A patch of the floor sizzles with the stench of melting metal rising as thick slobber falls from the ceiling. Fluttershy and Slingshot slowly look up and see a multitude of red eyes looking down at them with its limbs and claws made up of twisted limbs, spiny bones, and strands of warped flesh. Bags of yellow puss and green acid pulse inside its thick rib cage, and acidic slobber drips from the fangs on its mouth, made from multiple twisted jaws.

Slingshot's beak hangs open and Fluttershy activates her helmet, and when the Uber Puker drops from the ceiling Fluttershy pushes Zephyr to the side while Slingshot flies away. The floor shakes from its landing, and its eyes focus on Fluttershy as it roars, spraying the area with thin streams of spit that burn everything they touch.

Fluttershy rolls to her hooves with her cutter activated and shoots a salvo of beams at the large Necromorph. The red beams cut into it, and it roars and pukes out a stream of acid that Fluttershy dives away from. The acid hits the tree and floor, bringing the floor to warp and peel apart, exposing soil and roots that quickly burn away while pieces of the tree dissolves in seconds.

“Zephyr! Stay back!” orders Fluttershy.

She shoots a few more beams at the creature and jumps out of the way of another stream of acid puke, and Slingshot swoops overhead and fires a slug into the Uber Puker. It shrieks and swipes at him, but he evades it and shoots another slug into it while Fluttershy keeps shooting it with her cutter. The Uber Puker roars and rushes towards Fluttershy, taking a swipe at her that rips out chunks of a tree she had been standing in front of before leaping out of the way. Splinters fly, and the tree falls over, shaking the floor with its impact, and Fluttershy scrambles to her hoofs and gallops away as the Uber Puker chases after her.

Each step from her makes her collection of wounds throb, and her throat feels like it is tearing as her breathing becomes ragged. She looks over her shoulder, and eeps and divers down as the Uber Puker slashes at her again, and while she is on the ground she rolls away as it pukes acid. She turns on her back and shoots a few more rounds from her cutter, aiming at the beast's ribs, and it screeches as the red lasers slice through its bone and pops one of its acid bags. The acid gushes out, and the Terrarium's dead flora burns away as the acid spreads and sinks into the soil.

The Uber Puker roars painfully and stumbles back, and Fluttershy gets on her hoofs, ejects the empty battery and is in the middle of reloading when something lands on her back, knocking her down to the ground. Then comes the fast pricks into her, and she screams in pain and rolls around as the Twitcher latches on to her.

Fluttershy rolls around until the Twitcher breaks loose, and then she punches it in the face and shoots off its leg and head with her cutter. While it wobbles around, stabbing the air without a target she turns her attention to the Uber Puker, but pales behind her helmet when she sees a swarm of Necromorphs rushing in from another broken door, from Slashers to Pukers, and Twitchers to Lurkers. Even Slingshot having an aerial battle with a Griffin Necromorph while a thestral-like Infector scurrying about on the ceiling, watching the scene unfold.

The Uber Puker sprays more acid at Fluttershy, and she registers the acid just in time to jump out of the way, leading to the headless Twitcher getting melted. It thrashes around as its flesh melts off, and Fluttershy gallops to the Uber Puker and slides underneath it, shooting more cutter beams along its underside as she goes. Bones break, bags pop, and the Uber Puker shrieks and thrashes as the mix of puss and acid falls with broken ribs. In hindsight, it was a dumb move since the spilling acid almost gets her, but with the acid bags out of the equation she will no longer have to worry about getting melted. Only stabbed or mauled like a normal victim.

As the Uber Puker thrashes and shotgun blasts ring out, Fluttershy staggers to her hoofs and whacks a Slasher that has run up to her, and as it stumbles away she turns and shoots a couple more Slashers before turning to her first target and shooting off its limbs and scythes.

Fluttershy ejects her battery and slips a new on in as a dead Griffin Necromorph lands near her, and more shotgun blasts echo in the room with the screams, shrieks, and roars of the Necromroph swarm. Then she suddenly goes airborne with a pain running along her thigh, and as she sails through the air she turns her body and braces herself for impact, hitting the upper portion of a tree and bouncing off the branches as she falls, taking broken wood with her. When she lands, she growls through her gritted teeth and tears flow down her face as a medical warning flashes on her cracked visor. Her thigh throbs, her heart is heavy and her throat stings as she crawls on the ground, watching with a hazy vision as the swarm rushes towards her or tries to reach Slingshot, who has taken a perch on one of the trees and is frantically reloading his shotgun.

“Hold on!” yells Slingshot, his voice muffled by the loud thumps in her ears.

Fluttershy pushes herself up, seething and panting, and switches to her rifle, firing bursts into the swarm while the Uber Puker stomps towards her with sluggish steps and leaving a trail of puss and blood in its wake.Some Necromorphs drop from her shooting, and she quickly detaches her rifle and switches it to the 180 mode.

“We only want what is best for you,” says the soft spoken stallion.

“Please don't be mad,” says the soft mare.

Fluttershy plants her rifle firmly in the ground, panting and glaring ahead at the swarm.

“But that was my dream,” says Fluttershy.

“You can have a better one with us,” says the stallion.

Fluttershy pulls the lever and the swarm is pushes back by the swiveling stream of bullets that tear into them.

“Praise the Great Marker! Unity is forever!” shouts the charismatic mare.

Fluttershy tosses her rifle aside and activates her shotgun, firing into the crowd which is now closer.

“Through you, the Convergence will come. Through you, we will be made whole,” says Seer Zaeem.

The Necromorphs jerk and collapse as the bullets tear into them, and right as the Uber Puker raises its massive claws, Slingshot zips by and snatches Fluttershy. The Uber Puker's claws rip into the dead soil, and it roars and furiously slashes at the tree Fluttershy hit, but they are safe in the air.

“That's twice, now,” says Slingshot with a relieved smile.

Fluttershy nods, but then her eye bulges and she points behind Slingshot. “Look out!”

Too late.

Slingshot gets rammed by a Griffin Necromorph and all three spiral to the ground, crashing hard and bouncing across the ground, kicking up dirt as they go. When they stop, Fluttershy activates her cutter, groggily gets on her hoofs and shoots the Necromorph while it tries to get up, and then the same Necromorph has its chest blown open by Slingshot, whose wing is now limp and covered in blood. The Griffin Necromorph struggles to stay up, but it stays down after a few more shots from the pair blow its body to pieces, and then Slingshot seethes and tries flexing his bloody wing.

“Oh no. Not good. Not good,” says Slingshot with tears in his eyes and chest heaving from hyperventilation. “I-I think its broken!”

“You'll be fine. We just have a few more left to go,” says Fluttershy as she shakily reloads her cutter and looks at the swarm and Uber Puker rushing towards them. “How much ammo do you have left?”

“Not enough. You?”

Fluttershy looks at her ammo count in her visor's HUD. “…Enough. Maybe… Hopefully…”

Before the swarm can reach them, a bright flash of light appears from the doorway near the gift shop, and a stream of bullets rip apart the Necromorphs in the back. The swarm and Uber Puker turn to the newcomer, and with a roar they rush towards them. As this happens, Fluttershy uses her body to help Slingshot walk, and they limp towards a tree and she eases him down,

“Zephyr!” calls Fluttershy.

“Yeah?” Zephyr pokes his head out from their tree, with most of his body hidden by the dead leaves.

“Stay by Slingshot. Keep him safe.”

Fluttershy looks at Slingshot and sees he still has the miniature warp battery, and she looks at her suit and sees she still has hers. Then she looks at her little team and offers a weak smile.

“I'll be back,” says Fluttershy.

Before they can say anything, Fluttershy gallops out of cover and runs towards the swarm, passing dead Necromorphs and watching as they chase someone through the Terrarium's dead forest. She slides to a stop, looks at the Uber Puker and unclips her miniature warp battery. She then takes a deep breath, coils her hoof, and chucks it as hard as she can towards the swarm. The glowing blue battery sails through the air, and while it is twirling, she pulls out her cutter and shoots at it.

Miss.

Miss.

Miss.

Miss.

Miss!

MISS!

When the battery lands, it bounces and rolls across the ground, near the swarm, and Fluttershy takes a deep breath and fires another shot.

There is a bright flash of white light, followed by a crackling of electricity that pulls on every cell in her body and starts dragging her forward. Fluttershy strains every part of her body to pull herself behind a tree, and she squeezes her eye shut as the bright light burns through her visor. The tree groans and snaps, plants burn, glass breaks, wind howls and an alarm rings out with emergency lights flashing for only a moment before popping. Then there is a loud POP that leaves Fluttershy's ears ringing... and after that is dead silence.

Fluttershy opens her eye and pokes her head around the corner, gasping when she sees the observation window has been covered with a layer of metal with jagged glass at its edges. The Terrarium itself is dark with only tiny pockets of light being made by sporadic rain of sparks, and there is a giant hole in the center with metal and pipes warped around its edges. The soil is also gone, the flowers and grass are no longer there and most of the trees have disappeared, save for a few that have toppled or somehow only came out crooked. The Necromorphs are also gone, and the gift shop is gutted. The Terrarium is just a hole in the ship now, and Fluttershy could not have asked for a more awesome kill. And now that the Uber Puker is dead...

“Zephyr? Zephyr!” calls Fluttershy with a racing heart and panic in her voice. “Slingshot!? Zephyr!? Anypony!?”

“Right here!” says Zephyr, poking his head up from behind a toppled tree while Slingshot walks out with his injured wing pressed against his side.

Fluttershy laughs with relief, gallops to Zephyr and hugs him, despite every her muscle and bone feeling like they are about to disconnect string by string. But she keeps hugging Zephyr tight, and after a few seconds lunges at Slingshot and gives him a tight bear hug, which surprises (and pains) him, and he awkwardly returns the hug.

“That was cool! You are far from the little sister I grew up with. Dare I say you grew a spine!” says Zephyr.

“Ha. Ha,” says Fluttershy as she releases Slingshot and glances at Zephyr.

“You've also gotten sassy. Sassyshy will be a good nickname for you.”

“I’m impressed. I never would have thought of using a warp battery as a bomb,” says Slingshot. “But how about the wing?”

Fluttershy smiles, and gently sits Slingshot down and he gives her his flashlight so she can inspect his wing. No doubt about it. It is broken.

“I'll have to make a splint and bandages until we find more medical foam,” says Fluttershy.

“The bridge should have medical supplies,”' says Slingshot, his voice strained. “Fuck, this hurts.”

“You’ll be fine. We’re almost at the bridge and then I’ll take care of you.”

“Aww~” coos Zephyr.

He is quickly punched for that.

“Did that just happen?” says the newcomer angrily, her heavy Ozark accent easily carried in the desolate remains of the Terrarium. “Who in the hell thought it was a good idea to detonate a warp battery!? We're trying to live, damn it!”

Fluttershy's ears perk and she retracts her helmet. She knows that voice!

“Applejack!” calls Fluttershy.

Fluttershy gallops towards Applejack with the help of the flashlight, and the engineer turns to Fluttershy, eyes widening and her hat still on her head. Her suit has seen better days, with the scratches, the patches and the blood, but that doesn't stop her from smiling and embracing Fluttershy, both laughing joyously while Slingshot looks at the pair with a smile of his own. When the two are done, Applejack pulls away and holds Fluttershy at hoof length, giving her a quick visual inspection.

“Oh, Fluttershy! You... Wow, look at you. I told you you'd be fine,” says Applejack.

Fluttershy's smile fades. “Yeah... But the others...”

Applejack's smile fades, too, and she lowers her head with her hat pressed against her barrel.

“I know, but none of that is your fault, or Dash's or the Captain's. None of us were prepare for this, but if we keep our heads on straight, we'll make it and we'll have a proper funeral for all of them when this over... Did you at least find your brother in all this mess?”

“I did!” Fluttershy points to Zephyr, smiling brightly. “Say 'Hi', Zephyr.”

Zephyr snorts and looks away. “Sorry, she's not my type.”

Smile gone. Glare engaged. “Zephyr!”

Applejack glances at Slingshot, and he offers a small shrug.

“I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name,” says Applejack.

“Slingshot. Rocky Slingshot,” says the griffin. “I'm a security officer... Are you real?”

“She is,” says Fluttershy.

“I can speak for myself,” chides Applejack. She looks at Slingshot, and offers her hoof, which he cautiously shakes with his arm extended as far as possible. “The name's Applejack. I'm from the UEG Rescue Division. I was supposed to repair a communications relay here and on the planet but that didn't work out too well.”

“What system are you from?”

“I'm from Sparkle Station. It’s in the Celestial Sisters System.”

Slingshot pulls away. “Odd.”

Applejack blinks. “Odd?”

“Odd that they would send someone from the Celestial Sisters System to fix the relay system when there are three more closer to us. And only one person, too. Really odd.”

“Hey, I ain't in charge of the schedule. They point, I fix. End of story.”

Slingshot nods slowly and lightly taps his shotgun's trigger guard, and Applejack's eyes flick between his gun and his eyes.

“Ya plan on using that on me?” asks Applejack.

“Depends... Do you want to be whole again?” asks Slingshot.

“Slingshot, that's enough,” says Fluttershy.

She butts her way between the two, giving both a sharp look.

“We have enough problems, and you two just met, so you shouldn't be fighting. Instead, you should be working together,” says Fluttershy. “Besides, we still need to get to the bridge so we can get to the others and get out of here.”

“Yeah, you're right.” Applejack takes a deep breath. “Well, next stop, the bridge.”

Slingshot nods. “We're close. We should be there in a few minutes if we don't get caught up in another mess.”

Suddenly, there is a loud whir and the sound of armor, flesh and bone breaking, and Slingshot's eyes bulge as he jerks forward with blood dripping out of his mouth. He wheezes, and Fluttershy and Applejack's eyes widen as Zephyr steps back.

“S-Slingshot,” stammers Fluttershy.

Slingshot collapses with a circular saw blade lodged in his back, and Fluttershy rushes to his side and holds his head on her lap.

“Slingshot!” Fluttershy presses her hoof against his neck, and then her ear against his beak, pulling back a moment later with tears flowing down her cheek. “No...”

“Troublemaker~ Troublemaker~ Troublemaker lived,” says Mama, her voice flowing from the broken doorway by the gift shop.

Fluttershy looks up, breathing tight and vision going red as Mama stares at her from the hallway, her eyes and horn glowing in the dark, which illuminate the teeth from her broad grin.

“Come, Troublemaker! Make Starry whole again!” says Mama.

Applejack shoots at Mama, but the bullets bounce harmlessly off her shield, covering her in ripples of green and red, and she shrieks and shoots a beam at the group. The beam streaks forward, and Applejack leaps out of the way, and Fluttershy rolls to the side while Zephyr dives for cover. The beam destroys a tree and sends burnt splinters twirling, and the tree snaps and falls over as Honey Creme steps out of the hallway, giggling and swaying in her steps with her gray mane hanging past her eyes and her tail flicking.

“What the hell was that!?” says Applejack, scrambling up and aiming her weapon at the unicorn.

“Applejack,” says Fluttershy. She stands up and narrows her eye on Mama. “Take Zephyr to the bridge.”

“What're ya gonna do?”

Fluttershy marches forward and activates her helmet and cutter.

“I'm going to kill her,” says Fluttershy.

Author's Note

Another rushed one because of reasons. Also, Fluttershy is scary when she's mad.