//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 // Story: The Runners // by DungeonMiner //------------------------------// Twilight woke up, strapped to a table. Her back pressed into cold, stainless steel, while her hooves sat locked in tight restraints. Turning her head, and opening her eyes revealed a dark room, lit only by sickly green columns in the corners of the room. It took her a moment, a long minute of bleary-eyed confusion to realize that a pony-shaped figure hung, suspended in the green, rough, column. It only took a second after that, and the feeling of her heart dropping into her stomach to realize what that meant. Any mage worth her salt knew what the bug elementals were. Once magical, sentient creatures that could change their appearance, the elementals were altered by the Awakening and lost their physical form. Now, they were astral parasites, feeding off of the mana of living creatures to mold bodies for themselves. But this was worse. This was implantation and body snatching. Every mage knew it, every corp had warned about the dangers of contacting Bug Elementals. “They’ll snatch you up, and eat your soul!” one of her magic teachers taunted. “Wear your body like a suit, and hurt everyone you love.” And now, here she lay, moments away from being sucked out of her own body like a smoothie. Oh, she was going to die… “Please tell me you’re not actually Twilight,” a voice said beside her. Twilight glanced to the left where a turquoise, draconic form lay beside her on a separate table. “E-Ember?” Twilight gasped. The dragoness cursed. “What are you even doing here, Twilight? How did you get caught?” Twilight grimaced. “Would you believe that Mr. Spikarunz got me into Running?” “Oh, he’s doing that thing, isn’t he? The one where he’s gathering all the gems? And he sent you to collect mine.” “Yeah, how did—” “Oh it’s been in the works for years,” Emberax said. “It’s a shame this one’s going to end because a bug shaman got too big for his ego.” “What? Who’s there?” a voice asked from the other side, and Twilight barely recognized that it belonged to Gem. “Gem?” Twilight called out. “Rookie? Rookie is that you?” “Rookie? Tell me that’s not your street name.” Ember muttered. “Yeah, it’s me, Gem. We’re strapped to tables, ready for someone to drink us like soul milkshakes, and have our bodies filled with bug elementals.” “I hate bugs…” Gem said. “What’s going on?” Steel’s voice asked. “Huh?” Wingmare grumbled. “Hm?” Web hummed, blearily. “Well aren’t we in a pickle?” Candy said. “How the frag did you just bounce back like that, Candy?” Wingmare asked. “I rolled a natural 20 on my death saving throw. Wait...wrong game, nevermind!” “Web, I think Candy got hit a little too hard,” the Adept said. “I don’t think she’ll have to worry about it for too long,” Twilight said. “You’re quite right,” a new voice said in the darkness. A moment later, a biped silhouette walked into the room, just at the end of Twilight’s table. She stood, teal in color, with unmistakably draconic horns. As the green light encapsulated her figure, the instantly recognizable figure of Ember appeared before her. “After what you and your team have seen, I can’t let any of you leave alive.” Twilight glanced down at her. “Who are you?” The false Ember smiled. “I am many things, but chief among them I am a vessel. A vessel for the Queen of the Hive. More importantly, you, Sunset Shimmer, are going to join me.” Twilight glanced at the others. “Everypony shall join me in the hive, one among billions, all joined together in a glorious, rapturous choir.” Twilight blinked. “Did...did you willingly let her possess you?” “Of course!” the fake Ember pronounced. “Why wouldn’t I? I know you don’t have the sense to recognize the innate glory of the wasp or ant, but surely even you know the power of being the right person at the right time, Ms. Shimmer?” As though to punctuate her sentence she transformed, the draconic form burning away in green flame as she now took the shape of Twilight herself. Twilight sat there, unimpressed. “You traded your life for a physical mask spell. You know that’s insane right?” “Says the uninitiated. Says the one who does not know the Embrace of the hive. Says the one who cannot—That’s enough, my child.” The change in tone and cadence of her voice shifted so hard in nearly gave Twilight whiplash. The fake Twilight paused a moment, before nodding. “Do you wish to address them, my Queen?” “My most generous house is zealous, and quick to draw lines,” the new voice in the imposter said. “This is forgivable, though her talent is greater in noticing the smaller details.” “Good to know,” Twilight said. “Any weaknesses would be useful as well!” Steel said. The imposter ignored her. “Yet, I think there is a greater use for you,” she continued. “I would rather not waste such talent. You are a powerful mage, I can tell, and you don’t carry yourself like the rest of your party. You’re special. You aren’t cut out for a life of crime like your friends here. You would do well in the Hive.” “I think I’ll pass,” Twilight said. “The alternative is death,” the Queen said. “I can gladly feed you to my children, or you could join us, and become greater than just yourself could ever be. Make your choice carefully, little pony. Because you will serve the hive one way or the other.” “And I appreciate it, but no thank you, I like free will, however limited it may be.” The imposter frowned. “That’s a terrible shame. You’ll be food then.” The Queen and her vessel turned before she began walking out. “When we come to get you the next time, your lives will be forfeit.” The door shut behind them, leaving the team and the dragon locked away, bathed in the green light of the previous victims of the hive. “Not bad, Rookie,” Wingmare said. “Stayed with the team. I can appreciate that.” “It’s not really a choice,” Twilight said. “I either die or have my soul pulled out like an apple core.” “Still.” “That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard a Runner ever say,” Ember said. “Shame we’re all going to die.” “Nope!” Candy said. All eyes tried their best to turn to face the pink rigger. “What? You have a way out?” Ember asked. “Nope!” Candy replied. “We prepared more for being shot than captured,” Web explained. “Which makes sense given your, well, draconic way of running this place.” “Fair, but...what makes you so sure we won’t die, then?” “She gets bursts of random optimism,” Gem explained. “Nope, not this time!” Candy said proudly. “We’ve been through worse, we got this!” “We have not been in a worse situation,” Web argued. “We are surrounded by bug elementals, we’re tied down to tables, and they’re waiting to suck out our souls through a straw. That’s easily worse than anything else we’ve been through.” “But we have our equipment!” Candy said. “Not that it does us much good, Candy,” Gem said. “They’ve messed with my datajack. I can’t access my PAN, my deck, or anything without running a diagnostic, and I can’t do that without my deck on hoof.” “Not to mention that these appear to be magecuffs.” Twilight said, glancing up at the faintly-glowing restraints that held her down. “If we even think about casting a spell, we’re going to be shocked into unconsciousness.” “Good eye,” Ember said. “Mine are set for a dragon-dose, so I would be extra careful not to set yours off.” “Besides,” Web said. “And we can’t stress this enough, we’re surrounded by bugs that want to eat our souls.” “But they left us alive,” Candy said. “Whenever we’ve run into bugs before, they’ve never given us this much time.” “We are surrounded by a hive, Candy!” “We have a dragon,” Candy said. The whole team glanced over to Ember. “To be fair, she’s got a point on that one,” the dragoness said. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to save you before I can get out of my own shackles.” “Okay, so, we have a dragon that can’t save us, equipment we can’t get to, magic we can’t access, and soul-sucking bugs that gave a few extra minutes,” Twilight listed with a sigh. “Yes, we’re bound to get out of here.” “We going to make it, Rookie. Trust me,” Candy said. Twilight sighed. “I hope you’re right.” At that moment, a pony entered, staring blankly forward as he entered the room. “The queen has ordered you to die. Which of you is the one known as Sunset Shimmer?” “That’s me!” Candy said, loudly. Twilight had just enough time to turn around, confused before the pony entered. “You will die first then, and bring nourishment to the Hive,” he droned, so obviously possessed that he might as well have been wearing a sign that read “meat puppet” around his neck. “Great!” Candy said with a smile. “I can do you one better, even!” The possessed pony didn’t know what to make of it. His own intelligence severely limited by the hive mind. “You mean...to join?” “No, you can still eat me!” she replied cheerfully. “You beat us fair and scare, and so I’m going to let you have that!” The possessed pony blinked. “Very well, then we shall—” “But before we get started, can I ask one thing, since I’m letting you eat me and all?” The drone pondered this for a long second. “What do you ask?” “Could you turn on the air? It’s warm in here, and I wanna be comfy when you suck out my soul.” Everyone in the room stared at Candy as if she grew a second head while still strapped to the table. “I…” the drone began, bewildered. “I...this isn’t a trick, is it?” “Why would I trick you? You’ve already won.” Candy said. The drone had trouble processing this. “I...I suppose I can do this…” Walking over to the thermostat, the drone quietly flipped a switch, and the vents silently opened. “Now,” the drone said. “You are to die.” “Yup!” Candy replied. “But is it just me or do you hear a buzzing noise?” The drone shook his head. “No more distractions, you die.” “Okay,” she said, “don’t say I didn’t warn you!” The drone had just enough time to look up, annoyed before a swarm of parasprite drones flooded into the room from the vents. A pair of them flashed across the drone's eyes shocking him long enough for the other 48 of them to tear open one of the restraints. And that was all it took before Candy grabbed her sidearm and filled the drone full of lead. “Thank you, Babies!” Candy said before the drones dispersed and began freeing the others. “And that’s why you invest in above-average auto-pilot!” “Lovely,” said Ember, “but you need to get ready because more bugs are coming.” As the others began to prep themselves, Candy approached Twilight with a smile. “See, Rookie, I told you we’d make it out.” “T-Thank you, Candy. I...I thought we were goners for sure.” “It’s alright, Rookie. It’s true some days are dark and lonely and maybe you’ll feel sad, but I’ll always be there to show you it isn’t that bad.” “And while that’s all well and sappy,” Ember said as she stood and flexed her claws. “I’m more than happy to be released. The only thing that really dampens my mood is the fact that a hundred and 5 bugs are coming this way, and I can only take a hundred of them. You ladies wouldn’t be opposed to some extermination work, are you?” “I don’t think we’d be opposed, no,” Gem said. “Wonderful,” Ember said, “now if you’ll follow me to the armory, I’m sure we can find something that suits all of you.” <><><|><><> “Bring the fools to your queen!” the Queenhost called through her borrowed telepathy, directing the thousands upon thousands of bug elementals and their handful of possessed corp ponies. “Bring the fools to be feasted on!” A mental cry went up among the elementals. They would bring down these fools, even if they were armed with miniguns firing orichalcum bullets. As it happened, though… Steel sat behind the roaring weapon, firing very expensive bullets that tore through spectral forms and elementals. Her gun mowed them down with a vengeance, cutting huge swaths of the creatures down as they funneled into the small and cramped hallways. In the first five seconds she had built up a kill count of over a hundred ponies and elementals, and bill a thousand times that in the expenses of the magical metal that made up her ammunition alone. The minigun roared until it began to glow red, and the hive swelled as it appeared that they were going to quickly overwhelm the earth pony and her massive, yet incredibly expensive gun. But Steel just smiled as the bodies continued to pile, before finally stepping to the side. “They’re all yours, Candy!” The thudding of mechanical hooves thundered behind her, and a new, terrifying, pony-like form filled the hallway. The new, yet-to-be-announced, yet-to-even-be-properly-named SK Duelist-Class Drone 37 MK IV came crashing through the enemy line, tearing apart the mortal forms of the possessed ponies with a sword in one hoof, and laser weapon in the other. The elementals were slowed by the drone, but ultimately their mana-based manifestations were incredibly resistant. Yet, at the same time, they could not see, nor truly interact with the drone, leaving them free to approach the earth pony with her still-cooling minigun. “Web! Rookie! Dragon! You’re up!” “Yeah, yeah, take cover,” came Ember’s casual reply. The elementals didn’t have enough time to process that, though, as dragonfire roared down the hall, melting the steel, plastic, and concrete all the way down. It burned, destroying flesh and mana as it burned in both the physical and astral planes, killing anything that tried to stand before it with ease, leaving only ash. In moments, the whole place was ruined, with Steel and the Drone barely surviving by hiding deeper in the intersections. A second later the sprinklers kicked on, turning to steam the moment the water hit the still-red wasteland left in Ember’s wake. “Man, that felt good,” Ember said. “Teach them to get a dragon while she’s sleeping.” “I was going to ask,” Wingmare muttered. “Steel, you still ok?” Gem asked over her comm.. “Barely. I was nearly making a great impersonation of an apple pie sitting in the oven.” “That’s good enough for now,” Ember said. “Glad to know my safety counts for something,” Steel grumbled. “If I didn’t care, you’d be a barbecue. You’re fine,” Ember said. “More importantly, we need to find the Queenhost and wipe her out. Bugs can’t do much without a queen, so the sooner she’s roasted the better.” “Okay, any idea where she is then?” Wingmare asked. “If I had to guess, probably in my penthouse,” Ember muttered. “Great!” Twilight said. “Then all we need to do is get to the elevator shaft and climb in.” “Simple plan,” Steel said. “I dunno about the execution, though. Can’t really take this bad boy with us up there,” she grumbled, slapping the side of the minigun. “Probably for the best,” Ember said. “That ammo is not cheap.” “So how do we take care of the elementals upstairs?” Gem asked. “Our mages won’t be able to take out all of them.” “We don’t need to take out all of them,” Twilight said. “We just need to take out the Queen, the others will fall apart after that.” Ember nodded. “And that’s why you’re Spikearunz’s favorite.” “So we’re going into a wet work job,” Gem said, a moment later. “The target is in the Penthouse suite. Access points include the elevator, and the windows if we find a way up there.” “We can use the Astral plane,” Twilight said. “If the bugs are still trying to hide from outside forces, we might be able to get through before they could stop us from taking the Queen out.” “That is a horribly risky play,” Web interjected. “If we make too strong of a move, we’re going to be swarmed.” “Yes, but if we move fast enough, we might be able to take out the queen first,” Twilight said. “That is, again, a terrible idea,” Web said. “The bugs are going to see us in the astral from a mile away. The only way you’d possibly be able to get to her is if every single one of those Elementals is looking at something else.” “Something like a massive, vortex of magic in the astral plane. Something like a dragon maybe?” Twilight said before glancing back at Ember. The dragoness smiled. “She does have a point, you know.” A moment of silence passed. “So...my plan?” Twilight asked. Gem sighed. “Your plan.” “Your plan,” Ember agreed. “With one small change.” <><><|><><> The Queenhost stood, surrounded by her hive as the elevator at the center of the penthouse. The doors to the shaft were still blown off their slides, laying uselessly on the floor. The LCD display that read the floor numbers slowly counted up, as the elevator slowly climbed the building. The Queenhost knew what was coming, she could feel the massive, swirling power in the astral space with ease. Finally, the elevator arrived, and the inner doors opened, revealing an earth pony, a machine duelist, a simple decker, and a dragon. “And here she is,” the Queenhost snarled, “the great dragon laid low. Come to beg for her life at the hooves of the Queen.” Ember merely stared for a moment before she spoke. “Your host needs to learn her place, your highness. It does not befit a queen to have trash speak for her.” The Queenhost bristled. “H-How dare you! I am the Queen’s chosen! I will not be—” “She needs to be reminded that she chose to become a member of the hive. That means she is nothing. After all, that’s the whole point of a queen.” If the Queenhost had anything left to say, she was cut off by the powerful elemental that possessed her. “If you wish to speak Queen to Queen, I can allow that,” she said, her voice haughty and snarling. “But if we must, then I will also meet you face to face.” There was a great flash of green fire, and the pony-like figured slipped away to reveal one far more horrifying. Black as night, a twisted form appeared, taller than Ember, with emerald green elytra, and a long, spiraling horn, the Queen began to take shape in front of them, a mockery of the Princess' form, with both horn and wings growing from a single, hideous body. Long fangs poked out of a seemingly innocent mouth that hid terrible mandibles beneath, just visible each time she spoke. “There, does meeting as equals please you so?” the Queen asked. “Honestly, no. I almost prefer the pony,” Ember said. “But either way, the fact remains that I want my company back.” “I cannot give it to you. Your company currently holds the best chance of me completing my goals since it is currently positioned for a magical takeover of at least two of your competitors.” “That is nowhere near true,” Ember said. “Well, it is when I’m at the helm,” the Queen replied smugly. Ember shook her head. “If you truly believe that Saddle Krupp can take on two more Triple A corporations by itself then you are a madpony regardless of whatever plan you think you have. That’s the point of the Corporate Court.” “You are just too blind to see the possibilities.” Ember shook her head. “Look, we might have been able to work something out, but if you’re going to waste everything I built on a poorly thought-out grab for power, then you deserve what’s coming to you.” “Oh, and what is coming to me?” The queen asked amused. “This,” Ember said, before breathing deep. Immediately, the manifested Elementals swarmed to the front of the Queen, making a living shield as dragonfire roared down the hallway. They formed a wall that quickly burned and melted before the heat of Ember’s wrath. The Queen merely smiled. “Terrifying,” she said dryly, as her defenses crumbled to ash. “You can only do that so many times,” Ember growled. “True, but I can swarm you before then,” the Queen said with a smirk. “Really, you need to know when you’re fighting a losing battle.” Ember smirked. “So do you,” she said before a spell rocked the Queen’s body. The Queen roared, shocked, as astral strings were cut, and weapon foci were brought to bear. The body was killed in seconds, and the spirit of the bug was ripped and torn. She howled as she was hit in the astral plane, right where her elemental being was most vulnerable. She spun, eyes flashing as they peeked into her home plane, spotting the two ponies that just tried to assassinate her. “You!” she growled. The swarm answered her call, moving as a single cloud to rip the runners apart, only for the Queen to realize, too late, that she just left herself defenseless with a dragon at her back. She turned in time to see Ember behind her, smiling wide as the back of her throat lit up with orange light. “Never play chess with a dragon, your highness.” And the queen burned. <><><|><><> “Well, you did a good job, ladies,” Ember said as a crew of ponies tried cleaning up the penthouse, even though a good tenth of resembled little more than slag. Very little was spared, though Ember still managed to look impressive as she sat at what remained of her desk. “Well, we would be remiss if we said we couldn’t do it without you,” Gem said. “You would,” Ember agreed. “Regardless, I was having a hard time getting out of the cuffs, and if you didn’t have a very clever, horrendously optimistic rigger, then we all would have been in trouble. I have to say well done, and I would have you paid well.” She spun as she sat at her blackened desk, and pulled out a box from a drawer. Opening it, she reached inside and pulled out a pale blue aquamarine. “This,” the turquoise dragon said, “I believe, is what you were looking for, and I imagine it would suffice as payment.” “Thank you, Ms. Ember. You’re most kind.” “Additionally,” the dragoness said with a smirk. “You get one favor. Have your Rookie call me, and then I’ll do whatever I can to help out.” “Thank you, Ms. Ember,” Gem said again. Ember nodded. “And thank you.” With that final thanks acting as a parting word, the ponies began heading back to the elevator shaft. As the inner doors to the elevator cabin shut, and the ponies stood, gathered together as they held onto the gear, they only let silence pass between them. At the very least, until Candy spoke up. “See! I told you we’d be fine.”