We don't go to Sub-Level Five

by RadBunny

Chapter 114: Two Tin Cans and a String

Twilight frowned, sifting through the papers in front of her as she surveyed the control room. With the detonation of the Silo’s prison reactor, things had rapidly unraveled.

Whatever poison is in that place, it’s moving. That final detonation unlocked a waterfall of nightmares.

The options presented were rather grim. The Silo complex sat near a massive, underground aquifer that fed the majority of the Badlands. It was a logical location to use the water as cooling for their reactors and other necessary uses. Unfortunately, the main reservoir also fed to other waterways in multiple provinces and kingdoms.

And the contamination in the Silo’s was moving toward it.

Celestia can’t vaporize the site even if Astral and Sassi are clear. Sure, it’d take care of most of it, but the steam explosion would contaminate a massive area. Most of the badlands would be poisoned, and that’s even assuming the toxins didn’t aerosolize and spread.

The shields are holding for now, but we need more and more power. That leaves freezing the aquifer or manually cutting off the groundwater supplies near the Silos until it can be contained.

Unfortunately, none of those options had an even close-to-acceptable success rate. They were preparing to try multiple options, but none had above a ten percent partial success rate. Considering how nasty preliminary samples of the poisonous sludge were, even a little bit could contaminate a vast area.

In short, Equestria didn’t have any good options to contain the leak. While the bad news was, well, bad, there was at least a small spark of hope.

After weeks of research, they finally had the location of the original Silo’s excavation tunnel. It was buried underneath a significant amount of rock and sand, but the old maintenance tunnel to the original silo appeared intact and even powered. It’d take time to dig it out, but at least there was more than a guess in that regard.

The shielding of the Silos had weakened significantly, but it was variable. Maybe it was enough for a transmission, but it was still powerful enough to scramble any magical scans, let alone teleporting.

So, they waited.

Twilight organized the papers a second time. Perhaps she-

“Princess!”

The communications officer looked up, a shocked expression on her face as she tapped a few keys.

“We-there’s a response!”

“Hello? Can anyone hear us?” the static-ridden voice of Sassi echoed around the control room. Fuzzy, but clear.

Additional staff was immediately called into the room, the control center kicking into high gear.

“Is this Sassi Satin? We hear you. This is Princess Twilight,” the mare said, taking the lead with the microphone.

There was a soft laugh on the other end.

“Princess? I’ll be. Well, it’s nice to hear from someone. Anyone.” Her tone then shifted, becoming more businesslike. “I don’t know how long we have. We’re in the original Silo. The condemned one. There’s a giant creature on our tail with an unknown number of zee-erm, infected ponies, and stars-knows what else. We’re making our way to the original construction tunnels to the surface. We’re hoping to meet you all there. ETA a couple of hours.”

The communications officer waved a hoof, frowning at the display.
“You’ll have a few minutes. After that, not sure,” she relayed.

“We copy that, Sassi,” Twilight said, wishing they had enough time to get her father into the room. But if they only had minutes…

“We have the location of the exit as well. We’re currently excavating the sand and will try our best to have it clear. Before that though, there’s a new problem that we need your help solving.”

“What? I mean, we can try, sure. What is it?”

“We’re sending a coded message packet to you. It outlines what we can at least see for the exit blueprints, and a crude location of the Silo’s reactor,” Twilight said, waving to another communications technician. “In short, the remnants of the Silo facility are poisoning the area. It’s heading to the groundwater, and we don’t have any good options to stop it.”

“I assume that’s a bad thing?” Sassi said, her professional tone breaking with an underlying current of absolute exhaustion.

“Very. We don’t even know what kind of poison it is, only that it contaminates everything. It mutates organic matter and binds to nonorganic substances something fierce. It’s likely from the Limbo realm if I had to guess. If it gets into the water supply, it could render the Badlands sterile and spread from there.”

A long sigh echoed over the static-filled speaker.

“Bad is an understatement. This place is a toxic nightmare. Can’t you just melt the area around it? We get out and you burn it to glass?”

Smart mare.

“Unfortunately, no. The poison is already underneath the facility and dispersed through water channels in and under the bedrock. The primary underground river is underneath you. A standard magical strike wouldn’t be big enough even if we tried it. If we used a powerful enough spell, it’d cause a massive steam explosion when it hit the aquifer. The shields and magical nature of the toxin further complicate any containment efforts. Even if we had another month to prepare, we couldn’t do it. We have less than two days.”

“Oh.”

“Which brings me to the best option,” Twilight continued, “the reactor in that Silo is still active. Very old and in standby, but powerful even by modern standards. That means it can be overloaded in a gradual manner that should progressively melt the area around it,” she explained. “We’ve discovered that it actually was meant to do so as a failsafe in this exact scenario.

We can transmit the instructions on how to do just that. With the location of the condemned silo being on top of the main underground river leading to the aquifer, it gives us a much better option. You can melt down that reactor in a controlled manner, and it’ll seal off almost the entirety of the poison’s route. Once you’re safe, we could then handle the remainder.”

There was silence on the other end, long enough to make Twilight nervous.

“Sassi?”

“I heard you. Put me on a private channel, please. Just you, Princess.”

With a nod, it was done. Twilight teleported to one of the shielded side rooms in an instant.

“It’s just you and me,” the Princess said. “What is it?”

“The reactor controls are very out of the way. They’re usually on the deeper levels, the opposite of where we need to go. That’s hours of getting through who-knows-what. This place is a mess, and the nightmares inside…I don’t know what we’d be walking into,” Sassi muttered, partially to herself. “It’d be nice to not get vaporized, but we’ve got mutants still chasing us, and this is a huge risk. I want to know how we’ll be compensated. Or is this a “we do it for the good of Equestria” deal?”

Twilight found herself caught off guard, at least partially.
“You’re asking if you’ll be paid?”

“We’ve been through Tartarus already. Astral…” her voice hitched, the mare taking a breath before the steely tone returned. “Astral can barely walk and is hanging on by a thread. He’s resting now, and I’m not exactly doing so great either. If not for our RASP suits, being modified, and being pumped full of medications, we’d be dead multiple times. The risk for us is huge. So yeah, I’m asking if we’ll be paid. Compensated, whatever. Just somehow make it worth it,” the mare let out a soft, tired sigh. “Astral would help without hesitation. That’s who he is,” her tone then took on an edge. Not disrespectful, but not gentle either. “But I’m not him. If we’re actively avoiding being rescued for a bit, I want to make sure it’s worth it.”

Catching herself, Twilight bit her cheek before speaking. The immediate, impulsive response was about thousands of lives being worth it…

Sassi beat her to the punch.

“Astral would say that the lives saved from the poison would be worth it. And he’d be right,” Sassi admitted, more tiredness creeping back into her voice. “I know that, logically at least. I should do it out of the goodness of my heart. For the betterment of the world.” The edge to her voice returned, a bit of anger bleeding through.

“But my entire life I’ve been serving others for the betterment of someone else. The Company’s projects, their whims, and demands. I don’t have enough in me to care about anyone else other than Astral. He’s who matters most to me. Not anyone outside this Silo. Equestria, the Gryphon Empire, whatever. It doesn’t make an ounce of difference to me. Just him. If he’s being put in danger, then it’d better have a hefty price tag attached to make his life easier once we’re out. If not, we’re heading to the surface, and we’ll be out within a few hours. That’ll leave time for you to try and burn this place to glass. Or will we be charged with treason for not helping?”

Twilight had to stifle a snort. Charging these two Thestrals with anything hadn’t even been on her mind. She couldn’t help but smile. The Princess could appreciate Sassi’s logic, even if it ran counter to what Twilight grew up with.

“Charged? Goodness no. As for payment, I can absolutely make that happen. Had this topic come up six months ago, my answer would have likely been different.” Twilight let her wings droop at that. “I’m ashamed to admit that. But not now. I can’t fault you in the slightest for having your views and looking out for yourself and Astral. The world hasn’t exactly done you any favors.” There was a pause, and Twilight couldn’t keep the hitch out of her voice. “I, and Equestria certainly haven’t done anything to help you. You don’t owe us anything. So, I get it. You and Astral will be taken care of. I promise.”

“That’s a very general answer. Convince me, Highness,” Sassi replied, “please.” Her tone was, interestingly, respectful. But the mare sounded tired, exhausted.

Twilight didn’t blame her.

The ruler grinned adding in another order to send along the communications beam. She had drawn up the documents days before, keeping track of various requests and potential opportunities.

“First, as a baseline, I’m offering the best medical and mental health services Equestria has to offer along with financial help for, at minimum, the next decade as you recover from this. No limitations or bills for helping you recover. Second, I have a list of potential housing options already paid for by multiple benefactors. And third, I have a list of written contracts with companies willing to purchase a memoir from you and Astral. I doubt you’ll ever have to need to work the rest of your life after you write it. Just doing one-off interviews and writing some literary works alone could fund your own private island,” Twilight said.

“You’re heroes. The world is following your journey and rooting for you. I’ve confirmed multiple military licenses and contracts for both you and Astral as well. That means you keep the suits, the guns, and have the option to help develop and acquire more hardware. I also intend on making sure your father has a reduced sentence, at least as much as is feasible. I’m happy to discuss that too, but know that’s in the works. I w-wish I had been this thoughtful…” her voice drifted off, the mare taking a deep breath and composing herself. “What you all have been through is beyond what I can fathom. If there’s anything else you need after this, there’s very little off the table. Will that suffice for payment to make a detour?

Twilight rather enjoyed the stunned silence from Sassi.

I forgot how good it feels to focus on just helping someone. No politics. Just caring for a creature.

“That’s more than enough, Princess. We’ll take a look at the data stream for the specifics. I just want to make sure Astral…” her voice drifted, the business-like tone softening into a gentle affection. “I just want him to be ok. I can handle things. But he’s-” Another deep breath sounded over the radio, static starting to make it unintelligible. “We’ll get it done, Princess. Looks like the signal is fading.”

Teleporting back to the room, Twilight frowned at seeing the communications officer shake her head. At least the data stream got through.

“Tell my dad I love him. Keep the lights on for us. Sassi Satin out.”
The signal then dropped, Twilight blowing out a breath in relief.

You’re a good mare, Sassi.

“I want a summary of these events sent to their parents. And redouble our efforts at the excavation site,” Twilight ordered, drawing up a list of immediate changes. “We need the exit clear and accessible by the time they get out. Transmit updates to the Gryphon Empire as well.”

She then paused, taking a deep breath.

Small steps.

“Also transmit the updates to the Last Light Organization. If they have any excavation equipment or ways to get that passage open that we don’t know about, I’d like their help and for them to remain on standby near the shield perimeter.”

One day. Seal the reactor, and then get out of there.

---

Sassi stared at the inoperative radio set, her shoulders slumping as Astral waited in the corner. He had listened in on the conversation as he half-dozed, not trusting his own voice. He was hurting. That much Sassi could easily see.

“So. Reactor mission?” he asked, wobbling over to sit down next to his special somepony. “Stop the reactor from poisoning the world? I caught that much at least.”

“Something like that.”

Looking over at him, Sassi’s ears flattened, guilt pricking at her heart.
“Do you think less of me?” she asked. “For not just doing it because it’s the right thing?”

He shook his head firmly at her words.
“What? No. It’s not what I would have done, but I don’t think less of you for it,” Astral explained. “You put it best. You’ve done what everyone else thinks are the ‘right’ things to do your whole life. Always being used for something without a second thought to your well-being. You haven’t had a choice until now, no chance to take control. You just voiced what I wish I could.”

“I did?”

He smiled. Even though the Thestral’s eyes were still clouded with memories and pain, Astral couldn’t help but look at her in admiration. With a scoot, he leaned against Sassi’s shoulder. She could feel him shaking, even in the armor.

“I’d have wanted to get paid. But my upbringing, being in a Guard family, the sense of duty, and my need to help someone even if it hurts…I’d have felt bad asking. I would have tried to help even in my condition. But that doesn’t mean it’s the smart thing to do. I’d say in my current state, it certainly isn’t. So, it definitely isn’t wrong to ask. Thank you for looking out for me.” Astral’s voice then choked up, the stallion taking a few shaky breaths. “Because I can’t take care of myself right now. So, thank you. I thought it was rather sweet. I care about you too.” He punctuated his words by leaning over and nuzzling underneath her head.

Not saying anything for a few moments, Sassi felt a few tears welling up in her eyes.
“You’re welcome. And thank you for making me feel better about it. I didn’t lie about anything else I said. I just want you to be ok. I know I can handle stuff, but you’re…”

A surge of worry made Sassi’s chest tighten. She had been continually stuffing down such thoughts for days, weeks out of necessity. But seeing Astral continually degrade both mentally and physically, made it harder to ignore. He was running on borrowed time, and the clock was ticking faster and faster.

“I’ll-” Astral then laughed tiredly. “I was about to say I’ll be ok. But that’s a lie. I’m not doing so great, Sas. I know it, and I know you know it. I guess the better thing to say is that I’ll hold on.”

“You’d better. I’ll carry you out of here if I have to,” the mare growled, double-checking the medication levels. It was low, so she swapped it out for the final refill. She tried to not worry about it; the AI projected that it’d last at least 24 hours due to the low injection rate. He didn’t need any of the foam, and the medications had slowed to a steady trickle. A full day gave them plenty of buffer time, even if they ran into trouble.

Or rather, when they ran into trouble.

“Carry me? I don’t doubt it,” Astral chuckled tiredly, “Now, what’s in that communications buffer? The payment the Princess was saying sounded incredible. I guess we’re celebrities?”

Sassi examined it as they began to walk. The next area was simple tiled hallways again, branching off into ruined supply closets.

“Apparently. That’s going to take some getting used to,” she admitted. “Looks like she was telling the truth. Multiple potential contracts with companies, and royalties, some of which is already in an account waiting for us due to broadcasting the video footage, thanks to my dad and Vial. Stars, we’re going to be filthy rich. She wasn’t joking about writing a memoir. Multiple publishers want one. Just an account of what we went through. And they’ll pay mountains of gold to be the first to publish it. Or second, or…twentieth.”

“So, big kitchen, lots of blenders, and our own firing range?”

She giggled, the sound making Astral perk up.
“Astral, we literally will be able to buy an island. Or three.”

After a few moments’ pause, the other Thestral nodded with a grin.
“Sas, I want an island.”

With another laugh, Sassi sent over the payment information to Astral’s HUD.
“You’ll get your island. We can have a house, bunker, and definitely keep the RASP suits. Looks like we can test out upgrades and have more built for us from a combined project with the Gryphon Empire. That said, I’d only trust Flask and Vial to take a look at it and make sure there are no bugs or control software in our suits.”

“Wow. This-Sas, I don’t know what to think. This is a lot of bits. Hundreds of thousands per option? Wait, there are more zeros? Pre-written contracts with multiple kingdoms for one-off consulting about hazardous threats? What will we do with all of the money?”

“Donate a decent amount?”

“One of the many reasons I love you,” Astral sighed. “Donate it is. After we get a house. And maybe the island. Hey, can we make the house and property a fortress?”

“Um, duh? I don’t want to be two steps from a gun for the rest of my life. Seeing what this place has done? It’ll happen again, somehow, some way. I vote we make our home the most dangerous place in the continent for when it does,” Sassi said firmly. “Automated defense systems, shields, and underground food and water production. Oh, and guns. Lots of guns. If Equestria won’t grant us the military contracts, we learn how to build them ourselves. One fortified base on land, and then on our island we make even nastier!”

“Did I mention I love you? AI, can you freeze me again please?”

Sassi cackled as Astral let out a yelp.
“So, talking about building an armored fortress with me is what makes you need a cold shower?”

“Among many, many, many other things,” Astral grumbled with a good-natured grin. “Sounds like a perfect date to me. Designing an armory, high-defense fortress, playing board games, and then cuddling with a movie. Take that, door-to-door sales ponies.”

“AI? My turn. Blast of cold air please.”

Astral laughed as Sassi shivered, the mare enjoying seeing her stallion more himself.

“That does sound like a fun date,” he admitted. “We’ll add that one to the list. But seriously. That’s more money than I’ve ever even considered owning. Like, wow.”

“Well, we also could build your own observatory. Hey, we could start our own satellite program and send rockets into space! Get some really good pictures of the stars!”

Astral stopped, staring at her. She saw tears well up in his eyes, a few spilling over and down his cheeks. Walking over to the stallion, she nudged her armored head against his.

“I love you, Astral. All of you. Even if I don’t know much about some of your passions yet, I know it’s important to you. And that means it’s important to me.”

The stallion struggled to hold back more tears, only managing to get out a few words.
“Thank you, Sas,’ he whispered. “Love you too.”

“But I get dibs on naming at least one of the rockets.”

He laughed, flipping the visor up to wipe his tears away. A loving hum vibrated through their mental link, the stallion following at her side as they paused at an intersection.

“Well. At least we know where to come back to,” he remarked.

A massive, hanging sign indicated two potential routes.

‘Areas ahead: Low-security labs, mess hall, barracks, maintenance, surface-level access via construction tram system’
And to the right.
‘High-security labs, reactor control, primary reactor chamber.’

The two Thestrals trotted down the hall branching to the right, Astral pointing a hoof back at the sign.

“We’ll be back. I want my house fortress,” he grumbled, then wobbled over to give Sassi a nudge. “And I also want to spend the eternities with you. But that’s already a given I guess.”

Now it was Sassi’s turn to wipe away a surge of tears, the mare taking a deep breath.
“Love you too, Astral. And ditto. Let’s melt this place into slag, and then get out of here.”

“I like that plan.”

---

It was a short walk down the hallway, the Thestrals stopping at the elevator shaft. It wasn’t powered, and the two shared a look.

“Stairs?”

“Stairs I can do.” Astral agreed, following the mare off to the left towards the designated area. “Dark tunnel of death? Pass.”

Sassi giggled, but Astral had overestimated his abilities by a fair margin. The stallion stumbled a few times. The mare at his side caught him, but the other Thestral clearly was concerned as she didn’t stray more than a few steps away. The stairs wrapped around the exterior of the square shaft. A central, open area guarded by large railings on their right.

They paused at the next floor down, Astral glancing at the barely-visible sign on the wall. Their infrared vision was muddied by the dim emergency lights, making their natural night vision more of a hindrance than a help.

“Fifteen levels straight down?” he muttered, Sassi shaking her head.

“No. That’s to the very bottom core of the reactor. From the schematics we got, we just need to go to about five. Maybe seven at most. The top of the chamber should be visible from there if we absolutely need to. These older reactors had backup controls in two different places, and the primary controls are only a few floors below us. The problem is, they might have moved floors since the original install, so we need to pay attention to the signs.”

“So…”

Sassi let out a groan as they walked, Astral not able to resist a tired smile.
“Yeah. You’re probably right. We’ll likely have to head further down after we find the primary controls fried or covered in acidic slime. Or something like that.”

“We’re way too calm about this.”

“Plenty of time to freak out after this. When we can bury ourselves with bits.”

“I do like the fact we’re technically mercenaries now.”

A soft giggle left the mare’s mouth as they paused at another level.
“Didn’t think about that.”

“Whoa.”

The two Thestral’s were abruptly distracted by soft blue lights that began to float up from the levels below, soaring between the central shaft of the spiraling staircase. They appeared to originate from simple fireflies, but these were a lot…furrier?

“AI? Are they hazardous?” Sassi asked, Astral looking around cautiously.

“I’m not moving. Let’s not anger the swarm.”

“Not a bad idea,” she agreed.

‘Analysis indicates a mutated version of the common firefly. Magical radiation matches 97.45% to the Limbo realm.

Conclusion: Harmless at a distance, but do not ingest.’

“Yeah, no worries about that,” Astral muttered. “But hey, at least they’re pretty.”

Some of the fireflies periodically vanished into self-created portals, reappearing either above or below the pair as they ventured down. Curious creatures indeed.

The next floor was passed by without incident. Unfortunately, the stairs abruptly ended after that, the supports being far too worn out to continue. There were massive gaps in the metal. Considering the added weight of the RASP suits, it wasn’t a viable option.

“Well, at least we got halfway there,” Sassi said with a huff as she read the signage. “Four floors of mystery until the primary controls. I was close on my guess.”

Astral nodded, finding that his fears were suppressed oddly. The fireflies reminded him of the outside. Looking up at the night sky.

He wasn’t alone in that.

“Can we have a date like this?” Sassi asked softly, standing at his side for a few brief moments.

“Under the stars with fireflies?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded, stallion enjoying the peaceful moment, even if it was fleeting. As was on par with the ever-present danger, both of his right limbs abruptly buckled. Sassi was, of course, there to catch him, Astral shaking his head.

“Ugh. Sorry.”

“What did I say about apologizing?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle, looking up at the star-like scene with the fireflies.

“And about that date, we’ll make it happen. I think it’d be a lovely honeymoon idea too. Middle of nowhere has amazing views of the stars.”

“You have got to stop m-making me tear up,” Sassi whispered, her voice trembling.

“I’m not trying!”

“I know. I love it. Still a crazy idea to me though. Us getting to that stage after this.”

“Pretty sure ‘crazy’ encompasses most of our time together. So, that tracks.”

Sassi couldn’t help but laugh, giving him a nudge as they walked to the doors. Thankfully the hallway was empty, an odd, blue-green tile covering the floor and ceiling.

It was a nice departure from the ugly cream color of the other Silos.
Sassi gave him a nudge, the stallion leaning on her as they walked through the doors to the new floor. The hallway was empty, thankfully.

The next section of doors was chained shut. That was solved with an easy punch from Sassi’s hoof, and a run-down office was exposed. Old computers and dusty desks dotted the open workspace.

‘Crystal data storage devices detected. Download and play?’

“Huh,” Sassi muttered at seeing the AI notification, “download it all, sure. But display the titles before playing.”

‘Confirmed.’

Sassi selected one of the files, this one being an audio recordings.

“Looks like an abandoned office for a bit. Everything is clear other than a few more fireflies,” she relayed, playing the audio file over their suits.

“Daily Journal: Playing…. ‘Test twenty-six. There’s actually some success here!’” A disembodied voice played, the date being decades prior.

“The experiment wasn’t a total failure. We got some enzymes from product 72-X. Not a complete set, but enough to isolate and begin manufacturing the next tests.”

“Do I even want to know what they were making?” Astral muttered.

“With a bit of luck, we’ll be able to cure magical-resistant cancers within the decade! After that, auto-immune diseases should be easy to target! Perhaps I’m just being optimistic, but the goals of this company are noble. The owner and his wife are…I’ve never seen such passion for helping others before. They’re visiting hospitals and reading to children as I speak. I hope we can bring their dreams into reality. I’ll try and do my part. End recording.”

The two Thestrals paused, looking over at each other as a lead weight settled in their stomachs.

“The Company started out with noble intentions then? I didn’t know,” Sassi sighed. “I mean, that’s what they always said publicly. But even back when this Silo was used, the staff had the wool pulled over their eyes.”

“Sas, I don’t think that was the case here,” Astral said, a bit of regret creeping into his voice. “I don’t think this company was always evil.”

Arrayed on the wall, dusty and corroded frames were haphazardly hanging. Many of them were destroyed, but the glass had preserved most of the newspapers from destruction.

“What…?”

Sassi’s tone was that of utter disbelief. The articles all held a theme, arrayed as if proudly displayed to office staff when walking into their workspace.

“-New biotech company successfully tests anti-cancer serum, further trials pending.

-New drug from start-up Bio-Tech company, Stairway, reverses kidney damage for thousands.

-Owner and wife of award-winning biotech company read to foals in a 10-hospital sprint across the nation, raising bits for charity.

-Stairway Company upholds its promise, donating millions of bits from donation efforts to hospital-based charities.

-Owner of award-winning company credits his wife for success. “The one I love was suffering. I created this company to ease it, and that for anyone else. I’m honored at the generous publicity.””

The two ponies stared at the last article, Astral finally shaking his head.

“Well. Either this was a fantastic ruse, but why display it? Why lose money? All to sow the seeds of misdirection? I mean, that’s plausible,” he said to himself.

“The owner of the company? Not a board? I don’t even know who that is,” Sassi admitted. “It could be lies. Or it could be that this place maybe did start out with good intentions. So much for that.”

Astral sighed at that. While there were other intact recordings for listening, the physical office abruptly began to decay as they neared a sharp turn. The tile crumbled under their hooves, and more of the blue fireflies began to dance and float around the corner.

“Well. You know the saying. The road to Tartarus is paved with good intentions,” Astral added.

As the new area of the office opened up, it was Sassi’s turn to sigh. Thick, greyish-black growths covered the walls and floor. They looked more like tree roots than anything. Blue, fruit-like blue orbs hung from protruding vines, the blue fireflies dancing around the matching objects.

If not for being in a Silo, it’d have been rather pretty. Unfortunately, the remainder of the office was pitch black, and the fireflies wreaked havoc on the night vision.

“Another creepy forest?”

Sassi nodded in agreement, lights igniting on their helmets as they ventured forwards.

“Another creepy forest. Hmm. Well, we’ve got a few office sections, then the stairs down to the next level. Looks like this growth covers it. There are no electrical signatures until the next floor down.”

“I like forests as a date idea. Not so much this one,” Astral muttered.

“Ditto.”

The Thestrals slowly crept through the root-covered office, the two of them sharing a look as the motion tracker blipped.

Despite the decay and neglect, this Silo was certainly not dead.

Author's Note:

Communication with the outside world! And a fair reward to boot!
But one more mission remains...

Comments

[Jahbraz]

"When I joined the Corps, we didn't have any fancy schmancy tanks! We had sticks! Two sticks and a rock for a whole platoon! And we had to share the rock!"
— Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson, Halo 2

That's the vibe I get from this chapter title.

[RadBunny]

11600149

[Screw]

I'd like to remind you, maybe for the last time it seems, that these two are flight capable creatures. Heck, we have a B-29 Superfortress, if the awesome name implies something.

Heck, the biggest of all biggest guns are naval, except the paris gun, which are capable of "coastal terraformations". Slapping something like that to the batty's future airship or cloud based mobile fortress is definitely epic! It'd be nice if they had more than one super fort.

Now, number 2. It could potentially be an experiment with creatures or it could just be like Joro; it is probably a pet or guard that followed her. I don't remember what was mentioned about 2 since it has been a while.

Lastly, as an imagination, if the thestrals failed to blow the reactor, or, they escaped but 2 followed them out, I'd like to imagine Twilight has her five patched-up friendship assembled to Friendship the site. Pretty thematic, but not likely happening.

Ps. You probably deleted your horizontal rule. It doesn't have a [/hr] pair. It's after the call ended and before they walked to the reactor.

[RadBunny]

11600188
Oh, airships can have big guns. That hasn't been forgotten!

Number two is....well, we'll just have to see!
One point I've tried to make in the story is that Harmony can't fix everything. Sometimes you can't blast something with rainbows.
Sometimes you need a belt-fed machine gun

Thank you for the catch as well!

[Clawfoot]

I am glad to see Twilight being more down to earth and willing to compensate them for all this. Also you say it is one mission, but most likely it is two, the second mission dealing with Astral's parents. I am not sure about rhe survivability rate on that one.

I wonder what ever happened to the original owners of the company, I doubt they would willingly let the company fall this far.

Wait.. Is Number Two?..

[RadBunny]

11600335
Yeaaaaah that bridge will be a tricky one to cross indeed.

[ArcherStern]

11600205
Also grenades, High-powered laser weapons, a Bolter, chainsaw swords, and when the rest of the guys show up...

pbs.twimg.com/media/FJyEHXAWUAAtg6n.jpg

Nuke 'em till they glow so you can shoot them at night.

[RadBunny]

11600686

[HarpyYoshi]

11600335
Making a bet. Number Two was actually the owner's wife, who died in an experiment. So, like William Afton, he tries to preserve her memory in an animatronic and the thing runs loose...