//------------------------------// // Chapter 85 // Story: Voyage of the Equinox // by Starscribe //------------------------------// Twilight should’ve gone and done something else. She could be out alleviating Fluttershy’s suspicions perhaps, lowering the risk that she would head down to the central computer to investigate what had happened. But Twilight didn’t care about anything else. This was her vigil, and she had to watch, until the first signs of motion emerged from within. Does the process work as intended? Critical no. The cocoon looked as though an invisible wind had stirred it. Its fibers unraveled, spreading in a dust that left no dragon behind, only extremely dangerous snow. Does Twilight stop Cozy from being exposed? Yes. Twilight moved by reflex, forming a shield around where Spike’s body had been, containing the bubble of contaminated metal as best she could. Even so, she felt the weight of failure crushing down on her from all sides. She’d done everything she could to save her brother, but it hadn’t done to him what happened to Apple Bloom, or Applejack’s leg. Did the process preserve the essence of Spike’s mind, with holes in memory and personality created by dead tissue? Yes. All the lights in the central computer went out. Worse, the gentle rumble from under her hooves, the comfortable pressure of the air recyclers—stopped too. For a few seconds, Twilight was plunged into total silence. Until her radio hissed, and Fluttershy spoke from beside her. “Captain, uh… that wasn’t you, was it? I just went onto emergency power. This… isn’t a good time to forget that medical is at capacity? We’ve got all our friends on life support.” Twilight’s voice cracked, and she spoke only through tears. “Looking into it!” she answered, hanging up before she could give away any hint to how she felt. If Fluttershy found out what she’d done…” Twilight opened the sample container up again, filling it to bursting with the debris that had wrapped around her brother. These were somehow his body now too. Too dangerous to bury, or get anywhere near again. Even a remote chance, I had to try. I’m sorry, Spike. The mainframe began an emergency reboot procedure. Cooling fans started spinning again, and lights flickered from inside their glass case. As Twilight looked, she found she couldn’t see into the cases very well. Most of the glass was strangely fogged over. We are so bucked if there was an electrical fire we didn’t notice. Twilight leaned forward, pulling on the edge of the cabinet with her magic. To her surprise, the security lock was engaged. It wouldn’t open. She yanked a few times, but didn’t force it. Did Cozy manage to get it locked? Then a screen came on at the far end of the room, casting an even glow that overpowered the status indicators. None of the other screens came back on, the air circulators remained off—it was only the one. Twilight walked over, dodging past Cozy’s sightless corpse. She still needed to burn that. She would take care of it, as soon as she figured out what was wrong with ship’s power. Does the virus get confused by the presence of the mainframe and see the Equinox itself as Spike's body? Yes. The usual operating system wasn’t here, no sign of the preboot memory tests or any of the other procedures. Not even a flashing input cursor. Where am I? There’s nopony here, and it’s so dark. Twilight, where are you? Her heart nearly stopped beating in her chest. The virus hadn’t given Spike a robotic body like the others who had been exposed, it was true. But he had been dead. Apparently there was a better fit somewhere else. Twilight tested the keyboard, and found it responded as she expected. Still no command prompt, but at least her input appeared on the screen. I’m here, Spike. Was it her imagination, or had the fans all around her ramped up? How long can we keep up this much compute running only on emergency backups? If their batteries died, there was a good chance her friends would die. She would lose a whole crew, instead of just one. But the one she was speaking to responded. What happened, Twilight? We were on the Equinox for surgery… I can’t remember anything after. Did we save Sunset Shimmer? We did, she responded. You did great, Spike. But right now I need you to turn the emergency reactor back on. Can you do that for me? The computer didn’t respond, long enough that Twilight began to panic. The fans kept spinning, and her room stayed dark. Twilight’s emergency air had long since run out, though of course the air in each compartment would last far longer. It would take days for the CO2 buildup in the Equinox to kill. But it would take far less time for her friends to die, and for her and Fluttershy to freeze to death. I know the reactors, the computer said, eventually. I think I can… “Emergency quarantine lifted,” Starlight Glimmer’s voice said. “Evacuation order suspended.” Something mechanical rumbled above her, and the lights came back on. The air circulators started running again. I don’t understand this place, the console said. I can see the Equinox all at once. Out every face, into the docking bay, you down in— Why is Cozy Glow dead beside you? What’s going on? Twilight winced, looking away from the security camera over her shoulder. She rose, walking away from the keyboard. Is it better than being dead? Guess you’ll have to decide that for yourself. There was a way to talk to him—if Spike could see through the Equinox’s cameras, then he should be able to hear. And speak himself, eventually. She went back to the keyboard, typing reluctantly. I can’t explain right now, Spike. I promise I will as soon as I can. Just try to keep the Equinox running properly, if you can. Our friends still need you. His response came instantly, though there was still no sign he’d learned how to respond in any other way. Of course, captain. You can count on me. There was the matter of Cozy’s body, then she would… 1. Save her friends from the contingency. 2. Use Spike’s help to figure out what Cozy was doing. 3. Focus on waking up Sunset Shimmer first to try and get real answers.