//------------------------------// // In a dust filled corridor... // Story: The Last of Kin // by Lunaria //------------------------------// In a dust filled corridor... Glitterwing came to a stop, the rusted metal door in front of her was completely closed and clogged up, at least this side, with other wreckage. With a sigh she called forth her levitation and started moving the the clutter aside. "You know we didn't need to come here," a voice rang out from her side. She was the sole pony in the ruined corridor, however. Though for a creature like herself then the label of pony might be a bit generous. "I know that Lux, but there's something I wish to retrieve here before we... go." Lux only hummed in response so Glitterwing continued her task. The electric lights along the ceiling had long since stopped working, even if they had a source of power they'd not shine. Glitterwing never had to worry about darkness though, not as long as Lux was with her. With enough of the debris cleared the only obstacle remaining was the door itself. She knew exactly what spell she needed to bring forth to bring it down; she was nothing if not studious, the years had done little to corrode her memories of such things. With a simple thought she connected her mind to Lux and brought forth a beam of destructive magic. The cyan light that bathed the corridor lasted for but a moment, it was all it would take to get through the reinforced bulkheads. Maybe in it's prime when the anti-magic enchants were still working it would have been a different story; but that was another time. "You know we could have just done that from the start, right?" Glitterwing sighed and set off at a trot, taking mind to not touch the blazing hot parts of the door that still remained as she stepped through the circular hole. Lux was right, of course, she didn't need to move the wreckage out of the way first. Really, she didn't need to do any of the things she'd done today, she could have just teleported straight to her destination. She cought on dust as she stepped into the main room of the command center. She took a leap backwards and flapped her wings a few times to send the dust flying. It wasn't like she was worried about her health, but it was annoying. As she walked into the center of the room she really took it in. There were several old magi-tech displays as well as other broken sensory equipment. There was also quite a few chairs bolted to the floor that were there for the operators. The most striking part of the room was the commander's chair, large and imposing, clearly unfit for a pony. She levitated Lux out of her bag and dumped his bindings on the table. "See if you can recover any logs that we don't have." "Sure thing Princess," the book snarked back, the gem embedded in it's cover glowing as they spoke. Glitterwing snorted and headed off towards the staircase going down, she needed to find the old R&D department. The lower levels were left in a much better state. Sure, there was rust and it was hard to breath, but most things were still left standing; the state of it all was a testament to how important security and fortification had been back in the days... Glitterwing shook her head, she needed to stop thinking about the past, otherwise regret would rear it's ugly head again. Especially when she had a solution that would solve it all, it would be so simple. She let out a deep sigh as she continued her march onwards, she'd promised herself and her companion that she'd never cast such a spell. She stopped to check in each room she passed, and before long she came upon what she was seeking. It looked quite innocuous, really, just a small gemstone set in a frame of metal. It too like the table it rested on was covered in dust, most ponies would likely not pass it a second glance. Glitterwing could sense magic though, and the gem was positively radiating. She picked out a long band made out of tiny titanium links from her bag. Picking up the gemstone she inserted the band through the hole of the frame, making a necklace. She didn't hesitate the slightest as she guided her hooves up and above her head, securing the gem around her neck. The device hadn't originally been meant for Glitterwing, but she knew that she could use it, and she knew that she could handle it. It'd been the last one the organization focused on defending Equestria had made; as far as she knew they'd never found anyone worthy to wield it... now? Now there was no one left to fill the role. Feeling her magic she sent the activating signal to the gem, and in but an instance the vast majority of her body was covered in sleek black and gray armour. There were holes for her wings, though some adjustment was likely needed since pegasi didn't fly in quite the same manner that she herself did. The others would likely question why she bothered to go and get something like this... but none of them knew what the future might hold. A Magical Gear was somewhat dated technology, but defensively they were still some of the most powerful things ponykind had ever come up with. The armour plates might seem imposing and could stand up to many things, but the true power lay in all the magical barriers that the gear weaved around the wielder. While Glitterwing did not need to worry about decay from the tides off time, a well placed magic blast or blade could kill her just as well as anyone else. And she was about to go to the most dangerous place in existence that she knew of. "I don't think anything in the logs will interest you." Glitterwing hummed as she continued climbing up the staircases from the core of Mt.Canterhorn. "No, but Luna might be interested, it's worth saving." Her hoofsteps against metal rang out quite clearly in the hollow halls. "I feel that she favours nostalgia quite a lot less than you." She grit her teeth. "Since when did you start feeling things?" "Probably since you gave me the capability to." Lux was right, Luna would likely ask her to throw the logs out if she ever brought them up to her. But... someone had to remember, that was what she'd promised so long ago to do: to remember what no one else could. She shook her head, she'd spent too much time down here already. "Can you get a lock on anyone's signature?" "Just a moment... Negative, but the hub near the construction site is responding to communications." She quickly swore under her breath. "Fine, we'll go there." Using her mind she primed a teleport, but allowed Lux to define the destination. In a flash the two of them were gone, leaving the Canterlot headquarters to once again return to the stillness of death. The wind hit her face before she could take in the scene of her destination. Not that she didn't know what awaited her already. The construction hub was mostly populated by machines, either bringing in raw material or using the material to construct whatever they might need. In some ways, it was fitting: Equuis was providing them with the means to live on, even now. Glitterwing took to the air, the teleportation destination was located on the top of the structure. Even though the top of the structure was at around the same level as the hills that surrounded it, the digging had left a deep chasm below it. Metal paths supported by pillars had been built to connect the the top to the surrounding landscape. If Twilight could see what they'd done to the land she called home she'd been sick. Glitterwing steeled herself as she flew against the dust filled winds under the gray sky; even the grass was more gray than green these days. She'd have a several hour long flight ahead of herself, yet for some reason she did not mind that fact.