The three fillies came out from the bathroom, armor clean, fur cleaned and waste disposed off.

"What took you so long!? What were you doing in there for an entire hour!?" Isaac asked tapping a foot impatiently.

"Mare things. You wouldn't understand." Sweetiebelle said raising her nose into the air.

"I swear... just like woman; they're dying and they still take forever in the bathroom." He shook his head before following them.

They entered the play area. The walls were painted over to look like a grassy clearing with a sun and few clouds above. What wasn't supposed to be there was the Nicole entity.

"Still in denial? Afraid that you'll cut your wrists if you listen to me?" She asked spinning the marry-ground.

"I'm not listening to this. You may fool Stross, but I know you're not real." Isaac said calmly.

"Oh, you claim I'm not real, and yet here-" She was saying until Scootaloo hit her in the face with a teddy bear.

The other two crusaders were already in the elevator. Applebloom waved him over; he got the message and went in himself.

"Listen, well talk later. It’s not you it’s me. Alright it is you though." He gave her the one finger salute as the doors closed.

"I expected her to try something like with the needle." Sweetiebelle said. "I... guess we just ignore her until she actually does something?"

"Yeah. She's not very intimidating when having a small pony hit her in the face with a teddy bear." Isaac said.

A screen popped up and it showed Ellie holding a Plasma cutter to Stross.

"Isaac, it's Ellie, I've found someone. Another survivor. He says he knows you." Stross made a slight move to reach for the camera. She yelled at him. "I said stand still!" She threatened.

"Eliie! Take it easy! His name is Stross. I know him." Isaac almost sighed.

"He looks... twitchy. I don't trust him." He made another move. "Don't move!" She jabbed the mineral cutter at him defensively and offensively.

"Ellie! I need him to be... not dead. I need him."

"Shit, Ok, Isaac. I'll march him up to the hub but if he does anything stupid. Anything. I will shoot him."

The screen logged off and he looked down to see two of the fillies smiling up at him.

"What?" He asked confused.

Then the two broke out into a small song. "Ellie and Isaac, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Then they made puckering sound as they laughed at him.

"I still don't like her." Scootaloo growled. "She owes me a necromorph dinner."

"Atleast someone else agrees with me." Isaac said nodding towards the small pegasus.

The doors opened and they found themselves in blackness again.

Isaac got out relatively quickly; the other three were hesitant, but soon came out too.

"I wonder what's up there? " Sweetiebelle thought as she saw the dark ringed shadow.

Upon closer inspection it looked like something tore through the wall. When she tried to get a look inside Isaac pulled he close.

"Don't. Touch. Anything." He whispered keeping an arm around her while pointing his Line gun at the hole.

The other two crusaders were behind him watching intently as he slowly moved towards the door.

He opened the door and they were in a brightly lit area. Desks and lockers along the walls, strange bars in the middle and Ellie and Stross on the balcony.

"Issac! Were up here! Come on, move!" Ellie yelled on his screen.

"Hello Isaac." Stross said meekly.

"Well, this brings up bad memories. I barely managed to escape this CEC facility this morning." Ellie said.

"Wait, your CEC?" Isaac asked.

"Heavy equipment pilot, class four. You?"

"Engineer. Along with my... apprentices."

Only now had she noticed the three ponies down next to him. Especially the one with wings.

"You!" She yelled at Scootaloo.

"You owe me a necromorph!" She yelled back shaking a hoof.

"You tried to kill me earlier!"

Scootaloo turned back into her natural form and that same grin spread across her face, black ooze dripping onto the floor burning through it.

She used a more demonic voice to answer back.

"I haven't even tried to kill you." She said icily before teleporting herself up. "Not by a long shot."

"I don't even know your bloody name and you hate me because I let a snack get away!? Go eat another necromorph. They're thousand's here! Or eat one of those other ponies that Isaac's picked up."

She huffed before teleporting back down to Isaac.

"My name is Scootaloo, in this form, my real form it’s Slenderloo."

"And you two?" She looked at the other two.

"That isn’t any of your business. Specially' after treatin our friend the way yall did just now." Applebloom huffed letting her helmet unfold. "Not until ya apologize, to us and Isaac."

Ellie was slightly disturbed by the scar on the little ponies' face.

"How did you get that scar?" She asked.

"Fightin' two Lurkers after being blown up and smashed through a window from space. Unconscious."

"Tough little tike's aren't you? Well, I'm partially sorry for yelling at you all. Except Isaac." She smirked.

"Please, don't encourage them." Isaac groaned.

The lights went out plunging them all into darkness.

"Shit." Isaac said getting a bad feeling as he felt two of the crusader's rub against his legs.

"It’s dark... he'll find me in the dark!" Stross screamed.

"Shut up! Its ok, it’s just a power outage."

"You guy's alright up there?" Isaac called out stroking the two fillies manes.

"No." Stross replied quickly and meekly.

"Shit, I think life support is out too." Ellie said.

"That's not good." Applebloom said. "It isn't, is it?"

A screen came onto Isaac's view and the three crusaders leaned in.

A bald dark skinned man in a white uniform was in view.

"Our two remaining runners. Clarke and Stross. I knew it was only a matter of time before you reached the transport hub. You will find the train inoperable."

"And that's going to stop us how?" Scootaloo said extending her wings.

He stared at her for a second before looking downwards at the other two.

"How fascinating. Talking horse-"

"Ponies!" Scootaloo yelled; the parts where her eyes would be flashed red.

He raised an eyebrow at that and continued.

"Are you insane? You cut life support! There may be other survivors over here!" Isaac yelled making the man turn back to face him.

"The public sector is already beyond acceptable recovery conditions. And i can't allow you to escape. Good-"

"Hey buddy."

He looked over to Scootaloo and froze. His eyes turning the same color green as hers.

"Turn the life support back on and get rid of the button to do so. And when I say get rid of it, shoot it in."

He nodded before pressing multiple buttons on the panel in front of him, the lights turned on and he shot a hole into the panel. She released her mental grip and watched as his mind refocused.

"Ugh... What, what have you done!?" He yelled. "How did you do that!?"

She shrugged her wings.

"You insolent little mother-" the screen turned off as Isaac ended the connection.

Before he could speak again the lights turned back off and necromorphs could be heard as the emergency lights went off.

Soon Ellie was shooting Slasher's as they were running at her and Stross.

"Holy shit, Isaac, look out! It’s headed for you!" Ellie yelled.

A Brute jumped overhead taking out a letter from an advertisement as it jumped down.

"Hey scootaloo, consider that your repaid snack!" Ellie yelled.

The pony named was charging the Brute head on as her friends watched smiling, smiling at how silly this all had just turned out.

After the quick meal, she walked back over and gave a satisfied belch making them all laugh before Ellie cut in.

"Isaac, are you alright? I think that's all of them for now..."

"Why did Tiedemann cut off the power? What did you do to piss him off so much?" She asked.

"Ellie... do you know what a Marker is?"

"Yeah, the Unitologists on my crew wouldn't shut up about it. Why? Is it real?"

"Yes it’s real. Tiedmann made one using codes, patterns stored in our heads... mine and Stross. Everything happening on this station is happening because of that Marker. I have to destroy it and i need Stross to tell me how."

"You’re a strange man, Isaac."

"You have no idea." All three of the crusaders said.

He ignored their comment and continued on. "Will you help me?"

"Were about to suffocate. So, I think I'd better."

"Ok good, listen we need power. Without it we have no air and no train. The Sprawl's gotta have-"

"Got to." Sweetiebelle corrected receiving eye rolls from her friends.

"Have back-up batteries somewhere." He finished.

"Yes, the Solar Arrays are up there!" She looked up. "But they've been mothballed for years."

"Ok... alright, good. I'm heading there now. If i can start them up and get some power to the train."

"You'll need someone to open the collector panel. I can do that." She said.

"Take Stross. Keep him safe."

She gave a thoughtful look as her screen turned off.

He looked down to see smiles on the crusader's faces.

"Ellie and Isaac, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-" they were singing as loud as they could.

"Shut up!" He yelled as he saw Ellie raise an eyebrow in his direction.

"What were they singing Isaac!?" She called out.

He scooped the two up in his arms and ran through the door leading to the solar Arrays.

"Would you two stop that! It wasn't funny the first time!" He said walking alongside them.

"This actually reminds me of that heart's and hooves day. You remember that Applebloom, with Miss Cheerilee and your brother?" Scootaloo asked.

"How is this anything like that? We didn't give Isaac and Ellie a love poison."

He stopped in his tracks and stared at the three fillies.

"Did you just say you poisoned some woman and your brother?"

"We didn't know it was a love poison." They all said in unison.

"How did that turn out?"

"Ma'h brother ended up draggin' me, a cart full of anvils, two bulls and a house while he was jumping along without a care in the world." Applebloom said.

"There's no damn way he managed to hop pulling that." Isaac said in disbelief.

"I can prove it." Scootaloo said.

"Really? How?" Sweetiebelle asked.

One of her tentacles went up to the back of Isaac's neck and he felt a twinge of pain before he saw...

"Wow... is the big red horse your brother?"

"Eeyup." She replied.

"Remind me not to piss him off."

"Will do. Which way are these fancy panels again?"

"This way." He pointed ahead.

As they turned a corner they all stopped when they saw three blue lines crossing their path.

"Do I even want to know?" Sweetiebelle groaned.

"Mines. Just grab something to throw at them. And not me Scootaloo."

Her tentacle uncurled from his feet as she gave an indignant sigh. Instead she picked up a barrel and threw it.

It exploded in a flash of blue light.

They went forward before they came across another with a Guardian behind it.

It shot out a small sac and hit the three beams making it explode and severing it's own tentacles in the process.

"That was easy." Isaac said walking past the hanging corps.

They stepped over the remains on the floor and proceeded into the elevator.

Where they abruptly stopped.

Ponyville.

"Why the hell did it just stop!?" Alex yelled. "Discord! Get over here! Now!"

The draconequiss rubbed his sore ear before looking at the mirror.

"I'm right next to you. As for the mirror, let me go get the case."

He reached into Pinkies mane making her giggle before pulling out a small green case with a picture of Isaac's helmet and the words, ‘Dead Space 2’ written on the front.

He popped open the case, took a disk into his talon and pressed a button on the mirror. A small piece slid open revealing a second disk which he switched with the other and pressed it back into the mirror.

The pictures started moving again as they were getting into the elevator.

Titan Station. Solar elevator.

"Atleast it's a bearable song this time." Issac said.

For the remainder of the song they stood there. The occasional sneeze from one of them or a small conversation concerning politics, games, reading or pastries sprouted but never bloomed.

The doors opened and the four survivors came out' Applebloom and Isaac in a discussion concerning current political debates.

"Ah'm just saying that if he cuts the budget to the southern systems then that could cause bankruptcy in the northern ones from lack of trade and crop growth." Appelbloom said.

"Yeah but, the southern one's are trying to petition fair trade concerning ore mining. They say that the western systems are putting a tax on them unfairly. Believe me; I tried myself to stop it."

"How?" She raised an eyebrow slightly scrunching up her scar.

"I held a petition and even went as far as going on T.V. I was making sure that-"

"Could you two please stop talking about politics!?" The other two crusaders yelled.

"Sorry." Isaac said coughing into his hand awkwardly.

"Sorry." She said grinning sheepishly.

They rolled their eyes before looking around.

The room was dark, steam filled, had a large hole in the middle with spike forming a ring on the top and bottom, a store to the right, a bench to the left and necromorphs in the front.

The Puker was taken care of by Isaac stomping on its head, the Leaper was dealt with by Scootaloo who just repeatedly kept slamming it into a wall.

"Anyone need anything from the store?" Isaac asked.

Their screens came up and they checked their inventory.

"You know, maybe Ah'll get something else. Lift me up Scoot's." Applebloom said.

She gave a nod and lifted her friend into the air as she accessed the store.

She examined the weapons and saw nothing of interest. She looked at the suits and saw a new one.

"Hey Issac... Have ya ever seen a suit like this?" She pointed at the new suit.

He walked over and shook his head.

"Get it if you want. It seems like a pretty good one, aside from the name." He said.

She nodded slowly before putting her hoof to the icon, a screen came up asking to confirm her purchase she pushed yes and went inside the store.

A light shined from the crack in the doors going down. And then the doors opened to let her friends see the new suit.

"Wow... that's pretty awesome." Scootaloo said.

"I like its colors?" Sweetiebelle said awkwardly.

"Sweet." Isaac said.

"So this is what that Zealot suit looks like." Applebloom said examining herself. "Looks a bit weird."

"Who cares, let's just fix the solar whatchamacallits and get out of here. Besides, Sweetiebelle won't be able to throw up in space." Scootaloo said.

"Don't worry the last of my food came out on Isaac's chest. My stomach's empty now." She waved off as Isaac groaned, trudging towards the door below.

They went through and saw more darkness, steam and what looked like a bottomless pit.

"The Docking Pod is off the mag-rail. An Engineering work order has been issued." Said an electronic voice from the speakers.

"It looks like we have to go out." Isaac said. "Sweetiebelle, keep you're vomit to yourself this time." He pointed at her.

She gave a huff as they went through the second door.

Isaac looked around and saw the canister on the piece of scrap, he fired and it started to move away. He waved them on as he jumped and started to float around.

They all floated down to the bottom of the shaft where Isaac was already waiting.

"Took you long enough. What were you doing, admiring the scenery?"

"It just never gets old." Applelboom said looking at Saturn.

"No, no it doesn't. Why don't we light the candles and head back up?" He raised his Plasma cutter again and set off the other two canisters.

As it went, so did they back to the top.

When they passed through the doors again Sweetie's helmet folded up and she was slightly green. She shook it off with a smile.

That faded when she saw the Leaper prowling around the corner as Isaac walked towards the door.

Before she could say anything they all watched as he was blindsided by the Leaper. Sweetiebelle and Applebloom already looked back to see Applebloom getting out her Line gun and folding her helmet down. Only it still showed the same looking Applebloom.

She aimed and fired cutting off its arms. He pushed it off him and stared at her with a smile until realizing she still had it pointed at him.

Before he could stop her she fired.

The Lurker creeping along above him lost all of its tentacles before falling into Isaac's lap.

"Applebloom...? Are you all there?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, ah'm still here. I guess controlling my emotions is easier than ah thought. Pretty easy if ya think about it. It's like two wires and a bulb. Just have to take a wire away and then all the electricity goes through that one." She shrugged. "It's not easy though. Hurts ma'h head a little." She smiled.

They all entered the large orbital elevator in silence. Until the crusader's thought to start talking about what Isaac thought about Ellie.

"So Isaac, do you think she's attractive?" Sweetiebelle asked.

"Dear god, what next? Where do babies come from?" He thought to himself as he looked forward. "Don't move and they might stop."

"Hey Isaac, what do humans have at parties to drink and eat? Is there meat or vegetables and fruit?" Scootaloo asked.

"Fuck you universe! Fuck you! Can this get any-"

A window busted open and hanging onto the elevator was a small Tripod.

"Worse." He sighed and raised his Plasma cutter. "Fire!" He yelled.

He fired off two shots into its left should cutting off the arm, It hung on by a claw before Applebloom bucked its fingers to bloody stubs.

A second window busted open and Scootaloo fired her Force gun sending it into a platform they were passing.

A third and fourth broke in. Sweeitebelle and Isaac turned to fire at the necromorph's. He shot off another's shoulder; Sweetiebelle stuck a javelin in another one's face making it fall off.

Now a fifth one busted open and Scootaloo sent all four of her tentacles at it. They all impacted it, skewering its chest; in one swift move ripped it into four different pieces in a shower of blood and gore.

Isaac got the worst of it. He was covered in head to toe in blood with bits of the Tripod's insides slowly sliding down his faceplate.

Scootaloo was about to open her mouth when he raised a hand to stop her.

"Just forget it. I've been covered in worse stuff than this." He said slowly wiping away the gunk from his faceplate. "Trust me."

"Arriving at... Solar Array Sigma zero five." Said an electronic voice from the speakers.

"Looks like we’re here." Isaac said going forward.

They exited the elevator making sure none of the Tripods had followed them inside. Instead they found Cyst's.

"How about we skip the lockers?" Isaac suggested watching the small lumps of flesh move up and down.

"Yeah, that sounds like a right good plan." Applebloom nodded. "Nasty little things." she stuck her tongue out at one.

They went through the door after taking care of the Cyst hiding above it.

And a swarm of birds came flying out.

"What the heck was that?" Scootaloo asked hiding under her fore-hooves.

"Birds. There used in the mines to detect gas, so if we hit a gas line where were mining the birds will start chirping. The technique has been used for thousands of years actually." Isaac stated.

A holographic woman appeared in front of them.

"Welcome to Solar Array Sigma-Zero-Five. Proper identification required. Please wait here. Watchman... Howard Phillips will be with you shortly." She said before flickering off.

"What was that?" Applebloom asked.

"Just the AI for the station." Isaac said.

"A what now?"

"It stands for, Artificial Intelligence. It's a mind without a body."

"Ooh." She said smiling. "Ah don't get it." She frowned.

"It’s like a soul," Scootaloo started. "It needs a host to do anything. The AI here, it needs the station to do things. A soul needs a body to do things for it. Now do you understand?"

"Ah... guess that makes more sense. Why couldn't ya explain it like her Isaac? Instead yall had to go and confuse me with your fancy words." She pouted.

"I-I... forget it. Let's see if we can get through this AI." He groaned.

They walked to the door at the end of the walkway, watching every vent they passed.

The door scanned them before the AI flickered back into view.

"Your RIG is not authorized to access this area. Please step away from the door."

"oh come on!" Sweetiebelle yelled showing her dissatisfaction.

"Hang on, I've got it." Scootaloo said.

A Slasher was crawling through the vent behind them. He saw them turn their backs and he tore through the vent, landing on the floor with as much noise as a mouse.

The barely audible crunch was heard when the small one threw the door at him, sending sparks all across the side as it went and finally imbedding itself into the back wall.

"Did you hear that?" Scootaloo said. "It sounded like a moth was just hit."

"I hope it's alright." Sweetiebelle said. "Celestia forbid a single moth be crushed by a metal door in a necromorph outbreak."

"Could you two stop it!?" Isaac said silencing them. "Let's focus on how to get to the Solar Array."

They both hugged it out smiling guiltily and proceeded forward.

"Unauthorized visitor detected. Auto-defenses activated. Station watchman Howard Phillips, please provide verbal access code to authorize your guest." The AI said turning on orange lasers.

"See anything we can throw?" Isaac asked looking around.

All three of them looked to the sides and even as far as they could forward, but nothing was in the room except for them.

"Well, dammit. It looks like I'm going to have to just go with it." Isaac sighed. "If I die, tell Ellie I was fighting a Hive mind." He said to the crusaders.

He ran forward and went into the laser's themselves. He stumbled from the small explosion but kept going to the next set where he did the same. Once he made it to the door he slumped against it, his RIG red.

"Isaac! Isaac! Are you okay! Say something! Anything, please!" Scootaloo cried.

"Never let me do that again..." He moaned. "Get off my arms please..." He winced as Sweetiebelle's hooves stepped off.

"Ellie was right, yall are strange." Applebloom pointed out. "We could'a just went back and got something."

He gave a low moan before passing out from pain.

"N-Now what?" Sweetiebelle asked, her fur matted by her eyes and cheeks. "Should we carry him or try and heal him?"

"We should heal him. Come on, let's go put him somewhere he'll be safe." Scootaloo said taking his limp body in her tentacles as they traveled back.

Ponyville.

Alex had a hoof mark on his face from witnessing what Isaac had just done.

"You stupid bastard... you couldn't just look back?"

"I-Is he going to be alright?" Fluttershy asked.

"After that? Please that's nothing compared to some of the other things that's happened to him. That had to be the most stupid though." Alex pointed out.

"If he ever comes here, I’d like to ask him how he can fly around in space." Rainbowdash said.

"He just uses thruster in his suit." Alex waved her off. "Huh, look at that. They did find somewhere safe for him."

Titan Station. Mining center.

Isaac couldn't describe the pain. Every bone in his body was rattling, his muscles were sore and his head was in pieces.

"God damn... what happened?" He asked pushing the covers off him. "What the hell? I don't remember getting into a bed."

He looked around and saw his suit laying at the other side of the room. And next to him was a plate of eggs and some black coffee with two sugar lumps next to it.

He looked around carefully before picking up the plate and ate the eggs nearly in seconds. He tasted the coffee and put the sugar cubes in, swished them around and drank it all.

It was probably a bad idea but he was gunless at the moment. "Hello? Is there anyone out there? Sweetiebelle? Applebloom? Scootaloo?" He called out.

He was greeted by three furry heads grinning brightly as they raced through the doorway and jumped onto him.

"My ribs!" He yelled in pain.

They all slid off and sat at the foot of the bed, with the same grins as before.

"We thought we lost yall for a second." Aplpebloom laughed.

"I don't remember what happened. It felt like I ran into a bunch of lasers like an idiot." He groaned rubbing his head which was starting to feel better.

"You did, you boor." Sweetiebelle said smirking.

"Alright, that answers that... but how did my armor get over there?"

They looked at the solid black armor as it stood there.

"We had to take it off so we could use one of those health canisters on you." Sweetiebelle explained.

"You didn't have to take my armor off." He smiled at their blushes. "Don't worry; I’m still wearing what I had underneath. Wait… am I!?" He quickly lifted the covers and saw he still had his boxers and socks on. "That's a relief." He sighed.

"How did ya like breakfast?" Applebloom asked.

"It was good, best eggs I've had in years. Same for the coffee. Where did you all get them anyway?"

"That's a story for another time. Get up and put your armor back on." Scootaloo said.

They all hopped down and sat patiently as he slid out.

And then they all burst into full blown laughter.

"What? There’s nothing wrong with hearts." He grumbled as they laughed at him.

He was only wearing a white T-shirt, black socks and a pair of boxers with hearts on them.

As he walked past them mumbling light swears he put his armor back on.

As the helmet snapped back into place the crusaders were calm enough to get up and follow him back out the door.

"Hey, this is that watchman guy's bed!" Isaac yelled.

"We asked him if you could use it. He didn't say no." Sweetiebelle said.

He smiled at her crude joke and went along.

They passed the AI again and the second time while she was by the door-less hallway and a third time when she turned the laser's on.

They proceeded to the door ahead and opened it.

They all immediately ran behind some crates.

"Did you see how many of them were there?" Isaac whispered. "There's got to be atleast two dozen of them walking around."

"What do we do?" Sweetiebelle asked.

"Girls, Isaac." Applebloom started with a maniacal grin, but not the same one as when they were at the school. "I've got an idea."

"Well spill it!" Scootaloo said.

"Isaac, do these suits have a… a volume control?" She asked.

"Yes. Why?" He asked hesitantly.

"What are they at now?"

"Ten percent."

"Turn ours up to a hundred and our hearing parts to zero."

"I'm not going to ask." He said adjusting their volume control and receiving input.

"Isaac, hold onto somethin' and turn yours down to zero. Girls," She was speaking over their radios now.

They got grins like hers before hoof bumping.

They all slowly crawled past the necromorphs and to the side wall where they sat.

They all took a deep breathe.

"What the hell? " Isaac thought.

Ponyville.

"What the hell?" Alex said.

"What are they doing?" Twilight asked.

"I have no idea." He said uneasily.