Homeworld: Equestria - The Silent Hunters

by hiigaran

17: Radiation (Part 3)

Obsidian woke to the steady patter of rain against the soil outside. Cracking open his eyes, he could still see Sparky and Shadow still asleep at the other end of the room. As he tilted his head down, his face submerged into an amber mane. Quickly moving his head back, he felt a hoof rise and fall repeatedly. Realising he had wrapped himself around Glare, he discretely withdrew, rolling onto his back.

Viewing the world upside-down, he found daylight streaming in from underneath the door. Figuring he still had a few minutes before the group was to continue their journey, he closed his eyes with a silent yawn.

Noticing Glare stirring, Obsidian watched as she rolled over, filling the void between them. “Why’d you let out all the heat?” she muttered, wedging herself beside the changeling.

“Sorry,” Obsidian mumbled back.

The soothing sound of rain was short-lived, as Swift and Shift entered, bathing the room in light. “Rise and shine! Pack up your swags, fellas, it’s time to hit the road!”

As the group slowly readied themselves, the weather outside worsened. Studying the outside conditions, Obsidian estimated less than half a kilometre of visibility. Bringing up a map on his CNS, he studied the contour lines between their current position, and the objective area. The combination of an uphill gradient, a more rural environment, and the lack of visibility from the downpour placed them at a tactical disadvantage.

I hate being out in the open.

Despite his concerns, Obsidian and the rest of the team headed out into the weather as soon as they were geared up. Following a similar method of travelling, Obsidian, Shadow and Sparky led the way, with the others trailing no more than thirty metres behind.

Strong winds caused rain to pummel the six. While Glare used her crates as crude umbrellas, Shadow used her elemental magic to divert the incoming water. Lacking the ability to extend the effect to others, the remaining four could only thank the visors on their helmets for protecting their eyes from the wind and rain as they pressed on.

Deviating from the last road possible, the terrain quickly shifted to uneven, rocky formations, separated by small patches of muddy soil, slowing their advance as they navigated the area. Every few minutes, flashes of lightning would light up the sky, diffusing through the clouds, while the intensity of accompanying thunder would occasionally feel like a mild earthquake.

Several hours had already passed without incident, though instead of relief, Obsidian grew ever suspicious that the probability something were to happen was simply growing further to certainty. As the thought crossed his mind, he came to a halt, raising a hoof. Squinting, he saw the faint outlines of hundreds, if not thousands of small objects floating in the air. Wiping his visor, he continued to scan the objects, before calling Shadow up. “Am I seeing things, or do you see something ahead of us as well?”

Shadow squinted too, as she tried to understand what was at the edge of their visibility. “Looks like it. Can’t be much bigger than ourselves. Drones, perhaps?”

“What do you think? Find a way around, or test a strike on them?”

“I’d prefer to find a way around. We don’t know what those might be. If it’s a drone swarm, who knows what they’ll do. Hard to tell what level of technology this place once had.”

Obsidian nodded. “Stay put, I’ll be faster in the air.” He turned to the trailing group and signalled them his group’s intentions, before heading parallel to the wall of floating objects.

Despite half an hour of flying, there seemed to be no end in sight to the blockade. Obsidian opened his map mid-air, overlaying his position history on it. Coming to a conclusion, he opened his comms channel. “Shadow, I don’t think we’ll find a way around. There’s a curvature to this wall that suggests it probably surrounds the objective.”

“Understood Obsidian. I’ll mark a section of the wall for a torpedo strike at minimum safe distance and see if we can’t go through from there. Return to our position. We’ll take cover in a nearby cluster of rocks.”

“I know the one. Will be there soon. Obsidian out.”

Obsidian was about a third of the way back when the torpedo struck. The flash of light was visible even through the reduced visibility, yet something seemed different about it. The explosion took on a momentary blue colour, shortly before it was replaced with shades of orange that grew larger and brighter. With it, the sound of multiple detonations quickly grew in volume. Obsidian realised they were getting closer, and were comparable to clusters of firecrackers, though with deep booms, rather than small pops. Eventually, the explosions raced past, and Obsidian could make out each individual object detonating sequentially.

“I assume you saw that, Obsidian?” Shadow’s voice returned.

“Yeah, it looks like every single one of those things were destroyed in a chain reaction. Does it look clear from your end?”

“Hard to say, but it seems that way.”

“Alright, head towards the impact site. I’ll meet you there instead.”

Several minutes of flight later, Obsidian landed beside the freshly formed crater. Heat was radiating from its centre, which contained fragments of glass-like material scattered throughout, with most of it closer to the centre. Looking around, he found no other signs of floating devices. Off in the distance, the rest of his team drew closer, eventually meeting at the crater’s edge with the changeling.

Swift looked into the crater. “We don’t have to worry about sprouting extra hooves from our heads or anything, do we? Are we safe this close to the impact?”

“Amarok’s torpedoes are not nuclear weapons,” Shadow explained. “Their compressed plasma is not radioactive, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Pity,” Shift replied. “I was hoping for some super powers. Power Ponies, anypony?”

Shadow shook her head. “I don’t think that’s how it works, Shift. Come on, let’s keep going.”

The six split into their respective groups once more, as they circumnavigated the crater, before proceeding in a straight line again. As the crater disappeared behind them, Shadow spoke up, “Odd sort of defence, wasn’t it? Destroy one device, and you destroy every other. Doesn’t seem like an effective way to keep anything out.”

“Mmm,” the changeling agreed. “Which is why I don’t think it was designed to keep things out. A deterrent maybe, but I’m thinking with the amount of damage caused, and the noise made, it probably served as an early warning system of some kind.”

“Perhaps. Some ground-based sensors might have worked more effectively, though. That just seemed … excessive.”

“However,” Obsidian pondered, “They did seem to be rather explosive for their size. Air mines, perhaps? Do those things exist?”

“Can’t say I’ve heard of them before, but I don’t see why not. A bit too conspicuous though. Unless that’s the point?”

While Obsidian and Shadow discussed the recent events, off in the distance, Glare was attempting to tune out from the twins’ own conversation.

“Radiance? Nah.” Shift waved a hoof. “Sure, she might have a useful power, but her creations seem ridiculous in each issue. Fili-Second is where it’s at. There’s so much you can do with that sort of speed.”

“Yeah, but would you seriously want to trade your wings for lightning speed?”

“Come on mate, this is basic theory of flight. What are the factors affecting lift? Air density, speed, and wing area. Plus your coefficient of lift, based off your angle of attack and aerofoil camber.”

Swift frowned. “… Yeah? I’m not seeing your point though.”

“Alright, let me make this as simple as possible for you. If you try to flap your hooves, you’re not gonna take off in a hurry, are you? Why is that?”

“Uhh, because they’re not wings?”

“Be more specific. Think about the formula for lift.”

“Well, I guess you can’t control air density, so that wouldn’t be it. Coefficient can be changed with a wing, but hooves are basically symmetrical, so that’s out. Umm … Righty, your wing—or rather, hoof surface area would still be the same, which leaves speed as the only variable to control, but you wouldn’t be able to flap them fast enough to compensate for the—oh, I see what you’re saying.”

“Yeah, took you long enough, ya dingbat! Though now that I think about it”—Shift tapped his chin—“flying like that might need to look more like deep water swimming, but like, really fast. As you said, hooves are kinda symmetrical. No camber to produce lift with, and angle of attack for such a shape would be meaningless. Flapping up and down would pretty much cancel each stroke out.”

“Alright, fine, I’ll give you that one. Okay, so then it’s a toss-up between her, or Saddle Rager.”

“How so?”

“Well, she’s still a pegasus, so in her normal state, she can fly no problem. But when she bulks up, nothing can harm her. And she can cause a heap of damage, can’t she? She’d easily whoop Fili’s cute flank.”

“The hay she can. I doubt either would win over the other. Fili would be too fast to hit, and Rager would be too tough to take down.”

“Do you two realise you’re arguing about a bunch of comics intended for colts?” Glare called out ahead of the two.

The twins reeled, gasping dramatically. Shift recovered first. “We take back what we said to you aboard the Forge. This is why you’re still single.”

Glare stopped, and faced the twins. “Again with my private life. Why are you so obsessed?”

“Just trying to make conversation, relax.”

“That’s an odd way to have a conversation. Do you two ever have any intellectual topics to discuss?”

“We just had a back and forth about aerodynamics,” Shift retorted. “What, is that not intellectual enough for you?”

Glare turned around and continued following the lead group. “Heard it all before. Most pegasi I’ve met won’t stop talking about anything flying related.”

“’Cause flying is awesome, obviously. So, what? You prefer we talk about philosophy? Theory of knowledge and all that abstract stuff? How do you know what you know if you know you don’t know all there is to know? Ugh, thanks, but no thanks. And good luck finding a stallion who’s into that. Or is it mares you’re in to?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but if you were the last two stallions in Equestria, I certainly would be.”

Shift grinned. “Now there’s a thought. That would mean I could pick any mare I’d want! Wonder who I’d pick first …”

Swift replied almost instantly, “Spitfire, hooves down. Not sharing, though. That’d be weird. I know she’s older than me, but damn, she's got wings that won't quit!”

“What, yellow mares are your thing, then?” Glare asked sarcastically.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but probably,” Swift mocked, imitating Glare.

Glare rolled her eyes. “Forget I said anything.”

---

By the time the rain had become a light sprinkle, it was well into the afternoon. The scouting group managed to mark a few more targets along their way, though the area seemed to contain fewer defences compared to the urban region from the previous day. Another wall of floating explosives was encountered and promptly dispatched with a well-aimed shot from Shadow’s pulsar, sending a ring of fire in either direction.

By this point, the terrain had taken on a completely rocky formation. The flat-faced, polygonal outcrops appeared artificial, though Glare knew otherwise from her experience; basalt structures, joined in relatively convenient steps that allowed the team to progress faster, compared to the loose boulders and mud that hindered them earlier.

Having gone without rest for a third of the day, the six sat around a large, clear puddle that had formed in a depression of the rocky columns. Gathering some loose branches nearby, Shadow stacked them neatly near the puddle’s edge and placed a hoof just above the centre. A small, blue flame manifested. Holding the flame against the branches, they eventually caught fire.

After washing the mud out of themselves, everyone relaxed as they had some water, or a few of their rations. After a suggestion from Obsidian, the group threw their wet GCUs into a pile and Glare managed to dry them using her glyph spell.

While Glare was busy ensuring she didn’t accidentally singe the clothing, Swift, Shift, Shadow and Sparky were carefully removing their burn dressings. Though they still needed time to heal, the downpour had ruined the dressings. Despite this, their fur had started to grow back, even if only by a small amount. As soon as their GCUs had dried, they wasted no time in putting them back on, the clothing providing at least some form of protection against the moderate wind.

While the others continued to eat, Glare proceeded to dry herself, propping her back against the spell’s wall while reading a book. Swift and Shift took naps on each crate, while Obsidian and Sparky kept watch over their surroundings. Every so often, one of the two would head away to gather more material for their flickering campfire.

The group remained for an hour before Shadow decided it was time to proceed. As the light had again started to fade from the sky, the six pressed on a little faster than they had earlier in the day. When night eventually fell, the team was within sight of their objective. The weather had cleared up enough for Obsidian to make out the gaping mouth of the cave in the dark, with a silhouette of what appeared to be a large hill behind it. Deciding the team should be alert and well rested for their approach in better lighting conditions, Shadow rolled out the sleeping bags in a large, rocky ditch, deep enough to conceal the six and protect themselves against the wind.

Glare and Obsidian took first watch. The others paired up in their sleeping bags, while the unicorn and changeling set up a tarp to cover most of the ditch and retain some of their heat. Obsidian rested his head atop the pit’s edge, and Glare returned to her book, opening it to a bookmarked page. Hearing the pages flipping, Obsidian watched as Glare busied herself with large walls of text. “What is it I keep seeing you read?”

“Depends when you’ve been watching me.” Glare looked up with a sly smirk on her face. She poked her tongue out quickly before continuing. “This one is recent. Managed to get a hold of a copy when we were in Canterlot. It’s Princess Twilight Sparkle’s thesis on the theory of magic.” Closing the book, she held it in front of Obsidian. The title read ‘Insights Into Magic & Interactions With Fundamental Forces’. “Please tell me you know what Element of Harmony this is.”

“The one who set in motion the events that lead to our downfall at the Canterlot invasion,” Obsidian answered flatly. “How could I not know?”

“Oh uhh, I was referring to her being the Element of Magic, but”—Glare laughed nervously—“that works too.”

“You do remember we sort of met her on the Aurora, right?”

“My point was that she is the Element of Magic,” Glare returned to the original topic. “So her thesis mostly covers a new system to categorise magic, suggesting the current ones are archaic.”

“How so?”

“Well she claims spells should be classified based on how they manipulate the fundamental forces of the universe. The major problem with the way magic has been studied thus far is in regard to how they’ve been categorised.”

Obsidian frowned, visibly confused. “I’m not sure I follow. Are you talking about categorising different spells?”

“More or less. The problem the Princess mentions is the lack of a unified system of magic. It has been generally accepted that unicorns have photokinesis, pegasi and griffons use gravitonic manipulation, and zebras specialise in elemental and alchemical magic, both of which the Princess suspects to be part of some general atomic manipulation ability. Even earth ponies to some extent, share those abilities. In all these cases, separate systems of magic have been used.”

“Wait, back up a bit. Manipulating gravity would explain how magic works for flight-capable species, and I’ve seen the way Shadow has influenced the elements, but”—Obsidian gave the unicorn a disbelieving look—“photokinesis? Are you implying all unicorn magic is nothing but the manipulation of light?”

“I was a little unsure of it at first, but the more I read and thought about it, the more it made sense. When we pick something up, an aura of light surrounds the object. When we want a shield, we get a luminescent barrier. When we fight, we fire light.”

“What about teleportation?”

“Also light. That being said, teleportation is a little more complicated, as there is some quantum physics involved. Something about entanglement, but quantum physics just goes over my head. Most topics of physics, actually. Interestingly enough, because light is used in teleportation, one recent discovery is that the time taken to teleport from one place to another is based on the speed of light.”

“Right. So, anything there on changelings? What, uhh, medium do we use for our magic?”

Glare shrugged. “Changelings aren’t exactly a well-studied species, but since illusions are your area of expertise, perhaps you share similar methods to unicorns. Given that you also fly, gravitonic manipulation would likely be involved, too. Anyway, so the Princess has been working with Aurora’s research division to test many spells from different species, in an effort to group them based on how they convert our energy into different forms when casting a spell.”

“I think I understand the idea. Energy can’t be created or destroyed, but merely converted, so she’s breaking spells down into their energy components and quantifying them.”

“Exactly. You’re aware of the four fundamental forces of the universe? Gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak interaction? With training, we manipulate these forces in specific ways, resulting in the spells we cast. That is what the Princess is defining magic to be; a biological process that interacts with fundamental forces and manipulates them to achieve the intended effect.”

“Just to be clear, is Sprinkle testing each spell herself, or does she have assistants from every magical species? I assume the latter, since the former implies different forms of magic can be used between species.”

“Sparkle,” Glare corrected. “I just told you her name. And from what I understand, any horned magical creature can, in theory, make use of any form of magic. Makes me wonder if the Princess will try to master every known spell.”

“I doubt any creature could do that. I mean, most ‘lings train over a decade just to create believable disguises.”

“A whole decade? I mean, I know lots of spells need at least a year or so to master, but the amount of commitment needed for that is astounding. Still, I think the Princess is in the perfect situation to make such an attempt.”

“How so? Celestia and Luna have been around much longer, and neither of them seem to have mastered a wide array of spells.”

“I suppose because neither of them were the Element of Magic.”

“Unless being the Element of Magic grants her the ability to learn spells in a matter of days, how does Spr—Sparkle plan to learn everything with her finite life-span?”

Glare sighed. “I feel like this is the point where I state once again that you need to study history some more, but it’s probably pointless by now. Well, you know of the Hiigaran leader Karan S’Jet?”

“The dead one?”

“I wouldn’t have put it so bluntly, but yes. At the time of her sacrifice, she was over one hundred and forty years old, yet she retained the youth of a Kushan in her mid-twenties. Hiigaran scientists attributed this to her time spent inside one of the hyperspace cores. The same hyperspace cores now used by the Elements of Harmony.”

“The cores grant immortality?”

“Perhaps not immortality, but immunity from ageing.”

“I mean, I figured nothing would save you from direct contact with a battlecruiser’s ion cannon fire, but if you want to argue semantics …”

“Glare, Obsidian, as much as I like listening in on this conversation, could you please keep it down, or save it for another time?” Shadow whispered.

“I almost forgot you were all there,” Glare apologised. “We'll keep it down.”

The pair grew silent after Shadow rolled over in her bag. Glare resumed reading, while Obsidian went back to observing. Flashes of lightning could be seen in the far distance, though no accompanying thunder the changeling could pick up on.

As the minutes dragged on, Obsidian broke the silence. “Hey Glare?” he whispered.

“Hmm?”

“On the topic of magic, have you noticed you’ve been casting your glyphs stronger without my help? When you dried our GCUs, you used a warmer version of the non-augmented glyph without burning anything. Even when that turret attacked us, you fired off multiple glyphs to protect Sparky.”

Glare blinked. Obsidian was right. “Huh. I never gave it much thought. Some sort of residual … or maybe like a by-product of your energy?”

“No, it wouldn’t work like that. You been practising?”

“Nothing more than a few little tests here and there. You think I should let Corona know?”

“Up to you. Though I’d prefer not to get roped into another few hours of repetitive experiments again, if she had even the slightest suspicion I had something to do with it,” he replied with a roll of his eyes. After a deep breath, he stood, and made to climb out from their shelter. “Right, I’ll be back in a bit. Call of nature and all. If I take more than three minutes, assume hostiles.”