• Published 6th Sep 2020
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Deep Rock Equestria: Into The Abyss - The Atlantean



Sunset Shimmer and her friends at CHS find themselves working for the mining corporation Deep Rock Galactic and must survive the depths of Hoxxes IV to return home.

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33. [Sunset Shimmer] Modest Expectations

Full Mission Roll:

4 Eggs, 25 Hollomite, Haz 2, Glacial Strata

Warning: Low Oxygen, Anomaly: Volatile Guts

Machine Event: Omen Modular Exterminator

Encounters: N/A

Extra Resources: Compressed Gold x1

Mission Special Beer: Rocky Mountain

Roll System in Final Phase

Down into the Glacial Strata the Drop Pod descended. It was another Egg Hunt today, and Sunset couldn’t help but feel a bit queasy. Taking Glyphid eggs still didn’t feel quite right, but it was part of her ticket home--and something to do while Twilight searched for Fluttershy. Of course, with Mission Assignment Software now on Update 34, things could get very interesting very quickly.

“Alright, girls, you’re after Eggs for a short jaunt near Fluttershy’s last known location,” Mission Control reminded them as the Drop Pod landed, the doors opened, and the ramp extended. “Your microphones are equipped with experimental radios designed to broadcast on gamma-range frequencies in addition to the normal channels to try to counter whatever’s blocking X-band, so everything you say will be sent to R&D for analysis. Good luck. Control out.”

“Understood, sir,” Rarity said. “Will we be dropping an Angel Pod on our way back to the surface?”

“Twilight here. You’ll be calling an Angel 1, yes, just in case she’s nearby. We should have the Angel 2 ready for deployment in a couple days.”

“Got it.” Sunset checked her rifle again. It looked fine, and the new skin blueprint she’d found in the Cargo Crate when they visited the Magma Core had transferred perfectly.

“Hey, Sunset, whaddya do to your gun?” Rainbow asked. “Looks different.”

“Fourth Relic,” Sunset replied. “What did you get from the crate the other mission?”

“Custom Engineered for my pistol. I didn’t think it was worth putting on.”

“Watch your tanks, girls,” Rarity cautioned. “Low Oxygen again.”

Sunset bounded out the Drop Pod and tripped over a Loot Bug on her way down, faceplanting into the icy rock and spilling her gear all over the place. She groaned and picked it all back up while the others searched the immediate cave for resources and the Drop Pod began its ascent. One of the pieces caught her eye: she didn’t normally carry whatever those things were. It beeped in her hand in sync with a red blinking light.

“Hey, uh, does anyone know what this thing is?” she asked. “It fell out of my pack, but I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Rarity came over with Molly and inspected the device. “It looks like our transponders, but yours is still on your belt.” Her eyes narrowed, and she keyed her comms to Mission Control. “Um, sir, we’ve found this thing in Sunset’s gear, and we don’t know what it is.”

There was no response.

“Mission Control, sir?”

There was no response.

“Sir, can you hear me?”

A burst of static but nothing else.

“Sir, do we abort?”

Still no response.

“I’m recalling the Drop Pod.” Rarity fumbled with her comm gear for a minute until only static erupted from the speakers. “That’s not good. I can’t call the Pod to come pick us up.”

Sunset felt her heart pound in her chest. Loss of communication was grounds for an immediate mission abort, but if they couldn’t even call the Drop Pod…

Rainbow Dash and Applejack approached them, concerned.

“What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked.

“We have L.O.S. and can’t call the Pod for an abort,” Sunset replied. “Comms are completely dead.”

“What did you do?!”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Girls,” Rarity warned.

“Ah don’t know about that, Sunset. Your gear caused this. Ya had to have done something.”

Sunset planted her hands on her hips. “And what are you accusing me of, Applejack? That thing wasn’t even supposed to be in my pack! I’ve never seen anything like it before!”

Girls,” Rarity said again, louder and more forceful this time.

“Ah don’t know. It ain’t mah gear.”

Rainbow stepped in: “You were quick to accuse Sunset, AJ. Did you put that thing in her gear to cover the crime?”

“Ah did no such thing, Rainbow Dash. Is this another one of your pranks?”

“No! My pranks are completely harmless!”

GIRLS!” Rarity shouted. “STOP IT!”

All three turned to her with varying looks of confusion and shame. Sunset felt mostly angry, and she wasn’t going to let go of Applejack’s accusation anytime soon.

“We don’t have time for this. Apologize, now! All three of you.”

Sunset mumbled her sorries, but she didn’t feel like she meant it. She begrudgingly acknowledged Applejack and Rainbow, then exhaled to blow off some steam.

Rarity crossed her arms. “The last thing we need is to fall apart when we’re on our own. It’s going to get someone killed--and for real this time. Let’s gather these eggs and Hollomite, then find a way out of this mess. Mine all the Nitra you can find.” She pointed her shotgun at the Loot Bug purring nearby. “And kill those. They’ll give us Nitra, too.”

---------------------------------

Some time later, Applejack deposited the last Glyphid Egg into Molly’s seemingly infinite storage, and Rainbow returned with the last few units of Hollomite. Sunset grappled back to the group with the final bits of Nitra in the entire cavern.

Rarity frowned. “Still no comms and only three resupplies’ worth of Nitra. Applejack, how far can you drill on a single tank?”

“If Ah’m thinkin’ what you’re thinkin’ it ain’t gonna work. Not far.”

“We’ll need to go as far as we can.” Rarity checked their supplies. “Sunset, is that the last?”

“No more mineral veins, no more Loot Bugs. Three resupplies are all we have, and that’s assuming the beacons work.”

“Then we’ll need to conserve. How much fuel do we have?”

“Thirty-two liters right now with a full tank at thirty-eight. Ah took Barbed Drills, not the extra fuel.”

“I’m not accusing you of anything.” Rarity pointed to the far end of the cave. “We’ll go west. I think I saw a Salvage Mission in that direction that nobody else has taken. If I read the map correctly and we do this right, we can make it there.”

Sunset arched her eyebrow. “How far is it?”

“Twenty kilometers, but Hoxxes’ subsurface is a honeycomb of tunnels. We’re bound to find one if we keep tunneling. It’s just going to take a while.”

Applejack shrugged. “If you say so, Rarity. You’re the boss.”

“I am indeed. Now start drilling, and mine out a room with your pickaxes in twenty meters. We’ll throw down a beacon then. Hopefully, it works. If not…” She shrugged.

Applejack approached the wall and started drilling as efficiently as she could, stretching her limited fuel to depletion. In the end, they had to pickaxe the final few meters before they could dig out the room as Rarity instructed. Sunset panted from the exertion and sat on the icy ground as Molly caught up with them and set herself down.

“This isn’t gonna work, Rarity,” she said. “We got fifteen meters with her stretching the fuel. The nearest tunnel to another cave is gonna be at least a few hundred at minimum. That’s not even counting for Low Oxygen.”

Rarity sighed. “You’re right, but it was worth a shot.” She tiredly tossed the first resupply beacon and watched as it blinked red for a few moments before chirping. “Still no comms. I’m not even getting static. Whatever’s blocking X-band must be blocking gamma, too.”

They waited and waited. Rainbow wiped a small wave that came up the tunnel with ease, but her ammo wasn’t good. They wouldn’t survive much longer at this rate, and fighting a Detonator was out of the question. A blizzard blew through the cave. Rarity set up a rotation to keep someone on guard at all times, and those who weren’t watching went to sleep.

Sunset saw the Heartstone in her dream, but it wasn’t the one that gave her the riddle. It pulsed and vibrated, summoning a blue-gray Praetorian to its side. After a couple grunts and growls, it departed. Whatever the Heartstone said, the Praetorian didn’t seem too happy about it.

A low growl echoed through the cave, waking Sunset with a start.

“Frost Praetorian,” Rarity whispered. She’d taken this watch. “It’s close.” She adjusted her grip and frowned.

“What time is it?” Sunset asked.

“Three in the morning.” Rarity’s eyes narrowed. “There he is. If he gets a whiff of us, I’m gonna have to go out there and fight him.”

“Wait.”

Rarity cocked her head. “Why?”

Part of the Heartstone’s riddle suddenly clicked in Sunset’s head. She stood and gathered her gear. “I have been Death, but I must also be Life. I must be All.” She stepped over Molly, checking her air tanks and seeing they were full.

Rarity grabbed her arm and held it tight. “What are you doing?”

Sunset held out her Camp Everfree geode. “Let me handle it. I can do this.”

“I don’t know. This is a bad idea, Sunset.”

“Hoxxes has magic, Rarity, and I’m going to use it.” Sunset wriggled out of Rarity’s grasp and made her way down the tunnel and out into the open cave where the Frost Praetorian rested. It perked up with a deep growl when she got close.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Sunset said quietly. She hooked her rifle to its place on her back and raised her hands to show they were empty. “I’m a friend.”

It climbed to its feet and approached. Sunset’s heart pounded in her chest, and her already shivering breath became shaky and shallow. She tentatively reached out and placed her hand on its cold, watery chitin. If this didn’t work…

Sniff. Sniff.

“I need to get home. Can you help me?”

A low but non-hostile growl.

Sunset gestured behind her. “Twenty kilometers. There’s a cave with a Drop Pod. We can’t dig there by ourselves.”

The Praetorian grumbled, then marched forward, digging a wide tunnel just next to Applejack’s. Sunset blinked.

“Ah can’t say you’re a smart lass, Sunset, but Ah ain’t complainin’,” Applejack said. “Come on, let’s get to that Pod.”

---------------------------------

Several hours later, as their clocks blinked the start of the workday, the beleaguered team climbed out of the Praetorian’s tunnel and saw the welcoming sight of a working Drop Pod, its red warning lights blinking with alarm. Beside it sat a repaired triangulation computer and a fuel cell. Unfortunately for the team that had called the equipment, they had never gotten to refuel the Pod.

Rarity sighed in relief mixed with sadness. “Let’s get that Pod working, girls, and gather anything you can from the others.”

Before she joined them in their relatively mundane efforts, Sunset turned to face the Praetorian. “Thank you,” she said, patting its sharp-toothed maw. “I am Death, and now I am Life. I will be All. You can go.”

As she climbed the open ramp to the Pod and Rarity set it to launch, Sunset saw the Praetorian and a couple other Glyphids watch them leave from a safe distance.

Author's Note:

Welcome to Mission Assignment Software Update 34! Now we can have TWO Warnings in a mission, which means I get to roll twice! What fun!

Also (and arguably more relevant), a very-long-overdue chapter. Totally unintentional break, but other projects and school grabbed my attention. This one was mostly done before all that, but hopefully I'll be able to get around to writing the rest. It's gonna be a while.

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