long walk back down the hall.
She opened the door to the familiar sight. The screen glowed silently, it’s hoofprint inviting her in. She had a sudden thought and rushed over to the screen. She placed her hoof against it, starting the information video. Whooves walked up next to her.
“What are you doing?” he asked, worried about her. Celestia’s face appeared on the screen and began talking to them.
“I just want to see something.” she replied. I just want to know I am not crazy, she thought to herself. Finally, the video reached the part where she told how long they had. She could feel herself tense up.
9y:05m:23d:13h:07m:12s
Doctor Whooves gasped. “But, that’s the same as yesterday!’ he said, walking towards the screen. Twilight nodded.
“Yes. And the same as when I woke up. Something is very wrong on this ship.” she said, walking up to him. “And I need you to help me fix it.” Doctor Whooves stared at her for moment, then nodded.
“Yes, yes you do.” he sighed. “Lead the way, Miss Sparkle.” Twilight nodded and walked towards the elevator, Whooves in her wake. She pressed the button that would take them to the Bridge. She could feel her stomach lift, but this time it was not from the elevator. This time, it was because of fear. She didn’t know what she was going to find. And if she had a choice, she wouldn’t want to find out. She felt her stomach fall back into place, and the door opened onto the Bridge.
Part 12: Unearthing
Rainbow was sitting in her room, pillow over her head. She hated being on the ship. She couldn’t see the sky. She couldn’t play with the clouds or do anything that she had back on Equestria. She ended up just flying around her room, seeing how fast she could go without ramming into one of the walls. But, after a few bumps and bruises, even that got boring. So she just layed in bed, staring up at the cold metal ceiling. She could feel herself stirring inside, the need to go out and fly. But she couldn’t, all there was was the metal, and the building.
Then she sat bolt upright in bed. “The forest!” she practically screamed. Her hoof went straight to her communicator, a huge smile plastered on her face. “Fluttershy!” she said almost immediately. A soft voice answered her call.
“Hey Fluttershy! You want to go out for a fly?” Rainbow asked, her breath fast.
“Yeah sure!” Fluttershy responded, almost as eager as Rainbow was. “Meet at your place?”
“Yeah. See you in a couple minutes.” Then she hung up. but her hoof went back to the device. “Derpy Hooves.” Derpy’s husky voice responded to her.
“You want to go out for a fly with us?” she asked, hoping she would agree. it was always more fun with more ponies.
“Sure Rainbow. I’ll be over in a moment.” Then it was cut off. Rainbow smiled. She had not felt this happy in a while. She looked out over her room. It was larger than the others she had gone into. With a double sized bed and a larger bathroom. It also had the only visible window in the entire city. It looked out over the whole ship, glinting in the fake sun. It would be an amazing place to live, if only she wasn’t trapped in it.
Something caught her eye. A grey blur rose from the ground, flying towards her. Right behind it was a yellow blur. She smiled as Fluttershy waved, happy to be off the ground. Rainbow rushed downstairs, meeting them as they came in.
“So, what do you want to do?” Derpy asked, looking at Fluttershy and Rainbow at the same time. She had somehow cut out the wings on her suit, just as Fluttershy and Rainbow had done.
“Well, I wanted to go fly in the forest.” Rainbow said, walking outside. “it is the one area closest to Equestria. I thought it would be a good place for a fly.”
“That’s a great idea.” Fluttershy said, floating into the air.
“Yeah, I’m in!” Derpy said, jumping into the air. but she forgot to flap, so she dropped back down to the ground. Rainbow shook her head as Derpy tried, successfully, to get flying. Rainbow took a running start, gently floating into the air once she had gained speed.
“Alright then, let’s go!” she shouted, speeding towards the forest. Derpy caught up to Rainbow fast, she was always a speedy flyer, but they were leaving Fluttershy behind. So Rainbow put on the brakes, waiting for her. Looking around, she could see Twilight and Doctor Whooves galloping towards the wall. What could be going on there?, she wondered. The galloped up the stairs. Then Twilight looked around, as if looking to see if she was being followed.
Oh my, does she have herself a stallion?
, Rainbow thought, smirking. That would be something new. She turned away from the scene, as Fluttershy had just flown up, breathing hard.
“Sorry about that.” Rainbow said. “I will fly slower next time.”
“Thank..you” Fluttershy said, breathing between each word. She floated in the air for a couple moments, then nodded at Rainbow. “Ready.” Rainbow took off, slower this time. She could feel her energy building, but she was going to save it for the forest, when she could really let go. Looking over her shoulder, she could see that Fluttershy was keeping pace. Turning back around. She could see that they had almost reached the forest.
They passed over the wall, and it was like all her tensions had been lifted. She felt that she could breathe properly for the first time in ages. She could enjoy the wind in her mane. The way that her eyes watered against the cold air. She didn’t care if she left Fluttershy behind. She just wanted to fly.
And fly she did. She swooped and soared. She dived towards the trees, pulling up at the last second. The feeling of the sun on her back, even through the suit, was amazing. She felt her eyes watering, but not from the air. Oh, geez! Are you crying Rainbow?, she yelled at herself. But she was. It just felt exhilarating to be back up in the sky. To be where she belonged. She looked down seeing Derpy and Fluttershy flying over the tops of the trees. This was going to be the best day she had for a long time.
*****
“Oh, look at that!” Fluttershy said. Looking down, Derpy could see a clearing in the trees. The clearing was filled with dozens of kinds of windflowers. Yellows and reds and blues exploded in the center, Dwindling as they reached the sides of the clearing. Fluttershy dropped down as Derpy continued to fly over head, doing flips and spins.
She walked in slow circles, the aroma of the flowers almost overpowering her. She had not smelled anything like it in almost three hundred years. Slowly, she began to move towards the center of the clearing, circling the whole time. A small grin crept onto her face, widening the whole time. Finally, it was stretching from ear to ear and she took in the scene in front of her. It was marvelous.
Finally, she reached the center of the clearing. Looking around, she saw something amazing. A single lily grew in the center of the flowers, taunting the rest of them with its beauty. She took a step forward, then tripped over something lying under the flowers. She landed on her face next to the lily. Hutting, she turned over to see what she had tripped on.
She screamed until she passed out.
Part 13: News
Mouths agape, they stepped out onto the Bridge. Twilight couldn’t believe it. She had never seen anything like this before. Rows upon rows of complicated buttons, switches and gauges covered the walls. A soft ping went off every four seconds, timing perfectly with a small green light on the ceiling. She took a step forward, but then pulled back. It just didn’t feel right to be on this level. Shaking her head, she took another step, walking towards the control panels. She reached out, touching the smooth metal of the panels. This was where it all happened. The brain that had kept them alive for almost three hundred years.
But it was also the brain that had allowed them to be woken up early. She turned around to Doctor Whooves, who was smiling.
“What?” she asked.
“This is more like it.” he said, walking towards one of the panels. “This is nice.”
“What!?” Twilight asked again, annoyed.
“I know how to work some of this. I was on the team that helped to design the machinery on the ship.” He started to walk around the small room, taking in every inch of the metal. he stopped in front of a small button. Smiling, he pressed it in.
Twilight shrieked. He had opened a hatch to the outside! She closed her eyes, not wanting to see. But when she didn’t feel the air being pulled out of her lungs, she opened them.
Stars. That was the first thing she saw. Stars. Billions upon billions of them. All shining away happily in the vacuum. It was stunning. She had never seen this many stars before. Even in the observatory back on Equestria. She could feel a stupid grin spreading across her face as she looked out into the void. But her companion did not share her feelings.
“Oh, no.” Whooves said, walking towards the window. “Oh, no. Oh, no” He seemed to be stuck on those words, repeating them over and over.
“What is it!?” Twilight asked, afraid. Whooves turned to look at her, genuine fear on his face. He launched into a techno-babble speech.
“This ship uses Xenon ion engines. They were created to slowly propel us towards our destination, then run out of fuel when we reach out top speed.” he said hurriedly. “And when we got close to the planet, we would begin to slow down, using thrusters of the same type on the front. We were traveling at slower than light speeds. So, with ten years left, we should be able to hear engines slowing us down.” He stopped talking, his ears pricking up. Twilight listened as well. She strained herself to hear something anything other than the soft ping every four seconds.
“Nothing.” she said finally. Whooves nodded.
“Also, at slower than light speeds, we should be able to see Centauri a and b. If not those, then definitely Centauri Proxima.” He pointed out the window. “Tell me, what do you see?” Twilight looked out the window, and saw why he was so agitated.
“Nothing.” she said, hope fading. She felt tears enter her eyes as she realized what this meant.
“We are dead in the water.” Whooves said for her. He stared out the window for a few minutes, not saying anything. Twilight just stood there, silent tears rolling down her muzzle. All the hope she had just had, gone in an instant. She felt like her heart had been ripped straight out of her chest. There was silence, then Doctor Whooves rushed to one of the panels, searching for a specific button.
“What are you doing?” Twilight sniffed. Doctor Whooves didn’t look up to reply.
“I am looking for a specific button. I just can’t see to....AAHHA!!” With a triumphant yell, he pushed in a glowing blue button. A section of one of the walls moved, then disappeared into the wall, only to be replaced by another panel.
“This ship is equipped with two clocks.” he said walking over to it. “One internal clock, that she ship runs off. And another atomic clock that is there for emergencies. That clock, will show how long we have been here. This is that clock.” he said, tapping the clocks frame. All Twilight could see was a series of lines, slowly moving around the outside of the face. The lines seemed to be racing each other, but one always seemed to be going faster than the others. Doctor Whooves stared at it for a moment, his breathing seemed to have stopped.
“Doctor?” Twilight said, walking up to stand next to him. “What is it?”
“It’s terrible, that’s what it is.” he said, turning around to face her. “We haven’t been here for almost three hundred years. It has been much longer than that.”
“How long?” Twilight asked, afraid to hear the answer.
“We have been here for almost four hundred years.” Twilight’s heart dropped out of her chest. She couldn’t believe it. One hundred years, adrift?
“That explains why we woke up.” Whooves said, starting to pace. “The ship is old. A century older than it should be. And it is breaking down. If we don’t find a way to fix this soon, all five hundred ponies will be awake. And who knows how long we will last then.”
“So what do we need to do?” Twilight asked, a spark igniting in her chest. They might have a chance!
“We need to get some sort of bearing on our location.” He pulled the map out of his hood again. “There should be a hatch to the outside somewhere. A hatch for repairs and such. Here it is!” he said, pointing at a spot on the map, two floors down. “Right under the cryo level. There should be suits and repair tools down there. All we would have to do, is get in a suit, go outside, and figure out our bearings. Simple!”
Twilight snorted. That didn’t sound like simple. “But what about the engines?”
“They either fired already, or didn’t fire at all. And right now, they are of no worry to us. We don’t want to go backwards.”
“Well then, I guess we should--” She was cut off by a burst of static in her ear. Rainbow’s voice flowed out.
“Twilight! Twilight are you there?!” She sounded scared and worried.
“Yes, Rainbow, I am here. What is it?”
“It’s...it’s...Oh buck!” she swore. “You have to get up to the forest right away!” she said, then her voice cut off, leaving Whooves to stare at her.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, but it sounds bad.” she said, galloping back to the elevator. “Ugh! I don’t want to waste time! Come here.” she said, holding out her hoof. The Doctor walked over and took it in his own. Her horn started to glow, and she felt the familiar feeling of teleporting come over her. She picture Rainbow in her mind, and she felt the floor disappear. Only, this time, she didn’t feel it reappear. She found that she had teleported five feet off the ground. She fell to earth with a loud thud.
Groaning, she picked herself up. Rainbow was floating a few feet away from her, smiling sheepishly. “I guess I should have been on the ground.” Twilight nodded.
“What is it? What is so bad?” Rainbow’s expression changed up instantly. She pointed at a spot a few feet away, in the center of the clearing she now found herself in.
“There. but let me warn you, it might come as a shock. Fluttershy passed out when she saw it.” Twilight nodded, walking in the direction that Rainbow had pointed. She continued walking, but she didn’t see anything. Then her hoof hit something soft. Looking down, she moved some of the flowers away, and almost had a heart attack.
Staring back at her, was the face of a deceased pony.
Part 14: Dead End
Twilight scrambled back a few steps, a scream caught in her throat. When she had overcome her fright, she turned to Rainbow. “Did you just find this?” She nodded. “Ok, well.” Twilight swallowed. She took another step towards the body, fear scaling down slightly. She brushed some of the flowers away, revealing more of the dead pony.
It was a mare, Twilight knew that for sure. But other than that, she had nothing. The pony, a unicorn, had a tinted white coat and a light blue mane. Her mane was pushed back with a purple headband. Her tail was the same color as her mane, with a purple stripe running down the middle, matching the headband. Her front hooves were crossed over her chest, and she had a couple objects tucked under them.
Twilight gently pried her front legs apart, freeing the objects. They rolled and landed in the grass next to her. Twilight gingerly picked them up. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. One was a hoof written note, paper still as white as could be. The other, was a syringe, it’s plunger still pushed in. She took a few steps back from the body, the others crowding around her.
“Is that what I think it is?” Whooves asked. Twilight nodded, dropping the syringe as if it was burning. She turned to the note, holding it out for everypony to see. She began to read it out loud, her voice growing thicker and thicker as she worked down the page.
Hello. I know whoever reads this, will never know me. I will be dead long before anypony wakes up. I am making this in an effort to record exactly what happened here. But all I can saw is that, I don’t know. I woke up, and I tried to find answers. I found none. You can’t say that I didn’t try. If you look, you will find my attempts littering the floor of one of the buildings.
There is no way that I will be able to survive, I accepted that fact long ago. I have tried, for the sake of trying, to right the wrongs. But I was unsuccessful. Now, as I feel my sanity starting to slip, I know I must do this, or face something worse.
I pray that Celestia does not judge me. I did what I had to. I know I sinned, but I had a reason, and I had no way around it. My life, one that could have been so fruitful on Equestria, was squandered on this ship. I do this now, so that I will not have to pay the price.
If somepony ever finds this, and we somehow make it there, bury me next to the ocean. I always loved the beach. I want to be buried on a cliff overlooking the ocean, if possible. That is my dying wish, and I hope that whoever you are, you are able to honor it.
I feel the drug taking effect, so I will make this quick. I give you all I have, my hope, and my prayers, that you will someday reach your destination. This is all I have to give, so take them, and, please, treasure them.
“So, tell us exactly what is happening.” Rainbow said.
They were sitting in Rainbow’s room, which was the only one big enough to fit them all. After Twilight had read the note, they had moved Cora’s body down to the cryo level. Then they had returned to the city. But Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling, the one that was slowly eating her alive. They were stuck, with no way of moving.
Doctor Whooves was pacing in a circle around the room, while the others were sitting on the bed. Twilight sat away from the group, her back to them, facing the window. Doctor Whooves came to a stop, biting his lip.
“Ok, well....We are stuck.” he said lamely. “We are not moving.”
“How is that possible?” Rarity asked. “I thought we had ten years...”
“No. We don’t.” Whooves said to her. “Somehow, the internal clock froze on the instant, and has been running off that moment ever since.” He took a deep breath and resumed his circle. He walked for almost a minute, then stopped again. “The truth is much worse. And I don’t know if you want to hear it.”
They all looked at Twilight, who was staring at her reflection in the window. Pinkie swallowed. Her color was almost gone, and her hair was razor straight. “Whatever she learned, we deserve to learn it as well.” she said, voice low and sharp. Doctor Whooves nodded.
“We have been here for longer than you think.” he said, not meeting their eyes. “We haven’t been here for close to three hundred years. We have been here for close to four hundred.”
Silence. Deafening silence filled the room. Slowly, one by one, they exchanged glances with one another. Realizing the truth. Nopony was coming. They were truly, for the first time in their lives, alone. Whatever hope they had sealed away, vanished instantly. Nopony spoke for what seemed like forever.
“Are...are you sure?” Fluttershy asked. Whooves nodded.
“Completely. The atomic clock wouldn’t be wrong. Four hundred years.”
“But, isn’t there some way we could contact Equestria?” Applejack asked. “A radio or something.” Whooves shook his head.
“Even if there was a radio, we would be too far out of range, and it would take years for them to receive it.” At that moment, Twilight stood up. She walked towards the door, passed the ponies.
“There is nothing we can do. And we are going to have to live with it.” Then she opened the door and walked out.
Emotions were flooding her body. Fear, pain, anguish, despair, all vying for a place in her heart. Almost without a second thought, her magic took her to her home. She opened her eyes to her room. She didn’t want to move, didn’t want to breath. She almost ripped off her suit, one of the only things tying her to this ship. Just to get herself off of the floor, she walked to the bathroom, turning on the shower. As soon as the water was hot, she stepped underneath.
She let the water take away as much of the pain as she could. But it was not only on the surface. It was deep within her. Finally, she gave in, falling to the floor under the water. Tears erupted from her eyes. Deep, powerful sobs emanated from her, filling the room with the sounds of despair. She cried, and cried, and cried. The tears seemed unending, continuing to flow from her violet eyes. She tried to let the tears take away what the water could not. but all it did was pour salt in the open wound. It wouldn’t matter how many tears she cried, nopony was going to save them.
Finally, the tears began to slow. The sobs turned into shudders. She picked herself off of the bathroom floor, eyes red and puffy. She turned the water off, dripping water and self pity. Instantly the air jets blew her dry, but she hardly felt it. She trudged back to the bedroom, not wanting to hear her own heart beating in her chest. She flopped down on the bed, depression settling over her like a blanket. She laid there, not moving, for almost an hour. She could feel the pain sinking further in, tearing at her very soul.
A knock at the door made her tilt her head up, but it fell back almost immediately. “Go away.” she said, voice hoarse from crying. Another knock was her reply. “Fine! What do you want?” she tried to yell, but her voice broke on almost all of the words. The door slid open, and Doctor Whooves stood there, looking uncomfortable.
“I..uhh...told them everything.” he said, walking inside. “They understand what is going on, and are willing to help with anything we need to do.”
Twilight snorted, a river of pain flowing down her throat from that action. “What can we do?” she asked, sitting up. “We are stuck, with no idea of how to get going. We don’t even know where we are!”
“That is what I came here to talk to you about.” Whooves said, sitting on the edge of her bed. “We need to find out where we are. And the only way to do that is to go outside and take a look.”
“You can do it by yourself.” she said, turning away from him.
“I can, but what if something were to happen to me?” he asked, touching her shoulder. She pulled away from it. “I need another pony to watch my back.”
“Can’t you get one of the others to help you?” she asked, getting off the bed and walking away from him. Just the sound of his voice was hurting her.
“I can.” he repeated. “But I would rather have you.” he said, walking up to her. “I trust you Twilight, and you need to start trusting us.” She turned, wiping her nose on the back of her hoof.
“Alright.” she sniffed. “Let’s get this over with.”
Part 16: On The Way
After Twilight had put her suit back on, reluctantly, they took the elevator down to the ground. Doctor Whooves was worried about her. She had taken the hit worse than any other pony. She seemed completely depressed. And all Whooves could think was that she might try to follow Cora’s lead. But he shook that feeling off. Twilight was a smart pony. She would never try something so foolish.
They walked back to the wall, and Whooves brushed his hoof on the wall, bringing out the stairs. They walked up, Twilight rather slowly. The sun was almost setting on the city, and Whooves thought that it might have been better to let this wait until the next day. But they were already here, so no use in turning back.
They reached the top of the stairs and turned down the long hallway. They finally reached the end, Whooves opening the door. They walked passed the screen, it’s glowing green hoof print so inviting. They walked passed it, but Twilight wouldn’t take her eyes off of it. Whooves shook his head, opening the panel in the wall. He pressed his hoof against the screen, feeling the electric current roar through his body. His breath seized in his throat, but released when the current stopped. He pulled away fast, and looked over at Twilight. Something, not quite a smile, was on her lips. “Nopony believes me until they try it.” she said, then walked into the elevator, Whooves right behind her.
He pulled the map out of his hood, and pointing at a spot. “Here is the hatch. It is on the bottom floor, all the way to the front of the ship.” He pressed the correct button, then sat back as the elevator sank like a stone. “It will take us awhile to walk to the front of the ship. I would say about--” He gasped as the elevator suddenly stopped and changed directions. According to his stomach, they were now going sideways. “Well, that was new.” he said, standing up. Twilight almost smiled at that.
Almost a full minute later, the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened onto a strange sight. A room, almost as big as Rainbow’s home, waited for them. It was almost completely empty, except for a row of silvery-white suits on one wall, and a row of tools on the other. Twilight was the first to walk out, followed by Whooves. He walked over to the suits and pulled two down, starting to put one on.
“What do you think you are doing?” she asked, walking over to him.
“Putting on the suit so that I don’t implode.” he said sarcastically.
“Do you have any idea how to work those?” she asked, natural curiosity and bossiness taking over.
“It isn’t that hard Twilight.” he said, slipping the rest of the suit on. It flowed over his body and came to rest on his shoulders, head exposed. “I just need to get a helmet and attach it to an air supply.” He turned his eyes to the walls. “According to the map, there is a closet here, somewhere.” He scanned the walls until he saw a blinking red light. Smiling, he walked over and touched it. With a hiss and the sound of scraping metal, the door opened.
Inside sat more shelves. But these held domes of plastic instead of suits. Whooves walked over and pulled one off of the shelf. He turned his attention to Twilight. She sighed, but walked over and pulled down a helmet as well. She looked down at her face reflected in the plastic. It looked older, more sad then she remembered.
“We just need to get you a suit and an air supply he said, walking further down the shelves. A ways down, the plastic domes turned into small, white rectangles. Twilight could see a couple tubes and straps attached to them. Whooves pulled one down and propped it on his back. Twilight helped him attached the tubes to ports on the suit he was wearing. When she was finished, he raised the helmet and put it on. A small hiss broke the silence as he sealed it.
“Now go and get your own suit.” he said, but it came out as a muffled noise thanks to the suit. She nodded and walked out of the room, Whooves right behind her. She pulled down a suit and put it on, shivering against the cold of the fabric and metal. She put on the helmet, the same hiss sounding. Instantly, any noise that had been there, like their hoof steps, was cut off. But a brief blare of static made her jump.
“OK, good. The com link works.” Whooves said. He was touching a place just under his chin. Twilight reached up to her own neck. She could feel a small bulge there. “Press it.” he said. She pressed it, and felt the give of a tactile switch.
“This is so weird.” she said. “Feels like I am, about to be frozen again.”
“Wait here. I will get you an air supply.” Then he walked away, leaving her with her thoughts. When he came back, he seemed to be struggling with the supply. She trudge over and helped him, feeling the weight of the small rectangle. It had to weigh twenty-five or thirty pounds. She put in on her back, pushing her front legs through the straps. Whooves attached the tubes to her suit, and she could feel a blast of cold air on her face.
At last they were ready. Whooves looked over the room again until he found another red light. He touched it, and the wall slid away, revealing another, much smaller room beyond.
“This is the airlock.” he said, turning back to her. “It will drain the air and then open to allow us outside. There should be a couple tethers in here.” He walked in, looking over the walls. “Here they are.” He pulled a couple white, slightly elastic rope from a port on the wall. “There should be a couple hundred feet in here.” He clipped the end to her suit, then pulled the second down and did the same.
He closed the door behind them. The only thing that was in front of them was another wall, and a red light. Whooves looked over to Twilight, hoof at his throat.
“Ready?” he asked. Twilight didn’t respond at first. But then she took his hoof in her own.
“Ready.” He pressed the button.
Part 17: Light and Dark
The sound of air being sucked out met their ears. But it slowly faded away as less and less air was in the chamber. Finally, there was no sound at all. Then, silently, the wall in front of them opened. All Twilight could see was black. Black, and stars. She smiled, a real smile, and she pushed away from the ship. Her hooves left the metal, and didn’t touch back down. She laughed, her first genuine laugh in a long time. She could feel herself floating, and it was wonderful. But then she suddenly, stopped. She turned around, confused. Whooves was holding her tether, smiling.
“Hold on there. I don’t want you going out without me!” he said. Then he jumped into the air with her. Together they pushed away from the ship, facing the empty black. Twilight couldn’t take her eyes away from the stars. They were so beautiful. And they were so many. She doubted, even if she had ten years, that she would be able to count them all.
“OK.” Whooves said. “I am going to need you to remember a couple things as I say them.”
“Alright. Go ahead and be a genius.” she said.
“OK.” he said. He was silent for a moment. “That looks like Sirius. And below that looks like Epsilon Eridani below that. Got that Twilight?”
“Epsilon Eridani below Sirius.” she repeated. She had been messing with her tether, trying to get turned around. Finally she had managed it. And what she saw made her freeze.
“There is Wolf 395.” he said. That is to the right of Sirius.”
“Doctor.”
“Hold on Twilight.” he said. “Ha. That is the sun. Can you believe that? It is to the left of Wolf 395.”
“Doctor!”
“Twilight what is it? I am busy.” he said, trying to turn around with his tether. But he finally did it, and he turned to face Twilight. “Oh....”
There floated Twilight, silhouetted against the ship. But what lay beyond that is what made him stop.
Floating in space, making the ship look like a tiny spec, sat a planet. Bright, so bright it hurt to look at, it sat there, defying everything they had known. Two gleaming yellow suns, Centauri a and b, so huge and bright, stood behind the planet. Then another, even larger star, Centauri Proxima stood beyond those. This was a dull orange, and it looked to be farther away than the other two. But it still dwarfed everything in sight.
Twilight couldn’t take her eyes off the planet. Landmasses loomed out of seas of blue. Water, real water, covered the surface. She could see small islands and huge continents. Fingers of land stretching deep into the heart of the water. She could pick out deserts and forests. Tundras and plains. Wispy black and white clouds hovered in the atmosphere. As they moved towards the dark side, flashes of light suddenly broke the black, then were gone as fast as they has appeared. Lightning and storms raged, while the triple suns rose over the horizon. Three moons floated in its orbit, the sole witnesses to its beauty.
“I...I...wha...” Whooves tried to speak, but was unable to. But Twilight voiced what he was thinking, in three simple words. She put all her depression, all her fear and pain and longing to the words. They filled her with a sense of hope and spirit, something that had been gone for the past days.
“We are home.”
Part 18: Preparation
They reached the airlock, stupid smiles plastered on their faces. They piled in, Whooves shutting the door behind them. The same sound of air rushing met their ears, except in reverse this time. As soon as was possible, Twilight ripped her helmet off.
“I can’t believe it!” she screamed. “We are here! We’re here!” She grabbed Whooves and pulled him into an embrace. She couldn’t stop the rampant joy that was filling her. Spreading from the tip of her horn to the base of her hooves, she felt a was glow. A glow that filled her, erasing any for of doubt in her veins. They had made it. They were, finally, home.
Whooves pulled off his helmet, gently prying the mare off his chest. He smiled down at her. “Yes, yes we are.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?!” Twilight asked, rushing into the other room. “We have to tell the others! We have to get off this thing!”
Whooves smiled, walking into the other room with her. “I think the first thing to do, is try to contact the colony.”
“And how do we do that?” Twilight asked impatiently. “Why can’t we just land?”
“Because we don’t know anything about this planet. If we have been in orbit, then why didn’t they land us? We need to contact them first.” Twilight huffed.
“Fine.” She raised a hoof to her ear, the stupid smile reappearing. “Rainbow, get the others. Tell them to meet in your room again. We have something to tell them.”
“More bad news?” she replied, sounding depressed. “Fine, but I am not sure they can take this on a daily basis Twilight.” Then she was gone. Twilight turned back to the Doctor.
“Lead the way.” she said, pointing towards the elevator. Whooves chuckled, Twilight smiling behind him. She pressed the button for the bridge. Instantly, her stomach was shoved to the right as the elevator took off. A minute later, it was pushed upwards as they dropped. It finally came to rest at the bridge. Whooves jumped out, galloping over to the controls.
“There should be a way to link to the com station on the planet.” he said, his hooves hovering over switches and buttons. “I just have to find the right ones...” There was a pause. “Ah, here it is!” He hit a series of switches followed by three button presses. There was a brief pause, then a small light on the panel lit up.
“We should be connected now.” he said. He cleared his throat. “Hello. This is the colony ship E.S.S.S. New Beginnings. We request permission to dock.” He waited. Nothing. Nopony replied. “Do you read me Nova Equine?” There was no reply. “Please, Nova Equine colony one, reply if you are receiving me!” Nothing. Whooves turned to Twilight, fear creeping into his eyes. “This is bad. Really bad.”
“Why aren’t they responding!?” Twilight asked, panicking. “They should be there!”
‘You’re right. They should be.” Whooves said, turning back to the control panel. “They also should have seen us floating in the atmosphere. What is going on down there?” This was the last thing Twilight wanted to hear.
“C...can we s...still land?” she asked, whole body shaking. She could feel the loss taking the spot of the joy that had bloomed in her chest. Whooves shook his head.
“I don’t know. But I need to think.” he said, turning to face her. Why don’t you go up and tell the others about the planet. I will stay here and try to figure this out.” Twilight nodded, turning to leave. She looked over her shoulder as she stepped into the elevator. Whooves had pulled out his map and placed in on the floor. He was slowly tracing the tip of his hoof along the white lines, muttering to himself. Then the doors closed, and he was blocked from sight.
The elevator rose to the top level. As it did, she raised a hoof to her ear. “Rainbow? Is everypony there?”
“Yeah, we are all here. What’s taking you so long?”
“We had to make a stop. I am on my way.”
“Alright.” The call ended. Twilight sighed. How was she going to tell them the planet they were longing for was right below them, and they had no way of reaching it? She didn’t know, and she didn’t want to think about it. The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. She walked out, passed the screen, and into the other hall. It took her longer than normal to walk down the hall and down the stairs. Her hooves felt like lead, weighing her down.
She trudged down the empty streets, finally reaching Rainbow’s home. She walked into the elevator and let it take her up to Rainbow’s room. With one last sigh, she put on her best smile, and opened the door.
They all swiveled their head towards the door when she opened it. Expectant, slightly apprehensive, expression were shared on all their faces. She smiled at them, then walked over and flopped on the bed. A moment of silence passed before anypony spoke.
“Well, aren’t you going to tell us what all the fuss was about, Darling?” Rarity asked, walking over to her. Twilight nodded, pulling herself off the covers of the bed.
“I have some huge news, girls.” she said, looking each one in the eyes as she said it. “This whole time we thought we were stuck. Floating with no way of getting to the planet. But, as I have just learned, that is not true.” She paused and took a breath. “Girls, we have arrived.”
There was a moment of silence as the new information settled. They exchanged glances with one another, then turned back to Twilight.
“You...you aren’t jokin’ with us now?” Applejack asked. “We...we really are here?” Twilight nodded.
“I saw the planet with my own eyes. It’s real, and it’s right outside.” she said, standing up and walking to the window. She looked out over the city that had been her home. But her real home was just under the ship. And it was waiting for her.
“Well, why aren’t we landing?!” Rainbow said, jumping up into the air. “We should be leaving this bucking ship now!”
“That’s just the problem.” Twilight said as Rainbow slowly fell to the floor. “We tried to contact the planet, and nopony responded. We don’t know what is wrong.”
“So what does that mean?” Derpy asked, floating over to Twilight. Her crossed eyes were looking hopeful, but also downtrodden.
“It means we can’t land yet.” Twilight said, turning away from the window. “But trust me. As soon as we find a way, we are going to land this rust bucket. Once and for all.”
“How soon do you think that will be?” Fluttershy asked.
“I can’t say. But I hope soon. But, just to be ready, I want you to pack your stuff. Anything you want to take along, take it now.” She walked over to the door. “Because we wont be coming back.” She opened the door and walked into the hall, leaving them alone. She decided she didn’t want to walk and teleported over to her room. She pulled her suit off and stepped under the shower. She didn’t cry this time. There was no reason to. They were closer than ever before to their goal, they just had to wait a little longer.
She turned the water off and let the hot air blow her dry. She had not noticed it, but her stomach was yelling at her. She teleported over a freeze dried bar and chewed it slowly. Her mind was racing, yet she couldn’t come to any real thoughts. Finally, she was finished with the bar, and her eyes were finished with the day. The sun was sinking in the sky. She walked over and turned off the lights, then crawled into bed. Against all odds, her eyes closed and sleep took her far away.
Part 19: Reality
Her dazed and beaten mind gave her a break that night. There were no dreams of fire and ice and pain. There was only light, and joy. She saw Ponyville, and all the friends she left behind. It showed her all the times she had back home with friends right there on the ship. Both good times and bad times. From Nightmare Moon, the the Grand Galloping Gala. Times she would never be able to have again. But that is not all. Her mind also created visions of what the surface would look like. The triple suns rising from the south west and north. Mountains and valleys and forests continuing into infinity. Bright blue skies above her head. She didn’t want to leave, but something made the precious dreams go away.
“Twilight.”
Her eyes flashed open. She was staring up at the ceiling of her room. She tilted her head down, and didn’t see anypony. Shrugging, she rolled over and closed her eyes.
“Twilight!”
Her eyes opened again. She looked around and didn’t see anypony. Then she realized where the voice came from. She raised a hoof to her ear. “Hello?”
“Oh, good. Twilight.” Whooves said. “I need you to come down to the bridge.”
“Ugh..what?” she groaned, stepping out of bed. She walked over and opened the window. There was no glow on either side of the dome. “Doctor it’s the middle of the night.”
“I know. I’ve been down here all that time.” he said, slightly annoyed. But I think I found the solution to our problem!”
“That’s great and all, but can’t it wait until morning?”
“Twilight!”
“Fine, fine.” she groaned. “I will be down in a couple minutes.”
“Thank you.” The call ended. groaning, Twilight walked over and put on her suit. Next she turned on the lights, the bright glare waking her up. Finally she was ready. Instead of walking, she decided to teleport over. Her room disappeared, and the bridge, with Whooves smiling, appeared.
“Glad you could join me.” he said, walking her over. He stopped her when she was standing in front of the map. Tell me what you see here.” he said, pointing to the area that encompassed the cyro level and bridge. Twilight looked, but nothing jumped out at her.
“I don’t know.” she said irritably. “But I assume you know.”
“I do.” he said. He pointed at a spot on the map, just over the cyro level. “See this line? These lines mark structural points and separate levels. Normally, this line would be insignificant. But then I noticed, why is it so thick? It is twice the diameter of the outer hull! Now why would that point need to be so protected?” Twilight shrugged. It was too early for this.
“I didn’t know either. Then I started looking further.” He pointed at several spots along that line. They looked like small tubes inside the metal. “I saw those. I had no idea what they were, but it got me thinking. Why would the bridge, which is normally located at the top of a ship, be at the very bottom?” Once again, Twilight shrugged.
“I understand why the cyro level would be, but not the bridge. But the weirdest part was, my team didn’t design this part. This was never in our original plans. They added this after we finished it.”
Finally, Twilight was waking up. “So what does that mean?”
“I wasn’t sure I started looking further into the blueprints.” he said, tracing a line from one of the tubes all the way to a central point on the ship. “These lines carry electrical signals from the main generator to everywhere else in the ship. Normally, there would be no reason to worry about these. But then I noticed that there is a small cut off point, just above the thick line.”
“So what are you saying?” Twilight asked.
“I am saying this in no ordinary section of the ship.” he said, smiling proudly. “This, is an escape pod.”
Twilight just stared at him as the words sank in. Finally, a smile appeared on her face. “You’re saying we can land?!”
Whooves nodded. “Just as soon as I can figure out the combination for it. Shouldn’t take more than an hour.”
“Oh, this is fantastic!” Twilight yelled, jumping around the room. “We can finally leave!” She stopped mid jump, then she looked over at Whooves. “Once you get this done, there is a couple things I need to do. And one will require you.” Whooves nodded, turning back to the panel.
“I will give you a ring when I am done.”
“Alright.” Then she teleported home. She collapsed on her bed, that warm glow of hope and joy spreading through her again. Escape. They could finally leave the ship! A soft sigh escaped her lips as she thought about seeing the sky, feeling the wind again. She just wanted to lay there, dreaming about the world below, but she had things to do. She walked out into the hall and into the elevator. She punched the button for the top floor.
The door opened onto the familiar scene. She walked to one of the stacked and pulled out a blank piece of paper. She looked around and found a small, almost dull, pencil. She held the paper and pencil in her magic for a few minutes, thinking of what to write. Finally, she knew what to do, and she began to write.
After she was finished, she put the paper in the sleeve of the suit and walked back to the elevator. She turned and saw the door, the one that wouldn’t open. She would be back for that later. The doors closed and she was dropped down a floor. She went back into her room and dumped whatever she had in her saddlebags out. She put them over her back and walked back into the elevator. It took her down the bottom floor, and she left the building. She hated to think it, but if something was wrong on the surface, they would need food.
She trotted over to the cafeteria and filled her bags with as many of the bars as they would carry. Once she was done, she teleported her bags home. She didn’t want to have to carry them around for the next half hour. She walked back out of the cafeteria, and looked around at the city. So much to explore, and they didn’t have any time to. All she could do was admire the work that the engineers and scientists put into the ship. The forethought they had to include something like this into the ship.
Then she started to think how lucky she was. She could still be trapped in ice, not knowing that the planet was right underneath her, and she couldn’t do anything about it. She could also be dead. She was one of the only ponies, besides Rarity, to ask what the survivability was. She had a thirteen percent chance to die. That was almost too big to rick the trip. But it had been too late to back out, and it had been her idea to volunteer. She couldn’t back down and have them wake up on the planet without her.
But, if she had not asked them to come along, this wouldn’t have happened to them. Was it her fault that they were now floating in space? No, she told herself, you can’t start thinking that. No pony could have predicted this. But a small voice kept telling her that if she hadn’t thought of coming, then this wouldn’t have happened. She walked away from the cafeteria, back towards the wall.
A burst of static in her ear made her start to sprint. It was still dark, and only one pony would be calling her. “Hello!” she said as she galloped.
“Twilight! I figured it out!” he said, a smile present even in his voice. “I just have to hit these buttons and off we go!”
“That’s amazing!” she replied. “Now get your flank up here, I need your help with something.”
“I will be there as soon as possible!” Then the call ended, leaving a huge smile on Twilight’s face. Finally, she reached the wall. She brushed her hoof against the light. The steps slowly extended. She waited for a few moments, then he appeared at the top. He galloped down, three at a time, until he reached her. He was breathing hard, and held up a hoof to make her wait.
“Wow...labs are NOT good for cardio.” he said, smiling. “Anyway, what do you need?”
“Just follow me.” she said, sprinting off towards her home, Whooves right behind her. They reached her home and piled into the elevator. She pushed the button for the top floor. Whooves looked at her.
“Haven’t we been there before?”
“We have, but there is something I need your help with.”
“Oh, Celestia. Is it the wrong planet or something?” he asked, rolling his eyes. Twilight laughed.
“No, nothing like that.” The doors opened and she stepped out. “There is one room on this floor, just like Rainbow’s room. But I can’t get the door open. I was hoping you could get it open for me.” She ran her hoof along the door to demonstrate. Whooves walked over and began to tap along the outside of the door frame. He worked all the way around, then he turned back to her.
“I don’t think I could do anything. There isn’t any form of control box. If there was one, I could see if I could get it open.”
Twilight let out an exasperated sigh and slumped against the wall. “I just wanted to see what was back there!” Whooves looked back to the door, then back at her.
“Why don’t you try to open it?”
“I told you, I did! I tried, like, twenty times!” she replied, annoyed. Whooves smile and walked over to her.
“No. Why didn’t you open it.” he said, tapping her horn. Twilight’s eyes widened.
“Do you think that will work?” she asked, walking over to the door. “ I can’t believe I hadn’t tried that yet!”
“It should work the same as a normal door. Just use that spell and it should open.”
“Ok.” she said, touching the tip of her horn to the door. “Here goes nothing.” She closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow, as did the door. She imagined herself brushing the light with her hoof, and the door opening. She pictured it as clearly as she could. Then, without warning, she felt herself falling forward. She opened her eyes and found that she was laying in the middle of the, open, doorway. Whooves helped to pull her to her hooves.
“Guess it worked then?” he said, walking past her. She brushed herself off then walked in after him.
It looked like an exact copy of Rainbow’s room, without the window. The bed covers were turned down, making it look like somepony had just slept in them. A suit, the one thing that Cora had been missing, was thrown over the side of the bed. The only thing that this room had that Rainbow’s didn’t, was a desk. It sat in the spot where the window would be. Twilight walked over to it.
Several objects were strewn across the top. A pair of white saddle bags were hung over the back of the chair. They were sealed with a buckle that matched her Cutie Mark; A golden Caduceus. Twilight looked over the contents on the desk. It looked like she had done the same thing Twilight did, only take pictures and books. She picked one up, eyes fogging over as she did.
It had Cora on it, but she was not alone. A stallion, also white but with a light blue and yellow striped mane, was standing next to her. He was wearing a fancy tuxedo and she was wearing a beautiful dress that matched her teal eyes. Twilight flipped the photo over. Written in fancy script was:
Me and Lightning at the Gala. That sure was an eventful night!
Next to that was another. Cora was sitting on a park bench, Lightning smiling down at her. It looked like he had just told a joke, because she was laughing. On the back was more script.
Ponyville park. Neither of us knew how soon our lives would change.
Twilight pulled up the next photo. Cora was standing, clad in a wedding dress, next to Lightning, who was once again in a tuxedo. He was smiling, red lipstick from Cora still on his own lips. They were both smiling huge for the camera. Friends and family stood behind them, smiling and laughing. She turned it over.
The very best day.
She told herself one last picture. She found one that was at the head of all of them, one that looked the most worn. It was Cora and Lightning standing in front of a house. Lightning was on his hind legs, carrying Cora in his front legs. He was smiling down at her, and she was staring back at him. Even through the photo, she could sense the love they shared. She flipped it over, and was greeted with a long note.
Dearest Lightning,
I am sorry for what I am about to do. If there was a way to fix it, I would have already done it. But as I have learned, there is no way around this. I want you to know that every waking moment I spent aboard this ship, and every sleeping second, I was thinking of you. You were my one true love, my guiding angel through the last seven years of our lives I didn’t want to grow old and die without you.
If you could talk to me, you would probably say that this is selfish. You don’t know how many times I walked back down there to look at that hatch, the one that kept us separate from one another. Oh, how I wanted to open it. Open it and let us be together once again. But I couldn’t do that to you. I won’t let another pony die for my own selfishness.
Just, if you ever wake up, just forgive me. I didn’t want it to come down to it, but it has. I just want you to remember our special times. Our first dance at the Summer Sun Celebration, after you tripped and fell into the fountain. Our first kiss at the Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant, listening to Octavia’s newest piece. Our wedding night. I just want you to think of those times, not about this. That, to you, is my final wish.
I am going to say this twice, in this note and another. I want to be buried near the sea. Either on the beach, or on a cliff overlooking the ocean. You know how I loved the ocean, and I want to be there forever. I am trying to think of anything else to say to you. All I can think is, I love you. I need you to remember that. I have, will, and still, love you. Never doubt that love. It is what has kept us together all these years, and what will let us see each other once again. Someday. Until we meet again. Goodbye, my love.
Your dearest,
Cora
Tears falling from her eyes, Twilight picked up all the photos and book, placing them in the saddlebags. These needed to be kept with Cora. They would be safe there. Turning, she saw Whooves watching her, his eyes fogged over. She took one last look around the room. She walked over and picked up her suit, carefully folding it and putting it in with the pictures. One last look revealed nothing else. She walked back out of the room, Whooves behind her.
She opened her mouth to say something, but Whooves stopped her with a hoof on the shoulder. He nodded, pulling her into an embrace. She melted into his fur, looking for a place to hide her sorrow. They stayed like that until her legs went numb, then broke apart.
“We need to get off this ship.” he told her. “As soon as possible.” Twilight nodded. She opened the door to the elevator, and they walked in. She dropped it down one floor, then walked into her room. She brushed the light, revealing the window. The fake sun was rising over the horizon. The others would be awake soon.
“Alright.” she said, her voice breaking on the word. She cleared her throat. “Get down to the bridge and set this up. I will call the others and tell them to get ready.” Whooves nodded, then galloped out of her room. Twilight sighed. She walked over to where her saddlebags had appeared. She put those on behind Cora’s.
She took one last look around the room. Remembering, she pulled the letter out of her sleeve and laid it on her pillow. The one mark she would leave on the ship. She closed the window, turned off the lights, and walked out of the room. The scraping metal sound seemed louder this time. Something sounded final about it. She walked into the elevator and pushed the button for the last time.
On the way down, she called the others. She told them to gather their stuff, they were leaving. “Meet by the wall.” was what she ended each call with. She was the first to reach the wall, but soon all the others were there, saddlebags and hopeful expression on each of them.
“Are you all ready?” Twilight asked. “Once we leave, there is no way to come back.” They nodded. They had been ready for the whole night. “Alright.” she said, turning to walk up the stairs. “Let’s leave this place.”
Part 20: The End
They reached the cyro level. It seemed to be much larger than it had before. Twilight turned to face the others.
“OK, I want you, just for the landing, to go back to your freezing chambers. If we crash, it will protect you from some damage.” She raised her hoof to her ear. “Whooves, are we ready?”
“Yep. As soon as you say the word, we can launch!” Twilight looked one more time over whole group. Her eyes landed on a specific pony. “Hold off for a minute. I am sending somepony up.” She walked over to Fluttershy, who was putting her bags into their compartment.
“Fluttershy? I want you to launch the ship.” Fluttershy’s reaction was just as she had predicted. Her eyes grew wide and she retreated a few steps.
“But...but...Twilight I...” she stuttered, unable to speak. Twilight reached out and touched her shoulder, smiling.
“I think, considering who you used to be in Ponyville, that you should do this.” she said, turning her towards the elevator. “I just feel that it is right.” Fluttershy took a couple steps forward.
“Ok....I guess so.” then she entered the elevator and was gone. Twilight smiled, then started to walk past the rows of chambers. She stopped at one, the one that they had put Cora in. She opened the compartment above and placed the bags in. She didn’t forget her promise. She was going to bury her. But she added a new promise to that list. Lightning was going to be present when they did it.
Looking down the hallway, she could see the others had climbed into the chambers. The last one out was Derpy. She looked slightly worried, watching Twilight as she came closer.
“What’s the matter Derpy?” she asked, standing next to the grey Pegasus.
“I don’t want to go back in.” she said. “I don’t want to go to sleep again.”
“Don’t worry.” Twilight said, soothingly. “We aren’t going to be frozen again. This is just for our protection.”
“Alright then.” Derpy said, climbing into the hatch. Twilight shut it as best as she could, then walked down to her own. She climbed in. But, since she had kicked her hatch off, she just stared at the open doorway. She raised her hoof to her ear.
“Whooves, are we ready?”
“We are. I told Fluttershy how to do this, and we are ready. Fluttershy, just that button there.”
“OK. We are ready down here. So tell her to go.”
“Roger that!” The call ended, leaving Twilight to hear only the sound of her breathing. Up above, Fluttershy was staring at the control panel.
“Are you sure?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.
“Very sure. When you are ready, do it.”
“O...OK...”
Her hoof descended.
Epilogue
Dear princess Celestia,
There is no reason for me to be writing this, you will never see it. I think I just had to say this one time. I never though that this would have happened to me. I don’t know what twist of fate decided to use us for this. But we survived, and for that, I thank you. I don’t think I learned anything about friendship from this experience. But there is one thing I learned.
It is something that may sound like I have given up, but it is so much more than that. It is a lesson that we all have to learn. I, and my friends, new and old, had to learn the hard way. I hope that no other pony needs to learn it this way. Princess, I learned; That sometimes, everything just fades away. But, when everything seems the worst, there is a spark that can set your world straight again.
