Awoken 3: An Endless Nightmare

Chapter 9: Cloudsdale Falls

THUMP.

"Oh my god Blue!" Amber gasped, her gaze snapping to the pale green earth pony.

Blueprint lifted his head from the table and rubbed his jaw. "Ghh... Sorry, I'm so tired..."

"Tired enough to fall asleep at breakfast? Why in the world would you stay up so late?"

"You know why..." He groaned, nodded over at the table where the incubator sat, a tiny chip placed inside. It had begun to expand already, tiny wires protruding from the main body.

"You remind me so much of your uncle that it kind of scares me." I yawned.

"...what?" He looked up.

"Hide practically never slept. Always working. He always seemed kind of tired, and Dash got mad at him for spacing out on her sometimes."

Blueprint sighed, pushing his glasses up on his face. "...In a good way, right?"

"Considering you actually care about everyone's safety, I'd assume so. You may act like your uncle, but you're not insane like he was. It was pretty painful to see his intelligence go to waste on that stupid Factory. He could have done great things if he hadn't lost his sanity."

"Do you remember what he was like before he went insane?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. I saw him quite a bit during my training a few years ago. He was semi-sane back then. I dunno. He never laughed or smiled, that only came after his insanity. He didn't act much different, honestly."

"Was he at least... Kind? At all?"

"Eh, depended on the day. Being tired didn't really help his mood much, but he treated us nicer than Rainbow Dash did. Dash yelled a lot, Hide didn't. He didn't go out of his way to avoid protocol though. He still tasered us if we messed up. He still revoked meal privileges for big mistakes. Just like everypony else. He actually wasn't that bad before the cloning incident."

Blueprint nodded, seeming a little reassured. From his hold on the situation in the last few days, it was easy to tell that he was uncomfortable with the whole thing. He had tried to forget about the fact that his uncle was a well known master criminal, but this whole incident had resurfaced the issue. He wanted to know that Hide wasn't all bad.

"He was talented, I'm sure we can all admit that," I added quickly.

"Yeah, this Prototype is absolutely phenomenal, even if it's not used for a very good cause. The design is amazing, and it's so well thought out..." He smiled slightly.

"Well, you were able to replicate it, so I think you've probably got a PhD in your future too. You could be the next Dr.Atmosphere."

Blue shook his head. "I would never take his name, it wouldn't do me any good. I guess Strife is out of the question now too... Oh, why is my family so messed up?" He covered his face with his hooves.

"Aw, cheer up, we'll get Tyra back for you. I'm sure it's all a misconception, she might have a possibility of redemption." Amber smiled. "Remember, we still don't know what her reasoning is, and if it's logical, then she might have a bit of a chance."

"As much of a chance as any of us had," called Glaze from where he sat on the couch in the next room over. "Which wasn't a heck of a lot."

"You're not helping," I called back, annoyed.

He shrugged, entering the room and throwing a jar into the sink. "I'm plenty of help. Better not get his hopes up, or he's going to be pretty damn disappointed. 'Least that's what I've taken away from my own situation."