Catalyst, ch3. : Dilation

>You pull Rarity up, your front hoof going under her forelegs.  You're doing your best to keep the tears from your eyes as you look over her.  You had to drag her into your position,  her lower half ragdolled.
>The wound on her back is deep.  You see greasy, gray bone.  There is a gap between the connections of the spine, the lower vertebrae seperated from the hips. You only know the terms because in your panic, your AR vision began bringing up public medical knowledge from some hospital database because you were inadvertently searching for it.
>That didn't stop you from getting ill over it, though.
>”You know,” she says. “Red goes well with white, now that I look at it.”  She lifts a glistening, blood-speckled foreleg to look at it, tilting it this way and that.
“Yeah.” You laugh a little, sniffling. “Yeah, I guess it does.”
>You both look out the bulletproofed glass. The ablative layer had already been burnt from the explosion, adding a bizarre tint so dark all you can see are silhouettes.
>Outside, there is a set of very stoic, very well armed ponies. The only reason you know, is because in the few minutes of running for your lives, you quickly learned what their gear webbing sounded like when they galloped.
>One of them is working at the door you linked to, and overrode.  It's only taken them a few seconds to bypass most of what you knew how to do in order to seal it.  Which wasn't much.
>Your AR vision is showing the bypasses as they break through firewall layers. Three down. One to go.
>”You were very brave.” She says.
>You look down at her.  She's smiling the sweetest smile. Goddamnit Rarity.
>They were after you the whole time. Not her.
“Yeah.”
>Your voice shivers on each word.  She didn't need to die like this.
>It was worth a shot.
“I guess I was.”
>You cradle her smaller body at your chest, and roll, physically shielding her from the door as it opens.
–

>You're standing in “The Overlook,” they called it. Chairs all around, elevated, looking down upon the glassed-off medical enclosure.
>It was empty, save for Twilight and yourself.
>The enclosure was empty, save for Rarity and the Bio-Magic rep.  She'd been working for at least an hour.
“Twilight, I've told you everything I can.”
>You say it softly, as if speaking too loudly would disturb what was going inside. Despite the sickness it presented, you felt compelled to watch.
>The smell of blood came back, vividly.  You were not good at this interfacing thing when you panicked.  It saved the odor as a file, and brought it back to you whenever you looked at her wound.
“I don't even know half of the things that happened.”
>She remains silent.  She eyes you from the corner of her eye, still as any mannequin you've ever seen.
>”You need to calm down when I do this. And you need to trust me.”
“Your brother pulled my ass out of the fire, Twilight.  At least a dozen guards were slaughtered without a hitch.  I don't think it's an issue of trust.”
>”Then calm down.”
>You look at the device. She plugs it into one of the three jacks at the base of your skull. She pulls a wire, and plugs it into the jack on your spine.
> “Now focus.  Imagine it visually.”
“You really think I want to?”
>”If you don't, we won't catch them. This will happen again.”
>You sigh.
>”What happened after the stage?”
--

>The hallway.
>You were already familiar with the noises of those weapons, and their impacts on flesh.
>Their actual power, though.  That was something different entirely.
>”I know this place. Follow me!” Rarity said.  She sounded as if at a great distance, or muffled through water.
>And everything seemed so slow. Your body felt stiff, slogged down by the very air. The world was going by in perfect, sluggish clarity.
>The only security pony left on your side of the stage was at the doorway in which you left.
>You hear a yell, and see him slammed into the wall from a tackle by one of the Yellow-Clad, armed ponies.
>He moves like fluid, letting the momentum carry his assailant scalp-first into the wall.  He kicks forward with his forelegs and turns. While the other pony descends, stunned from lifting shove, he bucks upward with all the force you've yet seen from any pony.
>The yellow pony is falling, the full weight of the downward fall, combined with the full upward strike of the bucking stallion...
>You see that, too, in slow motion.  The jaw unhinges in the skull, and the wet “crunch,” ripples in your ears. The head snaps back, and so much force is behind it that the yellow pony hits the upper corner of the hallway, flung by her own head, before she crumples up lifelessly.
>It doesn't stop the security pony from turning and shooting.
>Double-tapping, you'd later discover they called it.
>It's then you see the yellow-clad stallion enter through the door. A beast, almost needing to crouch to enter.  He was in the same material as your protective detail, but had added plating across many points you could only assume were vital.
>And the helmet.  God, the eyes weren't natural.  It tinted the sclera black, and seemed to be viewed through a set of compound eyes.  It was like the face itself existed as the armor, the body woven from carbon fibers.
>The guns, too.  They weren't the normal ones.
>The other ponies bullets twanged atop him like spitballs, clinging to the shell before the yellow stallion opened fire.
>By that time, you and Rarity were around the corner.
>Instead of that ping, it was a loud “thump.” It was followed by a clack, and another thump.
>Alternating barrel shotgun harness, 10 gauge.  You'd discover what that was later, too.
>Rarity hit the floor at the first shot, and you followed suit. Her reaction was quick. Had she done this before?
>Some of the rounds penetrated the wall completely. You looked up to see the wall peppered with tiny, sizzling fletchettes that began to distort and ooze, as if melting.
>The hall had probably been a good ten feet long, the two of them at the door.
>You could see Twilight Firmware stallion glide to a stop, missing his foreleg, most of his face, and lacking anything to speak of in a stomach. His whole sections were pockmarked with holes oozing a silver liquid.
>Trot. Trot.
>Clink-clack.  The sound of the gear tapping the webbing.
>He was coming.
–

>Twilight was staring at the holographic image as you displayed it.
>”Wait, that was...”
>She squints at the screen, nosing up to it, before pulling back with a disgusted look.
>”That can't be right.”
“What do you mean?”
> ”No. It is.” She scrapes the floor with her hoof and snorts after another close glare. “That's 'Chitin' armor. Grown. The only ponies that have those are Bio-Magic's security stallions.”
“Fluttershy? But isn't she working on-”
>”Yeah.” Something blipped. You were able to hear her through the AR audio, as well as within the room.
>“I want two full security details at the overlook. One to protect Anon and myself, and one posted at the exit to the medical room. Fluttershy isn't leaving this building without answering some questions.”
>She looked back at you. She swallowed hard.
>That strong, researches facade was starting to wear thin; she wanted to see about as much as you wanted to recall it. “Keep going.”
–

>you and Rarity were up and moving before he made it halfway down the hall.
>then again, he wasn't making much effort. As if he were on some leisurely stroll.
>his voice arrived, sounding as if repeated by some chittering insect.
>He had to inhale heavily before speaking, and through the helm it was somehow a frightening and vicious noise that only pushed you to move faster.
>Like a wheezing, hungry predator was mocking the two of you.
>”Tortoise and the hare, my little friends.”
>A corner came.  The both of you scooted around it, and found yourself at a checkpoint. You saw the reinforced glass to your left, an observation room.  Before you was a hallway lined with buzzing metal, devices hidden within for detection.
>And you were at the mercy of three pairs of weapon barrels, shocked for only a moment before realizing they were wearing white.
>They hurried around you, facing the corner, and backed away while surrounding you in a protective triangle. One pulled a long, transparent, concave, retangular plate in front of himself. Your eyes tracked him as he stood it up, and latched it to his harness on either side. It stood stiffly in front of him, and he crouched, pulling tight to his bent front legs.
>Your later research into the whole scenario would mark it as a MKII Twilight Firmware riot shield, made for the deflection of medium velocity rounds.
>It was not, you would also learn, made for stopping fletchettes.
>You tried to tell him the other stallion had something different.  But at that time, you hadn't known what flechettes were.  Your attempt at a warning went ignored as panic, instead of simple ignorance.
>Trot. Trot.
>Clink-clack.
>You passed into the weapon detection hall, by the time he rounded the corner.
>Thump thump.
>The Riot Guard's shield absorbed some of the initial volley.  The rounds peppered his shield, sticking inside like a a dart hitting it's board. A spiderweb of cracks instantly formed, creating a network between the tightly spread projectile spray.
>You and Rarity were shoved down when the Guards realized what was about to happen.  They stood between you and the stallion.
>The shield, and it's wielder, erupted into several different pieces. First one, then the other.
>the moment what was left of him splattered to the ground, the remaining two let the bullets fly.
>And he laughed.
>The only thing that saved you was the fact that he had to reload. The last shells in the chambers were carefully aimed, turning the security ponies throats into a fine red cloud.
>He stopped to remove the empty barrel magazines from the hissing guns. He gripped one from the armored saddlebags, clicking each one into place.
–

>Twilight stopped you. “That doesn't make sense either.” She said.  “Those are LunaCorp weapons.”
“How can you tell?”
>She pointed to the paused recording. “See? Here and here.  They're mercury fletchettes.”
>Some of the fletchettes hadn't pierced the shield. They seemed to have... splattered.
>”The shells are batteries, they chill mercury until it's solid, and the pellets are accelerated by magnetics.  Sometimes they heat up from the friction in flight and revert back to liquid.”
“why would they do that?”
>”The mercury melts in the bloodstream. If you survive and the pellets lodge inside, you are instantly poisoned.”  She sighs again, shaking her head. “This is getting complicated. Nobody distributes technology like this randomly, these guys couldn't have picked up these things from different sources so quickly.”
“What do you mean?”
>”They weren't mercenaries or soldiers. They were civilians with mild training.  They organized hours before the event. The combination of weapons and armor would take... years.”
>She grits her teeth. “Keep going.”
–

>You and Rarity were already on the other side of the detection hall before he resumed his march. As you turned the corner, you found her stopping you after you had passed her.
>She peeked into the hall for several moments, her horn glowing, keeping you away from the corner.
>You were panting, partially winded. You never knew you could comfortably move so fast.
“You know he saw you.”
>”Of course.” She said. She had a look of concern on her face, gesturing with her head to follow before she took off.
>That was it. You knew at that moment she'd done this before.
“He should've taken your head off.”
>”Of course.” she said, without missing a beat. She barely seemed worried.
“Well why the fuck didn't he?!”
>”Because he's after yours.  Everyone and everything else is just in the way.”
>She stopped at the checkpoint entrance. She looked up at the top of the door, even though there was quite a lot of hallway left. Her horn glowed again.
>”Come on, you cheap piece of-”
“What the hell are you doing?!
>”Getting you safe.” she said.
“What about you?”
>She shrugged. “I've had a fabulous time alive, darling. No skin off my hooves.”  She smiled. “That's sweet of you, though.”
>Goddamnit Rarity.
>Klaxons sounded.  She let out a triumphant, gleeful cackle.
>You heard something slam, and moments later, her horn glow sparkled sharply. The door opened, and she hurried you inside.
>You were inside the checkpoint.  The armored, blast-reinforced checkpoint.
>Through the glass, you can see that the Stallion was trapped.  Thick, reinforced walls had slammed into place, after having detected his weaponry in the hall.
>Thump thump.
>Nothing happened.  Not a crack, dent, or fracture.
>She puffed her chest out.
>Clever girl...
>He looked back and forth. He reached down to a package on his armor. He stuck it to the door closest to the checkpoint hall, and it started to beep.
>Rarity went wide eyed.
“What's that.”
>”A satchel charge.”
>He trotted to the opposite side, non-chalantly waiting for the fuse to tick down.
>The glass suddenly grew black.  The explosion spilled, though dampened, into the hall.  Smoke filled the checkpoint room.
>Rarity climbed back to her hooves, using her teeth to tug you up by the shoulder of your suit. She went to move to the door.
>The stallion's girth pushed the two of you back inside, and he crouched into the door. His front half was crisped, the armor bubbling, and stinking immediately of burnt flesh.
>He stayed there, the gunbarrels swiveling to Rarity.
>There was hesitation. A slight movement as she moved to jump atop you and stop the rounds.
>He hadn't been aiming for a kill on her, for some reason. The fletchettes slammed into the wall, and you had a perfect view of the one that cleaved through her back.  It was the only bloody impact point.
>She screamed, her eyes wide in shock.  It turned to a whimper, and her weight was uncerimoniously pressed atop you.
>You looked up at the stallion, Rarity's head on your shoulder. The screeching in your ear.
>Everything seemed so slow.
>and at that point, you saw the access node.  The little blip on your AR. The one Rarity had used to get in.
>Four dots, security measures.
>You sent out the Twilight Firmwares VIP code for the showcase toward it.
>Your attention flittered to the specs of the door that listed on your AR. Maintenance details.
>Armored security door, © Twilight Firmware.
>300 pounds depleted uranium.
>Reinforced closure hydraulics.
>400 psi.
>Then, the prompt came up after the list had printed.
>Why that stallion hadn't fired in those seconds it took, you didn't know.
>Override safety measures? Y/N?
>Y.
>Engage lockdown? Y/N?
>Y.
--
>Twilight cringed at the sight.  You had, too.
>The door had shut almost instantly, the stallion half in, half out.
>He wheezed and gurgled and spit, crawling with his unbroken forleg before lying still. The door had crumpled the guns on his harness before cleaving him into ragged halves.
>All in holographic 1080p.
>She watched the rest of the scene. How you waited, and waited.
>How the blood pooled and encircled you and her. How you talked to Rarity, cradled her head and tapped her cheek when she started to drift, keeping her awake as best you could.
>How you held the hoof to the bullet wound, keeping pressure on it.
>”Does it look bad?” she'd ask.
>Twilight grimaced.
>You poke it in the recording. She barely responds, despite the fact it's a jagged wound as thick as a marker.
>It's only the upper half of her body that clenches in pain. You reapply pressure.
>Her legs don't move. Her tail is limp.
”No.”
>”Good.” she laughed. “I'd hate to have a scar.”
>You start to tear up again, outside the recording. Goddamnit Rarity.
>Twilight watches you roll as the door opens again, putting the mare below you.
>The purple pony looks at you, then down at the floor.
>The Celestia Conglomerate guards rustle into the room.
>The stallion you now know as her brother starts to give cool, calm orders, and peels you off your wounded compatriot.
>”Target secured. We need a medic here.”
>”Stop it.” Twilight says. “Just stop it there.”
>She leans down and puts a hoof to her head as the image pauses.
>"this whole thing doesn't make sense. There's so much garbled, sped up info."
>By now, her intolerance of it has you pretty pissed.
"Twilight. It's a direct ocular recording. It. Can't. Lie."
>"Anon, how long did the gunfight take?"
"I don't know. Ten, fifteen minutes?"
>She points to the edge of the hologram.
>The timer says otherwise.
>No. No, that can't be right.
>"Anon, that whole massacre didn't take more than thirty seconds."
"Adrenaline can do that."
>She shakes her head. "Not like that.  I'm going to run some calculations, but based on what you're showing me..."
>She pointed to the moment of the bypass.
>"Here. You need a 10ghz directly connected system for the speed at which you opened it.
>She pointed at you. "I had to slow the recording down to about a fourth to even see what you did."
>"and, you did it without a transmitter."
>You mind-hacked one of Twilight's firewalls?
>What the actual fuck.
>You hear Fluttershy.  Her voice can barely be gleaned over the intercom, so the AR adds subtitles as she speaks.
>”Um, I'm done.” she says. “I... I did what I could Twilight.  I'm so so sorry. I couldn't... I mean, there isn't...”
>Twilight stares at you. Fluttershy keeps trying ramble apologies.
“Don't look at me.  Bitch tried to have me killed.”
>She snorts. “Well.”
>Fluttershy has stopped by now. “Twilight?”
>“We'll get some answers about that, won't we.”