The Ocean Above Us

“She followed me down here, and then tried to steal my job!” -Twilight Sparkle, after reading an issue of Rapture Tribune.

Andrew Ryan simply chuckled as Nimbus looked around for a source of the voice. He met nothing, only the walls around him.

“Yes,” he said, “You know who I am, but real question is,” Ryan paused, as if taking a puff of a cigar, before continuing. “Who are you?”

“That’s not important!”

“Really? Which one of the devils above sent you? Was it the Tyrant Celestia, or was is the Rebel O’saddel bin Laden?”

“Neither!” Nimbus shouted, “I’m not here to spy on you!”

Ryan chuckled again, “That’s what they all say. Unless...”

“Unless what?”

“You aren’t here for either of them, are you? I’ve kept loose tabs on you ever since you arrived... No, you’re not a pawn of the Princesses, but you’re a rook of Atlas...”

“Atlas?”

“The one rat I can’t seem to squash.... That anarchist... Very well. Soon enough, I will find the trap, or the right poison,” Then, just as quickly as his voice had appeared, it was gone. The bathysphere was blocked off still, but Nimbus’s radio flickered back to life.

“Ya there, kid?” Athena asked, “I lost ya signal there for a sec.”

“I’m here, and Andrew Ryan is onto us.”

“Oh, that ain’t good. He’s the king of this damned place. All of the Splicers dance to his tune... and if he’s turned his sights on you...”

“He mentioned somepony named Atlas, he thought he was the one that sent me.”

“Atlas?” Athena repeated, in a disbelieving tone, “He’s one of the leaders in the fight against Andrew Ryan.”

“Hmm. Think he might be able to help us?”

“It’s not likely. Even I can’t get much information on him. You should get a move on, Ryan’ll probably send a few of his goons your way.”

“We can’t, he cut us off from the bathysphere.”

“Well, give me a minute to think...”

Nimbus sighed, and looked around. There wasn’t really anything he could see that could help them. He did, however, notice something next to the doorway. It was another recording device. Picking it up, he pressed the playback button.

“There’s something up with that Big Daddy,” a female voice said, “He seems a little... clumsy. And his Little Sister is always calling him ‘Ms. Bubbles.’ Maybe its a girl Big Daddy? A Big Momma? I’ll have to study them further...”

“Ms. Bubbles?” Fluttershy repeated.

“A mare must have signed on for the Big Daddy thing.”

“Alright, I’ve got it,” Athena said, but her voice slowly crackled out. “You’ll...”

“Athena, are you there?”

No response. Maybe Ryan was trying to get through again?

“Think... little firefly,” Another voice came over his radio, this time a mare, “Why do you concern yourself with such a petty struggle?”

“What?”

“Athena, Ryan, Athena, Ryan. In the end, the only difference is how you spell the name...”

Nimbus stepped back into the performance hall, and looked around. He couldn’t identify the source of the speaker. If she wasn’t nearby, then how could she have known what was going on? Unless...

“You’re working for Ryan, aren’t you?”

“You are wrong, for the Great and Powerful Trixie works for nopony!” She put much emphasis on her own name. “We will see who you work for momentarily... Ryan’s Splicers approach.”

“Oh no,” Fluttershy murmured, “Not Trixie...”

“Who’s Trixie?” Oceana asked, looking back at her.

“She’s kinda mean...”

“You’re so descriptive, Fluttershy,” Nimbus said, preparing his pipe. The first two Splicers came through the open double doors, and Fluttershy tried to hide herself in the seating. As Nimbus did his best to beat the Splicers back, he didn’t even notice when the Big Daddy that had been on the stage with his Little Sister this whole time had jumped down and began to fight with him.

It brushed Nimbus aside, and dropped a hoof into one of the Splicers’ face. Nimbus got a look at this Big Daddy, who was the same type as the one he had seen the most of here. His posture and body shape, however, actually suggested that he was mare. The Little Sister that watched her from the stage had a light purple coat, and a blonde mane and tail. She was a unicorn, like most of the Little Sisters he had seen.

More Splicers entered the hall, and began to target the Big Daddy extensively. When she had successfully defeated all of the Splicers that were sent, she turned around and picked up her Little Sister and placed her on her back.

“Yay!” The filly cried happily, “Let’s go Ms. Bubbles!”

The Big Daddy then proceeded to walk off, her Little Sister on her back.

“Where are Trixie’s manners? One who has not heard of one such as she must not go in the dark for any longer! Behold!”

Nimbus heard the sound of an explosion, and saw the flash of light behind him. On the stage, miniature fireworks had shot off, sending a rainbow of colors in all directions. In a puff of smoke, a blue unicorn mare had appeared from seemingly nowhere. The mare had a white mane, and a purple and white star print cape around her neck.

“You’ll have to excuse Trixie, her hat was stolen by incompetent Splicers.”

“Why such a... flashy entrance?”

“Trixie’s entrance must reflect Trixie’s greatness! Allow her to explain. The Great and Powerful Trixie was... humiliated on the surface, and she came to Rapture for a new slate. Here, she receives the appreciation and fame she deserves! That is, until the war began. Even with nopony to truly admire Trixie, she began working to master sciences, and created several Plasmids! Nopony bought them, though, they didn’t find them useful during the war... And now you have shown up,” Trixie paced back and forth across the stage, looking down at Nimbus and the filly on his back. “You just let others do your work for you, you’re a boss! Tell me, where did you study?”

“Uhh... Manehatten University, actually.” Nimbus replied, trying to decipher why she would ask such a question.

“Interesting...” Trixie brought a hoof to her chin.

“Now, what do you want with me?”

“You? Trixie wants to make you a deal. It’s not everyday that somepony like yourself just trots in here and openly resists Andrew Ryan. You have been blocked, have you not?”

“Yeah, Ryan cut off access to the bathysphere.”

“Hmph, he failed to oversee that Trixie has access to the controls! But before she allows you to leave, Trixie must ask for a favor in return.”

Nimbus rolled his eyes. “What do you want?”

Trixie ignored his disrespect. “Not all of the residents around these parts are crazed lunatics, only most of them are. Trixie wants you to go and take photos of her, and then use the photos to make a poster for her performance!”

“I would do that,” Nimbus said, “But I don’t have a camera, or a way to make posters.”

“That is quite unfortunate. You could try and talk to Photo Finish, but she is somewhat... crazy...”

“Photo Finish? Where is she?”

“She works at Photo’s Boothe down in the Ravine shopping center. Trixie knows not if she is actually there, but it is a good place to start looking.”

Nimbus nodded, and turned to say something to Fluttershy, but didn’t see her anywhere.

“Fluttershy?” he called out. A slight movement from behind one of the seats in the audience caught his eye, and Fluttershy stood up. She was covering her face with her hooves.

“Is... is it over?” She whimpered as she cowered in fear.

“Yes, Fluttershy, its over. Trixie said she’d get us through that gate if we helped her.”

Fluttershy looked around, and then quickly darted to Nimbus, as if something was going to grab her from nowhere. Nimbus looked back up to Trixie, but she was already gone. Her voice came over the radio, though.

“Go, little firefly, light the path through the dark...”

“Fluttershy, stay close.”

The walk wasn’t as long as Nimbus has originally thought. In his mind, he imagined long winding corridors, and several dozen obstacles in his way. Instead, it was a simple stroll down the hallway to the right of the theater. Automated doors slid open, and the Ravine’s shopping center was revealed. Dozens of assorted stores and vendors were to either side, the majority of which were closed, or destroyed. A few Splicers loitered in the walkway, but were quickly dispatched by Nimbus as he made his way across the shopping center.

Nimbus raised his radio to his mouth to speak. “Athena, are you there?”

A haughty laugh was the only response, followed by Trixie saying, “Little firefly, do not worry yourself with Athena and her problems. Right now, Trixie needs your help.”

Nimbus sighed and put the radio away. Trixie was obviously jamming her connections to Athena. Another voice came over the radio, however. It was a mare with a Germane accent.

“Get sie out! I have no business vith you or Trixie!”

“And who are you?” Nimbus asked.

“Vha- Who am I? I am Photo Finish! The finest photographer in all of Rapture! All of Equestria! You... you are working for Trixie!”

“Photo Finish?” Fluttershy whispered, just barely enough for the radio to pick up.

“Zhat voice...” Photo Finish recognized Fluttershy, “Could it be? Is it... die Fluttershy?”

Nimbus looked at her. “You know her?”

“I was... one of her models...” Fluttershy said, a blush forming on her face.

“Do you think you could get her to help us?”

“Maybe...”

“I’ve got Fluttershy with me, yes,” Nimbus told Photo Finish.

“Child! Please, return to zhe life vhere you belong!” She sounded desperate, almost pleading, but still kept a formality in her voice.

“I’m sorry...” Fluttershy swallowed, nervously, “I resigned, and I’m not-”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I vill have a schpeck-tacular outfit picked out-”

“No.” Fluttershy said, with in strange assertive, yet calm tone, “I’m not comfortable doing this.”

“But... But, I’ve haven’t had any models nearly as fabulous as you-”

“The mare said no, Photo,” Nimbus said, continuing with what he came there to do, “Look, we need-”

“Nein! I vill have my schtar model,” Photo barked, a crazed tone overcoming her, “Vhether she cooperates or not!”

As he heard hoofsteps close behind him, Nimbus readied his pipe and spun around to face the threat. All he saw was a shimmer of light, and a few rose petals fall onto his muzzle. Fluttershy squeaked in fear as she saw something behind her, but when Nimbus turned to see it himself, there was nothing. Oceana tugged on his mane, and waved a hoof down the opposite way, where they had came from. For a split second, Nimbus saw a pony, a Splicer, disappear into a shower of rose petals.

“Brother, there he is...” Nimbus followed Oceana’s hoof, as she pointed to a trash can. Sure enough, the trash can's lid rattled slightly, as if somepony had bumped into it. In a flash of light, the Splicer had revealed himself, but had little time to act as he was suddenly encased in ice on the spot. Nimbus heard his radio go off.

“What do you wait for, an engraved invitation?” Trixie said over the radio. Nimbus thought he could barely make out her voice from somewhere close, though. “Finish him!”

Without a second thought, Nimbus swung his forehoof out, and the pipe made contact with the frozen Splicer. He brought it down again, and the ice began to crack. One final hit caused the ice to shatter, frozen shards of it shredding the Splicer’s body up. Fluttershy looked away as one particularly large chunk of ice embedded itself in the Splicer’s back, causing him to shake and shiver in pain and fear and hypothermia. Shards of ice stuck out from his coat, and the biggest vein in his neck was slick and shiny. The worst part was, the poor soul was still alive, his screams of pain coming out only as puffs of chilled air.

Even Oceana buried her face in his mane as he swung the pipe one last time, hitting the Splicer in the jaw. He could hear the crack of ice inside of him breaking as his body hit the floor, coughing up water and blood. Nimbus silently damned himself, and turned around. Above them, on a bridge that connected the two sides of an upper floor, Trixie stood.

“Very good, little firefly. Trixie rewards you...” She levitated an object from beneath her cape, and tossed it down to Nimbus. It slid to Nimbus’s hoof. It was an Eve Hypo, like the one he saw in the poster.

“What does it do?” He asked her, using the radio to ensure she heard him.

“It’s an Eve Hypo. When your body’s natural Eve reserves run low, it will start hurting you if you keep trying to use your Plasmids.” Trixie explained, and Nimbus understood why using Plasmids had became so hard now, “You inject yourself with Eve, and you can use your Plasmids again.”

“Alright...” Nimbus picked up and inspected the small needle, and put it into his foreleg. There was no crazy hallucination of his hooves melting, just him suddenly feeling like he could throw a million thunderbolts. “Thanks,” he said, looking back up at her, but she was gone, again.

“Photo Finish will try and stop you, so you will need to help Trixie,” Trixie said, causing Nimbus to facehoof internally. “Trixie will try and get the attention of her Splicers, and you will get to Photo’s Booth.”

“Whatever, just meet me back at the performance hall when I get what I need.”

“Of course, but Trixie must inform you, you must deal with Photo Finish one way or another. If she chooses not to help you, and you have to take her life, I will find somepony else to take my photos.”

“It’s not going to come to that...” Nimbus said, but got no response. Motioning to Fluttershy, he started his walk into the shopping center.

There was very little resistance in the halls, the occasional Splicer here and there, and the female Big Daddy walking around with her “muffin”. Muffin is what he thought he heard her call the Little Sister, at least, but the Big Daddy’s low, guttural groan distorted the speech. Nimbus’s luck found him a gun store, where he found two whole magazines for his machine gun. Fluttershy had found some useful items as well on their trip: two crossbow bolts, a shotgun shell, and a few bits.

They came across the entrance to the food court. Of course, all of the food vendors were closed, but it still was populated by a few Splicers who were idling about. Nimbus hesitated when he saw that the Splicers were armed with guns, however.

“Fluttershy, stay low.” Nimbus warned, but before he could make his move, Photo Finish interrupted him.

“Very silly zhat you come for me...” She said, “It makes my job so much easier...” All of the Splicers were suddenly alerted to his position, and they began to fire.

“Fluttershy, get back!” Nimbus pushed her out of the way of the incoming fire, and tossed Oceana over with her. They both ran into an arcade that had it’s doors open, and Nimbus was assured that they were safe. With his machine gun at the ready, he ran to the nearest table and flipped it on it’s side, giving him some cover. Bullets pierced through the tabletop as Nimbus steadied his focus.

Time slowed down as he aimed his weapon over his cover, and assessed his situation. There was a Splicer to the left of him, trying to flank him. Two Splicers were directly in front of him. Without thinking, he fired a round of bullets into the closest of the two, and then dropped back down behind cover. He lifted a hoof and used Electro Bolt on the Splicer that had came around behind him, and looked back over his cover again.

There was one Splicer, holding a stick of dynamite, but another one was already firing at him. A bullet hit Nimbus in the right foreleg, breaking his skin and releasing a spray of blood on the table. With his left hoof, he hip fired at the shooter, taking him out after wasting half of his magazine, and then turned around to blow the still stunned Splicer away. He ducked down behind the table again, trying to steady his breathing, but a red cylinder found itself rolling around next to him.

No time to think. With all of his strength and mental focus, Nimbus lifted himself over the shot-up table and hit the ground hard on the other side. He rolled a few feet, but was thrown even further as the table and its surrounding area was consumed in an explosion. After prodding him with a hoof, the Splicer was sure he had killed Nimbus. As he began to turn and walk away, he felt something drag him to the ground and crush his skull in with a pipe.

Nimbus fell over onto his side and relinquished the pipe. That swing seriously hurt his leg, and he was certain that he had dislocated something. With his left hoof, he did his best to radio in to Trixie.

“Trixie...” He coughed, “Where are you?”

“Trixie is almost to the Booth, but the door that leads in is locked from the inside. You will have to unlock it when you get there.”

“I’m injured, where can I find medical supplies here?” Nimbus said, doing his best to stay calm.

“Have you not used a Med-kit before? It’s quite the innovation, just apply the cream inside of the kit where your wound is and it should heal itself.”

“Really?” That sounded ridiculous, but then again, so did shooting thunderbolts out of your hooves, and an underwater city, and just about everything else that had happened to him recently.

“Yes, really, now, the Great and Powerful Trixie must-” From the other side of the radio, Nimbus heard a thump, as if it had been dropped. “Fear the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Came her voice, somewhat muffled, but then screams of agony and the sound of burning flesh came across the radio. She’d be fine.

Nimbus picked himself and his equipment up, and made his way back to Fluttershy and Oceana. In the arcade, Fluttershy was hiding behind a Fighting is Magic machine, comforting Oceana.

“Is Brother going to be okay?”

“Yes, don’t worry,” Fluttershy assured her, “See? Here he is now. Oh!” Fluttershy noticed the wound in his foreleg.

“I’ll...” Nimbus began, raising his right hoof to assure her, but then instantly regretted it. A flare of pain consumed his  foreleg as he exhaled sharply. “I’ll be fine...”

“We need to find you some help!” Fluttershy said, examining his foreleg closer.

“Trixie said a Medkit should heal me. She didn’t say where to find one, though.”

“Oh, I know, there’s a vending machine that sells them here in the arcade. I saw one on the way in.”

Sure enough, there was indeed a vending machine selling health kits for twenty bits at the front of the arcade. He only had 3 bits, though. However, if these arcades were anything like the ones on the surface, they yielded money in return for a high enough score...

As he approached one of the tall, blocky, arcade machines entitled ‘Fighting is Magic’, he steadied himself on the stool that was beside it. He tried to position his hooves on the control stick and buttons, but found that moving his right foreleg wasn’t an option today.

“I can play for you, Brother! I’m the best at Fighting is Magic!” Oceana had trotted up beside him, and was smiling innocently at him.

"If you say so, kid," He picked her up, and sat her down on the stool after getting off of it himself. She stretched over to the controls, and looked up at the machine’s screen. Nimbus put a bit in, and she began to play.

It was now that Nimbus had realized what exactly it was that she was playing. On the side of the machine, there was a lavender unicorn who appeared to be hoof-fighting a white unicorn. The two resembled ponies that he had seen before, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. Nimbus realized that their aggression towards each other had been much more than personal. Was there more to Twilight’s side of the story?

“You noticed that too, huh?” Fluttershy was now next to him, looking at the image presented before them.

“This game is about them?”

“It’s about all of us. We were all really close friends at one time, but then... I don’t know what happened...” Fluttershy said.

“Wait, you’re in a fighting game?” Nimbus looked at her in disbelief.

“FLUTTERSHY WINS!” The machine’s voice announced, causing Oceana to clop her hooves together happily. “FLAWLESS VICTORY!”