//------------------------------// // Prologue - The Incident // Story: Nighttide Star // by Vertigo-01 //------------------------------// “It's raining.” A grey mare stood in a large vacant room, looking out through a glass-pane wall at the same scene she had witnessed for many years now: rain. Her appearance reflected the mood outside. Her long black mane, streaked with highlights of green, hung in thick layers to one side, covering her left eye. Her exposed eye, a cool shade of violet, stared resolutely at the grey city outside, given definition by two small spots beneath its rim. Her body, covered in alloy a shade lighter than her muzzle, reflected the fluorescent lights overhead. Three glass domes lined each side of her flank, glowing with a ghostly green similar to that in her mane. Her ears flicked at the sound of approaching hoofsteps. A brown mare entered the room from a nearby hall and walked up beside her, gazing at the weather outside. “You would think with all the technology we have, we could do something about this rain.” The grey mare remained silent. A moment passed before the brown mare spoke again. “Nighttide. It's time.” The grey mare's ears flipped toward the window, as if to signify her indifference. “Understood,” she said, her voice flat. “I will meet you and the others at Complex 051.” The brown mare nodded in reply and began to walk away, but before she stepped into the hall, Nighttide tilted her head. “Nephilim?” The brown mare looked back. “Yes, Nighttide?” A tinge of hope for a certain response was clear in her inflection. Undaunted, Nighttide replied plainly, “Remember to recalibrate the coordinates to Pylon Five.” “Oh. Of course,” Nephilim said with a nod and a smile. “Thanks for reminding me.” Turning back for the hall, she continued on her way, breathing a hushed sigh. Nighttide returned her focus to the window. As she watched the rain fall on the world outside, she drew a deep, quiet breath, then exhaled slowly, fogging up a portion of the window in front of her. She fixed her attention for a moment on a distant mountain visible beyond the skyline. With a huff, she turned her back on the scene and made her way down the hall. __________ “We're all set this side of the moon,” spoke the deep voice of a stallion. “Everyone else good?” A crew of roughly thirty ponies stood at the ready in a tall, fluorescent-lit room filled with computer consoles, staggered in ascending rows toward one end of the room. A large monitor made up the entirety of a two-story wall at one end with a small landing below it. Off in one corner of the landing, standing behind a console of her own, a mare spoke up. “Crewleader. All shows green. We're ready when you are.” A black stallion wearing a dark grey uniform with a full moon emblazoned on the flank stood at the forefront of the monitor. He looked over his shoulder at the Crewleader. “Alright, put the first pylon team on screen.” After a flash of static, the monitor revealed another crew of ponies elsewhere with a tall red stallion standing at the forefront, wearing the same type of uniform. “Pylon One responding.” “Is your team ready to begin the test?” the stallion asked, idly adjusting the collar of his outfit as he looked up at the monitor. “Preliminary exercises show green across the board. All transmission coordinates are properly calibrated, and – yep. I think we're ready.” “Alright. Prepare your team for the initial test run. And Crimson?” The red stallion at the other end of the monitor cocked his head slightly. “Be sure this waxes smoothly.” Crimson nodded with a smirk before the monitor went blank. The black stallion turned from the monitor to look at his own team. After a long exhale, he cleared his throat to speak. “Okay. Everypony ready?” The team let out a round of excited cheers. “Alright then. Initiate stage one.” With a flurry of keys pressed and commands exchanged, the team set off on their respective duties. The monitor lit up once again to reveal Nighttide standing in a whitewash room, staring straight ahead and away from the camera overhead. Several hydraulic armatures held the pony in place, far thicker in diameter than her own metal limbs. The displayed monitor held a heading labeled “Complex 051” lit in green text at the top-left, and a timestamp at the top-right revealing time progressed by the millisecond. A monotone voice sounded from the monitor. “LAB-1032, Nighttide Star, reporting.” “Hey kid,” the black stallion replied to the monitor. “How do you feel?” Nighttide angled her head slightly toward the camera. “I'm ready to begin testing, Colonel Rubedo.” The Colonel stood relaxed. “Stage One is already underway.” “Understood.” Nighttide returned her focus to the wall ahead, her expression as flat as her words. The light buzz of keyboards and beeps filled the room for a couple of minutes. Not one pony muttered so much as a word during the process, except for the Crewleader's occasional commands. Meanwhile, Colonel Rubedo took his place at the top-most row of consoles, though he continued to watch the screen on the wall from a distance. After a moment, the Crewleader spoke again. “Stage one is complete. We're green-lit across the board. Shall we continue?” The Colonel stood up and looked over the entirety of the team. “Continue to Stage Two. Release all safety locks and proceed.” An array of red lights began flashing in Nighttide's room as an alarm sounded over the speakers. The armatures which held her in place slowly pulled away from her body. Once the final armature released its grasp, Nighttide took a low stance to the ground. “LAB-1032, command received. Initiating jump pre-sequence.” A faint purplish-orange glow began to emanate around Nighttide's body. In the command room, everyone worked hard at their consoles, focused on the smaller monitors in front of them. The air was tense as everyone pushed to get through the next and most dangerous phase as quickly as possible. “Crewleader. Warp drive has initiated. Jump imminent.” The glow around Nighttide's body grew brighter and more intense. Then, with a loud bang, a white flash enveloped her body before cutting the video feed from her room. A few seconds later, when the monitor went live again, there was nothing left of Nighttide. The Colonel calmly called out to the Crewleader. “Her status?” “She's being transmitted to the first pylon now.” A few seconds passed silently as everypony watched the overhead monitor of an empty room. Then, “First pylon successfully received transmission.” Everyone exploded in cheers and gave each other hoof-bumps at the sound of the news, but the revelry quickly died down with the Colonel's next command. “Have Pylon One send her to the next junction.” The Crewleader missed one pony's hoof mid-air when she doubled back at the Colonel's command. “Sir, shouldn't we let her rematerialize at the first pylon?” “If the first pylon received her this quickly without error, I see no reason to waste time and energy on a rematerialization at the first junction.” The Crewleader opened her mouth to argue the point, but soon clenched it shut again. Speaking into a nearby mic, she called out, “Pylon One, this is Crewleader at Command Station. Transmit LAB-1032 to Pylon Two.” A few more seconds passed. The large monitor remained watching the empty room from which Nighttide vanished as everyone waited for the next pylon to report good news. Suddenly, the command room went dark. When the lights and consoles lit back up a few seconds later, another alarm began to sound. The Colonel barked from his station. “Status report!” “Crewleader. Pylon Two reports interference in the transmission. They are attempting to widen the receiving band, but they’ve experienced a malfunction. The transmission is destabilizing!” “Dammit… Alright everypony, reinitiate all emergency protocols and procedures. Recover that mare!” “Yes sir,” and with a whip of her tail, the Crewleader set off to her own console. Everyone else did their part as well, monitoring the transmission and waiting for any commands they may receive. The overhead monitor flashed to a view of another station. “This is Pylon Two. We're experiencing technical difficulties and are requesting instructions on how to proceed.” Colonel Rubedo walked back down to the monitor. “Follow emergency procedures as scripted. We're doing the same on our end.” The Crewleader spoke up with a shaky voice. “Colonel, the transmission has already begun deteriorating. We're losing some of the data. We've also detected a slip-space rupture along the transmission line – I don't know if we can get her safely back!” “Well, you don't know if you can't yet either, now do you?” the Colonel responded sternly before turning to face everyone else in the room. “Do everything you can, everypony. This isn't over yet. Not by a long shot.” Turning his back on the wall monitor, he began walking back up to his own console. “Pylon Two will follow procedures as instructed, Colonel.” The monitor switched back to Nighttide's room, continuing to flash with red lights. Seconds crawled by as each pony worked frantically to do all they could to recover the operation, and most of all, their prized project: The infamous Nighttide Star. But as quickly as the tumult began, it ended. “Crewleader. The transmission has completely deteriorated… We've lost Nighttide.” Silence penetrated the command room as everypony stopped typing. Just short of his own seat, Colonel Rubedo stopped mid-trot, his eyes wide and lost. After a moment, and with visible hesitance, he sat down, then buried his face in his hooves. With a heavy breath, he whispered, “Nighttide…” The crew backed away from their consoles, looking blankly at the monitor of an empty room. The alarms continued to sound in the background, but nopony stood up to shut them off. That wasn't important. Nighttide was gone. And that was important.