• Published 12th Jan 2012
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Days of Wasp and Spider - Luna-tic Scientist



No humans. In Equestria's past, ponies exist only to serve their creators. One such pony is accidentally released from her mental chains, but how can one mare save herself and her people if she doesn't even know she's a slave?

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28 - Ask me for anything but time

Days of Wasp and Spider
by Luna-tic Scientist


=== Chapter 28 (remastered): Ask me for anything but time ===


There was blood everywhere. Gravity stared, mesmerised by the fine layer of red that coated everything in a one length circle about the young stallion. There was no cauterisation at all; the laser used a rapid string of nanosecond pulses, each explosively vaporising a tiny patch of flesh and blowing a hoof-wide hole to let the next pulse through. In a microsecond that beam had cut a channel from the underside of one flank to the middle of Lilac's back, just in front of his hips.

The shock only lasted a moment, pushed aside by anger, self recrimination, and the desperate need to do something. Accidents were a fact of life for any pony working in heavy industry, and Gravity had vicariously experienced the actions of many pony heroes stored in the learning centre's crystal archive. Most were of disasters and how the actions of a pony could save lives and protect property, but all emphasised the need for speed. Casting around, her gaze alighted on one of the ubiquitous emergency kits; a flash of magic and it was open and by her side, the contents a confusing jumble of bags and spray cans. This was a kit designed for Masters to use and had instructions in a language she'd not been taught, but the pictograms were clear enough. She'd even received the standard medic courses -- actually having to do it all by herself, though...

Lilac was still under the grips of the Blessing, back arcing and near featherless wings jerking, as the spell reacted to his guilt. Gravity dropped the kit into the spreading pool of blood, equipment and tools for broken limbs, electrical burns or poisoning flicking out and away as she sought the items she needed. Magic closing on the large injury pack, her gaze flicked back to Lilac, trying to decide where to start. What she saw made her heart sink further; only the front half of his body was being afflicted by Punishment. His back legs lay perfectly still, the pale fur dappled with a fine mist of atomised blood.

Gravity picked up a can of trauma spray, the thing looking hopelessly inadequate for the amount of damage, pointed the nozzle into the wound and held the trigger down. Why couldn't I have specialised in healing? she thought, ears folding flat as Lilac gasped and squirmed when she added to his pain by opening the wound channel to get the liquid as deep as possible. His breathing slowed, whimpers dying away, iron-hard muscles relaxing as the anaesthetic part of the spray took hold.

The drugs must have broken the hold the spell had over him, because he stared up at Gravity with frightened eyes, a faint purple glow flickering over his horn. “Tell my Master I'm sorry, but I can’t fix it,” he said miserably, voice faltering, “I don’t know how.”

The mare opened her mouth to say something comforting, but words failed her. Lilac needed a skilled pony medic, preferably a team, working on him night and day. Nothing immediately critical had been hit -- heart, lungs and major blood vessels were all undamaged by the laser strike -- but his back was broken, and there was no way you could poke a hole right through somepony without going through a whole load of gut. “We’ll sort something out, just hang in there,” she said huskily.

Something stabbed at the back of her head, a surge of other magic. Her telekinesis fluctuated, causing the near empty can to crumple in her grip. Shaking her head, Gravity pushed the invading presence away and focused on the next step in the process. A pair of white pads, fat square things with inner surfaces that glittered with a carpet of tiny, needle-like crystals when the protective casing was removed. Gravity's control slipped again when the other returned, bringing with it a cluster of invisible tendrils that seemed to grow up her spine towards her head.

She didn't recognise the spell, but it was obvious that the Security ponies had moved at least one of their number in close enough to act as a spotter and conduit through the open radiation lock door. The magic seemed to be trying to plug into her nervous system and, for a moment, Gravity was reminded of the Blessing. Whatever it was she'd left it too long and it had become established; little flashes of sensation crawled over her skin, rapidly turning to fiery needles that burrowed into her flesh. Fine control vanished and the medic patches slipped from her grasp to lie uselessly on Lilac's flank.

Gravity could feel Lilac's life slipping away; the trauma spray had bought him vital seconds, but wasn't a sole treatment for this level of injury. The decision was agony. Spending the time to remove the spell and prevent further interruptions would save her, but almost certainly doom this youngster.

===

Korn crouched by the wall, watching the tableau. The blue servitor was trying to provide aid for the young stallion, but something was obviously wrong. This one must keep the servitor's good will, he thought, the image of what had happened to the Security trooper burned in his mind. "Let Korn help," he said, voice sounding faint and muffled to his own ears. Beside him, the police officer hissed something urgent sounding, but Korn ignored him and got unsteadily to his knees.

“Do it,” the pony said, swaying as if drunk, then walked with increasing confidence towards the radiation lock. The creature had not escaped the firefight unscathed; burns and minor wounds dotted her body, blood flowing freely from a few of them. Her expression was still determined, though, and the burning light from her horn was painful to look at. Almost to the lock entrance she paused, as if thinking of something for the first time, her head swinging around to stare at the other two People.

If she’d looked fierce before, now all Korn could see was anger. Her eyes had lost their teal colour, filming over with a pure, radiant white. There was a sensation like standing next to a power transformer, and Korn remembered what had happened the last time he’d seen a pony with eyes like that.

"I will be back, have no doubt,” she said, an almost electronic distortion creeping over the normally melodic servitor tones, then stalked from the room.

Korn stared after her for a moment, then ran over to the stallion's side. He'd never encountered the creature before -- no doubt it was one of hundreds subjected to various levels of research, part of a program trying to unpick exactly what the Creation Stones had done to the original species -- but that was hardly important.

“I’m sorry to cause so much trouble, Master,” the pony said, staring at Korn with hopeless eyes. “I tried to stop the thing, but my magic--“ The words cut off as its jaw locked solid, breath coming in a pained gasp.

Korn winced. This was the biggest problem with the Blessing, the tendency for a servitor to get itself into such a state that it became self-destructive. It was especially an issue with young ones that lacked the perspective of working with the People. This servitor had probably been separated from its kin at a relatively early age and had lived in a laboratory stable since then, all to minimise environmental variables. Carefully instructed and never having had to deal with conflicting orders or People that didn’t have its best interests at heart.

With one paw he held the magically active pad against the gaping wound, running the other around the rim to activate the enchantments within it. The thing glowed a deep red, seeming to sink through the fur as it welded itself to the servitor’s flesh. Korn kept one eye on it -- they were only supposed to be for use on the People, but if Gravity came back and found the stallion dead... He placed his paws on either side of the youngster’s muzzle, forcing it to look him in the eyes.

“Does this one accept Korn as its Master?” he said, putting as much authority into the words as he could muster, then cursed inside at the tremor in his tone. Beneath his paws he could feel the jaw muscles bunching and relaxing, the big green eyes darting from side to side as if trying to escape.

“I-I-“

The pain in the voice was obvious; intense enough that the drugs in the trauma spray were not suppressing it completely. Korn’s tone became stronger, more assertive -- the so-called ‘voice of command’ taught to those who dealt with servitors on a daily basis. The creature has no communicator, Korn has to sound like he’s in charge, he reminded himself. “This one is Student Korn of the Anomalous Physics Institute. This one is assuming command of the servitor for the duration of this emergency. Does the pony acknowledge temporary transfer of ownership?” he demanded.

The muscles of the young stallion’s head relaxed and he gave a long tremulous sigh. “Yes, Master. What are your orders?” He almost seemed happy.

Korn gave his own sigh, then let his paws drop, picking up the other active bandage and stripping off the protective backing. “The pony is not at fault for any of these events, all of this was outside its experience and skill set.” The stallion nodded gratefully, an adoring look in his eyes. There was a grunting noise from somewhere behind Korn, the sound of someone repeatedly trying to lift something heavy, but he ignored it, intent on making sure the servitor had the best possible chance. ”The pony is ordered to carry out as much healing magic as it can, while this one applies first aid.”

The stallion -- Lilac, Gravity had called it -- nodded reflexively, then gasped at the sudden shriek of metal against stone. Korn looked over his shoulder in time to see the police officer stand up, the spike that had pinned him to the ground clutched in his paws. He was still manacled to the pole, but there was enough play in the joint for him to hold it as a weapon. He started, jumping to his paws. How in the Maker's name did Largorth get free? he thought, then realised Gravity had made a mistake. The floor of the beam chamber was a relatively thin skin sitting on vibration damping supports, and not the heavy concrete she'd obviously thought it was.

“What does the Officer think he’s doing?” Korn said, casting a nervous glance at the radiation lock, where the irregular flicker of violet light was suddenly overwhelmed by a bright flash. Out in the corridor something screamed, in rage or pain, Korn couldn’t tell.

===

The spell was aggressive and insidious, sending spurious signals through her nerves as it climbed up her spine and towards her brain. Gravity staggered into the radiation lock, turning her shadow sight inwards as she unpicked the enchantment. The thing was highly redundant and the other ponies worked to rebuild it as fast as she tore it down; it would have been easy if she hadn’t let it take root, but the weird sensations were making it difficult to concentrate. A tide of pain rolled through her withers and rippled up her neck; with an unexpected surge the magic reached her brain stem and her breathing shuddered to a halt, lungs no longer taking orders.

More pain followed it, her heart slowing its trip-hammer beat and falling into an irregular rhythm as neural pathways were supplanted. They are going to kill me, Gravity thought, the idea almost earth-shattering in its implications, despite all she’d done up to this point. I can’t fight it like this. Synaesthesia was starting to take hold; the violet flare of her magic had the taste of copper, strong and tingling, while the smell of blood and explosives filled the corridor with the electrical crackle of a high voltage arc.

Giving up on the complexity, she focused instead on the pony powering it. Twisted threads led to a figure surrounded by an orange aura, from whom the threads unravelled, fanning out as they headed down the corridor. A movement caught her attention and her force field came on, diverting a hail of gunfire from the end of the corridor -- not just the rattle of a gryphon’s rifle, but the high speed rip-roar of a power suit’s rotary cannon. Gravity tried to gasp at the sudden extra effort needed to keep the field up, but there was no air. Stumbling, she fell down behind a pile of rubble.

The fire cut off abruptly and the mare dropped her field again, abandoning her failing defence to lash out at the pony with the orange magic. No longer slowed by her countermeasures, the spell leapt up her neck and caused her awareness to splinter into a dozen disconnected fragments, just as her own strike went home. There was a high pitched pony scream and Gravity’s mind snapped back into focus, the hostile magic falling apart as its controlling will and power source was cut off.

The blue mare took a great, shuddering breath, shaking off the clinging remnants of the spell while sheltered from direct gunfire. Oh, Maker, I'm sorry, she thought. That would have hurt the others a great deal; all that effort with nowhere to go. A small black object flew over the top of the rubble pile on dragonfly wings, swerving to arrow in her direction. Without thinking she crushed it, throwing the crumpled machine back the way it came. Heartbeat back to its normal rhythm, Gravity gritted her teeth and pulled lumps of rock from the rubble pile, lifting them up to form a whirling mass between her and her attackers.

More shots, the same monster scream of the rotary, but this time accompanied by the crack of larger explosives and the green flash of a laser that lit the dusty tunnel like it was the inside of a lighting tube. Should have done that first, Gravity thought with a hysterical little giggle. Her sightline was completely blocked by flying rocks, but that didn't matter.

With the crack-crack-crack of sonic booms, Gravity pushed some of her rocks towards the purple glows of active antimagic fields. The owners of those glows were already moving, falling back after they saw the futility of their ambush, but not fast enough. Lumps of concrete, reduced to shotgun blasts of pebbles by the extreme acceleration, smashed through the corridor walls like so much paper. Both antimagic fields went dead.

Gravity trotted forwards into the murk, occasionally using her wings to glide over parts of the collapsed ceiling. Another few steps and the smell hit her, the metallic tang of blood combining with the foulness of offal to overpower the muzzle-wrinkling odour of spent explosives. The first body was sprawled in an ungainly heap against a pile of rubble, burnished copper wings tattered and spread across the wreckage. One of her metal bars had struck the gryphon just under his shoulder, passing through his body to leave several hoof-widths of bloody steel emerging from his side. Blood and armour fragments had exploded from the exit wound, leaving the pale concrete black and glistening in her violet horn light.

Gravity averted her eyes, but behind the first was another, this one with her head crushed by a hoof-sized metal ball that had stoved in her helmet, just above the visor. Blood had sprayed from the gryphoness' gaping beak and her big yellow eyes stared accusingly back at the mare. Gravity felt her stomach lurch and her head start to spin. Steady, she thought, they were trying to kill you. This wasn't like the Masters, though. No clean illusion of broken machines that let the mind distance itself from the hard reality of shattered bone and blood splashed up the walls.

Beyond that was the pony. She'd been behind one of the rubble piles, out of direct line of sight of the lock door; when the magic had hit, her legs had given out and she'd dropped like a discarded toy. Gravity felt the breath woof out of her like she'd been kicked in the gut; her legs trembled and threatened to send her to her knees next to the dead mare.

It was the first time Gravity had seen one of the Security ponies. Dressed like the gryphons, with scaly armour that made her seem insectile and festooned with packs and panniers, little could be seen of the mare inside. The tip of her horn and muzzle, both a pale orange, were the only parts of her body not covered by ceramic plates and, if it wasn't for the circumstances, Gravity could almost have convinced herself that the mare had fallen asleep.

A closer look dispelled any such illusion. Her eyes, visible through the clear domes on each side of her helmet, were wide and staring, still holding a trace of the pain she must have felt when the arcane backlash had hit. Tracks of blood, nearly black in this light, ran from the corners of her eyes to soak into the fur of her muzzle. Oh, dear Maker, I-- The thought died as the sick realisation hit Gravity. She'd seen the way the pony's magic had vanished, but had refused to believe that she'd done anymore than knock the other pony out.

Did you have foals? A mate who will be waiting for you? A black fury welled up inside her, not directed outwards, but in at herself. I should have found a way, all this power and I couldn't hold off a few ponies. What use is any of this if I can't save them? A tentative touch of magic from somewhere ahead brought Gravity out of her reverie; it wasn't directed at her, but was feeling the space left by the orange mare. Her anger faded to be replaced with a great sadness. A working herd is a close-knit thing, she thought, remembering the group she'd joined at the launch site. Ponies she'd just started to make friends with, and whom she'd probably never see again.

She leaned down and gently brushed muzzles with the dead mare, the flesh still warm to the touch. I'm sorry, she thought, you had no choice, but I didn't have to kill you. Lifting her head, Gravity sniffed back her tears and headed towards where the magic had come from.

The urgency of the situation drove the mare onwards, thoughts of Lilac, life leaking away on the floor of the beam chamber, keeping the guilt at bay. She kept a close watch over the various potential threats, holding a small force field plane in front of her as a shield behind the now diminished cloud of rocks that still circled, shark-like, a little further forward. The remaining Security ponies were still recovering from the arcane shock and were unable to interfere in any meaningful way; one tried to fight her, but without the help of his fellows it was trivial to hold him at bay.

The end of the corridor was total chaos. To the left was a rubble pile that occupied half the height of the passageway, behind which were two of the Security ponies, both collapsed and moving their heads unsteadily, as if drugged. Behind that was an impromptu aid station, injured gryphons tending those more severely hurt than themselves. To the right was another mound of rubble, smaller than the first, with the upper torso of a Master in a battered armoured suit protruding from it. Two more ponies were behind that, one collapsed like the other two, the last one completely unconscious and sprawled on the floor some distance away.

The blank wall at the very end of the corridor must have abutted one of the heavy support pillars the upper levels rested upon. Unlike the relatively light side walls, this was a vastly stronger structure made of multiple layers of metal fibre reinforced concrete, and hadn't failed under the onslaught of high velocity rock and machine parts Gravity had sent its way. This was where the Master that had shot Lilac ended up.

The armour suit was made of the best and toughest materials the People could devise, and that was the reason it was still possible to identify it for what it was. The unreasonably strong alloy that formed its frame was still intact despite the impact, but if the occupant hadn't died when Gravity had crushed the suit in her telekinesis, he was definitely dead now. Accelerated to nearly half the speed of sound over less than two lengths, the powered armour had been smashed into the concrete so thoroughly that the mare had trouble telling where the suit stopped and the pillar began. Large cracks radiated out from the vertical crater, probably putting the upper floors at risk of collapse.

Gravity stared at the mangled remains for a moment; compared to the obvious flesh and blood of the others she'd killed, this was scarcely recognizable as a once living being. Faced with such a death, she felt nothing other than it wasn't enough. She wanted to pull the thing out of the wall, to smash and pound and rend until there was nothing left. He was defenceless, she thought, fighting down her anger, I hope you felt every microsecond.

Gravity turned her gaze towards the most awake looking Security pony. The sweat caked dust and grime, coupled with the armour the stallion wore, made it almost impossible to tell his original colour, but for a few patches on his horn. She could just see his eyes through the helmet visor, bulging domes of transparent material on each side of his head that gave him the appearance of a blind fish. He gaped up at her, mouth working before he finally managed to speak.

"W-why?" The voice was hoarse with pain and confusion, barely recognisable as coming from a pony.

The mare paused, at a sudden loss of what to say that could ever justify what she'd just done to this poor Blessed creature. She reached out with her magic and gently unsnapped the connectors joining the muzzle guard and visor to the gorget, pulling the whole thing free from the pony's head. It had only been a day since Fusion had stripped the Maker’s Touch from her, leaving her head as empty as that of a foal. Much less time than that since she’d accepted her sister’s new view of the world.

What would it take to convince this pony, she thought, one used to oppressing his own kind? What atrocity would he have to witness after I remove his Blessing? Gravity shivered, the thought had a kind of instinctive revulsion attached to it, then pushed past her immediate reaction. Something else I need to learn how to do. She stared hard into the pony’s eyes. “My Blessing was removed. The world looks different without that little voice in your ear. What is your name?”

The stallion’s ears twitched and he whimpered; for a moment Gravity thought she’d lost him to punishment fugue, but he quickly recovered. “B-Bastion WK9915," he said. "I’m so sorry, I don't blame you for Parapet; I can’t imagine what it must be like to have lost the Maker’s Touch. Come with us, we can set things right.”

Parapet, a name for my first victim. How many more will follow you? Gravity thought, then gave the stallion a twisted smile as the absurdity of his statement sank in. “I have seen the extent of the Master’s mercy, and I will not put myself in that position.” Her smile faded. I must convince them to leave, she thought, conscious that she’d left Fusion and Lilac alone for too long already, it’s either that or hurt them badly enough that they can’t interfere. The idea sat in her head like a mountain, a solid cliff wall that seemed impassable.

"I'm so sorry for your friend, I did not want--" she broke off, shaking her head. This is not you any more. Show no weakness, she thought. “You cannot stop me,” she said flatly.

He recognized it for a statement of fact, rather than a question. “No.” The answer caused him obvious pain. Tears started to dampen the fur of his muzzle, dripping off his cheeks and streaking the dust caking the front of his armour.

Behind him was a movement; one of the gryphons had levered himself up onto shaky forelegs, struggling to bring a discarded rifle to bear on Gravity. The mare’s horn, already glowing from the other magics she was still powering, brightened infinitesimally as she pulled it from his grasp and twisted it into metal junk. The gryphon shied away from the distorted, sparking mass, trying to drag his twisted hindquarters further from the discharging superconductors.

Gravity raised her voice, addressing all of the Security force. “I will let you leave, all of you. You will take nothing but yourselves and the wounded, leave everything else here, exiting via the upper mass transit route. I assume somepony has medical training?" Bastion nodded vigorously, suddenly looking alert and worried. "Good," Gravity said, flicking her ears in return. "You will come with me, and will leave with the Masters I hold in the beam chamber.”

This prompted some mutinous looks and muttering from the gryphons, but the green pony lying at her hooves didn’t hesitate. “We will do it,” he said, as he struggled up to all fours. A green nimbus flickered around his panniers and armour set, various components falling free and sliding off his body as he stepped forwards. A shake of the wings lost the carapace, and he trotted down the corridor in front of Gravity. She followed him, keeping one ear cocked to listen to sounds of other ponies dropping their equipment and the suddenly angry voices of the gryphon troops.

The ponies answered in kind, at which point the gryphons made the mistake of assuming that the normally skittish ponies would follow their orders when Master’s lives were at stake. Varicoloured light shone up the corridor behind the blue mare, the gryphons eventually falling silent when they realised that the ponies just weren’t listening.

In the silence, Gravity heard other raised voices, these ones from the beam chamber in front of her.

===

Fusion couldn't get the taste of iron out of her mouth.

The stinging slap of the shockwave had taken her completely by surprise, leaving her stunned and the world muffled as if behind layers of heavy cloth. Awareness of her body was slow to return; it was just as loose and unresponsive as it had been when she’d been drugged, and the inability to change position or scratch an itch was a rising torment. Her head, unlike the rest of her, was under the influence of the trauma spray and felt like a block of wood. Considering how much the surgery had hurt, this was not something that she saw as a problem.

Magic was equally distant; there was the faintest hint of something where her power should have been, but so vague and dispersed that it was like trying to catch fog with a net. That she could still sense the sun, just had no way to actually open the connection, made it doubly frustrating.

Her thoughts went back to Gravity. The sharing connection had died abruptly a few moments after she'd stepped out of the beam chamber for the first time and the other mare had been too distracted to renew it. Fusion had grown used to looking through her sister's eyes, used to the echo of sound passed through an extra brain on the way to her own, that tenth of a second lag between her ears and Gravity’s.

Instead, Fusion was forced to rely solely on sound, trying to piece together what was happening in the corridor. Come back to me, sister, she thought, listening to the rattle and boom of projectiles trying to take the mare’s life, take no chances.

With half an ear she listened to Korn making sure Lilac would accept him as his Master, the stern tones and formal wording bringing back old memories of her own training, but her mind was on what was happening outside. The gryphons were still shooting, meaning Gravity was still fighting back, but the biggest threat would be the Masters and the Security ponies. What would I do if forced to hurt another pony, one that had no choice but to attack me? The idea was distressing, and she felt her heartbeat and breathing accelerate. There were ways to stop another’s magic, but that generally required a gentle touch to avoid feedback; such things would be hard to manage under attack from multiple enemies.

“What does the Officer think he’s doing?” Korn said, and Fusion was suddenly on edge, aware of another presence close by. Somepony screamed out in the corridor, making her jump, but it wasn’t Gravity.

Come back to me, Gravity, she thought nervously, I don’t like this.

“Korn did a good job of keeping it distracted, now these ones can escape.” For a moment Fusion had trouble placing that voice, then realised it must be the police officer.

Good, go. Save us the trouble of deciding what to do with you. That particular decision had been preying on Fusion ever since they’d started to collect Masters; the only way to really make a clean break would be to kill them, then destroy the facility to hide their escape. Even after all that had been done to her she didn’t think she could do it in cold blood. No, there has to be another way.

"Is Largorth insane? Does he know what will happen if he tries to leave?”

"Then this one will just have to give the servitor something else to worry about, rather than chasing the People.”

Fusion had a sudden premonition of what he was talking about. No, please, not like this! Her breathing accelerated further and her heart pounded under the influence of a useless fight/flight reaction. Something moved her wing, then she let out an involuntary grunt as someone stepped on her flank.

“Just about..."

The cold tip of something metallic traced a line through the fur along her ribs, tapping twice just behind her forelegs. Please, don’t do this, we’d have let you go, left you behind and teleported away... Her thoughts tailed away into a whine, nerves singing with the anticipation.

“...here.”

The hammer blow made something crack inside her chest, flooding her body with pain and stunning the muscles enough that she couldn’t draw her next breath.

===

Lilac could feel the enchanted dressing start to help him heal; it would never be able to fix his gut -- that would require a real veterinarian -- but it gave him the time to focus on the thousand other broken and damaged things, preserving his own life as he'd been ordered. He started to feel a little hope; if the Master said that he could be fixed, then it must be so. He worked his magic with a will, sealing, repairing and merging blood vessels so that he’d have the best chance at an infirmary. With some fraction of his awareness he could hear the Masters talking, angry and frightened, but he had his orders and paid them no heed.

There was a grunt from the white pony behind him, then the sound of a heavy impact on flesh. Shocked away from his magic, Lilac looked up just in time to see the enemy Master, one booted paw on Fusion's flank, raise the bar he'd been manacled to above his head. The stallion's eyes grew large and he flicked his gaze to his Master's face. The Student’s expression was one of horror, and that was enough for Lilac. He’d not had much in the way of a formal education and his only lessons were half remembered hints at the back of his mind, but he had the same near instinctive desire to follow his Master’s orders, even if they were only implied.

Lilac fastened his telekinesis around the metal bar, the sudden immobility of it making Largorth give a wordless cry. “Let this one go!” he shouted then, when Lilac ignored him, directed his anger at Korn. ”Control that creature,” he snarled at Korn, “this is our chance to escape.” Still hanging on to the bar, Largorth lifted the boot he had on Fusion’s side, stamping down on the place he’d struck with the bar. The mare gave an odd bubbling cough, little drops of blood spraying from her muzzle.

Korn’s open mouth snapped shut with an audible click of teeth. “Hold the Officer still,” he said hoarsely, but Lilac had already picked Largorth up and levitated him a quarter length in the air. Korn picked up a roll of sealing tape, pulling out a long strip as he stepped over to the floating Master. Lilac obligingly cut the bar free and folded Largorth's arms so his paws pressed against his chest.

“Korn will never see the outside of prison again if he does this,” Largorth said, muzzle wrinkling and pulling lips back from big canine teeth.

The Student gave a shaky laugh as he started to loop the tape around Largorth’s chest, binding his arms to his body. “The criminal justice system can fight with Security for Korn’s prison time; he suspects he will vanish as soon as this is over.”

Lilac’s confusion mounted, the certainty he’d felt when Korn had declared himself his owner bleeding away. “Master? I don’t understand. Is Officer Largorth not an agent for another Hive?”

Korn froze, as the implications of what he’d just said sank in. “He--“

“No, this one is not an enemy agent!” Largorth said quickly, mouth parting in a feral grin. "The pony has been lied to by this criminal."

Lilac stared at Korn, willing his Master to provide an explanation for this disturbing information, but the Student just stared back at him, mouth half open and a look of horror on his face. He’d not had time to get used to the Student’s body language, so couldn’t read him as well as the scientists who normally gave him his orders, but what he could see was clear. The awful truth dawned on Lilac; his new Master and these other ponies had manipulated him.

If the Officer isn’t an enemy, then I’ve held one of the People captive for no reason, he thought, breathing accelerating and panic flooding his mind. Pain spiked inside his head and he gently put the Master down, pulling off the tape and unbending the improvised cuffs. Hooves scrabbling on the concrete, he tried to drag himself away from Fusion in an attempt to distance himself from one of the ponies who... “Master, please forgive me, I had no way to know--“

Largorth frowned down at him and the pain surged into an all consuming tide that bent his back like a bow and filled his mind with static.

===

“Don’t get any ideas,” Gravity shouted to Bastion, leaping over his head, wings flicking out and beating with delicate little flutters as she skimmed over the rubble towards the beam chamber. Too long, I left them alone too long, she thought, already imagining all the horrors that could be perpetrated on her helpless sister and the wounded Lilac. Behind her Bastion did the same, fighting to keep up with the smaller and more manoeuvrable Gravity.

The blue mare fell through the opening in the radiation lock door, wings flashing shut then open again. Before her was what she had feared; Korn was struggling with the far more heavily built Largorth for control of a metal bar, the same one she'd used as a ground stake. Lilac was lying on his side, breath whistling through clenched teeth, forelegs kicking weakly and blood soaking through the dressing covering the hole in his belly.

Her horn flashed and pulled the two Masters apart, holding them high enough that a fall would be dangerous. This immediately got their attention and both fell silent with little gasps. The Security pony entered the room a second later, his own telekinesis reaching out for the suspended figures. “Put them down!” he said, futilely trying to loosen Gravity’s hold.

“Do what you’re here for, make sure the stallion lives,” Gravity said, not taking her gaze from the pair.

“Let them down first, or--“

“Or you’ll let an innocent pony suffer? I don’t think so.” As she said the words, Gravity realised the stupidity of the statement; of course a Master's safety would come first. She pulled them both down to ground level, picking up the discarded roll of tape as she did so. Behind her the Security pony knelt down next to Lilac and swept his body with a plane of green light.

“Just so you don’t get your hopes up. Although I am a multispecies combat medic, full reconstruction of a wound like this is beyond me,” he murmured, eyes closed and concentrating on what his magic was showing him. “This pony needs the attention of a general practitioner, and will do for days, before completely healed. I can stabilize him, but without that he will slowly starve.” Part of his attention was diverted by the medical section of the emergency kit; picking up a single use injector he applied it to Lilac's throat. The young stallion immediately relaxed, the agony of Punishment washed away by powerful drugs.

Gravity paused from where she was winding tape around the arms and legs of Korn and Largorth, her anger fading to a sick sense of despair. “I understand,” she said, then cut the tape and started to bind Korn’s wrists to his ankles. Where are we going to find a willing medic? Anypony we meet will turn us in without a second thought.

"May I instruct the rest of my team to start pulling out the wounded and dead?"

"Yes. Remember what I said about equipment; they can pile that outside the radiation lock." Gravity pushed the two Masters against the wall, turning to Vanca and pulling off another strip of tape. The Academician shrank away from her, paws slipping in the concrete as she tried to push herself through the wall. There was a wet, bubbling cough from somewhere behind her and the mare froze, magic forming around the scientist's ankles. Gravity's eyes shot to the discarded metal bar, connecting the noise to the scene she'd interrupted. No, not just in time, just too late! she thought, cursing silently for not checking Fusion first.

Dropping the tape, she leapt to her sister's side, placing one ear against her chest. The normal hissing sounds of moving air, so familiar from when she was a little filly with the habit of sleeping with her head resting on Fusion's flank, were gone. Instead it sounded like somepony trying to suck up the last dregs of a thick drink through a straw. Under her cheek, the hard ridges of Fusion's ribs felt queasily soft and flexible.

Gravity reared back as Fusion coughed again, dark liquid spraying from her nostrils. "Bastion, check my sister, quickly!" The Security pony's head jerked up, confused for a second, then his eyes narrowed at the sight of blood dripping from Fusion's mouth. Green light swept along her body, pausing at mid chest height.

The glow from his horn intensified, worms of light running over Fusion's blood caked fur. Something flexed under her skin, bones moving and stretching before settling back into their correct positions. More flickers of light, these concentrated over the damaged area. "The bone is set, and I've done a patch job on her lung," he said, frowning, the expression of a professional forced to do a rushed and imperfect job, "but she will need time to heal. Those ribs are still very weak. The same applies to the punctured lung; too much excitement and it will go again."

"Do as much as you can," Gravity said, anger making her voice rough, "help her with the pain -- but keep her conscious," she added, when Bastion reached for another drug injector.

"It will be uncomfortable for her," he said, still distracted by his magic, "but I will do what you ask."

Gravity nodded, turning her gaze on the two bound Masters. "Did I not say I would return?" she said with quiet menace. "Did you not think there would be consequences if you did something stupid?" Gravity felt her anger rising and did nothing to stop it. "Every time I tell myself to show mercy, that you cannot all be the same, something like this happens." She lifted the police officer, still bound, up to head height with a circle of magic about his throat. "My sister, the pony you tried to beat to death, wanted me to show restraint," she spat the last word, making the band of magic expand and tilt his head back at an increasingly painful angle. “What possible reason do I have for that?

"If you hurt him, our agreement is off," Bastion said from where he lay next to Fusion and Lilac.

Gravity hissed through her teeth, relaxing her telekinetic grip a little. A glance showed her that the other pony was serious; the little worms of magic had ceased to flow over Fusion. Instead, Gravity could feel him focusing his strength in an attempt to stop her. It was the look of fear and determination on his face that settled it. He knows he can't beat me, yet he will try anyway, she thought, her anger evaporating to be replaced with a bone-deep weariness. What choice do I have? I need him.

She dropped the Officer to the floor, hard enough that he gasped and Bastion twitched, magic reaching out with the instinctive desire to catch him. Gravity stared down at the coughing Master, using one hoof to roll him onto his back. "This is your lucky day. That pony just saved your life." She pressed down on his chest with the hoof, feeling his ribs flex under her weight. The breath wheezed out of him and she narrowed her eyes. A little more and... Terror filled his face and Gravity reined in her anger. "Pray to the Maker that we don't meet again," she said, stepping back.

Behind her the Security pony gave a little involuntary whinny, then let out a long breath. "Thank you, I knew you hadn't turned completely away from the Make--" He stopped abruptly when he saw the look on Gravity's face. "Thank you," he finished lamely, closing his eyes and returning to his healing spells.

The blue mare struggled to get a grip on her emotions while he worked. "How much more can you do? I want to talk with my sister." she asked finally. How much longer before they can mount a response to what I've done here? she thought. I can't imagine what sort of panic this has caused.

Bastion reluctantly opened his eyes, glancing over at the three Masters, all of whom were staring back at him with great intensity. He shuddered under the weight of those eyes, starting to breathe heavily as he clumsily got to his hooves. “I am not a general practitioner; while I could do a little more, I’m really at the end of my skill here. They will both live -- the mare will recover fully, given time and peace, the stallion...” He looked down at Lilac, sighing deeply. “...needs far more help than he’s likely to be allowed.”

Gravity’s own ears flattened and she chewed at her lower lip. Bastion has seen many injured ponies, she thought, how many has he helped to euthanize, how many were deemed ‘not worth saving’? “How long before...?”

“A day or so of good health with minimal pain, after which my fixes will do more harm than good and he’ll go down hill quickly.” His horn glowed slightly, lifting three single use injectors out of his own medical kit. Covered in black and yellow stripes, they looked like giant wasps, complete with stinger under a protective cap. He held them out to the blue mare, close enough that she could see the pony skull poison symbols. “For the end, whenever it happens.”

One each, Gravity thought blackly, gripping them with her own magic. “I am not ready to die just yet,” she said, crushing the devices and throwing the remains across the room.

Bastion followed their trajectory, his ears drooping. "I didn't think so." He pulled out a fourth euthanization injector, placing it on the ground next to Lilac, then dropped his own medical kit near it. "The stallion... it's not a peaceful way to go," he said, standing up and walking to the radiation lock. "I'm sorry."

Gravity watched him go, then carefully picked up the injector and put it back in the medical kit. "Me too," she whispered.