//------------------------------// // 30 - A tunnel in the sky // Story: Final Solution // by Luna-tic Scientist //------------------------------// ~~~discontinuity~~~ Fusion appeared in the air above Gravity's head. Her sister was talking to a dozen unfamiliar ponies, who were replying animatedly. The thump and pulse of the teleport arrival rolled over them and they fell silent, looking up. Wings fanning, Fusion dropped to the ground. "Grav, there's a chance that Orgon will actually keep his word this time. I need to get to one of the other breeding centres and test that hypothesis." Gravity shrugged. "We're all from the same centre; I could go through the Naraka ponies, but..." She frowned, looking at the others. They looked back, wide-eyed and legs twitching as if on the edge of flight. Are you okay here? Fusion opened their sharing, watching the newcomers intently. That many ponies could be a match for one of them and Fusion worried about some subtle enchantment, but by shadow sight the ponies were as empty of active magic as new-born foals. They stared back, attention flicking between Gravity and herself. Yes. They are... scared, but curious. The orders they were given have made things easier -- I've removed half of the Blessings so far, and nopony has screamed even once. I've shared with a couple of them, and there's no sign that this is a trap. Orgon told me that a few of these were from different centres... was he correct? Yes. Boron Fibre is from sector three; she's had a foal, so... Gravity nodded at a green-coated mare, currently huddled at the centre of the little herd. She shrank slightly when she noticed Fusion's attention. I've taken her Blessing and looked at her most recent memories; there's no sign of her being anything other than a military repair tech. She spent all her time in the back of one of the airtanks. "Boron," Fusion said gently, "you don't need to be afraid. This change is huge and a hard thing to get your head around, but I need you to help me for a short while. Can you do that?" "Of course, I--" She swallowed, head bobbing with a vigorous nod that made her deep blue mane whip back and forth. "You are Fusion? I've been ordered to help you in any way I can." Soon you will be able to think for yourself. Fusion sighed, but kept her expression sympathetic. If Orgon's just going to tell them all to obey me this is going to make the transfer of power a slow process. "Thank you. Gravity needs to share with you; we need to see your memories of the breeding centres you visited." "Yes, Master," Boron said in a small voice, her head bowed; her ears folding back when Fusion flinched. "Not Master," Fusion whispered, the words coming out nearly strangled, "never call me that. Always remember you have a choice." The mare looked back, confusion warring with embarrassment. "Yes, Mas-- Fusion," she said, some of the confusion shifting to wonder. She turned to Gravity and closed her eyes. "I'm ready. Take what you need." Gravity's horn flashed and Fusion experienced a blend of images, sounds, sensations and smells. The breeding site from the air as she flew towards an opening in the cultivated forest around the central pyramid, the smell of leaf-litter and her mate, landing next to her. The sight of the debris ring in the night sky as her wings opened and her tail twitched sideways. A set of teeth nipped at her neck and a warm, comfortable weight settled on her hindquarters-- Fusion whinnied and pulled back from the link. "T-thank you! Thank you, that's plenty." She backed away, folding her own half-opened wings. "Gravity, I'm going now." Her sister smirked, mouth twisting. I'll get you for that. "You can take care of things here?" "I can. I've asked for a few ponies from the welcome teams we used after Naraka." Gravity's voice was calm and solemn, but her eyes glinted with amusement. Now you know what I see; the strongest memories are not always pain and horror. I'm glad, I really am. Let them know that we will get their families brought over. Fusion dipped her head to brush her muzzle along Gravity's neck. Be careful. You too. Fusion nodded, wheeling to gallop a few steps before jumping into the air. Magic coated her with white-gold radiance and she pushed-- ~~~discontinuity~~~ === Orgon stared at the empty video window, camera still pointing through a rent in the air carrier's hull at a scene of broken and snapped dwarf conifers. Fusion will be arriving at one of the other centres soon. His gaze drifted to the map display on one wall. With no idea which one it would be, he'd ordered the research staff out of all the facilities. Knowing that some of the scientists wouldn't want to leave, those orders were reinforced by some of Security's more enthusiastic door-kickers. The list of complaints was growing like a fulminant tumour, many from high-ranking figures in industry who'd seen the orders without being told the reasons behind them. The same screen marked the progress of a wing of Maul gunships, diverted from one of the perimeter bases and flying at twice the speed of sound towards the captured attack carrier. In their wake were a pair of support aircraft: one charging unit, little more than a flying proton-boron reactor, and a mobile repair/arming facility, complete with a full complement of servitors. This one knows where the ponies are, he could order a strike, catch half their force... Orgon sighed, pushing the thought away. "How long before the Court misses Rthys?" he asked, crouching before the last Auditor. She glared back, her eyes fixed on the body of Kosigan. "They already do," she spat. "They know Kosigan is dead." "That is very unlikely; the Auditors’ comms require access to the Hive's network to talk to the Court. Merlon, check--" The servitor jerked as if she'd been stung, head swinging around. For a moment she stared at Orgon, her pale eyes full of panic and the hint of magic flickering around her horn. What is wrong with the creature? Merlon had returned from her last puppynapping like a hunted thing, constant tremors making her skin twitch and shiver. What did the pony have to do? Has this one pushed her too far? He stood and walked to her side, laying a paw against her neck. The touch, which normally would have been calming, only served to make her tremble more. "Whatever the pony did, it is forgiven. The Hive is at war; we must all do things that are difficult." Orgon sighed, pulling back his paw. "Please check the Auditors’ communications devices." Merlon nodded, a semblance of her normal calm returning. "Master, I--" Her jaw worked and her voice became distant, as if she was talking to herself. "I destroyed a commuter transport on the way to Redoubt Phi. It was in the way of one of the teleport jumps... the magic felt different, but I did it anyway and, and..." She sighed, a great release of air. "I let a hundred of the People fall to their deaths. I'm not safe, I don't know enough, I--" Her voice accelerated, the words tumbled out over each other, stopping dead when Orgon touched the end of her muzzle. "Stop," he said. "What the pony did has made it possible for the Hive to survive. Without her actions there would be no chance at all. This one sent the pony to do a difficult task without support and without the chance to prepare. This one is at fault for any accidents." She nodded again. "Master," she whispered, her voice not filled with relief, but misery. "Thank you." Her horn glowed, matching pearly light dancing over the Auditors’ comms bracers. "There is a fail-safe. When I removed them, they sent signals. Were they disconnected from the network?" It was Orgon's turn to sigh. This is the trouble with unplanned operations. "No. It matters not, but it would have been nice to have a few kiloseconds before the threats started." He shrugged, then turned to the Intelligence staff. "Get this one a prediction of how much time these ones have before the Court takes direct action." There was a flurry of activity as heads bent over consoles, the air filling with intense conversation and whispered arguments. "Merlon, when Academician Vanca has finished the next phase of her work, please bring her to Orgon. This one has something else to offer the ponies." Hopefully they will listen to Vanca before they kill her. === ~~~discontinuity~~~ --air, like a solid wall, slammed into Fusion's personal force field and made her vision swim for an instant. The rush faded after a few seconds as her velocity bled away, and she relaxed the magic that locked flesh and bone into one stupendously strong whole. Freed, her wings flicked open and she inhaled a shuddering breath, then coughed. This is where we find out if the dogs can be trusted. Shadow sight and normal vision, greatly magnified by atmospheric lensing magic, swept the land below; the central complex, the same shape as the one at Naraka but not as large, was cluttered with the glows of gryphons and ponies. There were more in the fields around the site, and still more in the covering glades around them. No need to ruin everypony's fun, Fusion thought, then frowned at the sight of a pair of Security airtrucks sitting on the apron outside the main entrance to the central pyramid. Her magic built, a twist of magnetism biting down on the air to turn it incandescent, then she relaxed. Figures, some still in biohazard gear, were being hustled out of the building by heavily-built dogs in Security armour, herded towards the trucks. In the silence of Fusion's slow descent, the sound of voices raised in baffled complaint was clear. Her smile returned, with sharp edges. Let's see how far those orders have gone. She pushed-- ~~~discontinuity~~~ --arriving with a sharp thump a wingspan above the ground and right next to one of the airtrucks. Fusion remembered what was inside Naraka and let some of the anger translate into heat and light, the glow from her body casting angled shadows from the dogs. The technical staff scattered, tripping over themselves in their haste to get away, some lying where they fell to stare up at her, mouths agape. The response from the troopers was more measured and controlled: curses were shouted and weapons were raised. She stared back at them, her force fields making the air hazy and cutting a curved line across the concrete. Go on, do something stupid. Paws remained clenched about weapons, but one by one they were pointed away from her. One dog, with the shoulder tags of a captain, flicked up her face plate and slung her rifle. Fear and anger flowed across her muzzle, telegraphed in little twitches of whisker and involuntary snarls that showed glimpses of stark, white teeth. "The building is clear, pony. Do what you will." What do you want to call me? Traitor? Abomination? "Oh, I will. Leave and never come back." Fusion lowered her head to look at the nearest Eugenics Board scientist, who started to scramble backwards on all fours, his paws slipping on the smooth surface. "I don't know what I'm going to find in there, but if it's anything like Naraka, you don't want to be anywhere nearby." "What these ones do is essential to the--" Breathing hard, Fusion wheeled on the captain. "You have ten seconds to get that truck in the air or it will be a crater!" she snarled, then turned again and stalked towards the main doors, still half open. A pulse of magic ripped them, doors, frame and drive motors, free of their stone mounts and tossed them aside; Fusion never broke stride as panic erupted behind her. Shouted orders, punctuated by cries and the sounds of bodies being struck, then the final roar of a full-power takeoff blasted dust and warm air past her. In the sudden silence, Fusion slumped, most of the anger bleeding away. At least there's no sign of the... storage areas in this place. The building had a large number of subterranean levels, but was missing the core of pastel glows that marked Naraka's particular horror. There are hundreds and hundreds of ponies here... if this is a trap, if Orgon has ordered them to restrain me, I won't be able to fight them all. She walked forwards, feeling small against the high, ragged opening, and swept the lower levels with shadow sight. All the ponies were still in their stalls, long arcing curves that spiralled around a central exercise yard, but there was no calm. They flowed like glowing insects trapped in glass boxes, an agitated swirl of constant motion. In contrast, the gryphons barely moved; little static groups of three or four evenly spaced within their stalls. He told the ponies but not the gryphons. Fusion pulled open the doors on one of the spiral ramps leading to the first level. I really need Redshift here, she thought, mind filled with the feeling of nuclear fire, there's no antimatter trigger, but perhaps something older and simpler would do the job. The first corridor of stalls was just like the ones from Naraka: blank, transparent walls opening onto rooms filled with little groups of ponies. There were more per stall than the gryphons, and they danced and walked, turning tight circles in the confined spaces. Ears flicked forwards and back, tails swished and thrashed, but the sound of any conversation or argument was completely muted by the doors. There were foals in the first stall, staring wide-eyed at the antics of their dams. Fusion pressed her head against the barrier, then froze as the adults noticed her. They turned, staring back, then as one bowed their heads. I guess that answers the first question. They didn't seem afraid -- there were none of the signs of Punishment -- just confused and curious. She glanced sideways at the control panel with its unreadable dog script, then shrugged. It's not like we're ever coming back. Her horn glowed and a perfect circle of the thick transparency separated and came loose from the rest. In total silence, Fusion carefully pulled the razor-edged panel away and leaned it against the corridor wall. "What did the Masters tell you?" she said softly to their still lowered heads. Their foals, emboldened by the lack of motion, clustered by the new exit and sniffed the air, their stubby, down-covered wings fluttering with excitement. "That a white pony with a rainbow mane would lead us to the surface, and that we should follow her orders from now on." The mare, head still lowered, glanced up briefly. "That the Maker and the Masters had no further need for us, and that we'd be going home." Her muzzle twisted and her voice became wistful. "I've been inside for so long that I can't remember what the sky looks like." The one standing next to her nodded, then glanced sideways. "My foal... he's nearly old enough to go live in another corral. What will happen to him?" There was a ghost of pain in her eyes, not something from the Blessing, but something remembered. 'Live in another corral' sounds like something you'd tell a pony to hide a painful truth. Fusion swallowed, mind filled with the tissue banks at Naraka, then shook her head. Perhaps they were fostered out to other ponies, although I've never heard of such a thing. "Nothing. He'll stay with you for as long as you and he want it." There was a gasp, echoed by all the dams. "There were always whispers that our work for the Masters would be over one day. Is... is that now?" "It is," Fusion said gravely, "they will never use this place again. Come, we need to release all the others. You can open the doors like I did; use your magic, no one will punish you for any damage." She walked down the corridor, allowing herself to be seen by all those within each stall. In her wake, the freed ponies cut open the doors, until Fusion was at the head of a comet's tail that led all the way to the surface. === Korn sat on a small pad of pine boughs that he'd collected the day before, his arms wrapped around his knees. It was cold this high in the mountains, but at least he was out of the cave and its boulder-barricaded entrance. The new prison was just as hard to escape from; little more than a pinnacle of rock capped with a small forest of stubby trees. He ruffled the fur down one arm and tightened the cinch straps on his stained equipment vest. The thing had survived remarkably well, considering the insults of his circumstances, although the many pockets were filled with scavenged fire-making equipment -- dry bark and needles, small twigs, and any fragments of rock that looked like they might be useful as future tools -- rather than scientific instruments. At least it blocks some of the wind, he thought, and this one is better off than Rthar. Unlike the Captain, Korn's fur had been well overdue for a clip when he was taken, and was thickening up nicely in response to the cold and exposure; his normally subdued winter coat was almost supercharged. He reached out and picked at the deer carcass that had been dropped -- literally -- a few days earlier. Almost nothing edible remained, little more than scraps of connective tissue, and the animal had been stripped of the best cuts before it had even reached them. Sharp incisors nibbled at the surface of the bone, scraping the already clean surface. Korn licked mournfully at the fragment, then sighed and worked the sharp end between his molars and worried at it. Overhead there was a flash of light and a thump, marking the arrival of a pony with one of their jailers, the same gryphoness who'd taken a keen interest in them both. Most of the gryphons, before their isolating imprisonment, had treated them with hostile indifference, but this female, called Svartr, was different. Every visit had been an excuse to ask more questions, and she'd never been satisfied with the answers. He watched them circle overhead, dropping the bone. Finally, more food. At least this will stop Rthar and those insane escape plans. The ex-Security trooper had spent all his waking hours trying to make enough rope to get them safely to the valley floor, thus far without success. He'd given up on using the roots of the pines, and was now working on weaving their bark. Korn dreaded becoming so hungry that he would trust his weight to the makeshift things. And if it works, these ones will still be a thousand kilometres from anywhere. Should these ones wait? How long before this 'Svartr' goes too far? He frowned -- the gryphon's talons were empty -- then jumped as Rthar knelt down next to him. "Does the Captain think that... that the ponies are done with these ones?" he said, suddenly feeling the need to curl into a ball and tremble. "Maybe," Rthar murmured, then shook his head. "Seems unlikely; this one thinks that the ponies are the only ones preventing the gryphoness from murdering these ones out of paw." He looked thoughtful. "This one supposes that it could be official... Svartr would have volunteered to be the executioner..." He tailed off when Korn let out an involuntary whimper. "No; this is something new." He stood, tapping a paw on Korn's shoulder. "Stand up, Student. These ones must face what's coming." Korn stood, his legs suddenly weak. It had to happen; this one is still surprised they rescued us before the Hammer strike. Korn has answered all their questions-- he swallowed, rubbing his side. The gryphoness had been careful not to use her claws, and had waited until the ponies had gone. Under the faintly amused gaze of her friends, there had been no chance to resist, even if Rthar or himself had been in a fit state to fight back. He made an effort to slow his breathing, letting the dull ache of each deep inhalation bring some focus, and tried not to flinch when the gryphon hovered overhead for a moment, then landed in a swirl of pine needles. "Strip," Svartr rasped, her grey and black head feathers raised. Korn carefully took off his equipment vest, movements made slow by discomfort, shivering slightly as the cold wind cut through the now exposed fur of his back. "What does the trooper want; this one has done everything--" he said, voice developing a piteous whine, then cutting off as Rthar placed a paw on his shoulder. The gryphoness cocked her head, eyes glinting and beak half-open with what he was starting to recognize as a smile. "You dogs are going to get what you deserve," she said, ignoring a sharp glance from the pony, who gave a loud snort. "Yes, time to go," the pony said, horn glowing green. That same glow lit the fur of his middle and pulled Korn off the ground. He went limp, hanging from the rubbery grip as the pony leapt into the air. He caught a glimpse of Rthar, orbiting on the other side of the stallion, then the sky blinked and changed-- ~~~discontinuity~~~ --a sudden, hard slap of wind, strong enough to make his muzzle sting, then the steady airflow of gliding flight. Below them was a downed attack carrier, with a big hole in the side and another on the dorsal surface. Overhead was another aircraft, a blocky thing made angular by the ridged spine of a mass driver that jutted from its chin and a pair of stubby wings that flared out from each side. A flock of gryphons surrounded it, followed by a string of others. There was the faint shrieking sound of excited raptors, like vultures around a kill. What is this? Off in the distance was another shape, with the fat profile of a heavy transport, slowly settling into a valley on the other side of a rocky ridge. Rthar was staring open-mouthed at the aircraft, then flicked his gaze to the pony. "How did these ones capture so much?" "We didn't," the pony replied, angling his glide to take them towards an improvised landing field where another half dozen gunships had settled in a ragged line. There was a little herd of ponies with them, all looking lost and exposed amid the swirling dead-leaf shapes of the gryphons. They all wore the equipment harnesses of animals serving in the Military, the flat grey stark against their pastel coats. There were flashes below them and more ponies appeared in the clear air, dozens and dozens of them. They appear in groups, Korn thought, eyes narrowed against the slipstream, one pony carrying several others? He nodded to himself; there was one pony in each cluster that flew out of the jump like they had practiced it a hundred times, while the others tumbled for the first moments. Are those foals? Those are family groups! The military ponies had seen the arrivals and many had jumped into the air to greet them, until the ground was hard to see amid the swirl of rainbow wings. He turned to stare at Rthar to see the same slack-jawed wonder on the Captain's face that must be on his own. Are they going to send these ones home? The thought made Korn's guts twist and he shivered. What will Security do with this one now they have killed him once already? === Ellisif ran a claw along the underside of one of the angular gunships. It wasn't a huge thing like an attack carrier or a mostly-armour lump like an airtank, but more wasp-like. One of the few vehicles designed to be piloted by a gryphon rather than a dog, it was built to be the tip of a disposable spear; all the emphasis was on firepower and speed. There was no space for a pony repair-crew, unlike for a dog-piloted vehicle, but there was a small drop bay that could hold a pair of fire teams -- if it wasn't being used as a secondary arsenal. The pony technician that had come with the vehicle nodded nervously at her, flinching at some commotion on the improvised apron behind him. "The range safety units have all been disabled, as ordered. The pilot will have full control at all times," he said. "I still need to remove the actual flight termination hardware; one of the destruct devices is buried in the superconducting power bank." Ellisif reared up and peered into one of the open hatches, eyes following the curves of the linkless feed that shunted ammunition from the magazine to the receiver of the spinal railgun. Rows of shiny darts, each the length of her forearm but more slender, filled the chutes. "We'll be checking that," she said absently. "I follow my orders," the pony said stiffly, the nerves replaced by a hint of irritation. This creature could rip me apart, armour or no... and we will need them to work willingly. Ellisif dropped back down and turned to face the pony. "It will take time to build trust; do not take offense." She sat back on her haunches and stared. "What do you think of your new assignment?" she asked, head cocked to one side. The pony's ears flattened and one wingelbow came forwards to rub at the side of his head, just where the horn erupted from the skin. Just lost his Blessing? "The Masters have ordered it, so I'll obey." The ears stayed back and he flinched as if in anticipation of a blow. "But you are not happy--" Ellisif watched the stallion carefully, seeing if the flinch turned into the little twitches or shivers that marked the Blessing's activation; there was nothing and the pony relaxed. "--despite no-longer having the Masters standing over you with a whip." "The Masters are the paws of the Maker!" he snapped back, neck stretching out and ears almost disappearing beneath his mane. Ellisif didn't move, even when those big square teeth came within a claw-span of her beak. "You are doing what they trained you to do and your family is here. You can actually say 'no' for the first time in your life, and not have your nerves light up. There are compensations." The stallion slumped, his head held low as if he was about to start eating the smashed and trampled vegetation under paw. "I've heard stories from the ponies here, horrible things that sound like they were the product of mental disorders. I don't want to believe them, but our medic has confirmed at least some of it. Said she couldn't talk before." He shivered, wings clamping tight around his barrel. "To know all that and have to keep it from everypony, and not be able to even tell your mate..." The stallion lifted his head again, backing away a step. "Horrible, yes. You ponies have it worse than us, to have a thing in your head watching your every thought." Ellisif stood and walked forwards, reaching out with one closed set of talons and touching him on the shoulder. "If it helps, I've watched the ponies here go through this. They have all--" Mostly. "--come through this and been better for it." Especially now we have some measure of safety. "I hope so," he muttered, then sighed. "Anyway, this one is ready for you. That Redshift of yours won't find anything wrong." The pony flinched again, twisting to look up at the sky. Ellisif followed his gaze, but there was nothing there but the underside of vaguely sickly clouds. "Oh wow, they warned me, but I've only felt magic like that when they test one of the strategic thaumic arrays." "We're under attack?!" What are all these ponies doing, letting the dogs get the drop on us? She glanced left and right; ponies, all those from the original corral and Naraka, were jumping into the air, horns lighting up. "From what?" Vague memories of an instructor mentioning long range thaumic strikes that would have erased whole companies before the invention of Arclight surfaced in Ellisif's brain and clamoured for attention. "Of course, you wouldn't know." He hesitated, then ruffled his wings. "Cooperate fully, right. Some of us have to work with the things: big networks of crystal thaumic effectors with long ranges. The Hives don’t use them because everyone has thaumic suppression, like Arclight, and the threat of reprisals by conventional weapons, and you can detect their operation from anywhere in the world. Easy to backtrack--" "Can you ponies do anything?" The stallion was calm, far too calm for this to be a real attack, and Ellisif felt her head feathers relax. "Yes, but not against this -- it's something else." He gestured at the sky, at a dark figure tipped with a point of violet light, arc-welder bright even at this range. "That's Gravity, isn't it?" Ellisif's wings started to itch, not on the surface, but deep in the core of the slender bones. "It is." The backdrop of clouds started to swell and flutter, like some invisible paw was placing random lenses in the sky. An odd feeling of lightness swept through her body, then the point of distortion abruptly expanded into a sphere the size of a surveillance dirigible. The thing just sat there in the air like a giant glass ball, but what showed through it wasn't just a distorted view of the clouds. Blue, with a landscape of distant trees and green meadows curved up into arcs, the features compressed and made tiny as they vanished up the side of the sphere. There was a curious sense that the view covered the whole horizon, the light funnelled in from all directions at the other end of this, this... It's a tunnel! Ellisif's beak gaped open and she sank back to her haunches. Big enough to get an aircraft through... "That's what you felt?" The stallion nodded, horn glowing with little fireflies of yellow light, then closed his eyes. "If only you could see it," he murmured. "Light, filling the sky, like a spiralling funnel that points in a direction that's outside..." Overhead, distorted spindly shapes moved across the glassy sphere, then abruptly grew large, filling the thing with flashes of feather, hoof and fur, then burst free as a trickle of tumbling ponies. The trickle turned into a stream, then a flood; each pony was carrying either a foal or a compact bundle of brown and grey. A whole breeding centre's worth of gryphons... I bet they are a lot less cooperative than the ponies. The polychromatic flock gathered in the sky, pulling away from the opening. A few more came through, the last trickle, then there was nothing. The distortion pulsed, shrinking rapidly and vanishing. The itching sensation in Ellisif's wings faded with it, and she shook her head. More untrained mouths to feed. At least they will be motivated. "So much... Gravity was holding open the tunnel from this end." The stallion sighed, his head still turned to the sky. "We heard a lot of rumours. What's she like?" Ellisif clicked her beak, a soft repetitive sound. "Scary," she said finally. === Fusion swayed on her hooves, sides heaving like bellows. Squinting up at the wormhole terminus, the normally infinitesimally brief extrusion of higher dimensions into normal space-time stretched and held open by her power. Pain lanced down her neck, lightning crackles that rippled from the base of her horn, making her vision fade and flutter. "That's all of them?" she wheezed, falling back on the crutch of speech to send her thoughts through to Gravity. Assent came back, and Fusion let the magic die, taking a few staggering steps before falling over on the grass. "That's much harder than a normal teleport," she muttered, feeling the weariness slowly drain from her bones. She looked up at the central pyramid of the breeding centre, then swept her shadow sight around the perimeter. The pony-lights that'd been there on her arrival had all gone. "All alone... probably for the best." Fusion heaved herself upright, fanning her wings to dry some of the sweat on her flanks. "Perhaps now's the time for another experiment." She felt for the sun, testing and probing the distant complexity surrounding it. There was a responsiveness that felt at odds with the distance; forty-five-odd light seconds should have meant massive delays, but it was like she was talking to a pony in the next field over. The communication must be through the same sort of space-time metric as the teleport... the information is flowing slower than light, but the distance is far shorter than expected. If I ask it, how long before I get an answer? What will happen when I do? What if I can put it out? Fusion stared upwards, sweat suddenly making her fur damp again. What if I can't start it again? "Maybe not. There are other ways I can practice." She turned to stare at the central pyramid with its ragged opening, looking past the stone and into the complex's core and deep levels. Plenty of glows in the shadow universe, but all had the harsh colours of crystal thaumic systems. Still nobody there; good. Fusion smiled, stepping forwards into the doorway. Time to make sure they know my true feelings about this place. Fusion reached for her power, letting out a quiet grumble as the familiar weight settled about her head. She lifted her wings, fanning them gently; the flight magic took the gust and turned it into a miniature gale, all pouring into the opening and deep into the building. The flow was free; while extracting all the ponies and gryphons she'd broken open all the internal doors she could find, all the way to the lower transit hub and the deep tunnels connecting it to the rest of the Hive. Stretching her wings, Fusion accelerated the airflow and kindled a free-floating ball of plasma a few body lengths inside the atrium, a stark point of blue-white that rapidly expanded and grew brilliant enough to cast deep black shadows behind her. The light brightened further, and she recalled the patterns she'd used against Vanca's particle accelerator and all the lasers she'd been shot with, pushing a fraction of her power into them. The glare-white landscape dimmed and vanished behind the nested fields, the light curling around the bubble of manipulated air. Her power, funnelled in from a location that was as unbelievable as it was immense, was bent according to her will, emerging directly as writhing coils of magnetism and electricity. Oxygen and nitrogen, heated to incandescence, first split into individual atoms, then surrendered their outermost electrons in a frenetic dance. The emission light shifted towards the blue end of the spectrum, rich with ultraviolet and a low, but rising, level of x-rays. She let the field lines at the back of the magnetic trap relax, allowing the high-energy plasma to escape and travel further into the centre. Fresh air, unaffected by the field and blown under the pressure of Fusion's magic, moved to take its place. The inside of the building, originally the dark of shadow on shadow, started to glow with the colours of hot gas. She followed the path of the energetic gas; it only existed as a plasma for moments after leaving her influence, but all that energy had to go somewhere, and that somewhere was heat. The power, allowed to flow from her and not stored up like the time at the Pit, ran like an ever-rushing torrent to make the insides of the structure slump and turn to slag. === Another of the angular machines growled overhead, the screaming racket of its plasma drive echoing off the valley walls, and the foals scattered. Again. Random, flanks heaving, dug her hooves into the springy plants that carpeted the alpine meadow and galloped in pursuit. If I had my magic-- She bit down on the thought, shying away from the memory of a blue-white flash on the horizon, marking the final resting place of over a thousand people. It is better this way. Pure physical effort, prompted by the motions of the foals and requiring little more than instinct, washed away the memory, and she headed off the first little cluster, changing the direction of their headlong flight. "It will be so much easier when you little idiots get smart enough to talk to!" she panted, nostrils flared like the intakes of jet engines. The foals' legs were nearly as long as her own, but they lacked the stamina for the bolt to carry on for more than a dozen strides at full speed; fortunately they were familiar with each other and had only split into two groups this time. The first group swerved, turned when she'd run across the leader's path, and adopted her as their new leader, following when she dashed after the second group. This group, only five foals and the smaller half of the herd, was heading for the thick cover at the edge of the meadow, with its spiny branches and jagged rocks filled with leg-breaking hoof traps. Too far-- She reached for her power, rebuffed by a stinging pulse of pain from the amputated horn, and let out a whinny of frustration. More than one ear in the fleeing group twitched in her direction, and without thinking she inhaled deeply, screaming the air out in a high, jagged contact neigh that overwhelmed even the receding dog aircraft’s engine noise. Almost as one, the herd changed direction, their panicked expressions now focussed on her. Gallop dropping to canter and then trot, she let the following group catch up, joining with the rest. Random came to a halt, dropping her head to nuzzle and nip at the milling multicoloured bodies as they clustered around her legs. I can't believe that worked... she thought through a haze of fatigue. They trust me, they really do. Tears started to prick at her eyes, and she closed them, losing herself in the smell and touch of little bodies. "Are you okay, Random?" The voice sounded as tired as Random felt. She blinked, then lifted her head. "Yes, Plasma. All good here. They came when I called." Unbidden, a smile stretched across her muzzle. "How's your wing?" The mare snorted, carefully shrugging the strapped-up limb. "Healing. Flight will always be harder, Spiral tells me. Too many fractures through the thaumic cores of the bones. I should be ready for a gentle flutter in a day or two, so we'll see." At least they do have somepony watching. I'm glad she didn't feel the need to intervene. "Has Fusion come to see you yet?" Plasma Cascade sighed, shaking her head and making her tangled red mane flop and swing against her cream neck. "No. What Helium said to her has made things... difficult. I think she's afraid." A mare who can burn a forest to ash with a thought? "You don't blame her?" "She's my daughter, Random, my little filly. But I still... I want to, you understand? You weren't there when the Agent came into the corral, were you?" "I was at Naraka by then." "Of course." Plasma nodded. "I only asked her where Fusion and Gravity were and... and... she told me." Plasma swallowed, cringing slightly, her ears going back. "If it wasn't for that Arclight thing, I'd have gone into fugue there and then..." Nostrils flaring and breathing deeply like she'd just galloped for a kilosecond, Plasma closed her eyes, only opening them when Random stepped forwards to stand at her uninjured side. "I was asleep for most of what followed, missed Fusion's big show about Naraka, but I saw the explosion from the Hammer." Random flinched in turn, a sudden motion that sent the foals around her legs cantering off until she gave a low, nickering call. "I didn't know, I didn't understand," she said softly, "but Fusion did. Can you imagine the revelation she must have had, right at the start? I thought I was alone, but I never carried a burden like that." She gave a laugh, low and bitter. "All we do for the Masters, our lives ground down and spat out, and this is how they treat us. At least Fusion made the right choice." Plasma stood still for a moment, her eyes on the milling foals. "Yes, I think she did. Come on, let's get this lot fed. I need to talk to Helium."