By Terrarian Pony
WARNING: Content of this story may include violence, gore, romance, same gender romance, ponies, references to several video games, and possibly PINKIE PIE! If anypony is offended by any of the content listed above, than please turn back now. You have been warned.
Story:
Terrarian Pony presents...
Subponica
Chapter 2
Unknown Waters
...
"The horrific incident in Horseshoe Bay two weeks ago confirmed 30 injured, and 18 deaths. Details of what caused the event are scarce, as Baltimare PD are keeping quiet on the subject..."
The radio blared all across the coffee shop all day. Honestly, Sapphire thought was overkill to report on in for a whole two weeks. But then again, the media is famous for reporting on the exact same thing all the time. She was already depressed about the situation, as she was, in fact, witness to the event. She could still hear the screams of the ponies as the ship went down after the explosion. She dove in, attempting to rescue whoever she could. But she couldn't rescue everyone.
"Hey," one of her coworkers, Joe Schmo said, trying to cheer her up. "You did what you could. If you hadn't stepped in, those 18 deaths could have been much higher. You should feel good about that. And it's not like you were directly involved." He was a brown earth pony stallion, with a dark brown mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a coffee cup, and spoke in a low, but sweet voice.
"I know, Joe." Sapphire replied, sadly. "I just feel partially responsible. If I'd known..."
"But you didn't. And if anypony tries to pin this on you, you have ponies that'll stick up for you."
Sapphire couldn't help but smile a little, but she looked away to hide it.
"You got some good skills, Saph. And a good heart. Listen, I got a buddy from the Mercury Corporation, who says he's looking for a fast swimmer. Told him I knew somepony. Smart, capable, brave, and she has at least a dozen trophies for water athletics."
"A dozen and one," Sapphire said almost proudly, "but who's counting."
"Point is, I told him I'd ask. And guess what, sign up with him, you'll be working right next to that sweetheart of yours."
Sapphire was suddenly paying attention. "You mean Ruby?" she recomposed herself, trying not to look too excited. "I mean... well, what about this place? It'd probably fall apart without me."
Joe laughed. "Trust me, I think we'll manage. 'Sides, I know you're gonna take it, so let's skip the dramatics. I call my buddy up, tell him you can start immediately."
"Joe... thanks."
...
The life pod's radio began to send them there was another message, and Sapphire and Ruby listened to it. "Playing pre-recorded distress message." it said.
"This is Professor Blake of the Aurora crew Science Division! I'm stranded in life pod 4 and am in dire need of assistance! Something attacked the life pod, the floatation device has malfunctioned, and I am now at least 175 meters deep. My top hatch is blocked, and the bottom is jammed, and I am running low on oxygen. Please help!"
"Message corrupted, uploading signal coordinates to PDA." Jesse announced.
"Thanks Jesse." Sapphire said. "We should make O2 tanks."
"Who's Jesse?" Ruby asked, with a teasing grin.
"Oh, I just named my PDA Jesse." Sapphire said. "But we really should make oxygen tanks to go that deep. Hopefully Professor Blake is still there."
...
After making Mercury-branded standard O2 tanks, they set off towards the coordinates. It was at least quite a long ways south, but they felt prepared. Sapphire was reluctant to bring Ruby along with her, since she isn't a very fast swimmer, but Ruby reminded her that she is the only current medical pony they had, and that she remembers to check the healing potion fabricator regularly, unlike Sapphire. As they approached, the destination came right under them.
"You stay up here, and I'll go check for life signs." Sapphire said.
"No way! I-" Ruby began before Sapphire interrupted.
"Ruby, that life pod is nearly 200 meters deep. Going past 100 meters without a rebreather is a good way to deplete your oxygen quicker. Let the faster swimmer go on her own."
"Fine, but you better come back alive. With or without the professor."
"No matter what, I will live for you."
Sapphire kissed her on the cheek, and dove down towards the sunken life pod. As she descended, she saw she was headed into a ravine. She began to go deeper, and she past 100 meters.
"Warning passing 100 meters. Oxygen efficiency decreased." Jesse said.
She saw it was just like the professor said. The top hatch was blocked by one of the walls of the ravine, and when she tried open the bottom hatch, it was jammed shut. She went over to the front side of the life pod and saw a giant gapping hole in it. Whatever attacked the life pod got in, and since there was no professor to be found, she assumed he was gone now. However, she did manage to find an abandoned PDA inside the life pod, along with a healing potion. There was an audio message on the PDA, and she decided to listen to it as she ascended back up to the water's surface, her oxygen depleting quickly.
"It's hopeless..." She heard heavy breathing. "I've been waiting here for hours and no signs of help." In the background was intense roaring. "Ah yes, and then there's the hostile fauna. If they don't get me, the lack of oxygen will."
Sapphire finally reached the surface, and lifted her mask. "Well?" Ruby queried.
Sapphire shook her head. "The professor didn't make it. I think something ate him. There was a giant hole in the life pod he was trapped in."
"Dang." Ruby said, disappointed. "I was really hoping there were other survivors."
"It's still possible." Sapphire said, touching a wing to Ruby's shoulder. "There are other life pods out there. I know it."
...
"Hey Jesse, help me start a log." Sapphire whispered.
"Recording..."
"This is Sapphire, passenger of the Aurora crew. The Aurora crash landed on planet 4546B, which is a planet entirely filled with ocean as far as I can see. The reason for this tragidy is unknown at the moment, but our mission was to try and figure what happened to the Pegasee crew 10 years ago. Well, we have not seen any sign of the crew of the Pegasee. When my life pod landed here, I was alone for nearly a day and a half, but the days seem shorter on this planet. Eventually I found my marefriend, Ruby, and we've been surviving together for a few days. It's now day 3 on planet 4546B, and we've already managed to survive a leviathan class predator attack. Night time is approaching now, but we've finally got some scanner devices. We'll be using those tomorrow to research the local flora and fauna. This the end of my first recording. Sapphire out."
Sapphire ended the recording, and went to sleep, right next to Ruby, who not too long after, began to lean against her shoulder.
...
The mission was simple. Send the supplies to an alien planet, while attempting to avoid the civil war that was currently happening. The allies were the Vortans, which Ruby explained were wasp-like creatures, who's enemies were the Augulorans, which were like four armed mantis creatures, who were currently ahead in the war, that is, unless the supplies get to the Vortan Queen and her people on time.
"Remember, we're not trying to get into any combat." Ruby said. "We're just dropping off supplies and leaving."
Sapphire crossed her hooves unsatisfactorily. "I know." She said. "But wouldn't that give a bad impression?"
"They only asked for supplies." Ruby explained. "If they wanted an army, they would have asked for InfiniStar to bring a ship. Besides, I don't think they want our help too badly. The Vortans are a very proud race, but sometimes too proud for their own good."
"Then why not help them, anyways?"
"Because they'll take offense in that, then the Agulorians won't be our only enemies."
"That sucks."
"I know, but what other choice do we have. We can't help others who don't want to be helped."
The Aurora docked right next to a Vortan warehouse. The Vortans were waiting patiently for the supplies to arrive. The alien creatures in question were very bulky, wasp-like creatures. They seemed to click their insectoid mouths in order to communicate. It was a good thing Captain Katie, a yellow earth pony, with a brown mane, and a cutie mark of a pair of wings, and wearing a captain's uniform was carrying a translation device, specifically programmed to study the pattern of an alien language by simply hearing it, and interpreting what the alien is saying by spelling it out on the screen in Ponish. In this case, the Vortana speak using a certain number of clicks, seperating each set of clicks to make a sentence, sort of like morse code, but slightly different in context. As they approached the Vortan queen, one of the royal guards began clicking. As he did so, words appeared on the screen of the translation device.
"Our queen wishes to speak with your group leader."
"That would be me." Katie said. "I'm acting captain of the Aurora crew."
"You may proceed." the guard said cautiously. "No weapons. Approach with caution."
"Very well."
Katie began to walk towards the queen, who was slightly larger, and bulkier than the rest of her people. The captain bowed her head to her before speaking.
"Queen Ezpica." Katie said, bowing her head. "Your highness. My crew brings supplies, to aid you in this tragic war between yourself and the Augulorans. I hope this fight brings you good fortune."
"Your gifts will come in handy my friend." The queen stated with grateful chirping. "We will use them to end this war once and for all. As a sign of gratitude, I bring a gift of my own."
Queen Ezpica motioned for her servants to bring over a gold, Vortan dagger, which took the shape of a curved spike.
"We will humbly accept this gift, dear queen." Katie said, rising. "Thank you."
...
The next morning, Sapphire woke up to see Ruby sleeping in her lap like a puppy. She blushed bright red, trying not to move as to not ruin the sight. Sweet Celestia, she's so cute in this position! She thought to herself. Should I wake her? Or I could just let her stay there for a while longer. "No, as nice as that sounds, we got work to do." Sapphire began to gently shake Ruby's shoulder with a hoof. "Hey Rubes, time to wake up. Ruby, rise and shine."
Ruby's eyes began to open, and she let out a long yawn, as she began to stretch across Sapphire's lap. She then blushed seeing the position she was in. "O-oh. Hey Sapphire." she said. "I-is this uncomfortable?"
"No, heh." Sapphire said, blushing. "It's actually kinda nice. But as much as I would love to have you lie in my lap all day, purring like a kitten, we're still stranded on an ocean planet with very little amount of resources. I also want to research some of the local wildlife."
Ruby began to stand up from Sappire's lap, and trot around in a circle around the ladder to stretch her legs. "That sounds lovely." she said. "Did you bring your waterproof camera as well?"
"No, we aren't allowed." Sapphire remembered, sadly. "But we do have a camera on our PDAs. We can take pictures with those."
"Oh yeah. Who would have thought that such a small device would have so many functions?"
"Right?"
...
The two of them then went out. Sapphire found another Peeper, and decided to scan it. Scanning took a little long since it was an indigenous life form, though. She could only imagine what it would take to scan a leviathan class predator like the reaper. Now wouldn't that be a joy ride?
"Hey Ruby!" Sapphire said, getting the unicorn's attention. "I found a fragment for a seaglide! We can use the scanner device to make a blueprint from it's salvage."
"That's a bit concerning." Ruby thought aloud. "If it's made by the same company as our PDAs, shouldn't that blueprint already be in our PDA's database?"
"This is an alien planet, remember? I had to calebrate my PDA to scan the planet's materials to make a different blueprint from the original. Besides, most of the blueprints became corrupted after the crash."
"I mean, I guess that makes sense. I didn't know you were that tech-savvy."
"I got a part of the schematics for the sea glide, but the seaglide itself is so damaged, my PDA needs more info to go off of. I need more fragments to scan."
"Well then, let's..."
"30 seconds." Jesse interrupted
"Right. " Sapphire said. "Let's head up for air."
...
Eventually, they found another seaglide fragment to scan, and their PDAs made a full blueprint.
"Let's see," Ruby said, as they were checking inventory. "we need... a battery."
"Check." Sapphire announced.
"Lubricant."
"Check."
"Copper wire."
"Copper wire... uh..." Sapphire made an oops face, like she forgot something. "I think we need more copper."
"Last ingredient is titanium." Ruby said. "So it looks like all we need is copper wire."
"How many copper ores is that?"
"Just two for each of us."
"Be right back."
...
Sapphire came back with four copper ores, and some creepvines for food, which tasted terrible, but they weren't about to start eating fish either.
"I hate this stuff." Ruby commented. "Once we get back to our planet, I'm never taking fresh apples for granted again."
"I know, but this is survival." Sapphire said. "Aside from fish, this is the only thing remotely edible around here. I'm sure we can find something better soon."
Ruby sighed. "I know. I'm just a bit cranky, I want to go home."
"Me too." Sapphire agreed.
"I wish you didn't have to be stuck here with me."
"What do you mean?"
Ruby sighed again. "I told you this job was dangerous, but you wanted to come anyways. You should have stayed at that coffee shop. At least there, you'd be safe."
"Rubes, any job can be dangerous." Sapphire said. "I came here because I wanted us to be closer to each other at work. Besides, coffee is great and all, and you know I love a good coffee. But while you're away, it's a little harder to pay the bills."
"Oh, so you only keep me for my money." Ruby said, sticking her nose in the air, and crossing her fore hooves like a Canterlot pony. "I see how it is."
"Wha- no! I-..." Sapphire stammered before looking upon the unicorn's wide grin. "Your such a tease."
"You know you love me for it." Ruby chuckled.
"Yeah." Sapphire said. "Yeah, I do."
...
Ponies were unloading the cargo off of the Aurora now, using the new prawn suit vehicles that Simon invented. Some ponies, however, were getting agitated over the complex controls of the prawn suits, and one of the workers accidentally damaged the exterior of his mech.
"Hey!" Simon scolded. "Those prawn suits are hard to create! Be! Careful! Amateurs."
"This isn't as easy as you made it sound!" one of the confused workers said.
"Perhaps you weren't paying very good attention when I was showing you, now were you?" Simon replied.
"Put a sock in it, Simon!" another worker yelled. "You're always worried about your precious machines."
"Oh yeah, you spend twenty four hours a day for five days trying to simply draw a perfect schematic, and then spend eight days building it and see how you like it!" Simon yelled back.
"Chill Si." Sapphire said. "You're getting worked up over nothing."
"Ponies today just don't appreciate the art of mechanics." Simon grumbled.
Suddenly, there was a loud, screeching sound coming from Queen Ezpica, alerting everypony and every Vortan to see what she was screeching about. The Augulorans were here, and they were coming to assassinate the queen.
"They're heading for the queen!" Katie yelled.
Some ponies, and some of the prawn suit operators came aid, but five Augulorans blocked their path. The queen and the captain were trapped on the other side with all the Augulorans, and barely any troops to protect them. One of the prawn operators, Clover, a green earth pony mare, with a dark grey mane, and a cutie mark of a shield, stepped forward with her prawn suit.
"Are you kidding?" Clover yelled. "Lemme show you losers how overpowered technology like this works!"
"W-wait a minute!" Simon said. "Those prawn suits aren't yet ready for combat use!"
Clover threw a punch at one of the Augulorans, whom had caught the flying claw arm before impact, so she aimed lower, landing a painful blow. The mantis-like alien screamed, as it's brothers were being attacked as well. Clover smacked it in the face, and it collapsed on the ground. One of the Augulorans came directly towards the queen, smacking away her guards with ease. He raised his sharp spear, and threw it towards Queen Ezpsica. Clover caught it with the claw arm, just before it reached the queen, and threw it right back at it's owner, killing him in a single blow.
"Sorry your highness," Clover apologized. "I understand you have your pride and all, but we protect allies at any cost." Some of the larger, bulkier Augulorans began to attack Clover now, and she became overrun. "Captain! You and the queen get to safety! We and the Vortans will try to beat them off."
"Those aren't your orders!" Katie replied. "We aren't here to fight their battle!"
"I'm not." Clover yelled. "I'm acting in self defense, Captain."
Katie knew she was full of it, but she knew she couldn't change her mind. So she lead the queen away instead. One of the Augulorans managed to punch through the enamled glass protecting Clover inside the mech, and grabbed her.
"Clover, no!" Simon yelled. Simon threw his survival knife at the mantis creature's eye, and it screamed, dropping Clover. Simon went over and caught her in his hooves.
"S-simon." Clover said, surprised.
"You stupid girl!" Simon scolded. "We can't go anywhere without you trying to get yourself killed, can we? You and I are going to have harsh words later about that mech! Now come along!"
"That is an order, Clover!" Katie said. "The Vortans are winning. Get away, while I sort everything out with the queen."
Clover gave up. "Fine!"
...
In the middle of the night, Jesse had informed the two mares that a signal had been found. Sapphire woke up to hear it. A male voice came through.
"This is Morning Rise, of trading ship Lunaray. Aurora, do you read? Over." There was a short pause, before the message continued. "Still nothing. These Mercury ships. They run out of engine grease, they send an SOS: you offer to help, they don't pick up. Aurora, I'm on the far side of the system, it's going to take more than a week to reach your position, do you still need our assistance? Over. I'll try them again tomorrow. See what the long-range scans pick up in the meantime. Dang charter's going to have us wasting our profit margin running errands for Mercury."
Sapphire ran over to wake up Ruby not even halfway through the message. They were surprised that a rescue ship was coming.
"I can't believe it!" Ruby yelled in excitement. "We might even finally get off this planet!"
"I can't wait for us to get back home!" said Sapphire, hopefully.
"It's official." Ruby declared. "When we get back there, we're taking a looooong vacation."
"Definitely!"
"Another distress signal found." Jesse said.
"Another message?" Sapphire said. "Maybe more survivors! Play it!"
They both listened to the message.
A small burst of static, and then the message played. "Incoming distress message from high-priority passenger --Katie Long. I said Katie! Why do I have to record this anyways?-- Patching in message."
That second voice was Katie Long, the captain of the Aurora crew. Her voice continued to go on the radio.
"This is Captain Katie Long of the Aurora crew. I'm in life pod 12, with two other passengers, Clover and Simon. We are doing everything we can to survive. There is... water, and creatures everywhere. Our life pod is afloat, for now, but underneath us seem to be some aggressive fauna. We're thinking of setting up at a nearby island, just west of here, but we are hoping to catch more survivors before we go, so we have a better chance of getting there. Please, if you can hear this, come meet us at our life pod, coordinates attached to this message. Bring your own supplies. Captain Long, out."
"Bleh." Sapphire said. "Simon and Clover, those goofballs again."
"Yeah, but did you hear that?" Ruby interrupted. "Captain Long is alive. We have to go after her. She can help us survive long enough until the Lunaray gets here."
Sapphire nodded. "You're right. Come on, we should be able to catch them if we go now."
"But it's the middle of the night. We won't be able to navigate through the ocean very well."
"So we can craft the seaglides to swim faster." Sapphire said, confidently. "They should have flashlights, and a deep sea mapper built into them, too. I gave Simon the idea myself."
"Y-yeah. Okay."
After making the seaglides using the fabricator, they departed from the life pod.
...
When they got close enough to see the life pod, all they saw was a wreckage of it. The life pod's floatation device was inoperable, and the hull was damaged, and there was a giant gaping hole in it, just like the last one, except this time, there was a body. Captain Long's. Ruby gasped, and hid her face in Sapphire's chest. There was fresh blood floating around the body, and it seemed like the captain had a leg wound, as well as a very large wound to the chest. Sapphire went closer to examine the body, as Ruby went to the surface so she didn't have to look at the gruesome scene. Sapphire saw the captain's PDA, which had a recording on it. She took the captain's hat, and placed it in her waterproof bag, then listened to the recording.
The first voice she heard was Clover's. "We aren't leaving you here, captain."
"You have to." Katie said. "I won't survive, even with these healing potions. Spare them for yourselves. Head to the island we saw."
"But"
"This isn't up for debate." Simon objected. "We have to go!"
"No! Not without the captain!"
"You have tremendous loyalty, Clover." Katie said. "I'm sorry I've never commended you on it before, but please, just this once. Listen to me, and go. That's an order."
"I..." Clover sighed. "Yes captain... I'm sorry to have failed you."
"No Clover." Katie said. "You have have done everything you could. And I am proud to have had you on my crew."
"Clover... come on." Simon urged, softly.
"You really think it'll carry two of us?" Clover asked.
"Your regular seaglide tows a mass of 80kg at over 30km/h." Simon said. "The power cell I rigged to this one should double that."
"You think there's something out there faster?"
"Oh, sure. And that's assuming it doesn't overload three meters from the lifepod."
"You're calm about this."
"I'm seeing the engineering problem. If I stop seeing the maths, I'll be terrified."
The recording ended. Sapphire reached the surface of the water, and saw Ruby lofting about. She placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Y-yeah..." Ruby answered.
"Katie said there is an island to the west. I found a PDA, with coordinates. Sun's rising. We should check it out, maybe Simon and Clover are there."
"Okay."
TO BE CONTINUED...