//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 - Monster // Story: Flurry in Time // by DuvetofReason //------------------------------// The beast seemed oblivious to them as it busied itself with some task at one of the workstations. Flurry took the opportunity to look around and commit the chamber’s layout to memory. There would be plenty of room to fly or teleport if needed. Her eye caught a few metal crates and tools scattered about that she could probably use as weapons—just in case. Beside her, Nyx was quietly bending a steel bar that hovered at her side while she stared at the intruder with vengeance in her eye. “What are you doing?” “Testing a theory,” Nyx replied. “My mother once proposed that an energy-sink might be possible. Like a reverse Nexus core. If that’s what this thing is doing, I want to know its limits.” “And taking it out on a metal bar helps how?” Nyx shot her an annoyed look. “Even at this range, I can feel a tenth of the effort is lost. It’ll be worse as we get close; we’ll have to push to beat this thing.” Beating it sounded like a good idea, and Flurry was anxious to get on with it. Looking back, she saw that the windigo had moved to the side of the workstation, giving her a better view. It was like staring at death itself. The creature gave off an essence of decay, filling her with dread and tapping into some deep, irrational part of her brain. Its segmented hairless tail swished back and forth as it shifted its weight, drawing Flurry’s attention to the rather large curved stinger at its tip. It then grasped something with a set of reptilian talons where she expected a forehoof to be. They reminded her of the talons of a hippogriff. Nyx bumped Flurry’s shoulder. “Do you see that? It’s messing with the terminal.” She was right. The creature had attached some kind of device to one of the terminal’s data ports. The object was vaguely organic-looking, cone-shaped with a pulsing green light at its tip. “Nyx, what’s a windigo doing on a Syndicate warship?” Flurry whispered. “Hmm?” “Our ugly friend. No way they’re working together. Maybe it’s, you know, a disguised changeling or something.” Nyx rolled her eyes. “Flurry, no thestral or changeling could do what this—” Just then, an alert klaxon echoed twice through the chamber’s walls, accompanied by the calm mare’s voice of the ship’s automated systems. “Warning: Main cannon safeties disengaged. Amplification pylon alignment at negative five percent deviation.” “Oh no,” Nyx murmured. “What’s that mean?” “I know what it’s doing now. There’s no target out there. The target is the Orion herself.” “What, you mean like turning the main gun inward or something?” Flurry asked. The black mare nodded slowly, filling Flurry’s heart with dread. “Wait, they came here to steal the ship. Now they wanna blow it up? Talk about sore losers.” “Flurry, I think that was the plan all along. We have no time to waste.” Okay then. Showtime. With that, Flurry felt the familiar onset of Nyx’s Darksight spell, which would allow her to see through the upcoming darkness. The monster might be as scary as your worst nightmare, but Nyx was the Nightmare. This thing would never know what hit it. Both alicorns leapt from the platform, extending their wings as they sped across the gap. The beast didn’t even turn to ready itself. It was too easy. Any moment now, Nyx’s void-casting spell would kick in, ensuring they held the advantage as she readied to beat the monster senseless. Blindness struck, but not in the way she expected. The black void spilled out from Nyx just how it should have, but now Flurry could see nothing. She became disoriented mid-flight and tumbled hard into a railing on the edge of some lower platform. She hung on by her forelegs, scrambling to get over the edge. Above her, Nyx’s voice cried out in pain, followed by the heavy flapping of her wings. What had happened? “Cancel it, I can’t see!” Flurry called out, her voice echoing through the chamber. The darkness lifted, revealing Nyx two levels above her, off to the side and sitting on her haunches. Flurry glanced quickly toward the windigo, seeing that it had resumed working at the terminal. She then launched herself into the air to get up to where Nyx was, only to find that she had to rely mostly on the aerodynamics of her wings to fly at all. Reaching the platform where Nyx sat, Flurry took a moment to catch her breath. “What the hell…” “Sorry, I didn’t expect it could do that,” Nyx grunted, wincing in pain. The plate armour on her left shoulder had been completely ripped off, revealing a three-claw gash in her flesh, dripping blood down her leg. “The darksight didn’t work. I went completely blind,” Flurry complained. “Same here,” Nyx echoed as she examined her wounded shoulder. “Damn, this hurts.” Flurry cast another glance back at the windigo, which was still ignoring them. “Look at that thing. It doesn’t even have the decency to put up a fight.” Nyx placed a hoof on a nearby railing, severing a length of steel and bending it in her telekinetic grip. “Still doing the thing?” Flurry asked. Nyx nodded. “Good news is it’s faded a bit.” Now, the monster had produced another device and was preparing to connect it with the workstation. “Hang on, I’m gonna try something,” Flurry stated as Nyx stood back up. The beast was still some thirty canters away, but Flurry reached out with her telekinesis, straining to be precise as she grabbed the object from the windigo’s claws. Nyx took the opportunity to send a pair of thin knives zipping towards its neck. “I’ll take that, thanks!” Flurry snarked triumphantly as she pulled the object away from its owner. Instantly, the creature reacted, pivoting to snatch the stolen device out of the air with its other claw. Flurry jerked backwards as her grip was snuffed out. Nyx’s blades reached their target, only to disintegrate into metallic dust, scattering against its hide. The windigo didn’t seem to notice as it then proceeded to calmly attach the device to the console. “Oh, come on!” Flurry lamented. This thing was really starting to piss her off. It was time to charge in. “Wait,” Nyx said, stopping Flurry in her tracks. “We do this together.” Flurry nodded. “I think it’s time for a war spell. I vote for Death Blossom.” “I’m too dry for DB,” Nyx replied, deflating Flurry’s hopes of watching the beast explode into meat-confetti. “Something simple then?” “I’ve got enough for a Night Lance.” Nyx spread her hooves in a wide stance and lowered her head, her horn crackling with indigo lightning.  “This is gonna take most of what I have left,” Nyx said through clenched teeth as a shaft of obsidian energy formed above their heads. “Just be ready to back me up.” As the shaft solidified, the windigo stopped what it was doing and turned to face them. It was then that Flurry noticed the odd gash which ran down the creature’s entire neck and chest. The folds of ragged flesh were splattered with blood and gore. Apparently, someone from Bravo team had scored a decent strike before falling. It bleeds, Flurry thought as she raised her shield in preparation for what was to come. Nyx finished her war spell, and with a cry, she loosed the bolt like an arrow from a bow. It streaked forward, producing an ominous howl as it parted the air. Her aim was true. The Night Lance struck the beast in the chest, exploding with a deafening crack of thunder. Flurry’s shield rippled as the shockwave passed over them, their manes billowing in the displaced air. As the smoke faded, they both stared slackjawed at what they saw. Unscathed from the blast, the creature simply stood there. At the point of impact, the monster’s skin shined a cold blue that pulsed through its body. The deck which it stood upon glowed a faint red from the heat before beginning to fade back to normal.  Nyx slumped against Flurry, her chest heaving as her horn fizzled and sparked weakly. “Are you kidding me?!” Flurry gasped. “That spell could have taken out a tank! What does it take to kill this thing?” “I think we’re wearing it down,” Nyx panted. “Oh yes, at this rate, he’ll burn out just after we do.” “Well, at least it’s not messing with the weapons console now,” Nyx noted as the windigo stared at them in silence. “We seem to have its attention.” The creature took slow, deliberate steps towards them, sending chills throughout Flurry’s body. It took everything she had to fight off the terror and maintain her focus. Nyx stood up once more, her expression that of cold fury as she drew a pair of short swords from her armour. Her fluid movements held back on a razor’s edge, Flurry could feel the tension about to release. Then, like the moment when a cat pounces, the black alicorn lunged forward with Flurry at her side. Contact. The opposing strength of a hundred mortals collided in an instant. Hooves pounded into flesh, talons ripped at armour, and heavy wings lifted impossibly strong bodies, positioning to the advantage of each. But unlike most encounters, all three quickly found that resolution would not come easily. With centuries of experience fighting together, the alicorn duo knew exactly how to perform an assault without getting in one another’s way. Each leapt and twisted, performing their deadly dance as they sought to bring down an avalanche of punishment onto the creature. It wasn’t as elegant as Flurry had hoped. All their thaumatic strength, including flight itself, felt muted, taking extra effort. The telekinetic blasts were only a fraction as effective as they should have been, but they were still enough to rough the beast up. Flurry attempted to wrench the creature’s head off but only succeeded in giving it a chiropractic adjustment. Nyx swirled about, slashing with her blades as Flurry moved to land several heavy kicks with her rear hooves into the monster’s ribs and face. With every blow, a strange pain built up in her hooves and legs. When the beast did strike back, it took Flurry’s breath away. Its wings flapped twice, rearing up before swiping Flurry with its vicious talons. She reacted by rising into the air herself, but it was too late. The blow landed on the back of her neck, near her withers. The pain was overwhelming. Nyx had thrust both of her blades fully into the monster’s back, stabbing multiple times, but if the windigo felt any pain, there was no sign. Flurry soon found herself flipped onto her back, trying to get her bearings and ignore the aching in her neck and hooves. The creature’s barbed tail whipped down, intent on burying the stinger into her heart. Before she could react, she felt her body sliding along the cold metal decking as Nyx telekinetically dragged her away. They needed to get some distance or this fight would turn to shit very quickly. With Nyx standing over her, Flurry focused on a platform two levels up on the opposite side of the chamber. Her horn fizzled as the teleport failed. She cursed under her breath, realizing her bag of tricks was nearly empty. “Try again,” Nyx urged. Flurry spared a quick glance at the windigo, seeing it flinch a bit before refocusing on her with its spine-chilling gaze. Each step closer caused her muscles to lock in place as she was overcome with dread. It lunged forward to strike, only to meet empty air. Both Nyx and Flurry appeared on the far upper deck in a flash of golden light, aching but alive. “What have we learned, oh dear cousin of mine?” Flurry asked, panting and wincing in pain. “I must have stabbed it a dozen times,” Nyx admitted. “Nyx, your blades…” Flurry stared wide-eyed at their jagged and dulled edges, now useless. They looked as if they had been left in a vat of acid overnight. “What the hell?” “Shields!” Nyx yelled, her horn glowing in an instant as her whole body tensed. Out of reflex, Flurry flipped over, righting herself just in time to see the windigo flying across the chamber in pursuit of its prey. The instant it collided with Nyx’s wall of energy, Flurry added her own to reinforce it. At the top of their game, Nyx and Flurry’s all-time record was just barely achieving a class seven shield, working together. Nothing short of the amplified weapons of a starship could breach it. Flurry watched nervously, knowing that she and her cousin were currently not at the top of their game. That and the windigo was using dirty tricks, making it anyone’s guess what would happen next. The monster slashed and kicked at the barrier for a moment before giving up and alighting on the same platform as the alicorns. It then calmly folded its wings, found the exact edge of the shield, and simply stood there unmoving, staring directly at them. “Great,” Flurry snarked in annoyance as she considered their predicament. “Looks like we have it right where it wants us. Time to spring your masterstroke, right, Nyx?” There was no reply except for her cousin giving her a panicked look. Flurry’s head slumped. “Winging it. Gotcha.” “I think its energy sink is about tapped,” Nyx noted. “The shield held.” “Hey, skinny! Go do something else, will ya?” Flurry yelled at the monster. “Unless you want a real ass-whooping,” she added. The creature remained, silently watching her. “Wow, you sure told him,” Nyx remarked with sarcasm. “Gah, that thing’s gaze creeps me out,” Flurry said. “Okay, we can’t just sit here. You’re the brains—got any ideas?” “Why is it you only admit that when we’re about to die?” Nyx asked. Flurry stared at her cousin for a moment, working her jaw for a comeback. Finally, she wagged a hoof at Nyx. “You… have a smartass remark coming, as soon as I can think of one. Remind me when this is over.” “Oh, I will. Just don’t strain yourself.” “Hey, I wasn’t the one who blew a Night Lance. How much juice you got left anyway?” “Not a lot,” Nyx admitted. “I’ll be honest, this isn’t looking good for us.” Flurry glanced around the chamber, looking for ideas. Her eyes fell on the power conduits below, feeding the main weapons system. “We’ve got all this power coming in; it’s a shame we can’t plug you into it or something.” There was a long pause where no one spoke. Curiosity got the better of her, prompting Flurry to walk up to where the windigo remained standing, just beyond their shield. “My goodness, you are shockingly ugly,” she muttered. She got a good look at the long gash extending down the creature’s neck and chest. The splatters of blood and gore along the ragged folds of flesh seemed out of place, given the bloodless wounds Nyx’s blades had caused elsewhere on its body. “I have an idea,” Nyx called from a few canters behind her. Flurry turned and trotted back to where she stood. “Good, I was getting bored,” Flurry quipped. “You find a way out of this mess?” “Maybe. See that terminal over there?” Nyx gestured to a workstation one level down, near the aft end of the chamber. “I need to spend some time there undisturbed, which means you need to distract our friend for a while.” “For how long?” Flurry asked as her skepticism began to rise. “As long as you can give me… sorry.” She gave Flurry a sympathetic look. “I’ll keep a shield ready, just in case, but you need to make yourself more of a threat than I am. When I give the word, you need to get the windigo to the centre of the bridge and keep it there.” Flurry glanced over the edge of the railing, looking down. About three decks above the bottom of the chamber, a walkway connected the fore and aft sections. Halfway across, the bridge widened into a circular observation platform, able to see the entire chamber from one spot. “Alright, go!” The shield fell. Flurry held her gaze on the windigo, which turned its head to follow Nyx as she flew off. Just as the beast was readying to give chase, Flurry slammed her body into it, knocking them both over the platform railing to plummet down towards the bottom of the chamber. Wings thrashed as both tried to right themselves, barely slowing as they slammed into the lower deck, just above the railgun barrels. Every point on Flurry’s body that had come into contact with the creature now ached with a dull, throbbing pain. It was as if her very flesh rebelled against its touch. She quickly scrambled to her hooves, avoiding a swipe from the windigo’s barbed tail. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the tail in her telekinesis and yanked hard, causing the creature to be whipped like a rag doll into the air and then slammed down onto the metal decking nearby. It then righted itself and stared hard into her eyes, apparently forgetting all about Nyx. “Okay, ugly. Let’s dance.” Flurry flung herself into the air in a spinning rear-hoof kick, landing squarely on the thing’s face, right below its eye socket. Before it could regain its balance, she reared and punched it repeatedly with her forehooves, kicking its neck and ribs as it twisted around. She then wrapped her forelegs around its neck, flapping her massive wings to raise them both into the air before diving hard, back down to the bridge level. At the last instant before crashing, she slammed the creature hard into the deck then teleported herself upward to buy some space. “Command authorization accepted,” the ship’s computer announced through the chamber. The complete silence of the monster as it took the punishment was unnerving. Flurry pondered whether or not she was even hurting it. No matter—she just needed to keep it busy while Nyx did her thing up at the workstation. With a quick glance around, she summoned the metal tools, crates, and other objects she had spotted earlier to come flying at her target from all directions. Flurry swooped down to take advantage of its distraction, only for the windigo to reach up and grab her foreleg tightly, using her own momentum to right itself. In the same move, it reached its other taloned claw around to grasp right next to the first. A crack echoed in her ear, followed by shooting pain as the windigo snapped her right foreleg, breaking the cannon bone right below the knee. Heavy metal objects fell out of the air around them as she cried out. Nyx shouted from somewhere above. “Flurry! Are you okay?” She was tempted to teleport up to where Nyx was, but she couldn’t risk messing up whatever her cousin was working on. To make things worse, she could feel herself running on empty, so teleporting wasn’t really an option anyway if she was going to keep up the fight.  With deadly precision, Flurry swung a nearby heavy wrench hard into the windigo’s head, causing it to let go of her and stagger back for a moment. Soon, a torrent of tools and various nearby debris came raining down on it. She scrambled back, keeping her broken foreleg held close to her body. “Looks like my usual approach of hitting it till it goes away is a bust,” she called back to Nyx. “I hope you don’t need much more time.” The creature swung at her repeatedly, each time being blocked by something held in Flurry’s telekinetic grip. At that moment, her rear hoof tripped on a pipe, causing her to slip. Seeing an opportunity, it charged. She tried grabbing it by the head, causing the beast to lose its balance and roll sideways over her, pinning her broken foreleg against her chest. “Aaahh!!” At that moment, something struck her head. Hard. Flurry had been in many drunken brawls in her life which had resulted in heavy objects getting slammed into her head. But nothing was even close to this. Her vision spun, and she saw stars. The ringing in her ears drowned out Nyx’s cries of concern, her ears barely picking up the ship’s computer acknowledging commands. No! Flurry thought. I’m not going out like this. Through the pain, she forced herself to remain conscious. Then, she was backhanded again. And again. The monster didn’t seem to be trying to kill her at this point. It was more like it wanted to pummel her into submission. “How you holding up?” came Nyx’s distant voice, which almost sounded underwater at this point. “Just peachy,” Flurry spat out, along with a gob of blood. “I think all these blows into my head are starting to tire him out.” At that, she blacked out for just a second, then came to with the creature standing over her while she lay on her back, its talons sunk deep into the flesh of her shoulders. Then, Flurry saw it. That blood-soaked gash running down the monster’s neck and chest. It wasn’t a wound at all. It quivered and slid until the folds of ragged skin peeled back. The monster’s whole chest and underbelly split, revealing rows of crystalline teeth and a fetid stench of decay. It then leaned forward, its unnatural maw spreading wide, eager to devour her. Oh shit. Flurry could hear screaming, and it took a moment for her to realise it was coming from her. Raw terror the likes of which she'd never felt before raced through her body as those jaws flexed. A clear fluid dribbled from its mouth onto her belly, the liquid sending a cold burning sensation up her body. It's drooling on me! Flurry's mind screamed as long, fleshy tongues reached for her. No no no!! <=======ooO Ooo=======> Swan paused to catch her breath as Alpha team arrived at the forward tram station. “And there’s the car. I told you,” Fire Hawk teased Princess as they approached. “That would have been nice,” Princess replied. “My hooves are killing me.” “And who here believes Princess would have fit through the tramcar door?” Priest pointed out. There was an awkward cough, but no one replied. “Yeah, screw you, stripes,” Princess shot back at the zebra. The long trot through the central corridor along the neck of the ship had finally come to an end, and Swan was wondering how much further they had to go before they caught up with the alicorns. “We’re nearly there, right?” she asked Echo, hoping for some good news. The mare nodded. “I’ll try and reach them.” Echo tapped her holo-brace, bringing up her communication interface. “Bravo team, this is Alpha Lead. Do you copy?” There was a pause, causing Swan’s stomach to tighten up. “I say again, Bravo team, do you copy?” An electronic click sounded, followed by a mare’s hushed voice. “Alpha Lead, this is the captain. We have a bit of a situation here. You may want to hold back and let us handle it.” “Copy that, captain. Are you sure?” A pause. “Uh… no, not really. Sorry, I have to go.” At this, the channel went silent. “What the hell?” Fire Hawk asked. “That sounded like an invitation to me,” Princess added. “What do you say, Echo?” “We go in. Carefully,” Echo replied. The team of five made their way past the tram station into the corridor leading to Forward Fire Control. “Oh… oh hell,” Fire Hawk said. “Are you serious?” The blast door was painted in blood and had a giant hole ripped straight through it. What had they stumbled into? Swan swallowed dryly, trying to keep her nerves in check. One by one, the team made their way into the next room. Before they could even look around, a horrified scream echoed in from beyond the next door, chilling Swan to the bone. What frightened her even more was that she recognized the voice. “Flurry!” The team rushed through a circular doorway, entering a vast chamber several decks tall and lined with metal platforms. Everyone paused to try and make sense of the situation. In the dead centre of the chamber was a bridge, two levels up. And on that bridge was… something. Swan’s mind locked up for a moment. What was she seeing? Whatever it was, it set off every instinct the mare had to fly away and hide. Flesh. Claws. Wings. Teeth—lots of teeth.  What she did recognize was Flurry Heart, screaming in terror as she fought against some kind of monster that was trying to eat her. Flurry had her hind legs pressed up against it, using them to hold its maw open. At the same time, she had a thick steel cable looped around its neck, pulling back with her telekinetic power as it strained to engulf her. “Check your fire!” Echo ordered from the front. “We don’t want to hit Flurry.” Swan watched in horror as Echo was ordering the team to look for a way to the upper platforms. Flurry didn’t have time for that. Any moment now, and she would be overwhelmed. The pegasus fought off her urge to flee, building the resolve to do what she had to do. There was only one flyer among them. It was up to her now. “I can get it off her,” Swan blurted out to Echo. The earth pony glanced back at her, eyes falling on her wings. She gave a quick nod. “Go.” With that, Swan darted upward, passing beyond the first two levels until she came to a hover a short distance above the bridge, off to the side a bit. From here, she could see that Flurry was not doing well. The alicorn was covered in gashes and bruises, with far too much blood staining her coat. The pegasus took careful aim with her changeling pulse rifle while hovering in place, praying she wouldn’t end up shooting Flurry by accident. Her hoof pressed against the trigger, causing a triple bolt of energized plasma to strike the monster’s back. It didn’t react. Flurry’s eyes darted to notice her for a split second before returning to the creature on top of her. “Swan! Get out of here!” Another burst came from Swan’s rifle, striking the beast’s neck. This time, the monster did look up to notice her. Those glowing empty eye sockets sent chills of terror down her spine as she instinctively backed away, still hovering in place. Suddenly, the horror abandoned Flurry, opening up its disgusting leathery wings to give chase. Swan turned and fled as fast as her wings could carry her, upward to the far reaches of the chamber. Her heart rate doubled as her adrenaline-fueled panic carried her higher and higher. Nearing the ceiling, she banked to the left, looking around the chamber to plot her course back down. Her peripheral vision caught sight of the pursuing beast on her tail. She was definitely faster in the enclosed space, but she knew she couldn’t keep this up for long. Shouts filtered into her ears from below as her team urged her to escape. Below, she spotted Nyx on one of the platforms, keeping half an eye on the chase while she was flipping through a holographic interface. Swan guessed whatever Nyx was doing was important enough to keep her out of the fight, so she needed to keep the monster away from her. After her second loop around the upper deck of the chamber, Swan plunged down, weaving beneath platforms and keeping the monster on her tail. It was like a sparrow being chased by a hawk—one false move and she’d be done for. Her wings were aching now. She just needed to keep this up a little longer. Passing down below the bridge now, she darted beneath it and then swiftly dipped to the ground level. She flared her wings, banking sharply and causing the pursuing beast to fall behind a little way as its agility could not match hers. Swan’s flight ended as she alighted amongst her team with the beast landing nearby. Princess was ready. Her rotary cannon was already spun up and aimed. The monster charged at them in eerie silence, only to be met with a hail of bullets and flying bolts of plasma. Echo stood in front of the team, her own rifle trained on the monster as she fired constantly. Princess held position beside Echo, her massive gun firing bursts of hot death in the beast’s direction. The creature made no sound as it quickly banked away, dodging and weaving. Swan watched from behind Princess, wondering if the thing was even being hit. For all their efforts, it kept flying around erratically as if trying to get them to waste their ammunition. Princess ceased firing as everyone watched the monster’s movements. A moment later, it ducked below the first platform, speeding along the ground level in a fast, wide arc that would bring it directly to them. “There it is! Fire!” Echo shouted at the unexpected move, swinging her rifle around. Swan could hear Princess’s big gun spinning back up, but it was too late. Echo landed several direct hits before the monster swooped in and snatched her away at full speed. “No!” Swan yelled in horror as the thing landed some distance away on the opposite side of the chamber. Fire Hawk went ablaze and galloped towards the creature. Everyone else held their fire, watching helplessly as Echo was clutched in place, in front of the beast, blocking their shot. At this, the monster’s whole torso opened up, revealing a gaping maw filled with enormous teeth and stretchy ligaments. What looked like long tongues quickly wrapped around the mare, pulling her inside. The jaws clenched shut, and Swan heard a sickening crunch. Fire Hawk reached her target, leaping onto its back for only a moment before flopping onto the ground herself, wailing in pain. “Ahh!! I’m burning!” The kirin extinguished herself, running off to the side as smoke billowed from vents in her armour. Then, the monster shook its head, flinching oddly. The maw opened once more, spitting Echo’s body back out onto the metal decking. Princess took aim, but Swan pushed at the gun just as it opened fire, throwing her aim off. “Look!” Swan shouted. Echo was moving, trying to stand up. She was still— Then, the beast grabbed Echo by the head with its talons and ripped it right off her shoulders before discarding it on the floor. Time stopped for what felt like a lot longer than two seconds. “Nooooo!!” Princess screamed suddenly as she sent an endless deluge of bullets at the horror. Priest also fired off several shots with his sniper rifle, trying to hit the now moving target. The sound was deafening, but Swan didn’t care. She opened up full-auto with her pulse rifle, trying to track the monster as it flew off to hide amongst the upper platforms. The rifle soon fell silent as its CAPS cell went dry. Swan tossed the weapon aside, quickly running towards Echo’s broken form at the forward end of the chamber. The rest of the team followed, stopping in front of the body. Fire Hawk fell to her knees, a look of anguish on her face. Priest muttered words quietly to himself. Princess was clearly struggling to contain her rage as they all saw what had become of their friend. Soon, the monster swooped down once more in an attempt to grab another victim, only for Princess’s chaingun to awaken, sending the beast scampering for cover. The mustang kept her glistening eyes on the upper decks, watching for any movement. For the moment, there was silence. Swan looked down upon Echo’s body, lying in a slowly expanding pool of blood. The head lay nearby, eyes open and vacant. She had to look away, holding back a sob. Echo and her friends had shown a side of life she had never been exposed to before—to be more than mere property of a cruel and abusive master. It didn’t matter that she was a dirt pony. She had accepted Swan despite her inexperience. For a brief moment, the pegasus had felt a taste of a different and better life. And now, all that was rapidly fading away. A click sounded from the holo-brace attached to Echo’s foreleg, followed by a familiar voice. “Alpha Lead, what’s the situation?” Swan put a hoof to her lips. It was Nyx—she didn’t know. Swan glanced up, unable to see the alicorn as she would be several decks directly above their position. She glanced at Fire Hawk and Priest, unsure if she should… They nodded. Approaching the body, Swan reached out and tapped the holo-brace, bringing up the comms interface. “Nyx, we… We lost Echo.” Swan could barely speak the words. A pause and another click. “Oh… Oh, I’m so sorry,” came the somber reply. “Nyx, we don’t know what to do here. What’s happening?” “Listen, the windigo is going to be very hungry right about now. You have to avoid it,” Nyx warned. “Windigo? That’s a windigo?” “Yeah. Do not engage, understand?” Holy shit, holy shit, Swan thought. Of course, she knew about the windigo; they had randomly terrorized all the pony colonies for centuries. But only rarely, and only their ships had ever been seen. Even then, few had survived to tell about them. “Princess is covering,” Swan replied. “I think she has it pinned a couple decks up.” “Copy that,” Nyx said. “I can see it from here. It’s watching your position very carefully.” “What do we do?” “I’m nearly finished. I have a plan, but it relies on Flurry. Swan, can you check on her?” Swan swallowed nervously. “Maybe.” Priest walked up and gave her an auto-injector. “Give her this,” he said. Princess spoke up, her eyes still glued on the upper decks. “You go on. I got you covered, kid.” With that, Swan leapt into the air towards the bridge above. Her eyes darted all around, searching for the monster that hunted them. She alighted on the bridge, not far from Flurry. At first, Swan’s heart sank, unsure if the alicorn was even still alive. From what she saw, Flurry’s body was not in much better condition than Echo’s. She was a bloody, broken mess, far worse than Swan had guessed from seeing her earlier. Blood had caked onto her coat around numerous deep gashes that looked like knife wounds. Her face was swollen and badly bruised. A mixture of black and white feathers lay scattered about from the scuffle she had endured, and her wings lay limp and twisted awkwardly. Strange red welts had also formed on the inner parts of her forelegs and chest. Suddenly, a torrent of bullets whizzed by as Princess fired upwards from the ground level. Swan turned her head just in time to see the windigo break off its attack and fly back to its hiding spot. She had nearly just been picked off like Echo. That was two she owed the mustang now. Pausing to give her heart a moment to calm down, she approached the alicorn lying before her. “Flurry…” Swan spoke softly, prodding her shoulder a little. “Flurry, wake up.” To her relief, Flurry sucked in a deep breath through her nostrils, wincing in pain before opening her eyes to meet Swan’s gaze. “I won’t ask if you’re okay. But…” Swan shook her head in astonishment. “But how are you doing? I mean, where are you hurt?” Flurry looked away, to the side. “It would be easier to describe where I’m not hurt,” Flurry mumbled weakly before wincing again. “That way, I wouldn’t have to say anything.” A smartass even near death. Swan held back a chuckle. “Swan,” she continued, looking back into the pegasus’ eyes. “I’m… I’m happy to see you,” she said. Swan smiled. “I’m happy to see you too, Flurry.” “But, I’m sad… because now we’ll both die.” “Don’t say that,” Swan urged. “You’ll think of something. You always do. Last Sh— Your reputation as the uncatchable mare? No way some ugly monster can get the better of you. Not after all that.” “I appreciate that, thanks. But we have no hope of beating this thing,” Flurry replied. “I’m about spent. Maybe five percent. Seven if I’m lucky. Eventually, Princess will run out of ammo, and then it will kill us all.” “What about Nyx?” “You should have seen her, Swan,” Flurry said as she closed her eyes. “The assault she put that thing through…” Swan had about enough of this talk. She grabbed the injector Priest had given her and pressed it against Flurry’s neck. A slight hiss sounded as the device pushed some pink fluid into her bloodstream. “Not to change the subject, but I’m not ready to give up just yet,” Swan insisted. “Oh wow. Where did you get that?” Flurry asked as she moved her head back and forth, eyes now blinking open and alert. “Feels like some of that sweet zebra go-juice I haven’t had in years.” “Okay, so how do we beat this thing?” Swan asked with urgency. Flurry tried and failed to sit up. “Ow. The windigo needs to eat,” she explained. “It dawned on me while I was staring down that thing’s gullet. When we first started the fight, it just ignored us. After it took a lot of damage, that’s when it tried to eat me. Must be how it regenerates. Swan, if it eats at all, there’ll be no stopping it.” “Mirrorspace navigation parameters set. Ready to engage,” the ship’s computer announced. “What the hell? Did Nyx get the engines working?” Flurry asked. “Not possible,” Swan stated. “We found a changeling technician after you left. The power lines to the engines are physically ripped out. I’m guessing the windigo did that.” “Swan, is Flurry okay?” Nyx called out from above. “Not really. She’s awake though.” “It’s time. Flurry knows what to do,” Nyx stated. Swan glanced up to notice Nyx leaning her head over the railing, watching the bridge below. “Prop me up, Swan,” Flurry grunted as she shifted and struggled. Swan got behind the alicorn, pushing behind her shoulders until she began to shift upright. “Owwww… watch the leg!” Flurry whined. “Just a bit more.” With Flurry resting against her chest, Swan held her upright enough that she could see in front of them. “Now we just have to get our buddy to come join us. Do you think he’d come down if I gave him a sexy dance?” Flurry asked while gritting her teeth in pain. Swan looked around the chamber. She knew the windigo was watching, and the only thing keeping them alive was— “Hey, Princess,” Swan called out loudly. “You alright up there?” came the distant reply from below. “Yeah. Can you do me a favor? I need you to step back against the wall, below the forward platform.” A pause. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Swan,” Princess replied. “I can’t cover you from that angle.” “You sure about this?” Swan quietly asked Flurry.  The alicorn nodded. “It’s okay. Trust me,” Swan called back before speaking softly to Flurry. “Now we find out how smart this thing is.” Swan sat with Flurry, watching the platforms above. Then, it happened. The windigo leapt down at them, eager to claim its next meal. There was no fire support from below. A golden glow shone from Flurry’s horn as the windigo was snagged in midair and slammed hard down onto the small circular platform at the centre of the bridge. Swan could feel Flurry’s body tense as she held the mare up to make sure she had a clear view. The windigo thrashed and fought against her grip until the steel cable Flurry had been using before wrapped itself around the creature’s talons. Flurry grunted and strained, her horn now shining brightly. For a moment, Flurry’s power sputtered, and the windigo looked about to break free before she managed to regain control. “Hold it right there!” Nyx urged from above. “I’m gonna burn out soon!” Flurry called out. “Just a few more seconds. Hang on to something!” “Jump point activated,” the ship’s computer announced. An impossibly bright flash appeared directly on the bridge, just beyond where the windigo was pinned. The familiar sight of a swirling mirrorspace vortex appeared inside the ship, only this one was much, much smaller than every other vortex Swan had seen in her life. With a sound like a wild Caelum hurricane, huge volumes of air emptied into the maelstrom beyond. Flurry’s horn went dark, releasing the monster into the heart of the storm. The creature had nearly vanished when its great talons dug into the metal decking of the bridge. Slowly but steadily, it clawed its way back out.  Oh shit. In an instant, the vortex collapsed, returning the area fully to normal space. A portion of the bridge was simply gone… as was the rear half of the windigo’s body, cleanly cut where the breach into the realm of mirrorspace had been. The front half of the monster lay still. It was over. With this, Flurry slumped loosely against Swan’s body, passing out cold.