//------------------------------// // Thunder's Peak // Story: Mass Effect: Element of Kindness // by CommanderApplejack //------------------------------// Chapter 159 Thunder's Peak Take Gilda with to Thunder's peak. 90% Looking back at Gilda Fluttershy couldn’t help but smirk. “Certainty of death with a small chance of success... what do you say, Gilda?” “WHAT?! Nonononono, you’re not dragging me all the way over there!” She scrambled back in panic, looking over at Grandpa Gruff. “You can’t be considering that!” Grandpa Gruff for his part took his time to think over the proposition before turning to Fluttershy. “You’re going to make sure that she’ll remain in one piece?” “Grandpa!” “Of course, if I thought she’d die out there then I’d be going alone,” Fluttershy answered, not that it did anything to reassure Gilda. “As long as you keep her alive she's yours. The rest of you, we have griffins to assemble in case they come back!” Granpa gruff shouted at the others, getting them into gear and leaving Gilda alone with Fluttershy. “If this is about those few times I stole your lunch money or that one time I scared you and your ducks then I’m very sorry, can’t I just pay you back and have you forget you ever saw me?” Gilda pleaded, scurrying back from the pegasus who was advancing towards her with a slightly manic grin. “Please don’t make me go there...” Fluttershy wrapped a wing around the griffin and pulled her close. “Come on, where’s your sense of adventure! An old base, filled with danger and treasure just waiting to be taken! Becoming the first griffin to ever return from there!” “Or to just become more red paint...” Gilda whimpered. “Details, details, you have me to keep you safe remember!” Fluttershy’s grin grew further. “Now, I expect you to get enough supplies for the both of us for a day or three. I’ll see you on the eastern side of town, don’t bother trying to find me I’ll find you when you get there.” Opening her wings, Fluttershy shot off into the sky, leaving Gilda alone to do her allotted task. “I’m dead already aren’t I?” The way to Thunder’s Peak was still a good day by flight, making it so they arrived by the end of the afternoon. Gilda tossing down her bags to get some food out. She was obviously more nervous now she was sitting in the shadow of the mountain. “Gilda, eat up. I’m going to need you sharp here, there’s no joking around once we get started,” Fluttershy had swapped out the teasing with a deadly serious expression, she might have her fun but she was a professional. “Yeah, sounds good to me,” Gilda replied, still nervous but the change in attitude from Fluttershy looked to be helping with that. “How are we going about this? Cause seriously, we aren’t even sure if we’re going to find anything out here.” “Griffins don’t just disappear into nothingness or turn up as bits and pieces,” Fluttershy countered as she ate some of the salad Gilda had picked up. “How much news have you picked up from the sudden technological boom in Equestria?” Gilda shrugged as she bit down on her meal. “Something about you finding an alien base and getting stuff out of there. Sounds like typical pony luck to me.” “It’s not an alien base, it’s an ancient one of our own. My guess is there’s another one here that belonged to your kind only its defensive systems are a bit hyper-vigilant,” Fluttershy quickly filled Gilda in with a two-sentence summary. “I’ll take the lead when going in, that way when we activate the defences I’ll be the first target.” “If you’re going to voluntarily risk your life to act as a meatshield for me then feel free to go ahead,” Gilda dryly responded. “Ye have little faith,” Fluttershy laughed. “Now come on, point me to one of those caves where no-one ever leaves so the fun can start.” Stashing away all the food again, Gilda lead Fluttershy up the mountain to a particularly large cave entrance. Letting Fluttershy land first as if landing herself would trigger some catastrophic event. The pegasus took a careful step in, using her newly found changeling abilities to enhance her sight, along with a quick pulse from her omni-tool to see if it would pick up a power signature or anything to give away a trap. “Entrance looks clear to me. I’d say stay close but that’ll probably put you into the line of fire if anything does happen,” Fluttershy said without taking her gaze off the cave in front of her. “Nothing ventured nothing gained, right?” Gilda gave a grunt in reply as Fluttershy walked in, keeping her eyes fixed on the walls for any movement and wings lit for any split-second decisions. Her hoofsteps echoed through the cave, the only other sound that of dripping water deeper in as she advanced. Cautiously checked where she set her hooves down every step while also observing for more advanced forms of sensors as the glow from her biotics became the only source of lighting. "Wait what? that can't be right?" Gilda said as they reached a dead end, the cave abrubtly closing off with rubble. Fluttershy sent a pulse into the rocks to see if her scanner could pick anything up. "If not we'll try another cav-" Rock cracked, a low rumble going through the cave. Both Gida and Fluttershy tensed and looked around, one expecting to be thrown into a meat grinder and the other ready to tear out whatever trap was going to spring up. The ground rumbled, making the rocks on the collapsed end roll away and Fluttershy's omni-tool scream loudly as it detected a huge energy spike. Without hesitation she tackled Gilda to the wall and threw up a biotic shield. Not a second too late as the wall of collapsed rock that was blocking them exploded outwards in a scattershot of bolders, pebbles, and dust. More sounds of cracking stone echoing through the cave, only this time it was coming from above. "We got to get out!" Gilda shouted in terror. "No! We go in!" Dropping her biotic shield, Fluttershy let herself and Gilda be engulfed by the dust. The griffin held onto the cloth of Fluttershy's cloak for dear life as their eyes stung in the near zero visibility, the pegasus dragging her deeper through the blown away wall as rocks started dropping down again to fill the void. Through the cloud of dust Fluttershy faintly noticed something looking like a turret glowing red but dimming quickly. A good guess to her was that was most likely the cannon that had just fired at them was cooling down for another shot. "You got to move faster!" she encouraged Gilda who was yet to be anything other than quite literally be a drag. At the end of this section of cave they found another wall, this one sheer faced with a door in it along with what looked like an access pad. Not that she'd have long to investigate as the turret had rotated one-eighty degrees and pointed straight at them. 1. Try opening the door. 2. Try deflecting the shot with biotics. 3. Try destroying the turret. [Vote link]