10: Ruin
Hello again folks. It seems occasionally I can keep my promises to be creative. 
(walks around the neighborhood help with that.)
Either way, here's chapter 10. It hasn't been edited, and should anyone of you fine folks feel up to the task, PM me with a list of corrections, and you'll receive credit at the start of the chapter for your assistance. Take a look at the last chapter for an example of this.
Special thanks to all of you who PM'd me a list of corrections for chapter 9, they will be implemented shortly. If your name isn't in the header of chapter 9 and you did send me corrections, that simply means I haven't gotten to your message yet.
Until next time folks!
Among the Ruins
Chapter 10: Ruin
By: SteampunkBrony
It was nearly pitch black inside the airlock, the light streaming through the observation windows being the only source of illumination. Although the runes covering the inside of the chamber glowed softly, this really did little more than light up the runes themselves in a multicoloured array that at least showed us where the walls were.
“You know, if it weren't for the fact that on the other side of this resides the very definition of wasteland, this would make quite the tourist trap... or maybe we should do that anyway...” Discord mused as we waited for the outer doors to close.
“Unless you have something against tourists, I would advise against that.” I replied, the two massive doors behind us booming as they finished closing.
“My dear Twilight, until you've spent a few millennia stuck as a lawn ornament at a very important castle, you would have no idea the absolute loathing I feel towards those shutterbugs. Them and pigeons...” The hate in his voice was almost palpable.
There was a buzz from some concealed communication gems. “Alright everyone, we're opening the doors. Best of luck in there and be careful.”
The voice cut out as a siren rang out. The runes that moved the doors that separated us from the miasma flared red, casting the room into harsh focus as a razor thin plane of pale green light knifed through the room. The doors slowly ground their way apart as the sickly green mist started to waft into the airlock, along with an unholy screeching that set my teeth on edge.
“For some reason I doubt that's the doors...” I heard from my left as the assembled team took a wary step back.
”Mistress, from our analysis of that sound there are a large number of hostiles rapidly approaching.” Proteus informed me as sighed.
”At least we won't be surrounded...” I mused, turning towards the team.
“You'd be right. I call them Screechers for what should be obvious reasons. Everyone to the back of the chamber. Discord, would you mind taking care of them? I'll handle keeping them off of us.” I ordered as my horn lit up, a violet barrier flaring to life just behind the doors.
“Finally, a chance to cut loose and not have Sunbut crawling up my ass about it.” Discord's grin as he exited the airlock would have been disturbing, had I not been sure he was on my side.
The screeching cut out as the doors finished opening, the green fog only allowing us to see the outlines of the nearest buildings.
Discord glanced around, “Aww... I think I scared them off.”
I held up a hoof to the team, giving the universal 'wait for it' gesture.
Moments later, the faint sound of galloping hooves could be heard. The rapid staccato reverberating off of the walls as it grew in volume. A wry grin crossed my face as I looked over at the team, their faces a mix of curiosity and fear.
“Welcome to Canterlot ponies, you're about to be introduced to the most basic of hostiles that we are going to find. The Screecher.” Another round of wailing erupted from the buildings as I looked back out through the barrier. “Aggressive, fast, tenacious, and they like to move in packs. Fortunately, easy to kill. Damage the brain and they drop. I see many of you brought firearms, I'd advise against using them unless it's a last resort or we are already have a swarm of these coming after us. They are attracted to loud sounds. Here they come now, save your ammo, you'll need it later.”
I could make out faintly glowing dots in the fog that soon gave way to rotting ponies, their eyes lit up like light bulbs and their necrotic forms leaking a silvery blood as the mass of around twenty screechers rushed at us.
“Discord, if you will.” I called out to the draconequis.
“With pleasure” He called back, snapping his talons.
The fog in the area condensed into spheres around him, each about the size of a hoofball. They remained floating there for a moment before flashing as they were transmutated into foot long metal spikes, about an inch thick each.
“My my, you're all looking rather pale... I think you need a little more iron in your diet.” He cackled as the rods shot forward, each making a small sonic boom as they broke the sound barrier. In an instant the group of screechers were splattered across the walls of the buildings behind them, the spikes continuing on into the stonework, collapsing a few of the structures.
I dropped the barrier, walking out of the airlock and breathing deep. I could hear someone behind me gagging, fighting to not vomit. “I'd keep your lunch down if I was you, that's a good way to drown in those suits. Let's go, that may have attracted more attention than is healthy.”
I stopped walking as we were about to round the corner to the road that would take us out of the ruins of lower Canterlot into the city proper. “Everyone stop a moment.” The team halted as I turned towards them. “This is Hurricane Avenue, as many of you know, a main road. Once we round this corner we're going to be walking through one of the largest kill zones from when this all happened. There's not much left aside from bones, but brace yourselves. Stay alert and focused, and if you see anything move, call out. There are piles of bones and carriages littered along the way and they can hide all sorts of nasty surprises. Keep your voices down, the quieter we are the more we can hear, understood?”
“Yes mam.” Came the subdued reply as we rounded the corner.
“By the gods...” Muttered a pony behind me as the remains came into view. As far as we could see the street was carpeted with acid bleached bones Piles of ghostly white remains rose taller than Celestia in places where ponies had succumbed to the acid, and those behind them had attempted to climb over the fallen only to die themselves. Those behind them made similar attempts, only to meet an identical fate. In places puddles of acid glowed menacingly, an occasional bone falling into the volatile pools only to dissolve in moments. Carriages dotted the street, only a few had collapsed but many were still intact thanks to the spells placed upon them to repel mud and water.
Silently we stepped into the street, the mood tense as the occasional bone snapped underhoof. Each snap was accompanied by startled motions from various members of the group. My gaze swept across the bleached landscape, looking for any signs of enemies lurking among the bones. A beep from Proteus almost caused me to jump.
”We are detecting at least one nanoswarm in the area ahead. Should I highlight it for you?”
”Please do, I'll lead them around it if I can.”
A blue mist flickered into my vision, highlighting the almost invisible silver cloud hanging around a pile of bones not a block ahead of us. I held up my hoof, “Can anyone point out what's wrong with that pile of bones?” I asked as I pointed at the highlighted pile.
After a moment one of the team members gasped, “It's got some kind of shimmer in the air around it.”
“Got it in one. That's what a nanoswarm looks like when it is lying dormant. If you walk into it, it will wake up and try to get through your suit. If you haven't ripped your suit you'll be fine, but even a hole the same width as a pencil will allow the whole swarm into your suit. Once we've passed it I'll wake it up so you lot can see what an active one looks like.” I once again took the lead as we started walking again.
“I was wondering why I was getting a foreboding feeling about that pile...” Discord had floated over to me, “Well spotted.”
“I've had plenty of practice. I may be immune to them now, but I didn't always know that.”
It was only a few hours after Commander Blitz's death that I encountered the second nanoswarm. Unless you've been chased by them before you have no idea how terrifying it is to suddenly realize that yes, the air is shimmering down the block and yes, it is coming towards you.
My reaction was to, as any sane person would do, run like hell.
I took off down the nearby alleys vaulting over quietly sizzling corpses, piles of garbage, and the occasional dumpster in a desperate attempt to get away from the approaching silver cloud. I cursed to myself as I ran, looking for an open door that I could duck into to try and loose the microscopic machines.
Three blocks later, I had a stroke of good luck. Darting through the doorway, I slammed it behind me with my magic and barred through the large storeroom of what looked to be a grocers. Spotting the large door of a walk in freezer, I quickly took shelter inside of it.
Lighting my horn so I could see, I pulled a pressurized can of silicone sealant out of the pair of bloodstained saddlebags I had taken off of a pony who wouldn't be needing them anymore. I applied a generous amount to the crack around the door, hoping the rest of the room was airtight enough to keep the nanoswarm outside the fridge.
Needless to say, I may have vacated my bowels when I saw the swarm sliding in through the broken seal on the door's latch release...
On the plus side, I found out that I was no longer susceptible to the nanoswarms.
I frowned at that particular memory, not one of my proudest moments to say the least. Seeing we were outside of the average range of detection for nanoswarms, I motioned for the group to stop.
“Alright folks, pay close attention, I'm going to wake up that nanoswarm. Pay attention to how it looks because that could mean the difference between life and death if you find yourself with a punctured suit.” I lifted up a nearby femur and lobbed it at the shimmering pile of bones.
The street was silent as a tomb until the bone landed with a loud crack, causing a few others in the pile to cascade off. The team watched anxiously for any change in the pile, but after a few moments nothing had changed. “Well... that's odd... swarms usually respond to...”
I was cut off by the blue highlighting the swarm suddenly turning red, accompanied by Proteus' voice. “Mistress that swarm is far bigger than it should be. Scanning.”
”Understood, keep me posted.” I replied, turning to the group. “I don't like this, we're moving.”
“Maybe it ran out of energy?” One of the hazmat ponies said as we started to walk again, “I think we got lucky.”
”Scan finished... I... would advise running. Every bone in that pile is saturated with nanobots from industrial project 782.” Proteus' voice gave away his feelings about the situation.
“What does that mean?” I asked, looking back at the pile of bones. “I doubt we're that lucky, and some of the nastiest things here take a few moments to-”
I was cut off by a cacophony of clacking behind us. My head whipped around as the bone pile started to re-arrange itself, two legs the size of tree trunks forming. “...Wake up. Everyone follow me!” I yelled bolting for a nearby alleyway, the team reacting a moment or two slower before bolting after me, as a torso started to form, more bones flying into place from the pile. Discord hung back a moment longer, before he too began to rapidly de-ass the area.
“The fuck is that thing?” One of the soldiers asked as we ran onto another road. It led away from Hurricane Avenue at an angle and as we turned down it a low, synthetic roar rattled rattled the remaining windows along the road. I glanced back and my blood ran cold.
There, staring at us over the nearby buildings was the head and shoulders of the massive construct. It must have stood at least four stories tall, it's head a twisted and demonic version of a goats skull. Blue light filled its eye sockets and teeth that would look more at home in the mouth of a large dragon parted as its roar echoed out over the streets once more. “The result of Murphy's law. Discord can you do anything about that thing?” I yelled, facing forward once again as the construct started to give chase, the ground trembling slightly as it started smashing through building to get to us.
“Unfortunately no. As much as I would like to turn it into a macabre vending machine, it has some kind of harmonic magic around it. My magic can't touch it.” The chaos spirit frowned as he zipped up beside me. “Please tell me that's an uncommon thing, otherwise I have a feeling we are in far deeper piles of pigeon leavings than I imagined.”
“First I've seen it.” I called back. ”Proteus, any ideas about that?”
”Scans show the presence of a calcium-magicite compound in the marrow of the bones. Also, according to your memories, there is a subway station ahead that was free of the acid. By my estimates, we'll be safe in there.” A green marker and a minimap appeared in my vision, highlighting the shortest route. Behind the marker that showed the team, a red marker showed the location of the construct.
”That's a better plan than I had.” I looked back as the final building between the construct and us crumbled. “There's a subway station near here, we can hide there. Follow me!” I was almost drowned out by another roar, as the construct picked up speed now that its path was unobstructed.
We had a good lead on it, but it was now starting to catch up. I could hear its footfalls getting louder behind us, the red dot on the map steadily getting closer as we ran.
We tore around the final corner, the station coming into sight as our lead dwindled, the construct was now less than a block behind us. It's roar was deafening, the remaining windows shattering above us as the first of us to the station dove down the stairs. I looked back from where I landed the rest of the team scrambling ahead...
I wish I hadn't.
Time seemed to slow as I watched the massive hand of the construct grab two of the hazmat team and one of the soldiers, their dive for the stairs being milliseconds too late. They screamed as they were brought up to the thing's face, and I could still hear them screaming as it's other hand tore their masks off, the nanoswarm immediately taking effect. Their flesh began to melt as their skeletons were ripped free of everything else, the now crimson bones joining with the rest of the construct.
It tried a few times to reach down the stairway to where we were, but it's hands were too big to fit.
I turned towards the turnstiles, the rest of the team had already collapsed on every surface that wasn't already occupied. I could hear them panting, none of them had realized we were now down three team members.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- InfiniteBrony · 66k words · 1,525 51 · 23k views
- criticalmess · 22k words · 1,696 35 · 24k views
- PotatoJoe · 23k words · 2,423 46 · 29k views
- Ink Stroke · 46k words · 611 26 · 11k views
- defender2222 · 63k words · 2,041 98 · 43k views
- nodamnbrakes · 110k words · 2,973 127 · 41k views
- shirotora · 150k words · 1,998 117 · 26k views
- Nadake · 115k words · 1,489 46 · 23k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.328 seconds
Total duration
942 users online
1,401,424 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
No cliffhanger this time, hope you enjoyed it.
Today's boss fight brought to your by bloodbourne. This game is giving me so many ideas for fucked up murdery shit you have no idea.
7987830 Having seen many, MANY lets plays and lore videos on Bloodbourne, I have a very good idea what to expect.
Twilight should know by now not to kick hornet nests
I am so glad that I didn't stop tracking this story. Great stuff. I'm gonna go check out some of your other stuff now.
Bleh... not really seeing it. Even if they had some sort of 'harmonic' element... a good old rock thrown at speed should have done something. They didn't even bother to try and disrupt it.
A bone Golem, impressive, but it still probably functions similar to a timberwolf. Plus, can't Proteus do something? Or is she fully contained within Twilight at this point?
...Whoa...and to think, they are only beginning their mission. Poor souls...
I got C&Cs coming your way, and just letting you know, I am really enjoying your story. Keep up the awesome job.
Sometimes this world seems unnecessarily madhat.
for some odd reason, this mish mash of Portal 2 Alarms is what I think of when I read the bolded part; because the alarms used in Portal 2 were heard when you unsealed the Classic Aperture testing chambers behind the massive blast door; much like Twilight, Discord and the Hazmat team unsealing the Canterlot Containment zone.
7987969
I'll put it this way, would you want to fight a bone golem bigger than your house while having to protect a large group of people? Think of this guy as something akin to a titan from attack on titan: big, tough, and not something you would look at and go " I can take it."
> four stories tall, it's head a twisted
its*
> but it's hands were too big to fit.
its*
Welp, looks like things went to shit fast, no wonder she did more running than fighting.
Oh sweet Jesus :|
7988092 that thing has more in common with a boneyard than a bone golem... (libris mortis, D&D 3.5e)
Still bucking horrifying though.
Fuck yes! I can take this out of my 'Dead Fics' folder!
Lol, that's a lot of thumbs up for a fic that died for 3 years
7988523 Just goes to show that this fic is amazing
They may have escaped the giant bone titan but I have a feeling that it won't be the last time they'll see it...
7988092
Would they want to stick around and seriously fight the thing? Probably not. But some of those supersonic spikes Discord conjured out of nothing earlier probably could have taken a leg off, or at least tripped it for a moment. Or either he or Twilight could have created a wall in front of the thing. It didn't gain speed when it had to go through the buildings and such, only when it was out in the open. It wouldn't destroy the creature, but it would have slowed it enough to keep three ponies from dying, and that's really all they needed.
Especially since the only reason it woke up at all was because Twilight went and smacked the proverbial hornet's nest for... no real reason at all. I mean, she's constantly telling them to be careful, to expect the unexpected and not get careless, and then she goes and kicks a nanoswarm because they're totally mostly probably harmless... maybe. Just... why would she think that was a good idea?
Wow, sucks to be them.
The mission has bearly started, and they're already down three members.
At this rate, by the time they reach their destination there won't be enough able bodies left to do the job. 
7987872 Now they know there is one more road to avoid on their way back.
7988613
If it is anything like video games, the only ones left will be Discord, Twilight, and their rescue objective.
On that matter, that was very stupid, Twilight. I know it was a calculated risk to show the team an example of an active nanoswarm, but you shouldn't have taken that it.
7988589
I'll try to flesh out the reasons why they ran next chapter, as it has to do with my personal headcannon in regards to discord's magic.
As to why she kicked the proverbial hornet's nest, well normally it would be a risk free action. The nanoswarm would have taken to the air, but since they all have hazmat suits they would be safe. again something to go into more detail on next chapter.
7988795
See second half of the above comment.
7988807
I'm... curious to see how the thing with Discord's magic will play out. It may be immune to his magic, but unless it's also immune to boulders and metal that shouldn't be much of a hindrance. Not to mention why Twilight herself didn't do anything, since she's also supposed to be one of the big defensive assets the group has with them. I've pointed it out in other fics and I think it applies here as well, simple telekinesis is easily one of the most deadly spells a mage can wield, and we've seen from canon that Twilight can put a LOT of power into it.
As for kicking the nanoswarm, even if it's supposed to be harmless, that seems like an absurdly reckless thing to do in a situation where the group's survival hangs by a thread. Especially since we've seen from the beginning of the story and from some of Twilight's flashbacks that the actual effects of individual nanoswarms can be incredibly varied and unpredictable.
I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what answers the next chapter brings.
we want MOAR!!!
woot!
Two updates in a year, I must have been amazingly nice to puppies in a previous life. So glad to see this fic hasn't just up and died again.
7988936
Well, Twilight will definitely have a load of guilt for THAT one for the rest of her life.
7991676 Yeah I can see that, but she does have a an excessive amount of "experience" to work with. Even Luna seemed to have some issues listening.
Moar!!!!! New chapte plz!!!!!
Do you mean "and barrelled through the"?
"through buildings"? "through a building"?
That's a new way of saying it.
Oh look, it's Grogar.
7988936 On the kicking the hornets nest without reason: but there WAS a reason. She was aware of this nanoswarm, giving her the opportunity to show the group what one looks like and typically reacts. She had an opportunity to show them two dangers to look for: both dormant and active swarms; with what she thought was minimal risk. Both she and Proteus may miss something, and the more aware the group was of what to look for, the more likely they would be to survive. They could specifically tell warn of nanites as opposed to just "something" which Twilight would have to identify and convey to the group. This reduces the number of instances in which reaction time and time to verify would slow them down. (detect something--tell Twilight--she looks--she identifies as threat or not--she determines course of action--she tells everypony (and Discord)--they react-- where-as they can identify: detect swarm--inform group--Twilight and group hear and know of a definite threat, and know that Twilight will start leading them away at a gallop [no need to tell them to follow and they aren't surprised when she just takes-off]<leader and group process info. at same time>--they react fewer steps save time).
7990938
Eh, that's your opinion. All I'm doing is writing and if people want to read it, they can. Hell, I'm surprised at how popular this has gotten.
7996395
That was certainly the logic she used to justify it, but there are a few problems with it.
The first, and most important, is that they're in an incredibly dangerous situation. The kind of situation where the lives of everyone in the group hang by a thread. Taking any kind of unnecessary risk is beyond foolish. And I know your whole point is that it wasn't unnecessary, but it was, for quite a few reasons.
When Twilight pointed out the swarm while it was still inactive, the whole group saw it. Her expectation of what they would see when she made it active? That it would look exactly the same, just moving. There was no point in waking it up, since it wouldn't have shown them anything they didn't already see.
And why did she think that was all that would happen when it woke up? Literally every depiction of a nanoswarm that's come up so far in the story has been some random effect, most of which were massively deadly whether you had a protective suit or not (terminator griffins, anyone?). She'd even spent quite a bit of time warning the rest of the group that things inside the wall can be unpredictable, only to be shocked when things are, you guessed it, unpredictable.
Even if everything had gone exactly as Twilight wanted it to, the group would have gained nothing while taking a risk, even a very small one, in a situation where any risk at all can easily kill someone. Made even worse by the fact that she had no reason to believe that it actually would go the way she wanted it to and every reason to believe that she would be waking up something best left asleep.
I feel like the same bossfight could have been accomplished by having one of the squad members accidentally dislodge something or get too close to the swarm instead of Twilight going the nanoswarm-pony equivalent of "Hey guys, hold my beer" and deliberately turning things pear-shaped.
Because it really does feel like a really unnecessary risk... and Twilight just directly got three ponies killed, which isn't very kosher.
7997251 I think that the idea was to show the group how a swarm typically moved and acted when active. Yeah, the reward may have outweighed the risk (of what she expected), but she thought that she had taken adequate precautions of getting out of typical range (though she probably should have had them get even further away.) The way that I see it, the swarms tend to follow a general pattern of behavior in that form and that animating inanimate objects upon activation was extremely rare, even previously unheard of, yeah, the swarms are unpredictable and all tend to produce different effects, but she had no cause to suspect a living mountain of bones being the result of this swarm. Personally, I think that what she should have done was have Mobius scan to see if any other nanites were nearby, and the how many of said nanites were around. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, but didn't.
Ah bloodbourne inspired boss fights are always magnificent.
It's a shame Twilight will have the lives of those soldiers on her conscience though... I suppose we should be thankful that there weren't any dragons in town?
then again, that might just jinx it.
Corrections PMed.
de-assing. Teehee.
I gotta ask:
Will this just be a numbers thing or will Twilight be under emotional strain because her fuck up killed three people?
8010754 nailed the inspiration for him in one.
I dub that thing the Rawbones.
*Processing*
It is past midnight, I can't sleep, and I am bored. Have the usual suspects been keeping up with the audio version?
NEED MORE NOW!!!!
8193721
To answer my own question: No, they aren't. BigAsh is one chapter behind, and I suspect won't be keeping up anymore.
Tracking beacon activated.
I imagine Proteus sounds like SAM (see: Mass Effect: Andromeda)
So, a rundown of Canterlot hazards
Failing infrastructure
Acid gas of death
Acid pools of death
Nanite swarms
Zompony borgs
The T-1000
and this guy
Are you OK out there? Will there be any more chapters??
I hope so, because I am loving this story.
8300333
now that u said it, i can see it and hear it too
Is this story dead?
Great story, a year since the last update? hope it's not dead, and you can write more soon.
3 decades later I still waiting a new chapter