Chapter 62
Unfortunately for Twilight, she wouldn’t be waking in the medical bay with every problem in her world already resolved.
Twilight takes five points of lethal psychic damage.
Her whole body felt like it was on fire, her head most of all. But there were shouting voices in her ear, the voices of her crew. “Ugh… what?” she sat up, shaking her head once and trying to make her eyes focus on them.
Has Twilight received the gift of INSIפH┴? Critical yes.
She’s burning her fur is melted oh Celestia what are we supposed to do she could be dying we’ll never get to Equestria again Applejack is panicking the whole crew is falling apart I should’ve taken her off the chair.
It was a little like the worst hangover headache Twilight had ever felt, reverberating through her whole body. It was too bright, Rainbow’s voice too loud, and her own thoughts almost silent by comparison. “I’m up!” She finally saw them—Rainbow and Node standing just in front of her, watching her with panic on their eyes.
But while Rainbow’s mouth remained closed, Twilight could still hear her. How is she moving after all that she should be in the hospital maybe I should call Fluttershy—
“You aren’t going to call Fluttershy,” Twilight interrupted, rising to her hooves. She could smell burning from around her head. A little twitch of her head showed her what that was—her whole mane had been charred down to something shorter than the most daring stunt fliers would’ve worn. Nothing for it now. “You’re going to tell me what the emergency is. Applejack, you mentioned her. Did something go wrong with Apple Bloom?”
“I… d-didn’t,” Rainbow squeaked, her confidence melting away. She’s listening to me right now she can hear my thoughts I thought mind magic was forbidden why would she break that rule now I thought Twilight cared about those
She was so loud! Twilight clutched her head with both hooves, whimpering in pain. But her legs did nothing to drown out the sound. “You didn’t,” Twilight agreed, gritting her teeth against the pain and forcing herself to stand straight again. “Tell me what happened.”
“Applejack… wanted us as soon as possible. Some kinda… complication. Magic Rarity couldn’t handle.”
“Okay,” Twilight turned on them both, hurrying away. Maybe if she couldn’t get Rainbow to quiet down, she could get away from her. “I’m going. Grab the tools. Node, keep up.”
Rainbow’s voice continued to pound in her head as she hurried back down the sloping ramp, fumbling at her chest for the radio. She lifted it in her magic. “This is Twilight. I’m on my way. What’s the problem?”
There was barely half a second delay, like Applejack had been waiting beside the radio for exactly this moment. “Twilight! Thank Celestia. There’s, uh… there’s some kinda magic on her. We got her out a stasis, and she dropped like a rock! Her leg, it’s… it’s doin’ something. I don’t know what. Rarity’s slowin’ it down best we can, but she’s running out of juice! Please, get here!”
“Right.” Twilight stopped walking, so suddenly that Rainbow smacked into her from behind. “You two, get to the preservation room as soon as you can. Node can show you the way, Rainbow.” She concentrated on a teleport—it was somewhere she’d been before, so nothing she couldn’t handle.
Twilight vanished from normal space, and this time… she was somewhere else. Instead of empty nothingness, Twilight floated through space. Stars surrounded her, their thousand-thousand eyes all watching. And behind them…
Can Twilight resist?
“It hungers,” Twilight whispered, her eyes losing focus. Something was seeing her, its eyes penetrating every memory and thought. Every inspection she’d ever presented before Celestia, but a thousand times more invasive.
Your pain will end, said the voice. Give your worry, your fear. Know hunger.
“
I̠̎́͆t̹̮̐ͅ ͇͓͎̤̬͔͑̇̈́͋͟h͇̺̎͆́̊̓ͥu̫̪̩͋̓̎ͤͮn͙̱͇̖̺͒̍̇ͨ̎̂̚g̖̼͇̩̻͂̄ͬ̂̈́ē̾̇ͪ̒r̟̰̈ͫͬ̒͛͘s̬͚͔̦̭̜ͥ̑̓̽͜,” Twilight said into the abyss.
Twilight takes three points of bashing psychic damage
Then there was a crash, and she returned to normal space. Air rushed around her, and she nearly fell over completely, her legs wobbling under her. She blinked, shaking her head once. She was in the Signaler laboratory.
Panicked voices screamed in her head all over again, and she nearly dropped to the ground from the agony right there. But she resisted. Whatever strange feeling had taken her in the teleport was gone, replaced with an overwhelming fear. I can’t go back in there. It’s waiting for me.
But that was a problem for another time. For now, she could see the results of reviving Apple Bloom.
She’d been spread on a stretcher, and all Fluttershy’s makeshift medical equipment was here. Closed and unused containers of the cryo-revitalization and anti-necrosis drugs sat on one side. Every scanner and instrument was pointed at Apple Bloom’s leg. The metal fibers were growing. What was left of her leg already looked necrotic.
Rarity stood at the head of the bed, aiming her horn at Apple Bloom and blasting her with a spell. Instead of screaming, Twilight could hear only focus from her, the runes of the ‘slow’ spell over and over in a songlike rhythm.
But from Applejack there was pure panic. We need to amputate this is all my fault she’s dying right in front of me what would granny think I won’t be able to live with myself sis I’m doing everything I can please hold on—
If this kept up much longer, it was Twilight who was going to lose her mind.
“What do you need from me?” She said, mostly to Fluttershy. “You understand what’s going on?”
“Not a clue,” Fluttershy said, her voice desperate and her ears flat. “This… growth… it’s clearly eating her. But it’s also working symbiotically with her. It’s avoiding vital organs. It could’ve killed her already if it wanted to.” She turned the scanner around for Twilight to see the screen. “It’s eating towards her brain.” Her eyes settled on Twilight’s burned head, but she kept whatever questions she might be thinking quiet for now. Except Twilight heard them anyway. What in Celestia’s name did she think she was doing having us do these two missions at once? She needs a doctor almost as bad as Apple Bloom.
“There are… some really advanced spells you could pull off,” Applejack muttered, her voice pure desperation. “A teleport that would move… just my sis, not any of this infection. I’ve heard it can treat cancer!”
“Uh…” Twilight shuddered, remembering her own recent teleport. It was true, advanced medical magic could do that. “I’m not trained for…” But this was some kind of metallic growth, it would probably be easier to target.
She needed to choose, and fast.
1. Teleport the metallic infection out. I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, captain. We have no idea what the complications could be. Whatever this is, I think Apple Bloom’s best chance is to let it run its course. She might just start bleeding to death as soon as you remove it.
2. Let the infection run its course. Even Apple Bloom’s voice was there, whispering quietly into the room. Don’t kill me, please. You need to know.
3. Put Apple Bloom back in stasis. This is it, Cap. If she goes in there, I’m going with. You can get me back when you do the right thing for my sis. [Applejack joins her sister in the alien stasis device]
(Certainty 220 required)
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Uh. I think we have a clue what the "wave of death" might be, now.
2) Applebloom may very well be using her last moments to deliver critical information. Honor that. Cap'n Sparkle has already pushed herself to near death. No more magic for her until recovery.
Let it run. we need jack and Twi aint traind for this.
......fuck. Twilight is exhausted and isn't trained for this, and Bloom may have something to tell us in her final moments. Let it run its course.
I could've told you guys about three chapters back that this was going to be a carnival-grade, AAA+ Coney Island freak show if we let AB out of stasis or used any of the artifacts.
My god. We're lucky Twi walked away with nothing but a mildly fried noggin to show for it.
Well I guess insight comes with a few consequences.
I'm not sure if Applebloom will be in any condition to tell them anything if we let this take it's course. Twilight is in pretty rough shape. Losing the Engineer is a no go in either case.
Well there's more then just losing Applebloom here. We also have to consider how Applejack will take the loss of her sister with both options. Is trying and failing as bad as simply letting Applebloom potentially die? At this point, doing nothing might be as bad as simply refreezing Applebloom with Applejack in there with her.
Right. So Twilight's passively mind reading now, and this even extends to the options. She also cannot teleport herself because IT HUNGERS.
I go with teleport Applebloom away, as bad as it'd be for Twilight to use more magic after all the psychic damage she just took (How much health do they even have?!). Applebloom doesn't have the insight and won't be subjected to IT HUNGERS, and then we can toss the gray goo into a furnace.
Oh, and lovely, there's the IT HUNGERS FOR HER option.
Seems we’ve met our hungry boi.
AJ was a damn fool to pull AB out without figuring out what the metallic infection was. I don’t think it can be safely removed at this moment. 1 is out.
2 is likely to lose both the apples.
3 might have the best chances, we can come back for them and spike is a solid backup engineer.
Ugh, I hate the obstinate mule that is Applejack so much right now. This mess we are in right now? It's all her fault. If she hadn't bullishly insisted on removing AB from stasis when it was blatantly obvious they don't have any idea about what they are dealing with, we wouldn't be in this mess right now.
And now that we, in fact, are in this mess thanks to her, she is once again throwing a tantrum and threatening what amounts to insubordination (again) if she doesn't get what she wants. I don't think she has had a single good idea ever since this story started, and this is where we are ...
Frankly, I think we have to go with option 2 right now. Let it run its course and see what happens, as was noted the thing obviously isn't trying to kill AB, so let it run the process to the end.
While Twilight is, well Twilight, one has to remember that taking option 1 is essentially throwing a dice as to whether she succeeds or not. And Twilight just took 8 points of damage on top of her distracted state due to her newfound telepathy. Chances are if she tries the teleport-extraction, her roll might suffer penalties due to telepathitc distraction or simply because of all the damage she has taken.
So not only is Twilight far from her top shape right now for spellcasting (especially for something she isn't trained for normally), I have a feeling that failing said spells might risk further psionic damage to Twilight in her current state ... and frankly there is no way in Hell I am risking Twilight for Applejack.
Spike is almost as good as engineer as she is (possibly just as good if not better after spending decades keeping the ship in shape, spending months just now solo repairing it and tinkering with all the Node projects) and isn't a constant drain on morale and spewing insubordination left and right.
Trying and failing 1 is effectively the same as 3 anyway (we are likely to lose both AJ and AB), but unlike 2 might put Twilight into risk ... which we need the least of all. There is a chance Twilight might make a miraculous roll of course, but I wouldn't want to bet any money on it.
So ...2 it is. Let AJ live with the consequences of her own actions and have her take responsibility for once, if she is capable of that. This is what she wanted after all.
How the hell did you do that?!
9491329
Thank you!
Well, Fluttershy's the medical expert. Let it run it's course. Besides, Twilight is in no shape to perform that spell.
(Could you write how much health points a crew member has left when taking damage? It think it would help a lot to understand the situation)
The doctor's professional opinion is to not remove the metal. The patient's desire is to not remove the metal. Applejack can suck it.
9491238
Yeah, no kidding. Pinkie took, like, three points out of ten and the text described her more or less at death's door. Twilight's the party tank and just took eight out of thirteen.
9491303
Zͥͪ̃̑̌á̠̫͎͚̥̻͋ͨl̟̭g͕̻ͦo̤̻ͪ͂̑̓̂͛teͩͫ̍ͮ̍̄x̼̩̟͍͉ͧ̒ͬ͆̔t̰̣͚͕͎͕̾̉.
Let it go. Given how this is the "what not to do with your species" gallery, it's likely that this is some sort of workable but suboptimal form of immortality, or at least longevity. The flesh is weak, so use these nice, sturdy nanites instead!
Also, Twilight has uncontrolled telepathy. And something lurks in the space between spaces. Fun times. Though depending on what comes of Apple Bloom, I'd say this mission still went better than I'd expected.
9491295
Fluttershy has 7 HP
AJ: 9
Spike: 10
Twilight: 13
So, you know ... she just took enough damage that would have outright killed Fluttershy. Probably Rarity and Rainbow as well (Stats page isn't updated for them yet, but I'd peg them at 7 and 8 HP respectively). It's a good thing Rainbow didn't get to sit in that chair, because if she would have taken the same 8 damage Twilight did this chapter - she would be either dead or comatose at death's door, living or dying depending on immediate successful medical intervention.
Hey, you already have one robot crewmate. Apple Bloom ending up half robot doesn't make her not Apple Bloom, does it?
well assuming the brain survives intact anyway
Let's listen to Fluttershy, yeah? Twilight is not trained for this, and she also probably shouldn't be using more advanced magic right now. She took a big hit to her health. The passive mind reading is...interesting, and Apple Bloom has something important to say
9491299
Seems like no matter what we do, we might lose a best engineer for at least a little while.
And this is just Applebloom we woke up. Can't imagine how Sunset will be like waking up.
One thing is for certain, Twilight is going to need some time to recover those hits points she lost.
Uh... teleporting a cancer out is REALLY a bad idea... a cancerous growth is usually HEAVILY vascularized... teleport it out and you get MASSIVE internal bleeding... definitively bad.
9491401
Hm Sunset SHOULD be relatively better... as she is not with strange implants...
A counterpoint to teleporting AB out of the nanites- where the nanites gunna GO? To the next closest body? Hard to say.
Also, as an aside, imagine where AB would be without us picking chair. Twilight would be in the city or heading toward the ring. There'd BE no options for this, only #2 or AJ forcing Rarity to fail in this situation or something.
... WHY WOULD AJ NOT ANTICIPATE THIS OUTCOME?
9491299
Applejack did a great job early on, while the Equinox was entering the system. She made a few mistakes but overall kept the ship functioning well and even had some good unique options in the choices (for example, in chapters 18 and 12). It really wasn't until we found Apple Bloom that she went off the rails.
So long as AB survives to tell the tale. But really, if she wanted them to know something, holding a pad of paper with info could be almost as helpful without the drama...
Oh god, we celebrated the good rolls too soon.
No more teleporting.
Good job AJ, this is 100% your fault. And by your I partially mean our.
2 seems like the best bet.
9491452
Unless the teleport spell creates enough heat at its edge to sear the blood vessels shut.
9491355
That's far simpler than I expected this... "Zalgo text" to be. I must keep it in mind...
Normally I'd go for 3... but this thing is actively AVOIDING major organs... this can mean one of two things:
1. This infection is trying to supplant AB's brain. At this point stopping it would either kill AB from blood loss or not work in the first place. Choice 2 is best, just be ready to kill if need be.
2. The infection is merely changing AB from biological to mechanical. Again, stopping it is futile. Choice 2 is best, and we have another crew member.
Either way, Choice 2 makes the most sense.
I AM hungry.
9491381
The brain doesn't necessarily need to be intact. Ship of Theseus. If the nanites replace her brain cells with nanites that act exactly the same as those brain cells they're replacing, then it will -still- be Applebloom.
Also, I think it should be pretty easy to piece together the intent of the signalers now. That force in Twilight's vision destroyed organic life and left machines intact. The (possible) interpretation of the message saying 'life is inadvisable, convert to constancy. We will assist.' (Repeating from memory, sorry if that's not exactly what was said). The nanites converting Applebloom. Something is out there wiping out organic life, and the signalers are trying to convert people into a form that is can't be hurt by it.
So, instead of a "Sweetiebot" we are now going to get an "i Apple Roomba"? Well, if Twilight is not trained to remove things from a pony's body, even if it is theoretically possible, that just stinks of certain death. And we will likely need AJ at some point, so putting her in stasis won't help. Letting it run it's course seems the best choice, though not a good one. Node has no ideas? It is the only pony that Twilight can't read, it seems. But why didn't we try to wake Sunset up? If she had died we'd still be where we are, a bit sadder maybe, but if she had lived she'd be another magic user to help out. Oh well, 2 it is...
Well, Twi's stuck with mind reading powers with a crew full of unquiet minds. She's gonna become Node's best friend simply for how quiet
herits company will be.Also no more traveling through the space between spaces. Something Lovecraftian awaits.
Also I'm voting to whatever that thing is do its thing. This is a horrible idea and I am too trusting. Doing it anyway.
Say what happens when-- IF Twilight dies? Do we switch to a new pony to follow around and make decisions for? Speaking of making decisions for ponies, wouldn't it be freaky as heck if this cosmic entity ends up being us voters controlling Twilight's life?
EDIT: Just noticed the "IT HUNGERS" option. For giggles I might roll a d20 for a "Sanity check" every time I see it and vote for it if I fail. Maybe. I commit to nothing. (I succeed the check this time)
9491452
Worse than that. It's not a tumor, it's a symbiote.
Obviously, we should stick AB in the chair. The symbiote thing will still transform her body, but she'll keep her mind. SGU hasn't steered me wrong yet!
Trying to remove it is almost certainly the worst option. Reasons being:
1: Opinions of the parties involved, namely
a: Applebloom, who thinks that's really not a good idea
b: Fluttershy, whose professional opinion is that that's really not a good idea
2: It's likely to fail anyway given Twilight's current mental state and the distractions of unfiltered, unsolicited, wild thoughts being beamed directly into her psyche.
3: Even if it works, what will the nanites do afterwards? They might reinfect the closest person nearby, or something equally bad. We don't know.
4: Even if it works, and the nanites don't kill/infect us afterwards, just ATTEMPTING to teleport anything might well and truly get Twilight Sparta-kicked into the endless abyss. And/or kill her in the process. Which would probably fuck up the operation regardless.
Also, apparently we "need to know", according to Applebloom.
So yeah. How about we don't do that.
Applejack is a silly pony. Voting to let this run its course.
9492077
Ooh, that's an interesting idea. I might have to steal it. Alas, I already voted this time, but maybe next time the rolls won't be in my favor.
Oof, these last two chapters are doozy material.
Also I went with 2. Cause sorry AJ, you don't get to just abandon everyone. And 1 is just...that's a terrible idea. The roll for Twilight might be completely botched with how her brain is right now, and I doubt teleporting it into the Lovecraft Zone will help.
9492077
9492118
I too will roll sanity. I'll have to assign a threshold based on how strongly I feel about the options... If I don't like any of them or I feel apathy on the other choices I'll set it as low as 3 or 4 to fail.
For the sick fucks who chose it hungers. I hope the soles of your shoes are forever uncomfortable. And there is dead spider in all the tacos u ever try to eat again.
Also. I'm actually looking forward to the bloominator. She's gonna have excellent combat abilities.( All a failure might due is. Make her useless for a couple months as she heals( or repairs as the case may be.) To be fair even a critical yes for the Are the nanos benevolent role may still kill apple bloom if she critical fails the "does she survive the conversion role. So even if bloominator can answer all of are questions and lead us to glorius all your base, take off every zig!, great victory... she still might fucking die for not being perfect unicorn master race..
It hungers for her. My interpretation to that is that Twilight becomes a gibbering mess.
This is a doosey of a chapter.
Remember the time we had a chance to put AJ in stasis and we passed it by? I do, and I kinda regret not shoving her in right there. Well, better late than never, right?
9492315
That was beautiful.
9492240
NAT 1
That's actually a good question...
I voted for option 2, because after reading the input of Flutters and AB (and the threat of AJ) this seems to be the best option.
(But I still think they shouldn't have done the two missions at the same time, but it's a bit late for that now.)
9492099
I was talking in general of the idea of curing cancer with teleportation...
RE: Teleportation, I think it IS worth trying again, once Twilight is healed up and not in this location. My theory is the temple itself might be affecting things somewhat, not her new powers... though both are possible or even both overlapping (thus the recommended healing). If I recall Twilight got an 'it hungers' prompt or two right around her last teleport here, to the crystal heart.
I seem to have started something with this "roll sanity check" idea. Not sure if I should apologize or embrace the crazy.
I'll go with "both". Sorry, Starscribe. The madness has begun.
Kinda reminds me of that G.O.A.T. question.
static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130903141015/fallout/images/thumb/2/27/FO3_loading_goatslide02.jpg/640px-FO3_loading_goatslide02.jpg
Ooo! Ooo! Now that Twilight can passively read minds, we can safely unfreeze Cozy!
To the 25 people who voted for IT HUNGERS FOR HER:
Well, that escalated quickly...
well, on a brighter note, have some fanart I made for this:
https://www.deviantart.com/missc3po/art/Voyage-of-The-Equinox-Fanart-788561288