Bioshock: The Bond Between Sisters

Chapter 2
The Atlas

In a miraculous stroke of luck, every single pony involved in the crash was found and taken back to their respective families in their respective cities. That is, all except The Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Most ponies considered such high survival numbers a success, and completely forgot about the trio of poor fillies. However, the ponies of Ponyville did not forget. Every single pony in town banded together to try and rescue their favorite group of blank flanks. There was a real effort made to find them; the townsponies even convinced Manehattan to send out a few boats of their own. Unfortunately, even the restless souls of Ponyville couldn't continue to look for them forever, so after about three or four months, almost everypony seemed to have forgotten about the search altogether.

Applejack is, and always has been, a stubborn pony. Nopony argues with that. Never was this more evident then when her young sister Apple Bloom disappeared. Despite the odds, Applejack continually hung onto the slim possibility that she could somehow make her family whole again. She was ready to do whatever had to be done to save Apple Bloom even if that meant trusting a lead from a complete stranger.

***

Applejack took a deep breath and mustered the last of her waning strength. She was almost finished, and she couldn't afford to quit. It was the middle of a scorching summer afternoon, and Applejack was about ready to keel over from exhaustion. Most ponies would have quit by now, but not Applejack. She had a family to take care of, and she wasn't about to give up over a little spell of heat.

She wiped the sweat from her brow and made her way to the next tree. However, as she was getting ready to kick the hard wooden flesh of the towering apple tree, she heard a voice.

"Hello?"

Applejack stopped kicking so suddenly that she nearly fell over. "Dagnabbit, you nearly made me jump outta my own skin!" said Applejack as she turned to face the stallion who was addressing her.

"Package for..." He peered down at the little brown box he was holding. "Applejack. It says it's from a friend."

Applejack looked at the light-gray mailpony pegasus and frowned. "I ain't expectin' any mail. Do you know what it is?"

"Sorry, can't help you there. I'm not allowed to look into ponies' mail. Privacy and all." The awkward pony then adjusted his glasses and gave Applejack the package. "Hey, maybe it's a surprise present!" he chirped as he began the fly to his next delivery.

"Yeah, maybe." Applejack looked down at the package. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a small break." She then trotted a few feet and sat down in the shade of a large leafy apple tree. As she sat down, she let out a long sigh of relief and relished in the feeling of the cool breeze washing over her body. Applejack stretched her aching limbs and slid her large cowboy hat in front of her eyes. It was a nice day. The ground below her was still a bit muddy from the previous night's summer showers, but she didn't mind getting a little dirty; she was used to it.

After a few minutes of sitting in front of the gnarled malus, Applejack peered over at the plain package sitting next to her. It had no name or return address; all that was written on it was,

To: Applejack
From: A Friend.

It then listed the address of the Apple Family Farm. The only other thing on the entire brown box was a tiny stamp with a picture of a lighthouse emblazoned on it.

Applejack sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it couldn't hurt to take a look." She then griped the dry cardboard between her teeth and quickly tore it open with a satisfying ripping sound. What spilled out of the container was certainly not what she had expected.

It was a book, an atlas to be exact.

Applejack picked up the hefty leather bound book and turned it over. The front cover was heavily worn indicating that the massive tome was far from new. She squinted her eyes to try and make out the design on the front. Some of the words were a bit difficult to read, but Applejack was sure of one thing; during some long past age this book was once very ornate. The remnants of a large golden design would still sparkle every time she held it to the light, and there were a few indents at the center that seemed to imply there were once large gems resting inside of them. One thing was sure, it was a true status symbol.

"What are ya lookin' at?" interrupted Rainbow Dash.

"Ah!" screamed Applejack, dropping the atlas in surprise. "Rainbow Dash! You scared the stuffing out of me!"

"Sorry, Applejack. I was just in the neighborhood, and I came to see if you needed any help with the summer harvest."

"Well, that's mighty nice of ya Rainbow, but I think I've got it under control," Applejack fibbed as she pulled the atlas from the ground and dusted it off.

"Whatcha got there?" Rainbow Dash pried as she flew flew in for a closer look.

"Nuthin' important," Applejack said as she pulled herself from the dirt. "Just some old book I got in the mail."

"Who from?" Rainbow Dash prodded, moving into Applejack's path.

"Don't know," she replied with a shrug. "It doesn't say." Applejack tried to move around the excited pegasus, but the more she tried to avoid her, the closer Rainbow got.

"You don't know?" Rainbow pushed her front hooves up to her face, squishing her cheeks together. "What if it's like some sort of map from a long lost family member leading to an ancient treasure from a lost age! That. Would be. So. COOL!"

"Didn't you say you were here to help?"

"Yeah but, aren't you going at least open the book first?"

"Maybe later. I've still got buckin' to do."

"No no no no! We have to read it now!" cried Rainbow Dash, brimming with elation.

"Rainbow, I don't think—"

"Even better! Let's get all the girls and do it together!"

"Twilight is on a trip to Canterlot, and Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are on one of those friendship missions."

"Well then, let's get Rarity! I'm sure she's free!" insisted Rainbow Dash.

"I don't know about that. She hasn't been in the best mood, ya know... since the incident," mumbled Applejack somberly.

"I'm sure she'll be fine!" moaned Rainbow, stamping her hooves against the ground impatiently.

"Oh alright."

***

"GO AWAY! I'm working!" screamed Rarity through her door.

"Rarity, your lights aren't even on," pointed out Rainbow dash. "I get that Sweetie Belle meant a lot to you; I REALLY do, but you're going to have to come out eventually."

"Never! How could I now that she is gone!?"

It was almost inaudible, but for a second Rainbow Dash was sure she could hear her ghostly gray friend softly whimpering behind the comfort of her wooden barrier.

Rainbow let out a long sigh and turned towards Applejack her face contorted with desperation.

"Look, sugar cube, maybe we should leave her alone. I'm sure the book can wait,"
whispered the frowning earth pony.

"It's not even about the book anymore, Applejack. If we don't get her out of that room now, who knows how long it will be before we see her face."

Applejack put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder tenderly. "I'm sure she'll come out eventually. We should give her time."

Rainbow gave another drawn out sigh and looked to the floor. "Okay, I know it's not the same thing because we're not really sisters, but it hurt when I found out Scootaloo got lost out there. She's a really good filly, and I liked her a lot. But I decided that the best way to get over it was to face it and move on. That is clearly not what Rarity is doing..." Rainbow paused for a few moments before shooting her head up as if she had remembered something of dire importance. "And don't you dare tell anyone about what I just said. I don't want them thinking I'm a softy or anything."

Applejack let out a low chuckle. "I promise."

"Cross your heart and hope to fly?"

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Stick a cupcake in my eye."

Rainbow Dash gave her friend quick smile of confirmation and turned back to the bedazzled door. She took a deep breath and gave it another knock.

"What!? What do you want!?" moaned the voice on the other side.

"I, uh..." Rainbow cleared her throat. "I think what I want is for you to be happy, and you're not gonna get any happier alone in there."

There was a heavy moment of silence. Applejack took off her hat and gave Rainbow an, "Oh well, we tried," look. However the blue mare either wasn't looking or didn't get the message, for she continued to tap a hoof in rhythmic nervousness.

After a period that felt like forever, Rainbow turned and hung her head to the floor.

"It's okay," said Applejack consolingly. "We can come back when she's ready."

Just then, Rainbow heard a quiet squeaking sound echo from behind her.

"I think I can come out now," whispered Rarity in an uncharacteristically small voice.

“That's great!" blurted out Rainbow Dash.

Applejack frowned and gave her rainbow friend a glare sharp enough to draw blood.
"I mean... I'm glad to have you back."

Rarity then eased the door open slowly and flinched slightly as she stepped into the bright hall light. She sniffled a bit and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "So," she began weakly. "What is it you wanted to do again?"

***

"Are you saying you got this old thing in the mail?" asked Rarity as she looked over the decaying atlas that was now lying on her kitchen table.

"I'm tellin' ya'll; the mailpony trotted right up to me and said it was from 'a friend'," insisted Applejack who was rocking back and forth on one of Rarity's elaborate wooden chairs.

"How mysterious!" added Rainbow as she grabbed a snack from the kitchen. "This is like something that would happen on one of Daring Do's adventures!"

"Yes well, I will admit this is highly irregular." Rarity swiftly trotted to a drawer and pulled out one of her many eyepieces used for gem magnification. "Let me take a closer look at this." She then put the eyepiece in and held the book to the light. However, right as Rarity was about to begin a more in-depth appraisal of the artifact, a slip of folded paper fell out from between the pages. "Oh my, now what's this?"

"Looks like some kind of message," noted Applejack as she leaned her chair closer to the table.

"I know that," droned Rarity. "What I want to know is the contents of the message."

"Well, let's take a look then!" slurred Rainbow, a sandwich still dangling from her mouth. The pegasus then dashed over to the table and snached the parchment from on-top the smooth silk tablecloth.

"Well, darling, what does it say?" asked Rarity as she watched her friend unfold the paper.

"I'm not sure," admitted Rainbow Dash, squinting her eyes to thin slits. "It's kinda dusty." The blue pegasus then took a deep breath and blew said dust all over the table.

"Watch it!" protested Applejack as she was showered with a cloud of snow-like white particles.

"Oh my," sputtered Rarity as she bursted out into a fit of coughs. "This can't possibly be healthy!"

"Sorry girls," replied Rainbow, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "On the plus side I can read it now."

"Well then what does it say?" Asked Rarity. "We haven't got all day."

"I'm getting to it! Hold your horseshoes!" Rainbow cleared her throat and began to read of the letter in an unbearable monotone, "Dear Applejack, I understand that this letter is a tad out of the blue, and I know very well that you are unaware as to my identity, but I assure you that I am a friend.

"As of writing this, it has been four months to the day since the tragic disappearance of your sister Apple Bloom."

Suddenly Applejack's eyes went wide, and she pulled her cowboy hat from her head. "How?" she said in a mousey voice. "How do they know about that?"

"I don't know, maybe they read it in a news article or something," continued Rainbow Dash. "This may come as quite a shock, but I am pleased to inform you that your sister is still very much alive. However, you must act fast, for that will likely not last for much longer. The place that young Apple Bloom finds herself in is an unforgiving one, and it is quite miraculous that she's even lived as long as she has."

"Stop!" shouted Applejack who was rubbing her temples furiously. "I can't handle this anymore!"

"But, darling, what if what the letter says is true?" asked Rarity a glimmer of hope hidden somewhere deep behind her sparkling blue eyes. "That might mean Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are still alive too."

"So what if it's true? It would also mean that they're wandering around in a deadly wasteland, ready to be killed at any second!" cried Applejack who was once again rocking in her squeaky chair.

"I think we should at least finish reading it before we pass judgment on whomever this is." complained Rainbow Dash as she lightly tapped a hoof against the table.

"Oh yes, do go on," insisted Rarity.

"Unfortunately, if you and your friends would like to save your sisters, you too must put yourself at risk. It no doubt will be a perilous journey, and there will be a high chance of death, but if you listen to me and do exactly what I say when I say it you may be able to make it back intact.

"All that being said, you may call me Silver River, and I will be a guide of sorts on this adventure. The atlas included in this package has a map of the eastern ocean on page thirty-four; on that map I have marked the location of where you need to go for the start of your search. Once you arrive on the island that is shown, you should be able to locate a small device that I left for you. It emanates a magical signal that will allow you to speak to me.

"I look forward to hearing your voices, and I wish you all luck on your trip.

"Signed, Silver River."

"Well, now isn't that strange?" muttered Rarity. "What do you suppose we do?"

"Normally I wouldn't be so trusting of a package from a stranger, but I don't think that there would any reason for him to be lyin' to us," said Applejack lightly rubbing her chin with a hoof.

"Are you saying that we should follow the directions of some stallion we've never met?" asked Rarity, drawing her head back in surprise.

"No I ain't sayin' nothin' of the sort. What I am sayin' is that he knows about what happened to our sisters, so it might at least be worth findin' out what else he knows."

"Yeah, and who doesn't love a good adventure!" chimed Rainbow Dash, excitement plastered across her face.

"I... I don't know. I don't think I'd be able to bear the heartbreak of finding out that it was all some ruse to sell insurance or something," moaned Rarity, her eyes once more beginning water.

"Now that's completely ridiculous!" exclaimed Applejack as she sprung from her chair and onto the tile of the kitchen floor. "Look, I miss Apple Bloom; I really REALLY do. Losin' her was the most painful thing I've ever felt in my entire life. That's why I feel like even if the chances are slim, we owe it to our sisters to take every opportunity we are given to get them back." Applejack slid her hat in front of her eyes and made a soft sniffling sound. "I don't know girls; for some reason I just feel good about this one."

"I'm in," said Rainbow Dash in a serious tone. "Talk of adventures aside, those poor fillies don't deserve to be ripped from their homes, and loved ones. They're probably scared and alone, and there is no way I'm gonna stand idly by knowing that I could be doing something." Rainbow lowered her head and gave a sympathetic smile. "Besides Scootaloo was my biggest fan; what kind of hero would I be if I didn't go and save her as fast as possible?"

Rarity swallowed hard and tried to hold back her tears. She didn't know what to say, and she couldn't help but look back-and-forth at her two confident friends. For some reason she couldn't help but feel weak around them. How could they be so sure? she thought. Are they not afraid just as I am? She knew that trusting this Silver River character was a bad idea, but something strange in the back of her mind, almost like a primal instinct, told her that she had to go. No matter how small this part of her brain was it was screaming to come out, and as the idea began to grow Rarity couldn't help but let it creep onto her lips and fly out into the air.

"I don't want to go. I really don't want to," admitted Rarity, her body shaking feverishly. "But I think I have to. If I don't, I know that I'll regret it for the rest of my life." She whipped her head up and once again glared directly at her friends, but this time instead of fear, her ice-blue eyes were consumed with a newfound fire. "I am going to do this! And no matter what happens I am not going to stop until we find what we're looking for!"

"Alrighty then, I guess if we're all in agreement." Applejack pulled her hat back atop her head and gave a short gesture towards the atlas with a hoof.

Rainbow Dash nodded and moved over to the large book. She then took a deep breath and pulled apart the crusty yellow pages. "Let's see, page thirty-four." She squinted her eyes again and flipped through the pages of the rotting book of maps until she got to the proper place. "Woah! I think you all need to take a look at this!"

"What is it darling?" questioned Rarity as she moved to the other side of the table.

"He definitely made sure we knew exactly where we needed to go!" Rainbow pointed down to the page at the dark red circle of liquid that was soaked into the paper. Inside of the circle was a minuscule black dot placed in the middle of the ocean that seem to signify an island. On the outside were three dark red words scribbled onto the page in all capital letters.

"Well," started Applejack a deep worrying in her voice. "I guess I know what I'm doing with my weekend."

***

After a few days of preparation, the three ponies were ready to begin their journey. They decided it would best to follow in the footsteps of their sisters by starting in Manehattan and renting a boat from there. Their train ride up to the big city was long and silent. Nopony spoke, for there was nothing to say. Their nerves infected their mind and blocked their speech. When they arrived and began their hunt for a way to cross the ocean, they tried to put on brave faces, but there was still very little talking between the three of them. Nopony wanted to reveal to the others how truly petrified they were of what would happen. What if they couldn't find them, and what if they could, but they ended up being too late?

Through some of Rarity's connections, The trio was eventually able to get their hands on a little boat that they could use. After a few hours of preparations, they left. Thankfully, now that it was summer, they did not have to deal with any of the ice that their sisters did. So the trip ended up being relatively smooth for the most part, until a storm hit just as they began to draw near their objective.

***

"Rarity! Where are you!?" screamed Rainbow Dash over the sound of the pounding rain.

"Over here!" came the weak voice of her purple maned friend. Who was trying her best to shelter herself under a small group of food crates. "Where is Applejack?"

"Right now she's driving the boat. Why?" asked Rainbow as she tried her best to keep the water from getting in her eyes.

"Are we getting close?"

"Apparently. But with this storm knocking us around, I'm not so sure if we know where we are anymore."

"Can't she use the stars to navigate or something?"

"Not with these storm clouds. Right now it doesn't look like we'll be seeing the sky for miles.

"Well then, what now?" asked Rarity right as another enormous wave crashed upon the deck causing her weak cover structure to be blown to the other side of the boat.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" cried Rainbow, flying over to help her friend up.

Rarity grabbed her friend's extended hoof and shakily heaved herself from the deck and onto her hooves. "Ugh! Disgusting!" moaned Rarity as she spit some ocean water from her mouth. "I suppose I'm fine for now; thank you."

"No problem. Now we should—" Before Rainbow could finish her sentence the air around them suddenly ignited into blinding yellow light. Then in a fraction of a second their ear drums were assaulted with the deafening crack of lightning striking the boat.

Rarity belted out a blood curtling scream and glued herself to Rainbow Dash. "Oh no! LOOK!" she cried as she pointed a shaky hoof to the stern.

Rainbow whipped her head around to see what Rarity was fussing about, but had to double take just to make sure her eyes were really working.

The back end of the boat was being engulfed in flames.

"Ohmygosh!" shouted Rainbow Dash, her breath speeding up into a crescendo panic. "Okay okay, I've gotta keep calm and think of a plan."

"What should I do?" squeaked Rarity who was still desperately clinging to her friend.

"First of all, get off me. Second use your magic to help me out here."

Rarity sniffled and pulled her soaking wet mane out of her face. "Okay, what do you need?"

"Well I think we can put out that fire if we get enough ocean water to spray up on the deck. So the plan is you levitate one of those crates and use it to collect as much water as you can. Then I want you to pour it all out on top of the fire." Rainbow Dash hollered, trying to be heard over the roar of the intense storm. "I'm going to see how much I can do myself, As soon as I get flying, I want you to do your thing. You got that?"

Rarity nodded tentatively. "I think so."

"All right here goes nothing," mused Rainbow Dash as she stretched apart her powerful wings. She then opened her mouth and sucked air into her lungs until they burned. She paused for a moment to listen to the blood pumping through her brain, and then suddenly she took off, rocketing into the sadistic downpour. She looked around to try to find something that she could fill with water, but to keep the rain out, she had to squint her eyes so thin that it was nigh-impossible to see anything more than an inch in front of her muzzle. Still she was eventually able to blindly make her way to a section of the deck that contained a large stash of barrels. Some of them were larger and meant for keeping items like fish or large fruits, but there were also quite a few smaller ones meant for the holding of spices and other ground commodities that would be too heavy to store otherwise. Rainbow Dash hovered over them and placed a foreleg on her head to keep out as much water as she could. Even with the weather conditions, she was able to quickly spot a manageably small container that also happened to be empty. Rainbow let out a sigh of relief and quickly scooped the barrel up. She then smiled confidently and launched herself back into the air. She then dove into the choppy ocean that surrounded them. She was only underwater for mere moments, just long enough so that she could fill up her bucket and make a quick rush for the fire. As she raced over the battered motorboat, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rarity tirelessly heaving water onto the roaring flames with the help of her levitation magic.
Rainbow Dash knew that she wanted to keep up with her friend that she would have to fly faster, so that's what she did. She exploded into a blinding blur of speed and dumped a shower of liquid onto the burning deck. Using all the strength she could muster she flew back and did it again, and again, and again, until the once roaring tower of flames was nothing more than smoldering embers.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" Asked Rarity, running over to a collapsed Rainbow Dash who was on the deck taking in deep gasps of air.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." wheezed Rainbow brushing Rarity off with the wave off a hoof.

Just then, the door to the captain's quarters swing open and Applejack came speeding out. "Is everything alright out he—" Suddenly Applejack found her legs dropping out from under her. "AH! What the hay?! How the heck did a hole this big get here?"

"Probably the the fire," said Rarity quite matter-of-fact.

"Oh, yeah... Now could one of y'all pull me outta here!"

"Of course darling!" Rarity bent down into the blackened hole and hung her hooves out for her friend to grab.

"Thank ya kindly." Applejack dusted herself off and flipped her soaking mane. "Now to get down to business. The way the rain is slowin' down, this storm seems to have almost passed us by. While you guys were putin' out that fire, I caught sight of a little island out in the distance. I may be wrong, but I'm thinkin' that's the place our mystery stallion was implyin' with his letter."

"Alright sounds like a plan," agreed Rainbow Dash sitting up on the slick wooden deck. "Is there anything that we need to do to help?"

"Well, not that I can think of..." ApplejacK rubbed her chin a bit as the rain still dripped on their head. "I'm just hopin' that this here ship don't sink. What with the big hole in the top."

"It doesn't seem to go all the way through. We should be fine," said Rarity a twinge of false optimism in her voice.

The three ponies and then went back to sailing almost as if the storm had never happened in the first place. Applejack went back to piloting the boat, and Rainbow Dash decided to fly closely behind to make sure that if something went wrong everypony would know as soon as possible. With no designated job to do, Rarity decided she would just look out on the ocean and watch as the little island grew from a tiny speck into the looming shape of a dark lighthouse.

Suddenly, the feeling of urgent nervousness caused by their near shipwreck began to dissipate from the minds of the three ponies, and instead, the deep-seated dread of the path in front of them creeped its way back into their thoughts.

All three of them were still jaded by the fact that they were told that their sisters may still be alive only just as they were beginning to accept their new lives without them. It was a scary thought that the ones they love might be stranded and alone, but it was only one of many scary thoughts that passed through their heads. All of their worries, big or small, ran together into a murky river of paranoid thoughts and broken ideas. It's hard to discern what's what when your skull is full virtual flies that all seem impossible to swat down.

"Uh, Rarity?" It was the voice of Rainbow Dash. "Rarity we're here now. Are you coming?"

"Huh!?" exclaimed Rarity as she was sucked from the depths of her mind.

"Yeah, earth to Rarity. We made it."

Rarity turned her head and once again looked out at what lay before the boat. To her surprise, what was in front of her was, in fact, a small round island on top of which was a angular black tower that seemed to function as some sort of a lighthouse.

"Can we get a move on?" asked Applejack.

"Oh... Yes, let's," replied Rarity as she began to follow the other two, a glassy look still in her eyes.

Applejack trotted over to the side of the ship and started grappling with a thick rope that was attached to some sort of pulley mechanism. "Dagnabit I musta tied this not a little bit too tight when we set sail." She grunted and tried to pull the heavy knot apart with her teeth. "Well I'll be darned. Could one of y'all come over here and help me lower the gangplank?"

"Sure," said Rainbow Dash who proceeded to pick up a sharp wooden shard and snap the slimy green tinted rope. Almost instantly after it was cut, the frayed tangle began to speedily unwind itself, and soon the thick oak board that was the gangplank came crashing down onto the rocky surface of the mysterious island. The three mares cringed at the sound of the wood splintering against the craggy outcropping, but Rainbow Dash attempted to play it off with a confident smile.

"That ain't the kinda help I was lookin' for," droned Applejack through firmly clenched teeth.

"Yeah... well whatever, let's just get on with this," insisted Rainbow Dash as she tried her best to avoid eye contact with her orange friend.

So then, an agitated Applejack, a red-faced Rainbow Dash, and a restrained Rarity all disembarked from their small vessel and began their climb up the damp rocky hill towards the looming giant that was the lighthouse.

The silent party of unhappy equines eventually made their way onto a path and up to the front door of the intimidating tower. The large double doors that lead inside appeared to be sealed shut, but what was even more curious was the small piece of paper taped to the door.

"IN HERE," it said in bold scrawling handwriting.

"Well if that ain't ominous..." muttered Applejack trailing off.

"Well," started Rainbow Dash tapping her hoof rhythmically. "Are we going to go inside, or are we going to stand around all night?"

Applejack rolled her eyes and removed the note from the door. She then inhaled, clenched her teeth and placed a firm grasp on one of the large brass handles. Unexpectedly the monolithic door swung open with little effort. It opened up so fast, in fact, that it sent the orange pony tumbling backwards onto her rump. "After you," she groaned.

"Oh yeah… Uh, thanks," squeezed out Rainbow Dash, desperately trying to hold in a fit of giggles.

When the group finally got completely inside, the lights were all mysteriously on despite how decrepit the building appeared. As everypony trotted across the cold tile floor of the cavernous rotunda they couldn't help but notice how unblemished the reflective polished surface looked. Everything in the room from the slick stone stairs that they walked down to each and every elaborate art piece that adorned the walls. Everything was perfect, not a single hair was out of place, and that made it all the more unsettling.

As the ponies moved through the main room none of them could keep their eyes off of an oddly out of place bronze bust of a haggard looking stallion. It's morbidly stern expression and cold pupiless eyes seems to follow them wherever they would go. This bothered Rarity the most, but she too felt an describable need to stop in-front of the monstrous statue and read out the thick crimson banner that lay below it. "No gods or Princesses. Only ponies," she recited to herself in a small voice.

"Rarity, come on, we don't want to lose ya," chimed Applejack from the bottom of the first staircase.

Rarity swallowed hard and made her slow descent downward.

After several flights of stairs and a few too many minutes, they all reached the bottom level, the same level that housed the strange contraption their sisters had been lost in, though they didn’t know this yet. In front of the trio sat the very machine that took their family away from them, open and ready for their dissent.

"What the heck is this thing?" asked Rainbow Dash as she darted around the massive orb-like object in an attempt to view it from every angle.

"Well I'll be darned if I know, but I know one thing; I ain't goin' inside that."

"I think we have to AJ," admitted Rainbow Dash. "There's nowhere else to go."

"I suppose there ain't..." Applejack pursed her lips together and scratched the back of her head. "What about you Rarity? What're you thinkin'?"

Rarity jumped to attention and blinked rapidly. "Oh, yes I, um... I guess we don't really have any other choice," she added, coming out of her strange fugue state.

"Two to one, I guess that means I lose," grumbled Applejack as she slowly trotted towards the ball-shaped machine.

The interior of the odd transportation mechanism had remained relatively the same as the last time it had been used, and beside the seats being a little bit wet this time, the only real thing that had changed was the lever in the center which now had another large note taped to it.

"'Pull this' it says. Like we couldn't figure that one out for ourselves," joked Rainbow as she took a seat. "So, you guys ready to do this thing?"

"Well, I guess so," said Rarity who was busy twiddling her hooves awkwardly.

Applejack sighed and removed her hat from her head. "I'm gonna to regret this..." she mumbled to herself. "Sure, I'm ready."