Author's Note
Hope you all enjoy this and I apologize ahead of time if anything seems rushed, especially near the end of the chapter. At some point I got really excited to share this story. Also, if it seems a little clunky and messy while I'm trying to bring the game mechanics into a somewhat realistic light, worry not. Only the first couple chapters will function like that. After that, it will probably seem like a real fic.
Arrival
BOOM!
"Quick! Get to the life pods, everyone!"
"Come with me..."
"I can't!"
"Get in!"
KA-BOOM!
"I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN!!!"
Day 1
Fluttershy let out a gasp as she opened her eyes. Looking around, she found herself in a small cylindrical room that was shaking something fierce. In the middle was a ladder leading up and on one side were two seats with straps. Spotting a window, she saw clouds outside. Eyes going wide, she realized she was in an escape pod. Stumbling to her feet, she went over to the window and looked out.
"Wh-What's going on?" She asked herself, her heart rate increasing. "Where is everyone?"
The whole pod shook as it was hit with a strong gust of wind, knocking her over. Letting out a yelp, she hit the floor. Panting heavily, she grabbed the ladder and used it to help herself to her feet. With another strong gust of wind, Fluttershy let out a squeak of pain as her head slammed into the ladder.
Stumbling over to one of the seats, she dropped into it and held her head. Tears filing her eye at the stinging pain in her forehead, she lowered her hand and saw some blood on it. Sniffling, she held the cut and pulled the metal bar down to help keep her in the seat. The cut began to sting now as she closed her eyes and winced from the pain while she just waited for the pod to land.
Not too much time passed before the whole pod shook more violently than before as it came to a sudden stop, the sound of water splashing outside accompanying it. Fluttershy raised the bar before stumbling over to the window. Looking out, she saw an ocean as far as the eye could see. In the distance, she saw her crashed ship.
"Okay..." she told herself. "I just need to get over there..." She then turned to look around the pod. "But... how..." Spotting the Med Kit Fabricator on the wall, she quickly limped over to it, also realizing just now that her legs hurt. Opening the fabricator, she pulled the First Aid Kit out and opened it up. Pulling out some alcohol and gauze, she poured the small bottle of alcohol on the gauze and took a deep breath. Pressing it to her cut, she let out a loud shriek of pain before tossing it away. Taking in some deep breaths, she grabbed the bandages and began to wrap it around her forehead.
Wiping away tears she fell on her back and stared up at the ceiling, letting the pain fade away. When the realization that she may never see another living being ever again set in, her eyes filled with tears and she just cried. Rolling onto her side, she curled up in the fetal position and sobbed into her knees.
Minutes passed before she picked her head up and wiped her eyes. "Alright..." she told herself. "There was more than one ship. I-If I can send a distress signal..." She then sat up and and looked over at a storage compartment near a computer panel, which displayed info about the status of the pod.
Getting up, she stumbled over to it and opened it up. Inside was a PDA, two nutrient bars, two flares, and a diving suit and mask with a small air tank and boots. Picking up the PDA, she turned it on. Flipping through the menus, she found a list of objects she could create with materials. One of which was a repair tool.
"So, if I build the Repair Tool..." Fluttershy thought aloud, before looking at the damaged radio on the wall. "I can fix the radio... and maybe call for help... But, I need silicone rubber, sulfur, and titanium...”
Trailing off, she looked at the floor where the lower hatch leading outside was. Knowing where she had to go frightened her and she began to sweat.
“I just... have to go outside...” she continued. “And underwater...”
Heart rate increasing, the scared pegasus looked at the diving suit. Her legs still aches and her head still hurt but she knew she had to go out. If not to look for the required ingredients to make the repair took, then at least for food.
Looking at what she was currently wearing, she knew she had to strip completely naked. There was no way the diving suit would fit over a sweatshirt. Besides, the less she weighed, the better.
Starting with her sweatshirt, she pulled it off and set it aside. The air was chilly against her bare skin and so she decided to leave her bra on. Next went her pants. As she slid them off, she whimpered at the slight pain. She deduced that she must have injured herself prior to waking up. Only, she can't remember much of what happened. She remembered there was a lot of yelling and then she woke up in the pod.
Once she had stripped down to her underwear, she slid into the diving suit. After getting her arms and legs in, she zipped it up and then grabbed the boots and helmet that were also in the storage compartment. Slipping the boots on, she stood up and walked around a bit to get a feel for them. They barely made any noise when she walked, telling her that they were light.
"Okay, Fluttershy," she said, taking a deep breath and picking up the PDA. "Silicone rubber needs seed clusters..." She then attached it to a clip on her hip. "I just hope wherever I am has the right kind..."
Kneeling down beside the hatch, she slid a panel open to reveal a button. Biting her lip, she pressed it and the hatch split in two, both halves sliding open. Staring into the water, Fluttershy gulped nervously before turning away.
"Come on, Fluttershy..." She urged herself. "You can do this..."
Turning back to the open hatch, she put the helmet on, making sure it connected properly and then grabbed the small air tank. After attaching it to her back, she inhaled to test it. It seemed to work. Taking a few more breaths to ready herself, she dropped through the hatch into the water. Once she was through, the hatch closed.
Looking around, she saw a beautiful scenery of small alien fish and gorgeous barnacles and rock formations. The way the sun rays shown through the water's surface was particularly amazing. Smiling, the pegasus found that she rather liked the view. Even so, she still wanted to get home.
As she looked around, she saw a fish swim past her face. Then, a thought popped into her head. How would she know anything about the flora and fauna of this planet if she didn't have a way of scanning things. Pulling out the thankfully-waterproof PDA, she found the ingredients to fabricate a Scanner.
"A battery and titanium..." she muttered aloud, tapping on the battery to see what it would take to make that. "Two acidic plants and copper ore..."
Putting the device away, she looked around for anything that looked like the things she wanted. Swimming away from the pod, she let her eyes scan the floor. Lots of rocks and seaweed and other kinds of grass, but not plants. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that she was a few feet away from the pod. Starting to sweat nervously, she froze. She knew she had to go further out, but she had no idea what to expect.
"You can do this..." she told herself, starting to go further when she heard a female's voice in the helmet.
"Warning. 60 seconds of oxygen left."
Fluttershy let out a gasp and quickly swam to the surface. Breaking the surface, she looked around. It sure looked peaceful, if it weren't for the crashed ship that served as a sad reminder of her situation.
Letting out a sigh, she went back under and came face-to-face with a pink fish that sort of looked like a sideways heart. A sharp gasp escaping her lips, she jerked backwards out of fright. As the fish swam around peacefully, the pegasus exhaled and chuckled to herself. Swimming closer to the fish, she watched it swim around and let out a giggle.
"You're cute," she cooed happily. Looking around her surroundings at all the other fish, she found herself feeling content. Wherever she currently was, it sure seemed peaceful. "This place is amazing..."
Remembering her current task, she began to swim out further away from the pod. As long as the floor was relatively close and it didn't get too deep, she figured she'd be fine. As she scanned the various types of flora she spotted a group of mushrooms. They seemed to be giving off a slight hint of steam.
"Acidic?" She asked, as if expecting the plant to respond. Swimming closer, she poked it. It seemed warm. "You're my best option right now..." Making a mental note of where she found it, she moved on to find the other two ingredients.
Starting to hum to herself, the pegasus continued to keep a look out for anything of use. Spotting a piece of metal on the floor, she gave a light smile. Moving on, she came across limestone chunks embedded in the side of the various crevasses and floor. Swimming up to one, she used the edge of the PDA to whack it. The limestone cracked open and revealed copper-colored rock.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this," she said, picking up the copper ore.
Holding it tightly, she went back to the metal and picked it up. Finally, she went back to the mushrooms and picked two. Smiling happily, feeling quite proud of herself, she headed back to the pod. Putting the metal under her armpit, she used her free hand and opened the hatch. After pushing the metal through the hole, she climbed inside and the hatch closed.
Taking the helmet off, she inhaled deeply and let out a soft giggle. "I did it..." she said, looking at the items.
Placing the mushrooms and the copper ore on the piece of metal, she dragged them over to the fabricator. Placing her hand on it, the device opened up, a tray slid out on the bottom, and a holographic menu appeared. Placing the items on the tray, she looked at the menu.
"Let's see..." she muttered to herself. "Battery is... electric..." she said, tapping on Materials and then Electronics. "Ah-ha," she cooed triumphantly, tapping the Battery icon. Only it didn't work. "What?" She asked, only now realizing that the Battery icon was gray.
Backing out of the menu, she went to the Basic Materials menu and saw Titanium grayed out. Removing all but the metal piece, the icon turned blue. Tapping it, the fabricator whirred to life and the metal disintegrated and absorbed into the device. A laser then began to move along the tray, sort of like a printer. Bit by bit, the fabricator built four chunks of titanium. When it was finished, the light shut off and the pegasus picked up the titanium.
"So, I have to do one at a time," Fluttershy realized, before putting a piece of titanium on the tray.
She then put the mushrooms and copper ore on the tray as well. Tapping the Battery icon again, the machine then properly converted the items into a battery. Tossing a piece of titanium on the tray, she tapped the Scanner icon. As the machine built the scanner, she brought the remaining two titanium pieces over to the storage compartment and dropepd them in.
Heading back to the fabricator, she picked up the scanner. "Does it work?" She asked herself, pulling the trigger. A message on the device's screen appeared, reading: Nothing to scan. "Seems to be doing something..."
Squatting down to pick up her helmet, she put it back on before leaving the pod once more. This time was easier as she knew what to expect going in. Looking at the scanner in her hand, she eyed a fish swimming by. It was one of those heart-shaped ones. Aiming the scanner at it, she pulled and held the trigger. A light beam began to scan the fish before her PDA beeped.
"Huh?" She asked, taking the PDA off her belt and looking at it. On the screen was info on the fish she just scanned. "Bladderfish?" She read questioningly. "Hmm... Good source of... calories... and can be fabricated into water?" She eyed the fish again, feeling slightly disgusted. She couldn't bear the thought of harming these cute and innocent fish.
Casually swimming around, the yellow mare scanned everything and anything she could. Table Coral, Peeper fish, limestone outcroppings, and a few others. As she swam around, she made sure to keep track of where she saw caves leading down. Might be worth exploring at some point.
After taking a few surface visits, she came across a cave with an interesting-looking plant inside. It seemed to be smoking. As she neared it, the plant opened up and a fat red fish came out. Eyes going wide, Fluttershy began to swim backwards to avoid it. The fish was too fast, though. As it neared her, it began to puff up and shake violently. Letting out an “eep” the pegasus kicked the fish away. Right after she did, the fish exploded. Letting out another shriek of fright, she shielded her eyes with her arms. Luckily, the explosion wasn’t that big and alone she felt was heat.
Realizing what had happened, she let out a gasp and lowered her arm. "Did I just... make it explode?" After shaking away the thought that she may have just killed something, she looked around again before spotting what appeared to be tall stalks of seaweed. On the seaweed were clusters of large yellow seeds.
Smiling at her find, she swam closer and closer. The water here seemed murkier and deeper than where she was, though she didn't notice as she was too intrigued by the seeds. Raising the scanner, she scanned the seeds. Hearing a beep, she picked up her PDA and read the info.
"Creepvine Seed Clusters. Perfect," she said happily, seeing that this was able to make silicone rubber. Picking off a seed, she looked it over. "You're too big for my pockets. So, I'll carry you," she cooed, turning to leave before she heard a roar from close by. Freezing in fear, she looked over her shoulder to see a barracuda-looking fish, that seemed three times her length, swimming towards her.
Eyes going wide, she began to swim like crazy back towards her pod. Hearing the aggressive fish still behind her, she looked around before finding a cave entrance in a rock face up ahead. She then looked back just in time to see the fish attempt to bite her legs. Pulling her feet away, she kicked the fish with both feet and propelled herself forward.
Getting to the cave, she quickly swam inside. As soon as she entered, she saw another path leading up. Diverting her course, she took the upwards path, only to find that it almost immediately led to a dead end.
"Oh, no," she gasped, turning around to take the other path.
As she did, the fish stuck its mouth in the cave and tried to get at the pegasus in the smaller passage. The mare did her best to keep her feet away from the gnashing teeth.
SNAP SNAP
The jaws opened and slammed shut inches from her feet. Tears began to fill her eyes as she very much feared for her life. To make matters worse, she heard that unwelcome warning message once more: "60 seconds of oxygen remaining."
Panting heavily from fright, she looked around. Then, something caught her eye. Past the jaws of the carnivorous fish was another plant that held the explosive fish from before. Looking at the seed in her hands, she had an idea. She waited until the fish took a break from trying to bit her. When it pulled back to make an attempt to ram its mouth deeper into the cave, Fluttershy shoved the seed as hard as she could at the plant before quickly backing away.
Watching the seed move closer and closer to the plant, she let out a gasp as he jaws of the barracuda fish returned, this time centimeters away from her feet. Whimpering, she watched the seed get closer and closer to the plant before it lightly tapped it. When it did, another boom boom fish came out and began to swim towards her.
The bigger fish pulled back once more, getting ready to attempt to finally catch its meal. When it did, Fluttershy kept her eyes on it. As the smaller fish came closer and the larger fish started its attack again, Fluttershy grabbed the explosive fish and moved it in the path of the larger fish's jaws.
Pulling her hand away just in time, the big fish clamped its jaws down on the small fish, causing a small explosion. Fluttershy let out a yelp as she was thrown back against the rock. The barracuda-like fish let out a roar and pulled back, finally swimming away.
As soon as it left, Fluttershy scrambled out of her little hole and grabbed the seed. Panting and whimpering, she quickly and sloppily swam back towards the pod. Legs feeling weak, she heard another warning message: "30 seconds of oxygen remaining."
Actually starting to cry now, the mare ignored the pain in her legs and pushed herself to swim further and further. Soon, she started to find it hard to breathe.
"No... No..." she whimpered, starting to wheeze.
Her vision began to darken as she neared the pod. Continuing to push herself, she finally made it back to the pod. Opening the hatch, she threw the seed in and climbed in. Once inside the pod, she pulled off the helmet and inhaled deeply. Dropping to her knees, she soon collapsed and just cried.
Breathing heavily and sobbing from her near-death experience, the mare just stayed on the floor, thankful to still be alive.
"Get in!" A purple mare yelled.
The yellow mare shook her head worriedly when there was another explosion.
KA-BOOM!
Both mares gasped and ducked, bracing themselves in case anything fell on them. As they started to stumble, a large pipe crashed in front of them, knocking the yellow mare into a life pod. As she fell, she hit her head on the ladder and landed hard on her legs, instantly dropping to the floor. As she lay there, her vision became blurry, and she felt like she was about to pass out. Looking up out of the pod, she saw the purple mare with her hand on the hatch.
"Are you okay?!" She asked, looking very concerned. Nodding, Fluttershy slowly closed her eyes. "I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN!!!" The purple mare yelled, before closing the hatch.
DAY 2
Fluttershy awoke on the floor, body aching and wondering why she told the purple mare that she was okay. If she hadn't, would she have company right now? Was it so important that the mare stay behind? And, did she make it off the Shimmering Sun? If she didn't, then she would have perished when the ship crashed on this planet.
Getting up and stretching, Fluttershy limped over to the window and looked out at the large ship in the distance. Determined to get there by any means necessary, Shy took a deep breath and headed over to the hatch. Sitting down, she picked up her helmet and put it on. Once she was suited up, she opened the lower hatch and dropped down into the water. She knew she needed water and, once she checked her PDA, she found out that she could convert a bladderfish into drinkable water. If she found the right materials, she could make a water purifier, but that was far too advanced for her now.
“Oh, boy,” she muttered, before she saw a bladderfish swim by. “No hard feelings, little guy,” she said, more to herself than the fish.
After a few swipes, she managed to grab the fish with both hands. It wiggled and tried to free itself but Fluttershy managed to keep hold of it and brought it back inside the pod.
After tossing it in the fabricator, she looked away as the device started to convert the living fish into drinkable water. She heard it flapping inside the machine until it went silent. The fabricator then whirred to life as it began crashing a water bottle. When it was done, Fluttershy took the bottle and looked it over.
“Convenient,” she muttered, before holding the water close to her chest. “I’m sorry, little guy.”
After taking a moment of silence for the fallen fish, Fluttershy opened her PDA and looked up the repair tool again.
“Silicone rubber, cave sulfur, and titanium,” She read aloud. “And, to get the silicone, I need a creepvine seed cluster,” she finished, before looking down at the seed cluster she had dropped earlier. “At least I have you. Now, I just need sulfur and titanium.”
The pegasus got suited up again and dropped back down into the water. She deduced that she could find sulfur with the boom boom fish. Sighing, she looked at the water bottle in her hand. After slipping it into a holster on her left hip, she started swimming back to where she was attacked.
“You can do this, Fluttershy,” she told herself to try and boost confidence. “Just… whack the fish away and reach into the flower. No big deal.”
She soon came upon the cave where she was attacked. Looking around, she didn’t see the big monster fish anywhere. After going to the surface for some air, she dove back down and headed into the cave. She spotted the flower that the fish had come out of. Luckily, it was still empty. She saw up to it and reached inside. Smiling, she pulled out what looked like sulfur.
“Bingo,” she said triumphantly, before she heard the roar of the large fish in the distance. Her eyes went wide and she quickly moved to one of the cave entrances. Looking out, she could see it in the far distance. “Alright, you just… stay over there, you big meanie.”
She then left the cave and was about to head back when she spotted a metal plate resting on the ocean floor. Figuring it’d be useful, she swam down to grab it. It was too big to put in her pack, so she just held onto it.
“Time to head back,” she told herself, before she heard the roar again, this time sounding closer.
Without hesitation, she quickly made a bee-line back to her pod. Once she was safely on board, she used the fabricator to create a repair tool. It looked like a makeshift blowtorch. When she was finished fabricating the tool, she popped a battery in and turned it on.
"Alright..." she said aloud to herself. "Here goes nothing." She went over to the radio and stopped, trying to think back to her training. Everything was still a haze and she let out a sigh, unable to remember. She let out a sigh of defeat and put the tool in her Pod's storage compartment. "Worth a try," she muttered to herself, hoping she'd soon remember how to repair the radio.
The pegasus sat on her butt and reached over to grab her water from her pants. “I may have to drink you soon, little guy. No hard feelings, right?” She then held the bottle to her ear. “It’s perfectly fine,” she answered in a mock voice. Her smile soon faded as as she let out a sigh, feeling lonely.
DAY 3
The next day, Fluttershy found out how to make a bar of soap and got to work. She stripped all the way down and closed her eyes. After dropping down into the water, she resurfaced and opened her eyes.
As she rubbed the soap all over her body, she looked out at the Shimmering Sun. There was no sign of life on board. Had everyone else managed to get off and arrive safely on board their sister ship? Or were they all dead? Were some dead? Would she find bodies on board? She suddenly felt a wave of determination. Even if there were dead bodies on board, she knew it was now her duty to bring them home.
Once she was done washing up, she climbed up the ladder on the side of the pod and sat on the roof. Normally, she’d be too shy to sit in plain view while naked but there was no one else here. In fact, she’d feel relief over embarrassment if someone came by.
As the sun dried her off, another question entered her mind: Why did she escape the ship in an exploration pod and not an escape pod?
DAY 4
The day after her much-needed bath, Fluttershy went to work searching the ocean floor for these things called Seaglide Fragments. Apparently, if she can find a few broken Seaglides, her fabricator can synthesize a new one.
Her journey brought her to the edge of the Creepvine Forest where she encountered the barracuda fish. At the very edge, she saw what appeared to be an underwater propellant of some kind. Swimming closer, she deduced that it was, in fact, a broken Seaglide.
Moving closer, she scanned it. The screen read Seaglide fragment scanned. 2 more needed for synthesis. Fluttershy looked out over the drop-off. It was another good 20ft to the bottom. If the fragments weren’t there, she’d be risking drowning over nothing. She then also heard the roar of the monster fish again.
“Oh, no,” she whimpered.
Normally, she'd turn back. But, she had a mission. She had to take the risk. She surfaced for air before diving back down. As she swam deeper, the creepvines came closer and closer. The large fish was still quite far away but she knew that it could be on her in a matter of seconds. A plan formed in her head: scan one and resurface.
She went lower and lower, quickly reaching the limit of her suit. She kept going, though, watching her air meter deplete faster. When she got to the bottom, her tank was at 65%. She held her breath while she looked around, which seemed to slow down her oxygen’s depletion.
At first, she didn’t see anything. But after a few glances around the area she saw saw a fragment half-buried near a coral tube. Delighted, she swam over to it and scanned it. So far, so good.
“Oxygen at 50%.”
She knew it took 15% to get down her so she had until 15% before she had to swim back up. She took a few slow and steady breaths before she held the air in her lungs again. As she swam further, she saw the long fish in the distance. It was closer. The mare ducked into the coral tube to keep out of sight. Even though it was big enough for the long fish to fit in and maybe navigate it, Fluttershy figured it wouldn’t try as it didn’t seem capable of backing up.
The inside walls of the coral tube were lined with outcrops and coral fragments. The mare swam over to a few of them and mined them for resources, which she then stuck in her pack. She was about to head out when she saw a Seaglide fragment near the other end of the tube.
Squee-ing with glee, the mare swam over to it to scan it when the long fish began to swim by the entrance. Fluttershy gasped and backed away, pressing herself against the wall to lower her exposure. The fish didn’t seem to notice her as it kept swimming by. However, it began to swim around this exact area.
Fluttershy could see the shadow of the fish near where the fragment was. She’d have to time this right, or she was most likely going to die. Her oxygen was only at 40% now so she had to hurry. She cautiously made her way towards the end, being sure to keep her eye out for the fish. She took another breath before holding it in, holding up her scanner. The fragment was a couple feet away now, so she held out her arm in hopes she was close enough. Luckily, she was. She held the trigger as the device began scanning. The second the scanner began making noise, the fish became alerted to her presence once again.
Fluttershy let out a gasp when she saw the large fish turn towards her and begin its quick approach. The pegasus began to breathe quickly as her scanner beeped to tell her it was finished. The fish opened its large jaws, ready to bite its prey. Thinking quickly, Fluttershy grabbed a nearby piece of coral sticking out of the wall of the coral tube and pulled herself away from the attack. When the fish's jaws snapped shut, Fluttershy kicked off of it and began to frantically swim away. The fish snapped at her a few more times, just missing her flippers, before she pulled herself through a small hole in the side of the tube. To her luck, the fish couldn't fit through and ended up getting its mouth stuck. The frightened pegasus began to frantically swim back towards her pod.
“Oxygen at 25%.”
"Oh, shut up!" Fluttershy squeaked at her suit's AI. She looked over her shoulder to see the fish pull free from the small hole and exit the tube. However, it seemed to be giving up the chase. Relieved, Fluttershy returned her attention to the pod.
“Oxygen at 10%.”
Fluttershy kicked harder, her limbs feeling sore from her daring escape and frantic paddling. She knew this would be a close call, but the pod was indeed getting closer and closer. So, all she had to do was keep moving. When she was about a few feet from the pod, her oxygen meter depleted, and she started to gasp for air. She quickly opened the bottom hatch of the pod and climbed up inside. Quickly taking her helmet off, she collapsed on the floor and gasped for air. When her lungs were full enough, she rolled onto her stomach and reviewed her scanner. It had successfully acquired the necessary data for her fabricator to craft a Seaglide.
By nighttime, Fluttershy had retrieved all the required materials and had finished fabricating her Seaglide. She picked it up off the machine before the fabricator folded back up. She looked over her new vehicle and set it aside with a metallic clunk. She then got to her knees and just breathed. This was all still too much for her, but she was determined to get off this planet. Or, at the very least, call for help. Her eyes then fell on the broken radio in her pod. If only she could just remember how to fix it...
