//------------------------------// // Finding What You Want // Story: Painted Mirror // by Lord of Turtles //------------------------------// Raj swayed on his feet, the ship bucking and turning underneath him as it accelerated. Sparks and colorless fire erupted from the corkscrew propeller underneath the hull, pushing the great beast of a ship with a sudden lurch of thrust. The four Junks lit up and began scrambling to escape the Break of Day's path. Smaller and more nimble, they were easily able to evade it despite the sudden arrival. Raj cursed and ducked, expecting the things to be jockeying for firing positions. They weren't. All four had already turned tail and were heading off at all speed. Raj shouted. “Where are they going? They stayed to fight before with smaller numbers.” “That was before we were girded for war, Captain,” Luna said back calmly, the sway of the ship not affecting her at all. “They won't engage us fairly in our battle dress.” “Not like they got a choice,” Growled Topsail as he turned several cranks and adjusted levers. “Our engine is fifteen times stronger than anything they got. Our straight line speed will bring us right to 'em.” “That's very impressive, but straight lines of air are a commodity in the Shattered Lands.” Rarity pointed out. As she spoke, the four Junks slipped through a gap in a high wall of floating boulders. “Horseapples!” shouted Applejack as she pressed her hat into her mane. “We can't fit through there, we're too wide.” Raj cursed and looked up along the envelope. “We'll have to go over it. The wall cuts off a couple hundred meters up. If we hurry-” “No time.” The pegasus growled as he started whirling a crank. The ship jerked as it fired the prop again, picking up speed rapidly. “Brace for impact!” He bellowed and grabbed onto the wheel. Applejack hunkered low next to Rarity. Luna crouched over them both before wrapping them in a defensive glow. Rajrishi whipped his axes out and thumped them into the deck, anchoring himself. The ship gave a powerful buck as it struck the boulder, the nose of the envelope crunching inwards and the stone exploding in a spray of dust and rock, whatever strange gravity that let them float being dispelled by the sudden violence. Loose items and ponies launched forward from the hit, including a cartwheeling pink earth pony. Raj reached out to her, but wasn't fast enough. His concern proved unnecessary as she hit the springy fence with her hooves and bowed it outwards a good three feet. She launched back into the ship, squealing with glee, and crashed into Raj's chest hard enough to send him sliding back. She flailed giddily and let out a cheer. “Whee, again! Again!” “No.” Raj replied flatly before dropping her to the deck and turning back to the wheelstation. “Topsail you lunatic!” “You're welcome.” He shot back gruffly and yanked a series of levers, slewing the ship to the side. He took an instant to measure the horizon and pushed the Break of Day towards flank speed. The space they found themselves in was large, even by the standards of the Shattered Lands. A great jungle sprawled out beneath them, stretching for dozens of miles in all directions before terminating against reaching mountains, similar to a caldera Raj realized. Small boulders formed a lazily spinning ring that hovered mere meters over the treetops. The Junks were jetting straight away, heading for a gap in the barrier mountains a few miles off. Raj guessed that they had just minutes before they caught up. He shouted to the assembled ponies. “Everyone remember the plan?” A chorus of affirming shouts cut above the wind and he nodded, readying himself as well. The first shots came quickly, riotous cracks that were followed by streaks of color sailing by as the Junks opened fire with their deck cannons. Topsail seemed not to notice and barreled forward, unwilling to sacrifice the speed that evasive maneuvers would require. A shudder went through the deck as a few rounds burst against the armored hull and Raj felt a pang of fear. Another bang sounded and before it had even registered his vision was dazzled by a spray of chromatic sparks. He cried out and fell backward, covering his face as the shot continued in its skidding path along the defense curtain. “Keep from the railing 'less you got business there!” Topsail scolded as he angled the ship, bringing it alongside the rearmost Junk. Pinkie helped Raj to his feet and away from the rail. As soon as they had the angle, the Junk fired their broadside right into the Break of Day. Shudders tore through the ship as the armor took all the hits. Pulverized concrete bled from a handful of ugly tears but held together tightly. Topsail shouted. “Thirty seconds, get to it.” Rarity bounded toward the rail and focused, power pulsing through her horn. A visible glow projected out of her and swept along the Junk, lighting it up weakly. After a few seconds of scanning she slumped and let out several heavy breaths. She yelled back. “She's not on that one!” “You sure?” Raj asked. “Very.” she replied. “Good enough. Port Side., fire!” bellowed Topsail and the gunnery ports swept open. The entire bank of cannons fired with one terrible sound and struck the Junk in one concentrated wave of fire. The whole side of the Junk disintegrated, the mooring chains snapping from the uneven load and sending the bag upwards like a rocket. The hull dropped down into the jungle and shattered against the ground, the incredible speed they were traveling at rendering the wood and metal as fragile as glass. Rarity only had a moment to look down in horror at the crash before it was lost to their speed, becoming nothing more than a vaguely smoky smudge on the retreating horizon. Pinkie pulled Rarity back to safety as they began to close on the next Junk. Fire erupted from each of the enemy ships, the situation now clear to their crews. The armor and the cage held against the onslaught, but Raj saw torn links in the fence and smoldering fires clung to the hanging armor. All it would take was one shot getting through to the deck to slow them down and that would be it. They'd never catch up. Princess Luna seemed to realize this at the same moment and she lifted Crescent to her hoof and mouth. She floated an arrow to the string, drew, and loosed a bullet-swift shaft. Raj squinted, trying to see what she had hit, but his scrutiny proved unnecessary as one of the rearward cannons erupted into multicolored sparks. Either she'd managed to slip an arrow into their magazine or the shot had gone straight down their barrel. Raj wasn't certain which would be more impressive. “Princess Luna!” Rarity chastised, all of her scorn poured into her tone. “Cease that at once. What if Twilight is on that ship?” The Princess seemed not at all phased by the scolding and lined up another shot. She mumbled past the shaft. “As long as she is not operating their cannons, then we are reasonably certain she will be fine.” Luna let fly another arrow that was absent the explosion. She let out a brief curse and holstered the bow, the last of her arrows expended. The sudden explosion of one of their guns seemed to remove the crew's enthusiasm and they weren't fired upon as they drew up alongside another of the ships. The Junk opened up with its broadside and pounded the Break of Day's starboard armor, but the protection held together like the other side had. Topsail shouted out. “Thirty seconds!” Rarity moved forwards again, noticeably less pep in her step. She got the edge and fired off her scanning spell again, the glow traversing the ship in an instant. She opened her mouth to shout something and paused. She cast the scan spell again and her jaw fell open. Power pulsed through her form and she projected a beam azure light that stuck to the side of the Junk. Exhausted, she shouted back to the group. “She's right there.” The others wasted no time. Raj and Applejack rushed forward and grabbed the breach in the curtain of chain and hauled it to the side, opening a gap. Luna stepped up with a pronounced stagger and slid her horn through the fence. Focusing, a thin beam of burning magenta lanced out and struck the panel of wood Rarity had lit. The magic washed over the wood for a moment before exploding outward into smoky flinders. The wind tore the cloud of smoke away and they could see a purple shape at the gap in the hull. Raj shouted “Rainbow-” A streak of color shot past him, crossing the small gap between the ships in an instant. “-Dash.” Raj finished as she slid to a halt on the deck, front hooves wrapped around a loopy unicorn. He let the gap rattle shut and yelled back. “We got her Topsail!” The gruff pegasus gave no answer as the ship decelerated violently. Raj stumbled forward a few steps, the momentum of the boat bleeding off until the whole thing settled back onto itself. Everyone took a breath, grateful for the fact that the chase was over. Rajrishi watched the trio of pirate ships sail off and silently cursed them and their crew. Twilight recovered quickly but still submitted to Fluttershy and Pinkie's medical care. She let out a wince as they affixed a thick bandage to her horn nub. Unsteadily she rose to her hooves and mumbled “I'm okay guys, really. It's fine. I'm fine.” “Are you sure Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, a roll of bandages stretched between her hooves. “Yes, I am. They didn't hurt me.” She looked up at her lopped off horn. “Well, any more than they did at first.” “Well in that case...” Pinkie said with a leer before diving onto her friend and burying her in snuggles. “Twilight's back!” The others took the cue and rushed in, consuming Twilight Sparkle in a mass of hugs, all of her friends voicing their relief at her return or just sobbing with joy. After a minute Spike came waddling up, tears on his cheeks. The knot of ponies opened up and accepted the little dragon into the pile of affection. Spike clutched to her leg and buried his face into her coat. “I- I'm sorry I didn't, I couldn't keep him from-” “Shh, shhh Spike.” Twilight comforted the little drake. “It's not your fault, you did everything you could. Nobody thinks you didn't do everything you could.” Raj squirmed uncomfortably, feeling like he was intruding on something private. He looked over at Luna who was simply standing with a quiescent smile on her face. He tried to emulate the expression, failed, and chose to stand there looking completely out of place. Topsail broke the mood when he stepped towards the group and shouted. “Alright, alright, we're all very excited to have everypony back. Now get below deck, all ya. We got a long steam to get back to Canterlot and it can't start soon enough.” he shouted to the crewponies. “Detach the armor!” Twilight's eyes fluttered a bit and she sprang free of the cluster of friends, shaking a bit as a pulse of dizziness washed out of her horn. She recovered and said. “W-wait, we can't go back yet.” “Belay that!” Topsail retracted and turned back to Twilight. “What're you on about girl?” “Did you learn something on board the Rakshasa's vessel?” Luna added, far more diplomatically. “Bakasura is here for the same reason we are. He's looking for Jolly Roger's treasure, and his ship.” She cried out, panic edging into her tone. “I knew it!” Spike yelled excitedly. “It's true, he did.” Raj confirmed. “Let him.” Topsail said with a shrug. “The search'll kill him like it almost did us.” “No, you don't understand, it's real. The ship, the treasure, Jolly Roger, all of it is true. And he knows where to find it.” “How do you know this?” Raj said forcefully. Twilight obliged. “Because I'm the one who told him where it is.” * * * Bakasura, fifty-ninth son of the Asura and Rakshasa Lord, was not happy. The crew of his ship had long since learned what his displeasure looked like, and so gave him a wide berth and muttered to each other as they passed. Every few minutes a luckless individual would be required to ask him a question and he would give a terse, angry reply that would send them scampering off. The Aurochs were not so fearful and passed within arm's reach whenever they would pass, but none dare make contact. Forcing that issue would not be good of anyone on-board. He closed his eyes and focused inwards, feeling the shapes locked inside. The tiger and eagle struggled strongly, as hale and hearty as ever. The crocodile and gorilla had recovered to usefulness, but still felt weak. The rest were sound aside from the hyena and squirrel, both of which sat in their cages motionless, dead. A throaty growl rumbled out of him and a clutch of nearby goats jumped. Replacing the squirrel would be easy enough, though he always felt ridiculous chasing down vermin. The hyena would likely prove impossible to replace, the creatures being all but extinct. The fact that one of his ancient shapes was being truly denied to him made his clawed hands flex involuntarily. He tamped down the anger with a conscious expression of will, forcing the emotion to level off. It'd been centuries since he'd been this angry. Not even the Master's War had upset him this much. It was the sheer impudence of it, he realized, that irked him so badly. The war had been lost to the forces of the Faustmare's eldest daughter, an ancient Titanspawn like himself. A peer. That loss he could accept. This, this he refused to accept. His fleet of vessels and crew of hundreds, countless bits of supply and materiel, had been destroyed by a flat-faced ape, a newborn dragon, an escaped slave-pony, a derelict Alicorn, and a bloated airship. They had burned his ships, killed his crew, and destroyed his forms, all without displaying an ounce of the respect he was due. A failure such as this, at the hands of such indolent vermin, would be inexcusable. His brothers would see it in his mind, every moment of it. And for being so weak they would take his lands, his slaves, his wealth, everything. The only option left to him was to achieve victory. It, quite simply, had to happen. When a blunted crossbow bolt clattered onto the deck, a coil of parchment wrapped around the shaft, he pounced on it. He tore it off the shaft and read through the letter, a silent prayer sounding in his mind. He read through the note, froze, and then read through it again. He went over it two more times and let out a rumbling, growling chuckle that seemed to unnerve the crew even more. He pointed at a nearby goat and ordered the ship lower, towards the floating mass of rock. The creature jumped and moved to comply, a quiet bleat of fear leaking from it. Bakasura's tiger face was split into a wide grin, excitement clear on his face. He had it. It was here, the damned unicorn was right. Relieved joy seeped up into him and sighed blissfully, a year's worth of tension leaking out of him. He imagined the ship, still solid after so many long years. He remembered the thrum of it under his feet, the shift of gravity as it banked into a hard turn. He could feel it already, so very close after so long. He was shaken from his reverie when a goat ran up and tapped him on the hip. Not for the first time he considered simply killing it as an example to the others but then he noticed where it was pointing. He followed its direction and froze. There, cresting through a layer of semi-solid cloud, was that damned sky-behemoth. Its nose-cone was still crumbled and burns clung to the ablative armor, but the thing still exuded threat, even at such distance. The thing angled towards their position and started moving towards them. Alarms went up among the three remaining ships, cries for battlestations and combat crews to get to positions. The deck of Bakasura's ship exploded into activity and the messenger goat turned and bleated for orders from his master. The Rakshasa was gone though, already flying towards the floating mountain on the wings of an eagle. * * * Pinkie squinted into the telescope and jumped up. “Ooh! I see a birdy leaving that boat we blew a hole in.” “That'd be him alright.” Raj confirmed. “That rock must have Jolly Roger's stuff in it.” “Then why would he leave his ship?” Rarity asked. “Shouldn't he be defending the find?” Rainbow Dash zipped in. “We've kicked his butt every time he's gotten in a straight fight with us, so he's just going to turn tail and run now that we're so close.” Applejack spat on the deck. “Dang coward.” “Fleeing a battle you cannot win is not cowardice Applejack, it is wisdom. And none would accuse a Rakshasa of idiocy.” Luna stated with a glare. “We will have to engage on the ground Captain.” Raj replied with a nod as he surveyed the area. The rock itself was a bare, unremarkable formation the size of a city block. It hovered in the shadow of two much larger mountains, making it look tiny in comparison. A completely nondescript place to hide a lethal superweapon, which actually made a great deal of sense in retrospect. “Alright, one more.” He turned around and shouted back to the pilot's station. “Topsail, we need to get to that rock, quick as you can.” Topsail squinted down at the trio of Junks maneuvering into combat formation and sighed. “Y'know, one of these days yer gonna have to ask me to do something easy Captain.” The Shipmaster yanked a few levers and the ship jerked forward as it accelerated. “Um, I don't want to be a downer or anything.” Fluttershy said, her voice barely audible over the wind and the rattle of the fence. “But, well, what exactly are we going to do when we get there?” “What're you talking about Fluttershy? We're gonna kick Bakasura's shapeshifting butt!” shouted Rainbow Dash with a few encouraging cheers from the crew. “That's secondary.” Clarified Rajrishi. “Our goal is to secure the Vow of Poverty. That's priority one. Everything else is priority two.” “So all we have to do is find the ship and keep it fer ourselves? Not gonna be easy.” Applejack drawled. “Doesn't matter if its easy Applejack. Gotta be done.” Raj groused. “If we don't manage this, then a sworn enemy of Equestria gets a hold of an ancient, interstellar space boat capable of only god knows what. Twilight is too hurt to help, Spike won't leave her, and the crew are needed up here. The seven of us are the only ones that can do this. We are it. So let's get this done.” The ponies nodded firmly and smiled at each other. Topsail shouted out “Ten seconds!” and they all started scrambling as the ship decelerated sharply. A pair of crewponies ratcheted open the gap in the chain-link and the lot of them sprang out. Raj looked down and felt a trill of terror as he looked down at the twenty feet of open air beneath him but he tamped that down as much he could. Raj hit the surface of the boulder hard and went into a roll, coming up in a crouch. Rainbow landed heavily and flung Applejack out of her arms. The Earth Pony reached out to take the weight on her bad leg on reflex and let out a bark of pain and collapsed. Raj moved to help but she was waving him off before he took a second step. Fluttershy landed far more gracefully and set Rarity down daintily. Pinkie drifted on her balloon parachute almost weightlessly and the bunch detached seemingly of their own accord. Pinkie gave them a cheerful wave goodbye and hurried back to the group. Rajrishi looked as the ship jetted away on a plume of colorless flame as the naval battle began in earnest, fire lancing out and from the Break of Day. He had absolute faith in Topsail and the crew, but he still felt a pang of worry for them. He yelled. “Spread out, find some sort of entrance.” “Found it!” cried out Pinkie Pie after roughly fourteen seconds. Everyone looked over and saw her standing at the mouth of a staircase that led straight down, dark and completely unadorned. Raj saw a large boulder nearby that would serve as a perfect cover for the stair, likely removed by Bakasura. “Good work Pinkie.” Raj said, not questioning the providence or the speed of the discovery. He drew his axes and took a few steps down the passage. Everypony else fell into line behind him and they all moved with nervous speed. When the darkness wrapped around them, the two magical horns in the group lit up to illuminate their way. After about fifty steps Raj saw the first sprung trap. A panel of the wall had broken away and the opposite wall had a trio of darts stabbed into it. A few steps down, a fourth dart sat with a thin slick of black blood on it. Raj indicated it with his head. “Careful of that.” “Oh my.” hissed Rarity as she studied the bloody scene. “That is absolutely fiendish.” “The trap works in our favor, grisly as it is.” Luna pointed out as she cleared away the projectiles. “Whatever may slow Bakasura is a boon to us.” “Still got a lead on us though. We need to pick it up.” muttered Applejack. They did so, and hit a landing after another fifty steps. The small landing terminated against a vault door that had its mechanism cut out by more than a dozen slashes that were still warm to the touch. Raj grabbed the handle to the vault door and threw it open with a grunt. He looked on the other side and paused. It was a room about the size of a football field. Dozens of pillars supported the high ceiling, each one surrounded by heavy duty shelves that reached just as high. Each one, without exclusion, was filled with treasure. Gold and gems sat heavy on each shelf, any attempt at organization abandoned in the face of such sheer volume. Coins mounded up into waist high hillocks formed paths through the wealth. Crowns studded with gems larger than the hope diamond sat discarded like scraps off a plate and garlands of pearls the size of grapes looped over wall sconces that were fitted with glowstones that still cast off faint light. Stranger things beyond riches were foisted here and there. Sculptures of odd colors depicted creatures Rajrishi did not have the vocabulary to readily describe stood next to a humming glass portrait of a hairy hunched thing that looked to be in the process of shaping the art while still being a part of the art. Raj saw a rack of weapons holding a spear with a loop in the middle, a sword with a blade he could only see in his peripheral vision, and a long hafted hammer with a head the size of a cinder block. All of them, even Luna, simply stared at the impossible amount of wealth and strangeness for a solid minute. Pinkie broke the silence by simply whispering. “Wowee.” Raj stuck his hand into a stack of gold coins and pulled it back, letting the money dribble through his fingers. “Holy crap. This has all just been... sitting here?” “I suppose it has.” answered Rarity, an emerald the size of a mango in her horngrip. “I didn't even know this much wealth actually existed. It must have taken Jolly Roger centuries to steal all this.” “Mine earrings!” yelled Princess Luna as she floated up to a shelf, a pair of exquisitely made amethyst earrings in her hoof. “That fiend must have taken them from my nightstand after...” she looked sideways at her companions. “We left them there.” Rarity's face split into a smile, a thousand questions springing to her mind at once. A low grinding sound came from further down the room and Rajrishi suddenly recalled why they were all there. He started down the aisle to look when the gold next to him exploded upwards, the top half of a pink pony protruding from it. She pointed a hoof and chirped. “He's over there, near some door thingy.” Pinkie then dove back into the gold and somehow started to breast-stroke through it. Raj broke into a sprint and saw Bakasura standing in front of a circular door that was irising open slowly. The Rakshasa saw him coming, paused, and drew his sword. “Rainbow, far side of the room!” Raj called out and the blue pegasus responded in an instant and rushed forwards, weaving her way between the pillars with uncanny grace. Bakasura saw her coming but wasn't fast enough to react before she slammed a hoof into his face. The Rakshasa staggered and swiped with his scimitar but she had already flapped out of reach. Rajrishi used that time to close in, axes out. Bakasura backpedaled and planted a foot on a clear shelf, vaulting himself into the air. His form shivered and an orange striped tiger fell down on Raj, growling and spitting. Raj blocked with his arms, defending himself from the beast's foreclaws and maw as it forced him to the ground. The thing curled up its hindlegs and started to rake, razor sharp running along his chest and belly, the claws catching on something resilient under his jacket and failing to find flesh. Grimacing in pain, Raj curled a punch into the thing's ribs, forcing the breath out of it. He struck again in the same spot and felt his fist sink all the way to his wrist. Bakasura roared up a gout of blood and stopped thrashing long enough for Raj to plant his feet on its chest and sent him flying. The creature transformed back in midair, spun to grab hold of a golden saucer and hurled it like a frisbee. The disc hit Raj square in the forehead and he flopped back to the ground with a strangled garble. Bakasura stepped forward to finish off the prone human. A beam of azure energy burned into the wall near his head and he jumped back. Further up the aisle, Applejack, Luna, Fluttershy and Rarity were sprinting to catch up, offensive magic boiling on Luna and Rarity's horns. The Rakshasa sneered and looked between the closing group and the stunned human. Visibly annoyed, he hopped off the pile and retreated through the opening door. He grabbed at a lever on the other side and yanked it down, reversing the mechanism. Raj sat up groggily, his thoughts coming in through a haze. Rarity shook him lightly and asked again. “Rajrishi, are you alright?” “M'fine.” He slurred and meant it, the cloud in his mind already fading. He looked down at the shredded remnants of his coat and ran a hand over the gleaming metal links protecting his torso. “Armor held up beautifully.” Rarity failed to keep the smug grin off of her face as she said. “Well, that would be why I made it for you darling. Fluttershy and I, I mean.” The yellow pegasus heard her name and looked away shyly. A vicious curse drew their attention back to the task at hand as Luna pawed at the closed door. “Curse that lascivious charlatan's engineering!” “What? What's wrong?” Raj asked as he got up. “We have no idea how to open this door.” She planted a hoof on it and ran it along the scalloped surface, finding no buttons or controls of any kind. “Then how did he get through?” Raj asked as he studied it himself. “If we knew that, then we would be able to do it ourselves Captain.” Luna said coolly. “Rainbow, other exits.” Raj ordered. “On it!” The blue pegasus flapped hard and disappeared in a streak of color. After a few seconds she slid to a halt and shook her head. “Nope, just this one and the way we came in. Sorry.” “Shit!” Raj shouted and stomped a foot, cracking the stone under his foot. “Well, we don't got time to figure out no fancy lock. Let's just smash it down and get on with it.” Applejack drawled and reared a leg back to kick it. “That won't work Applejack.” Luna said as she raised a hoof between her and the door. “We recognize this stone. It is Adamant.” Pinkie hopped next to her. “I don't care how stubborn it is, let's break it down!” Luna looked at her in mild confusion for an instant before saying. “Not the adjective, the material. The stone is called Adamant, the same material the doors of Tartarus are constructed of. It will not break so easily. We will have to ascertain the mechanism behind it.” “Can't you just teleport past it?” Raj asked, anger edging his voice. “That is not a discipline we have studied Captain.” She said tersely. “Unless you have some glaring insight into this problem please remain silent while we determine how to open this." “I got a better idea.” Raj rushed to the back of the treasure chamber and returned a minute later hefting the enormous hammer over one shoulder. Luna glared at him. “We told you Captain, this door cannot be broken. It is made of Adamant.” Raj pushed her out of the way. “Yeah, but the wall next to it isn't.” He swung the hammer in a wide arc, the enormous head of the weapon picking up an odd hum as it sang through the air. It struck hard and some unknowable energy passed from the swing into the wall, discordant vibrations shaking the stone hard enough Raj felt the ground buck up underneath him. The wall itself shook apart and exploded away from him, a blast of dust blowing back at him and the others as debris filled the hall beyond. That was a bit surprising to Raj and he stood in dumb shock for an instant, staring at the narrow hole in the rock he'd smashed open. After a second, the rock shifted dangerously, threatening to close the gap. Moving quickly and ignoring every screaming instinct from his lizard brain, he threw the hammer ahead and dove into the gap, squirming to get through before he was crushed. The others shouted after him, reaching uselessly as the rocks shifted shut behind his retreating boots. Raj fell to the stone, coughing and sputtering up dust. He staggered to his feet, looked around, and froze. This space dwarfed the previous chamber, easily ten times the size. Much of that was empty space or occupied by a still lake of water that glowed with a layer of luminous algae along the bottom. The walls were sheer aside from a single, open passage the size of a garage door, small and almost impossible to notice from the outside if you didn't know where to look. Down a brief staircase from the door was an ancient stone dock, and sitting at that dock was the Vow of Poverty. The first thought Raj had was that the museum had been very close to right. The thing was small, maybe only thirty feet long and had the general shape of a ship but came to a much more needle-like point. It lacked any masts or fins of any kind but instead had what Raj recognized as jets or thrusters along the curve of the hull and some sort of spiral shaped rotor at the rear. It was sleek and alien. More importantly, it was on. Puffs of light shot from the small jets and the rotor twitched and shook. Near the rear of the ship, Bakasura was frantically working at a control panel of some sort, getting the ship to readiness. “Captain!” Raj heard a muffled voice shout through the rubble. “Captain, are you alive?” “M'fine.” He said again, staring at the ship in something close to awe. “Excellent.” He heard her say alongside scraping of rocks. “Stay where y'are, we're digging through quick as we can. We'll be there in a minute, so jess wait a spell.” “Not really an option Applejack.” Raj hefted up the giant hammer. “I have to go.” He rushed off, their answering shouts lost to the stone and distance.