O̡̱̝̝̗͢͞P̧̧̪̤̣̬̦̦͍͕̰̲̰̜̲̯͠E̴̛͟҉̬̖͎̰̳̖̦͙͕̣͓̠̥̟̞̱̪͍̖Ǹ̢̡͇̰͉͉̹̗͚̦͉̰̙̻͘ ̷̤̺͈̘̲̣̝̱̙̀͟͜͠T̢̢͔͖̬̻̰͈̠͘͠͝H̸̷̰̹̺̪̗̫̖͔̫̘͟E̸̪̫͎̺͉̱̦̞͖̥͘͢͞͠ͅ ̝͈̬͙̬͓̮̞̣͚͉̪̱̯̝̲̖͔̟̕͜D͞҉̬̠̯͖̝̠̻͜Ǫ̵̴̴̙͓̰͖̹͝Ò͈̥͕͕̯̟̘̤̀́͝R͏̲̺̪̖̭͓̭̜̱̮̻̖͜ͅ ∞%
Whatever part of herself might’ve been able to resist, it evidently wasn’t strong enough to resist whatever was waiting on the other side. She needed help. Their entire operation had been nothing but a scramble for information they didn’t have. Equestria cutting off contact had only been the beginning. Maybe this was where that ended.
Twilight reached the airlock door. It was tall, over her head, with a bright red handle that needed to be rotated. Twilight gripped it with both hooves, having to brace herself forward against the metal.
There was a tiny window on the airlock door, facing into containment. Inside was more of the smoky residue, making clear sight impossible. Just the glow of the pony’s horn within, or whatever light was about at its head-level.
Twilight opened the door.
She was instantly hit with a wave of noxious gas, making it difficult to see, almost as hard to breathe. She was simultaneously repulsed and attracted by the smell, like a fancy Prench cheese. Enticing and rotten.
Does Twilight retreat? Yes. With a shield? Yes.
Twilight retreated from the opening, her fear finally overpowering whatever had driven her down so deep in the first place. Her horn glowed and flashed, and a bubble appeared around her, driving out the swirling black smoke. She kept backing away, getting further away from whatever was inside.
Just because it wants to be helpful doesn’t mean it’s safe. We might need to talk at a distance.
The electrodes flashing through the room roared once, then overloaded. It was a good thing she backed away from the airlock, because the huge metal spike above it exploded right then, in a spectacular fireball that tore away the stone, shattered glass, and rained down bits of molten shrapnel on her shield.
Twilight gasped and squealed, backing a little further away. “Watch out, whoever you are! These machines are really old… they’re not safe.”
They aren’t dangerous anymore, said the voice. It wasn’t at all like being near her friends, with so many layers of interlacing emotion, background thoughts, things even they didn’t know. Twilight heard only what the speaker wanted to convey, and nothing else. Even the words themselves lacked emotion.
The last of the machines around them went dark, leaving only Twilight’s shield spell to light the space around her. It didn’t seem able to penetrate the swirling fog.
Your solution is interesting, the voice said, and the figure ahead of her coalesced again. It looked like a pony, at least the parts she could see. Novel, even. Did you plan on circumventing?
“I don’t…” Twilight stammered. The more of this creature she saw, the more afraid she was. Afraid enough that she began preparing another spell in the back of her mind, holding it in reserve if she needed it. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Twilight’s knees buckled as she felt sudden, overwhelming pressure on her shield.
Can Twilight hold it? Yes.
But she was no common unicorn, to be overwhelmed by pressure from outside. She was an Alicorn, trained by Celestia herself in the Stellar academy. She gritted her teeth, standing up straight, and her shield got brighter. It went almost completely opaque with purple energy, so that she could see only a distant figure on the outside. A pony, pressing a hoof to it from the outside.
Twilight attempts to see specifics about the figure. Success.
It wasn’t just a similar height—the pony on the other side was exactly the same size as herself. The hoof even looked the same, the horn had the same unique alicorn point. It was an identical copy, except that parts of it occasionally drifted away, reforming from the smoke.
It wasn’t just pressing at her shield, but her mind as well. A rumble like a slowly approaching wave, reaching a crest. Your solution is unnecessary. The sacred union of the flesh brings the only possible end to suffering. All must be circumscribed upon its axis.
I’ve seen something like this before, Twilight realized. The Crystal Empire. She could still see the city, where it orbited high in the Venusian atmosphere. There too she had seen a creature of dark smoke, bent on conquest.
“I don’t think I want your help anymore,” Twilight said, backing a little further away. “Maybe you should go back in your room.”
Only laughter answered, one final assault on her mind that threatened to drive her to her knees again, crushing her under its alien will. Blood dribbled from her mouth, the corners of her eyes, and her legs buckled under the pressure. It wasn’t just trying to force her to open her shield—it was trying to crush her will.
In the instant of its contact, Twilight saw an experience that stretched back into eternity. Strange eons passed, until the solution to all suffering was devised. Its discoverers and eventually all their vast empire were its first victims. Now they wanted her.
She had much suffering this being could drag against her mind—the family she’d left behind and were probably dead. The hard life that waited for her. The uncertainty about Equestria’s fate. Those were powerful tools.
Does Twilight survive the assault and banish the presence from her mind? Critical Yes. Twilight’s
H̸̸̡͠҉U̷̡N̶͠G̵̢̡͞҉E̴̡͡͞R̢̢̕͜ returns to zero.
But not as powerful as all the good. The friends she had made, their pact to explore the stars, reach the signalers, and begin Equestrian interstellar colonization. Her family might be gone, but the things they’d taught her and the love she had was still alive in her memory. She wouldn’t trade the end of suffering for the end of joy that it would also require.
“Get out!” Twilight roared, magic flaring from her horn, her eyes. Light radiated from around her, bright enough that even the strange mist was briefly burned away. But she knew better than to stand and fight—her mind was her domain, but this creature was still unknown to her.
Can Twilight teleport back to camp? Yes.
She passed through the void, and this time the strange voices were gone. She could see the stars watching her, each one a single eye in the darkness. But just because she couldn’t forget about them didn’t mean she had to fear them anymore.
She appeared outside camp, her shield shattering into hardened light and crumbling around her. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked up from the small-animal shelter they were making a few meters away, confusion and horror on her faces.
We don’t have much time.
1. Emergency evacuation of Proximus B. That creature is too dangerous to fight. Grab the ponies and leave all the supplies we haven’t packed yet behind. There’s no time to waste.
2. Retreat from Proximus B. We’ve worked too hard to leave our harvest and minerals behind. Begin packing up, but don’t be wasteful. It might take days for that creature to get here, long enough for a proper retreat. I can always create a shield around camp if it comes to that.
3. Fight. Nothing in the universe is as strong as our friendship. That isn’t the H̸̸̡͠҉U̷̡N̶͠G̵̢̡͞҉E̴̡͡͞R̢̢̕͜, it’s just one creature. If we stop it here, we can learn what it really is.
(Certainty 240 required)