Princess Celestia's Side Trip To Aperture.

by Powerdrainer

Luck Running Out

Edited by Slayerseba, Halusm, and Clawder.

Luck Running Out

<<>><<>><<>>

With a groan of stressed metal, a rust-covered door swung open. Stepping through the passage, Celestia let the light of her magic sweep across the chamber, revealing numerous pipes, cables and machinery, in various states of disrepair, all leading to a massive construct she concluded could only be one thing.

"This is it," Sadi called out, her voice sounding louder than it was in the tomb-like silence of the abandoned facility. "The generator."

Her pink eye shifted about as she took stock of the state the machinery was in, a worried humm escaping her after only a few seconds.

"It does seem time hasn't been kind to this place either," Celestia calmly observed.

"No," Sadi agreed. "Big sis really let things fall apart…. I hope the generator still works."

"Only one way to find out. Where do you need me to go?"

Sadi slowly shifted on Celestia's back, tracing a path through the ill-lit room past the numerous obstructions, comparing it against the limited and clearly out of date map she had stored in her memory.

"There should be a maintenance console over there," she looked off into the distance as she said so. "If it's still operational, I should be able to interface with it and connect with the system."

Nodding in understanding, Celestia slowly moved further into the complex, careful not to trip over the debris years of neglect had created.

Surprisingly, nothing noteworthy happened as they moved past the long-dead machinery. It was a welcome relief after the seemingly endless string of hectic events, though both Celestia and Sadi kept their eyes open and listened for any odd sound indicating something happening which might turn out to be hazardous for their health.

After a short but somewhat tense walk, the two reached a small pile of debris, the result of a locally collapsed ceiling, which so happened to have partially buried the maintenance console Sadi mentioned earlier as well.

The largest piece, a sizable chunk of concrete with torn rebar sticking out of it lay over the machine. Not quite touching it, as the jagged edges of the metal gauged themselves into the wall, stopping it from crushing the device into useless scrap.

"Oh, this is not good," said Sadi as she looked at the damage. "I won't be able to interface with the maintenance console like this."

Celestia hummed, carefully stepping closer and studying the mess.

"Well, this could be useful," she said after lowering herself, looking under the collapsed ceiling. Its paint faded, but still a clear white. "I wonder… Maybe," she carefully aimed her portal gun, then fired an orange burst of energy.

Much to her satisfaction, a vibrant orange oval formed without hindrance, opening a path back to where she last placed its blue counterpart.

Not feeling like backtracking all the way, wading through all the junk scattered around, she instead looked up at the ceiling which hadn't yet collapsed.

Another burst of energy and a blue oval sprung to life, revealing the console just out of reach beside her.

"Okay… But how do we reach it?" Sadi asked, puzzled.

Celestia quirked an eyebrow, looking at her while the portal gun levitated in her magic next to her.

"... Oh… Right."

Laying the portal gun on the floor to conserve the little magic she had access to, she picked up Sadi and gently lifted her up.

"Anywhere, in particular I need to put you?" asked Celestia.

"Yes. See that concave at the bottom of the console, on the right. Put my back in there," a small panel on her back slid open as she said so, and Celestia spotted a protrusion in the concave similar in dimensions.

"Very well," she replied, turning Sadi around and pushing her into place with a mechanical click.

"Oohh… that feels weird," Sadi shuddered.

"Everything alright?"

"Yes… It just has been a while," she replied, her eye dilating and shrinking, rapidly moving from left to right and back.

"Connecting… Primary systems, offline… Secondary systems, offline… Tertiary systems… Online… Connected… Power levels... critical," Sadi called out mechanically, then her eye flickered. "Oh, headache," she groaned. She took a moment to compose herself, allowing the meager flow of data to fill in some gaps in her outdated memory banks.

"Oh. Oh, dear."

"Bad news?"

"Yes and no," Sadi replied, her eye shifting uneasily. "I can start the generator, but the initial startup requires a charge. But there is barely any energy left to work with. I'm even using some of my own power to keep the terminal from shutting down completely. I think I can reroute some energy from elsewhere, but this will most certainly alert big sis."

"Are there any other ways we might be able to go to leave this place?"

"I… I do not know," Sadi replied with a hint of shame. "My map is incomplete, and I can't access the facilities database in its current, unpowered state… Sorry, I'm not much of help to you," she mostly closed her visor, hiding away.

"Don't say that. Without you, I would not even know where to begin to find a way out," Celestia replied readily. "And I have no trouble with Glados finding out we're here. If anything, I welcome it. I have a few matters to discuss with her when given the chance."

Sadi slowly opened her visor to look at Celestia. "Really? You mean… I am helping?"

"You most certainly are," Celestia smiled kindly. "Now, why don't we start this generator and get out of here?"

Opening her visor fully, Sadi gave a determined nod.

"Rerouting energy… now," she called out, punctuated by a loud thud turning in an upwinding drone; the floor starting to vibrate and rumble as aged machinery began to shift and move.

Numerous loud bangs and clangs followed shortly after, accompanied by hisses and sparks of electricity from damaged wiring. Somewhere far away, an explosion occurred, shaking loose dust and concrete. Then, with eye blaring flickers, lights came on one by one; a large number of them sputtering and dying with a bang and a shower of sparks and glass.

It was rather anticlimactic when, suddenly, everything calmed down; the facility around them not crumbling down without warning, the generator working with a stable drone, and what few lights survived burned without further issue.

"I DID IT!" Sadi proclaimed proudly. "Power levels holding steady at fifty three, point two percent normal output. Primary systems coming back onli-GHAAAA!"

A debilitating electric discharge shocked her systems, and a small explosion blew her away from the terminal; caught in Celestia's magic just shy from crashing into the floor, the mare's eyes wide with shock and worry.

Sadi's eye was dark, smoke coming from the small port in her back.

"SADI!" Celestia cried out, laying her on the ground, terrified for her artificial life.

"S-s-system errrrrorrrrrr. Em-mergennnncy-y-y shut down-own-owwwnnnn," she stuttered in a weak mechanical voice, fading away at the end.

"SADI!" Celestia cried out again, this time receiving no response from the damaged personality core.

A loud, static whine came from all around, followed by a distorted, yet clearly recognizable voice.

"So… I see you are still alive," Glados spoke over unseen systems. "I would be impressed, had you not also found and connected that nuisance to my network. Oh well. I guess I just have to use her poor attempts at taking control against you. Activating primary defense systems. Parameters set. Use of lethal force is... encouraged. Have a nice day," and with the same static whine, she was gone.

Celestia barely noticed, though, as she lay on the ground with Sadi before her. Tears streamed down her face. She had gotten the wonderful person that Sadi was, killed; and knew the blame was hers. Had they looked for another way out, instead of her encouraging Sadi to start the generator and alerting Glados, this wouldn't have happened.

She had seen much in the many years she had lived. Learned even more. But in this one moment, she realized, there had been a lesson she missed. Never allow yourself to become overconfident, especially when it means placing others in danger.

For an instant, the still form of Sadi was replaced by Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Young mares she, too, placed in danger. Either directly, or indirectly. Yet every time they prevailed, coming out each and every ordeal with mere scratches at the worst.

But as those images changed back to Sadi, she couldn't stop herself asking: just how lucky had she been gambling with the lives of others like this?

She sent them all to stop her sister in the hope they would find and be able to use the Elements of Harmony to free her from her corruption, with little more help than a carefully placed book and the advice to her student 'to make some friends'.

Fortunately, Twilight did. And together they found the Elements and freed her sister.

She and her sister sent them to fight Sombra, without the aid of the Elements, even though she and Luna were unable to stop him, losing the Crystal Empire as a result.

Fortunately, they succeeded where she and Luna had failed.

And Discord…. Tirek… others

Each time she sends them out, expecting them to pull through and defeat this latest challenge because they had done so before.

And fortunately, they did.

But now, Sadi.

Whatever luck she might have had in the past, making such high stake gambles, this time it had run out… And Sadi paid the price.

How long she lay there, looking at her guilt-stricken reflection in Sadi's dark eye she didn't know. Long enough at the least for her leg to almost completely regrow, as she reflected on her past choices and actions.

Something had to change. She had to change; too used to sending others into danger and expecting everything to work out… No more!

Eyes set, she stood back up. Placing Sadi's body on her back between her wings, she left the generator behind and returned to the elevator.

<<>><<>><<>>

Celestia stood before the elevator, looking at the rust-covered gate blocking her path, then at the button next to it.

Though most of everything found in this place was technologically more advanced than anything found in her world, even she could figure out something as simple as pushing a button. So wasting little more time, she summoned the elevator.

A loud clang came from high above almost instantly, followed by a groan of unwanted motion. Numerous bangs of metal striking metal introduced the pieces of structure which failed to survive the sudden jolt, and impacted on the floor before Celestia; shielded from harm by the still closed gate.

Descending with more grace, relatively speaking, the metal deathtrap that would allow her to leave this part of the facility came to a jerking halt half a meter above the floor. An out of tune 'ding' followed next as the gate rattled open.

Barely acknowledging the poor condition of the elevator, Celestia climbed into the still suspended room; again recognizing the simple task of pushing a button, and the same cacophony which signaled the elevator's descend restarted, now moving up.

'You brought me this far, Sadi. And I will never be able to repay you for it,' Celestia thought, watching the debris, trash and toxic waste vanish from sight. 'So I will bring you to see the sun and flowers,' a tear escaped her, rolling down her cheek, then fell through a hole in the floor and was lost to the depths below. 'It's the least I can do for you.'

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Heavy.