3. Sapphire
Here is where Equis: Interlude, what I mentioned at the end of Equis 1, comes into play, in case some of you didn't know. All events of that side story apply here. Reading it is not required at all, but recommended because it's an awesome story in general which picks right up from when Equis 1 ended. It focuses mainly on Sapphire and her interactions with others. Who is 'Sapphire' you ask? Well, go check out the story above, or prepare to be surprised. You may want to recall how Equis 1 ended though. 
Metroid Equis II: Duality
Section 3
Sapphire
[The Everfree Forest]
The peaceful, natural, ambient sounds of the Everfree were invaded by heavy bipedal footfalls and the rhythmic sound of strained, exertive breathing. A lone Federation Marine, clad in the very latest in Federation armor technology, sprinted towards the nearest, widest tree trunk they could find. Stacking up against it, they clutched their assault rifle close and held it at the low ready. The soldier’s nameplate, visible now that they had lowered their rifle, proclaimed that their name was ‘S. Exeter.’
Steeling her expression, Sydney took a quick breath and left the cover of the tree, dashing forward and bee-lining for the next point of cover, skidding to a stop and planting her shoulder in the bark. Stilling her breathing to listen more closely to the forest, she heard nothing save for the sounds of nature, but she knew full well that she was not alone… there was a hidden assailant who was always watching her. It was Sydney’s job to find the aggressor, and terminate them. She peeked out from beyond her organic cover, easing her right eye into position to survey the forest ahead. Cycling between her armor’s different visor overlays did not yield any insight, so she had no choice but to continue her advance.
She swept her proposed path with her rifle and was confronted with nothing, so she picked a tree, turned out and began running low for it. She had barely stepped away when, in response to some intuition of hers, she threw herself to the ground moments before a gunshot broke across the forest, the hardlight round searing the bark of the tree she had so recently sheltered behind, right where her head used to be. Panting even harder, soldier’s instincts told her the shot had come from her left. She scrambled back behind the tree, keeping it between her and her assailant. Her blood continued to cycle through her system at an ever-increasing rate, though she knew she had to control her breathing.
Sydney poked a fraction of her head out once more, cycling through her visors in an attempt to see anything, but she knew her enemy was smarter than that. She had to get up close and personal to take them out.
With a grunt of exertion, she tore away from her cover and sprinted straight towards a natural hillock in the forest floor… right in the direction where the shot had come from. She just about made it to cover when, to her ten o’clock, she noticed a sudden glimmer of light. Sydney raised her rifle and fired five shots on the run, to get her assailant ducking. She then hit the ground by the hillock and crawled halfway up, awaiting any movement that might come her way. All she had to do now was confirm whether she hit her target or not.
She had her answer in moments, as another round buzzed over her right shoulder, causing her to press her body further against the earth.
Sydney flattened her body, spreading out, figuring this shot had come from in front of her and slightly to the right, thus, she deduced her assailant had wisely shifted position. Her breathing rate subconsciously increased, but she did not really know why she was all that surprised… she could not have reasonably expected her enemy to remain in one location. Tightening her grip on her rifle, she crawled to the right of the hill and did what she could to peek out without exposing herself too much. When nothing revealed itself, she eased more of her body out to get as good of a look as she could…still, though, she saw nothing.
Pushing herself off the ground and back to her feet, Sydney bounded over her former concealment and barreled straight towards where she thought her adversary was… she was so close, she could feel it. As she closed with another massive tree she had designated as her next point of cover, something broke through the forest to her right, in her peripheral vision. Syd immediately executed a combat roll forward and planted her right knee into the ground, swinging her rifle to the right and scanning her surroundings.
Nothing.
Keeping her rifle at the high ready, she righted her posture and stood up completely. It would take quite the distraction to compromise Sydney’s renowned focus now. This distraction took the form of a large, brilliantly blue bird that alighted on a tree branch just ahead of her.
Her brief moment of distraction cost her dearly.
She did not even hear the gunshot before a hardlight round entered right into her lower back, Sydney crying out agonizingly as it diffused a harsh, stun charge throughout her entire body, forcing her to convulse on the spot. She fell to her knees and onto her chest as her extremities still continued to twitch. Her pained screaming was replaced with lethargic and fatigued moaning and groaning. She had no desire to move anymore, and the absence of her movement prompted another figure to step out of their hiding spot: an equally armored Federation Marine whose armor bore an intricate camouflage pattern. A long rifle with a bipod hung in their grip.
“Really, Sydney? Getting distracted by a bird?” the voice of Arianna sounded before she removed her helmet, revealing her tanned face and shoulder-length hair. “I thought we were special forces,” she added blithely, placing her boot under Sydney’s shoulder and rolling the unresponsive woman onto her back. The poor girl still twitched periodically, but mustered enough energy to remove her own helmet, uncovering her fair-skinned face and amber hair that fell just above her mid-back (though necessarily messy and splayed around her head). Her blue eyes locked onto the Arianna’s brown ones, irritation cutting through the pain.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up in my moment of weakness… now help me up, ya bitch.”
Arianna held out her hand to her downed friend and Sydney accepted it without hesitation, needing a bit of help to steady herself on her feet once she was able to find them. As she attached her rifle to her back and picked up her helmet, six other armored individuals broke through some forest cover: two humans and four unicorns. All of them had no helmets and their weapons were slung or attached to their backs.
“Not gonna lie, that looked painful,” Radiance felt compelled to say after witnessing Sydney drop like a ragdoll. Her cyan coat and jet-black mane looked, coincidentally, as radiant as ever. The last three years had done her well, and she became an even better soldier in the company of her new squad.
“Got farther than the rest of us, so at least you have that going for you,” Nathan added, rubbing the back of his neck. Nathan did not appear to have aged at all in the last three years; his face was still as youthful as ever. The only difference was a bit more stubble on the lower half of his face. Starry, who was by his side, had not changed a bit either (much to Radiance’s annoyance). Her eccentric personality was always on display but she did grow out her faded navy-blue mane. The general consensus was that it looked much better.
“But, come on… a bird?” Jacob pointed out, shaking his head. “You’re better than that, Sydney,” he finished pointedly. The ‘original’ captain still looked like he was ten years younger than he actually was, and the last three years did little in the way to belie that assessment.’ He was still the fair-skinned, cleanly shaven, brown-eyed soldier that everyone knew and loved. His ability to change from being stern to laid back on a dime was as refined as ever.
“Yeah, I know, Captain. You know I keep my distractions to a minimum,” Sydney grumbled, dejected.
“Don’t beat yourself up. It was a good exercise, and observing each other in these drills is really the only entertainment we have while stationed at this damn facility,” Constance reasoned. As befit her name, Constance had remained relatively unaffected by the passage of three years’ time; the only thing to change was the closeness she felt to the human members of her squad. She had grown to enjoy their presence and ultimately see them as great friends; as one of her own. She still kept her magenta mane in a neat ponytail.
Further discussions of the team’s performance during the training exercise was cut short by a burst of static from their commlinks, heralding a brief conversation.
“Well, we should probably head back,” Windfire cut in, having listened to the transmission. “Looks like Lunar Solace has returned!” he exclaimed. Windfire had cut his fiery mane much shorter recently, deciding a change of style was in order. He was still the focused, supportive, and ever-vigilant soldier that earned him a spot on Vector in the first place.
“Alright, then we better get back to base,” Jacob proposed. “The Princess’ll probably want a briefing on the facility status the moment she hits land.”
“Alright, then let’s go,” Arianna motioned, placing her helmet back on her head, Sydney following suit. The eight hefted their weapons and entered the forest, six individuals disappearing behind the lush shroud of recently-explored Everfree. Starry and Nathan remained behind, and before they followed their teammates into the brush, the unicorn looked up to the human and flashed him a little smile. Nathan reciprocated the gesture, and then proceeded to one-up her when he knelt down and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead and patted her cheek lovingly, before turning to follow the rest of their squad on the trek through the forest.
Starry could not stop the heat that rose to her face, even though such little gestures had been quite common over the past year of officially being an item. Of course, upon relaying the message to the rest of their friends when they felt it was time, they were certainly shocked to find that half were ecstatic and half were annoyed… funnily enough, those people who were annoyed, to a person, gave bits to the ecstatic people.
“Nate! Wait up!” she called out once she cleared her head, disappearing into the foliage.
[Ponyville]
It was a partly cloudy day in Ponyville, and Celestia’s late-afternoon sun shone brightly over the landscape, casting her golden, life-giving rays across all who would receive it. The quaint town was bathed in the glorious light and comfortable heat, revealing a town that looked very much the same as it was three years prior, with the occasional piece of foreign technology used to raise the standard of living for everypony. While not exactly a bustling tourist destination just yet, there were still a fair amount of humans interspersed throughout the native population; most of them off duty soldiers.
However, despite the comfortable weekend that was afforded to everypony, it was not entirely serene for the town’s newest Princess. Twilight Sparkle was darting to and fro around the library to make sure she had times, dates, and everything else organized for today. Today was the day that Princess Luna and the Fleet of Lunar Solace returned from their ceremonial voyage. Luna had transmitted a last-minute message ahead of time that she intended to make planetfall at the outskirts of Ponyville, right on the border of Ponyville Fields, rather than Canterlot, and, to Twilight’s consternation, hadn’t given a reason. Twilight and Celestia had no reason to question her, though, and as such Twilight was put in charge of a little welcoming.
“Spike? Spike!” Twilight called out, her wings ruffling apprehensively. “The fleet’s in the upper atmosphere, Princess Luna’s gonna be down here any minute, we have to get going!”
“I’ve been ready for like, an hour, Twilight. Was about to ask if you were ready,” Spike replied pointedly as he made his way down the stairs. The lavender alicorn had little time to offer a riposte as she quickly ushered Spike out the door. Outside, they found the rest of their friends gathering.
“Looks like we made it!” Applejack commented.
“YIPPEEEE!! PRINCESS LUNA’S BACK!” Pinkie came bouncing up and quickly making her presence known.
“I must say it’s quite nice of Luna to pay us a visit after three months away,” Rarity entered into the conversation.
“Yeah, but since Princess Celestia’s still in Canterlot, I’m wondering why she’s coming here and not going there,” Twilight finally saw fit to ask, since it had become apparent Celestia would not be joining them for whatever reason.
“Hey girls!” Rainbow zoomed down from the sky. “Did I miss anything?”
“No, we’re about to go right now. Where’s Fluttershy?” Spike answered and then asked. The question was answered, however, when the cream-colored pegasus came galloping from the direction of her home.
“S-Sorry everypony…” she panted out, catching her breath. “I’m here now. Just had to let Sapphire and Angel know that I may be out for a while. I don’t know how long this is gonna take.”
“Alright, we’re all here! Let’s go!” Twilight rushed everypony onward, leading the way to the border of Ponyville Fields. According to Luna’s message, she did not want anything fancy, but only for the Elements and Spike to meet her. Not one to deny such a simple request, Twilight and the others were more than happy to await her arrival and hear of her travels to Earth and Daiban.
“Well, there’s the fleet up there,” Rainbow Dash pointed out while hovering in the air, the gentle shape of the Faust visible in the clear summer sky, surrounded by the dagger-like shapes of the other ships in the fleet. “When’s she supposed to get here?”
“Looks like you spoke just in time again, here she comes now!” Spike spoke up, pointing to a moving speck in the sky which gradually became larger and larger as it descended, revealing itself to be a run-of-the-mill Federation dropship. Flanking it during its descent was an escort of four pegasus fighters, who broke off to do a quick circuit around Ponyville once the dropship settled onto the field.
“Awesome…” Rainbow commented under her breath as she watched, eyes held fast, as the fighters in their shiny armor and brilliant wings regroup in formation. The attention of the assembled citizens turned back to the dropship when the rear hatch dropped to the ground, right in front of them. The group of seven had varying degrees of excitement about their faces, being that they would be greeting Princess Luna after a three month absence.
“Ahhh,” a regal voice sighed out blissfully. “It does my lungs well to breathe Equestrian air once more,” Princess Luna finished, stepping out of the confines of the passenger carriage in full admiral’s uniform. She had a beaming smile and her eyes sparkled of enlightenment, a wealth of knowledge one can only earn from traveling far and wide.
“Princess Luna!” Twilight greeted, leading the way to the edge of the ramp, all of her friends quickly drawing in close. By instinct, they all bowed low. “Welcome home!”
“Please, everypony, there’s little need for formalities right now. I appreciate the gesture and am more than happy that you all have met me here on such short notice. However, I’m not here on any sort of formal mission with you. In fact, I must leave for Canterlot the moment my... business here is taken care of,” she said regretfully. She bade everypony to rise, but they certainly had a few questions after the conclusion of her mini speech.
“Ummm, what’d’ya mean, Princess?” Applejack asked the question on behalf of everypony, earning only an amused chuckle from the Night Ruler.
“Of course, I couldn’t stop by Ponyville without greeting my sister’s faithful student, as well as her friends,” she said beatifically. “However, I am also here to drop somepony off,” she said, as if it were the most usual thing in the world, yet still retaining the smug, Cheshire grin of someone who knew something the other party did not.
“Oh… okay. Drop somepony off? Is it somepony we know?” Twilight asked, muzzle wrinkled in thought. She remembered well when Princess Celestia suddenly saddled them with Discord. However, since Discord was not around at the moment she knew of no other who needed any other reforming or something similar.
“Oh, I shouldn’t think so,” Princess Luna replied, gesturing back towards the open underbelly of the transport craft before casually examining the back of her own hoof. “On our way back to the planet, we happened to run across a drifter, stranded in the Void, and decided to give her safe transport to friendly territory.”
As the Princess finished her sentence, everypony could hear authoritative footfalls emanating from inside the dropship. As the Princess moved out of the way and the individual in question revealed herself from the darkness of the ship’s carriage, everypony’s eyes widened and their muzzles slowly began to be dominated by massive, disbelieving smiles.
Clad in her Zero Suit, Samus stood there proudly, her face bearing its typical half-smirk, a new, recent inner peace piercing through her eyes.
“Hey gi—” Samus could not even finish her second word back on Equis, owing to the fact that she was violently tackled to the ground by a certain rainbow-haired pegasus. She was knocked clean off the ramp and hit the grassy ground with a loud ‘oomph!’
“IT’S YOU! OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH YOU’RE BACK!” Rainbow let her words flow over each other, nuzzling her face into Samus’ cheek as the girl regained her bearings after being taken completely off of her feet.
“SAMUS!!!” Pinkie screamed out and quickly piling onto her, landing on the girl’s stomach with all of her weight and nearly evacuating the Hunter’s lungs in the process.
“PINKIE…” Samus managed to squeak out as her diaphragm spasmed.
“Samus, you’re okay!!” Fluttershy exclaimed gleefully with tears streaming down her face, much more comfortably and carefully piling herself onto the Hunter.
“YEEEHAWW! She’s back, everypony!” Applejack threw in her own exclamations, opting to prance around close to the Hunter rather than contribute to the ponypile. Twilight, Spike, and Rarity felt such an approach was more ideal, as well.
“SHE’S BACK! And only two and a half years later! I told you to not keep a lady waiting!” Rarity playfully rebuked her, nuzzling Samus’ already crowded face.
“Well… this is certainly a welcome surprise,” Twilight said rather calmly, looking over towards Luna who was nearly in hysterics at the whole scene. However, the new princess’ resolve was eventually eroded by her excitement. “Oh, to Tartarus with it… SAMUS IS BACK! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!” she began bouncing around gleefully. Once Samus was finally able to get the others to give her some space, she sat up and rubbed her head. To her immediate right, she found an ecstatic-looking Spike and she quickly pulled him into an endearing one-armed embrace and a noogie.
“Heh-hey! Welcome back home, Samus!”
“It’s… definitely good to be home,” she noted happily, returning the hugs that had been bestowed upon her.
“Where you belong, Samus,” Luna remarked. “Now, I must get back to Canterlot. We shall postpone asking to hear of your exploits until later this week. For now, enjoy yourself.”
“I will, Luna,” Samus replied, nodding affirmatively.
“Very well, Princess,” Twilight acknowledged. “Thank you for stopping by and dropping her off. I hope we get to hear how beautiful these other worlds are, soon.”
“And I look forward to telling, and showing, everypony the same. Have a wonderful remainder of the day, Elements,” Luna bade them all farewell as she returned to the dropship.
“Thanks for the ride, Luna!” Samus waved, adding her voice to the chorus of farewells. Luna only replied with a friendly nod over her shoulder as the transport sealed itself up and took flight towards Canterlot. As Samus saw her off and exhaled serenely, she turned to her company… and found that all of them had smiles wider than their faces.
“Hey girls.” Samus was finally able to complete her initial sentence, earning more than a few cuddles as a result, though one thing immediately took Samus’ attention when she returned a proper hug from Twilight.
“Wait… when the hell did you get wings??” Samus asked, raising her brow and patting the feathers of the appendages. Yup, they were definitely wings.
“Oh… right, well it’s kind of a long story,” Twilight replied bashfully, scraping her front-left hoof against the ground.
“She’s...kind of a princess now,” Rainbow plowed ahead, putting the subject plainly out in the open.
“Wait, really?” Samus asked and Twilight affirmed with a simple nod. “Well then… Your Majesty,” the Hunter added whimsically.
“Please don’t,” Twilight pleaded with a long-suffering expression on her face, earning more than a few laughs from Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow, especially since they would often joke with her in a similar manner. Twilight, for her part, absolutely hated the title. “But yeah, I’m an alicorn now… but it’s not important. What is important is that we get you set up!” Twilight energetically remarked, gripping onto Samus’ hand with magic and helping her get to her feet.
“You still want me to stay with you?” Samus asked, dusting herself off once she was able to stand up straight.
“Duh!! Now come on, everypony! I’m calling a sleepover, tonight!” the new princess decreed, earning a chorus of cheers all around. Samus, for her part, could not help but shrug and smile. There was plenty to catch up on and she was more than willing to admit how amazing it felt to be in the company of those she cared about once more. The eight of them started back towards the Library, and the air was rife with pleasant and energetic conversation. While Pinkie and Rainbow decided to hop and hover respectively next to Samus, the others decided to use the ground for its intended purpose as words flew between them all. Samus suddenly found herself in much better spirits, and any troubles that she had on her mind had seemed to vanish, if only for the moment.
“...but no, the sheer fuckery of my last mission. That’s… a damn novel all by itself,” Samus finished her sentence, briefly telling everypony where she had been. She would save the actual story for later when they inevitably sat in a circle. For once, the Hunter looked forward to telling her tales, and she certainly hoped there would be some beverages of the alcoholic variety present.
“Can’t wait to hear how much ass you’ve kicked, Samus,” Rainbow expressed, fluttering around the group and adding a couple of air punches and kicks to punctuate her enthusiasm. Samus observed her antics with good cheer.
God, it’s good to be back, she thought wistfully.
The group was already in front of the Library.
“Oh I’m sure your stories will be amazing, Samus,” Fluttershy enthused warmly. “But do wait for me! I need to fetch Sapphire and bring her over. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she added, floating into the air and taking off towards her cottage. The girls and Spike bid her a quick, collective ‘see you in a second’ while Samus paused at the sudden departure.
“Sapphire?” Samus asked.
“Oh yeah, she’s some weird creature Fluttershy found in the Everfree a few days after you left. They’ve become really close,” Twilight answered nonchalantly.
“Yeah, she’s SUPER FUN!” Pinkie added with her usual flair.
“I’ll admit, Sapphire’s pretty awesome and cool looking,” Rainbow also gave her input. Twilight opened the door to the library and everyone filed inside. Samus, however, almost smacked her head on the doorframe before remembering at the last second to duck.
“Fair enough,” the Hunter replied indifferently. Once she got inside the Library, however, nostalgia took hold as she saw how little her friend’s home had changed, even though there were a few noticeable things that were certainly not native to Equestria during her last visit. “I see you have a couple tablets laying around,” she said as she walked to Twilight’s desk, examining a run-of-the-mill datapad.
“Couldn’t help myself,” Twilight replied from the kitchen. “It’s an amazing piece of technology!”
“She sometimes spends hours on it,” Spike added, helping Applejack and Rarity set up a seating area in the common room. “Access to the extranet was the worst thing that could’ve happened to her.”
“More like best thing!” Twilight countered, exiting the kitchen with the others and holding a tray of fruit in her magical grasp. “My personal tablet even has one of those communication chips in them. I got one for my parents and now I can talk to them via voice or through video whenever I want!”
“Oh, it’s one of those models?” Samus asked, picking up the tablet again and manipulating the interface. “If that’s the case… then I’m giving you my CommID. If you happen to need me for whatever reason and I’m not around, this’ll get hold of me, wherever I am,” she explained, pressing her wrist console up against the tablet’s screen to transfer the encrypted information. She then created a contact profile under the name ‘Samus A.’
“Oh! Well thank you, Samus!” Twilight replied gratefully, flashing the woman a smile as she set down the large plate of fruit in front of everypony. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie certainly looked like they wanted to say something, but Samus pre-empted their questions, raising a cautionary finger:
“Yes, that means any of you can use it to talk to me for whatever reason, not only emergencies. But. That does not give you a right to spam it. Also, my CommID is locked and encrypted; don’t even try to give it to anyone else.”
“Sounds good to me!” Applejack shrugged.
“YAAAY!” Pinkie squealed but quickly settled down when everyone else decided to sit around the plate of food. Getting settled on large sitting pillows, as Samus remembered, light conversation ensued for about two minutes before there was a knock at the door.
“Is that Fluttershy? Already?” Samus asked.
“Probably,” Rainbow replied over her shoulder, trotting over to the door. “She only lives a few minutes away, you’ve been there.”
“Still, that was… fast,” the Hunter added, shaking her head and returning her attention to the plate of fruit in front of her. She grabbed an apple and took a massive bite, savoring the flavor and fluttering her eyes closed for a few moments.
“Hey Flutters, come on in,” Rainbow greeted as she opened the door. “What’sup, Sapphire?”
“SKREEEEE!!”
Samus’ eyes shot open, pupils constricting to pinpricks, and the apple in her grasp was completely crushed. Reluctantly, unwillingly, Samus looked up towards the door and found a floating, pulsing-blue metroid in the flesh.
“S-Samus?” Twilight asked, watching with consternation as the warmth drained from Samus’ face, her mouth twisting in a soundless snarl, donning an icy cold, calculating expression. Without warning, Samus leapt to her feet and equipped her suit in a flash of light, arm cannon aimed straight at the floating creature next to Fluttershy. Much to everypony’s mounting horror at the abruptness of her actions, Samus began advancing.
The room exploded in a cacophony of voices, each trying to make itself heard over the others. Through the clash of sound, Applejack and Pinkie physically restrained Samus, Rarity and Twilight magically held her back, and Rainbow fought to lower Samus’ weapon.
“WHOA! WHOA! SAMUS!” Applejack shouted as the clamor died away. Fluttershy instinctively pushed Sapphire behind her and darted forward, surprising everyone present as she stuck her face right into Samus’.
“Samus! You do NOT point your weapon at Sapphire!!” the pegasus yelled, her gaze brooking no argument and promising hellfire.
“Excuse me?!” Samus retorted, flabbergasted at the reaction she was receiving. Her eyes, however, stayed focused on the gently-bobbing metroid. “Does someone wanna explain to me why there’s A FUCKING METROID FLOATING AROUND HERE?!” Samus yelled in kind, nearly losing control of her temper.
“What’s—a ‘metroid?!’” Twilight asked, wrapping Samus’ arm cannon in her magical grip and yanking it down, though the Hunter desperately tried to resist.
“Ummm… Mama…?” the metroid questioned cautiously, her gelatinous layer suddenly transitioning to a light yellow color. Though it seemed impossible, Samus stiffened even further.
“IT TALKS?!” Samus asked, completely floored in astonishment.
“You can understand her???” everypony asked in unison.
“She understands me!” a feminine, if childish voice seemed to float through Samus’ ears and mind, the yellow coloring shooting right back to bright blue.
“All the metroids are supposed to be dead! I watched the last of them die myself,” Samus growled through her teeth, her adrenaline flaring anew as her body desperately tried to prepare her for combat at the mere sight of the admittedly oddly-colored metroid. “And now...they’re alive...and they’re talking?!”
“Oh right. Pretend me not here,” Sapphire said pointedly, if sarcastically, rising a little in the air to make herself noticed.
“I… am NOT okay with this!” Samus snarled once more, as the weight of the X still existing and now metroids not being truly extinct fell upon her.
“Sapphire don’t mean anypony ANY HARM, SAMUS!” Applejack yelled back a reply, tendons standing out in her neck as she attempted to wrestle Samus behind her.
“Samus, STOP!” Fluttershy commanded, pressing her muzzle right against Samus’ helmet, seeking and holding the Hunter’s gaze. “That’s quite enough! I don’t know what you’ve been through with her species, but Sapphire has been with us for the entire time you’ve been gone!”
Samus’ eyes finally locked onto Fluttershy’s, completely obscuring her vision. Her pupils finally returned to normal size and she brought her breathing under control, forcing her body to calm. Glancing back at the metroid, it was in the same place it was just… hovering. Hovering and gurgling.
“Everything’s fine, Darling. Now, please, take your armor off,” Rarity said calmly, and with encouragement from the others, Samus relented, clenching her jaw and disengaging her suit. With that, Twilight and Rarity released the magical hold on her and the others released their physical holds.
Samus, released to her own devices, exhaled deeply and let her posture slip, glancing over at the metroid that quickly joined Fluttershy’s side.
“I need to sit down,” the blonde-haired girl said curtly, finding her pillow seat and making a beeline for it.
“Samus, are you—” Pinkie inquired but was quickly interrupted.
“JUST…!” Samus started sharply, then shook her head and took a calming breath, quickly reining in her emotions. “...just… give me a moment,” she finished, groaning as she sat down and rested her eyes and forehead in her hands.
“Did I do something bad, Mama?” Sapphire asked. Her question was only comprehensible by Fluttershy and now Samus as well; anypony else would only hear gurgling squeaks.
“No, Sapphire, you didn’t at all. Samus has just been through a lot,” Fluttershy replied in a very motherly tone. Everypony else had taken the liberty of crowding around Samus and pressing their bodies against her; in the past, the same gesture served to help calm Samus down.
“Samus?” Fluttershy meekly called out, landing in front of the woman and garnering her attention. “I’m sorry I yelled at you...like that,” she apologized shyly.
“No, it’s fine. I’m sorry for…” Samus gazed up and found Sapphire hovering right next to Fluttershy’s face, much closer than she would let any metroid get to her. “...assuming the worst.”
“Alright, I think we’re all calmed down, then,” Applejack thought out loud.
“That was a wild ride,” Spike admitted. However, the musings of the others were of little concern to Fluttershy, who decided to pave the way for a formal introduction. Everypony turned to watch.
“Sapphire,” the pegasus cooed, earning the metroid’s attention with an accompanying skree, turning to present the side they took to be her face. She then gestured to Samus, who had shifted into a lotus position. “This is Samus… somepony very near and dear to me… to all of us.”
“Hi Samus! You the ‘human’ from picture at home! Friend of the Queen is friend of mine!”
“Sapphire, huh?” Samus asked rhetorically, a thread of incredulity lacing her tone at the situation she found herself in. “Sorry about earlier.”
“No problems!” Sapphire replied, happily floating away towards Rainbow Dash. Much to Samus’ horror this time, the metroid squeaked and settled herself on Rainbow’s head, her fangs barely grazing the pegasus’ coat, serving merely to hold her in place. Pinkie and Rainbow giggled as Sapphire looked like a hat of sorts to the cyan pegasus.
Samus opened her mouth and reached out to the two, a warning on her lips, but Fluttershy took hold of her hand and lowered it with a gentle smile on her face. Plain in front of her, everypony seemed to gather around Rainbow, who was in no apparent discomfort as a genuine metroid perched on her. Sapphire let out a bubbly gurgle, eating up all the attention. Still, Samus just could not shake the discomfort from her face, could not dispel the adrenaline at the mere sight of a metroid latching onto one of her friends, even in a benign way.
The fact that Rainbow wasn’t a lifeless predated husk threw a spotlight on a very important question…
“Girls?” Samus asked, getting to her feet and pointing to Sapphire. “What are you feeding her?”
“Magic,” Twilight replied matter of factly, everypony (including a metroid-hatted Rainbow Dash) turning their attention back to Samus, who just barely narrowed her eyes at this new revelation.
“What the hell do you mean, you feed her magic?’”
“Well,” Fluttershy began, clearing her throat. “I found her buried in the wreckage of a crashed ship in the Everfree, and I had no idea what she ate. Eventually, we found out she fed on a creature’s life energy and, well… I let her feed on me for a little while.”
“You what?” Samus asked, concerned for her friend’s safety.
“Don’t worry, Samus, we stopped Fluttershy from doing that after a while,” Rarity pointed out. “In fact, the poor dear ended up so weak she was practically bedridden.”
“And Sapphire wasn’t getting enough, anyway,” Pinkie added, remembering the whole fiasco. “So, turns out she can feed off of a pony’s magical energy, too!’”
“It’s really interesting,” Twilight weighed her input. “Sapphire will just latch onto a hoof, the wings, or the horn and siphon some of the residual magic that flows through us ponies naturally. Doesn’t hurt at all, though it’s a weird, tingly feeling.”
“...really?” Samus asked in disbelief. “She just feeds off of some magic and there’s no side effects?”
Everypony looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Rainbow said finally.
Samus shook her head, resting her forehead in her right palm.
“Alright, I need to do this out of habit,” the Hunter said after a lengthy pause, re-equipping her suit (though disengaging her arm cannon out of courtesy) and bringing her left hand to her helmet to engage her scan visor. Twilight, remembering when Samus would scan things for her to find out more information, immediately lit up with the possibility that she was about to find out more about Sapphire. Since her failed analysis spell all that time ago, she’d been desperately curious about her little friend.
“Sapphire, hold still,” Twilight coaxed.
“I comfortable here,” she replied, still lounging on Rainbow’s head, though Twilight could not understand her, only hearing an affirmative ‘skree.’
[Scanning…]
[Recorded to Logbook]
[Morphology: Equis Metroid]
“Equis Metroid…” Samus thought out loud. “Huh. Interesting…”
“She’s an Equis Metroid!” Twilight parroted, teleporting to her desk and fetching a pen and paper. Seeing what she intended to do, Samus decided to read aloud the wealth of information to everypony in the room.
[The Equis Metroid is a type of metroid created by the Space Pirates in response to the unique ecology and magical-laden environment of VK109H. Direct offshoots from the SR388 batch, the Equis Metroid holds all of the native strengths, weaknesses, and evolutionary forms that made those on planet SR388 infamous, with a few key differences, as seen with the Tallon IV variants. Ambient exposure to the planet’s aetheric field in the egg stage has induced a strong resistance to directed magical energy, a trait which will only grow more prominent as the Equis Metroid evolves. Direct magical infusion at the same stage has manifested itself prominently in two ways: a cosmetic change to the metroid’s gelatinous outer layer, whose colors now reflect its state of mind; and, perhaps more importantly, its feeding habits. Exposure and attunement to VK109H’s aetheric field has led the Equis Metroid to be able to feed on the aetheric energy found in attuned individuals. As a further result of magical exposure, the evolutionary cycle of the Equis Metroid is different from its SR388 progenitors; preliminary analysis suggests that this variant will bypass Alpha, Gamma, and Zeta evolutionary forms, advancing from the Adult stage directly to Omega. This metamorphosis, however, is far more difficult to catalyze than a standard metroid; the raw amount of energy necessary may prove fatal to an insufficiently hardy organism.]
“This… This is incredible!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Oh my…” Fluttershy expressed with a hoof over her mouth. A similar sentiment was echoed by the others, who felt a new sense of pride for their resident metroid, each of them voicing their own impressed responses.
“Also…” Samus spoke up once more. “It looks like she has the necessary genetic coding to become a Queen Metroid.” Samus’ voice was almost awed. “It’s almost certain she won’t because that would require an environment like SR388 offered, but...she appears to have the ability to, which is impressive on its own. I guess… I may have misjudged you, Sapphire,” she admitted, wholly impressed with what she saw. Sapphire was certainly an interesting breed in both senses of the phrase.
“SKREEE!!!”
“A Queen Metroid?” Rarity voiced with sparkles in her eyes. “It looks like we have another member of royalty amongst our friends.”
“Now,” Samus alerted everypony in the room once she disengaged her Suit. “I suggest we get drinks and food, because you won’t believe the shit I’ve seen since I left.”
[Elsewhere in Galactic Federation Space]
The Galactic Federation’s Sixth Fleet was one of the most renowned battle groups in the Federation Navy, present in almost every major engagement with the Space Pirates, save for the Norion campaign. Though the Sixth Fleet paled in comparison to the First Fleet under the command of Fleet Admiral Dane, it would be no less foolhardy to tackle it in a running battle. Its current course taking it just outside the Core Regions, the Sixth Fleet was comprised of no fewer than five Olympus-class Battleships, fifteen destroyers and an equal number of frigates, all of mixed classes, as well as a variable, additional complement of extra troop, armor, and aircraft/starfighter carriers dependent on mission profile… and this was at its weakest.
The Sixth Fleet’s battle group commander was Admiral Fredrick Conway, a highly-decorated officer within the Galactic Federation military. The hawk-nosed commander was seated on the bridge of his flagship, the G.F.S. Oculus, calmly regarding the expanse of space that was his to patrol. A lesser man would possibly have twiddled his thumbs as he awaited the news he expected to hear and, based on the initial brief his agents had sent him, none of it promised to be good.
Fredrick Conway had been in service with the Federation military since its inception as a distinct branch, much like his former colleague and ‘friend,’ Adam Malkovich. Also like Adam, Conway commanded from those who served under him undying, near-fanatical loyalty and unwavering respect; possibly more than they showed to the Federation Chairman. Conway looked every inch a commander; his fair skin, perpetually-calm expression and the manner in which he carried himself combined with a strong build for a human of his age to create an intimidating personage. Still, his level head, proven brilliance and ruthlessness on the battlefield, and piercing hazel eyes furthered his charismatic appeal to others.
The door to the bridge whooshed open behind him, causing him to raise his head, but not to turn.
“Sir,” a feminine voice permeated the calm atmosphere of the bridge. Conway knew immediately who it was and stood up from his seat to face her.
“Commander Eisen,” he greeted with a half-smirk, smoothing out his uniform and adjusting his visor-cap. He met her halfway along the walkway from the bridge entrance to the observation pane. After they exchanged salutes, the two broke regulation to share a brief hug.
“How are you, Commander?” he asked, beckoning her to his side and towards the observation pane. His stoic demeanor returned almost instantly.
“I’ve been better, especially with the news I’m here to deliver, Admiral,” the several-inches shorter woman admitted, policing some of her blonde locks back under her cap. Commander Tess Eisen was a younger woman who showed great military promise; she and Conway had met over twenty years prior during another military campaign, and the two had grown close as friends despite their age disparities.
Eisen was an excellent auxiliary battlefield commander, and Conway had pulled strings to ensure that she held a job at his right hand once she made it to an appropriate rank. Her main focus, however, was in the Federation Scientific Research and Development, proving herself quite useful for Conway’s ambitions.
“Is that so. Very well, give it to me straight,” he ordered, gazing out of the observation pane.
“Our troops that were sent back to investigate the BSL station found nothing, literally.” Conway gave the younger woman a disbelieving look. “The station had deorbited and impacted the surface of SR388. It is likely that the station’s self-destruct had been triggered, as well. The resulting impact was so devastating, we’re likely looking at an extinction-level event. The majority of the planet is now a wasteland,” she continued. Conway stiffened; he had known the results were bad, but that didn’t mean he was prepared to accept it. “Our team does not believe any X survived the impact and subsequent explosion.”
“Of course… of course that happened,” he grumbled. “Where the hell is Samus in all this?”
“Wasn’t present when we arrived. She’s alive, though. We were able to intercept a transmission sent by her A.I. officer...the one on board the ship Command sent her back to BSL with, detailing what was going on there; the metroid breeding, our plans for the X, everything,” Eisen explained. Conway turned his head to face her, agitation barely piercing his collected demeanor.
“Did the transmission reach High Command?!” he asked urgently.
“No, sir; as I said, we intercepted it. As luck would have it, it passed through a comm buoy in our space on its way Coreward. I was able to have it pulled before the transmission went through to High Command,” she explained further.
“Very good. At least there’s something to be salvaged from this shitshow,” Conway praised, though his complexion quickly soured. “Still, this doesn’t detract from the fact that Aran has now obliterated two of our bioweapon operations: the Bottle Ship, and now this.” he seethed. “What’s worse… Malkovich, that bastard... even beyond the grave, he somehow manages to get in my way and fuck it all up. Who even thought of the idea of uploading personalities?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, sir. I always frowned upon the practice,” Eisen expressed.
“When I die, make sure that never happens to me,” Conway ordered halfheartedly.
“Heh...Of course, Admiral. But yes, it’s unfortunate that Samus Aran has destroyed what we’ve been discreetly working for, but we were able to retain some crucial research. Where do you wish to go from here?” Eisen asked, looking up at Conway after a moment of silence from his end. She found him deep in thought, resting his chin in the web of his right hand as he stared into the void.
“I’ve wasted enough effort keeping the rest of the military and the Senate out of the loop, and I don’t intend to waste any more trying to protect our operations from Samus’ prying eyes. Ideally, I want her six feet under and her helmet on my desk as a paperweight as soon as possible,” Conway mused out loud, his face adopting quite the scowl at the mention of the Hunter’s name. “If I knew she’d end up being this much trouble, I’d have had her euthanized while she was in her medical coma after Zebes’ destruction.”
“Perhaps not a bad idea,” Eisen agreed. “But bear in mind, had you done so, we wouldn’t have been able to collect anywhere near the amount of...samples that we have.”
“That… is a good point,” Conway conceded grudgingly. “Still, she’s defeated entire armies of Space Pirates and single-handedly wiped out entire species. Simply put…? Samus Aran, regardless of her loyalties, is the single greatest threat to the Galactic Federation and the Galaxy for the foreseeable future. I want her captured, I want her entire armorsuit in R&D for sampling and reverse engineering, and I want her shot in the back of the head,” the Admiral ordered heatedly.
He turned and faced the Commander fully.
“The first step is locating her. She obviously fled the station prior to its destruction. Do we have any leads on where she might be?” Conway asked, leaning back against the railing of the observation pane and resting his chin between his two fingers once more.
“Actually...yes. There’s some chatter saying she got picked up by the Fourteenth Fleet on its way home from a diplomatic circuit,” Eisen answered factually.
“Interesting that they didn’t put that in writing.” Conway paused, cocking his head. “Wait…the Fourteenth...isn’t that the new fleet that was commissioned for planet...Equis, was it? It is, isn’t it?” Conway recalled.
“Ummm…” Commander Eisen thought to herself as she pulled some documents from her coat, skimming them over. “Yes sir! About seven months before the attack on Norion...Samus was sent there to investigate a Leviathan impact. She fought there with the help of the Fourth Fleet and the local population, a species calling themselves ponies, against the Space Pirates and the Phazon corruption.”
“Okay, so then it’s safe to infer that she was brought back to Equis… perhaps she found good company with the inhabitants. Whatever her reasons, that’s where we’re headed as soon as possible,” Conway decided, nodding firmly.
“Then, are we moving out, Admiral?” Eisen asked, ready to help facilitate the order.
“Not just yet, Commander. Jumping straight to Equis with the entire fleet would raise more than a few eyebrows, and open us up to questioning from High Command. There’s no reason at all for us to be there. Most of the Senate and High Command has grown somewhat wary over our recent actions. We narrowly avoided a full investigation after the Bottle Ship incident shook out; but you know as well as I that they would not understand. None of them would understand the importance of our projects to continued Federation supremacy in the Galaxy. Thus, I’m going to need a bit of time to… give us a reason to go,” Conway alluded darkly.
“Yes sir. I’ll await further instructions,” Eisen replied affirmatively, inclining her head.
“Oh stop that, Tess, please; we’re friends,” Conway added, annoyed with his friend’s extreme formality. While he prided himself on rigid adherence to regulation, Commander Eisen was the only exception, and the only officer aboard allowed to call him by his first name. Tess audibly giggled.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Fredrick.”
“Good. Dism— Oh, before you go… what’s the status on Project Duality?”
“As expected, sir. Great progress, but not ready for deployment; development milestones are good, considering the completeness of what we’re working with,” the Commander reported.
“Very well. I’ll handle the bureaucracy and the Senate before our departure to Equis. I want your entire team focused on Duality,” Conway ordered, gesturing with his right hand.
“Understood,” Eisen nodded curtly.
“Excellent. We’ll speak later. Dismissed,” Conway formally dismissed her, the two of them exchanging sharp salutes once more before Eisen left the bridge. Then, Conway was left to his own devices among the general chatter of the bridge staff below his observation deck. But, for all intents and purposes, to him, he was alone. He turned on his heels and stood at parade rest, staring out into the void of space once more.
Conway pulled his cap off and ran a hand through his close-cropped hair, so brown it was almost black, a sigh escaping through his nose. As he replaced his cap and crossed his arms in front of his chest, his trademark, resting scowl imposed itself on his features again as his thoughts returned, mulishly, to the loss of his Bottle Ship and BSL Station projects.
It was time to draw up plans for ‘preventive maintenance.’
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Hmm...
A friendly Metroid???!!!
I need to know more about these plans... I don't trust the Admiral.
At ALL.
6375614
This would be because you are an intelligent man.
Fuck. The. Admiral.
So High Command isn't against Samus. It's Admiral Bastard...
Writing a comment as I read.
Gotta say, that was an adorable way of handling the Starry/Nathan situation. So cute!
And, oh, I love how the girls heaped praises on Sapphire without ever describing her physically!
And love how you've developed Sapphire's personality. "Pretend me not here." I laughed far too loudly at that line.
And nice logbook entry for Sapphire. That was certainly fun.
And very nice foreshadowing at the end, there.
Wait, this Admiral wants to what? Use Samus's helmet as a what?! To quote a certain amazing person:
I… am NOT okay with this!
Considering just what those two "projects" were attempting to do, and considering just how close both of them came to creating catastrophic galactic-scale disasters, you'd think that this "admiral" would have just the tiniest amount of gratitude that those fuck-ups didn't come back to literally bite him in the ass...
...And now he's actually going to try and have Samus assassinated?? Bloody hell, he's not just corrupt; he's completely out of his fucking mind.
Welp, his third blunder is probably going to be the one that comes back to end him. And the readers shall rejoice if (*ahem* when) that happens,
Did the Mane 7 not notice the changes to Samus's armor caused by the X infection and Metroid Vaccine? I mean, those wrist fangs are pretty obvious, especially if they're literally a part of her as they are in Tatsurou's Another Hatchling and thus are seen in Zero Suit form as well.
6376035 that will be addressed next chapter. In light of the commotion, physical attributes of her 'Unidentified Suit' will be expanded upon. As for her Zero Suit, it remains largely the same.
Never felt this way as much about a story.
I hate him already. And I haven't even played ANY of the metroid games. Dunno what those things are, 'bottle ship' and 'BSL' but considering the state of the theories, I want Admiral Asshat's nuts on my wall.
My bad side is eeeevil
6375937
Conway is a man blinded by his own ambition. He knows, absolutely, what's best and he knows exactly how it's going to go, and it's not even a "damn the consequences" mindset; he can't even conceive of a negative potentiality.
Lemme guess. Samus' metroid DNA allows her to instinctively understand metroid talk. On that note. I take it Samus doesn't show up on Sapphire's food radar, right?
When Samus met Sapphire... that is... actually the most expected reaction from her. I'm glad that the mane was able to calm her down because Sapphire is... to put it truthfuly, too adorable and awesome to kill.
As for the admiral? I have a bad feeling about his plans and what he's going to use as an excuse to head to Equis and attempt a sort of killing on Samus. As for how and when? I have no clue... and I can't figure out what it is going to be.
Excellent work on the chapter, well done.
6376035 Good question! Stay tuned for chapter 4, due tomorrow if flammen knows what's good for him!
Hee, I kid. Mostly.
6376196 I'm well aware of that. I'm not even complaining; I'm just expressing a general reactionary sentiment, and the fate that most of us probably want to happen to him.
I would not wish needless suffering on anyone, not even on my enemies. But there's a difference between suffering, and receiving long-overdue retribution. It's just going to be a matter of when that "admiral" gets his ass handed to him, hard.
Heh, only a few years in-story, and yet those lovable Special Forces' goofballs are still as fun to read about as they was in the beginning. As for Sapphire's introduction, I love every moment of it. You did the whole encounter great justice, and I love Sapphire's reactions in the process. And we also get the chance to read a little about the story's douchebag(s). Whatever this 'Duality' is, I will both enjoy and dread what that is going to be.
C&Cs will be PM.
Great. Looks like Samus will end up fighting her own kind very soon.
Not only that, this will end up testing her loyalty to the people who she risked her own life to work for and trusted.
So we have a non-hostile Metroid, that feeds off magic to apparently no ill effects, and Samus can communicate with it due to her Metroid infused DNA (at this point, Samus has become a four-species petri dish)... I don't know why, but this leaves me conflicted, and desiring ownership of a freeze ray...
6376348
Oyah. Don't worry, Conway's going to get what's coming to him.
Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to HATE this Conway person? That, and I feel that project Duality is going to end horribly by Nightmare Hunter's* (X?) hands. I mean, what else would "duality" mean under these circumstances?
*read as: they use the infected armor to bring Nightmare Hunter back, they try to control her, fail miserably, she beats the SNOT out of them, and she tries to take over Equestria.
6376148
"I've never played any of the Metroid games before."
Here's the "short" version of what you need to know:
Metroid II: Feds say that the Metroid species needs to be wiped out, they send Samus to the home world of SR388. She succeeds, but one hatches in her presence, interprets Samus as "Mama."
Super Metroid: Samus sends the hatchling to some Fed researchers, but Ridley steals it, mutates it to hell, clones it, raises a Metroid army on Zebes. The hatchling recognizes Samus as "Mama," saves her from Mother Brain, dies trying. Samus blows up Zebes.
Other M: After Zebes, Samus turns in the bounty on SR388, looks for a new one. Distress signal from Bottle Ship. Samus' former CO in the Fed Military, Adam Malkovich, is also responding. They discover that the Feds have literally copied the Space Pirates' actions in Super down to a T. Adam sacrifices himself to destroy the Metroid clones.
Metroid Fusion: Samus is asked to protect researchers on SR388, gets infected by the X-Parasite. Turns out that the Chozo bio-engineered the Metroids to hunt the X, so they pump her full of Metroid DNA to save her life, also granting her the ability to eat the X. They surgically remove badly-infected parts of her suit and send them to BSL Research Station, but the X take over the station. Samus is assigned an AI that is Adam Malkovich's brain in a computer, and is sent to clear the station. The BSL station is another cloning vat for Metroids, so Samus colony-drops the station into SR388, destroying all life in both locations.
And now here we are.
Three guesses on who's going to be dead by the end of this story, cause only the suicidal and/or idiotic try to take on Samus.
Hint: It's Admiral Dumbass.
Admiral Dicknuts kinda glossed over the "able to kill entire species" thing when deciding to make Samus his enemy, it seems.
All those in favor of feeding Admiral Douchebag to Sapphire, say "aye."
Aye!
I hope Samus can warm up to Sapphire quickly, but I can totally see her realizing, "Hey, we have X... let's go feed Sapphire!" at some point. Please let it happen, I don't want to see X ponies... that's a very disturbing image.
And Conway is an asshole. I'm getting a General Ripper Vibe from him as well as an Insane Admiral and hope we get to see Samus take him down hard!!!!! Or he gets hoisted by his own petard and dies at the hands of one of his projects.
6377143 Really??? You'd subject Sapphire to tasting that douchebag??? WHAT KIND OF INHUMAN MONSTER ARE YOU??? The proper punishment is for him to get ripped apart by one of his own projects very slowly and painfully.
6377143 Thank you. Now I have a nickname.
Internet, I now present to you Admiral Bouchebag McFartface.
So, admiral Asshat here has tried to weaponize Space Pirate ...things... , metroids, and the X parasites I take it. Also, for clarification, the chozo ascended to a higher plane or dimension of existence, correct? If so, they should - in my mind at least - be able to affect things in the lower dimensions or whatever. And smack this idiot upside the head after brutally pulling it out of his ass.
6377392 That does sound more satisfying, to be honest,
I see the Admiral is a proud graduate of the same schools that the executives of the Umbrella Corporation & Wayland-Yutani went to.
"Sure, our last few attempts at creating & controlling bioweapons went poorly...but I have a good feeling about it this time!"
6377486 Still to long to say constantly.... For casual speaking he's Admiral Asshole.
6378918 LOL, so true.
6376198
I must disagree with that. After all, the Omega Metroid at the end of Fusion was quite obviously out for blood, and Samus' was as red as anyone else's.
Then again, I could be wrong. After all, Omegas actually have eyes, in contrast to the standard breed. There's not much lore on why they don't attack each other outside of "Metroids are social hunters."
6376035
Yeah, I've noticed that Tatsurou doesn't really do his homework when it comes to canon. Physically speaking, Samus is 99.9% Human (she was given Chozo DNA at a young age, which slightly altered her development, but only enough to give her unusual height and muscle mass). As you can see in the end screens, Samus' arms are quite devoid of spines.
th05.deviantart.net/fs13/PRE/f/2007/038/4/7/Metroid_Fusion_Collage_EndingA_by_daPhyre.png
Any biologist can tell you, altering DNA only has an effect if the lifeform is still in development. Freshly fertilized eggs experience huge deviations, while fully developed adults experience practically no change at all. The Chozo DNA didn't change anything so much as it added the faculties needed to metabolize the X Parasite (that is, while her cells themselves are unchanged in their structure and function, they now produce enzymes and antibodies that are fatal to the X).
In short, both the game and science say that Samus wouldn't grow wrist fangs after getting some Metroid DNA.
6380642 Might just be "part of her" in that due to the smaller armor plating "shell" on the Fusion Suit it has more biotech nerve endings of the "skin" revealed making the "wrist fangs" actually have a sense of touch on them.
Also, I think 99.9% is a bit much. She's probably at LEAST 10% non-human post-Fusion between the Chozo, Metroid, and possibly even X-Parasite DNA she's got in her now.
6380781
Her suit has always had
textiletactile sensors on it. Why do you think she grunts every time she gets hit, despite the fact that she's covered head-to-toe in hyper advanced alien armor? While the suit is active, the spines are no more or less a part of her than any other part of the suit.Again, I was speaking physically, not genetically. On the physical level, one can't tell that Samus isn't fully human. At the very most, she's taller, tougher, and more muscular than your typical human (also, it's quite possible she's infertile; the Chozo DNA was introduced before puberty). If she were given a physical examination by a doctor, he or she would say that Samus is just a big, strong, and tough human.
Now, genetically, Samus is probably no more than 60% human, and probably quite a bit less. Unfortunately, there's no lore on exactly how much of her DNA was altered, but given that it's enough to have any effect at all at the ages the changes were introduced, we can assume it's a lot.
6381098 I just realized, what if the wrist fangs are actually really small by comparison to those on her suit and those wristbands she's wearing in all of the non-armored images are to hide them? She might have also gotten slightly sharper canines that we can't see due to the Metroid Vaccine.
Also, I know it probably always had tactile sensors. I'm just thinking it's like the difference between the middle of your arm and the tip of your finger between before "shell" removal and after. Your fingers are a lot more sensitive than your arms.
6381098
One, the word you want is 'tactile' or 'haptic;' 'textile' refers to cloth. :P
Two...I disagree. If someone hits you with a rock when you're wearing a suit of armor, you're still going to feel the kinetic force, even if it lacks the power to injure.
6383441 D'oh. Let that be a lesson, kids: don't do your writing at four in the morning. I'll fix it now.
Firstly, while I may still feel the impact of something hitting me even though I'm wearing armor, I'm probably not going to grunt or shout out unless it actually hurt me. Furthermore, we know it's not a reaction of surprise, as she'd stop being surprised at the fact that she's taking damage from a constant environmental effect (such as heat), and yet she will continuously produce interjections when taking heat damage.
Secondly, it's a reasonable assumption, based on the fact that her suit binds to her on a biological level. This is out-right stated in Fusion. Given how useful the touch senses are, it makes sense that a piece of technology that physically bonds with your body would extend them.
6382362
I've already stated why genetic science would disagree with that. She's very unlikely to experience any anatomical changes, as she'd gone well past the "growing new body parts" stage of development by the time the Metroid DNA was introduced.
The only reason her suit changed to take on Metroid characteristics is because it's keyed to her genetic code and it's modular to the point of easily and regularly changing it's shape and functionalities. For instance, although her Chozo DNA didn't affect her anatomy much, it did reflect on her suit's appearance, giving her the beak-like vent on her helmet, large pauldrons that mimic the Chozo's exceptional deltoids, and back thrusters arranged to resemble the Chozo's vestigial wings. While the Metroid DNA didn't affect her physically, her suit still picked up on it, giving her arm spines that are like a Metroid's fangs, altering her back thrusters to look like a trio of nuclei, and covering her in a tough-but-gelatinous membrane.
That being said, you may be on to something with that second theory. The under part of her suit may very well be more sensitive than the outer part. It's certainly less tough, given how much more damage she takes compared to other games.
6384228
Environmental/heat damage could simply be thermal conductivity, and not necessarily her "feeling" the metal as if it was her skin. Metal conducts heat well, so if she's standing in a pool of magma, her suit is heating up to ridiculous levels, and she'd be getting burned by contact with the metal. That would also explain why the Varia Suit stops it with those bigass pauldrons; they become heat exchangers, radiators like the coils in your refrigerator.
You may have a point, though, w/r/t her suit "binding" to her -- though it's not a "physical" binding so much as a "metaphysical" one, I would allege.
6384228 I'd say that new bits COULD start growing, they'd just take a lot longer to reach full size unless the genetic alteration also induced a sort of "second puberty". Thus her real "wrist fangs" are still small enough to comfortably hide under bracelets. Bracelets which IIRC aren't worn in any other game's end photos and thus could easily be new accessories to hide new growths.
EDIT: PS: In materials such as games, movies, books, etc. "Rule of Cool" often trumps science and gaining sharper canines AKA "fangs" is one of, if not THE, most common visible signs of "genetic modifications".
6384257
Her suit isn't actually metal (or at least, not completely metal). According to various fluff, it's made of "organic components," which would mean things like carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, etc. Also, the pauldrons house a more robust defensive system, reducing damage from various sources and completely blocking heat (and cold).
To quote Fusion:
The suit physically merges with her. Removing her suit entirely would have been tantamount to tearing out her organs, which is why they had to resort to surgery, and even then they could only remove the outer armor.
6384266
Actually, she wears wristbands at the end of Metroid II and Super Metroid as well. Furthermore, the Japanese version of Fusion shows that Samus has worn wristbands since early childhood.
I see your trope and raise you another: the Rule of Perception. While Rule of Cool would certainly be the primary factor if Samus were to transform into some physical Human/Metroid hybrid with fangs and arm spines, we (that is, the audience,) have not seen anything to indicate that this is the case, and therefore it does not exist. The idea of Samus growing spiky protrusions from her arms is no more than wild and unsupported speculation.
6385642 Well said, and other than modifying her eyes in Equis 1 due to Nightmare infusion (a radical step, even for me), Samus will have no radical physical differences here (aside from maybe a bit more defined musculature). It biologically does not make sense that she would.
6385642 Huh, guess I just hadn't noticed them before. I may be due for another run of Super Metroid soon...
6385642
Enough of it's metal that my explanation is plausible, especially considering that the Varia suit works the way it does, however. :D
oh! so much to take from this chapter.
First, love the reaction from Samus with Sapphire. I'd have done the same as that 'skree' sound makes me flinch every time. Next, the possibilities with Sapphire regarding the X, the military, and the queen genes just open up all kinds of fun down the road. Speaking of the military, that was an inevitable and looming presence that may prove to be more problematic then the Space Pirates. At least you could kill the pirates with reckless want and destruction. the forces in the military are still people though. Between Sapphire, the X, the military, and this 'Duality' project, it looks like Samus is gonna have her hands full.
In short...
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6385835
What evidence do you have to support that statement? Never once in the fluff has it ever been mentioned that Samus' armor is metal. Remember, just because something looks like it's made of metal doesn't mean it is. Take, for instance, the Green June Bug.
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It certainly looks like it's made out of some burnished green metal, but we know that it isn't.
Furthermore, we must consider who made the armor. The Chozo have shown a preference for using organic and mineral elements over metals, except in situations where metal is the only reasonable choice (for instance, in places devoid of other materials, such as Elysia, and even then they were very minimalistic). While that doesn't falsify the theory that her suit is made with metal, it certainly works against it.
6386131 Well, with the audible 'clink' the suit makes when you move in the Primes, I'd say the suit has metallic PROPERTIES, but of course, isn't entirely made of metal, as per the biological component. I'd say it's a Chozo Alloy of sorts, one that combines organic and inorganic material.
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6386163
Not to mention the cutscene post-Thardus, where Samus' suit makes a definite 'clank' when the rock pings off her pauldron.
And alloys are, by definition, at least partly metallic.
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Additionally, the green ledges in Corruption are specifically said to operate on magnetism, which would imply that Samus' suit has magnetically sensitive materials in it. Given that the vast majority of magnetic materials are metals, I must concede that you are right, and it's safe to assume that the Power Suit has at least some metal in it (at least, according to the Primes).
Still, I'm inclined to believe that the suit has enough organic material insulating it that she personally won't be harmed by the its conductivity, and that instead it extends her sense of touch to the surface. After all, if its conductivity was a problem, then getting shocked would paralyze her for a short while, but she seems to handle taking electric damage just as well as any other kind of damage (remember, most things that conduct heat also usually conduct electricity).
6386954
Hmmm. Your point about electrical conductivity not paralyzing Samus definitely has merit, though I'd counter by saying that not all real life electric shocks paralyze their target.
However -- if one accepts the proposition that the Power Suit extends Samus' haptic sense to the outside of her suit, then how does the Varia Suit - purely by the addition of the shoulder pauldrons - stop the hot things from hurting? Given the shape and positioning of the pauldrons, and this image of the power suit, that thing inside the pauldron definitely looks like a heat exchanger, circulating coolant through the suit and venting out the shoulders.
6386999
As far as I'm aware, any electric charge strong enough to cause harm is also strong enough to paralyze.
The massive pauldrons aren't on all versions of the Varia Suit. As demonstrated in Zero Mission, there are actually two versions of the Varia Suit: one that looks like an orange Power Suit, and one that has the pauldrons. Canon doesn't tell us what's up with them, but given that Samus picks up upgrades that don't work until she unlocks the pauldron suit, my guess is that they house what are essentially big computers, improving the suit's modularity and allowing the use of older Chozo tech (it's also designed to resemble the armor worn by the Chozo God of War).
The Varia suit simply has a more efficient and robust shielding system that can block extreme heat and cold without draining its energy tanks.
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This talk about electricity and paralyzing reminds me of a theory I have concerning Samus' most underrated weapon. Her emergency pistol. On it's own, it's not much. Especially in comparison to the rest of her arsenal but hear me out.
The power suit, regardless of which version you use, is more than advanced enough to scan, record, and improve the emergency pistol that Samus always carries with her under the armor. So it's not a stretch to say that the Arm cannon doesn't have a stun beam option by default. Let be honest, If you can shoot unlimited beams of hard light, What's an upgrade stun gun compared to that?
Flammen, you have a grade A opportunity to utilize an asset game devs and most metroid fanfic writers don't. And I have some arguments to back up my claim.
1) In the bounties Samus goes after, It's safe to say a number of them says "Bring X guy in alive." Having a stun beam help with that without having to strip down (NO! That is NOT a dirty joke!) to her Zero Suit or switching to the more lethal Wave beam from Prime 1.
2) Regardless of what type of mission, Having a stun beam opens up more tactical options in a fight. Blast an vulnerable spot, charge and shoot a super missile while the target is unable to defend itself.
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Ice Beam. Why stun someone when you can completely immobilize them? Assuming she can lower it's power to less lethal levels (a reasonable assumption), Samus could keep someone frozen indefinitely.
That being said, I agree with you. It's quite possible that Samus' arm cannon does have a stun beam setting, and probably one that doesn't need to charge beforehand, unlike the Paralyzer. On top of that, I could easily see the Grapple Beam being used to immobilize targets, à la Grapple Lasso.