Days of Wasp and Spider
by Luna-tic Scientist
=== Chapter 26 (remastered): ...after the horse has barricaded itself inside ===
The Institute facility was now under the complete control of its resident servitors. These ponies, all medical research subjects now the accelerator was out of action and all the techs had been reassigned, had rapidly cleared the facility of Masters. Shouts, curses, entreaties and threats were all ignored; those who didn't move rapidly enough for the ponies escorting them were lifted bodily and floated at a full gallop to the muster station near the upper level transit hub.
The only remaining Master was the site safety manager -- a slightly overweight but heavily built individual by the name of Orch -- who they'd reluctantly allowed to stay at one of the doors to the surface shaft. There he'd remained, directing operations within the Institute as best he could, prevented from physically interfering by a pair of ponies ready to evacuate him in an instant if the mad mare came in this direction. Orch had long since stopped trying to convince the ponies to let him pass and instead paced the bottom of the shaft under the watchful eyes of his guardians, waiting for Security to arrive.
A few levels further down, Lilac studied the activity in the medical lab through his shadow sight, trying to identify the spells the blue mare was using. There was the familiar haze of telekinesis and the glowing threads that connected the pony to her force field, but alongside that was something more subtle, something delicate and complex that wove itself between the two ponies.
The stallion started to cast out his own magic, treating this like it was yet another session with his head clamped into one of the lab's machines, delicately picking apart some experimental enchantment without disrupting it. There was a faint whisper of sound and his ears twitched and swivelled, hunting for the source. It was a matter of moments before he realised that the noise was speech and that it pulsed and varied in time with his own efforts to understand the magic being used. It's like a clairvoyance signal, he thought, if I just...
The little voice at the centre of his head grew stronger and abruptly became perfectly clear. He listened, mystified at most of the subject matter, but catching the anger in one voice and the worry in a second. There was a feeling of urgency and questions about the beam chamber. Involuntarily, he focused his shadow sight downwards, staring at the glowing cube at the bottom of the Institute facility. Then the little voice disappeared and was replaced by a surge of telekinesis magic; looking back at the lab he could see the mare had dropped into the dark tunnel she'd created, the other pony and the Masters in tow.
"They're leaving the lab," announced the peach stallion, "thank the Maker the lower levels are clear. Now where the hay do they think they are going?"
Lilac opened his mouth to answer, but thought better of it. The blue mare is going to be in a lot of trouble. She's scared, but I know she likes me. If I can convince her to just talk to Security when they arrive, she'll realise she's made a mistake in trying to rescue her friend, and we can sort all this out. Somewhere deep inside he remembered how he'd felt those first few megaseconds after he'd been selected to help the Master's research. I wish somepony had come for me, he thought, then winced at a sudden spike of pain that made the breath hiss through his teeth.
"I'm going to check the lower levels again," Lilac announced, receiving a distracted grunt of acknowledgement from the peach stallion, obviously still focused on his own shadow sight view. He hesitated, staring nervously at the other pony, then, receiving no command to the contrary, wheeled and cantered down the spiral access ramp.
At the bottom of the ramp Lilac trotted down the corridor, paying more attention to his shadow sight than normal vision. Deft touches of telekinesis stopped him from bouncing off the walls, but he'd already slowed from his earlier headlong gallop, after tripping over an equipment trolley that had been abandoned in the middle of the walkway.
The sharp metal edge had scored a long, bloody scratch down one flank, but the pain was subsumed by the excitement of the chase and the urgency of his self-imposed mission. High over head, but getting closer every second, was the bright flare of the blue mare, her shape outlined by a complex and shifting pattern of magic. Lilac could see the perfect spheres of force fields flickering briefly in front of her, boiling and churning like foam, the magic changing to a powerful and pervasive telekinesis that ran along her flanks and lined the walls of the tunnel she was carving.
Finally he reached his target, the main equipment corridor leading up to the chamber. Turning to face her approach, Lilac stared up into the approaching maelstrom of magic, already the brightest thing in the shadow universe. He could actually hear it now; the high pitched, atonal warble of force fields being formed and collapsed, overlain with a bass rumble and the noise of heavy objects being crushed.
In the dim emergency lighting, Lilac opened his real eyes and looked up at the ceiling. The floor was vibrating now, little runnels of dust sifting down from where the dead light fittings joined the concrete slab ceiling. Soon, he thought, his excitement building. Almost directly overhead a perfect half dome of violet light flashed into being for an instant, then vanished to be replaced by another and another, so fast that his eyes couldn't keep up with them.
Above him the ceiling dissolved in a roar of light and sound.
===
Unlike the streamlined arrow head of a Military attack carrier, the Security dropship was a blunt cone designed to get into dangerous places as fast as possible. It sacrificed stealth and endurance for armour and a speed that could match an air superiority fighter, at least over short distances. With a booster system it could carry out a ballistic insertion across half a continent, yet was still compact enough to fit down any tunnel big enough for two lanes of traffic.
They didn't do that very often, though, as it was very hard on any vehicle coming the other way.
This time the fastest route was a short, low level dash to the Institute's entrance shaft, followed by immediate deployment from the big cargo dock at the very bottom. Rthar lay in his armour suit, reading the latest intelligence updates while listening to the whispered readiness reports of the rest of his strike team and their associated support animals. The clamps holding him to the wall panel gave a groan as the dropship deployed its aerobrakes and thrust diverters to drop from near Mach two to a landing configuration in less than twenty seconds; the forces pulled the blood to his head and made him wrinkle his muzzle in an effort not to sneeze. Another pawfull of seconds was consumed by queasy shifts in down, before the welcome jolt of landing.
"Maker-damned dropship pilots are all mad," Rthar muttered, staggering upright as the clamps released his suit. For a moment he almost envied the servitors in their gimballed, padded cocoons. Deployment patterns bloomed on his HUD's inset map display; the two gryphon squads splitting into fireteams of three and moving to secure the area. One team went aloft, circling the entrance shaft to provide overwatch, while the other three took position around the dropship and at the exits to the bay.
"Area secure, Sir," said the sersjant from her position in fireteam one. "One civilian and two servitors."
"Acknowledged. Hold position." Rthar gave the signal to the rest of his team, and they all fanned out from the dropship to get the rest of the operation underway. Rthar strode over to where one of the People was cowering on the floor, paws over his head and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. "Carry on, sersjant," he said to the gryphon NCO, currently covering the frightened member of the Master race with her smartgun.
"Sir," she said, snapping her beak in salute and trotting off to rejoin her fireteam, currently clearing one of the entrance points.
Rthar reached down and used his suit's scanner to interrogate the civilian's comms bracer, using its biometric interface to verify his identity. "This one offers his apologies, Safety Manager Orch. Standard procedure is to restrain all civilians until they can be identified." The other SOP was anonymity for Security's operatives, so Rthar kept his visor opaqued, ignoring Orch's stammered acceptance of his rote phrase. "Are any of the People left inside the facility, and where is the Agent?"
Orch cleared his throat. "With the exception of the hostages, no. All the staff are at the muster station, have been ever since the alarms went off." Here Orch's voice took on a disbelieving tone. "Our own servitors evacuated us and they won't let us back in, not even our own 'seek and search' teams; they keep saying it's too dangerous."
"It sounds like the servitors are smarter than Orch is. The Agent, Safety Manager Orch. Where is the Agent?"
"Agent... Salrath, was it?" he said, pausing until Rthar made an impatient gesture. "Salrath is en route to the nearest emergency centre, this one thought it would be quicker if she was sent with two of our more mobile servitors--"
"So, after she was apparently assaulted by one of Orch's experimental subjects, Orch left her in the care of two other ponies, who had also been experimented upon?"
Orch sagged under Rthar's sarcasm, the disproval obvious even through the suit's speaker and its deliberate distortion. "There was little choice, without constant medical intervention by our in-house medic, she wouldn't have made it, and the centre is only a few hundred seconds flight time away." Orch rubbed his paws nervously. "This one apologises if he made the wrong decision, but--"
Rthar made a cutting gesture. "Your actions will be reviewed later." He switched back to the internal comms circuit. "Sersjant, escort the Safety Manager to the blockade group at the upper transit hub."
"Yessir," came the reply, then the gryphoness trotted forward, extending one wing to firmly push Orch in the right direction. "This way, Master, we'll see you to a safe place." The words were polite, but the tone brooked no argument, coming from a soldier used to getting her way with the aggressive and independent recruits of her own species.
Orch flinched back from the touch; the gryphoness probably outweighed him by a factor of three, as well as having the build of an apex predator in its prime. "B-but there's a lot of delicate thaumic hardware here, this one can't have a repeat of what happened at the other site," he said, trying to stand his ground against the sersjant's rapidly strengthening push.
Rthar watched the unequal contest for a second, wondering how long it would be before his sersjant lost her patience. "Don't worry, Security won't let that happen," he said, waving one armoured paw over his shoulder to where the small herd of servitors were finally coming down the dropship's ramp. Huh, they're probably the most valuable part of this mission, Rthar thought, there's a first time for everything. At least we're allowed to armour them. Their stated job was the suppression of any civilian ponies or disarming crystal thaumic booby-traps, but they also had a more prosaic purpose -- pack animals.
Each pony was laden down with the seemingly endless amount of gear even quick operations needed; packed among the spine and slung beneath the belly, over hips and withers, slung around necks. Only their midsections were kept free of equipment, and then only to allow them to fly. Under the packs, from bug-eyed helmet to high traction rubber horseshoes, each servitor was covered fullerene ceramic scales. Their wings were hidden behind curved plates of the same material, able to be opened at a moment's notice.
For a moment Rthar wondered what it would be like if he could actually use them offensively, then dismissed the idea. The World Court's rules on servitors were almost as arcane and complex as the creatures themselves, but it boiled down to 'no military use' -- and the Court treated People who tried to subvert the rules extremely harshly. He grinned wolfishly inside his helmet; of course Security wasn't technically part of the Hive's external defences, so they could get away with rather more.
"Shouldn't this one stay, just in case there are any issues?" Orch said plaintively.
Rthar has wasted too much time on Orch already, the Captain thought. "No. These ones are behind schedule. The sersjant will carry out her orders."
"Yessir," the gryphoness said, then lunged forward to wrap one set of talons around Orch's upper arm, pulling him across the landing bay at an uneven trot. Even though she was only on three legs, the Master still had trouble keeping up. Not that she gave him much choice.
Rthar watched his sersjant go, grinning at the Safety Manager's complaints, clearly audible even over the dropship's idling engines. Turning back, he surveyed the organised chaos of the teams assembling themselves for entering the Institute, nodding in satisfaction.
Time to go to work.
===
Gravity dropped down her original tunnel and aligned herself with the glowing cube of the beamline chamber. "This is going to get loud," she announced, looking over her shoulder and relaxing her grip on the Master's arms so they could cover their ears. None of them did, just looked back at her with a mixture of fear and confusion. She shrugged and gently shut Fusion's eyes and folded her ears flat, keeping them closed with a light touch of telekinesis. And dusty, she thought, conjuring up a small scale version of the same spell she'd used to deflect bullets.
Around her were the gutted remains of an office area; desks, chairs and storage units smashed and thrown against the outer walls of the space, others crushed into mangled piles of wreckage that she'd forced into any openings in the room. Gravity switched back to normal vision, contemplating the ruin while she hovered over the dark pit she'd excavated on her way up. Most of her route had been near vertical; this time, as well as descending half a dozen floors, she needed to skip sideways almost a hundred lengths.
The blue mare shook herself and laughed quietly. As if this property damage would matter if they caught up with her. They can only kill me once, she thought, gathering her strength. She took a moment to organise the magic flow in her head; this would take some good timing if she wasn't going to bring the structure down on top of herself. Slowly at first, then with ever greater speed, Gravity started to work. Make a force field there, grab the sharp edged fragments with her telekinesis and shunt them around her body to wedge them in the hole behind her. Repeat, then repeat again, faster and faster, the bell-like sound of each field merging into a rising warble, almost drowned out by the noise of concrete and metal being smashed into the excavated volume as she moved forwards.
Gravity started to accelerate, the choreography of energy and mass as smooth as a well designed machine. Every sense except her shadow sight was useless, so she flew with her eyes shut at the calm centre of a maelstrom of activity. For the first time since her... awakening, she started to feel a hint that her new power might have limits; a light sweat began to run under her fur, just like she was going for a gallop.
Within a few seconds she was moving as fast as a pony could trot, cutting through light partition walls and heavy, load bearing floors like they were made of the same stuff. Gravity moved like a high velocity bullet through flesh; a temporary cavity surrounded by a travelling zone of destruction, leaving shredded matter in her wake. Although each spell was simple, she was casting them many times every second, leaving no time for much in the way of actual thinking. Gravity very quickly entered an almost trance-like state, her whole being reduced to an arcane machine.
Thus it was Fusion, still looking out through Gravity's senses, who saw the faint shape of horn and wing through the chaotic mass of magic busy slicing through the steel and concrete in front of them. Stop! she cried inside her sister's head, traces of panic leaking back along the sharing link.
Gravity came to her senses immediately, freezing all of her active magic and carefully pulling away the last of the ceiling so she could fit into the corridor. The other pony just stood there, nervously shifting his weight from hoof to hoof. "Lilac?" the mare said. "What are you doing here? I told the ponies topside that we weren't to be followed." Gravity pulled a dazed looking Vanca forward, giving her a slight squeeze to attract her attention. "Didn't you hear the Master's instructions that we were to be left alone?"
"No, please, no more," Vanca moaned, trembling in Gravity's grasp, then gasped as the mare gave her a warning shake. "T-the servitor is correct, this one gave orders that we were not to be disturbed," she said weakly.
Lilac blinked, tearing his eyes away from Gravity's gently flowing mane, then gasped in pain as Vanca's words sank in. He fell to his knees, wings coming up to cover his head. "Forgive me, Master," he said miserably, "I wasn't told."
Gravity cleared her throat and Vanca twitched. "The pony is forgiven; this is not its fault," she said quickly.
The young stallion climbed to his hooves, breathing heavily. "Thank you, Master." He looked at Gravity, then back at the little group she was still holding with her magic. "Master," he said tentatively, "I think you are injured, do you need any help?"
===
Fusion looked out through Gravity's eyes at the pony her sister had called 'Lilac'.
What are we going to do with him? Gravity thought.
The words seemed to jump out of the general stream of emotions and half vocalised internal dialogue that was like a dull white noise to Fusion. Every so often something would get 'loud' enough to hear, even when her sister wasn't deliberately sending thoughts her way, but that was rare and limited to the strongest emotions. With her view of Lilac came little flashes of Gravity's memories; horror and a blurred image of the young pony's face, the only thing in focus the layers of ridged scar tissue on the side of his head, and guilt with a vision of Lilac falling to the ground, his magic failing under Gravity's onslaught.
Fusion remembered what her own head had looked like from the little glances Gravity had cast in her direction. Would this have been me in a few megaseconds, or would they have just kept cutting until there was nothing left? she thought, keeping that to herself for fear of distracting Gravity with more guilt. She heard Lilac ask another question, but didn't catch the words.
We can't leave him here; even without the extra suspicion he'll be under, his future looks bleak, she said to Gravity.
Certainty flowed through Gravity's mind, decisions solidifying as Fusion watched. Show me how to break the Blessing as soon as we have a moment spare, she thought, I'll control him until we can trust him. The mare smiled down at Lilac and opened her mouth, but it was Korn who replied first.
"There was an accident," he said, glancing sidelong at Vanca, whose mouth was opening and shutting like a fish gasping for air. "This pony has been helping these ones to avoid any further harm." Vanca looked relieved, nodding vigorously. Officer Largorth glared at Korn, but didn't say anything.
"I knew that you must have had a good reason to do all that!" Lilac said happily, then looked uncertainly at Gravity and Korn. "But what about the gryphons, what did they do that was so bad?"
Well, it's nearly true, the mare thought, then had a flash of inspiration. "Master, with your permission, I think this pony needs to know the truth," she said, looking hard at Korn, who waved his paw in a vague 'go ahead' manner. Gravity nodded at Lilac, letting her ears droop. "The Master just wants to protect you, but the truth is that we think they might be agents of another Hive. Somehow they've found out that my Master has discovered how to make ponies even stronger, and they want to steal the secret and kill us all." There was a choking noise from the police officer, but he fell silent at a glance from Gravity. Korn just nodded in response, looking unhappy.
Lilac's ears folded flat and his mouth moved like he was muttering something under his breath, then his gaze went to Largorth. "So is he not one of our Masters?" he said slowly, brow furrowed in concentration.
A ghost of a smile twitched Gravity's lips. "You are a very smart pony, Lilac. Yes, we need to keep him safe until our own Masters rescue us, but it's very important you don't listen to him if he asks you to do anything to stop me."
"I don't really understand what is going on, but is there anything I can do to help?"
"Yes, there is," Gravity said, trying to give the stallion a convincing smile while stepping forward and gesturing for him to start walking.
"What is it?" he said, nearly tripping up in his eagerness to keep the blue mare in sight while trotting down the corridor. "And I don't know your names."
"I'm Gravity, this is Fusion. We're very pleased to meet you, Lilac. Stay with me, I'll have something for you when we get where we are going." Gravity accelerated to a canter, forcing Lilac into a full gallop, his clipped wings making little flapping motions in an unconscious desire for flight. At this speed it was only a matter of seconds before the disparate group arrived at the end of the corridor and the door to the beam chamber.
"Here we are." Gravity eyed the door. The thing was massive; a heavy-looking curved plate that filled the whole end of the corridor. Is this it? How do we get it open? she thought at Fusion.
I think it opens under remote control. It's like a big cylinder, it will rotate on the vertical axis. It would be best if you can keep it intact, I don't know how important it is to have the shielding complete if they turn on the suppressor. Turn it to the right, I think, at least ninety degrees.
Gravity reached out, trying to grip the door with her magic, but found the surface slick and somehow resistant to her efforts. "At least we know the shielding works," she said. "I need to poke a hole in it." More out of curiosity than any real hope, the mare tried to cut the door with a force field, only to receive a blinding flash of pain that made her legs wobble. "Definitely works," she grumbled, quickly trotting back to the tunnel she'd dug and removing a twisted length of steel reinforcing beam half as long as she was. Two quick force field cuts and some telekinesis later, she was ready.
Lilac, who'd been watching this with wide eyes, suddenly realised what was about to happen and took a few steps backward. Gravity nodded approvingly at him, hefting the now sharply pointed bar. "Eyes and ears, everypony," she called out with a grin, conjuring a force field wall as a shield, then thrust her improvised battering ram forward as hard as she could.
The bar vanished and the floor jumped under Gravity's hooves, the deafening crack of impact deadened by the force field. The door disappeared behind an explosion of dust and concrete fragments, blasting back down the corridor and filling the space in front of the violet field wall with an impenetrable haze. Gravity switched to magic sight, pulling back the bar and jabbing at the door again, pushing it deep into the fractured outer layers and disrupting the carefully designed array of magically active gems and crystals. A section of the door went dark, so the mare reached out again, this time able to get a good grip.
Something moaned with metallic distress, the sound rising to a muffled scream, then the door started to move, reluctantly revolving with a great deal of vibration. The opening arch came into view just as the damaged section was disappearing and Gravity used that to pull the cylinder around the rest of the way. She floated the Masters and Fusion into the radiation lock's interior, then took one look back down the devastated corridor. "No point in making life easy for them," she muttered, cutting the walls with short-lived force field bubbles and packing the resultant wreckage into the space in front of the door.
As she dragged the drum around again, aligning the opening with the beamline chamber on the other side, Gravity took one last look back the way she'd come. It was all perfect edges and points, every one sharper than a razor or a needle and glittering under the violet glow of her horn light, the mirrored surfaces making it look like the corridor had been packed with broken glass.
===
Gravity trotted into the almost dark beamline chamber, looking around at the hulking machinery hanging off the ceiling and walls. Everything was arranged in concentric circles around a central platform, currently occupied by a complex and delicate looking mechanism that was all fine coils of silvery wire and blood red crystals.
You'll need to block off the control room, that's the other entrance, Fusion said at the back of Gravity's head. Behind that line of windows. There are some big armoured shutters that slide over the windows; use them.
Gravity grunted a reply, staring thoughtfully at the Masters. "Lilac," she said, "can you look after my sister please? I need somepony responsible to take care of her while I do something else, and until we get things sorted out and get rescued."
The stallion, who had been wandering between the arrays of machines, trotted back to the mare's side. "I can. It's a shame her experiment was interrupted before the surgeon put her back together -- do you want me to help her heal?" Seeing Gravity's hesitant look, he twisted slightly to show her the old scars on the side of his head. "I've done it plenty of times on myself; my Masters had me learn so they could do their experiments more frequently."
Gravity's heart lurched and she fought to hold back the tears. "That would be very kind. My sister and I would really appreciate that," she said in a choked voice, watching as Lilac sat down next to Fusion, his horn starting to glow.
"I'm glad to help, science is very important. Will your sister be doing any more experiments soon?"
"No, I don't think so," Gravity said, ears folding flat at the trace of jealousy in Lilac's voice. She walked over to where the Masters were huddled against the wall, staring down at them. Are you okay with that? she thought to Fusion, slightly concerned about her sister's silence.
Yes, of course. If his healing magic is anything like Spiral's, then it will need all his concentration. It will keep him occupied.
I'll talk with the Masters, make sure they don't try to take advantage of him, she thought, lowering her head to study each Master in turn. Vanca seemed to have retreated from the world, her eyes looking anywhere but back at the mare. Korn was almost calm, meeting her gaze briefly, then casting his eyes downwards. The Officer... This one might still do something stupid, Gravity thought, as Largorth stared at her, lips peeled slightly back to show his teeth. She narrowed her eyes, then started to whisper, voice made harsh with anger. "You will not order that pony to do anything. If he talks to you, you will tell him to leave you alone. He cannot stop me... and if I have to knock him out, I'll- I'll--" She broke off, breathing hard.
"This one saw you in the lab, he understands," Korn said, "these ones won't do anything." He turned to the Officer. "This servitor is the strongest Korn has ever seen, and she has no obedience conditioning at all. If Largorth wants to get out of this alive, he will do exactly as she says."
Largorth sneered at Korn. "This one will not take orders from a servitor--" he started, then went silent with a strained choking sound as a band of force contracted around his throat.
"I have no more time to waste on any of you," Gravity said in a fierce whisper, shoving him back against the wall, and banging his head in time with the words. "Do not test me!" The violet light faded and Largorth slumped, one paw coming up to massage his neck.
“This one underst--,” he said, then started to cough. Seeing Gravity’s narrowed eyes, Largorth’s ears flattened and he shrank away from her continued scrutiny, only relaxing when the mare finally snorted and stepped away.
When she was sure none of the Masters could see her face, Gravity took a deep breath and clenched her jaws in an effort to stop her teeth from chattering. This is only going to get worse, I can’t see any way out of this, she thought to Fusion, crouching down and flaring her wings. One jump and she was hovering next to the long window, horn glowing as she probed the retracted shutters.
Yes, Fusion said, it will get worse. The Masters won’t let us go easily -- I had wanted to try and free as many ponies as possible in secret before going against them, but that’s not an option now.
Tears welled up in Gravity’s eyes, but had no effect on the clarity of her shadow sight. I’ve ruined everything, haven’t I? Giving up any pretence of subtlety, the mare pulled the shutters off the wall by their non-shielded frames, then cut a hole in the glass and pushed them through. Flicking her wings, she glided into the control deck, using more magic to rip the consoles and desks off the floor and push them against the walls.
Fusion's silence was worse than being kicked in the chest, and the blue mare felt the tears run down the sides of her muzzle and dampen the fur on her neck. She bit her lip, walking unsteadily to the room's exit. Say something, sister, even if it's just to tell me what a foal I've been, she thought, very nearly turning back to rush to Fusion's side. She wanted more than anything to worm her way under that white wing like she had when she was a filly, to bask in her sister's love and be told that everything was going to be okay. Heart breaking as the silence lengthened, she busied herself collecting the heavy metal frame from the windows and cutting it into bars.
I've lost you, she thought in the deepest part of her mind, protected from the sharing spell. My stupidity and blindness nearly got you killed and I've lost you.
No, I don't think so, Fusion said, almost as if she'd heard Gravity's private thoughts. Her mental voice was slow and faint, like a pony puzzling through a difficult problem. Something like this would have happened sooner rather than later; I hadn't quite understood how strong a hold the Blessing has on a pony's thoughts. I should have been easier on you, but I had just come back from seeing what they were doing to Random, and-- Fusion broke off, her voice becoming firmer. --I was afraid she wouldn't last much longer. I didn't think what it would do to you.
But I should have at least listened, instead I--, the metal bar she was cutting fell to the floor with a clang as her magic flickered. The memory surged up, as clear as anything in her life. That look of surprise on Fusion's face as the magic struck, the way her body seemed to fold up as it was thrown into the trees.
I'll admit, I could have done without that, Fusion broke in, a wry amusement colouring her thoughts, but I'll forgive you, on one condition.
Eyes still closed, the mare fumbled for the bar with her magic, the ache in her chest easing slightly. "Anything," she said out loud, "I'll do anything to make this up to you." The hope filled her with as much fear as anything else she'd experienced this day.
Fusion's mental voice became tentative. ...if you'll forgive me for putting you in this terrible situation?
Gravity sniffed loudly, smiling into the violet tinged darkness. It's a deal, but I want you to show me everything you've been through.
I promise, Fusion said solemnly, as soon as we get out of here.
Gravity's smile turned sad, and she stacked the final bar with the rest. Yes, as soon as we have a moment of peace.
A quick probe of the door mechanism found the manual override, and within moments she had the door open. The corridor beyond was dark apart from the scattered emergency lights; a dip into shadow sight showed nothing moving on this level, but higher up... A dark bulk had landed in the Institute's surface access shaft, occupying most of the cargo bay at the very bottom. Little clusters of light moved from it, only really made visible at this distance by the purple polygons that surrounded them. Many of the lights came in pairs, showing the characteristic golden glows of gryphon wings; others came in triplets, each cluster a different pastel colour.
We should get started, Fusion said, it won't take them long to get here.
They've got ponies with them; I won't be able to scare these ones off! Gravity thought back, her stomach clenching and bile rising in her throat. The darkened corridor suddenly seemed to be filled with predatory shapes, and she quickly pulled down the walls and ceiling to block it with razor edged fragments. The blaze of magic lit the closest spaces, leaving the far end a deeper black that seemed still more foreboding.
Thankful when her view was blocked with jagged stone teeth, the mare pushed some of the undamaged shutter panels into the remaining space, then used a spell normally designed to heat food to randomly weld metal wreckage over the whole mess. Finally she pulled the door closed and melted the mechanism into a single lump. Part of her was gibbering at the amount of damage she'd just done, but the rest just wanted to pull the whole place down.
===
Captain Rthar flicked open his visor and muzzle guard to scowl at the servitor, causing the unfortunate creature to fall awkwardly to its knees on the concrete, cringing away from his displeasure. "Where did the pony say they were?"
"I'm sorry, Master, t-they have barricaded themselves inside one of the beam chambers. We saw them go in, and I've seen them use magic, but I couldn't tell what sort, the shielding--" The pony talked rapidly, voice high and thin with fear, the white and brown fur on her flanks growing damp with sweat.
"Why were they not stopped?" Rthar said, unable to stop himself from staring at the shaved patch on the skewbald mare's side.
She shrank away from his gaze, lowering herself until she was flat to the ground, wings unfolding slightly to wrap around her swollen belly. "I'm sorry, Master, we didn't know what to do. She threatened to hurt them, I don't understand how--"
Rthar cut her off with a sharp wave of his paw. "That is enough. Get out of this one's sight."
"Yes, Master, thank you Master," the mare babbled, hooves scrabbling against the concrete in her haste to obey the order. She galloped off, head held low, disappearing into the back of the large airtruck that had been commandeered to transport the remaining servitors back to the Pit for testing.
"How bad is it?" the Captain said to Agon, his breaching specialist.
"Bad enough. One length of fullerene fibre concrete loaded with boron and a set of thaumic shielding crystals, a tenth of a length of depleted uranium, then a second length of concrete holding another layer of anti-magic crystals." Agon had his visor up and was carefully scratching behind one scarred ear with the fighting claws on the outside of his suit gloves.
Rthar resisted the urge to tell him to stop. Someday that one is going to forget and do that when the claws are powered up, he thought. "By the Maker! There's less armour on a command bunker. What are they doing down there?" He shook his head. Scientists, more trouble than they are worth -- although this one must be pretty valuable, to hear command yammer on about her, he thought. "Options?"
"Tricky. The servitor will see this circus a kilolength off -- is command sure about it being the problem?" Agon shrugged at his Captain's weary nod. "One for the history files then. The doors are still our best bet; send in the gryphs with the servitors suppressing any magic, then these ones can try to flank it. Do it fast enough and we might even get the hostages back." He paused, contemplating the crystalline tip of one fighting claw, before retracting it into its housing. "Did they tell the Captain why the team needs to go straight in?"
"No, but this one has heard rumours. We go in; save the hostages if possible, but killing the servitors is the priority."
"Why not just frag them from the outset, if the hostages are expendable?"
"Relatively expendable, we need to at least try -- and they also want identifiable bodies, not scorched DNA." Rthar sucked air in through his teeth. "Pack the thermobarics anyway."
Agon grinned, a wide smile that wasn't wholly sane. "That's what this one likes to hear."
===
The view through the little drone was surprisingly good for such a small camera. Captain Rthar watched as the insect sized robot -- one of a swarm currently spreading out through the complex, mapping as they went -- crawled through a narrow opening between two blade-like shards of concrete. The extent of the barricade had come as a nasty surprise, as had the level of destruction inside the complex.
Parts of the structure had been almost completely gutted; something that must have worked like one of the big thaumic bores had cut corkscrew tunnels through the various levels, slicing indiscriminately through supports and work areas alike. The whole place was probably highly unstable and would be cheaper to demolish and rebuild than repair. Nice, Rthar thought sourly, trust a servitor to never do half a job. The creatures were appallingly efficient; the Captain began to get a bad feeling about this mission.
Has the Pit underestimated this creature? he thought. The last moments of data from the autosurgeon were clear; the over-powered servitor that had been a problem last time was well on its way to being euthanized, there was no way it could have caused this. Everyone is gearing up for another thaumomagnetic pulse, what if that's not what's happening here? If the other servitor has been sent mad by whatever has been done to it, where is the panic? Rthar probed the unpleasant idea a little more, a sudden realisation making his hackles rise.
This feels like it's planned, like this one is dancing to someone else's tune. Why would the servitor-- He bit at the end of his tongue, trying to draw out the thought, trying to imagine what he could have done differently. What does it think it knows that Rthar doesn't? It would be five on one, complete with all the firepower his gryphon units could apply. Too late now. Even if command had thought it necessary to request one of the Military's 'Arclight' suppressor units it wouldn't have helped.
The mapping was nearly done, all those little drones having found places to attach themselves -- in cracks, under furniture, on the tops of light fittings -- providing a combination sensor and communications network that guaranteed nothing would move inside the complex without the Captain knowing about it. Rthar then spent the half kilosecond or so it had taken his various teams to get into position thrashing out the basics of their entry plan.
Currently he was crouched with three other People at the far end of the small corridor leading to the control deck, watching Agon set up the Bore Snake while he monitored the Handler's efforts at organizing one of the distractions. The radiation lock with its oversized equipment access would be perfect for a frontal assault, once the servitors finished clearing the wreckage. This is never going to work, the Captain thought, privately writing off the hostages in his mind. If that pony wants them dead, then this one can't stop it. He hated this kind of attack; massive pressure from the Pit and no time to prepare.
"Ready to breach in two hundred seconds," the Handler said, relaying an image of a corridor now free of razor edged stone and metal. He wasn't that close, of course, but hunkered down with the servitors behind the T-junction at the end of the corridor; the creatures were skittish enough that the Handler really needed to be physically close to get their best performance under these stressful conditions. The imposing bulk of the radiation lock was stark in the ring of temporary lighting shining on it; everyone had low light gear, but there was still something to be said for attacking with the light behind you -- especially for this kind of distraction.
Big though the corridor was, there still wasn't room for all four fireteams to play a useful part in the attack, so the Captain had placed one fireteam -- three gryphons and a single pony to transport all the gear -- in the equipment space above the beamline chamber. They were busy drilling through the thick concrete, rigging the ceiling with demolition charges to provide another direction of threat for the targets to worry about.
All of this -- servitors ordered to be magically noisy clearing the tunnel, the sounds of drilling from above, and the massed formation of gryphons and associated magically active hardware -- was a feint and should have focused the rogue servitor's attention wonderfully. Meanwhile, the Captain and remaining three People had hauled the Bore Snake to the far end of their corridor and were working to set the thing up.
This was a calculated risk; the power suits his team wore were essentially invisible to a servitor's magic senses, as long as their antimagic defences were off. The Bore Snake was loaded with thaumic systems, but it should just look like any other bit of complex scientific equipment, especially in this magically cluttered environment. The anonymous grey box, only a quarter of a length on a side, but very heavy, was being anchored to the floor with rock bolts and a spray adhesive so strong that it would be easier to rip up the floor than shift it.
The Captain ran through the plan in his head once more; as all the best plans were, it was simple, but provided plenty of flexibility if one part should fail. The intention was that the power suited People would make the kill, but each element of the assault presented a credible threat. In the mind of the target, all would have to be countered -- and if it went to plan, the Captain and his team would be able to strike while the rogue was occupied at the radiation lock. Agon started on the last bolt, taking it slow to reduce the risk of noise giving them away.
The pony thinks it is safe behind all that rubble, the Captain thought, connecting to the Bore Snake's targeting array, time to prove it wrong.
t-7days Preview the next chapter, make minor adjustments.
t-5days Do a dramatic reading, correct the numerous typos I missed the first twenty times.
t-1days Discover blatant plot hole, panic rewite. Reread and tweak obsessively.
t=0days Finally get sick of the sight of the chapter. Post.
I suspect I'm not unique in my editing process...
FFFffffffffuuu-can has next chapter? ;-;
Hahahahah!
Luna sure doesn't need any doors, now does she. And wow is Largorth bucking for a Darwin award.
2884745
No, no you are not...
Nice chapter, btw! I want to see more alicornrage
Well, that was unexpected. Who barricades themselves into a trap?
I'm slightly confused what Gravity is doing with the window shutters -- is she just barricading the other entrance? Based on what they were doing to the door, I thought the might need those to block out the antimagic field from leaking in through the windows.
Maybe it's just me, but this sentence seems lightly disjoint. I'd change "talked" for "was talking". It seems to flow better. (Dropping the "growing" might have the same effect. I think the real problem is the description of the pony breaking flow with the speaking verb.)
Agon is a pyromaniac, then. I feel like I should be looking for a mythology reference there, but you haven't been one to deliberately put those in.
Little drone... insect sized robot... Parasprite?
Your mention of the Pit makes me wonder about connections to Tartarus -- we've had Tartarus confirmed to exist within the show, we just know literally nothing about it. Of course, if you're going to do anything with that, you're going to need to come up with an explanation for Cerberus.
Handler looks capitalized as if it's a name. Nothing too oddball about that... for a pony. I can't tell what species it's referencing to. If it's a job description and/or one of the People, I think you should change it. I'm not sure what you should do it it's a pony name, but if it's a job description (especially for one of the People) I think you should write it "the handler".
What the sky is a Bore Snake? I'm incredibly curious. I suppose we'll find out when it finally gets activated in a couple of chapters, though.
Salrath is on route
I'm pretty sure this should be "en route", unless you mean "on a route" as in "on a road" as opposed to "on the way".
Woo, things are setting up to come to a head. It seems like Security's getting to them a lot faster than they'd hoped, though...
2885015
Somepony who is setting up another trap for those coming after her?
2885015
The control room is inside the beam chamber, its own little shielded compartment. She's using the panels to help block the door (which is much lighter that the radiation lock).
I'll take another look at that line (they always seem fine when I do my read throughs!).
I use a name generator for the Masters, so it's unlikely.
The Pit is mostly named because of the size of the entrance shaft leading into the Security hub; although for any unwilling visitors, it certainly might be Hell!
'Handler' is a title (like 'Captain'), I'm missing a 'the', as you say.
Next chapter for the Bore Snake, promise!
2885122
It should, thanks.
2885339 If I may throw my two cents into the "growing/talked" line, the verbs are okay, but the sentence does seem just a little awkward; for me, it's that "The pony" is lonely -- it is very separated from its continuation, "talked". I wonder if the description would be just as good if it was:
The pony talked rapidly, voice high and thin with fear, the white and brown fur on her flanks growing damp with sweat.
Or if you want to keep the other description in front, maybe a slight rewrite. Many possibilities present themselves, of course, among them:
The pony's white and brown flanks grew damp with sweat, and she talked rapidly, voice high and thin with fear.
In any case, the sentence is not actually wrong, nor even should it be confusing to readers, just ... slightly disjointed, as toafan said.
I have a feeling the next chapter is going to have a lot of action, explosions, combat, and Gravity being a bad-ass.
I can't wait.
2884745 You forgot 'Day Divide By Zero': Go insane and god-mode the crap out of Celly and Luna, frying the Masters and griffons to a crisp!
We know they win. What the costs are to their people and their mental and emotional stability is another thing entirely. All signs point to "existential mindrape".
Calling it now, the bore snake is less a tool and more a literal fucking snake monster. The Masters are very bad at this bioweapons thing.
A very unique story, done well, and most assuredly one to enjoy, so rare to get a good sci-fi story like this.
The first part reminded me a bit of Asimov. If only Fusion could convince the ponies that an uprising would be for the Masters' own good...
As for the rest of the chapter, I look forward to seeing just how many times Murphy's Law can be applied to a single situation.
I had this thought of Twilight running across some ancient ruins in an old cave somewhere after the Diamond Dogs episode and going to Celestia about it. Maybe an epilogue? Sequel? Rise of the Diamond Dogs?
Lol, anyway, another fun chapter. These always make my day. Also, metric time is awesome, we should convert our calendars immediately.
2886650
I posted a response a while back wondering whether it was possible for other Servitors to have survived the fall of the Diamond Dogs all the way to modern Equestria, whether through stasis or some other transformative effect. I wasn't told 'no'...
My personal favorite idea is a male Servitor who was in the corner of a bunker, got caught in a blast of wild magic during Discord's rise, and who got turned to glass. Some archaeologist Ponies find him and notify the Princesses. They manage to dispel glass effect and now have an ancient Servitor on their hooves. One who is still blessed and has been fed tons of propaganda about the two evil, rebellious Servitors who are trying to destroy the Masters' way of life...
Oh, the possible shenanigans!
Much more fun to see the story progressing at a steady clip.
Especially since if Lilac completes healing Celestia - which, for dramatic purposes, ought to come just as the sneak attack launches - then dual Cosmic-powered Alicorns will be a joy to behold.
Dropped a quote
I'm pretty sure Gravity already said that or was it Fusion.
I need to remember what they were trying to do: They were trying to make a some sort of conductor source so they can teleport further and easier right? If it's about teleporting I'm worried that they might over shoot and have to travel back to the Hive and find out that things are much worse for the ponies.
Awesome. This was a nice cup of new chapter. In fact, you know what it would go great with? Another cup of new chapter!
2886561 I'd thought of that too, if only she could find a way to convince the ponies that overthrowing the Masters would be for their benefit, perhaps that the Maker wanted the ponies to overthrow the Masters.
Also, they didn't even bring an anti-magic suppressor?
Well, looking forward to seeing Gravity/Luna (or Nightmare Moon, who I can somewhat see in her) in action next chapter, and perhaps Fusion recovering and joining in.
2885339
Ah, okay. So I had an incomplete or inaccurate mental picture of the area.
For future reference, would you describe the control room as a small box stuck onto the outside of a bigger box (overlooking the dump chamber), a small box stuck to the inside of a bigger box (again overlooking the dump chamber), or just a box wedged up against another box (like two cardboard boxes the same size pushed together)?
2885417
The pony talked rapidly, voice high and thin with fear, the white and brown fur on her flanks growing damp with sweat.
I like this version. I vote go with this.
2887568
As I recall, they were hiding out in the dump chamber specifically to avoid any anti-magic fields. Fusion can teleport reasonably well, but she's incapacitated right now, so they're mainly trying to buy time until either Gravity can handle the teleport spell (not likely) or Fusion gets well enough to do it (plausible, if they can get that much).
2891197
Option two; small box inside a big box, although there's no overhang (that's filled with equipment). I should have made that clear (it's the same design as the first one that Fusion blew up).
2885417
That first alternate version is pretty good, I may well steal it (thanks!).
2887482
Thanks, I'll fix that.
2891739
Okay, well, you said it, not me -- I don't recall that you ever made that part of the design clear. The things I recall are that there's the radiation lock, there's a beam emitter that I've assumed is about chest-high to a pony -- that may be supported somewhere, I don't recall -- [1] that there's a ring in the center, and that Fusion had to fly up to get at the windows [2].
Although given this, I'm wondering crazy things about the dog's logistics -- if the control room is shielded on the inside, why did they shield it on the other side, too? Theoretically, the could have saved some shielding[3]. Perhaps the 'interior' walls of the control room are not shielded to the same degree as the 'exterior' walls?
[1] I prefer the serial comma -- that is, "thing one, thing two, and thing three" -- but I have no idea how to properly add a comma here.
[2] In retrospect, option three never was an option, since Fusion had to fly to get at the windows. As I understand it, option three is how the interior walls look, however.
[3] For a visual aid, grab some toothpicks. Build a three-by-three square with nine toothpicks. Now, build a one-by-one box in the top right corner. That's eleven toothpicks. You could build the same interior shape with only nine toothpicks, to prove it, pick up the two toothpicks that form the top right corner.
A solid chapter, the interactions felt natural, and the situation built itself organically. It was nice to see the sisters reconcile. I also enjoyed seeing the servitors kick the masters out for their own safety.
Lots of nice little touches, such as Lilac's healing magic. I'm worried that the cop is going to be a thorn in their side when they least need it. Gravity should've bent some rebar around him and gagged him.
They're definitely in a pickle, and I'm not really sure how they'll get out of it.
You skipped right to the breach (200 seconds to go? yipe!). At this point, I don't have much of a sense of how much time has elapsed since Fusion was first drugged, but the skip makes it feel like 'not much' - not nearly enough for either of their teleport schemes to have panned out. At the same time, it feels like it should've taken at least some time for the attackers to tunnel to where Gravity & co are holed up, so I'm not really sure...
So, the shit is poised and about to charge the fan. They're worryingly organized, and the commander seems tough and competent, but they don't seem to realize just how supercharged she is. At this point, I have no idea what Gravity has up her sleeve, but I sincerely hope she's one step ahead of the attackers, or things will get ugly.
A good update, Luna-Tic. The suspense is building to a head... along with several security personnel pretty much straight up overestimating Fusion and Gravity.
I really like the moment between the two sisters, Gravity asking for forgiveness and Fusion's "on one condition". It's great to see the two working together, and Fusion seems to be picking up a lot of wisdom.
hi hi
Gravity Resonance's inexperience makes me worried for her, even with all of her power. It sure would be nice if Fusion Pulse is able to come around in time to teleport them all away before the strike team finishes breaching the walls, but I have the feeling that isn't going to happen. On the other hoof, I wonder what would happen if, as a defensive measure, they turned the accelerator on... Could they keep themselves and their hostages shielded, and how badly would it mess up the attackers with their fancy armor?
There is one thing in this chapter that made my heart sink, other than Lilac, who is just made out of 100% pure, weapons grade heart strings pulleys. When Gravity Resonance thinks that "they can only kill me once," I got the most sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach. The strike team is almost certainly going to try, but judging from Lilac, they're probably capable of killing her in a variety of different ways before she becomes un-revivable.
2891873
Fair point, the design is only hinted at. It's a basic cube, radiation lock on wall one, beam pipe (this is just a hole) in wall two, control room windows high up on wall three, and the beam dump on wall four.
There are two kinds of shielding at work: the thick outer walls (also for radiation, when the accelerator is in 'physics' mode; the control room is not occupied at these times), and thaumic (the beam facing walls/shutters of the control room), which is much thinner. So there is some duplication, but not as much as you'd think.
The control room (with windows) is there because you get better performance out of a pony in a stressful situation if they can see their Master (at the start, at least).
...this is one of those things that popped into focus just recently, spurred in part by your comment, as well as stuff I have in draft. Some retroactive foreshadowing is probably in order.
Thanks for the analysis, folks. Very useful as per normal.
2892015
Some time, but not as much as Fusion/Gravity would like; minutes rather than hours. The security service is very used to extracting targets from underground facilities (obviously!), and pony magic makes short work of most things.
Good reminder on the cop; I now need to patch a logical flaw in a future draft.
2895297
Inexperience is def. an issue, fortunately the Masters don't have much experience of fighting a determined pony either (also combined with the normal intelligence failures on both sides).
Interesting idea on the accelerator, unfortunately it's the same one Fusion trashed earlier, so it's nonfunctional.
===
To everyone I've not replied to directly: thanks for all your comments -- it's always useful to know what is working well.
2896758
This is why I love nitpicking these things You learn some cool stuff, and everyone ends up spotting something useful.
... I hope that doesn't come across mean or anything
I'm generally not in favor of editing already-published chapters, just kind of on principle you understand, but I didn't know that Fusion could see Vanca way back in chapter 1. (Maybe she really couldn't, I don't know.) But I only bring this up because you mention retroactive foreshadowing, which could also (probably?) means turning something that wasn't foreshadowing before into foreshadowing.
Yeesh. I don't feel I was very clear at all. The point being, if you do plan on makeing changes to past chapters, I think you could handle it well and that seems like it would be change bait.
I'm a few days late, but I'm continuing to really enjoy this. Action, plot, and character progression are all moving along at a steady clip, and pretty well in sync. I'm looking forward to seeing what Lilac's role turns out to be; at this point, he could be a tragic casualty of the dogs' attacks, the first pony victim of F or G, a key component in fucking them over somehow, or something else (and probably a combination). As said, looking forward to it.
Now, some speculation. Seeing as how the blessing seems to work on internal logic, and that a general pony revolt seems likely (or at least that F and G will attempt one), I have a feeling that the sisters are going to try to HAL9000 their way into getting ponies on their side. Also, while I'm making references; as these last few chapters have been progressing, I keep getting reminded of a concept from Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep, which states that there is never any historical evidence for the truly worst, most destructive catastrophes, as nothing at all is left that can be studied.
2906125
Yeah. I'm reminded that known Equestria canon only mentions one moon, whereas here, I seem to recall luna only being the largest moon...
2901787
No, it's fine -- let's me know you're paying attention, and helps me fix stuff (even if I do sometimes mutter 'yes, but was there anything you liked'!).
I'm also reluctant to make changes, but in this case they are very minor, probably only a sentence or two in each of the 'Pony in a Particle Accelerator' chapters. Not absolutely necessary, but I think it would help solidify Fusion's changing attitudes as she loses her Blessing.
2906125
Glad to hear that; from down here at the coal face, chipping away a page at a time, it always seems far too sloooow. I could probably do with rereading the whole thing from the start to avoid the risk of too much focus on the now.
2912683
Oh goodness -- as someone who read the fic mainly in two long "sweeps", I think the only way the pacing could be any better (Do I mean "better" or "faster"? I'm not sure. Hmm...) is if the whole thing were published already, and all it took to get to the next chapter was for me to turn a page. And even that's questionable -- there are no doubt think-it-over benefits to the chapter waits, and you've demonstrated improvements to chapters that haven't been published yet based on comments.
Oof! But, indeed, guilty as charged. It's easier to notice and point at the issues I have, because they jostle me more.
Since you asked, however:
- The entire premise is brilliant. Scientific ponies? WIN.
- I love some of your chapter titles. "Pony in a Particle Accelerator" is a great hook of a chapter title, and I never would have expected the twist you made for the last two titles.
- Your characters are all strong, well-written, and incredibly real. The villains have been dastardly and wonderfully hateable, and Lilac just jumped right into action.
- The "italics" sections at the start of the first several chapters -- first ten, maybe? I wasn't keeping super-close track -- make excellent cult-bait.
If you wanted stuff specific to this chapter, I'm afraid I'd have to open it up and re-read it. Which would not be a bad thing! It's just that I like the entire freaking fic, and if you want chapter specifics I'll have to limit myself to that chapter. These are just things I thought of off-hand.
I'm envisioning a dead-pony switch in the future, i.e. one of the planet's moons held far inside its gravity well. "Kill me and suffer devastation," and all that.
2914203
Thanks, overview comments are always useful, it's too easy for me to get swamped by the details (and are best given by someone who has just read the whole thing from fresh, obviously).
I hadn't seen the chapter titles as a 'pull', but I guess you know what you are getting into with a title like that!
'cult-bait'? Not familiar with that term (slightly related, but not very interesting: I was originally going to lump all the 'prehistory' together as a kind of prologue, but I suspect that would have been really dumb and a massive turn-off).
Alright, NEXT!
Missed a 'that' in there. But, so now the whole things was under control of the ponies. Now if only Fusion and Gravity had time to free them all and turn them to their side... but yeah not enough time. Still interesting just how much the ponies can get away with as long as they have a good reason. And yet... them being so dedicated, despite the horrors they are being subjected to......
Holy shit... he manged to hack into their connection? Damn. Now, will they end up getting him on their side, or will he end up being used against them.
So naive... even for other ponies, and yet, so trusting, so open. It really shouldn't take much for them to sway him to their side.
Especially with this. Now, to worry over why so much focus on him. While hoping for the best answer to that.
Okay, so he's going down to confront them alone. This could go quite well. Again all they need is time.
You... might have wanted to stand a bit further back there Lilac. Granted, of all the issues to worry about with him, Gravity harming him is really at the bottom of it.
Okay, I am liking Lilac, he's yet another good take on how badly ponies are treated, and what they end up doing to cope. Yet another reminder to Gravity and Fusion what they are fighting to end. My only issue with spending so much time with him, is worrying about what it means, what might happen to him. He's almost impossible not to get attached to, to care for. And yet at the same time, the threat of what might happen, just how easily something bad could be his fate, make me not really want to.
Okay, I chuckled at the understatement there.
Okay, this is good. If they are sending troops into the air like this, it means they aren't planning on bringing a suppressor online anytime soon. Granted that could change quickly, but for now the Sisters are safe. Also, that name is just bugging me. Thought it was a type at first, now keep wanting to add a ' or something into it. Which is making me think of Dragonriders of Pern.
Well this guy isn't quite and idiot. but rather single minded. And so far, yeah just how prepared and professional security is, things are not going to be easy for those two. Granted, this particular situation is one none of them could really be ready for, so will take time to really work out a plan of action. Which again, is good. Since Time is the only thing they need to win.
Hey now, these two weren't his.
Of course. After the fact armchair quarterbacking. Blaming someone for not coming up with in seconds, under heavy stress and incomplete information, the same conclusion you were able to after hours of reviewing it and thinking it over safely in your office with far more information then they had.
Well, like to see them try Suppressing Gravity. Plus, he doesn't realize just how easily she can take them out of the equation without any physical harm. Just threaten one of her hostages if they do anything, and they won't be able to act. But, again, yup just treat them like animals. Not even seeing how this is what led to this exact situation.
Ohhh, while the packs.. well... at treating them this way. The armor, again really nice details. Now if only Fusion and Gravity could get a few sets for themselves.
Time to get your ass kicked. but yeah Security, overall, can't wait to se all of them put down. Granted Salrath was on the far end of the sociopathy bell curve, but they kept her around and used her like that. Yeah you did a good job of making it clear not ALL Masters are evil, that many are simply as much a product of conditioning as the Ponies. Security on the other hoof. Well, at least you gave us one whole faction we can hate without any qualms.
Ohhh, seal up the tunnel behind you so noone can just follow it down. As give a good way to deal with the debris. Again, nice details.
Well, it's clear that yeah, they do have some limit. Hopefully it is so far above what anyone else can achieve that it won't matter. But again, Time, that is the whole issue. Just need to buy time for Fusion to recover.
In the zone. And, yes again really like this and, it's just so realistic in what might happen. Just focusing that much, tuning everything else out. And glad Fusion spotted him. Again nice idea kid but, you picked a really bad spot to stand. Now to see how they deal with him.
you know, this is rather amazing. The ironic roll reversal. A pony conditioning a Master to do what she wants out of fear of pain. Without even needing to say anything, she can get them to be HER servants. Make them try to anticipate what she wants and act to avoid punishment for failing, or doing wrong. Love it! And kind of wonder if this was intentional, making this much of a direct turnaround., or just kind of happened.
Wow, just, wow. I men I know he's young and all but, just wow. Yeah, you two better be taking him with you and freeing him after all this.
Not sure which answer would be worse for you. But, that isn't happening now so, just relax and try to recover.
Hmmmm, random thought. Lilac knows healing magic... could he accelerate her recovery?
Exactly. thank you once again Fusion for being so damn awesome.
YES!
And Korn... you too continue to be awesome in your own way. Hoping he gets out this with them as well. Hell having a Master on their side would make it even easier to break the conditioning on the ponies they free.
Well, be griffons for one. Granted Fusion is right that they are as much puppets of the Masters as the ponies, but they are still dicks for the most part. Granted some of them are cool enough.
Alright, that, that is awesome. Gravity, you are climbing up to be third most awesome character. And just their responses. Loving it. Though they need to deal with the police officer. Korn, is half on their side and might be able to be talked over. Vanca is thoroughly cowed with fear, the offer, he might do something stupid.
Really this, this is just, oh yes. And you manage to at least partially neutralize them. Though, gotta be odd for ponies, trying to work out that some Masters aren't really 'their' masters and shouldn't be obeyed. And yeah another great reason not to allow them in military service other then as support. And why the security ponies are tested do... harshly.. to be sure they can handle making that distinction right.
Well that's good, and if it's THAT powerful, yeah they should be safe. Though why risk messing with the door and not, you know, simply trigger it the regular way? though that would require all of them dragging their way through the corridors to find the control room, or sending Lilac out alone to hoping he can do it. Plus have no way of resealing it from inside. Then there's also the issue of how to teleport out. It will keep their magic intact while in it, but if it's THAT well shielded, teleporting through it might not work... unless the teleport works differently and doesn't require actually moving through it.
But, so okay forcing it open with the smallest amount of damage is the best option I guess.
Heh, she's really enjoying being able to cut lose.
And lets hope this doesn't screw them over and let the suppressor slip though. but if the hole is small enough, it shouldn't be to big an issue. Hopefully.
Ohhhh, very smart. Very very smart. Again just slow them down as much as possible.
you're making Fluttershy cry with this......
Yeah, really wrong question. Just just... please let him get out of this....
Well he'll be out of it for a bit, though again, see if he can do anything about those drugs. And, yes 'talk with'. hehehehehe
Told you. Glad they see it too.
Practical, perfectly legitimate reason. Let's hope the security asshole is smart enough to see this as well. Though it's not 'at all' she still has a few twinges, but hey don't know that, and she's overcoming them quickly.
Nope he isn't.
Always so satisfying seeing one of the security pricks getting put in his place.
Now to free them by force, and quickly.
Just, just... so beautiful. The whole scene between them. both of them seeing how they wronged the other, what they messed up. But forgiving each other, knowing and understanding why they acted the way they did. Once they are both at their full power and free.. the Masters won't know what hit them. Really this was, just an amazing little bit to add here.
Wow, so yeah, with a basic food heating spell, they can do that... I need new objectives for 'love it' amazing' etc...
The Pit... for... testing... and doing it to a mare whose very pregnant, and already a fucking lab rat...... Destroying that place and freeing those ponies better be the Sisters first priority after they get out of here.
Okay, again just, little bits of, admittedly black, comedy. Really do need some sort of.. something to lighten things up a little and, you do a good job of that, while not causing mood whiplash.
And none of their plans take into account just what they are up against. But again, that's good for the Sisters. Let them try these ideas first, and then waste time coming up with new ones.
Good you should. And you still don't know just how bad you got screwed with being given this mission.
Well more good news. They are totally unprepared for what they are facing, not fully informed, AND they don't even have anything close to plans for wide suppression in place. Forgot that it was a military thing, and this was security, and those two don't seem to get along real well.
Hurray for petty bureaucratic squabbling. Though not so god, he knows something is up, isn't over confident, so, that's a slight negative, but.. minor. He knows to expect something, but not what.
Well Had to be close to a Kilosecond between her being drugged and Gravity saving her, another for Security to arrive, at least one more to assess the situation. Just, take your time, they aren't going anywhere.
Yeah never the best way to approach a situation, especially one like this. Why don't you back off and try to wait them out?
Assuming that Gravity isn't able to detect ALL of that. Or know it's a feint. Though this does present problem. If they do to much damage to the chamber trying to get in, it won't work to hold off the suppression field if they ever get it up....
Hehe, yeah yeah. "wrong" Can't wait to see how Gravity slaps them around for this.
Well another mostly set up chapter, ratcheting things back up, but leaving off just before things hit the fan again. Really need to read faster, or type faster, something. Really want to get to the end quick and see what happened.
I'm not sure if this plan of Rthar's is great and will prove effective or will be rendered entirely moot by the sheer strength Luna now possesses. I'm rather eager to find out.
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/728/775/4b0.gif