Light of the Aperture

by matrixjorel

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Other, Princess Luna, Comedy, Fluttershy, Adventure, Crossover, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 10324

Sequel: Ponies help Chell return to her world, while Wheatley and Space learn a terrible secret.

Sequel to Aperture in my Heart. Chell is lost, and it is up to the ponies to make sure she returns home. However, between Chell and home stands an angry, all-powerful AI, test chambers, and lemons. A ton of lemons.

But no one, not even Space and Wheatley, knows what is waiting for them deep in the bowels of Aperture....

Published 2012-09-15 19:24:03 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-06 02:12:55 UTC

When Life Gives you Lemons...

Before reading! If you have not read the first story, here's the linkThe Aperture in my Heart
If you have read it, enjoy!

Dear Princess Celestia,

This is Twilight. Again. We need you to come back to Ponyville RIGHT NOW!

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight watched as her letter disappeared in a wisp of emerald smoke, soon to appear in front of the princess in her royal chambers in the Canterlot castle. She had only seen the princesses an hour ago, but the events of this evening seemed to age her years. She was sure that gray hairs would soon appear in her mane.

So much had happened after the princesses left, when it came…

Everything was quiet in Sugarcube Corner. Nopony moved. Every eye was transfixed on the thing that had walked into the Cake’s establishment. It stood in the doorway, staring back at each pony with a silent, daunting gaze. Space Chaser yelled out at the being, and ran up to it.

Twilight wasn’t sure which pony it was that reacted first, or which pony was the first to scream in blood-curling horror, but everypony else was quick to follow suit. A multi-color stampede ensued in the pastry shop, with mares and colts running this way and that, darting for any exit—doors, windows, some even charging straight through the walls. Ponies tripped over spilled cake and punch and other ponies. Somewhere, she heard a voice cry, “The horror! THE HORROR!” Only Ponyville’s newest inhabitants remained still in the flurry or hooves, either not noticing or not caring that everything around them was turning into utter chaos.

Applejack was the only pony that was accustom to keeping a cool head when all hell is breaking loose. Twilight saw her as she effortlessly jumped onto table tops and off of other ponies, quickly making her way to the stranger blocking the only exit. In the blink of an eye, a lasso appeared in her mouth, already wrapping around the orange obstruction and yanking it out from the front of the door. Twilight was shocked at how quickly such a large group could disappear. Only her, her newest friends, Wheatley and Space remained. And their unusual guest, too.

“Chell! We haven’t seen you in forever! You missed out, we went up to SPACE, then met a space pony princess and rescued her, but she turned all evil and was all like ‘I’m going to make the night last forever!’ and it was awesome but I missed a lot of what happened.”

“Yeah, it was kinda my fault… I may have done something I wasn’t supposed to. But it’s all fixed now, and why do you look like you have no idea who we are? Oh, I forgot we were ponies now.” Wheatley chuckled at the perplexed being, “Well, the princess changed us to ponies, but it’s me, Wheatley!”

Chell said nothing. Twilight slowly inched herself closer to the alien as Wheatley continued rambling.

“Aren’t you glad to see me? I mean, I know that the last time we talked, I wanted to kill you and all, but as the Canadians say, c’est la vie, right? Or as the Germans say, gesundheit—does that work here?—but what I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry.”

“And I did nothing wrong, but I’m sorry too!”

“Oh, hey Twilight, what’s up?” The bumbling gray colt barely noticed that the curious mare was now right next to him. They continued their discussion, but Twilight stopped listening.

Upon closer inspection, Twilight noticed that what appeared to be orange skin was in fact an orange ensemble of cloth covering most of her being. Twilight turned her head towards the others, who decidedly stayed far back. A quick glance at Rarity’s face and Twilight knew that Rarity was screaming in her mind ‘What a horrible color, it doesn’t match your mane or your eyes! And look at all the dirt!...’

“And then I met Celestia after I failed to kill… I mean failed on purpose to, well, kill those six over there, and…”

She was also very dirty. Her entire body was covered in a thick layer of dust not unlike Applejack after a busy day on the orchard. In her hair could be seen a wondrous collection of twigs and rocks and bugs and mud. Even her clothes—Twilight had assumed her ensemble to be clothing, but nothing the likes of which she knew of—were torn and ripped, again with dirt and cake from the party covering more than half of her. Twilight assumed it was a her, at least. But those hands… she recognized those hands from somewhere. A book she read maybe. But what was it called again?

“Twilight, Rarity, Pinks, Fluttershy, AJ, Dash, I would like to introduce you to our very special friend, Chell!” Space Chaser effortlessly scooted all six of them uncomfortably close to this Chell, and even she could feel the awkward tension growing. Everything became quiet once again.

Wheatley trotted next to Space. “Yes, she’s a really good friend of ours, and I’m surprised that she found us here, why are you not back home? Did you miss us?”

“Did you have a hard time finding you home?” added Space.

Pinkie Pie blurted, “Maybe you wanted a Ponyville party!”

She remained quiet. Was she so scared she couldn’t speak? Could she even speak?

Suddenly realization hit Wheatley. “Oh, I remember, you haven’t had a doctor look at your brain hemorrhage—I mean, you don’t need a doctor, just… well, do you feel okay?”

Silence.

“Say something, say… apple.”

Everypony nearly screamed when Chell launched herself straight into the air. She could easily have jumped over everypony in this room without effort. 'Perhaps it’s her silver legs that give her extra power,' thought Twilight.

“I see, well that’s the same. Look at the bright side—at least it isn’t any worse! But just a word of advice: don’t jump. At all. Or hit your head on anything.”

Twilight couldn’t remain quiet with all the questions overflowing in her mind. “Wheatley, Space, please, tell me who this is?”

“We’ve told you, this is Chell! She’s our friend.”

Twilight nodded. “And what exactly is a Chell?”

Space and Wheatley exchanged confused glances. “Twi,” Space consoled as she felt a hoof on her back. The hairs on her neck stood on end. 'Oh my gosh, he’s touching me,' a giddy schoolgirl Twilight screamed mentally. She was glad that nopony could see her blushing. “Chell is from the same place we are from. It’s actually a really long story, but to put it short, a long time ago we were whooshing and buzzing and them BANG! And then Chell here was all like 'Huzzah!' and she's all like 'Noo!' and then, the moon.”

Everypony, even Wheatley, stared at the rambling pony as his incoherent ‘story’ finished. Twilight had no idea what to say.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, did.

“I see! Wow, that’s some story!”

“Pinkie Pie, don’t tell me you actually got something from that!”

“Of course I did, silly… Wheatley, Space, and Chell are from a humongously huge place far away called Aperture Laboratories, built many years ago by the indigenous species of that time. Wheatley and Space were in charge of this facility with their computer-boss GLaDOS—a silly name if I ever heard one—but one day she went all crazypants and killed everyone. Chell survived, and defeated her, but not completely. Then, about a month ago, our orange hero escaped again, and using some weird hole-making thingamabob, beat GLaDOS, then Wheatley, and there was this funny guy talking the entire time, and that’s when Luna met these two, then she became Nightmare Moon, and then came back and Twilight was all like ‘We need the Elements of Harmony’ and Rainbow was like ‘are you a spy’, and—“

“Okay, okay Pinkie, I get it now, thank you!” Taking note to examine Pinkie’s mental stability later, she turned her attention back to Wheatley. “So, you are friends with this Chell?”

“Well, we are kinda like friends. Would you say we’re friends? Chell?” Silence. “Well, she didn’t say ‘no’!” Wheatley chucked with a smile so forced it would even scare a manticore.

Twilight regathered her words. “Well, as long as she isn’t dangerous, I suggest we move this group to the library. We need privacy.” She was afraid to say it out loud in front of their newfound guest, but many ponies were appalled and horrified by her appearance. She had already seen more than one pedestrian gaze into the storefront windows, mouths agape and eyes frozen in horror as if the orange visitor was from the Everfree Forest or even Tartartus. Twilight had to hide Chell, for everyone’s sanity.

“Good idea,” replied Wheatley. “Let’s move!”

It was deep into the night when the party finally ended and the last pony left Sugarcube Corner. All nine of them made their way down the dirt roads and towards the large tree on the east side of town that was Twilight’s new permanent residence. Twilight was grateful that her friends have decided to stay with her for more than one reason. Even with Wheatley and Space there alongside her, Chell was scary. She hated to admit it, and as a scientist she would love to find out more about her, but she was scary.

She was also very new to town, and she feared that without a Ponyville resident guiding her, she would never be able to remember what streets to take to reach the library. Even if there was light she would have trouble, but in this unusually dark night it would be near impossible. Twilight pondered this. The moon was high in the cloudless sky but it gave almost no light. According to her astronomy books and charts, tonight was supposed to be a full moon. 'Luna has been gone for a long time,' thought Twilight, 'perhaps she is merely out of practice.'

Everypony was asleep. Or rather, they should be. Yet Twilight could still feel their gazing eyes from half closed windows and doors, trying to steal a glance at Chell. She was glad that her home was more removed from the city, to give her new guest more privacy.

She still had no idea what Chell was like, though. For all she knew, the ponies cowering in their homes were correct and Twilight was making a grave mistake allowing it into her home. She knew that Chell either couldn’t talk or refused to, leaving her to assume that a secret was being hidden. And assuming Pinkie’s retelling of Space’s gibberish to be correct, the being now walking with them has worked with one who murdered many others, and then murdered this GLaDOS. Nopony in a thousand years has ever committed such a crime, so to walk with one who has killed more than once was frightening to say the least.

But Wheatley trusted her. Normally, Twilight would never trust a pony she knew practically nothing about, but the princess trusted him. Celestia, the alicorn that taught Twilight and took her as her disciple, who taught her the ways of magic and friendship, and who has been a mother figure and friend for the lonely unicorn during most of her life. Twilight trusted Celestia with her life. If she trusted Wheatley, so did Twilight—even if that meant allowing Chell to sleep in the library for the night.

Her friends, however, were not as trusting.

“Twilight, are you sure that lettin’ her into your house is a smart move?” questioned Applejack for the umpteenth time.

“What if she’s dangerous? I mean, just look at her!” Rainbow added.

“Come on girls,” counseled Pinkie Pie, “Twilight knows what she’s doing. Right, Twi?”

“She just screams evil, just look at her hair!” Rarity shrieked. “Only a being of the purest evil would parade around without a thought to how they looked.”

“Wait, why'd you just look at me when you say that” AJ retorted.

“I was not looking at you,” Rarity sighed, “I was merely saying—”

“Is there a problem with dirt?”

“Yes, there is, but you wouldn't know that, would you? Rolling around it in like you do in the country.”

Were they really doing this?

“I take pride in working with my hooves instead of curling my hair for hours, Mrs. Mamby Pamby!”

“Why, how dare you!”

Yup, they were.

“You heard me!”

“Take that back!”

“Make me!”

“GIRLS!” Twilight screamed. “Not the problem!”

Applejack’s head lowered. “Sorry Twilight. But really, I need ta know what’s goin’ on in that head of yours. Why are you trusting it?”

“I trust Chell, because Wheatley and Space trust her.”

“And why should we trust them? We know nothin’ about them; they’re as rotten as apples past harvest for all we know!”

“The princess trusts them, and so do I?”

“Well, what if the princess is wrong?”

“No!” Twilight raised her voice. They could say what they want about her, or Wheatley, or anypony else, but her indifference stopped with Celestia. “I trust Princess Celestia’s judgment, and so should you. And all of you! It does nopony any good to make wild accusations with no facts, no proof. All we have is what Space Chaser told us, and that is not enough. I mean, can’t you trust me?”

The entire group remained quiet. Fluttershy inched her way forward, and in a delicate whisper replied, “You’re right, Twilight. We’re just worried about you.”

“I know, but I will be fine. You can go home if you want.”

“Twilight, you know that we can’t do that.”

“Yeah, we don’t leave our friends with strange ponies!”

“Agreed. We’re staying.”

Her new friends never ceased to amaze her. “Okay, let’s go… where are the others?”

Twilight had realized that Chell, Wheatley, and Space were nowhere to be seen.

“But you're so good with words, I mean everypony in there loved you!” Wheatley pointed out.

“I don't know how I do it, I just talk. I mean, I'm no different than what I was before, except now I can form a cohesive sentence.” Wheatley felt his head lower. He knew what sadness felt like when he was an AI; the best scientists were responsible for all the algorithms and matrices that mimicked feelings and emotions. But no one ever told him of the burning in the chest, or the sudden dryness he now felt deep in his throat. Even breathing, which was optional for a computer life form, hurt.

Space must have noticed the look in Wheatley's hazy blue eyes. “Look, Wheat, I think you're just trying too hard. Just talk, you were always better at it than me, even before all of this.”

Sometimes, Wheatley hated that Space Chaser could say the right things at exactly the right time. He wished he could have that gift. “Yeah, whatever.”

“Some on, don't be like that. We're like brothers, no need to put space between us! Get it? Space???

“Oh, shut it!”

“Come on, I made you smile!”

He didn't want to admit it, but he could not deny the slight grin on his face. For such a goody-two-shoes that got everything without trying, Wheatley guessed he wasn't the worst person in the world to be stuck with.

“Wait—is this about a mare?”

“WHAT?”

“Ah, yes it is! So, who is it?” Space inquired. “Fluttershy?”

“No.”

“Rarity?”

“No.”

“Twilight”

“NO! Just leave it alone.”

“Oh, you always had a thing for the smart ones.”

Wheatley shook his head dismissively. “Yeah, and what about you?”

“Well, actually, the funny thing about that is--”

“Hold that thought; where are we?”

Wheatley finally took notice of their surroundings, or rather, the open field they now found themselves in. During their engaging conversation, they managed to walk past the library and right out of town.

“Forget that,” added Space, “Where's Chell?”

“Wheatley!”

“Space! Space?”

“Hello? Are you guys out there?”

“I don't see them, should I fly higher Twilight?”

“No Rainbow Dash, it's too dark anyway.” For what it was worth, Twilight finally found her library, but the missing three were still unaccounted for. “Let's just stick together and—“

“Found them!” Pinkie Pie called out merrily.

“What?”

“Right over there, silly!” Sure enough, right where the bright pink hoof was pointing, stood Space Chaser and Wheatley running towards them.

Wheatley came right to Twilight. “Hey there! Looks like we lost you for a second.”

“And where's Chell?”

“...I was hoping she was with you...”

“Oh, not again!”

“Not now, Rainbow Dash!”

“We can check all the streets again?”

“No, that'll take too long.”

“Got any better ideas?”

“Let's just wait until morning, when we have light.”

“That way we don't wake anypony, too...”

*cough cough

Everypony turned towards the source of the cough. One by one, they grew quiet. Twilight had no idea how she didn't see her sitting there, but there was Chell, waiting patiently at the front door of the library. Had she been there the entire time?

“Huh,” sighed Space.

“See Space? I told you she was smarter than she looked!”

Next time...

(Something new) Hello, matrixjorel. This is not the next chapter, but a little sneak peek of what is to come. I'll try to do this at least one chapter out, so people who are really paying attention can enjoy. Here goes!

“The book! I knew I still had it.”

“What book is that?”

“Lyra Heartstring's Human's Exist and I Will Tell You All About Them in This Book... by Lyra Heartstrings. A pretty repetitive title, honestly, but still.”

“Sounds too egghead-y,” yawned Rainbow Dash.

Twilight flipped pages, looking for something that would answer her questions. “Okay, listen to this:

“ 'Human beings, also known as homo sapiens, are warm-blooded mammals with two legs and two extra appendages called arms. Instead of hooves, humans evolved with extremely able and nimble extremities called hands. Hands were a wonderous tool for humans, with uses including holding things, climbing, grabbing...' she seems to have a hand fetish. Yadda yadda yadda... 'little hair...' 'sexual preferences...' 'political governing and the zombie apocalypse...' wait, here.

“ 'Humans in their natural society tend to be very cordial and civilized, similar to ponies of today. Do not be fooled, though, for the human evolved in a harsh and violent world, and if a human needs to, can use extreme violence as a defense mechanism. Murder for a human is not only common, but in some cultures is celebrated (see Call of Duty fanboyism)...' “

The Heroes Come Forth OR Chell Finds Her Voice

Now that Spike had sent the letter, Twilight wished that the library was bigger. When it was only her and Spike, there was more than enough room to work and function comfortably; now, with nine bodies, twilight felt very cramped. Naturally, Wheatley and Space gravitated towards Chell, who was still eerily quiet as she stared at everypony in the library. Twilight tried to distract herself with her friend's conversations; either Pinkie and Fluttershy trading cake recipes, or trying to stop Rarity and Applejack from starting another fight. No matter the distraction, the lavender mare felt an otherworldly chill on the back of her neck every time Chell looked her way.

But didn't Chell prove she could be trusted? When she was left alone, she didn't wander off and kill others. She found the library and waited. Even without constant supervision, when left alone, she seemed to be harmless. Unless her plan was to gain her trust, then kill her... no. Wheatley trusted her.

Wheatley, the pony that Celestia trusted.

The pony that brought back Nightmare Moon.

She hated to admit it, but her short discussion with her friends caused her to question her resolve; Celestia was a great ruler, but she wasn't perfect. What if she was wrong about Wheatley? He did turn Luna after a thousand years, and he admitted to trying to kill them before. How could Celestia overlook that?

It was times like these when Twilight could only do one thing to keep from succumbing to her conflicting emotions; she read. She knew that she read a book that had a picture of hands, it was in the library, and it was...

“Here!” Twilight exclaimed after diligently scouring the book covers.

Her friends took notice. “Here what?” asked Flutttershy.

“The book! I knew I still had it.”

“What book is that?”

“Lyra Heartstring's Human's Exist and I Will Tell You All About Them in This Book... by Lyra Heartstrings. A pretty repetitive title, honestly, but still.”

“Sounds too egghead-y,” yawned Rainbow Dash.

Twilight flipped pages, looking for something that would answer her questions. “Okay, listen to this:

“ 'Human beings, also known as homo sapiens, are warm-blooded mammals with two legs and two extra appendages called arms. Instead of hooves, humans evolved with extremely able and nimble extremities called hands. Hands were a wonderous tool for humans, with uses including holding things, climbing, grabbing...' she seems to have a hand fetish. Yadda yadda yadda... 'little hair...' 'sexual preferences...' 'political governing and the zombie apocalypse...' wait, here.

“ 'Humans in their natural society tend to be very cordial and civilized, similar to ponies of today. Do not be fooled, though, for the human evolved in a harsh and violent world, and if a human needs to, can use extreme violence as a defense mechanism. Murder for a human is not only common, but in some cultures is celebrated (see Call of Duty fanboyism)...' “

“Murder... celebrated?” Twilight could not comprehend the two words she uttered, not together, not put so plainly. What if Chell was some horrible monster? What did that mean about Wheatley? What did that mean for everypony else? Twilight was so caught up in her questions she didn't notice a very quiet yellow-and-pink pegasus slowly creeping towards the other side of the library.

Fluttershy slowly shuffled over to Wheatley and Space Chaser. Surprisingly, Chell was sitting in the corner far away from other two. Fluttershy could tell she was shy, but something about this person compelled her to try and talk to her. “Excuse me…”

“Why, hello there Fluttershy! How are my friend you?” Wheatley exclaimed very uncomfortably, putting a hoof over Fluttershy’s head. Even though his hoof moved most of her hair into her eyes, she could barely make out Space giving Wheatley a hoof up, and mouthing “Good so far!”

“Hi Wheatley.” She brushed her hair out of her face only to be greeted by Wheatley staring at her with a grin on his face so forced, it seemed to give him pain.

“How are you, bestest friend?” asked Wheatley.

“Good,” said Fluttershy.

“Good?!?! That’s good!” he said.

“Yeah—“

“So good!”

“Umm—“

“So very good!”

“…”

“Good. Good good good.”

“Well—“

“One might even say great!”

“That’s fine, but where is—“

“Or in Spanish, it would be bueno. Are there ponies in Mexico? Do they speak Spanish?”

“Wheatley, I need to know—“

“Actually, thinking about it, the inhabitants wouldn’t be ponies, they would probably be mules. Or Bulls. Right, Space?”

“WHEATLEY! Can I talk to Chell?”

Space and Wheatley were obviously startled at the pegasus’s outburst. She never yelled, but Wheatley would not shut up.

“Oh, sure. But she isn’t in a talking mood. I don’t know if she ever IS in a talking mood, now that I think about it. Right Chell?”

“Thank you Wheatley.” Fluttershy excused herself and made her to the orange human huddled into the corner. It wasn’t the murderous animal that Twilight’s book told her about. Neither was it a brain-damaged being that Wheatley assumed she was. She was quiet, she, and most importantly, scared. Fluttershy recognized the helpless look in her eyes as she watched the yellow mare approaching her, and couldn’t help but to feel sorry for her. After all, she too was no stranger to fear.

“Hello there Chell. My name is Fluttershy.”

She didn’t answer. She didn’t even acknowledge her. She remained curled in fetal position as close to the wall as she could manage.

“I wanted to come over and talk to you, is that okay?”

She still didn’t answer.

“I know that you can talk. I know you’re scared. I know because I was the same way. When I first met Twilight, I could barely talk. But now we are best friends. I know it can be scary, but talking to ponies you don’t know can be rewarding.”

“…”

“Chell, I know that we will do everything we can to make sure you get back home. Twilight is really smart, and the rest of us will never let a challenge get in our way. Unless there’s dragons. Are there dragons where you’re from?”

She shook her head. Fluttershy hoped that her comment about dragons would bring out a giggle, or at least a smile. She had no luck with trying to break through Chell’s tough emotional shell.

“Well, I’ll go see what Twilight has found.” She turned around and, feeling unsuccessful, walked away.

“I’m not scared.”

“YIKES!” The mysterious voice scared Fluttershy to take flight and hide behind the bookcase. She looked behind her and saw Chell. She was no longer curled tightly, and she was looking right into Chell’s eyes, which were warmer now than she had ever seen them. “What was that?”

“I am not quiet because I’m scared, although I would be lying if you are not unusual for me. It’s them,” Chell explained.

“Them who?” asked Fluttershy.

“Wheatley. And the other one.”

“I know they talk too much, but there’s no reason to be afraid of them.”

“I’m not afraid. Look, I don’t know what they did to gain your trust, but they don’t deserve it,” she said.

“I know they are different. But I’m not understanding.” Fluttershy was taken aback by how open Chell became.

“Then let me help you understand.”

Chell never really had anyone to talk to. Her parents were never really there, and GLaDOS and the Enrichment Center was really all she could remember. Even though she was still unsure if this was real or just another drug-induced hallucination put on by the Aperture Science computers, it was nice to finally talk to someone: even if that someone was a yellow and pink cartoon-looking pony.

“I have come so close to death so many times, and every time I do, it’s those AI’s that are on the other side.”

“Oh… I see.”

“They are vile things. But I need to ask, how did they come to look like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you. Ponies.”

“Actually, that was the princess’s doing.”

“Does the princess know about what they are, and what they did?”

“I think so, yeah. She said she trusted them.”

Chell sighed. Wheatley was an idiotic machine, and she did not know much about the one referring to himself as Space Chaser, but if this princess trusted them, she was being deceived. However, she knew better than to reveal her thoughts to others. Not yet, anyway. “Then who is this princess?”

“Princess Celestia. Twilight actually sent a letter to her. She should be coming any moment. Chell?” asked Fluttershy quietly. To Chell it seemed to come out more as a squeak than a question.
“Is it true that humans are… killers?”

This surprised her. She never thought about this new society, but just from the sound of the pony’s voice, death was something seldom talked about and never commonplace.

“Where did you hear that from?”

“From a book that Twilight has. It says human kill each other for fun.”

A door slammed. Chell was happy to not have to answer that question.

“Princess Celestia! And Princess Luna!” Twilight ran to her lifelong mentor who opened her arms to embrace her. “I’m so glad that you could come!”

“Of course, Twilight. Your letter sounded very urgent, what is it that you needed?”

“Well, I don’t know how to explain it, but we have a problem.”

“Please, Twilight, tell us what it is, and we will help. Me and Luna.”

Twilight saw Luna out of the corner of her eyes, and thought she saw her roll her eyes. “Okay. Shortly after you left us, we met… well, her.” Twilight motioned over to the corner where Chell and Fluttershy now stood. Following her gaze, Celestia turned. Her smile disappeared. Even she was taken aback by the orange figure that found its way to Ponyville.

“Does anypony else know about this?”

“None that I know of, princess.”

“Probably for the best,” Celestia sighed. “Can she talk?”

“Well…”

Their conversation must have been loud enough for Fluttershy to hear from her end of the room. “Actually, she can talk. You can come over.”

Celestia trotted over to the unexpected guest, leaving Twilight behind. Looking back at her friends, she realized they were all now asleep. Gee, I didn’t think the book was that boring, she thought. Better wake them up, I suppose.

“Twilight, a word.”

Luna was not with her sister, and chose to stay behind with Twilight. “Of course princess.” They walked into one of the adjoining rooms.

“Who is that my sister is talking to?”

“Her name is Chell. Wheatley and Space know about her. She’s a human.” Luna frowned. “I know that humans aren’t the nicest creatures, but I think we can trust her.”

“Really Twilight? What makes you say that?” Luna replied testily?

“Because Wheatley trusts her, and—“ Luna scoffed. Never has Twilight seen royalty act so immature. “—and because your sister trusts Wheatley. What is your problem?”

“My problem?” Her voiced rose slightly? “I do not have a problem!”

“Well, something is wrong!” Twilight stared at the moon princess for a moment. Slowly, Luna’s anger turned to sorrow. “Luna?”

“Yes, something is wrong. I tried to talk to my sister, but she will not listen to reason.” Twilight remained quiet. “Why do you trust Wheatley?”

Twilight replied, “I trust him because Celestia trusts him.”

“But do YOU trust him? Forget my sister.”

Twilight was quiet. “I guess… I don’t know enough about him to trust him. But your sister does, and that’s what matters.”

“And what if my sister wasn’t in her right mindset?” questioned Luna.

“What do you mean?” the unicorn asked.

“I don’t know what Wheatley did to get everyone to trust him, but nopony here knows about him as well as I do. And I know that he is absolutely and undeniably evil.”

“Princess,” said Twilight compassionately, “I thought that you forgave Wheatley for—“

“Words only. I do not forgive him. I see nothing in him that deserves forgiveness or even compassion. My sister is a fool for trusting him.”

“LUNA!”

“Twilight, just listen; the last time I trusted Wheatley, he was able to turn me once again into that monstrous Nightmare Moon. Only one of pure evil could have done that. He said he was friendly, and he was. At first, anyway. He can’t be trusted. My sister is blinded by her compassion, but I see Wheatley for what he really is, and if he trusts this Chell, then I fear for Equestria.”

Luna gave the lavender mare a moment to think. Didn’t Wheatley and Space tell them that they and Chell came from the same world? They could all be evil, just as the book explains or even worse. She never wanted to admit it, but Luna was right; sometimes, the princess was too nice to see evil or darkness in others. She had to be careful. More importantly, she had to get them out of the library, away from her and her friends.

“Twilight,” the princess continued, “I ask you this because I know you are wise in your choices of who to trust. Do not trust Wheatley, or Chell, even Space Chaser if he chooses to associate with them.”

“Okay, princess.”

Luna nodded. Twilight was scared to join the others in the main room, but they had been gone long enough, and it seems that the princess of the sun had made a decision.

Even her friends woke up and stood by her side when Celestia asked for all the Elements of Harmony. Twilight was the only one that kept looking back at Luna. Fluttershy found this odd, but was more worried about what the princess decided to do with Chell.

“My little ponies, I have had a discussion with our newest friend, Chell. With Wheatley and Space Chaser’s counsel, we have determined that she cannot stay here. She belongs in a land far away, and is out of her time.”

Twilight interrupted, “Out of her time? How can we fix that?”

“Wheatley actually has an idea. Wheatley?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.” Wheatley fumbled around the princess. “The place where I’m from, Aperture Science, is famous for their teleportation technology. However, some of our prototypes were known to cause people to, well, disappear in time. We scrapped the project after a couple hundred were lost, but I think we can find this tool, and use it to take Chell back… hopefully.”

Fluttershy looked back at Twilight, who was once again staring at Luna. They shared a worried glance. They knew something. Fluttershy’s confusion grew. Whatever it was, why were they not mentioning it to everypony here? Why were they being so secretive?

“We need to return Chell to her world. Wheatley and Space have already volunteered to go with Chell, but we need one of you to guide them to their Aperture. It is located near San Palomino Desert, on the other side of the Ghastly Gorge.”

“I volunteer.”

Everypony’s head spun when the quiet little pegasus answered. Celestia smiled.

“Thank you Fluttershy. You are very kind.”

“No! You can’t!” yelled Twilight.

“Yeah, that’s going to be way too dangerous.” Rainbow said.

“I can handle it.”

“Ya sure about that?” asked Applejack.

“Yes. Besides, Chell need all the help she can get.”

Everypony else nodded reluctantly. Everypony except Twilight.

“No! I won’t let you go.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way Twilight, but… I’ve made up my mind.”

“Fine, then I’m coming with you.”

“What?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m coming too. To keep you safe.”

Was this part of what Twilight and Luna were talking about? “Thank you Twilight, but you don’t have to come, if you are busy here...”

Twilight interrupted, “AJ, can you watch Spike for me?”

“You got it!”

“Then my mind is made up too.”

Celestia beamed. “Thank you so much for your sacrifice, I appreciate it very much.”

“And so do Wheatley and I,” Space added.

“And so do Space and I!” said Wheatley. Everypony stared at him. “Umm, I mean so does Chell!”

Fluttershy was happy that she would be able to help out her friends, especially Chell. She’s just like me, maybe I can help her with these other two.

Twilight was fuming in her mind. Why did Fluttershy volunteer to go with them! Does she not understand what might happen? I need to keep her safe. Whatever happened, she had to be there for her friend. Nopony would lay a hoof on her. Twilight would make sure of that.

Road trip with my new friends! thought Wheatley. Maybe after this, they can trust me. Especially Luna. The ex-AI core may be confused from time to time, but he could tell that Luna still didn’t trust him. He hoped that after this, she would forgive him, and maybe even be friends with him. Until then, he would use his charm on Twilight and Fluttershy under Space Chaser’s tutelage.

Space Chaser smiled as he put an arm around Wheatley. I’m sorry I have to do this to you, Wheatley.

Of Love and Dreams

“Sleeping Bags?”

Fluttershy yelled out, “Check!”

Twilight crossed it off her list. “Food?”

“All here: apples for weeks!” Space Chaser called out as he took a bite out of an apple. Twilight crossed that off her list.

“Great, now… map?”

“Oh, I got that one! And how are we going to carry all of this? Do we have any pack mules?” Everypony stared at him. “Um… I mean, we carry our own things, gotcha!”

Twilight sighed as she crossed off the last thing on her checklist. “Okay now, we have everything we need. Thanks again girls for helping to get us all packed!”

“Righty-o, Twilight!” cheered out Pinkie. She was the only one still standing on four hooves after a very long night of packing.

Rainbow yawned something that sounded like, “Be… safe…”

Twilight decided to let her friends sleep in the library for now, it was the least she could do. She turned back to the others. “Okay, let’s get going.” As everypony still awake exited the tree library, the lavender mare looked once again in her bag and pulled out a box. She hoped that she would not have to use it.

“Twilight, what are you thinking?” whispered Luna, who was on the verge of screaming. She pulled her aside as everypony else began packing.

“You told me that they are dangerous!”

“Yeah, so why are you going with them?”

“Because,” Twilight whispered back, “if what you say is true, then I have to watch out for Fluttershy. I will never let anything happen to her if I can help it!” She knew that the princess would object. “Need I remind you that we are the Elements of Harmony, and I’ll lose my horn before I lose a friend.”

“Fine,” Luna sighed, “what are you planning to do?”

“I’ll go with them to where they intend to go, and if it becomes dangerous, i'll...”

Luna's eyes widened sarcastically. “I'm waiting...” Twilight didn't have an answer. “Twilight, appreciate the sentiment, but it does nopony any good to not have a plan.”

“I know, but I cannot leave Fluttershy alone.”

“Then take this.” Twilight held out her hoof to accept Luna's gift. She didn't know what to expect, but knowing the clean and pristine palace she came from, she hardly expecte what was in her hoof. Luna gave her a filthy black box with a strange antenna and many buttons. She had never seen anything like it.

“What is this?”

“It's a gift... from some old friends of mine...” she said sadly. “There are two of these. I have one, and you have the others. We can use these to talk to each other from great distances without writing letters or using magic.”

Twilight was at a lost for words. So many questions. “Umm... thank... you?”

“Use it, Twilight Sparkle. You tell me everything, and i'll be ready to help.”

Twilight stared at the box in her hand. “Aren't you coming with us, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.

“Yes, coming!” She stuffed the box into her bag and followed the others. Before closing the door to the library, she looked back at her friends who were still sleeping. She wished she could be so lucky.

“They walked all day, and the sun was slowly setting. Wheatley watched the sun all day in awe. He had learned from his time in Canterlot that it was not gravity that caused the earth to appear to rotate around the sun, giving the illusion that the sun was ‘rising’ and ‘setting’; rather, it was Princess Celestia’s powers that moved the sun. For some reason, that made much more sense to Wheatley. For one, it explained how the sun can move in a straight line across the sky if it was round. Round things never roll in a straight line. Wheatley quietly pondered this new world he found himself in as the others gave Wheatley a strange look… what? Is there something on my face?”

“Wheatley,” whispered Space Chaser, “what are you doing?”

The blue-eyed pony laughed. “We are on an adventure, like on you would read in a story! I thought that our story would be much more exciting with some narration, and nobody else was doing it.”

“You know that the narration isn’t a spoken part, right?”

“Sure it is; it’s there in the books!”

Space sighed loudly. “No, that’s what the authors write in, nobody actually says that.”

His eyes got wide. “Really? Well I’ll be damned.”

“Yeah, it would probably be best to stop before you scare the girls anymore.” Wheatley looked back at the others, who were staring at him as though he was a ghost. Even Chell seemed more quiet and pale than usual. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” Wheatley said.

“C’mon, no hard feelings!” Space replied. He elbowed the unicorn in the side. “Now, about Twilight coming with us…”

“So what if I like her?! I mean, what is it?”

“Just give me the word, and I can take Fluttershy and Chell somewhere else and give you two some alone time, if you know what I mean…”

Wheatley didn’t know what he meant. “Like… to… what now?”

“Now don’t tell me you never talked to a girl before!”

“Sure I have,” replied Wheatley, “but they don’t really talk back.”

Space laughed. “Then it’s a good thing you have a friend like me! I can tell you how I became friends with everyone, I mean it really isn’t a secret. I didn’t really even notice the girls until you pointed that out to me…”

“Wheatley smiled at Space. He was a surprising character. Even though he didn’t like him at first, Wheatley had to admit that Space was a good AI-turn-pony. Heck, he could even call him a friend. His best friend. Someone that he could—“

“Wheatley? What did I tell you about narrating?”

“…sorry.”

“Okay, it’s getting dark. Let’s set up camp here.”

Everypony followed Twilight’s advice and fell to the ground. Even Wheatley smiled when he hit the ground with a thud, happy he did not have to take another step. However, Twilight remained standing. “Come on, we have to set up camp now, no resting yet.” She ignored the collective groaning. “We packed those tents for a reason!”

“Can it wait until tomorrow?” asked Space Chaser.

“It will only take 5 minutes if we all work together. We need firewood and I need help with these tents.”

Wheatley yelled, “I can do it faster!” And maybe impress her while I’m at it! “Hey Space, do you think you and the girls can go get firewood?”

“You sure Wheatley?”

The two made eye contact. Wheatley nodded and replied with their code word: the code word they had worked out before to let the other know they wanted to be left alone, one that Wheatley thought of and Space was hesitant about at first. “Secret word!”

Space nodded. “Okay. C’mon Fluttershy, Chell! Let’s give these two some space.”

The others walked away. Twilight was still working out the directions for the tents. Things could not have been more perfect for Wheatley. Okay, remember what Space taught me. Big smile. Chest out. Stand close to her. Think positive!

Twilight read the instructions over and over. This was why she hated camping. She was book smart, not outdoors-smart. She turned the instruction sheet on its side.

“Need help with that?” Wheatley asked.

“No, I got it.” Twilight turned the paper on the other side.

Wheatley said, “I think I know how to do this…”

“No, just wait Wheatley.”

“If I just…”

Twilight turned the paper upside down. She had to figure this out.

“Got it!” exclaimed the grey unicorn.

The mare peeled her eyes from the frustrating paper. Her jaw dropped. In front of her, right where a mass of cloth and rope lay stood a beautiful tent just like in the picture. “How did you do this?”

“Oh, it was easy, just like folding a crane, only with rope, and instead of a half crescent valley fold I used the waterbomb fold, and I skipped step 4, and… well, you know.”

“No, I don’t.” Dangerous or not, this was amazing. The amount of focus to do this with magic was almost unthinkable. Suddenly, she remembered something that Celestia told her about him; “Wheatley has helped us understand magic theory, and is a very bright mind…“ Was this what she meant? “How did you do this?”

“Well, like I said before, I don’t see magic as magic, I see it as… machinery doing a job for me. It makes it simpler, from what I can tell.”

Twilight looked into the tent. However Wheatley did this, it was impressive. But she couldn’t let her guard down. For all she knew, this ‘special magic’ could have been what turned Luna. “Well, I thank you Wheatley.” Twilight turned around. “Thank you for h—uuUUUAAAHHH!” Wheatley’s face was no closer than 3 inches from hers. He had a smile so big and forced, he almost appeared constipated. His chest was jutting out unnaturally. Twilight thought she was looking at some ghoul or monster instead of the slightly confused unicorn in their group.

“Wheatley, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing is wrong Twilight,” Wheatley said, “I’m just glad to help you!” Remember, girls like a good sense of humor. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Twilight chuckled nervously. Great, doing great so far! Now, what else did Space tell me? Start with a compliment. “You know, you’re a really good… walker!”

“A what?” asked Twilight

“A walker!” he replied. “The way you…walked today, that was some of the best walking I’ve… ever seen.”

Twilight was speechless. Okay, that’s good, what next? Talk about yourself.

“You know, I used to be really good at walking, I was in walking competitions myself and I’ve won quite a few! They called me Walking Wheatley!” He looked at Twilight, who was almost as quiet as Chell. “Okay, I lied. I wasn’t in any walking competitions, but I did judge them. And they may not have been official competitions… okay, it was me watching scientists walk down hallways trying to see who walked faster, but—“ But let the girl talk, too. “—what about you, do you like to watch people walk?”

Twilight didn’t answer. Wheatley hoped she would answer. She had to be different. Her mouth opened. He nodded, egging her on.

“Let’s… do the next tent.” Twilight had no idea what he was pulling at, but she promised the princess she would be careful. Wheatley could not be a distraction.

They worked on the rest of the tents in silence.

“So then she tells me that after everything she puts me through, she’ll give me cake!”

“Oh my…”

Fluttershy and Chell were sitting in the woods on a log. They had been talking for a long time now. FLuttershy liked talking to this human. Even though she had been on many adventures, Chell preferred peace and quiet, just like herself.

“I know!” Chell sighed. “As if food was the only thing I cared about in there, like a rat in a maze.”

“You would put a mouse in a maze? That’s not very nice.” Fluttershy said coldly.

“No, no, it’s just a saying we humans use. It means we feel powerless.” Chell explained.

The Pegasus brightened up. “Oh, then I know that feeling.”

“Fluttershy?”

“Yes, Chell?”

“You’re really nice for being a possible coma-induced hallucination.”

Fluttershy blinked. “Thank… you?”

“Don’t freak out,” she laughed. Fluttershy was amazed how much Chell laughed. After being through such hard trials though, she was just happy her new friend was still very nice and not a murderous human.

“I know I would not like to meet this Glad-dose, she sounds very mean.”

“Eh, she kinda grows on you.”

“Really?”

“No.” Chell laughed again. “She isn’t scary really, just mean. Kept on calling me fat and an orphan. I heard she used to be nicer when she was newer, but I can’t imagine what that was like.”

“And are you?”

“Am I what?”

“An orphan,” Fluttershy asked.

Chell chuckled. This time it was a little gloomier. “That’s a good question. One of the ‘jokes’ GLaDOS pulled on me was wiping my memory of my life. I remember waking up in the Enrichment Center, and that’s it. I don’t know if I am an orphan.” Chell kicked the ground.

“Oh,” sighed Fluttershy, “I’m so sorry.”

“You know, in a weird way that actually helped me. When I was there, I had nothing to lose, nothing to fear from death; in a way, that helped me make it out.” They stayed quiet after Chell’s last statement, keeping an eye to the woods. “Space has been gone for a long time.” He told them to stay on the outskirts of the woods. Told them it wasn’t safe, and he’d only be a moment.

Fluttershy felt fear creeping into her mind. What if Space was hurt? Or ran into some creature? What would they do? No, she couldn’t think about that. “Chell?”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you talk to anypony else?”

“Haha, anypony. That’s cute.”

“Chell, why don’t you talk to Wheatley or Space.”

“Because.”

“That’s not a very good reason.”

“I don’t trust them. They’re like GLaDOS. I give them an inch, and I’ll regret it.”

Fluttershy hugged Chell. “Please, whatever they might have done, I know that they’re trying to get better. They are nothing like that other thing, they are good. I know it. They may have made mistakes, but…”

“But what?”

“They just need a friend. I can tell. They have a look of a pony that is sad because nopony will give them a chance.”

“And you know this how?” Chell asked.

“Because I used to look the same way.” Fluttershy felt a tear, but continued to hug her human friend. “I know they may have done things before, and I’m not telling you to forgive them, just… talk to them. Kindness can go a long way.”

Fluttershy couldn’t control her tears now. She had seen so much sadness, even in the last few days, and she was no stranger to loneliness. She just wanted to make one person happier. Suddenly, she felt something around her: long arms in orange cloth. Chell was hugging Fluttershy. “I’ll try.”

They sat there, keeping each other warm. Fluttershy eventually stopped crying. Space Chaser finally came back carrying an overabundance of wood, and they took their supplies back to the campsite.

“Wheatley! Twilight! We’re back!” Space Chaser called as he lugged the wood into the middle of the tents. “And I bring firewood!”

Twilight pointed somewhere. “Put them over there.” She didn’t seem to be in the best of moods.

“Will do, ma’am!”

“Girls,” twilight said, walking past Space, “Let’s get some sleep. You two better get sleep as well.” They entered their tents. Space dragged his load to the spot Twilight set aside, which was close to Wheatley’s tent. Space could tell that Wheatley was less chipper than usual.

“What’s wrong, buddy?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“C’mon, you can tell me. How did the night with Twilight go?”

Wheatley blushed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh, so it was that good, huh?” Space gave the unicorn a nudge. Wheatley still wasn’t smiling.

He finally answered, “at least she didn’t completely ignore me.”

“Don’t worry about it, just give it time.” The grey Pegasus leaned in. “Take it from me; the best things in life require work and time.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m going to bed. Your tent is right there,” he said as he pointed towards a tent further away from the fire.

“Nah, I don’t need a tent.”

“Are you sure?” Wheatley asked. “Twilight said it’s going to be cold tonight.”

Space shook his head. “I’ll start a fire. Besides, I want to sleep under the stars!”

Wheatley laughed as he looked at his friend gaze up at the heavens. “You haven’t changed a bit, really. Good night, Space.”

Space, after finding about seven constellations, grabbed a log and threw it in the fire pit. He laughed. Space started a small fire, feeling the warmth over his body. Good, he deserves to laugh. He laid down, slowly falling to sleep. He deserves to be happy in his last days.

Fluttershy couldn’t sleep. She tried to close her eyes, she was exhausted, but she was too scared to sleep. Why was she so scared? She couldn’t shake her feeling of dread; she even felt sweat forming on her forehead. She couldn’t take it anymore.

She stood up and walked out of her tent. Twilight was right. Tonight was really cold. She would have turned right back around and climbed back into her sleeping bag if somepony didn’t start a fire. Fortunately, there was still one log in flames, so Fluttershy quietly pranced over.

She stared into the fire, wondering why she was having such a hard time falling asleep. She had no reason to be scared. She was safe here with Twilight and Chell, even Space and Wheatley. Pinkie Pie promised to take care of her animals, and even though it was a little unsettling, Fluttershy knew that the energetic mare could handle her pets. What was wrong?

“Space. Stars. So bright.”

Fluttershy flew into the air behind a tree. Only after she looked back towards the fire from her hiding place did she notice Space asleep on the ground by the fire. She barely noticed him. She flew back, and he continued to talk. “Space is a billion billion billion light years across. SPACE!!! Need my space, spacity-space space.” She knew he was a space enthusiast, but never had Fluttershy imagined hearing someone so in love with space. She couldn’t help but giggle. She watched the sleeping colt as she slowly flew closer to him and the fire.

“Space going to space can’t wait.” He was smiling. He was cute when he smiled. Fluttershy would be lying if this handsome colt did not catch her eye, as he had every mare in Ponyville.

“Space. Trial. Puttin’ the system on trial. In space. Space system. On trial. Guilty. Of being in space! Going to space jail!” But she knew colts like him. He could choose any mare he wanted, and they would probably say yes to him. And why shouldn’t they. Fluttershy wasn’t too hurt, though. He did talk too much, and would be much too loud around most of her animal friends.

“Ba! Ba! Ba ba ba! Space! Ba! Ba! Ba ba ba!” Even if he noticed her, what would it be like? He was so popular, so talkative, and she wasn’t. She preferred the quiet. He was like Rainbow Dash. A good friend, but nothing more.

“S… P… AACE. Space. Space.” He was nothing like her. Simple as that. Besides, Fluttershy was just fine. He just laid there, smiling in his sleep, and she sat warm near the fire watching him as he continued talking in his sleep. His smile was cute, though. It must have been an hour before she turned back to her tent to try to sleep a little more.

“No, please. Not you.”

Fluttershy turned around. This time, Space didn’t look happy at all. His smile disappeared. He looked mortified, as if trying to wake himself from his suddenly disturbing nightmare. “I don’t, no! Not me! No, I don’t want to…”

She walked over to him, softly nudging him. “Space, wake up. It’s just a nightmare.” His breathing was becoming shallower with each second.

“Why? I don’t… get away!”

“Space?” She was now shaking him.

“No… no…”

“Space!” she yelled.

Space suddenly stopped stirring. He was completely immobile. His eyes were still closed. Fluttershy watched petrified as he spoke again, only this time he spoke in a voice that was nothing like his—it was scary, demonic.

“The carrier must be sacrificed.”

Space shot up. Still drenched in sweat, he tried as hard as he could to regain control of his hyperventilation. “Hey, Fluttershy. I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said with a smile.

“Oh no, I couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t your fault.” She was telling the truth.

He sighed. “That makes me feel a little better, I suppose.”

“Hey, Space,” Fluttershy started, “What was it you were dreaming about?”

“Oh, just space. Outer space. I don’t talk too much about it now, but ever since I was young I loved space. I guess even in my dreams I still can’t get enough of it.”

“But you were having quite a nightmare—“

Space Chaser laughed nervously. “Nightmare? No, you must have been confused.”

“But you said something about a sacrifice.”

“NO I DIDN’T.” He spoke so solemnly, it was almost scarier than if he yelled. Space must have noticed her uneasiness, because he soon gave her a quick hug. “What I meant to say was, I must have had some dream of being lost in space. Many astronauts in my time have accidentally drifted away and were never found. That’s what I was worried about.” He motioned to a spot on the ground next to him. Fluttershy sat.

“Okay…”

“I guess that’s one thing I don’t like about space; the solitude. Up there all alone, without friends or family.” Fluttershy looked up into the stars. She never thought about what it was like out there in the darkness. So dark and mysterious, yet undeniably beautiful.

Space continued; “It’s really funny, now that I think about it. Before, I just loved space without a second thought. It was all I ever talked about—all I cared about—I could see nothing wrong with it. However, after becoming a pony, I started to make sense of space. There are things I don’t like about it. I hate how cold it is, and how hard it would be to travel through space. But for some reason, even after I realized there are things I don’t like about space, it makes me like it even more.

“It’s almost as if, though there are things I don’t like, it makes what I like stand out even more, and even knowing all the bad things about it, I would still go back into space without a second thought. It’s just so…” Space went quiet, trying to find a word.

“Tranquil?” Space turned to Fluttershy. He smiled.

“Yeah, tranquil. I like that word.” He looked down at the ground. Was it a trick of the flames, or was he s

“You surprise me, Space Chaser. I would think you prefer loud and noisy.”

“I would think so myself,” Space responded. “But sometimes, I like quiet. Just you and your thoughts.”

“You are nothing like Hoops.”

“Who’s Hoops?”

Fluttershy took a deep breath. “Well, back when I was in flying school, there was this one little colt, Hoops. He was handsome and everypony liked him, but he was mean. He was never mean before, I knew him from kindergarten. But for some reason once he became popular, he thought it was okay for him to be mean. Especially to me. He kept calling me Klutzershy, and laughing at me because I couldn’t fly very well. And I know it sounds mean, but I thought you were like that, too; well-liked by everypony but mean to others. But you aren’t. You’re different. I don’t know what it is about you, but you are really nice.”

“I try to be nice to everyone.”

“I can see that.” She scooted closer.

“You know, up there, on the moon?” He pointed with his hoof. “You see that dark spot right there?”

“Yeah?” Fluttershy answered, following Space’s hoof.

“Humans called that the Sea of Tranquity. It was the first place we visited when we went to the moon.” Space lowered his hoof, and set it very close to hers. “And I was there.”

“What was it like?” She turned to Space. He was already looking at her.

“Quiet.”

Fluttershy never felt a second move slower than at this exact moment. She could almost feel his every breath. What was happening? Was he going to kiss her? She would be a fool to deny the atmosphere that had been building tonight between them, and every fiber in her told her to lean forward just a few inches. She looked into his eyes, so bright and yellow, so loud and at the same time so calm and inviting. Was he going to start? Did he even want to kiss? Maybe he was just being friendly and she was overthinking it. Yes, that had to be true. Then why wasn’t he moving?

A minute passed, two minutes, possibly an hour. Space was the first to talk. “You know, we should probably get to bed. Big day tomorrow.”

“Oh, yes. You’re right.” Fluttershy stood up and began to walk back to her tent.

“Fluttershy?”

She turned. “Yes?”

“Thank you. For listening.”

“Good night,” she said with a smile.

The desert was hot, but Chell seemed to know exactly where she was going, because it had been less than an hour between exiting the desert, wandering into a large field, and finding the entrance to Aperture Laboratories. A shack built of metal with many holes was all she could see of this so-called laboratory. It was a smaller place than Twilight pictured, only big enough for two ponies to fit uncomfortably. Was this their ploy? Trap them in the shed and leave them for dead?

“Come along Wheatley!” Space called as he galloped into the shack.

“Right behind you,” called Wheatley, closing the door behind them.

Twilight turned to Chell. “Care to explain what is going on?”

Twilight,” Chell answered, “This is our way in.”

“But this looks nothing like any scienctific laboratory!” Chell walked towards the shed.

“No, this is just an elevator. We have to go down.”

“Down?”

“Come on Twilight,” Fluttershy consoled, following Chell’s lead, “we can trust her.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to, but she entered the shed. As soon as she closed the door, the ground shook. Before she could react, she had the sudden sensation of falling. The ground disappeared beneath them. As they fell, Twilight looked up to the small circle of light above her, wondering if this was the last time she would see the sun.