//------------------------------//
// Reaching Out 
// Story: Detour: The Road to Uprise 
// by Jetset0099 
//------------------------------//

       Wind is a wild feat of nature. It is one of her secret weapons in disguise. At most times it provides a cooling breeze that relaxes anyone or anything around it. But when it wants to, it can unleash a cruel and destructive force that can't be dealt with. 
This was the latter in Macluma and Sienna's case. They awoke to the harsh screeching of the wind above their snow burrow and looked around quite worried. It was pitch black, and where there had once been a small opening to the surface was now sealed off by an extremely heavy drift. Sienna hit the wall to try and break through, but to no avail. Macluma had piled snow up from the hole he had dug, which caused more snow to drift up alongside that and seal the opening off. When he attempted what his partner had just tried, he too failed. To his estimate, there had to be at least five to six feet of snow that had piled up since they'd fallen asleep. The amount of snowfall must have increased severely, he thought. 
He pounded and pounded against the wall desperately trying to bust it down. He'd never been a stallion of great strength. He knew that. But if there was anytime to use everything he had, it was now. 
Sienna joined in, and in unison they bashed into the snow repeatedly, causing it to just pack down even more. He knew this wasn't the best way. Digging it out would've been his first choice if there was actually something to do it with. His hooves proved to be useless as half of the snow was solid ice as well. He might as well have taken a plastic fork and scraped away. 
"How the heck are we going to get out of here?!" he asked. "We're snowed in, and if it keeps building up, it's going to collapse in on us. Then we're in real trouble."

"Well we have to try something. We're engineers, remember? We have a problem, we find a solution. Normally it's over entire nights with unlimited amounts of coffee. But, nevertheless, we have to try, right?"
Macluma had always appreciated Sienna's sense of humor no matter what the situation. Whenever they'd been working together and had hit a dead end on a project, it was her who saw them through it with her wits and knowledge. He wasn't ashamed to admit that, either. 
He looked up, and already he noticed the roof of the snow burrow was sunk in a little. It wouldn't be long until they were trapped for good and froze to death. He tried strategically digging at the bottom, hoping it would loosen up the wall of snow and collapse it, but it proved to be just as hard as before. How he'd managed to even dig down in the first place he'd never know. 
Suddenly, their fears came true as the weight of the snow was too much, and it couldn't support itself any longer. The roof caved in and smashed down on the two, causing the wind to be knocked out of Sienna. They were separated by a foot of snow, and we're enclosed from head to hoof. There was no chance of breaking free. 
The weight of the thick, icy snow began to bear down even harder on the two, making the task of breathing very strenuous. 
"C-can you hear me, Sienna?!"
He asked in a strained voice. He listened for a moment, then heard a barely audible muffle from the other side. 
"Yes! Yes I can!"

"Good! Hang in there. I'll think of something."
There was eerie silence as Macluma pondered his situation. His body temperature was dropping fast, and he didn't have much time before frostbite set in. As he thought, Sienna's voice could be heard through the wall.  
"Macluma. I know what can get us out of here."

"What?! Tell me."
There was a pause, and that hesitation made Macluma realize what she was getting at. He spoke up before she even responded again. 
"No! I'm not doing it!"

"You have to!" she pleaded. "What other options do we have?! I'm getting so cold I can barely speak! I can't feel my hooves or anything! We will surely die right here and right now if you don't do it. Is this how you want us to end?! To risk everything and run away from that evil, sadistic, stallion only to die because of some snow?! That's not the Macluma I know and love. No, sir that is not! I know you're afraid of what might happen, but you have that power for a reason, and I'll be damned if you're going to die because you won't use it."
A single tear streaked Macluma's face, then froze instantly to his cheek. He had to do it, even if it meant the repercussions later. Those were a much better route to take than dying all together. 
He situated himself as best as he could, and spoke for the last time. 
"Ok. I'll do it. Just hold on. Don't close your eyes and fall asleep, because in this cold, you won't wake up."

"Thank you, Macluma. I love you."

"I love you, too."
It had been his father who showed him his power. One he never could've imagined. Even though he was an Earth Pony, magic was still capable through him. He had a gift of being able to channel the elements around him into pure energy, which is what drove his passion for electricity and engineering. He was in fact a living conductor of electricity. Why he had the power, he still wasn't sure. He had a few theories a long time ago, but never sought them out and discovered its true origin. Now, after years of being docile, his special powers bubbled to the surface once more. 
He closed his eyes and emptied his mind. Letting all thoughts run away like scattering birds on the beach, leaving nothing but a blank slate to work with. He felt his surroundings. The ice. The snow. The chill. The texture. Everything was embedded into his mind. He slowed his breathing, as well as his heart rate, and felt prepared to complete the task. He took his thoughts of the snow he had stashed away, and slowly formed them together in his mind. A white orb was swirled together, then spotted with ice. It started to rotate in the emptiness, going faster and faster. Once it reached speed, it was time to unleash. He channeled magic he gained from the snow and it's elements into him, and his cutie mark, which resembled three sparks, began glowing brightly. Instantly, the snow around it began to melt from the heat. It was working. He concentrated even harder as his mark grew hotter and hotter, not affecting him the slightest. 
After a couple more seconds, Sienna could be seen as the wall between them melted completely away. She smiled for the first time while he melted away even more snow. Macluma got up and took it to the next level. He channeled the energy from his mark to his hoof, and shot a small bolt of energy from the tip of it, melting away anything in it's path. He aimed upwards, chipping away the ceiling rapidly. Soon, there was a small spot of black, undoubtedly the cloudy night sky. 
He closed his eyes and focused the orb in his head to spin faster, creating more energy. The bolt grew in diameter and heat, causing Sienna's smile to slowly fade. 
"Macluma, that's enough. We can get out now. Don't get carried away!"
He was unaware of anything on the outside as he was barred in his own mind, focusing only on the orb. Soon he realized what he was doing, and that he needed to stop. But he couldn't. He tried opening his eyes, but to him, his mind turned into reality and all he could see, eyes open or closed, was the orb. It spun faster and faster and he lost control of it.
In his mind he was screaming for him to stop, but his physical form remained motionless, staring off as the beam shot straight up into the sky growing larger and getting higher. He was screaming for Sienna to run away, because she could now the snow was melted. Despite his efforts, not a sound came out. 
"Macluma?! Macluma?!" she cried. 
The heat grew to be unbearable, and she clambered up the wall and out of the snow hole. She fell back about ten feet away and looked up to the sky only to see the massive bolt growing even more. Tears flowed freely as she regretted ever asking him to perform such a task. He wasn't able to control his power after such time spent repressing it. There was absolutely nothing she could do but get to cover and wait. Even through the whirling wind and snow the bolt was easily visible as it climbed yet another fifty or so yards. 
Inside Macluma's mind, the orb was spinning so fast it began flattening into a disc of ice. The pain grew, as his body could not cope with these levels of energy. The fabric of his mind couldn't contain the mental strain, too, and as the disc reached full speed, it flew apart, shattering his mind with it. The bolt reached it's peak, and a massive wave of energy roared as it shot up into and past the clouds. It remained in fire for a couple seconds, then, like a light switch, retracted down and dissipated, leaving nothing but the empty wasteland, the howl of wind, and a charred stallion laying in a crater made from the blast. 
Macluma was motionless on the ground as Sienna slid down the bank  and fumbled over to him, cradling his head in her hooves. His fur was burnt from head to toe, and his nose was bleeding very badly. His mane and tail were mere stumps of what they used to be, seared off by the immense heat. The hoof where the bolt came out of was profusely bleeding, causing the snow to turn crimson around the two. She put her shaking hoof on his chest, trying to feel a pulse. There was a slow one, followed by a short, shallow breath. He was still alive, but barely. 
"Come on...come on, Macluma speak to me."
She lightly shook him, trying to ease him out of unconsciousness to preserve his life. She packed snow around his wounds to try and stop the bleeding, but it proved futile as the warm blood just ran through the snow. 
She was running out of time, and the end seemed imminent. There was no hospital for miles, the temperature was deadly, and she had no medical supplies. All she could do was sit there helplessly, full of regret. 
It was over for them. Macluma's breathing slowed to nothing, and became so shallow Sienna couldn't even see his chest rise and fall anymore. 
"I'm sorry, Macluma. I should've never asked you for so much." She cried, and her tears would freeze before they hit the ground. She herself was beginning to decline. The weather had gotten so bad since they set out that travel was now impossible. Her hooves were numb and cracked from the cold, her body temperature declined rapidly, and she was feeling very woozy. She realized that she'd probably be joining Macluma soon, and waited out their last moments together. 
She closed her eyes and laid down beside the engineer, comforting him until the end. She tried to replay scenes of them together in the past, before all the bad things began happening, but those were the only things she could think of. The pillage, the hostages, the eventual capture and forced labor. These were things Sienna wanted to forget, but simply could not erase them from her mind. 
She shivered as the wind howled around them. What were they thinking? Traveling through this land without provisions was extremely careless. The weather had deceived them, and what was once a mild blizzard when they started grew to a massive torrent of a storm that took the lives of anything in its path. But what could she do now? There fate was signed, sealed and delivered. 
Macluma, who was completely void of all signs of life save for the very basic task of breathing, flexed his front legs just a bit due to nerve reflexes. Sienna saw this and thought he was gone. That those were his last movements before his body gave in. One final burst of energy before the engine sputtered to a halt. It was almost like he was already dead. No expression, no thought. Just an empty shell of a stallion that had a faint pulse and some air left in him. 
All was silent except for the whipping wind as they laid together in the red snow. A couple more minutes passed by, and Sienna began drifting off herself. She was beginning to let sleep take her when she heard a loud bang in the distance. She snapped her head up, covered in mini icicles and snow, and looked out to the direction the sound came from. Seconds later, a large light emerged from the darkness, speeding towards them. It slowed as it neared, and soon was illuminating the entire crater. She thought for a split second that it was the afterlife. She'd heard about dying ponies seeing a light just before they depart. Was this it? Surely it didn't appear this abruptly. 
The massive light slid maybe twenty feet away and stopped. The sound of creaking metal could be heard as it shifted in the snow. Then it went out, leaving the darkness to settle in once more. 
What lie before Sienna's eyes left her in shock. The same machine they had taken shelter in the previous night was lying before her, leaning to its left on one wing. It's silhouette could only be made out in the night, but there was no mistaking it's unusual shape and size. 
Without even thinking, she started for the aircraft, hoping to find help within once more. However, the temperature had made her weak, and she fell down after only three steps. She persevered, though, and stood upright once more and continued for the plane. This was her only chance.  
------------------------------------------

"How did this even happen?!"
Kline yelled out as he braced himself. 
"How should I fucking know?! It doesn't matter HOW it happened! What matters is THAT it's happening!" Jake replied. 
The plane was losing altitude fast, and they were only a thousand feet from the ground after two minutes of diving. 
When the bolt had struck, it shut down everything electronic that was onboard, which meant no readings, no lights, no engines, and no hydraulic pumps that move the control surfaces. Jake had to revert to manual control, where nothing but a cable attached to the yoke moved the ailerons and elevators. The sheer speed of the descent was too much for him to handle, even with Sleethoof helping to pull up. By the time they regained control they had dropped twenty-five thousand feet. 
Jake set the plane for best glide slope and prepared to touch down. Suddenly, a light came on on the dash, followed by another, and so forth. 
"We have power!" Klauss stated. 

"Not quite." the pilot replied. "It's coming back, but according to the gauge, there's not nearly enough to reboot anything but maybe a light or two. Starting the engines is out of the question. Here's what we're gonna do." He turned on the landing light in front, hoping to have enough juice. Sure enough, the bulb barely lit, then grew in brightness until it was shining once more. "We're going to touch down without gear. In as much snow as we're in, landing on the smooth belly of the plane is better than digging the wheels in. It'll be like a water landing, only a little rougher. Ok here we go."
They were only two hundred feet high and coming down quickly. One hundred feet, fifty feet, the ground could be seen racing underneath them as they approached touchdown. 
"This is it! It's definitely gonna be interesting!" Sleethoof said as he hung on to the shaking armrests of his chair. 
The crew braced as the belly of the C-130 hit the snow and began sliding. The hit caused them to jerk downwards hard from g-force. For a good fifteen seconds or so, the plane slid down the slippery surface, denying all signs of slowing. Jake used the rudder to keep it straight while he still had enough speed for it to be effective. Soon though, it began to stop as Jake dropped the speed brakes completely, causing maximum drag. 
They finally came to a halt, and Jake looked back to check the situation. 
"Everypony all right?"
They nodded as they were unbuckling their seat belts. Jake had touched down perfectly level, causing no structural damage to the plane except for scratches on the underside and possibly a dent or two. The plane slowly rolled to its right and settled in, propped on its wing. It wasn't going anywhere. 
The power went out again, throwing them all into darkness. The pilot got up and walked back into the cargo bay to get the emergency kit. 
"What. The fuck. Happened. One minute we're flying, the next minute we're hit with a lightning bolt and thrown into a nosedive."
He opened the kit that was hung on the wall by the door and found two flashlights in it. He passed one to Sleethoof, who'd followed him out. 
"Let me tell you all something," he continued. "There's no way in hell we're getting out of here anytime soon. We'll have to stay here tonight, and leave tomorrow."
Kline came out of the cockpit, his lanky outline being the only thing visible. 
"Head out? Look at it here. We can't go anywhere."
Jake shined the light up to brighten the cargo bay and see their faces. 
"Listen. We have no power, no heat, no nothing."

"Then why did the power start coming back on?" Klauss asked. 

"I'm not sure. It probably was a final surge before everything blacked out completely."
He hastily walked to the back of the plane and opened a panel on the wall. Holding the flashlight in his mouth, he checked inside. There were glass frames with hash markings on them. In the center of each frame was a small tube that indicated hydraulic oil levels. All five of them, one for each control surface, was empty.
"Not good." he said as he walked back to the front.
"Not good?" Sleethoof asked. 

"No. Not good. Hydraulics are empty, which means the pumps are out for the count."

"Hold on a minute." Klauss asked. "Didn't Twilight put a spell on this plane causing it to be undamaged by weather and whatnot?"

"Yes and no." Jake replied. "It won't freeze. The spell protects it from that. What it can do, though, is break from impacts or other causes like...oh I don't know...a giant lightning bolt from the ground completely wiping us out. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. How is that even possi-"
He was cut off by a faint rasping sound.  
"Hey, you hear that?" Klauss said. 

"Shhh. Hold on." Jake whispered. 
They waited in eerie silence again, and sure enough, after a couple more seconds there were three knocks on the door that echoed on the aluminum. 
Sleethoof aimed his light on it and approached slowly. When he got there, more faint knocks could be heard. He looked back at Jake, making sure he had the clear to open it. The pilot just nodded. 
He lifted up on the handle and popped the hatch. Being that the plane was rolled on the side of the door, there was barely a drop to the ground, and the staircase could only lower halfway before it dug into the snow. 
The wind howled, and the stallion shone his light around outside, trying to find the source. 
"See anything?" Kline asked. 

"Jake! Jake come over here!" Sleethoof shouted, waving his hoof at him. The pilot ran over and looked out into the circle of light cast out on the ground. 
What he saw left him bewildered. A green pegasus, frostbitten to death and bleeding on one side, reached out to them in desperation, then keeled over. Jake jumped down and ran over to her. 
"Can you hear me?! What happened?" He turned to his crew who were crowding the door frame. "Help me get her inside."

"...wait." She was shivering profusely, but mustered the strength to speak once more. 
"One more...in...the crater." She slowly pointed out to the hole where Macluma laid, then her hoof fell limp. Sienna was unconscious.