A Search in the Darkness

Chapter 2: 5003 A.N.

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Rainbow pressed her muzzle to the glass. Applejack just stood there mouth open like she had been doing for the last few minutes. However Twilight was not taking in the sights of the city, but staring with her mouth agape at Luna.

“We shouldn't be here. We can’t be here,” Twilight said starting to get panicky. Her two friends turned away when they heard Twilight’s statement. The unicorn continued, “We outlawed time travel for a reason. We could change the space-time continuum! What if we do something because we learned of this when we go back to our own time? Unless…”

Luna just nodded with an extremely sad expression that could break hearts. Twilight just lay down, grabbing her head with her hooves.

“What’s going on Twi,” Applejack asked.

“Yeah, what’s wrong,” Rainbow added.

However Twilight just laid there shaking, she couldn’t tell them that she’d trapped them in the future forever. The two looked onward unsure of what to do. As two whole minutes passed by, it became obvious that they would not get their answer from the unicorn.

Luna sighed and with a look of sorrow began, "Time Travel can be used to travel to the past and the future. It lets us see what once was, and what will be. However, time is locked, things can never be altered. What is meant to happen will happen. And 4000 years ago, what was meant to happen and did happen… was that you three disappeared forever after a terrible magical incident."

"You mean we never came back," Applejack asked. Luna nodded sadly.

"And we'll never see our friends again," Rainbow stated.

"No, your friends, your family, and your homes are all gone. Ponyville isn't even Ponyville anymore. It's a sprawling metropolis larger than Canterlot," Luna explained. Then the silence was back. The only noise was the sniffles from Twilight. Applejack covered her face with her hat, no doubt thinking about her long dead family. Rainbow was the most composed of the three. She turned to look out the window, her eyes pointed forward straight not focusing on anything in particular.

After a while, Twilight got up and said in shaky voice, "I'm so sorry guys. Because I wasn't more careful I got you stuck in the future. I know you probably hate me and I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'd like to still say I'm sorry."

"Nonsense Twilight, You couldn't possibly have known this would happen," Applejack reassured as she calmly rubbed her back. Normally this would have calmed the librarian down considering it was coming from the Element of Honesty herself, but none of this situation could be considered normal. "Ain't I right Dash?"

"Yea, if it's anypony's fault it's mine. I shouldn't have spilled the bottle on the runes," Rainbow said grimacing at her own words.

Twilight watched as Rainbow dipped her head in guilt. Realizing that the Pegasus was feeling the same feeling she had felt only moments ago, she teleported to Rainbow and wrapped her hooves around her. Rainbow gasped at the close contact, but didn't move away as Twilight whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear, "Don't ever say it was your fault. Who in their right mind casts an experimental spell in a room full of volatile instruments? And even if it was somehow your fault, my home will be with any of you guys." Applejack joined the hug. They all grew smiles on their faces and shed no small amount of tears.

Luna smiled the smile that only beings with immortal lifespans can create. 'I'm glad to see that in these thousands of years friendship has remained unchanged. It is good that they have each other; the problem cannot be solved just now. But they can hold into each other until they come to terms with their own fate.'

The three eventually cried themselves to sleep on Luna's bed. The Alicorn raised her wings and engulfed the three. The Night Princess kept their troubled minds safe from the nightmares that would've surely occurred without her intervention.

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Twilight woke up in Luna's bed with Applejack and Rainbow by her side. The Night Princess herself was gone; presumably off doing 'Princessy' stuff. Twilight’s stirring awoke her two friends who promptly began to stretch themselves on the bed. Applejack yawned loudly, blowing morning breath right into Twilight’s muzzle. Her nose cringed and she jumped off the bed and away from the terrible stench.

“Girls, I think we need some toothpaste fast. We stink,” Twilight exclaimed.

“How are we gonna get to a bathroom? These doors don’t have doorknobs,” Rainbow stated flatly while she lazily floated in place.

Applejack looked at the strange metal slab which she knew acted as a door. She walked closer, observing the strange device located next to the door and began raising her hoof while muttering, “Maybe if I touch thi- whoa!” She jumped back as a translucent mare materialized besides her. She backed away screaming, “A G-ghost!” Twilight yelped and teleported underneath the covers while Rainbow and Applejack dived under the bed.

“Applejack go buck that ghost,” Rainbow whispered under the bed.

“What’ll that do? I’d go right through it, and then it’ll eat my soul or something. Ok so my Grandma once taught me this sermon to ward off evil spirits. But I’m not sure if I remember it right,” Applejack answered.

“Well you’re not figure sitting here,” Rainbow said as she shoved Applejack out from under the bed.

Applejack cursed as she was forced into the open. She was about to open her mouth to begin the sermon when she heard laughter. It wasn’t the laughter of a demonic being, but of a mare who’d heard the joke of a lifetime. She looked on confused as Twilight held up her blanket revealing a face that mirrored Applejacks. Rainbow crawled out the other side of the bed. After a while Applejack asked, “What’s so funny?”

“All of you,” the translucent equine answered as another wave of laughter came over her. When she recovered she continued, “All records in history point to you being fearless warriors that faced perilous challenges. And hear you are scared out of your wits, hiding under a bed.”

A scowl came across Pegasus’s face and she yelled, “I wasn’t scared."

"Yeah, I could see that, from how quickly you dived under that bed," the being said.

"Wait, you said all of history. What ghost reads history books," Twilight said with eyebrows raised.

"Because, my little primitive ancestor of my creators, I am not a ghost. I am an artificial intelligence. Harmony Model Type 303337 to be exact," the glowing pony stated.

"What? Does that mean you're smart or something," Applejack asked.

"Yes I am smart. I have computational ability greater than that of the entirety of Ponykind. But that is not specifically what an artificial intelligence is. It means I am an artificial sapient pony that was created to do what ponies couldn't do on their own," Harmony explained. "Princess Luna commanded me to take you to the cafeteria to get something for you organics to consume. Once you have finished you shall be taken to a VRR to get a history lesson on the last 5000 years you happened to miss. Now wait a few seconds as the sanitation screen shall remove all harmful pathogens plaguing your bodies while also removing all bodily waste."

As soon as Harmony finished a screen of red lasers swept through the room. True to its words, the screen had gotten rid of Twilight's need to urinate. Even her mouth felt minty fresh, however she had no idea how that'd happened. 'Don't think about it Twilight. This place makes about as much sense as Pinkie Pie.' Soon the three were on their. They followed a blue line on the ground that Harmony had explained would lead them to their destination. After a short walk through corridor they came to a pair of the sliding doors which opened up when they sensed the pony’s presence in front of them. The doors slid open to reveal a large room with a high ceiling. There were hundreds of ponies among other creatures all sitting around and chatting with each other as they ate their food. There were Gryphons, Zebras, Minotaur’s, Deer, and over a dozen others Twilight could not name.

"Hey, why is everypony wearing clothes," Twilight asked Harmony who had appeared next to them.

“It shall be explained later. You will not be able to understand it until after the lesson. For now, take what sustenance you require. I’ll be waiting for you when you finish,” the AI said as she flickered off.

Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack all stood in the line for food. When it was her turn, Twilight saw that it was a monitor with a tray that had appeared beneath it.

“Um hello? Is this where I get the food?” Twilight said as she tried tapping the monitor like how some ponies pressed the displays next to the doors.

“Please state your order,” a loud robotic voice said.

“Ok good. I’d like a Daisy sandwich and glass of lemonade,” Twilight said. ‘I hope they have daisy sandwiches. I wish they had a menu around here.’

A loud sound of a vacuum blared from a tube Twilight only just now noticed. It flung an object that was too fast to for her eyes to follow at her tray. Right before it would collide, the object, that Twilight realized was the Daisy sandwich, slowed down considerably which avoided a messy splattering of food.

As if to mock her expectations, a perfectly assembled sat still on the tray. It didn’t have a petal out of place. Milliseconds later, a glass of lemonade dropped down in a similar fashion. ‘How is this even possible?’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘There’s magic, but not enough to come close to making something like this. What else is there?’

She pondered it for a few moments as they trotted to an empty table. Rainbow had gotten a hayburger with side of hayfries. Applejack had gotten some waffles and some apple cider. Twilight sat down across from Applejack who had sat next to Rainbow Dash. The purple pony picked up the sandwich and gave it a taste.

“This is one of the best daisy sandwiches I’ve tasted,” Twilight exclaimed. She could see that her friends thought so too as Rainbow was taking enormous bites out of hayburger while Applejack was chugging her cider. The food didn’t last long and the 3 sighed contentedly in unison. With their moods brightened, the 3 ponies trotted back to the entrance of the cafeteria.

Harmony appeared before the ponies. “So how did you find the food here,” she questioned.

“Best darn food I’ve ever tasted. Besides my own of course,” Applejack announced as her two friends nodded their heads vigorously.

“That’s good to hear. We shall be heading to the VRR now,” Harmony stated.

The 3 ponies followed the second line that had lit up for them today. It wasn’t a long walk and they were soon in front of a room that had the letters VRR.

“I’ve been meaning to ask. What does VRR stand for?” Twilight questioned Harmony.

       The 3 ponies walked in through the doors into a completely white room. There luminescent surroundings prevented the ponies from casting any shadows that could be seen. The door slid shut behind them and the white changed to pitch black. “VRR stands for Virtual Reality Room,” the AI proclaimed.