//------------------------------// // Chapter 74 // Story: Voyage of the Equinox // by Starscribe //------------------------------// Fight. 56% “So you’re saying you… opened it,” Rainbow finished, her eyebrows practically vanished into her face. “You found a mysterious machine, had no idea what it did, and you opened it.” “Yes,” Twilight said. “And it attacked you. And you think it’s coming for us.” “Yes,” Twilight tensed. “Rainbow, I know it was stupid. Right now… it’s just lucky I met you first. I trust your experience when dealing with this thing. I think its magic was similar to King Sombra, so anything that would work against him should probably work here.” “Well buck,” Rainbow turned, spreading her wings. “You two get back to camp as quick as you can, and don’t stop to bring anything stupid. Straight to the armory!” She took off, and was gone in a blur of blue feathers and scattering dust behind her. “Between you and me, I think she was waiting for something like this,” Fluttershy whispered. “I just hope nopony gets hurt so she can have her way.” “Me too.” Twilight took one last glance back towards the Memorial, then followed Fluttershy into the air. The two of them together wouldn’t be able to keep up with Rainbow Dash, not the smaller yellow pegasus to slow her down. Rainbow Dash plans the defense of camp. Critical success. By the time they reached camp, Rainbow Dash had already dressed in full combat armor. Pinkie was wearing it too, and Spike. “Fluttershy, good!” Rainbow pointed towards the medical building. “Get Sunset moved onto the Prospector with Applejack. She rolled herself there on her own. You can stay there, and be ready to… escape, if things get bad. Captain, it’s your call whether you want to be on reserve with the prospector or deployed with the rest of us.” “Rarity is on shields?” “Will be, daring,” Rarity’s voice answered from over the radio. I’m deploying the stationary guns. I believe Apple Bloom volunteered to operate them.” The mechanical ponies had no armor, though both of them had weapons now. Well… not the weapons Twilight was used to. The modular rifles had swapped most of their structure for a huge battery and an array of wires on the front. “I’m staying,” Twilight said. “This thing is my fault. I’m not going to hind behind the rest of you and wait for you to save me.” Rainbow nodded, then tossed her a rifle. She caught it in her magic, feeling the strain just to hold the barrel up. “If that feels like a lot, it gets worse. Those buckin’ massive capacitors on the back? Each one is one shot.” “You mean this gun weighs half as much as I do, and it only gets…” “Three shots,” Apple Bloom said. “But we won’t need all three if we kill it in one, right? Can we kill it?” “I don’t know if it’s alive,” Twilight said. “But maybe we can scare it off. Make it seem like we’re… not worth targeting. Predators don’t want to work too hard for their meals, right? We’ll make this one hard.” “If that’s how you want to think about it,” Rainbow said. “Valuable targets on base are the Prospector, Warehouse, and Workshop N. We can expect it to sabotage as much of our machinery as it can to draw our attention. Our goal is to always remain in sight of each other at all times.” Iron Horse had remained quiet for this makeshift briefing, resting his own rifle against the ground. The mechanical body he and Node used looked like it could barely lift the gun. “You said this creature will be like… Sombra. Is it true he could control the minds of ponies?” “Yes,” Rainbow said, before Twilight could interrupt her. But there was no sense getting picky about confidential information now. “But taking over a pony’s will require his full attention for ten seconds or so. During that time, he’ll be vulnerable. Assuming this is similar… look for the darkness and try to flash it. And don’t think these things won’t hurt ponies. Within their affective range, a direct hit on center mass will stop your heart. Expect third-degree burns if they touched exposed skin anywhere else. Any questions?” There were none. “Then may Luna guide our souls.” There were mutters of agreement, and they spread to their stations. Twilight had just enough time to secure a radio headset on her ear before she heard something on the horizon. The stationary gun used the same magnetic accelerators they used for launching probes, with much more sophisticated firing mechanisms. The gun itself was silent, but she could hear the roar of each pointed ferrous shell as it left the barrel. “Contact!” Spike yelled. “Tracking large target at five hundred meters…” the ground rumbled. “Its approach is near gun seven!” Do physical attacks have any effect on the creature? Yes. “Converge on seven!” Rainbow shouted over the line. “That’s the north-west, near Node’s lab! We should only have one target. Reserve, you can stay behind.” “Planned on it, dear.” Twilight was on the other end of the camp. She took off, arcing straight over the buildings in a wide parabola. That would make her a target if their enemy had guns, but she wasn’t terribly worried about that. She wanted to see what was happening. On the far end of camp, a mounted gun the size of a minecart flashed every half-second, sending another iron slug forward at a gradually growing blur of smoke. It had been pony sized before, but now it was the size of a small transport. The gun wasn’t killing it, but it did seem to be forcing it to stay diffuse somehow. Twilight tucked her wings as she came back for her dive, clutching the rifle close with her magic as air whipped her mane about in front of her. “It’s on me!” Rainbow squealed in pain over the radio, and down below an armored figure dropped to the ground. Twilight took aim from the air and fired into the darkness. There was no worry about air resistance or gravity here, not when her target was so close, and her projectiles traveled the speed of light. Twilight attempts to hit the creature? Success. Twilight felt more than heard the impact, a flash of heat from just in front of her that momentarily blinded her. Then it was gone, and something rumbled from the ground below. Like an earthquake echoing across the world, shaking her tight through to her guts. Can Rainbow resist the attack? Yes. Rainbow takes two points of lethal psychic damage, then it releases her. “That’s it!” Rainbow called, sounding only a little winded. “It’s running! Looks like…” Twilight followed it in the searchlight, hovering in the air. “Towards the city,” she finished. “Out of the Memorial’s reach.” “Well…” Rainbow said. “Do we—” 1. Chase it down. Celestia only knows what it might find in the city. We can’t let it escape to attack later. 2. Keep a guard while we make a dignified retreat, packing everything and taking as many trips as required to harvest everything. 3. Send only Rainbow and Twilight after the creature. We’re the strongest. This thing isn’t so tough. 4. Send only Iron Horse and Apple Bloom after the creature. Their minds should be immune. It’s probably half dead already! (Certainty 240 required)