10. [Twilight Sparkle] Shattered
Twilight Sparkle looked up at the crackle of the ill-maintained speaker that served as Mission Control’s link to the R&D section of the station. It sputtered a bit before the announcement came through:
“Alert: Drop Pod 17-B is inbound with casualties. Greenbeard Twilight Sparkle, your presence is requested in the appropriate medbay.”
“Did I do something wrong?” Twilight felt a shiver down her spine.
“No,” her fellow researcher Edlin replied from his computer. “Drop Pod 17-B is the one assigned to your friends. I heard that Combat Recovery was dispatched to rescue them from a Haz 4 cave with Lethal Enemies. If they’re returning on the…by the beard.”
“What?”
He stood, his eyes wide. His small but full beard quivered, and it took a moment for Twilight to realize that he couldn’t get the words out of his mouth.
That was all the information she needed. She bolted from her station and through the maze of corridors that was Station 17, eventually finding her way to the Mission Preparation Area shared by crews 17-A and 17-B.
The dwarves of Crew 17-A were already there, and those of 17-C through 17-E (which made up all the mission crews aboard the station) were pouring in from their areas. Twilight’s friends had been the only crew to head down to the surface today--everyone else was taking a break. Although the surface crews were paid by the mission, they still occasionally spent a day out of each week relaxing and drinking.
She pushed through the crowd to join Pinkie Pie, panic building in her heart, as the damaged, smoking Drop Pod mechanically clunked into the bay, latching to the cranes with a jolt. Its dirtied paint now sported burn marks and hundreds of scratches. A Glyphid tooth hung on the door, held in place by the airtight seal.
Sunset…Applejack…Rainbow Dash…Rarity…
The doors struggled to open, but managed to pull apart, revealing the four girls in varying states of consciousness and a lone dwarf on the floor with her head hung low. Applejack seemed to be the most active, holding some kind of necklace in her tightly wound fist, with Rainbow Dash a close second. Rarity was just beginning to wake, and Sunset was out cold.
Twilight and Pinkie clambered up the stairs to the scaffold bridge leading to the pod. “Are you guys okay? What happened?”
“Twilight,” Rainbow managed to choke out. “Fluttershy’s gone.”
Pinkie’s hair deflated, and her eyes began to fill. “That can’t be right. She’s…”
Applejack opened her fist to reveal a pink butterfly gem on a broken black string--Fluttershy’s geode from Camp Everfree. “She stayed behahnd to keep the bugs off us when the pod ascended. We wouldn’t have made it out without her.”
“I shouldn’t have brought her,” the dwarf said quietly. “She didn’t have the experience.”
“It’s not your fault,” Applejack said. “You needed a full team.”
“I promised her that I’d bring her back! I’ve failed my mission, and I’ve failed my team.” She stood, tears in her eyes. “And more importantly, I’ve failed your team. I got your friend killed.”
“Greenbeard Fluttershy died a true dwarf,” a familiar voice with an English accent said from behind Twilight. She turned and gasped.
“You all know me as Mission Control,” the burly human continued, and frowned, clasping his hands behind his back. “I would normally stay far from affairs such as this, but we have not lost three dwarves on a single mission since the early days. Our top-notch Combat Recovery Teams--” He nodded at the female dwarf with them-- “have been able to recover every dwarf that goes down. Night Carver Heidei, you will not be placed at fault for this disaster. Instead, we will recognize the efforts you and your team made despite such overwhelming odds, and remember your sacrifices.”
“Thank you, sir,” Heidei mumbled, still teary-eyed.
“Greenbeards,” Mission Control said, “you will not be reprimanded. Unfortunately, these things happen, and I know what it’s like to lose a close friend. Your mission failure is punishment enough. Your friend will be remembered as a hero of Deep Rock Galactic. Now heal and get some rest. You still have a long road ahead of you.” With that, he turned and descended, making his way through the crowd of dwarves at the base of the scaffold bridge and to an elevator, where he ascended to the upper decks of the station.
Sunset groaned and her eyes fluttered open. “Wha…girls?” She looked around. “What happened? We’re supposed to be in the caves.”
“We got out,” Rainbow said quietly as she pulled Sunset out of her seat.
“Wait, where’s Fluttershy? She’s supposed to be with us.”
“She didn’t make it,” Applejack explained, holding out the butterfly gem.
“We gotta go back for her.”
“No, you need to rest,” Twilight said. “We all do.” She helped Rarity to her feet and half-carried her to the medbay as the crowd of dwarves dispersed.
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Not seeing a "death" tag, so I'll continue to hold out hope that Flutters made it somehow. Perhaps rescued by someone else who never cared to leave?
preview.redd.it/sw8p2lzpa3y41.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=24554e61ca0c7e0751a429cc41e88f0b48ea9729
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Odd Picture of karl
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I entirely agree, it's not entirely impossible for Fluttershy to simply survive down there. I hear glyphids are delicious.
And they can learn about her survival from a supply pod being called when none of them called one
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At least glyphid eggs make for an excellent omelette
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Fluttershy might complain, but survival overrules comfort in these situations.
I need to take a break from this... The many sad tracks that Myuu made combined with Flutters possible death is tearing me apart. All I know for certain is that the girls will come to fear that deep bellowing roar.