Path of The Stars: Chapter 5

Chapter 5


Day 162

>The red toolbox wrung itself out of your grip and stuck to the black plates beneath your feet.
>You stood upright, making sure your boots were magnetized before making any sudden movements.
>”Alright, there should be a panel to your right that you can lift up.”
>Your comms flared to life with the familiar voice of the engineer.
>Bowing down, you could indeed see what she was talking about.
“Got it.” you affirmed. “Just remove and pull, right?”
>As you kneeled against the hull, you could see a small segment which was separate from the rest of the exterior.
>You managed to press your fingers through a slim opening, and with a sharp pull upwards, every clamp on the adjacent plate released its grip.
>Through your boots you could feel the reverberations of the metal pieces slamming into the hull, letting go of the panel it kept secure.
>With no gravity to hold it down, the thick, sturdy piece slowly drifted apart from its slot, only lightly guided by your hands until it rested a comfortable distance from its origin.
>Looking down, the exposed machinery seemed daunting to you, but thankfully you weren’t alone in this endeavour.
>”Alright, you should see three pipes running beside each other into a shiny box.”
“Uhh…”
>Your eyes darted around, scanning every inch of the mechanical mess for anything resembling the vague description.
>Eventually, you could see something glistening in the slim cone of your suit’s flashlight.
>You laid down, gently pulling aside some rubber hoses to find your target.
“Oh, got it!”
>”Sweet, now imma need you to tighten them bolts you see on ‘em! A 5 millimeter should do the trick!”
>Pulling yourself over the red toolbox magnetized to the hull next to you, you lifted the security on the lid and opened it to find all the tools inside carefully nestled into their own spot.
->You grabbed a hold of a wrench and wrestled it out of the rubber clamp before returning your attention to the pipes.
>”Just keep tightening until I tell you to stop.” Applejack informed you as you started turning the bolt.

>On your way to the next destination, your ship had run into a bit of hardware problems.
>According to Applejack, the main reactor had grown increasingly unstable for every jump, and if you kept going, you would eventually lose power.
>You decided it would be best to stop at a nearby star to recalibrate the engines, and maybe it could be an opportunity for some R&R as well.
>What you hadn’t predicted, however, was that this system was completely desolate and only contained a few couple fields of space rocks sparsely orbiting a class D star.
>It was a pretty depressing sight, so regretfully any recuperation had to be done inside the ship, the walls of which you and everyone on board had already been staring at for close to a month straight already.
>At least the star radiated a ton of energy, so the ship could charge its auxiliary batteries while you aimlessly floated around.
>”You’re good, An!” your comms suddenly chimed in. “Just hang tight while i do some tinkerin’ in here!”
>You dragged yourself back out in the open and sat down against the hull.
>At least as well as you could sit in the vacuum of space.
>From your perspective you had a great view of the left stabilizer wing extending out from the main body of the ship.
>Looking to your left you could see the nose running outwards from under the bridge, ending in the barrel of the massive railgun built in under the curved shielding.
>Even this close, the Excalibur was an impressive sight.
>Even more impressive was that it only took seven people to operate, something that didn’t even cross your mind until recently.
>”Somethin’ on your mind, cap?” Applejack broke the silence again.
“I dunno… Just feels like a lot of things changed after Scuti.”
>”Well, we did become aware of other intelligent aliens and such. I’d think that qualifies as ‘changed.’”
“I’m more talking about the mood of this ship in general.”
>”You wanna talk about it?”
>You sat in silence for a moment, then reaching up to your neck, pushed a switch on your suit.
>”Did you… just transfer us to a secure channel?” Applejack asked.
“I’ll be honest, I’m mostly concerned about Twilight…”
>You paused for a moment to collect your thoughts and expected the engineer to fill the silence with some reassuring words.
>To your surprise, she kept patiently silent.
“I only think I’ve seen her outside the lab once or twice. She doesn’t talk to anyone, barely eats or sleeps, and whenever I try to ask her about it she just shrugs it off…”
>”I’d imagine havin’ a weapon stuck in my chest would make me weary too.”
>”I believe these are more signs of depression, Anon.”
>Even though the new addition to the conversation was quite timid and soft, you jumped a bit and nearly de-magnetized your suit.
“Jesus, I thought this channel was secure!”
>You heard Fluttershy giggle at the other end.
>”My apology, Anon, I use this channel all the time. I’ll switch to a different one now.”
“No no, you can stay, it doesn’t matter that much anymore.”
>”Oh… Well, if I could offer my insight. I think she has gone reclusive because she is afraid to hurt anyone.”
“The what?” you asked in confusion.
>”She did cause a great deal of damage aboard the Concord, remember? I have yet to talk to her alone, but all signs point to her distancing herself for that reason.”
>If it was true, it would make a lot of sense.
>Of course, you couldn’t really think of a better reason yourself, so you trusted Fluttershy’s judgement.
“Isn’t there anything we can do to help though?”
>”For now, maybe it’d be best to leave her to her own devices. At least she’s trying to figure this Fulcrum thing out instead of moping around, so I see no reason for alarm just yet.”
>You sighed.
>This wasn’t a state you liked seeing your crew in, so you hoped this recalibration wouldn’t take so long.
>In your mind, what you needed the most now was a good old excursion.
>”Not to ruin the moment, Anon, but I’m gonna have to ask you to start with the next bolt.”
“Oh, right!”
>You quickly dug up the pipes again and located the next point.
>”I’ll leave you to it then!” Fluttershy chirped.
>Before you could react, she had left the channel, and it was now just you, Applejack and the cosmic background radiation sitting as a constant reminder at the bottom of the feed.
>”Just a little bit more, Cap. The coils are almost aligned!”
”I’m on it!”

“Hellooo?”
>The sterile, white interior of the lab seemed desolate from your position at the door.
>Fluorescent lighting illuminated the environment with an almost nauseating indigo hue, the glow only enhancing all the objects strewn about the chamber with excruciating detail.
>Yet, you didn’t see anyone inside.
>Still not hearing any answer to your call, you took a step through the door, making extra sure your presence was obvious.
>You had grown increasingly weary, so against Fluttershy’s judgement you had decided to pay your friend a visit.
>As you walked past the desk, you noted how every piece of equipment stood lined against the wall, seemingly untouched.
>You assumed Twilight didn’t have a use for them, because when you reached the medical table, it was clear that it had seen heavy use.
>The scanner ring had been pushed halfway across the table, and a tablet hanging from a swivel in the roof had a document open with incoherent notes written sporadically all over it.
>Dark crimson streaks had been smeared and dripped over the table, some stray drops even running over the edge and forming dried up puddles on the floor.
>Next to the table was a metal tray with a wide array of scalpels and knives in all shapes and sizes, however they all seemed perfectly clean.
>The faint smell of iron and vinegar hit your nose, but it was hard to discern where it came from.
>”Anon?”
>Just when you started to fear the worst, the voice coming from behind the far wall of the room made you jump.
>Turning your head slightly bewildered towards the source, you could see Twilight standing just off the corner, her lab coat draped over her bare chest.
>It wasn’t the fact that she was barely wearing anything which affected you however.
>Her torso was covered in precise scars running along key points around the crystal, which seemed melded with her skin.
>In her hand she held a syringe which you instantly recognized as the remnants of a painkiller shot.
>She seemed slightly concerned, and her hair looked more ruffled than one of Applejack’s brooms during fall season.
“Fucking hell, Twilight, are you alright?” you said as you approached her and took the empty syringe out of her hands.
>You noticed how all of her scars had an inherent lack of blood trails coming from them.
>”I’m fine Anon.” she answered dismissively, walking past you and straight to the medical table.
>Without another word she pulled down the tablet and closed all the documents and windows, leaving only the life support monitor visible.
>”You shouldn’t be in here.” she said in the same monotonous tone, avoiding eye contact at all cost.
“Oh bullshit. It’s my job to know everything that’s going on around here. I can’t have people going around performing surgery on themselves unsupervised!”
>The scientist didn’t appear to have an answer for you, instead staring embarrassed into the ground while rubbing her arm.
>You sighed and put down the syringe on a nearby desk.
>Admittedly, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened since you left the Concord.
>It was, however, the first time you had seen it this severe.
>Twilight moved over to a cupboard and pulled out a roll of bandages from a shelf.
>She then dropped her lab coat on the ground, her torso now completely exposed, and started to unroll the white cloth.
>It startled you how little she had come to care about privacy, and even though you knew each other well enough, this was highly unusual behavior for someone like her.
“You know, we’re all here for you if you need to talk to someone.” you said as Twilight kept covering her scars.
>She didn’t really give you any indication that she was listening at all.
>Your attention eventually diverged on the crystal horn jutting out of the scientist’s chest.
>It was obvious that it was the source of the problem, but you kept wondering if it had changed her on a fundamental level, that it had somehow altered her personality.
>Your persistence proving to be futile, you started to move towards the lab exit.
>”I didn’t feel anything.” you could hear behind you.
>Stopping in your tracks, you immediately turned around to see Twilight looking back with the same emotionless expression.
“You didn’t… feel anything?” you repeated.
>”I thought I could figure out how I was connected to the Fulcrum, but the radiation rendered any scan a scrambled mess. So I did an incision. And another one. And another one…”
>Her gaze shifted towards the medical table, her entire torso now covered in white, tightly bound bandage.
>”No matter how many times I cut or how deep I went, I still couldn’t feel anything.”
“But the painkiller…”
>”I thought I could reverse the effect somehow. Nothing I do seems to change my condition. I’m convinced now.”
>A silent break followed as you waited for her to continue.
“Convinced about what, Twi?” you asked when she didn’t show any signs of providing an answer.
>She looked at you, and you could see tears starting to well up in her eyes, but her expression never changed.
>”I’m not supposed to be here, Anon. I should have died back in those ruins. I’m just a walking anomaly.”
“Hey, now.” you approached Twilight and wrapped your arms around her, making sure not to impale yourself on the crystal.
>Quietly, she buried her teary eyes in your shirt as you comforted her.
“I promise I won’t give up until we get you out of this. We know where to go, we just have to find what we need to fix this.”
>You stood there for a while until you were sure Twilight wouldn’t pull off another stunt like that again.
>You weren't quite sure what you were looking for, truth be told, but it felt like you would know once you found it.
>All you really needed to do was get to your location and look for it.
>Eventually you let go of her and helped her put the lab coat back on.
“Promise you’ll at least go talk to Fluttershy. You can’t go on being reclusive or stuff like this happens, okay?”
>Twilight didn’t answer you, drying her cheeks with her coat.
>You had already realized that trying to force her to do something was useless, so the least you could do was make sure she felt alright before leaving her.
>Not that you wanted to leave, but if everyone had to follow their personal feelings on board this ship, nothing would be done at all.

>As you headed out towards the bridge, you couldn’t help but think about her condition.
>While having superpowers could be cool at first, she was basically stuck in a limbo between life and death.
>You weren’t even sure if she slept or ate like a normal person anymore.
>The coordinates you received from Asakitt lead to a relatively low-trafficked star system on the outskirts of the current sector.
>It was only a few light years away now, so you should be arriving within a few days.
>With what you just witnessed, the motivation to get this over with only increased, and you were sure the others were just as eager to find a solution as you were.


Day 8&75G@#2#

>A hundred beams glittered from the canons of the war moons, striking the chitin armor of the opposing dreadnoughts with vicious force.
>Seemingly untouched by this gesture, the black ships returned fire with howling blasts of insidious energy, cutting the corvettes into smoldering pieces as they pierced their weak frames.
>Like stars in the night sky, the vessels blinked out of existence in spectacular explosions, their final cry into the night not lasting any longer than a few seconds before they were no more.
>The queen observed the battlefield, saddened by the destruction that took place before her.
>So this was the power the enemy withheld from them?
>A scribe scurried to her side, his face twisted in panic.
>”My queen, they have wiped out five of our war moons! We can’t keep this up for much longer, or we will surely perish!”
>She slowly panned over with sorrow in her eyes, looking at the poor young scribe panting exhausted next to her.
>Compared to him, her tall, slender figure towered far above him, her body lightly draped in ethereal garbs fluttering in a non-existent wind.
>Most people would have been afraid to approach her like this, but this one didn’t seem to be fazed by her figure the slightest.
>Then, unexpectedly, a gentle smile spread across the woman’s face.
>Confused, the scribe seemed to lose his sense of dread and looked at his queen in anticipation.
>”Worry not, my boy.” She said, her voice warm and calming like a mother speaking to her child. “Their power may have been unexpected, but they played their best cards far too early. Let me show you what true devastation looks like.”
>With an elegant flick of her wrist, the sky split apart, and thousands of white towers of unending complexity descended upon the black ships.
>Their hull shimmered in the sudden starlight, almost organic in nature with armor flowing over their surface like liquid.
>In the center, a spiraling blue light sparked aggressively inside cogs of epic magnitude, rotating slowly and methodically.
>The queen snapped her fingers, and the tip of the white spears lit up with a blinding flash.
>Countless beams filled the skies vertically which hit the ground far below them.
>In an instant, the planet became scorched, its ecosystem unable to withstand the fiery rays torching every biomass in the vicinity with deadly radiation.
>When the relentless assault finally let up, the battlefield lay silent.
>The railguns hissed as they cooled down in the toxic atmosphere, the beam cannons lay dormant against the hull of smoldering war moons with attack coordinates locked in, ready to fire.
>But not a sound could be heard.
>The queen looked at the scribe, who gazed back in awe.
>”Our work here is done.” she said.
>By her word, every ship and derelict belonging to her forces raised back into the sky, leaving the dark army reeling after her invisible assault.
>”But my queen, the enemy still lives!” the scribe said respectfully, dumbfounded by her sudden decision.
>”Worry not, my boy. I have granted them something far worse than death. Once they understand what just took place here, they would not dare oppose my forces again.”
>And with that, the white fleet disappeared into the dark night, becoming one with the stars.


Day 177

>”Anon!”
>You jerked up from your seat, your feet flailing wildly until you felt them smack into something hard.
>Instinctively, you leant over your desk and frantically grasped after your falling cup, only to helplessly watch it crash into the floor.
>Looking up you could see spunky pilot leaning over you with an expression of disappointment.
>”Geez, do you do anything aboard this ship except sleep and walk around all day?”
“Of course I do!” you said amidst a heavy yawn.
>Rainbow Dash leant back up and placed a hand on her forehead.
>Before you could defend yourself she turned on her heel and walked down the stairs to the lower bridge.
>”Whatever, man…”
>You tried opening your mouth numerous times, but eventually decided that arguing with her would be futile.
>”We’re closing in on the exit point soon. I got us as close to the destination as possible, but you do know jumping this far into a system is a huge risk, right?”
“I trust your intuition, RD. You’d never run us into anything solid, would you?”
>She turned to you with a smug grin on her face.
>”I do have that power, you know!”
>Behind you, the familiar hiss of the bridge door announced the arrival of someone else.
>”By my calculations, we should have safe passage into the system without any obstructions!” Rarity claimed as she walked past your post.
>Apparently, the star system was only a few local years away from a planetary alignment event, something that you’d never seen even at home.
>It was a pretty strange coincidence, you thought, but you doubt you’d stay on site long enough to see it.

>You nodded in greeting to the rest of the personnel who silently wandered towards their stations.
>This was routine at this point, so having to give a formal greeting each time you entered the bridge would get tiring after a while.
>”Dropping out of warp in 5!” Rainbow Dash called out from the helm.
”Alright, everyone to their posts. Let’s get this done and our feet on something solid.”
>You watched everyone funnel into their seats and pull up the information they needed.
>”The gravity distortions should be pretty heavy at the drop point, so brace yourselves!” Rarity announced after plugging her tablet into her desk interface.
>You heard the ship’s frame creak under the sudden pressure when the single point of light at the end the tunnel rapidly expanded.
>The ship effortlessly slid out of the wormhole exit... and into a dense field of asteroids.
>”Shit!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she pulled the flight stick hard towards her.
>The ship’s engine roared as they tried to keep up with her aggressive turn.
>The bridge was flooded with a hoarse sound, as if someone slammed the breaks on a rapidly spinning cheese grater.
>You could feel the forces strain on both you and the ship, as you were squished into the seat and the hull groaned.
>A stray rock smashed into the bulletproof windshield, bouncing away as every retrograde engine stood on maximum burn in an attempt to stop the ship.
>”Diverting reserve power to main engines!” Applejack shouted over the main core whirring in distress.
>The outside became a blur of brown and black as the ship tilted backwards.
>Eventually, you came to a full halt, the ships exhaust vents blasting superheated gases into the frigid vacuum in an attempt to expel all the used energy from the maneuver.
>Everyone in the room was dead quiet, only broken up by the sigh of relief from the pilot as she leaned back in her seat.
“AJ, I want a full damage report. Rarity, find out where the hell we are.”
>The crew frantically got to work without hesitation.
“And RD… Get us somewhere safe. That was too close.”
>”Anon, I’m detecting hull breaches on decks 6 and 9, they’ve been sealed off for now.” Applejack said without taking her eyes of her screen.
>”Minimal oxygen loss, but our velocity sensors are going haywire. I’m worried the array might be damaged.” Twilight informed the rest.
>”You’re not the only one, Twilight. I can’t get a lock on our position.” Rarity told the science officer. “I’m reading incredibly heavy magnetic interference.”
“I need to find out where that interference is coming from ASAP.”
>”I think I can help with that, Cap. We got some kinda junk in the hangar bay…”
>You looked over to Applejack in confusion.
“Some… junk?”
>”Aye, can’t confirm what it is, but it’s there and it sure is heavy.”
“Alright, Pinkie Pie, with me. We’ll check it out. The rest of you, stay on the comms. Let’s get out of here.”
>”Aye!” everyone shouted in unison while Pinkie bounced enthusiastically up from her seat, quickly making her way up from the lower bridge.

“Ready?” you said behind your respirator.
>Pinkie Pie nodded inside her suit’s visor, taking a firm grasp of a nearby support beam.
>With the push of a button, the heavy hangar bay doors slid open to the sound of hissing gas, which quickly faded once the atmosphere inside the airlock got sucked out of the expanding gap.
>You could feel the pull of vacuum tugging at you, but thankfully your magnetic boots kept their grip.
>Once the force of nature had dissipated, you took a peek inside the bay.
>At first glance, you couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
>The dark shell of the shuttle rested proudly in the middle of the launch pad, and at the far end stood a towering wall of unopened supply crates.
>”Hey, Nonny! Over there!” Pinkie Pie whispered harshly.
>You followed her gesture, and near one of the force fields separating you from the cold embrace of space sat a small orb nestled in a crater.
>The force field seemed intact, any damage it had taken most likely self-mended already, so you wondered where the lack of oxygen came from.
>You’d have to ask Applejack to inspect it later.
>You pulled out the geiger counter from your utility belt and made your way down the metal stairs with Pinkie at your back, keeping your eye on the rapidly changing numbers on the display.
“It must’ve crashed in here through the field. That takes a lot of force.” you said as you made your way across the large empty room.
>”I don’t like it. It’s looking at me funny.”
“Let’s just figure out what it is.” you said dismissively.
>As you approached it, you started noticing strange artefacts on the geiger counter display.
>The closer you got, the more severe it became.
>Eventually you stood right next next to it, and while the radiation level hadn’t increased, the display was now almost impossible to read.
>Pinkie Pie carefully moved closer to the object, almost sneaking up to it.
>When you couldn’t get any more information from it, you gave up and strapped the counter to your belt.
“Alright, let’s have a look at you.”
>On closer inspection, this thing didn’t look anything like the space debris outside.
>It was smooth and perfectly spherical with a matte surface.
>You moved closer and reached out to it with your hand, when suddenly a few inches away from it, you jerked forward and your palm slammed into it.
>Immediately you lost your footing and fell to the floor.
>”Anon!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed anxiously.
>You wrestled yourself onto your knees, but for some reason you were unable to move your arm.
“What the hell is this?” you said as you attempted to yank your hand away from the sphere.
>Much to your dismay, it was firmly stuck to its surface.
“Well then…” you sighed when you realized force wasn’t helping. “I think we found our magnet.”
>You looked over to your partner for help, but was only met with a strange expression.
>Suddenly, she burst out in a hearty laugh and slapped her knee.
>”You should have seen yourself! You went like ‘THUMP’!”
>Pinkie smacked her palm down in her other hand to illustrate your involuntary faceplant, and you couldn’t help but elicit a nervous laugh yourself.
“Well… I’m still stuck…”
>You tapped your helmet control with your free hand to try and contact the bridge, but everything digital seemed to be jammed by the magnetism.
“Fuck.” you said under your breath, in a lack of other words. “I don’t suppose you’ve got any experience with magnets?”
>”Not these kinds at least!” The bubbly girl shrugged with a concerned smile.
“Alright, well I need you to-”
>”Oooh! I know!” she interrupted you. “Twilight probably knows what to do!”
“Thanks, great idea.” you said sarcastically while attempting to find a comfortable position to sit in.
>”Hey Twilight!” Pinkie called out over the radio as if she tried to sound as innocent as possible.
>What better time to joke around than this, you thought to yourself.
>”We’ve got a bit of an… attractive problem down here.”
>”What’s the issue?” the science officer replied.
>”Uhh… I don’t really know, but Anon is kinda stuck to this orb we found.”
>The comms were quiet for a few seconds before Twilight gave an answer.
>”I-... What?”
“It’s magnetic, Pinkie…” you told her, gesturing to your palm which refused to move.
>”Oh, right! It’s magnetic!”
>You groaned and laid down on the hangar floor.

>Pinkie knew advanced weapons and targeting systems in the back of her head, but ultimately she wasn't the brightest on board.
>You recalled the struggle of finding a place for her on the ship, as you hadn’t really planned to shoot a lot of things while on this mission.
>She was mostly a safeguard, but you felt bad just keeping her on standby so you tried to give her as much to do as possible.
>In the end, she was kept mostly on the sidelines anyway.
>”It’s fine!” she had told you, giving you her signature grin. “I don’t mind it, really. I can easily find stuff to do when I’m bored!”
>However, those things usually ended up as extra muscle for AJ or Twilight or cleaning up throughout the ship.
>You rolled your head around as you observed her receiving instructions from Twilight about what to do.
>When Pinkie finally did get something to do, you could count on it being done properly.
>At least she was good at that.

>”Okay, so magnetize the suit and do the thing, yep, got it!”
“Well?” you said, sitting back up.
>”Twily said if we polarize your glove with the same pull as the orb, you should be able to free yourself.”
“Oh great, that doesn’t sound tedious at all.”
>”Now we just need some magnets…”
”I certainly haven’t seen any.”
>”Really? Aww, that's…”
>Suddenly Pinkie stopped, then looked over to you with a grin while pointing finger guns in your directions.
>”Oh, you smartypants, you!”
>Then, she stopped again, her expression going blank as if she was in deep thought.
>”Ooh! I’ve got it!” Pinkie lit up and snapped her fingers, except you couldn’t really hear anything without an atmosphere.
>”Quick, gimme your geiger counter!”
“Are you serious?”
>”Trust me, Anon! It’s broken anyway. Gimmie gimmie!”
>Reluctantly, you reached down to your belt and pulled out the small box, handing it to her.
>Immediately she grabbed it and ripped it open, tearing out a long blue wire.
“Pinke!” you exclaimed while watching the guts of the device spill out on the floor.
>The girl pulled out a wire clipper and removed the enamel from the cord and entwined it with another.
>She now had a wire about three meters long.
>Satisfied, she curled it up and ejected five small 1.5 volt batteries from the device and crammed them into her pocket.
>”C’mere.” she said as she squatted down next to you.
>She reached over your lap, careful not to get too close to the orb, and started wrapping the long wire around your glove.
“What is this, a science fair experiment?” you asked, but she didn’t seem to hear you.
>All you could do was sit there in anticipation, but her determined expression at least gave her a facade of confidence.
>Once the wire was coiled around your arm, she connected the two loose ends into the remains of the geiger counter, placing the batteries back into the box.
>”Alright, here we go!”
>Carefully, Pinkie moved her hand to the switch and flipped it.
>Suddenly the device burst into sparks as electrical current surged through the wire.
>Without warning, your hand was violently pushed away and blasted your entire body in the opposite direction.
>You fell into Pinkie Pie on your way, and you both flew across the hangar bay, landing about half a football field’s length away from the orb.
>You could feel your everything pulsate faintly with pain as you and Pinkie Pie laid sprawled around each other.
>Thankfully the suits and each other’s bodies had dampened the fall.
>You rolled over on your back, groaning, and so did your partner.
“Jesus, what the hell was that?”
>”Electro… magnetism.” She said between heavy panting. “Maybe... I used too many batteries.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works.” you said as you struggled to get back on your feet.
>You looked at the orb to see if anything had changed, but you were too far away to make out something.
>Turning around, you reached out a hand towards Pinkie, who happily grabbed it.
“Maybe I underestimated you.” you said as you dragged her to her feet.
>”You’ve been doing that for over 20 years, I’m used to it.”
>Nonchalantly, she picked up your left hand and inspected it.
>You stood there astonished, observing her moving your glove around.
>Thoughts about what else she might be capable off started to creep into your mind.
>Maybe there was another reason she was here other than ‘weapons specialist’.
>”Electromagnetism only works as long as there’s current running through the wire. Doesn’t look like it’s damaged, either, so you should be-”
>Suddenly she stopped speaking.
>It seemed like something had distracted her, as she started looking around the room.
>”Did you hear that, Nonny?”
“Hear what?” you replied, not entirely sure what she was referring to.
>But then you noticed it.
>Faintly, like in the other end of a long hallway, something reverberated throughout the hangar.
>It was hard to put your finger on it, but it almost sounded like someone striking a hollow steel pipe with a hammer.
>You looked at Pinkie Pie for some sort of confirmation, but she only stared back with the same expression.
>There it was again.
>As if you had the same thought, both of you turned towards the orb.
>It was faint, but you could swear something was glowing on its surface.
“Come on.” you said, moving towards the strange object.
>As you approached it, there was no mistaking it.
>Something had been activated inside it, and you were almost certain it had to do with the magnetization of your suit.
>“Shit, this might be a problem.” Pinkie said quite uncharacteristically.
“Are you sure?” you asked.
>”I think there are two options here.” She moved a bit closer to it, careful not to get too close. “Either this is a signal beacon of sorts…”
“Or?” you asked impatiently.
>”Or it’s is a magnetic sleeper mine.”
“A what?”
>Pinkie turned towards you with a serious expression.
>”This thing reminds me a lot of a design I learnt about back home. It attaches itself to metal stuff, and when you try to remove it or depolarize it… BOOM!” Pinkie started making a wide array of explosion noises with her mouth, gesturing with her hands.
>Once she noticed you staring back unamused, she cleared her throat and put her arms down.
>”Either way, this is a party I don’t want an invitation to.”
“So we need to get rid of this thing.”
>”Basically.”
“Okay, so I’m assuming the explosion is what activated it, but is it still magnetic?”
>”I dunno, let’s check.”
>From her belt, pinkie dragged a small screwdriver whom she promptly threw at the orb.
>It didn’t seem like she was gonna stick the landing, but a few inches away it suddenly changed direction mid-air and smacked into the sphere.
“Well then…” you said.
>”I guess that settles that.”
“So what do you think?”
“Well, if it’s still magnetic, I’m guessing it’s stuck in it’s countdown phase.” Pinkie started circling around it, careful not to trip on any of the cracks it had made upon impact.
>Suddenly she lit up.
>”Oh, lookie! The geiger counter is stuck to the thingy. I’m guessing it’s generating a magnetic field somehow?”
“That doesn't sound very reassuring.”
>”Nope, I barely know what I’m talking about!” Pinkie looked up at you with an innocent grin, and you couldn’t help but smile back.
“Alright, alright, let’s assume this is an explosive. We need to switch off the geiger counter and somehow move it off this ship before it blows.”
>”Don’t worry!” Pinkie said enthusiastically, spinning up a handgun from a holster on her leg. “I’ve got the counter!”
“Are you insane?!” you exclaimed. “You’re going to shoot at a bomb?”
>”Relax, Nonny, If it got through the hangar forcefield unscathed I doubt a bullet would harm it.”
>You sighed and placed a hand on your visor.
“Fine. But if we all blow up I’m blaming you.”
>”Okay, you ready?”
>With a nod, Pinkie Pie took aim at the box stuck to the black orb.
>With a squeeze of the trigger, the barrel flashed with released pressure, and so did the geiger counter as it exploded in a cloud of splintered plastic and broken circuitry.
>Right away you noticed the screwdriver drop to the floor, and you ran over to the sphere and started pushing it.
>Even with all your might you couldn’t even nudge it.
>Pinkie quickly joined you, but the sphere refused to budge.
>You kept going until you felt the veins in your forehead were about to burst, but to no avail.
>Falling to the ground, you took a few seconds to catch your breath before looking over to your friend for ideas.
>She seemed out of breath as well as she laid sprawled across the grey surface.
“Man, this thing is heavy for its size.” you remarked, but didn’t get any answer.
>Through your visor you could hear the familiar sound again, ticking down to your inevitable doom.
>From your position you tried looking around for anything that could help, and then an idea struck you.
“Wait, I know!” you said, bouncing up on your feet.
>Pinkie was quick to follow, waiting for you to instruct her.
>You walked up next to the orb and motioned for her to approach you.
“Quick, hold on to me! Turn on your mag boots and weigh me down!”
>She did as you told without question, taking a firm hold of your torso as she switched her magboots to maximum force and planted them into the floor.
>You also switched on one of yours, but kept the other one lifted above the ground.
“Ready?” you asked, and felt her head nod nervously against your back.
>You took a deep breath, and with all your might, you kicked the black sphere with the magnetic sole of your boot.
>Just as the sole made contact with the sphere surface, you flipped on the boots magnetics.
>In an instant, Both you and Pinkie got blown to the floor as the orb tried to resist the force in the same way it had before.
>Your added velocity, however, also blew the orb in the opposite direction, at a speed you couldn’t possibly have predicted.
>It careened off towards the horizon at blinding speed, effortlessly crashing through the force field once again.
>Before you knew it, it had disappeared into the labyrinth of stone which surrounded you.
>Quickly, you tuned into the emergency channel on the comms.
“Everyone hold on, we’ve got an explosion at starboard-”
>You were cut off by a blinding light appearing outside the ship, out-matching every star visible from here.
>It lasted several seconds, hanging there like a newborn sun.
>You had to shield your eyes as even your UV filters weren’t strong enough to protect them.
>Then, a quake passed through the ship.
>You felt the frame shift under you as Pinkie tightened her already breathtaking grip around you.
>The ground shook violently as everything outside started rotating.
>The bomb alone was enough to move the entire ship, and you started feeling relieved that you had gotten rid of it before you met your demise at the hands of that infernal weapon.
>Once the shaking had stopped, you finally calmed down your tense muscles and released yourself from Pinkies grip.
>As you rolled off the weapons specialist onto your hands and knees to catch your breath, you noticed her UV filters were also set to maximum.
>She laid there without any apparent intent to get up, but you didn’t blame her.
“You okay?” you asked.
>You didn’t receive any answer right away, but eventually she nodded.
>You sat down on the ground as your radio flared to life.
>”You guys alright down there?” Fluttershy’s voice asked.
>”We-... We’re fine!” Pinkie answered as her breath finally caught up with her. “Just a lil rustled that's all! Not every day you see fireworks like that!”
>You smirked at her analogy and turned toward the hangar opening.
>Curiously, everything in the wake of the bomb had been transformed into a dark grey, smooth surface, almost as if the heat from the explosion had melted whatever was unlucky enough to be in its path.
>At least this experience gave you a vague indication of what this place would be like.
>To you, this seemed like the remnants of a warzone, and not one that turned out positively for either side.
>”Anon, look!”
>Pinkie was on her feet next to you, staring into the abyss beyond the force field.
>You slowly got up next to her, gazing out to try and find what she was looking at, and it didn’t take you long.
>As the ship ascended through the dust and rock, it surfaced above a sea of asteroids into bright sunlight, as if breaking through a thick layer of clouds after a rapid ascent.
>A towering yellow orb with bands of multicolored clouds draped across it like rope and chains rose from the belt.
>The nearby star peeked over its horizon, its light scattering across the surface and illuminating the violent storms below.
>As the ship rotated in an attempt to meet stable orbit, another celestial body came into view, this one also floating inside the belt like its mother seemed to be.
>Behind it followed a trail of emptiness in its wake as it absorbed everything in its path.
“There it is.” you said, pointing at the moon. “Newhaven.”


Day 178

>After many attempts, Rainbow Dash had managed to get the ship into a stable orbit just outside the gas giant’s ring, during which you had enough time to repair most of the damages done to the ship’s exterior after having subjected it to a bombardment of space rocks.
>It hadn’t been an easy task according to the pilot, but Excalibur now floated within shuttle distance of Newhaven at all times, always in the shadow of its bigger sibling, the gas giant Eidolon.
>Everyone had gathered in the hangar bay to help load the shuttle with supplies.
>There was no telling how long you’d spend down there, so you decided to take as much as you could carry.
>On the far end of the bay you found Applejack looking around the exposed machinery in the walls as if she was searching for something.
“You alright over there?” you asked as you approached her.
>”Just doing some preliminary checkups.” she said, not taking her gaze of the roof above.
>”I raised the solar array and put every system we could spare in sleep mode.” she looked down on a tablet she held and scribbled some notes before focusing her attention on you. “Every room except the greenhouse is drained of oxygen and power. Nothing wasted Cap!”
“Good job. And the nuclear fusion reactors are all fueled up I hope?”
>Applejack shot a disappointed glance at you.
>”An, I treat this ship like my darn child, of course she’s got fuel!”
“Of course…” you said sarcastically, unable to resist smirking at her attitude.
>You turned towards the hangar opening where you could see Newhaven gently rotating inside the asteroid ring.
“We should be ready to go in a minute.”
>”Don’t worry ‘bout me Cap. I’m almost done.” The engineer mumbled without taking her eyes of her work.
>You nodded as you started heading back towards the shuttle, where you spotted Pinkie Pie driving Huninn, one of two of your exploration vehicles, onto the lower shuttle cargo bay.
>It seemed like she got a tad bit enthusiastic, as the massive truck suddenly revved to life and nearly crashed into a stack of crates.
>You heard Rainbow Dash fuming at her as Pinkie attempted to get the car into its proper position purely by trial and error.
>You chuckled to yourself at the spectacle as you made your way across the large empty space.
>As you wandered in your own thoughts, you eventually noticed that you had gained a companion.
>To your left appeared Twilight, jotting down a few things on a slab before putting it away, greeting you with a gentle smile.
“Good morning to you too, science officer.” you greeted. “Are you feeling any better?”
>”I’m well enough to perform my duties at least.”
“That’s not what I’m asking. I need you to be in tip top shape, physically and mentally. Can’t really have you drifting off or becoming unstable even if it’s involuntarily.”
>It seemed like Twilight became a bit offended by your statement and crossed her arms.
“I’m sorry, but you locking yourself in for almost a month doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. I’m asking as a friend, how are you feeling?”
>”I’m fine.” Twilight answered you as reassuringly as she could.
>You couldn’t exactly say you were convinced, but there wasn’t much you could do but trust her right now.
>It wasn’t like you could ask Fluttershy about it either due to her confidentiality agreement to every crew member.
>Or, technically you could since you were the captain and all, but you respected people's privacy enough not to go digging in their personal matters.
>At least not until you had no other choice.
>You sighed.
>She was your friend after all, ideally you would trust all of your crewmembers unconditionally.
>Your belief in a censorship conspiracy on board your ship made that sort of hard to do at this time though.

>Eventually you reached the shuttle, now loaded with all the supplies you would ever need including both of your vehicles Huginn and Muninn.
>Rainbow Dash ushered you and Twilight inside the cargo hatch before raising it, sealing you off from the outside world.
>As were routine, you made your way through the makeshift command center and up to the cockpit, funneling into your designated seats.
>The other four of your crew had already taken their seats and secured themselves with belts.
>You sat down and greeted Rarity with a nod as you strapped yourself in next to her.
>”Commencing pre-flight checks.” the pilot informed, and you could hear the machinery ruse to life with the flip of a switch.
>From your seat you could feel the shuttle’s frame start to vibrate.
>Rainbow Dash and Rarity went through a list of systems as they booted up, checking them all to make sure the vessel was functioning properly.
>The monotonous sound of turbine engines spinning up zoned you out for a second as they made their preparations.
>When you came to, you found all your crewmates were staring at you.
>You shook your head, realizing that the pre-flight had been completed without you noticing.
“Uuuh, clearance code Sigma Alpha Ultra 2453!” you splurted out into the idle voice activated lock. “Clear cargo bay for shuttle departure!”
>As if you had casted a spell, the magnetic locks on the shuttles landing gear deactivated, and slowly the heavy tin can lost its grip on the mother vessel.
>Honestly you didn’t really need this type of lock, but this was expensive equipment, so safety precautions were required.
>And it also prevented some zealous adventurers from going out on their own if they didn’t have permission.
>Through the front window you saw the forcefield dissipate, giving you access to the great beyond.
>”Alright, initiating forward thrusters.” the pilot said as she gently pushed the throttle.
>You were glad she had learned to shed some of her rash intentions at least.
>”Do make sure not to poison the entire cargo hold with exhaust this time.” Rarity sighed sarcastically, eliciting a few snorts from the rest of the crew.
>”Yeah yeah…” she responded, waving off her friend’s remark.
>The shuttle effortlessly slid through the narrow gap.
>Before you knew it, you were staring at the river of stones from a perspective outside the ship.
>The dull waves of debris danced around each other in slow motion as they traveled along their endless path around the bubble of gas holding them prisoner.
>It was like watching countless sleepy fish in a stream, each layer of the ring moving at a different pace than the rest.
“Seal the cargo hold, AJ. Make sure the entire thing is on lockdown. Don’t want anyone getting too curious.” you ordered.
>The engineer nodded and turned to her computer.
>Had you not been aware of how the galaxy was brimming with life right under your noses you might not have considered securing the ship at all.
>Times had changed since you left home, that much was clear.
>If only you could tell Earth about everything you’ve seen.
>Looking at your crew, it was hard to believe anyone would actively try to hinder your mission, but it was very clear that it couldn’t be anyone else.
>A strange sensation started welling inside you, something you hadn’t felt in a while.
>Looking around, it was obvious you weren’t the only one.
>Eventually most of the cabin was a mess of floating hair and bewildered hands attempting to gain control of it.
>If there was one thing you hadn’t gone through during routine checks it was zero gravity, and now you regretted omitting that part.
“Girls please…” you pleaded.
>At least you were strapped in to your seats or the lack of gravity would have gotten even more chaotic.
>When you cleared the ship perimeter and made sure everything was in order, Rainbow Dash cranked the throttle and you shot off towards the moon.
>It was quite the scenery that awaited you, and hopefully it’d look even more spectacular from the moon’s surface.

“Well?” you asked, finding yourself getting a little impatient.
>Your adventure lust started getting the better of you, and your feet itched to set down on solid ground.
>”I don’t know what to tell you, really.” Rarity's eyes stared at the information in front of her with shock. “I wouldn’t believe it had I not seen it for myself.”
>”I’m reading the same thing.” Twilight added from across the room. “78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, various trace gases. It’s like we’re back home…”
>The shuttle had touched down in an area with heavy flora, an unexpected turn of events after a rather rough entry into the moon's atmosphere.
>It now stood as a towering black monolith against a lush green field, the skies scattering the sun’s rays in a fresh chartreuse hue.
>The smooth, jagged, industrial look of its hull juxtaposed the chaotic and untamed forest surrounding you.
>Against the looming silhouette of Eidolon, a constant shimmer of asteroid rain could be seen burning up in the lower atmosphere, disintegrating before they could touch the ground.
>Behind the layer of gases covering the crust of this hidden garden you could see the rings spread out in a 40 degree inclination from where you had landed, giving the impression that you stood on a titanic buoy overlooking a cosmic lake.
>For countless eons this moon had been a sanctum for sprawling wildlife, and even now it felt like an enigma why such a place even existed in the shadow of its older sibling.
>”It’s perfectly breathable.” Twilight turned to you with an expression of giddy and surprise.
>Instead of excitement, your mind turned towards scepticism.
>It was one thing braving the outside to explore, but to brave the outside without helmets on would be to throw caution to the winds.
>You shook your head.
“Sorry, until we can determine that its undeniably safe, keep your helmets on and follow safety precautions. I don’t want another Mjölnir incident, understand?”
>Reluctantly, all six of your crewmates nodded, some silently sighing to themselves.
>You knew they understood however.
>These weren’t just children going out to play, they were highly trained scientists.

>The metal slab that was the shuttle cargo hatch slammed into the lush grass with a muted ‘thonk’.
>Outside it was completely silent.
>The only sounds were the winds rustling the crowns of the uncanny and bizarre trees surrounding the vessel.
>At first you found it strange that there were no animal sounds to be heard, but quickly you realized that this environment must still be in its primordial stage.
“Alright, bring ‘em out!” you shouted back into the cargo bay. “Keep them silently running, we don’t want to disturb any natural order around here.”
>From the shadow of the bay, two brightly colored, eight-wheeled trucks emerged.
>Their engines had been switched to electrical power only, and while that compromised on speed and power, at least you wouldn’t poison the environment.
>As you waited for the vehicles to clear the cargo hatch, you pulled out the orb Asakitt had given you.
>The coordinates within had been pretty specific, and you had already tracked it down to what you believed to be a hidden facility nearby.
>Now all that remained was getting there.
>”Let’s go Anon!” Pinkie called out as you looked up from the orb, waving you over to the truck.
>Muninn had already veered away from the shuttle, beginning its trek through the deep woods.
>Without a moment to spare, you climbed on board Huninn, leaving the shuttle to cool its hull against the gentle breeze of the forest.

>The path Rarity had laid out was slow and bumpy.
>There was a time when a road used to be here, as evident by the cracked cobblestone, but nature had long since reclaimed it.
>Now it was filled with roots which even your advanced suspension had trouble circumventing.
>You had strapped yourself in a seat, but the constant shifting horizon and lack of consistent movement made you feel queasy.
>Just when you started wondering how much more you could take, the cabin suddenly stopped shaking.
>You looked over to Pinkie Pie in the driver seat, but she seemed as puzzled as you were.
>The other vehicle had stopped a few feet ahead, showing no intent to continue.
>You tuned into the comms.
“What’s happening over there?”
>”We… We’ve arrived at the coordinates.”
>The seatbelts came off with a single click and you stood up, leaning out of the windows.
>All you could see were trees and bushes all around so dense there was no way you’d be able to navigate them.
>You sat down on the window sill of the door and got a good view of your surroundings in the process, but nothing out of the ordinary stood out to you.
>Well, aside from all the twisted and untampered vegetation, that is.
>Had you not had a purpose here you might have taken the time to study them.
>”If the overgrowth is any indication…” Fluttershy mentioned from inside the cabin.
“I was thinking the same thing.” you replied, swinging down to open the cabin door and head outside.
>The team from the other vehicle jumped out at the same time, curiously looking around the immediate vicinity for anything that could resemble manmade.
“Alright!” you called out for everyone’s attention. “We’re looking for a small colony based around a central building. Look for anything which could have been housing, accommodations, anything. It should be within 200 meters of this spot, so don’t wander off too far.”
>The crew acknowledged and scattered out to search the area as you sighed to yourself.
>This wasn’t going to be as easy as you had hoped.
>”This is like looking for a needle in a forest!” the comms sparked to life with Rainbow Dash’s groan.
>”At least yer not lookin’ for it blind!” Applejack answered.
>You sat down against the massive wheel of Muninn, checking your wrist display for any updates on Excalibur.
>”This seems to be a building block of some kind. It’s definitely in this direction.”
>It seemed at first glance like all the systems had been unchanged since you left.
>”My, am I glad this place is not teeming with any creepy insects. I shudder just the thought of it!”
>As you swiped further into the status charts, however, a strange artefact caught your attention.
>Something didn’t seem right.
>”Weeee! This place is so refreshing after being stuck in a tin can for so long!”
>”Ooh, please be careful or you’ll… fall…”
>”Don’t worry! I’m fine!”
>Yes, now you were sure of it.
>One of the inquiries had been removed from the log.
>Every log was categorized after date, but one of the days was mysteriously absent of activity.
>Someone had tampered with the instruments and deleted an element from the manifest.
>A chill ran down your spine.
>With all traces of the element in question having been wiped, there was no way of knowing what had been deleted or by who.
>But one fact remained clear.
>Someone was messing with the computer on board your ship without your permission.
>”Alright, this is hopeless. Let’s try echolocation, maybe they hid it underground.”
>”I got sumthin! Looks like a tent made of stone.”
>You perked up.
>Finally some results.
>”Transmitting my location now.”

>The sad little structure laid slanted on the forest bed, turquoise moss and god knows what having taken the liberty of making the decrepit formation its home.
>A layer of vines separated you from a dark entrance, but it seemed like there was no proper way inside.
>Even if it was, a mound of dirt could he seen emerging from its shadow, separating you from whatever used to be inside.
>”You’re sure there are no other formations of this material anywhere else?” Twilight asked.
>Rarity shook her head.
>”Other than the cobblestone we arrived on, I can’t find anything on the preliminary scans.”
>”Echolocation turned out a dud.” Pinkie said, swinging a repurposed metal detector over her shoulder.
>The seven of you stood cross-armed encircling the sad, lonely ruin, your brains racing to figure out a solution.
>”God damn it!”
>A pebble whooshed past your helmet and smacked into a tree further into the forest.
>Twilight grabbed her helmet and dragged it off aggressively, kicking another rock and planting her face in her other hand.
>”Another dead end…”
>”Twilight!” you exclaimed, a burst of panic spreading through you as you saw her remove her helmet.
>She only turned to you with a defeated look, pointing at her mouth.
>”I don’t need to breathe.” she said nonchalantly before returning to her palm.
>Your arms fell limp against your sides as you sighed.
>”I’m sorry, Twilight.” you tried to console her, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.
>”I’m going back to the trucks.”
>Before you could say anything else, the scientist was gone through the thick flora.
>One by one the rest of your crew also removed their helmets.
”Shit.” you whispered, following the others’ lead.
>At this point, you were desperate from some fresh air.
>With your helmet under your arm, you turned to your crew who all seemed to expect something from you.
“What?” you said, for once not really sure what to do. “Got any ideas? I sure as hell don’t.”
>The silence thickened the air as everyone exchanged glances.
>It seemed like this find would be at least a little promising, but whatever used to be here had long since been reclaimed by nature.
>Until you were sure where to look, there was no use in starting to dig up the entire moon.
>You sighed again.
>”Like she said, dead end. There’s nothing out here but plants.”
>Rainbow Dash walked past you with a pat on your shoulder and a quick apologetic look before retracing Twilight’s trail.
>The others stood there for a short while longer, but when you didn’t protest to the pilot leaving, they followed her example.
>You decided to stay there for a little while longer, staring at the depressing husk which laid crumbled against the roots of an ancient tree.
>A slow gust rustled through your hair as you stood there, carrying with it a faint alien scent which was impossible to describe.
>If you were to draw a conclusion, whatever was here had most likely been built underground to prevent interference with the plantlife.
>It must have been abandoned eons ago, and the weight of the forest ground the remains to dust and rubble.
>The fact that this was probably the only lead to returning Twilight’s body to normal must have taken a toll on her, and you couldn’t help but feel anything but sympathy for her right now.
>Realizing there was nothing more for you here, you tore yourself from the visage of the ruins and headed back through the chaotic foliage.

>”Exc...bur…...an……...me?”
>Static filled your ears as a strange transmission intruded your channel.
>You nearly tripped over a root as the sudden interference came out of nowhere.
>You stood still for a moment, listening to your radio without making a sound.
>”Are any of you moving out of range? I’m getting some strange interference.” Rarity asked after a short period of silence.
>”Anyo…..ere? Pl……..pond!”
>There it was again.
>The forest laid as dormant as ever, the psychedelic trees swaying gently in the wind.
“Rarity, is there any way to boost our receiver signal?” you shouted as you burst out of the woods and climbed back into one of the trucks parked neatly in a row on the ruined cobblestone road.
>”Theoretically yes,” she responded, peeking out from between the two vehicles. “...but you’d have to move to a higher spot…”
“Got it!”
>The airlock hatch on Muninn’s roof came off with ease and you climbed up by balancing yourself on one of the chairs.
>In your rush you nearly fell off, but managed to clamber up to the roof near the satellite dish.
>”Thi...s cap...ra H...Duran…”
>From your vantage point you had a pretty good field of view over the forest and the sky.
>You looked around everywhere you could, scanning the stars for anything out of the ordinary.
“I need to amplify my signal, Rarity. Can you do something?”
>A moment passed by, and suddenly the navigations officer appeared from over the edge of the roof, staggering to her feet as she tried not to look down.
>”Alright, grab a hold of anything metal on the satellite dish. I’ll try something.”
>You took a firm hold of the dish stem without hesitating.
>”Drawing power from battery now. Releasing initial field dampeners…”
>Above you, a bright flash appeared for a split second.
>You both looked up towards the point, but were unable to spot anything with your naked eye.
>With some quick thinking, you slapped on your helmet loosely and moved your free hand over to your helmet interface panel.
>A small segment of your visor became encased in a circle.
>Slowly you swiped forward, and the section magnified toward an area in the sky.
>”Crew of Excalibur, do you copy?”
>Suddenly the stranger’s voice was crystal clear.
>It had been so long since you had heard perfectly fluid english from someone other than your team that you almost convinced yourself it was synthesized.
>The more you zoomed in, the more convinced you became.
>There was another ship approaching this moon.

>”This is Captain Anon. Y. Mous of the Earth Starship ESS Excalibur.” you finally said in an open channel. “Who is on this frequency?”
>You stood on top of the truck for an uncomfortably long time before they answered.
>”My god, it’s really you!” the voice said in utter disbelief. “For ten years we thought you were all long gone.”
>You frowned to yourself.
>Was this some kind of joke?
>”Ten years?” you replied. “I’ll ask again, who is on this frequency?”
>”Oh pardon me!” the voice apologized. “I am Captain Lyra Heartstrings of the Earth Starship ESS Durandal, Sir! You have no idea how glad we are to see you.”
>You stood in silence for what felt like hours.
>There was another ship?
>What did they mean by ten years?
>At this point, so many questions were churning in your head that you didn’t know where to start.
>Most prominent of them all, however, was if they were telling the truth.
>You tried opening your mouth several times to formulate a response, but every time your words failed to pass through.
>Looking over to Rarity, she seemed as stupefied as yourself.
“Durandal?” you said at last. “I never heard of a second ship being constructed.”
>”Captain, we have a lot to discuss.” Lyra replied. “We’ll be arriving in orbit of Eidolon within the hour. I’d suggest you come aboard. You’ll want to hear what I have to say.”


Day 179

“I don’t believe this!”
>You slammed your hands into the ebony table and stood up.
>This had to be some sort of cruel misunderstanding.
>”I’m afraid it’s all true.” Lyra said from her chair at the end of the table.
>You started wandering around the room while pulling your fingers through your unkempt hair.
>The interior of the Durandal was slick and polished, a complete departure from what you had on board your own vessel.
>It was leagues ahead of what the Excalibur had, but the telltale signs of NESA engineering was obvious.
>Or at least that’s what Applejack told you.
>Durandal’s halls were covered up with functional yet sleek walls, and it seemed like the ship was an overall upgrade to your own without compromising on comfort and aesthetics.
>The exterior still kept the signature three-wing design, but this time the ship looked more like three revolvers welded together thanks to its missile and scanner racks as well as the three main guns at its front.
>You sighed to yourself as you turned towards the captain.
“You’re sitting there telling me that we’ve been missing for ten fucking years?” you exclaimed, feeling the anger seethe within you.
>”Look, captain, I’m as surprised as you are after hearing your perspective.”
>Lyra’s voice was empathetic, but you could tell she started getting a little ticked off at your outburst.
>You took a deep breath and exhaled, attempting to regain your composure.
>You still had a hard time believing what you had heard, but all the evidence was there, and you had no reason not to believe them.
>As reality started to sink in, you slowly slid back down into the seat, dragging a palm across your bearded face.
“Ten years.” you finally said. “This mission was supposed to take five. For us, we’re not even a year in. Unbelievable.”
>”Be glad we found you when we did, or that would have been fifty.” Lyra said, leaning over the table on her elbows.
“How did you find us anyway?” you asked, desperate to think of something else.
>”We tracked your emergency signature to this location. We had been detecting it for years, but the closer we got, the more it faded.”
>The captain shrugged, leaning back into her chair.
>”At first we thought we had a malfunction, but when we arrived here, lo and behold, there you were.”
“Strange. We never activated an emergency signal.”
>”We know.” Lyra stared at you impatiently. “Which is why I suggest we leave this place immediately.”
>You shook your head.
“We can’t.”
>Lyra sighed, but you leaned in before she could protest.
“I have a duty to protect my crew. There is something I have to find before we do anything else, I cannot leave without it.”
>You poked your finger into the glossy table to emphasize your point.
>”Fine.” Lyra finally said after burrowing her bridge in her palm. “What are you looking for?”
“We… don’t really know.”
>The captain’s expression of disbelief showered you with doubt, but you waved her down.
“Please, we have coordinates, and we know vaguely what we’re looking for down there, just give us time.”
>She sighed again, dragging her cyan bangs over her head as she stared out of the windows overlooking the moon below.
>”I’ll give you two days.” she finally said. “But after that we’re leaving with or without you.”
“We’ll have it by then.”
>Lyra nodded, and it seemed like she immediately regretted saying that.
>”Now I’d like to bring the rest of your crew in for debriefing of the past ten years.”
>You nodded as the captain rose from her seat.
>You weren’t sure if letting your crew know about this so soon was a good idea, but it was better to have them know the truth than keep them in the dark.

>“So as you can see, after you lost contact, everything pretty much went downhill.”
>”This is insane!”
>”It’s the truth I’m afraid.”
>Once again you found yourself in disbelief over the situation.
>According to Lyra, only the first three transmissions sent from Excalibur made it back to Earth.
>After trying and failing to establish contact, NESA was eventually shut down and the Excalibur program deemed a massive failure.
>When dormant communication equipment started picking up the emergency beacon, however, NESA initiated a secret underground operation with funding from a neighboring kingdom and started construction on the Durandal in an orbital shipyard around the moon.
>It was an unsanctioned operation and was kept from the public eye until the ship stood ready for duty, and by the time it was complete it was too late to stop the ship from launching.
>Applejack had seemed quite impressed by the engineering on board this reiteration,and she even seemed to realize what faults in Excalibur’s engines caused the involuntary time dilation.
>At this point you had come to terms with the time you had lost, but you worried for your crew who had families and loved ones waiting back home.
>”How could this be…” Rarity said with her head in her hands.
>Most of the others stared blankly at nothing.
>You imagined they thought hard about the reality of things.
>”We know time dilation and relativity is a very real thing.” Twilight finally said. “But I thought our coils compensated for that…”
>”There was a flaw in the engine design.” Applejack explained, her voice barely audible. “I just wish I coulda done somethin’ about it sooner.”
>”Don’t blame yourself sweetie.” Fluttershy patted the engineer on the shoulder.
>She seemed strangely unfazed by what she had just been told, but you didn’t think too much of it.
>”How do you expect us to believe this shit?” Rainbow Dash suddenly yelled, flying out of her chair.
>”Miss Dash, please…” Lyra started, but was soon cut off by the pilot’s tantrum.
>”How do we know this is the truth, huh? How do we know you’re not just some aliens disguising yourselves as humans?”
>”Dash…” Fluttershy appeared next to the fuming pilot, but she shrugged her away, slamming her palms into the table.
>”This can’t be happening…” you heard her sob. “I promised…”
>Fluttershy silently embraced Rainbow Dash from behind, soothing her with a few words.
>The pilot slumped down in her seat aided by her friend, and sat silently for a few minutes.
>”Captain.” a voice appeared from Lyra’s chest ornament. “An unidentified object has appeared on our radars. You’re needed at the bridge immediately.”
>She seemed just as surprised as you were to hear the news, and without a moment’s hesitation she leapt out of her seat and headed for the door.
“Oh, god damn it.” you mumbled to yourself, rushing out after her.
>You had yet to share any information you had gathered on your trip with this crew.
>If this turned out to be another spacefaring creature, they would be in for a surprise.

>Durandal’s bridge seemed visually different from the one on your ship, but most of the same stations were still present.
>Here, they were all on the same floor and closer together, and the window to the outside had also shrunk down to accomodate for the smaller room.
>”What’s the status of the object?” Lyra shouted out as she briskly stormed into the bridge with you right on her tail.
>”It came out of nowhere Sir. It should be within visual range in a few minutes.
>The rest of your crew came wandering into the bridge as well, and it seemed to you most of them had recovered from the news, at least on the surface.
>”Visual contact established, Captain.” a young man said from one of the consoles in front of the main window.
>”Enhance.” Lyra sat down in a chair in the middle of the room and flipped open a small screen from her armrest.
>At her command, the entire window zoomed in to a small area in the sky where a strange, unidentifiable shimmer moved in your direction.
>”Scanners show high levels of metallics and traces of silicon-based material, but no organic lifesigns.” another officer said behind you, this one with a strong, angled jawline accentuated by his long, indigo colored hair.
>”ETA in two minutes.” said a third officer sitting at the front, left of the first one.
>”Alright, shields up.” commanded Lyra. “See if you can hail them on all frequencies. Let’s hope they can speak Earth.”
>”Two new signatures just appeared on our radar!” the first crewmember exclaimed as he feverishly typed on his screen. “Make that three! No, four!”
>As you turned your attention towards the window, you could see small green flashes appear next to the object.
>The flashes multiplied and spread out across the sky like ripples in a lake during rainfall, and several other ships clipped through the void.
>”Their speed has increased. ETA 30 seconds, Sir!”
>”What in the queen’s name is this?” Lyra muttered to herself.
>You found it hard to rip your eyes off the screen.
>The fleet now numbered in the dozens, and you helplessly stood by and watched them race towards you.
>”Wait a minute…” Twilight mumbled. “Captain Lyra, what is the maximum magnification you can achieve?”
>”We could go a lot closer…” the captain started.
>”Can you focus in on the original object?”
>Lyra sat in her chair and only looked at Twilight for a second as if she tried to read what she was thinking.
>”Make it so Lieutenant.” she eventually ordered, and the woman at the second front console started typing on her screen.
>The window zoomed in to three times normal magnification, and started focusing its lens.
>As the image grew less and less blurry, a chill started creeping down your spine.
>The silhouette was immediately recognizable, and a feeling of dread washed over you.
>There was no mistaking it.
>A fleet of the ships you had seen on the moon of Mjölnir KS6 was locked on to your coordinates, their jagged maws churning hungrily at empty space and their sharp fins cutting scars in the void.
>”ETA 10 seconds. We’re outnumbered one to twenty seven.”
>”My god.” Lyra said as she slowly stood up from her seat and wandered to the window.
>”Lyra, we have to move!” you pleaded. “From what we’ve seen, you don’t stand a chance against those things!”
>The captain suddenly turned to you.
>”You’ve seen them before?”
>Reluctantly you nodded, swallowing a clump of anxiety.
”They chewed up moons like it was nothing.”
>Lyra’s face turned pale.
>”How much do you know?”
“There’s more out here than any of us could possibly imagine.”
>In one swift motion, lyra whipped around and addressed her crew.
>”Shields to maximum, man all battlestations!” the captain yelled out as she ran back to her seat.
”No, we have to run!” you tried to persuade her.
>”This is my ship, you have no jurisdiction here!” Lyra said over the emergency alarms blaring all across the ship. “Besides, judging by the speed these things move, we have no way of outrunning them with these engines. Power up all ordnance! Prepare to fire on my order!”
“Captain, this is insanity!” you cried out in protest.
>As if the opposing Eaters could hear her, the middle ship emitted a blinding light from its jaw.
>At first it seemed like it was just a flare, but it quickly became apparent that the enemy had taken the first shot.
>Their intention was clear.
>”All powe-!”
>Lyra’s command was cut short as a massive beam of light crashed into the shield dome surrounding the Durandal.
>The floor shook violently as the gravity field became misaligned, and you instinctively grabbed a hold of the metal railing ahead of you.
>Eventually, gravity stabilized itself, and you dragged yourself to your feet.
>”Damage report!”
>”Energy shield has taken heavy damage. We’re down to 37%!”
>”37% in one hit?”
>Lyra rotated her chair around and looked at the indigo-haired officer in disbelief.
>”How is that possible?”
>”Incoming!”
>Your hands tightened their grip the railing in front of you in anticipation, your knuckles gradually turning white.
>The second beam of light came from one of the upper ships, and struck the shields with spectacular precision.
>Like glass you could almost see the energy barrier shatter against the overwhelming force, and the beam was free to tear itself into the shield dome.
>What followed was a chaotic blur of sparks and shouting as the bright ray smashed into Durandals nose, cracking its hull with ease.
>When you came to, the bridge was filled with smoke from overloaded computer panels, and the alarm screaming in panic throughout the ship.
>”Status!” Lyra coughed as she dragged herself back up in her seat, but received no answer.
>When she turned towards the window, the sight outside was all she needed to know.
>The nose of the ship had been snapped clean off at its base and set adrift among various hull shards and machinery parts floating in a cloud around the impact area.
>The twisted metal was still red hot after having been torn off with excessive force, and liquid plasma was venting out into space through ruined pipe systems.
>Lyra dumped herself into her chair, falling limp against the backrest as she surveyed the scene.
>”What gods did we anger to deserve this retribution?” Lyra said with a shaky voice.
>Your crew clambered onto their feet next to you, surveying the scene ahead.
>Was this the end for you after everything you had experienced?
>You turned to the six of your friends surrounding you as they looked back to you for answers.
>In all honesty, you had none.
>At this moment, you felt utterly powerless to perform your duties as captain.
>Even traveling back to the Excalibur was impossible, as your shuttle was now drifting across the battlefield together with the other half of Durandal.
>At least you would spend these last moments surrounded by your crew.
>The young man at the helm turned around and looked at his own captain, his face surprisingly filled with resolve.
>”Waiting on your orders, captain.” he said in an unusually calm tone.
>The two other bridge personnel mimicked him, their eyes shining with fearlessness.
>As you took another look at your friends, you saw the same look in their eyes as they awaited orders from you.
>In that moment, you finally understood the importance of your role.
>Lyra seemed to as well, and as half of her ship drifted into Newhaven’s atmosphere, so did her fears and doubts.
>”Activate impulse engines, Ensign.” the captain finally said, the uncertain, terrified tone completely vanished from her voice. “Bring us into the heart of that fleet, evasion protocol Delta 6.”
>Delta 6.
>You gawked, realizing what the captain was about to do.
>Looking over, you noticed Rainbow Dash with a nervous smirk on her face as she stared down the obsidian swarm ahead with intense eyes.
>From your time in the national guard, you recognized protocol Delta 6 as a last resort movement.
>Lyra was about to ram the enemy.
“Captain, are you sure about this?” you asked as the countless alarms faded.
>She turned her chair around to stare you directly in your eyes.
>”Do you have a better idea, Captain?”
>You gazed back intently, racking your brain for anything that could help you.
>There were nothing else.
“Hold on girls.” you said, realizing this might be the last thing you got to say to them. “The beyond is expecting us.”
>”Anon!” Twilight exclaimed, but you stopped her.
>A sigh escaped you, feeling blood leave your head as the reality of the situation set in.
>You had to take another hold of the railing as you tried to overcome your dizziness.
>This was all new to you, a situation where you were faced with absolute certain death.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t fix you, Twilight.” you said after a moment. “I’m sorry it had to end like this.”
>The ship’s frame creaked under the sudden and intense forces exerted upon it by the engines.
>As they roared with the last of their life, you saw large chunks of steel fling off Durandals snubbed nose as it started careening forward.
>Newhaven came into view as the handicapped ship started turning.
>The ship reached terminal velocity as it skimmed the atmosphere, surfing on thin air.
>You looked down onto the endless forests one last time, and just as you were about to look away, you saw it in the distance.
>The shattered, mauled husk of the Excalibur illuminated the twilight skies as it lit ablaze in the moon’s embrace.
>The cone of fire surrounding it made it hard to see, but through the blinding flash you noticed several impact points along its hull.
>You smiled as you observed it crash from the sky like this.
>It broke your heart to see it like that, and in the intense gravity forces, you managed to pull a final salute for the ship as it faded from the window.
>”I’m scared Anon.” Fluttershy said next to you, climbing in under your arm as you packed it over her shoulders.
“Me too.” you replied.
>”First officer, I’d like you to send a message home.” Lyra said as the young girl turned around. “Tell them we won’t be home for dinner after all, but at least we stabbed the enemy and twisted the knife too.”
>Without hesitation, the officer turned her attention back to her console.
>Lyra locked eyes with you.
>It felt like you had an understanding, and you knew why she was doing this.
>This wasn’t an easy decision for her, sacrificing her ship like this, but it was the only decision she could make.
>Every means of escaping this ship had been blocked, and life support was rapidly failing.
>It was either this or suffocation.
>”Gravity sling complete. Energy levels at 14% and rapidly decreasing.”
>”Can you maintain acceleration?”
>”Aye.”
>”Then let’s show them a thing or two about Equestrian customs.”
>Lyra pulled at her jacket lining, making sure it sat properly, and brushed a flake of ash from her shoulder.
>The gravity field had finally caught up to the intense velocities, but you could still feel the ship slowly tearing itself apart.
>Looking out ahead, you could see the jagged Eaters fire a volley of massive beams at you.
>While most of them missed miraculously, those that did hit didn’t manage to slow you down.
>One of the beams pierced straight through the left wing and detonated the missile racks, ripping it off from the main body, but the Ensign expertly corrected for the loss of mass.
>You were actually quite impressed by these officers devotion to a suicide maneuver.
>The closer you got, the more apparent it was how absolutely massive those ships were.
>Their rusty bodies and uneven hull made these machines seem like ancient superstructures.
>Durandal didn’t falter regardless, and the massive jaws of the Eater ahead approached rapidly as the ship increased in speed.
>”Ready core detonation sequence!” Lyra commanded.
>With the push of a button, the bridge became soaked in red.
>The Eater’s mouth now fully enveloped you, and you could see hundreds of layers of teeth rotating in opposite directions like a giant inwards drill.
>As you got closer, you could see what these machines actually were like.
>There was a giant funnel at the bottom of the jagged abyss, leading into what seemed like a cosmic furnace.
>You realized these machines weren’t just destroying worlds, they were collecting its materials.
>Your explorer instincts kicked in, and you found yourself wondering where they were bringing these countless tonnes of rock and dirt.
>”On my mark Ensign!”
>A pair of arms packed itself around your waist and kicked you off your train of thought, and as you looked down you saw Fluttershy taking a firm hold of you.
>It didn’t take long before the rest of the crew had clumped themselves together around you.
>Nobody said a thing as the huge ship wrapped itself around you, and light slowly faded from the world.
>You could see the bladed teeth start to churn away at the tip of the wings outside, flinging metal shards in all directions.
>The ship shook violently as both of the remaining wings snapped off at their base, colliding with the walls of the Eater and became crushed from the sheer force of its cogs.
>The tiny capsule which was the remainder of the previously massive ship suddenly gained a boost of power now that it was unobstructed and plummeted into the abyssal furnace.
>There were only seconds left before the machine would tear you apart, and the captain stood up despite the unstable gravity and pointed forward.
>She walked forward next to the helm and stared the beast directly down its throat.
>There was a faint feeling of admiration for the captain, but in reality you knew she was just as terrified as you.
>”Now!”
>You held your breath as you heard the detonation alarm.
>Then all went silent.
>No sounds could be heard, nothing could be seen or felt or smelled.
>You tried opening your eyes, but it felt like you had none.
>And then came the warmth.
>It was an instant flash of heat, and all that was black turned white.
>A weak rumbling was heard in the distance which increased in strength rapidly.
>Eventually it became all-consuming until you felt like you couldn’t take it anymore, but you weren’t able to scream.
>Still you felt their arms around you, refusing to let go.
>And then, silence once more.
>Only this time, it was cold.
>And dark.
>And lonely.


Day -4183 (Day 283 of the year 2016)

>Crimson leaves had already blanketed the entire region.
>Surprisingly, the only rain you had seen for a while had only been light, playful drizzles.
>Nearly every student had clumped together in front of the cafeteria window watching something outside like curious children, leaving every table in the hall empty.
>You scoffed.
>Whatever it was, it didn’t interest you.
>”Woo! Kick his butt!” a particularly lively pink-haired girl shouted, jumping up and down like a hyperactive adolescent.
>Had you known the first year would be like this, maybe you would have applied to another school.
>The sound of scratching plastic caught your attention, and as you moved to see what the sound was, you found yourself face to face with a girl you had never seen before.
>She didn’t seem to notice you at first, carefully tending to her tray as she started picking apart her food.
>You could only stare at her with morbid curiosity as she dissected her sandwich like a science project, fishing off a soggy tomato with her index and thumb and placing it into an empty cup holder.
>She then put the loaf back on and lifted it up to take a bite without even acknowledging you.
>Right before she put it in her mouth, she stopped, closing her jaw with a snap.
>”It’s rude to stare, you know.” she suddenly said, looking up at you.
>The glittering, violet eyes met with yours in an awkward stare-down, and you found yourself growing even more curious.
>They weren’t so much intense as they were observing and inherently analytical, and honestly, really pretty.
“E-excuse me?”
>”You were staring.”
“I know…”
>”Do you usually stare at people?”
“I wasn’t expecting company.”
>”Ugh.” she put down her food and rested her head against her fist, drearily looking at the excited crowd at the end of the room.
>”Anything to get away from those knuckleheads.”
>You huffed in agreement.
“Too much noise.”
>”Apparently some rainbow-haired scene kid on the athletics team got into a fight with another jock.”
“Really.” you said sarcastically as you took a bite of your own half-eaten meal.
>”The name’s Twilight by the way.” the strange girl reached out a hand across the table.
>You looked at it for a while, as you’ve never seen anyone at a high school introduce themselves with a handshake.
>Still, you grabbed it with a humorous smile.
>”Twilight Sparkle.”


Day ##&EPISODE::ERROR$3

>The familiar sound of the door opening caught your attention.
“Hielluu?” you yelled, listening for a reply.
>”I’m home!” a bright, bubbly voice called out.
>Around the corner appeared a pink-haired woman and she made her way across the living room floor.
>With a heavy sigh, she plonked herself down into the couch next to you, spreading her legs across the table and leaning her head as far back as possible.
>”Great jimny, those customers just don’t stop coming!”
“Shouldn’t that be a good thing, dear?”
>Pinkie Pie rolled her head around to meet your smiling eyes.
>”Yeeeaaah, I guess so. But I’m exhausted!”
>You gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, dragging your fingers lovingly through her surprisingly silky hair.
>It always looked like a mess, but in reality, as you had realized so many years ago, it was like touching cotton candy made out of gossamer thread.
>She closed her eyes, grinning at you with that signature happy attitude.
“Well, I hope you’re not too exhausted for tonight.”
>She sat up abruptly, a concerned expression on her face.
>”Oh, honey, no! I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”
>You mouthed the words ‘thank you’ and gave her another smooch before getting up from the couch.
>It had been so long since last time you saw the others, now that they all were close by at the same time, you had called in a little reunion to catch up.
>They were all so busy around the world that you never got to see each other on a regular basis.
>The door to the bedroom came open with ease, and you walked into the cool tempered room, heading for the closet.
>’SHKRRT’.
>The sudden noise made you jump, and you turned around.
>It felt like it appeared right inside your ear, but behind you the room was empty.
>You were about to start chewing up Pinkie for playing another prank on you, but she was nowhere to be seen.
>Then, a slight motion turned your attention to the window.
>To your surprise, there was a cat outside, its black coat shimmering in the sunlight.
>It stared at you with a look you hadn’t seen before in any animal.
>Its eyes was seething with some strange, intense emotion.
>It stood perfectly still as you stared back, its tail slowly swaying from side to side.
>The more you looked at it, the more uneasy you started feeling.
>Then the realization hit you like a pile of bricks.
>Its entire face was covered in one large, unblinking eye staring deep into your soul.
>”Mroow.” its eye split apart in the middle, revealing a row of jagged teeth as the feline called out behind the glass.
”YEEP!” you screamed at the hellish creature, falling backwards.
>You landed with a muted thump on the carpet floor with your heart beating hard and your breath heavy.
>The cat leapt down from the window into the garden and scurried across the grass like a frightened insect.
>Just as Pinkie Pie barged through the door, it slid into a bush and was gone.
>”Oh my gosh!” your wife shouted out as she ran over to you. “Are you okay?!”
“I… I’m fine. I think.”
>She helped you to your feet as you took to your head.
>You could feel your skin pulsating under your palm.
“I think I just need to lay down for a bit.”
>”Maybe we should stay home tonight?” Pinkie suggested caringly, but you shook your head.
“No! No. We’re going.”
>For some reason you felt an insatiable pull to see your friends.
>You brushed it off, thinking that you were just missing them all so much.
>”Alright, bubblepop, but don’t push yourself.”
>You nodded as you sat down on the edge of the bed.
>”I’ll get you some water.”
>You smiled as Pinkie rushed out the door.
>Sometimes it didn’t feel like you deserved her, the way she always cared so much for you.
>’Oh no!’ she would always say. ‘Don’t worry too much, I don’t need to be pampered with!’
>You chuckled, looking over at the closet.
>Now which dress should you wear?

>The street lights illuminated the whole island as dusk crept over the skies.
>From the hill you could see the coastline as a long strip of light weaving its way across the border, separating you from the dark ocean.
>High above, the moon peeked through a thin layer of puffy clouds, reflecting its rays across the still waves.
>Sea enveloped you on all sides, and the mainland was too far away to see, so the community was left to fend for themselves.
>In all the years you had lived here though, you had always thrived, relishing in the isolation and sense of family you had grown with the other residents.
>”Are you coming?”
>Further down the street, Pinkie pie stood patiently waiting for you.
>Her silver blue shirt fit her like a glove, and she kept the two topmost buttons undone due to the tropical warmth.
>You always felt it was a bit tacky, but she never listened.
>Besides, a little exposed chest never hurt anyone.
>You nodded and kept walking.
>As always, she waited patiently until you were on her side before proceeding.
>It wasn’t far until you reached the bakery, which you had managed to reserve all to yourselves for the remainder of the evening.
>A gleeful feeling welled up inside you, and you grabbed a hold of Pinkies arm, leaning onto her shoulder.
>She might be a little shorter than you, but everything about her felt like a walking pillow.

>”Anon!”
>You rounded the corner and saw Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy standing outside the venue waiting patiently.
>As soon as she saw you, Twilight ran over and threw herself around you, much to your surprise.
>”Oh, it’s been so long! How are you?”
>She eventually let you go with a hearty pat on the back while Pinkie Pie fished out a pair of keys to unlock the front door of the bakery.
“I’m doing well, thank you!” you answered, looking over to the others. “I’m so happy you all came!”
>”Well…” Fluttershy said, staring into the ground. “Not everyone.”
>You frowned.
>It was true, you were missing one, but there were just some things you couldn’t forgive.
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but don’t let it hold you down.”

>Pinkie ushered everyone inside and switched on the lights.
>The shop still smelled sweet of pastries, the heat from the ovens still lingering even now.
>Pinkie headed straight for the kitchen behind the counter as she entered the bakery, disappearing behind a wall.
>You and the four others sat down at one of the tables.
>As you looked at the checker-marked tabletop, a strange feeling of deja-vu washed over you.
>A smile spread across your face as you remembered all the late nights you had spent at this table when you were younger.
>The fluorescent lights rapidly blinking as they struggled to switch on contrasting with the full moon rising over diminishing, pink skies evoked strong nostalgic feelings deep inside you.
>You sighed as you leant back into the deep red couch, looking at your friends exchanging remarks and telling each other what they have been up to.
>You had been feeling a bit agitated lately, but now that you were surrounded by your old friends you finally found a sense of peace you could relish in.
>Just as you were about to reply to a question about your choice to stay behind on the island, a deafening roar shook the bakery.
>You recoiled at the sudden sound, whipping your head around searching for the source.
>Pinkie emerged from the kitchen with a tray of milkshake glasses, but stopped and dropped her jaw once she looked outside.
>You followed her stare and became blinded by an incredibly bright light coming from the street.
>The racket revved up again before abruptly stopping and the light disappeared.
>As your eyes adjusted to the light, you shot up from the couch in shock.
>An obsidian black, two wheeled machine had rolled up to the sidewalk outside, the street lights reflecting off the metallic finish on the dozen steel pipes twisting around its motor block.
>A leather boot smacked down on the pavement, kicking up a stand from under the massive motorbike and leaning it down in it.
>Next to the boot landed a glooming cigarette, and a second foot slammed down on it, squishing it against the cooling street.
>The figure moved their gloved hands to their head, dragging their fingers through a messy, multi-colored mullet, then pulled off the gloves and crammed into the pockets of a leather jacket.
>In the orange light of the streetlamp, you could see the engravings of two wings on the back of the jacket spanning the distance from the shoulders and down the back.
>The person then looked back over their shoulder, but you already knew who it was.
>”What’s she doin’ here?” Applejack asked, but you were unable to answer her.
>Then, the biker locked eyes with you, and you stared at each other for a while, you in confusion and her expression completely unfazed.
>She didn’t seem to care that much that five people were staring her down.
>Instead, she nonchalantly wandered over to the door and swung it open.
>The cheery bell ringed brightly as she headed inside.
>Without acknowledging any of you, she headed for the counter and climbed onto a bar stool.
>”One Corona please.” she said in a monotonous voice.
>Pinkie still stood there with the tray in her hands, staring at the woman.
>She elevated her gaze when she didn’t get a response, looking directly into Pinkie’s eyes.
>”You do have that here, right?”
>Suddenly, Pinkie returned to life, propping down the tray on a nearby bench and dragging a translucent, yellow bottle out from a small fridge.
>She placed it in front of her, taking a step back and pretended to mix ingredients into the tray of now lukewarm milkshakes.
>The woman took a swig of the bottle in peace, staring directly ahead.
>”If you’re gonna say something, just say it.” she spoke up unexpectedly without diverting her gaze.
>You stood there for a second, unsure how to react.
>”All these years, and you have the gall…” Rarity finally spoke up, rage boiling behind her calm facade.
>She didn’t seem to react, but took another swig of her beer.
>”You think you can just come in ‘ere after what ya did, Rainbow Dash?”
>Applejack stormed across the tiled floor, her steps heavy with anger.
>As she approached, Rainbow Dash swung over her chair facing her old friend, a smirk appearing as she cracked her knuckles.
>Applejack stopped a few inches from her, gritting her teeth as she stared down on the shorter woman.
>”Please don’t fight in here!” Pinkie squeaked as she covered her face in terror.
>”I was thirsty.” Rainbow Dash responded, tipping her head to crack her neck as well.
>”You lucky I ain’t callin’ the cops on you, girl.”
>”Maybe you should? Haven’t had that happen yet.”
“Alright, enough!” you shouted, your voice reverberating through the small room.
>Applejack stared at the biker for a moment longer before breaking eye contact.
“What are you doing here, RD?” you asked dejectedly.
>She sat back down on the bar stool, returning her attention to her bottle.
>”You say that every time.” she said under her breath before interrupting herself with a mouthful of the bottle’s contents.
>”Excuse me?” you said, confused by her statement.
>”What did I do?” she asked out loud, getting up from her chair again while throwing her arms to the side. “Does anyone know?”
>You stood and watched her walk around the room while glancing over at everyone.
>”Are you even asking that question?” Rarity said.
>You could tell she felt quite offended by Rainbow Dash’s sudden brash attitude.
>”Can anyone give me a straight answer?”
>She seemed to ignore your purple-haired friend completely.
>”Well… I…” Applejack looked down into the table, furrowing her brows as if she thought hard. “I can’t… seem to recall...”
>The biker smacked her hands together, pointing at the farmer.
>”Fucking great!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, seemingly slightly agitated. “Why am I even here? How did any of you get here? Where did this island even come from? Am I the only one asking questions around here?”
>The others only stared at her as she strode across the checkered floor rambling aloud.
>”Ooh!” Pinkie suddenly perked up cheerfully. “Is this one of those quizzes?”
>Rainbow Dash stared at Pinkie in disbelief for a while, and then seemed to lose her burst of energy in an instant, going back to her depressed self while waving dismissively.
>”Fucking forget it.” she sighed, swiping her bottle from the counter.
>Just as she was about to head out of the door, she locked eyes with you, an unusual determined look in them.
>”Just think about it, Anon. All this around you, where did it all come from? I can’t go through this one more time.”
>Before you could answer, the street outside was flooded with light and noise.
>All you could do was stare as the roaring machine boosted off over the hill towards the coast.
>You followed the light for a while until it was out of sight, still not sure what she meant by that last sentence.

>The rest of the night was spent mulling over the encounter you had, only partially paying attention to the conversation around you, which grew increasingly more cheery the further from the visit time went.
>As the night grew older, you eventually parted ways with your friends, heading home together with Pinkie Pie.
>They were to stay in a hotel for the rest of the week as a storm was brewing on the mainland making it impossible for them to head back just yet.
>As you wandered the empty street with Pinkie at your side, you couldn’t help but think about one of the things Rainbow Dash had said.
>’Am I the only one asking questions around here?’
>The sentence kept bothering you, as did all of her disturbed ramblings.
>Looking over at your wife, it didn’t seem like she was bothered too much by what happened, at least not on the surface.
>You frowned.
“Where did this island come from…?” you mumbled to yourself.
>”’scuse me?” Pinkie responded, looking over at you.
“It’s kind of just always been here, hasn’t it?”
>”Well, yeah, it’s not like they could build this place overnight.”
“Yes, but who’s in charge? What’s our street name? I can’t seem to remember anything…”
>”Oh, are you still worrying about Rainbow Dash’s quiz? That was weird.”
>You sighed.
“I can’t get over some of the things she said.”
>”I’m sure it was late and both of you are probably tired. Besides, you did take a nasty fall this morning. Let’s get you some sleep.”
>Pinkie’s arm wrapped around your shoulder, pulling you tightly into her warm embrace.
>You smiled, always delighted by how much such an eccentric woman could care for another person like this.
>The moon sat high like a watchful eye as you walked home together.
>The experience you had still haunted you, but at least you could look forward to a good night’s sleep.


Day ##&EPISODE::ERROR$4

>’OFF LIMITS’
>You looked at the plaque hanging on the chain link fence with its big bold letters screaming out at you.
>Behind the grove you could see the silver walls of the old observatory standing vigilant at the top of the hill.
>You’ve never seen it in use, and the fence had always kept you out, so it was impossible to see beyond the canopy of trees surrounding the building.
>The island was a heavily populated area, so the chances were always there that you just personally didn’t know anyone who worked there.
>”You coming, gumdrop?” Pinkie called out to you further down the trail.
>You looked behind you and saw her stand in the middle of the glade, patiently waiting for you.
>Behind her you could see the backdrop of the sky waking to life amidst a gradient of pink, yellow and blue.
>The sun just barely peeked over the horizon, casting long shadows across the city below.
>At this time it was possible to look directly at it while the sun rays was still scattering over the planet’s curvature, and you could see its true form with the naked eye.
>It wouldn’t take long before it became obscured by the shower of light which flooded the region during its ascent across the clouds.
>Morning walks always helped to invigorate you, and after yesterday this was no exception.
>Still, even after sleeping on it, you couldn’t help but feel more convinced that Rainbow Dash had a point.
>Either you had something undiagnosed or there were serious gaps in your memory which you couldn’t explain by conventional means.
“See that?” you said, pointing towards the cacophony of colors donning the skies as you walked along the path towards Pinkie.
“Color is determined by wavelength. The quicker a photon particle vibrates, the further up the color spectrum it appears.”
>You stood next to Pinkie as she looked out across the ocean with you.
“The longer distance a particle has to travel through the atmosphere, the further apart its wavelength becomes. that’s why the skies turn red during sunrise and sunset.”
>”Wow, you sure know a lot of science-y stuff.”
“I know.” you answered, looking her directly into her bright blue eyes. “But I don’t know how.”

>”So then I told her, ‘It’s in the refrigerator!’”
>A bubbly burst of laughter exploded from the corner of the table as Pinkie Pie rolled around on the red pillows of the bench.
>You always found it cute how she saw humor in the most mundane things.
>At least the rest of the table didn’t seem to find it as humorous, only letting out some polite snorts to help alleviate the awkward potential hanging in the air.
>The table eventually fell silent, with a few satisfied sighs here and there.
>”It’s good being back around friends again, I must say.” Rarity said after placing her glass down.
“How long are you planning on staying anyway?” You asked, leaning over so that you could see her behind the bulky frame of Applejack. “I hear the weather’s getting pretty rough back on the mainland.”
>”We could be looking at the rest of the week at least.” Fluttershy butted in from the other side.
>You nodded, staring vacantly out of the window.
>The rest of your friends kept talking as you looked the other way.
>There was an ominous atmosphere hanging in the air, and you were almost convinced you were the only one who sensed it.
>The deeper you looked into things, the more you could see reality crack open, and if it hadn’t been for Rainbow Dash you would have been convinced you were going insane.
>You saw the reflection of yourself in the window wincing.
>It was either the sweet smell of the milkshake or the uncomfortable temperature inside the shop, but something made a strange emotion well up inside you.
>It was quickly identified as disgust, and you felt blood rush out of your head as your skin turned cold.
>The friendly banther quickly turned to distant echoes as you felt yourself drifting away, your vision becoming blurry and darkened.
>That’s when you felt something else welling up inside you.
>You turned around in a hurry, tapping the shoulder of Applejack rapidly.
>The farmer turned around with a friendly smile, but when she saw your pale face she let you pass by her without hesitation.
>You bolted towards the bathroom, trying your best to stay calm, but there was no way you could wait any longer.
>As soon as you reached the toilet bowl, your stomach convulsed violently.
>A stream of foul-tasting fluids erupted from your throat, splashing against the newly washed porcelain.
>You sat there for a few minutes, at the mercy of the muscle spasms in your bowels.
>A comforting hand eventually slid onto your back.
>You recognized the gentle touch, but was unable to voice your appreciation as another wave of acid forced itself out.
>”You okay there, jelly bean?” Pinkie said as she patted you on the shoulder.
>You shook your head.
>This was definitely an unnatural reaction.

>”Well, I’m sure this must come as a surprise to both of you!”
>The nurse sitting ahead of you looked back in excitement.
>You weren’t really sure what was so enthralling about this nausea.
>She placed a wooden plate on the desk in front of her, a pile of documents with incoherent scribbles clipped onto it.
>You sat across from the beaming red-haired woman with your arms in your lap, nervously looking around at all the plastic replicas of body parts lying around the office.
>The wooden chairs you and Pinkie Pie had been offered to sit on was nothing spectacular, and it almost felt your behind start to meld with the material.
>”So, what is it?” Pinkie said next to you anxiously.
>The nurse only smiled back, apparently not sure where to start.
>”Anon.” she said, looking you in the eyes. “You’re pregnant!”


Day ##&EPISODE::ERROR$5

”Don’t you just find it strange that I can’t even remember our wedding day?”
>You walked across the living room, one hand gesturing sporadically and the other supporting the weight of the small lump on your belly.
>”Don’t worry too much about it.” Pinkie said with complete understanding. “You’re under a lot of stress right now, I don’t hold it against you.”
“Well I’ve noticed you’re always making excuses for me as well. If I didn’t know better I’d say you were in on it.”
>Pinkie got up from the couch and put her hands around your shoulders, facing you toward her and preventing you from wandering any further.
>”I would never do something like that to you.”
>She smiled and smooched you on the tip of your nose.
>Normally you’d appreciate her sweet gesture, but you only kept staring at her.
“I don’t understand why you’re not more concerned about this. Who your parents are, what school we went to, what this island is even called...” you sighed and leaned your forehead against Pinkie’s.
>”Why would I?” she said softly. “I’m not concerned about that stuff as long as you’re here.”
>Suddenly you felt as if a stake had pierced your heart, and you were filled with regret.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” you whispered. “Here I am worrying about all these stupid things and I didn’t even stop to think about you.”
>You felt as if Pinkie was about to say something, but then a loud slam interrupted her.
>Both of you recoiled and turned towards the front door, which had been kicked open.
>In came, much to your surprise, Rainbow Dash.
>She barged through the entrance and instantly spotted you and pinkie standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room.
>Without a word, she waved and closed the door with her heel, and you could see a green glass bottle in her other hand half empty.
>Rainbow Dash strode across the floor without even bothering to take her boots off, then dumped herself down into a recliner.
“What are you doing here?” you finally said after having become speechless at the sudden intrusion. “How do you know where we live?”
>”Oh I knew since, like, 26 cycles ago maybe?”
“What?”
>“‘Sup? Did you get the news yet?”
>The brash woman leant back in the chair and took a large sip of her beer as she planted her feet on the table.
>Thankfully her soles were relatively spotless, so there wasn’t a lot of mud splashed everywhere.
>The faint stench of burnt leather and alcohol stung in your nose.
“What news?” you asked, still having a hard time catching up to what was happening.
>”That you’re pregnant of course.”
>The way she said it so casually made the situation even more strange.
>You let go of Pinkie and stared wide-eyed at Rainbow Dash.
“How did you-” you started, but was unable to finish the sentence.
>”Yeah, I can count on one hand the amount of times this didn’t happen.”
>Rainbow Dash got up from the recliner and started spelunking around the open living area.
>”So any closer to the truth? Discovered what’s beyond the fence? Through the rabbit hole?”
>”You're not making any sense, Dashie.” Pinkie eventually said. “And that’s coming from me.”
>”Oh come on!”
>The biker put her bottle down on a nearby table and approached you.
>”Isn’t it obvious? You’re not asking enough questions!”
>”I think you need to leave.”
>”Where are we from? How did you get here? Why is there always a storm?”
>”Rainbow Dash!”
>You looked at Pinkie Pie in shock.
>Seeing her burst out in rage like this was something you had never witnessed before.
>It made you a little terrified, but you were glad that anger wasn’t directed at you.
>Pinkie closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
>It didn’t seem like it had affected Rainbow Dash though.
>She calmly picked up her bottle and walked past you.
>”See what I mean, Anon?” she finally said as she stood before the door. “Every cycle their hatred against me gets worse. You better wake up soon.”
>The next thing you knew, Rainbow Dash’s glistening leather jacket disappeared out the main door.
>”I’m sorry.” Pinkie said next to you. “I’m sorry if I scared you.
>You only shook your head.
>”Don’t worry about it.”


Day ##&EPISODE::ERROR$6-€KILLAFPRRT

>You tossed yourself around below your blanket, your eyes forcefully closed as you attempted to put yourself to sleep.
>The massive bulk you had in your abdomen made it difficult, but that wasn’t what bothered you.
>Rather, it was the thought of your waning memory.
>At first you had worried that you were developing amnesia, but you quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
>There were large chunks of your childhood missing, several years of your high school and university days you couldn’t recall.
>It felt as if someone had just cut them away, and all your experiences during that time had vanished.
>And no matter how hard you thought about it, you couldn’t for the life of you remember how you ended up here or how you got married to Pinkie Pie.
>There were so much of your life missing that you hadn’t realized, and you needed to know how.
>Your eyes shot open as you suddenly realized something.
“Pinkie!” you wheezed and grabbed her shoulder, shaking her until she woke up.
>”Wha-? Mr. Scruffington, not now…”
“Pinkie, I need to ask you something.”
>She slowly opened her droopy eyes and looked at you expectedly.
“Twilight and the others arrived by airplane, right?”
>Pinkie nodded as she pushed herself up from the mattress.
>You stared down at the bedsheets, feeling blood leave your head for the third time this week.
>Only this time it wasn’t due to nausea.
>You locked eyes with the her, an anxious look staining your brow.
>And then it seemed like Pinkie realized the conundrum as well, as her eyes grew wide.
”There is no airport on this island.”

>You wandered around the living room again.
>This had become a bit of a habit for you, but your head was filled with implications and you had a hard time staying calm.
>Especially now that you had another person’s life to consider, all these strange anomalies seemed all the more daunting.
>The corners of your mind which should be occupied by how to make your soon to be newborn child’s life the best it can be, only pondered the reality of this island.
>You still weren’t completely sure what Rainbow Dash was trying to tell you.
>Most of what she said felt like insane ramblings, although in the context of all these realizations you’ve had recently, it was starting to make sense.
>The more you questioned the things around you, the more this world seemed to fall apart.
>”I think I’m having an existential crisis.” Pinkie said from the corner of the stairwell.
>She seemed uncharacteristically devoid of enthusiasm where she sat crouched with her head in her hands.
>The house seemed dark compared to the bright sunshine flowing through the windows.
>Most of the lights were off, and the monochrome colors meant to accentuate a feng shui inspired design throughout the house now only seemed muted and lifeless.
>Even Pinkie Pie seemed lacking in her usual bright attire.
>”All the things you’ve talked about these past few days are starting to make more and more sense.” She said, leaning back against the wall. “I don’t even know what this is supposed to mean.”
“Me neither.” you mumbled. “But I think we have to wait until the start of this next ‘cycle’ to find out.”
>You sat down on one of the lower steps, finding yourself surprisingly winded after the short distance you covered.
“You haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, have you?”
>”Well, I’m not really getting hungry anymore.” she said absently.
>You placed a trusting hand on her knee, giving her a weak smile.
“Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.”

>You tipped the glass on its side in a futile attempt to balance it on its edge.
>The warm tropical breeze swept through the plaza and in under the parasols shielding you from the burning lantern in the sky.
“Didn’t you…” you started, not sure how to transfer your thoughts into words that wouldn’t seem hurtful.
>You started gesturing towards your chest in an attempt to illustrate.
”Didn’t you used to have a… thing in your chest before?”
>Twilight looked at you curiously, but it seemed like she gave it a genuine thought.
>”A thing?”
>The memory of something being lodged in your friend’s ribs was blurry, but you were almost certain that it had been that way at some point.
>Suddenly, her face lit up as she remembered something.
>”Oooh, you must mean that tumor I had!”
“Was that it? Gah, my memory has been screwy lately, sorry if it’s a weird thing to ask about.”
>Twilight giggled and looked down into her notebook again.
>”Not at all, I don’t mind. It’s been a long time since I went through that hell.”
>You sat in silence and observed her jot some illegible things between the lines on the pages.
>It seemed like a collection of equations and complex calculus which you couldn’t even hope to understand.
>The longer the silence dragged on, the more empty the plaza seemed to become.
>When you looked around the different shops inside the cobblestone circle, there were not a soul to be seen anywhere.
“What are you working on?” you said, desperate to distract yourself from the feeling of solitude creeping up on you.
>Twilight looked up from her work again, then checked around to see if anyone was within listening range.
>”Okay, so this is gonna sound a bit weird…” she started, leaning across the table. “But have you noticed how things are a little… off?”
“Off?” you parroted.
>Had she realized as well?
>”Yeah, ever since I came here, something didn’t seem right. So I started looking into things…”
“U-huh?” for every word you came in closer over the table.
>You were reluctant to spill all of your thoughts at once.
>It was important that you heard her side of the story first.
>”The guys back home shut me down when I asked them about it, so I had to do some digging on my own.”
“And?”
>”Well, if my math checks out we can expect a pretty strong heatwave in the next few days.”
>Your face went blank immediately.
>”The gulf running through this archipelago is splitting hot and cold air between here and the mainland. It seems like that’s what’s causing those terrible storms… are you okay?”
>You leaned back into your chair with a sigh, going back to balancing your glass again.
“Yeah, sorry, I just wasn’t expecting that.”
>”I’m a meteorologist, what did you expect?” Twilight giggled again, apparently finding your sudden gloomy attitude amusing.
>You waved dismissively and emptied the shallow puddle left in your glass.
“Don’t worry about it, Twi. I was just thinking about something.”
>”Okay, well if I’m right this heatwave shouldn’t be too bad. Just remember to stay hydrated when I’m gone alright?”
>You smiled and nodded, but inside you were a bit disappointed.
>You wanted the others to conclude the same things you had more for yourself than for their sake.
>Now it was starting to feel like you were the only one around here which realized these abnormalities.
>Maybe you were going crazy after all...


Day ##&EPISODE::ERROR$7

>”It was so good seeing you both again!” Twilight said as she came out of your hug.
“Well, I’m just glad the weather cleared up.” you smiled, patting your purple-haired friend on the shoulder. “Say hi to your brother for me!”
>You waved toward the group after saying your goodbyes as they headed down the street with their luggage in tow.
>The multicolored brigade disappeared quickly over the hillside and was soon out of view.
>When you couldn’t see them anymore, your smile quickly faded and you turned to Pinkie Pie.
>Rapid movement was made a little hard by the swollen mound on your stomach.
>You already felt it taking its toll on your back.
>It was now about the size of a beach ball, and not too different in weight either.
>”Now what?” Pinkie asked you.
“Sorry.” you said, shaking your head after catching your breath. “I’m afraid we’ll just have to see until tomorrow.”
>”How are you so sure that we’ll still remember all of this? For all I know Dashie could just be pulling a huge prank on us.”
“I hope that’s now what’s happening here. If that is the case, I have a bone to pick with her tomorrow.”
>Pinkie turned around opposite of the street, now facing the large silver tower rising up from the swaying trees at the very top of the hill.
>It glittered in the sunlight, refracting the scorching light and scattering it all over the neighborhood.
>With everyone but you and Pinkie Pie gone, this place felt strangely devoid of life, almost like you were the only one in existence in this exact moment.
>But it was not a feeling of serenity and peace, but of solitude and loneliness.
>Maybe if Rainbow Dash had never shown herself, you wouldn’t be feeling this way right now.
>Part of you had started blaming her for this absent behaviour of yours.
>Suddenly a puff of air jumped out of your lungs as the huge lump kicked against your guts.
>You looked down in surprise while coughing.
>It was a strange experience, having your body move like that involuntarily.
>Pinkie seemed to hear you as well, placing a hand on your back to support you.
>”Well…” she said after you managed to get your breath back. “It’s either the baby or reality, cupcake…”

>The strip of black asphalt laid in complete silence between the rows of white-painted homes and lush, green yards.
>It almost felt like someone had taken a template for a house and repeated it over and over again down an endless road.
>Every garden, every fence, every car were all the same color and the same size.
>It was almost unbelievable that you hadn’t given it any thought before.
>The further you wandered down the empty street, the more you became convinced that you had never even been here before.
>The sun lined up perfectly with the street as it descended below the horizon, taking the daylight with it.
>A voice in your head kept telling you to not think too much about it, that it was all just hallucination and ideas you had too freely given in to.
>For once in your life, you decided not to listen.
>Now the sun stood as a burning torch at the end of the path, lighting the skies ablaze with a scorching, orange tone.
>Your hands started shaking against the pulsating mountain resting in your waist.
>But it was neither because of the cold nor this strange view.
>The lack of people or sounds made you feel more secluded than you had ever felt before.
>It was a strange sensation, but you could swear it felt familiar, like a distant memory of a dream or a deja vu from a past life.
>You looked around the street, but every window was covered up with white curtains, and the rooms beyond them were dark.
>When you faced toward the sun again, suddenly you found it hovering above the road, suspended in the air and casting a blinding light which reflected off the black, frozen tar.
>You could feel your heart starting to race, but you were unable to take your eyes off it.
>The longer you stared, the more its shape burned itself into your retinas.
>A white circle forever staining your sight.
>It was painful, but you couldn’t look away.
>Suddenly it started expanding, engulfing the street and eventually the houses and gardens.
>Soon you could see nothing but white hot flame covering your field of view.
Do you really wish the truth.
>Like a whisper in your ear, a voice appeared from the void.
>The hair on your neck stood up and you felt your spine tickle and an irresistible urge to move.
>Your eyes were still locked forward and your body frozen, no matter how much you tried to turn your head around.
>The voice didn’t as much ask as it stated a fact, even though it clearly proposed a question.
Do you really wish the truth.
>Now the voice felt like it came right next to you, whispering in your ear.
>This whole week had been spent trying to figure out the truth, you thought to yourself.
>You didn’t want to go through any more of this torture.
>You just wanted to get a grasp of what was real and not.
Very well. We will show you.


Day ##&EPISODE::ERROR$1

>You fell.
>Struck by utter panic, you flailed around wildly until you realized you were laying down.
>With a groan, you forced your eyes open and sat up.
>Your skin was coated in a thin layer of cold sweat, and you noticed you were breathing heavily.
>Clutching your chest, you felt your hearts incessant slamming against your ribs slowly decaying in strength as you forced yourself to calm down.
>That phenomenon was called a hypnic jerk.
>You remembered that.
>You remembered so much.
>How the fabric of space could be bent using high-intensity gravity fields, how some metal alloys could block a direct gamma ray burst, how fusing atoms could create sustainable energy.
>It felt like an empty part of your head had just filled up with knowledge you didn’t even know you had.
>You started looking around the dark room, searching for answers.
>Then, you noticed.
>To your left sleeping peacefully, was a messy puff of pink hair covered by a bedsheet which you could barely see through the darkness.
>The sound of her lightly breathing calmed your nerves significantly, and you sighed.
>Maybe it was all in your head after all.
>You smacked your palm into your forehead, chuckling at your own obsessive behaviour.
>It all made sense now.
>For all you knew, Rainbow Dash had been playing mind games with you, making you see things that weren’t there in the first place.
>You flopped down onto the mattress, feeling a great sense of stupidity wash over you.
>At least now that you realized, you could relax a little.
>The sound of your phone’s muffled vibration against the wooden nightstand caught your attention.
>Since you were already awake anyway, you reached over and grabbed it to check what it was and was surprised to see a text message from Twilight.
>”Wanted to let you know we landed a few minutes ago. On our way to the hotel now.”
>You smiled as you laid against the pillow.
>It was considerate of her to update you on their journey at least.
>Now you had one less thing to worry about.
>Right before you were about to put your phone down, another message appeared below the first one.
>As the text faded in through the snappy little animation on the screen, so did your smile, and your skin turned pale and cold.
>”Can’t wait for the reunion in two days!”
>With panicked and imprecise hands, you shakily flicked your hand up and dragged the notification bar down to reveal the date.
>Monday, july 5th 2028.
>Your hands started shaking uncontrollably, and the plastic and ceramic slate slid through your fingers and landed on the carpeted floor with a muted thump.
>With an empty expression, you dragged yourself up and sat on the edge of your bed, your arms and feet feeling weak.
>Your hands moved to your abdomen, grasping at empty air in an attempt to find your skin.
>The further towards you it moved, the more you felt like you were reaching inside your own body.
>Then suddenly, it came into contact with your solid, flat belly.
>Whatever used to be growing inside you was gone.
>The temperature dropped noticeably, but you didn’t acknowledge it.
>Only one thought filled your mind now.
>July 5th was one week ago.
>The cycle had begun anew, and you had to find Rainbow Dash.

>The room was gloomy and dim, even with the bright sunshine flowing through the windows.
>None of the overhead lights had been switched on, as you couldn’t be bothered.
>Any amount of added photon particles streaming into your eyes by reflecting off surfaces couldn’t brighten the mood you were stuck in.
>You shook your head and winced.
>It felt as if all this new knowledge you sat with only helped to sour this once bright island.
>Now that you had access to it all, you started feeling regret over everything you did since last week.
>You took another sip of your steaming coffee, but almost choked on it once you saw what came down the stairs.
>You quickly put the cup down as you desperately attempted to keep the scalding muddy water in your mouth during a coughing fit.
>Eventually, it proved to be futile, so you spit out the rest into your cup and tried your hardest not to faint from lack of oxygen.
>Once you were able to breathe again, you took another look at the alienating sight.
>At the bottom of the stairs stood what looked like Pinkie Pie, but her posture and attitude was completely different.
>She stared back at you with empty, curious eyes behind a curtain of waist-long, hot pink and completely straight strands of hair running down her back and obscuring half of her face.
>She stood still at the bottom of the stairs, quietly observing you as if you were a stranger to her.
>Whoever it was standing in your living room, every indication pointed towards it not being the wife you used to know anymore.
>Honestly, after the experience last night, you had begun opening up for any possibility.
“Good morning?” you tried, and gave her an awkward wave.
>She didn’t respond, but instead cocked her head to the side.
>Her expression didn’t change at all, still piercing you with those analytical, glacial blue eyes.
>After what felt like minutes of silence, she eventually made her way to the kitchen table.
>During her walk through the living room, she never once took her eyes off you.
>She moved quite elegantly with long, calculated strides, making every move she made seem intentional.
>At this point, it started to feel quite uncomfortable, but there was little you could do about it.
>”An...non.” she finally said, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from you.
>Her voice still sounded like the Pinkie Pie you knew, but it had been stripped of all spirit and personality.
>If you didn’t know any better, you’d say she had been wiped clean and returned to a blank state.
>That thought then gave you an epiphany.
“You’re not Pinkie, are you?”
>The woman across from you cocked her head again.
>”Who is… Pinkie?”
>You scoffed, picking up your cup again.
>The pieces were finally falling into place.
“You never were her, were you?”
>She didn’t respond, only sat there in silence and observed you have another attempt at your coffee.
“If you were…” you put down your drink before it reached your lips, leaning back into your chair and crossing your arms. “...You’d probably not have tried to persuade me as much during the last week.”
>The woman kept her silence going.
>The likeness she had to the real Pinkie Pie was stunning.
>She had the exact same face, the same body type, the same eyes.
>Yet, it felt as if everything that was Pinkie had left her body behind.
>You sighed, a slight feeling of dread washing over you.
>The only thing you could do now was hope the real Pinkie Pie was still out there and alive.
>Whatever ‘out there’ meant at this point.
>”Who is… Pin...kie?”
>You chuckled to yourself, even if the situation seemed a bit grim.
>Something about this creature seemed quite endearing for some reason, and her curiosity seemed so innocent and genuine.
“Well, what can I say.” you answered, your nerves starting to calm down. “She’s supposed to be my wife.”
>Maybe the thought that this place you found yourself in wasn’t the true reality was finally catching up to you.
>At least that conclusion made a lot of things more sensible than they used to.
>With the full extent of your knowledge back, it was easy to see past all the obscurities.
>It also felt like a haze had been lifted from your mind, making rational thinking all the more easier.
>You only hoped you could do the same for your other friends.
>”Wife…” the creature said, finally breaking eye contact and looking down into the floor.
“Yeah, you know… someone you’re married to. Someone you love.”
>You weren’t really sure how foreign these concepts were to someone like her, but you tried your best to explain anyway.
>”Love…”
>She seemed to think even harder on that one, and furrowed her brows.
>It was the first time you had seen her change that calculated stare for something else, but she was quickly back to her empty expression staring back at you.
“What are you anyway?” you asked, motioning towards her. “You’re not Pinkie at least.”
>”Not Pinkie.”
“Well, I’m not gonna call you Not Pinkie, that’s for sure.
>”Call me… Not Pinkie.”
“No, that’s exactly what I’m not going to do.”
>She cocked her head for the fourth time.
>It was clear that she understood what you said, but she just couldn’t grasp what you meant.
>The similarities between her and a blank AI was striking.
>Maybe this was some sort of self-aware biomechanical android.
>If that was the case, to create it was far beyond the capabilities of anyone you knew.
“What’s your… designation?” you tried, probing her for some sort of keyword.
>She stared back, unmoving amd unblinking.
“Your… serial number? Passcode? Registration key?”
>”My ID reads PiNK AmeN AI 3460g.” she finally said, as if the phrase was programmed into her.
>Guess you asked the correct question.
>That cleared up some of the mystery at least, you thought to yourself.
“How about Pinkamena for now?” you said, folding your hands over the table.
>She stared blankly at you for a second, but then a joyous smile spread across her face.
>”Pinkamena!” she said, beaming with pride.
>You weren’t sure if this was a preprogrammed emotion she was showing or if she actually felt something, but it was a welcome change from the stone-cold robotic personality you had been stuck with this morning.
>At least her happiness felt genuine and not fake, so you smiled back behind your cup.
>”I am… your wife?”
>You coughed again, splashing lukewarm brew over your chin.
>Pinkamena’s sincere eyes observed as you dragged your sleeve across your face.
>She did have a point though.
>Whatever you had been married to the past three years, it wasn’t Pinkie Pie.
>Whoever it was inside that shell had been wiped clean or erased, and now an empty canvas sat before you.
“Well… by definition I guess you are…”
>Suddenly, Pinkamena clapped her hands together, her hair bouncing around like a silk curtain as she grinned at you.
>”You are my husband!” she said ecstatically, her smile so earnest and filled with joy you couldn’t help but elicit a nervous laughter.
>This was going to be a long week.

>A seagull cried mockingly as it sailed far above the trees.
>It seemed to fly without purpose, but then it broke away from the winds, diving downwards against the calm waves.
>Right before it was about to collide with the water, it extended its wings, halting its descent and carefully landing in the silent ocean amidst a group of its kind.
>The birds shouted at each other as they fought for ownership of something floating on the surface.
>Their screams were the only companionship you had during your walk down the promenade separating the white beaches from the row of nondescript shops and storefronts facing the sea.
>The entire island seemed completely abandoned, as if everyone living here had just vanished in an instant.
>It was a bizarre experience, like you were the only other person to still live in this world.
>You probably would have been convinced you were had it not been for the regular updates you got from Twilight.
>”Anon!”
>And of course, there was Pinkamena.
>You greeted her as she crossed the street, making a calculated duck to avoid a paper bag which flew through the air.
>For a second, her long bangs were blown to the side, and you could spot both of her eyes at once.
>Once she stopped next to you, her hair was back to how it always was, covering half of her face and falling down her shoulders and back like something heavy had been tied to the tips.
“Did you find anything?” you asked her.
>She shook her head.
>”Short range scans picks up no lifesigns in the vicinity.” she stated as if she read it from a text file.
“So you have scanners now too…” you said under your breath, hoping she wouldn’t hear it.
>Despite your efforts, she cocked her head.
>”I have many functions, Anon. Would you like me to list them?”
“No!” you stopped her, clearing your throat when you realized your volume was probably a bit too loud. “No. It’s alright.”
>You patted her on the shoulder and kept walking.
>Pinkamena only stared at you with her signature empty expression before trotting after you.
>Much to your surprise, everything about her seemed so lifelike.
>Had you not known any better, you’d say she was all natural.
>The telltale signs that not everything about her was human, however, was her stiff movement and calculated speech patterns.
>She was also a lot more predictable than you had initially thought.
>At least for now.
>”Where are we going?” Pinkamena asked you as she appeared next to you.
>She had her hands folded behind her back as she bent forward, trying to get a better look at your face.
>Her flowing, deep pink dress complemented her well, topping the look off with a wide straw hat bound by a baby blue silk band.
>You weren’t really sure why she had chosen those clothes.
>Part of you wanted to ask her about it.
“Well…” you started, continuing to scout every window and alleyway you could as you went along the road. “We’re meeting some of my friends by the hotel.”
>”Friends…”
>Pinkamena’s brows furrowed again, as she always did when looking up something in her database.
>”Acquaintances. People you choose to spend more time around than others.”
“I consider them more than just acquaintances.” you chuckled. “But yes, you’ve got the basic idea.”
>Pinkamena seemed to think long and hard about the concept.
>It was hard to tell if she really were capable of emotion or not.
>She had clearly exhibited the ability to be happy, or at least imitate happiness.
>”I will study this further.” she said, swiveling her neck to face you and giving you a smile.
>You hadn’t decided if her sudden talkative attitude was a welcome change or not.

>You raised your arms as the small flock exited through the rotating hotel door.
“Welcome to my island of solitude!” you jokingly said, giving them all a big hug. “How was the trip?”
>”Awful.” Rarity scoffed, releasing you and tossing her meticulously curled hair over her shoulders. “I had to sit next to some awful creep who kept watching the same movie three times in a row!”
>”There was only one movie on that plane ‘darlin’’” Applejack said mockingly.
>Rarity pouted and smacked her hand into the farmer’s shoulder, eliciting a painful laugh from her friend.
>”I see you brought Pinkamena down with you!” Twilight pointed out.
>You raised your eyebrows in surprise.
“Wait, you two know each other?”
>”Of course, stupid! I was at your wedding, remember?”
>Of course, you didn’t.
>Your head was so fragmented and empty, it felt like you had traded your previous fuzzy memories for an encyclopedia of scientific knowledge.
>That wasn’t to say you remembered the past week vividly though.
>But everything before that was nonsensical or blocked except for your childhood and before you graduated from your university.
>”Good afternoon, Twilight!” Pinkamena stuttered politely in her typical synthetic way.
>None of your friends seemed at all by her unnatural and strange behaviour.
>They all seemed to treat her as if she was any other person.
>You felt relief that you didn’t have to explain yourself at least..
“Well then!” you said, getting everyone’s attention. “Shall we?”

>The first day of the week you had show  them around the island, giving them a tour of all the best places.
>You decided to do the same this time around as well.
>You couldn’t be sure if they were a part of this illusion as well or if they were trapped in the same delusional state you had been.
>You remember spending quite some time during your high school years hanging around these people, but at this point you weren’t even sure if you could trust those memories either.
“And this is The Gilded Goose. They’ve got some quality burgers.” you informed, gesturing towards the dark, empty building. “Well… when it’s not overtly abandoned, that is.”
>”I don’t know how you stand this solitude.” Rarity pointed out.
>”It seems kinda nice…” Fluttershy added quietly.
“You get used to-”
>You were interrupted by the sudden appearance of an aggressive roar far in the distance.
>Quickly you whipped around towards the road heading inlands, where you thought you heard the sound coming from.
>The racket came in long spurts, increasing in pitch over time and occasionally broken up and repeated.
>Then, through the fragmented wall of heat rising from the asphalt, a small silhouette appeared like an unidentifiable blob.
>You squinted your eyes in an effort to get a better look, but the only thing you could see was the vague figure bobbing around against the green forest background.
>It didn’t take long for it to get closer, and at the rate it approached, it was traveling quite fast.
“Is that…” you mumbled once the silhouette finally started to clear up.
>It passed through the shadow of a tall fern, and as it rushed over the empty street, there was no mistaking it.
>The signature shimmer of Rainbow Dash’s obsidian engine crashed through the scenery, her multicolored hair fluttering wildly in the winds.
>The screams of the bike’s pistons as they ignited the volatile fuel inside its chambers increased exponentially in volume as she grew closer.
>Before you knew it, she was only a few blocks down.
>Suddenly, she slammed the breaks, and the howl of her tires filled your ears as she came to a screeching halt next to you.
>”Anon!” she yelled, dragging off her helmet as fast as she could.
>You could see both excitement and fright in her eyes, which scared you a bit to begin with.
>”Something changed!” she shouted. “What did you do? Did you figure it out?”
>You stared at Rainbow Dash in confusion, then at your group of friends who stood huddled together sans Pinkamena, who only stood by and observed with curious eyes.
>Rainbow Dash seemed to also have turned her attention to the crowd, and pointed a shaking finger at Pinkamena.
>”Pinkie! She’s changed!”
“I think we need to talk, Dash.” you said, grabbing her shoulder. “Alone.”

>”You did it, didn’t you?!”
“Shhh!” you tried to quiet her down, but Rainbow Dash seemed ecstatic.
>”Anon, you have no idea how many times I’ve repeated the same days over and over again.”
>Her hands were shaking as she grabbed a firm hold of your arms.
>”Please tell me you get it.”
“I get enough to know that this isn’t the way things are supposed to be.”
>”Thank the throne!”
>Rainbow Dash tossed her head back and turned around before leaning against the brick wall behind her.
>A relieved groan could be heard over her shoulder before she looked back at you.
>”You have no idea how lonely I’ve been. It’s like trying to tell everyone a secret but nobody wants to admit it's true.”
“How long have you gone like this?”
>She shook her head, staring into the gravel underneath her.
>”Honestly, I’ve lost count. I’ve seen pretty much every outcome of this week possible since I became aware.”
“Look, we can talk about it once we get out of here.” you said, placing a supporting hand on her shoulder.
>She turned around with a friendly smile, dumping her back against the wall and crossing her arms.
>”How much do you remember from before this?” she asked.
“I dunno…” you reached around to your neck, still trying to make sense of your head. “My childhood up until the end of uni I think.”
>Rainbow Dash raised her brows and nearly dropped her jaw.
>”They didn’t give you more than that?”
“They?”
>”Hey, someone is in charge of this whole thing, what do you want me to call them?”
“Okay… I get it.”
>You looked down the alley and saw the concerned looks on your friends faces as they waited patiently by the road.
“How do we get out of here?”
>The biker sighed.
>”Honestly? I have no clue. But the others trust you. Ever since I became aware, this place has made every attempt at getting them angry at me, and it’s only gotten worse as time went on.”
“I noticed…” you said, recalling the last time she showed up to the reunion uninvited.
>”I think it’s their way of keeping me from helping them, so now that responsibility falls to you.”
>You nodded, still not sure exactly what you were supposed to do.
>Everything from here on out was new territory for you.
>At least you were smarter now.
>Maybe you could figure out some sciency stuff to break the others’ illusion.
>”I’ll show up at the reunion like I did last time.” Rainbow Dash finally said, strapping on her helmet. “We’ll take it from there. I’ve got something to take care of first.”
>You quietly observed her briskly make her way to her motorbike.
>She stopped on the sidewalk for a second, looking disheartened at her friends.
>It was difficult to tell, but it seemed like all of them, except Pinkamena, glared at her maliciously.
>She didn’t say a word, only glanced back with a sad glimmer in her eye.
>Then, she straddled her bike, and with a roar and a screech, she had disappeared in a cloud of dust.


Day ##&EPISODE::ERROR$2

>’OFF LIMITS’
>The days had become less fragmented now that you had become aware.
>You reasoned that it was because you saw past the absurdities you had previously accepted, but this wasn’t something you could prove.
>All you could do was come to terms with some things being strange.
>The silver tower stood vigilant through the glade, safely on the other side of the fence.
>You wondered how many times you had stared at the sign hanging there, how many cycles you had forgotten about.
>It was actually surprising to you how easily you had come to terms with your situation.
>Your role must have been critical whatever it was you were doing before you ended up here.
>”Anon.”
>Behind you stood Pinkamena with her unblinking eyes, observing your reaction to being torn from your thoughts.
>The view of the island expanded over the horizon with the sun refracting against distant rain clouds.
>Fragments of a rainbow were visible in the humid air carried over the ocean by faraway currents.
>Or maybe those currents were just fabricated to make your surroundings more believable.
>The evidence for this island being the only landmass around were prevalent.
“What do you know about this place?” you asked Pinkamena, looking at the building in the distance.
>”The structure is composed of aluminium and steel alloys, with traces of marble and wood.”
“Uhuh… That’s not really the answer I’m looking for.”
>You sighed, stepping down from the ledge you stood on.
>”I do not understand…”
>You struggled down from another ledge, obscuring the building even more behind mounds of dirt and grass.
”The tower… hasn’t seen use for a long time.” you groaned. “It’s pretty obvious from the creeping vines on the wall and the overgrown surroundings.”
>”I detect no lifesigns inside.”
“What did I just tell you?”
>You laid a hand on her shoulder as you walked past her down the gravel path.
>She didn’t seem to grasp your sarcasm, but didn’t make an effort to formulate a reply either.
“There’s no way to get on that side of the island. It’s like whoever put us in here didn’t bother building it.”
>”What is your point, Anon?”
>The weighty thumps of Pinkamena’s footsteps followed right behind you.
>Despite her slim, curvy frame, she was pretty heavy.
>You weren’t sure if it was due to the way she was built or if something else is at play, but you had no way of finding out.
>For all you know she could be a fully natural human with an AI supplanted into her.
>In which case, you could only cross your fingers and hope the real Pinkie Pie was alright.
“What I’m thinking is, if that side of the island doesn’t exist…”
>You stopped and turned around, staring your wife in the eye.
“...Why did they bother putting a tower there?”


Day ##&EPISODE::ERROR$3

>You stared out the window again.
>It had become somewhat of a habit, one that you should probably address sooner than later.
>What was it about windows anyway?
>”You alright there pal?” the voice steeped in southern upbringing sounded more concerned than usual.
>You took your eyes of the view to find your friends happily engaged in conversation.
>They must have been excited for this trip not only to visit you, but also to see each other again.
>Everyone seemed so immersed in this reality that you wondered how you would convince them to let go of it.
“Yeah.” you finally replied. “I’m fine, just waiting for someone.”
>”But we’re all here… Or did you invite some mysterious guest?”
>Applejack’s fist bumped into your shoulder as she sneered sarcastically.
>You were about to jab back with a snide remark, but was quickly cut off by the familiar tearing noise of Rainbow Dash’s vehicle.
>You observed as she rolled up to the sidewalk with the headlight flooding the street, just as she had the last time.
>Only now, instead of taking it slow, she threw herself off the steel frame and kicked the stand up in one fluid motion.
>Once the engine was shut off, she stomped across the cobblestone and burst through the front door, smashing the bell up and over the frame getting it stuck on a small shelf.
>The bell’s abrupt silence turned everyone’s attention to the door, where Rainbow Dash stood with her helmet dangling from her hand.
>She was breathing heavily, as if she had just exerted herself physically.
>The glares from the others were apparent, but she ignored them, storming over to the table where you sat.
“What’s going on?” you asked her.
>”Don’t… worry about it…” Rainbow Dash panted.
>She dumped herself down on a bar stool close to your table, much to the surprise of Pinkamena, who recoiled back from behind the counter.
>”You invited her?” Rarity said in shock.
>”Oh, you didn’t tell them, did you?”
“They wouldn’t believe me if I tried.”
>”Anon, why is she here?”
>”I guess we’ll just have to drag them by the collar.”
>”What are you talking about?”
“If you would just let me-”
>”Look, I’m not here willingly, but we have to get out somehow.”
>”Out from where?”
>”Oooh.. Please don’t make this worse.”
>”The situation seems to be escalating Anon.”
>”And you think you can just come in ‘ere like this?”
>”Oh screw you AJ, you don’t even know what I did.”
>”The hell I do!”
“Girls…”
>”Anon, get her out of here.”
>”I’m not leaving, not after all that’s happened”
>”Oh, so now you’re the victim you worm!”
>”You don’t get to talk because you don’t know a god damned thing!”
>”Maybe if you would just-”
”SHUT. UP.”
>The room fell completely silent.
“This isn’t helping.”
>Everyone stared at you where you stood by the window.
>Your clenched fists eventually loosened, and you took a deep breath.
“She’s here because I asked her to.”
>”But Anon.” Twilight pleaded. “You were there, you know what she did!”
“No I don’t, and neither do any of you.”
>Rarity raised a finger to counteract your point, but soon found out that she couldn’t find the words.
“Just think about it. You’re all angry at her, but why is that? What exactly did she do?”
>The room remained quiet for a while.
>Twilight stared glossy-eyed into her palms, unable to find any answers.
>”My god, you’re right…” she finally said. “I… I can’t remember.”
>”Me neither…”
>Rarity winced as if she was in pain, dragging her hands through her well-kempt hair.
>”I can’t remember anything!”
“I don’t know how to say this, but I don’t think any of this is real.”
>The group looked up from their deep conflicting thoughts, but you couldn’t decipher what their faces where telling you.
>It was impossible to tell what you said made sense to them or if it was nonsensical, but you had to try anyway.
>With a bit of effort, you scooted past Applejack and Rarity, stumbling onto the glossy, tiled floor.
“I don’t care if you think I’m crazy or if you actually believe me.” you turned around to address your friends. “But you’re just going to have to trust me for now.”
>Everyone remained quiet, hopefully considering your request.
>It was too early to tell if this would work or not, but it’s not like you had a plan.
>After a moment had passed and no one spoke up, Rainbow Dash grabbed your shoulder and leaned you across the counter.
>”You sure this will work?” she whispered, not making any effort to conceal her words for Pinkamena.
>You could only shake your head for now.
“I have no idea of knowing. This is unknown territory for me as well.”
>”Well you clearly have some leadership experience from god knows what.”
“Do you remember what your skills are?”
>She took a moment, and seemed to light up in confusion.
>”Aviation.” she said, squinting her eyes. “I could build airplanes with what’s inside my head!”
“So you could be some sort of engineer?”
>Rainbow Dash shrugged.
>”Who knows.”
>”The likely answer is pilot.” Pinkamena chimed in.
>Both of you looked at the AI which stood silently observing you both in your covert discussion.
>At this point, you could have been practically anything, but it was too early to come to any conclusion.
>”Alright.” Twilight’s voice called for your attention.
>You nervously stood up and was met with a few sceptic looks.
>”This is kinda weird, but I don’t think you’d lie to us.” she said.
>”This better not be some sort of game you’re playing.” Rarity added.
“I don’t understand the situation either.” you tried to convince them. “But I do know that none of us belong here.”
>”S-so… how do we leave?” Fluttershy’s face was barely visible over the edge of the table.
“Well… I haven’t gotten that far yet…”
>’SHKRRT.’
>A short, loud noise suddenly filled your ears, and you yelped in pain.
>You could feel your temples pulsating when you reached up to grab them.
>Rainbow Dash rushed to your side when you felt your balance fail as well, holding you on your feet just long enough for you to grab the counter.
>Dribbles of cold sweat ran down your forehead as your breath started palpitating.
>Many concerned voices surrounded you, but it just turned into a cacophony of sound.
>You held up a hand to silence them, and they stopped immediately.
>When you looked up from the desk, all you could see was the pink silhouette of Pinkamena with her cold, emotionless stare.
>In an act you couldn’t possibly have seen coming, she suddenly leaned down next to you and laid a hand on your head.
>She swirled her head around towards you, and you could see her artificial eyes focus in on you.
>It looked like her iris was split into multiple rings in different shades of blue, and while they only needed a few split seconds to adjust, you couldn’t help but become captivated by her machinery’s inner workings.
>Never in your life had you seen anything so complex and advanced before.
>”Are you feeling well, Anon?” she asked, her voice now much clearer than the others before.
>You nodded, wiping the sweat off your brows before balancing yourself onto your feet.
>When you looked over your shoulder, you saw a recognizable sight.
>On top of the bike’s metallic gas tank outside the window you saw an equally dark figure sitting patiently, staring at you.
>Below two pointy, vigilant ears were one large, unblinking eye, and its thin, furry tail waved hypnotically behind it.
>It didn’t move an inch, as if it was waiting for something.
>The feline then jumped down from the machine and walked a few steps before stopping and making eye contact again.
>Did it want something?
“I think I know where to start.”

>The cat flew across the darkness, its coat shimmering in the bright moonlight.
>It was as if it was lighting the way toward something, despite its natural camouflage.
>Behind you, the urgent steps of your friends confirmed that they were still behind you, and turned into a stampede of thumps and crunching leaves as you entered the forest.
>Thankfully none of them had dressed themselves in high heels of short dresses, so they could easily keep up with the agile creature.
>Even through the cover of the trees, the gravel path was easy enough to spot, and the cat stood out like a shadowy speck against the light gray stones.
>The deeper you went, the more you wondered if it was ever going to stop.
>Then you suddenly realized where you were.
>In the darkness it was hard to see, but the path you took lead straight to the old tower at the top of the island.
>If there was anywhere you should start looking for answers, it would have to be the place you had never been.
>Too deep in your ponderings to notice it, you almost ran into the cat which had stopped abruptly in the middle of the path.
“Woah!” you yelled, skidding to a halt a mere inches from its back and splashing it in a shower of pebbles.
>It didn’t seem to mind, only shaking its head to rid its fur of dust and residue.
>The heavy breathing of your friends caught up to you, and everyone except Rainbow Dash had to catch their breath.
>Rarity stumbled against a tree, groaning while laying a wrist against her forehead.
>”I haven’t been this tired since… well, since… Oh, nevermind.”
>You started feeling winded as well, and crouched down to capitalize on this short but much needed break.
>Then you felt something heavy weigh down your left knee.
>Looking to see what it was, you almost fell on your back when you spotted the big, deep eye of the cat curiously looking at you.
>It had climbed its front paws onto your leg, and stood silently with its tail wagging in anticipation.
>This was the first time you had the opportunity to see it this close, and you had never seen anything like it.
>Every typical facial feature a cat would have had was replaced by a single, almost human eye.
>Everything else you would expect a cat to have was there, except there was no snout, no mouth, no teeth…
>Only the ever present, unyielding observer.
>You lifted a hand from its resting position on your leg, reaching it over the head of the creature.
>For the first time in a while, it looked away from you, carefully staring at your hand as it moved closer.
>It reared its head a bit looking like it was sniffing your palm.
>Then, it closed its eyelids and pushed its head into your hand.
>Its coat was unnaturally soft and warm.
>You scratched it behind its ear, feeling it purr with contempt.
“Aww.” you said, reaching around to pet it under its chin. “You’re just as sweet as any other cat, aren’t you?”
>You started wondering if it really had meant to bring you to this place, but even if it didn’t, it had given you a few ideas of where to start.
>You looked up at the fence which blocked you from entering the other side of the island.
>Except it wasn’t blocking you any more.
>Much to your surprise, the entire fence had been ripped open in the middle and bent aside, providing an easy path to the tower.
>You raised your brows in awe, looking down at the cat.
>But it had disappeared.
>Without you noticing, the creature had vanished, and any trace of its existence was gone.
>”Well then.” Twilight said, finally able to formulate complete sentences. “Let’s take it slower from here on out.”
>”Where to?” Rainbow Dash said, reaching out a hand to help you back on your feet.
“The only place we haven’t been obviously.” You turned towards the opening, barely able to see the silver shimmer through the leaves.

>The dome loomed taller than you had anticipated, blotting out the moon and most of the skies from where you stood.
>The building was different than anything you had seen, with a rectangular structure as its main area connected to a cylindrical silo on the far left side, reaching about 25 meters in diameter.
>After about four stories, the silo curved into a dome, with a narrow, straight section split off from the rest of the roof.
>It seemed like it was intended to be able to move, but you weren’t certain.
>”There seems to be a high concentration of glass in this particular area.” Pinkamena analyzed, placing a hand on the chilly, brown-tainted wall.
>”What does that mean?” Fluttershy asked as she walked up beside you.
>It wasn’t cold outside, but it was clear that she was shaking and huddling her arms together, probably more out of fright or anxiety than anything else.
>”I believe it is some type of instrument.”
“Instrument? Like musical?”
>You started tracing the wall, looking for any sign of a doorway or opening.
>”I do not know.” Pinkamena said after staring at the silo for a while.
>”Over here!” the sound of Twilight’s voice was distant and muffled, but you noticed Rarity waving around the corner.
>You rushed over to their location with Fluttershy and Pinkamena on your heels, eager to see what they had discovered.
>Once you rounded the edge of the building, you found Applejack and Rainbow Dash struggle to pull open a large double metal door.
>You could see them move slightly, but you noticed they were scraping against the floor.
>Something had jammed it in its frame, and hopefully that something was just the passage of time.
>”Allow me.” Pinkamena offered as she approached the entrance.
>The two let go of the handles, backing off to make room for her.
>With a calm demeanor, she grabbed the silver handle and yanked, snapping it off instantly.
>Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped at Pinkamena’s show of strength.
>The AI, however, only stared at the metal piece as a cloud of corroded fragments briefly formed a path from the door to her hand before slowly drifting off in the weak breeze.
>She seemed wholly indifferent about the result and let go of the handle, watching it drop to the ground with a clang.
>Then she forced her fingers in between the two plates and began forcing them apart.
>You could hear the servos in her limbs rev up, but it didn’t seem like the door made any difficulties for her.
>Everyone stood in awe as Pinkamena tore through the solid steel door, bending them open like a paperback novel.
>”The path is open.” she nonchalantly said when she turned around to a silent reception.
>Even with her seemingly endless supply of surprises, Pinkamena had been the most consistent part of this hellish place.
>If she was still around in the real world, she could prove to be a useful ally.
>When everyone were busy staring at Pinkamena as she held one of the doors in her hands, you stepped forward to have a look inside.
>You nodded in gratitude to her when you approached, even though you weren’t sure she even understood such formalities.
>Past the mauled doors was a dark room absent of any meaningful furniture.
>In the center sat a short desk with a chair behind it, and in the far right corner stood a pole with its flag torn and rotten.
>It was impossible to make out any patterns on the deteriorated cloth.
>You carefully stepped through, looking to your sides for any semblance of a lightswitch.
“Pretty dark in here.” you commented, placing a hand on the concrete walls to prevent yourself from tripping over your own feet.
>”Allow me.” Pinkamena offered again as her eye lit up like a lantern.
>She flooded the entire room with a bright blue light, and the interior instantly became much clearer.
“Is there anything you can’t do?” you asked as she stepped through the doorway and loyally stood at your side.
>”You did not wish me to list my functions.” she answered, keeping her eyes straight forward into the room.
>Was that supposed to be sarcasm?
>In either way, you appreciated her showing a bit of character, and snickered to yourself.
>”That was a rhetorical question, ‘dear’.”
>Rainbow Dash groaned as she walked past you.
>”Couples…” she scoffed.
>One by one, the others came through the doorway, looking quizzically around.
>”If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this room looks like a reception.” Rarity pointed out, dragging a finger across the desk and looking at it in disgust when she saw all the dirt piling up.
>”So it’s some kinda hotel?” Rainbow Dash’s voice asked from one of the hallways.
>”Who knows.” Twilight added from behind a shelf. “If they kept any records it’s all gone.”
“Let’s move deeper into the building. I’d like to see what that instrument is.” you suggested.
>Nobody seemed to object, so you took that as a sign that they agreed.
>”I have aquired floor plans.” Pinkamena suddenly said. “Follow me.”
>You weren’t sure what she had done to get something like that, but at this point there was no reason to question it.
>You were too deep in unknown waters to not accept any help you could.
>When the others looked towards you for answers, all you could do was shrug and follow after Pinkamena, to which the others seemed to do as well.

>The corridors were long and dark, but surprisingly well preserved.
>Maybe the thick aluminum walls acted as some sort of sealant.
>Either way, it didn’t seem like anyone had been here for several years, and any sign of what they were doing was gone.
>Or maybe it was never there in the first place.
>Soon you stood at another steel door which, according to your wife, would lead you into the dome.
“Be my guest.” you offered Pinkamena, motioning to the door.
>She seemed happy to oblige, and took a firm grip of the door handle.
>The five of your friends shielded themselves for any debris as Pinkamena pushed down the handle and her servo motors revved up again.
>In a harsh blur, the door effortlessly swung open and unhinged itself due to the speed it was pulled.
>A single screw shot off the mechanism and wedged itself into a nearby wall, spitting small concrete pebbles across the hallway floor.
>It barely grazed past Fluttershy, who stood frozen still with wide eyes, unable to move.
>Thankfully, she seemed to be unharmed, at least physically.
>Pinkamena didn’t appear to acknowledge it at all and continued to light the way forward as she let go of the door, letting it crash into the tiles.
>”It seems the door was unlocked.” she said calmly and proceeded to walk in through the opening.
>You sighed and gave your disappointed friends an apologetic look.
“Better safe than sorry.” you said as you stepped through after her.
>”Or you could just check it first.” Twilight commented under her breath.
>You pretended not to hear that.

>In the dim light of Pinkamena’s eyes, the silhouette of a long, cone-shaped object was visible.
>It was hard to tell exactly what it was, but it clearly extended from a platform in the middle of the chamber all the way to the top of the dome.
“We need more light.” you said, looking around the walls for anything that could help.
>”Wait.” Twilight said as she walked through the broken doorway. “This feels familiar.”
>She seemed to search for something, and started walking along the walls.
>Eventually, she stumbled across a black box, whom she proceeded to tear open with excitement.
>”Yes, this is definitely it!” she exclaimed, looking over the rows of buttons she was presented with.
>She stood there for a while, looking at the options she had, then pressed one of the controls.
>It didn’t take long for an electrical engine to power up, whooshing to life and dropping a cloud of dust down from the roof.
>It was difficult to tell where the engine was just off of the sound, but it soon became apparent what it was for.
>A single strip of light started pouring in from the skies, and everyone turned their attention upwards.
>What had looked like an inconspicuous section on the dome from the outside turned out to be an automated hatch.
>As it was dragged to the side by motors and cogs, it also became clear what it was for.
>The tall cylindrical structure was pointed towards the opening, glaring at the night sky.
>A small selection of scopes stood vertically out from the cone next to a small white chair placed underneath it.
>”I knew it!” Twilight exclaimed. “We used to visit these at school all the time!”
>“It’s an observatory!” Rarity said, enthusiastically making her way to the center.
>The clean white shell of the telescope stood proudly aimed at the stars in the middle, with a computer terminal resting dormant on the floor underneath its platform.
“How come the hatch has power but nothing else?” you asked, surprised by how well your voice was carried by the acoustics in the chamber.
>”The floor plans does not contain an overview of the electrical circuits.” Pinkamena stated, moving further into the room.
>The beam of light emitting from her eye methodically scanned as much surface area as she could, briefly lighting up the shrugging face of Twilight.
>”I don’t have any answers either!” she said, jumping down from a small stool.
>Eventually the room became soaked in moonlight and the hatch came to a stop after it had finished its journey away from the view.
>Pinkamena saw fit to switch of her guiding lights when they didn’t make much difference anymore.
>”That’s some fine piece o’ engineering right there!” Applejack commented, fixated on the telescope as she circled around it.
>The entire chamber was illuminated by the moon alone, and even if it wasn’t the brightest light source, your surroundings were clear enough that you could search around without problem.
>Everyone seemed to have been scattered across the room, with Rarity and Twilight huddled around the telescope, Applejack checking out a shelf full of old hardware and Fluttershy poking around the computer terminal.
>The smell of stale air and dust soon became nothing more than a distant memory as a gentle summer breeze made its way through the building.
>You wandered across the concrete floor aimlessly, looking around the walls for anything to inspect.
>Several layers of metal scaffolding were raised above the ground and many different sheets of paper hang from cork boards with unintelligible scribbles and lines written on them.
>It was difficult to see if they had been hung up at random or if there was a pattern to them, but you didn’t recognize anything about them.
>In your blind meandering you suddenly heard a crackle under your foot.
>You stopped and noticed, to your surprise, a bunch of scattered pages lying on the damp floor.
>At a glance you didn’t think much of it, but you soon noticed many of the lines were connected between one page to another, as if someone had pieced together a puzzle.
>The question remained, did they draw them and puzzle them together afterwards, or were they drawn after the pages had been put on the floor?
>”Anon, you should come look at this.”
>You looked up to find Twilight waving you over to the telescope, which had been elevated further above the floor after the hatch was opened.
>You hurried up the ladder and was offered the scope by Rarity who backed away with a confused expression.
>The telescope had been switched to its lowest zoom level, so whatever you would be seeing wasn’t too far away, relatively speaking.
>You bowed down and placed your eye onto the small lens, taking a few seconds to adjust properly.
>It was a finicky instrument, and you had to find the perfect spot in order to see properly, or your view would be obscured by the shadow of its inner walls.
>Finally you found the sweet spot, and at first you couldn’t make much sense of what you were seeing.
>Against a wall of stars which were unlike any sky you could identify, stood a dark gleaming blade running down past the telescope’s field of view.
>It reminded you a little of a fin, except attached to its end was a box of some sort.
>In the moonlight you were able to make out a few square sections separated from each other along the surface, almost like plates, but the lack of any strong lightsource made it difficult to see what it was supposed to be.
>You left the instrument and was met with the equally perplexed looks from your friends waiting for your input.
“What am I looking at here?” you asked even though you knew they didn’t have any answers.
>Twilight only shook her head, and Rarity kept shifting her eyes between you and Twilight.
>You took a few steps back and determined that the telescope stood at a 20 degree inclination from the ground, and it looked like that was its limit if the mechanism was any indication.
>Whatever you were looking at had to be tall, but was probably in the nearby area.
>Quickly looking around revealed a platform not too far below the hatch opening by the roof, and you made the two follow you as you flew up the steep zig zagging stairs.
>The others in the room seemed catch wind of your hurry, and followed your lead as well.
>It didn’t take long until all of you had reached the top, the scaffolding-like structure ringing with the sound of footsteps heading to the opening.
>When you reached it, it was clear that the platform was just too short for you to peek over the edge.
“Grab me that box!” you suggested, pointing at a wide wooden coffer.
>Rainbow Dash sprinted the short distance and grabbed a handle on its side, dragging it over to your spot.
>Everyone helped position it and you climbed on top of it, along with everyone else.
>The height of the observatory meant you had a staggering view over the forest treetops.
>What you had previously thought to be the other half of the island turned out to be much bigger than you had thought, spanning several kilometers until the landmass gave way to an endless black sea.
>You stood looking out over the forest for a moment, taken aback by how much of this place had been locked away.
>Suddenly the city felt a lot smaller than you had initially thought.
>But then, you looked in the direction of the telescope, and it felt shocked once you saw the rest of what the telescope couldn’t show you.
>The structure you had seen was just a small part of a much larger tower, standing at least 50 meters above the forest.
>The glittering surface was battered and worn, and along several points down the stem were wide holes punctured through it.
>Beams and wires of all sizes could be seen in its wounds, hanging loosely or barely connected to the other side of the craters.
>The base of the blade was connected to another structure half buried in the soil, a fact which was evident by the mounds of dirt which had been pushed aside around it.
>The shape invoked a strange feeling in you, as if you were deeply familiar with it.
>A feeling which was strongly reinforced when you panned over to find another shape floating behind the trees to the right.
>This one was different, but the silhouette had clearly been a part of a whole as it was made of the same twinking, dark material as the other structure.
>The tip of it was covered in four different curved plates, almost like a shield, and stood in a strange angle relative to the main structure.
>If you didn’t know any better, you’d say it had been broken off.
>A flare in the sky caught your attention.
>As soon as you looked up to inspect it, it was gone.
>For the short time you saw it at the corner of your eye, it seemed like a slow-moving shooting star descending behind a cloud.
>”What in the hell?” you heard Applejack whisper to herself.
>Looking at your friends standing next to you, it seemed like they noticed as well.
>A few worried glances were exchanged, but none of them had any answers.
>Pinkamena suddenly appeared next to you, breaking your line of sight.
>You jumped at the surprise appearance, nearly falling off the slippery planks.
>She hardly seemed to notice any of you, however, as she just stood there in silence.
>The faint sound of her eyes adjusting could be heard inside her head.
>Even if you tried figuring out where she was looking, it was difficult to pinpoint.
>What you did know was that it had to be somewhere in the direction of the separated tip further toward the east coast.
>Looking at the entire scene from a distance stirred those same emotions again.
>You felt a connection to this shape, even though this was the first time you had seen it.
>Or was it?
>Nostalgia, that’s what you felt.
>The flare appeared again.
>This time you reacted faster, and was able to see it more clearly.
>There was a strange, fiery aura encasing it, like it was burning up as it descended through the atmosphere.
>It didn’t take you long to realize that what you saw wasn’t grounded in this reality, but it was a memory you were experiencing.
>You grabbed your head as you groaned, a throbbing pain suddenly emerging in your temples.
>Fluttershy, which stood to your right, yelped in surprise when you accidentally smacked your elbow into her side.
>”Anon, are you okay?” she asked, bowing down and patting you on the shoulder.
>You nodded as the pain subsided.
>It was still present, but it was getting more manageable by the second.
“What the hell is going on here?” you asked.
>Nobody answered you, but it seemed like you had broken their entrancement towards the broken structure.
>You looked around for suggestions, but was only met with shocked faces.
>”Anon, your nose!” Rarity drew your attention to an ugly sensation making its way towards your lip.
>Ignorantly, you dragged your wrist across your philtrum, feeling something smear across your cheek.
>The residue of blood was dripping from your hand as you moved it away from your face, and you looked at it as surprised as the rest of your friends.
“What the hell?” you mumbled silently.
>The image of a curved panel overlooking a small floor filled with consoles flashed in your head.
>There was a wide convex screen at the end of the room, displaying some information around the horizon of a planet on the outside.
>You barely managed to see the shape of something at the bottom of the screen before the image faded.
>Next followed another pulse of discomfort.
>The approach of a headache was obvious.
>You looked out over the forest again.
“Please tell me I’m not the only one seeing these things?” you asked, having to press the sentence out of your lungs while gritting your teeth to bear the headache.
>The hand of Pinkamena suddenly presented itself to you in your peripheral vision.
>A light emerging from points in her thumb and index finger projected a holographic image in her palm, which she seemed eager to show you.
>At a glance, it looked like a picture of the easternmost module of the structure ahead and another of an area at the base of the blade.
>You shifted between the images and Pinkamena’s calculating glance.
“Wha-” you started, unable to finish the sentence due to a wave of nausea which crashed over you.
>In an effort to prove her point, she increased the contrast of the images, and letters started forming on the hull plating.
>Hull?
>Of course, it was the hull of the ship.
>For some reason, that fact seemed so very obvious.
>It felt as if a secondary haze began subsiding from your mind, but you weren’t quite there yet.
>”Does this carry any significance, Anon?” Pinkamena asked, the letters in the pictures finally legible.
“Exc...al...ibur.” you read slowly, the word still hard to properly make out.
>”Did you just say Excalibur?!”
>Twilight’s yelling seemed to catch everyone’s attention for a moment.
>When you looked over at her, you noticed you weren’t the only one with a bad case of nosebleed and headache.
“Y-yeah…” you answered her.
>Twilights heavy breathing only seemed to worsen.
“It… does sound familiar, doesn’t it? Excali…”
>Your sentence was cut short when your brain suddenly felt like it expanded rapidly, pressing against the edges of your skull.
>A high pitched screech drowned out all of your senses, but not before you caught a glimpse of everyone else grabbing their heads the same way, collapsing to their knees.
>You tried to scream to bear the pain, but no sound came from your throat.
>Like the start of a cold shower, thousands of images poured into your head.
>You felt your knees fall to the floor, but all you could see were a lifetime of experiences flooding to you.
>They all seemed intimately recognizable to you, yet nothing made remotely sense.
>It was as if someone had crammed a memory stick filled with memories into your head and started pouring all the data in at once.
>Soon it became unbearable.
>Your mouth became dry, and your jaw ached.
>The muscles in your arm felt like they froze in place, but you held them in up until they were shaking uncontrollably.
>Then suddenly, your vocal cord snapped, and so did your neck.


Day ###

>You tried opening your eyelids, but the sore muscles in your face made the task a lot more painful.
>Eventually you managed to unseal the lids, tearing open a small slip.
>A layer of calcified saltwater obscured your vision, your eyelids burning from having stayed still for so long.
>You took all the time you needed to force your eyes up, moving them slowly.
>It wasn’t clear if it was due to numbness, but it was impossible to determine what position you were in at the moment.
>All your senses told you that you were floating in a vacuum.
>Nothing could be heard or smelled either, but you had a terrible aftertaste lingering in your mouth.
>It was metallic almost, with no other definable characteristics.
>No, that wasn’t it.
>It was blood.
>When you realized, you forced your eyes up, feeling a layer of dried up slime and salt crystals tear itself apart over your eyelids.
>You didn’t care that your eyes burned anymore.
>Finally you could move your arms again, and you patted yourself along the torso to search for any anomalies.
>Everything seemed to check out normally.
>Although after what you had been through, what was even normal anymore?
>As if your mind was drip-feeding you body functions, your situational awareness slowly fell into place.
>The memories of the past week returned to you, and you sighed in exhaustion.
>Eventually, your eyes adjusted, but everything was still a bit foggy.
>Your body attempted desperately to mend your dry eyes and in the process coated it with a layer of fluids which only helped to increase the blur obscuring everything.
>Your surroundings were covered in a dim shade of orange, that you could see at least.
>The plane in front of you looked uneven, like an unkempt layer of cloth.
>No, it wasn’t cloth, it was some sort of dust.
>Suddenly your sense of balance returned to you.
>The feeling was overwhelming.
>In only a second you had fallen to the ground with a mute smack, writhing in discomfort as your head spun in an attempt to recalibrate itself.
>You let out a weak groan as all you could do was lie there on your back and wait for it to blow over.
>Nausea crept up on you like a serpent, and you started questioning whether you wanted to feel this or overwhelming hunger.
>At least now you knew which way was down.
>Now that you had a better view of what was above you, it was clear where the light source come from.
>Suddenly a pink shape appeared in your peripheral vision.
>You moved your head to get a better view, rubbing sand all over your chin and mouth in the process, but quickly found out your eyesight hadn’t improved at all.
>You lifted your arm to rub out whatever was clouding your vision, and winced in pain as your biceps protested.
>It seemed to catch the interest of the pink blob, and you could see it growing closer to you.
>Finally able to properly move your arms, you desperately started kneading out whatever it was obscuring your sight.
>A layer of some dried up gelatinous substance came off with little to no effort, along with a wide variety of crystallized body fluids which rolled down the side of your face.
>You didn’t take more time than you needed to clear it out, and you were soon able to see well enough.
>Still uncertain of who the pink entity was, you pushed yourself up in a sitting position and started crawling backwards out of uncertainty.
>It soon became clear that your fear had gotten the better of you.
>After having blinked a few times to adjust to the light, two curious, ice blue irises stared back at you.
>It was standing on all fours ahead of you, just observing.
>It didn’t take long for you to recognize the excessively long pink hair either.
“Pinkamena?” you asked, but received no response.
>She only kept staring.
>Then you noticed she was completely lacking in clothes.
>More confusingly, it seemed like a plethora of black cables in different sizes were connected to silver plugs in her spine.
>When you followed the cords which were sprawled and coiled all around her, your attention was drawn to the room you found yourself in.
>The familiar roof of the observatory embraced you on all sides with its gray walls.
>The only source of light was the open hatch on the far end.
>A calming, orange hue streamed through the opening, illuminating the circular chamber floor which was covered in a mint-colored, fine dust.
>It was strangely beautiful the way it shimmered in the light.
>At least you thought so as you were forced to squint to avoid the pain of readjusting to real light after who knows how long.
>Along the base of the dome stood six cylindrical pods with a puddle of sickly, green fluid spilled out on the ground below them.
>Though what caught your attention the most were the bodies lying in those puddles.
>Thankfully you weren’t too far gone not to recognize them.
>Still feeling numbness compromising your legs, you dug your fingers into the sand beneath you and started crawling over to the one closest to you.
>Pinkamena sat quietly and observed you in the middle of the room, making no effort to provide assistance.
>Despite your muscles protesting in pain, It didn’t take you long to reach Fluttershy’s lifeless shape lying face down into the dust.
>Her lack of movement made you fear the worst.
>You reached over to grab her shoulder, and was immediately greeted with a yelp.
>Fluttershy recoiled in shock to the sudden contact, but soon found herself in a coughing fit.
>You felt instantly relieved that she still had some life left in her.
“Hey, are you feeling well?” you asked after her coughing had settled down.
>”No.” she groaned, her throat audibly sore and dry.
>She rolled over on her back, staring into emptiness behind a layer of the same dried up goo you had found yourself with upon waking up.
>It seemed like it wasn’t just covering her eyes either, but was all over her face and suit as well.
>You grabbed your head and noticed the same slimy coat on yourself.
>This strange green fluid must have kept you suspended inside those tanks while you were on that island.
>It was impossible to know how long you had spent in that place, but you were feeling the effects of it at least.
>”Where is everyone?” Fluttershy asked, mending her sore eyes.
>Quickly surveying the room, you noticed subtle movements from the rest of the crew, assuring you they were still with you.
“Everyone’s here.” you answered her. “Although I’m still not sure about Pinkie Pie.”
>”Don’t tell me… She still has that strange hairstyle?”
“Honestly, I can’t tell if it’s her at all.”
>Fluttershy tipped her head in an attempt to look around, but she seemed to suffer from the same amount of photosensitivity as you had.
>Pinkamena was still sitting in the middle of the room with the same lack of movement she had since you first noticed her.
>It was only now that you noticed the cables connected to her back lead to all the different tanks along the walls.
>Had she been responsible for keeping you there this entire time?
>If that was the case, she sure had a lot of explaining to do.

>”Man, I feel like absolute crap.” Rainbow Dash groaned, dragging herself onto her shaking legs.
>The mint-green sand shifted underneath you as everyone got their bearings.
>”You and me both, darling.” Rarity added, finally having overcome the trauma of her hair having turned to mush.
>Everyone stood scattered and confused around the chamber, still reeling from the experience.
“One time we’re blowing ourselves up inside alien ships, the next we’re in some hellish simulation…” you started, trying to make sense of things.
>”...And now this.”
>Applejack took a firm hold of your shoulder for support, staggering forward on unstable feet.
>It was especially noticeable with her, but everyone appeared to have been malnourished during your time on the island.
>Whatever kept you in there didn’t bother maintaining your physical bodies at least.
>”Speaking of which…” Twilight said, her voice on the verge of cracking. “Where the hell are we?”
>You turned your attention towards the fissure in the dome.
>The light streaming through it didn’t seem too daunting anymore, but you still had to cover your eyes when looking towards it.
>Like moths, you and your crew began to move over to the opening.
>You moved slowly, more out of anxiety than disability.
>You reached the edge eventually, and noticed it wasn’t actually crudely cut out of the metal as you thought it was.
>The opening only seemed uneven because the dome was battered and worn, with many dents scaring the outside.
>Beyond the walls was a view the likes of which you had never seen.
>Above, yellow and grey clouds churned violently, exchanging bolts of lightning among one another.
>A desert of light green sand spanned the rest of the horizon, only broken off by a black mountain looming behind the toxic fog.
>Titanic chimneys reached towards the heavens far into the distance, spewing dark gas into the atmosphere.
>However, all that paled in comparison to what you saw just below the hill you found yourself on.
>As if you stood back in the observatory on the island again, the dark husk of the Excalibur laid dormant and half buried in the glittering dunes.
>The railgun and nose of the ship had broken off from the main structure and laid scattered further down the crash site.
>In the sparse light which managed to penetrate the thick cloud layer, you saw the ship’s scars even better than you had in the moonlight before.
>It was safe to say that it would never get off the ground again.
>Twilight’s knees gave away and she collapsed into the lukewarm sand, her arms falling limp by her side.
>Fluttershy stifled a scream with teary eyes while Rarity pulled her into a comforting hug.
>All you could do was stand there with an empty expression.
>The only tool you had to get back home now laid half submerged in a desert and was beyond repair.
>Even if you were to take it apart and build a vessel from the remains, it could take years.
>Judging by the charred hull, everything inside had been scorched by the re-entry into the atmosphere.
>That would mean that your food supply had perished along with it.
>”Why the hell aren’t we dead?” Rainbow Dash mumbled.
>You remembered seeing the Excalibur as it crashed through the skies of Newhaven.
>You could only speculate where the Durandal crew had gone, but for now there was no way of knowing if they were even still alive.
>Wait, Newhaven…
>You took another look out over the landscape.
>The sulfuric skies looked nothing like the lush environment of the moon.
>If this was the same world, something cataclysmic must have happened for it to change this dramatically.
>The air was still breathable, so that was one evidence for it being the same moon, although not a conclusive one by far.
>You turned towards your crew in utter confusion, and was met with the same mirrored expression from Rarity.
>It seemed like she had the same thought as you.
“Where the fuck are we?” you asked. “How long were we gone?”