Chapter 18 - The Mad Scientist
The brave hero Ultra-Mare charged through the halls of Nightstone Castle as rubble and masonry fell all around her. She wove a familiar path through the chaos, deftly deflecting falling debris away from the throng of terrified ponies that were clamoring to escape.
The ground shook as a tremor ran through the dying structure, columns crumbling and splintering as they succumbed to gravity once again.
Soon, only she remained as she galloped towards the heavy oak doors guarding the audience chamber. The cries of the fleeing crowd died away until all Ultra-Mare could hear was the groan of crumbling stonework. The corridors were like a labyrinth, but she pressed on, following the path she knew would lead to her prince.
Rounding the corner, she skidded to a halt. Five guard ponies were struggling to remove a fallen column from the doors leading to the throne room. As she approached them, she could see a kirin, a mustang, and a zebra working together.
The hero blinked for a second at the unexpected sight. There shouldn't be any guards here; the entire castle had been evacuated.
“Thank Celestia you’ve come,” a grizzled thestral officer greeted. “The prince is just beyond this door. Can you help us?”
For a moment, she hesitated, the confusion giving her pause. Then, clarity—this is what she was here for.
“Of course. Step back, I’ll handle this!” Ultra-Mare roared, wasting no time as she threw the huge column aside and ripped the doors off their hinges.
Without waiting for the guards, she leapt into the audience chamber, her eyes fixed on the raised plinth where the young colt cowered.
“Look out!” One of the guard mares yelled as several menacing figures emerged from the shadows.
Windigo!
They quickly blocked her path, flaring leathery wings in defiance. For a moment, a cold shiver passed through the hero as she gazed into their glowing, lifeless eyes.
“Leave them to us!” the thestral yelled as he and his team readied themselves. “Save the prince!”
All charged forward, yet the moment the brave squad met the windigo, they were overwhelmed.
“No!” she cried as they were ripped to pieces.
She tried to reach them, but the windigo blocked her path again. Ultra-Mare kicked and punched with everything she had, but it was not enough. For each windigo she beat down, more took their place.
A final agonized scream from the guard ponies cried out, followed by the head of a mare, rolling along the floor and coming to a stop between the alicorn’s forehooves, her anguished face staring up into the hero’s eyes.
“You cannot win,” the head spoke.
Alone, she faced an encroaching circle of windigo, when suddenly the colt’s cry struck at her heart like a thunderbolt.
“Don’t let the monsters get me!” her prince cried out as more windigo moved towards him.
“Stay there, I’ll save you!” she yelled, opening her great wings to launch herself into the air. As she leapt, an icy claw grasped one of her hind legs, pulling her to the ground.
She glanced back, kicking at her captor, only to see the front half of a bisected windigo clinging to her leg as the others closed in.
The colt screamed as he fell into shadow, out of sight.
“No, come back!” the hero cried, trying to drag herself towards her prince.
She thrashed and flailed, but it was hopeless. Her eyes widened in horror as the windigo’s chest split open revealing its gaping maw.
They all fell upon her, ripping and tearing. Despite the pain, she kept reaching for her prince until the world dissolved into black.
Flurry’s eyes burst open, her body flailing as panic gripped her. She looked around, but there were no windigo to be seen. Instead, she appeared to be lying on a medical cot, an intravenous line sticking out of her foreleg. Somewhere, she could hear a heart monitor beeping wildly.
She blinked, her fear turning into confusion as her body began to calm down. Her bed was surrounded by privacy curtains, making it unclear where she was. Only a gentle light from above illuminated her bed.
It was a dream, just the dream, she assured herself as a tiny sob escaped her lips.
Soon, her eyes fell upon a familiar form sitting on her bed.
“Whammy?” Flurry gasped, reaching out and drawing the plushie to her chest. “How did you get here?”
She gave him a deep hug, tears of relief running down her cheeks.
“What do you mean, you have always been here? I’m not in the mood for games, Whammy,” she said, raising him to her eye level and giving him an annoyed scowl.
The plushie simply sat balanced on her hoof, his googly eyes coming to a rest.
“It’s good to see you too,” she said, letting out a sigh. “But where are we?”
“I might be able to help you with that,” a familiar voice spoke. The curtain parted, revealing a black alicorn standing before her.
“Nyx!” Flurry said with a relieved sigh which turned into a pained grimace as she shifted on the bed, accidentally leaning on her broken foreleg.
“Easy, you’re pretty banged up,” Nyx said softly, sitting beside Flurry’s bed. “You had me worried there for a while.”
“Please, it’ll take more than being punched into the decking by a cosmic horror to put me down,” she grinned, only to wince in pain again from the action.
“I had hoped that Nightstone would be the last time I saw you like this,” Nyx added before leaning forward to give her a nuzzle. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Flurry smiled warmly at the gesture, even if the sensation was a bit dulled. Her face felt like someone had stuffed it full of cotton balls and her body felt heavy.
“I suppose it did come pretty close,” Flurry admitted. “How’d you fare?”
Nyx flexed her wings slightly. “My armour’s going to need some work, but apart from that, just a bit roughed up. Nothing a long bath and a few days’ sleep wouldn’t cure.”
Only as Nyx leant back did Flurry notice she was out of her armour. There were a couple bandages on her forelegs, as well as healing salve on numerous gashes along her side. The only real casualty seemed to be Nyx’s appearance. Her coat was an uneven mess, still caked in changeling blood in places, and her normally full and elegant mane was now matted and frizzy, tied in a rough ponytail.
“I won’t be casting any spells for a while,” Nyx continued, tapping on her holo-brace and revealing a painfully small energy reserve.
Flurry nodded, the throbbing pain in her head making her doubt she could cast much of anything without risking a burnout. What she needed was a day or two back on Equus, or perhaps she could borrow some of those narconium bars they found on the Orion for a while.
As Flurry tried to adjust her position, she felt a terrible numbness from her wings. Looking back, she saw her right wing bound up in a medical sling to keep it from moving. Her flight muscles were sore and swollen, and she could see black bruises showing from under her coat.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Nyx assured, following her gaze. “You managed to tear some muscles during the fight, not to mention breaking a few bones. They’ve all been fused, so you should feel better in a few days.”
“Looks like you’re stuck with me,” Flurry said with a wry smile.
“At least I can keep you out of mischief for a while longer,” Nyx chuckled.
“You know, since I got your call, I’ve been shot at, blown up, spaced, stabbed, used as a punching bag, and some asshole turned my wings black,” Flurry moaned. “Mischief has a habit of finding me, even if I don’t go looking for it.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Nyx countered. “That’s what, an average weekend for you?”
“Very funny,” she replied sourly, letting out a groan and flopping her head back on the bed. “I feel like a minotaur decided to have a tap-dancing lesson on my face.”
“If it’s any consolation, you look like a minotaur tap-danced on your face,” Nyx snerked.
“Your bedside manner is terrible,” Flurry grumbled, huffing into her pillow.
“Better I tell you now than you finding out yourself.”
“The things I do for family,” Flurry said, giving her legs a tentative stretch.
“Well, if it means anything, I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for your help,” Nyx offered, straightening herself. She then gave a small, humble bow. “So, on behalf of myself and my crew, thank you, Flurry Heart.”
Flurry felt heat rush to her cheeks and looked away. “It’s nothing. You’re family, and we’ve always looked out for each other. You would’ve done the same for me.”
“Even becoming a blackwing? I’m serious, Flurry. That was no small gesture. Even if it was incredibly dumb.”
“Yeah, well… uh,” Flurry stammered. “You’ve already got black wings, so now we’re a matching set!”
As Nyx was rolling her eyes at the bad joke, Flurry glanced around the room for something to distract from her awkwardness. Arrayed out from her bed was a row of similar beds, each with an injured pony lying in them. The beds were set partially into individual alcoves, penned in by a pair of golden columns, curving into the arched ceiling. In the open spaces, even more ponies lay on stretchers, wherever they could fit, tended to by pegasus orderlies.
“This isn’t the Orion, is it?”
“We’re aboard the Glorium. Most of our critically injured were transferred here once the battle was over,” Nyx sighed, her ears flattening.
Flurry looked to the wounded, her heart aching as her thoughts drifted to her comrades. “How are Swan and her aerie doing?” she queried, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“Licking their wounds, so to speak,” Nyx replied. “After we took Engineering, Delta team and what was left of the aerie were dispatched to secure the Syndicate cruiser. I think it helped to give them something to do while they waited for the all-clear on the Orion.”
“Last I saw of the cruiser, Swan had nearly blown it up with that crazy stunt,” Flurry commented.
“Yeah. Swan and I went in together to wrap things up after the windigo was killed. We had an interesting conversation with the Syndicate boss.”
“Ooh, I wish I could have seen that. Did you do the Nightmare thing?” Flurry asked, wagging her eyebrows and hoping to hear a juicy story.
Nyx rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say the boss was sufficiently intimidated. We got what we wanted and put them all in custody down below.”
“After what they did? It must have been hard to resist the urge to space the lot of ‘em,” Flurry muttered.
“We managed. Swan and I had a long talk while we were over there. She’s a good kid.”
“Yeah, she is.”
“She told me about Merry,” Nyx managed, though the sudden melancholy in her eyes was evident.
Flurry felt her heart sink at the mention of the name. “Yeah,” she said softly.
“She seems to have taken a liking to you,” Nyx added, perhaps to get her mind off the slaver. “After we got back, she wouldn’t leave your side until she practically collapsed from exhaustion.”
“You should have seen her when we first met,” Flurry commented, though it surprised her to hear Swan had stayed with her after the fight.
“Wanted to kill you, I imagine,” Nyx quipped.
“How’d you guess?”
“Thought so. And now she cares for you.”
“I have that effect on people,” Flurry replied with an innocent rolling of her eyes.
“You certainly do. There have been days when I didn’t know whether to hug you or strangle you,” Nyx chuckled.
“Like yesterday,” Flurry noted.
“Like yesterday.”
“That’s why I’m your favourite cousin,” Flurry poked with a mischievous grin.
Nyx shook her head and they shared a laugh, though it didn’t last long. She seemed distracted by a distant thought, at first staring off at nothing in particular, and then her expression falling. Flurry had a fairly good idea of what was on her mind.
“How are things back on the Orion?” Flurry asked.
“It isn’t pretty,” Nyx said, her wings bristling at her sides. “Far too many dead. Doppel is tending to the crew that were taken by the changelings. He’ll be sending for therapists from the Conformity to help them recover. Overall, a deep cost in both lives and trauma. On top of that, the ship herself will need to spend months in repair, and that isn’t even counting the final outfitting.” She sighed heavily. “Hardly an auspicious start to the Orion’s career, is it.”
Nyx looked away, her shoulders slumping.
“Seems a tough ship. Survived me, didn’t she? And I hear she has a good captain, though she really needs to stop beating herself up,” Flurry said, giving Nyx a wink.
Nyx perked her ears and eyed her, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “And where did you hear that?”
“From a notorious but devastatingly attractive acquirer of goods. Quite a reputable source, so I’ve heard.”
“I see,” Nyx chuckled. “Well, you must give this source of yours my thanks.”
“No problem. So, what happens now?”
“We’re towing the Orion back to Harmony for repairs. We entered mirrorspace about an hour ago,” Nyx said, giving her holo-brace a few taps.
“I see.” Suddenly, Flurry’s eyes widened as her battered brain caught up with events. “Wait, did somepony pick up the Dream? I kinda left her adrift after the battle.”
“Don’t worry, your ship is squared away on the flight deck,” Nyx assured, chuckling at Flurry’s sigh of relief. “How do you think Whammy got here?”
“Oh. Of course. I hope he didn’t scratch the paintwork when he brought her in,” Flurry commented.
Nyx gently rolled her eyes as she stood up. “For someone with no arms or legs, he did fine. Though you have no idea the trouble I had getting aboard.”
“Oh? Why’s that? The ship knows who you are.”
“Some of the officers came up to me and said that the Dream was Lord Merry Weather’s property and I had no business with it,” Nyx snorted. “Of course, I persuaded them of their error.”
Flurry chuckled, imagining the scene, though the motion caused her to wince in discomfort. “I would like to have seen that. Sorry about those goons, Nyx.”
“Honestly, this blackwing mess is getting out of hoof,” Nyx declared. “We’ve got to figure out how to get you out of it.”
Flurry sighed, looking at her vandalized wings. “Easier said than done.”
The look on Nyx’s face shifted to a far more serious expression. Suddenly, the overhead lights flickered, and the room appeared to grow darker as her gaze hardened considerably. Flurry had seen this before whenever the dark mare loosened the substantial control she had over her emotions.
“If Merry Weather thinks he’s going to get away with this,” she snarled, her voice turning fierce with smouldering anger.
“Uh, Nyx…” Flurry began.
Nyx continued. “To think he would use my life and the lives of my crew as a bargaining chip to get what he wanted. Makes me want to—”
“Nyx, the thing. You’re doing it again.”
Flurry felt the black edges in her peripheral vision fading away as Nyx blinked, the fire in her eyes settling down. She let out a subtle sigh of relief.
“It’s stupid how you jump headfirst into things, Flurry,” she continued, though her voice had become more gentle. “Still, I’m glad you did. We don’t always see eye to eye, but… Sometimes, there’s a place for crazy, I guess.”
“Sometimes you just gotta roll your dice and hope for the best,” Flurry replied.
“I’m not really a fan of leaving things to chance.”
“Hey, chance and I are on a first-name basis,” Flurry snarked. “If I didn’t let him do his thing, I’d probably never get anything done.” She then glanced at Whammy, whose blank expression stared at her in contempt. “Yes, you help out a lot too, Whams.”
“Speaking of chance, were you planning on rolling your dice with Merry Weather?” Nyx asked. “How are we gonna get you out of this mess you’ve gotten yourself into?”
Flurry huffed in irritation. “To be honest, I already tried getting it off before the mission. I really figured it’d be straightforward. But my usual brute-force thaumatic technique didn’t cut it this time. What do you say, Nyx? You get this damn enchantment off me and you can be best-pony for the day.”
“I can try, but I’m not exactly at my best,” Nyx stated with doubt in her eyes, her horn glowing gently.
Flurry felt a tingle inside as her cousin’s subtle energies worked their way into her body.
“It has a very clever thaumatic code,” Nyx murmured while focusing her efforts. “Not only has it latched onto the root of your own thaumatic core, but it’s invaded your nervous system as well. Even if I was at full strength, I doubt I could scratch the surface on it.”
Flurry felt her heart sink. “Damn it,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone. Now what was she supposed to do? Anxiety crept up her spine as she realized just how much hope she had placed on Nyx’s strength being her ticket out of this predicament. She couldn’t just accept being Merry’s plaything for the next thirty-forty years. There had to be a solution.
Nyx’s ear flicked a little as she seemed about to say something.
“What… I know that look, Nyx. Spill it.”
“Oh, well, I was just thinking what you really need is an expert in arcane dynamics. You know, if we—”
Fire blazed through Flurry’s emotional core, shoving aside all rational thought. “No. No way.”
“She’s your best shot, Flurry. Do you know a more accomplished thaumaturge than Twilight?”
“I said no, Nyx. I’d rather let that letch have me than be anywhere near her,” she hissed through gritted teeth, her hooves digging into the mattress of the bed.
Nyx let out a sigh, reaching out to place a hoof on her shoulder. “I know you two don’t see eye to eye, but she’s your only hope right now.” Though her tone carried a gentleness, it only deflected off Flurry’s anger like water off the bow of a sailing ship. “Please, Flurry, all I ask is you put your feelings aside for now. Let her help you.”
“Help me?” she hissed. “Do you have any idea how many ponies died the last time I asked her for help? I swore I’d never rely on her again.”
“You might not have a choice,” Nyx said softly. “I can’t force you, but just for once will you let go of that stubborn resentment of yours?”
Flurry closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. The fading anger left her drained, the pain in her head returning. Nyx’s words rang in her mind. Was she really out of options? Would she truly end up being sent to the Republic for trial? That is, unless that pig decided to just keep her as a pet, which was starting to seem the more likely outcome.
A cold sliver of fear went down her spine as she imagined it. She could fight and lose, or hope to simply endure it until he died naturally, ending up like those poor mares at his feet. And would she want to carry that experience around for millennia to come?
With a heavy sigh, Flurry felt resigned to abandon her loathing, at least long enough to get out of this wreck of a predicament. If enduring Twilight for a time was the price she had to pay to avoid that fate, then… Then so be it.
“Okay, you win. She can fiddle around however she likes, but that’s all,” Flurry said sternly. “Just keep her off my back, will you? I already feel like crap, and I’ve got no patience for a lecture.”
Nyx smiled softly. “You could, I don’t know, try talking with her.” Then, at Flurry’s serious glare, she relented. “Fine, fine. I won’t push it any further.”
“Thank you.”
“So, are you ready?” Nyx asked.
“Wait, what? She’s not…”
“She’s already onboard, yes. We made a rendezvous about thirty minutes ago.”
“Hold on, did you arrange this without even—”
“No no,” Nyx interrupted. “She has other business here. Honestly, Flurry, not everything is about you.”
“Fine. So I suppose we have to do this right now?”
“No time like the present,” Nyx said with a smile.
“Not even gonna give me time to think about it? Maybe talk some sense into myself?”
“Okay, up you go,” Nyx declared, offering a mild telekinetic lift on Flurry’s aching body. “Just lean on me. You’re still really banged up, so take it easy.”
“Wish me luck, Whammy,” Flurry pleaded to her bedside companion. “You know I’ll need it.”
She grimaced as she pulled herself off the bed, earning a few worried looks from the nurses in the bay. Nyx helped her remove the intravenous lines and monitors before her hooves touched the ground.
A dull pain rose from her weary body as she stood, like she had been dipped in ice and fire at the same time. She let out a soft hiss, her body protesting at being roused before it was ready.
She then staggered, slumping against Nyx, who braced herself to take the added weight. Her legs wobbled, and it took a moment to steady herself. With Nyx at her side, she took her first shaky step forward, becoming steadier as she walked.
“This feels just like when I woke up after Nightstone,” Flurry chuckled darkly through clenched teeth. “And I had a meeting with Twilight then too.”
“Let’s hope it goes a bit better this time around,” Nyx offered as they made their way to the exit.
<=======ooO Ooo=======>
The ship bustled with activity as pegasus work crews rushed about in a frenzy. While they busied themselves making repairs, the stench of burned and melted plastic hung in the air like a noxious cloud. Flurry had been in situations like this many times over the centuries, though on more than a few occasions, she had been the cause. The only thing missing was the shouting and the gunfire.
Trying to tangle with the changeling cruiser had left the Glorium with a few scars for her trouble. Some of the atriums were sealed off, and nearby corridors had become a jungle of exposed cabling and open ductwork.
On the positive side, the crew being so busy meant they were too distracted to care about the pair of alicorns that hobbled on by. Flurry winced as she limped along on three legs, putting most of her weight against her cousin’s steadying telekinetic field.
No words were spoken between them as they made their way to wherever Twilight was. Flurry knew that Nyx knew this was the last thing she wanted to be doing right now—especially since she was in such a vulnerable state.
Flurry hadn’t spoken with her aunt in what seemed like forever, and she had done her damndest to stay as far away as possible. Now, with the inevitable conflict moments away, Flurry’s bitterness and anger boiled endlessly in her mental cauldron.
“So what’s she doing here anyway?” Flurry groused. “And if Twilight really cared, you’d think she would have visited.”
“How do you know she hasn’t?” Nyx remarked. “You’ve been out cold for hours.”
The scowl on Flurry’s brow deepened as she battled internally over which scenario made her more uncomfortable.
“You can’t really blame her,” Nyx continued. “But since you asked, she’s here because of Echo.”
“Echo? They knew each other?” Flurry asked. It was curious that the director of Harmony would make a special trip to pay respects to one of her fallen security staff.
“Yeah. She seemed pretty insistent about having access to the body.”
Flurry gave an indignant snort. “What would she want with Echo’s body? Is this something to do with the windigo trying to eat her?”
“I don’t know. But the windigo thing is… complicated,” Nyx replied with hesitation.
“It is, isn’t it!” Flurry fumed. “Twilight wants to study her body to learn about the windigo. That mare has to make everything a damn science project.”
“Flurry, we already have intel on the windigo that is top-secret,” Nyx said.
“Okay… What is it?” Flurry insisted.
“I really shouldn’t say.”
“C’mon, Nyx. You know you can trust me. What do you know?”
Nyx let out a heavy sigh as they made their way slowly down the corridor. “You remember what we noticed during the fight? How it ignored us until we wore it down enough.”
“Yeah, then it tried to eat me. So they eat to regenerate. That’s top-secret?”
“I actually didn’t know that part,” Nyx clarified, lowering her voice as some ponies passed on by. “But what we did know was that when a windigo eats, the victim remains in conscious torment, feeling everything until they are entirely consumed. It’s said that then, they actually devour your lifestream signature. Apparently, that’s a big part of their life cycle.”
“Great. So they can eat your soul.” Flurry shuddered, considering how close she had come to this fate. “Also… It’s said? By whom?”
“The Alcora,” Nyx revealed.
“The Alcora?! What the hell is the Commonwealth doing talking with them?” Flurry grumbled. This was all starting to smell very fishy. Why would the most powerful and enigmatic race in the galaxy be sharing obscure secrets about the Windigo with the ponies of Equus?
“That’s classified, Flurry. I’m sorry. I’ve already said more than I should.”
“Great… So Twilight is here to run experiments on Echo’s body for data collection.” Flurry fumed in silence for a moment. If she needed even more reasons to be frustrated with Twilight, they never seemed to be in short supply.
“I honestly don’t know, Flurry. But you could try giving her the benefit of the doubt for once. Maybe it has nothing to do with that.”
“You watch, Nyx. It’s that or she’s here to collect the windigo’s body and slip off with it. What did you end up doing with that thing anyway?”
“They put it on ice as soon as the Glorium docked,” Nyx said, lowering her voice again as another pony passed by. “Though it started decomposing pretty much immediately after we killed it.”
“There’s a pleasant image,” Flurry said, wrinkling her nose. That damned thing managed to find new ways to disgust her, even in death.
Eventually, they made their way to a repair bay that sat adjacent to the main hangar. Peering through the window were ponies from Swan’s aerie, accompanied by curious members of the deck crew. Flurry recognized Blitz among them.
“Hey, Blitz,” Flurry called. “What are you all doing here?”
“Well hi, Flurry!” Blitz replied after turning to face her, his expression almost joyful. “Three alicorns on the ship at the same time? I had to get a look. Rumour is, she’s a real science nerd. You know, a lotta stallions find…”
Just when Flurry was narrowing her eyes in disgust, the pegasus changed the topic with an awkward chuckle.
“Hey, y’know, it’s great seeing you up and about, Flurry,” he tried, his smile spreading. “Swan told us things were pretty dicey for a while there.”
“Well, if by dicey you mean nearly getting eaten by a cosmic horror, then yeah, you could say that,” Flurry agreed, happy to get the focus far away from the potential topic of her aunt’s sex-appeal.
“I think it’s safe to say you and your lovely cousin here carried the fight,” he continued without missing a beat. “So thank you for looking after Swan in there. From all of us—it means a lot.”
At this, several ponies behind him nodded, offering weak smiles and murmurs of agreement.
“All for the aerie,” Flurry replied, earning an approving nod from Blitz.
“And you must be Nyx,” Blitz swooned in admiration as he shifted his gaze onto her. “A pair of alicorn beauties before me at the same time. I must be blessed.”
A few of the aerie rolled their eyes and walked away.
“You’ve not caught us at our best,” Nyx said.
“Nonsense,” he replied with an easy smile. “If that were true, then I have underestimated your splendor.” At this, he extended a hoof like a noble stallion at a dance.
Flurry tried her best to hold back a chuckle as she watched the pegasus attempting the impossible. Nyx eyed him cooly, her expression neutral.
“Perhaps you could regale me with the story of defeating the windigo,” he charmed, the little sparkle in his eye making Flurry soften, feeling a little tingly in her nethers. She did love the confident ones.
“Oh, I’m sure my cousin would love to,” Flurry offered with a sly grin.
Nyx gave him a polite smile before darting an unamused glance in Flurry’s direction. She then reached out and gave the stallion’s hoof a dainty shake with her own, pulling away before he could move to kiss it.
“I’m afraid we are too busy for chit chat,” Nyx stated, putting just enough regret into her voice to be convincing. “Flurry and I have a meeting to get to. If you’ll excuse us.”
Blitz blinked as Nyx stepped past him, tail clamped, and opened the hatch to the repair bay.
Flurry patted the stallion on the shoulder. “A worthy effort—seven out of ten.”
“From you, that is high praise,” he replied, recovering quickly.
“I can tell you all about the big bad windigo later if you’d like—” she began
“Flurry…” came Nyx’s stern voice from up ahead.
“Fine, I’m coming,” she groaned before hobbling off to join an impatient Nyx, who was holding the hatch open for her.
“I see you haven’t changed when it comes to stallions,” Nyx whispered sharply.
“Neither have you,” Flurry retorted, blowing a raspberry in protest.
The first thing Flurry noticed as she shambled into the repair bay was the weird odour in the air, almost like those old changeling bio-research stations from before the Griffon war. The pungent smell faded as her sinuses adapted, leaving the entirety of Flurry’s attention to focus on the baffling sight before her.
Scattered through roughly a quarter of the repair bay was an assortment of advanced medical equipment which had been hastily set up. Flurry’s jaw hung slack as her eyes fell on Echo’s headless body, suspended upright in a sling beneath the bay’s heavy-lift gantry. Twilight was standing nearby, monitoring some equipment. Her back was to them as she hummed a gentle tune to herself.
Flurry was at a loss for words. She nearly stumbled, forgetting her own injuries as she took in the scene. Coming out of the ragged stump of Echo’s neck were an assortment of flexible tubes, hooking her body to various nearby machines. Among these was clearly a CAPS power line that was quite plainly pumping thaumatic energy in through the neck.
As if the scene could not get any weirder, she then spotted Echo’s severed head propped up in a mechanical cradle on the workbench right next to Twilight. Similar to the body, various tubes and definitely a power conduit were hooked up to the base of the skull. Through the tubes, Flurry saw blood, or what looked like blood, flowing in and out beneath the head.
What the hell?? Flurry thought as she tried to process what her eyes were seeing. I’m still dreaming.
No. This freakshow of an alicorn was trying to gather data from the windigo attack, just as she suspected. But nothing, not even that, justified the absolute desecration on display here.
“Okay, she’s taking the mad scientist thing way too far," Flurry spat out. She pivoted around in disgust, ready to shuffle all the way back to the med-bay with or without Nyx’s assistance. Just then, a voice chimed in from off to the side.
“Hey, that’s what I said! Didn’t I say like, almost those exact words?”
It was Fire Hawk. She was sitting on a floor cushion beside Priest and Princess in the corner of the repair bay. Flurry stared wide-eyed at the kirin in absolute confusion while Princess offered a friendly wave to the alicorns.
“What… what’s going on here?” Flurry asked. “What is wrong with you people? You couldn’t just give her an honorable funeral and lay her to rest like any normal person would?”
“I’d rather they didn’t, if it’s all the same,” another voice spoke. That was Echo. Flurry whipped her head around to see that the voice had come from a small speaker sitting on the workbench. Additionally, Echo’s eyes were now open and looking directly at her.
What kind of trickery was this? Now Twilight had reanimated the dead? Flurry felt dizzy between her injuries and the absolute absurdity of what was going on here. She half-collapsed onto her haunches, Nyx rushing to steady her.
“It’s okay, Flurry,” Princess tried.
Just then, Twilight turned to face her. The lavender-colored alicorn let out a sigh as she looked upon Flurry. Her appearance was just as Flurry remembered, as if time had stood still between them. She was wearing a boring navy-colored business suit, her mane tied up in an equally dull-looking bun. Grace and poise were not attributes that Twilight had gained in the past centuries. Flurry used to find it endearing, but now it just irritated her.
“Hello, Flurry,” Twilight said, her voice hesitant. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I just fell down a flight of stairs made out of anvils and then landed on the set of a horror movie, how do you think I’m feeling?” she snorted in reply.
“Flurry,” Nyx warned.
“What?” Flurry shot back.
“It’s fine, Nyx,” Twilight said, a weariness creeping into her voice. “I probably should have told you about Echo a long time ago.”
“Told me what, exactly?” Nyx asked before Flurry could fire off a spiteful accusation. “What are you doing with her body?”
“She’s repairing me,” Echo’s voice said from the speaker on the workbench.
“Repairing you?” Nyx queried, an eyebrow raising.
“Echo is a golem,” Twilight stated simply as she levitated two floor cushions for them to sit on. “She’s one of a kind.” The mare positively glowed with pride in her revelation, giving Echo’s head a smile. The head returned the gesture.
A golem, Flurry thought to herself. She was no stranger to golems of all types, of course. They had been a staple of pony society for centuries, helping with menial tasks, especially in sparsely populated colonies.
“Hold on,” Flurry protested, wishing she could be more animated without hurting herself. “I was with Echo during the mission. I fought alongside her. Golems are simplistic artificial creatures, barely alive by even rudimentary standards. Echo was not a golem. This is some kind of trick. A golem made to look like her maybe—an expensive one at that.”
“Flurry,” the machine spoke.
“What?” came Flurry’s exasperated response as she turned to face the speaker, then the head.
“Come see.”
Flurry limped over to the headless body and peered into its neck.
“Hmm.”
She spent a few seconds poking around a bit with her telekinesis, gently moving tissues aside. “Okay, fine. Not many ponies have a titanium spinal column.”
“Complete with a power conduit and high-density thaumatic relays,” Twilight added.
“That too,” Flurry admitted, firing an annoyed glare at her.
“Satisfied?” the golem asked.
“I’ve seen a lot of golems,” Flurry stated, her skepticism rising. “The single-purpose mechanical jobbies are my favourites. The pony-shaped ones though… the way they move, the way they speak, everything about them lacks that spark of life which a real pony has. Even the advanced ones are uncanny when you talk to them. You can always tell nobody’s home. They are property. Things. Certainly not people. So we put them to work doing crap jobs.”
Flurry shuffled around the body, giving it a closer inspection. She tapped one of its forehooves, causing the dangling foreleg to sway back and forth. “Waitress… Point of sale…”
After a few more steps, she ran a hoof gently down its spine. “General labour… Supplemental crew…”
From behind the body, she lifted its tail with a hoof, getting a good look at what lay beneath. “Sex bots…”
“Hey, do you mind?” the golem asked.
“I have to give you credit, Twilight,” Flurry continued, ignoring its protests. “It’s an impressive machine. But Echo was a real live pony. I can tell the difference.”
“Flurry,” came Echo’s disembodied voice again.
With a sigh, Flurry looked into the golem’s eyes if only to humor it.
“You remember just before the fight in engineering when I walked up behind and accidentally startled you? I sent the sprite off to gather intel. Then I had a bit of fun with you, pointing out a number of things a normal pony wouldn’t have noticed. That was just a bit of harmless levity, you know?”
Flurry’s jaw hung loose as her mind processed what was just said. Then, a small gap appeared in the flesh between the body’s shoulders, letting a single tiny sprite drone loose, zipping out silently before hovering alongside the golem’s head.
“It really is me,” Echo said.
“Impressive,” Nyx muttered.
Flurry’s mind was spinning. “But a golem only acts according to what is inscribed on its thaumatic core. Like, there’s no way Twilight programmed you to lead a tactical team.”
“Echo is different from other advanced golems,” Twilight stated, now in full lecture mode. “She can adapt and blend her conversation, learning from those around her and making her own decisions. I didn’t even give her a sense of humour—she picked that up all on her own. It was slow at first, but in time, she learned to understand the nuances of equine emotions.”
“You taught her?” Flurry asked.
“Yes, there is no substitute for experience,” Twilight stated simply. “Like a mother teaching a foal.”
“A foal,” Flurry repeated, staring at Echo. “Huh. So let’s get this straight—you built Nyx a sister?”
“Sister is a bit strong,” Echo said.
Flurry let out a chuckle, looking back to Twilight. “You know, only you would build yourself a child. You couldn’t just find a stallion and make one the normal way, could you?”
Twilight’s cheeks became slightly flushed. “It wasn’t like that.”
“So what was she doing on Harmony? Spying on everyone?” Flurry asked, giving her aunt a hard look.
“Of course not!” Twilight exclaimed.
“I joined MAWS of my own volition,” Echo said. “Preserving life and helping others is what all sapient beings desire, isn’t it?”
“Some,” Flurry muttered.
“Is that real flesh and hair?” Nyx asked, her voice thick with curiosity.
“It is,” Twilight confirmed with a nod, the tone of an upcoming lecture making Flurry’s eyes glaze over. “She has a suite of life-support functions to sustain her biological components, but all her critical systems are artificial.
Great, nerd talk, Flurry grumbled internally. She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. It seemed the drugs were starting to wear off, and all of this weirdness wasn’t helping.
Fire Hawk and the others carried on without her, conversing energetically with Echo’s head and Twilight. Things couldn’t possibly get more surreal.
Flurry was staring at the repair bay’s entrance, wishing she could be back in her bed when a hoof tapped her on the shoulder.
“Nyx tells me you have quite the enchantment on you,” Twilight mentioned, breaking Flurry out of her thoughts.
“About time,” Flurry replied sourly. “That’s quite the setup you’ve got going on Harmony with the pegasi. Would’ve cost Nyx her ship and crew if I hadn’t done this.” She then flexed a black wing out slightly to draw attention to it.
“It wasn’t what any of us wanted,” Twilight countered. “I’ve spent weeks trying to get this situation fixed, but the Republic’s bureaucracy never does anything quickly.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Flurry groused. “So, can you get this stupid thing off me or what?”
“Let’s see,” Twilight said, taking a shaky breath.
Flurry felt the warmth of Twilight’s thaumatic energy brush against hers, reaching down towards where the black mass of the enchantment lay. Though she’d never admit it, she could tell it was far more potent and nuanced than Nyx’s attempt.
“Hmm, the spell has buried itself very deep,” Twilight murmured, more to herself than to Flurry. “Surprisingly complex.”
Flurry jerked as a jolt of electricity shot through her system. “Ow! Be careful!”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting it to be so reactive to intrusion.”
Flurry grumbled but said nothing more, knowing it was in her own best interest to avoid breaking Twilight’s focus.
The sight of Twilight’s frown deepening, as she continued, only added to Flurry’s misery.
Finally, the sensation of her tinkering faded, and her horn returned to normal.
“I can see why this has caused you so much trouble,” Twilight said, her tone much softer than Flurry was expecting. “Whoever designed it knew what they were doing; it’s uncommonly elegant. There’s even a degrading spell lock placed on it to allow the bearer to operate outside the caster’s area.”
“Are you trying to remove it or ask it out to dinner?” Flurry grumbled. “Can you get rid of it or not?”
“Doubtful,” Twilight stated, earning an angry snort from Flurry. “I’ll need a week at least, just to properly study it.”
“We don’t have a week, Twilight.”
“This is a brutally potent spell, Flurry—one mistake and it could kill you,” Twilight warned.
“Great, maybe you can send me the solution while I’m stuck in Merry’s sex dungeon,” she groused, anxiety creeping into her voice.
“I won’t let that happen,” Twilight replied.
“Where have I heard that before?” Flurry retorted, the scorn in her voice making Twilight wilt a little.
“I… I’ll think of something. I’m sorry, Flurry.” Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder for just a moment before walking away.
Flurry sat there, alone in her thoughts as she contemplated her predicament. It was bad enough that her hope in Nyx’s strength had fallen flat, but to bury her feelings enough to let Twilight anywhere near, only for that to also fail? It was too much.
Now what was she supposed to do? If Twilight couldn’t free her, she had no choice but to accept whatever miserable existence Merry imposed on her. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. She had only accepted the spell so she could rescue Nyx. Then, she’d break free and rub Merry’s stupid surprised nose in his failure as she once again evaded capture. It would have been quite the story to tell over drinks at the Broken Bow. Now, the only drinks Flurry was likely to encounter would be the ones she served to Merry’s guests, just before they—
“Flurry?” It was Nyx, coming to sit alongside her.
“I’m screwed, Nyx,” Flurry lamented. When her cousin didn’t reply, it only served to confirm her fate.
They sat together for a moment before Nyx spoke again. “Flint called. He says he’s unlocked the Syndicate data core we brought back from their boss. Says we’re close to breaking the conspiracy behind capturing the Orion.
“Congratulations,” Flurry muttered. “Make sure whoever is responsible gets spaced for me, will ya?”
“Flint is holding a conference in a half hour to discuss it. I’d like you to come.”
Flurry sighed. “What do you need me for, Nyx? I’m just a pirate. Scratch that… A blackwing.”
Nyx placed a wing around Flurry’s shoulder as they sat together. “You’re my cousin, Flurry. My family. That’s reason enough for me.”
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An all round interesting chapter. It’ll be nice to find out how the syndicate found out about the Orion and it’ll be even more interesting to see how this ends for Merry Weather.
A very good chapter, i honestly did not see that little twist coming, but it is a most pleasant surprise; and it perfectly explains why that Windigo had a sudden bout of indigestion.
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Looks like i'll not be earning those points today... Aside from the whole story feeling like a massive B5 reference in all the best ways; no new references in particular jumped out at me this time. I'm pretty sure i have watched every episode of the show at least once, plus the movies; but my knowledge of the whole series is merely substantial, far from comprehensive.
Wait... unless the reference is these "Alcora" being obvious stand ins for the Vorlons, to the Windigos standing in for the Shadows? Seems a bit too obvious to really count though.
Oh hey, this looks familiar.
Curious to learn why this dream shows up frequently enough to earn the "the". PTSD-esque flashbacks from the actual events concerning Nightstone, perhaps?
Also wonder if the dream we saw in the first chapter was colored by recent experiences the same way this iteration was, or whether that's closer to a "base" version of the dream.
The windigo(s?) appear to have only told the Syndicate enough to make them useful. I hope the Alcora aren't doing the same with the ponies.
Might lead to some... interesting... conversations the next time contact is made.
There goes Plan A...
Aaaaaand there goes Plan B.
Looks like Flurry is in a bit of a pickle now. Curious to see what it'll take for Merry to relinquish his hold over Flurry. Hard to imagine a carrot big enough to compensate for the prestige of having Last Shadow under his hoof, which leaves a few choices of stick(s). Even those might not be easy to use; one could imagine Merry being spiteful enough to "take Flurry down with him", for lack of a better phrase. Tricking him some way or another might be another option, but that'd take somepony with far more imagination and smarts than I have.
It'd be interesting if it turned out that Flurry's pilfered cargo from the first few chapters were the key to her release.
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Mmm. Awesome that the reveal was not obvious or predictable! That was the hope, so I feel good about that.
As for B5, the big one is just after Flurry notices Whammy on her bed. If you take another look, I'm sure you'll see what I mean.
And on the offhand chance it's still not clear...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukd5y2z-ORA
The small one is a reference to "the most powerful and enigmatic race in the galaxy".
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*Has a second very careful look at that section*
...
Oh that is sneaky... well played. 👏
addendum: the written hint was sufficient.
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Anyone who's seen the conclusion of the Shadow War arc of B5 is putting their chips on that being exactly the case.
To quote John Sheridan, who was paraphrasing a certain powerful and enigmatic ambassador:
"Understanding is a three edged sword. Your side, their side, and the truth!"
10555738
Yeah that line is one of our favorites from the show.
Others have been inspired by it as well:
i.imgur.com/D9Bwxnc.jpg
Um... "Butcher Merry Weather like a hog" seems like an entirely reasonable solution, here.
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Unfortunately, this story is literally the entirety of my exposure to anything Babylon 5-related, so I’m flying a bit blind compared to the authors, you and several other commenters
That being said, it’s not entirely surprising there are machinations going on here.
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As in understand that exactly is not a solution to this issue due to the issue due to nature of the Enchantment unless Twilight would be willing to allow some enhanced encouragement in her station and under her watch. Then again, she is already allowing sexual slavery so it might not be a big leap.
In essence there is a dead-mans switch.
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You are correct. Though this is something they'd raise as an issue in the next chapter when someone asks about it.
It's not accurate to say Twilight "allows" slavery. She's said in this very chapter that she's been trying hard to fix the situation.
What led up to it is important. The Pegasus Republic signed onto the Harmony Initiative, in which they agreed to provide military forces that would perform defense services for the Avalon system as directed by the commander of the station.
The PR was loose in their definition of "military" in that they sent an undesirable and corrupt noble and his band of mercenaries and slaves (probably to get rid of him conveniently). The PR would have had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy with Merry and given him an assortment of obsolete and run down equipment for his pilots to use. Merry would have brought his personal carrier, the Glorium, but instructed his number-one crony Downdraft to make sure it never actually gets put to risk in combat.
Merry would not have arrived with the proclamation "Here I am with my slaves!". He would have simply set up shop in the space he was given on the station. By the time it was discovered that he was an abusive slave owner, getting rid of him would be no small feat.
First, just kicking him off station would mean losing its defensive pilots, which it now depends on. This would take many months to replace and/or renegotiate. During this time, traders, miners, couriers, transports, and work crews would be completely vulnerable to piracy or other attacks.
Second, as far as the PR is concerned, they have provided what was required of them. They have no incentive to send replacement forces because they claim to have fulfilled their end of the contract.
Third, sending Commonwealth forces to defend Harmony would be politically troublesome, as the Commonwealth is prevented from getting directly involved in colonial affairs. Additionally, it would be viewed as a militaristic expansion into colonial space. The idea was always to have the factions provide their own personnel and equipment.
Fourth, even if Twilight was able to kick Merry off station, it would not help his slaves at all, as they would simply go with him and live out their misery elsewhere. If Twilight is both clever and compassionate, she may try to devise a way to help these particular pilots in a more meaningful way than simply kicking them off station. "Solving the situation" by visiting the Imperial Court on Caelum would take some heavy negotiation.
This is a far cry from "Twilight allows slavery on her station".
Man, this was a really captivating chapter. I’m loving all of these gradual revelations about Flurry, Nyx, and Twilight’s past. It sounds like Flurry and Twilight had a partnership that turned disastrous at some point. It’s sad considering how close they were in the show...
So, is Whammy a sentient being here? I wasn’t sure if Flurry was just talking to him to occupy herself, or if he could understand and respond. Unless Nyx was joking about Whammy piloting the Dream, I guess he’s actually an intelligent being. I’d love to see how that came about!
The suspense is really building around Flurry’s blackwing problem. I had thought Twilight would resolve it in a snap, but now things are looking bleak for Flurry. She might not make it out of this alive like I had predicted - it seems like she might end up sacrificing herself to free the other blackwings. Of course, that’s just a guess. I’m sure whatever happens next will be as engaging and thrilling as ever!
The longer I read this fic, the more that does seem to be the actual case.
Yeah, no, that's not happening. Besides, Merry's not going to be around for all that much longer anyway, so at that point, it's not like he'll care anymore.
You really thought she wouldn't be? Not only does this involve her big pet project as well as demonstrate a potential threat to the harmony and friendship she's so big on--family was also involved, close family, both of whom very nearly didn't make it.
Ah. So the two are interrelated somehow. Hmm.
Well, to borrow a quote from the Joker, it's simple--we kill Merry.
I mean, sure, some lackey will probably just step in and take his place in due time, but initially, that death would create enough chaos that surely Flurry could then be assured just enough free reign to go grab the staff and whatever makes and controls the spell, undo it on herself, and then if she can swing it, undo it on as many other blackwings as she can in the process. Then, probably, destroy the thing altogether before any other jerks can get their hooves on it. She'd just need to ensure she's in the right spot at the right time to do it, and a means to reliably bump off Merry either by herself (preferred) or by someone else with the liberty to do so (less preferred, but still acceptable).
I mean, yeah, you could probably argue that's all easier said than done and that the odds would be against it succeeding...but seriously. When has that stopped Flurry? Heck, about 90 percent of her plans throughout this whole story really ought to have been the same, yet she pulled them off anyway, and most of them actually more or less worked in the end too, or at least still got the desired end outcome, so...just sayin'.
I suspect the story has something different in mind for this, of course, but just throwing it out as an option regardless.
Reason enough for me too! Let's do it.
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Those who are close to Flurry humor her... situation with Whammy. They have no idea what to make of it. So Nyx was playing along, yeah.
In our story, she's talked to him her whole life.
i.imgur.com/eUdLM6H.png
10189140
lol I just noticed how early you called this.
I must admit, I was more than a little heartbroken when Echo was “killed” by the Wendigo. Glad to see she’s still alive, and in the most unique of circumstances. Looking back at it you left enough hints for it to make perfect sense, great job.
I’m also happy to meet Twilight again, and get a little more character depth. Really still am curious as to what exactly soured her relationship with Flurry, but it’s seeming more and more likely that it really wasn’t her fault and Flurry just needs someone to blame. I co pep we can see their relationship mend in the future.
As always, looking forward to more.
Nice to see things are calming down after some really intense captures. The black wing problem is gunna be interesting to see unfold, but hopefully this is something that actually makes flurry think ahead a bit more.
The twist with Echo was pretty cool, and now we get to go into the moral questions that come with those kinds scifi stories. Can’t wait for that
Wonder who the Prince was in Flurry’s dream, just a stand in for a previous character or maybe someone she failed to save in the past.
I really like Twilight in this, feels like the same old Twilight but I like that she’s leaned into more of the science angle as it seems her being a Princess isn’t much required how that there’s galaxy wide governments. Also Twilight creating a child out of magic is really when you remember she’s down it before, twice.
Speaking of that, I kinda hope we get to see an old batters Spike before this is over, truly bro g the whole family back together... unless he’s dead already which would be super unfortunate
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For some reason it took me until your comment to realize the prince on the dream is/was probably the Pegasi prince.
10566386
Mmm, could be
10566291
I'm really happy to see the responses to Echo's situation. Resurrecting killed characters is highly frowned upon in storytelling because death is something that must carry the greatest stakes in terms of risk and consequences. To be able to reverse death removes a great deal of tension from a story.
Echo's situation was different in that we knew she was a golem (magical android) from the start, though the reveal was not meant to be until a later story. I suggested that we do the reveal here in FiT and "apparently kill her" as the means of the reveal. Splitting it between chapters and allowing the narrative to hold that she was, in fact, a normal person who was killed, made it an even sweeter opportunity.
The many clues throughout the story that something was "a bit off about Echo" were deliberately subtle enough that nobody should have picked up on them on the first reading, but then after she was revealed to be a golem, those hints would fit her true nature. I find this far more satisfying than making it obvious to 80% of the audience and then hand-holding them through the reveal.
The most challenging part was the misdirection just prior to the reveal, where we make the reader genuinely believe that Twilight is performing some kind of abominable experiment on a real deceased pony's body. I did not want anyone guessing what was really going on until it was clear to Flurry.
Oh, and also the "no guarantee we’ll come back with our heads intact" line Echo gave in chapter 16 was absolutely deliberate.
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So what that entails will matter for if Flurry has the Xenia Onatopp solution to the problem available or not.
You know it's a doozy of a spell if Twilight is impressed. Gotta wonder who originally developed it, as it's being used by Pegasi. Perhaps they just contracted it out to a morally dubious unicorn. Still, what surprised me most in this chapter was Echo. I'll admit, if there were clues to Echo's nature earlier, I missed them. I was surprised right along with Flurry Heart, but perhaps that was also the intent.
Lol, I have to wonder if Twilight prefers metaphorical children, like adopted Nyx and creation Echo, more than regular ones
.
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Hehe. Echo did a fair number of things that teased at the idea of her being an artificial lifeform. The clues are definitely there, but unlikely to be spotted until the 2nd reading. Fair number of things in the story are designed that way.
Also...
LOL yes, Flurry pretty much agrees with you regarding Twilight. hahaha