“We’re… we’re getting reports now of detonations in Cloudsdale and… and in Manehattan,” the anchorpony said on the TV screen. “There are further reports of missiles being launched at Canterlot and Las Pegasus, but there was enough warning to defend the cities. Retaliation has been swift. All ponies who are part of the Preservation Program report to your designated Stables. Everypony else… may Celestia have mercy on our souls…”
“VESPER!” I cried out as the news report finished. I looked around quickly for any sign of my daughter.
I got to my hooves off the couch as I ran back towards her room. I was panicking more as I realized that she wasn’t there. “VESPER GLOW!” I cried out again, trying to hear any sign of my daughter, there was no way I was going to leave her behind, especially if the worst had happened.
I was breathing heavily as I turned and headed into the room shared by me and my Husband. Maybe by some chance she had gone in there for some reason. Nope, nothing there too, I looked out the window to see ponies rushing to get their stuff together. Stable 36 was the nearest Stable that we were all assigned to. I grabbed a suitcase with my magic and started throwing heirlooms and clothing into it as I looked around for Vesper.
Finally I had searched the whole house with no sign of Vesper. I was breathing heavily as I tried to search my memory for where she may have been. I was breathing heavily before I finally looked out the window. Outside was Vesper, the purple filly with her black mane was looking around confused at the rushing ponies.
“Oh thank Celestia…” I said as I ran up to Vesper and hugged her. “Are you okay? Did anything happen?”
Vesper seemed confused at first as she looked at me in my panicked disheveled shape, before she looked back out at the ponies sprinting past. “What’s happening Momma, they keep screaming that this is it, that it’s over… but, why are they screaming and scared if it’s over, shouldn’t they be happy?”
“No… its not…” I said with a soft sigh. “Vesper, do you remember that place we visited a few weeks ago? The one underground with the big door?”
“The stable? The place you said we’d never have to go?” Vesper said, looking at me even more worriedly. “You said it was just in case, but it would never come to that though.. You said daddy would stop them.”
“I know, I know, and I was telling the truth, this is…” I replied softly and looked around at the other ponies running. “This is just a drill. You know, like they do at school. We’re just going to have to go there for a few days and we’ll be able to come back home, okay? I promise, everything will be okay. Let’s go, please?”
“You’ve got a suitcase…” Vesper said as she looked past me to the luggage I had levitating behind me. “They did it, didn’t they momma, they’re making us go to the stables…”
The sadness in her voice was palpable, and shook me to the core. What do I do? Do I tell her the truth? Do I lie? It wouldn’t last forever, once the door seals that’s that, she’ll know then regardless of what I tell her now.
I did the only thing I could think to do. I picked Vesper up and used my magic to hold her tight on my back and started running towards Stable 36. We didn’t have time to discuss this, I just had to hope that she would forgive me later.
“It’ll be okay Vesper…” I said loud enough for her to hear. I just had to hope that I was right.
“What about daddy?.. He was supposed to visit..” Vesper said clinging to my back. “What if he comes here… and we’re not here? Will he know about the stable? Will they let him in?..”
“I promise, he knows about the Stable too and they’ll let him in,” I told her. It wasn’t a lie, I just had to hope he got there before the door closed.
“I’m scared” Vesper mumbled as she squeezed a bit tighter.
I didn’t get to reply before the air raid sirens started to blare, running past soldiers I could hear the incoming calls, I didn’t know if we were about to be hit but I just picked up the pace, I had to get to the stable as quickly as possible.
A few steps later, The base was on full alert, I watched the defense guns aimed at the sky, tracking something. My eyes went wide as the barrels started to spin, quickly pulling Vesper from my back and covering her eyes and ears just as the guns sprung to life, streams of lead flying into the skies.
I closed my eyes, but the sound was deafening, and then a thunderous boom over the area and a searing heat against my back. Once the sound had subsided I quickly stood and started running again, but I couldn’t hear and ended up stumbling and tripping, slamming my head against the ground. As everything started to go grey and hazy, I could see in the sky, a bright green light and a ring pushing the clouds back.
“Vesper, run” I managed to mumble, the world fading to black.
00000
One Day earlier…
“Vesper honey, I’m home,” I called out as I entered the house carrying a few bags and a package. I set them down on the counter and looked down the hallway towards her bedroom. “Your costume is here.”
Vesper came stumbling out of her room, apparently had been a bit wrapped up in her blanket. Rushing over to me smiling and giggling “Really! Oh wow, you said it wasn’t going to be ready for another three days!”
“I know, but I wanted to surprise you,” I replied with a smile as I ruffled her mane. I set the package down in front of her and gave her a nod. “Come on, let’s get it open.”
That little filly ripped the package from my hold with her magic, ripping at it quickly trying to expose the costume inside. Revealing a smaller box within. “Oh come on! Mooooom!”
I just laughed a little at that as I gave her a wicked smile. “Oh you caught me, it’s just filled with one box after another!” I said with an evil laugh.
“Not funny!” She huffed, before pushing the box over to me, crossing her forelegs over her chest and puffs her cheeks. “You never do it right! Only dad knows how to do it!”
“Darn it, I’ve been practicing it all week,” I said with a pout before pushing it back to her. “Go on you silly filly, it’s in there I promise.”
Vesper looked at my questioningly before she started to rip into the second box, tentatively pulling at paper and cardboard. “Dad always uses those squishy peanut thingers.” She commented, pointing at the growing pile of packing paper.
“Well, maybe he didn’t have any on hoof,” I replied with a shrug. “Sometimes you have to use what you can get. I’ll get it cleaned up.”
After a little while more and she had managed to uncover a paper covered package of cloth, she was looking it over for a few moments before she’d thrust it up at me. “I’m not allowed to use scissors, cut please.”
“Yes oh great Princess of Packages and Paper,” I giggled as I levitated up a pair of scissors and carefully cut it.
“You’re the one that made that rule, I only cut my mane once, ONCE!” Vesper said with a giggle and stuck her tongue out at me before she snatched the package, once cut, away from me once more. “And it didn’t even look bad!”
“So you think,” I said as I booped her nose a little. “But you can’t use them until I’m sure you can be responsible with them.”
“I’m not a little filly anymore mom,” Vesper said with a huff. “That was three months ago, that’s loads of time.”
“Oh, really? You’re not a little filly anymore, hmm?” I said with a thoughtful look on my face. “Well, then I guess you won’t want your costume then. I mean it was made for little fillies after all. Probably not enough time to get you a new one though, such a shame...”
Vesper pondered for a moment, before she laughed a little “Okay, okay fine, I’m still a little filly... “ She said, clutching that package to her chest. “Just until after nightmare night though. Then I’m a big filly again!”
I laughed a little and hugged her. “Vesper, don’t grow up too fast, okay? In times like this, foalhood won’t last forever. I don’t want you to lose that.”
“Pft, Don’t get all sappy on me Mom, you know what dad always says” Vesper said getting to her hooves and taking a pose. “You grow up because you stop playing, you don’t stop playing because you grow up.” She said, in a matter of fact tone. “And we all know dad is like, super wise about that stuff, I mean, I catch him playing with my toys sometimes”
“Speaking of toys, we still have a few of yours we need to get out of the boxes,” I remembered. “And I visited your new school while I was out, would you like to hear about it?”
“I still feel like we left something behind when we left the crystal empire..” Vesper said, looking behind her at a couple boxes. “I know you said we got everything, but… something’s missing.” Shaking her head for a moment before she smiled at me. “Oh, and yes please, School here has got to be so different, I mean, there isn’t any crystal ponies for one!”
“We may have, but I left instructions to mail anything we left here if possible, but we definitely didn’t forget anything,” I replied and then chuckled. “You never know. A lot of military families are being moved around plus families working for companies like Stable-Tec, Robronco, and the like. Maybe there will be Crystal Ponies here too.”
“That’d be nice” Vesper said, smiling a little to herself. “It’d be weird to be the only one here… Anyway! How about the school? Was it nice? Was there a lot of fillies my age?” Her excitement building with each question.
“Yes, it was very nice, I met your teachers and I saw lots of fillies your age,” I replied with a chuckle. “You’ve got nothing to worry about when you start school next week. They’re looking forward to meeting you.”
“That’s awesome!” Vesper said, clapping her hooves together before she stopped and looked out the window. “It’s weird here, Nothing is made out of crystals… just, concrete and steel as far as the eye can see… I miss home.”
“Yeah, I miss home too,” I sighed. “But you know what? Home is where the heart is, its where ponies who love and care about you are. You can make anywhere home if you remember that.”
“But, I’m a Crystal Pony, I was born in the Crystal Empire, I grew up there… then this stupid war happened and dad joined the military and now we’re stuck out here…” Vesper said with a huff. “Baltimare is fine… but it’s not home…”
“Well, I was going to wait until we got settled in, but I think you should see it now,” I said as I walked over to one of the piles of boxes. I hummed to myself a little as I levitated a few out of the way before I picked up one and brought it back to Vesper. I smiled a little and levitated the scissors to her. “Just this once, just keep it away from your mane this time, okay?”
Vesper silently nodded, taking the scissors from me and looked back to the box, gently placing them across the ribbon that held it shut. “I just wish dad could be here…” she mumbled under her breath, before she looked up at me.
“Me too sweetie,” I said as I ruffled her mane sadly. “But he’s here with us in spirit.”
Carefully opening the box before she put the scissors aside, then passing the box back to me and motioning that she’d like for me to open it.
I smiled a little and gently levitated the contents up out of the box. Inside were several perfectly preserved crystals that I had packed up and brought with us. I gave her a soft smile as I levitated up a necklace with a small crystal on it and gave it to her.
“So we’d always have a little bit of home with us. And so you would wherever you go.”
“It’s nice… but it’s not the same.” Vesper said, looking at the crystal. “Why did this stupid war even have to start… why couldn’t we just be friends, that’s what Twilight always said and now she leads the charge..”
I was about to answer when I realized I didn’t have an answer. She was right of course, ever since the war with the Zebras started things had gotten worse and worse. Twilight Sparkle and her friends had just made things worse. It was like the whole world had been turned upside-down.
“I don’t know,” I finally admitted. I smiled a little at Vesper. “I’ll bet if you were in charge, the war would be over in five minutes. A lot of ponies don’t understand it either, but there’s nothing we can do right now. All we can do is hope that things will get better.”
“One of my best friends was a Zebra, she was nice, she wasn’t anything like they said, and then they took her away…” Vesper said with a frown “I don’t like Equestria anymore…”
I sighed a little and pulled my daughter in close. “I wish I could tell you that everything was going to be better. Everything is going wrong so fast, and there’s nothing we can do about it. And it’s the foals like you who are suffering the most. If we could leave, we would, but there’s nowhere to go really… I’m sorry Vesper. If I could make the world change for you, I would.”
“It’s fine, I remember daddy’s stories, how we can change things and lead different lives than what we’re told, Sometimes I wish I was bigger faster, so I could make a difference…” Vesper said, twirling that crystal in her magic. “It’s hard, being small and watching the grown ups, wanting to help but never knowing how…”
“Well, maybe we can figure out something,” I suggested as I gave her a gentle smile. “We all need to do our part anyway. Someday, the war will end, I know that much. We’re all going to be okay, I promise.”
“And if it never ends? If it just keeps going on forever because no pony is willing to back down and say they were wrong? It’s like none of them remember what was taught to them in school…” Vesper said with a huff. “It’s silly that a filly knows when to admit she was wrong, but all these grown ups are fighting and hurting each other because they refuse to admit it.”
“I know,” I said and shook my head. I held her close, tears starting to drip down my muzzle onto her head “If I knew how to explain it, I would. I’m sorry Vesper… I’m so sorry.”
“For what mom? You didn’t do anything wrong” Vesper said, pushing me back and standing on her hind hooves to look me in the face. “The war will end, and we’re all going to be okay, right? You promised.”
“Yes, I did promise,” I said with a weak smile. I honestly had no idea if I could actually keep that promise. Then I remembered the Stables, we visited one back in the Crystal Empire a few weeks back, and we had been moved to one here in Baltimare. “One way or another, we’re going to be okay.”
“So… about dinner?” Vesper said, motioning to a nearby clock. “As much as I love these heart wrenching hope destroying stories and ideas I’m really getting pretty hungry.”
“Oh of course, and also you never finished opening your costume,” I reminded her as I went back to the kitchen to start making dinner.
“You only get to open it once, why do it now, right?” Vesper said, looking at the package that held her costume. “Sometimes, good things only happen once, why rush it?” She giggled a little “ Like you said… don’t be in a rush to grow up, your foalhood only happens once.”
I smiled a little at that as I started cooking. “You actually listened to my advice? Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?”
“Maybe it’s because daddy isn’t here, maybe it’s because I have little strips of maturity here and there, who knows really.” Vesper said with a grin. “I mean, if you don’t want me to listen I can stop.”
“I didn’t say that,” I said with a laugh and then smiled a little. “So, do you want to see your dad again soon?”
“Yeah, but isn’t he in the Zebra Lands right now?” Vesper said, poking her hooves together. “Last time we talked, he said he wouldn’t be home for months…”
“Well, I was going to keep it a surprise…” I said as I started chopping some vegetables. “But I think after that you could use some good news. He’s coming back for a few days, but keep it quiet, okay?”
“Wait, really?” Vesper said perking up a bit. “Oh wow, When is he going to be here?”
“Tomorrow, the day after at the latest,” I replied with a smile. “Can you act surprised? I think he really wanted to surprise you.”
“I think I can, I mean, I know I’ll be excited, I haven’t seen dad in months… sometimes I wondered if he was ever going to come home.” Vesper said, before she giggled to herself a little. “And no, I don’t mean… you know, I mean, like, the war is going to last forever and he’s never going to come back and just stay out there and keep fighting.”
“Nah, if the war lasted forever they’d have to send old soldiers home eventually… and I’m not helping,” I said. “But don’t worry, he’ll definitely be home. I’m just as excited as you are to see him.”
“Maybe we could go check out that park together, I saw one just done the road when we got here” Vesper suggested with a big wide grin.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” I replied with a smile as I kept cooking. “I promise that we’ll do that.”
“So… what’s for dinner?” She asked, tapping her hooves on the table.
“I was thinking sandwiches,” I said as I levitated up the bread. “Short, simple, and to the point. You want a Sparkle-Cola or can I finally get you to try some Opal?”
“But Opal’s grooooss.” Vesper said with a giggle, tapping her hooves together “Do we just have normal Sparkle-Cola? I forgot what that one was back home but I really liked it..”
“Okay, okay,” I said as I made the sandwiches. I looked into the fridge and took out a Sparkle-Cola and an Opal Cherry. “Sorry, I only picked up regular Sparkle-Cola. I’ll get some Crystal or Harmony next time.”
“It’s okay mom, normal is fine.” Vesper said, tapping her chin a moment. “Well, what about juice, do we have any of that left?”
“Yes of course we do,” I said with a smile. I levitated out two jugs. “Orange or Apple?”
Vesper pouted for a moment, seemingly considering her options. “We’re out of white grape?..” She asked tentatively, before she took a deep breath and gave a half hearted sigh. “Apple, I guess.”
“Sorry, I’ll get some next time I go to the grocery store,” I told her as I levitated out the bottle and poured the juice into it. I smiled a little as I set it down along with her food and sat down at the table next to her. “So, is there anything you want to do after we finish eating?”
“Is not go to bed an option?” Vesper said with a giggle. “I mean… I still have like, four boxes needing unpacked, and I still can’t find my teddy.”
“Well, then let’s go on a teddy bear hunt after dinner,” I replied with a grin. “But you are still going to have to go to bed, you know. You don’t want to be too tired to see your daddy tomorrow, do you?”
“You know I always feel stronger at night.” Vesper said with a pout, knocking her glass of apple juice a little. “I’m sure daddy wouldn’t mind if I stayed up a little later than usual…”
“Okay, maybe a little later than usual,” I said and reached over and booped her nose. “But you will need to start going to bed earlier when you start going to school again you know.”
“I don’t like school… meeting other ponies is fun, and the teachers are usually nice… but they never teach me anything new, I already knew all that they’re saying before I was even in school!” Vesper huffed again, before she’d drown her distaste with her glass of juice.
“You and nearly every other foal in Equestria…” I muttered before speaking louder. “Yes, but you still have to go, Vesper. It’s for your own good, and you never know, you might learn something new.”
“Maybe… but what if I don’t learn anything new? What if I know all that there is to know that this school can teach?” Vesper pouted a bit more “I mean… I was really ahead even in the crystal empire, and they’re supposed to be ahead in their schooling practices..”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” I told her. “But let’s see how things go at school first, please?”
“Okay, okay…” Vesper groaned. “I still wonder when I’m gunna get my cutie mark… or what it’s going to be for, there’s not a lot to do on a base..”
“Well, you never know, I say try everything you can,” I smiled. “I’ll see if I can arrange for some things that aren’t on base as well.”
“I heard about this group, they help fillies get their cutie marks, do you think there are any around here? Maybe I could find them and they could figure out mine” She said, smiling at me a little.
I flinched a little at that. The Cutie Mark Crusaders these days were usually more involved in running Stable-Tec. But that was a good question, I had heard of groups like them existing, maybe there was something here.
“I don’t know, but I’ll look into it, you do the same at school,” I suggested.
“Yes ma’am” Vesper said enthusiastically, even giving a little salute before she started to giggle.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon enough,” I reassured her. “Now come on, let’s eat! I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
“I’m not.” Vesper said, poking at the sandwich. “I don’t know what I’m feeling.”
“Are you okay?” I asked as I looked at her worriedly. I placed my hoof on her forehead gently to feel for a fever. “Are you sick?”
“I guess I’m worried, we just moved really far… a new home, new neighbors, new school… what if they don’t like me? What if there aren’t any crystal ponies? What if they don’t like crystal ponies? What if they know about our past?” Vesper said with a sigh. “I know change is just a part of life… but does it have to be so hard?”
I paused a little at that and then sighed. “Change is never easy, but it’s also how we learn and grow. We can’t just stay in one place either physically or emotionally or we’ll never become who we’re meant to be. I know it’s not going to be easy, but you need to remember the most important thing. You’re not going to be alone, I’ll be here, and your dad will be here when he can. You’ll find new friends and grow, and you may yet see the old ones again someday. So, change is hard, but it’s worth it in the end.”
“Maybe for you,” Vesper said with a pout. “You don’t have to deal with ponies my age when you go out, they aren’t exactly the nicest bunch.”
“You haven’t even met them yet, give them a chance before you judge,” I sighed. “Please Vesper, for me?”
“Not like I have much choice.” Vesper said with a sigh, levitating up her sandwich and taking a bite. “I mean… guess you don’t remember back in the crystal empire how my first days at school there were a disaster”
I flinched a little at that. “Yeah, I remember… but I also remember that things got better with time. But… I don’t know what else we can do. I mean I could look into private tutors again, but that won’t be easy. Just, try the school first.”
“I’ll try mom…” Vesper said with a sigh, lightly twirling the sandwich. “Not everypony is so understanding”
“I know, but you’re judging them before you meet them,” I reminded her and gave her a hug. “You never know, maybe things will be different here.”
“My only hope is they don’t know about us.” She said with a huff. “Anypony who does always looks at me like they expect me to suddenly try and take over the world or something.”
“Yes, remember we told you you’re not allowed to do that until you’re at least 25,” I said with a chuckle. “But I doubt many ponies outside of the Crystal Empire know about you. I wouldn’t be worried. And it’ll be okay, if you get any trouble, let me know, okay honey?”
“Okay okay.” Vesper said, sighing and putting her sandwich down. “Do you really think it’ll be so different?”
“I’d like to believe so, yes,” I said. I gently levitated Vesper up and pulled her in close. “But remember that we’ll always love you and we’ll do what we can to help you through this. You’re not alone Vesper, you’ll always have me with you, and your dad when he can. But he’ll always be with you in spirit.”
“Just, have to remember, if I want to achieve my goal and enter into Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns, I need to practice my magic first and foremost.” Vesper said, giggling a little “Who cares what some pony has to say, I’ll run them in circles with my magical prowess!”
“Yeah!” I said with a broad smile. “You’re going to be great, Vesper. I’ll bet someday you’ll rival even Twilight Sparkle.”
“I don’t want to rival her! I want to be her understudy!” Vesper said with a giggle “Get a baby dragon of my own, be able to walk in her hoofsteps, you know, make a real difference”
I smiled a little at that and ruffled her mane. “Vesper, whatever you do, your father and I will be very proud of you. I know we are now.”
“Not that Equestria needs another savior, if there’s anything left for me to do by the time I graduate.” Vesper said giggling and giving a little snort. “Look out Equestria, Here comes Vesper Glow, Crystal unicorn extraordinaire!”
“Yes, the villains and monsters will tremble in fear at your name!” I said with a chuckle. “But if you want to get to that point, you really should eat your dinner.”
“Fiiiiiine,” Vesper said, still giggling before she levitated up her sandwich and took another, much larger bite. “First I must conquer dinner, then all my foes will fear me!”
“Think of it as a foe you’re making fear you,” I said with a snicker as I started eating my own sandwich and popped off the cap on my soda before taking a drink. “Silly filly.”
“I mean, I don’t think magic, or friendship can really do much to a sandwich mom.” Vesper said with a roll of her eyes.
“Really?” I said as I levitated my sandwich up and used my magic to make it move like a mouth and spoke in a fake accented voice. “Muwhahahahaha, I am Sandwitcha, Queen of the Sandwichlings! I shall make everypony into sandwiches and rule the world!”
Vesper giggled a bit and took another bite. “Sounds like that one bug queen… uh, whatever her name was.”
“Chrysalis,” I reminded her and giggled a little. “Clearly you need a refresher in your Equestrian History class.”
“What’s even the point of history, it’s already happened, it’s a done deal, why should we learn about it now, it’s not like its about to happen again.” Vesper said with a giggle, putting her sandwich down to have a sip of her juice. “Let’s be honest, how often does Equestrian history mean anything today?”
“You still need to learn about it though,” I reminded her. “If you don’t learn from the mistakes of the past, you can’t recognize them if they’re being repeated.”
I then added jokingly. “Besides, its math that’s rarely useful today.”
“If you say so.” Vesper said with a shrug, before she would go back at it with her sandwich, quickly finishing what she had left. “Magic is all you need, History, math, even ponish doesn’t get you anywhere, just got to master magic and you’ll be able to do anything.”
I sighed a little and stretched out as I finished eating. “So, how about we go look for that Teddy Bear of yours? You don’t have to worry about school for a few more days anyway.”
“Okay. okay… Amore must be scared, she’s been all alone for weeks” Vesper said with a huff.
“I promise we’ll find him,” I told her as I got up. “Come on, there are only a few boxes left that he could be in, let’s go.”
“Mooom, we’ve been over this multiple times, Amore is a girl.” Vesper said with a huff.
“Oh, right, whoops,” I said as I facehooved. “Okay, there are only a few places that SHE could be in.”
“Do you think we forgot her? I mean… we were in a rush” Vesper said, looking a little worried. “If we did, I hope she finds a new home and that the filly that finds her treats her right.”
I hugged her tightly. “If we did, I’m sure the filly that finds her will treat her right. But let’s actually try and find her in the boxes first, okay?”
“Okay.” Vesper said with a little pout as she stood from the table, “I think two of them are in my room.”
“Alright, let’s start there,” I said as I shot her a look. “With that pout, I almost have to wonder if you don’t want to find her.”
“Of course I want to find her, but… I’m scared, I’m scared that we’re going to look for her and find that we did forget her, and there’s no way for us to get her back.” Vesper said sighing and shaking her head. “Don’t you ever get anxious?”
“Everypony gets anxious, and it’s not easy to not let it get to you,” I replied and took a deep breath. “But you just have to do your best. And besides, if we did leave it in the Crystal Empire I know ponies who can hopefully send it to us. Do you want to look?”
“I… yeah, lets look” Vesper said and managed to smile a little.
I smiled a little and we headed to her bedroom together to start looking. I levitated down one of the two boxes that were still packed and set it on her bed. I smiled at her as I carefully opened it, not wanting to use the scissors in case the bear was in there.
“And… voila!” I said as I opened it up and we looked inside.
Vesper popped up and looked inside of it, moving a few items around before she started to pout. “Not in this one…” She huffed a little and sat, folding her forelegs across her chest. “How could I possibly misplace a bright pink teddy bear…”
“Don’t give up hope,” I said as I levitated over the other box. “Let’s make sure we’re sure that she’s not here first.”
“I know, I know, it’s just… I feel really kind of stupid because I’m not a little foal anymore, I shouldn’t be misplacing things like this.” Vesper said with a huff, regaining her composure some. “Last time I lost something like this… it was my blanket, and it was under my bed and I just never thought to check there.”
“Did you think to check there this time?” I asked.
“Of course I did.” Vesper said with a huff, “It’s as empty as your sense of humor.”
“How about your closet?” I asked, ignoring the comment.
“Yes mom.” She said, an obvious annoyance growing.
“Well… dang… unless she’s in the last box I’m out of ideas,” I commented with a sigh. “I’m sorry Vesper, I was sure we packed her.”
“It’s not the end of the world.” Vesper said with a sigh. “We still have the last box to check, Honestly I think dad will be the one more upset, given that it had that crystal he gave me around its neck.”
“We’ll find it or have it sent, I promise,” I reassured her as I levitated up the last box. “Do you want to do the honors?”
Taking a deep breath and reaching out for that box, taking it from my aura Vesper carefully pulled at the top, simply pulling and ripping open the tape that kept it closed. “Let’s see…” Vesper said to herself, as she moved a few items in the box, before she lit up and pulled out her bright pink bear, giving it a tight hug.
“See, I told you you’d find her!” I said with a smile as I ruffled her mane. “You just have to have a little faith sometimes.”
Vesper smoothed out her mane and giggled a little “Yeah, its just… I don’t remember putting her in this box.” she said, motioning to the fact that the box had ‘books’ written across the side. “And all that’s in it, other than Amore is books, why would she be in here?”
I shrugged a little. “I probably just threw her in there at some point and forgot about it. Wouldn’t be the first time, I did a lot of the packing on autopilot. You’d be amazed where I found stuff.”
“But… I packed this one?” Vesper said, looking a bit more confused
“Well, uh…” I said, trying to figure out what to say.
Vesper simply shrugged and gave her bear a hug, before she stood and levitated it onto her back. “Some mysteries don’t need to be solved, I guess”
I smiled and hugged her tightly. “Yeah, I’m glad we found her though. That’s the important thing. Now when your dad gets home, we’ll all be together. So, now what shall we do?”
“Well… I still need to get ready for bed?” Vesper said, thinking for a moment. “Or maybe we could do a story?”
“How about you get ready for bed and then I’ll tell you a story,” I suggested. “I’ll go get everything cleaned up from dinner and you get ready for bed. Sound like a plan?”
Vesper smiled and nodded. “Okidoki, I’ll find my pajamas.”
“Let’s hope you don’t have to go through all the boxes to get to them,” I said with a laugh as I headed towards the kitchen.
“Well, unless you put my suitcase in a box and hid it somewhere.” Vesper said with a smirk.
“Maybe I did, you know back in the day we didn’t even wear clothes that much,” I said and stuck my tongue out at her. “Maybe I’m trying to get you back to your roots.”
“I mean, we’re not wearing clothing now?” Vesper said with a giggle. “Just because I like my pajamas doesn’t mean I want to wear clothing all the time.”
“I know, I know, I’m teasing you, you silly filly, now get ready for bed,” I said as I headed into the kitchen.
00000
“Okay, okay…” I thought to myself as I walked to my room, looking around for a moment. “Come on Vesper, where did you put your suitcase…”
Thinking for a few moments I remembered, I had stuffed it under my bed when I was looking for my bear alone earlier, going to my bed and pulling it out - I couldn’t help but overhear some grunts and what sounded to be angry whispering outside.
“I wonder what that is..” I whispered to myself, before I stopped and shook my head. “You really need to make friends, you’re talking to yourself.”
Slinking over to the window and peeking out, I saw maybe half a dozen figures with a large cart in the road out front of the home. Curiosity getting the better of me I decided to levitate myself out my window and down to the front yard.
“Excuse me… What are you doing?” I commented, walking over to the fence and looking at the figures who just stopped and stared back.
“Official military business, return to your home,” one of the ponies replied dismissively as they turned to look at me. They had an odd voice, like they were trying to hide what they sounded like, but not very well.
“You’re not wearing Equestrian military uniforms.” I stated “and you don’t sound like any pony I’ve ever met.”
“We’re trying not to attract attention, we don’t know where there might be Zebra Agents,” the pony replied. “And I’m just not from around here.”
“Why would Zebra agents be around here? I mean, my daddy’s a soldier, and he said they would never come anywhere near here.” I said, tilting my head and holding a hoof out. “I’m Vesper, Vesper Glow, you?”
“Uh… Starbright,” the pony said as they shook my hoof gently. There was a strange tone in their voice like they were surprised by this. “Little fillies shouldn’t be out this late by themselves. Where are your parents?”
“Mom’s inside, dad’s deployed to Roam.” I said with a shrug, smiling up at that strange pony. “So, Starbright, you’re not from around here, where are you from?”
“You’ve probably never heard of it, just a small town up by Hoofington,” Starbright replied with a shrug. “Does your mother know you’re out here?”
“Pft no, I’m supposed to be getting ready for bed, but I learned this cool telekinesis spell that lets me levitate myself down from my bedroom window, I can levitate myself back up anytime I want.” I said, rather proud of myself.
“Well, you probably should get back in there, it's not safe for you to be out here,” the strange pony said. “In times like this you never know who might be out here. You’re lucky we’re just here to deliver something.”
Something was really off about these ponies, I was getting more and more confused before it finally hit me, and I frowned and looked at that pony before me. “You’re not from Equestria, aren't you.” I said, pouting at them. “Ponies don’t say things like that, it could make ponies panic.”
The pony quickly looked up nervously and shook their head at somepony behind me. “Look, kid, we’re here on a special mission. Just go back home now, it’s for the best,” they said before turning back to secure the object in the cart.
I jumped the fence and walked over to them. “You’re Zebra aren’t you.” I said, looking up at these mysterious figures. “Why would you hide that? Why can’t we just be friends?”
“Have you seen how Equestria treats Zebras? There’s no friends to be had here,” the ''pony” said with a snort. “With how the war is, there’s little chance of that changing anytime soon.”
“Well, why can’t we change it here and now?” I said with a frown, “We both did things that are wrong, and we’re both refusing to admit that it was wrong and willing to hurt each other instead of just admitting it and moving on, my dad didn’t want to go over there and hurt zebra, he did it because he felt he had to, to protect me, to protect my mom, so many fights because of that, and why can’t you both see you’re fighting for the same thing.”
The Zebra paused a little at that and looked down at me for a long moment. Finally he actually chuckled a little. “You’re a smart one, how old are you?”
“Eight.” I said a little confused “In school, we’re taught to get along, admit when we’re wrong, forgive and move on, didn’t you learn that too?”
“You say that like its so simple in war,” the Zebra commented. “But maybe if more of us were like you we wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. You’re a smart kid Vesper… I hope this war is over before you have to see action. But the Caesar won’t listen and your Princess and Ministry Mares are pushing the war forward too. I wish I could stop it, but our hooves are tied.”
“No, no they aren’t.” I said, standing on my hind hooves and putting my forehooves to their chest. “War is what happens when two sides refuse to see eye to eye and agree on anything, Zebra and ponies never tried, your hooves are as tied as mine, if I can see its wrong and that we could just be friends, so can you, you can make a change too.”
He paused a little at that and nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. But we have things to do, and your mom won’t be able to not notice you’re gone forever. You might want to get back into your room, we don’t want our new friend to get in trouble do we?”
“That’s one of your bombs, isn’t it?” I said, looking past them to what they had been pushing along. “I’ve heard the rumors, that zebra have been trying to smuggle them in, several of them were caught, weren’t they?”
“Kid, we’ve got orders…” the Zebra said as he quickly glanced at the others for a moment. “We don’t have to like it, but we can’t just refuse a direct order from the Caesar.”
“You don’t have to.” I said with a frown, tears welling up in my eyes. “We don’t have to fight, we don’t need to hurt each other, You can see eye to eye with me, a pony, if we can see eye to eye why do we have to keep going?”
“I…” he said and looked back at the cart for a moment. “If I refuse an order from the Caesar there will be consequences. Not just for me, but for my family too. I have nowhere to go in Equestria either that his agents wouldn’t find me.”
Sighing deeply and looking at him. “I understand… but, if you put that bomb here, what about me and my mom? Or all the other fillies and colts that live here? They’ll have nowhere to go either…”
I was choking back tears at this point, I understood, he has his orders, he had to follow them, but I couldn’t help but feel that there was something that could be done, a change that we could make and things didn’t have to go this route.
“Sir, we need to get going if we want to reach the target,” one of the other Zebras said. “The longer we’re out here the more we risk discovery. Well, being discovered again. What should we do with her”
“Alright, let her go,” the Zebra commander said as he looked back at me for a moment. “I’ll remember what you said, Vesper. You’ve given me a lot to think about. Be safe, okay?”
“I’ll try” I said, sighing as I went back and hopped back over the fence, looking back at those zebra for a moment more before I’d shake my head and levitate myself back up and into my bedroom, sitting at the foot of my bed.
“I wish that we didn’t have to fight like this.” I said under my breath, levitating over and hugging my bear tightly. “Why can’t they be like you and me Amore, different but still best friends.”
The door opened as my mom came in. She gave me a smile before turning it into a frown right away. What was wrong? Did I have signs of having talked with a Zebra agent? What was she frowning about?
“Young filly, you were supposed to be getting ready for bed, have you even brushed your teeth yet?” She scolded.
I blinked and stared in confusion for a moment before I sighed “No ma’am.” I said, getting up and putting my bear back on the bed.
“Alright, get ready for bed for real this time and I’ll tell you a story,” mom said as she took a seat on the bed and laid back. “What do you think Amore? Should she get in trouble?”
She levitated up the bear and made its head move before saying in an obviously fake voice, “Yes, big trouble. No cookies for a week!”
“See, Amore and I are on the same wavelength,” mom giggled.
I couldn’t help but smile a little at that, making my way to the bathroom to get ready. I couldn’t help but think about those Zebra outside, I wondered what they were planning, or what their orders were. Shaking my head and giving another sigh, “Why do adults act so weird.” I whispered to myself once I was confident I was out of earshot of mom.
00000
“Moooom!” I heard Vesper yelling as I jolted awake from a sudden bounce on the bed. “C’mooooon, you gots to get up, We gotta be ready for dad!”
“Ugh… five more minutes…” I groaned as I rolled over onto my side.
“But in Five minutes it’ll be…. Uhm…” I felt Vesper hop off my bed and heard her trotting to the nearby clock. “In five minutes it’ll be 6:55! That’s like, a whole lotta time we could be getting stuff ready, C’mon stop being lazy!”
“It’s not even 7 yet,” I groaned as I yawned a little. “Your Dad won’t be here until this afternoon probably. But fine, if you want me to stop being lazy…”
I grinned evilly and suddenly used a tickling spell on Vesper at full force.
That little filly squealed and squirmed as she was tickled “N-No fair mom!” she managed to squeak out before she used her own magic to get rid of the spell. “C’mon, we gotta finish unpacking, get everything put away, and make sure that we have lunch ready! I bet daddy’s gunna be really hungry!”
“Oh fine,” I said with an exaggerated roll of my eyes as I got up. “What do you think we should make him for lunch?”
Vesper just sat there for a moment looking at me confused, before she giggled. “You know I’m terrible at picking! Not to mention you know what daddy likes best.” She said, waving a hoof in the air. “Though… I’m sure a sandwich isn’t gunna cut it!”
“Aww, but my sandwiches are delicious!” I protested with a laugh. “But yeah, I’ll figure out something good for him.”
“First, breakfast!” Vesper said as she bounded out of my room. “Maybe some french toast, what do you think Amore?” I could hear her say from the hallway as she made her way to the kitchen.
I laughed a little as I got to my hooves and opened the bedroom door. I headed into the hallway and made my way towards the kitchen, humming to myself. I stepped out into the kitchen and went through what we had for breakfast.
“Anything in particular you’d like?” I asked as I turned back to look at Vesper. “French toast perhaps?”
She looked honestly surprised for a moment, before she turned to look to her bear “It’s almost like she can read our minds or something.”
“Yes, it’s a secret mom power, you will learn how to do it when you’re a mom too,” I laughed. “So, French Toast?”
“Yes ma’am!” Vesper said, nodding eagerly.
“What’s the magic word?”
“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease?” Vesper said, going as far as batting her eyes at me and trying to look as innocent and adorable as possible.
“Okay, okay, any more sweet and you’re gonna kill me,” I laughed as I started making french toast. “How’d you sleep last night?”
“Well, I slept fine until Amore woke me up because she thought she saw a spider.” she said, tapping her hooves on the table in that familiar almost musical way. “I told her that it was just her imagination but she insisted, she wouldn’t let me go back to bed until I had searched the whole room!”
“And was there one?”
“If there was, I didn’t find it, Amore wasn’t convinced though.” Vesper said with a shrug.
“Well, I’m sure there wasn’t one, but nice to know Amore is keeping an eye out for them,” I chuckled. “Maybe I should keep her in my room to keep an eye out for me.”
“Nooo, that’s what dad is for!”
“Yes, but what about when he’s not here?”
“That isn’t my problem.” Vesper said and closely hugged her teddy to her chest.
“Okay, but when I die from a spider bite, you’ll spend the rest of your life lamenting, “why? Why didn’t I let my mom have Amore to watch out for spiders?”” I said in a dramatic voice.
“I could say the same if she came and stayed with you, how you gunna feel when your only daughter is munched by spiders and it's all your fault for taking her spider guardian away.” She said back, equally dramaticized.
“You have learned well my young apprentice,” I laughed and ruffled her mane again. “Fine, I’ll just have to get my own spider guardian. I don’t know wherever I will find one, but I will totally find one.”
“Daddy isn’t going to be gone forever, and the spiders seem to like him anyway.” Vesper said with a giggle. “Once he’s back you’ll have to guard him from them!”
“Yes, but what do I do in the meantime?” I pouted as I finished making breakfast and set it on the table for her.
“Well… uhm” Vesper said, looking around thinking to herself, before she shrugged. “I dunno, I’m only 8 years old, this isn’t my problem.”
“Well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out,” I said as I started to eat my french toast. “Eat your breakfast before it gets cold, dear.”
Vesper didn’t take long to dig into the plate, scarfing mouthfuls eagerly and excitedly. “Spiders aren’t so bad,” she managed to say, with a mouthful of food no less, taking a moment to clear her mouth before continuing “It’s only some of them that are mean, most of them would rather run away.”
“Oh? You don’t say,” I said as I raised an eyebrow. Where did she learn these things? She hadn’t mentioned anything like that before. “Did you learn that at school?”
“Yeah, before we left they had Ms. Fluttershy come in, she told us about how a lot of creatures that ponies fear are actually terribly misunderstood, and are more afraid of us than we are of them.” Vesper said, picking up an entire piece of toast and looked at it like she was trying to figure out how to stuff the whole thing in her mouth. “Said that there are a few spiders who are mean, but they are only trying to protect themselves or their homes and that if we leave them alone they leave us alone.”
“Well, I’ll keep that in mind,” I said with a smile. “So, what should we do to get ready for your Dad’s arrival? I mean, we can’t just eat breakfast all day.”
She dropped the piece she had been examining, looking at me like I had just said pure blasphemy “Of course we can.” She said, in that familiar matter of fact tone. “Buuuuuut… boxes.”
“Ah yes, we should definitely unpack more boxes,” I agreed. “If we don’t, he’ll want to unpack them all himself instead of resting like he’s supposed to be.”
Vesper choked back a laugh before she smiled at me. “Sure you’re talking about the same pony I am?”
“Good point, but we should still unpack the boxes.”
“I just want dad to not worry about us, that we can take care of ourselves.” Vesper said, levitating her fork to that final piece she had been playing with. “Remember how he was when he left and knew we were going to be moved? He was so upset and wanted to delay deployment so he could be here to help.”
“Yeah… you’re right,” I agreed with a sigh. “But we told him we’ll be fine, and we are… right?”
“I think we are, but… if he gets here and sees we’re still unpacking he might not think so.”
“Okay, well let’s get unpacked then,” I agreed. “But I think we’re going to be okay. It’s not always going to be easy, but as long as we have each other, we’re going to figure this out you and me.”
“And daddy.” Vesper added before she’d push her plate away. “We got this, no problem.”
“Well obviously, I just meant when he’s not here,” I said as I put the plates away in the sink. I checked the time, we still had a few hours before he would likely arrive. “So, where should we start?”
As the time passed, we went through the remaining boxes one by one. I found a few things that I had almost forgotten I had packed as we neatly put them away. After about two hours, we had gone through the last of the boxes. I gave Vesper a nod as I passed some stuff for her to take to her room.
“Here, you go find a place for these,” I said. “I think you still have some room on your shelf.”
I took a deep breath as I sat down on the couch and leaned back for a moment. The TV had been playing in the background while we worked, and I closed my eyes as I enjoyed the brief moment of relaxation. I knew it wasn’t going to last, but it was nice to have it for the moment at least.
The moment lasted even less time than I thought as the audio on the TV suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes and saw that it had changed to a test pattern before switching to a pony seated behind a news desk looking distraught.
“We’re… we’re getting reports now of detonations in Cloudsdale and… and in Manehattan,” the anchorpony said on the TV screen. “There are further reports of missiles being launched at Canterlot and Las Pegasus, but there was enough warning to defend the cities. Retaliation has been swift. All ponies who are part of the Preservation Program report to your designated Stables. Everypony else… may Celestia have mercy on our souls…”
You already know what happened next.
00000
I groaned as I rubbed my head as the world came back into focus. I glanced towards Baltimate, somehow I had expected to see the telltale signs of a Balefire Bomb having gone off, but the city was… relatively intact. I looked around and struggled to get to my hooves, I needed to get to Stable 36 now.
I groaned a little when I saw Vesper there. “I thought I told you to run…”
Vesper just stared at me, she appeared to be in shock at everything that had so quickly transpired. “M-Momma?” She mumbled, before she’d jump onto me and hugged tight “What happened?..”
“I… I don’t know, the Zebras must’ve detonated a missile or something above the city…” I answered. It wasn’t much of an answer, but it was an answer. “We… we should get to the Stable, I don’t know how much longer it’ll be open.”
She looked like she was thinking of something, before she nodded and tried her best to get me back to my hooves, my head was swimming from that blow, I could barely stand at all. Shuffling around trying to keep my balance before smiling at her, lifting her and putting her back on my back as I started for the Stable again.
“What about daddy?..” I heard her mumble.
“He’ll meet us there!” I said quickly. I knew it was probably a lie, but there was a chance. “He was probably at the military base by now. He should have headed to the Stable. We need to get going, I promise, we’ll see him soon.”
I really hated lying to Vesper. I just had to hope she wasn’t going to catch on before we got to Stable 36.
“Hope!” I heard yelling in the distance, stopping and spinning round I could see my husband running towards me. “Oh goddesses you two are okay, quick get to the stable, I’ll try and see if anypony else needs help.”
“Daddy!” Vesper yelled, squirming on my back trying to get down.
“Oh thank goodness!” I said as I used my magic to hold Vesper where she was. The exertion sent a sharp pain through my head. “Are you going to be okay out here? Maybe we should all go to the Stable...”
“No I’ll be fi-” He started to stay before he gently lifted his hoof to the side of my head. “What happened? Why are you bleeding?”
“Bleeding?” I asked as I raised my hoof to where his was and felt blood. “Oh… that must’ve happened when the explosion happened. I didn’t even feel it…”
“Did you pass out? At all?” Fear starting to raise in his voice, “Did something hit you? Did you fall?” He seemed like he had a million questions.
“Yeah… I blacked out for… Vesper how long would you say it was? It only felt like a few seconds.”
Vesper nodded “Just a couple of seconds.”
“Do you feel dizzy at all.” He said, his horn starting to glow. “It’s possible you may of given yourself a minor concussion.”
“Yeah… a bit, it hurt to use my magic a moment ago,” I said with a shake of my head. “I just need to get to the Stable, they’ll have medical facilities there and we can’t risk it closing up.”
He frowned, before a flash of light and the three of us stood in front of the stable’s entrance. “Go inside, I’ll be back - I’m sure there is going to be ponies too scared to come out. Vesper, sweetheart, take care of your mother, make sure she gets looked at.”
“Yes sir” Vesper said, her voice quivering in her sadness. “I don’t want to lose you daddy..”
“Sweetheart, I’ll be fine, the worst Equestria and the Zebra couldn’t kill me, go.” He commanded, before he took off running down the path.
“I love you…” I called out to him as best I could.
He either didn’t hear or was too far gone, before I could chase after him I felt a hoof on my back, turning to see a Stable-Tec guard motioning inside.
“Ma’am, please come with us.” He said with a frown.
“Yeah… okay…” I said as I shook the dizziness out of my head as best I could. “Come on Vesper, let’s go see our new home.”
We followed the guards through the large gear shaped Stable Door and into Stable 36. Inside there were ponies being given the familiar blue jumpsuits and being directed into the back of the Stable by doctors. I looked back at Vesper for a moment, “Are you okay back there sweetie?”
She seemed understandably upset, pouting and choking back tears as she kept looking back at the door. “Why’d daddy leave us?” I can hear her mumbling.
“He wanted to help more ponies… he’ll do his best to join us,” I replied. “I’m sorry, but he hasn’t left us just yet. It’ll be okay Vesper.”
“Ma’am, please step back” One of the Stable-Tec engineers said as an alarm started to blare and lights started to strobe. The hissing and clanging of metal grinding together as an arm moved down to connect to the door.
“Outside contamination reaching unsafe levels.” I heard one engineer say to another.
“There’s still ponies out there… Celestia’s mercy…” The other replied back as that door started to move and roll.
They were doing it, sealing the stable.
“No, my Husband is still out there!” I protested as I levitated Vesper onto the ground and tried to run towards the door. “You can’t leave him out there!”
“Ma’am if we leave the door open any longer it will contaminate the entire stable, I’m sorry for your loss but we can’t wait any longer.” The guard said, stepping in front of me. “Please, step back.”
“No…” I said softly, but I reluctantly took a step back. “He can’t be gone… not after everything we’ve been through…”
I could hear Vesper starting to cry behind me before she bolted past both of us, reaching that door just as it gave its final hiss as it locked into place, she started to slam her hooves against it, trying to use her magic, everything she could think of to try and move it.
I heard one of the guards sigh, as he stood and went over next to Vesper, sitting down beside her. “I know its hard, losing your dad like that, I lost my dad too.” He said, his voice soft. “You’ll be okay sweetheart, your daddy is a hero.”
“I don’t want my daddy to be a hero!” She screamed at him. “I want my daddy back! I want him now!” each time she yelled she smacked the door as hard as she could. “You can’t do this to us! We had so much planned…”
I knew that right now I had something more important to take care of than my mourning. My head hurt, but I used my magic to pull Vesper in carefully. I hugged her tightly and cried as I held her close. “Shhh… it’ll be okay, I’m here for you Vesper…”
“No! No it’s not! They locked daddy out!” She cried out, reaching hysterics.
“I know… I know baby… just let it out,” I said as I held her close. “I want him back too…”
“Ma’am, I don’t mean to be rude, but orientation is about to begin…” I heard a guard say as she came up behind us. “Please, don’t make this any harder”
“Yeah… come on Vesper, everything will be okay, I promise…” I said softly as I put her on my back and we headed for the atrium together.
As we headed into the atrium there were more ponies gathered around. They looked just as confused and scared as I felt. I looked back at Vesper worriedly for a moment as we joined the crowd of ponies.
“What kind of orientation are they giving us anyway?” I wondered out loud.
“Telling us what the stable is for, what we’re expected to do, the whole works” One of the other ponies said as they walked past.
“Well yeah, but what more are we going to learn than we already know about the Stables?” I asked. “Eh, I guess we’ll find out.”
A mare dressed in the jumpsuit with a lab coat over it stepped up into view. She cleared her throat as she adjusted a microphone and took a deep breath before she began to speak.
On behalf of Stable-Tec, I am pleased to welcome you all to Stable 36. Our Stable we are assured, is one of the most advanced and well equipped Stable in Equestria, Stable-Tec truly values your wellbeing and safety. Now, the scary thing I have to say is, This stable has an experiment - an Experiment for invaluable data on the effects of long term storage of willing subjects in suspended animation. Once, every twenty years, we will open the suspended animation pods and ask you to do basic tasks to make sure that there is no mental or physical degradation for this method of safekeeping. I assure you, that in the event we discover that these systems are harming the ponies in it, that the experiment will immediately conclude, and all of you will be set free and allowed to live out your days in the stable, much like any other stable.”
Wait, what? They were experimenting with suspended animation? While I understood the idea of preserving Equestrian society, why would they do that like this? Still, at least they were wanting to do it willingly.
I looked at Vesper, she looked as surprised and confused as I felt. I gave her a reassuring smile and a nod before looking back at the mare who kept talking.
“Now, I see many of you have brought young foals with you, I regret to inform you that they cannot join you in the suspended animation pods until they are of the appropriate age. However, I assure you that Stable 36 has the state of the art in schools and homecare for those young colts and fillies you’ve brought with you. Know, that once they are of age, they will be put into the suspended animation system much like you, and you will be allowed to see them every twenty years when you all will be released for wellbeing checks.”
Wait, what? No, there was no way I could do that, not after what just happened to Vesper’s father. There was no way I could be put into suspended animation while she was out and about, it would be the same as losing me even if we’d see each other in 20 years.
I felt Vesper squirm uncomfortably, I just whispered quietly to her. “Vesper, it’s okay… I’m not going to leave you alone…”
“Stable 36 is devoted to the preservation of modern Equestrian society, to serve as an Ark of our Society into the future, when the doors open and you all are released back into Equestria, it will be up to you to teach each other, and whatever awaits you outside the stable about the world you came from - about the Equestria of old. It is of utmost importance that our society carries on. Are there any questions?”
“Yes, are we going to have to go into suspended animation?” I called out. A few other ponies murmured in agreement. “You said you want to see if we’ll do it willingly. But some of us left family members out there and we can’t leave our foals out in the Stable.”
“As I said, the Stable is equipped with state of the art bleeding edge technology in the fields of foalcare and education, Now it is not a requirement, but heavily insisted upon that the adults go into Suspended animation immediately, and the foals will be taken care of by our qualified and very capable staff. You need not worry, your foals are better off here than they ever were out there.”
I sighed a little and shook my head as I looked back at Vesper. “I understand what you’re saying, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable doing that just yet… Vesper, what do you think?”
“Daddy would want us to be strong and do what’s right…” Vesper said, still choking back her tears. “We’re crystal ponies… and unicorns, we have to be strong…”
“I know… but I don’t want to leave you so soon after what happened to your dad…” I said softly. “I can always wait until you’re ready…”
“I think you should do what they say, I’ll be fine,” Vesper said with an obvious nervous smile. “We have a duty to Equestria, right?”
“Vesper, do you really feel that way? Because they never said I couldn’t go into it later…” I pointed out. I hugged her tightly, starting to cry again. “I… don’t want to leave you out here…”
“It’s okay mom, I can handle myself, I’m not a little filly anymore.” Vesper said, hugging back. “It’s not like we’re not going to see eachother again, I mean… technically for you it’ll feel like just a few minutes at most.”
“Yeah… but, I won’t get to see you grow up…” I said sadly. “And, with everything that’s happened… are you sure you’d be okay with this?”
“We have to be strong, we have to do what’s right, it’s not just for us, but for Equestria, right?” Vesper said with a sigh. “Sometimes… you have to do things you don’t want to do, sometimes you just have to take it on the chin and tough it out… If I ever want to come and see you, I can always come and visit.”
“When did you become so smart?” I asked with a weak smile.
“When Daddy told us, when we left home, that we have to be brave, that there are scary things that we’re going to have to face and that we can get through them together no matter what.” Vesper said, weakly smiling back. “We have to be strong for him.”
I hugged her tightly, closing my eyes for a moment as I stroked her mane gently. “My brave little filly… promise me you’ll be good?”
“The best”
“Remember, just because you’ll probably be grown up when I see you again, or at least a teenager, doesn’t mean I can’t ground you, I will ask for details from your teachers,” I said with a nervous chuckle.
“Yes ma’am” She said sniffling a little before she hugged me tight. “Hey mom… do you remember that song, from home?..”
“Of course I do,” I said with a soft smile. I held her close and rocked back and forth, gently singing the song to her.
“When morning is come to light the way home
I'll follow the rays of the sun
When morning is come to show us we've won
Our bondage will then be undone
When morning is here to dry up our tears
At peace will my soul be once more
When morning is here to free us from fear
I'll bury the chains that I wore
When morning is come to make us all one
Our lives will all then be reborn
When morning is come to sing the unsung
Our pain we'll remember no more.”
“Just, remember that song any time you feel down mom.” Vesper said softly, smiling up at me. “Because our morning will come, and everything will be alright, I can feel it.”
I smiled and nuzzled her gently. “I love you so much Vesper.”
“Love you too mom” She said, nuzzling back before she’d gently push away and give a smile to me. “Now you go, I promise, I’ll see you soon.”
I smiled sadly and gave her one more hug before I slowly walked off towards the rooms with the stasis pods. I stopped at the door and turned back towards Vesper one last time. I didn’t like the fact that I was going to have to leave her alone like this still. But I was going to have to try and stay strong for her.
I took a long breath as I headed into the rooms where the pods were being held. I took a deep breath as I was directed to a bank of the pods where a scientist was going over a clipboard.
“Your name?” The scientist asked as he looked over the notes.
“Radiant Hope,” I answered.
“Ah… yes, I see your name here with your husband and daughter,” the scientist said as he glanced up and flinched when he realized I was alone. “Oh… I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, we’ll manage… I hope,” I replied, the last part under my breath. “Is my daughter really going to be okay out here?”
“She’ll be fine, all the foals will be well taken care of,” he said reassuringly with a gentle smile. “You have my word. I would have somepony look at that head wound first though, better safe than sorry.”
“Okay…” I said softly as I went over to a doctor. I had a healing potion applied to the injury as the doctor finished things up. “Am I going to be okay?”
“Yeah, don’t worry, we’re going to have you carefully monitored,” the Doctor replied. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah… I hope you’re right…” I said as I looked at the pods for a moment. I headed back to the first scientist and gave him a nod. “I’m ready…”
The scientist nodded as he opened one of the pods. I took a deep breath as I sat down and looked over at one of the pods next to me. Another Unicorn mare was there, she had a golden coat with a red and yellow mane and tail and looked scared.
I gave her a reassuring smile as we both secured ourselves and the pods closed up after a few minutes. There was nothing for a moment, before finally I felt the world around me fading away as my eyes closed.
I just had to hope I’d wake up soon.
