Set up a shelter in the cargo bay and deal with the problem later 81%

“That’s exactly right,” Twilight agreed. “I know what to do. Order you to keep running. Fluttershy, get that shelter ready! We’re all going!”

“Ain’t a good idea,” Applejack argued, though not in the tone she might use if she were intending to disobey. “You need every second. We’re bein’ followed, don’t forget it.”

They arrived after a few minutes later. The ground hadn’t stopped shaking, and in fact Twilight had heard the distant roar of some of the smaller buildings out of sight toppling over as their supporting struts were compromised. Whatever was after them obviously hadn’t given up, as convenient as that would’ve been.

The replacement suit was already waiting outside, and the cargo bay was open. Somehow Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had managed to set up the shelter in just a few moments, so that neither of them were at work when they arrived.

“Alright. Node, with me into the cockpit. Applejack…” she levitated the replacement suit down at her hooves. I’m not leaving until I hear you’re aboard. Don’t argue.”

“Aye, cap.” She started stripping off the damaged suit right there, tearing through its compromised plastic with earth pony strength. “I’ll keep in touch.”

Twilight hurried up the ramp into the Prospector’s airlock, and spent a full minute standing there beside node as it cycled. The ground under the prospector shifted slightly, and she didn’t have to wonder about what might be causing that. “Node, can you shut that thing off?”

“No,” it didn’t hesitate to answer this time. It wasn’t looking out the external window, but standing directly in front of the internal airlock, holding still as they were sprayed with disinfectant and waiting for the cycle to complete. “I cannot… command it.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked. “It seemed like it was waiting for us. Like… going to that facility made it angry.”

Does node cooperate with Twilight? No.

The mobile probe had no head to shake, nor was it watching her. “This discussion is improperly timed. Disabling the CREATURE is beyond your technical ability, so knowing its nature is a waste of our time. We need only realize that it will not follow your spacecraft once you enter orbit. You should be free to land elsewhere without fear of it following you.”

Great.

Twilight might’ve threatened to leave Node behind if it didn’t answer, but then the internal door hissed open, and they stumbled in. She wasted no time, just hurried for the cockpit and began the pre-launch procedures. She couldn’t be that upset with Fluttershy for not taking care of it—she’d been setting up the shelter.

“I like your friend,” Pinkie Pie said, following them over to the chair and watching Node with unblinking eyes. “Very tall.”

Node didn’t respond, just sat itself down against one wall near the controls. It seemed to have switched into hibernation mode, because a few seconds later all the lights went out.

“Well now it’s not as tall.”

“But twice as annoying,” Twilight muttered, as the engines began to cycle in the rear of the ship. “Report, Applejack!”

“Just got aboard, cap. Didn’t put on the new suit—Fluttershy opened the darn cargo-bay anyway, so the whole thing is dirty. I just took it into the shelter with me in case. I need to move around the ship later. Honestly, I’m not as worried as I was about the whole thing. I’m not feelin’ sick er’ nothin’.”

“That’s just what I—”

Something burst through the ground in front of them, tearing up concrete and metal and lifting at least fifty meters into the sky. It roared like an animal, if an animal had interlocking rows of serrated metal teeth, and glowing orange flames from within.

“Hey, Fluttershy…” Twilight was awkward while still in her suit, but she was mostly using her horn anyway. “Don’t suppose you could calm that thing down?”

Fluttershy walked up beside her, stooping a little to peek around her and out the cockpit window. “Horsefeathers that’s big.” She frowned, brow furrowed in concentration. “It doesn’t look alive, umm…”

“Cap, I don’t mean to be a bother,” Applejack’s voice came from over the radio. “But that thing looks like it’s gonna…”

“I know!” Twilight smashed her hoof down on the close button for the cargo bay doors, then checked on the launch sequence. The engines had nearly cycled on, but that thing was so huge. Whoever built the ring must’ve built this. It looks like a similar design. Her scientific brain was not what she needed right now. But the prospector wasn’t a warship, and they’d have needed some serious hardware to stop something so large.

“I think maybe it’s after our heat,” Fluttershy said. “Maybe we could make something else warm? Distract it?”

“How about a mining explosive?” Came Applejack’s voice over the radio. “We got probes for that. Launch one… somewhere else. Maybe into the biggest building in range.”

Twilight didn’t take a second longer to think. “Pinkie Pie! You’re our miner—do it!”

Pinkie hesitated, eyes widening with panic. She glanced once at the mining console, and her legs twitched. Then she fell over sideways.

Can Pinkie Pie do it? Failure

“Buck me,” Twilight swore, nodding to Fluttershy. “Do it!”

Overhead, the creature had lifted another fifty meters or so, its jaws wide enough the it could bring them down on the whole prospector at once. It curved down towards them, bits of molten metal dribbling out of its mouth like spittle.

Twilight smashed her hoof into the navigation thrusters. Metal screeched and the Prospector’s docking stands tore off with a crack, as the craft slid along the highway, smashing through the central divider and trailing sparks the whole way.

A second later and the ship rocked slightly to port, as a trail of exhaust shot away from them.

Does the distraction work? Success

The worm hesitated, its mechanical attention turned towards a neighboring skyscraper as the flash of an explosive briefly washed out the heat of their engines.

The lights in front of Twilight finally went green, and she slammed on the throttle as far as it would go. They slid for a few seconds, with more painful metallic screeching, before they started to rise. The worm dove down on the skyscraper beside them, and they began to accelerate towards orbit.

Twilight had to choose her trajectory.

1. Stable Orbit, no destination. We need to figure out the Applejack situation and finally get some answers from Node before we move. We can hold the drone hostage until it talks.

2. Clear Ground. We need to get the crops into the ground. In a way, Applejack’s contamination can be a gift—she won’t need to wear any protection while she farms.

3. The Equinox. Node is going to help repair our ship whether it wants to or not.

(Certainty 200 required)

Author's Notes:

This chapter's poll!

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What you’re reading is a CYOA-style adventure story, fully driven by its user feedback. This story is written using a system called Mythic, a GM-simulator that allows me to be fully in the driver’s seat for the prose, without actually knowing what will happen next. Success or failure in this story is fully governed by the fickle hand of fate, as well as the wisdom of those who chose to vote on it.

You can go ahead and vote in older polls if you want, but obviously they won’t retroactively change the text going forward, so the links are left behind mostly because I’m lazy and as a record of previous decisions.

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