Chapter 27 – The End

Josh could feel how close they were to Aperture Science. Part of him yearned for the endless, sterile halls, the busy scientists working on anything that mattered, the entire futuristic feel of the place really. But that wasn't important. What was important was getting these ponies safely home, and their universe secured. He continued driving the car, past the endless rows of wheat fields.

Finally, he came to the small hole in the ground where they had used the escape pod. But how to get back down? Josh peered into the hole, which nanobots were already working on fixing. The pod itself had disintegrated, black powder all that remained. So, was there a portalable surface? Yes, the Central AI Chamber was mostly portal-accepting surfaces. He aimed carefully, and with some practice, was able to get a shot to land on the wall. Now, what about the other portal?

He looked around. The elevator nearby was made of wood, it wouldn't do. Wait, did he have anything in his backpack? He dug around, and pulled out a tub of Conversion Gel, the white liquid sloshing around. "Warning: This contains lunar sediments, which are poisonous if ingested," he read. He went over to the elevator nearby, and slopped some gel on. Finally, he had enough to form a portal, and the Central AI Chamber was visible through it. "Done!" he called, stepping through the portal. The two ponies quickly followed. Josh loved the feel of the underground, as the harsh sun had been getting to him.

The group made their way back to the portal chamber, but Josh noticed a Test Chamber wall had crumbled, revealing a Hard Light Bridge. Luckily, it stopped at a white wall, and Josh shot a portal at it for later. "Why do we need the bridge?" Trixie asked. "There's no floor in the room, remember? This'll serve as our floor, as long as it doesn't break," Josh answered. Trixie nodded, understanding. When they came to the room with the gateway, Josh shot an orange portal at the wall behind them, the light bridge appearing and extending out of it. They walked over to the circular door, and Josh placed the thumb drive in a USB slot, giving his second drive to Trixie. "Just in case," he smiled. A bird flew into the room, and studied them intently. "That crow looks so… weird," Trixie noticed. "Almost like it's evil or something." Josh shrugged. "It's a crow, it probably just wants food."

Josh pressed a few buttons on the portal, and it opened to reveal another Earth, seen from space. "And that's the new host planet for your TV show," he remarked. "They won't suspect a thing." He pressed a different button, and the Equestrian Enrichment Center was visible. "You two first," Josh said. Twilight and Trixie easily stepped in through the portal, and waved to him from the other side. Josh smiled. They were so close to being done! The bird, however, had different plans. It flew over and started pecking at one of the shiny buttons, causing the portal to malfunction. Twilight and Trixie could only see bits of Josh, the rest replaced with a black nothingness. "Wha- help- it" Josh tried to say, before the link shut off entirely. The other Earth was visible for a brief second, and Josh was sucked through the portal. His last thought was "And I never got to tell her…"

It was just three days later, and all the ponies who had known him were gathered for Josh's funeral. Derpy and Trixie were openly crying. The Mane Six simply bowed their heads. Celestia could not attend due to the concerns of war. Luna was already there, and was deeply saddened. No one was in the LaECOS suit, and it lay dead, as if mourning its former master as well. The USB drive that Josh gave to Trixie had been downloading something as soon as it was plugged in, and refused to be taken out, so they had left it be for the three days since Josh's disappearance and presumed death. But the thumb drive wasn't nearly done. Josh had pulled and modified some files from GLaDOS herself during their stay, and they were finished uploading. The intercom came on, startling everypony there. "Initiating Emergency Singing Protocols in 3, 2, 1…" the Announcer spoke. Ponies looked at eachother in confusion. Singing? The LaECOS suit swiveled toward them, causing some who were near it to jump back in fright. It regarded Trixie with a sad (could a dead hunk of metal be sad?) eye, and the thumb drive began its last instructions. LaECOS's screens displayed lyrics, and began singing in Josh's voice.

"This was a triumph,
I'm making a note here, Huge Success.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.
Aperture Science; we do what we must because we can,
For the good of all of us,
Except the ones who are dead.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying 'till you run out of cake.
And the science gets done, and you make a neat gun;
For the ponies who are Still Alive.

I'm not even angry
I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my stuff, and killed me.
And tore me to pieces
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned, it hurt because,
I was so happy for you.

Now these points of data make a beautiful line,
And we're done with hating, we're celebrating on time,
So I'm Glad I got burned, think of all the things we learned,
For the ponies who are Still Alive.

Go ahead and leave me,
I think I prefer to stay inside.
Maybe you'll find someone else to help you.

Maybe Black Mesa
That was a joke, ha ha, FAT CHANCE.

Anyway, this cake is great, it's so delicious and moist,
Look at me still talking when there's science to do,
When I look out there, it makes me Glad I'm not you.
I've experiments to run, there is research to be done,

With the ponies who are Still Alive.

And believe me, I am Still Alive.

I'm doing science and I'm Still Alive.

I feel fantastic and I'm Still Alive.

When you're canceled, I'll be Still Alive.

And when you're dead, I will be Still Alive.

Still Alive!

Still alive…"

The screen shut off, and the suit swiveled to look at everypony. "I'm so sorry it had to come to this. But I made this file just in case something went wrong. First off, Trixie, you're in charge of the facility from now onward. Second, if any princesses are here, I am quite sorry that I caused a war in your land. If I were here, I'd be doing my best to help you, but… this is only a file. One last thing…" it said, turning back to Trixie.

"Trixie…

I love you.

~Audio Recording Finished.~"

Trixie gasped in excitement. She had felt the same way almost since the two met. Then she drooped; the only being who had loved her was dead before she knew it. Twilight patted her on the shoulder. Normally Trixie would have objected, but she was too depressed to care at this point.

A/N: SURPRISE ENDING!

I suppose some of you might hate me for being so depressing, but it fits my purposes.

Review, and… comment?

Further Notes: There is going to be a sequel.