Dead Space: Purpose

Isaac began to fall down towards the young Pegasus as debris fell past him towards the bubbling pit below. At this point, Isaac wasn’t focused on trying to make sense of why they were above a volcano, or rather, why they were falling towards it, only the fact that he was going to save Scootaloo before she could die a horrible death. He would not be responsible for letting someone else die because he wasn’t there for them. With that in mind, the Engineer shot his body into a straight shape as his mask rose to cover his face with a familiar three-line pattern.

In a mere three seconds, Isaac shifted towards Scootaloo with a great deal of speed, soaring through the air as chunks of metal began to fly down towards him, one piece eventually managing to smack the Engineer in the back before he corrected himself. Seeing that his pace was slowing, Isaac shot his feet back and triggered the Zero-G thrusters, propelling him towards the Pegasus as she flailed about.

“ISAAC!” She called out to him.

“Hang on!” He responded.

As Isaac tried to reach to her, a massive chunk of the factory, one with a small portion missing from the right side, forming an “L” shape. Scootaloo began to flap her good wing at an alarming rate as Isaac shifted around the mass as he dropped past it. As the two were getting closer, Isaac reached out as far as he could with his right hand.

“TAKE MY HAND!” He shouted.

Isaac and Scootaloo reached out for each other as waves of heat and embers began to cloud around them. With one final push, Isaac shot forward and grabbed Scootaloo in a mid-air roll, holding her close to his center of gravity.

“I’ve got you!” He stated, holding the Pegasus close.

“Isaac, how are we gonna get out of here!?” She cried.

‘Shit! How the Hell are we- wait, the scroll!’ Isaac thought.

The Engineer reached back into his RIG and pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment with the symbol of the Sun on a small medallion. Isaac then tugged at it in an attempt to rip it in half, trying to activate its magical purpose.

“Come… ON!” He struggled.

The scroll sparked with a small speck of red lightning before a familiar hand reached out onto it. Isaac looked up and saw Nicole falling with him.

“Together. On three.” She said loudly over the wind.

Isaac looked down into the pit of boiling death below and then back up to his ex-girlfriend before nodding once.

“One… two… THREE!!!” The two shouted in unison.

The parchment was ripped in half with a surge of power that rocked through Isaac and Scootaloo before engulfing them in a field of white light. When the flash subsided, a lone bow continued to fall into the maw of the mountainous source of power, along with the rest of the Rainbow Factory, taking the cursed facility back into the depths of Hell itself.

\\\//////

When Isaac opened his eyes again, he noticed one thing.

He was still falling.

After looking down he noticed two more things.

He still had Scootaloo with him. And they were now over Canterlot Castle.

“Isaac!”

The Engineer looked down at the Pegasus in his grasp before realizing that they were hastily approaching the roof of the elegant structure below them. With a flick of his heels, Isaac activated the thrusters on his boots as well as his back, trying to convert their overall momentum back into Potential Energy.

“Hold on tight!” He shouted.

They continued to fall towards the ground at a slightly less alarming rate, time seemingly slowing down as they approached the ceiling of the palace. After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, Isaac made contact with the roof of the castle, and broke straight through. Once he passed the first layer, Isaac and his suit continued to plow through each and every level below them, hitting each one with less speed and force as they went by. Eventually, Isaac broke through one final layer before making contact with a thick layer of brick and marble, leaving a massive crack/crater underneath him. As the pain finally took its hold on the Engineer’s body, Isaac collapsed to the ground, rolling Scootaloo onto a red carpet before fully impacting the surface as his helmet retracted once more.

With a strain, Isaac looked around the area he was in and finally managed to make out his surroundings. He had made it back to Canterlot. To his left, prodding his armor, was the small orange Pegasus, smiling at him with tears flooding out across her face. She tried to say something to Isaac, but to him, it only came out as motions of her mouth as he looked at her with genuine happiness. He managed to save her. He got her back. As Isaac thought this, the doors behind the filly burst open inaudibly, causing Scootaloo to turn and look at the newcomers. Someone began to yell something, but their words fell on deaf ears as Isaac was slowly lulled into unconsciousness.

\\\//////

Celestia and Fluttershy were now wandering the halls of Canterlot Castle after a discussion with Ellie that seemed to hold more weight on them than the world itself at the moment. She had told them that Isaac would be back any minute, and that he would probably make a mess as usual. The two had tried to ask more about the situation from the Human, but were told that she had nothing more to share with them, even if she wanted to. They were about to make their way to the Royal Library before a massive surge of magic rocked through them both.

Fluttershy almost collapsed to the floor, but managed to straighten herself out as Celestia began to reach for her horn. The Pegasus looked up at the sky as she heard a loud whining sound approach from above. Celestia got up, but before she could ask about the sound, the levels above them began to shake with a massive amount of noise. As each boom made became louder, the two began to feel it come closer to them as well. After about a minute, the force met their hooves as the ground shook with a massive tremor.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Fluttershy shot through the massive doors to the throne room to find a familiar form lying on the ground in the center of a crater.

“Isaac…” She whispered to herself, failing to hold back tears.

The Engineer was spread out on the floor with a blur of orange and purple going to his side. It was Scootaloo. Fluttershy looked closely at her face and saw that she was crying out a river while still smiling at him, trying to tell him that they made it, as she kept shouting.

With a loud bang, the opposite doors to the throne room shot open and poured out guards clad in golden armor. Each one wielded a spear and began to surround Isaac and Scootaloo. The young Pegasus shot out her forehooves while trying to cover the unconscious Human.

“Stand aside, civilian!” One of the Unicorn guards yelled. “We must contain this thing at once!”

“You can’t!!!” Scootaloo cried out. “He saved my life! He got me out of that Tartarus-hole!”

“That thing just crashed into the castle! Stand aside or we will-“

“STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!”

Everypony in the room covered their ears as Celestia’s Royal Canterlot Voice boomed throughout the corridor. The Sun Goddess moved towards Isaac and Scootaloo with her head raised high, and an unreadable expression on her face.

“Young filly,” She began softly, “let me help him.”

Scootaloo looked between Isaac and Celestia, trying to figure out whom should she trust more, but eventually moved so that Celestia could help. The Princess of the Sun nodded to the filly before engulfing Isaac in a golden glow. She looked back to Fluttershy and motioned for the two Pegasi to follow. After a second to register the suggestion, the three made way for the Royal Infirmary.