Shades of Equestria

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Planetfall

With the smallest electric noise, the pneumatic door slid open, spilling light into the dark chamber. He placed his front hoof in, and the lights instantly flicked on. He blinked the glare away, still not used to the pure white, artificial lighting. With a sigh, the stallion removed his uniform, the metals and stars clicking as he threw it on the bed. He stretched slightly, and removed his long mane from his ponytail. Then he walked over and touched a small pad on the wall. With a metal ‘whirr’, a panel slid open, revealing a screen and a keypad. He pressed another screen, and a panel on the floor slid away, only to be replaced with a small chair. He sank down into it, relishing the feeling of relaxation. After a long and stressful day, this was the only time to feel calm. So much had happened in such a small span of time, he really didn’t have much time to think about the future. Only the present.

He sat in the chair for a few moments, thinking of everything they had accomplished in the past few months. A small smile spread onto his lips as he thought of what it all meant, for them and for the rest of pony-kind. Almost absentmindedly, he reached forward and touched the screen. It registered the unique grooves and swirls on the bottom of his hoof. Every pony had to have that procedure. A small laser etched a design into the hoof, staying with them for life. That would be their identification for the rest of their life. The design said what levels and areas they could access, and which ones they could not.

A small green line ran up and down the hoof, reading and storing the information. At the same time, an electric current ran through his body, freezing him in place. This had happened several times before, but he was still not used to it. The feeling of his muscles spasming, then freezing was still unnerving. A small beep rang out, and the green light faded. He pulled his hoof away, and waited for the next step. They had just got the system online, so that that the first time, and the last, he would ever need to do it.

“Name and rank.” a cool, female voice said through a speaker on the wall.

“Moonfire, Commander” the stallion said, hating the words coming out of his mouth. He hated the rank. Even this far from Equestria, they were still being singled out and separated from one another with titles.

“Name and rank accepted.” The voice said. The screen flickered black, then glowed a cool blue. Several icons blinked to life, lining the right side of the screen. Several he knew from the mainframe that was built in the main lab. A program that tracked all the ponies, another that showed the weather patterns, and more. But one caught his attention more than the others. One he had never been able to use before. He clicked on it, and a blank white screen popped up. A small panel opened next to the screen, and a microphone appeared. He knew what it was. A journal.

He cleared his throat, not sure what to say. “Moonfire’s journal, day 176 on the planet.” As he spoke, the words appeared on the screen. “After six months of building, the colony is complete. And, as commander,” he almost spit the word, “it is my job to document our troubles and triumphs here on Nova Equine.

“I guess I should start with our landing. It was easy. Nothing terrible or spectacular happened. We landed perfectly on a plain, just next to a mountain range that leads to the ocean. I guess that was lucky, as the astronomers were just gauging from pictures taken by probes. And our flight was lucky as well. No pony woke up prematurely, and our casualties were light. Only five out of our initial three hundred twenty died. And four were non-essential personnel.” He hated that word almost as much as ‘commander’. Every pony was essential on this trip. Even if they didn’t have any specific skills.

“Only one was essential. One of our only two nuclear engineers died. We are so lucky they the other did not die, or we would have no way of powering the colony. Since then, we have only had two more deaths. Those were from a terrible accident with the construction, and a random sinkhole opening up a mile or so away during an expedition. But those were in the first month. We have learned to be wary of the geology since then, and no more accidents have occurred.” A smile spread across his face as he had a thought. “We are expecting our first foal soon! In about six months. The first foal born off Equestria, this will be something to remember. I will have to find some way to remember to document it.

“As far as I can remember, the next E.S.S.S. should be here in about fifteen years. Hopefully we will have this made into a suitable home by then! The population should be up by then. Hopefully in the thousand range.” he paused, thinking about the ponies in freezing. “I feel very bad for those ponies. Being frozen, completely aware, it is not something anypony should be subjected to. You have no idea what it feels like, completely trapped, completely conscious, and not being able to move. For three hundred years. It is....maddening. I fear for a weaker ponies sanity.” He paused again, not sure how to continue. “Besides that, I think that is it for now. I will try to do these as often as possible, and especially if something major happens. So, I guess, this is it. Commander Moonfire, signing out.”

He pressed the small, glowing button on the screen, and the microphone retreated back into the wall. The white page, now covered with his words, blinked several times. Green words, “Journal Saved”, flashed then disappeared, as did the page. The screen returned to a cool blue, waiting for his next command. But he didn’t have one, so he just touched the corner of the screen, and it fell back into the wall, as did the chair. He sighed, walking towards his bed. It was still early evening, but he felt extremely tired. He collapsed on the sheets, closing his eyes. But he didn’t fall asleep, as he wanted to. His mind, completely against his will, threw him back to Equestria. Visions of his beloved country swam across his retinas. Canterlot...Ponyville, his home. His wife and colt. He had left them behind. A tear fell through his closed lid. He would always regret that. he would always know he had failed as a father.

He clapped his hooves together, and the lights when out.

*****

Her heart racing in her chest, she waited for the sound of the ship. Any sound besides her own breathing. At first, nothing happened. She opened her violet eyes, not even realizing she had shut them. Shallow, fast breaths escaped her lips as panic rose from within her. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. No. No, no, no. After all this time, could they still be stuck!? It couldn’t be possible! It just wasn’t--

She was jolted around in her chamber as a deep rumble echoed through the ship. She heard what sounded like millions of kernels of popcorn popping, and the sound of air being pushed through a tube. Another jolt, and she felt her stomach rise, as if she were on a roller coaster. The panic faded, replaced by happiness and hope. She raised her hoof to her ear, calling up Doctor Whooves.

“What was that?” she asked.

“The mechanism was stuck!” he said. “But don’t worry, it just needed to warm up! Celestia, I wish you could see this. It’s beautiful!” he breathed.

“Well, just remember to pilot the thing!” she joked. “I don’t want to crash.”

“Yes Ma’am! We should be hitting the atmosphere soon, so be prepared.” Then he cut off the call, leaving Twilight in silence. It was really happening! They were going to land. She had been dreaming of this moment for four hundred years, and now it was happening.

The feeling in her stomach intensified as the ship picked up speed. She could feel the ship angle towards the planet. Instinctually, she braced herself against the inside of the chamber, and she knew that next to her, her friends were doing the same. A spark of static, and Whooves was back.

“Twenty seconds to atmos. Ten. Five. Now!”

A blast hit the ship, sending Twilight into the side of her chamber. She screamed out as she bit down on her tongue and lip, tasting blood in her mouth. Shudder after shudder roared through the ship. Even Twilight’s teeth were shaking as they screamed towards the ground. The shuddered turned to shakes, and Twilight had to close her eyes to keep from getting sick. Bracing had done nothing, as she was now being thrown back and forth inside the chamber. With a tremendous effort, she raised her hoof to her ear, smashing the communicator against her head as she was thrown around. As she did that, what felt like a fifty pound weight fell on her chest. Her breath left her in a single exhale, and she had to struggle to get it back in.

“Whooves! What’s wrong?!” she screamed. Even her voice was shaking. She almost couldn’t breathe, and her vision was growing smaller.

“That stabilizers aren’t working! And the gravity drive is taking over, doubling the gravity. But that should fix soon. Just hold on, we are almost there!” Just them, the largest shake hit the ship. Twilight was thrown upwards, her head slamming into the top of the chamber. She let out a scream of pain, losing whatever air she had managed to suck in. Her vision went fuzzy, and she let her head fall against the side of the chamber. She could hear Whooves saying something, calling someone's name. Maybe hers, maybe Fluttershy’s, she couldn’t tell.

Through the haze in her mind, she felt the tremors begin to speed up, their intensity increasing. The feeling in her stomach and on her chest grew until it was almost unbearable, then slowly lifted, but her vision stayed the same. Doctor Whooves was still calling her name, but she couldn’t bring up the strength to answer. The last jolt she could feel, was the greatest of them all. Her head slammed against the floor of the chamber. She felt her eyes close, and she passed out.

*****

Moonfire walked down the narrow halls of the colony. Most ponies were on duty, so the halls were empty. But it was a special occasion, so he needed to quit his duties. He walked back into his chamber, a huge smile on his face. He didn’t even take off his uniform this time, he was too excited. He trotted over to the blank wall, sliding his hoof along the screen. The computer and chair popped out of the wall and floor. He sat down heavily in the chair, touching the screen with his hoof. It read it correctly, bringing up the commander’s profile. He touched the journal app with his hoof, which was shaking slightly. The blank page and the microphone appeared. He started to speak, the smile still on his face.

“Commander Moon Fire’s journal, fourteen months on the planet. The foal was born today! A healthy filly! Born to a Biologist and a Chemist on our agricultural team. Born at approximately 4:47 Equestria time. Perfect delivery, no problems at all! She didn’t seem at all worse off for the demanding conditions here. She the cutest thing you ever saw! Soft grey fur with light blue hair, and teal eyes. I know, quite a colourful combination. But, surprisingly, it works for where we are. The parents have decided to name her “Starry Eyes”. I think they are the best parents ever for that. If you ever saw the sky here at night, you would understand.

“As for our current situation...We have hit a small wall. It seems that every seven months or so, at least from what the scientists have told me, there are extreme electrical storms. We can’t even step outside without receiving a shock bad enough to stop our heart. We lost three ponies this week. Hopefully they blow over soon, as we are not finished constructing part of the base. If it doesn’t...well, I will think about that later.

“As for the rest of the situation, everything is almost perfect. The reactor, which is fifty feet below our hooves, is functioning fine. More than enough energy is being produced. I will have to see if there is some way we can store that energy. It might be useful someday if the generator ever malfunctions. Along with that, our biology section is up and running. We have a fully self-supported colony here! No need for those freeze dried rations from the ship. But we are still waiting word on the water. After what happened a couple journals ago, we don’t want to take any chances. So we are using whatever water we brought from the ship. We hope it will last long enough until we can get an “OK”.

“The colonists are a little uneasy, as they should be. I am using all my skills to keep them calm and orderly. But I don’t think it will last much longer under the conditions. If the storms would just let up, we could get rid of some of the cabin fever that has risen up. That is all I can hope for. But, despite all of this, some of the colonists remain happy. Some are calling it a new dawn for us. I agree with the term they are using. The end of one day, and the start on another. They are calling it, a twilight.”

*****

“TWILIGHT!”

She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t. Every muscle in her body ached, and she had a throbbing pain right next to her horn. Her heartbeat was pounding in her head. A groan of pain escaped her lips as she moved her head slightly, only increasing the pain in her neck and head.

“Oh, thank Celestia she is alive.” the voice said, relief flooding it. “Twilight, can you hear me?!”

“She’s lost a lot of blood.” another voice said, the complete opposite. Worry dripping off every word.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. But we have to get her out of here.” the first voice said. A stallion’s. Doctor Whooves’ voice.

She let out another groan, trying to say something, but her throat was raw, and all she could manage was a half-hearted moan.

“Don’t worry.” Whooves said. “We are right here. Can somepony help here here?!” A rushing of hooves, then she felt somepony touch her leg. She let out a gasp as even that small touch radiated pain through her whole body. The hoof was removed, then gently placed back.

“This is going to hurt, but just hold on.” Another hoof touched her leg, followed by two others on the other leg. “Ready?” Twilight let out a small ‘Yes” that sounded more like a whimper. A second later, the hooves pulled her slightly. Her eyes flashed open, and she screamed. But the hooves didn’t stop, they just kept pulling. Through her screams, she could hear another pony crying.

She felt her back leave the cold metal of the cryo-chamber. Two more hooves gently supported her back, and she was lowered to the floor. As soon as the hooves left her skin, she curled into a ball, the pain slowly ebbing away. She retreated into herself, trying to block out the pain.

“What’s wrong with her?” a voice asked, thick with tears. Fluttershy’s voice.

“Well, judging from the blood, she has, one, a concussion, and possibly, a skull fracture.” Hooves touched her again, but much more gently this time, barely touching her fur. “She must have passed out, which led to her being tossed around more. Collisions with the walls of the chamber will have caused major bruising, possibly internal bleeding. Twilight, do you feel any pain in your chest area? Possibly your abdomen?”

Twilight, as best as she could, shook her head. It was only her limbs that hurt, and her head. Slowly, clenching her jaw against the pain, she reached up and touched the spot next her her horn. It was wet. She slowly trailed her hoof down the side of her face. The sodden fur continued down to her jawline. When she pulled the hoof back into her eye-line, she almost passed out again. Her hoof was red with blood. Her own blood. As she watched, a small ruby dropped and splattered on the ground next her her. She pulled her hoof against her chest, not wanting to see it.

“Am I going to die?” she asked, her voice raw and scratchy

“No, you won’t.” Whooves answered. “We just need to get you off this ship.”

“Shouldn’t we check the other colonists?” another voice asked. Rainbow’s.

“They should still be in freezing. And we don’t have time to worry about that now.” A loud ripping noise followed his words. “Rarity, hold this against her head. Try to stop the bleeding.” She felt a piece of cloth being held to the side of her head, and pain spiraled down from the spot. “We will have to check them later. But now, we have to figure out how to get out. Rainbow come with me.” Hoof falls trailed away from them, but all Twilight could see was the metal floor and the drop of her own blood. She started to close her eyes, but Rarity touched her cheek.

“Stay with me, darling.” she said soothingly. “We are going to get you out soon!” Twilight painfully turned her head, trying to see Rarity’s face. Her purple mane, normally so perfect, hung limply next her head head. She was holding one leg off the floor, and she as a cut on her muzzle. The fur around it had turned a dark orange-red. But her eyes were wide and filled with worry. Twilight tried to move, but a wave of nausea rolled over her. She fell against the floor again, limp.

“Stay still!” Rarity said, gently turning her so she could see. “You probably shouldn’t move right now.”

“Is everypony else OK?” Twilight asked, her voice becoming a little less hoarse.

“Yes, yes they are. Rainbow and Fluttershy were able to fly, so they are alright. Everypony else just has some scrapes and bumps.”

“Did anypony else pass out?”

Rarity bit her lip. “No, it was only you.”

“Figures.” Twilight said. “I don’t see why--” The sound of hooves brought their conversation to a close.

“We found the way out!” Whooves said, a smile obvious on his face, even if Twilight couldn’t see it. “It’s just down the hall. The whole wall opens up from the look of it!”

“Should we wake up the rest?” Applejack asked. There was a pause.

“No....not just yet.” Whooves replied. “I think we should hold off on that until we are sure the colony is safe.”

“But won’t they wake up?” Pinkie asked, gesturing around at the chambers, each filled with a sleeping pony.

“The generator on this pod should last longer than we will. They will be safe until we wake them up.” But his voice did not copy the confidence that his words did. “Let’s just get Twilight out of here. Fluttershy and Rainbow, I need you to carry her.” A second after he said this, two pairs of hooves touched her legs and around her stomach. The pain this time was less, but she still closed her eyes and sucked in a breath as they gently lifted her off the ground. She tilted slightly as they flew to wherever they were going. She could feel a soft breeze hitting her face, stinging the open wound on her forehead. A few moments later, Rainbow and Fluttershy stopped, still holding her In the air.

“What do we do now!?” Rainbow’s brash voice spoke up.

*****

“Well, the storms have blown over, again.” Moonfire reported. He had returned from the first expedition outside in two months. “The electrical storms have left their marks though. Our insulated base was covered in black scorch marks, as is the ground. Several fires had broken out, was they were quickly extinguished by the rain. We seem to have averted crisis once again.

“As for the rest of the colony, everything is fine. It has been twenty-four months since we landed, and we have grown tremendously since then. We are expecting several more foals in the coming months, adding the the population that has fallen a small bit. I just hope no more accidents like this happen. We need all the ponies we can have if we want to keep this colony going. Since it has been two years, we are expecting the next colony ship in thirteen years. Since we have no way of contacting Equestria, we do know know if they are en route, or if something has happened, or....No. I can’t start to think like that. They are coming, I know they are.

“So besides those two facts, not much had gone on here lately. The ground water is safe to drink. We don’t know what happened last time, but we are investigating it. It has been a couple weeks since my last journal, and nothing has happened relating to the water. So I think we are in the clear now. This had been a short journal, so I will try to make a longer one next time, maybe with more information. Until then, commander Moonfire, signing off.”

*****

“Give me a moment!” Whooves replied. “I just have to find the panel...” Twilight opened her eyes slightly. From what she could tell, they were at the opposite end of the hallway. The dead-end that she had first seen after waking up. Whooves was running his hoof over the wall, looking for the right spot.

“Ah, here it is!” he cried triumphantly. As he said that, a small panel flipped over, revealing a screen. But this one was different than the ones Twilight had encountered before. Instead of green, the screen glowed a cool, light blue. And two, not one, hoofprints glowed on the surface of the screen.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Rarity asked from bellow.

“I think we need two ponies to open it, not just one.” Whooves said, placing his two front hooves on the screen. He was met with a sharp beep, and nothing else. “Thought so. Derpy, come here please.” The grew pegasus floated over to him, holding out her hoof. She touched it to the screen, and he followed her. For a brief moment, a bright glow cascaded over them, then it disappeared, followed by a much softer beep. For a moment, nothing happened. Twilight was afraid they might be trapped inside.

But then, a loud metal grinding met their ears. Shudders, much softer than before, shook the floor under them. The wall started to move, swinging out like a drawbridge. A strip of light appeared at the top, slowly spreading down the side. As it did, a blast of heat washed over them, making Rarity and Pinkie take a step back. The light fell onto them, heating up their fur and blinding them momentarily. Real light, sunlight. The first they had seen since Equestria, four hundred years ago. The door began to sink, and they could see sky. Bright blue sky, just like back on Equestria. A sun was hanging in the sky, just like back home. With a final ‘clang’ the door fell against the ground, and the eight ponies look out onto their new world.

Chapter 2

Nopony spoke, afraid to break the silence. The only sound was the rushing of the wind through their manes, and the creaking of the metal beneath their hooves. They stared around, taking in anything and everything they saw. Twilight, through blurry eyes, turned slightly, still being held aloft. She raised a hoof that was not being held, covering her eyes from the glare of the sun. No, not sun, she realized. Suns.

Two suns hung in the sky like two blazing yellow eyes. One was hanging directly above them, casting a shadow under their bodies. But the other was setting, casting long, fading shadows out behind them. She looked to the sky, which was a rich, soft blue. Clouds, white and puffy, floated along on a breeze that none of them could feel. The sky curved away from them, disappearing below a mountainous horizon miles away. Despite the blazing headache, Twilight smiled as she looked out at her new world. Angling herself a little more, she looked around at the landscape.

They had landed in some sort of field. Tall, amber plants, like grain of some sort, rose from the ground, waving in the occasional breeze. They looked like waves, flowing across a yellow ocean. Every now and then, a plant of some sort, they looked like trees, but shorter and skinnier, rose from the ground. But, unlike trees, they did not have leaves. Instead, long, spindly vines hung from their branches, curling before they touched the ground. Even smaller growths, almost like flowers, but smaller, sprouted from the vines. At the crest, a single large branch curled and wound back down the ‘trunk’. Following it with her eyes, Twilight found that the ‘trees’ were not individual plants, but were all part of the same plant! She felt her mouth open as she looked around, and she felt no need to close it.

Whooves was the first to move. He took a single step out of the hull of the pod. At first he stumbled, a puzzled look on his face. Twilight couldn’t see a reason for his trip. Be he just shook it off and continues down the metal ramp. He reached the end, pausing before he stepped off the metal. He turned to the others, motioning them down. Rainbow nodded at Fluttershy, who nodded back. As one, they flew out of the hull. The moment they did, they dipped a few feet. Twilight felt as if a ten pound weight had been dropped on her chest. After a few second, Rainbow and Fluttershy righted themselves, turning to Whooves.

“What was that!?” Rainbow asked, obviously ruffled. She looked like she was using more energy than normal to stay afloat, as was Fluttershy.

“I think I remember.” Whooves said, looking up at her. “This planet is one sixth larger than Earth. So it will have one sixth more gravity than Earth. The gravity drive on the ship is keeping it at Earth gravity. But out here, it is normal. It is something we are going to have to get used to.” Rainbow huffed, but stayed aloft. Twilight looked over her shoulder. Rarity was standing at the edge of the hull. With a deep breath, she took a step out. She did the same little trip as Whooves had done, and Twilight laughed. But it wasn’t because of the trip. It was because of her hair, normally floating and light, was pushed flat against her head, obscuring one of her eyes. She let out a small scream, running back inside the hull. Instantly, her hair puffed back into place.

“Well this simply won’t do!” she huffed, pacing back and forth across the entrance.

Come on, Rarity!” Applejack said, pushing her outside. “We aren’t going to stay on this ship just ‘cause of your hair!” Applejack’s mane fell, as did Rarity’s, but Rarity stayed outside this time. Derpy was next, doing the same little fall that Rainbow and Fluttershy had. Pinkie was last. Her hair was in the typical fluffy curls. And when she stepped out, to no surprise of Twilight’s, they stayed the same. She turned her stutter-step into a cartwheel, landing on two hooves next to Rarity, who just stared at her.

They turned and looked at the open wilderness. They had never seen anything so open, so untouched. Slowly, it settled over them. This was someplace new. They were light-years from Equestria. Miles from home, from anything they had ever known. They were the aliens on this planet. The invasive species. But something was missing, something important.

“Where’s the colony?” Pinkie asked, spinning on the spot. She was right. There was no sign of anything pony created for miles around. Whooves looking around, eventually stopping on Derpy.

“Can you fly up there and see if you can see it?” he asked. She nodded, flying up in a spiral towards the sky. She turned slowly, looking around. When she turned in the opposite direction that they were facing, her expression lit up.

“It’s over this way!” her husky voice carrying down to them. “It’s huge...but, I can’t see any ponies.” She flew back down to them, landing on the ramp.

“Maybe they are all inside or something.” Applejack said, looking at Whooves.

“We will see I guess.” he said. “Do you think you can walk?” he asked Twilight. She flexed the muscles in her legs. They were sore, but she could move them. She gave him a weak nod. Whooves nodded at Rainbow and Fluttershy, who slowly lowered her to the ground. She rolled over, setting herself on her legs. She stood for a moment, swaying as she got used to the weight. She took a step, than another, and another. She smiled slightly as she found that she could walk.

Whooves handed her the cloth back. She realized that it was the hood from his suit. “Hold this against your head. The bleeding should stop soon.” She pushed the cloth against her head, feeling the cold of the metal fibers soothe her wound. She turned for the first time to look at the ship that had carried them down from orbit.

It was vaguely oval shaped. Wider at one end than it was at the other. Three rows of lights, about a foot in diameter each, wrapped across the hull. Twilight realized that they separated decks. At the top were a row of circular holes, each about two feet wide. A few inches down, they were sealed shut with a metal aperture. They must have been for air and electricity, she reasoned. The whole thing was a silvery-white color. An alloy had been used to construct the body, leaving the inner working to be made out of stronger steel. Her eyes moved to the back of the pod. Sticking out of the back, almost like a bird's feet in flight, were the thrusters. They were burned black, smoke still rising from them. As she looked further down, she could see a deep rut, maybe a few yards deep, cut into the ground. It stretched for what seemed like half a mile. The whole underside of the ship was covered in the dirt and plant life of the planet. She was now glad that she had been unconscious during the landing. But there was one part that caught Twilight’s eyes.

Above the hatch they had just come through, many yards high, was the insignia of the Equine Space Federation. Pure white against the tint of the ship, it stood out as much as they did on this planet. It looked like a bird of prey made out of geometric shapes. Wings spread out behind it, claws pointed down to catch whatever poor creature it was diving at. It was meant to show the strength and power of the Equines. But now, 100 years late, and crippled as they were, it just wasn’t living up. Twilight turned her back, not wanting to look at it.

“How far is the colony?” Whooves asked Derpy.

“It isn’t far. Less than a mile.”

“Do you think you can walk that far?” he asked Twilight. She took a couple steps around the ramp, feeling the stiffness work its way out of her joints.

“I think so.” she answered. Whooves nodded.

“Alright, I want us to stick together. We don’t know what is out there. So pegasi, Rainbow, stay with us.”

“Fine.” Rainbow answered, dropping down onto the ground.

“Alright, let’s go.” Together, they stepped off the ramp for the first time. The plants closed in on them, reaching up and covering their bodies. All Twilight could see of the others were their heads and wings. They circled around the front of the pod, making sure to stay away from the hull, which was still throwing off heat. As the far side of the planet came into view, they could see what Derpy had been talking about. rising from the plains, was the colony.

Bright, shining metal, the exact kind as the pod, sat in the gleaming sun. The colony looked like a collection of semi-spheres. From where she was walking, she would see six or seven spheres, connected by small covered walkways The largest sat in the center. A large circular window sat on the side facing them. It was the only thing that distinguished it from the others. It looked so strange, just sitting in the wilderness like that. Instantly, Twilight knew something was wrong.

The plants had grown up around the buildings, rising up past halfway on a couple. A few ‘trees’ had sprouted, and their ‘vines’ were spreading across the spheres. Scorch marks covered the tops, and several cracks had opened up in them. The ‘vines’ were growing into the cracks, forcing them wider. Something was utterly, and terribly, wrong.

“Oh, Celestia.” Whooves said, his pace quickening. Twilight forced herself to catch up, ignoring the pain in her head. As they got closer, the colony began to look worse and worse. The hope Twilight had been feeling in her heart burst. What had happened? Within minutes, they had reached the colony, and the extent of the damage could be seen more clearly.

“Celestia..” Whooves breathed. “What happened here?” He seemed at a loss for words, just staring up at the ruined spheres. It was a long time before he moved again.

“I...I will go see if I can see anything.” Rainbow said, floating above their heads. She flew off towards one of the large cracks in the ceiling. She dropped down on the roof, and an startling clang rang out. She jumped back a few feet, but then walk forward again.

“I can’t see anything!” she shouted. “All I see are these things,” she kicked one of the ‘vines’, ”and dark.”

“Well come back down here!” Twilight said. Rainbow flew back down to them, landing in the now muzzle high plants.

“What are we going to do?” Rainbow asked Whooves. That seemed to shake him out of his trance.

“We should find the door.” he said, his voice shaking. “See if we can find a way in.”

“What do you expect to find?” Rarity asked.

“If we are lucky, ponies. If we aren’t, I am not sure.” And with that, he started to walk around the sphere, taking in each and every crack in its surface. From where they were now, they could see how large the spheres actually were. They were at least three stories tall. The one they were now circling, the one in the center, was at least four. And each and every one bore the same scorch marks and cracks as the one in the center. After a few minutes of circling, walking around the sphere twice, they found the door.

It blended in so well with the rest of the sphere, the they had missed it on their first time around. Whooves walked forward, softly running his hoof along the cool metal. As he did, a metallic whirl rose from the sphere. A panel next to the door flipped open, and lights around the outside of the door illuminated. Whooves took a few steps back, startled. Then he walked forward, looking at the panel.

“This isn’t like the ones on the ship.” he observed. And he was right. It was a dark green screen, with no hoof print glowing. But he still touched it just the same. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the screen flashed a cool blue.

“Name and Rank.” a female voice said. Whooves looked around at the others, confused.

"Umm, Doctor Whooves. And I don’t have a rank.” The screen turned black, the flashed blue again, this time, several sentences were written on the screen.

“Choose the option that fits your situation.” the voice said again. Twilight looked down the list of options. One jumped out at her.

“There! New colonists!” she almost shouted. Whooves smiled, tapping that option. The screen flickered black again, then turned back on. But this time, it was the dark green.

“Initiating Colony procedure Gamma 3.” the voice said. But this time, it was a males. And it wasn’t a computer's voice either. “Please place your right front hoof on the screen.” the voice commanded. Whooves looked sideways at Twilight, then did as he was told. He placed it against the screen, and the male voice spoke up again.

“Command transfer beginning.”

“What does he mean by that?” Whooves said. “What command? What?” A moments later, he froze in place as electricity from the screen held him there. Twilight heard a small sound from the panel, and she saw the whole screen fall away. The only thing the was left was the small amount of space that his hoof took up. She saw something move inside the open space, press itself up against the screen. A second later, a bright red light flared, aimed directly at his hoof. Fear erupted into his Whooves eyes, and he tried desperately to move, but he was frozen in place. Moments later, the red light stopped, and the screen fell back into place. The current ended, and Whooves shot back a few yards. He looked down at his hoof, breathing deeply.

The hoof was smoking. The laser, as Twilight now realized it was, had cut straight through the suit there, and cut into his hoof. She walked over and looked at the hoof. Small groves, almost like the circuits in a circuit board, had been carved into his hoof. Not deep enough to do any damage, but just right to be able to stay permanently.

“What?!” Whooves said again, looking around at them.

“Command transfer complete. All command information and records to be transferred to this colonists file. Regular initiation will now begin.” the male voice said, and the screen flicker blue once more.

“WHAT?!” Whooves said again, rushing towards the screen.

“Next colonist place your right front hoof against the screen.” the female voice said. Twilight looked at Whooves and the others. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she touched her hoof to the screen.

“State your name and the rank you would like to fill.” Twilight looked at Whooves, not sure what to say.

“If I think what I think that meant. I am now commander. So I would say....Lieutenant?” he guessed.

“Twilight Sparkle. Lieutenant” she said.

“Name and rank accepted.” the voice said. A second later, the current of electricity froze her in place, the the panel fell away into the wall. From her point of view, she could see nothing that was happening, but she knew the laser was getting ready. And she was right.

A second later, she felt the laser start up. She had never gotten a tattoo before, but she expecting this was what it was like. A pain, nowhere near the pain in her head, started in a small point, the followed invisible lines around her hoof, working from the outside in. She opened her eyes, and she could see a small amount of smoke rising from her hoof, and she began to feel sick. The sound of her hoof being cut into was almost unbearable. But, finally, it stopped, and she found she could move again.

She looked down at her hoof, blowing away smoke and a powder that was all the laser left in its trail. The grooves were almost impossible to see, but she tilted her hoof a little, and the setting sun cast them into sharp contrast. They were shaped in small, concentric circles. But every now and then, a small part of the circle jumped away, then fell back into place. It looked like the crop circles that farmers sometimes carved in their fields to have some fun with the local press. The sick feeling in her stomach calmed a little, but she still had to swallow a few times before she felt calm enough to open her mouth.

“What....Why...huh?” she stuttered, looking around. “What is this supposed to do?!”

“I think they needed added security down here, so instead of all hoofprints opening the doors, only certain ones can.” Whooves said, looking down at his own hoof. “This is one way of doing it, I suppose. You can’t cheat it.”

“Do we all have to get it?” Fluttershy asked, backing away from the door.

“If you want to get it, yes, you have to.” Whooves answered.

One by one, they stepped up to the door. They said their names and ranks. After lieutenant, they went down in order, not really caring about who got what rank. The only problem was Fluttershy, who they had to practically knock out to get to do it. But, finally, they were finished, and the door opened.

Twilight looked inside. After a few moments, the lights flickered on, bathing the room inside with a dull, white glow. Twilight gasped when she saw what condition it was in. ‘Vines’ hung from the ceiling, spreading across the floor in some spots. Stains from years of water seeping in. Several lights hung from the ceiling, their cords dangling close to the ground. occasionally, one would flicker off, then turn back on several seconds later. Twilight was at a complete loss for words.

“What...what happened here?!” Applejack said as she walked in next to Twilight.

“I don’t know...”

They were in some sort of hallway. About five feet wide and ten feet long. When Rainbow, who was last, walked in, the door shut behind them with a ‘clang’. A moment passed where nothing happened, then a small red light in the corner turned on.

“Disinfecting process initiated.” the voice said. A second later, two nozzle appeared from holes in the walls. They angled down at the ponies and sprayed them down with a clear liquid. Rarity screamed as it his her hair. Twilight felt it run through her fur. As it did, it seemed to heat up the fur, as if it was burning something. The stream reached her head, where the wound stood open to the liquid. She let out a strained whine as the spray threw disinfectant into the gash. But she felt better knowing she was receiving some sort of medical attention. The jets of liquid stopped, and the nozzles retreated. They stood, dripping, in the hallway. But as the seconds ticked by, Twilight could feel her fur dry. Within thirty seconds, she was completely dry, and a little fluffy.

“Well, that was completely unnecessary!” Rarity said, indignantly. She opened her pack and floated a brush over to her mane and tail, brushing it back into place. Twilight rolled her eyes, just as a door on the far end of the hall opened. She walked in, the others on her heels.

This room looked just like the last one. The only difference were splashes of sunlight on the floor, illuminating the immediate area. Looking around, twilight saw rows of computer monitors and controls lining the walls. A thick coating of dust covered everything, and it puffed up in small plumes as they walked. The computers seemed to be fine despite the damage done to the rest of the dome. One particular screen was glowing, the same insignia as on the ship flashing in the screen.

“Do you think we should?” Twilight asked Whooves, pointing at the screen. He nodded, walking over to it. Twilight and the others followed, crowding around the screen.

Whooves pressed the button, and the screen flashed black for a few second. Then, scrolling across the screen, were dark green letters and numbers. They watched as the letters slowly formed words.

Play: File_015../.Colonization_Procedure 001/..

The letters flashed away, only to be replaced with a small white dot. The dot exploded, filling the whole screen with a white light. That too faded, leaving behind what looked like a room. Twilight could see a bed in the background, along with a door. It looked similar to the ones on the ship. Slight movement, and a pony came into view. He sat down in front of the screen, staring at it for a few moments.

He was an ashen-grey pegasus. His light blue eyes were staring straight at the camera, almost as if he could see them standing there. His flaming orange and yellow hair was standing out at all angles, with a pony tail hanging down in the back. he wore a military type uniform, with many medals and stars glowing in the white light. Even though he seemed commanding and intelligent, he looked tired and sick. Large bags were under his eyes, and his feathers were drooping. He cleared his throat, then turned back to the camera.

“My name, is Commander Moonfire.” he said his voice low and gravelly. Twilight realized it was the same voice that they had heard earlier. “I am the leader of the colony on Nova Equine. And if you are hearing this, then the colony has been destroyed.”

An audible gasp rose from the group. And the sound of a deflating balloon met their ears as Pinkie’s hair fell flat against her scalp.

“We have survived so much. Five years, and we have created the perfect colony. Permanent energy source. Stable food and water supply. Healthy population...That is, until two weeks ago. We don’t know why, and we don’t know exactly when, but the colonists have been getting sick. Deathly sick. Only about a sixteenth of our original numbers are left, and even those are dropping. By the end of this week, I don’t know how many will be left...” His voice trailed off, and he looked at something to the left of the screen. He pulled it down, and twilight saw that it was a photograph.

“My wife and kids. They may already be dead, back on Equestria, but I still miss them. I would have rather been there, than stuck on this rock. At least I had a choice back there.” he looked back up at the camera, his eyes foggy. “But I have made that choice for you. If you are hearing this, then you have figured out a way to get off your ship. Yes, I know you are there. You arrived ten years ahead of schedule, which is probably a good thing. I stopped the reanimation cycle. I kept you frozen. I know, eventually, you will awaken. But that will be a long time from now. The scientists don’t know what has started this disease, but they hope that it will be over when you arrive. And, hopefully, you will be able to pick up where we left off, and start this colony right again.

“There are just a few things you should know. Geology. Very unstable geology in the mountains. Stay away from areas with loose rocks, or unusually moist dirt. They could cause sinkholes or avalanches. We lost too many good ponies that way. Next, are the storms. Every seven months or so, there are several electrical storms. It is suicidal to go outside at those times. The domes should protect you, but if they have been breached, they need to be repaired as soon as possible.

“Other than those, I think that is--” He was interrupted by a severe coughing fit. It lasted for a few minutes, and the whole time, Twilight was looking away and covering her ears. When it stopped, Moonfire pulled his hoof away from his mouth, both now stained red. He took a couple deep breaths before continuing.

“I think that is all you need to know. Whoever you are, one of you is now commander. I speak directly to you.” Whooves walked forward, almost as if Moonfire was in the room with them. “Take care of them. They are the most valuable commodity in the entire galaxy right now. Protect them care for them, and cherish them. Do everything for them that I was unable to. Quarters are outside and in the dome to the right. Commander’s quarters are on the top floor. You will find this uniform there.” he said, picking at the green-grey tunic he wore.

“‘Our Future is Among the Stars.’ That is what they told us to get us to join this mission. The opportunity to start anew. To right the wrongs we have committed over our time back home. It just seems like empty words now. My future wasn’t out here, light-years from home, where I can’t even see my own star anymore. No, my future wasn’t out here. My death was.

“Good luck, good travels, and goodbye. I wish you all the luck I have left in me. Get this colony on the right track again. Show that we are more adaptable than they thought. Just live. That is all I can say. One day, we will meet again. And I will be standing there, ready to shake your hoof. Goodbye. Goodbye, for now.”

With one last sad look at the camera, he reached to the right, and he flashed away, leaving them with only silence, and their fearful expressions reflected back at them in the black screen.

Chapter 3

She lay on the cold metal floor, tears streaming down her face. Deep sobs echoed around the metal walls and flared back at her, only adding to her misery. The tears fell down her muzzle, landing in the small but growing puddle next to her cheek. Her violet eyes were closed tight against the truth, the truth that they were there, and nothing else was. She curled her legs up to her chest and buried her face in her tail. She didn’t want to see the world. She didn’t want to know.

She couldn’t remember how she got there. All she could remember was Moonfire talking, and raw panic rising within her. But she didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore. Everything they had done, everything they had suffered for. Worthless. Cast away like bits of trash. She curled tighter into the ball as her sobs grew, and her tears continued. Why was this happening to them? What had they ever done wrong to deserve this? It just wasn’t right! This shouldn’t be happening. She was screaming those words inside her.

Much later, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but she heard hoof steps. She didn’t care, she just tried to block them out. They came closer, and she knew whose they were. Whooves’. Carefully placed, but soft, hoof falls. Like he planned every step. He came closer, sitting down next to her. He didn’t say anything. He just gently stroked her mane as she cried. A long while later, she didn’t know how long, her tears ended, but the pain remained. She uncurled herself from the ball, her tail and cheek now thoroughly wet from her tears. She looked up through foggy eyes at Whooves.

He was still stroking her mane, looking at her with a mixture of pity and understanding. Her helped her to lean against the cold metal, settling down next to her. Their shoulders touched as they sat, both looking straight ahead. It was a while before either of them spoke.

“The others are worried about you.” he said softly, afraid to startle her, like a rare bird. “They were afraid you would try to...”

“Kill myself.” she finished, her voice barely audible. Whooves nodded, still not looking at her. “What if I had? It wouldn’t matter.” she said, eyes fogging over again. “We are all dead anyway, we just have to wait for it.”

“Don’t say that.” Whooves said, turning to look at her. “We just have to--”

“Whooves!” She said, grabbing his hoof. “Look around. This isn’t like last time. There is no ship to protect us. We are all alone, and we are going to die!” She fell back against the metal wall, tears falling once more. Whooves just watched her, then turned back to the other wall. Moments passed like hours, with neither saying anything.

“What would have happened if you gave up this easily last time?” he asked softly. She sniffed, wiping the tears away.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice thick.

“If you had given up last time, we would still be on the ship. Derpy and I would probably be dead, and you would still be stuck up there. But you didn’t give up. You got us down here. You helped us survive.”

“To a planet with no ponies, and a destroyed base? I didn’t help at all. We should have just lived up there. At least we had food and water.” She looked away from him, lower lip trembling. “And it wasn’t just me. I just picked up where Cora left off. And you did some too. You would have gotten off without me.” Whooves shook his head, standing up and walking away. But before he got to the door, he paused. He turned and walked back over to her. He knelt down in front of her and helped her to her haunches. He looked into her lilac eyes.

“We are going to get out of this. Do you know how I do?” She shook her head, a single tear falling. Whooves smiled, brushing the tear away. Then he leaned in and gently placed his lips against hers. Her eyes flashed open, panicking for a second, her brain short circuiting. But then she relaxed, eyes closing. Her lips were soft against his, and Whooves could taste her tears on her lips, but he didn’t care. She wrapped her fore-legs around his neck, pulling him closer. After what seemed like an eternity, too short a time for her, he broke away. She stared up into his eyes, which were kind and warm.

“We are going to get out, because I trust you.” He held out his hoof to her. She looked at it, the looked around at the ship. One meant a fight for survival. The other meant safety, at least for a while. She looked back at him, knowing the right choice.

*****

The door to the center dome opened. The others stood there, waiting to see who walked in. Scared as they were, they didn’t need something like this to happen. After a brief pause, Whooves walked in. Alone. Their hope crumbled, and they turned away. He cleared his throat.

“She is outside. I am going to take her to find some quarters. I don’t want any of you disturbing her.” Their faces lit up, galloping over to Whooves.

“Is she alright?” Fluttershy asked.

“She is severely depressed. So please giver her some time. And Rainbow, don’t do anything to try to cheer her up.” he said, expression dead serious. Rainbow nodded, not even smiling. “After I get her settled, we can find you all rooms. Just stay here for a while.” He turned and walked back outside, leaving the others alone.

Twilight was leaning against the dome, looking up at the sky. “I thought the sun was setting hours ago.” she said, looking up at the sky. Two suns were still sitting there, although one was slightly larger and stained red. Even though both were higher in the sky, the landscape was tinted as if it was a sunset.

“Triple sun system.” Whooves said, taking her hoof and leading her to to dorms. “We have to have three sunsets.”

“So how long are the days here?” she asked, feeling dead tired already.

“I don’t know.” he said, shaking his head. “But I guess that would be in the command files.” They had reached the dome with the bedrooms. He slid his hoof over the screen, and the door opened. Lights flickered on, illuminating the inside. It was in no better shape than the other dome. Inside, the long hallway branched off into different doorways. At the very end, a single door stood, numbers along the top.

“We should probably go down a couple floors.” he said, leading her to the elevator. She didn’t even try to protest. He pressed the button, and the door opened automatically. The metal grinding noise that had been ever present on the ship, was absent here. He walked inside, followed by Twilight. He pressed a button for three floors down, and the doors shut. The elevator dropped automatically, just like back on the ship. His stomach rose, then fell as they reached the floor. The doors opened, and he breathed a sigh of relief. This floor was untouched. Pristine white walls glowed under the lights.

They walked out into the hall, and Whooves picked the closest room to the elevator. He reached down and took Twilight’s right front hoof. He placed it against the screen. After a small blue flash, the door beeped and opened. Whooves stepping inside first, not sure what to find.

The room looked like nopony had ever lived in it. The bed was perfectly made, and the desk was pristine and untouched. It was similar to the ones on the ship, with one main room, and a small bathroom off to the side. He led Twilight inside. “I guess this will be your room.” he said, not sure what else to do. He was about to leave, when Twilight turned around. She walked forward and embraced him, burying her head in his mane.

“Thank you.” she whispered in his ear. She broke away and sat down on the bed.

“There isn’t any reason to thank me.” he said. “It was something I had to do.” He turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.

“Whooves? About before, on the ship..” He turned to face her, startled to see her blushing. “What..what did it mean?” Whooves had been expecting this, so he just smiled and stroked her mane again.

“If we survive this, I will tell you.” Then he turned and left the room, leaving Twilight confused and unsure.

*****

Whooves walked back into the central dome, finding the others in just about the same positions as before.

“How is she?” Applejack asked when he walked in.

“She just needs some time to get things straight.” Whooves answered. He picked up a dust covered chair a placed it correctly, sitting down in it. “I put her in the B3 floor. So I want you guys to take the B2 floor for the time being. Just until she is well again.”

“Do you think it’s safe...to leave her alone?” Rarity asked.

“I trust that she will take care of herself.” Whooves answered. “However. I will see to her from time to time. Anyway, you should all probably go pick a room. The final sunset will be soon, and we don’t know what night is like here.” The others nodded, filing out the door. But Whooves stayed in the chair. He had his own emotions to work out.

*****

It had been a couple hours since Whooves left, but she could not find sleep. Aggravated, Twilight hit her pillow to try to make it more comfortable, even though it was already perfect. When another ten minutes produced the same result, she just got up.

She had heard movement of the floor above. The others had gone to sleep long ago, while she was stuck awake, in a place she really didn’t want to be. She began to look over her room. Very similar to the rooms on the ship. A desk in one corner, bed in another, and a bathroom branching off. But she remembered there was another feature that the rooms had. On a blank wall, you could slide your hoof, and a window would open. There was a blank wall here as well. Even in her depressed state, her natural curiosity won out. She walked over and touched the wall. A small screen flipped out of the wall. She placed her hoof on the screen, and a green line ran up and down the hoof, reading the grooves. A sharp beep rang out after the light had faded.

“First officer initializing.” the female voice said. “View previous profile or create a new profile?” The two options popped up on the screen.

“Previous profile?” Twilight said to herself. Looking over her shoulder, she tapped the “Previous profile” option. The screen flipped back into the wall. Twilight stepped back, not sure what to expect. A moment later, a larger screen broke out of the wall, followed by a small chair rising from the floor. The screen glowed blue as it settled into place, with icons lining the right side of the screen. Twilight had never seen anything like this. She walked forward and sat down in the chair. She looked over the icons slowly. She only recognized two of the objects. One was the nuclear hazard symbol, glowing yellow and black, and was one a piece of paper. That icon had a blinking “+1” appearing next to it every couple seconds. Looking over her shoulder again, she tapped the icon. A small message appeared in green letters on the screen.

“View last journal?” followed by “Yes or No”. She tapped the yes button. The screen flashed black for a moment, then came back as white. Words were written on the white page. Twilight, spurred on by this discovery, read them over.

Lead Science officers journal. Four years, six months, and seven days since landing.

The colony has collapsed. Our numbers are decimated, and they are falling still. We can’t even repopulate now, as we lost our last mare yesterday. There are four of us now. Moonfire, me, and two more stallions. The best we could do for this colony was stop the arrival of more ponies. Moonfire did that by halting the reanimation process on the new E.S.S.S ship that arrived this morning. There would be no reason to bring them down. They would die just as we did.

I didn’t sign up for this. I signed up for the creation of a new world. A place where we could restart. I guess the irony is, we are restarting once again. The planet is starting over, deleting us from the surface. I can’t believe everything we have done is going to waste! It just doesn’t seem real. I keep wishing for my eyes to open, and this be some dream caused by a bad carrot or something. But they won’t, and I am stuck here on this dying planet.

I have had an idea. A crazy, but possibly genius idea. I will let you know in a later edit what my decision will be, but until then, this will be it. LG, signing off.

At the very bottom of the page, separated by a large white space, was a few small sentences.

EDIT: Moonfire is dead. Plan is going into full effect. If you don’t hear from me again, it is because either the plan worked, or I am dead. For the last time, LG signing off.

Twilight stared at the words on the screen. She couldn’t process what she has just read. Something within her was feeling sorry for that pony, and all the others who had been there, and another part was yelling. But not at them. At her. She had been feeling so sorry for herself. These ponies were watching each other die, and she was with her best friends, alive, with a chance to rebuild. She felt disgusted. She got up and slid her hoof on the wall. The screen fell back into place, as did the chair. she walked over and opened the door, starting to walk up the hall.

She needed time to think.

*****

Whooves entered the elevator, punching the button for the highest floor. He didn’t know what he expected to find there, but he hoped it would help him in some way. The numbers faded black as he rose, and eventually, the elevator stopped. The doors opened onto a small hallway. A single look, and he could tell something was off.

The walls were intact and perfect. No plants grew in from the ceiling, and no lights were dead, or flashing weakly. He slowly stepped out, afraid a single step would cause the whole thing to collapse. But nothing happened, so he continued his walk. At the end of the hall was a single door, marked with the same insignia that was on the ship, and was on the first screen they had seen. The geometric bird of prey. He walked over to the door, running his hoof over the frame. A screen flipped over, its surface covered with dust. He wiped the dust away, causing a waterfall of brown and grey to fall onto the floor. He placed his hoof against the screen. The lasers read the grooves, and the door opened.

Inside, it was pitch black. He placed a single hoof in, and the lights blinked on. He flinched as they did, closing his eyes to block out the glare. But when he could see again, he stepped inside. This was a slightly more luxurious version on the other rooms. A double wide bed sat in the center, with a large desk off to one side. The bathroom was slightly larger. But others than the size, it was exactly the same. But what struck him most, was the perfectness of it all. It looked like it had been built yesterday. Taken from a time one hundred years ago, and placed in front of him now. He slowly spun on the spot, trying to take it all in.

True to his word, Moonfire’s uniform was sitting, neatly folded, on the bedspread. Whooves walked towards it, not wanting to assume this duty. He unfolded it, watching the silken material unfold perfectly with no creases, despite being folded for almost a century. The metals clinked loudly, breaking the unworldly silence. A nameplate stood out at the top of the metals. ‘Moonfire’ it said. Whooves was hit with a sudden guilt. Slowly, almost caringly, he pulled the nameplate off. He placed it on the desk, next to a few papers and a pen. It felt so wrong to be taking this position, but he had to do it. He slid the uniform over his head, poking his front legs through holes. When he was finished, he walked to the nearest wall, and looked at his reflection. It was the first time he had seen it in a long time.

He looked insane. That was his first though. His mane and tail were long and unkempt. His eyes were wide, with large bags under them. His eyes themselves carry traces of all the things he had felt over the past days. Fear, pain, anguish, hopelessness. It was all reflected back at him. He closed his eyes, turning away from the pony in the reflection. He sat down on the bed, burying his head in his hooves. He was supposed to be the leader. But he didn’t know what to do. he didn’t have the slightest idea how this base works. “Worked” he said out loud. He didn’t know how to repair it. Nothing. He flopped down in the bed, looking up at the ceiling. He just felt so tired. But closing his eyes offered no solution. His mind was racing, not allowing any sleep. So, after thirty minutes of trying, he sat up, letting out an exhausted sigh. He stood up and trudged around the room for a while. The metals on his uniform clinked every time he stepped. Finally, he decided he would take a walk. He opened the door, and stepped out into the hallway.

*****

The dome was hot on her back, but she didn’t feel like moving. She looked up at the setting sun, the final one. The sky beyond had turned a deep indigo, while the sky next to the sun had turned to a combination of rich yellow and deep orange. The space in the middle, a vivid purple, matched her eyes perfectly. At the farthest edge of the indigo sky, small white specks had begun to grow. She watched them stars slowly come to like, invading a sky that had once been so plain. The dome cooled as the sun set. Her shadow cascaded off the side, falling to the ground in a single stream of black. But soon, even that faded, and she was left alone in the cooling night air. Or so she thought.

The sound of hooves touching metal caused her to jump. Turning around, he saw Whooves walking towards her, slipping slightly on the smooth metal. When he reached her, he sat down, watching the last of the orange disappear from the horizon, and smiling at the confused expression on her face.

“How..how did you get up here?” she asked.

“You could say I traveled on a pair of blue wings.” Whooves said, smiling. “I could asked the same thing, but I already know the answer.” he said, tapping her horn. She nodded, looking back at the horizon.

“You told them to leave me alone.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. Whooves nodded.

“I did. I thought it would be best to give you a little space for a while.” Whooves said, looking back at her. “I may not be a psychologist, but I am still worried about you.”

“Well, you don’t have to be. I have figured we have it better than they did. We are alive, and we have friends. While they were dying, and they didn’t know why. There wasn’t a reason to act as I did.”

Whooves licked his lips. He didn’t have anything to say to that. He just laid down on the metal and looked up at the sky. Twilight did the same, but she put a little distance between them.

The stars slowly came to life, filling the sky with life. The formed swirls and clouds and rivers. They flowed through the sky, a river of light in a dark forest. As they burst to life, a pattern was emerging. A pattern they had never been able to see back on Equestria. The Milky Way shown out at them, a beautiful lake of gold and green and red and blue light. Clouds of dust and stars surfed through it, all surrounding its glowing center. Twilight smiled, the galaxy reflected in her eyes.

“Where’s home?” she asked. Whooves turned to look at her. “Where’s Equestria?” Whooves looked back at the stars. His trained eyes traced lined between the stars he knew, and the ones he didn’t. After a few moments, he found it.

“That little yellow spec.” he said, pointing up. “Just above that duct cloud. That’s home.”

“It’s beautiful.” Twilight breathed. “How far away are we?”

“We are Orbiting around Alpha Centauri B so..... About Four and a half light years from home. And that took four hundred years....”

“What do you think Equestria is like now?” Twilight asked. She was afraid to ask it.

Whooves just shrugged. “Maybe the dragons and griffins had a revolt and ponies are now slaves. Maybe they found a way to reverse the pollution they were doing to the planet. Maybe a war. We will never know.”

“Don’t you care?” Twilight asked.

“Of course I care!” Whooves said, sitting up. “It’s just...there is nothing we can do about them now. We have to forget them. Everyone we knew....even their great grandfoals are dead. There wouldn’t be an Equestria to go back to even if we could return.”

Twilight bit her lip, not sure what to make of this statement. She just settled for silence, sitting back and watching the stars overhead.

“You should probably go inside soon.” Whooves said. “We don’t know how cold it gets here at night.” Twilight looked at him, then closed her eyes. Her horn glowed, and a sphere of energy surrounded them. Instantly, Whooves felt like he was back in a warm spring day on Equestria. He looked down at Twilight, who was smirking at him.

“Don’t worry. I am a big unicorn, I can take care of myself.” Whooves nodded, rubbing his eyes.

“Well, just be safe. I will see you tomorrow.” And with that, he walked outside the sphere. The cold hit him like a rock, but he kept moving. He waved, and Rainbow flew over and plucking him from the dome. She set him on the ground, then flew back to the dorms. Whooves took one last look up at Twilight, her magic sphere causing her siloghete to become distorted, then turned and walked back to the dorms.

*****

Whooves woke up the next morning feeling more tired than when he had gone to bed. He sat up, groaning. Looking around, he remembered where he was, and let out another groan. He stood up, stretching his legs. He put on his uniform, and opened the door. The hallway was just as it had been, and he slowly trudged towards the elevator. When he reached the ground floor he remembered. Food. They only had a limited amount of the bars from the ship. The top priority would be to get the garden working again. He walked back to the central dome, where they had left their bags. He pulled a bar out and unwrapped the wrapping. He sat down in one of the chairs, waiting for the others to wake up. It was still early, and the sun had barely risen.

Slowly, one by one in varying moods, the others walked in. He handed them a bar as they did, and they chewed in silence. Finally, only one pony was missing.

“Where’s Twi?” Applejack asked. Whooves jumped up, looking around.

“Did any of you see her last night?” he asked. The shook their heads.

“Alright. I think I know where she is. Just stay here.” He galloped out the door. A sun had risen, but from which direction he couldn’t tell. He ran over to the dorms, taking the elevator down to Twilight’s room. He door was shut, and he pressed his hoof against the screen.

“Commander override.” the voice said, then the doors opened. He ran inside, letting out a sigh of relief.

Twilight was sitting at the computer, turned around, staring at him like he had grown a second head. “What is the matter with you?” she asked. He took a couple steps back, blushing.

“I was...I just...sorry.” he finally managed. “I wanted to see if you were OK.”

“I am perfectly alright, as you can see.” she said, turning back to the screen. Whooves walked towards her, looking over her shoulder at the screen. She was reading some sort of document.

“What is that?” Whooves asked.

“It’s the journal from the previous occupant of this room. He was the lead science officer, and from what i can see in his journals, a genius.” She closed the document, only to bring up another. “He is talking about all these experiments he ran to try to understand the geology, the atmosphere, and the genetics of the life here. Pretty amazing stuff.”

“Anything about the disease?” Whooves asked, looking over the document.

“Not as much as you would think.” Twilight answered. “Only a couple notes on ponies dying, and a nickname for the disease. They called it the “3 Day Flu”, because you were infected, and-”

“You died in three days.” Whooves finished. Twilight nodded, pulling up another document. “This is his last journal. Read the last paragraph. Whooves read it over, his lips slightly moving as his eyes scanned the page.

“What plan? What happened to him?”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know. He never made any mention of any plan, or any way to save the ponies. This plan just popped out of nowhere.” She stayed silent for a moment. “Do you think he survived?”

“Even if he had, he would have been probably 120 years old by now. Probably more. There is no way he could have lived that long.” Twilight nodded, shutting down the computer. “Come on, you need to eat something.” He led her towards the door.

“Are we going to explore the base today?” she asked. “I was hoping we might find more information.”

“Yeah, I was planning on that.” Whooves replied.

*****

The split up into groups of two. There were four domes left, so it was equal for them all. Twilight and Whooves chose the dome farthest from the central dome. The smallest one. Whooves pressed his hoof against the panel, and the door opened. But another door awaited them a few feet in. Both a bio-hazard and a nuclear symbol were emblazoned on the doors. Another panel, this one with two hoofprints, was inlaid into the wall. Twilight pressed her hood against it with Whooves, and after a small hiss, the doors opened.

A laboratory rested inside. Rows of computers and other machines covered the walls. Tables and chairs with glass test tubes and vials stood in the middle. Stairs, not an elevator, rested at the back of the dome. Lights above them glowed weakly, and a few hung on wires, but the inside looked to be mostly intact.

“Do you feel that?” Whooves asked, pressing a hoof solidly against the ground. Twilight did the same, and she could feel it. A rumble, deep and hoarse, was rising from under them. The floor was also warm, despite being inside and in the cool air.

“What is that?” Twilight asked, backing away a few steps. “That’s not a volcano, is it?”

“No, no no.’ Whooves said, smiling. “That, would be the nuclear reactor. They must have placed it here, to keep it away from the rest of the base. Farthest point from the center.”

“I am surprised it hasn’t gone critical yet.” Twilight said, gingerly walking around the dome.

“Well, as long as the energy is flowing, so are the control systems. I just hope it hasn’t sprung a leak.”

“So the garden wouldn’t be here then?”

“No. But, some part of the disease might be contained here. I don’t think we should touch anything until we know exactly what everything is.”

“Good idea.” Twilight said, stepping away from the machines. They continued to look at each of the floors. Every floor was the same. Computers and machines, glass and plastic and metal. Everything was how the ponies had left it a hundred years ago. They had finished the last floor, and were about to head up, when a burst of static caught Twilight off-guard.

“Twilight?! Twilight are you there?!” Fluttershy’s panicked voice came through the communicator.

“Yes, I am here. What’s wrong?”

“Come to the medical dome. Bottom floor. Come as fast as possible!”

“Fluttershy, what is it?!” But she had already cut off. “We have to go.” Twilight said to Whooves.

“Can’t you teleport us there?” he asked.

“I was planning on it.” She closed her eyes, and a nimbus of deep maroon enveloped them. The feeling of weightlessness flowed through Whooves’ body. Then, the world went black. A second later, the world flashed back, but they were in a different spot. They were standing outside another dome. But this one had a bright green cross above the door. Whooves slammed his hoof against the screen, rushing in as soon as the door was wide enough. They galloped down the stairs, three at a time. Finally, they reached the bottom floor.

A single door stood ajar. Fluttershy and Rarity stood outside of it, looks of confusion and worry on their faces.

“What...is..it?” Twilight asked, out of breath. Fluttershy opened the door farther, showing them inside. A small room, with a single metal table and a counter lay beyond. Above the table, almost flush with the headrest, was a hatch. It looked like it had been directly cut out of their ship and pasted in the room. Along the top, a row of three lights were flashing. Red, then yellow and green, then all at once. The pattern kept repeating over and over again.

“Is that.....” Twilight asked, not finishing her question. Whooves was already nodded, walking forward. He placed a single hoof against the metal. When he pulled it away, a print was left in the thin layer of ice that covered the hatch. Looking back at Twilight, he nodded again. He placed both hooves on the hatch, and pulled. The sound of ice breaking filled the small room, and a second later, the hatch swung free on its hinges. A blast of cold air and water vapor erupted from the hatch, along with a small warning siren. When it had cleared, Twilight rushed forward, almost pushing Whooves out of the way. She grasped the tray inside the hatch, and pulled.

Metal scraped against ice and the tray was pulled free. It landed with a loud bang on the table, and Twilight skittered back a few steps as it did. But she walked forward again, staring down at the object. Whooves walked forward and looked over her shoulder, amazed.

A pony, completely encased in a suit, and frozen solid, rested on the tray.

Chapter 4

Steam and water vapor flowed over the metal floor like waves on an ocean. It curled around their hooves, licking at their suits, leaving behind some of itself with every movement. Stunned, the four ponies stood completely still, staring down at the pony. A soft warning alarm was ringing, but none of them hear it. All their attention was on the pony who had just dropped into their world.

Slowly, almost as if he was worried it was fake, Whooves reached out. He laid a hoof on the pony’s chest, which was covered in a suit, just like theirs. Wires were running from ports on the suit, just under the neck, to the inside of the chamber on the wall. He slowly moved his hoof over the place when his heart was. A worried expression grew over his face. He turned back to Fluttershy and Rarity, who were watching with concern. He took a deep, slow breath, then opened his eyes and looked at them.

“I need you to go up top and gather the others.” he said. “Tell them to come to the central dome, and wait for us. We will be there soon.”

“But...what about-?” Rarity started to ask.

“Just do it!” Whooves snapped, causing Fluttershy to whimper. But they both nodded, turning and galloping up the stairs. Whooves turned back to the pony on the table. The worried expression had reported. After a couple seconds, he looked up at Twilight. “Can you help me lift him up?” he asked. Twilight nodded. She slid her hooves under the ponies body, while Whooves did the same. Together, they lifted the frozen pony off of the gurney. Slowly, Whooves took one hoof away, shifting the weight to the other. He reached towards the pony’s head, feeling around for something. He smiled when he found it. The metal zipper that was on the back of all of their suits. Biting his bottom lip, he pulled at it. A few moments later, they heard what sounded like glass breaking, and the zipper came free. He pulled it back until it was equal with the pony’s pelvis. Nodding at Twilight, they lowered the pony back onto the gurney.

“What was that for?” Twilight asked, watching as Whooves began pulling the suit away from the pony. Dark blue fur started to appear, as well as a light blue mane. White tints on his muzzle and hooves shown dramatically against the blue. Wings showed themselves. Finally, the suit was pulled off his upper body, laying over his legs.

“Something wasn’t right.” Whooves said, looking down at the pony. “I couldn’t hear through the suit.”

“Hear what?” Twilight asked, annoyed at not having straight answers.

“The heartbeat.” Whooves said, leaning down over the pony. He pressed his ear over the pony’s chest again, the worried expression back. He closed his eyes, listening intently. Twilight watched him for what felt like a minute. She was fearing what Whooves must have been fearing. The pony was dead.

Suddenly, Whooves eyes flashed open, and a smile appeared on his face. Standing up, he waved Twilight over. She gently laid her ear across the pony’s heart, closing her eyes as did Whooves. She strained against the other sounds in the room. The soft alarm, the sound of the air conditioning, her own breathing. Canceling out these sounds, as she had learned to do while trying to read with one of Pinkies parties going on, she just listened for that one sound she wanted. Seconds ticked by with nothing happening. She was about to tell Whooves he might have heard something, when...

….............................................Thump...............................................................Thump.....................

She backed away, running into Whooves as she did. “He’s alive!” she almost shouted, jumping up and down in one spot. Whooves nodded, walking back over to the pony.

“Yes he is. We might actually have a chance now.” he said quietly. Twilight walked over, standing on the opposite side as Whooves.

“What do we have to do now.” she asked.

“Well, we have three options. One: Spare him, and leave him frozen until we get this sorted out. Two: We can unfreeze him, and maybe he can help us. Or Three: We cut off the life support.” Twilight gaped at him.

“Why would we do that!?”

“Come on, Twilight! We both know us getting everything fixed before we either starve, or just plain old die, is a slim chance. What if this pony was just a civilian. A pony who wouldn’t understand anything about the workings of the colony! He would be better off dead.”

Twilight looked down at the stallion. Wisps of steam were rising from his fur. She said something so quietly, that Whooves couldn’t hear it.

“What was that?” he asked, moving closer.

“He isn’t a civilian.” Twilight said, louder this time. “If I am right, then this is LG.”

“The pony from the journals?” Whooves asked. “You think this was his plan!?” Twilight looked up, a familiar yet old fire in her eyes. She knew she was right, and once again, ponies aren't believing her.

“If you were stuck on a dying planet, would this not be your plan as well? To save yourself? It’s LG. I am positive.” She looked over the three buttons above the chamber on the wall. “We are getting him out. And we are getting him out right now.” Whooves nodded, still looking skeptical. “So what do we need to do?”

“Well, we need to get the suit back on him.” Whooves said. “Then....I am not really sure.” Twilight nodded, helping Whooves put the suit back in. Already, the suit and fur were feeling warm. That had to get him back in soon, or face the same type of wake up that they had.

With a grunt, they lifted the gurney and the stallion into the chamber. They shut the door, and instantly, the alarm shut off. Whooves sighed, taking a step back.

“So what now?”

“I think it has something to do with those buttons.” Whooves said, pointing to the buttons above the chamber. They were blinking in order. Red, then yellow and green, then all at once. Whooves walked forward, raising his front two hooves. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at Twilight. She rolled her eyes, nodding vigorously. Whooves turned back, touching the three buttons in the order that they lit up. Red, then green and yellow at the same time. Then, when they went dark, he slid his hoof across the entire display, hitting them all at the same time. He jumped back, unsure of what was going to happen.

The alarm came back on, this time, louder. The three lights were flashing on and off, completely in time with the alarm. Twilight took a couple steps toward the chamber, her hoof out. She placed it on the metal, but jumped back when she felt that it was scalding. Suddenly, she was afraid that they had just killed the pony. But then the alarm shut off, and the lights stopped flashing.

Stunned, she walked forward again, gingerly placing the hoof on the door again. Strangely, it was cool to the touch. She wrapped her hooves around the handle and pulled. A blast of steam slammed into her, and she fell back coughing. Whooves rushed forward and helped her up again. She looked inside, seeing the same sight she had the first time they opened the door. The stallion sitting in the chamber, completely dead to the world. She pulled the gurney out, happy to find that it was much lighter this time. As fast as possible, she unzipped the suit, pulling it halfway off again. She laid her ear against his chest, listening. The heartbeat should have been much faster now, more than once a minute. But nothing. No sound at all.

She fell back against the wall, eyes fogging over. Whooves walked forward and embraced her, and she clutched at him like a lifeboat.

“I really thought it would work.” she said, her voice thick. Whooves nodded against her shoulder.

“I did as well.” he said. “I guess now we have to-” he was cut off by a small sound. A sound that Twilight would always remember, until the day she died. She looked, just in time to see the stallions chest fall as he exhaled. She broke apart from Whooves and rushed over to the table. Whooves stood on the other side of the table.

The pony breathed in, his chest rising slowly. After a few breathes, his eyes fluttered open. Twilight gasped as she saw that all of them, even the pupil, was a brilliant white. He blinked several times, looking up at her. She smiled slightly, reaching down to push his mane away from his face. “It’s alright.” she said quietly. “You’re safe now.” The stallion blinked one more them, then his eyes widened in panic. His fore-leg flashed out, grabbing Twilight’s leg. He pulled himself up, jumping off the table. As he did, his legs collapsed underneath him, and he went sprawling on the floor. He pulled himself back up, flapping his wings slightly to get himself aloft. rushing over to one of the corners of the room. He stood there, breathing heavily, watching them both. Slowly, the panic left his eyes, and his breathing slowed to almost normal.

Twilight’s heart was racing. The pony had scared her half to death, but it looked like they had scared him worse. Can he see? she wondered, looking over his pure white eyes. As a test, she waved her hoof at him. The white eyes tracked it perfectly. The pony opened his mouth a few times, but no sound came out. After swallowing a couple times, he tried again.

“What year is it?” he asked, his voice hoarse and raspy.

“I don’t know” Twilight said. “But--”

“What year is it!” the pony yelled, his voice breaking on almost every word. Twilight looked up at Whooves, who quickly, did the math.

“It’s 1420 A.L.” he said. “Give or take a decade.” The stallion looked shocked. His legs gave out, and he knelt on the floor.

“A hundred years...” he said. “I can’t believe it.” He looked up at them, taking in each and everyone of their features. “What...what is up there...” he asked. Twilight and Whooves exchanged glances. That one looked was all the stallion needed.

“It’s that bad?” They nodded. The stallion shook his head. “All of our work..gone..” He stood up, pulling his suit over his shoulders, pulling the zipper up as best as he could. “Thank you for finding me.” he said, walking towards them. He held out his hoof, and they took it one at a time. “I am..was..the lead science officer here.”

“LG..” Twilight said under her breath. The stallion looked over at her.

“I see you found my journal.” he said. “Yes, my name is Lunar Glow.” The two introduced themselves, and Lunar raised his eyebrows when Whooves said his.

“I think I remember you. Didn’t you lead the group that was studying time and relativity?” Whooves nodded.

“Yes, that was me.” he said, nodding. “And this is-”

“Twilight Sparkle. One of the Elements of Harmony.” he said, bowing his head slightly. “It’s more than a pleasure to meet you. Can I assume the others here as well?” Twilight nodded, brushing her mane back slightly. Lunar’s eyes instantly saw that healing gash on her temple.

“What happened?” he asked, his hoof barely touching it.

“Oh, a little trouble with re-entry.” she replied.

“I think I have a cream or something down here for that....” he looked around the room, as if remembering it from a long time ago. “How many of you are there?”

“Including you, there are nine of us awake.” Whooves said. “Almost five hundred are still asleep.”

Have any of you....died recently?” Lunar asked, eyes wide. Twilight and Whooves exchanged curious glances.

“No, we are all still alive.” Twilight said. “Whatever the virus was seems to have died off.”

“Oh, good. You saw Moonfire’s message.” Lunar said, sighing. “Yes we were the last to go. I, for some reason, hadn’t caught it yet. But Moonfire and the others weren’t as lucky. Moonfire caught it a day before that message was made, and you saw how fast the disease ravaged his body. When he died, any order we had collapsed. The other ponies left the colony, thinking they might be able to find a cure on the planet somewhere. I knew better, I knew there was only one way to save myself.”

“You froze yourself.” Whooves said. “And in doing so, killed any of the virus that was in or on your body.” Lunar nodded.

“Exactly. And it appears that the virus....How long have you been here?” he asked.

“About a day.” Twilight said.

“I would hate to be wrong about this, but I think the virus has died off.” Lunar said, looking them over. “You would know if you had it by now.”

“We should probably tell the others what is going on.” Twilight said, pointing at the stairs. “They are probably worried.”

“We should. Lunar, would you like to come with us, see the rest of the colony?” Whooves asked. Lunar chuckled slightly.

“I don’t want to. But I guess I have to.” he said, gingerly taking a step forward. He seemed able to walk, but he was limping slightly. After a few steps, he fell into a rhythm with his limp, and he started to walk faster. He slowly walked up the stairs, Whooves walking behind him in case he tripped. As they walked up, the damage started to become obvious, but nothing compared to what it was at the top. None the less, Lunar’s eyes were wide as plates as he took in what his home had become.

“Not what you expected, is it?” Whooves asked.” Lunar shook his head.

“I was expecting damage, of course. The lightning storms are enough to do some damage, but this is insane! We built it so perfect, and this is what nature has done to it.”

“This probably isn’t what you wanted to see when you woke up.” Twilight said, catching up with them.

“Anything is better than being stuck in that chamber. You guys know what it is like to be frozen.” Lunar said, looking over his shoulder at them. “But last time, you were awaiting a planet that was coming, you knew it was there. Here....I was waiting for something I wasn’t even sure was going to show up. It might have been one hundred years in there, but it felt like a thousand.” Twilight and Whooves exchanged glances. They could tell this pony was going to have a hard time getting used to things.

Finally they reached the top, and Lunar gasped. He stared up at the cracks in the ceiling, and the broken and hanging lights. He rushed to the door, opened it, and galloped outside. Whooves and Twilight rushed out after him. But he hadn’t gone far.

He was standing just outside the door. his mouth open wide. His eyes reflected the two suns perfectly. However, they reflected the colony just as well. They could almost see his heart break as he looked around at what used to be him home. He turned back to them, blinking several times.

“Where are the others?” he asked. Whooves pointed at the central dome. Lunar nodded and started walking towards it. The other two fell behind, not saying a word. When they reached the dome, Whooves pressed his hoof on the screen, and the door opened. The walked in, seeing Rainbow and the others waiting for them.

“What is going on?! Applejack asked, standing up. “Rarity said you found another pony and...” Her voice trailed off as Lunar walked in. The others stood up as well, gaping at the new arrival. It was silence for a few moments.

“Ummm...Hi I guess.” Lunar said lamely, kicking at a piece of debris on the floor. Those three words brought the others out of their trance. They rushed Lunar, causing him to back into the wall closest to him.

“Oh Celestia, where was he?” Derpy asked, floating above him.

“He was in cryo. That is how he survived the disease.” Twilight answered.

“Does he know how to help us?” Rainbow asked.

“We aren’t sure, but we think he-” Whooves started, but he was interrupted by Lunar.

“Excuse me. “He” still remembers how to talk.” he said, slightly annoyed. Whooves nodded and waved him on. Lunar cleared his throat, gesturing to the ponies to give him some space.

“Yes, I survived the disease by storing myself in the cryo chamber. But, we aren’t safe yet. We will have to wait to see if the virus has indeed died off, or it has just mutated into something better, or something worse.”

“So what do you want us to do?” Rarity asked.

“For now..just relax” Lunar said, starting to walk around the inside of the dome. “I want to wait a few days before we even start to repair the colony--”

“So ya know how to fix this?” Applejack asked. Lunar nodded.

“I was the lead science officer, so I oversaw most of the construction here.. Somethings...” his voice trailed off as he touched a screen. A graph comprising of colors, which were constantly shifting, filled the screen. He stared at it for a few moments, a small smile growing on his lips. He turned the screen off and turned around, but the smile was still there.

“Something might be beyond me.” he finished. “But for now, I just want you to stay in your quarters, or inside one of the domes. I pray that the virus is gone, but it might not be.” A moment of silence filled the room, then the sound of hooves rang out as they all turned to the door.

“Whooves, wait. I need to talk with you.” Lunar said. Whooves turned back and walked over to him. Twilight watched as Lunar took him over to one of the screens and brought up some schematics. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, so she just followed Pinkie out the door.

Outside, she looked over the colony. She watched as the others turned and went towards the doors. Shielding her eyes, she could just barely see the ships hull in the distance. The colony made her remember something on the ship. Something she owed her, and all of their lives, to. Looking behind he to make sure that Lunar was still inside, she took of galloping towards the ship.

*****

“So you’re saying, you took apart your own ship to build this!?” Whooves said, completely bewildered. Lunar nodded, bringing up both the schematic of the ship he had traveled in, and the colony. He did a quick overlay of the two. After a few moments, Whooves saw what he was talking about. Certain curves and straights lined up perfectly with each other. And in some places, it looked like entire parts had just been copied and pasted from the ship.

“It required a lot less effort, and a lot less fuel, to get it here this way.”

“So what are you saying? We have to dismantle New Beginnings to repair the colony?”

“Yes. And for that to happen, all five hundred colonists will have to be woken up.”

“But...we aren’t prepared for that!” Whooves said, running his hoof through his hair. “We don’t even have a food supply!”

“I didn’t say it had to be tomorrow. I wasn’t even thinking it would be in a week.” Lunar said. “I’m a pegasus, but I am not an airhead. I know we aren’t ready. We have to get the food producing again, and he have to make sure the water supply, once again, is perfectly clear.”

“How long do you think that will take?” Whooves asked.

“I don’t know, maybe a month. We have some crazy, genetically modified plants in the colony. I just hope the seeds are still alive.”

“So where should we start?”

“The water supply.” Lunar said, turning off the screen and walking towards the door.

*****

She tried to calm her breathing, but the run had taken too much out of her. The sounds of her deep breaths rebounded back on her as she walked down the long hallway. A single, normal hoof step, then three muffled steps rang out as she walked down the hallway. Rows and rows of chambers, with hundreds of ponies inside. But only one mattered to her.

She finally reached it. Number 126. She touched her hoof to the old metal, wanting to open the chamber door and peer inside. But she knew she couldn't. Not until they were ready. The body of Cora, the pony that had saved them. The pony that had led her to the ideas that freed them, was laying inside. After they figured out how to get off the ship, they moved her body down her, so that it would stay safe, and more importantly, preserved, until they were ready to bury her.

She looked to the chamber next to Cora’s. Inside lay her husband, Lightning. Before she had killed herself, she wrote one last letter to him. Twilight didn’t tell any of the others, but she had kept it. It was safe inside her saddlebags in the colony. But she had come here for the rest of what Cora had left behind. She didn’t want Lightning to find out like that. Waiting for his wife to emerge. Not seeing her come out, and opening the hatch himself. No, she didn’t want that to happen.

She reached up and opened the small compartment above Cora’s chamber. Inside sat a pair of white saddlebags. The buckles attached to the straps were the same as Cora’s mark. A golden Caduceus. She lifted the lid, looking at all the pictures and books that Cora had left behind. She wish she had been able to meet this pony. She probably would have liked her.

She pulled some of the books aside, and she heard a small metal clink. She reached in and pulled out something small, metal, and gold. A ring of gold inlaid with different color crystals. As she turned it over in her hoof, she knew what it was. Cora’s wedding bracelet. Ponies weren’t allowed to wear jewelry during the procedure, so she must have put it in her bag. twilight flipped it over so that she could see the inside. There was an engraving along the inside edge. Twilight realized that it was their names, bound together by carved vines and flowers. She realized how much they must have loved each other. She placed it carefully back inside the bag.

Shaking her head, she threw on the bags. There was no use thinking about the past, and what could never happen. She turned back the way she came, leaving the still, silent pony to rest. The open hatch to the planet was waiting for her, sunlight pouring in. She looked back once, remembering something that Cora had written. Actually, she had written it twice.

The plants closed around her as she stepped off the metal. But she paused, looking around at the landscape. The mountains off to the distance appeared a little greener than the plain that they had landed on. And behind them looked like clouds. But not typical clouds. They were the clouds you would see if you were standing on a beach during a storm. She smiled as she looked at them. She knew over the mountains was the final goal she has set herself. The final thing she wanted to do. As she took off towards the colony again, she was smiling slightly.

Cora had said it twice. She wanted to be buried near the sea. And now, as twilight looked at the mountains again, she knew. She would be able to honor that last wish.

Chapter 5

“This is the water supply!?” Whooves gasped, looking around at the massive room. They were about two stories underground, and Whooves had no idea how far away from the colony they were. Lunar had led him to a small building, no bigger than a shed, that they had not noticed before. Stairs led them to a long hallway, lit with white lights. After minutes of walking, Whooves really had no idea, the hallway opened up here.

“Yes, this is it.” Lunar said, laughing at his expression. “Took us a good month just to get it carved out. Another couple weeks to get it filled with water from the mountains.” Whooves just stared around at the dome. It looked to be about a half mile in radius, and a mile high from the water line. He had no idea how deep it went, and he really didn’t want to find out.

“So, what are we here to do?” Whooves asked. Lunar pointed at a small building, just a few feet wide, that was protruding from the dome wall. “We have to find out if the water is drinkable or not.” he said, walking towards it. Whooves looked over the dome again. The sound of water rebounded off each wall, seeing to come from all sides at once, except, the side facing the water. He shook his head, trotting to catch up with Lunar.

“Do you expect it to be polluted?” he asked when he had caught up. Lunar shook his head.

“The electricity is still running, which means the automated cleaning systems will still be doing their job. But after all these years, they might have broken down. This is just to make sure.” Whooves nodded, turning to look back at the lake of water again. It was too dark to see what the water looked like, as there were only lights along the small pathway they were walking. Suddenly, a question popped into Whooves’ mind.

“What did the colony used to be like?

*****

Twilight was laying in her bed, looking up at the ceiling of her room. Her saddlebags, along with Cora’s, were laying together on the bed next to her. Her left front hoof was barely brushing Cora’s. She didn’t want to look in it. The last time she had, back on the ship, she had found exactly what she didn’t; times from a life that was no longer there. She knew one day, she and she alone, would have to break the news to this Lightning stallion. And she didn’t know she would be able to on that day.

She was brought back to reality by a knock on her door. She stepped off the bad, stretching slightly, and walked over to it. She pressed her hoof against the screen and the door opened. Rainbow was standing on the other side, looking slightly worried.

Umm...hi.” she said lamely. “You doin’ alright?” she said, not looking her in the eyes. Twilight could see how uncomfortable she was. Smiling, she embraced her.

“I’m fine, Rainbow.” she said, letting her go. That seemed to cheer her up.

“Great! We were going to explore past the colony. Do you want to come?” Twilight looked over her shoulder into her room. Nothing waited in there except sadness and boredom.

“Sure. Let’s go on an adventure.”

*****

Whooves had been waiting behind Lunar for the better part of five minutes. The small building contained only a single light, and a panel of gauges and screen with various readings. Lunar was looking back and forth between the gauges and a piece of paper he had brought along in his bags. As he did he mumbled to himself. Whooves wasn’t sure what he was saying, but some parts didn’t sound good.

Finally, he took a step back, sighing. “Well, it’s not exactly mountain spring water..well, it is, but..you know what I mean.”

“Drinkable but not exactly crystal clear?” Whooves said. Lunar nodded.

“We should be fine. When I can get more help, and more ponies, we can get this back up to perfect conditions.” He looked through the window at the water. “It’s amazing how we relied on this for our survival, but it killed so many of us before.”

“What do you mean?” Whooves asked, looking at Lunar. “The disease didn’t come from water, did it?”

“Not the disease that destroyed the colony, no. But years before that, there was another non-contagious disease. Later, we found out that it was a parasitic infection. But that was only after major research was conducted. Eventually, we found that a type of “life”.” he put quotes around the words with his hooves. “Existed in the water. When I say “life”,” he did the quotes again, “I mean life as we have never seen it. No discernible cellular organelles, along with what seemed like no DNA at all. Whatever it was, it would attach to the inside of the esophagus and stomach, then slowly turn to body into a parasite producing machine. In a way, it was like the cancer of Equestria. Eventually, we were able to route out the problem, and instal filters and put chemicals in the water to clear them out. But we still had major casualties.”

“It must have been terrible.” Whooves breathed. Lunar nodded, putting the piece of paper back in his bags.

“But it was nothing to the disease that would come later. For that we had no cure, no ideas, and most importantly, no ponies to aid in the research. If I had more aid in the lab, I might have been able to devise a cure, but I was too late as it was. And in the end, I was the last one left.”

“Do you wish that you had gone with the rest of them?” A light flared in Lunar’s eyes, and he looked Whooves up and down.

“This colony is my child, my baby. I watched it being built from nothing, and saw it turn into the proudest achievement that Equestria has made. i would give anything to see it continue. My life it I had to.” He turned and walked out of the building, leaving Hooves to stare after him.

*****

“Where are we going to go?” Twilight asked as she and Rainbow rode up in the elevator.

“Well, I was flying around yesterday, and I saw this forest type place not too far from here. It had a small lake in the center, and I thought it was time that we actually had fun again.” She smiled at Twilight. “When was the last time you went swimming?”

“I can’t even remember.” Twilight said. “But don’t you think we should stay near the colony?”

“Come on Twilight!” Rainbow said as the doors opened. “Where is your sense of adventure?” She spread her wings, floating alongside her. “What happened to the Twilight who would go into the Everfree forest just to get a view of the stars?”

“She got trapped along with the stars.” she answered, looking forward. “But you are right. I could use something like this.” She gave her best smile, opening the door to the outside. The others were already waiting for her, and they smiled when they saw that she was coming along. Applejack looked up at Rainbow, who was still floating in the air above them.

“So which way is it?” she asked. Rainbow looked around for a minute.

“Umm...” She turned on the spot, looking at the landscape. Applejack gave her a sarcastic look.

“You have no idea where we are going, do you?”

“No I do! It’s just.. I will be right back.” Then she shot off into the sky, until she was just a speck. They watched her circle a couple times, then fly back down towards them.

“It’s that way.” she pointed opposite the sunset. Twilight just decided that was going to be east until they got the red directions set up. They all nodded, turning and walking in that direction. Looking behind, Twilight saw that the second sun was at the highest point. They had time, just not a lot of it. They stepped past the last dome of the colony, and continued walking.

“We probably should have told somepony.” Fluttershy said. “I mean, umm, what happens if we get lost, or, umm, somepony gets hurt?”

“We won’t get lost.” Rainbow said. “I can just fly up and look. And if somepony gets hurt, I can fly them back as well. We are fine, Fluttershy!” She nodded, but still looked unsure. They trudged on, the wheat type plants rising up to their eye level, then falling down to their chests. More and more of the strange “trees” were growing. Occasionally, one of them would trip on the roots that connected all of the “trees”. Twilight kept looking for something, something that would show there was sentient life, possible just an animal, on the planet. But there were no birds in the sky, and no squirrels or rabbits on the plain. It seemed so...barren without life like that.

Rainbow finally broke their silence. “There it is!” she yelled, pointing at the horizon. Twilight looked up, and sure enough, it was. It looked like someone took all the “trees” on the plains, added thousands more, and placed them all in the same area. Vines wrapped from tree to tree, not even touching the ground in some cases. Roots completely covered the ground, giving way to a new type of forest floor. Their branches, and intertwining vines created a thick canopy that Twilight was sure would support even brawny Applejack. The entire forest cast a dark shadow, and they could feel the air getting cooler as they got closer. Twilight looked around, glad to see her mouth wasn’t the only one hanging open.

They finally reached the edge of it, and they all stopped. Their eyes, which had been in the light of two suns all day, couldn’t penetrate the darkness they was two feet in front of them. Rainbow looked down at them, not really sure of it. “Anypony want to be first?” Rarity smiled up at her.

“I think, since you showed us this, you should be first!” The others nodded in agreement. Rainbow just looked at her.

“Fine.” she turned and flew into the dark of the forest. The others smiled at Rarity, then followed Rainbow in.

*****

“So where are we going now?” Whooves asked, shivering. After they had left the reservoir, Lunar had taken him back to the central dome. He showed his a staircase that looked like it had been swallowed by the earth. It descended floor after floor, and it didn’t seem like it would stop. The metal raining clanged under their hooves, and the glare of the lights cast long shadows down the stairs and on the walls. And as they went, the air grew colder. Whooves wouldn’t have been surprised if he would start seeing his breath yet.

“The garden.” Lunar answered shortly. “We wanted to keep it out of harms way, so we made use of a natural sinkhole that was here. We just...expanded on it. Don’t worry, we are almost there.” Whooves snorted, but it looked like Lunar was right. The stairs bottomed out, and a landing spread out in front of them. Three doors waited for them. A single door, and a pair of double ones. Lunar walked over to the double doors and pulled them open.

“Gosh, it has been so long..” he breathed, pulling out a pair of goggles and a bright white suit. He tossed them at Whooves, who caught them in his front legs. “You might want to put those on.” he said, pulling out another pair for himself.

“What are they?” Whooves asked, looking down at them. The goggles were so dark that he could barely see when he put them on. The suit was made of a rubbery type of plastic. he slipped it on over his flight suit. he felt weird, standing in two suits at once. He hoped Lunar wasn’t just doing this for a laugh. But when he looked up, Lunar was standing in the same gear he was wearing.

“You will see.” he said, a smile on his lips. he turned to the single door, brushing his hoof down the wall. A panel flipped over, and he pressed his hoof against it. A short beep, then the panel flipped back into the wall. He turned back to Whooves. “Ready?”

“I guess.” he replied. As soon as he said it, the door opened, and he gasped loudly.

*****

They had been walking for what felt like an hour. Twilight wasn’t sure they would be able to find their way back out, even if they did find the lake. The forest had just grow darker in their time walking.

“Are we lost?” Derpy asked, looking around. Rarity nodded.

“Yes, Rainbow. Are we? I don’t want to be stuck in this forest forever. And this humidity..” She pulled her forelock down so she could see it. “It’s making my mane curl!” Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“Relax Rarity.” she said, floating down so that she could look at her. “Pegasi have a natural sense of direction.”

“Uhh, Dashie?” Pinkie said.

“Hold on.” Rainbow replied. She was now flying backwards. “Even if we were lost, I could just fly up and see.”

“Rainbow?” Twilight said.

“Hold on a sec!” she said. “You know, you really need to start trusting me. I bet if Twilight was leading this, you would follow her no questions asked.” As soon as she said that, she flew straight into a tree. She slid down the trunk, landing on the ground with a thud. She shook her head and looked up at them all.

“And that is why I trust Twilight.” Rarity said, a smile on her lips. The other laughed, and after a moment of frowning, Rainbow had to join in. Twilight couldn’t remember the last time she laughed. Maybe Rainbow was right. She needed this.

*****

“Dear, mother, Celestia.” Whooves said, eyes wide behind the goggles. Lunar just smirked at him, leaning against the wall.

“It’s something, isn’t it?” he said. Whooves could only stare.

As soon as Lunar had opened the door, light spilled out onto the landing. Instantly, Whooves felt the suit heat up, creating a warm glow around his entire body. Even through the goggles, the light was still intense. Shielding his eyes, he looked up at the ceiling. A hundred feet up, sat a glowing ball of light. Twenty feet in diameter, it shone its light down towards the garden. Whooves looked back at Lunar.

“Is that..What is that?” he asked.

“That, is the light that served as the sun if any of us would have woken up early. It was in--”

“In a central chamber, with building that seemed to go on forever, almost touching the sky.” Whooves finished. Lunar nodded.

“Right, you would know about this.” he said, looking sheepish. It was a moment before he spoke. “Anyway, we removed it, and placed it in here. Constant sunshine for the crops.” Lunar sighed, looking around the chamber. “Crops that are dead now.”

The other thing that Whooves had noticed, were the rows of crevices in the metal. Each one was filled with a black-brown looking substance that he figures to be a dirt and compost mixture. Small, yellowing, dead plants lay in the dirt. From his experience in Ponyville, he knew there were carrots and tomatoes. Lettuce and daisies. Everything they would need. All dead.

“So what will we have to do?” Whooves asked.

“Well, we have to decide what went wrong.” Lunar said. “And, as that is still working,” ge pointed up at the fake sun, “then we can assume it was the water supply. Now, we just have to find out where and how it broke.” He pointed to a pair of doors at the other end of the room, which was the size of a Hoofball field.

“Control room is in there. Come on.” Lunar said, starting to walk. Whooves walked behind him, wondering what they could do to fix this. They finally reached the doors, but Lunar didn’t stick his hoof out. Instead, he just turned a handle. This surprised Whooves more than anything else that day had. Inside the door, was a collection of panels and screens. They were all black, but Lunar touched a small button on one of the panels, and they lit up. Each flashed something different. Words and numbers that Whooves had no idea what to make out of them.

“So, how will we know where it is broken?” he asked, looking over the screens.

“Like this.” Lunar said. He touched a screen, and an image flashed up. Whooves stared at it for a good half minute, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. The closest he could think was that it was a computer chip or a motherboard, but he knew that wasn’t right. Channels and pathways were shown in dark blue, criss-crossing one another over a light blue plane. Dozens of dots blinked across the entire screen. However, two or three, right in a row, were glowing red.

“This, is a map of the water lines that are on the ceiling here.” Lunar said, tracing his hoof over the lines. “Like you have heard before, the geology on this planet isn’t that stable. So occasionally, we get an earthquake. It is more than likely that we had one in the last hundred years, one that might have caused this damage.”

“So how do we repair it?” Whooves asked. “Do we have to get into the ducts or something like that?” Lunar shook his head, smiling.

“No, nothing like that. We just have to....Well, watch.” He placed both his hooves on the screen, one in the center and one close to the bottom. He moved both up at once, and the entire image shifted on the screen. It was no longer a two dimensional image. It was a three dimensional model.

“This system was built so that we would never have to go into the duct-work.” Lunar said. “These dots show where the obstruction or breakage is. So all I have to do, is bypass that part. He touched a dot, further back from the red ones. It was near one of the criss-crossing sections. As soon as he pressed it, Whooves heard the somewhat muffled, but still distinctive, sound of metal on metal. The red dot disappeared, and Lunar moved to the others.

“It’s a simple system of sensors and valves. All I have to do is press the dot, and the valve reroutes the flow to another part of pipes.” He pressed another dot, and the last red mark disappeared.

“For something like this, simplicity is key.” he said, smiling. He pressed another button on the panel, and Whooves saw the lights dim for a fraction of a second. He looked at Lunar, who just smiled. “Nothing to worry about. Come on, let’s see if it worked.”

He led him back out into the main room. But something was different this time. Unlike the complete quiet that had been there last time, there was a new sound. A vague humming and grinding.

“What’s that sound?” Whooves asked, turning to Lunar.

“I assume you are familiar with a Geneva Drive?” Lunar asked. Whooves nodded.

“Of course. We have used a few back at the labs. But you are saying...” his voice trailed off. Lunar just nodded. Whooves broke into a smile. “You’re kidding! You build a drive and incorporated it into the farming!?” Lunar nodded.

“It is a copy of the one that is on the ship. We just tweaked it a little. Every day, it triggers a smaller drive, one that only runs for two hours, to water the plants down here. After that one runs its course, it triggers the first one to pick up where it left off. And the cycle repeats every twenty-four hours.”

“But, there was no water flow, so the entire thing shut off.” Whooves guessed. Lunar nodded.

“But now that we have that going, we can get the food supply back up and running. We just have to get everything planted.”

*****

“Rainbow, this is amazing!” Twilight practically screamed. “I can’t believe you found this.” Rainbow just shot her a smug look and dove towards the lake as fast as possible. They had been walking for about a half hour more, until they found it.

Almost a perfect circle, the lake was the most beautiful thing Twilight have ever seen. Crystal clear waters, enough so that she could see the very bottom of the lake. The canopy of the forest parted naturally, giving light and warmth to the water after the cold darkness they had walked through. Gravel beaches with fluorescent, multi-colored stones lined the water. The smallest of waves splashed over the beaches, creating a soothing beat that calmed Twilight’s frayed nerves.

Rainbow splashed down into the water, creating a crater two times her size. It collapsed, waves and ripples spreading out from the center. She resurfaces, mane plastered down over her right eye. But she was smiling as broadly as she could. “What are you waiting for, come on in!” That broke them, and they rushed straight into the water. Rainbow and Derpy started to use their wings to have races on the water. Rarity was making sure he mane stayed out of the water, until she was pulled under by Applejack. Fluttershy and Pinkie were seeing who could stay under the longest. Twilight just floated on her back, watching them. It felt so good just to have fun again. Just to relax.

But something didn’t quite feel right. She had a growing headache, which wasn’t anything new, but she also felt lightheaded and queasy. But she pushed it away, focusing on being happy and content for the first time in a long time. She kept one eye open, watching the others play and have fun. She relished every minute of it.

Slowly, the sounds of play faded. After about an hour, they were all just floating along time Twilight. Derpy had even fallen asleep, her head on Rainbow’s chest. Twilight looked up at the sky. It was growing orange and red.

“We should probably get back soon, before it gets dark.” The others nodded, climbing out of the water. As soon as Twilight touched land, he head went spinning. She took a couple more steps, then fell to her knees. The others rushed to her side, but she waved them away.

“I am probably just dehydrated.” she assured them. But it didn’t feel like that. She shakily stood up, taking a couple more steps. But she fell again, landing on her side. Her head felt like it was ready to split open from the headache, and her stomach wasn’t far behind. As fast as possible, she crawled over to the forest edge, and voided her stomach. When she could move again, she fell to the ground, looking up at the fading sky. Against her will, her eyes started to close. The last thing she was, before black, was her friends scared faces looking down at her.

*****

“How long will the repairs take?” Whooves asked. They had exited the garden, and were back up in the central dome. Lunar shrugged.

“Couple weeks, maybe a month. Two maybe. It just depends on how fast we can work.” He was sitting at another computer, looking over schematics of the colony and ship. “If nothing else goes wrong, we can get this fixed before the electrical storms hit.”

“And when will that be?”

“Well, according to the colony’s internal clock, sometime in the next two to three months they are supposed to hit.”

“Will we be able to--” He was cut short by static in his ear. He pressed his hoof against the communicator. “Hello? Who’s there?”

“Oh, thank Celestia this works!” a voice relied, garbled by static. The voice was high pitched and worried.

“Who is this?” Whooves replied again.

“It’s Pinkie Pie!” the voice said. “And we have a problem.”

“What’s the problem? Where are you guys?”

“We went out in the forest, but that doesn’t matter now.” she said, voice getting higher. She swallowed before she spoke again. “Twilight is sick. We think it’s the virus.”

Chapter 6

“Why can’t I see her!?” he yelled, his voice breaking on the last word. His anger was reaching a boiling point, but Lunar stood completely still, taking his anger as if it was an injection. His eyes showed the pain he felt, but it also showed the experience he held. All the ponies he had seen die right in front of him. He knew he had almost no chance to save her, but he was going to give it his all.

“I don’t want you infected as well.” he said calmly, placing a hoof on Whooves’ shoulder. “As far as we know, the others could be infected as well, but they aren’t showing any signs. You just have to be brave, and trust me.” He turned and walked down the hall, back towards the lab. Whooves let out a yell of frustration, then turned back to the window.

It was almost more than he could take. Behind a veil of plastic, slightly foggy with her fevered breathing, lay Twilight. Her once warm, glowing fur was now a pale shadow of what it once was. Her eyes were closed, but she was still awake. She didn’t have the strength to open them. She shivered, her fever rising even as he stood there watching. He couldn’t take it, seeing her like that. He should have been there, he should have stopped them from going. They might have been able to catch this thing before it struck her down.

He softly tapped on the glass, once, twice, three times. He waited for a reaction. With a slight stirring, one eyelid fluttered open. The eye was glassy and bloodshot, but it still lit up when she saw him. He waved, giving his best hope inspiring smile. The corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly, but then her eye closed again, and he was lost from sight. her breathing slowed, and he knew sleep had found her. He stomped his hoof and turned around, trying to remember where he had come from. The hospital was a labyrinth of turns and corners. And with a look down the hallway, he knew he was lost.

Sighing, he walked towards the door that Lunar had disappeared through. When he reached it, he saw no handle. He pressed his hoof against the wall, and the panel flipped over. He was seriously starting to get annoyed by those things. The scanner read his hoof imprint, and the door opened with a loud hiss. He stepped inside, and was immediately floored by what he saw.

It looked like the contents of the entire ship's computer had been dumped into one room. Row upon row of screens and computers. Schematics and diagrams across the walls. Machines that he had no idea the purpose of, blinking and whirling away. Tables covered in test tubes and burners. Some were even working, creating tiny columns of smoke. Lunar was standing at the far end of the room, smiling at him as he took in the sight.

“Pretty nice isn’t it?” he said, smirking. “My baby. I designed it after we constructed the rest of the base. Everything we need for any situation.” The smile dropped from his face. “At least, that’s what I thought.”

“You mean, even with all of this, you still couldn’t find out what was causing the disease?” Whooves asked, not able to believe it. Lunar shook his head, looking at the floor.

“I was never able to find the problem. But this virus is different. it is still the same strand of virus that infected us the last time, but it is slower. Taking a longer time to kill. And that is giving me hope. I will find it this time. I promise.” His eyes were filled with such hope that Whooves had no choice but to trust him. Lunar turned back to the screen he was looking at, on which spiraled strands of DNA. It was a few moments until Whooves spoke.

“Um..How do I get back to the stairs.” He could tell Lunar was smiling without even seeing it.

“Two lefts, a right, then another left. They should be right there.” Whooves nodded.

“Alright. See you later.” He started to turn, but so did Lunar.

“Wait! Come over here please.” he said softly. Whooves trotted over, standing a few feet away from him.

“I know you want to see her. And I know how you feel about her.” Lunar started.

“I don’t have any feelings--” But Lunar cut him off with a smirk.

“Don’t think I am dumb. I had to help repopulate a planet, I know the look in your eye, when you see her, all to well. The best thing I can do for her, is to be left alone. And the best thing you can do for her, is to leave her alone. Understand?” Whooves nodded, starting to turn. But once again, he turned back. He closed the few feet between Lunar and him in two easy strides.

“I want you to do whatever you can to save her. She means more to me than this planet does, and I don’t want to lose her. Do you understand?” he asked, voice as hard as the steel underhoof. Lunar didn’t flinch, not in the slightest. He just nodded.

“I will do everything in my power, and maybe, if I am lucky, something outside my power. But I will not stop fighting until either we all die from this thing, or I save you all. I swear on all those who have died before us. I will find a way.” Whooves nodded one more time, then turned and left the room.

*****

His door slid open, the soft whirring sound breaking the unworldly silence. He turned on the lights, looking around at the room that Moon Fire had left behind. He unbuttoned the tunic, letting it slide off his fore-legs and onto the floor with a clink of metal. His hooves carried his to the bed, almost like they had a mind of their own. He fell onto the bed, just realizing how tired he was.

He shouldn’t be here. He should be with Twilight. Or with Lunar. He should be helping, not laying in his room. But what could he do? He didn’t know anything about microbiology. He let out an exasperated sigh as he realized that Lunar was the only one who would be able to do anything. It just wasn’t right.

He felt his eyes closing, even though he didn’t want them to. He tried to make up a plan for the next few days. Tried to think of what he would do if she died, but his foggy mind wouldn’t allow it, and before he knew it, he was gone.

*****

His eyes opened, looking up at the ceiling of his room. His mind took it’s time remembering the events of the past day, but when it did, he jumped out of bed. As fast as possible, he put his tunic back on and raced out the door. It was just one night, he told himself, it couldn’t have gotten that bad in one night.

A single sun was rising in the east, and puffy white clouds floated in the sky. Looking around, he saw none of the others, and he guessed that they were still asleep. His hooves pounded against the ground, and he pushed through the plants. He reached the hospital dome, pressing his hoof against the scanner and rushing inside. The grey walls passed in a blur as he ran down the stairs. Doors flew by, but he didn’t look at them, didn’t even think about them. There was only one door that mattered.

At last, he reached it. The quarantine room. The window, curtains drawn to, and the door, emblazoned with both the bio-hazard and radiation warning symbols, were the only thing blocking him from her. Why were the curtains pulled to? He looked up and down the hall, but he didn’t see Lunar anywhere. He galloped down the hall, stopping at the door to the lab. He opened it, but Lunar was not inside.

He galloped back to her door. He looked up and down that hall again, but nopony came into view. He looked at the scanner, it’s screen pulsing a soft green, it’s intricate grid glowing softly at him. He knew he shouldn’t, knew it would risk them all, but he didn’t care. Taking a deep breath, he pressed his hoof on the screen.

He watched the line slowly move up his hoof, the laser reading each and every groove that was carved into it. It scanned twice, both up and down, and he watched it the whole time. He knew he would have access, why shouldn’t he? He was the commander. The green light died, and a small beep rang out into the silence. A loud hissing sound followed as the airlock on the door was broken. It opened a fraction of an inch, and Whooves knew there was no turning back.

He slid his hoof into the opening, prying it open even further. Cold, manufactured air hit his face, cooling the fur and making his eyes water. The door opened completely, and he stepped inside for the first time. He didn’t want to look, but he needed to. He needed to see her, see if she was alright.

The veil of plastic was gone. In fact, everything but a heart monitor and the bed was gone. Twilight sat up, which was an improvement on yesterday. Her fur was even paler than before, and he had large bags under her eyes, but she still smiled when she saw him. With the smallest movement, she waved him over. He walked over, standing as close as possible as he could get. He looked her up and down before he spoke.

“I’m so sorry this had to happen to you.” he said. “I should have been there to stop you guys.” But Twilight shook her head.

“Don’t blame yourself.” she said, her voice raspy and dry. It sounded like a leaf in summer, ready to break at any moment. “It would have happened to one of us eventually. It just hit me first.”

“Lunar is doing everything for you. You just have to hang on.” He was holding onto something. Something he knew he should say, but wasn’t sure it was a good idea. He looked up, seeing the look in her eyes, and he knew he had to say it.

“Twilight. Twilight, I love you.” He looked away, afraid of what she would say next. But he felt a hoof on his cheek, and he turned back to her. He placed his hoof over hers, holding against his cheek. Her eyes were large, and bright, but also foggy with tears. She had a smile on her face, but a weak one at that.

“I know you do” she said, voice breaking on the last word. It sounded like every word caused her pain. The heart rate machine started to slow, but Whooves paid no attention to it. “I have known for a while. And..and I....I.......love...........” The light left her eyes, and her hoof fell limply to the side of the bed. Whooves stared down in horror.

“No....No Celestia, no!!” he yelled, tears falling down his face. “Please, Twilight! Come back, Please. Don’t leave me...”

*****

Lunar had been working ever since Whooves had left him, and when he saw himself in the reflection, it showed. Him bright blue mane was a rat’s nest, even more than his usual untidy style. Large bas were under his eyes, and the eyes themselves were wide and tired. His limp, caused by an accident back on Equestria, was getting worse due to not resting his left for hours. But he couldn’t rest. He had rested last time, and look what happened.

Pulling himself away from his reflection, he turned back to his desk. An open computer sat waiting for him to make a command. He pushed the log button, sitting back and looking at the white screen as it popped up. He sighed, looking around the room. Beakers and tubes were scattered. machines stood open, waiting for their next operation. It had been a long night, and it showed.

He turned back to the screen. “Science officer’s journal, day.....I really have no idea anymore. We have had another outbreak of the virus, and with such a small population, that is the one thing that I was afraid of. But there is hope. The virus has mutated, and it doesn’t kill as fast as it did. But that doesn’t mean that we are safe. It will still kill, and we have no idea when.”

“I am trying to isolate the virus, keep it away from other cells so that I can find a way to kill it, but it seemes to rely on the Equine cells more than anything else. It will die if I separate it. Instantly die, like I cut its throat. Until I can find a way to keep it alive, but isolated, this will go no further.”

“The virus doesn’t act precisely like other viruses. Yes, it takes over Equine cells and makes them produce the virus instead of nutrition, but there is one difference. Instead of killing the host cell, like most viruses do, it keeps it alive, just barely, to make is keep producing cells indefinitely. It seems like the only way to kill the virus would be to kill the cells. And in so, killing the host Equine. Well, kill the host before the virus does. I can’t do that. But if I can’t find any way, I might have to aid the patient towards the inevitable end.” He pressed the button, and the journal stopped recording. He stood up, looking around the room. He decided something. He had to tell Whooves what might become the only option with Twilight.

*****

He sat bolt upright, a scream escaping his lips. He looked around, eyes wide. His room. He was in his room. Taking a deep breath, he realized what had happened.

“A dream...” he said, voice shaking. “It was just a dream.” He swallowed, falling back onto the bed, limp. He was shaking all over, and he could feel sweat dripping down his neck. He stared up at the black ceiling. He hadn’t turned the lights off. He guessed they turned off by themselves.

That had been...wrong. He couldn’t believe that his subconscious would make his see that. It had been so real. The feeling of her hoof against his skin. Her fevered breathing and shaking voice. The tears on her lashes as she took her last breath. It had been too much. But it did bring something up, a question he wasn’t sure he should ask. Would she love him back? Was all this just a waste of time?

He was pulled from his thoughts be a knock at his door. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and answered it. Lunar was standing on the other side, looking slightly nervous. His heart and stomach dropped out of his body, and a cold flush ran down his entire length. Lunar was tapping his hoof, a habit that Whooves had noticed while they were touring the colony. He also carried his saddlebags with him.

“Is she...is she...” Whooves couldn’t complete his sentence. Lunar shook his head.

“No, no. Her condition is the same. But that is what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Don’t you think it could wait until morning?” Whooves asked. He could only guess what time it was, and it certainly didn’t feel like morning. Lunar shook his head again.

“I would prefer not to wait. Could I come in?” Whooves nodded, stepping aside and letting him through. Lunar stopped a few feet in, looking around.

“Wow...the last time I was in here, was a hundred years ago. But yet, it’s still the same.” He looked around again, lost in memories, but he shook his head, turning to look at Whooves. “She has the virus, that much we know. But the virus has changed, and for that I am grateful. If it hadn’t, she would be beyond help by now. But that is also a problem. If it has changed into something worse. Something unthinkable...” His voice trailed off, his eyes filled with pain. He blinked, looking back up to Whooves. “Then I feel that we only have one choice.”

“And what would that be?” Whooves asked, not liking where this was going. Lunar reached into his pack and produced a vial. he handed it to hooves, how held it as delicately as possible. He couldn’t understand any of the technical gibberish, but he did understand two words.

Lethal substance.

“You want to....euthanize her?” Whooves said, disgusted. Lunar nodded slowly. Whooves opened his mouth, but Lunar held up a hoof.

“This is a last resort. It the virus doesn’t kill her, but instead keeps her alive in terrible agony, this will be the best way out. And I won’t leave the decision up to you, or anypony else. I mustn't do harm, and watching a pony live like that, is harm in my book.” he reached over and took back the vial, dropping it into his bag.

“So what is it you intend to do?” Whooves asked him, not liking the turn he had taken.

“I intend to do exactly what I told you this afternoon. I will work until I drop from exhaustion. I will do my bucking best to end this here. But if I can’t do it by saving her life, then i will end this, and at least save her soul.” He walked towards the door, pressing his hoof against the screen.

“You don’t have to kill yourself over this.” Whooves told him. Lunar turned around, their eyes meeting. And in the brief moment, Whooves saw all the fear, all the pain, and all the sorrow he had felt the last time this had happened. He had watched ponies die, right in front of him, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Lunar broke his gaze away, turning back to the door.

“Yes, yes I do. I owe them. And I owe her.” He opened the door and left Whooves alone. When he said ‘her’, he had put feeling into the word. He couldn’t help but think that Lunar hadn’t been talking about Twilight.

*****

“Are we going to have to do this everyday?” Rainbow asked, talking around the thermometer in her mouth. She winced as Lunar stuck a needle in her foreleg, drawing out some blood. A nauseous feeling spread through her stomach at the sight of her own blood, bright red against her cyan fur, but she kept her breakfast down, through just barely. Lunar pulled the needle out, placing a gauze and wrapping a band around her leg. Then he pulled the thermometer out of her mouth.

“You will do this every hour if I tell you to.” he said, somewhat brashly, looking down at the thermometer. “You have no fever, but I will have to run blood work on this. Could you tell Applejack to come in please?” Rainbow hovered over to the open door, calling Applejack’s name. She walked in and sat down on the chair, holding out her foreleg.

He had decided to test each and every one of them, even himself, to see if they had been infected. He also wanted a sample of healthy blood to see if he could isolate the virus in a small batch of blood. He placed a new thermometer on her tongue, then unwrapped a new syringe. Her eyes twitched slightly as the needle broke her skin, but she stayed strong. She was the last one to be tested.

Lunar pulled the blood out, then did the same with the syringe. The tiny ruby of blood slowly rose up from the puncture, then broke and seeped into her fur. But before it could spread, Lunar placed a cotton ball and a band around it.

“I should have the results be tomorrow morning, if not sooner.” Lunar said, taking the thermometer out of her mouth. “So can you tell the others to meet back here around the same time tomorrow morning?” She nodded, turning and walking back out of his office. Lunar sighed and shook his head, wondering what the results would show. Were they all infected? Was he infected as well? He put the vials in a foam lined case, and placed it in his bags. He turned and walked out, headed back to the lab.

It was going to be a long night.

*****

Red. It was all red. Red and black. Black and red, flowing together and forming a single wall. A wall, radiating heat at her. Heat and pain. Pain and heat, blending together to form her worst nightmares. She writhed and squirmed under its glare, but she couldn’t get away. A wail, high pitched and frightening, was coming at her from all sides. She finally realized, it was her own scream, inside of herself. A scream that couldn’t escape her clenched jaw. She wanted it to end, one way or another. she could feel it, wave after wave, spreading through her form, until it was in every corner of her body.

Suddenly, it stopped, and she felt a wave of cool seeping into her scalded muscles. It flowed over her, but not in the same way as the pain. It flowed like water, not fire. It soothed and caressed. She could feel her muscles relax, and her body sink into the bed. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, and cautiously, one eye fluttered open.

The room was exactly the same as it had been the last time. The only difference was that the lights were off. The heart rate monitor and other machines cast a green and blue hue over the room. She sighed again, flipping over in the bed, looking at the blank wall. She had no idea what that had been, but she knew she was sick. And it wasn’t a normal sick. Something was wrong with her. She just didn’t know what. Her eyes started to close, even though she was willing them to stay open. They fell shut, and within moments, sleep had claimed her again.

Chapter 7

“How is she?” Whooves asked, nervously shifting from hoof to hoof.

“She is fine.” Lunar responded, turning and walking towards the lab. “In fact, there hasn’t really been any change. But that doesn’t mean it won’t.”

“Have you found any leads yet?” Whooves asked, trotting to catch up to him. Lunar rolled his eyes. Apparently Whooves hadn’t caught the message. He turned and faced him, trying to keep the most sympathetic expression on his face.

“Look, what did I tell you yesterday?” he asked, looking Whooves in the eye.

“Umm...you said that you didn’t have any idea what was causing this.”

“No.” Lunar said, turning away from him again. “I said to leave me alone during this. I know it will be taxing for you, it is for all of us. But you have to be able to leave both her and I alone if you want me to work.” Whooves’ gaze dropped, and he took a step back.

“Right..I’m sorry.” he said, turning away. But Lunar trotted over and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

“Look, if I find anything, even if I just get the virus isolated, you will be the first to know. I just...I just need to work.” Whooves nodded.

“I understand. It’s just...well, you know.” he said, jerking his head towards Twilight’s containment room. Lunar nodded, completely understanding.

“I know how you feel. I have seen it a hundred times. But I can’t work when people are here. So please, take a walk, read a book, learn some genetics or something. I just have to be left alone.” And with that, he turned away and headed towards his lab. Whooves watched him go, then turned and headed off up the stairs.

*****

“Do I really have to wear this thing!?” Rainbow moaned, refusing to stand still. her cyan fur was completely encased in a yellow rubber Hazmat suit. The only part of her body left open to the air were her wings, which stuck out through small holes lined with a rubber seal. Her fast breathing was fogging up the visor, and she was giving Lunar a death stare through the steam.

“As far as I am concerned, we should all be wearing these, but I thought against it. And since you are the fastest flyer, I chose you for the job.”

“And what would that be?” Rainbow asked, dropping onto her haunches and crossing her front legs.

“I need you to go back to that lake and get me a sample of the water.” Lunar said, handing a sealed vial to her. “Just get some, and come right back. No playing, no drinking, no taking the suit off. Understand?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Be back in a while.” And with that, she jumped into the air and flew out of the dome, leaving a very annoyed Lunar in her wake. He shook his head, suiting up in the same type of suit as Rainbow did. He had one other thing to do before he went back to the lab. He pulled the suit over his head, pulling the zipper up his chest. Just as it had done on Rainbow’s, his breath was fogging up the visor. Shaking his head, he turned and climbed back down the stairs.

He reached her room and peered inside. She was in the same place he had seen her the last time, curled up in a small ball in the middle of the bed. He breathing was rapid, and she shivered every couple seconds. He sighed. He hated to see her like this. He turned to his right, looking at the air-tight door. He had not opened it since she had been put in there two days ago. But he had to now.

He pulled the zipper down slightly, pulling his hoof out of the rubber suit. He pressed it against the scanner, waiting for it to read the grooves. As soon as it did, he pulled it back into the suit and pulled the zipper up. The door swung open, and he stepped inside as fast as possible. As soon as it sensed he was inside, the door shut behind him. All he would have to do would be to push a button and the door would open again.

He watched her for a couple seconds. Despite the immense pain she must have been feeling, she found a way to sleep. As carefully as possible, he walked over to her. She hadn’t woken up yet, but she would have to be. He touched her shoulder, gently shaking her awake. One eyelid fluttered, her violet eyes bloodshot and tired. But she still vaguely smiled when she saw him.

“What can I help you with, Doc?” she asked, sitting up slightly.

“I just need to ask you some questions.” Lunar said, his voice muffled by the suit. “They shouldn’t take long.”

“Fire away.” Twilight said, rubbing her eyes. “I have nothing else to do.” Lunar didn’t know how to respond, so he just went straight into his questions.

“While you were out there, did you see anything out of the ordinary?”

“You mean more out of the ordinary than everything else here?” Twilight asked, smiling “No, everything was pretty much normal for here.”

“While you were at the lake, did you do anything different than the others?”

“Um...” Twilight closed her eyes, thinking back. “I don’t think so. I went into the water, I swam, I played. I can’t think of anything.”

“Nothing at all?” Lunar asked, getting slightly frustrated. “You didn’t eat something, or come in contact with another life form, possibly?”

“Twilight closed her eyes again. “I think the only thing I did different was.....I didn’t drink any of the water.”

“Wait, you didn’t?” Lunar asked, confused. Twilight shook her head “How does that make any sense!?” Lunar said, standing up. “I would understand if you swallowed some of the water and you got sick, but the complete opposite...I can’t understand that.”

“Everywhere here, you are protected from a virus, unless it is already inside of you. A virus normally enters the body in one of three ways.” Lunar continued. “Through ingestion, like it was in your food. Through breathing, as you inhaled, it came inside your body. And an open....” His voice trailed off, and he looked down at Twilight. “And through an open wound.” Twilight’s eyes widened, and her hoof flew up to the cut on the side of her head. Lunar knelt down, turning her head to the side so he could see the wound.

“I think we found the entrance point.” he said, standing back up again. “Rainbow should be back soon. From there I should be able to find out what’s in the water, and if I can stop it. Thank you for your time.” He turned to exit the room, but he was stopped by her voice.

“How long do you think I have?” Her voice was small and weak. Lunar couldn’t think to the last time he had heard such a voice. He turned back to her.

“I don’t know. But right now, stay strong. Hope is all we have against this thing.” He turned around again and pressed the small button next to the door. A loud hiss sounded, and the door swung open again. He left the room,closing the door with a touch of his hoof to the scanner. Taking one last look into the room, he saw that silent tears were falling down her face. Tears that they both knew, contained the very virus that was slowly killing her.

*****

He was pacing inside his lad, not knowing where to even start with his research. This was exactly had happened the last time, his brain was yelling at him. They were dying and you did nothing.

“I couldn’t do anything.” he said softly. “I had no idea where to start.”

No, his brain said back, but you had theories. Theories, that went untested. Ideas never touched. You could have stopped this, but you didn’t.

“No...no I couldn’t do anything to fix this.” he said, head falling into his hooves. “There wasn’t anything I could have done. It was beyond me.”

You’re wrong, his brain said back to him. “You could have stopped it, you just didn’t want-

“SHUT UP!!” Lunar yelled, slamming his hoof into the table. Several beakers and microscopes fell to the side, rolling towards the back of the table. His loud breathing muffled the sound of wings and hooves at the door. Only when she cleared her throat did he look up.

“Am I interrupting something?” Rainbow asked, her eyes wide and frightened. Lunar cleared his throat, blushing slightly.

“No, you aren’t. I was just...nevermind.” he said, not meeting her eyes. “Did you get the water?” She nodded, picking up the handle and bringing it over to him. Lunar looked down and saw his reflection once the water had settled. He looked even more crazy than he had the other day.

“Thank you. I think that is all I need right now.” he said, instructing her to carry it over to the table. She dropped it off, then turned to face the door.

“Do you think you will be able to find a cure?” Rainbow asked, not looking at him. Lunar took a deep breath, not sure what to say.

“I don’t know.” he finally whispered. Rainbow’s head dropped, and she walked back out the door. Lunar turned, shaking his head. He hated to crush her dreams like that, but it was the truth. He looked over the lab table, seeing the blood samples and the water that could either mean a new beginning, or just a waste of time. There was only one way to know exactly what would happen. He picked up Rainbow’s blood sample, and set to work.

*****

“So this is where you have been all this time.”

Whooves looked around, surprised. He squinted against the setting and rising sun. The silhouette of Rainbow Dash appeared in the sky next to him. She dropped down, a loud clang rising from the metal under her hooves as she did. He spared her a small glance, then looked out towards the horizon again.

“You have no idea how long it took me to find a way up here.” he said, a small smile on his lips. He looked down at the metal of the ship, and the long shadows being cast out in two directions. At the very top of both, their shadows sat, the only contour to the perfectly sleek ship.

“I would ask how, but I don’t really care.” she said, fluttering her wings to show she could go wherever she wanted. Whooves nodded, not looking away from the sunset. A moment of silence passed between them. It was finally broken by Whooves.

“Is there a particular reason you came to find me?” he asked, looking over at her. Whooves couldn’t suppress the thought of how stunning she looked. The colors of rising and setting suns blended with her cyan fur, creating a bright pink on her back, and a dark purple on her chest and face. No shadows could be found on her, only under her. Her eyes shown, reflecting both the landscape and the suns, creating a world that looked like it was inside of her. Whooves began to wonder what Twilight would have looked like if she was able to be there.

“I wanted to see how you were doing.” she said, eyes showing the concern her voice didn’t. “I know how hard it is for the five of us, I can only imagine what it must be like for you.” Whooves didn’t answer, he just continued to look out at the horizon.

“She will get better, she has to.” Rainbow continued. “After all we have come through, it can’t end now. Not after what she has found.” Whooves got the feeling she wasn’t talking about the colony or the planet. He turned to look at her, choosing his words carefully.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow snorted, doing a flip to show how exasperated she was.

“For a doctor you aren’t that smart are you?” she asked, a smirk on her face. “You are the best thing to happen to her in a long time, and probably the best thing ever. I couldn’t think of a stallion more perfect for her than you.” She paused for a moment, watching his reaction. “But you already knew that didn’t you?” Whooves turned to the sunrise, taking a few moments before he nodded.

“I want her to come out of this, but not for our sake.” Rainbow said. “It’s for her sake, and for yours. She has never really had a relationship in the years that I knew her. And I don’t want this one to end before it starts.”

“I have been praying, Rainbow.” he said. “But I don’t know if Celestia can hear us out here.” Rainbow rushed forward and embraced his. Whooves was startled, but then he hugged her back, blowing some of her mane out of his face. “She will pull through, Dash. I know she will.” Rainbow let go of him, nodding slightly.

“Are you going to be here for a while?” she asked, her voice thick. Whooves nodded.

“Tell them I am up here is they need me.” Rainbow nodded one last time, spreading her wings and jumping off the side of the ship. She disappeared below the lip of the ship, but then she reappeared, flying towards the colony. Whooves looked away from her, back to the third sun, which was rising over the horizon. The sunrise colors were almost gone, but the pink hue was still in the clouds. Something like this would never be seen on Equestria. And one of them might never see it again.

*****

“This doesn’t make any sense!” Lunar yelled, pushing himself away from the table and standing up. “How is that possible!?” he shouted, storming around the lab.

Hours he had been working, and he still hadn’t found anything. Every time he tried to isolate the virus, it would die. Every Time he tried to create a vaccine, it wouldn’t take effect. Anything he tried, either didn’t work, or ended in disaster. Nothing was working, and it made no sense! He sat back down, his breath ragged in his throat. He couldn’t stop though, he had to keep working. Using a small glass rod, he took a few drops from the water and placed it on the microscope. He had done this many time before, and he got the same thing. Microbes, microscopic plant life, debris, everything that is normal in lake water back on Equestria. But this time, something was different. He was about to look away when a flash of red in the corner caught his eye. He looked again, but it was gone. Quickly, he repositioned it, not daring to think what it might be.

The flash of red centered in his view, and his breath caught in his throat. He knew what it was, it had just been so long since he had last seen it. Almost a squid shape, and bio-luminescent with a red glow, it sat there like a neon sign. The thing that had caused so much trouble the first year they landed.

It was the microbes, the one that they filter out of the water supply. It was still alive, and looked unchanged in over a hundred years. Lunar watched it slowly swim out of view, and he didn’t even try to get another look at it. But something wasn’t right, his mind told him.

The microbe caused another type of disease, not the one Twilight was suffering. And why weren’t any of the others who went to the lake sick as well? Lunar sighed, realizing that this discover produced more questions and solved none. Before he decided to yell again, he pulled some of the water out and put it into a vial, along side to a vial with Twilight’s blood. He was lost to reality, so he didn’t hear as Rainbow opened the door to the lab.

“Hey, just letting you know, Whooves it out at the ship.” she said quickly. Lunar jumped, spilling both the water and blood. The small amounts didn’t spread, but they did mix in the center of the desk.

“Oh, buck..” he said, turning to Rainbow. He took a quick breath, nodding in her direction. “Yes, thank you for letting me know...” Rainbow didn’t respond, she just backed out of the room. Lunar felt bad for being so sarcastic, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. He would apologize later. He turned back to his desk, grabbing a cloth to wipe up the blood and water. But he had a sudden idea. He picked up a drop of the liquid on the glass rod, and dropped it onto the microscope. He placed his eyes against the lens and looked in, trying to find one of the virus cells. He finally found one, and he took a long moment before he moved.

“That’s impossible.”

*****

The sound of flapping wings broke Whooves out of his trance. Turning, he was Derpy flying towards him. He stood up, waiting for her to land. She finally did, quite clumsily, then she looked up at him with one of her eyes.

“Lunar wants to see you.” she said, her voice slightly more husky than usual. Whooves wondered if she had flown the wrong direction first before coming here. “He said its important.”

Whooves heart dropped to his hooves. She could be...could she? “Twilight isn’t....?” His voice trailed off. Derpy shook her head.

“I saw her when he called me down. She is fine.” Whooves smiled at this, his heart returning to it’s normal spot. Whooves looked around, suddenly remembering where he was.

“Think you can give me a lift back to the colony?” he asked, smiling slightly.

*****

Three minutes later, Whooves landed clumsily on the ground in front of the medical dome. Before Derpy had even folded her wings, he was inside the building. He took the stairs three at a time, jumping from landing to landing. Thoughts raced through his head. Was she still alright? Had he found a cure? Was she dead? He stopped himself on the last thought. Only seeing her would give him the truth.

Finally he reached the last landing. He burst through the doors, running up the hallway he had memorized. Taking the last corner faster than he should, his legs slid out from under him and he fell to the floor. he opened his eyes and looked up. Lunar was standing over him, shaking his head.

“You didn’t have to kill yourself to get here.” he said, holding out his hoof to Whooves. He took it, smiling sheepishly.

“I just wanted to know what you wanted.” he said, looking around the hallway. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except that the curtains to Twilight’s room were shut. Whooves felt himself go cold. “She’s not...?”

Lunar shook his head. “She just couldn’t fall asleep, so I shut the curtains. And as for the reason I wanted you, follow me.” He turned around and headed back towards the lab. Whooves followed him closely. But Lunar seemed to be in no hurry, something that annoyed Whooves. They finally reached the lab, and Lunar waited outside until Whooves walked in.

“What did you want to show me?” he asked, looking around the familiar sights of a lab. Lunar pointed at the one table with a chair pulled out.

“Go over there and look in the microscope. Tell me what you see.” Whooves looked at him for a moment, confused. But he walked forward anyway. He placed his eye against the lens and looked in. Instantly, another world opened up. Bright red and pink circles, blood cells, burst into existence. But something was wrong. The cells looked, sick, dying. And there was something else in the blood as well, something much smaller. Whooves watched as a blood cell swelled, growing larger than any of it’s neighbors. Then, suddenly, it burst. Dozens of small dots flooded out, attaching themselves to the closest cells, and burrowing inside. Whooves knew what he was watching. The virus was killing the blood cells.

“It’s the virus.” he said, looking over at Lunar. “Is that all you wanted to show me?” Lunar shook his head, pointing at a microscope next to him.

“Look in there, I doubt you have ever seen anything like this before.” Whooves looked for a few seconds, then pulled away abruptly.

“What was that?” he asked. Lunar smiled.

“That, my friend, is the very microbe that we filter out of our water. It was in the lake water that they swam and drank from. It was what was giving us a disease before the virus came along. You wouldn’t think they would have anything in common, now would you?” Whooves shook his head, looking back into the microscope.

“Step back and I will show you.” he said. Whooves nodded, taking a couple steps back. Lunar picked up a glass rod and dipped it into the water on the microscope. He carried the drop over and shook it off into the blood on the microscope. He let the two liquids mix for a moment, watching the blood turn from opaque to translucent. He took a step back, pointing at the microscope. “Now tell me what you see.” Whooves looked at him for a moment, then looked into the microscope.

The blood wasn’t as thick as it had been, and parts of the scene were clear instead of red. There were some virus cells floating in the water, dislodged from their host cell. Whooves watched them float for a few moments, until movement caught his eye. The microbe had entered the scene. Slowly, it floated towards the virus cells. Whooves watched as the microbe slowly encased one of the virus cells, then moved on to the next one. Soon, it had ingested all the virus cells, and it slowly floated away, out of his view. Whooves slowly backed away, looking over at Lunar.

“Did that really just happen?” he asked. Lunar nodded, smiling.

“It did.”

“But..what?” Whooves stuttered.

“It’s a very simple predator-prey relationship.” Lunar said. “The microbe eats the virus cells, thus clearing them out of the environment. But here is the kicker.” Lunar said, reaching into the pocket of his saddlebags. “After the microbe eats the virus, it loses its toxicity.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean.” Lunar said, holding out a vial with a clear liquid in it, “after the virus is ingested, the microbe is no longer deadly, and can be ingested by us without any harm. And I think you know what that means.” Lunar said, tilting the vial back and forth in the air. A warm feeling spread through Whooves.

“You found a cure...?” he asked, not able to believe it. Lunar nodded.

“Quite possibly I have. And I wanted you to be here when I administered it to her.” Whooves couldn’t contain himself anymore. He jumped into the air, letting out a loud cheer. Lunar just watched him, looking the happiest he had been since they met him.

“When can we do it?” Whooves asked, talking fast. Lunar pulled a syringe out of his back and loaded the vial into the slot.

“As soon as you want it to be.” Whooves practically tripped on his own feet as he ran out the door, Lunar trotting behind him. He was about to press his hoof against the scanner, when he stopped and looked at Lunar.

“We need to wear the suits, right?” Lunar shook his head.

“If this works, we won’t need those for a long time.” Whooves nodded, pressing his hoof against the scanner. The door opened with a hiss, and they stepped inside. Twilight was laying under the covers, watching them with half-closed eyes. Whooves galloped over and laid his hoof on hers.

“Why aren’t you wearing the suits?” she asked, eyes opening a little more. “Oh no. Are you sick as well?!” Whooves shook his head, smiling.

“We think we have a cure!” he said, pointing at the syringe in Lunar’s grasp. “just one more needle, and you will be fixed!” But Twilight didn’t seem to be sure, she looked over at the syringe, then up at Lunar.

“Are you sure? This isn’t going to make it worse?” Lunar’s expression stayed fixed.

“I have complete faith in what I have created. Now, I don’t know what this will be like, so it might be a little uncomfortable. But you have to stay strong.” Twilight looked at both him and Whooves, before finally nodding. She stuck out her right fore-leg. Lunar walked over and placed the needle against her skin. he pushed gently, and it sank under her fur. He pushed the plunger in, and the vial emptied into her bloodstream. Twilight’s eyes never left the needle. Lunar pulled it out, placing it back into had pack.

“Now, this might take awhile to take effect, so don’t worry.” But twilight just smiled up at him, her eyelids starting to droop.

“No, I feel better already.” Her head fell back onto the pillow, and her breathing slowed to a steady rate. Whooves looked down at her. Finally, she was healing. Finally, it was fixed. He followed Lunar out the door, taking one last look at the pony he loved. For once in as long as he could remember, he knew she was going to be alive the next day.

Chapter 8

As the sun set for the third time on the colony that day, Whooves had not moved more than a couple feet. He sat on a stool, his fore-legs and head resting on the foot of Twilight’s bed. Against his will, his eyes would close every now and then, and he would wake up about an hour later. But Twilight never moved either. Only the slight rise and fall in the sheets, and the steady beep of the heart monitor, told him she was still alive. Every time he would wake up, a moment of panic would strike him, but it would ease away when he saw her face. About the fourth time he woke up, he knew it must have been late at night. All the others would have been asleep. He looked up at the face of the pony he loved. Her eyes were closed, not shut tight against the pain. And a slight smile had crept onto the edges of her lips. Whooves wondered what she was dreaming about.

He knew, no matter what he wanted, he would fall asleep anyway. So, as gently as possible, he climbed up onto the foot of the bed. There, he curled up, just inches away from her. As soon as his eyes closed, he was fast asleep. For once, his dreams were calm and peaceful.

*****

“So, will this be, like, on a monthly basis? Or just a one and done kinda deal?” Rainbow asked, holding her foreleg out to Lunar again. He pressed the tip of the syringe against her skin, making sure it entered a vein before he pushed in the plunger. The clear liquid entered her bloodstream. Lunar knew how it would react. The thousands of microscopic packets would burst, spilling both the virus and microbe into her blood. Slowly, the microbes would aid the body in fighting the disease, causing some nausea as a side effect. But with the weakened virus, the body would be able to fight against it on its own, creating a natural immunity.

He pulled the needle out, putting it down on the table next to him. “To answer your question, no. Every few years, probably around a decade, we will have to give you a new injection.” He stood up and walked over to his bag, pulling out another vial of the fluid. “Now, I don’t want you flying for the next couple of days. I still don’t know exactly how this affects the body, so I just want to be careful.”

Rainbow looked like someone just told her that her pet died. But she just sighed and shook her head. “Fine, but it better work right.” Then she turned and walked out of the office. Lunar sighed. She had been the last one. The entire conscious population was immunized. But that just let the rest of the population back on the ship. He had to create at least five hundred more vials. And he didn’t know how long that would take. He thought that his job would end after he made the cure, but he realized that creating it was only half the problem. He looked over the lab again.

“Well, here we go again.”

*****

“Hey there..” a quiet voice said. Whooves was pulled from the edge of sleep by that voice. He raised his head slightly, bright blue eyes meeting deep violet ones. A smile stretched across their lips in unison. As quick as possible, Whooves rushed to the front of the bed, looking down at the mare. She looked up at him, a mixture of care and worry on her face.

“How long have I been out? she asked, looking around the room.

“A little less than a day, but but that doesn’t matter.” Whooves said, brushing her mane away from her eyes. “What matters is how you are feeling.”

“I feel amazing.” she said, eyes lighting up for the first time in days. “How are you?”

“Perfect now that I know you are safe.” He bent down, pressing his lips softly against hers. Twilight didn’t even seem surprised this time. She just closed her eyes and kissed him back.

“Hey, you’re awa--ohh...” a voice said. Whooves broke the kiss and turned around. Lunar was standing in the doorway, blushing slightly and not meeting their eyes. “I can come back later if you want me to.” he said, starting to back out of the room.

“Oy! You.” Whooves yelled, making Lunar turn around. “Get in here.” he said, beaming. Lunar smiled, walking back into the room. He embraced Whooves, who whispered, “Thank you. Thank you so much.” in his hear. Lunar nodded, not saying anything, then walked over to Twilight.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I am feeling perfect.” she answered. “Thank you so much for all you did. I owe you my life.”

“Just stay in bed for another couple days and consider us even.” Lunar said. “I still need to be sure you aren’t going to relapse. But, you should be just fine in a couple days.” He turned back to Whooves. “Make sure she stays here. I don’t want her wandering the colony while her immune system, and her body, are still weak. Understand?” Whooves nodded. Lunar embraced him again.

“You have no idea how happy I am for you.” he said after her took a step away. “This cure was all we needed. Now, if we are lucky, we can get the colony started again.” With one last smile at Twilight, he walked out of the room, leaving them alone again.

“You know, he can be kind of awkward sometimes.” Twilight said quietly. Whooves just looked at her for a moment, then burst out laughing.

*****

“Glad ta see you up and about, Twi.” Applejack said, walking along side her. Their hooves were making loud clanging sounds on the metal walkways. They were walking along the paths that led between the domes. Every once in awhile, a blue or grey blur would fly across the sky as Rainbow and Derpy continued their game of tag.

“Not as glad as I am.” Twilight responded. She looked out over the horizon. The third sun was poking its head over the mountains, casting a slight orange hue over the plain. She was glad she was seeing it. She never thought she would have been able to see one again. “What were you girls doing while I was out?”

“We were just wonderin’ what we would do without ya.” Applejack responded. “We didn’t wantcha to die.” Her accent was becoming thicker, so Twilight knew how much she had worried.

“It’s behind us now. Let’s not think about it.” Twilight said, looking over the colony. The holes in the roofs, and the water stains seemed even worse now that the disease was gone. “We still have so much to do...”

“Yes. I wanted to talk to you about that.” a voice said behind them. Twilight turned around. Lunar was standing there, shifting his weight from one side of his body as he always did while standing still. But there was something else. An air of nervousness about him.

“Talk about what?” Applejack asked, looking slightly worried.

“About the colony. I was able to see how well the underground structures held up over the century, and I thought of something. The colony, especially the bedrooms, are completely intact. And we have enough room for more than three colony ships full of ponies. And, you know, five hundred ponies is more than eight of us. And working on something like the colony, we could use the help.”

“You want to wake up the colonists now?”

“I think it would help us greatly. We have a lot of repairs to do, so much that we would need to dismantle part of that ship to do it. So I think it would be safer to just wake them up now and get them acclimated to the planet. But, this is just me talking. You can decide to do what you want.”

“No, no...I think that’s a good idea.” Twilight said, looking out at the gleaming hull of the ship. “But wait...there are nine of us awake, including me. Not eight.” Lunar shook his head.

“Not in two weeks there won’t be. I am leaving the valley.”

“Why!?” they both shouted at once. Lunar took a step back, not meeting their eyes.

“I have to know if the others survived. If they, either by accident or not, found out how to cure this disease. They were my friends, I have to know.”

“But....they all died didn’t they?! Twilight said, completely confused. Lunar shook his head again. He continued to shift his weight, running his hoof through his mane.

“About six of them took off to the mountains. I know which way they went. If they made it there, hopefully I can pick up their trail. I just...I have to know. I will stay long enough to help teach you guys how to work the colony and such, but then I have to go. So,like i said, it is your choice if you want to wake up the others. Think about it, I will be in the lab, packing.” He turned away, quickly walking back to the colony. Twilight and Applejack exchanged glances, not knowing what to think.

*****

“He wants to do WHAT!?” Whooves yelled, eyes as wide and plates. “Is he crazy?! Wait, stupid question. Of course he is.”

“We couldn’t talk him out of it.” Twilight said, pacing in front of him. “He has made this decision to go, and that’s it.”

“I don’t think we can talk him out of this.” Whooves said. “He needs closure, and I really can’t blame him for it.” He sighed, looking as if he aged ten years in a second. “I guess we will have to do this. I will go talk to him.” he said, standing up. “Go tell the others what is going to be happening.” Twilight nodded, galloping out of the room. Whooves followed her a second later, leaving the dorms and heading back towards the lab.

It was almost like Lunar knew he was coming. The door to the lab was left open, and a note in Lunar’s messy writing was set on his bag. Back in a few, was all it said. So Whooves sat down in a chair and waited for him to show up. And a few minutes later, he did.

He took one look at Whooves, then turned back to his bag. “I know what you are going to say.” he said, talking around the notebook clutched in his mouth. He dropped it his bag and turned back to Whooves. “I just want to stop you before you say it. I have made up my mind.”

“I wasn’t going to ask you to stay.” Whooves answered. “I just want you to think about this. That was over a century ago. And how many did you say took off before you froze yourself?”

“Six. Three pegasi, a unicorn, and two earth ponies.” Lunar answered, counting them off.

“And, I remember Moon Fire saying that the last male died the day before you froze yourself.”

“Yes...”said Lunar, looking slightly apprehensive. “What are you trying to say?”

“I am saying, that even if they did survive the initial disease, they would have died out by now. They would have had no way to reproduce.”

“But, that is where you are wrong.” Lunar said, smirking slightly. “Follow me.” He started to walk to the back of the lab, where a heavy metal door stood. He made sure Whooves was right behind him, then pressed his hoof on the scanner. A loud hiss, followed by a freezing blast of air hit them. The door slowly slid forwards, steam and vapor falling to the floor as it did. The door stopped moving when it had opened about three feet wide, with vapor swimming and caressing their hooves as they walked towards it. Inside, a ring of bright white lights illuminated the chamber, which was nothing more than a small room with a cylindrical, blue tube in the center.

Whooves gave Lunar a curious look, not really sure what he was seeing. Lunar held up his hoof. “Don’t worry, I will explain.”

“You see, back when we could actually repopulate, we knew we would need to have a backup system. If, for some reason, the population was decimated, but for a reason that we could actually fix, we would need to repopulate. Again. So we came up with this system, take a few viable eggs, fertilize them, and keep them on ice until we need them. And this is the result.”

“Hold on, you had a whole system to repopulate the planet, but you didn’t use it?” Whooves asked, staring at Lunar as if he had grown a second head. “Why not!?”

“I told you! We couldn’t fix the virus, it would have killed these ponies as well as us! Anyway,” Lunar said, turning away from Whooves, “on a whim, I looked at this yesterday. We had stored thirty embryos in here. Fifteen male, fifteen female. But I looked, and now we only have fifteen left.” He looked back at Whooves, waiting for the information to sink in.

“What do you mean you only have fifteen? What happened to the others!?”

“That’s just it, I don’t know. But that’s not all.” Lunar continued. “The spare equipment for the holding, reanimating, and gestation of these ponies, are gone as well. Eight males and seven female embryos were taken. Enough to start a population again with the right math and charts. I think the last few ponies took this equipment. I believe they might have tried to start again. I need to know if they did. I have to find out.” He pressed a button on the top of the blue cylinder. Slowly, the top lifted away, and several glass rods rose from the vapors. Whooves could see small containers, about an inch long and a quarter of an inch wide, inside the glass rods. A small dot rested in the center of each container. The embryos.

“As you can see, half the rods are empty.” Lunar said. “At least the ponies were smart enough to remember this among the panic of the last days. But, if we are lucky, they figured out how to preserve them until they were ready to grow and birth the foals. I am not running on shear hope, Doctor. This is the greatest lead I have. And I have to follow it.”

“You really think they are still alive.”

“I see no reason to doubt it.” Lunar said, shutting the embryos into the container and walking back out of the room. Whooves followed him, and the door shut and locked behind him. “Now, if that is all you wanted, please leave the lab. I have a lot to pack, and I want to be alone to think.” Whooves nodded, turning away and walking out the door.

*****

Two weeks later...

“Now, are you sure you remember everything I taught you?” Lunar asked, voice filled with worry.

“Of course we do.” Twilight answered, embracing him. “Don’t worry, everything will be done how you asked. We just want you to come home safe.”

“Don’t break you wing or anything.” Rainbow warned, embracing him as well. “You are the only pony here who can actually give me a challenge.” Lunar laughed, fixing his bags on his back. He looked out over the horizon, towards the mountain in the distance. Over the past two weeks, thunderheads had formed over the mountain tops, and they could see snow covering the summits of many mountains. Lunar wore only a scarf and a pair of boots, but he didn’t seem to mind the danger of freezing.

“I wish the same to you.” he said, turning around to face them. “If the math is correct, those clouds should be here in a month or two. When that happens, make sure everypony stays underground. They should only last a week or two. But if they last more, you will have to make trips outside to relieve cabin fever. Time them between storms, no more than an hour or so. And if it starts to rain, try to--” He was cut off by Twilight placing her hoof over his mouth.

“You told us this already. Trust us, you will not have to worry.” Her eyes reflected the sincerity in her voice. She removed her hoof, and Lunar just nodded.

“Thank you, thank you all for doing this. I don’t know how long I will be gone, but I will try to be back before two months are gone, at the most.” The distant, deep roll of thunder cut into his words, and he took another nervous look at the mountains. His pure white eyes reflected the blazing suns, which sat high in the sky. He took one last look at the group. Whooves’ foreleg was wrapped around Twilight’s shoulders. Fluttershy had tears in her eyes, but they were not yet falling. The others had mixtures of sadness and apprehension in their eyes. He took a deep breath, turning to face the mountains.

“Goodbye you guys.” he said, jumping off the ground and hovering a few feet in the air. He was struggling a bit because of the weight of his packs, but he soon got the hang of it. “Don’t die while I am gone!” And with that, he took off towards the mountains. They watched him go, until he was just a dark blue speck in the bright blue sky. Then, even that was gone. With a slight whimper, Fluttershy’s tears finally broke free, landing on the dry ground. Rainbow put her hoof around Fluttershy’s shoulder and led her back to the colony. Soon, only Twilight and Whooves were standing in the field, looking out at the distant mountains.

“Do you think he will find anypony?” Twilight asked.

“You never know.” he said, turning to face the colony. “He survived, maybe others did too. I guess it’s not a matter of luck. Just a matter of time.” He pointed out towards the ship, which was gleaming in the twin suns. “You ready for this tomorrow?”

“Are you kidding?” Twilight laughed, walking towards the colony. “Tomorrow is going to be fantastic.”

*****

“Derpy, are you in position?” Twilight asked, her hoof pressed against the communicator in her ear. Derpy’s husky voice replied almost immediately.

“Yeah! Rainbow is waiting as well.”

“Can you see the path we cleared, Rainbow?”

“As clear as day. We just guide them through it?”

“Yes.” Twilight replied. “Applejack, Pinkie, are you at the hatch?”

“Sure as sugar are!” Applejack’s drawl came though the speaker. “Got the list o’ number and names right here. You will never guess who is on here! Lyra and Bon Bon!”

“That’s great. We will have to meet them afterwards. Rarity, are you standing by?”

“Yes, but can we please hurry this up? I don’t want to be standing in the dirt all day.”

“Whooves, Fluttershy, you at the dome?”

“Sure are.” Whooves’ Trotland accent sounded perfect, even if they were a mile away. “We have the speech, and Moonfire’s video ready.” The eight of them had had an argument about showing Moon Fire's last journal to the colonists. But they finally decided it was probably a good idea. “They should know what happened here. Let the future generations know.” Pinkie had said. The other agreed after that, and the video was now set up for them to see.

Twilight looked down at the console she was standing in front of. The re-entry doors on the windows had retracted, and from her point near the top of the ship, she could see for miles. The domes gleamed in the sunlight. Despite their battered appearance, they were the most grand objects on this planet. But they could only get better, Twilight thought. And better they would get.

“Do you remember the sequence?” Whooves asked. Twilight nodded, but then remembered he couldn’t see her.

“Yes. Remove life support, begin the thawing process, then open the hatches to let them walk out.” As she said the words, her hoof traced the path between the buttons and switches she would have to press. It seemed fairly simple, but she was sure many things could go wrong. Horribly wrong. “I think I got it. Applejack, do you remember what I told you?”

“I do. When Lightning wakes up, pull him aside and bring him to you.” He voice sounded slightly worried. “Do you think this is such a good idea?”

“He would find out anyway.” Twilight said, pacing around the inside of the small control room. “It’s better to find out now, than waiting all day and not seeing her.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Just make sure you don’t say anything about it. Just bring him up here.”

“Alright.”

“OK, everyone ready for this?” Twilight asked, facing the console again.

“Yes.” seven voices replied in unison.

“Let’s do this.”

*****

The fall had snapped his wing. Pain radiated from the joint with every step. And with every step, he breathed a small scream as the broken bones ground against each other. A bright flash of lightning burst across the sky. Water flowed from his fur, and the rain seemed only to be picking up speed. His breath fogged the space in front of him, but he didn’t care. He just wanted the pain to end.

His left foreleg buckled, and he pitched forward. He landed on his side, and he screamed in pain. The lighting had burned a large scar into his side. He could feel the blood trickling down his side. He tried to stand up again, but couldn’t. His legs wouldn’t lift him. Letting out a cry of frustration, he rolled over on his back.

All he could remember was the flash of lightning, and then a searing pain in his right side. The falling. Down through the rain, through the treetops. Then another, less searing pain in his left side as his wing snapped. He was lucky to not have died, but this was almost worse than dying. He had no idea where he was, and no way of finding out. He was lost. Completely alone.

He looked up at the black sky. Every now and then, a brilliant flash of light would fill the sky, illuminating the contours of the clouds and the ground around him. But then it would fade, and he would be back in the black. This isn’t how he wanted it. He didn’t want to die out here. and the worst part was, the others would never know.

“I’m so sorry.” he whispered, closing his eyes against the rain. “I’m so sorry...” He could feel his head getting light from the blood loss. Through the sound of thunder and rain, he thought he heard something move in the forest. Sure, let there be animals in here. Just get it over with. He curled into a small ball, trying to keep his warmth in. But he knew it was useless. The rain would carry the heat away instantly.

“Just fix the colony, Twilight. That’s all I want.” He knew she couldn’t hear him, but it was all he could think to say. Rivulets of water ran down the mountain, curving and twisting around his form. His eyes opened and closed on their own will. Slowly, his body began to numb, the pain in his side and wings diminishing.

Soon, was all he could think. He heard another sound, closer this time. He was so weak, he couldn’t even muster the strength to turn his head. The sound of steps were coming closer. He willed his eyes to stay open, just long enough to see what it might be. The steps ended, what sounded like inches from his right ear. But his fuzzy vision couldn’t pierce the inky black of the night.

A roll of thunder crashed through the sky, and a flash of lightning illuminated the surroundings. For a mere second, it played off the features of the creature above him. A small smile crept onto his face. But it only lasted for a second. His eyes closed, and he felt himself slip into unconsciousness.

*****

Twilight moved as though her life depended on it. But she knew it wasn’t her life. It was the lives of almost five hundred ponies under her hooves. Ponies, more vulnerable than the smallest foal. The whole colony depended on her completing this task without making a mistake.

Slowly, she lifted her hoof, guiding it towards the blinking green button marked “LS”. Life-support. She pushed it. Deep below her, she heard gears and mechanisms move that hadn’t moved in four centuries. Any connection to the ship would now be cut, and the ponies would be living on a timer. She let out a deep breath, knowing she had to wait at least a minute before she could start the process.

“You are doing just fine.” Whooves’ voice told her. “Just relax.” Twilight looked back down at the console. The life-support button was no longer blinking. But now the button marked “RA” was. Re-animate. It was time.

She pressed the button in. Below, hundreds of ponies were now being thawed. It was almost time. Soon, they would take their first steps on the planet surface, just as the eight of them had done a month ago. She let out another deep breath, and looked down at the console. She couldn’t have the ponies awake in the chambers, unable to get out. She had to unlock the hatches, then wait for the final process.

She flipped a switch, one that would unlock the hatches. She flipped another, one that would open the storage compartments above them. Finally, she was ready. The RA button dimmed, and a bright red button, marked “END” was blinking. The end of their journey. It was finally over. She pressed her hoof against the button, a smile breaking onto her lips as she did.

“Applejack, Pinkie, be prepared, they are bound to be slightly scared.” Twilight warned them. “I will remain here.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie’s voice responded. Twilight heard the com go dead. She fell into the chair that was bolted to the floor of the control room. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing. It was all over. It was finally all over. She raised her eyes to the window, looking out at the landscape. Minutes ticked by, and, finally, the first ponies came into view. Twilight smiled as they walked. It looked as though they had a limp. The gravity, she thought. They aren’t used to it yet. Families stuck close to each other, while single riders seemed to clump together. Friends met with friends, walking together through the path they had cleared through the plains to the colony. Every now and then, Rainbow or Derpy would swoop down, directing a pony that had gotten astray, or helping to calm a frightened foal.

“I wish you could see this, Doctor. It’s amazing.” Twilight breathed into the com.

“I can only imagine. But I will see it for myself in just a few minutes.” He paused for a moment. “You did perfectly. You really did.” Twilight only smiled and turned off the com. More and more ponies were appearing. But something caught her eye. One mare was crying, walking by herself towards the colony. Twilight felt her heart break. She had lost someone, and Twilight could only imagine what it felt like. They would have to help her later. She would need to be comforted.

“Twilight, we have Lighting.” Applejack’s voice broke into the moment.

“Send him up. You know the directions.” She suddenly felt like not talking. She continued to look out the window, even as she heard the door open behind her. Hooves met metal, but only once. The stallion was standing just outside the elevator. He cleared his throat slightly.

“Umm...is there something wrong?” Twilight turned around, seeing him for the first time. He had pure white fur, with a bright yellow mane streaked with dark blue. As he looked around the control room, Twilight could see his Mark was a dark blue sheild. She wondered what he had gotten it for.

“Come over here.” she said quietly. He walked forward, shaking slightly. I would be nervous too, Twilight thought. How can I do this to him? Just ruin his life like this? He finally reached her, standing about a foot away from the chair. She pointed out the window, towards the colony and the mountains in the distance.

“This is your new world. It is not what Equestria was.” Twilight said, looking him in the eyes. “But we are making it what we can. And there is one very special, extremely special, mare who made all of this possible. Without her, the eight of my friends down here would most likely be dead, and you with them.”

“I don’t understand what this has to do with me.” Lightning said. His voice was deep, but was also soft and caring at the same time. Twilight could see why Cora fell for him. She fell back in the chair, hooves covering her face. She had to do it. She had to break his heart, mere minutes after landing here.

So, eyes watering and breath shaking, she looked up into his bright yellow eyes. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

*****

This can’t be real, was his first thought when he regained consciousness. He felt warm, safe, calm. I must be dead, he thought. Slowly, he shifted his weight. There was something warm, something thick, on tip of him. He didn’t want to open his eyes to find out, but he had to.

Dim, flickering light played across the walls. The room was almost square, rising up to a pyramid point in the room. As far as he could tell, it was made of wood. He could smell something burning, and hear occasional pops or cracks. Sitting up, and fighting off the rush of nausea, he took a better look. A fire sat in the center of the room, surrounded by a ring of stones. The smoke rose into the air, leaving the room by a small hole in the top of the roof. There were no windows that he could see, but through the hole, he could see stars.

He tried to move his leg, but held in a scream as he felt pain flare in his sides. He pulled the blanket off his body. It was made of some sort of soft material, something that felt strangely organic. In the light, he could see bandages made of the same material covering his side, where the lightning had struck. It was stained pink, but it didn’t seem to be bleeding as much. He looked over his shoulder next. A piece of wood, about six inches wide, was bandaged to his wing. He tried to extend it, but was met with only pain from the broken bones, and resistance from the bandages. He fell back into the bed, looking around the room once more.

At the far end, directly opposite from where he was laying, was a single door. It was made of wood like the rest of the room. But it was hinged with a type of metal that looked vaguely familiar. Nopony was in the room, but he could hear voices. Muffled, indistinguishable voices. He tried to focus on them, but his ears were ringing, and all he could pick up where tones.

“H..hello..!” he called. The sound of his own voice scared him. It was rough. And it sounded like he hadn’t drank anything for days. “Is somepony there!” His voice broke, and he started to cough. When he could breathe again, the voices were gone. He tried to stand up again, but the pain and nausea caused him to fall back. A wave of fatigue swept over him, and he felt his eyes close again. But before he fell asleep, he thought he heard the door open, and hoofsteps approach the bed.

*****

“I..I don’t understand.” Lightning said through teary eyes. “She’s...she’s gone?”

Twilight nodded solemnly. “I am afraid she is.” Lightning’s face fell into his hooves. Twilight could only imagine how he felt.

“I don’t think you understand how important she was to this.” Twilight said. “Without her sacrifice, without her courage, without her spirit, we would all be stuck up above, or worse. She gave her life to this cause. To save each and every one of us. If we were back on Equestria, she would have been granted a place on the Royal Court.”

“Did...did she leave anything behind?” Lightning asked. His yellow eyes were wide and filled with tears. He looked like his entire world had crumbled before him. And, considering where they were, it probably had.

Twilight nodded, opening her pack. She pulled out both the note they had found with Cora on the ship, and the one on the back of the picture. “She left these on the ship. One is specifically addressed to you.” She handed them to Lightning, tears falling from his eyes as he read them. “We want to honor her final wish. As soon as we can, we are taking her to the ocean to set this right.”

Lightning sniffed, wiping tears from his cheeks. “Thank you. Thank you for that.” He turned the picture around, looking down at the two of them.

“Tell me about her.” Twilight said. Lightning laughed slightly, despite the mood.

“Where to start with Cora.” he said, stroking her mane in the picture, eyes far away, and so full of love.. “Strikingly beautiful. The kind of mare that would turn heads even in Canterlot. Devastatingly smart. Graduated from Celestia’s school for Gifted Unicorns. She went on to become a doctor. And she was so kind. I would have never guessed, even in a thousand years, I would meet a mare like her. But that one day, when I fell into the fountain and she pulled me out. We both knew, right then.” He looked back up at Twilight. “Thank you for telling me, and not letting me find out the hard way.”

“I wouldn’t have let that happen.” Twilight said, holding out her hoof. Lightning took it, standing up from the chair. “And believe me, I won’t stop until her wish is fulfilled.”

“I can’t thank you enough.” Lightning said. “Do you have any idea when that might be.”

“Before the week is out.” she replied. “Now, be strong. Orientation is the last thing for today, and then you can rest. Her bags are right where they should be, above her compartment.”

“Can I see her?”

“Of course. But please don’t move her.”

“I won’t.” Lightning said. Then he turned and walked back into the elevator. As soon as he was gone, Twilight collapsed into the chair. He had taken it well, but she could tell it hadn’t really hit him yet. The real blow would be at the funeral. She wasn’t looking forward to that.

“Is everything going well, Doctor?” she asked, pressing the communicator.

“We are just about ready to start the video.”

“Wait a few minutes. We have one more pony on the way.”

“How did that go?” Whooves’ voice lowered slightly.

“He took it well, but we will have to see what happens in a week.”

“I know you did perfect.” Whooves said.

“There is just one more thing I have to do.” Twilight said. “Then I will be there. Bye.” She shut off the communicator, then looked down at the console. She pressed a single button, and the shutters on the windows shut. The only light was now coming from the console, and a single white light above the elevator. She pressed another button, and a panel to her right slid out of the wall. A single red button rested in the center. Small white lettering wrapped around the edge. “Five minute shutdown. EMERGENCIES ONLY.” She took one last look around room.

Her hoof came down on the button, and a clock appeared on the button itself. It began counting down from five minutes. Twilight looked at it for a moment, then turned and walked towards the elevator. It carried her down to the cryo-level. From there she walked, past all the hatches, now standing open. A beam of sunlight was flowing into the hallway, and she turned towards it. She looked out at the landscape, feeling the sunlight warm her fur.

She stood, leaning against the side of the hatch. Plants had grown up over the edges of the ramp, but they were now trampled down with the passing of hundreds of hooves. From her vantage point, she could see up the side of the ship, right until it curved away and disappeared from view. She ran her hoof up and down the side of it, waiting for the sound. She didn’t have long to wait. The sound of a lightning strike in reverse ran through the ship. At once, all the lights went out, and the gravity drive went down. Twilight heard the ship takes its last breath, enough to flash the lights once more. Then it was silent. It was now dead, all power gone.

“Goodbye old girl.” Twilight said, tapping the hull with her hoof. “Goodbye.”

She looked out into the distance. The line of ponies were slowly making their way into the dome. Her eyes picked out Lightning, who was galloping towards the colony. Smiling, she made her way forwards as well.

*****

The sounds of voices and hooves filled the colony again. Slowly, in small groups, Whooves and Rainbow took the ponies away to get them set up in their dorms. The others tried to comfort ones who had lost family as much as possible. Twilight pulled Applejack aside, asking how many they had lost.

“Seven.” she reported. “Not as many as I was expecting, but still. More than we wanted.”

“Seven more than we wanted.” Twilight said, shaking her head. “We will have to bury them soon.” She sat down in one of the chairs near the banks of computers. Slowly, the mass of ponies was taken away. It almost seemed impossible, for there to actually be ponies there. Twilight kept having to remind herself this wasn’t fake. This was really happening.

Finally, the last group was taken away, and Whooves sat down next to Twilight. “You did perfect today.”

“We all did perfect.” she said, taking his hoof in her own. “I just can’t believe it’s really happening.”

“I had to happen sometime. It was just a matter of time.” Whooves said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. “I am just glad it is over.”

“Not quite yet.” Twilight said. “There is still one thing I have to do.”

*****

The wind blew their manes over the eyes, but they just brushed them away. The sun, the final sun, was setting in front of them, cascading a bright orange light over them, the water, and the valley below them. The only sound was the wind blowing through their hair and the sound of the waves lapping against the side of the cliff a hundred feet down.

On their way up, Twilight and Lightning had passed a field of wildflowers. Miles of blazing red, brilliant yellows and oranges. Before they could leave them behind, Twilight had pulled as many up as she could carry. Slowly, over the next hour of walking, she had formed them into a wreath. Now, she bent down and placed the wreath on the top of the small pile of upturned dirt that was in front of them.

Lightning’s eyes were watering, but he did not let the tears fall. He said Cora wouldn’t have wanted him to cry. The only thing he had done was bend down lightly kiss Cora’s forehead, before they had lowered her down. Now he stood next to Twilight, watching the sun set below the horizon.

“Are you going to say any words?” Twilight asked, breaking the silence for the first time in hours. Lightning shook his head.

“I can’t say anything that she hasn’t already said.” he muttered, looking down at the grave. “Saying anything wouldn’t be right.” Twilight nodded, looking out at the horizon again. “I wish you could have met her.” Lightning said, after a long silence. “I have a feeling you would have liked her.”

“Tell me more about her.” Lightning smiled at this, a single tear falling and soaking into his fur.

“She was.....divine. That word fits her just perfectly. She was devastatingly beautiful. Standing next to Celestia, it would be no contest. She was amazingly intelligent. Kind as could possibly be. It seemed like heaven let her fall to Equestria by accident. I was lucky beyond belief to have found her. I found her, and I never wanted to let her go.

“She sounds like an amazing mare, and an even better friend.” Twilight said. Lightning nodded, still looking out at the horizon. They lapsed into silence again. She didn’t know how long they stood there, but eventually, Lightning turned and started to walk down the cliff. Twilight turned and followed him, thinking of the long trek back to the colony, through the forests and mountains. But she didn’t care. The trip had been worth it. For both of them.

*****

Three weeks later..

“How long has it been now?”

“Three weeks.” Whooves answered, his foreleg wrapped around her shoulder as they walked down the hallways. Ponies smiled and waved as they passed. The desolate and empty hallways were once again filled with voices and bodies. Twilight smiled as they passed new friends and old. It seemed almost surreal to be in contact with any pony other than the other seven she knew the best.

But all the faces in the hallways couldn’t make up for the one that was missing. “When do you think he will be back?” Twilight asked. Whooves shrugged.

“Hopefully in the next couple days. We will have to wait and see.” he replied. Twilight nodded, continuing their walk up the hallways towards the main dome. She looked around at the difference three weeks had made. Already, the holes in the roofs of the domes were being sealed. Lights being replaced and reattached. Soon, maybe in another month, everything would be done.

The second sun was just rising, when the sound of wings made them turn around. Rainbow was flying towards them as fast as possible. She skidded to a halt in mid air, breathing heavy.

“Rainbow, what is it?!” Twilight asked.

“YouwillnotbelievewhatIjustsaw!” she said, he words running together into a single blob.

“Rainbow, slow down.” Whooves said, bringing her to the ground. “What did you see?”

“Just come with me!” she said, jumping up and grabbing Twilight’s hoof. She pulled her off the ground, flying out towards the field. Twilight just shrugged at Whooves as she soared away.

“Seriously, are you gonna explain this to me?” she asked about a minute later. Rainbow paused in mid air, looking around. She turned towards the direction of the mountains, and her face lit up.

“Down there!” she said, pointing with her free hoof. Twilight followed her hoof, finding the spot where she was pointing. A smile spread across her face, and a small giggle left her throat.

“Rainbow, take us back to the colony! We have to tell the others!”

Rainbow and Twilight dropped out of the sky next to Whooves. He looked them up and down. “Anypony going to tell me what is going on?”

“Get the others and tell them to meet in front of the central dome.” Twilight said. “Bring some food as well.” Whooves just looked at her.

“I am not leaving until I get some information.” he replied, crossing his forelegs. Rainbow rolled her eyes, flying forwards and picking him up. She turned him around and dropped him back on the ground.

“Lunar must have found the survivors.”

*****

The eight of them stood in front of the dome. In the distance, they could see a small group, growing in size all the time, coming closer. Pegasi floated in the air, a few meters above the ground. Below them, a group of unicorns and earth ponies walked along. Twilight’s eyes scanned the group of pegasi, but Lunar was nowhere to be seen. Her heart dropped low in her chest.

Finally, the group broke free of the weeds, standing at the edge of ten yard clearing the colonists had cleared. For the first time, Twilight saw Lunar. Her heart left her chest, and a huge smile appeared on her lips. But something was wrong. He was walking, an odd thing for a Pegasus to do. He also limped, heavily, with every step. Her eyes left him, and moved towards the group of ponies he had with him. They were obviously ponies, but there was something different about them.

They were taller, much taller. The shortest one had to be about half a foot above Lunar. They were also strong. Twilight could see the muscles in their hind legs and back from where she was standing. But their necks and faces were slimmer, almost like a deer. The tallest one, the one who was standing next to Lunar places a hoof on his shoulder, making Lunar stop. He turned to face the pony. A short conversation passed between the two, with Lunar gesturing at Twilight and the others once or twice. Finally, the other pony nodded, and they walked towards the group. Lunar stopped about five feet from Twilight and the others. A smile bigger than anything he had ever had on his face. He looked back and forth from his group, to Twilight’s.

“I just want to say.” he said after a slight pause, pointing at the ponies behind him. “I told you so.” His smile turned to a smirk as he stepped forward. Twilight just stared at him, then burst out laughing. She ran forward and embraced him, as the others crowded around.

“We were so worried!” Twilight told him, breaking the embrace. Lunar nodded gravely. He turned and removed his pack. Underneath, was a layer of some kind of cloth. It covered the length from the top of his back to his stomach. He then turned and showed them his left wing, which was wrapped in the same kind of cloth, but had a wooden splint inside of it. An audible gasp came from the group.

“Bloody Hell! What happened?” Whooves asked, rushing forward.

“Let’s just say flying in a thunderstorm, not my best idea.” he said, a small smile on his lips. “But I think it was the best thing that could have happened to me. If I hadn't been hurt, I would have never found these guys.” he gestured to the group behind him. Twilight was able to get a good look at the group for the first time. There was about thirty of them, varying in colors and hues. Twilight could only stare, marveling at how different they were from herself and the others. The one standing next to Lunar, stepped forward, sinking into a deep bow before standing up straight again.

“Sabre,” Lunar said, “these are the ponies I was telling you about. Twilight sparkle, Doctor Whooves, Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Derpy.” He pointed at them as he said their names. Sabre looked them over for a moment before speaking.

“Lunar has told me many thing about you.” he said. His voice was deep, yet it had a kind and caring undertone. He had dark grey fur with a black mane and tail. Bright yellow eyes seemed to glow against his fur. Looking over his shoulder, Twilight could see his overlong mane was pulled into a braid. He spoke in a way that suggested English has been slowly working its way out of their culture. “I am glad that he came to find us. We all knew the stories of the colony, but we didn’t know anything about living there. And we had no want to live in a ghost town.”

“So I told them that you were there, and had awakened the ponies on your ship.” Lunar told them. “And they agreed to come back.”

“I am sure there is a story behind this.” Whooves said, nodding at the group.

“Oh yes. But I think they would like to get settled. It was a long journey.”

“Of course.” Whooves said. “Derpy, would you take them to the seventh floor of the dorms. I am sure they would all like to be together, for the time being.”

“Yes, sir!” Derpy said, waving at the group to follow her. Lunar nodded at Sabre, who followed Derpy as well. Soon, it was just the nine of them.

“You’ve got some explaining to do.” Rainbow said. Lunar nodded.

“I know. So it looks like I was right. The old group was able to grow the fetuses until they were able to be born. Afterwards, they probably set up a system to prevent cross-breeding. But it also seems like they were going for a system of Artificial Selection. The amount of changes in those ponies, their height, strength,everything else, doesn’t happen in a hundred years. I wish I knew what my friends were thinking.”

“All that matters is that you found them.” Twilight said. “And after they are settled and acclimated, maybe we can interview them.” Lunar nodded.

“How do you think they survived?” Rarity asked.

“From what it seems, they drank the water. The first group wouldn’t have had access to the equipment I had. So as far as I can figure, they ran out of filtered water and drank the spring water before they died. I just wish I knew what happened for sure. I am just happy that I was able to find them, and that I didn’t die.”

“No, but you sure tried hard enough.” Rainbow said. Lunar grinned, looking up at the colony and the ponies that now inhabited it.

“I can’t believe what you have done in three weeks. I would loved to have been here when you woke them up.”

“I was a fantastic sight.” Whooves said. “But it doesn’t really matter now. What matters is you are back, and alive.” Lunar nodded, embracing him, then the others one by one. His eyes settles on the seven mounds of dirt a few yards away, close to the edge of the clearing.

“Seven?” he asked. Twilight and Whooves nodded. “Well, it was less than I was expecting, and I guess the new arrivals make up for it. Still, I wished we hadn’t lost any.” He stared at the graves for a few quiet moments. Twilight wondered what he was thinking about. If he was thinking of the last time he had to bury his friends. After a moment, he shook his head. “I should probably go help get the other settled. They aren’t used to this type of technology anymore.” He turned towards the way Derpy had flown and limped off. They watched him go, not sure what to think of him and the new arrivals.

*****

“You know, the colony will have to repopulate.” Whooves said, smiling down at Twilight. She laughed and slapped his side, but her eyes told him she was thinking the same thing. The metal under their backs was getting cooler as the sun, the final one, sank in the sky. Already, stars were appearing on the opposite horizon. A purple sky was slowly going black around the edges as the fiery orange sun sank below the horizon. They didn’t know it, but it was actually the equinox. The longest day.

“How do you think the Wild Ones will fare?” Twilight asked, looking up from where her head lay on his lap. The ponies around the colony had begun to call them that, and the new arrivals didn’t seem to mind the nickname. Whooves stroked her mane, looking out at the horizon.

“I don’t know. I suppose it will be like when we woke up on the ship. But this time, they have other ponies to help them along.”

“I suppose. It shouldn’t take long.” Twilight replied. “I can’t believe we had no idea they were out there.”

“Makes you think about what could have been hiding back on Equestria and we never knew.” Twilight smiled, looking up at the stars that were slowly appearing. In the distance, a few pegasi were flying around the ship, back to the domes, then to she ship in a race. A cyan and Rainbow blur showed exactly where Rainbow was. Following her, matching her beat for beat, was Derpy. Twilight would have never guessed her to be a racer, but she was. Rainbow waved as she flew passed, and Twilight could only just make out the wink she was giving Whooves. She rolled her eyes enough so that Rainbow could see, and she flew away laughing.

“You know, they never gave this colony a name.” Whooves said after a few moments.

“Really? I would have thought that would have been their first order of business.”

“Nope. Lunar said they never got around to it. So, he said that you could name it if you thought up a really good one.” Twilight looked out towards the domes. Ponies were walking, talking, playing. Some were flying around in the air, occasionally dropping down onto a roof to rest or relax, just as Twilight and Whooves were doing. It seemed so peaceful, such a contrast to what the first month had been. It was almost like a dream. It almost was like being back on Equestria. Suddenly, an idea formed in her mind. She smiled up at Whooves again.

“I got one.” she said quietly, leaning forward and kissing him softly on the lips. When she broke away, she looked back out at the sinking sun. “I know what it should be called.”

Haven

Shades of Equestria