Discord Space

In the rush to find Plasma, Applejack had missed a lot of the chilling details that depicted Manehattan Tower's downfall. An audio log from one of the riot security guards mentioned the necromorph she had seen converting the dead bodies. On every wall, last letters to loved ones mixed in with disturbing mantras and delusions. It seemed rather surprising that even the high class of Equestria had their share of Chaotic ponies.

"I wish I could be there, because she is hungry... She never grows old. I don't think anypony could make sense of this." Applejack stopped paying attention to the writings after the first few minutes of walking. It didn't deter her younger companion from scanning the writings with her RIG's sensor. "Hey, Applejack. Will we be okay when we get back home? What if this spreads to Equestria, they tore through the defences here without much trouble at all."

Applejack paused to hide a wince cross her face. She didn't want to consider that possibility that everything she had done would be for nothing. "There's plenty of food at Sweet Acres. And while we farm the traditional way, we do have some-" Something ran across the corridor, roughly ten metres in front of them. The familiar three points of cyan light went up immediately.

Oddly enough, she was about to mention their investment in advanced security systems following the last changeling battle. That had made it all the way to Ponyville. Another battle awaited her here and now. Plasma's own weapon, the vacuum flame-thrower had a very short range, and from the look of it no fuel either. This was the moment she didn't want, having to show her how necromorphs went down.

"I swear, if this is you Twilight, you know I won't hesitate to fire. After what you did at the end of the war..." Against the faint light down at the other end of the corridor, she saw the familiar blade go up. Applejack didn't need a second hint, blasting off the limb with a single shot. "I told you I wouldn't hesitate!" Every other necromorph had made some attempt to crawl towards her when injured. This one didn't.

A muffled screech of pain came from that direction instead. It was a sound she hadn't heard before, at least not from any monster. Plasma recognized the sound immediately. "Applejack, is that really a... changeling?" Applejack wasn't taking any chances. She cautiously turned her headlamp on to light up a wounded changeling indeed. A nasty burn scar ran down its side where the blast had struck. Instead of screaming for help however, it deliberately buried its face into the floor to conceal any sound.

Applejack's jaw began to shudder. Sure, they were enemies on Equestria. But she had never actually shot a changeling herself, or any living pony for that matter. The way it acted, and the fact that it hadn't charged towards them aggressively. "Oh Celestia... It must've disguised itself as one of the slashers, to hide from them. I almost killed another living being, hiding like you were." Until then, she had come to accept the carnage around her. This was the splash of reality that woke her up to what she had become. A heartless pony, who merely shot anything that moved.

Plasma by then had moved to the changeling's side. It wore the typical RIG of their own race, a sleek nano-fibre suit that granted them invisibility, as well as making their changed forms harder to detect. "She's alive; I don't think the blast went deep, because you shot a false limb." She removed a tiny jar of somatic gel from her belt to rub into the wound. Changelings could regenerate from wounds over a matter of hours, but they didn't have that long.

"Okay, uh. Put her across my back, I've carried far heavier things. Once we're out in space, we can tend to the wound. The shuttle is pretty darn small, but there's enough room to lie her down comfortably." She still had a moment of discomfort over helping the insect pony. It was no different from any other pony trapped on the station though. Another survivor that needed help, and one who could be incredibly valuable in a fight. Numbers won the war for ponies, nothing more.

The changeling remained silent as Plasma used her kinesis to rest her on Applejack's back. RIGs weren't exactly known for their saddle comfort, the holster softened some of the weight at least. "It's okay, we're helping you." There was no struggle from their unexpected visitor, whether it was a sign of willing to trust them, or just pure spite neither pony could determine.

Carrying a pony around slowed their 'fifteen minute' journey down to a laboured trot. Ten years ago, before she joined the CEC Academy, she could have galloped with that weight. She wasn't breaking a sweat at least, that on top of her gain in weight would be a real embarrassment. "Y'know how the necromorphs can be melted down to make big ones, like the one I fought before? What if the big ones can break back off into pony shaped killers?"

She felt a jerk on her back. So the changeling could hear well enough to catch her jinx. "Fine, I'm sorry. It's just a little hard to stay optimistic when you've got lots of mutant ponies trying to stab you in the face." There were no further complaints until they lowered her onto the floor of the lift. Applejack recoiled from the snarl before grunting back. "I'll assume that you're upset at me for shooting you. For the record, it isn't a good idea to look like a necromorph when approaching armed survivors. Just be glad I didn't use the rocket launcher."

Plasma took the chance to examine her RIG more thoroughly in the meantime. "It doesn't protect against damage anywhere near as well as our designs. But it's definitely a lot lighter. You know, I heard rumours they were working on a prototype advanced suit up in the barracks. Sounded like they borrowed some ideas from our friend here on the design. But hey, I work with tools, what do I know."

The idea stuck in Applejack's head while the changeling was lifted onto her back again. Her security suit worked well enough, but she did have a few close calls. Maybe it would be a good idea to follow up on those rumours. A pain in her back from the extra weight reminded her of their situation. The walk from the lift to the small docking bay was far shorter than up above at least.

It took some time to work out how exactly Applejack's impression of letting the changeling lie on the floor would really work while moving. Eventually Plasma settled on lying her across two of the three seats in the back, leaving the last for herself. All the while, both had their fair share of snaps and other growls of displeasure from their new addition to the group.

"Strange, Discord hasn't said a single word since he vanished." Applejack covered her whisper with a few random checks before taking the shuttle out again. "So uh, you just going to remain silent on us? Again, I'm sorry I shot you. But there isn't much point in being enemies right now, is there? We have a huge problem to deal with, so are you going to help us, or just be a moody grump who is better off in an escape pod by herself?"

The head turn of defiance marked the end of the one-sided conversation. Plasma lurched as the shuttle pulled out of the docking bay back into space. Her time in small class craft was minimal. It then occurred to her that this was the first time she had been alone with Applejack since she found out about Air Head. Apart from the changeling of course, but she hadn't said anything, or threatened them directly.

"Applejack, about Air Head... I think you did the right thing. If you hadn't done it, I might've gone and joined him. It's just uh, you looked disturbed before. All that shouting at nothing, and the way you were talking over the radio." A long-winded sigh followed as the outer ring passed below them. The central spire filled the forward view as they continued to approach.

"Look I... I did what I had to. He was too far gone to save; it has nothing to do with my odd behaviour. Like I said, just a little hungry and tired." Oh, you're far more than that Applejack. You're insane. You're angry. You feel like you're burning up inside, waiting to explode. How long Applejack? How long until you just snap like a twig and go mental? How long until you go and cut Plasma's head off like you cut Air's off? Tell me Applejack! Tell us all!

An alarm went off as the shuttle passed by a piece of debris. Applejack recognized it as part of the large necromorph blown out of the repair bay. "Don't worry, just an arm. The patch job is on the other side anyway, we'll be fine." Would the changeling survive if the shuttle evacuated? Plasma's RIG was airtight, but she hadn't seen any sign of a foldout helmet on the nano suit.

"Arriving at Central Spire, Communications Level. Welcome." Applejack got herself out quickly to keep an eye on the changeling. She continued to remain silent, and avoided eye contact with both ponies. "Multiple RIG signals detected. Applejack, CEC Zero Gravity Engineer, Rank Six. Plasma Blast, CEC Tool Mechanics Specialist, Rank Five. Unidentified guest." Applejack groaned as she turned to look at the 'guest'. "Warning, unauthorized use of communication systems is strictly prohibited. Proceed with caution."

Plasma had carefully gotten out by then. "Great, should I stay here and keep her company? Or do you need me to do some fancy hacking again, like I did for that suit of yours?" A scoff came amidst sparks as the security system went into standby. Applejack leaned against an open panel in her moment of pride. "Fine, babysitting a grumpy changeling that you shot up sounds perfectly reasonable."

Applejack returned to the nearest computer screen. Most of the channels had gone offline as the necromorphs destroyed system after system. The main intercom and radio relays still worked; there was no reason that the government ring couldn't make announcements based on technical trouble. "I knew it. They were deliberately keeping silent to cover up what was going on at the medical deck."

"... and you're sure they were headed for the spire?" A voice, not the computer's voice. A genuine pony's voice. "We cannot afford to let her get near the Research Lab. You know what will happen in that case. Keep trying to stall her, we are so close to understanding..." The transmission ended. She didn't need to hear more. It only took a few sentences to recognize the voice, that particular way of speaking.

"Twilight... you bitch. You and your bucking inquisitive nature. You've gone too far this time; this makes the changeling war seem like nothing." Well done Applejack, you've worked out who is behind the disaster on this station. Now, it's time for you to complete the game. Find out what they are researching, and do what must be done. Applejack glanced down at her rocket launcher again. For a moment, she had begun to return to sanity. That moment was long gone now.