Swan pressed up against the cold bulkhead of the stairwell, trembling slightly from her frayed nerves. The rifle strapped to her foreleg felt unnaturally heavy, even though she knew it was mostly in her head. Beside her, the rest of the squad waited, holding their positions. All eyes were on the narrow maintenance access doorway leading onto the upper gangway of Engineering.
“How am I gonna fit through that?” Princess whined in a whisper before Flint shushed her.
Compared to the experienced soldiers around her, Swan felt out of place. What was she even doing here? A cocksure pegasus pilot, leader of her aerie, she had boldly charged into desperate odds and come out alive somehow. Now, she felt like a fresh recruit all over again. The thought crossed her mind that maybe she should have stayed back at the concourse like she was told.
“Things are gonna get weird, so be ready and don’t freak out,” Nyx whispered.
The doorway leading out of the stairwell opened silently, revealing the vast chamber beyond. Some distance from the door, three changeling guards stood on a platform along the upper wall, watching the scene below.
Just then, a black void flowed out from Nyx like water, plunging the length of the gangway into total darkness.
At that moment, Nyx’s darksight spell kicked in just like she had described. Swan practically tripped over her own hooves at how disorienting it was at first, her wings opening instinctively to keep from falling.
Everything was pitch black… but not. Nothing had any texture, not even her own hoof in front of her face. What she could see, and vividly, were the edges of things. The other ponies appeared like ghostly outlines of themselves, their contours glowing and wafting around like they were underwater.
Before the three changelings could react to their lack of sight, Nyx withdrew a set of thin knives from her armour and telekinetically sent them flying toward their prey. The blades deftly maneuvered through the air, slicing throats with precision before swiftly returning to their resting place.
Swan swallowed dryly, trying to suppress feelings of intimidation at what she had just witnessed. Even in the total darkness, the detail in her vision was incredible. She watched the guards fall where they stood, blood dripping onto the solid metal catwalk.
“Follow me and stay quiet,” Nyx whispered. One by one, the squad filed through the access door, beginning with Flurry and ending with Princess, who struggled to squeeze through. Soon, they had all settled into their positions.
Swan crouched low with the rest of Flint’s team as they waited atop the gangway which ran the full length of Engineering’s upper deck. All eyes were on the situation below, watching it like a hawk—particularly the pair of alicorns who accompanied them.
Below them was a vast chamber, easily over a hundred canters long. Across from her position, on the deck level, was the blast door they had encountered earlier. Swan could see figures moving around—feral changelings, big ones in heavy armour, and far too many to count.
Dominating the center of the room were eight huge cylindrical machines topped with copper domes, laid out in two rows of four. Each was inscribed with indecipherable arcane runes and diagrams. They were the ship’s Nexus cores—the heart of the vessel’s power.
Only these were clearly destroyed. Their tops were cracked and blackened, cables spilling out like mops of hair. Two had split down the side and violently thrown bits of arcane technology out into the room, leaving scorch marks along the walls.
Her eyes couldn’t help but focus on the large turret which the changelings had set up. It was clearly a serious anti-infantry weapon for defending hardened positions. Whatever the Syndicate was doing in Engineering, they did not want to be disturbed.
“The crew has been immobilized and placed along the far left wall,” Nyx whispered.
“We ran across the same thing on our way up through Medical,” Flurry added, making brief eye contact with Swan. “Maybe twenty they gathered from around the ship and piled up. Nothing like this, though.”
Nyx’s horn crackled with fury, her eyes narrowing as she looked down below.
Swan felt queasy at the thought of where these poor souls would have ended up. She wiped the cold sweat from her brow and tried to calm her breathing.
“Your anxiety levels just peaked, Swan. Are you okay?” Echo asked quietly.
“I’m fine. It’s just… I was in that cruiser’s drone bay, and I saw what these monsters did to ponies,” Swan replied, her lips trembling. “We’re in way over our heads.”
“Don’t you worry, Swan,” Flurry assured with confidence. “We’re about to crash this little party.”
“What’s the plan, captain?” Flint asked.
“Simple. Flurry and I are going to go down there and kill them all,” Nyx said, the fire in her eyes making Swan shudder. “Your squad will give us fire support from up here.”
“Aww,” Fire Hawk moaned. “On the bench again.”
“Don’t worry, you’re in for a show,” Flurry grinned. “Hey Nyx, how much insurance does this ship have?”
“Most of this will have to be scrapped anyway, so you can have your fun,” Nyx replied, a slight smile creasing her muzzle. “Just make sure your shields protect the crew.”
“Gotcha. Just like Antares V?”
“Only with fewer explosions, I hope,” Nyx said.
The raw confidence of the pair of alicorns was like a breath of fresh air. The overwhelming odds stacked against them had no effect on these two. Swan even felt her own fear begin to fade as their conviction rolled over.
“Would it help if their attention was at the door?” Echo asked. “I can help in that regard.”
“Anything that gets them away from my crew would be great,” Nyx said, giving her a nod. “Okay, everypony get ready—we move on your go, Echo.”
Swan swallowed, the anticipation making her feel like her heart was throwing a rave party in her chest.
“Stay close to me, newbie,” Princess said. “And pick your targets carefully with that filly’s pellet gun you got.”
“Okay,” she replied, steadying her shaking forelegs as they all got into position.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Echo, who drew in a breath and let out an eerie chittering call.
The effect was instant. The ferals below began to let out angry chitters of their own, rushing to reinforce the barricade. One of them hopped onto the turret, aiming it at the door which Echo’s call appeared to come from.
“Guess that’s my cue,” Flurry grinned. Suddenly, she vanished from the gangway in a burst of golden light. Air rushed into the void where her body was, causing a loud clap with the crackle of discharging energy.
Before Swan could spot where the alicorn had gone, Nyx leapt from the gangway.
As the black alicorn fell, the black void cast out from her once more, enveloping the room below in a shroud of darkness. Despite the lack of light, Swan’s darksight kept her aware of what was happening.
The changelings below quickly fell into disarray, crashing into each other while those in flight scattered every which way. Nyx dove through the mess, small flickers of telekinetically gripped blades leaving twin trails of death in her wake.
Swan gasped at the display and only then noticed a shimmering distortion covering the area where the fallen crew had been gathered.
“Showtime, kid,” Princess said, spinning up the barrels on her chaingun.
Nyx flowed through them like water, her blades slicing through the scattered ranks like a bloody whirlwind. Even the armoured forms of the ferals offered no resistance as heads and limbs were sent flying with each slice.
If Nyx was a tornado, Flurry was a hurricane, ripping whole workstations from the wall and crushing groups with each swing. When the workstation disintegrated, Flurry simply plucked ferals into the air with her telekinesis. Their struggling forms were then smashed into their colleagues until they too fell apart.
Swan could only watch in awe, her rifle forgotten in her hooves. Seeing Flurry tear ferals apart with overwhelming magical prowess reminded her of how differently the fight in Oakheart’s office could have gone.
Just then, the squad around her opened fire into the darkness below, snapping her out of her reverie.
The two alicorns continued to fight through the darkness, moving towards each other as they carved a bloody swath through any feral unfortunate enough to be in their path.
Swan managed to pick off a changeling that was firing blindly into the commotion while hiding behind a metal crate. At that moment, she noticed detail and color begin to return. Nyx’s void-casting spell had worn off, revealing the alicorns near the centre of the room.
At least half of the enemy had been cut down, leaving many of the survivors looking for cover once they could see. The larger ferals, however, held no firearms. These brutes mindlessly charged at the alicorns, their hoof-claws scraping at the decking as they ran.
Nyx and Flurry stood back to back, flowing around each other like ballroom dancers. With each movement, the other reacted with a sword thrust or shield. Bodies soon piled at their hooves as they continued their bloody dance.
It abruptly ended when the turret opened fire, causing a hail of plasma bolts to slam into Flurry’s hastily erected shield. The golden shimmering sphere which surrounded the alicorns rippled and pulsed with each hit, making Flurry grimace as she struggled to keep it intact through the onslaught.
With Flurry occupied, Nyx tossed a blade at the turret’s operator, causing the changeling to jerk back in a spray of blood. Swan’s eyes widened as she saw Flurry telekinetically wrench the turret right off the deck to which it was bolted, then use it to pummel nearby changelings into a sticky, broken mess.
Swan was so enthralled she didn’t notice Princess shouting at her until a hoof knocked her to the ground.
“Stop daydreaming! We’ve got company!” Princess yelled as pulse blasts from enemy weapons streaked into the space she’d just occupied.
Blinking in surprise, she followed Princess’ chaingun as it swung around to meet the oncoming wave of armoured ferals charging across the catwalk.
Two were felled in rapid succession with shots from Priest, but still the remainder surged forward.
Swan took aim and fired. One of them jerked backward, only to be carried forward by the sheer momentum of its brethren.
Before she could fire again, a cry rang out from behind.
“Chief’s been hit!”
Swan looked to see Flintlock knocked to the ground, smoke billowing from his chest plate.
Suddenly, she felt a rush of heat wash over her as Fire Hawk burst into flame. The ferals halted their charge as the white and yellow flames in equine form took to the forefront.
“Balcony’s closed!” Fire Hawk roared, her flame sweeping over them in a rolling wave.
All other sound was drowned out in the roar of the fire. The ferals on the gangway either disappeared or were turned into living torches. A few leapt over the railing, desperate to escape the fire consuming them.
“Hey, I made some fireflies,” Fire Hawk chuckled darkly as her flames died down.
“Enough of the quips and help me!” Echo called, holding onto the writhing Flintlock.
Swan dropped her rifle and rushed over to them, pinning down the groaning thestral.
“You’ll be okay, chief,” Echo assured, pulling an auto-injector from her pack and carefully inserting it between Flintlock’s armour plates.
“We got this, pillow-stuffer,” Fire Hawk said, dropping out of her nirik form to assist Echo. “I need you to get out there and cover us while we patch up the chief,” she ordered before looking down at Flint. “Damn it chief, you’re making me miss all the action.”
Fire’s complaining was soon lost as a loud metallic crash echoed through the chamber.
Swan grabbed her rifle and leapt from the balcony. With a few flaps of her wings, she quickly found herself a hiding spot where she could provide cover for Flint and Echo.
Down below, the fight had devolved into a few scattered pockets of ferals firing at the two alicorns from whatever cover they could find. The ground was covered in broken bodies and crumpled equipment. Some ferals lay draped across overhanging pipes, their bodies twisted in unnatural directions.
Standing side by side were Nyx and Flurry, now splattered in gore like terrifying apparitions from legend. Shots glanced off the golden shield projected in front of them as they advanced towards the last of their enemy.
Swan almost felt sorry for the ferals as they desperately tried to fend off the two approaching alicorns. Her pity swiftly died as she remembered what they had done to those ponies on the cruiser.
She took aim, firing off several bursts at the cowering changelings. Most glanced off the cover around them, but one feral peered up at the wrong time and caught a bolt to the head.
As the others tried to react, a section of railing and a ladder shot by, impaling two and driving them against the far wall. The last were cut to pieces as Nyx swept over them, leaving nothing but bloody corpses in her wake.
And then everything fell quiet.
Swan gingerly landed amongst the carnage, trying not to step in anything squelchy.
“Hey, Swan!” Flurry grinned, her mane and coat splattered with feral blood. “You okay?”
Swan hesitated for a moment, a sliver of fear creeping down her spine. Before her stood the infamous Last Shadow in all her terrible glory, looking as she must have after the battle of Mulberry Ridge.
And yet, Swan’s fear faded just as it appeared. The mental image of Last Shadow was gone, revealing Flurry Heart, the pony that had saved her life.
“Yeah, but the chief’s been hit,” Swan replied. “Echo’s with him now.”
A look of worry crossed Flurry’s features, and she quickly teleported away, leaving Swan alone with Nyx.
Swan gingerly followed after Nyx as she approached the bodies of her crew.
They were in the same state as those they had found in Medical, lying limp with blissful expressions on their faces. They seemed to have survived the battle unscathed.
Swan heard Nyx let out a gentle relieved sigh.
As they checked the crew, they found some ponies whose eyes gazed blankly into space. They were alive, but they didn’t respond as Nyx gently nudged them. The alicorn lowered her head, her ears flattening and her wings drooping as they found a few more like this, piled like tinder.
“What’s wrong with them?” Swan asked, tentatively.
“They’ve been drained of their emotions,” Nyx said softly. “All that’s left is a shell—an empty husk where once there was a pony full of life and personality.”
Swan could hear the deep sadness in Nyx’s voice, the alicorn’s eyes glistening.
“There are still hundreds more missing,” Nyx added. “We’ll need to find them.”
“I’m sure most have found a place to hide,” Swan offered, yet the hollowness in her voice made her wince. “Though on the cruiser, I saw… I…”
“I know what you saw,” Nyx stated.
Silence hung between them as Nyx stood there, her jaw clenched tight and her wings bristling. “I’m sorry,” Swan offered before leaving the alicorn to her thoughts.
Flurry touched down on the lower deck, carrying Flintlock. She set him down to rest near the crew as the other members of the squad arrived.
“How is he?” Swan asked.
“He’ll be okay,” Echo replied as Flurry helped the chief get comfortable. “I had to dope him up for the pain.” Flurry then walked to where Nyx was getting a closer look at her crew, lying on the deck nearby.
“That’s a relief,” Swan replied. Considering the history between Flurry and the thestral, she didn’t want to imagine the additional fury which could have been unleashed.
“It’ll take more than that to take out the chief,” Echo said with a soft smile.
“Damn straight,” Fire Hawk said, giving an awed whistle at the devastation around them. “Those two really did a number on this place. We’re talking weeks in dry dock and a very unfortunate cleanup detail.”
Swan spared a glance at Flurry and Nyx, standing away from them and talking quietly amongst themselves.
“Everypony start gathering up any weapons,” Echo ordered. “We don’t want to leave any lying around. You too, Swan.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Swan replied.
It was as she began her search that a light on an instrument panel caught her eye.
“Hey, I thought the ship had no power,” Swan said, gaining Nyx and Flurry’s attention.
Nyx trotted over and wiped away blood and shattered glass from the terminal as though she had an invisible squeegee.
“Impossible,” she muttered. “According to this, ship CAPS are at eighty percent.”
She quickly tapped a control on the terminal, looking expectedly off to her side. With a clunk and whir of mechanical servos, a partition along the nearby bulkhead slid back. Rows of enormous CAPS cells were revealed, standing several canters high and glowing a bright sky-blue with magical energy.
“I don’t understand,” Nyx continued. “Where did all this power come from?”
“The Syndicate cruiser had some kind of umbilicals attached to the Orion earlier,” Flurry mentioned as she approached the enormous power cells. “Spotted them when I was blowing their boarding tubes. They must have been feeding power into the Orion. Probably so they could make off with her.”
“Something doesn’t add up about that. We should have been able to see the energy transfer from the bridge,” Nyx muttered, turning her attention back to the console. “Ah, here we go. Power conduits have been physically cut to most of the ship, including engines.”
“That makes no sense. How can they steal the ship without engines?” Flurry pointed out.
“Oh. Oh no…” Nyx murmured. “All the power is being fed forward, down the neck, to the bow of the ship where Forward Fire Control is located. They’ve also left conduits to all three amplification pylons on the wingtips. The main cannon could fire.”
“Wait, is that the thing that cut the ginormous hole in the big asteroid we hid in?” Swan asked.
Nyx nodded solemnly.
“They might be trying to take out the Glorium,” Flurry suggested. “This thing could easily one-shot the carrier. They wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“No!” Swan exclaimed. “We’ve got to warn them!”
“Ship comms are still completely down. We don’t know anything for sure, but we have to find out and fast,” Nyx declared. “Echo, are you in command with the chief down?”
“Yes, captain.”
“I need you to secure Engineering and get help for my crew. Whatever the enemy is up to here, you can bet more will be showing up before long. Flurry and I will head straight to Forward Fire Control and find out what’s going on.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Echo said before turning to face Swan. “You and Princess head back to the concourse and bring back help. With luck, you’ll find Delta team already there.”
“Aww, why me?” Princess groaned.
“Because you’ve whined the most since we got here,” Echo replied, earning chuckles from Priest and Fire Hawk.
“When you get back, I want your team to join us at Forward Fire Control,” Nyx added. “I don’t like this at all.” She then turned to Flurry. “Come on, we don’t have time to waste.”
“Keep your eyes open for Bravo team,” Echo called out as they trotted away. “Fire Control was their drop point, so they’ve probably already secured it for you.”
“Will do, thanks for that,” Nyx affirmed.
Flurry looked to Swan. “No rest for the wicked. See ya around.”
“Be careful,” Swan said.
“Hey,” Flurry said with a wink. “It’s me.”
<=======ooO Ooo=======>
Flurry and Nyx briskly trotted back through the darkness of the abandoned corridors. With luck, they’d get through without any significant obstacles in the fifteen hundred canters of ground they had to cover before arriving at Forward Fire Control.
Most of the journey would be a straight run down the long, slender neck of the ship, which had no sneaky hiding places for an ambush or other trouble. While that would be exhausting, the slow part would be getting to the neck in the first place.
Flurry soon found herself short of breath, her lungs still not fully recovered from her time in hard vacuum. Nyx was trotting ahead, not looking back, as Flurry started to slow in order to soothe her aching muscles.
What’s more, Flurry could see signs in Nyx’s body language that the mare was about to lose it. Her stiff gait, her bristled wings, and her constantly flicking ears all told Flurry that her patience was at an end.
The rush was for a good reason—to save the Glorium and everypony aboard—but something was niggling at the back of her mind.
“Nyx, hold up,” she urged.
Nyx looked back to find Flurry had slowed to a walk, an irritated expression crossing her face as she turned and waited for her to catch up.
“What is it?”
“Does this situation make sense to you at all?” Flurry asked while catching her breath and hacking out a few coughs.
“It seems pretty clear to me. Do you want me to get some coloured markers and explain it to you?” Nyx snapped, her tone sharp and cutting.
Flurry bristled but didn’t bite back. “Come on, Nyx, think about it. That cruiser had been feeding the Orion power before the Glorium even got here. Why?”
As Flurry caught up, Nyx let out a sigh. The two began a brisk walk, resuming their course.
“It would take a long time to send that much power over. What’s your point?”
“They had no idea we were coming,” Flurry explained. “I don’t think we were the target.”
“What else would be the target, Flurry? The cruiser? Put it out of its misery?” Nyx shot back, the edge in her voice beginning to get under Flurry’s skin.
“Okay hear me out. That big gun of yours… is it on a turret?
Nyx eyed her skeptically. “No, the bow needs to be pointed directly at the target.”
“And the engine power is cut, right? So the ship can’t even so much as steer.”
“Right…”
“So the Glorium would have to be parked right in front of the Orion. On top of that, they’d have to completely ignore the power buildup, right?” Flurry cringed for a moment as she remembered the bridge crew. “Granted, Downdraft might… but Oakheart is no fool. There’s no way he’d line himself up for a perfect shot like that.
Nyx went to speak, then paused, her jaw working.
“You have a point,” she conceded. “But why, then?”
“Well, I… I don’t actually know,” Flurry admitted. “I thought I was on to something, but it still doesn’t make sense. At least we know everypony on the Glorium is safe, right?”
Nyx narrowed her eyes, her tail flicking from side to side. “For now, yes, but we still have to find out what’s going on.”
“I know. But can we at least slow down a bit? I need to catch my breath,” Flurry pleaded gently.
“Alright,” Nyx relented, moving on at a more relaxed pace, though the stony silence and her pinned ears said that she was not happy.
Their route took them past the ship’s central computer, down a maintenance shaft to change decks, and then past the research laboratories as they made their way forward. Flurry followed along behind Nyx like a dog on a leash, only stopping when Nyx had to check her map, sometimes grumbling to herself.
“What’s with you anyway? You’re not usually this sullen,” Flurry asked.
“Over a hundred of my crew are dead or in need of serious therapy,” Nyx spat. “So forgive me if I’m not in the best of moods right now.”
“And this is helping? You won’t even talk to me. It’s like you’re on a mission all by yourself. We’re a team, Nyx.”
“A team,” Nyx laughed bitterly.
“Yeah, a team,” Flurry pressed. “You know, when we work together, rather than you stringing me along and using me like a cudgel.”
Nyx stopped in her tracks and pivoted around to face her. “That’s rich coming from you!” she snapped.
Flurry felt herself losing her cool. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Always jumping in head first, damn the consequences or what anyone around you thinks. Because of course, you know better.”
The venom in Nyx’s voice made Flurry take a step back.
“How could you?” Nyx pressed, her tone growing even more derisive. “Is getting back at Mom so important to you that you drag our whole family through the mud?”
“What?! I—”
Nyx gestured to Flurry’s black wings. “What was it, for kicks?! To pay off a debt? Is your ‘master’ lying in a ditch somewhere, or is he tied up in that hovel you call a ship?”
Flurry felt tears sting her eyes, every barb, every accusation cutting deeply.
“I did it for you, alright?!” she yelled. “I got these wings because that was the only way to get the rescue going. All because I love you, the only family I give a damn about anymore!”
Flurry looked away, a ragged breath escaping her muzzle. “I know what’s waiting for me back on Harmony, Nyx. I’m not a fool.”
She turned her back, wiping tears from her eyes and taking a breath to calm herself. “Maybe I am a fool, thinking this would change anything between us.”
“Flurry, I…” Nyx’s voice suddenly sounded so hollow.
“Forget it,” Flurry ended. “Let’s just get this over with so I can get off this stupid ship and out of your mane if I’m such an embarrassment to you.”
Suddenly, she felt Nyx’s forelegs reach out and pull her into a tight embrace. A part of her wanted to resist, but she was too emotionally exhausted to put up a fight.
“I’m sorry,” Nyx murmured. “All I ever hear of you is what they say on the news. I had no idea… and now I’ve said such awful things. Forgive me.”
The sadness and regret in Nyx’s voice touched Flurry’s heart in a way she wasn’t prepared for. Could this finally be over? They had been estranged for so long, it felt like she might never have family again.
“We’re really bad at this reunion thing, aren’t we?” Flurry chuckled awkwardly.
“Yes, we are,” Nyx replied. “And once this is over, I want you to tell me everything that’s happened. I’ll do whatever I can to help you,” she assured as she released Flurry to face her. “But you’re still going to get a lecture, so prepare yourself.”
“Hmm, getting enslaved by a moronic pegasus noble or receiving a patented Nyx lecture… tough choice,” Flurry quipped with a smile, wiping her eyes.
“Come on, I don’t think the changelings are going to wait for us to sort out all our family problems,” Nyx said, giving her a nudge.
“Sure.”
Moving onwards, Flurry felt her spirits were lifted, finally being able to talk with Nyx. Things were far from settled, but it was a start.
It wasn’t long before a distressed voice sounded from the distance up ahead.
“Hello? Is anypony there?” It was a mare’s voice, timid and frightened, coming from an open doorway.
Their ears perked together, and they broke into a brisk trot.
“Can you help me? I’m trapped in here,” the mare called.
The voice emerged from within a large storeroom, past a set of heavy sliding doors that were wide open. Flurry came to a stop just at the edge, shining light from her horn into the gloomy space within. All her instincts were tingling as Nyx also stopped beside her, peering inside.
Flurry looked to Nyx, who gave her a knowing nod.
“Honestly, do they really expect anypony to fall for that trick?” Flurry whispered.
“You did.”
“Only that one time,” she huffed, giving Nyx a pout. “So what’s in there?”
“Golem storage,” Nyx said, walking slowly inside. “They supplemented the living crew for the voyage, but we ordered them into storage when the power went out.”
“TEI showing a lot of baddies?”
“Eyup.”
“So how do you want to play this?”
“Easy. We take them up on their offer,” Nyx whispered before clearing her voice and calling out. “It’s okay, we’re here to help!”
“Oh, thank goodness! I was so scared,” came the reply. Flurry had to admit, it would be fairly convincing to the inexperienced. She warily peered into the darkness, barely making out several rows of golem recharge cages stacked atop each other.
The interior was far larger than Flurry had been expecting, with enough space for a hundred recharge cages at least. In the centre of the room, the cages were arranged in rows two abreast, flanked on either side by more stacked against the walls. There was no sign of any crew, their only company being the powered-down golems, slumped in their cages.
These were civilian utility models. Roughly pony shaped, their chassis were painted a bright orange, marked with yellow and black chevrons. A large black lens dominated their sharp-angled heads, with ear-shaped auditory modules sitting atop.
She stayed close to Nyx, who was sniffing the air, her ears swivelling warily.
“There’s at least a doz—” she began but was interrupted by the sudden metallic screech of the entry doors being forced shut, leaving the room in darkness, save for the light from their horns.
“Oh no. A trap. What a surprise,” Flurry said sardonically.
From a multitude of hiding places in the storeroom, the ferals pounced at them.
Two minutes later, there was silence.
“So, how’d you rate it?” Nyx asked as she pried the entry door open, stepping back out into the corridor.
“Meh, I’d give ’em a five out of ten. Bonus points for the flashy attack at the end,” Flurry replied, tossing a shattered golem leg aside.
“You like using expensive equipment as a club, don’t you,” Nyx observed.
“I have expensive tastes, what can I say?”
Nyx let out a weary sigh and sat on her haunches. She pulled her helmet off and wiped the sweat from her brow.
“Want me to go and find a mobility scooter for you?” Flurry asked, giving her a smug grin. “Looking a bit shaky there.”
“I’ll be alright, but you’re just lucky the Orion’s doorways are so wide, given what a snack fiend you are,” Nyx smirked, giving her a poke.
“Voluptuous is the word you’re looking for,” Flurry countered, shaking her flank.
“More like volumptuous,” Nyx shot back, blowing a raspberry at her.
Flurry let out a slightly annoyed huff. “Don’t you have somewhere to lead us? Age before beauty and all that.”
They both glared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. It was only fleeting, but for that moment, it was just like all those years ago. They were family again.
Sadly, the moment passed.
“Alright, fun time’s over. We’re almost there,” Nyx said, donning her helmet once more.
“And here I was enjoying wandering around every dark hallway your ship has,” Flurry commented, letting out a weary sigh as she prepared herself.
Soon, the corridor showed signs of a battle. Blood and scoring from weapons were streaked across the walls, with a few changeling bodies scattered here and there.
The pair of alicorns came to a stop at a section of twisted rubble on the far side of an intersection. It was peculiar, like something had scooped a portion of the bulkhead and ceiling away, crumpling it into a heap which blocked their path.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Nyx said. “The changelings wouldn’t have any equipment capable of doing this. Would they?”
Flurry thought for a moment. The Syndicate were a tricky bunch, but this was starting to paint a picture that was pretty far outside their standard troublemaking.
“I doubt it,” she replied. “Better question is why?”
“I’m not sure, but everything’s pointing to them wanting to keep us away from Fire Control. Look at this mess. It’ll take us a while to find a way around. Dangit, I can almost see through to the other side.” She gave the heap a telekinetic tug, resulting only in the reinforced steel material creaking in protest but remaining in place.
“Or we could teleport,” Flurry offered, grinning smugly.
“Or we could do that,” Nyx said, rolling her eyes.
“Shall we then, captain?” she offered, extending a foreleg.
Nyx grasped it, and with a flash of golden light, they reappeared on the other side of the blockage.
“Show off,” Nyx commented before continuing on.
A short distance beyond where they appeared, a sign indicated they had arrived at the midpoint tram station. Opening the door, the vast darkened tube of the tram greeted them. The welcome sight of a tramcar sat on the edge of the platform, light streaming out from inside the cabin.
“Great! No more walking!” Flurry whooped, eager to rest her aching hooves. “Wait, what if they booby-trapped it?”
“Scans don’t show any explosives,” Nyx stated, consulting her holo-brace. “And the forward track has power as well.”
“Should we wait for Echo and the others?” Flurry asked.
“There’s no time,” Nyx said as she stepped aboard the tram. “They can catch up.”
As Flurry stepped inside, the fresh smell of new upholstery filled her lungs. After all the blood and smoke, it was a tiny glimmer of normality. A pleasant tune hummed from the speakers as the tram made its way into the dark tube along the ship’s neck.
“Motorized travel is so underrated,” she said with a contented sigh as she melted into one of the comfortable seats.
“You never did like walking, even as a filly—always begging me to carry you,” Nyx chuckled, settling in herself.
“I like to travel in style.”
“Always so high maintenance,” Nyx grinned, shaking her head.
After a pause, her voice took on a more serious tone. “Flurry?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for coming all this way to help us—to help me. I haven’t been the best cousin as of late, so I want to make it up.”
“I don’t know, my feelings are still pretty hurt,” Flurry said with a gleam in her eye. “It might make me feel better if you could part with some of those golems.”
“Bah, you’re incorrigible!” Nyx rolled her eyes.
“Seriously though, you’re my family Nyx,” Flurry added with a sincere smile on her muzzle. “I’d never leave you hangin’.”
Nyx returned the smile, and Flurry felt an old warmth stir in her heart.
“Now arriving at Forward Fire Control. Please stand clear of the doors and take all your belongings with you,” the tram announced, breaking the reverie.
They could see the tram station ahead, fully illuminated like an island in the dark. It was little more than a gantry platform sitting atop several massive pony-sized conduits. They, in turn, clustered around three huge railgun barrels that extended out of sight.
Flurry tensed, expecting the windows to explode in a fusillade of fire at any moment. Then, the tramcar came to a stop, barely making any noise as it slowed. The doors hissed open.
The platform was empty, with not even a barricade blocking the station exit.
“Well that’s… unexpected,” Flurry remarked. “I almost feel insulted.”
Nyx warily made her way to the tram exit, her unsheathed sword hovering at the ready. As they stepped onto the platform grill, Nyx’s armored hoofsteps clanked loudly on the deck, making Flurry wince.
“TEI is clear. I was sure we’d be in for a fight,” Nyx commented.
Flurry gingerly stepped out onto the platform, feeling a slight breeze waft through her mane from the vast tunnel.
A narrow doorway inlaid into the wall beside the platform was open. Above the door was stencilled: ‘Forward Fire Control and Sensor Arrays’.
“Bravo team was assigned to come here,” Flurry mentioned. “They probably already secured the place, which explains our lack of a welcome party.”
“Bravo team, this is the captain. Do you read?” Nyx spoke into her holo-brace. They waited a moment to see if the squad would reply, but nothing came.
“They might be further in,” Flurry suggested, though she kept her doubts to herself. “Radios are a bit dodgy with shielded bulkheads throughout the ship.”
Nyx nodded, her ear flicking a bit—a sure sign to Flurry that she didn’t buy that explanation.
Everything seemed normal. The power was on, the lights shone cleanly, and there was even the faint hum of power flowing through the massive energy conduits beneath them. Nothing showed even so much as a blast mark on a wall or a spent CAPS cell on the floor. Everything was normal, and yet Flurry’s fur was standing on end.
As they reached the platform exit, a pungent, coppery scent wafted into Flurry’s nostrils. Nyx must have smelt it too, as she balked, her whole body tensing.
They exchanged glances and cautiously moved forward. Nyx passed through the doorway first, though she came to a stop almost immediately within. A tiny gasp escaped her cousin's lips as she stood stock still.
“What is it?” Flurry asked, stepping in to join her in the corridor. As she looked forward, her eyes widened in disbelief at the scene before her.
A large blast door had come down ahead of them, yet it was torn open like tissue paper. The thick plates of spell-forged alloys that could withstand tremendous forces were rent and buckled inward.
Even worse was the sheer amount of blood.
Pools of crimson soaked the decking leading up to the door. The walls had been splattered with it, dripping from pipes and fittings.
Bloody hoofprints were smeared against the blast door, scattered in a frantic pattern. It told the story of a desperate, futile last attempt to stay alive.
Most ominously of all, there were no bodies—just a bloody smear leading further in.
“Well, this isn’t good,” Flurry gulped, gazing down the corridor at the carnage within.
Just then, the distant sounds of gunfire erupted from beyond the doorway.