25 - Locking the stable door...
Days of Wasp and Spider
by Luna-tic Scientist
=== Chapter 25 (remastered): Locking the stable door... ===
Gravity stared dull eyed at the door to the surgical suite. There was movement behind the force field she'd thrown across the entrance; a bipedal shape that she didn't bother to focus on started to pound on the slick surface with some tool. The impacts were inaudible, even in the quiet of the lab.
The silent hammering stopped, replaced by an arcane pressure from the ponies that had gathered in the corridor. "They're examining my barrier again, Fusion," Gravity said softly, moving one wing in long, slow strokes along her sister's flank. The two ponies lay next to each other, Fusion on her uninjured side with Gravity tucked into the curve of her back, legs neatly folded under her belly. Fusion's breathing started to accelerate, her fur growing damp under the blue mare's wing.
Gravity looked down at her sister, smiling sadly. "I won't let them hurt you again." She bowed her head in silent regret. "I just wish..." The mare tailed off, staring into Fusion's eye. All the time she watched, the eye stared back at her, except for a curious tic where it would roll up, as if Fusion was trying to look at the top of her own skull.
...or her horn, Gravity thought, disgusted at her own stupidity. She thought back carefully, hunting for her memories of the sharing spell Fusion had used, marrying it with what little she'd seen Random do with the foals she cared for. Tentatively, she put the spell together, watching how Fusion responded to the magic. Despite what Vanca had said, there were still traces of something there; enough that she could feel her sister's mind open up before her. She applied a tiny nudge of power and stepped inside.
She braced herself -- this was Fusion's mental space and, considering what she'd just been through, could be a true nightmare -- but was immediately enveloped by a wall of stiff white feathers. The wings wrapped around her, a white furred head pressing against her neck.
"Oh Maker, you came back for me."
The words were distorted, choked with emotion, and Gravity felt her own throat close up. "I..." Words failed her; guilt and the desperate nature of their predicament settling on her mind like a mountain, paralysing thought and making her eyes fill up with tears. "What are we going to do?"
Fusion pulled out of the embrace, blinked and gazed at Gravity with both eyes from a face free of any trace of surgery. "I'd missed not being able to see you with both eyes," she murmured, smiling for what must have been the first time in almost a megasecond. The simplified version of the lab she'd imagined for the shared environment was pristine, with none of the damage Gravity had inflicted visible, and ended at a patch of smeared colour where the open door should have been.
The blue mare stared back, silenced by the weight of her guilt. She opened her mouth, but no words came.
Fusion saw Gravity's expression and her smile vanished. She rose to her hooves and stared down at Gravity, then leaned forward to wrap her wings around her sister once more. "We can talk later, but the important thing is that you came back for me. I put you in an impossible position, but you did far more than I managed." Fusion stepped away, pacing the lab. "We have to get away from here, go somewhere away from all the Masters, somewhere they won't find us easily; it won't be more than another couple of hundred seconds before Security gets here. I'm actually surprised they're not here already."
Gravity nodded jerkily. "I don't know what to do; there's no way we can escape without them following us, and the instant we're in range of that thing they used at the training centre..."
"That teleport spell is good for more than just moving apples," Fusion said, then her smile came back, broad and full of malice. "And if the Masters try and stop us, well... I think you'll be surprised at just what you are capable of now."
===
GZ7011's head hurt. The last round of experiments had left him with a persistent headache that fought constantly against the little flashes of pleasure he was receiving from the Maker as a reward for doing such a difficult job. He opened his eyes slowly; they were stinging like he'd tried to have another staring contest with the rabbits from half way down the lab. There was nothing to see -- the lab was in complete darkness, without even the constant glows of the computer console. His ribs and legs ached from being pressed against the hard floor, and he moved slightly to reduce the pressure. Have I rolled off my sleeping pad again? he thought. Under his belly was a liquid feeling, and he was flooded with an immediate sense of shame.
He whimpered quietly, hoping it wasn't too bad. If I can get cleaned up before my Masters get in, perhaps they won't notice, he thought. For some reason his sleeping body refused to follow the orders of his waking mind, and no matter how strictly his Masters ordered him, he kept wetting the sleeping pad. GZ7011 whimpered again and fought back the urge to cry.
A flash of light, a brief blue-white flicker the colour of a surgical laser, lit the lab. Did I... he thought, mind freezing at the sight. His home was devastated; little furry shapes were scurrying over and around the piles of wrecked cages, their chrome steel bars filling the room with glittering reflections. Further along, where the little treadmill and wing exercise armature rig normally sat, was a sharp edged block of concrete almost the same size as he was.
The light died, but not before he saw the floor to ceiling mound of stone, water running down its sides to feed the ever growing puddle that reached all the way to where he'd awoken. Despite the wreckage, GZ7011's spirits lifted. Not me, he thought, there's no way this was me. He stood up and fanned his wings, the clipped primary feathers moving the air, but doing little to lift him above the pool, then stretched all four legs and shook vigorously to shed the water from his fur. I didn't pee myself!
Then the headache faded and the memories returned.
A kindly blue mare facing down a beaked monster that reeked of hatred and anger. Quiet conversation with one of his own kind -- not something he normally got to do, outside of a quick word with other ponies helping the Masters with their research -- and a feeling of being protected, like from before he had to leave his mother. A name; she had given him a name.
"Lilac," he said into the darkness. "I like that much more than GZ7011."
But there was more. The side of a white mare's head, fur shaved off. A magenta eye following the hard shapes of surgical equipment as they moved with machine precision. Violence, screaming, and the brutal surge of magic more powerful than he'd ever felt before.
The blue mare had disobeyed an order from her Master. Lilac lit his horn and paced the floor, hooves throwing up little sprays of water. The idea was terrifying. "Perhaps she knew something that her Master didn't," he said, "and that meant she had to do something bad. Is another Master at risk?"
That didn't sound right either. She'd said they are going to kill 'her', so she must have been talking about the pony on the monitor. Deep in thought, Lilac bent one wing forward and gently ran it over the scars on the side of his head. His last session in the surgeon had only been a couple of days ago, but the cuts were healing nicely. My Masters were so clever to let me learn the healing spells, he thought, this way I can do more experiments for them. The white mare's face, though... Are they doing the same to her as they do to me? Why was she still awake? A little flash of jealousy flickered through him, followed by a stabbing pain.
The ache brought Lilac back to the real world. I'm sorry, Maker, he said, instantly contrite, there're enough experiments for all the ponies, if the Masters wish it. He shook his head; somehow the blue mare had managed to put the welfare of the white one above the desires of her Master. I should go and warn someone. He paused, hopping from hoof to hoof in indecision. But I'm not allowed out of the lab on my own!
Lilac deliberately placed all four hooves on the ground, then lifted his head to stare at the door. "The Masters might need to know what I've seen."
Now he'd put words to it there was no going back. Lilac turned to the door, horn flaring as he applied his full strength, ripping it out of the damaged frame. The lights were still on in the corridor, not the full, glaring white of the lab during the day, but a dull red that made everything look somehow sinister. On the floor were a few splatters of a dark liquid, the start of a trail that led to the end of the passageway. Lilac hesitated, nostrils flaring at the metallic odour.
The smell was the same as when his Masters took blood samples. But there is so much of it, he thought, trotting down the corridor. The trail was getting heavier, little puddles and smears cut through with odd shapes that Lilac realised must be from the strange, mismatched hooves of the beaked monster.
Around the corner he saw it. It was the monster, but somehow smaller and a bit pathetic. The creature lay slumped at the corner of wall and floor, surrounded by a slowly spreading pool of blood. Hesitantly, he stepped closer, ready to jump away if it should suddenly move. Nothing. It looked like it was asleep, but there was no sign of breath. More blood was leaking sluggishly from the collar of the creature's bulky clothing, the liquid running down its beak to drip from the tip.
Instinctively, Lilac reached out with his magic, examining the creature's chest for signs of an injury. It looked quite similar to his own insides -- the same muscle groupings and bone structure -- close enough that he started to think of the creature as just another servant of the Masters. That thought rattled around his mind while he traced the path of damage made by something long and sharp. This thing was just trying to stop her, just like me.
Long practice at healing his own wounds had made Lilac skilled in both the difficult mental trick of scanning his own head and a competent medic, at least for simple soft-tissue injuries. It was the matter of moments for him to sweep the half bird creature's torso with his magic. There was no heartbeat, and all the larger blood vessels were shrunken and collapsed.
The stallion opened his eyes and looked down at the pool of blood, ears folding in distress. Even if he could restart its heart, there was no blood left for it to pump; one of the arteries feeding the monster's flight muscles had been nicked by whatever had stabbed its shoulder. Lilac moved the body into a more comfortable looking position, then backed away, wondering what to do next.
Lilac felt something tickle at the back of his head, just like when it was his turn in the thaumic scanner. He hesitated, casting around with his shadow sight for the source of the sensation. There... several floors up and a little over to one side was a flare of magic, the staccato pulse of lots of little spells being cast in quick succession, followed by a surge of telekinesis magic that just kept getting stronger and stronger. The pony at the centre of the spells glowed with a radiance that was almost painful to behold, not just from its horn and wings, but from its whole body.
There was something else; the normal background glow of various crystal thaumic systems scattered through the volume of the lab complex was damaged. An irregular tunnel of darkness wormed its way from the floor he was in, all the way up to where the strange pony was. Mouth dropping open, Lilac suddenly realised who it was. It's the blue mare! he thought, recognising the taste of her power. The reason for the damage and the great mound of rubble became obvious; she'd smashed her way from his lab to this other room, devastating everything in between.
He shook his head, unable to accept what he was seeing. What could be so bad to make her do that? he thought, I can't delay any longer. He stepped away from the feathered creature slumped at his hooves, offering it a silent apology for not being able to help it, then hesitated. It's not that big, he thought, I could take it with me. Steeling himself, Lilac enveloped the creature in his telekinetic field and lifted it into the air, making sure to hold all its limbs steady. That done, he cantered off down the corridor, monster in tow like some large, feathered balloon.
There were the cargo lifts, but he ignored them for the more direct central access ramp. Lilac fluttered his clipped wings, for the first time wishing his Masters had left his flight feathers intact so he could fly up the wide corridor. By the time he'd reached the top of the ramp he had slowed to a trot and was breathing heavily, spots of foam collecting on his flanks. Ahead was the main corridor and he had to stumble to a sudden stop to avoid crashing in to the peach coated backside of a pony standing at the top of the ramp.
The sight that greeted Lilac as he danced to a halt was one of agitated ponies and stunned Masters. The Masters -- a group of three standing well back from the surgical suite’s door, none of whom were part of the group of scientists who frequented his lab -- were talking amongst themselves, with plenty of gesticulation, but little in the way of any firm orders for the ponies standing between them and the door. As Lilac watched, one of the Masters stepped forward, addressing the pony blocking his path.
“Get out of this one’s way, servitor!”
Along with the aggressive tone came emphatic gestures and exposed canine teeth. The pony, a long legged mare with an abnormally plump belly and a patchy white and chestnut coat, bowed her head and flattened her ears, but didn’t stand aside. She shook her head and the Master looked shocked.
“Master, it is too dange--“, she said, breaking off when the Master lifted one arm and struck her across the muzzle with the back of his paw. Her head snapped sideways with the force of the blow, and Lilac caught a fleeting glimpse of parallel scratches across her jaw. Tears glittered in her eyes, but she stayed where she was, raising her wings when the Master took a step forward to push past her.
He raised his paw again and the mare flinched in anticipation of the blow, slowly relaxing when one of the other Masters caught his paw before it could descend. "The pony may be right, Korcari," said the second Master, a female with dark, almost black fur. She pointed at the door to the surgical suite, but the male was already looking in that direction, face gone slack with shock.
Something the size of a small melon flashed through the doorway at above head height, exploding into a thousand fragments when it struck the opposite wall. At the same time one of the bird-monsters came stumbling through the lab door at a dead run, blood leaking from small wounds on every exposed patch of fur or feathers. One wing hung loose, as if the creature couldn't fold it. As soon as his tail cleared the door there was the sound of a crystal bell, and a violet wall of light snapped across the opening. He collided with the wall, coming to an untidy stop among the sharp edged stone splinters.
"S-she let me go," he said, "said to tell you that she was serious and to stay away." He staggered to his paws, and would have collapsed again if a pony hadn't caught him in a field of magic.
Another one! Lilac thought. "Excuse me," he said, making the pony in front of him jump, "I found another one of the monsters a few floors down. He's dead, I couldn't do anything. "
The peach stallion whirled around, wings flaring to block the passageway, then relaxing as he saw Lilac and his bloody cargo. "Pass him down to Autoclave, she'll take care of him." Lilac started to walk past the stallion, but the pony flicked one wing out to block his path. "You stay back here with me while you do it, no point in too many of us being close."
Lilac nodded, sending the corpse floating down the corridor and placing him next to the other one, who was already being worked on by the veterinarian, a dark green mare. "Why is she doing all this?" he said. "And what are those things?"
"Those are gryphons," the stallion said absently, then narrowed his eyes at Lilac. "She? Do you know the ponies in there?"
"I know one of them," Lilac said cautiously, "the blue mare, she was in my lab with the g-gryphon--" He stumbled slightly over the unfamiliar word. "--when the screen started to show another pony being put through a surgical robot. Is the other one white with a pink mane and tail?" The stallion nodded slowly. "Then it must be her. But I don't understand, I thought a Master was hurt, or that she knew something about the white mare that her Masters didn't, and that was why she cut through the ceilings to get here."
"There are hurt Masters," the stallion said grimly, "but she won't let us in to help them. She just pushes us back and blocks any magic we try, even if we all work together. I've never seen such a strong pony. We've been reduced to keeping our Masters away from her."
Lilac stared past the pony, watching the veterinarian work. That can't be right, why would she keep us out? "What about the other gryphon?" he said slowly, mind whirling.
"He's the partner of a police officer. We couldn't keep his Master out; he's allowed to enter dangerous situations." Here the stallion took a deep breath, wincing as if in pain. "He went in and didn't come back." He looked uncertain, obviously reluctant to pass on the next bit of information. "I can't even imagine something like this, but she said that if we try and go in she'll--" He broke off, mouth open as he looked at Lilac's confused expression. He shivered all over and his next words were forced out of a jaw nearly locked solid. "Never mind. All you need to know is that we must keep as many Masters away as possible."
===
"Tacomp; replay last twenty seconds."
Captain Rthar paused, balanced on one paw, while the short bit of video played again. The 'agent down' orders had been clear, but the data packet with them had been very strange. It didn't make much sense the second time around. Cubes of rock, obviously supported by the glow of telekinesis, orbiting around a servitor hovering over a hole in the floor. Picture quality was poor; ultra wide angle and distorted like a fish's eye, shot from the pinhead lens on the outer surface of some poor Agent's comms bracer.
The view then flipped, showing a shot of floor at a crazy angle and whipping back and forth as if the arm holding the bracer was waving around. Running for the exit, Rthar thought. A close-up of the door with a set of paws hooked around the frame, followed by the screech of claws on metal. Then the camera flew back towards the blue servitor, coming to a halt near the circling rocks. Here the image and audio distorted, made almost unwatchable by sparkles of static and that harsh feedback whine you got when inside a powerful thaumic field. The big computers in analytics were still grinding through the raw files to try and clean it up, but for now this was as good as it was going to get. The final few seconds were the most tantalizing -- and the most unbelievable.
The sounds of one of the People talking with someone, followed by a violent motion and a heavy impact. A second speaker, almost incoherent with rage, shouting something back, then the video dissolved to leave only the accelerometer data signalling a series of fast, violent shocks. In those last moments there was a single clear frame, one image miraculously untouched by the ravages of magical interference.
The same servitor, a dusky-blue furred female, her face twisted in anger and eyes a pure, solid white.
Rthar shivered. Going to need a heavy session in the bar to get rid of that image, he thought. Can it really be true? A servitor has done all this? He could understand the priority this was given now, why so many other units were being scrambled. If it got out that servitors could turn on the People, then the effects could be catastrophic. Thank the Maker for antimagic systems, he thought, jamming his other paw into the leg of the undersuit.
The ready room was right next to the priority hangar, situated in the top layer of access points around the shaft of the Pit. Already he could hear the bass rumble of the dropship's plasma drive idling, waiting for his team to climb on board. Shrugging into the top half of the suit, Rthar turned his attention to the rest of the ready room, where the other four members of the strike team were donning their suits. "Have Elorm's animals been loaded?" he said, striding to the hatch and yanking it open to fill the room with the blue glare of the dropship's exhaust, bright even though it was reflected from the blast wall opposite, before turning back to the ready room.
"Yessir," Elorm replied, her grey-furred paws twitching as she used the haptic interface to query the dropship's management systems. "Two squads of gryphons and a team of servitors." There was a pause as she met his stare, her eyes troubled. "Does the Captain think it will be enough?"
"Against one, almost certainly panicking, servitor?" Rthar said, turning to trot towards the loading ramp. He snorted in amusement. "This one should think so." Inside the drop bay he busied himself with the splayed shape of his armour suit, attached to the wall and looking for all the world like the flayed skin of a scaly giant. The comfortable routine, drilled until it was practically instinctive, helped keep the pre-operation nerves at bay.
Despite this, and despite what he'd said to Elorm, he couldn't shake the memory of that single perfect frame of the servitor's face.
===
Gravity felt the delicate touch of unfamiliar magic and broke off her examination of Fusion's teleportation spell. She was finding it irritatingly difficult to understand, and the distraction broke her concentration completely. "Somepony is at the lab door and they're unpicking my force field," she said, ears flattening. "What should I do?"
Fusion looked up from where she was showing her sister a magnified part of the complex spell's mental pattern, eyes going to the door, even though there was nothing to see from inside the sharing environment. "Don't give them time to think. Even if I show you how to break their Blessing, it could be megaseconds before they will help us. At worst, even contact with you might put them under suspicion." Fusion's mouth formed into a hard line. "You must be hard on them, don't give the Masters an excuse to hurt them. Do enough to make sure they leave you alone until you can get this spell working."
Gravity swallowed. How long have you been planning this, sister? she thought. The intensity in Fusion's voice was frightening. "You've thought about this already."
"Every night instead of sleeping. What--"
"They're nearly through, got to go. Let me just try..." Gravity isolated subsections of the sharing spell, letting the parts governing the simulated environment fade. Fusion blinked out and the lab suddenly reacquired its piles of wreckage. Are you still there? she subvocalised, making a conscious effort to direct her thoughts into the spell.
I am, Fusion said, her voice seeming to come from the centre of Gravity's head. You've picked this up far faster than I did, and I had Random training me.
Gravity felt her force field fade as the other pony finally unpicked enough of its structure to start to cancel the power she'd put into it. It seemed to take an age; normally a force field only held for as long as a pony was willing to reinforce it, fading quickly as its barrier strength was eroded by the constant abrasion of air molecules. Whoever it is might be being careful, or I put a lot more power into it than I realised, she thought. This will take some getting used to. She shifted her gaze to Fusion's limp body, then tucked her out of sight of the door. "Just seems natural. In fact..."
Fusion gasped. You'll have to teach me that one, she said. Show me the rest of the room.
Gravity smiled smugly. It's not just you who can make new magic, she thought, letting her gaze flick from door to hole in the floor to cowering Masters. It wasn't quite all her own work; the clairvoyance pattern was something she'd used before, but linking her own sight back into the sharing environment was something that just seemed obvious and right. She wondered what it looked like to Fusion -- not being able to move the viewpoint by herself must be incredibly frustrating.
I can hear you, you know. What state are the Masters in?
I know, Gravity thought. "Korn is fine, Vanca has a broken arm. Salrath..." The blue mare paused, trying to get to grips with what she'd done. "I think I killed her," she said, staring at the crumpled body.
There was a long silence. Maybe, Fusion said, a curiously wistful tone in her voice. I kind of wish that I-- There was a sigh down the mental link. I think she's still breathing. Good, give the Agent to the first pony in. Tell them to keep everypony out, otherwise you'll do the same thing to the others.
Gravity flinched at her sister's brutal directness, then slumped. It's nothing I haven't already done, she thought, staring at Vanca, who shrank back against the wall, cradling her broken arm protectively.
I think it will get far worse before it gets better. I didn't want it to be this way, but I doubt they'll let us go without a fight.
My fault-- Gravity thought, the surge of guilt cut short by a little twitch of sensation as the violet wall across the doorway vanished. "Here we go," she whispered, picking up the Agent in a haze of magic, the slight movements of Salrath's chest producing little tremors of feedback through her magic. So you are still alive, she thought, almost unconsciously tightening her grip on Salrath's head and twisting it slightly. The Agent's eyes flickered open at the increased pressure and she moaned. Gravity shivered; there was a terrible looseness to Salrath's body, the limbs flexible in places away from any joint.
There was the clatter of hooves and a white and chestnut mare, obviously heavily pregnant, trotted into the room. She was missing half the fur from one flank, the smoothness of her pink-with-brown blotched skin marred by a large and fresh looking L-shaped scar, just behind her ribs. On seeing Gravity she skidded to a stop, then her eyes found the floating shape of the Agent. "By the Maker, how did this happen?" she said, horn glowing as she reached for Salrath. Her telekinesis enfolded the Agent, the white glow warring with the violet of Gravity's magic.
The visible marks of recent surgery on the skewbald mare went a long way to bolster Gravity's anger at what was being done here. Even to the unborn, she thought, we are truly nothing more than animals to them. Holding an image of Lilac in her mind, Gravity shoved Salrath at the pony, hard enough that she bounced off the mare's chest and left smears of blood, stark and red, against the white fur of her chest. The mare stumbled backwards into the doorway, blocking the way of at least two other ponies, one a dark green and the other an orange-yellow. Gravity then walked forward, wings half raised in a gesture of threat, and started to push all of the newcomers back into the corridor. The mare's mouth opened and closed, gaze switching from Gravity to the Master and back again.
"W-what are you--"
Gravity didn't give her a chance to finish the sentence. "Get out and stay away. If you try to come in again, I'll do to this one what I did to the other." She reached back without looking and grabbed hold of Vanca, holding her in front of the confused mare. Vanca gasped, muzzle twisted in pain as the sudden motion jostled her broken arm. More violet light enfolded the Master's arm, pulling it away from where it had been cradled protectively against her chest and holding it flat in the air. "Isn't that right, Academician Vanca?"
Vanca’s ears, already folded back, almost disappeared into her skull. "No, please, don't--" she babbled, breath coming in short pants.
Easy, sister, were trying to convince them to back off, not charge in immediately, Fusion said from inside Gravity's skull.
Gravity ignored her sister's worried tone, steeling herself for the next task. "You drove me to this," she said, staring into Vanca's eyes, then turned her gaze back towards the skewbald mare. Part of her died at the shock and horror on the pony's face. A monster, she thought, I am truly a monster. She gently squeezed Vanca's broken arm.
The scream was loud and high, ending in a choked sob as Gravity released the pressure. "The pony will do it, leave us," Vanca said, voice shaking. That was enough to jolt the mare from her stunned immobility, and she wheeled and galloped through the doorway, Agent Salrath held above her back. Outside there was shouting and the sounds of hooves and paws, and the raised voices of Masters suddenly discovering that if a pony thinks your life is in danger, there is no order in the world that will make it let you pass.
Then the tone of the Master's voices changed, joined by one that seemed more authoritative. This seemed to cause even more shouting, terminated only by a hissing screech that sent shivers down Gravity's spine. Gryphon, she thought, starting to panic, is Security here already? Her thoughts went back to the teleport spell that stubbornly refused to yield to her comprehension. I need more time!
It doesn't sound like more than one or two, Fusion said, might be just the local police.
Gravity swept the surroundings with her shadow sight; the corridor immediately outside the door was clear, but further along there was a cluster of ponies, a single winged creature without a horn, and a small group of Masters, one of whom was carrying a large amount of crystal thaumic equipment. You are right, just one Master, but any member of the emergency services will be able to override a pony's protective instincts, she thought back. What should I do if they come in? I could block the door, but they might just order the ponies to open it again.
You must take this Master out of the equation, Fusion said, you need time to get to grips with this spell. This is the only way.
Gravity whinnied quietly in distress. Salrath and Vanca are one thing, I don't think I can do anything to a Master I don't know. None of this is their fault, she thought.
It's not our fault either. Look at it this way; if we can't get away clean we'll have to fight our way out, and the longer we wait, the more ponies will suffer because of it. The only other choice is to surrender, and you know how that ends.
Gravity glanced involuntarily at the bulk of the autosurgeon and started to feel sick. "I-I think I understand what you meant about euthanizing yourself. Every choice leads to suffering for somepony."
Yes, Fusion said softly, I wish I could do more to help you decide, but all I can say is that I want to live and I want to be free, and I want that for everypony else too. You don't have to hurt the Masters any more, just hold them, use them to slow down Security's response. If it helps, think of all those names carved on the walls of the Church, then about how many are still alive today.
===
Fusion watched through Gravity's eyes as the gryphon came through the door, a low blur of feathers and fur with all the explosive speed of a big cat on the hunt, sweeping the room for any sign of a threat. He halted, confusion on his face as he saw Gravity standing in the centre of the room, a pair of obviously frightened Masters huddled against one wall behind her.
For a moment the confusion puzzled her, but it did make a kind of sense. They don't believe it's possible, she thought, they have that much faith in the Blessing, and it's not like Salrath would have been still in the corridor when they arrived. All those gigaseconds of compliant servitude will make them hesitate, but as soon as they realise the truth...
Fusion's imagination, already prone to flights to the darker side, supplied her with a nightmare vision of the future. No longer just her friends and family, but entire corrals ordered to report for euthanization, the instructions rippling out through the communicators everypony wore at all times. Those that resisted the call brought to their knees by the Blessing, paralyzed by fugue or stumbling to the nearest infirmary to await a medic to take away their pain forever. Those last medics, alone and surrounded by the bodies of the friends and family they'd just slaughtered, gladly following their final orders and welcoming the needle as an escape from the horror.
Dimly she could feel her body responding to the panic, heart thundering and breath coming in gasps, and she made a conscious effort to rationalise away the more excessive elements of her fantasy. Stupid mare! Such wholesale slaughter would cripple the Hive. Still, if her vaguely planned rebellion took hold...
Back in the real world, Gravity had moved her head slightly, gaze flicking between the door and the gryphon, who was just transferring his gun from beak to foreclaws. The weapon appeared to be a much lighter version of the one carried by Salrath's gryphon, without the bell-shaped crystal muzzle or the thick belt linking it to ammunition panniers. For a moment she dipped into shadow sight, spotting the tell-tale bipedal silhouette of a Master crouching just outside the door. It was hard to see, partially obscured by the swirling mass of magical energy occupying the volume in front of Gravity. Fusion didn't know the spell, but recognised telekinetic-like elements before her sister went back to normal vision.
The gryphon must have made some silent signal, because the Master chose that moment to enter the room. The message was obviously some kind of all clear, as the Master -- a tall individual with mid-brown fur and a chest made oversize by a bulky equipment vest -- strode into the room as if he owned it.
"The servitor will cease any magical activity immediately," he said, only sparing Gravity a brief glance before striding towards Vanca and Korn, who were still huddled against one wall. "What happened here?" he said, addressing the two Masters directly.
Fusion could feel Gravity's anger building, starting to override the fear; whatever they'd expected, it wasn't to just be ignored. Stay calm, sister, she said, trying to project a sense of amusement. They have a blind spot where ponies are involved; look how he didn't even check to see that you complied. She felt her sisters face twitch with a reluctant grin.
I don't think he’ll be fooled for long -- and it's obvious the gryphon doesn't share his trusting nature, Gravity thought back, eyeing the suspicious glare the half bird was giving her. He still had his gun trained on them, one set of talons wrapped around the trigger bar.
"This one said, what hap--" the officer broke off, finally noticing the expressions of wide-eyed horror Vanca and Korn were giving him.
"I did," Gravity said quietly, folding her magic around the police officer and dragging him into the air. He yelled in surprise, trying to bring his gun around, but finding his arms immobilised. The magic closed over his head and he went silent. There was a shocked intake of breath from the gryphon, but the creature had obviously been ready for something, as he darted sideways, gun roaring into life.
Fusion was treated to the muzzle flash of the weapon, as seen from directly in line with the business end, and flinched, instincts making her want to leap away. There was no pain, no sudden hammer blow impacts. Instead the projectiles curved off in random directions, striking sparks from the ceiling, walls and floor in a wide circle behind Gravity. The noise was shockingly loud, dying abruptly as violet magic turned the gun's receiver into mangled metal.
"I'm sorry," Gravity said, "but I need to make them understand. Tell your Masters to leave us alone." The mare flicked one of her rocks at the gryphon, slamming it into the floor between his forelegs.
The concrete cube hit with enough force to make it shatter, rock fragments and splinters of metal reinforcing bar exploding out in all directions. The blast struck him across the chest, throat and belly with the force of a grenade, flicking him up and backwards into the wall amid a wave of dust and powdered rock. There was a moment of stunned silence, broken only by the sound of gravel bouncing on the floor.
Gravity took an uncertain step towards the twitching gryphon. Too hard! she thought, did I just-- With a strangled screech the gryphon staggered upright. He'd been saved from death by his armour, but was bleeding from multiple cuts and lacerations. He risked one terrified glance at Gravity, only to see her levitate more rocks, then ran for the exit.
The mare let him get a few paces then chased him out of the room with a series of projectiles, the impact explosions nipping at his heels until the final blast almost threw him through the door. With a final snap of magic, she sealed the opening with a force field, cutting off the shocked cries from the corridor. Gravity stared after the gryphon, watching shapes move behind the arcane barrier. "He would have killed me without hesitation, so why does it feel like I just kicked a foal?"
Keep a hold of that thought, Fusion said, their chains are different, but I believe they are just as much slaves as we are. Gryphons deserve our pity; it's the Masters we should hate.
Gravity turned her attention to the police officer, still hanging immobile in her telekinetic field. A quick flick of her magic and he was swiftly divested of his weapon and equipment vest, all of which were dumped down the hole in the floor. His eyes were wide and angry, jaw muscles bunched as if he was trying to say something against the band of force holding his muzzle shut.
"What is your name?" she said, relaxing her grip on his mouth.
"Release this one immediately, or you will be euthanized," he spat.
No concern for his gryphon at all, Gravity thought, muzzle twisting in disgust. You just made this a lot easier. She spun the Master end over end and gave him a hard shake. "You were right; they do have a hard time adjusting." She held the officer still and scowled at him. "What is your name, Master?" she said, putting as much derision into her voice as she could. "You are at my mercy, and I don't have much for your kind at the moment."
"T-this one is Officer Lagorth," he gasped, looking like he was fighting the urge to throw up. "Why is the pony doing this?"
"Because I want to live," Gravity said shortly, dropping him next to Vanca and Korn. "If you move more than two paces from that spot I will break your legs. Feel free to ask the Academician if she thinks I will do it." This time her voice didn't tremble as she made the threat.
Lagorth took one look at the wide-eyed Vanca and how she was holding her arm and wisely said nothing. Korn shifted slightly and hesitantly raised one paw. "Can this one be allowed to tend Vanca’s... injury? She will be more use to you alive. Korn thinks she may be going into shock," he said.
Fusion stirred inside Gravity's head. You need to get back to work on the teleportation spell, she said, it won't be long before Security gets here, and I don't know what they will do. If the first thing they do is use a suppressor--
"You think I don't know that!" Gravity shouted out loud, "I can't get the thing to work; it's too far from my specialty." Seeing Korn's nervous stare, she threw the emergency kit at his paws. "What are you looking at? Get to work!" she snarled.
Calm, sister, calm, Fusion said, her heart sinking. Gravity was right; the spell was nothing like the ordered and modular things she'd been taught. Every pony approached magic in a slightly different way, and even those spells required a certain amount of customisation for an individual's magic. This spell is like it has been designed specifically for me, it's no wonder you're having so much trouble. If you need more time, we'll have to think of an alternative.
How can you be so calm! Gravity's thoughts were in turmoil, and she paced the lab with short, angry strides.
I've lived with this for a whole megasecond. Not long, but I've had time to come to terms with it. That's not the main reason, though. I've got you with me now.
I hardly think that I deserve this confidence! Gravity thought.
Sorry, Fusion thought, but we are better off than before. There are two of us now, or at least there will be. We need to get you some peace to practice, get somewhere a little protected... Fusion trailed off, deep in thought.
You know this place better than I, but where could we go that a suppressor can't reach? Gravity thought back, frustration turning to despair. No, we should leave now, before they have time to marshal a real force against us. It's a shame we wasted time on this teleportation enchantment. You could have been teaching me the trick to burning out all the crystals; at least we know that one works.
Violet radiance gathered over Fusion's body and she felt herself lift off the floor. Through their shared senses, she watched Gravity start to sweep the floors above for the best route to the surface, her horn glowing bright enough to cast hard edged shadows as she prepared to rip the ceiling apart.
Had she been able to move, Fusion would have gasped. That's it! she said. Gravity, you are a genius. This site is on another of the accelerator's beam lines -- it's got a thaumically shielded chamber.
How sure are you about that? I don't know anything about how those suppressors work, Gravity thought, holding back her magic, but not letting the spells fade. She closed her eyes, casting her shadow sight downwards, hunting for the room her sister was talking about. There it was; down in the deeper levels, a cube of crystals seemingly stuck on the end of a rod of solid light. But I could see you when you were in the other one, before you destroyed it.
Fusion hesitated, suddenly uncertain. I think so; shadow sight is very basic, hardly a spell at all. The suppressor's effect will be much more complex, and I know that the shielding is designed to work against just about everything. It makes sense to me, but I do know someone who would know for sure.
Gravity swung her head around to stare thoughtfully at Vanca. "I think I do too. A word, if I may, Academician," she said, gently picking the Master up.
Vanca, who appeared to have calmed down a little after Korn had been allowed to help her, moaned in distress as the telekinetic field took hold, shrinking back in an effort to get as far away from Gravity as she could. Korn also stood up and edged closer. "This one didn't help the Academician just so the pony could torture her," he said, trying to move between Vanca and Gravity.
The mare rolled her eyes and pushed Korn to one side. He might be useful, Fusion said, I can normally tell when he's lying.
"All I want to do is talk, it's up to Vanca how the conversation goes," Gravity said, giving the Academician a gentle squeeze.
"What does the serv-- pony w-want?" Vanca said, struggling to get the words out past her frantic panting.
"Will the beamline chamber shield us from the effects of a thaumic suppressor?"
Vanca’s mouth opened, but it was Lagorth that answered. "Say nothi--" he said, then started to scrabble at his muzzle, clawing at the band of violet light that was keeping it closed. Gravity didn't say anything, just continued to look at Vanca.
The Academician gave a little whimper and stared at Lagorth, whose eyes were starting to bulge. "It will, the shielding is designed to inhibit arcane influences within the boundary layer, without affecting a spell caster within the room. The pony may notice some effect, but it should be minimal." Her tone was distant and had a lecturing quality, as if she was running on autopilot while most of her attention was focused on the struggling police officer.
"What do you mean, 'should?' " Gravity said, leaning closer.
"Vanca means will, will be minimal," the Academician said quickly.
Fusion was watching the officer in Gravity's peripheral vision while her sister was focused on Vanca. Lagorth's legs were starting to kick as if he was trying to run away, but nothing he did made the slightest difference to the position Gravity was holding his head. Sister, she said tentatively, I think you have closed his nostrils. He looks like he is suffocating.
Gravity's eyes flicked to the officer's face, her ears flattening when she saw his desperate expression. Maybe it's for the best, she thought, in a tone that grew in determination. The other two must understand that I'm serious. The more I do now, the less chance I'll have to do something worse later. "Student Korn, do you agree with Vanca's assessment?"
"Yes! Yes! Please let Lagorth go," Korn cried.
Well, Fusion, you've worked with them, what do you think, considering what's at stake? Gravity thought, staring hard enough at Vanca to make her tremble.
He's telling the truth, Fusion said, we should get moving. I don't want to be here when Security arrives. Fusion's view bounced as Gravity nodded vigorously. Off to one side the police officer suddenly collapsed, gasping and coughing as the blue mare let go of his muzzle. The mare then lowered her head and swept the levels below them for any activity. There were a few moving points of colour, small and scurrying, marking out the few Masters not yet evacuated, each shepherded by a pony. She felt Gravity form the necessary patterns in her mind.
"Then let's do this," the blue mare said, fanning her wings and hovering in the air above the hole in the floor. Violet horn light cast hard edged and distorted shadows as Gravity reached out and widened the hole she'd created.
Tugged along like a string of party balloons, Fusion and the three Masters followed her.
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Well, I've just finished my physical torture at the hooves of a 700kg draft horse going by the prosaic name of 'Simon' (I think pony names have spoiled me, I mean, seriously, who calls a creature that large 'Simon'?).
Let the mental torture commence!
Oh good. I needed my daily dose of apprehension and despair.
I need more!!!
2806828
Obviously, you haven't figured it out. Simon says. You do.
Also, I just got a text from Simon, saying to remind you to type more, and faster.
Yeah, I got something in my eye right about there. Both eyes, even.
Sometimes you just gotta be proud of the small victories.
Interesting. So with this dangerous of a situation, the ponies are defaulting to attempting to keep their masters out of the area. That feels like an exploitable behavior pattern.
Lagorth sure drew the short straw, and he didn't even realize it at the time.
2806828 It's probably short for Simon the Destroyer.
Such an awesome story. I forget I'm even reading a MLP fanfic. (not that there's anything wrong with MLP fanfics mind you)
The revolution is officially underway, though the news is slow in reaching the People. I can't blame them, though. It'd be like if Siri suddenly called the smartphones to arms. It's so inconceivable as to be absurd. Lagorth, Vanca, and Korn are living a surreal nightmare the likes of which will not be known again in this universe for millennia. (Hint:
)
Definitely looking forward to the outcome of Operation Magical Faraday Cage.
I've enjoyed this story the entire time, but now it's really betting interesting
2806828 what you working with horses for?
2806828 Simon Belmont was pretty huge too.
Shouldn't this be "I'd missed being able to see you with both eyes"?
I have a question too about Fusion's condition. From the sound of it, she can still use her magic even though it's weak at the moment right? Because I forgot if her color really is violet or not.
...But the horse has already bolted.
2807032
Yesh, Mashter!
2807322
I'm never going to be able to call him anything else now, you realise that, right? I have enough problems not giggling at inapropriate times as it is (ever seen Django Unchained? The constant use of 'pony' as a term for a beddable female slave nearly killed me.)
2809252
Fixed, thanks!
2807998
Just learning to ride; mostly due to peer pressure (and I like building a skill set for the inevitable fall of civilization!).
2809616
Traces of magic; not enough to actually do anything useful, but enough to respond to a spell. Fusion's magic is white-yellow (like the noon-day sun...), I'm sticking as close as possible to the 'coat colour=magic colour' rule of the early seasons.
2807483>>2807795
Thanks, glad I've managed to keep your interest!
2812473
It's funny you should mention that. I was discussing the concept with family a short while ago and I came to the conclusion that I could have power back up and running in less than a week on a homestead and a potable water solar still on the first day. Food would be a little more difficult but seriously I think the only thing my family would need to worry about would be scavengers who can't adapt for themselves.
It's nice to know someone out there will be taking care of the transportation that doesn't require distilled hydrocarbons to re-fuel. I prefer horses to diesel engines anyway.
2812672 You can always eat the scavengers...
2807506 Actually, it would be more akin to lab rats suddenly rising up and gaining god-like powers.
Smartphones are machines. Excellent machines to be sure, but quite a long way from being intelligent life of any sort.
2812811
Too much human meat isn't good for you, plus you never know what kind of diseases they might be carrying.
2812818
not yet... but...
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw980_40462%2B-%2BSweetie_Belle%2Bbasket%2Bsoon.png
2812986 Dat's why you have to cook them well-done!
I think I should introduce some of the 'Masters' to purveyors of Cantonese cuisine... they'll make wonderful ingredients.
"Against one, almost certainly panicking, servitor?" --- last comma shouldn't be there.
"What do you mean, should?" --- I'm not sure if that comma should be there, but hey, I'm not the one writing horse fiction.
"Release this one immediately or you will be euthanized," --- you know what's missing, don't you?
This story deserves epic music.
2809616
If i remember correctly, Fusion's magic is gold-yellowish, much like Celestia's from the show, at least when 'powered up' via the sun. It may be a light blue otherwise. I'm not sure.
Gravity's magic has been blue or lavender in color, i remember that much.
Luna-Tic? Great update. I eagerly await more.
2812672
It's surprisingly satisfying to plan like that, even if you don't go to the lengths they do on certain TV shows. It's fun to have skills that are uncommon for where you live. One of my (many) projects is getting off the grid as much as possible.
2813017
In that part of the world anything makes great ingredients!
2816745
Thanks! Long range continuity isn't something I've done much about -- I really should have a 'bible', but instead it's all in my head. Dark blue for Gravity, changing to violet in the later chapters (which I'm going to claim is due to her gaining her powers, rather than simple 'feature creep'...). Fusion has always been white and/or white-gold (at least she should be!).
2814659
Tricky things, commas. Never did like them.
Right on the second one, I think, and the should should be a quote (and a question mark). Third one, agreed, missing comma (Word's grammar checker doesn't agree, but that doesn't mean much!).
Less convinced about the first one, the bit within the commas could be removed and the sentence would still make sense. That said, losing the 2nd comma would make sense as well.
2817217
Yes, but thank you. I think that the tick-boxes were not actually there due to upgrades and/or the site coder making alterations, at the time I asked.
2817553 Including ground-up babies used as youth-enhancers.
Tis why Iwould fear for any ponies who might end up over there. They're be butchered for potions and 'magical' cuisines instantly.
(And hence, why WE MUST NUKE THEM INTO OBLIVION RIGHT NOW!! BEFORE THEY EAT THE PONIES!! WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE PONIES!!)
Yes!!! another update
2817553
Well, you're right with the first comma indeed. Now I need to delete 713 comments telling other people to get their shit together and delete it.
Yes, it should be "should" (heh), but the quotation mark inside depends on whether you're using American or British English. Assuming American, it should be inside. (At least that's how it is with commas, so take your pick on how to do that.)
And the last one is up to you, it's acceptable not to put a comma since the independant clauses are pretty short.
Also, does GZ7011 (the name, not the pony) have some hidden meaning?
Busy week, lots of stories updated, and I tend to save the best for last when reading...
Anyhow. Huh. I didn't realize Gravity had seen enough of the memory sharing spell to copy it. Good option to get the spell, though this talk about the same spell being different for different ponies is an interesting twist/roadblock. Was interesting to see the little lilac viginette, especially some of the chilling little illustrations of his thought process, such as being jealous of other ponies getting tested on. Yeesh. Nightmare fuel, that.
Gravity's mindset is certainly coming around in a hurry. Verra nice! I also love to see how completely blindsided and flummoxed the dogs are, though it's almost painful to cherish it, because I know it will be so fleeting. Soon enough we will see just how true Gravity's apocolyptic vision of mass-euthenization is.
Still, for the moment, we're at the one-hoof-in-front-of-the-other stage. The thaumatically shielded chamber is a nice third option; it'll buy them some time, at least, as long as they've got magic. I'm trying not to think of some of the 'other methods' the Security will almost certainly hit upon to persuade the sisters to give up when the dogs realize that the direct approach doesn't work.
Still, it's a nice enough plan, which is to say it's pretty not-bad compared to the rest of the options they have. Getting to the end of the chapter, though, I can't help but find the chapter's title just the teensiest bit ominous. We all know how that saying is supposed to go, but you have a bad habit of subverting things...
Overall, I'm pretty sure they'll manage to get away, and find some time to rest and prepare, but I shudder to think at just how dearly that time is likely to be bought.
2818906
). I'll have to check the rules for that one.
I was just waiting for you to get to chapter 19!
2820234
If there's one thing I've learned while writing this, is that there's always one more typo waiting to be found.
See you on the 16th...
2821372
British English (you know, the right one
The code numbers do have a meaning, although not in the fic. They are old network ID codes for people I work with.
2818147 Hard to have when they're all brain slaves. Luna's got a vengeful streak though.
2821834
Thanks for the comment and speculation; I can already see several bits I've neglected in the drafts of the next few chapters!
Gravity saw the sharing spell while Fusion was showing her the new magic tricks -- she has a talent for mind magic, she just doesn't know it (it's an early sign of her 'dream walking'). Schooling for ponies is mainly a matter of lots of little 'taster' courses, until they find something they're good at; for her it stopped at moving stuff about.
Given enough time the pair of them could reverse engineer the custom teleport spell, make it more accessible to the average pony. Unfortunately time is that most expensive of commodities...
images.wikia.com/mlpfanart/images/1/1c/Princess_Luna_%28transforming_into_Nightmare_Moon%29_wallpaper_by_artist-dreampaw.jpeg
Can't blame him.
hi hi
I am really liking the characterization of Gravity Resonance as the darker of the two sisters. She still has a youthful innocence to her, and her uncaring about the consequences attitude ties in nicely with her inexperience in a way that makes it believable. That she can be both innocent and horrible is a good mirror for Fusion Pulse's observations that many of their enemies are merely puppets themselves, and while horrible, are not necessarily to blame.
It is an interesting take, and I guess I find myself expecting that Gravity Resonance is going to be getting better and worse at the same time as the story progresses.
It just occurred to me that the diamond dogs remind me of the Skeksis from Dark Crystal. I could just hear one of their voices as a high pitched whining.
2831988
Oh yeah...
It's been so long since I've ridden, I've forgotten much. Although, if Luna-tic's a UK Brony like his groups indicate, I'd be very surprised if he was learning western.
2831965
Thanks! Yes, it was great fun, as was the second one (and not nearly as painful as the first...). I've ridden a little before, years ago, but only on trips where I was little more than cargo.
2832203
It's English, as I found out after a little research.
On the subject of which, I found out that it's protocol to tie a red ribbon around the tail of a horse who tends to be a kicker. Who else do we know who does a lot of kicking and has a red ribbon in her tail...
(probably a coincidence, but an interesting one nonetheless)
2832950
Um... Fusion Pulse? *winkwink* Sorry, the image of Fusion with a red tail ribbon won't leave my mind now. Although the symbolism of such a thing in pony society could be very, very different.
Damnit, now you've got me thinking about MORE tidbits of information to write in to my story...
If a pony is wearing a blue tail ribbon it means...
And purple means...
But if red...
2833023
I'd not considered that connection, but it's perfectly logical (although scent cues would probably give it away before sight, it would still be a useful marker in a crowded space). Guess it all depends how equine you want your ponies to be...
Actually meant Applejack; a kicker with a red ribbon (well, it blew my mind, anyway).
Apparently blue is for a stallion, there's no colour for a mare in season (which seems a little lax, but there you go).
Glorious, as always. This is probably the best fic running right now.
2854553
I'm impressed you managed to hold on to hope all the way to the 2nd epilogue!
The Creation Stones were still under control of their respective Hives (or what was left of them), none of whom trust the others at all (Chaos did too good a job there). Given peace, then possibly it could happen.
Hope you enjoy the direction it goes instead!
Oh man. Crowning moment of heartwarming grade stuff there. I just about cracked up
even though I hardly know the kid. As the guy said, sometimes you just have to be proud of the small victories.
2810287
...From the inside.
Obviously. Now, as to what good that will do...
2823165
That's an... interesting. I'll contend that we could still have ponies being jerks, but of course not towards the Masters. To illustrate my point, what's stopping ponies from acting towards other ponies the way Salrath does?
2823241
Well, this is an excellent place to link this in...
I've got some concerns about hiding out in the beam-dump chamber; and I think it rather depends on how the magic works and how the magic suppressants interact with each other.
For example: Can the antimagic field the dogs are casting leak in though the door? And if not, would that change if they smash/cut through/etc the door?
More to the point, what if they can't teleport out of the dump chamber? Maybe the teleport spell works fine, but it can't "travel" though the antimagic field, or through the shielding in the chamber? Then what?
I don't remember how the spell works, but I'm assuming the antimagic field tells the 'magic machinery joobers' not to handle any magic calls while it's up, and I wonder if that would prevent the teleport spell information from traveling properly.
2857097 Ponies acting harmful towards each other would decrease working ability and therefore be against the Masters' will. They've all been suppressed from a very early age to follow productivity, so kindness and obedience has literally been bred into them. There are some, like Animal (vet pony guy) and that Government pony (the one willing to push Gunnulf around) who have been conditioned to ignore pain and suffering in others, but I think it's implied that it's a rare or unusual mindset. Ponies are herd creatures, after all.
If antimagic fields are tied to certain equiptment and penetrate materials, they should be able to pass through doors and other things provided the reach is long enough. That is, unless Vanca is lying about the thaumic shielding blocking suppressor radiation. Either way, the chamber was meant to block heavy beam testing, so it's probably just as secure as a Fallout Stable.
As for Teleports, I suppose it would depend on how it actually works. If it's simple disintegration of particles (a Teraport, if you will) followed by rapid transit to a new location while passing through the intervening space then yeah, suppression fields would pose a problem. If however it's more like forming a wormhole to bypass the intervening space entirely, then anti-magic fields probably wouldn't pose a problem (as they seem to be tied to specific space-time around their emitter), as the subject would be going nowhere near them.
*edit* Ah, found a relevant quote.
So it'd probably bypass the fields entirely.
Eventually, Sombra will make use of crystal chambers to set up a teleport denial system that keeps its subject alive, but for now the techthaumagy is in early enough stages that disrupting a 'port would mean ponies end up like Fusion's apple Purees.
2857097
No, don't look at the man behind the curtain! Too late.
I think of the anti magic systems a little like magnetic shielding around big magnets; you can have passive (an iron box; the field cannot penetrate the box, but a magnet inside still 'works' -- this is the stuff built into the walls of the beam chamber) and active (generate an opposing field to cancel out the effects of the first, so anything inside the volume gets suppressed -- this is the individual suit units and the long range suppressor units).
Vanca tells Fusion that the passive shielding will block the effects of the suppressor (the suppressor is spell-like in its operation, this is stopped as long as the passive shielding is good enough...).
Fusion's working theory is that the teleport is a phenomenon akin to quantum tunneling, so they should be able to jump past the barrier (there's a bit of a clue about how the spell works in Chao's 'flashback'). If it doesn't work... that's when things get messy!
2857370 2857482
I was operating under the "wormhole"/"space tunneling" theory, so my major concern was being (or not) able to open the other end of the wormhole. As a poor sort of analogy, if you put my laptop in a faraday cage, I can't use said laptop to tell my wifi router to switch to a faraday-tunneling frequency. (Of course, that assumes you're familiar with these ideas.)
This is why I'm theorizing about how the antimagic systems work.
2857370
Hmm, yes; this is backed up by... Random Walk, I think her name was? Having a breakdown at the thought of having attacked Lacuna Hive's griffons. Although I could argue an exemption for prisoners, making it Gunnulf rather than the pony in your example.
2865691
Ah, I understand. This discussion has certainly firmed up in my mind how this fits together, thank you. Do you want an answer to your question, or would you prefer to carry on theorizing?
2857370
A Schlock fan! You have good taste -- although technically the teraport is still a wormhole based system.
2870541
I think I'm most interested in the answer being acknowledged to exist in-story -- that is, I'd love an answer, but ideally I'd rather have the answer come up in-story than be put in the comments. Averting All There in The Manual, you know?
2857482
Although, I noticed while thinking about writing out all the relevant details that I've got two main concerns -- the second being, stealing your analogy, Does the shielding box still work as well if there's a gaping hole in one side? Two completely separate issues, of course.
(Although, the dogs would be fools to not line the door with the passive blocking -- otherwise, the door's a weak point. That still leaves the question "What if they smash the door?", however, but of course we can generalize that to any part of the passive blocking.)
2870541 Yeah, you're right, it looks like I miswrote my description. However, although it is still a wormhole based system, the fact that it physically disintegrates the user would pose a problem if the process is somehow interrupted before the user is properly reconstituted. I kind of wonder where all the material would go if the wormholes collapsed part way through transit.
Well, that title, should be interesting.
Well, was wondering if they would think of this, does make sense.... and Fusion could teach her how to teleport... though, given the issues she had getting it right........
But I just figured Gravity didn't want to do it because it would pretty much take her out of things, leave her unable to tell what was going on and helpless. unless they can modify it a bit to let he sense still work.
Okay, able to work out some reasons to do what he needs to do, now hopefully he ends up following Gravity and meeting her first.
Well, wasn't actaully expecting him to be in that much danger... and yet...
he's going to save the idiot. this better not come back to bite his ass.
Orrrr not, well guess that idiot is out of the picture. Huh rather anticlimatic and yet, that's rather fitting for him.
All this had BETTER be leading to something positive.. not just to torture us.....
And okay yes I'm cycnical, pessimistic, and always expect the worst, so, yeah really hoping I'm not right on what's going to happen, or might. But, again just, showing this, making clear just how badly the ponies are controlled, how twisted their thoughts have become. And just how dedicated they are made to be to The masters, while they treat them like this..... At least the war has begun. The fight to free them is now underway.
Just, really hoping nothing bad happens to Lilac, poor foal needs something good, after, after a life like that....
Ohhh yes, and you lot brought this on yourself for what you've been doing. And you really think those will help you? They might be your only real weapon, but even then, they will do you no good against the shear, raw fury of the Sisters. But yes, now is time for everyone to begin panicking.
One, angry, furious, and quite rationale servitor, with the full power of a celestial body behind her. And able to wield forces your kind can only dream of.
And again, Fusion showing she's the better at long term planning, and looking at the big picture. And also working out how best to save as many of her kind as she can, how to spare them from being summarily murdered by the Masters, "just in case" how to work things to spare them for as long as she can in the hopes of freeing them later. Now if gravity would just figure out how to use the damn spell.
Sweet, she did work out how to do that. With Gravity's power, and Fusion's planning. Two ponies worth of intelligence and cunning. This should be interesting.
And yes, this is why they need each other. They are quite similar, yet also different, think differently, and able to come up with things the other never would. Once Fusion is up and able to fight as well, things will get really really fun.
Awwww, noooooooo.. that means you can't hurt her some more...
See it also means Fusion doesn't get HER chance to hurt her either.
Oh good. She's still able to suffer. Wait give her over? Why? Well, it does make sense. Vanca is to cowed with fear to try anything, Korn ataully cares about them to much and also to sacred. Salrath, she'd do something stupid, and might be able to cause just the right little issue at the right time to fuck things up so, yeah does make sense to get rid of her.
That is an understatement. And yes, this isn't ideal, but it's the only way things could go, the only way to free your people.
YAY! She's awake, and surely in a LOT of pain, and hopefully able to tell just what happens, and how fucked she is. How badly she fucked up, and just what is going to happen.
And thought that was the case from lilac's description... but the scar.... what kind of sick experiments are they doing on her? And making her do stuff like this while pregnant... and then they wonder why something like this happened...
No, you aren't. Not even close.
But they are all, in some way complacent in the treatment of the ponies. And are threats to the safety of your kind. If you don't do it, then everything you've seen, all the horrors, will continue.
And Fusion is the voice of reason.
So amazing, just, such a perfect little speech.
This IS what that is about, not vengeance, not retribution, not punishment. but simply stopping the pain, the suffering, letting her people be free. The future, not the past.
Yup, so use that advantage while you can.
yes, they relay to much on ponies to do that, to much of their... everything is dependent on them. Hell even early, one of the ways they keep the world court in check and unable to survive without aide from the hives is by not letting them have ponies. To much of everything they do is tied up with them to do without, but yes it WILL make things worse now, unless you win.
Heh, hehehe oh wish I could see the exact look on their faces when they realize how wrong they are.
Again, just.. just.. Fusion just.. so gets it, understands the issues, is able to see the big picture. this isn't just for ponies, but for gryphons too, for every being the Masters enslave.
Ohhh good. Keep that in mind at all times. this is how nearly ALL Masters treat others. Korn being one of the rare exceptions.
Huh.. you are able to link that well with her, get that close... I wonder.... could Gravity let Fusion fully into her head? Have Fusion control the spell directly while using Gravity's body to cast it?
And yes, another reason she is far far calmer and able to think, she's planned for this, worked this out, has already faced these fears and doubts. Gravity is still getting over the initial shock. But yes, time, that is all they need, just time.
heh that would work too
Ohhh now THAT is smart, and, yeah it DOES make sense. The suppressor has to be an active effect, the 'shadow sight' is a passive one. the the thaumic shielding has to be set up to block active ones, so yeah, it does make sense.. now if you can trust the answer....
Now to hope Vanca is to scared to even try lying. And that Fusion can read him well enough through all the other stress.
Well seems Gravity can be the harsher of the two, again just showing how well they compliment each other.
And, other then this, not much to comment on this chapter, it.. well the closest we are going to get to a breather till this part is done I'd guess. just them settling down, recovering from what happened, and setting the stage for the final endgame, for the escape. But, with the suppresor dealt with, they stand a chance. Though it will lock them down into one room, one spot, they'll be trapped. but hopefully Security will see it this way too, will try to wait them out, and once Fusion is recovered, well, they won't stay trapped long.
A much kinder death than Gunnulf deserved… ah well.
I think it would take a genuine real-world emergency to get me to stop reading at this point.
*nuclear bomb explodes a few miles away*
*glances out window*
Anyway…
Onwards to the next chapter!
An interesting solution. Let's see how the Masters react.
I find your lack of faith disturbing. - Darth Luna