//------------------------------// // Subject 187: Phantom Strains // Story: Interviews With Equestrians // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// The plan was simple. Guttersnipe would go out there and mechanically alter one of the mines. Thanks to the protection offered by Silverstream, her blood wouldn’t cause them to go off, and she’d be safe to pass through in order to both defuse and locate the source of its power. “Alright, I’m ready,” my red pegasus-seapony friend proclaimed. She was on the balcony of the Western wing of the underwater palace, raring to swim off. “Remember, this won’t last forever, alright?” Silverstream warned her after she traced a little symbol on Guts’ back with her hoof, “Do all that you can out there, but don’t endanger yourself.” Terramar also gave her words of encouragement. “If you hit trouble, turn back immediately. There is absolutely no point in throwing your life away so readily.” Guts turned her head to look at the strange rune, and tilted her eyes up to the royal siblings. “Relax, you two. I’ve been all over the world and have dealt with all sorts of deadly explodey things. Just watch me work.” The rune started to take effect, and she was surrounded by a protective pink aura that matched Silverstream’s colors. From there, she swam off towards the field of explosives… All the sudden, I heard the royal princess address me. “Hey. Quick. If you don’t mind me asking...what’s up with those metal wings of hers?” Terramar nudged his sister, and shot her an annoyed glare. “Ahem. Silver--that’s a bit rude. It’s not right to ask about something so personal. Especially behind her back.” “Oh come on,” Silverstream rolled her eyes, “Don’t act like you weren’t curious Terry.” “Of course I am,” he replied with his eyes narrowed to judgemental slits, “But I’ve learned to not intrude on the privacy of others, Silvy.” She scoffed, and retorted with a little giggle. “Hehe. That’s because you’ve spent too much time down here to where you--” I decided to break things up at that moment because it was ultimately a waste of time. “Excuse me!” I shouted to catch their attention. “Anyway...don’t worry about it so much. She actually encourages asking about it to avoid things being awkward.” “Oh…” Terramar relaxed, “I suppose that’s alright, then. I won’t pry, but I am interested as to how those metal wings function.” “So am I!” Silverstream shouted, “Really hoping we can get to see her fly at some point.” They were in for a treat. Still, I wasn’t going to give them all the answers right away. They had to work up the gumption to ask Gutsy themselves. “Yeah...you just might get to see that if we’re lucky...or unlucky. Depending on which way this goes.” Out near the aquatic minefield... I knew I could do this. Easy as pie, yo. Quick was counting on me, so I knew that I had to do whatever I could to see this through. I swam as fast and hard as I could. What a rush it was, let me tell ya. The aura barrier that Silverstream gave me was the perfect defensive tool against the magnetic fuses of these mines. I just had to be careful, and take my time to defuse at least one to discern the source. Okay, it was time. I crept up to one of the gross, large black spikeballs, and eventually found the wiring interface. So far so good, am I right? Well it was only going to get crazier from there. Why? “Okay, let’s see what you’re hiding…” I mumbled under my breath. I unscrewed the faceplate with a screwdriver, and picked out a pair of wire cutters. Both came from the super-handy compartment within my left wing. Cool ain’t it? So I took a look inside and came across dozens of wires. All of them looked to be magically enhanced by the way the ions moved. How could I tell? Trust me. I just had an eye for these kinda things. And also because I could visualize the directions in which each hint of magic travelled from within those wires. As an explosive specialist it was my job to be on top of these things that nopony else could pick up on. But the very second I reached out to get a feel for the wires, I felt something in my head. A magical spark that traveled up my spine. “Agh…” I started to feel...strained. It was as if the water around me had started to solidify and increased in density. Imagine being crushed from all sides with no way to escape. Not even trying to hold your breath would work because you would only blow out your eardrums. Yeah, it was crazy. But just why was this happening? That’s when it hit me. There was some sort of nerve-gas in this thing that was set to go off. What’s more, is that I felt extra afraid because this is exactly how I felt when I had my wings torn to shreds by bite-acudas. “Ghh...hrrk…” My body started to feel numb. I lost the sensation in my wings and it felt like I started to relive that horrid memory all over again. If I were to die here, I would never see my friends again and they’d miss me dearly and I...no… No. I refused. This was clearly done on purpose...someone wanted me to feel this way. And I had to fight it. Come on, Guts...you can do this. I focused twice as hard in order to inspect each wire. All the while, I ignored the underlying tension that built up in my body. Soon, I felt like I weighed a ton of bricks from the amount of pressure. But I didn’t die. Was it because of my determined nature, or was it a secondary torture method used to keep someone like me suffering forever? Well...I could tell that I was about to find out. The source was close. Very close. But my anxiety had reached its limit. I couldn’t stand this anymore. I had to get some air! “AGGGGH! GAH! MAKE IT STOP!!” I let out a shrill, bloodcurdling scream as soon as I reached the surface of the water and could breath air again. From the way I shouted...Quick and the royal siblings were sure to follow soon...