//------------------------------// // 28. [Rainbow Dash] Highway to Hell // Story: Deep Rock Equestria: Into The Abyss // by The Atlantean //------------------------------// Full Mission Roll: 6 Eggs, 14 Ebonuts, Haz 2, Magma Core Warning: Low Oxygen, Anomaly: Critical Weakness Machine Event: Ebonite Mutation Encounters: N/A Extra Resources: Compressed Gold x1 Mission Special Beer: Pots O' Gold Roll System in Final Phase “Hey girls, are you up for a Low Oxygen mission?” Rainbow Dash asked the next morning as they all gathered around the Mission Assignment Table. “It’s got Critical Weakness, too. Six eggs and 14 Ebonuts in the Magma Core.” Sunset crossed her arms. “If we do this, make it Haz 2. I don’t want it to be too difficult--especially since we haven’t experienced a Low Oxygen mission yet.” “Sounds good to me,” Rarity agreed. “Applejack, dear, what do you think?” “Ah reckon we can handle it. We’ve handled worse, even with all that’s happenin’.” “Very well. Rainbow Dash, set it in, and we’ll meet back here for final preparations. I’ve already bought a round of today’s special beer, which is Pots O’ Gold. We could use the credits.” --------------------------------- The Drop Pod clanged through the fiery hot rock of the Magma Core for several minutes and finally crashed to the cavern floor. The doors slid open, and Rainbow jogged down the ramp with the others close behind. “Watch your oxygen tanks,” Rarity warned. “We’ll only have about a minute before we start to suffocate. Molly can refill your tanks, so don’t wander too far from her. Resupplies work as well, but they could take a moment to reach you, so be careful.” “Yes, Mom,” Rainbow replied. She rolled her eyes. Just a quick in-and-out, nothing much. They were going to be fine. Honestly, Rarity worried too much. The Magma Core was the last biome in their grand tour of Hoxxes, and it didn’t take much to see why. The entire cave was covered in a dark orange haze and filled with a thin layer of smoke from the burning fires of molten rock and flaming geysers. Although her shield protected her from the temperatures, Rainbow knew it was a mellow 400 degrees Celsius at the hottest with a plethora of hazards that would give a Wonderbolt nightmares for weeks. Besides the lava geysers and patches of half-melted rock, the Magma Core was also home to explosive plants, smaller vents in the floor that spewed more flame than lava but came in large groups, and earthquakes as the tectonic plates of Hoxxes drifted across the planet’s mantle. The Drop Pod ascended to the surface, and Rainbow immediately noticed that the oxygen reading on her wrist panel started dwindling. Just standing away from the M.U.L.E. made it drop like a rock. She spent thirty seconds exploring before she had to return to refill her tanks. Molly had an oxygen generator mounted to each of her four corners that hissed as they constantly released breathable air into the nearby cave. Sunset grappled in to refill her tanks and dump some gold and Nitra into Molly’s near-endless storage. Her longer hair whipped around a little from the constant airflow, and her suit sported a couple small tanks on its back to facilitate her breathing. “That’s all for this room,” she reported, “unless AJ or Rarity found anything special.” Rarity bounded into the light as her suit screamed all sorts of alarms at her. As soon as she was close enough for her tanks to draw in oxygenated air, the alarms shut off with a twirp. “Three seconds left,” she panted. “No, I didn’t find anything. Applejack opened up the tunnel to the main room, but she should be back in a second.” Applejack joined them a moment later and dumped some more gold into Molly. “Nothin’ but gold,” she said. “Ah reckon we gotta go deeper for the eggs.” Rainbow snorted. “That’s what she said.” Rarity shot her a murderous, hostile look that made Rainbow quiet immediately with a mumbled apology. Seriously, that girl had one hell of a burr up her backside. What was up with her today? First, she was all anal about the oxygen (which wasn’t really that much of a problem if they paid attention to their tank levels), and now she couldn’t handle a joke that wasn’t even aimed at her! They marched through the tunnel, making sure to keep close to Molly as they went. When the main egg cave opened up, Rainbow saw a huge spire of lava burst from the ground nearby and shower bits of rock everywhere for a few seconds before dying down again. “There’s the first egg,” Sunset said, gesturing with her laser pointer. “Let’s get this done and move on.” Rainbow followed the laser with her eyes. Sighing, she switched to her zipline launcher and aimed at the goop. She felt a slight kick of recoil when she fired. Hooking herself to the zipline, she let it winch her up and to the egg while the others split off to do a quick search of the nearby area. She dug out the egg, and the Glyphid scream echoed through the cavern. Some bugs came at her, but she was already back on the zipline and sliding to Molly. She deposited her findings and pulled out her minigun. A quick bzzzt and they were gone. Her tanks refilled. Another Glyphid screamed. Applejack bounded around a pillar of rock, torching a mini-swarm tailing her. Moments later, a flare arced into the ceiling. “I got one!” Sunset called from the bottom of the crevice where the flare had come. “I’m gonna toss it up. Catch it!” Rainbow went first since Applejack’s tanks were refilling again. “Alright, Sunset, send it up,” she said when she reached the edge. Looking down, she saw Sunset about thirty feet down with an egg in her hands and a bunch of bugs around her. She aimed and fired, sending down a hail of bullets. Some of the bugs screeched. Some simply collapsed. Sunset dropped the egg and blasted the closest two with her shotgun. “That’s a little far,” Rainbow called. “You gotta find a way around.” Sunset grappled up and darted to Molly. Her suit alarms blared. A few seconds later, she came back. “A zipline, Rainbow,” she grumbled. “Too steep,” Rainbow replied. “I can’t do near-vertical.” Sunset made her way down and found the long way around. By the time she returned to Molly with her suit blaring and her face turning blue, Rarity had found some Nitra. Rarity was depositing, Rainbow was looking around from the top of her zipline, and Applejack had wandered off for more eggs. Sunset coughed and collapsed just out of range of Molly’s generators. “Rainbow, Sunset’s down!” Rarity called. “Cover me!” Rainbow spun like a helicopter on overwatch and watched as Rarity grabbed the egg before it rolled down into the crevice again, dumped it, and revived Sunset. She then zipped down to refill her tanks. Applejack returned as well. “Bloody Macteras are onto you, Team,” Mission Control reported. “Best dig in, and get ready.” Rarity called in a resupply. Sunset fired another flare. Everyone checked their tanks and ammo. The airborne bugs flew into the light, and the fight began. --------------------------------- Many hours later, the Drop Pod docked to the Space Rig with a loud series of clanks and groans. Rainbow coughed and sputtered the final bubbles of toxic gas out of her lungs. Rarity had been right: Low Oxygen was not to be taken lightly. The door slid open to reveal Twilight Sparkle waiting for them with a tablet in one hand and a stylus in the other. Her glasses were a little dirty and her eyes were tired, but she looked as energetic as ever. “You got your mission, Sunset,” she said. “Management approved your plan this morning. As I said, they’re grasping for anything that might help. An Ommoran Heartstone was detected in the Radioactive Exclusion Zone while you were out, and you’re going in to get it tomorrow. Get some rest while you can--it’s going to be a long day for all of you.”