Fluttershy checked behind her, then focused on a door in front. It was identical to the door that got destroyed in the parallel corridor, which worried her.
As she paced nervously towards it, she came up short upon remembering something vital: Her armour's energy shields. She hadn't had time to bring them online or have them tested, and she decided now would be better than never.
Using the basic knowledge she could remember of the armour, she felt around for a cord in the armour's collar, and when she found it, she plugged it into something she had received from Spartan training; a neural interface.
The neural interface was a small, ugly chunk of metal that had been implanted in the back of her skull. She'd gone crazy with panic when she learned she was going to have the thing installed. However, the Ponies in charge were strong, and they just wouldn't let her escape. She'd been gassed into unconsciousness, and when she woke up, she found the atrocity secured under her mane. The purpose of the neural interface was to link the armour to it's wearer. To become one with the armour.
Now that she had successfully paired herself with her suit, she flipped open a panel on the metal plating of her wrist, revealing a miniature, touch screen gizmo. Being the quadruped she was, Fluttershy used the tip of her nose to open the settings menu, and bring the suit's shields online.
Golden motes of light circled up her four legs, along her body, and much to her surprise, around her helmetless head. Feeling reassured, she flipped her wrist screen closed and continued towards the door.
She used a hoof to press the door's "open" button, thus opening it. On the other side, was another boring stretch of corridor with the same old door at the end, only there was a small fire burning on the right, and the sounds of gunfire and screaming were much louder than before.
Advancing, those noises grew louder and louder with every step: Something was going down on the other side of the next door. She would've turned tail and tried to find a different route, but she had to get to the bridge, and this was the way to go.
As Fluttershy walked reluctantly past the fire, the shaking of the deck intensified. Whatever was behind that fire exploded, point blank into her ear, and without a helmet, her hearing transformed into intense ringing.
Not hearing herself shrieking with the shock, she hunkered down and shivered with hooves on head and eyes squeezed shut as debris pinged off her shields.
"Please don't hurt me!" she cried, thinking the Covenant were responsible.
A few more seconds cowering on the floor, listening to an ensuing battle, Fluttershy peered up and looked around, breathing heavily. There were no Covies. She was alone. The fire to the right kept burning in a big, smoking hole in the wall.
"... Pull yourself together, Fluttershy," she supported herself, rising to her hooves. "It's just a little blast."
Recharging, her energy shields repeated the trick with the golden lights that spun around her body.
"A blast that would've killed anypony else."
Without a helmet and a visor, Fluttershy didn't have access to a heads up display, where she would've been able to see the charge level of her shields, as well as a motion sensor that would probably be full of the red dots of enemies right about now. She was also missing out on an ammo counter, although that wouldn't be applicable at this moment in time; she had no weapon.
In order to tell if her shields were down or on their way back up, she would have to rely on the suit's faint indicators and warning alarms.
Having just been saved from an explosion by her fancy armour, Fluttershy felt a little lucky to be the one wearing it. Still, she didn't like the idea of walking through explosions that would put an end to anypony else. She wasn't a Spartan, so who was she to deserve such good fortune?
Leaving the explosion in the past, she trotted over to the next door and opened it.
BANG! BANG! Somepony fired a pistol to her left, and she jumped back and wailed in surprise.
"Aaah! Yikes!" came the cowardly whine of a nearby Stallion.
Curiosity made Fluttershy peek around the corner, where she saw a much wider main corridor that featured support columns and equipment; plenty of places to hide.
Reversing down the centre of the corridor, was a frightened Stallion. He wore standard marine armour; olive drab plating over grey camo clothes, and a matching crash helmet with a mounted eye screen, along with a compulsory soldier saddle.
With a scared look on his face, he fired his pistol back the way he came, a series of helping MA5B muzzle flashes originating from somewhere behind him. In return came lashings of blue plasma and the bellow of Covenant Elites.
Wanting to help, Fluttershy beckoned to him. "Pssst! Over here," she whisper-shouted, when wham!
The soldier took a plasma blast to the face and crumpled to the deck. His face burned off and steam sizzled from the wound as deep red blood leaked onto the metal floor.
Fluttershy screeched with dread over an Elite's chortle and receded back into the smaller corridor. Tapping her hooves rapidly on the floor, she spun right to left, right to left in a panic.
"D'oohh, that was horrible! I can't do this!"
Her panicked hoof tapping came to a stop as she collected herself and gulped.
Forcing herself to peer around the corner once again, she told herself with a shaky voice, "I have to get to the bridge."
Back in the wide open corridor, Fluttershy couldn't see or hear any gunfire. Well, she could hear gunfire from elsewhere, but nothing close.
Stepping fully out into the bigger corridor, she looked down sorrowfully at the dead Stallion, squinting at the sight of his no longer existent face.
The sound of knocking made Fluttershy's heart jump, and she turned to face its source: The Elite's were blocked by a thick containment barrier that had been closed by one of the the Autumn's technical staff. Judging from their banging and bawling, they weren't too pleased about it.
A murmuring could be picked up from further down the corridor, so Fluttershy crept further out to discover who it was. Soldiers, talking amongst each other whilst they reloaded their assault rifles.
Taking a glance back at the large door with the Elites raging behind, she trotted in the soldiers' direction.
"Um, excuse me, I-"
"-They're right behind us!" a frantic Mare shouted and came bolting around a corner further on.
The light green Pony jumped through the shrinking gap of a second containment barrier that began to close and came to a sliding stop within the squad of soldiers. Those soldiers pointed their rifles in the direction from which she came.
"Wait for me!" another Mare pleaded as she came rushing around after, two blue armoured Elites hot on her hooves.
The heavy door slammed shut, and there was a thud as the Pony on the other side crashed head on into it, followed by plasma fire and evil Elite laughter.
"Nooooo!" cried the surviving Mare in anguish.
Fluttershy commented lamentably, "Oh... oh dear!"
As the soldiers tended to the tearful Pony, Fluttershy wasn't sure whether to ask for their help. Hell, she wasn't even sure they'd noticed her.
Silently, she approached them, debating whether or not to ask for assistance. In the end, she decided they had better things to do, so she left them and went through a door on the left. When she passed through it, it slid shut behind her, plunging the area into inky blackness.
"Ugh. Why must it be so dark?" Fluttershy moaned, walking deeper down the branch corridor.
A Covenant Elite could be standing right in front of her and she wouldn't even know it, or worse; she could get startled by something, try to defend herself with her performance enhancing armour, deal some serious damage, and then find out she'd just clobbered a Pony.
Thud! She grunted as she bumped into something solid, straight and metal; a door. Wiping her hooves against it, she seeked the "open" button. However, before she could find it, the door parted to reveal a less dark section of the corridor and a towering, blue armoured biped form that jumped back with surprise.
"Huh?" it sounded with its deep, alien voice.
Fluttershy screamed with terror, something she figured would become a recurring theme, and attempted to buck the rookie Elite. It didn't work; the alien warrior was out of reach of her armoured hooves by an embarrassingly large gap.
Growling, the Elite lunged at Fluttershy and clenched her long pink tail in his three fingered hand. Fluttershy squirmed with trepidation, her hooves flailing like mad in a desperate attempt to escape the Covie's clutches. He lifted her up off the ground and dangled her like she was nothing but a mouse.
Laughing menacingly, the biped alien gave Fluttershy a real good eyeful of his face. It was ugly, and the closest Fluttershy had ever gotten to an Elite. His mouth was made up of four mandibles lined with little sharp teeth, and his eyes were green with black, beady pupils. The front of his blue helmet was smooth and rounded while the top part was quite jagged.
Her heart raced, and her lungs had gone into overhaul.
"Nnng! Heeelp!" she sobbed, praying that somepony would hear her. "Heeelp! He-he-heelp!"
Just as the Elite brought his plasma rifle to Fluttershy's face, something whizzed past in a pink blur, creating a gust of wind. Confused, the alien looked around with those big green eyes of his, his stinking breath venting onto Fluttershy's face.
When nothing happened, the Elite shrugged and re-aligned his plasma rifle with her forehead - but then the speedy pink blur returned, only this time it was on the ceiling! It shot down the lit part of the corridor, and the Elite actually tried to shoot it. Heat radiated from his weapon as he fired a limited burst, white-blue plasma splashing the ceiling and leaving sizzling scorch marks.
Frustrated, he spun his head to stare intently at Fluttershy, who still hung by her tail in his strong, alien hand. That plasma rifle deliberately moved into position once more, Fluttershy's eyes widening in the build up to it all.
Out of ideas, the trembling Pegasus squeaked, "... P-please..."
An increasing growl accompanied the returning blur as it blasted into the nasty Covie like a giant pink bullet. The Elite was knocked out of his boots, and the pink flash hit him so hard that the two of them broke through a sealed door on the right. Without the Elite's grip on her tail, Fluttershy leapt away and watched in wonder as the two beings tussled in the shadows.
Taking the pain, the Elite howled. The volume of his screams was cranked up when a raging fire suddenly lit up the darkness.
Jaw dropped, Fluttershy watched as the Elite wailed and burned, wondering who her hero was. Pink blur? Super fast? Defying physics? ... Fluttershy had a pretty good idea of who she was working with.
Like a lightning bolt, her hero appeared before her from the inferno and took a second to grin in her face.
"Helloooo, Fluttershy!" Pinkie's voice rang loud and cheerful.
The pink Earth Pony wore standard marine armour and a helmet that compressed her wild pink mane. The weapon on her soldier saddle's arm, which was currently tucked away, was a standard MA5B assault rifle. With beaming blue eyes and the most cheerful smile in the universe, Pinkie's expression elevated Fluttershy's spirits.
"Oh! Pinkie Pie! Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" she exclaimed, full of joy.
Pinkie Pie shot back, "I'm happy to see you too!" and squeezed the life out of her in a hug. "Sooo happy!"
"Oooh, pretty armour!" she analysed, zipping around Fluttershy to study it from multiple angles.
Getting her breath back, Fluttershy wondered, "Oh, you like it?"
"Yeah! Twilight told us all about it!" Pinkie answered merrily.
Puzzled, Fluttershy asked, "Us?"
"Yeah! Me, Apple-Dash and Rainbow-Jack!"
"You mean-"
"-Oops! Hahaha!" snort, "Silly me. Applejack and Rainbow Dash of course! Heeheehee! Oh!" The pink one stopped herself and put her hooves on her head. "I was meant to remember something."
As Pinkie scrolled through her memory, Fluttershy stated, "Um, Pinkie? I kinda have to get to the bridge. If it's not too much trouble, would you be able to-"
Pinkie Pie inhaled excitedly, "-The bridge! That's it! I remembered it! Rarity wants to see you on the bridge!"
"I know. That's what I-"
"-You want me to help you get there?!" Enthusiastically, the pink one wagged her poufy tail.
"Oh, yes please, Pinkie. I would really-"
"-Ok, let's go!" With the speed of a thousand gazelles, Pinkie zoomed away.
"Pinkie!" Fluttershy called out as she galloped after her, not wanting to be left behind.
A quick left - right later brought the duo to another main corridor, where a fire fight raged on. A firing squad took cover behind a block they had made out of ruined equipment and fired their weapons at a handful of Covies down the corridor. The Covies consisted of three Grunts and one Elite.
Grunts were weird little things. They were short and lumbered around with bulky, triangular tanks of methane on their backs. Why? Because they breathed the darn stuff! Their muzzles were obscured by their breathing apparatus, making them look like cute little squirrels with over-stuffed cheek pouches. It was a real shame they were a part of the Covenant though. Fluttershy figured the other races in the Covenant were bad influences on them, but what would she know. Their voices were high-pitched too, which a lot of Ponies, including Pinkie Pie, thought were funny. Fluttershy just thought they sounded like innocent little Foals.
She took no pleasure in fighting the Grunts. Well, she took no pleasure in fighting at all. She hated violence; it made her upset. But she took the least pleasure in fighting the Grunts, which was convenient, considering they acted as cannon-fodder for the rest of the Covenant. It was almost as if the Covenant wanted the Grunts to die. The other species certainly didn't seem to care when one or a hundred Grunts fell.
Poor Grunts.
Between the firing squad and the Covies was a containment door, which, like the other two containment doors Fluttershy had gone past, began to close.
"Quickly! Y'gotta get em all before the doors close!" Pinkie encouraged as Fluttershy dragged herself across the floor behind the makeshift fort.
She heard one of the Grunts squeal as somepony's bullets found it, then another Grunt squealed in the same manner.
Closing her eyes, she shut out the vision she was having of the Grunts laughing and playing in an alien version of Ponyville, and told herself, It's ok. They're just Covenant.
Pinkie informed ecstatically, "Bonus points for the big one!"
The Elite that Pinkie was referring to as "the big one" roared fiercely at the Ponies, who covered each other as their soldier saddles reloaded the weapons. It was deafening. The sound of the weapons were deafening. The whole Filly of Autumn rattled as she absorbed another hit from outside, and that was also deafening.
Fluttershy didn't like these loud noises. Not one bit. She was a peaceful Mare, often a little too peaceful, as her name would imply. And now she was in the middle of a warzone.
Sighing, she made it to the other side of the corridor with Pinkie Pie, just as the containment door sealed.
As the squaddies took a breather and reloaded, Pinkie said, "Aaww. No pony hit the big one. Oh well, better luck next time!" After saluting the squad, she flashed away into a large, open room. "Come on, Fluttershy!"
The pink maned Pegasus trotted in after.
The room was long and had another door, jammed open, at the end, with what appeared to be an identical corridor on the other side. To the left, there was an assortment of weapons lockers, all of which had been either busted open, or just plain opened. No weapons were in sight, and with the Covenant boarding the Autumn, it was quite obvious where they were. The right of the room appeared to be "solid shield heap," where UPSC branded, titanium shields were scattered around and carelessly piled on top of each other.
How can somewhere so bare be so messy, she pondered.
Oh wait, it got messier...
As Fluttershy trotted past the lockers and shields, she discovered some Ponies. They were laying ever so peacefully in huge pools of red that soaked the deck. Some of them had steaming holes in their bodies where plasma bolts had struck.
Appalled, she came to a gradual stop and brought a hoof to her mouth. Her lower lip trembled and she could feel her eyes watering up. Standing in the middle of it, she noted death everywhere. It surrounded her - drew her in. The blood invaded her sight and her nose, and the back of her throat too.
One of the bodies that was laying against a shield lifted its head up and made eye contact with her. A pale pink Mare with piercing green eyes and a ruffled, two tone purple mane. Wheezing heavily, she turned her vacant stare to the bloody ground she was laying on and closed her eyes.
Debating whether to lend a hoof, Fluttershy yelped as something exploded by the door ahead.
"Pinkie!?" she called out, worried. "Pinkie!"
"Fluttershy!" came the awaited response from Pinkie Pie, who stuck her head out from around the doorway.
Letting out a breath of relief, Fluttershy trotted up to Pinkie Pie, glancing back at the fading Mare, just as she faded away. Oh how awful she felt.
"Stay back, Fluttershy!" the pink one cautioned, mischief entering her tone. "It's plasma grenade central right here!"
Quiet and confused, Fluttershy mouthed, "Plasma... grenade... central?"
The hyper-active Earth Pony cheered, "Woohooo!" and bounced happily past the doorway, just as a million plasma grenades landed directly in the spot she had just occupied.
"Gah!" Fluttershy ran back and took cover behind one of the many shields in the room.
Plasma grenades were nasty. Small, pocket sized explosives that shone bright and blue when ignited. Thanks to a marvel in Covenant engineering, plasma grenades would stick to anything that was considered a target, like a Pony, an animal, or a vehicle. They wouldn't however, stick to non-targets, like trees, walls, or rocks. And worse, they would never explode until they'd stuck to a target or come to rest on the floor. The reason they behaved this way was so mind boggling, not even the super smart Twilight could figure out how they worked. Could the Covenant be packing magic?
Those grenades sizzled away for a good two seconds before they finally detonated into a sun of glowing blue heat. Melting metal debris spewed everywhere as the clattering of assault rifle fire and booming Covenant faded in.
It wasn't long before the clamour ceased and Pinkie Pie returned to the doorway with her usual, gleeful smile. "All done!"
Amazed, Fluttershy made her way to the door. "It's clear?"
"Yep! The way to the bridge is ours!"
Gratefully, she told, "Oh, thank you, Pinkie Pie. I wouldn't have been able to get here without you."
"Nooo problem!" Pinkie replied with a playful salute.
Feeling fairly safe, Fluttershy trotted left down the corridor and passed trough a door on the right. It wasn't until then she realised Pinkie Pie was bouncing after her.
Confused, she questioned, "Oh, you're coming with me?"
"You bet! Whatever Twilight and Rarity have planned for you; it's something big!"
Fluttershy grew nervous. "Um... planned?"
"Yeah! Why do you think they ordered you to put on that fancy armour?"
"Um..."
"Or get to the bridge?"
"Um..."
"They're planning something big alright! Who knows; maybe the fate of the universe will rest on your shoulders!"
"Oh, I hope-"
"-Oorrr..." Entering rapid fire mode, Pinkie predicted, "Maybe you'll be ordered to keep Twilight safe from the Covenant whilst exploring an alien ring world that turns out to be a weapon designed to wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy that you have to stop being fired by a floaty talking ball whilst fighting a hideous life absorbing parasitic infection!"
Fluttershy thought that was one of the most silly and random things Pinkie Pie had ever told her.
Laughing a little, she humoured, "Alien ring world? What alien ring world?"
"Duh! That alien ring world!"
The two of them had arrived at the bridge, and Pinkie Pie pointed her hoof at the view from the window.
Spanning thousands of kilometres and housing terrain on the inside surface, a leviathan, slowly rotating, silver ring stole the view from the Filly of Autumn's bridge. It appeared to be in orbit around an orange gas giant, along with a large grey moon.
Those cute blue eyes widened in disbelief and shimmered. Her jaw hung at the sight of such daunting majesty.
Speechless, Fluttershy just made near inaudible whimpering noises, unable to put together a sentence.
"Wh-wh-wh... H-h... Th... Th... Y-you weren't kidding about the alien ring world!" she eventually grated. "Oh, oh my! I... I've never seen anything so... so..."
"-Alluring?" Captain Rarity continued as she approached from the left.
"Impressive?" added the AI Twilight as her avatar spawned atop her terminal.
"Mysterious?" guessed Pinkie with a spooky voice, leaning in.
"Oh, hello, Rarity. Hello Twilight," greeted Fluttershy.
"Hi guys!"
Rarity and Twilight welcomed the two Ponies in kind.
Rarity spoke, "Fluttershy. So glad you're here. And you brought Pinkie Pie too!"
She brought me.
"I was hoping we could all get together before we abandon ship."
"But what about App - abandon ship!?" Fluttershy gawped.
"Yes, I know, it's a shame to say goodbye to this rusty old thing, but the Covenant are boarding the Autumn as we speak," the Captain squeaked. "I hope they didn't give you much trouble on your way over here."
Remembering the Elite that snatched her up, Fluttershy answered dryly, "Oh, I hardly knew they were here."
"I hate to do this to you, Fluttershy, but I have a task that only you can accomplish."
Fluttershy worried, Something only I can do? This sounds bad.
She then wondered out loud, "Only me? Are you sure there's no pony else who can do whatever you want me to do?"
Twilight affirmed, "Positive."
Sighing, Fluttershy looked sadly at the ground.
"We're very sorry, Fluttershy, but you're our only hope."
Getting down to business, Rarity explained, "Twilight here needs to be kept safe from those dreadful Covenant. If they capture her, they'll learn everything, including the location of Equestria! And we all saw what happened to Reach." She grumbled that last sentence. "The Covenant can not get their filthy claws on Equestria!" Voice getting a little high, she added, "It's all we have left."
This was a mountain of a task, and Fluttershy felt like she was being crushed by the weight of it. "You want me to protect all of Equestria?!"
Rarity and Twilight stared at her through hopeful eyes that put pressure on the poor Mare.
"Oohh! I'll never be able to do this! I'll probably fail the moment I set hoof off the bridge." Glumly, she peered at the deck.
Out the side of her mouth, Rarity whispered to Twilight, "Twilight, are you sure there is no pony else up to the job? I don't want to risk throwing our friend into the deep end."
"You and me both," the AI replied. "I've been through the records. Fluttershy is the only Pony on the Autumn who can use that armour: The only means of transporting me and the knowledge I have. If only there were some other way."
"Why would you want it any other way?" Pinkie Pie asked, genuinely bewildered. Stepping forward, she draped a foreleg over Fluttershy's back. "Fluttershy can handle this mission, no problem."
"No I can't."
"Yes you can!"
Unsure, Twilight asked, "Are you sure about that, Pinkie Pie?"
"Of course I am! She's been doing a great job so far!"
"No I haven't."
"Yes you have! Stop that!"
"But when you found me, I was being held up by an Elite." She slinked out from under Pinkie's foreleg. "If it's that easy for the Covenant to capture me, then what chance do I stand?" Fluttershy's head drooped again, and she closed her eyes.
She re-opened them to focus on Pinkie who motioned her right hoof.
"Duh, a big chance, silly! Because I'm going to help you, every step of the way!"
Every step of the way.
Twilight brought a hoof to her chin before suggesting, "Y'know what: Maybe a little moral support is all you need, Fluttershy. I'll literally be in the same suit as you, where I'll be able to guide you and give you instructions."
Joining in, Rarity mentioned, "And don't forget; I will be in command, where I can personally order eveypony on the Autumn to help you in any way they can." Having a short think, she decided, "Hmm, I think I'll do that now."
"No need. I've just sent a message over the ship wide com informing everypony of the situation. I'm sure Applejack and Rainbow Dash will have picked it up too," the Alicorn AI informed.
Smiling happily at Fluttershy, Pinkie inquired, "So wha'd'ya say, Fluttershy? Are you up the challenge?" Queue the wink.
Unsure, Fluttershy hesitated, "Um... I don't know. I..." She gazed around her surrounding friends, who's warm smiles served to reassure her. "... I..."
Even some of the bridge crew turned in their seats to grin friendly in her direction.
Sighing, she came to her decision. "... I'll try."
"Woohoooo!" celebrated Pinkie Pie, jumping around and blowing a party whistle she'd produced from nowhere.
Gratifyingly, Rarity and Twilight worded, "Thank you, Fluttershy. That's all we can ask for."
"Thank you, Fluttershy. This is an amazing thing you're doing for us."
Pride entered Fluttershy's soft tone as she stated, "Anything for my friends."
With a warm smile and shimmering blue eyes, Rarity hummed and turned her attention to the AI. "Are you ready, Twilight?"
"One moment," Twilight delayed. "I just want to tell you that once the Filly of Autumn is within nine hundred thousand kilometres of the ring's atmosphere, my sub-routine will take full control, allowing you and the bridge crew to escape in lifeboat number one that I have locked down on reserve, just for you."
"Why thank you, Twilight. That was very thoughtful of you."
"I have also plotted the Autumn's course in my sub-routine to bring her down to the surface of the ring in the safest way possible. She will be rendered inoperable, but should otherwise survive the impact, and we will be able to raid her on a later date."
Later date? concerned Fluttershy. How long would their vacation on the ring world be?
"Exellent work, Twilight. Thanks again," Rarity bowed respectfully. "Now are you ready?"
Twilight took a long pause to get one last gander of the bridge before sighing, "... I'm ready." It could very well be the last time she'd see this place.
Peering at an obscure control panel on the side of Twilight's terminal, Rarity used her Unicorn magic to push the necessary buttons. A bleeping came with every button push until Twilight's Alicorn avatar fizzled away. Once she had completely disappeared, Rarity magiced up a teeny computer chip and levitated it onto Fluttershy's hoof.
"Here you go, Fluttershy. You know how to install her, yes?"
Fluttershy nodded, then hesitated for a beat before inserting the Twilight chip into a receptacle to the right of her chest plate.
Wincing, she felt an icy sting in the back of her head where her neural interface was implanted as Twilight made herself at home.
"Hm... It's nice in here," Twilight's voice sounded quietly in her brain.
Before the yellow Mare could speak, Rarity announced, "I'd also like you to take this," and levitated a diamond encrusted pistol towards her.
Impressed, Pinkie swooned, "Oooh, sparkler-ific!"
The pistol floated over to the armour's built in mechanical arm. Sensing the weapon, Celestia's permanent magic made the arm take hold of the gun.
Fluttershy was astonished. "You're giving me your gun? But... how will you-"
"-Oh, I'll be fine, dear. I've never had to use it anyway. It will be better off in your hooves than mine."
"But-"
"-I can just order somepony to give me their gun if I need one."
"Oh. Well that..." Fluttershy caught herself before she voiced her opinion: She didn't want to come across as ungrateful, after all.
Simply, she expressed, "Thank you, Rarity," and accepted the fabulous M6D magnum.
Heartily, the Captain said, "The pleasure's been mine, hm-hm... The best of luck to you."
Rarity brought Fluttershy and Pinkie in for a cosy group hug that lasted a good long while.
"I'm gonna need it."