The Last Child on Earth

Chapters

Prolouge
Chapter 1: Awakening from Frozen Slumber
Chapter 2: A Friendship is Made
Chapter 3: The New Plan of Action
Chapter 4: Caught In The Dark
Chapter 5: Building Bridges
Chapter 6: New Discoveries
Chapter 7: Moving On
Chapter 8: Putting the Past in Front of Us

Prolouge

"Aiden....Aaaaaideen....Aiden!"

"Huh? Wh-what?" Aiden says, refocusing on the world around him. He looks up from sitting against the wall, to see his new friend, Marc, who had been talking with the other subject, a girl named Cathy. Now, Marc was trying to get Aiden's attention, so he didn't feel left out.

"Aiden, I asked you a question," Marc said, still waiting for Aiden to reply. He tapped his foot impatiently, Not getting a reply was starting to get on his nerves as it was one of his pet peeves. "Well?"

"Sorry, I was just...out of it, okay? What did you ask?" Aiden finally replied, sitting up to address Marc.

Marc sighed and shook his head. "I asked if you wanted to join our conversation. Obviously that's not the case since you’re daydreaming," Marc said.

"I'm not daydreaming. I'm just…thinking. there's a difference," Aiden replied defensively.

"Riiight..." Marc said, rolling his eyes. "Well, care to join us? Cathy and I were just talking about how long we think we might be staying here."

Aiden looked over and saw Cathy looking to the ground, every so often looking at them. "Yeah, sure." Aiden replied, getting up and walking over with Marc. Aiden stood about 4 feet 7 inches, a bit taller then Marc as he stood 4 feet 5 inches, though they were both 11. Cathy was 4’4”, even shorter than Marc. Aiden sighed and ran his hand through his golden blond hair as he and Marc both sat down with Cathy.

"So, now that we got you out of your own little world, what's your opinion on the time frame for being here?" Marc asked, propping his face up with his hand to his cheek on the table.

Aiden glared at Marc, but then turned his eyes to Cathy so that he wouldn't think about Marc. "Well, now that you mention it, I'm happy to stay here as long as necessary, since I don't have any other place to go or things to do."

Cathy smiled and nodded in response to Aiden.

Marc just rolled his eyes at the both of them. Cathy responded. "That sounds fine, Aiden, as I would agree with you. This place doesn't seem THAT bad, aside being underground, and the people here seem nice too!"

Marc grumbled in annoyance, thinking this situation was entirely opposite of their opinions. "But doesn't it bother you even MORE that they haven't told us what we were chosen for or why we were chosen. There has to be an explanation, they couldn't have just randomly picked us."

"Like what? Are you saying that we can't be lucky for once, or are you just too skeptical?" Aiden teased, grinning a bit.

Marc looked at Aiden with more annoyance, balling his hand in to a fist. Marc could've said more, but was interrupted as the door to the room was opened, and three adults came in. Two of them were obviously scientists, judging by their lab coats, glasses, and clipboards. The third one looked to be a guard, but had a weird looking helmet covering their face. Just the look of the guard's suit made the children uneasy.

"Good day to you children. How are you all feeling?" said the first scientist, a tall brown haired man with a goatee. The children responded with slight mumbles and nods. The man smiled and nodded as well, then looked to his clipboard, flipping through some pages. "So your names are Marc, Catherine, and Aiden, yes?" he added, looking to their files. Each one nodded as he said their names, and Cathy asked to be called Cathy, which the scientist acknowledged. "It seems to almost be your birthday, huh Aiden?" the scientist asked, looking to him as Aiden nodded.

"This next week, actually," Aiden replied, putting on a smile. The scientist smiled back and nodded, writing that down.

"Now children, you're all probably wondering why you're here, what's going on, and what's going to happen while you're staying here."

Marc was the first one to nodded quickly, followed by Cathy who nodded normally, and Aiden who shrugging, not really caring.

"Well, that will all be explained in a brief summary. This will happen with help of my lovely assistant, Dr. Smith, and by the way, you all may call me either Mr. or Dr. Miles," he said, while pointing with his clipboard to the other scientist. She was an auburn haired female with a small smile, her glasses in her shirt pocket.

"Thank you Dr. Miles! Hello children! As Dr. Miles said, my name is Dr. Smith. So, let's start off with the question: why are you here?” The answer is that about 2% of children are starting to develop an increase to their brain activity. This manifests as dramatic improvement to their skills in mathematics, science, and language." The children looked shocked.

"So...we're becoming smarter?" Aiden asked.

Dr. Smith nodded as to agree with him. "Yes, you all are indeed, becoming smarter. But there's another percentage as well.About one fourth of these 2% are TWICE as smart as their peers."

The children looked at each other in awe, before turning to her.

"Does that include…us?" Marc asked.

Dr. Smith nodded in response. The room went silent, as the children took in this information.

"H-how is that possible?" Cathy asked, her voice nervous.

"Do not be worried, I assure you that this is a positive thing that is happening to you all," Dr. Miles said, seeing the uneasiness between the children. This calmed them down slightly, but they were all still curious.

"Indeed Dr. Miles, this is all a great discovery, in science AND in human history. That is why you all are here, so we can figure out why this is happening and how we can improve it and/or preserve it.

"Well, if that means helping a lot of people, just with intelligence, then I'm in!" Marc exclaimed, standing up from his chair. Aiden rolled his eyes at him, and Cathy giggled, making Marc slightly blush and sit back down.

"Thank you Marc, we are glad to hear you say that. But I have to say we don't have much time," Dr. Smith said.

The children’s looks of happiness faded quickly and were turned into looks of fear."W-what do you mean?" Cathy asked, starting to get scared.

"Now, now, there's nothing to be afraid about. What I mean is..." Dr. Smith assured, and runs her hand through her hair, messing with it slightly. She sighed and continued. "There will be an outbreak, across the country. Maybe even across the whole world! We don't know how to stop it, and neither does the government. What we do know is that whatever it is,it's coming very soon. Which is why-"

"Which is why we'll have to freeze you until the outbreak blows over." Dr. Miles interrupted.

"WHAT?!? Frozen?! For how long?!?" Aiden exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Do not, panic. What he means is...that until the outbreak is past, you'll be put to sleep in a cryogenic pod. Yes, that means we will be leaving you for a bit, while we go to the main lab to work on a cure." Dr. Smith explained. "Please, this is for the best. When we mean short time, we mean it." She added.

The children exchanged looks with each other. This all was scary, even crazy, but if it for the best, then they had no choice but to do as they were told.

The guard's helmet beeped, as the guard received a message the rest could not hear. "Dr. Smith, Dr. Miles…it's time," the guard said. The scientists nodded to him as they stood, as well as the children.

"Alright children, follow us. We will escort you to a bathroom to change your clothes and to put your stuff away, and then we'll take you to the pods," Dr. Miles explained. They lead them out into the hallway and through the corridors.

The children exchanged looks again of curiosity and nervousness as they walked behind the adults. First, they were lead to the bathrooms, each were given clothes and went inside. The clothes consisted of a thin white shirt and a slick looking jumpsuit. Aiden put on the t-shirt, jumped into his jumpsuit, put back on his shoes, and exited the bathroom with Marc. Cathy was already out waiting with the scientists and now two guards.

"Follow me, please," Dr. Miles said as he led the children, Dr. Smith, and guards, which were behind the children, to a secured door being guarded by two more soldiers. Dr. Miles and Dr. Smith showed their cards, and the guards opened the doors and let them pass.

Inside was a lot bigger than the children expected it to be. The ceiling was 7 feet above the ground, and the room was twice in width and length. There in the back of the room were three pods. Each pod was about 6 feet tall, roomy enough to fit a child their size. The children headed to the pods. The children stopped in front of the pods, looked at them, then at each other.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye. Until we're released," Marc said, looking at the ground as to avoid eye contact.

"Yeah. Hopefully we'll see each other real soon!" Cathy added, smiling lightly.

"Hey, come on guys! It's like they said. We'll be in the pods for a bit, it's not like their gonna forget about us," Aiden assured. Marc and Cathy exchanged nervous looks, but nodded in agreement. "Well, everyone sleep tight,and don't let the bedbugs bite!" he joked, making everyone chuckle.They all turned around, facing the scientists.

"We're good to go! Cryogenic freezing process starting in 5…”

"I hope we're released REAL soon," Marc thought.

"4...3..."

"I hope everyone will be alright," Cathy thought.

"2..."

"I'm not afraid...everything will be okay. Happy early birthday to me," Aiden thought to himself, smiling a bit.

"1! Process starting!" The pods started to release the special gas to freeze the children. All of the children closed their eyes as they began to feel drowsy. The pod screens fogged and froze over.It was completed.

Chapter 1: Awakening from Frozen Slumber

Cold. It's all I felt before I went to sleep. I remembering shivering from it, trying to ignore it, but it was all around me obviously, so I couldn't. Then silence. I couldn't hear anything from outside, couldn't hear myself breathe. I didn't know if I was even alive. Not until I felt the warmth came back. It felt so good, I wanted it to last forever. See? What did I tell them, we're fine, their letting us out now. I knew we could trust-

"No, no, no! What's happened to me?" I heard from outside. Cathy? Did something go wrong? I tried opening my eyes, but I was still too sleepy. But as more warmth came in, I was able to move a bit. As I move my limbs, I hear crying from outside the pod. Cathy is in trouble! I yell in my head to move faster, but I still felt cold, I had to thaw out completely I guess. I tried yelling out to her, but I could only manage grumbles. I heard a thud on the glass, probably her. I tried opening my eyes again, and this time I could manage to open up my eyelids a bit. The pod's screen was still frozen over, but I could make out a shape. Small, slim, sleek, it had to be Cathy!
"Aiden? Aiden?!" I heard her say, thumping on the glass, trying to get my attention. I could only manage to push off my seat a bit, so now I leaning against the screen. I heard her gasp, holding back more cries I guess. I move my lips, trying to make words, but nothing audible comes out.

"Aiden...I'm so sorry..." She said. Then another sound was overheard. The pods were going to be releasing the gas again! I tried to move, I tried to bump into the screen, to do something! But nothing worked, so I stopped and moved back into placed slowly, tired. I needed Cathy's help, I relied on her to get me out. But I didn't hear her voice, I didn't hear a thump. Where did she go? I open my eyes, only to see the pod's screen freezing again, but beyond that, I saw no shadow, no shape. But I saw the room, before the screen froze over. It was a complete mess, something definitely went wrong. But she wasn't there, she had left me, left me here to freeze until the pod's power ran out. Why did she leave me? What has happened to this place? I could not understand, but it didn't matter, because the next thing I knew I had closed my eyes again, and I went back to my sleep. All thoughts and emotions left me, except for one....sadness. And a burning question, enough I wished that would thaw out the cold: Why did Cathy leave me?

And now the coldness ran through me again. What did I do to deserve this? What had I done to be left here to be frozen, no, ROT, in a chamber of my everlasting slumber. I was left with nothing but a curious mind, a lost hope, and an aching feeling of sadness. This is what I get for helping others. This was my fate....

I don’t know how much time passed... but there was now a new sound. Buzzing? No wait, beeping! The alarm again? The power must've gone out! Finally, I can leave. I waited for the gas to disperse, and the warmth to surround me fully. It all felt so good to feel warmth again. When it was finally warm inside the pod, I opened my eyes fully for the first time. I was shocked, even afraid, of what I saw. The walls were dusty, since no one has taken care of the place while I slept, and the floors were worse, all dirty and filled with papers and things scattered around. The place was a mess, but the structure still seemed sturdy I guess. No, get out first, take in sights later. I start to move my limbs trying to get the feeling back in them. It took a while, but everything was working, aching, but working. I use my right arm to push on the screen. It wouldn't budge for a bit, but after a while, it finally gave opened. As it opened up enough for me to exit, I jumped down in one leap…big mistake. My legs gave away at the last second when I landed, making me hit the ground on my side, hard. I lay there on the dusty ground, looking upwards to the ceiling, though it was a bit hard to see, except for the emergency lights which gave some light. I slowly get up, pushing myself off the ground, which got some dust in my eyes, so I blinked a couple of times to clear the dust out. After that, I looked around the room a bit, then at the pods. I couldn't believe what I saw. Marc's pod was wide open, which wouldn't make sense as of how he got out.

We were all frozen, and if he had gotten out, either he was magically teleported away, which is impossible, or he was thawed out and taken, which also doesn't make sense as to WHY THEY DIDN'T TAKE US! Whatever, he's gone...and so was Cathy. As I look at her pod, it brought a chill down my spine. The door was busted open from the inside and was held up only by a single hinge, and the screen was cracked. What DID happen to Cathy? I looked around for evidence of her departure, but I only saw dust, papers, and a few...feathers? I picked one up to observe it. It was fully white, except for the end of it being purple...or is it lavender, since it looks a bit brighter. Can't tell in this lighting, so I'll keep in my pocket for later. Since I don't need anything from this room, I'll go to wear my stuff is, and hopefully it's all still there. I open the door, go down the hallway thankfully remembering the way back and head to the locker room/ bathroom. I find my stuff, though it took a while from bad lighting to find the right locker does anyone else have that problem where they think a 1 looks like an unfinished 4? Anyway I go to a stall to change back into my clothes.

My shirt was dusty, and so was my hoodie, but I managed to shake most of the dust off. The pants I already have I think I'll keep, as well as the shoes. Once I got my clothes back on, I looked inside for my glow sticks. I liked to run around with them at night on special occasions for fun before all this. My favorite were the blue ones, I take one out and light it up. I go back into the hallways, looking for a way out. Then I remember a room we passed by: An armory! Whatever had happened to Cathy might've left those feathers, and they could still be here. I quickly head to it, taking a while to remember which hall it was at, but I made it. I open the door and turned on the lights, which flickered a lot. Apparently they took everything they could, but things were scattered around, so maybe they dropped something. I get on my hands and knees, and look below the shelves. Then I found something, as I scooted over to get a closer look, reach my hand to it, and drag it out.
"A grappling hook? Sweet!" I say to myself. It was a bit big for my size, but had some sort of crank on the side. I got off the ground and stood up, placing my hand on a shelf, which also had something I didn't see before. An extendable police baton, NOW were talking!

I'm probably not gonna use a gun, so I left the room before I had second thoughts. Now to get out of here...wait, what's that noise? Sounds like clacky footsteps, as if whoever they were wearing dress shoes. Now what I thought at first was that someone FINALLY came back, but then again...who comes back to an abandoned bunker? That got me thinking that I should hide, but where?! I look around nervously for a place, even up. I see the air ducts hanging by the steel support rods. Those should be strong enough for me to sit on. I instantly take out the grapple, shoot it up to the air ducts, it hooks around one of the rods, and I start cranking. I manage to get there quickly, and I lay flat on my stomach and stay quiet. Now to wait to see who's here...

Chapter 2: A Friendship is Made

Aiden waits there, on top of the air ducts, as the footsteps get louder. He takes out his new police baton, if needed to fight back. But as the shadows appeared, tall and skinny at first, the figures turn the corner to the hall Aiden was in, he does not believe what he sees. Two lone mares walked through the subterranean halls of the once quiet bunker, using the magic glow of their horns to light their way through the dark. They were wearing light sweaters and had slightly modified backpacks hanging on their shoulders. Silvia, the unicorn on the right had red eyes, royal purple coat and a black mane and tail. Rebeca, the mare on Sil’s left, had blue eyes, a light green coat and a lightning yellow mane and tail. They walked down the halls in relative silence, looking for anything that may come in useful and wandered towards a sound they heard earlier. It had sounded like someone moving around, but they couldn’t be sure, “Are you sure we actually heard anything ‘Beca?” Silvia asked quietly.

Rebeca nodded, “I’m pretty sure, I mean, I thought I heard something. But didn’t you hear it too?”

Silvia shrugged in a non-committal way, “Well, if we don’t find something soon we should head back out.” She called into the dark, “Hello? Is someone down here?” When no one answered she shrugged again and led them into Aiden’s cryogenic room.

Aiden could not believe this. They looked like ponies, but were WAY smaller then normal ones. He only see them in pictures on the web when he had the time to do whatever on there, but none looked as weird as them. And they talked as well, which was MORE bizarre. But whoever or whatever they were, they were heading the wrong way. He uses the grapple to get down quietly, then he sneaks while crouching down, as he peers into the cryogenic room that the ponies went into.

Silvia and Rebeca looked over the room at the destroyed pod and at the other two that were open and felt nervous about being down in that bunker any longer, "Hey, Sil? I think we should go now." Beca said shakily. Silvia nodded and they trotted towards the door, but as they did so, Sil accidentally slipped and bumped against a control panel that started to close a quarantine door, she managed to slip under but Rebeca fell and was directly under the closing door. Suddenly a human boy appeared from behind, grabbed Rebeca by her front hooves, and dragged her out from under the door before it shut. The boy backed away from them, then turns around to leave, not before saying,

"If I were you,I suggest you start running!" And he sprints off towards the exit stairs to the surface.

Sil helps lift up Rebeca and they run after him, following him to the emergency stairs, “Hey! Wait up, kid.” Silvia called out after him as they gained on him, having four legs does have its advantages after all. The boy looked back at them and rolled his eyes, but keeps running.

Aiden ran alongside the ponies as they made their way up the stairs, towards the surface. Finally they made it out, as they reached the top of stairs and out the door, towards the entrance of the bunker. The ponies ran quicker than the boy, so they made it out first as the giant began to close down.

"Come on kid, you can make it!" Rebeca said to him as they turned around to watch the boy. Aiden kept running as the door was halfway shut. He tripped up as he ran, making him fall and tumble his way to the door and out from under it as it finally closed. He breathed heavily until he calmed down, and then let a sigh of relief escape his mouth.

Aiden stood up and started to dust himself off. Just as he finished he was tackled to the ground by a yellow stallion that had blue eyes and a red mane and tail. “Don’t move, kid!” He said holding Aiden to the ground, “Are you guys alright?” He asked to Silvia and Rebeca.

Sil gasped at the stallion’s actions, “Tony! Get off him. What’s wrong with you?” She shooed him off Aiden and helped to lift Aiden to a sitting position, “Are you alright? Thank you for helping us back there.” She said thanking him.

Aiden pushed away from her, “Yeah, I’m sure you’re real thankful.” He bit back.

Sil responded, “I’m sorry about Tony here.” The stallion huffed, “Sometimes he’s like that, he really is a nice guy. So what’s your name?” She asked, hoping to repair the situation.

Aiden looked at them cautiously, “Aiden.” He said simply.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Aiden.” Rebeca said extending her hoof to him in a friendly way. He looks at it and awkwardly shakes her hoof.

Tony then speaks up, “Uh, sorry about that kid. I thought something else was going on. I guess you were trying to help them out of there?” He asked rubbing behind her head.

Silvia answered for him, “Yes, and I think you owe him and apology.”

“Uh yeah, sorry for tackling you, kid.” Tony said with a certain amount of sincerity.

Rebeca then spoke up, “Anyway, we hope you’re ok.” She says softly, “My name is Rebeca by the way, that is Silvia,” She pointed to Sil, “And that is Tony.” She reaffirmed as Aiden had heard his name already.

Aiden looks around the area. They were in another facility, the office part that is. There was a receptionist desk on the left to them in the corner, and on the other side of the room was the door out. The room itself looked dusty and a mess too, some papers about, things taken, and objects left untouched by anyone. "Wow...looked like a tornado hit here then turned into an abandoned museum." He muttered to himself as he kept looking around.

"Yea, we found it all like this...people must've been in a hurry." Tony said, walking up next to him and looking around as well. "What is this place anyway?" He asked

"From the looks of the place under here, it was some sort of lab or research facility..and they had these weird tubes-" Silvia started, but Aiden interrupted her.

"Pods...they were cryogenic pods. They froze me and my friends in them to stop the outbreak from hurting us." Aiden explained.

Both ponies looked at him in shock. "Froze you?! Why didn't they do that to everyone else?!?" Tony exclaimed, annoyed that these people had froze the boy and not TONS of other of people.

"You mean there were more of you?" Rebeca asked quietly, hearing what else Aiden had said. Aiden turned to her and nodded.

"We were chosen. Me, Marc, and Cathy. They said we were special-" Aiden explained, but now Tony was the one interrupted, and he pushed Aiden away from them out of anger.

"Special?! Special for what, because your a kid? Because your of your blood?!" Tony asked angrily. Silvia put a hoof to his chest, making a type of barrier between Tony and Aiden.

"Tony, back off, of course there's a reason..." Silvia said, trying to calm him down, but Tony swatted her hoof away.

"Yea, well it better be a good one, otherwise I"m gonna be really mad about why the government would save a couple of kids and not THOUSANDS of other people!" He exclaimed, still annoyed. Aiden and Tony exchange glares before Aiden continued.

"They said that it was because we were smarter, something being caused by the outbreak or something. But they didn't have time to test us because of the outbreak, so they put us in the pods and told us they would be back soon." Aiden finished. The ponies stood silent, though Tony still annoyed, just not as angry.

"And how long has that been since you last seen them?" Rebeca asked, breaking the silence.

"About a day or so, I just got out of my pod before you two came in." Aiden answered, as he looks away and to the door. He noticed, outside, that there were leaves on the ground, and the wind would lift them away and more leaves would come every so often. "Wait, why are the leaves.." He mumbled, then headed out the door. The ponies gave him a questionable look, then followed him out the door. Aiden walks outside and looks around. The trees' leaves were blown with the wind as he stood there silently. The trees that still had a few leaves were brownish-orange colored, signifying that it was fall. "What did the outbreak do, change the seasons too? I thought that this was March." He said as he started down the road, though where he was going was much farther probably on foot.

"Hey, where do you think you're going? First of all, it's not March it's September and second of all-" Tony started as the ponies followed him trying to stop Aiden, but then Aiden stopped suddenly and turned around with a look of confusion.

"W-what did you say? I-it can't be September, it was March when I got here!" Aiden stuttered, his voice cracked slightly.

"Well why else would it be Fall?" Tony replied, pointing around with his hoof to show him again all the signs of it being Fall. Aiden looked around quickly, back away as his hands went through his hair, and tears started to form in his eyes.

"No, no, no, I-i can't be! T-they said it wouldn't be long, they said it would over by then. NO!" He said nervously, breaking down. He tried to run off, to get away to what he wanted to be lies, but it all made sense now. The dirty floors, the dust, the weather surrounding him. Time had passed, and things didn't get better...it got worse. Suddenly he stopped and fell to the ground on his hands and knees, crying as he balled his fists and smacked the ground. The ponies galloped over to him, and Silvia sat down in front of him and hugged him, trying to calm him down.

"Hey, hey, don't cry. Please don't cry. Everything will be alright." She said to him, as Aiden kept crying. He instinctively hugs back for comfort,trying to calm down, but soon stop and goes limp as he passes out. "Hey guys, he out! Help me get him back to the office." Silvia said, as the others came over and they help her put him up and onto her back. Silvia and Rebeca used their magic to adjust just right to make sure he doesn't fall off

"Are you okay? He's not too heavy is he?" Tony asked, but Silvia waved him off.

"I'm fine, I can carry him." She replied. "Hey Rebeca, stay behind me to make sure he doesn't slip off, okay?" Silvia suggested, and Rebeca nodded and went behind her. Rebeca looks at Aiden and still sees tears fall off his cheek, so she uses her magic to wipe them away. Other then looking a bit sad, he seemed to be breathing normally, meaning he calmed down.

"He looks so peaceful in his sleep." Rebeca said quietly. Tony looks at the boy and sees this too, and smiled slightly.

"Yea, he does...let's go." Tony said, the two others nodded and headed back towards the facility.

Author's Note

Please know that the ponies Rebeca and Silvia are the ponies of the CO-author, Ascent-Express. Know that now, and also check out Ascent's stories too! Ascent is really cool and also my part time editor :heart: :moustache:

Chapter 3: The New Plan of Action

Author's Note

Today is a happy day! Not only does my first story gets approved, but it's already been added to favorites by light997! :pinkiehappy: Thx SO much light997, it means a lot XD

Chapter 3: The New Plan of Action

Why...why me? Why did I have to be the 'special one' that was given intelligence? I mean, ANYONE could've gotten it, there was a big bunch of kids around my age back where I lived, so why didn't THEY catch it? Wait why am I acting like it's a virus...whatever it is, I just wish it happened to someone else. I would've been happy to survive in the apocalypse with my mom and dad...even if that meant being turned into a pony. What's the term for a child pony? I think it's called a filly, right? Again, it doesn't matter. I should probably wake up now, its better than talking to myself.

I wake up slowly, only to see the blinding light of the sun through a window. Must be on a higher floor. I looked down at myself and saw that I was covered with one of the ponies' sweaters. So THAT'S what kept me warm...I'll note to thank them for it, and give it back to them. I get up and take the sweater, putting it over my shoulder as I head to the door. As soon as I open it, I can hear better outside my door, and hear them talking.

"What?! Are you seriously thinking of keeping him with us?" Tony said

"Shh! He's still sleeping..." Rebeca told him quietly, and I heard a grumble which was probably from Tony. I make my way down the hallway quietly and stop at the corner, peeking over a bit to see. There were some more windows where they were, and their coats are different colors, so it was easy to spot them in the other room. Tony was pacing back and forth by the farther wall, Silvia was sitting against another wall, and Rebeca was watching Tony pace back and forth at the same wall he was at, facing the hallway I was in, though thankfully he didn't pace far enough for her vision to pass over to see me.

"Yeah Tony, keep it down, and YES I'm serious about it. He's all alone with no one to watch over him." Silvia answered, watching Tony pace as well.

"He looks like he can take care of himself, he got out with you and saved you guys, right?" Tony argued.

"Yes, he did, and that's why we should stay with us or at least until we find his family-" Silvia started to say but Tony cut her off

"Woah woah woah, we are NOT babysitters and we are definitely NOT getting him back to his family." Tony said, a bit louder than needed.

"We have to! If we can't keep him, then we get him back to his family." Silvia retorted.

"And how on Earth do you plan to do that? We don't know where his parents are and how we can get to them, they could be MILES away or even-" Tony started but, surprisingly Rebeca cut him off and stopped him from pacing away from her before Silvia could respond.

"Don't. Say. Another. Word. We don't know that his parents are...dead. All we have to do is ask, then we get him there, drop him off, and be on our way, got it?" She said sternly. Tony gulped and backed away, turning his head away from them. "Got it?" She asked again, squinting her eyes at him.

He mumbled something but then said, "Got it." Although I had seen him turn his head away from them, I did not pay attention that the direction he turned his head away was towards me...so when he looked up after a while, the first thing he saw was a bit of my head peeking around the corner. I immediately and quietly looked away from that corner and headed back to the room I was in. I heard him say something to the girls, which was quickly followed by the sound of hooves.

Thankfully, I was able to get back inside, lay down almost EXACTLY where I had slept, turned over away from the door so they wouldn't see my face, and closed my eyes hoping that they would think Tony was imagining things and that I was still asleep. As I waited to hear them come galloping into the room thinking I HAD heard them, they didn't and instead did the opposite. I guessed they slowed down quickly enough to not make much noise, so quietly that the only way I knew they were coming in was the door opening, which I noted to make sound and made sure to be quick when closing the door.

"Aiden? Are you awake?" Silvia asked quietly. I didn't respond and managed to look like I was asleep from their view. I heard them come closer, so I made sure not to open my eyes. The sweater that I held was off my body a bit, but I guessed either Rebeca or Silvia put it back over me properly, as I could see the glow of the magic dimly through my eyelids.

"Your right guys. He looks so peaceful in his sleep." Silvia said. I made sure not to smile from that comment.

"Are we sure he's not faking it? What if he-" Tony started, but both Silvia and Rebeca and shushed him to be quiet. He probably wanted to repeat, but I heard Rebeca grumble at him, and so he didn't.

"Come on guys, let's leave before he does wake up." Rebeca said as she was heading to the door, followed by I guess Tony.

"Nah, you guys go, I'll...keep watch of him, and to make sure he's okay." Silvia said quietly. I heard Tony about to try and talk again, but I heard him gasped and then heard the door shut, meaning either both girls gave him a death stare and he didn't want to get hoofed by the both of them, or Rebeca had used her magic to lift or drag him out of the room and closed the door. I had to bite my bottom lip slightly to stop myself from laughing.

After they had gone, the room went quiet. I didn't know where Silvia was, nor had I heard her leave, so I'm guessing she was in the room with me. Weird, why would she watch me from within the room WHILE I was 'sleeping’. A little stalk-ish I think. My opinion changed as soon as I felt a presence wrap around me, like with a lioness with her cubs...or in this case a mare with her foal. My opinion was split into two options: either she had a weird relationship with me like I had suddenly became her son or something...or that she wanted to have a family, and she was starting to show it with me. I'm kinda in between the two but more wanting it to be option 2, as option 1 was, as said, very weird. Whatever it was, I was stuck now, and either had to pretend to wake up, make her uncomfortable enough to leave, or fall asleep again for real this time. As bad as I wanted to do 1 or 2, 3 was slowly becoming the winner as I slowly fell asleep.

And that's when I had the weirdest dream. In my dream, I had woken up on a hill, but not just any hill, a hill overlooking what seemed to be a village or small town. I was able to stand up and have a look. I wanted to get closer, and suddenly I was, as I was now in what I assumed was the town square. Now this could've been ANY village of people...except the people weren't actually people. They were, to my surprise, ponies. And there were A LOT of them! Some were stallions, others mares, and even fillies. And here were the first few things I noticed: number one, THEY WEREN'T WEARING CLOTHES...almost no clothes. There were a few here and there wearing dresses or coats, but most were just wearing a few articles of clothing. Some wore hats, while others wore shoes, glasses, or necklaces. The next thing I noticed was that for those who weren't wearing clothing had a reason to show their...butt tattoos??? As much as I didn't want to be caught staring, if I was able to be seen, I couldn't help and examine some of the ponies' tattoos.

The regular ponies, those who didn't have any horns, had things like flowers, farming, or food related things on them. I guess since they couldn't do magic they were the ground people to produce stuff for the community. Those who DID have horns not only had tattoos, such as stars, chemistry things, or magical orbs to show off they could use magic, but were of course using them to their full potential. They were carrying things without touching them as they glowed behind them, others used spells like teleporting or summoning objects.

Then there were Pegasuses. I am not even joking, REAL LIVE PEGASUSES. Has too many S's in the name...besides that, there were a lot of them too, and even though their wings were a bit small for them, even for stallions, they were still able to fly. Anyway, the Pegasuses had tattoos of things about weather, like clouds, flying animals, and rainbows. And here I am, in the middle of it all, taking in everything. Was THIS the place where it all began? Is this the source of the outbreak? I didn't have time to think it through as I heard hooves behind me, making me turn around. A purple mare, a unicorn, had a book in front of her face, so she couldn't see me in front of her. Of course I could just move away, or attempt to say something, but I decided to just walk backwards to keep in front of the mare as she read mindlessly forward. Geez, wouldn't want to be friends with her, she seems too book-wormish to pay attention to anyone. But I wasn't able to do that for long, as I tripped on something and fell backwards, but not on to the ground, into a hole that continued to seem like forever. I turned over to see if there was a bottom, and I wished there had been, because at the bottom was not water or ground, but a giant dragon looking face that had glowing red eyes and sharp teeth and opened its mouth as I was about to get the chomps.

But fortunately I woke up before I did...and unfortunately I had been scream in and out of my dream, as I screamed, "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!",once I had woken up. I had instantly woken up Silvia....crap.

"Aiden, are you ok?!?" Silvia asked quickly, as she got and went in front of me and puts her hooves on my shoulders, shaking me slightly. Tony and Rebeca soon after came in to see what happened.

"Why the hell is he screaming?!" Tony yelled, trying to talk over me.

"Shut up Tony! Aiden what's wrong?" Rebeca said then came to my side. By this time I had already stopped and was breathing heavily, wide-eyed and too shocked to speak. I didn't know what to say to them or how to explain what I saw, but my head had already told me to start tearing up without me noticing, and that's what I did. Silvia gave me a worried look, then pulled me into a hug, as Silvia rubbed my back to calm me down. Tony stayed put, standing there, being a jerk by rolling his eyes and looking away, though I swear for a moment I turned my head slightly to see him looking back and have a worried look as well. Heh, I'm growing on him! After a bit, I calmed down, and the girls got off me. They asked me to explain why I was screaming, but I couldn't. I didn't know what to say, and that was that.

They decided to say it was just a bad dream for me, and we eventually got all out stuff and headed out. And I didn't even realize that we were walking away from the facility until we got out and back into the slightly cold weather. I shivered slightly, but from then on I didn't argue or complain. I just walked as long as they could, down the road and where ever there might be a vehicle and/or food. They did what they had promised, and I thank them for that...for caring for me, well at least the girls did, Tony? Not so much, not yet I think. Who knows...maybe I will stay with them, until I 'find my parents.' Probably should say sooner or later...that my parents might not be in the same state.

Chapter 4: Caught In The Dark

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 5: Building Bridges

I can't believe we were being attacked by dogs. I bet most of those had owners, because I didn't usually see stray dogs before the apocalypse. Should I call it that, the apocalypse? I mean, it's not like the world is coming to an end, it's just been 'tampered' with. I guess I should call it "The Outbreak”, or even "The Event." It sounds lame, but that's all I can think of it until further notice. That should be thought about another time really.

After we were a faraway distance from where we encountered the dogs, we started walking at normal pace. Tony decided to take the lead, and Rebeca went a bit beside him, but not next to him exactly. As for me, I walked right next to Silvia. I was looking around as she started talking with Tony who responded with head gestures. I didn't even hear her trying to talk to me until she nudged me with her muzzle. I tensed up slightly, which she noticed and asked about.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked.

I nodded and said, "Of course." She nodded too and went silent for a moment.

She asked me another question, it being "How did you know that the wooden fence would fall down?"

I looked at Tony as I answered, "I didn't know exactly. I'm just glad Tony was able to knock it down for me."

Tony looked back to me and said, "Well if I hadn't seen you looking at it, I wouldn't have knocked it down in the first place."

I chuckled, and so did Tony. I saw Silvia smile from the corner of my eye, probably because Tony and I were talking to each other about something. I don't mind small talk, at least talk about who did what. As we continued walking and talking,from time to time, I felt rain being dropped upon me. I looked around and everyone else felt it too. We all looked up as the rain started coming down from the clouds, meaning it was going to rain harder soon.

"Come on guys, let's get inside." Tony, and he lead us to an apartment building that was down a block. We got in just in time, as it started to rain harder. As Tony and Rebeca looked around the first floor, just in case, I decided to have some fun by playing in the rain.

I felt like such a kid as I jumped in puddles. Silvia was watching me from under the doorway, smiling and laughing a bit. When Tony told her that it was safe, Silvia called me in, and I ran inside. Since I was wet, I purposely shook my body to get some of the water off and get Silvia wet. She held up her hoof to protect her face, but the rest of her got wet still. So now we were both wet, and we were laughing a little. Rebeca had found a towel from one of the bathrooms, and gave it to us to dry off with. I let Silvia use it first, and when she gave it to me, she used her magic to dry me off. I told her I could do it myself, but she insisted on her to continue. I shrugged and let her, as she dried my head. When she took it off, I could see a bit of my hair fall in front of my face, and saw some strands become curls. She seemed to blush a little, I would guess because she's never seen my hair do that. I explained that it happens whenever I shower, which she nodded.

She also said, "You look cute with curls." Which I instantly roll my eyes, pretending to have ignored what she said. I didn't mind the compliment, but I don't like being called 'cute' either. After that, we followed Tony to the room he and Rebeca picked out for all of us. It was a room that was connected to another room. Tony said Rebeca and him were sleeping in the other room, so Silvia and me could sleep in this room. Rebeca was already setting up our beds and such. I told her thanks, which she smiled and nodded in response, as I sat down on my 'bed', and the others did the same a bit after. We were all sitting in a sort of circle, so of course that meant we were going to talk. And it turns out, I got to learn more about them, which was nice!

Silvia said she was a captain of a ship before the outbreak, and when it happened, she left it behind and went to the nearest city. That is where she found Rebeca and obviously became close friends. Silvia also said that she had a very nice family, not the richest one, but 'full of heart' in words. That would explain why she be so nice to me, as it's inspiring her to have a family too, though why on Earth now, I won't ask. Now Rebeca was hard to follow, as she didn't really say much but tried. And when I mean try, I mean she would explain until either lost track of thought and skipped a bit, or just trailed off in general. In all that I heard from her, she had a nice family in her opinion, was known by her neighbors to be generous, which I can see from her, with us that is. Tony's story was different though. He had been a lone wolf before this happened, although he stayed with his family in close ranges. When it all happened, and he couldn't find his family, he went out in search for them. Sadly he couldn't, and before he knew it, he missed the hearing the sounds of the city and wanted to find anyone he could.

"And that's how I found Rebeca and Silvia, or it was the other way around." He said lastly looking at the girls. Silvia rolled her eyes sarcastically and Rebeca blushed a bit. Of course, I thought, sooner or later, all of them might form a close bond, and when that happens, I will NEVER interfere with them. Although, it's hard to picture people caring for each other when their ponies...what happens when everyone is back to normal? Will appearances horrify them to draw away from each other, or will it make them come together even more. I have no clue whatsoever, since I am not in the process of making a relationship. Dating relationships that is, not like friendships that I have with them.

But eventually, although I wished they hadn't thought of it, they asked about me. It was Rebeca who asked, and Tony and Silvia turned to me to know as well. I told them, "Well, what is there to tell? I mean I had a nice family, my mom and dad took care of me the best they could. We had lots of family-type things to do, until the scientists wanted me to come to the facility. They didn't explain to us at the time why I had to go, but they insisted and so I left. That's that." Of course, I didn't think through my words well, since Rebeca had heard me say 'had' and 'the best they could'.

And that's when she asked me, "What do you mean 'the best they could'?" I didn't say anything for a bit, but I knew from their changed expressions that my face looked sad. And I did feel sad. So, I told them the truth:

"My parents...couldn't keep me. When times got bad, and money was a problem, they had to drop me off at an orphanage. My parents said they would be back before I knew it, and they loved me very much. But I had already known that money doesn't come from trees, and that it would take a while until they could come get me. I was 8 when that happened. So, for 3 years, I've been here...waiting for them to come back. The reason why I panicked, when you found me, was that I got a phone call from them a couple days before the scientists found me. My parents said that they were coming to get me real soon, on my birthday hopefully. I had trusted the opinion of the scientists that this 'outbreak' that was heard about was coming soon, and that they needed to freeze me for a bit. I wanted to be with my parents SO badly, that I gave in and went along with their plan...obviously, that was a mistake."

By the time I finished my story, Silvia was on the edge of crying, Rebeca was tearing up a bit, and Tony felt bad for me. I looked down at the floor, not wanting to see them cry about my pain, for something they didn't need to deal with. Suddenly, I felt hooves around me, as someone was hugging me. I looked and saw both Silvia, hugging me the most, and Rebeca, hugging me from the side. Tony had come a bit closer, but didn't want to hug me. It was fine, I guess, because already the two ponies hugging me. I felt warmth build in my heart, as I smiled and teared happy tears. Guess there are different types of tears of emotion after all. After a while, Rebeca let go and got up, then went to the room that was linked to this room, and closed the door. Tony got up soon after and followed her inside. Silvia let go too, but she slept close to me, still wanting to comfort me, which was fine by me. I laid down in my bed, and closed my eyes. Soon after I felt Silvia pull me to her with her magic, and it was like the last time, except it didn't feel as strange.

I'm glad to be in this little group, with everyone caring for me, as I care for all of them. It gives me more of a reason to participate in aiding our group. But that will have to wait till tomorrow. As I slipped into unconsciousness, from the other room that Tony and Rebeca were in, I thought that I had heard some strange sounds...creaking of the bed? But what was making it, I didn't care. Another thing to think about tomorrow I guess...

Author's Note

I know that by now you guys might be sensing a pattern from POV. First 3rd person, then 1st person (Aiden's). This will continue to be like so. If you think I should have another POV from one of the other characters, please comment. Anything else that I should fix or add for the next chapter, also comment. Thank you all for supporting and keep reading! :heart: :pinkiehappy:

Chapter 6: New Discoveries

"What the hell are you two DOING!?!" Silvia screamed. That woke up Aiden almost instantly, as he shot up from his laying position, though his vision was blurred from the light coming in through the window, blinding him. As his vision came back, he could see the door to the other room opened, and that Silvia must be in there since she was curled around him. But as he got up, he heard more shouting from her and a stuttering Tony.

"Silvia, I can explain-" Tony started.

"Explain what? I can see you two right now!" Silvia interrupted angrily. Aiden got up and headed to the door to check up on them.

"Guys? What's going on-" Aiden started to say, but as soon as he started speaking, the door was closed by Silvia's magic, and locked from the other side, as he heard the click of the doorknob. This made Aiden more confused, as he went over to the door and put his ear up against it. He could only hear bits and pieces of their conversation, which didn't help, so he looked around for a glass cup or something of the sort to hear better with. He didn't have enough time to look, as Silvia walked angrily out of the room, and Tony looked out of the door, only showing the first half of him.

"Come on Aiden, let's give them their privacy." Silvia said as she used her magic to almost drag Aiden out of the room with her. Aiden looked back to Tony, who had a look of nervousness and disappointment. Aiden shrugged and followed Silvia. Silvia led him to the next floor, using the stairs. Once they had gone into a room to look for supplies, she started mumbling loudly to herself.
"The nerve of him! How could he do this to me! And Rebeca?! Unbelievable, those two!" She said. Aiden was still very confused and still a bit tired from the sudden yelling from before, so he decided to ask her about it.

"Silvia? Are you ok?" He asked

"Ok? OK?! Do I look ok to you!?" She responded, facing him with the same angered look. Aiden gave her a confused, and slightly scared look. This made her change her look, a calmer one perhaps. She goes over to Aiden and hugs him, which he hugs her back. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, it's just..." She started to say as she let go, but trailed off after a loss of words.

"What happened in there?" Aiden asked. Silvia's expression got a bit harder, but not worse like before.

"It's hard to explain, adult stuff really, you don't need to worry-" She started, but Aiden asked something else.

"We're they like...you know, THAT type of adult stuff then?" He asked. Silvia understood what he meant, but gave a questionable look at him. He saw this and said, "I'm not your average kid, remember? I know about what adults do, even THAT, and I know animals do it too." Silvia had forgotten about that, and now he was mentioning it made her smile lightly, but only momentarily.

"Yes, it was that." She answered.

"Is there a reason why you’re mad about it?" He asked, making her smile disappear.

"Yes...it's because he had done the same thing with me." She replied. Aiden gave her a shocked expression, which she saw, so she continued to try and explain. "It was before we found you. After he joined us, the group seemed complete. We would have our laughs and fun times, whenever something good happened. We protected each other, but I think he protected us the most. This I took note of, and well, one thing led to another, and I had grown close to him. Then one night, when we were stuck inside from the rain, and Rebeca was asleep, I decided to tell him the way I felt toward him. And the next thing I knew, I was..." She explained, but at the end she trailed off again, not wanting to give details, which Aiden understood.

"So, what happened after that? What happened between Rebeca and Tony to do, this?" Aiden asked. Silvia sighed, looking down at the ground.

"About a week later, we were in a gas station, we found some...alcohol. We celebrated by having a lot, me having the most. I passed out after a while. The next morning, I find them...like today. Tony said that they would never do it again. Obviously I trusted him and Rebeca too much." She replied. Aiden looked at her, hating to see her like this.

He tried to smile and make a joke out of it, saying "Well, at least nothing bad can come from this, right? Nothing to make us go downhill."

She tried to smile and nodded, then looked to him. "Aiden, I need to tell you something." Silvia said as he turned around to keep scavenging. He nodded in acknowledgment as he kept searching. "I think Rebeca and I could be pregnant." She said. This made Aiden stop instantly. He turned around and looked at her.

"For reals?" He asked. She nodded in response. He leaned against the counter that he was searching. "Whoa..." He mumbled.

"Are you okay?" She asked, hoping he wouldn't stay away from her or anything.

He nodded and said, "Yes, I'm alright. And if that's true... I'm here to help, 100 percent." He said, smiling lightly.

She smiles brightly and quickly goes over to him and hugs him. "Thank you, for understanding." She said. Aiden hugged her back, smiling a bit more. She lets go and goes to the door. "Come on, let's head back." She said, as she led him back downstairs.

"Are you going to tell them?" Aiden asked. Silvia nodded, looking a bit worried, but brushed off the feeling as they headed to their room.

//later...//

Aiden was waiting outside the room, as Silvia told Tony and Rebeca what's going on. From what Aiden could hear, they were taking it okay. He heard no screaming or crying, so they must be okay with it, one way or another. The door opened, making Aiden turn his head back to it. The ponies exited the room. Tony looked a bit worried, but wasn't mad or sad about. Rebeca looked well too, some tears were shed, from the dried tears on her face, but she seemed to take it all in better than he had thought. Silvia had a happy expression, meaning she had not only explained it well to them, but was happy now that everyone was informed and dealing with it.

"Is everything alright?" Aiden asked. They all nodded and exchanged smiles. Everyone was okay now. Aiden gave a sigh of relief as he looked away, past Silvia's side, but something on her flank caught his eye. "Hey Silvia, since when did you get a tattoo on your butt?" He asked. This question confused Silvia and the others, so Silvia turns her head to look to her flank. The image looked like a big pink heart, with a halo on its side, and a smaller heart behind it. Silvia looked back to the Tony and Rebeca, think they had something to do with it, but then looked at their flanks.

"Wait, you guys got ones as well!" She said, pointing with her hoof to their flanks. Rebeca and Tony looked at their flanks to see what theirs were.

Rebeca's was a golden shield with wings attached to it. And Tony's was a rose, wrapped and protected by the rose's thorns.

"W-what are these?" Rebeca asked aloud, but no one knew... No one, except Aiden.

Chapter 7: Moving On

Soap, soap....where the heck is the soap? Geez, you'd think in a bathroom closet, there would be plenty of soap lying around, but OBVIOUSLY somebody was already here and was like 'I should get soap!’ And why do I need soap? Of course, they think the tattoos were bad signs or whatever, and are now constantly trying to wash them off. They're probably all still in the bathroom, washing away with the last of the soap we found. I mean, the tattoos don't look THAT bad. Maybe I should tell them what I saw, and that the marks are okay... but then again, how would they believe me if I said that I saw tons of ponies with them in my sleep.

Well, can't find any, better go tell them that soap was the last we'll have for a while. As I walk to the bathroom door, I can still hear the water running in the tubs they were using. The rain from outside had collected in some tubs, so we decided to bring those in. Instead of using it for drinking water though, it became bath water. Ugh, I am NOT going to reuse any of that, definitely not Tony's. "Hey guys? I couldn't find any more soap...you're probably using the last of it." I told them, leaning against the closed door. I put my ear to the door, just in time to suddenly hearing grunts, probably them fighting over whatever is left of the soap. "Oh come on, the tattoos don't look THAT bad and you guys already don't wear pants!" I said, rolling my eyes on how childish it is to fight over something as stupid as soap. Finally, I hear the arguing over the soap cease and the water trickling as they were getting out of the tubs. I got away from the door and sat upon one of the counters, waiting for them to leave the bathroom. We're leaving again to continue the journey, and hopefully find more stuff. I could've left the building to find soap or whatever, but of course I would have to tell them and hear Silvia argue behind a closed door.

The door opened, as Silvia and the others came out. When I looked up at them, they had just put away the towels for drying themselves off into a pile, they're manes and tails looked ridiculous! Silvia's mane looked poofy like some French poodle, Rebeca's was a bit distorted like a giant gust of wind blew it around, and Tony's still had some soap, making it stand up like it was jelled. Overall, they looked funny, which was why I was trying to hold back laughter that was just begging to come out. I managed to hold it in, only to be replaced by audible snickers and chuckles, which had caught their attention.

"Oh shut up Aiden, Silvia said your hair curls when it's wet, so we're even!" Tony said in annoyed tone.

I shrugged and replied, "I don't know, I bet mine wouldn't be standing up with soap suds like yours." This made him grunt in a more annoyed tone, and the girls just chuckled at him.

"Go get yourself properly cleaned, unless you need an adult to help you." Rebeca said jokingly, which made Tony roll his eyes and head back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Rebeca and Silvia chuckled again, as I got off the counter and headed to the window.

I looked outside and watched the trees and such move.

"Hey, are you okay?" Silvia asked, coming up next to me. I looked at her momentarily before looking back outside.

"Yeah, I'm good. Are you?" I replied as I look to her again, which she nodded in response. She looked at her flank tattoo a bit worriedly, so I decided to compliment it. "It's doesn't look bad...kinda reflects you actually."

She turned to me and gave me a confused look and asked, "How? It's a couple of hearts with a circle around one of them."

"It's called a halo, like the one's angels have." I said, knowing what she meant by the circle.

She rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever. Still, how does it 'reflect' me?"

I thought for a moment before saying, "Well, it shows how much you care for everyone, and that you're a good person."

She smiled at me, then kissed my forehead, which I had looked away momentarily from, and said, "Thanks."

"No problem." I replied, then turned around as Tony came back out from the bathroom, looking better now without a soap mo-hawk.

"There! Is everyone happy now?" He asked, and we all nodded and smiled in response.

After that, we got everything packed and ready to go. I got my backpack, with the things I got from my final night run still in the bag. As we headed out and into the hallway toward the entrance, I found a pen with some ink still inside. As a measure of precaution, I took out the unwritten journal, ripped a page out, and wrote a short note saying, "This apartment has been searched. Unfilled tubs for washing are in one of the rooms, if needed. Hope to run into you soon, A.". I stuck it on the front door to the apartment building, then I picked up my stuff and headed out with everyone.
//Later...//

"Hey guys, check it out." Tony called back to us from ahead.

I looked up from the ground, as well as the others wherever they're eyes were, and to the place Tony was pointing at. A car repair shop? "You think there's a car inside that fully works?" I asked him.

He looked back to us momentarily then back to the repair shop. "There has to be, or at least a car that needs one or two things fixed." He replied.

"Well, it's better than nothing, let's check it out." Silvia said, and we all headed to the repair shop. As we approached the shop's doors, we noticed that they were open slightly. No signs of blood or animal scratches, but we wanted to make sure. I took out my baton, as the others got ready for kicking. I opened the door quickly then backed away...no animal came out. We looked inside, and saw so far no animals. But what we did see was what we wanted.

"Alright! We got ourselves a car!" Tony exclaimed happily, as we all exchanged happy expressions. There was a car that was in the air, held up by car jacks. The car itself looked to be in good conditions, no dents or such outer damage.

"Let's hope that nothing is wrong on the inside." Rebeca said.

"How are we going to lower it?" I asked. We all looked around until Rebeca found the controls to lower it. Thankfully there was power to lower it, but something seemed off about the constant buzzing that came from the car jacks. Before I could ask about that, the carjack controls sparked suddenly, and the carjacks quickly dropped the car. We all gasped and got out of the way as it dropped so harshly. Then something else happened: the car's alarm went off. It was loud, loud enough to be heard outside.

"That noise is going to attract predators! We need to find the keys and get out of here!" Tony yelled over the alarm, which we heard thankfully and nodded in response.

"Look around for the keys! They got to be on a board or in a drawer right?" Silvia suggested, then everyone started searching hastily.

"Hey guys? What number is it?" Rebeca asked, out of the blue sorta. We went over to where she was, and the question made more sense. There was a big board of keys, each one with a tag saying a different number. There were only a couple keys, but each were different shapes and sizes.

"I'll go check!" I said as I rushed back to where the cars were. I looked inside the car's window and saw the number which was 12. "Is there a 12?" I called out over the alarm. Just then I heard noises from outside...barking. The dogs were coming! "Guys! We need to go!” I added.

"I got it, number 12! Let's go!" Tony said as he and the girls followed. Tony opened the car and we piled in. I sat in the back with Silvia, and since Tony was able to reach the pedals, Rebeca got under and worked them instead. Tony put in the keys and turns the car on. I could feel all of us get excited with joy that this car still worked. But it was short lived, as the dogs had finally came and crashed through the door. They got up on their hind legs and barked and gnashing their teeth at our windows. Tony pulled out what looked to be a garage door opener, and pushed the button, as it opened the doors to let out big doors for the car. "Rebeca, hit gas pedal!" Tony said, and Rebeca did so, as the car drove out of the car shop. We headed up the road and kept going, not stopping for anyone or anything.

We all let out a sigh and relaxed. Me and Silvia sat back in our seats.

"Yes! Things are finally going our way!" Silvia exclaimed happily, and I nodded in agreement.

"Yep, it feels good. Hey Tony, how much gas does this car have?" I said as I looked over to him.

"Completely full! This should get us where we need to go!" Tony answered. Silvia let out a happy laugh, which made me smile, and probably Tony and Rebeca too. She was right, things were looking better for us.

"Hey, you two get some sleep back there, you could use it." Tony suggested. The mentioning of sleep made me yawn, as an answer from me saying that I would be taking that suggestion. I lay back in my seat more and close my eyes.

"Sweet dreams." I heard Silvia said, followed by a kiss on my forehead from her. I smiled lightly and quickly fell asleep. And so far, this was probably the best sleep I've had so far. Finally, I felt at peace with myself, and could get some better sleep.

Chapter 8: Putting the Past in Front of Us

//Flashback//

"U-huh? Yea? Really? Awesome! Okay, see you soon, I love you both!" Aiden said on the phone, then hung up. He had just gotten off the phone after a call from his parents, who told him that they were coming soon, most likely on his birthday! He was so happy to hear their voices and the news that as soon as he hung up, he jumped out of his chair that he was sitting in and let out a big whoop for joy. "I gotta tell the others!" He said to himself, then ran to the children's quarters, where the children slept. He swung open the door, making all the kids turn towards the door and Aiden.

"Aiden? What's the hurry-ahh!" Asked a boy, a year younger than Aiden, whose name was Jack. But as Jack was asking Aiden, Aiden had ran to Jack and pulled him into a hug.

"They're coming, they're coming, they're finally coming!" Aiden chanted as he pulled back and twirled around happily, making some of the kids in the room laugh and smile.

"Who is?" Asked another boy named John.

"My parents! They're finally got enough money to take me back and live with them again!" Aiden announced to everyone. The kids cheered and clapped for Aiden, making Aiden twirl around and dance.

"Yay Aiden! We're happy to hear that. When are your parents coming?" Jack asked who had sat down after Aiden massive hug.

"Hopefully on my birthday! And that's not all! My parents said that they're moving down here, so that I can come visit you guys and help out still!" Aiden added. This was followed by more cheers and applause.

"That's awesome! I bet Andy would love to hear that." John suggested.

"Oh yeah, he would love to hear this! He's still in the medical room right?" Aiden asked. Andy was Aiden's closest friend, although recently had been sent to the medical room where injured kids slept, because he had twisted his ankle badly from tripping on an unearthed tree root, while playing in the orphanage's backyard.

"Yep, still there. He should be able to get out of bed soon." John answered.

"Awesome! I'll see you guys later!" Aiden said, as he rushed out of the room while the children waved and said goodbye as he did. He didn't bother closing the door, as he was too distracted about getting to the medical room. He went upstairs to the next floor, went down two hallways, and took the second door on the left. He slowed down before heading to the door, so he wouldn't slam into the door. Aiden took deep breaths to lower his heart rate, then opened the door and went inside. He looked around until he saw Andy laying down on the bed, reading a book. Aiden closed the door, making Andy look up from his book to see who it was, and smiled as he saw Aiden.

"Hey Aiden, what's up? You look more excited than usual." Andy asked, seeing Aiden with a big smile as he sat on the end of Andy's bed.

"I am, because I got some awesome news!" Aiden replied. Andy straightened up and nodded in response.

"Oh! What's the 'awesome' news?" Andy asked.

"My parents are coming to get me...on my birthday! Or, hopefully on my birthday." He answered excitedly, bouncing up and down a bit on the bed.

Andy smiled and clapped. "That IS awesome news dude! That's gotta be the best birthday gift EVER!" Andy said, happy for Aiden.

"I know right? And it gets better...we're going to be moving somewhere." Aiden added. Andy's happy faced changed slightly.

"Where? Far away?" Andy asked.

"Nope! Totally opposite: we're moving into THIS city, close by here!" Aiden assured, which Andy let out a big sigh of relief and sit back in his bed.

"Oh thank goodness! That would've sucked if you were in another state or something." Andy replied.

"Yea, it would, but I'm glad it's not-" Aiden started to stay, but some audible commotion from outside the room, and getting louder, meaning whoever was coming closer, interrupted him as he looked to the door, as well as Andy. The door opens, and two men in lab coats come in, along with the receptionist lady from the front desk.

"Which one of you is Aiden Fierce?" One of the men asked. Aiden slowly raised his hand.

"Mr. Fierce, it is VERY important that you come with us." Said the other scientist. Aiden looked over at Andy, and Andy looked over at Aiden, then they both looked back at the men.

//flashback ends//

Aiden wakes up a while later. He tilts his head around to see what was going on. It seemed that Tony and Rebeca had changed positions, as Rebeca was now driving and Tony was managing the pedals. It also occurred to him that something felt heavy, leaning on him, and saw it was Silvia's head resting on him. He smiled lightly, then looks out the window on his left. He sat up more and leaned more into the window, and saw that this place was familiar, too familiar. He realized it was his town he stayed in for 3 years at the orphanage, ad by the looks of the street and the homes, they were about to come up at the orphanage.

"Hey, you're awake." Rebeca said, looking into the rear view mirror and at Aiden momentarily. Aiden looked at the mirror and smiled slightly, nodding in response, then looked back out the window. Finally, they approached his orphanage. He looked at it with his expression changing to a worried one. The place, his home for 3 years, had become dusty, dirty, and dark. There were a couple of curtains brought down, the glass of them cracked and smudged up with dirt, not really able to see through. From top to bottom, it was in bad shape. "Aiden? Is something wrong?" Rebeca asked as she looked back again and saw his worried look. He didn't respond, and then he caught a glimpse of something, or someone. The car wasn't going that fast, a bit slow since Rebeca had slowed down from not getting a response from him. What he thought he saw, was a figure he could barely make out.

"Stop the car!" He said suddenly, waking Silvia up in the process.

"What? Why-" Tony started to say but Aiden interrupted saying,

"Just do it!” Tony pushed on the brakes, and the car rolled to a stop. Aiden instantly unbuckled, open the car door, then jumped out of the car and ran to the building.

"Aiden?! What are you doing??" He could hear Silvia call out, but he didn't reply as he rushed to the front door. The door was a bit rusty, but that didn't stop him, as he kicked at it, and it swung open. He ran inside, went down a hallway, up the stairs, and to the room he saw the figure in. It was in the children's quarters where he stayed in, but now it looked dusty and dirty like the outside. He looked around aimlessly, getting on the ground to check under the beds, only to see some mice, which scurried off at the sight of him. As he got up and kept looking around anywhere else that might be a hiding place, the ponies found the way upstairs and saw the door that he had open still, and went inside the room.

"Aiden! What the hell was that? Why would you want to come to this rotten place-" Tony started, annoyed at Aiden yelling at him and making him stop the car, but his tone and expression changed when Aiden turned towards them and showed that he was crying.

"This...this was my home." He said quietly. Tony slowly started to feel bad, and Silvia confirmed that by punching his shoulder with her hoof. After hearing him make a grunt noise of pain, she went over to Aiden, who had sat down on what used to be his bed. He stared at the ground, letting the tears drop to the ground. Silvia sat next to him, and rubbed his back with her hoof. Silvia looked around the room, since she hadn't done that before she came in. A couple of beds were a mess, the sheets off or scattered on the bed, dusty, and the drawers next to each one were open. Articles of clothing hanged out some of the drawers, and the shapes with least amount of dust might mean whatever was sitting on top of the drawer had been taken off.

"It looks like they might've been in a hurry...maybe they had to leave because of the Event. They might be okay." She tried to assure him.

"Yeah...might." He said quietly, looking away from the ground and at the wall.

"Why'd you come in here then? Why'd you run in here?" She asked.

"I thought...I thought I saw someone. Someone I knew." He answered, a bit louder so she could hear him better. She nodded, acknowledging his response. He laid back on the bed, his legs still hanging off the bed, and he didn't care about the dust on his pillow. His hands went under and around the pillow as to hold it, but something made a crinkling noise when he did. He sat back up, and removed the pillow, to reveal a crinkled up piece of paper. Aiden took the piece of paper quickly, smoothed it so he could read it better, and then read the note.

Dear Aiden,
If you are reading this, then that means we have already left without you. The workers said we couldn't wait for you until you returned from the sciencey place or wherever you were taken. Something has happened, and it might be what 'important' reason for taking you away. Please know that we will be leaving the state and to Colorado. It said on TV that there's a government place that'll take us in and keep us safe from whatever is happening. I hope you're okay...me and the others will wait for you there.

From, Andy.
P.S. We were able to get a hold of your parents, they are meeting us there. They said to tell you they love you, and hope to see you soon.

Aiden read over the letter once, then twice. He folded the note afterwards so that it would fit into his pocket, then stood up from the bed. "I know where my parents are, as well as my friends." He said, looking to everyone.

"And where is that exactly?" Rebeca asked.

"Colorado." Aiden answered, solemnly.

"Colorado? Are you serious? We can't drive all the way-" Tony started, but Rebeca interrupted him.

"We said we would get him to his parents, and that's what we’re going to do!" She said.

"But-" Tony started.

"But nothing! Plus, if there is anyone there, they can help us with our...situation." Rebeca explained, referring the 'situation' to her and Silvia's pregnancy. Tony looked away in thought, then sighed and nodded.

"Colorado it is then." Tony said. Aiden smiled lightly at Tony, which Tony noticed but didn't reply to.

//later//

After a bit of searching of the place, not finding much. Aiden remembered a secret cabinet where he and his friends would sneak some snacks whenever they were hungry at night, and found them all there. They also found a medical cabinet, with a bit of medical supplies, most being bandages and prescription medication. They packed all of it in Aiden's backpack, headed outside to the car, and got into the car. Aiden was the last one in, as he stood there, looking at the orphanage with a sad expression. He took out the note and looked at the message.

"Don't worry guys, I'll be there soon." He mumbled to himself, then with one last glance at the building, he stepped inside the car, closed the door, and they drove off.