//------------------------------// // Chapter Forty Nine: We are who we choose to be // Story: We don't go to Sub-Level Five // by RadBunny //------------------------------// Nobody said anything for a few very long moments. Astral looked to Sassi, the stallion clearly out of his league. “Sassi?” he ventured to ask, the mare’s brow furrowing. “I need to think about this. I didn’t know about the real situation here,” she growled, clearly frustrated. “I only knew about one queen, and apparently the rumors were the truth about her being a clone. It’s…all mixed up.” “Warning. Power failure. Please reset manual interlocks to restore reactor flow. Automated systems unavailable,” a robotic voice called out as the lights flickered. “Manual? That’s new,” Joro mused. “I imagine those are in the electrical room to your right, at the end of the long hallway. Usually, the automatic systems fix it. The Clone has been trying to cut power to this level for days.” “Why would she do that?” Sassi asked suspiciously, Joro letting out a sad chuckle. “Well, if the power goes out for too long, the battery backups on both the bomb and my collar expire. They then detonate. It’s an easy way to kill me. Sure, that would remove some of the weaker portals, but then she could take over what remains of my kingdom without any resistance through some of the self-sustaining portals. That is, once she secured the Silo.” “Sounds to me like you want us to let you go,” the mare added, Joro sighing. “Obviously I’d prefer to live. But yes, killing me would give Her an advantage. I didn’t bother mentioning that at the start because I assumed you would kill my clone regardless. Am I wrong?” “A fair point,” Sassi huffed. “We’ll go reset the backups.” “You’ll have to also re-route them from the main console. It takes two creatures to do it. That prevents a single individual from cutting power and keeping it off,” Joro added. “From what I understand, it should be a simple matter of making all the fuses flash green.” “You said this floor is still clear, Sassi? I can do it. I don’t know how to work that console. You have more experience with their systems,” Astral said. “I can flick some switches.” She checked one of the screens, nodding. “Still clear. And are you sure? I can track you on the cameras here.” With a nod, Astral trotted off down the hallway. “As long as you can track me and it isn’t far, I should be good.” “Just…be careful,” Sassi whispered. As Astral vanished down the hallway, the mare turned to look at Joro. “You planned this? To have us split up?” she growled, muting her microphone. “No. But it does present a lovely moment for a heart to heart,” the Queen admitted. “He doesn’t know, does he?” Sassi bared her fangs at that. “If you say anything, I’ll-” Joro interrupted with a shake of her head. “I don’t intend to. But I take that as a no. I don’t think it would matter, however.” “What?!” A motherly smile dawned on the Traveler’s face, the Queen gesturing to Sassi. “He’s one of the good ones. With all the time I’ve spent down here, the kind ponies stand out amid everyone else. He clearly cares about you, and vice versa I assume.” Sassi let out a huff, eyes darting down to the bandage on her forelimb. “It’s ironic, isn’t it?” Joro asked, her tone soft and sincere. “We both came into this world desiring friendship in a way. Perhaps it was childish and naïve to expect it. Both things are torn apart in this horrific place." The mare didn’t say anything until Astral’s voice crackled over the radio. “Some of these switches are fried! Some sort of power surge. I have to balance it. One green switch flips others to red, and so forth. It’ll take me a few. I can also reset the elevator lockouts here.” “That’s fine, we’re good here, Astral,” the mare replied, adjusting some settings on the console as power began to fluctuate. Sassi was quiet for a few more moments before speaking. “We both did come into this world wanting that. But the Company used both of us.” Joro looked to be near tears on hearing the sincerity in the mare’s voice. “For what it’s worth, I am so sorry for all the pain I have caused. I never wanted any of it,” the Queen whispered. “Without me, you would have been spared a lifetime of pain. I do not ask for forgiveness, only understanding if nothing else.” Confusion swam in Sassi’s gaze and demeanor. This was all so far from what she expected. This was another shade of grey in what a monster was. More lies, more deceit, but now some actual truth. “There’s nothing to forgive,” Sassi said finally, Joro’s head snapping up to look at the mare, all eight eyes wide in shock. “Yes, I’m here because of you, but you came here desiring friendship. That was twisted, warped, and taken advantage of. How could I judge you for that? How many times did I…” her words trailed off. A few gelatinous tears slid from Joro’s yellow eyes, her head hanging. “I did not expect such kindness, let alone from you. Not after what the Company did,” Joro whispered. “I thought you were an extension of their will, from everything I heard. I thought they used me to create another automaton.” “I was, to a degree. I don’t deny that,” Sassi said softly. “I didn’t know anything else, growing up here. But even knowing I was different; I had a dad who taught me right from wrong. Even if I was stuck down here, knowing things were bad, my dad tried to help me understand.” “Is he…” “He’s the one who sabotaged the entire place with some help. Do you know Flask Heat?” Her head lifting, Joro’s eyes sparkled, a smile showing some fangs. “Flask? I remember that pony from over a decade ago,” she mused. “He was kind, speaking for my better treatment before he was silenced. It is comforting to know some good has come from this evil place. Of so many who did not deserve the Company’s wrath, you were among the most innocent of us all. You didn’t ask to be here,” Joro paused, continuing to smile. “Perhaps Flask’s daughter can be the turn of the tide. Regardless of what you physically are, you were raised by a good pony. That is a comfort, knowing not all of what I caused was warped by evil intentions.” Sassi smiled, a cautious but genuine gesture that clearly surprised Joro. “I’ve also had a lot of help. And my life hasn’t been completely bad, especially recently. It’s not been an entire life of pain. I still want to live, and I wouldn’t be here if not for you,” The mare didn’t meet Joro’s gaze, clearly in thought. “So, I suppose, in a way, I should say thank you. Feels odd though.” “I would never expect thanks from you. But…I am glad to have been involved in something good in this place,” Joro said, the motherly smile returning with a relieved nod. They then heard Astral report that the switches were flipped and he was on his way back. “He is fascinating, an interesting pony indeed. No preconceptions, an open book to learning. And his name too. How fitting.” “How what?” Astral asked, walking back into the room. “Something about my name?” The two stared at him, the stallion blinking. “What? I just heard something about my name. I didn’t choose it, y’know,” he grumbled. Joro laughed, gesturing to him with a scaly hoof. “Apologies, it is rude to gossip. I’ve always found pony names to be fascinating with your cutie marks. My kind has a more elaborate naming system. The pony names translate sometimes rather well, other times, it’s amusing.” The lights brightened up again, Joro glancing around and nodding. “Good. The power is back for now.” “Ok, but what was that about names?” Astral pressed, Sassi staring at him. The stallion’s cheeks flushed, an armored hoof scuffing at the floor in embarrassment. “What? This is fascinating. Like meeting someone from another planet. Literally, that’s the case here! It’s a nice distraction from everything.” A laugh echoed around the cell, the Queen looking at Astral in apparent glee. “A learner? I assumed your first name had to do with the stars. Your name in my tongue is quite interesting.” “Oh?” “Indeed. Yours translates rather well; Guardian of the Stars.” Astral stood a bit taller at that. “I like how that sounds.” “There is a single-word translation as well. Comet, or Meteor. We see them as a purifying fire. Yes, we have stars in Limbo, in a different way,” Joro added. “Do I have a name in your tongue?” Sassi asked, Astral looking over to her in surprise as the mare’s tone was cautious, almost warning. While Astral’s gaze was distracted, Sassi saw Joro nod to her firmly in understanding. “Indeed, Sassi. Yours is more poetic but abstract. Deadly Primrose.” Astral was all smiles at that, Sassi blushing. “That sounds fairly accurate,” he mused, the mare letting out an embarrassed huff. “How is that abstract?” Sassi grumbled. “We have much of the same flora and fauna in our realm, with marked differences of course,” Joro explained. “The Primrose flower only blooms at night. Deadly, well, you are, so that’s appropriate. There is an unspoken subtext to your name though, such polar opposite things combining to produce a more elaborate meaning.” “Which is…?” she asked. “Flower that blooms in the darkest of nights,” the Queen said kindly. Sassi’s mouth hung open at that, the familiar, motherly smile now on Joro’s face. “That sounds appropriate,” Astral added quietly. Judging from Sassi’s shocked expression, there was another, deeper level to what Joro had said. There was another pause, Astral shaking his head. “I don’t want to kill her, Sassi. I see no reason for it, and I certainly don’t want to find one,” he muttered. “You’re the expert here. But I say we send her back. A bit of trust can go a long way. This place has a bomb connected to the reactor, right? Or close to it? We can always blow it up on our end anyhow.” Sassi nodded, the mare’s brow furrowing. “Let me check the readouts,” she said, sitting at the console and tapping a few displays. The mare let out a huff, eying some graphs. “Well, there are stable, extremely high energy readings from the reactor chamber. Multiple of them. I assume those are portals?” “Most likely. Outside of basic readouts, I am uncertain as to what that console can display. I’m surprised you can even determine that,” Joro said. “Well, we have an all-access key,” Sassi muttered, typing in the code again. “I see eight anomalous readings.” Joro let out a hiss at that. “Eight? I had hoped for only five at most. That is disturbing. Many more will come through, and soon. You must make your choice, or at least detonate this facility to make sure. Time moves differently in Limbo. It may be minutes or hours before I could get the portals to close.” “I can’t disable the cell from here, but I can activate the portal that sends you, and the bomb back,” Sassi said, her voice picking up a bit of a monotone. “I can also send Vial a short note…there. Now he knows we’ll be there within a day at the latest.” “Let me hold up my end first,” Joro said calmly. “I promised you information.” Sassi’s ears perked up, the mare walking over with Astral to sit beside him in front of the cell. “I’m listening.” Joro gestured with a hoof to the floor. “My clone will likely have another Guard on the floor below you, just like the three you encountered first.” “There were only two,” Astral muttered, Joro sighing. “Well then, two more below. A total of four Guards were assigned to me, as far as I could tell. In terms of what you call Skitters and Spiders, she has many. Skitters in the dozens, at least fifty by now, maybe a hundred. I don’t know how fast she can breed, and more consciousnesses come through the portal daily, likely about one per portal per day at this point. There could be many more Skitters, I don’t know.” The Queen’s tone was frustrated at that. “Spiders are odd. As best I can guess, they’re a mutated form of a common spider largely created by the Company using my genetics as some sort of catalyst. They still respond to the hivemind though.” Sassi nodded, ears perked and listening as Astral tried to control his nerves. “She will keep her remaining Guards at the Reactor level; that’s thirty levels down from here. That is where my Clone is currently making her nest. There should be no more than three Guards immediately near her, along with the Skitters. There may be more, but that is the best guess from my scouts before they were killed. But that was some time ago.” “Making her nest next to the reactor? Wouldn’t that be basically making a home on a bomb?” Astral asked. “Essentially, but I don’t know how to detonate the facility. I doubt she does too, since such information is encrypted in the network,” Joro explained. “The excess energy likely boosts the portals, or she can at least metabolize it for the process to create new creatures. That would be my assumption.” The Queen paused, scaled brow furrowing. “The only other bit of advice I can offer is regarding the other Silo. Something is wrong there,” Joro said, tone softer and cautious. Her eyes stared at the pair, intense and unblinking. “Do not go to Silo Three.”