//------------------------------// // 06. Foreign // Story: Metroid: Ghosts of Harmony // by Flammenwerfer //------------------------------// [Castle of Friendship | Later That Night…] Once again, that was probably some of the best food Samus had the pleasure of stuffing down her gullet in a good while. The small bit of alcohol that Twilight and Spike had—and very generously shared with her—was also a nice bonus. A figurative confection to see off a hard-fought day in enjoying tempered spoils of their first victory. If there was one thing Samus knew she needed more in her life, it was exactly that. And maybe a little more alcohol. She could definitely get used to some more of that ‘Crystallian Cutie,’ or whatever the hell Twilight called it. That’s also when Samus learned that Spike, despite his size, was quite the lightweight. He retired a little earlier than expected… and perhaps a bit unwillingly. With her thirst quenched and her stomach full thanks to her gracious hosts, Samus found herself relaxing and consolidating the day’s events up in the main common room of the castle. The storm outside continued to rage in earnest with zero signs of abating any time soon… which gave Samus the perfect white noise in the form of raindrops striking the massive window panes looking over what was once Ponyville. The view was calming to say the least, and reminded Samus of many times she relaxed by her lonesome on Tallon IV, or when the occasional, powerful rainstorm would grace Zebes’ surface. Samus—hair free from the confines of her usual ponytail—found herself less-and-less reviewing her notes and scan logs, and more-and-more staring out the window and getting lost in the watercolor view, courtesy of the rain splatter. Well, as long as the view could be enjoyed. By the time a light source was actually needed when night fell completely, the massive shades needed to be drawn lest it attract unwanted attention from… various sources. Once this had been taken care of, some magical candles were set alight, and the common room was bathed in a soft, ambient, amber glow. All the more conducive, in her opinion, to relax into the giant cushion that she was provided. None of the chairs worked for her, what with her anatomy and height… so the next best thing was a ‘cloud cushion’ that Samus likened to a giant cat bed—perfect for her to curl up in a seated position much like the Chozo Statues she would find on Zebes and elsewhere. As the dusk droned on into the proper night, Samus continued to placidly monitor the Space Pirate communications and battle network for any aberrations. After several hours of this, nothing stood out to her as odd: Phazon mining quotas versus actuals, troop deployments on and off planet, et cetera. All the while on a different application, Samus tried—in vain—to see if her penchant for divine luck would somehow will into existence a proper communication to Galactic Federation High Command. Yet, maddeningly, shockingly, every time she tried to refresh the connection, the diagnostic tools for her ship would spin for a moment before returning network errors, and further pointing her to her offline Long Range Comms Node. Damn. Samus swiped it away. That was enough useless attempts for one day, in her mind. A quick check back to her ship, now that it was on her mind, showed that her auto repair function had made some decent progress over the last two days: thirty percent completion on the Stealth Module. She nodded to herself, more than accepting. If her ship could get repaired to at least that extent, then that would mean a much easier way to travel across this land… especially if the Map was to the scale she thought it was. The thought of figuratively—and with Twilight aboard, literally—hoofing it from Ponyville all the way to the ends of the country was not a tantalizing, productive use of time.   Satisfied, Samus dismissed her ship’s diagnostic tools and flicked her eyes over the brim of her tablet. Directly across from her sat Twilight on her own cushion. Her horn glowed dimly, with her lavender aura cradling a second tablet that Samus had lent her. It only took some basic learning for Twilight to pick up the general know-how of how to operate the electronic, and after setting her up with her archived logbook, Samus was amused that Twilight hadn’t moved a muscle over the last several hours. It was an interesting experience seeing Twilight’s irises also glowing softly in conjunction with her horn, though this was explained as an intermediary translation spell so she could read non-equestrian text. It made perfect sense to Samus. The Hunter smirked. She knew Twilight was getting some mileage out of her logbook, and from what time she had been spending with the alicorn, she figured there would be an avalanche of questions she’d be presented with. As always, she’d answer what she was able. And willing. But definitely not tonight. It was already getting late, and Samus knew that they would be starting early in the morning like today. With the effects of today’s trek and battle, the fatigue was starting to wear on her. But as she locked her tablet, set it aside, and yawned while stretching her arms overhead… ...she felt the sheer grime on her skin. Samus cleared her throat softly, and Twilight flicked her eyes up at her from behind the shimmering tablet. “Hey… I’m kinda exhausted, so I think I’m gonna go pass out and rest up for tomorrow. Quick question though since I didn’t get the chance to try: the showers and baths in the restrooms… Do they work? Considering… you know,” she gestured to their larger, geographic surroundings. Twilight, with clear fatigue in her eyes that Samus could see, nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, they work! We’ve got tons of water as you can probably see from the rain… and the crystals used to heat it up are still active. So you’ve actually got hot showers available,” she informed. Samus’ day just kept getting better. “Sweeeeet. Thanks, Twilight.” “Of course!” the alicorn replied, but then raised a tentative hoof. “But, before you go… can… can I ask you something?” Samus had put both her hands on either side of her, ready to get to her feet again, but stopped at Twilight’s query. She curled her legs back into her chest. Okay, maybe ONE question. “Yeah, sure. What’s up?” Twilight’s tired, but still pleasantly fatigued face seemed to devolve into one of uncertainty, and she glanced towards the massive, covered window pane for a moment before turning back to Samus: “After all you’ve seen… after everything we’ve told you… what do you think?” Samus angled her head slightly. “What do you mean?” Twilight clarified softly when the distant echo of thunder abated. “Do you think it… this will all work? That we can come back from this? Get through this?” “What… like ‘us’ individually in trying to get everyone back together? Or your country—and world—at large?” Twilight remained silent for a few moments, and then sighed out, seeming to think the nearest candle was interesting. “I guess all of the above.” Samus pondered her overarching question for a moment, drawing her eyes up to the ceiling to aid in pondering a tactful response. She drummed her fingers on her shins all the while. “I don’t know if my own experience is necessarily gonna help here in answering that, but I’ll try.  “I’ve arrived to planets much too late to save, and sometimes I’ve arrived just in time. Gotta be honest though—and not sure if this really helps—but I’ve been able to make a difference on planets that were much further gone than this one.” She shrugged. “Though, the threat we face here isn’t really similar to anything I’ve faced, for better or worse. Your planning and intuition’s been great so far, and I don’t think you’ve been wrong yet. Anything’s possible, from all I’ve seen in my travels… and I think we’ve got a real solid chance of things going as well as they can, if we just keep going forward. “But… I’ve also failed. A lot. For all my exploits that people know about through the galaxy, few know of my failures. I know from my own experience that things can still go terribly, terribly wrong.” Samus shook her head, keeping her eyes firmly trained on Twilight’s. “The way forward isn’t gonna be easy… hell, you already know this. I’ll do my part to the best of my ability, to help guard against that. But in the end, despite our chances looking ‘good,’ I can’t really guarantee anything.” The alicorn glanced away into the void for a few moments to digest her words. Right before Samus was about to take her leave from the sheer length and intensity of the silence, Twilight suddenly followed up with another sucker-punch of a question, turning back to her: “Does it ever get easier?” “…I’m… sorry?” Twilight’s voice dropped to just above a whisper, almost like it hurt to speak what she was saying: “So much has happened, as you know, Samus,” Twilight began. “The calamity was over fifteen years ago. And even though I’m in this limbo, I still have to sleep. Which means that I still dream… and the events of that day in Canterlot… “… “I still hear their screams during the night—the girls’. I still see Tempest’s face… soulless and uncaring. Sadistic. Her last, remorseless expression before she tore into us like a rabid animal.” Her eyes glazed over as she continued: “But I tolerate these dreams that haunt me… if only because I still have the girls with me when I do. I want to hope that when we’re all reunited. When—if we fix all this… I mean… I know you’ve seen a lot, Samus. A lot more than you let on. Some… difficult things…” Samus understood exactly where she was coming from, and despite her clear trauma, she felt Twilight’s attempt at being courteous and sensitive to Samus’ own life experiences was nice of her. “…but does it ever really get easier to handle?” she asked once more. Samus softly took in her hopeful eyes, delaying her answer for a couple precious seconds as she fought briefly on how to best convey what she both knew so well… and ironically, advice that she wished she believed fully. “Yeah,” she said, nodding. “It does. The whole road isn’t easy… but it does get easier. If that makes any sense. I really wish I had more to say to that.” Twilight seemed to take this fully to heart, and she nodded silently, letting the rain and the thunder fill the void of sound for the next while. She then looked back to Samus and smiled gently. “I guess… I knew most of that all along. Still, it’s nice to hear from someone more… experienced. Thanks anyway, Samus.” The Hunter smirked. “Sure thing.” Twilight then locked the spare tablet she was using and got to her hooves, stretching each of her legs out individually while she let forth a yawn to the heavens. Samus figured it was time to get to stand up and prepare for sleep all the same. “Then I’m probably gonna get some rest, too. Make sure you sleep well, alright? And enjoy the hot water waiting for you!” Samus shot her a thumbs up as she pivoted on her feet and started for the door. “Oh trust me… waaaaay ahead of you. And thanks Twilight, you too. Goodnight, and see you in the morning!” And as Samus left, she had to wonder… in Twilight’s current state, was her ‘sleeping’ much different than hers? Is it needed to maintain that odd flux she’s in? She’d have to inquire a little later on the specifics if it ever became appropriate. Though, she did take one bit of advice from the alicorn: she definitely enjoyed the first hot shower in a long while before falling into a much more fulfilling sleep. Of all things she could get used to the most, this was probably at the top of the list. Basic full-body sanitizing just wasn’t the same. [The Map Room | The Following Morning…] It was one of the few nights that Samus actually remembered dreaming. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what it was actually about… she remembered a few figures in her mind, their silhouettes dancing in her field of vision as if she was coming out of a medical procedure. She wasn’t even sure how long this dream actually lasted… …but it was a dream nonetheless. And indicative of some of the deepest, most refreshing sleep she had had in a good while. Samus couldn’t remember the last time she woke up with that dopey, recharged smile on her face with her muscles coiled up and spring-loaded in a way that felt amazing. A few simple stretches made her feel like she could take on the world. Or the galaxy, to be more accurate to her life. Regardless, much of the fatigue from the previous couple weeks had been wiped away with that one rest, and Samus found herself extra alert after breakfast. This had the added effect of making her feel much more alert when she and her two hosts found themselves situated around the Map. As Samus leaned onto the side to get a better look, she watched as Twilight used some magic to ‘zoom in.’ Suddenly, Fluttershy’s butterfly cutie mark was quite prominent in a seemingly undulating ocean of green amongst the Everfree. Twilight began the briefing in an impressively academic tone, one uplifted by a tinge of hopefulness: “Alright, so thanks to Samus’ amazing help in getting the map back online, we know where everypony is… and ostensibly, they’re all alive and waiting in a similar state to myself,” she said. Samus huffed, smirking ever-so-slightly, but listened nonetheless as she nodded. Twilight drew her hoof over the general area they were looking at: “The thing is that this area of the Everfree on the map is a little interesting. I… I can’t explain it, but it just seems… ‘out of place,’ if that makes any sense at all. There’s some odd paths here and there that are mapped and we can follow, but beyond a certain point we’re probably gonna have to tread carefully… “…as if we weren’t going to, anyway,” she added. Samus interjected: “But I thought you just said you’ve been here before?” she asked. Twilight nodded. “We have, or at least passed through at some points in the past during our own missions to ‘preserve the harmony,’ as it were. Wherever Fluttershy currently is right now… we’ve apparently walked right through this area. I remember when we did, too. I don’t recall ever seeing anything ‘out of the ordinary.’ That’s why I feel weird about it.  “She’s apparently just… here.” Samus replied, staring off through the map as she put her thoughts together. “Interesting…” To which Twilight followed up: “But call it a mare’s intuition if you want, but I don’t think her Element of Harmony would’ve teleported from Canterlot to some random place on the ground in the Everfree. Gotta be something going on here.” “Right… out of curiosity, where’s the impact crater?” Samus asked. Twilight brought the view of the map out and pointed it out on the map, where Samus could indeed see some large manifestation of a crater to the south-west, more than just a few miles away. “There. Fluttershy’s location is to the south-east of us, and the distance between the two doesn’t seem to signal any play between them. When the Elements fired, it destroyed any of the Phazon that spindled its way into Equestria proper… or so I remember.” Samus nodded. “Right. And from when I arrived, I wasn’t able to see much spread of it. Looks like the Pirates ‘capped’ the crater just in time when they arrived, to prevent it from spreading outward again. Doesn’t say much for any underground exposure and spread, but I haven’t seen any of the telltale signs… yet. So I’d agree that there’s probably not any play between the two,” she elaborated. Twilight seemed aligned with that thinking. “Agreed,” said Twilight. “Well, until we know for sure Fluttershy’s actual circumstances, I’d say the biggest issue we’d run into are potentially more Storm Beasts. Maybe some other more aggressive fauna as well, but that’s always the case when going anywhere in the Everfree… even before the crisis. Can’t really predict what else will await us beyond that.” Samus stood up straight and crossed her arms, all the while she ran a couple fingers over her chin, thinking out loud: “The real question will be… what actually needs to be ‘done’ when we get there and find Fluttershy? Wherever she is.” Twilight, as always, had her thoughts on that: “My guess would be that her situation—and likewise, the same with the rest of the girls—would be similar to mine: anchored to their element, so still in an odd limbo where they’re alive yet not exactly or entirely. Beyond that though, I wish I had more answers. This is just as new to me as it is to you, honestly.  “Unfortunately, we’re just gonna have to play it by hoof when we get there. Or wherever she is,” she reasoned. Samus clasped her hands together. “Makes sense to me. Anything else, then? Or are we ready to go?” Twilight thought for a moment, and Samus watched her gaze over the map one last time before she shrugged. “Nope. I think that’s it! I’m ready when you are!” On that note, Samus flipped her mental switch and equipped her Varia Suit for the first time today. As her HUD booted up, she brought her hand to the side of her helmet for an order of business she didn’t have the chance to get to last night. “Sounds good. One sec, lemme grab the map data real quick.” An easy scanning job allowed her systems to download the visual map data of the area they were headed to, along with all of the Ponyville and in-between sections of the Everfree. As she had expected upon a quick examination, much of Ponyville was mapped almost to the house and building level… while the Everfree only divulged a few pathways through—and up to—certain points.  Much as Twilight had stated earlier.   [Scanning…] [Map Data Acquired!] [Everfree Forest: South East Quadrant now available!] Like always, as she passed through these ‘vague’ points, her Suit’s trackers would do the rest in mapping out her immediate surroundings to fill in the blanks. “Alright, I’m all set,” Samus declared, dismissing her Scan Visor and making her way over to Twilight and Spike. She asked knowingly: “Ready to get back to work?” Spike smirked at the words, as did Twilight who replied with her own determination: “Plenty to be done!” she said. And with that, Samus offered the alicorn her hand, and Twilight ‘completed the circuit’ with her own hoof. In a flash of magic the two were integrated once more. “Can you hear me?” Samus asked. Twilight’s response came in prompt and energetic: “Loud and clear!” With that all settled, the Hunter turned to Spike and gave a thumbs up. “We’re all set.” Spike returned the gesture with a determined smile of his own. “Perfect. Lemme get the door for you like last time,” he said, beckoning Samus after him. In a process that mirrored the previous day, Spike escorted her and an ethereal Twilight to the front castle doors, where he turned them both loose to the ever-present rainstorm once more. Samus stepped forward past the threshold, and gave Spike another pat on the shoulder as she left the safety of the Castle yet again. She then said over her shoulder: “We’ll be back in a few hours based on the distance… which means plan for half a day knowing my luck.” Spike definitely heard her, but apparently that wasn’t what was most important to him: “Hey Samus?” She stopped mid-step and pivoted back towards Spike. “Yeah?” “Just… again… good luck. Please keep Twilight safe. And please bring back Fluttershy.” She understood completely, and only needed to nod curtly, once. “Will do.” And with that, Spike sealed the door shut once more, leaving Samus—with Twilight in tow—to her own devices. A quick call up of her map brought their destination up front and center. Juxtaposed with where they were currently, they’d have more than just a couple miles of trekking to get through. It was times like these that Samus wished her ship was at least fully stealth-capable, but the universe rarely gave into her deepest desires. “Alright…” she said, dismissing her map and drawing her gaze over the Everfree border south of her position. She pointed in the general direction. “Looks like we’re headed southeast, right?” she asked, and began walking nonetheless. “Mhmmh!” said Twilight. “Just head straight through… here,” she added, punctuating with a ping on Samus’ HUD through the rain in the near-distance. “You got it. Thanks.” “Yup! You’ll find a path over there that takes you to the southeast sections of the known forest. If I may suggest, just follow it the entire way until we’re about where Fluttershy supposedly is. Honestly, if things go as well as I expect them to, this’ll be ‘easier’ than picking up the Power Crystal yesterday.” With a hand on her cannon and making her easy way towards Twilight’s waypoint, Samus responded: “That’s one hell of a bold statement, Twilight. Let’s see how that goes.” The alicorn giggled. “I guess we will!” There began one of the more… enjoyable aspects of Samus’ adventures. Namely, just traveling without much in the way of anything bothering her. Or wanting to kill her. Maybe it was just the time of day, or the direction they were heading, but the trek forward seemed… oddly peaceful for the Hunter. Normally this only happened when she had carved a path forward, returned to the relative safety of her base of operations or a Save Station, and then set out again with a new mission in mind. But no, this was a completely new area. She wasn’t even anywhere close to where she originally made planetfall. Her motion tracker remained oddly barren. Save for the occasional fauna she crossed paths with, such as a group of deer or some more rabbits and other little critters, nothing hostile revealed itself to her. No Storm Beasts, no local predators… nothing. Not that Samus was at all complaining. Especially since the interim silence was taken up by some smalltalk between her and Twilight.  The alicorn did most of the talking, though… mainly about Fluttershy herself when Samus inquired about her. Twilight gladly elaborated on how the two of them met when she came to Ponyville for the first time, especially her hallmark: her seemingly crippling shyness… which when elaborated upon, sounded like undiagnosed anxiety in Samus’ perspective. Nevertheless, Samus had to concede that this Fluttershy mare sounded quite lovely and soft spoken, which would be perfect when she’d also be ‘in her head,’ as it were. Now that Samus thought about that, how would all of these ponies would manifest? Would they all be in her head at once? Did she have the ability to tune out potentially six ponies in her head if everything about this mission went according to plan? Either that, or all of Twilight’s friends were cool-headed and as soft-spoken as Fluttershy. Or rather, she hoped that was the case. Unfortunately—perhaps fortunately, she had to dwell on this for most of the rather uneventful journey to their destination… as after more than a couple hours of just walking, they arrived nowhere in particular despite being right on target. Even after more detailed searches of the area, it was just… ‘average’ forest. Nothing stood out, there were no conceivable places that anyone could be hiding in… …nothing. No Element. No Fluttershy. Just a lot of green. “You know,” Samus began as she slowed her trudge through the undergrowth. “I’m starting to think we might be lost.” To say that Twilight was exasperated would be an understatement. “I… am I going insane? Did Tempest hit me too hard back in Canterlot fifteen years ago?? We should literally be talking to Fluttershy right now! We just… we had to have missed something…” she figured. Samus had conducted more and more ever-detailed searches of the general area since they arrived here nearly half an hour ago. Every bit of extra effort expended yielded the same results, and she was starting to see some of her meandering tracks through the cross-woven grass beneath her boots. She leaned up against a particularly large tree, helping herself to a breather as she drew her gaze idly around her. “Maybe, but we’re at the point of ‘wandering’ now. Could something have gone wrong with the Map, maybe? Like… maybe magnetic interference or…?” Twilight was quick to dismiss that outright. “Not possible. The map relies on aetheric positioning to determine the Elemental Bearers’ locations. It would work, even if the planet’s poles inverted at odd angles. Which is why I’m just… “UGH!” Samus was about to cut in with another suggestion, but Twilight curtly punctuated, still beside herself: “Lemme review the map data again… gimme a couple minutes.” A couple minutes to just stare at her motion tracker and not care about things? She might as well have been given a vacation. “Sure thing, Twi.” Samus leaned most of her weight against the massive tree, and as the seconds droned on she let her vision blur from staring off into space. She emptied her mind, dumping whatever worries she had for the briefest of moments that she could spare to just think about… nothing. Throughout her years of traveling, crusading, and bounty-hunting, she had always—and insisted on—working alone. After all, it was much easier to just worry and take care of herself as opposed to others, not to mention being able to move and advance at her own pace. She had to admit though. It was… kinda nice having some of the more mundane things looked after, as it were, while she handled the nitty-gritty. Maybe she’d have to reassess what it meant to travel ‘with’ someone, as this was a particularly special circumstance. Before Samus could truly enter into a more concentrated daydream, something suddenly tugged at the edges of her hearing. She blinked as she could’ve sworn she heard something that sounded like a whisper… almost like someone was trying to get her attention right next to her, right into her right ear. Samus refocused her eyes, and fully extricated herself from her blissful daydream… only to have the whispering in her ear subside substantially. But, not entirely. She glanced towards the ‘direction’ in which she heard the nebulous, unintelligible whispers that increasingly sounded like multiple people speaking softly over each other. In tracing it to just beyond the veil of another line of underbrush, Samus then felt she wasn’t exactly crazy and just hearing voices all around her. Well, to be fair to herself, Samus figured that it was entirely possible for her to be crazy. And under normal circumstances, Samus would immediately raise her internal threat level and prepare her arm cannon for any threat—perceived or not. But, for reasons she couldn’t explain, these soft whispers seemed to touch only at the fringes of her fight-or-flight response… and in fact, she felt an aura of contentedness washing over her. Which made her all the more curious about the source of these mysterious voices. Indirectly and directly, they called to her. And in isolating where she thought they were emanating from, Samus pushed herself gently off her tree-turned-leaning post and tread lightly towards that very line of underbrush… A move which certainly didn’t go unnoticed by Twilight, who promptly asked her: “What’re you doing? Everything okay?” Samus responded tentatively with a question of her own.  “Can’t… can’t you hear that?” “…hear what?” “The whispering.” “I… no? Are you okay, Samus?” While said whispering continued—and in fact, got louder—as Samus approached a rather suspicious thicket, she adamantly asserted: “I know what I’m hearing… and it’s coming from right behind here…” Samus burst through the veil of brush and trees, and though she ‘sensed’ no threat, she drew her cannon at the low-ready anyway, and did a quick sweep of her immediate area. Her motion tracker was as lifeless as ever today, and her systems found no targets that warranted being fired upon. But perhaps most-infuriatingly and cliché was that the mysterious whispering abruptly ceased. She was left with nothing but the silence of her surroundings. Though perhaps a little too silent. All other ambient sounds that one would expect to hear deep in a forest had completely died out. It was a silence that Samus knew well: one that was overbearing. All-encompassing.  Claustrophobic. Almost like an apex predator was nearby, and every molecule around her was trying to keep as low a profile as possible. And yet, her senses were not ringing any alarm bells. The hair on her skin did not stand rigid. Adrenaline did not suddenly course through her body. Though she angled her cannon upward and placed a controlling hand atop the center of the barrel, she in no way felt threatened. And that in and of itself perplexed her. At least, until the whispering returned from further ahead. Only this time, she was not met by anyone trying to tell her something. Her motion tracker confirmed this outright, and even a quick scan through her OM-Visor revealed nothing but the occasional, ambient magic collection via the surrounding flora. Twilight cut in: “Okay, I think you may actually be on to something…” Samus perked up. “Why? Can you hear the damn whispering? It keeps calling to me… from over there,” she said, and continued straight through the forest, determined to get down to the bottom of this. Twilight’s answer wasn’t entirely expected: “No I can’t hear anything else… but I can tap into the magic around you, through your body. Something seems… odd about this place. This section of the forest, like when I talked about it in the map room. But this is different than I expected.  “It doesn’t feel like the natural, ambient magic the Everfree is known for. It feels…” Twilight seemed to struggle with the appropriate word, until she decided on a rather telling one: “…foreign.” As she said that, Samus realized something about her steps: she was in no way the first to make them, and right beneath her boots existed a trail. It was barely noticeable, and one had to really look for it to see it, but as she continued walking, she understood it was a trail nonetheless. “Check this out: looks like a path. Barely used, but still used at some point in the recent past.” Twilight still seemed beside herself. “This is so weird. This whole section of forest seems like it doesn’t belong. Something’s different about it, and I can’t quite place it. Something also tells me that we may not have any other options in pursuing Fluttershy, so all I can say is to be diligent with our surroundings, as always.” Samus nodded, flicking back to her motion tracker—nothing out of the ordinary. “Yup. The map’s still responding but… hey, Fluttershy’s marker moved!” That garnered Twilight’s attention fully. “What?! Oh my gosh, you’re right… it’s now pointing straight ahead! How in… where did you step through?? Did you perform a spell when I wasn’t looking?!” Samus replied: “I don’t know! I just walked through some random thicket from where I was—and still am—hearing this goddamn whispering! But it’s getting less audible as we, coincidentally, are walking along this small path.” Twilight huffed. “I don’t like this… this is too convenient to be anything but bait.” “Agreed, but like you said, I don’t think we really have much of a choice here.” While Samus didn’t slow her pace much, she raised her cannon fully and aimed it out in front, ready to get the drop on anything that dared to think they could entrap her. It hadn’t been her first rodeo in needing to enter into obvious traps, and it certainly wouldn’t be her last. Regardless of that fact, she was at least thankful that there was a path forward from… wherever she stepped through. Unwelcome thoughts about alternate dimensions and universes began to filter into her head, much like the status quo on Aether. She certainly hoped this wasn’t one of those circumstances, in which she just accidentally stepped through some time or dimension slip. While the mysterious whispering finally died out again, Twilight’s own whisper cut through the tense silence: “Something’s up ahead…” she said, and pinged the object of interest: what appeared to be a slab of stone through the veil of rain and lushness that was overgrown, and reclaimed by nature. “Let’s have a look,” Samus said, and as she approached into scan range, she could already take in its size: Monolithic. From a distance, it seemed to blend in with the trees just on the periphery of this less-traveled path through the Everfree. As she drew even closer, its inherent, obelisk-like geometry made sure it stood out as a notable landmark in a veritable sea of green. Its height eclipsed her own by at least two times… though what was more interesting was the metal plaque that lay embedded within the once-smooth, lazer-etched stone, obscured by foliage. Samus tore off the obstructing vines and brushed her armored hand over the rectangular plaque, only to widen her eyes at the clear, embossed writing. She inhaled deeply. And… then smirked ever so slightly. Of course you were here. “What is this? Doesn’t look like any Pony or ancient Alicorn writing… or any other language I know of. What does it say?” “‘Viridia.’” Samus internally chuckled when Twilight astutely noticed something: “…you didn’t use your Scan Visor for that.” “I know. Didn’t need to. It’s Chozo.” “…What?” “It looks like my suspicions were correct. There’s probably an abandoned Chozo outpost up ahead. Curiously, in the same direction Fluttershy is.” Samus dared to look up past some leaves towards the top of the obelisk, and in using some of her magic to brush the hulking foliage aside, she found a massive, familiar, avian-esque face staring down at her. It’s once-bright, hollow eyes seemed to stare straight through her visor and soul over its prominent beak. “Yup. They were here alright.” Twilight, understandably, was not in the loop, nor had any frame of reference as to what Samus was talking about. Or rather, who she was talking about. Her frustration in her lack of understanding was more than palpable. “What… what…? Who’s ‘they?’” Who are these ‘Chozo’ you keep speaking of? You never elaborated on them back at the castle.” Samus marched forward, much more determined than before with the sinking feeling that those whispers she heard were not exactly a fluke of nature, anymore. “I told you to remind me when we got back to the castle. You never did. Figured you would’ve read up on some stuff when you were glued to my tablet,” she replied. Twilight didn’t seem too keen on that response, and Samus had to stop herself from giggling. “Well excuuuuuuse me! I was reading your data on the Space Pirates because I want to understand the invaders!” she countered. “Welp, then prepare for a crash course… because I don’t have time to tell you right now. Instead, I’m gonna show you. Let’s see what my former caretakers were up to on your planet…” she mused. What was a little more confusion to Twilight? “I… Okay…” Samus broke into a light jog down the path… which gradually became more and more defined with past use as she drew closer to the suspected Chozo settlement. Foregoing some extra care towards her motion tracker, Samus only concentrated forward… and on the sound of her heavier breathing as she exerted herself marginally. Her vision occasionally caught sight of other obelisks, though with no other identifying features on them save for identical Chozo busts. A little while later, Twilight broke silence again: “Careful… map shows that the path abruptly stops and drops.” “Noted.” And indeed, the fog of the everlasting rainstorm seemed a lot more visible through this remaining section of forest… much more than she would’ve expected unless there was another clearing of sorts, similar to the Castle of the Two Sisters. She slowed down either way, breaking her jog and falling into an easy walk as she approached what increasingly looked like a cliff’s edge. She used both her hand and cannon to brush aside the final barrier of undergrowth… and stopped immediately at the sight. Twilight was first to react, and sounded like she was ascending to a different plane of reality to explain what was in front of her… or having a panic attack: “Oh… what is this…? What is all this?! This isn’t possible… the Princesses never mentioned any other race of beings that… that could’ve built this! How…?” Samus was impressed, to say the least. “This is… definitely not an outpost.” Samus lowered her hand and cannon to her side as she took in the entire sight… where numerous, imposing structures as high as at least twenty-story buildings took prominence around the elliptical perimeter. Each one held the massive face of what Samus could recognize as a Chozo Warrior, peering down and onto the buildings below… watching. Waiting. Protecting. Those very structures below seemed to be interwoven with the foliage of the Everfree… partially due to reclamation of the forest, but almost as if to ‘replace’ what had been cleared out from ground to canopy. The sharp, curved, and smooth geometry of unmistakeable Chozo architecture conformed to Samus’ expectation of what a ‘large’ settlement had come to be. A collection of various utilitarian structures—of which Samus could discern their purpose from her vantage point—told her everything she needed to know. Though as always, there was a certain beauty by design to all of it. One that never failed to make Samus exhale most of her troubles. Usually. This was a colony. In no way brand new, but in no way derelict. From the fact that nothing seemed overtly falling to pieces and crumbling to time, things had been halfway maintained somewhat through the recent past. And the similarities to the ruins on Tallon IV were of striking note to her. Samus thought that the rain curtains were playing tricks on her eyes with the distortions of light and shadows in the distance… but as the rainfall cleared up ever-so-slightly, the surrounding obelisks no longer took prominence. Her eyes lay solely on the megalithic, trapezoidal Chozo Temple at the opposite end. One that loomed even larger and more imposing than anything else around. Fluttershy lay directly ahead. And the way forward was a wide set of stone stairs—marred by floral vines—that dropped straight down into what looked like the main, bisecting road at the center of this city. ‘Viridia.’ Hmmmm. Twilight noted to no one in particular before she asked: “I uhh… I think we found our way forward. Think Fluttershy is in that giant… thing over there?” “Oh?” Samus began, then asked wryly: “Just whatever gave you that idea?” Twilight responded with identical tone: “Call it a mare’s intuition.” “Only one way to find out. Let’s also see if we can learn a thing or two.” “Please! I have… so. Many. Questions. And more than a few concerns.” Samus took a deep breath, steeled her thoughts and emotions for what was potentially to come, and propped a hand on her cannon as she began the easy trek down. A singular, full-body Chozo statue that she had not paid mind to at first oversaw her initial descent.