//------------------------------//
// Chapter 133 
// Story: Voyage of the Equinox 
// by Starscribe 
//------------------------------//



Manipulate the highway with magic 53% 



Twilight could certainly see the danger in their decision. Using magic on an alien system they barely understood was hardly what she would describe a ‘wise’ choice. There were unknown dangers at play, interactions between pony magic and the Signaler technology.

But the more Twilight considered their final voyage, the more certain she was that Canterlot would not survive a trip at conventional speeds. If they couldn’t win by following the rules, they would just have to change them. “Send the unicorn team. It isn’t like anyone is going to need this highway after us. We’ll make it serve our needs.

The next few days were a nightmare of tension and fear for Twilight, as she received optimistic reports from her crew on the Highway station. There were no accidents, no attacks by monsters that didn’t exist—but at the same time she knew they couldn’t know anything about the highway, until they tried to use it. 

Then the day came. Canterlot was bound to its new younger sister with carefully placed tethers, to tug the ruined hulk along beside it without exposing her to the atomizing power of the highway.

She stood on the command deck—not a bridge exactly, though it served much the same purpose. For the first time in months, her friends were all here. Even Fluttershy had left medical behind. Of course there were many other ponies here to help now, including plenty of defrosted ponies and a good number of brave shiprats. 

“Radio contact with the Reliquary is good, captain,” Spike said. His own physical body had joined them as well. “Node reports green integrity. She’ll update us if anything changes.”

There isn’t much for her to do anymore, other than survive.
 
“Why do we have anypony there at all?” Applejack asked, her tone frustrated and fearful. Of course it would be her to ask—all the mechanical ponies were now aboard the Reliquary, and that included her sister.

“We need ponies there to hold it together,” Twilight said. She’d given the same statement half a dozen times to other creatures, with loved ones on that ship. There were maybe twenty of them now, creatures saved by mechanical conversion while they prepared to depart. One by one Node had come to them with an appeal, and every one had joined her. Except Spike. “The environmental support system is suspect—nopony there needs to breathe, so they won’t be in danger if something fails.”

Unless the supports connecting us fail, and they get flung out into space. Hopefully they don’t get incinerated the instant they leave our shadow.

Except for Node, many of those creatures already thought of themselves as dead. Twilight still hadn’t heard so much as a one-line status-alert from Sunset since they’d left.

Twilight sighed, settling into her seat at the front of the command deck. It had the same general shape as Celestia’s throne, and indeed she was the only creature to have occupied it while this station orbited Equus. It wasn’t even half a meter higher than the rest of the deck, however. Practicality was still queen, even when a princess was involved. “All departments, report.”

“Navigation reporting,” Pinkie said first, her voice barely a squeak. Her mane was short now, her eyes a little haunted. There was good reason Twilight had given her the least difficult job. All they really had to do was stay centered in the highway, and they should be safe. “Navigational thruster

“Life support is green,” Rarity said. “We’re a bit strained from the number of creatures we’ve woken so quickly, and water sanitation is struggling now that we have all our miners back aboard, but I’m sure we’ll sort things out. So long as the acceleration doesn’t have any unanticipated side-effects on the sanitation plant, anyway. I’m sure you know that none of it was designed to be used while accelerating. Our modifications were… haphazard, I must admit.”

“Engineering reporting,” Applejack grumbled. “We ain’t got nothin’ to complain about, except maybe half the station crumbling in various ways. I thought I would get a gray mane keeping the Equinox up and running, but apparently fate was listening, cuz’ boy if the Canterlot ain’t a whole mess worse.”

Twilight cleared her throat, waiting patiently for Applejack to finish. “How’s energy conversion?”

“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Applejack said. “Can’t exactly give her much of a dry run, cap. Playing with scale models up in fabrication just ain’t good enough, and we all know it. Nothin’ to do but see how she handles.”

That’s not what anypony wants to hear right now. She could see the support staff growing more and more nervous the more Applejack went on. Best to just let the report end where it did.

“Constable’s office reports everypony not on duty in their quarters and ready to go,” Rainbow said. “We’ve got the easiest job, though. You ponies have to stop us from blowing up.”

“Medical has critical patients moved into the Shiprat section,” Fluttershy said. “Not sure if it will help, but… it’s the best we can do. This is going to be bloody, captain. Nopony aboard is ready for the stress of prolonged acceleration.”

“We’ll endure it,” Twilight countered. “We don’t have a choice.” And that left only one department—under the circumstances, the most important.

“Sail is deployed,” Starlight said. “We’ve matched the Highway station’s docking protocols and the interface signal is green. Spells are good, better now that we’ve altered the frequency of the emitters. This is going to work, captain. I know it is.”

I hope you’re right.
 
“Final orders, captain?” Spike asked. “I’m getting requests from department heads all over the station. We need a verdict.”

Twilight already knew what she was going to say—she just hadn’t wanted to tell the crew until it was time to launch. Some would probably resent her choice, and make implementing it difficult.

1. “Situation green,” Twilight instructed. “Once we’ve begun to accelerate, lift movement restrictions at let things return to normal.”
2. “Situation yellow,” she said. “Suspend all non-essential services until it’s clear the Canterlot has survived our acceleration.”
3. “Order situation red. I want all power and personnel that isn’t being used by somepony on this bridge with me to be locked down and sheltering in place. Constable, prepare your volunteers to enforce that order.”

Spike relayed the command, and she was unsurprised to hear some grumbling. But they were out of time for debates. If anypony was going to live through this, they needed decisive action.

“I want a general channel,” Twilight said. “All decks.”

“Open.”

“This is Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she said, knowing her voice boomed through the station. “Creatures of Equestria, you should already know the dangers we’re facing. We cannot survive if we leave the station here. Those who do not have friends who have suffered from the deteriorative effects soon would, if we remain. The ponies we left behind on Equus—the ponies who died to give us this chance, are all counting on us now.

“All creatures, be prepared to be called to duty at any time. We do not know what dangers this alien system will present once we use it. But I’m confident that working together, the Canterlot will overcome this danger as we have so many others.

All crew, all decks, prepare for acceleration.”