Ladies And Gentlecolts, We Are Floating In Space

by PeaceColt112

Act 1, Chapter 3: Downfall

The elevator in wing A slowly crept up the starboard side of the ship

Inside, a pony dreamt of days long gone

Above, evil was about to interfere

Two figures were walking side by side, both armed and both wearing military-grade green armour. They walked quickly and in perfect synchronization, the sound of hooves filling the empty corridors. Airlock after airlock went by and they still kept perfect pace, weapons forward and ready to unleash a deadly barrage of fire at the tiniest hint of trouble. Then, they stopped abruptly in front of a faceless iron door that was marked with “do not enter”. One quick swing with the rifle butt was all it took to break the aged electronic keypad.

The two soldiers entered the elevator’s machine room. They didn’t say anything, occasionally nodding to one another. Each of them wore a satchel that contained something heavy. The taller one reached into his and removed a metal box with a keypad on the top, the red lettering on the side reading “C4”. He placed it just above the cable winch. The second box was placed onto the generator module.

The keypad beeped as they punched some numbers in. The displays powered up, showing zero and twenty. They did some final checks and walked out. One of them turned to the other and spoke

“That’ll kill the bitch for sure” he said

***

Aeris had been day-dreaming for a while now, her eyes shut, her mouth gently whispering numbers and mathematical formulas. In a way, she was content. The bridge was within her grasp and then she could wake all of the ponies in cryo. Soon, she would be a hero who saved thousands from certain death. Then the N.L.R.S.S. Eternity could finally complete its mission.

Nothing could stop her. Or so she thought.

Number after number exchanged itself on the elevator’s screen.

Above her, one of the metal boxes counted down as well.

Five seconds.

Aeris twitched, still submerged in her thoughts

Four.

She yawned, stretching her stiff back

Three.

Floor 89 appeared on the display

Two.

The elevator’s motor slowed down, preparing to stop at floor 92

One.

The doors began opening.

Beep

She moved one of her ears slightly. She heard it.

The box located on the cable winch exploded first, the blast wave moving the elevator cabin down by about a floor.

Sparks flew from above and the cabin lights exploded, covering the faceless metal floor with countless shards. Aeris threw herself onto her belly, screaming. Buttons popped out of the control panel as the automatic emergency brakes started giving way. Something glowed from behind the control panel. Something red.

Manual emergency brakes.

It was too little, too late.

The second charge went off, sending a pile of debris down the shaft. One of the beams broke through the cabin’s ceiling, landing just inches away from Aeris’s face, making her roll away in horror. Another metal girder hit the cab, sending it spiraling down the shaft. The blue earth pony was now a toy of the ship’s artificial gravity motors.

The fall seemed to take forever, Aeris’s mind getting more and more desperate, her body perpetually prepared for death. Her red and white hair floated above her head as the speed of the elevator’s descent increased. The endless metal-on-metal grinding noise became unbearable. Aeris closed her eyes and placed her hooves over her ears but to no avail. The inside of her head was on fire, a searing pain spreading trough every inch of her body. Her scream intensified, adding to the horror.

Then, it happened.

With a deafening explosion, the show ended

A pile of scrap, once the elevator caboose, lay on the bottom of the shaft.

***
“Terminated” The soldier spoke without any remorse, calmly presenting his mission to his commander

“Terminated?” Inquired the suit from behind the desk, taking a prolonged drag on his third cigar of the day “Are you sure?”

“Terminated” Echoed the second soldier “There’s no way she could have survived that fall, sir”

The suit nodded stoically and sent them back to the door. With the straggler out of the way, he could set his plan in motion. Calmly, he reached into his right breast pocket and retrieved a small piece of plastic with an antenna on top.

It was a detonator.

***

In the darkness a blue figure drew a series of short breaths. Aeris was alive. Bruised and injured, but alive. She opened her eyes, slowly at first. Fires burned all around and the air was heavy with dust. The elevator landed in some form of pit, the only way out a small vent just located just above a pile of loose concrete.

She needed help. She needed medical assistance or she would die. Her eyes closed. She took a few more deep breaths before drifting out of consciousness. Her breathing became labored, each movement of the diaphragm taxing her system more and more. Soon, she would no longer be able to breathe and she was pretty sure that one of her ribs was broken.

One of her hooves reached out feebly towards the darkness before her whole body went limp

***

Aeris kept drifting in and out of consciousness, occasionally returning to some distant place in her memories. This time, she was in a park with her sister standing on the opposite side of the meadow. They had been playing Frisbee and it was getting too hot to keep playing. Eventually, they decided to just sit in the shade and drink lemonade. It was a happier time, a simpler time when all you needed to be happy was a cold drink and a Frisbee.

Her sister was a happy person but she only remembered her faintly. Ambrosia had left for military school at the tender age of 16 and Aeris was only 8 at the time. The sunny day came back and Aeris was now eagerly throwing the yellow disc to her sister. She caught it and raised it above her head.

“Catch me if you can!” She shouted, laughing heartily. Together, they ran across the field, jumped over each other and rolled around in the warm, straw-like meadow. They ended up beneath a shady tree, embraced and enjoying each other's presence.

And then, the dream ended. The warm, inviting meadow was swapped for a burning wreck and her sister’s shape turned into the silhouette of a stranger. She reached out and whispered for help.

Then she felt it

A gun, pointed right at her head

“Oh, crap”

Comments

[PeaceColt112]

1305837

Good choice, even though I prefer Asimov myself