Chapter Sixty Two: Rip and tear, until it is done
Astral had abandoned energetic yells and roars some time ago.
His throat was raw, breath coming in fit pants. The smell of blood and magical discharge made his nose twitch even through the helmet’s filters.
A swipe from a Skitter nearly took his head off, the Thestral ducking and lashing out with the blade. The guns roared, pounding three other creatures into submission as they tried to charge him. The grenade belt had been used up long ago; the explosives having shredded dozens of Skitters flooding back from the floors the stallion had zipped past on the elevator cable.
Now, it was just the RASP suit and Astral against whatever the Queen could muster. Odd energy flooded Astral’s frame, an occasional snarl making the stallion bare his fangs.
His hooves stepped on Skitter corpses, blood soaking the armor. Astral’s hooves crushed bone as he climbed onto the pile of bodies. More charged at the stallion, his guns screaming their reply. Another few steps forward, the Thestral ripped a smaller Skitter off his armor and slammed it into the wall. The cannons belched, tearing the arm off of a Guard that charged down the narrow hallway.
More blood soaked Astral’s hooves and covered the armor. The Thestral pushed forwards. After so many years, the monster was finally free from its cage.
His armored hoof cracked the skull of a Skitter that charged. Astral jumped, dodging a strike, and continued to fill the air with magical rounds.
Now the stallion understood the thrill of battle. Whether it ran in his family’s blood or not, he finally realized why so many sought out the Guard and trained for combat. There was nothing else except the fight. Anything and everything to win was an option. A single-minded goal and purpose.
He loved it.
And yet part of Astral had recoiled in fear at the simple realization. It had been so easy killing Split, and worse of all, it had felt good. That comprehension had made the Thestral shiver. He had killed a pony and there hadn’t been revulsion, but genuine satisfaction.
He had shoved that down. Astral could psychoanalyze himself later.
The Skitters and creatures were different and provided the perfect distraction. Now they were what stood between him and Sassi.
In the oddest way, Astral felt a sense of being complete, even as his guns blew off limbs and the blade gutted Skitters. His mind was empty of everything else but battle.
Restraint would get him killed, hesitation leading to failure. No thought to whether he was on the right path. Every shred of protective nature was drawn upon, and no violent option needed to be discarded. He had felt similar to this at brief moments. Training for the guard during combat classes, when intervening to help the mare as a Trainee, and, oddly, when saving the filly from the collapsed building.
It was a mind-emptying clarity. There was a singular purpose, an objective. Everything else faded away. Be it saving a life, or in this case, taking one.
But the monsters in the Silo’s didn’t elicit a shred of pity from the Thestral. Astral’s fangs were bared in an almost eager grin as he charged the nearest Skitter horde.
The strikes moved in slow motion, it almost being foals-play to dodge and deliver a deadly strike. Even three Skitters attacking at once were dispatched with a burst of bullets and ripping of the blade. There was no more fear, no more hesitation as blood and gore soaked the stallions’ armor. Claws that lashed out to strike were severed; torsos were blown in two.
Another Guard now tried to tackle the Thestral head-on. It bullied aside some office equipment as it charged, a Skitter jumping off its back to try and pin the pony.
A burst of shots shredded the smaller creature, Astral ducking the swipe of the Guard’s boney arm. The blade lashed out, the Guard stumbling as its hip tendons were severed. Astral then turned, cannons ripping into the lightly-armored back of the creature as it rumbled past him- and then it was dead.
There was only one objective. And she lay far beneath Astral’s hooves. These creatures wouldn’t stop him.
They couldn’t stop him.
I’m coming, Sassi!
Astral?
She could have sworn she heard the stallion’s voice through the blackness. Sassi eventually blinked after some time had passed, the mare’s body feeling like molasses. She was able to survey her surroundings again. Sure enough, she was still plastered into place with organic…something to a wall. To her left, the mare could barely see a massive creature out of the corner of her eye. The hum of a reactor made it fairly clear who that was.
A dozen Skitters clambered past Sassi, the lumpy, web-like maroon material on the walls providing easy handholds for them.
“No. Leave her for now,” the voice hissed.
Sassi looked over, her heart dropping as a colorful spider looked at her. It moved away, head bowing to the voice.
“I wanted to at least speak to you once, Sassi,” the Queen growled, moving to look at the mare. Like an engorged spider, the front half of the Queen was vaguely changeling-like, at least before reforming. Easily twice the size of Joro, the large, triangular head sported eight green eyes that contrasted against the pale-grey chitin.
Numerous arms sprouted from her thick torso, legs supporting a thorax that extended from outside Sassi’s view.
In Astral’s words, a ‘freaky spider’ indeed.
The mare twisted this way and that as the Queen chuckled.
“Save your energy. You’ll need it. I hope to revitalize hundreds of eggs with your blood. I’m going to enjoy this. You’ve been quite an annoyance to me over the years.”
“My blood?” Sassi asked, her tongue feeling heavy, her mouth tasting horrible from the after-effects of whatever venom was in her system.
“You are modified to be better than other ponies. I can use that mutagenic structure for my brood, especially with the traces of that other Queen in your blood and tissue. If only your mate could join you, but he won’t survive long.”
My what!?
Seeing her blank face, the Queen let out a huff.
“It matters not. He can’t fight forever. He’s already tiring.”
Sassi stayed quiet. The last thing she wanted to do was give the Queen any information. But her heart soared, at least until a familiar spider bit her neck again.
Astral’s alive!
Astral panted, shoving the body of a Skitter off of him. With a wince, he yanked one of its severed claws from the armor. It had punched through the mesh, a red warning flashing in his helmet. Even ‘stab-proof’ material had limits.
Three hours, and I’m a little over halfway there. Ten more floors to go. No more Skitters at the present…good.
The pain from the stabbing claw in his side faded, the suit injecting more healing foam into the wound. It was one of multiple stabs and slashes that had gotten through the suit’s defenses. Astral would have been dead a dozen times over if not for the armor, but it could only do so much. He already was coughing up bloody foam now and again, Skitter claws and teeth having punctured through the protective fibers.
In the end, Astral didn’t have the tactical training and experience Sassi had. He wasn’t used to being this effective in combat which made it easy to overestimate himself. More than one Skitter had managed to sneak up on him, and a spider had gotten a bite in just before he had ducked into this side room for a breather. His limbs had already started to tingle.
‘Neurotoxin detected. Administering antidote and painkillers.’
The odd tingling vanished, a warning light flashing.
‘Medical reserves depleted. Please replace.’
Removing the cartridge, Astral slotted in a new one, the suit incorporating the refill with a soft ‘hiss’ of sterilizing mist. There was only one left, the hours of fighting having depleted his other spares. And that was assuming there weren’t side effects from all of the antibiotics, painkillers, foam, and other things being pumped into the stallion’s system. Considering he was going past the recommended limit…well, that was a problem for later.
How am I going to get through ten more floors?
His energy had faded along with the rage. Adrenaline had been spent, the stallion’s muscles burning. It had been a slog, dozens of Skitters clogging up hallway after hallway in the past five floors. The sheer mass and numbers had forced Astral to take it slow, more than a few having gotten some good strikes in. Joro had either intentionally lied, or vastly underestimated how many of the creatures there were. Astral assumed the latter, and he had killed dozens of them, yet they still came. Some were small, lacking a barcode. These Half-Skitters were faster but less powerful. They died all the same.
He had never fought this hard, the blade on his forelimb having dispatched quite a few Spiders and Skitters alone. The breaks had been sporadic and tense, the stallion barely chancing a swig of water rations before soldiering on. Three hours of combat was far beyond any of Astral’s experiences. It had been a strange blur, yet he could recall individual moments clear as day.
Ducking swipes from Skitters, cutting their throats. Bullets shredding them by the dozens all in slow motion. The cannons tearing into the rare Guard sent his way. It had been a bloodbath, and he hadn’t remained unscathed.
Twenty thousand rounds between the two miniguns had already been expended, and Astral was halfway through his only reload. The Queen had sent so many waves, sometimes backpedaling and firing had been the only thing Astral had been able to do.
And yet he had gotten this far.
But his limbs still shook with stress. Emotional, and physical; it was easy to get overwhelmed. The anger and rage had been the perfect fuel, but now that was gone. There was no more thrill, only a blood-filled slog as he pushed forwards. Of course, that had been covered in the Night Guard boot camp. When all of the adrenaline and thrill were gone, that was where your training took over.
The timer still ticked down.
A few breaths in, a few breaths out. Astral didn’t have the years of training for this. The pool to draw on was almost dry. His limbs shook, even as the timer continued to spin.
I have to keep moving.
Unknown to the stallion, hundreds of eyes were glued to the images of the cameras throughout the Silo. The past three hours of gory firefights had weeded out the weak of stomach. Multiple control centers were recording the footage, but only the most hardened remained.
It was then Flask who voiced what many ponies were thinking as the Thestral sat still in the small room, sides heaving.
“Get up, Astral. Get up.”
“At my current pace, how long until I get to the reactor chamber?” Astral asked.
‘Two hours.’
It was too long, even assuming Astral had the full four hours before the side effects took him out. He was down to his last hour as it was, likely less.
“Highlight the most direct route again. How much time if I gallop?”
The path led down the hallway and a series of stairs; the elevators were locked in place on this floor.
‘Estimated time: Twenty minutes if running non-stop, allotting a slower pace for stairs, elevator shaft traversal, and so forth.’
So, he had to run. Not pause and fight, but go through the hordes.
Move, Astral!
He stood up, facing the door and taking a few breaths. The stallion missed the anger; it had made things easier, gave him purpose, and energy. Rage had gotten him this far, but no more. What else was there? His combat training was used up long ago. There was no Guard, no organization coming to his rescue. It was just him. What more could motivate-
With an almost electric jolt, Astral’s thoughts flatlined.
“Motivation?!” he muttered to himself.
The anger returned, but all of it was directed inwards. Did he just forget why he was here? His hooves began to move, Astral pausing at the door. A soft growl formed in his throat.
Sassi.
“I promised,” he whispered.
What more motivation did he need? Warmth flooded the stallion’s chest, Astral taking a final deep breath before entering the hallway.
“I promised to show you the forests,” the stallion added, emotion abruptly clogging his throat.
His most recent words as she had sobbed into the Thestral’s arms made energy ignite through his frame. The mare begging him not to leave her.
Why would I ever abandon the mare I’ve fallen in love with?
The simple four-letter word flowed smoothly into his thoughts, and it made Astral’s chest glow. That was the crux of it. Such a simple admittance, and he wasn’t about to backtrack on the thought.
I love her. The strong start of it at the very least. I’d be lying to myself if I used any other word.
The reactor levels abruptly spiked, a temporary boost of power…odd.
“I promised you that I wasn’t going anywhere,” Astral whispered, “just hang on. I’m not stopping.”
I never will.
A new icon appeared in the corner; it had flashed up a few times.
“What is that icon again? An attack cut off your last explanation.”
‘Broadcasting video and audio footage to available sources. The connection is intermittent. Discontinue?’
So, someone was watching.
“Alright. May as well stream it. Maybe give the other Board members an idea of their fate,” Astral growled, pausing to look at a Skitter with the top of its head missing. “Maybe they’ll get the picture. But first things first. Highlight the route and alert me of any motion outside my vision.”
‘Confirmed.’
Astral’s hooves began to move again. First, it was a trot, and then a gallop.
Two Queen’s Guards tore through the floor at the end of the hall, the creatures barreling towards him.
That made Astral smile. No more Skitters meant the Queen was, hopefully, running low on minions.
But he couldn’t stop.
The cannons roared, projectiles slamming into the two guards with a thunderous staccato. Tearing into the first Guard, the projectiles tore off half of the creature’s arm. It ducked into a roll, then sprang towards Astral with its hind legs and swiping with its good limb.
The stallion flattened himself to the floor, guns still firing as he slid underneath the creature. Armor or not, the number of projectiles began to saw the Guard in half from beneath.
The second guard managed to land a solid blow, the serrated bone making Astral’s armor shriek in protest. The shields dropped, and the metal across his left side now sported a brutal gouge.
Astral righted himself, leaning towards the follow-up strike from the Guard. Sidestepping at the last moment, the stallion lashed out with the bladed gauntlet, ripping into bone and flesh alike.
And then he bolted.
The Guard roared as it gave chase, not expecting the pony to abandon the fight. Ducking into the large stairwell, Astral made the cement crack as he plowed through the guardrails to skip various steps.
The next floor sent its greeting to the Stallion immediately, three previously immobile half-Skitters trying to pile onto Astral as soon as he stepped out of the stairwell.
He felt something jab into his side, Astral letting out a yell as the guns fired, blade lashing out. The miniguns cut one of the Skitters in half, the cannons vaporizing the chest of a second. The third had latched on something fierce, and Astral literally carving the monster’s torso in two with his blade.
Yanking out one of the smaller Skitter’s claws, Astral let out a hiss as the medical foam patched the wound, armor mesh tightening to put pressure on it. He wanted to stop and let his shields recharge, but there was no time.
A fourth, fully-grown Skitter tried to attack; but it was more out of desperation than anything.
Seeing it jump in the air at him, Astral sidestepped and promptly sliced off a few of its limbs. As it tumbled to the ground, a few strikes with the blade made the creature utterly harmless aside from its snapping mouth. The Thestral snarled back at the creature, punching an armored hoof right into the Skitter’s mouth.
As it spat out broken teeth, the Skitter let out a screech, Astral’s blade now impaling it against the wall. The Thestral retracted his visor and glared at the creature.
“I don’t know how your hivemind works, but deliver this message to your Queen! I’m still coming, and I’ve got plenty of ammo! How many more do I have to kill?”
To Astral’s joy, he saw fear flicker in the experiment’s eyes.
“One Skitter on the next floor if you want to make a deal. Sassi had better be unharmed!” he snarled. “I’ll be waiting!”
With a swipe of his forelimb, Astral decapitated the Skitter with a snarl, trotting towards the next set of stairs.
He didn’t know how many more creatures the Queen had to throw at him, but if he could get close enough to her, he had an ace in the hole.
To that end, the stallion paused to retrieve some metal piping, wrapping a few items around it with some heavy gauge wire he had picked up previously.
It was a gamble, but it was all Astral had.
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11255781
GODDAMMIT! THATS WHAT I WAS WAITING TO DO!
"Our worlds collide on Eternal Horizons!
A wild ride, every turn is surprising.
We rip and tear until it's done,
Then go back home and have some fun, together we are...
ONE! ONE! ONE! ONE!"
11255793
I can't wait for the next chapter! This story is great!
11255828
Glad to hear you're enjoying it!
Astral "Freemare" Sentinel.
11255870
11251048
How long of a conversation on halo did I start by bringing up the Spartan program? It's only been a week! Oh well, I have two nice chapters to binge.
I still really think Twilight should be trying to send in reinforcements if.the scientists used.was.anywhere friendly to Equestria. It would probably REDUCE the chances of anything escaping if she can do it, especially if there is a large number of troops guarding the exit on the surface.
11255874
Each chapter you make is another fun time and joyful read, glad to be here when it's coming out!
11256170
Except it's in the Badlands. There's a jurisdictional issue (Equestria taking charge,) and then there's not knowing what's even in the Silo's. Then there's the whole 'giant bomb underneath the reactor' issue....
11256250
Friendship is Magic, after all.
Or is that love is magic?
11256462
11256387
Ah, "the badlands" definitely works. The bomb... well, I think the mission assigned to Tom Hank's squad in "Saving Private Ryan" was a reasonable one, but that could be debated, as could how much of a corollary there is between the two cases. As Captain Kirk said "The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many."... Which is... sometimes true.
11259335
Eyyyyup. There's just far too many unknowns. So, they wait as best they can.