THE MAGIX: CHAPTER 11: Project Apocalypse

The next morning, Amber felt like a zombie. Her mane was a mess, her eyes were bloodshot, and her dizzy feet stumbled constantly. After waking from her dream, disturbing thoughts had worked their way into her head, each one worse than the last. What was the plan that had failed? Would Horus die? Is Rain a traitor? An AI in disguise? What if all of Harmony would be destroyed?
It had lasted a full 6 hours and kept Amber awake all night. She dragged her hooves as she staggered down the corridor to the dining hall. She passed the common room on her way there. There was Rain.
The mare was pulling her sheets off the couch she'd spent the night on. Amber stopped and stared intently at her, just waiting for her to turn around.
Rain turned to see Amber in the doorway, giving her a look that could kill. It was making her uncomfortable. "Um- good morning?" she mused, trying to keep things casual. "How long have you been standing there?"
Amber only intensified her stare. "I wouldn't be cleaning up so fast if I were you," she spat. "I'm not done with you yet."
And with that, the furious unicorn left. She continued down the hall, thoughts wandering. Why had Rain just exposed their existence like that? What had made her so desperate to make her tell an outsider? Amber didn't care why Rain had done it. She just hated her for it.
When Amber entered the dining hall, Horus was sitting there, alone. He had a cup of coffee in front of him, as usual. Celestia knows I need one, Amber thought.
" 'Morning," she mumbled as she stepped through the doorway. The unicorn began going through the motions of fixing herself breakfast.
Horus noticed how tired and distressed Amber's thoughts were. "Didn't sleep well?" he asked.
"No," Amber said flatly.
"Why's that, then?"
Amber didn't want to say it. Oh, yeah, Horus. I didn't sleep because I had a dream about you getting shot, captured, and maybe killed by agents. It might be a vision and you're probably going to die. Yeah, that would go over perfectly.
"I don't know," Amber lied. "I just couldn't. You?"
"I'm fine. It's you that I'm worried about."
Amber cocked her head to the side. "Why? There's nothing to worry about," she said.
"You and Rain aren't speaking."
Well, there went any attempt at covering up the truth.
Amber wanted to tell Horus everything. She wanted Rain's betrayal exposed and for her to get what she deserved, of course. But deep in her soul, Amber was hurt. It seemed in the beginning that she and Rain could have been friends, and this single mistake had killed everything. Horus was her confidante, the only pony she could trust completely, who wouldn't give up on her for anything. Amber wanted him to help her, give her advice, tell her something to make her feel better. She knew he always could. And now, she needed him more than ever.
She wanted to say it. She wanted to so badly it hurt. But she couldn't. Despite everything, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him what had happened.
"Um-" the unicorn stuttered, unsure of how to continue.
Horus looked at her expectantly. "Well?"
She could tell he wanted to help her. Honestly, so did she.
"I- I just don't want to talk about it," she sighed, sliding into the seat across from her mentor. "It's all really hard to explain. I'll get over it, I'm sure."
Horus gave her a look of deep understanding. "You sure you're okay? I heard you kicked Rain out last night."
"Horus, you know me. I let life throw whatever it wants at me, and I just let it roll off. No matter what happens, I'll be fine."
Horus smiled faintly. "If you insist. But if this gets any worse, and trust me, I'll know if it does, tell me about it. I hate to see you like this. I want to help you, Amber. If anything happens, I want you to talk to me. Alright?"
Amber nodded, smiling. "I will."

Of course, when Rain entered moments later, Amber automatically stood up, collected her tray and left. Rain stared after her for a second. Had this really gotten her friend so upset? She didn't want to think about it.
"'Morning, guys," she said casually to the three remaining ponies at the table, Spiro and Cherrybomb having recently joined the crowd in the dining hall.
Spiro was still looking down the hallway Amber had just left. "What's her problem?" he asked.
Rain felt a pang of guilt rise up in her chest. I can't tell them, she thought. Not now. She simply shrugged and said, "No idea." Trying to keep off the subject, Rain stayed silent as she fixed herself a bowl of cereal.
"So, Rain," Horus said the second she sat down. "How was your night on the couch?"
Rain choked. She quickly swallowed and gave an unsteady reply. "You- you knew about that?"
Spiro nodded. "We passed by you last night. You were sleeping in the common room. Amber kicked you out, huh?"
"Um, yeah. It's just- something's gotten her really upset, and I guess she just needed time alone- or something."
"Do you know what she's so worked up about?" Cherrybomb asked. Her big blue eyes begged Rain for an answer.
Don't say it. Whatever you do. Do. Not. Say. Anything.
"I don't know. She won't talk to me."
"That's funny," Horus commented. "She wouldn't tell me anything, either. Whatever this is, it must be serious. I've never seen her so estranged before."
"I- I'm sure she'll be okay," Rain stammered, ending the conversation. "So, um- where's Neon?" the pegasus continued, desperate to change the subject. Saph always slept in and missed breakfast. Neon, however, was oddly absent from the dining hall.
"In his room," Spiro replied flatly. "He's been holed up in there forever. I tried to get him up, but, no. I wonder what's up with him. He's been all weird lately."
Horus quickly disguised a knowing smile.

This wasn't a typical morning. Neon wasn't sure how he knew. He just did. He felt different. Everything did. And Rain was the reason. She'd been right the night Misty died. Everything had changed since she'd arrived, but not in the way she'd thought. Neon hadn't been able to sleep. All he could think about was her. Now, here he was, still sprawled in the haphazard nest of dark gray sheets on his bed. He couldn't get up now, but he knew he'd have to eventually. Neon dragged himself out of the tangle of sheets, through his dorm room door and out into the hallway. This was nothing that coffee couldn't fix, right?

By the time Neon was finally up, it was almost noon. The rest of the crew was gathered in the holodeck, called to an emergency meeting by Horus. When Neon entered, everypony fell silent. They'd been waiting for him for a while.
The dark pegasus slid onto one of the jack chairs next to Rain. She cast him a sideways glance, tucked her wings and shifted over, careful not to touch him. Neon had been right. She still doesn't know. And now she's afraid of me.
Neon quickly tore his attention away from Rain and toward the control panel, where Horus, Saph, and Spiro were positioned. Horus began the message. "I'm sure you all remember the mission from a few days ago. The portion of the file we've managed to get a hold of was successfully sent and is now stored in our mainframe computer. However, Spiro and I decoded the files last night, and I'm afraid we have some shocking news. Spiro, open the file."
"Got it." Spiro pulled up the mainframe memory folder and opened the hacked file. The streams of programming code appeared.
"We found that the files contained programming software," Horus began. "At first, it didn't make sense, but after further investigation, we think we've found out what it may be meant for. This software can be used to reprogram a fully-functional mind. And not that of an AI. Spiro and I believe that this program was meant to be uploaded to a pony's brain."
Spiro continued. "From what we've got, we can't tell exactly what this is going to be used for. We can only guess. But if we're right, it could spell disaster. If this gets uploaded, a pony could be turned into a weapon, have their entire consciousness erased, or even be re-assimilated into the Magix. This software could mean anything."
Amber spoke up. "How do you know all this? I mean, how did you figure all that out just by looking at the code? Are you sure this information is accurate?"
"It wasn't just the file," Saph said. "The code patterns are almost the exact same ones that had caused the spike in activity. They have to have had something to do with it."
"Not only that," Spiro added, "but we couldn't find any other use for the software. It has to be some sort of attack."
"How can you be sure?" Rain asked.
"There is a way for us to find out more," Horus explained. He smiled at Spiro. "Tell them."
The techie unicorn grinned back at his captain. "I'd be happy to." He closed out of the hacked file. The memory menu reappeared.
"Okay," he started off. "I know this is really sudden, and we haven't had much time to plan this out. But this could be a life-or-death situation, and we need to act fast. I just may have the answer to our problems. Just so you know, I came up with this plan a long time ago. It's pretty drastic, very risky, and a really, really crazy idea. I know how it sounds, but I just want you to listen before you say anything." Spiro turned around in the swivel chair to face the crew. "This is an extremely out-of-line plan and should be used in extreme cases only. This is exactly what I've been saving it for. I call it..." He tapped the touch screen, opening the file. "Project Apocalypse."
The file loaded onto the screen. A newly-added blueprint of the database appeared, along with side notes, instructions, and the steps of the strategy. There was a map of the computer network, and what appeared to be the design for a time bomb.
"This is the layout," Spiro said, gesturing to the file spread across the monitor. "It contains everything you'll need to carry out your mission. Basically, it's a total raid and partial destruction of the database. It's the only way we could possibly get the full information out of the files and destroy the threat before it breaks out."
"Okay, one question," Neon cut in. "So the plan is to break into the database, hack everything, and then just destroy it all?"
"Well, to put it bluntly, yes."
"Yeah, sounds like a great plan... if you're freaking suicidal."
"Face it, Spiro," Amber said. "A plan like this is completely insane. There's no way this could work."
"Patience, Amber," Horus said, ending the commentary. "You haven't heard the rest." He nodded to Spiro, telling him to continue.
"Actually," Spiro went on, "Neon's synopsis is right. Just not that straightforward. First step: the crew splits up into teams of two, each with a different destination. One heads for the database control room, the other for the central database computer, just like on our last mission.
A-team breaks in and heads for the control room, which is located in the basement. This is where all the controls for the electricity, the air ducts, the computer and security network, and just about everything else is housed. First item on the list: disable security. Take out the ponies who are manning the control room. Get to the controls for any cameras, motion detectors, alarms, anything that might blow B-team's cover and shut them down. Once you've finished, contact the others and tell them to continue their part of the mission." The file presentation moved, scrolled and spun as Spiro described his plan, corresponding with his words. "By now, B-team should be in the clear. They break in through the front entrance. Security will no longer be an issue. Pony guards will be patrolling the front entrance and be posted at certain intervals. The security will be on high alert after our first attempt, but that's something I know you can handle. B-team is in, they head straight for the central computer, taking whatever means necessary to get there safely. You'll probably have to track it down again. They might have moved it after last time.
Meanwhile, A-team stays in the control room. You will be downloaded a messenger bag containing this prototype." The image of the time bomb highlighted and maximized.
"This is called a double-take cyberbomb. Cherry and I designed it."
The youngest crew member grinned proudly. "Well, it is my special talent."
Rain laughed. "No way! You're a pyro?"
"Better believe it," Spiro said, flashing a smile. He continued with his explanation. "Okay, how this thing works is that it brings on two attacks. The first is computer-based and the second is the actual explosion that most sensible bombs use. A-team opens the control panel for the computer network and connects the bomb. I'll walk you through it when we get there. Enter the activation code. The bomb will shoot an electric signal through the wires, shorting out and disrupting the entire network. Then the clock will start.
B-team will have hacked the central computer and gotten as much information out of it as possible. When the computer shorts out, they will have a three-minute clear before detonation. By then, any hacked files will have been sent to the ship's mainframe. The crew makes their escape and the bomb goes off in a moderate-scale explosion. It'll take out the control room, basement, and probably part of the first floor of the building, getting rid of any evidence of our break-in and making repairing the network impossible. The explosion won't destroy the database completely, but it will create a huge distraction. The two teams should be able to escape in the confusion. We'll have the files, their network will be out, and if there is a threat, we'll have enough time to organize an attack and take them down."
A long silence followed as the crew absorbed the information. It was finally broken by Amber.
"Wow," she murmured. "You came up with this... when?"
"About a year ago. No idea why. I guess fate seals itself."
"I guess this 'Project Apocalypse' isn't so suicidal after all."
"Still really risky," Neon added. "But it sounds just crazy enough to work."
"It doesn't matter whether the plan is completely illogical or not," Horus cut in, quieting the rest of the crew. "This is an emergency. We don't have a choice. This is all we've got. If any action is to be taken, it will have to be this."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Amber said.
"Yeah. If there is a threat, we have to stop it somehow," Neon agreed.
Rain nodded. "We have to do something."
Horus did a quick scan of his crew's thoughts. Everypony seemed to agree. "That settles it, then," he said definitively. "Project Apocalypse is officially in motion. We begin this time tomorrow. Spiro will give us a recap, then we enter and attack. Meeting dismissed."
The crew collectively got up from their places and left the holodeck. Horus stayed behind. He stood at the control panel, continuing to study the layout of the crew's latest mission. He didn't notice the a golden shadow slink across the room and shyly approach him.
"Horus?"
The captain turned around at the sound of Amber's voice. He thought he'd sensed another presence. "Amber. Is everything alright?"
His apprentice bit her lip and looked down at her hooves. "Yes, everything's... everything's fine, I just wanted to ask you something."
Horus saw the sadness hidden in the young unicorn's brown eyes. "Is this about what's going on between you and Rain?" Her thoughts were guarded. There was something she wasn't telling him.
"Um, yes... no... well, sort of. But not really. Look, it's... it's not that important."
"Then what is it?"
"Well, I... I was just wondering about something. If something happened to you... something bad... what would that mean for the rest of us?"
Horus sighed. "Honestly, Amber, it's something I try not to think about."
"I- I know. But it just crossed my mind, and I was thinking..."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, it's..." Amber stammered. Her voice grew soft, trembling as she spoke. "Horus, we need you here. This entire crew would never be the same without you, and if you were gone-" Her words cut off, leaving the sentence unfinished. The unicorn looked up at her mentor, her eyes glassy. Horus put his forelegs around her and hugged his apprentice tightly. He felt her shudder as a sob emerged.
"I won't be gone," Horus said to the mare in his arms as she strained to hold back tears. "I will never give out on this crew. You know how much you mean to me and I will do everything I possibly can to ensure that I will always be here."
Amber pulled away and looked at him, eyes glossed with tears. "Really?" she said, looking every bit like the scared teenage filly he once knew.
"I mean every word," Horus reassured her. "I will always be here. Never forget that."
"I won't," Amber promised. "Never."