The Ocean Above Us

“I believe that it’s time to do something about this Topside character... his presence disturbs my plans...” -Andrew Ryan, about Johnny Topside.

Rapture Metro was a big place, but the signs leading Nimbus and his followers to the train station were very clear. Nimbus' hoof ached as the plant stalk inside of it seemed to writhe and twist with its own life. It had been bothering him ever since they entered the Bathysphere. Fluttershy pointed out that it was moving, and it had caused Nimbus concern. Was something happening to him? His hoof ached more and more as he put pressure on it.

Oceana rode on Nimbus’s back, chatting childishly with Apple Bloom, who was on Topside’s back. Apparently, Apple Bloom had a group of friends who didn't have their cutie marks either. The only name that he heard was Sweetie Belle, before Topside had asked them to quiet down.

“Hey, Topside?” Nimbus asked, and the stallion in question turned his head to listen. “Have you ever met somepony named Rarity?”

Topside thought for a moment, his face unreadable behind his mask.

“Eeyup,” he said.

“You saved her sister, Sweetie Belle, didn’t you?” Fluttershy stopped walking to look at him.

Nimbus nodded, but kept walking. They neared the door to the boarding area when Ryan’s voice came out of the very heart of Rapture, and delivered his message to them.

“Topside... You still resist me? And you...” He said, somehow addressing Nimbus without making eye contact with him, “You’re not of Atlas, are you? You’re somepony else’s...”

Nimbus hurriedly waited for the door’s automated systems to pull it open so he could run through. There was just one more short hallway to clear. He could see the open space in front of the train at the end of it.

“Topside, have you not learned that my will is inevitable?" Ryan continued, "Perhaps your sister can help you see...”

Upon hearing this, Topside halted in his tracks. Nimbus called to him, but he wouldn’t move. There was an expression of shock on his face that was visible even through his mask.

“Fluttershy, get Oceana onto the train!” Nimbus said, grabbing Apple Bloom off of the unmoving Topside’s back.

“Wait, what about my brother?” Apple Bloom looked back.

“I don’t know, but I have to get you to the train!”

Fluttershy and Oceana had stepped aboard the sleek grey train, and Nimbus had followed in with Apple Bloom. He heard the screeching of a Big Sister behind him. Turning around, Nimbus saw Topside. He faced a Big Sister who lunged straight for him. She had scorch marks and dents on her armor. It was the same Big Sister from before, but just now did he understand what Andrew Ryan was saying. That Big Sister was Topside's sister.

Nimbus reached for his radio. “Athena, we’re on the train, get it moving!”

There was no reply. Nimbus poked his head through to the back train car, and realized that the whole thing was a setup. In the center of the train car, a swivel chair with a ponnequin of a unicorn mare in it spun. Attached to her body and covering the floor around her were dozens of small plastic devices, all marked with the characters ‘C’ and ‘4’. Ryan’s voice played through a speaker attached to the ponnequin.

“It’s interesting that you think you’re the valiant protagonist of this journey, but you aren't. Welcome to Rapture, my children.”

Nimbus had only a split second to perform his next actions. He spun around to face the mares he had to protect, and extended his left foreleg. Time slowed down as he watched the thick stalk emerge from under his skin, and extend to wrap around Fluttershy, Oceana, and Apple Bloom. With a flick of his hoof, they were tossed out of the train before it transformed into the center of an explosion.

Nimbus felt the steel coming down on him, and the heat of the fire burning at his back. A feeling of weightlessness overcame him. The stalk that protuded from his leg was on fire, sending severe waves of pain through his body. Something slammed against his belly, forcing the air from his lungs. He struggled to push what remained of the collapsed train off of him and crawl to safety.

Topside had the Big Sister pinned against the wall, but she struck out with her back hooves and hit him in the stomach. She pushed him back, and grabbed a chunk of debris from the destroyed train with her non-magical telekinesis. Topside reached into his cloak, but was hit with flying piece of metal before he could pull anything out.

Nimbus felt a sudden will to fight invigorate him, and he wrapped the Big Sister in his still burning hoof-vine. His anger intensified, and thorns burst from the sides of the stalk, piercing the Big Sister’s armor. The Big Sister extended the needle in her foreleg, and sliced the vine apart. The cut sent another wave of pain through Nimbus, causing him to cry out as if one of his limbs had been removed. The vine was a part of him...

Topside had produced a small revolver, and had it aimed at the Big Sister. Having recently freed herself, she delivered a solid punch to Topside’s face with her front hoof, and he fell to the ground. As he reached out for his fallen gun, the Big Sister put her hoof on his neck. Topside meekly looked up at Nimbus and slid the gun to him as best as he could.

Nimbus took up the weapon and fired it into the Big Sister. One shot, two shots, three shots. The Big Sister was stumbling backwards with each hit. Four shots, five shots-

“Nimbus, look out!” Fluttershy shouted, and he looked just in time to see an armored hoof speeding straight for his face. It was another Big Sister. Nimbus ducked as the hoof went over his head, and he brought the gun around. The last shot went into the new Big Sister’s chest. Having no other option, he threw the gun at her. It bounced off of her armor harmlessly. The surprise move, however, did give him enough time to produce his pipe and strike out with it.

This Big Sister was different. Instead of a needle, she had what looked like spear-like weapon running backwards along her foreleg. It flipped outwards, and he realized that it was a harpoon gun as it jumped from her hoof to the wall behind him in a split second. Seeing that she had missed, Nimbus yanked on the wire connecting the harpoon to her foreleg, bringing her closer for another hit.

He didn’t expect her to stop his pipe swing with a single hoof, but when she did, she looked Nimbus in the eyes, and time seemed to stop. The Big Sister just stared at him, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She retracted her harpoon, and took a step back. Nimbus punched her in the jaw, and then hit her in the head three times with his pipe. Her armor made a loud clang as it hit the ground. He reached for his crossbow as he saw the unconscious Topside being dragged off by the other Big Sister.

He took a shot, but the bolt missed its target. He lost sight of the Big Sister.

“Big brother!” Apple Bloom cried out, her eyes filling with tears. Oceana and Fluttershy came to comfort her.

Nimbus just stood, breathing heavily, and thought about what had just happened. His back still burned from the explosion, and his head was spinning. Where was Athena? She had tricked him, she was working for Ryan the whole time! She was a traitor... But why? Why would she promise to help him, but and then do this? Why not just get rid of him when he first arrived?

“Athena!” he called, into his radio. No response came. He stomped his hoof on the ground in anger. Why? Why would she do that? It was for Topside! She knew that he’d find out about Topside one way or another, and Ryan probably told her to set them up! He was an idiot for trusting her. He wanted to cry, but his body was just so... so dry.

Thoughts flooded his mind as he remembered the blur that had just happened in more depth. The Green Hoof had given him this power to control the plant in his body, but it was infused into him, meaning it was an extension of everything, pain or otherwise. He remember sparing Photo Finish, and Trixie, and helping all of the Little Sisters. All of it was because Athena was pulling his strings...

“You think you’re a hero?” Ryan asked, “You think because you spare lives, and save children, that it covers up your crime of causing chaos?”

Andrew Ryan, just the thought of the name brought his temper to a boil- no, it vaporized his temper completely. There was nothing there, just the urge to take revenge. And the first step was the Big Sister on the ground in front of him.

Nimbus remembered what Trixie had told him about Big Sisters. If they still had ADAM in their system, they’d recover from the hardest blows. He picked up the Big Sister, and slammed her into the closest wall. With his eyes clenched in anger and frustration, he tore the Big Sister’s helmet off and forcefully thrust his hoof over her head, the other hoof holding her up by the throat. The Plasmid had began absorbing her ADAM, but he heard a raspy voice call his name.

“... Nimbus...” He knew that voice. It wasn’t Fluttershy’s, it wasn’t Oceana’s, it wasn’t Apple Bloom’s. It wasn’t Athena’s, and it wasn’t Andrew Ryan’s. He knew that voice from his time on the surface. He remembered it from Cloudsdale, at the weather factory, and at the Best Young Flyers competition. He knew that voice ever since he was in summer flight camp.

He opened his eyes as a rainbow of memories washed over his mind. He retracted his hooves in fear, and the Big Sister’s body fell to the ground, slumped up against the wall. Nimbus didn’t want to believe what he was looking at. Before him was the still form of a blue mare, whom he knew to be a pegasus, with a polychromatic mane. Her face was still wet with blood, and she had a look of despair across her face.

“... Rainbow Dash...” Nimbus’s voice faltered as the entirety of what he had just done sunk in. She stirred weakly, to Nimbus’s relief, and looked up at him. The dull expression in her magenta eyes tore Nimbus’s heart in half. What had he done to his friend?

“Why... why did you... come here?” She asked him, coughing up a bit of blood. The question hurt more to think about than it did to answer. He had come to find the mare before him, and his little sister.

“I... I...” Nimbus dropped to floor and began to cry into Rainbow’s armored chest. “I didn’t realize it was you... I’m sorry...”

Rainbow put a hoof on his head and brushed his matted mane as if he was a little colt crying to his mother. After a long minute of this, Rainbow spoke.

“It’s okay... I should..” she coughed, “I should thank you... You rescued me...”

“Rescued you?” Nimbus looked up.

“Yes, you drained the ADAM that was driving me crazy,” she managed, “I couldn’t think straight... When I saw you, I tried to stop myself, but...”

“Ryan had you...”

Rainbow nodded.

“Where’s my sister?” Nimbus asked, “She came here with you, where is she?”

Rainbow sighed, “She was assigned to me when I became a Big Sister... but Ryan took her off of my hooves when he told me to come here.”

“And you let him take her?” Nimbus composed himself, wiping the tears from his eyes and standing up.

“Yeah... I couldn’t- agh!” Rainbow seethed in pain as she tried to sit up, “That bullet did a number on me... Nice shot, by the way,” She added, with a friendly smile, “Have you been practic-” She was cut off by another burst of pain in her body, causing her to cringe.

“Come on, let me help you up,” Nimbus said, doing his best to lift Rainbow up onto his back. She was heavy, especially with all of the armor, but Nimbus could manage. Just barely.

“Oh my!” Fluttershy called out, “Is... Is that Rainbow Dash?”

“... yup...” Nimbus called out between breaths as he did his best to walk to her.

“I need to help you two!” Fluttershy began frantically looking around in different places in hopes of finding something. Nimbus let Rainbow Dash fall off of his back, and he collapsed onto the ground as well.

“Looks like they took your mechanical wing too, huh?” Rainbow coughed between breaths.

“Yeah,” Nimbus breathed heavily himself, trying his best to stay awake. Fluttershy returned with only a single Medkit.

“This was all I could find...” She murmured, “Nimbus, let me get you-”

“No!” Nimbus nearly choked on the sudden exclamation, “Give it to her, I’ll be fine...”

“But you’re hurt more than she is!”

It was true. He had burns all across his back, and his face was covered in cuts and blood, but Rainbow had a bullet wound and a possible concussion. She needed it more than he did.

“Just give it to her!”

Fluttershy did as she was told, but Nimbus had already passed out.

Andrew Ryan stood over his desk, looking at the chair across the room. Tied to it was a familiar mare, one that he had been keeping tabs on ever since she had came to Rapture. He had thought of her as just another one of Celestia’s spies sent to monitor him, but this one was much more.

Across the room, tied to said chair, was Athena. She was gagged with a piece of cloth, and had a blindfold over her eyes.

“Did you think you could escape me?” Ryan asked, stepping around his desk, and straightening his tie with his magic.

“Mmph!” Was all Athena could say through her restraints.

“Nopony escapes me...” Ryan growled, pulling off Athena’s blindfold to add emphasis to his name. The terrified look in her eyes caused him to grin evilly. “Not you, not Topside, not Fontaine, not Atlas...”

“Mmmph!” Athena struggled, glaring at Ryan.

“What was that?” Ryan said sarcastically, pulling the gag out of her mouth.

“Nimbus will come and rescue me!” she shouted.

“Nimbus?” Ryan asked, mocking surprise, “You mean the poor pegasus you conned ever since he got here? Nothing but lies and tomfoolery came from your mouth.”

“I... I...”

“And I know that he’s coming, dear.” Ryan produced the radio that she had used to initially contact him. His voice was playing through it.

“Athena! Athena, pick up!” His tone was angry, “I know you set us up!”

“No...” she whispered. “No! Nimbus!”

“Ah-ah-ah,” Ryan said, tossing the radio out of her reach, “No need to let him know that you actually know his name...”

Athena thought about this, and realized that he had never once told her his name. Saying it herself would only clue him in to her deception.

“No need to let him know that you didn’t set him up, either,” he continued.

“Hey, I-” Athena started to yell, but her mouth was soon filled by the cloth again, muffling the noises she made.

“Silence, filly. I need to continue my work without you going on and on...”

Andrew Ryan returned to his desk.

“Athena!” Nimbus shouted into the radio. No answer. He was back on his hooves now, and was headed to Hephaestus, where Rapture’s generator was, and Ryan’s offices were. Rainbow Dash had joined his team, and was standing in a bathysphere headed to Hephaestus with Fluttershy, Oceana, Apple Bloom, and himself. The two fillies had became friends, and Oceana had even chose to join the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’ after their adventure was over.

“You’ve been yelling her name for like, ten minutes. If she coordinated all of this, what makes you think she’ll actually respond?” Rainbow asked him.

“I’m just... Ugh...” He had found himself a Medkit, but he still felt drained. “I don’t know.”

The bathysphere descended below a building, and Nimbus wondered exactly how far down the generator was.

“Are we there yet?” Oceana asked.

“No,” Nimbus said.

A few moments passed, then he heard Apple Bloom, “How ‘bout now?”

“No.” Nimbus repeated, a bit more forcefully.

“How about now?”

“Look, I’ll tell you when we’re there!” He turned around, only to see who had asked this time. A smile spread across Rainbow Dash’s face. Nimbus put his on best poker face and turned back around to look outside.

The descent slowed, and Nimbus saw they were nearing their target. They were approaching a grand complex of tunnels and buildings, the diamond tiara of these buildings was the large skyscraper-like building with the words ‘Ryan Enterprises’ near its base. The bathysphere dropped into a rail that guided it down until it hit the end of it’s decent.

“We need to get to Ryan and save Topside,” Nimbus said, “You said said capturing him was your mission, right Rainbow?”

“Right, but that other Sister probably has already gotten back to Ryan with him...”

“Rainbow...” Fluttershy whispered, “Ryan said something about that other Big Sister being Applejack... is that true?”

Rainbow sighed, “Yeah, it is.”

“What?” Apple Bloom shouted, startling Fluttershy, “My big sister is... alive?”

“Yeah," Rainbow reluctantly reported, "but she’s under Ryan’s control now.”

Apple Bloom said nothing, but took on a solemn expression . She had assumed her big sister to be dead, but now...

“Heads up, Nimbus,” Rainbow said, “We’ve got company.”

As the bathysphere rotated to face the exit, Nimbus saw that there was six or seven armed Splicers waiting to welcome them into Ryan’s stronghold. Rainbow Dash put her helmet on, and pushed Fluttershy and the fillies back.

“I’m out of ammo!” Nimbus cursed, “For all of my weapons, too.”

“Use that freaky whip thing that’s on your hoof,” Rainbow secured her helmet, her voice a raspy echo. “Also, I’ve got a radio in here, in case we get split up.”

Nimbus prepared his pipe.

The Splicers took aim, and Rainbow kicked open the door.

Things were about to get messy.