Give Node the Countermeasure, investigate perpetuity 65%
Twilight wanted to leave the mysterious object behind. But not quite so much as she needed to know what it was. It was located on the ground floor, along a straight path directly from the entrance. If the Signalers thought about design even remotely like ponies did, it was probably the main purpose for ‘the Memorial.’ I need to figure out a way to let Applejack study it without exposing her to it like I was.
She had a bad feeling that other ponies would have a harder time resisting its effects. They might not stand a chance at all. “New orders, Node. Take this, and don’t bring it within three meters of anypony on the crew, even me.”
Node took the sphere carefully, and though it had no face to watch, it seemed to Twilight as though it was raising an eyebrow at her. “We will explore the remaining section of this facility three meters apart? That seems difficult.”
“Do you think we could… leave it somewhere? Maybe in the hallway behind us, wherever it turns to Perpetuity. I intend to investigate that section before we return to the Prospector.”
“Very well. Would it be improper for me to inquire the reason for this instruction. The device does not appear dangerous. My sensors read no large store of potential energy, no radiation above background, no unusual sonic effects. Its low-level em field is not unlike that produced by all your primitive machines.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “You mean you don’t feel it… bending gravity?”
Node shook slightly. “My accelerometers register no gravitational distortion. Not like the four negative Gs I registered when you bent space.”
That’s… that can’t be right. Twilight glanced down to her mane, tilting slightly towards the sphere. She expected it to stand on end, but… nothing. It’s in my head.
Twilight took another step back. If the effects were only mental, then in some ways that was much worse. Mind magic was dark stuff, and not something she well understand. Too bad you’re not the real Starlight Glimmer. She could tell us all about that thing.
“Just… follow my instructions,” Twilight said. “I think not being organic might make you immune.”
“If you say so,” Node said, disbelieving.
They returned to the central hallway, and traced it back some distance until a strange, backwards branch, one she wouldn’t have seen walking inward. The walls made it almost invisible until she was right beside it, and even then the coloration of the floor and ceiling hurt her head with purely geometric trickery. Twilight briefly closed her eyes, marching forward in defiance of the instinct that told her she was going to smack into a wall…
And she didn’t smack into a wall. Rather, there was a ramp twisting to the side, leading up into one of the larger rectangular sections she had observed from outside the facility.
Lights came on above her as she stepped through a doorway into a vast space, illuminating…
Cylindrical sample containers, each one three meters tall and one across. Their contents were a slightly off-white fluid, along with… creatures.
A voice spoke in the Signaler’s incomprehensible language. It was high and guttural, with almost mechanical sounds mixed with the more familiar organic. But Node could translate. It had left the Countermeasure at the base of the ramp, where it wouldn’t pull the stomach out from Twilight any longer. “Observe failure,” Node said. “Each… mutation is an attempt. Variations were… insufficient to purpose. Contingency of each, not continuation. Reprocessed.”
Twilight stuck out a wing to stop it from walking away. “Are you sure you can’t do better? That was incomprehensible.”
Node folded its manipulation limbs across its chest, tilting slightly towards her. “Parody of conception with your species approaches zero. My creators wanted the visitors to this place to see these failed… designs, and learn from them. Not to waste your effort on things they had already tried.”
Cylinders were located on either side of an illuminated walkway, each one with a strange, multilayered bit of glass stuck in a removeable bracket on the front. There was also a flat piece of metal, laser-etched with an intricate square pattern.
Twilight approached the nearest container, staring in with horror. The creature vaguely resembled Node’s basic layout, though it had only two upper limbs and two legs, with a flat face and even stranger feet. It reminded Twilight of various preserved animal samples she might’ve seen in a biology lab, all the color leeched from this creature and its eyes glazed and sightless. Small eyes for a creature taller than she was.
She wandered to the next cylinder, and saw the creature gain some mechanical parts—a second set of limbs, like Node. And so went each successive container—a new individual, sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes she couldn’t tell. Variations on the basic pattern stretched so far that sometimes it even approached ponies in places, while a few lost almost all their fleshy parts and were primarily rusting mechanical beings with fleshy sacks for their torsos and heads.
This was not a map of evolution—it varied wildly, with some designs apparently regressing tremendously before exploring an entirely different direction. They looked like fierce carnivores one moment, then fleshy sacks of brain the next. Integration with mechanical parts was common in most, but not all. Some had resisted the years better than others, and seemed almost as though they were asleep more than dead.
“These were… people,” Twilight declared, as they finally reached the end of the path. and a mechanical door with an airlock and an obvious control button. “Creatures stolen from… many planets? Each one of those panels explains what they were like.”
She hadn’t seen one for Equestria, however much she’d been anticipating one. Unless that’s what’s waiting for me at the end of the hall.
“Stolen? I don’t believe so. You ponies sometimes donate your cadavers to science. This is similar. Being here insures these beings and their kind are… remembered. The guide says that many of them are… faithful recreations. But some are original.”
“And what’s in here?” Twilight asked, nodding towards the door. It was unmarked, though it was wider and taller than a pony door by far. “The lab where they made them?”
“The map labels that section as… there’s no easy translation. Hospital. Preservation room. Cryogenic storage. Taxidermy.”
Twilight gritted her teeth, then pushed the button. There was a hiss of chemical-smelling air, and the door retracted.
She found herself walking through something like what Node had described, not quite a hospital, not quite a cryogenics bay. The medical equipment in here heavily featured the strange glass the Signalers used above, and tiny mechanical parts that she suspected went right down to the microscopic level. But there were other things she couldn’t easily classify.
Like machines the size of single-occupancy escape pods, with glass walls and strange magic radiating faintly from their controls. Or something her horn thought was similar to magic, anyway.
Most of them were clear and empty, all except one. The little lights that flashed from this machine flashed regularly in cheerful colors. Where the other objects faintly twinkled with magic, this machine hummed with it. Magic few ponies besides Twilight Sparkle could’ve dreamed of casting.
Twilight attempts to identify the magic. Success
It was time magic, more powerful than anything Star Swirl had ever written. And it was stable.
Twilight approached, raising one leg, and wiped away at the condensation from the porthole-like window on the front. She screamed, fell back, nearly collapsed.
She crawled her way back, staring inside in morbid fascination. There was a pony inside, one that was frozen on her back legs, as though rearing up away from the window in terror.
Apple Bloom would’ve been much taller, even taller than her sister now. Her body had matured with the muscles of hard work. Though… that wasn’t the only thing to see about her. Her uniform vaguely resembled the space suits used on the Equinox, though much of it had been ripped away with jagged, frayed edges.
It’s not the window she’s afraid of. She’s looking down at herself.
At her foreleg, to be precise. Apple Bloom’s front leg looked like it was being… eaten. From the fetlock down it looked metallic, and tendrils of reflective silver were visible twisting up and around her leg.
Celestia save us.
1. Call Applejack here right now. She deserves to know about this immediately. If Shining Armor were here and she had found him, I’d be furious if she didn’t tell me.
2. Take pictures, bring them back to show Applejack when her health has recovered. She deserves to know the truth when she can handle it.
3. Instruct Node not to repeat this information. We don’t need ponies freaking out about this. I’ve already got enough true things to share that they’ll be satisfied.
(Certainty 210 required)
Welp. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh no, Apple Bloom.
AJ's going to lose it when she finds out.
If they were human I'd say leave her ignorant. But ponies, and AJ of all ponies? We have to tell her... This is so bad.
option 4 is great.
Oh joy, a cybervirus. Well, Apple Bloom has all the time in the world until they deactivate the stasis pod. Plenty of time to let Applejack clear out her lungs before she does something both might regret. Still, this does answer a few questions... while raising several others. Reviving Sunset just got even more important.
Also, neat to see the generations of augmentation... though it must be horrifying for a pony who has no context for what she's seeing. Parody of conception indeed.
Also, nice touch with the hidden blind panic option. Not helpful, but definitely a legitimate reaction.
I’m pretty sure Apple bloom was on sunsets ship, and probably got injured in whatever event killed everyone on the planet.
Good news, Twiggles seems to have gotten out of her funk and actually succeeds magic tests now!
But she needs to wait for Applejack to recover before showing the photos. The way Applebutt thinks she'll try and do something while hurt. Or worse lengthen her recovery by worrying.
Take pictures, but bad idea to try and hide it from AJ of all ponies.
So... yikes. Applebloom got frozen in time to stop her from getting eaten by gray goo.
Any ideas about the weird fourth option in the poll?
9457598 My guess is, if that wins, Twilight panics and begins blasting everything.
Yeah, Applejack needs to recover before she tries to fix this. With how she can overwork herself and how she feels about family, she'd probably kill herself if she tried to fix this while sick. At the very least Applebloom is in a situation that can't get any worst. So there's time.
I'm actually wondering if those bits of brain damage in Twilight and Pinkie Pie that Fluttershy notices are really that? Could they have actually been implanted with a form of the Transmode Virus?
Another thing I'm starting to wonder is if Cozy Glow might have done more then we really know at this point? Could she have messed with dates. Could Spike have overslept? Just how did Applebloom get here? Is this the Signalers fault or the the faction that Cozy Glow was a part of? More terrifying is what if it is a faction we haven't heard of yet?
Yeah...no way AJ can handle the emotional stress of that right now. Option 2, show her when she's recovered. Fucking hell what happened on this planet? First another crew, now Apple Bloom.
1. We cant risk AJ dying - she's too valuable a crew member.
2. This seems the least sensible option, but sometimes basic morality is the best policy and I'd rather not be seen as a dick. Not to mention she values honesty above even hard work.
3. No. Absolutely not. While it won't rank morale immediately, sooner or later AJ is coming to this building. When she finds Apple Bloom, she will be absolutely furious that she wasn't told and may even mutiny. That does nobody any good.
Everyone needs to see this. If we keep this hidden and they find out by themselves, there will be a guaranteed mutiny, no doubts about it.
Option 2.
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Yeah a lot of people are voting to keep it from AJ till she gets better despite that exact plotline always ending horribly in every fictional story lol.
She's the element of honesty make saving Applebloom your priority and be honest with AJ she is the most hard headed of the crew the one whose come closest to outright disobeying orders hiding this from her for any length of time will only end badly.
Damn, I already caught up. Well at least I get to vote now...
Phyrexian Oil? or
a planet the apes scenario?
Both?
There are once again no good options.
I'm putting in 2. If AJ was healthy, then it would be 1.
AJ needs to know ASAP. Twilight must do her utmost to make sure she doesn't do anything rash, but there must be no delay.
Hiding this truth, even for a short time, from Miss Honesty? Quickest way to lose her trust forever.
I actually voted this time because I think too many people have voted to delay.
Option 1, for the love of God Option 1! The only way delaying news like this would be acceptable is if the recipient wasn't capable of understanding it, thereby leaving with a less accurate idea than if it were generalized... and that's NOT the case here! OPTION 1!!!
Hmmmm....
That's arguably worse, and a good argument for Node carrying it.
Daaaamn. Good thing they didn't bring AJ to see this unwarned.
2. AJ doesn't need to know while her health is still in doubt, but she deserves to be told eventually.
Edit: Oh my god, people, please don't vote for the option that has an off chance of just killing Applejack during the phone call.
And things like this, my fellow voices in the void, is why we should have waited for the full crew.
We have to tell Applejack though. I personally would vote for 2, as she won't want to wait until she heals, and either her condition gets worse or she gets forced to wait until she gets better, wich would be devastating for her morale.
BUT! As Twilight already said, she would want to know inmmediately, it's what a pony would do. Not the most efficient effect-morale option, but the most ethical one.
Also, if we wait to tell Applejack, she would get pretty mad anyways, maybe even worse than if we make her wait .
Also also, Something Happened™ confirmed! Unless they developed way faster space travel in less than 40 years back in Equestria, I'm pretty sure te Equinox got derailed or slowed (or time-trapped, wich taking cosmic movement i to account it's the most plausible option, ironically) at some point, probably while entering the Signaler's Solar System.
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I disagree that this needs to be kept secret for any length of time, but I disagree more with the idea that Applejack needs to be physically present at the scene to get the bad news. Hard pass on trying to keep it secret indefinitely, obviously.
Basically, it boils down for me to "do we pointlessly risk Applejack's life and health in the process of telling her immediately like we should? or do we get her mad by pointlessly waiting for her to recover before telling her?" I'm going with option 2.
I mean, can I vote that we add some commas? "1. Call Applejack, here, right now."
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The thing is, Apple Bloom is in cryo. They can put off saving her for a functionally indefinite amount of time. Besides, it isn't a lie, directly. It's just not telling thw whole story. And it may be true that it doesnt work out in most fiction, but going out into the meta game (story?) we can infer that her reaction will be determined on the Discord server if and when shes told, assuming option 2 is voted on.
There's just not enough information known to make a truly informed decision and option 2 looks to be the safest. I did say that it seemed (being the operative word) to be the least sensible.
Well, they are there to explore, so telling no pony is out. Are we absolutely certain it is the real Apple Bloom though? Take pictures, tell AJ the moment she is strong enough, so option 2. In the meantime every pony needs to wake as soon as feasible. This is probably why the crew should have waited before exploring and grown enough food to let every pony be reawakened. And every pony means every pony, including Sunset, and even Cozy Glow. There are questions to be answered.
Speaking of which, how is Spike doing, and has Fluttershy managed to prevent every pony besides AJ from getting sick, or is that shoe yet to drop?
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And that exact line of reasoning is what characters use to justify a lie of omission every single time, and sometimes it depends on the character but again we are dealing with the paragon of honesty here. She lives her life with honesty and family tied to all of her values and you're deciding to lie to her about her family.
This is the equivalent of not telling the paladin the rogue is chaotic evil ahead of time. It will do nothing but strain the party and make AJ less trusting at best or destroy the party and make AJ openly rebellious at worst.
To everyone saying to take pictures and tell Applejack later... how would any of you feel if someone you loved was in a pod with a mysterious substance that appears to be eating her while orbiting an alien planet and your leader chose not to tell you for whatever reason?
Sure, Applejack isn't doing the best right now but taking pictures and telling her later is a horrible thing to do. If I was Applejack at the very least I would be incredibly pissed off at Twilight for daring to withhold that information, especially since it concerns her little sister.
Oh, and the fact you would be telling Applejack that her sister is in danger with PICTURES of all things? That's just reprehensible. That's like telling your girlfriend that your breaking up with her with a text message. Or a father telling his 12 year old son that his mother got into a car crash and died via instant message on Skype.
Even if Applebloom is in stasis and could wait however long it takes for Applejack to get better before Twilight shows the pictures... I doubt Applejack would see it that way. Telling her is the right thing to do and withholding the information is just callous.
Edit: To the people saying Applejack might die if she's told immediately... the option isn't labeled [Dangerous] so her health probably isn't bad enough to warrant not telling her.
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Aw. Those aren’t end goals.
What the hockysticks are so many ponies doing in this system when Twilight's crew are supposed to be the first!?
Every chapter brings more questions and almost no answers.
Anyone else get a amused laugh out of that 4th option?
Also Apple Bloom Wut!?
Hate to admit it but I think the crazy murderous stowaway may have been right. They need to burn hard out of this system the first chance they get.
I kinda feel like we have to go with 1 from a moral standpoint but if we keep doing the ‘right’ thing itll eventually get everyone killed. Is anyone else thinking that hostile nanobots ate the previous residents of this planet?
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I have to agree with us not needing to physically bring Applejack here. We should be able to take the pictures, bring them back to Applejack's bed, and then physically hold her down while giving her a motivational speech to get better before tinkering with the time magic (and maybe revive more ponies, and wake up Sunset, and clear Fluttershy's schedule).
I was gonna vote #1, and then I saw #4. Too funny not to vote that.
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Can't be a Planet of the Apes scenario. The reveal in that movie is that they were on Earth all along, yeah? We know that this is objectively not the Equestrian home system. Different star, different planets, different bodies.
I soooooo want to see what happens if Option 4 wins. XD
Also DADGUMMIT it’s officially turned into a space horror show. DX I hope things dont get too freaky, that stuff messes with me. Im betting whatever the silvery stuff is, is what “hungers”.
Haaaay. First comment ever! Loving this story a lot and being reader driven drove me to write.
This is one of those times where none of the options really satisfy what you'd like to do personally. But I suppose Twilight isn't us and may not think of other options.
Personally? I'd want to talk to Fluttershy and maybe Pinkie first. It doesn't ALL have to be on Twilight, the medical professional may have something to say about if AJ should hear it juuuuust right now and Pinkie's intuition isn't something to be ignored if it could help. Also, I mean, we can assume they're all friends in this universe on some level. Hooves on deck to comfort and or restrain if necessary.
Given the options we have it's a real rough call between 1 and 2. Option 1 is what AJ would WANT but it's probably not what she NEEDS right now. Even if it's just a flu.... the flu can certainly have severe complications if you're not lucky... and she's already been working hard in bleh conditions since she woke up, including while sick.
Again, I find myself thinking of an unlisted option of just.... showing her later. I mean, we could camp here longer, work on growing food, reviving ponies, healing up. Sure that signal related to Shimmer's ship said it's urgent... but who knows if that's true? Is it an old signal and anything about it of use is already settled? Everything is urgent right now. Health is important and we have a breather. Some morale from relaxation and real food would do everyone good. Spike could get the ship fixed up. Might even get some more opinions on stuff in the temple if they promise to stay away from perpetuity. When AJ's better somewhere during all that? Sure, show her. Let her grieve or rage or want to fix things or whatever but let her do it while healthy. Don't just show her pictures at some weird point in time where she couldn't go and see it herself, which you know she'd want to.
Mental state can affect healing a lot. I just hope everyone considers that if they put this upon AJ right now. Plus she could do something rash and get hurt while her health is already bad. I'd rather she be mad at Twilight for awhile later than be dead or debilitated drastically now. I'm sure she'd come to understand... after awhile.
Call AJ now: 81
Show AJ the pictures: 80
This is quite close; closer than anything I remember in any of this polls.
Also: I recommend to wait (option 2). Telling AJ sonner wouldn't help anyone.
She would only freak out, maybe
probablyhurt herself, while it seems as AB can wait as long as necessary.9458627
I agree. Biggest thing I am looking forward to now is someone explaining the time line.
To keep all these ponies on ice, raising more questions with no answers, begins to go past suspense and into frustration.
87 vs 86 for option 1 and 2 at the moment, with a total of 209 votes so far with 210 votes required for certainty.
What would happen if it was a tie? It's possible, one more vote for option 2 would cause one.
IT'S A TIE AND 210 VOTES REACHED.
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Now I regret picking that 4th joke option, I otherwise would have been for pics
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Honestly the voting is so close I think I might give it another day to see if a clearer winner emerges.
Yay! What better way to spend my time than a moral quandary!
For those of ye who haven't noticed, it's sarcasm.
Would it be improper for me to inquire if this sentence should end with a question mark?
Poll results as of UTC 2:19 PM, February 16th, Saturday.
233 votes total
Personally, I've voted to panic because it's amusing.
Tell AJ now, but start off by saying that the situation is stable and emphasize that rushing in before being 100% healthy and with a solid plan would be worse for Apple Bloom. AJ won’t like it, but she’s smart enough to not endanger her family by panicking
I’d argue telling AJ now is the best option because she’s sick.
We know She’s often irrational and impulsive when it comes to her sister. She will want to ruch off to get Bloom out when she finds out. That could be very dangerous for both of them.
With AJ sick right now she’ll have no choice but to chew on the fact that her sister is in there. It’ll give her time to calm down and rationalize, and then they can plan and research getting her out of there.
Just to be clear to anyone reading the chapter right now, I'm cutting off the votes as of 1:23 AM as I start on tomorrow's chapter. Call Applejack Immediately has won with 103 votes, only 5 votes more than taking pictures. Last time there were a few more votes after I wrote, and that made the final winner different by morning, so I'm making sure the record survives this time.
Silver goo that. Inverts organic to machine. Reminds me of the Dalek prison planet episode