Chapter 13: Blue Fire and Grey Thunder
Chapter 13: Blue Fire and Grey Thunder
“Truth told, I’m surprised you made it out of there in one piece. You and your friends.”
Rain.
As I woke, the water of the clouds falling upon Hopeville was the first sound I could hear through the darkness of my closed eyes. It was light, nothing more than a gentle hiss as it fell to the earth, just as it had been on the return trip home with the Challenger caravan. But it was still there, all around… and this time I didn’t know what to think of it.
We had more than efficiently held our own against the more powerful and skilled Talon soldiers, but we had suffered losses of our own. Twenty casualties was the number that had been reported after the engagement with the Talon platoon, and another thirty guards had been sent to the clinic for treatment, immediately putting our new supply of healing potions and medicine to use. These twenty casualties we had taken were most unwelcome, and had brought with them a painful new wave of sorrow and mourning that cruelly struck the town, grief that I had partially shared. Specifically, I had learned that young Juniper, one of Hopeville’s foals that I had drawn and played kickball with days before, had lost her father in the fighting. I still remembered the cries of both her and her mother in the clinic, and as her foalsitter and friend, I had shed my own tears for the poor child, now fatherless just like me.
Because of the Talon Legion’s attack, we now only numbered around one hundred and forty, and Hopeville was now weakened even further. Along with these twenty deaths came the thirty injured who had survived the fight, and when I had been sent to the clinic to have my laser burn treated, I had recognized several others as Gracie and her assistants tended to them. Captain Saber was among the most severely wounded, our leader having been shot a total of eight times with what one of his sergeants identified as an assault carbine with armor-piercing rounds. When the battle at the north side of town had become a stalemate, neither side gaining or losing any ground, one Talon soldier had managed to sneak around undetected, and had caught the captain completely by surprise when he left cover. And yet, much to the surprise (and approval) of all of his subordinates, the buck continued to fight and lead, even with his terrible wounds, and hadn’t collapsed from his injuries until he made it to the clinic after the battle. Others that had been injured, but to a less severe degree, included two of Saber’s security sergeants as well as Shore, Joker, Daisy, and even Ivy who, though not participating in the initial fighting, had fended off a spirited Talon soldier when he entered the Hopeville Repair Shop where the foals had been hiding. For this, I was eternally grateful to the newcomer mare, as one such foal currently lay by my side, and I finally opened my eyes to the present as I remembered my baby brother.
The young colt was snuggled up tight against my right side, covered up to the neck by both my protective wing and the clean white blanket given to us from Challenger’s supply shipment. Through the other emotions I had been battling with in the aftermath of the fight, I had been very proud of him for what he had done after Hopeville was safe again. On his own initiative, he had returned to the clinic and had reunited with all of his friends to be with Juniper as she wept. Later on, he had gone to the injured ponies in the clinic and had personally thanked each of them for protecting Hopeville, including Joker, Daisy, Shore, and even myself. When words of doubt responded to his own words of gratitude, Blake had done his best to speak reassurances, telling the injured that they had done their best, and that because of them, Hopeville was still a town and still our home, our cherished and honorable home. And after speaking with each of the injured in person, Blake had remained at the clinic, volunteering to help Gracie by carrying potions and other supplies to her and her assistants when they were needed. He had worked in the clinic late into the night, eventually tiring himself out and allowing me to carry him to our new room in the City Hall. Now he was still fast asleep under the comfortable warmth our shared blanket provided us, and because of this, I stayed exactly where I was as I thought out the plan for the day.
I knew there was no way that I’d be leaving Hopeville today, and after the fight, two parts of my mind had been battling nonstop over whether or not to go to Buckley Air Force Base on the following day… or even at all. The situation for Hopeville was growing even more bleak, and I knew that everypony we had would be needed to keep the town defended and in order. Yet even after a full evening of private debate, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do regarding that Old World military base. On one side of the argument, I still firmly believed that there would be something of value within, and I was particularly hopeful that we might find more weapons to further fortify our home with. Equestrian military bases during the war were always well-stocked with arms and supplies, and should the base not have been looted over the course of one hundred and seventy-five years… which was an unfortunately strong possibility… anything inside would prove very helpful to Hopeville in the coming days. But there was still the other side of the case, the side in which the possibility of finding nothing, or worse, finding the base occupied by our enemies, was equal to the former. If this were to end up being the case, then Hopeville would be as it was now, with only Challenger to help us… there was still a lot to think about.
But presently, I knew that there were things I needed to do at home. First and foremost, I wanted to see all of my friends again, speak a few words with each of them and see how they were holding up. Then I wanted to check up with whoever was currently in charge and see what needed to be done around town. For today, I needed to be here and help the others, and that meant no flying off into the wasteland for any reason whatsoever. Though all I was intending to do was to scout out Buckley Air Force Base and not stay there for any extended period of time, the present situation required everypony in the community to be present in Hopeville and helping around town. I had to stay put.
Slowly, I unfurled my left wing to lift the blanket off of me and slip out with as little disturbance to my sleeping younger sibling as possible. Despite my effort though, he felt the shift in movement and the sudden lack of my other wing over his back, and as I wriggling out from under the blanket, he stirred to a drowsy state of consciousness with a tired groan. “Sorry for waking you up, Blake.” I spoke softly, rising to all fours and stretching.
“Nova? What are you doing?” came his drained response.
“I’ve got some things I need to take care of.” I explained, stepping around and facing him as he tried to look up at me with fully opened eyes; he was still quite exhausted from yesterday.
“You’re not leaving Hopeville are you?”
“No, of course not.” I answered, using a forehoof to nudge the edges of our new big blanket around him, tucking him in. “There’s just some small errands I need to tend to. I’ll be right outside when you’re ready to wake up.”
Blake yawned a big yawn, unsuccessfully trying to blink the sleep from his eyes. “But I’m… already awake.” he argued sleepily. “I wanna go with you.”
I giggled at his persistence as I finished tucking up the blanket around him, and I looked back at him to see his eyes already shut again as he fought to keep his head off of the floor; even in Hopeville, he battled against going to sleep, just like in Stable 181. “Blake,” I began, lovingly nuzzling him along the side of his face. “you’ve already done so much in just one night, and everyone’s grateful. I’m very proud of you for being so willing to help, and you’ll have more time to help today. But for now, you need to get some more rest. You’re still very tired.”
I felt him nuzzle weakly back against me, attempting to return my embrace before he nodded his tired reply. “Okay…”
As a final touch to Blake’s makeshift bed, I grabbed one of the corners of the blanket with my front teeth and carefully pulled it around, creating a small sort of makeshift pillow for my baby brother to rest his head. “Alright. Now you lay back down and sleep. I’ll see you outside when you wake up.” With a gentle nudge of my muzzle, I guided the young colt’s head to the pillow, and much to my amusement, he fell right to sleep as soon as he touched the fabric of the blanket, fully covering him to keep him warm and cozy. “I love you, baby brother.” I whispered, giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead before turning away, leaving the colt to his rest.
Our room, before the Last Day, was one of several small maintenance storage rooms on the City Hall’s second floor, and though it was indeed rather small, it was officially ours, the framed photo of my friends and I that hung on the wall making it so. The room was devoid of any furniture or miscellaneous supplies, and it held enough space for another one or two ponies to rest in comfortably should they need to. At present, all it held was Blake’s saddlebags and my own weapons and gear, all stashed in an organized row along one of the walls. For a moment, my eyes lingered over the weapons, long enough to remember that I had nearly lost Blue Fire’s Torch during yesterday’s battle. Fortunately, despite being thrown a fair distance by the missile launcher, the weapon had remained undamaged, and was now fully loaded and ready for use again… though after scoring my first headshot with it yesterday… I was uncertain if I really wanted to use it again. Seeing a kill through a rifle scope was… different… and worryingly so, especially since my very first kill looked back at me after he had already died…
I turned away from my equipment and stepped out into the hallway, unsurprisingly quiet and lacking any hoof traffic. Only occasionally did a voice of one of the other residents sound from within one of the City Hall’s many offices, and as I neared the staircase to the first floor itself, I froze at a familiar voice behind a closed and fully intact door. “Why did he have to go?” the high-pitched voice asked miserably, barely managing full words through wretched sobs. “It’s not fair…”
“No… no it isn’t fair.” an older mare replied soothingly as the younger broke into crying, sobs from the former joining the new round of stifled wailing that came from the latter.
“It shouldn’t have happened!!” the young filly cried pathetically. My ears pinned down, the pain in her words like a hot knife against me, and I bowed my head with a sad frown; poor Juniper.
As much as I wanted to comfort her, I knew that there was nothing I could do. At the moment, being with her mother was much more important than being with her foalsitter, and any interruption on my part would be most unwanted by the both of them. For a moment, I just closed my eyes, feeling sizzling anger in the back of my mind at the cruel fate that the Talons had stuck the poor filly with… that that griffin commander had stuck her with… and after a sigh, I continued onward down the stairs to the first floor.
The main entrance lobby of the City Hall held a number of sleeping ponies, all lined evenly along both walls while providing a lane of travel for anypony that was awake to move without waking the others. Following the open lane led me to the entrance, giving me a view of the mid-morning scenery. The cloud cover had returned in full, the thick grey blanket preventing any sunlight from leaking through this time around. The rain continued to gently drizzle, producing a sort of thin mist that surrounded the town and continued on into wasteland around it. Outside, Hopeville was utterly quiet, and the only ponies out and about were those of the morning watch, walking at a leisurely pace along the roads or patrolling the town perimeter; there was not one civilian attempting to enjoy the rain like yesterday.
Just on the road outside the entrance, the two Challenger caravan wagons and their brahmin teams were being inspected by the hired-in caravan guards; it didn’t take much to know that they would be heading out soon. I trotted around the front of the caravan, passing a good morning to some of the guards as I went, before I felt the hot breath of one of the brahmin brush over my side as it snorted, making me stop in momentary surprise. The eyes of one of the hardy beasts were watching me curiously as I went, and I couldn’t help but crack a small smile as I reached up to the left head of the creature, giving it a quick couple of gentle pats with my hoof before continuing along towards the Ministry of Peace Recruiting Center.
Out in the center of the courtyard, currently unoccupied by anypony, was the newest addition to our town armaments - the Talon platoon’s twenty millimeter flak gun. During the battle, Saber and his guards had managed to push back against the Talon forces with enough force to quickly kill off their flak gun crew and secure the weapon. Now, Hopeville had its own mobile heavy gun, something that would, if only slightly, ease the sting of our casualties. I looked over the weapon as I walked by, only a glance, before I continued forward, making my way across the courtyard before entering through the open door of the clinic.
I was greeted immediately by the occasional pained moan or grunt with some chatter mixed in. The relatively large main lobby held twenty patients, ten lined up along each wall and all of them resting on some of the blankets provided by Challenger’s shipment. Each blanket had created some sort of improvised mattress, stuffed with extra padding underneath that had been evened out to make relatively comfortable beds for the wounded to sleep on and recover.
At present, I could see as most of the wounded slept, while others cringed and squirmed restlessly, their injuries still paining them. One unicorn, a young white mare with a silvery mane and tail, was currently helping one of the wounded ponies drink a healing potion, offering words of encouragement to the guard buck as he slowly downed the whole bottle. “There you go.” she said with a gentle smile. “That foreleg’s looking much better today, so this should be the last potion that you’ll need to take. Another day of rest, and you should be able to start moving around normally again.”
“Excuse me?” I gently called to the nurse, getting her attention as she set the bottle down. “Is Gracie here? I’d like to talk to her for a moment if I could.”
“Oh, sure thing, Nova.” she answered with a half smile, looking over to the end of the lobby. “She’s just in the other room there. Go on ahead.”
I dipped my head in thanks before proceeding across the lobby, and I allowed another one of Gracie’s assistants, a vanilla-colored earth pony mare with a violet mane and tail, to pass the doorframe before I crossed into the M.O.P. building’s only other chamber. In this room, the remaining ten wounded ponies were settled on their own makeshift mattresses, all of them asleep except for one. Gracie was currently sitting in front of one of the mattresses, lifting away an empty healing potion bottle from Captain Saber as he lay his head back down, letting out a tired sigh. “Thank you Grace.” he said hoarsely.
“Certainly captain.” came her reply, the two words etched with concern as she set the empty bottle aside.
“Morning Gracie.” I spoke up, giving a small wave as she turned at my voice.
“Good morning, Nova.” she greeted back, flashing a thin smile. “How’s that burn?”
I trotted the rest of the way to her, exchanging a quick hug. “It’s gone now.” I responded as I released her. “I can’t feel any irritation anymore. I just hope I can avoid getting shot by another energy weapon in the future.” I added with a chuckle before looking down at our brave and exhausted leader. “Hello, captain. How are you feeling?” I asked, walking around the bed to look him in the eyes.
The buck shifted slightly, a movement that made him wince. “I could be better.” he managed with a weak smirk. “But I suppose it’s all part of getting shot a half dozen times… or however many times I got hit yesterday.”
“It’s nothing to smile over, captain.” Gracie gently scolded. “Last night I thought I almost lost you. Do you know how much you scared my two assistants and me… and some of the guards, now that I think about it?”
“I’d just fallen asleep, Grace.” Saber responded, smirking just a little wider.
“That’s not what happened at all.” my friend corrected sternly. “You’d bled considerably after being shot, and you’d lost a lot of blood in between then and when you finally came to me for help. When I was extracting those bullets the blood loss added up, and you went into circulatory shock. If Challenger hadn’t brought in those enhanced healing potions with its supply shipment, I’m not sure you would’ve made it.”
The captain chuckled. “So that’s what you call going to sleep…”
Gracie’s ears pinned back as she let out an exasperated moan in response. “Captain…”
“Well… this is an interesting side of you, captain.” I remarked, keeping to myself that it was one I never expected to find in our leader.
However, the older stallion chuckled again. “It’s just the whole near death experience thing… trying to keep morale up a little.” he said, then finally taking note of Gracie’s very obvious disapproval. “Sorry. I know I’m not making your job any easier, Grace. I’ll stop now.”
The medical mare sighed lightly, still giving him a thin smile in return for his mercy. “Thank you, sir.”
As the captain settled on his bed, I cast a look around the rest of the room, taking in the sight of the others that were resting here. The ponies I recognized first were Joker and Daisy, both of whom were sleeping side by side on their beds, Joker’s right foreleg held with Daisy’s left as the two recovered from their own wounds. At the other end of the room, I saw Shore, stripped of his armor and weapons that were now up against the wall as he slept. Ivy was in this room as well, the young mare whom my friends and I had ‘saved’ shifting in a restless sleep with a pained frown spread across her face; whatever wounds she had sustained were still bothering her. “How are the others?” I asked Gracie, eyes staying on Ivy.
“Most came in with a differing number of gunshot wounds.” Grace replied lowly, stepping up to me and following my gaze. “But some weren’t lucky enough to escape with just a bullet wound. Ivy’s an example… she wasn’t shot at all, but she was stabbed three times before one of the guards got to her and helped her defend the Repair Shop. According to the sergeants, some of the Talon soldiers have a habit of using combat knives and even longer machetes if they get close enough to their targets, so some of the ponies who didn’t have full security armor during the fight came in with severe lacerations. My assistants and I had to do a lot of needlework to stitch those wounds, and even then, there were worse cases. That evil mobile gun the Talons brought in killed I don’t know how many, and it critically injured two others. One of them nearly lost his foreleg because of that gun, but we saved the limb with one of those super healing potions…” She paused and looked away. “Most of the patients I have now will have made a full recovery before the end of the day… then they’ll be ready to get hurt some more…”
I swung my eyes back to her. “Hey. What’s wrong?” I asked, a little surprised at her suddenly dismal word choice. “Something on your mind?”
Grace looked to me again. “I just don’t like seeing all of the ponies we’ve lived with our whole lives suffer like this. Some of the injured here have been in my clinic during both the last battle and the one before it with the raiders…… I wish they didn’t have to go through all of that… through everything that we’ve had to be put through. I just wish that we could have Hopeville and be left in peace without having to fight nearly everypony out there.”
But this was the Equestrian wasteland, even if it was only the southeastern region, a small slice of the greater whole. “Unfortunately, at least right now, it’s what has to be done in order to keep what we’ve already achieved.” I replied. “And I think that the more time we’ve spent in Equestria, the more that everypony who came out of one eighty-one understood that it takes more to survive out here than the morals that home left us with.” My friend sighed, looking away again to stare at the floor beneath her forehooves as a lengthy pause proceeded my words. “Those who would destroy what we have won’t stray from their intentions, and so we can’t either.” I added gently, placing a hoof on her back. “Because despite everything we’ve lost, we still have many ponies and many things here that are dear to us, and those are the things that we’re willing to get hurt for to preserve.”
“And what about the others?” Gracie then asked, making me raise an eyebrow. “Those who were willing to pay in scars but ended up dead…… do you know how many ponies I’ve lost under my care? Do you know how many I couldn’t save?”
“Grace-”
“Seventeen.” she interrupted quickly, taking her eyes off of the floor and gazing back to me with pained eyes. “Including Gunny’s father… your mother… two others when we left the Stable, twelve more after fighting back the Black Blood, and then one more last night… Juniper’s father…” Oh… “When I lost him… I’m starting to give up, Nova.”
She paused again, shaking her head, and I immediately grew very concerned; this wasn’t like her. “What do you mean?” I asked, lowering my head to look her in the eyes.
“It’s getting harder to focus… being out here these past two weeks is starting to wear on me.” she replied; I could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes. “I think that… pretty soon, I won’t be fit to run the clinic anymore.”
“That’s not true.” I stated firmly, my friend shaking her head in clear denial. “Just because others have died doesn’t mean that you’re some kind of failure. You’ve saved so many more than you’ve lost, and everypony knows it.” I paused as she remained quiet, her silence giving me an easy indication as to what was truly bothering her. “You know that everypony who’s lost someone else doesn’t hold it against you. You know that right?”
“If I’d been the medic that Hopeville needs, I would’ve been able to save that stallion last night.” Gracie responded miserably, dodging the question. “I would’ve been able to save Gunny’s father, your mother… I would’ve been better, and things would be better here…”
“Grace, stop!” I snapped, still keeping my voice controlled to hopefully prevent waking the sleeping patients. “Listen to yourself… you make it sound like you’re the cause of all Hopeville’s hardships. I know you, Grace, and I know that you’ve always tried hard and done your best. I understand how you feel about this, I really do. Sometimes, though… sometimes you just can’t save everypony.”
Grace sighed, sniffing and wiping her eyes with a foreleg before returning her gaze to me. “When we left the Stable on that day two weeks ago… on that day that Seiyara died… deep inside, I was scared that you’d hate me.” she said. “But after a day or so, I had gotten so caught up in what we were doing… that fear just kind of fell into the back of my head and was buried away…… it’s kind of funny how your past can just come back in a flash to haunt you.”
I gave a slight shake of my head, running my hoof along her back. “I don’t even know why you’d think something like that.” I replied. “I know that you did all you could for her… mom even said that herself before she went.”
“But it still wasn’t enough… I’m sorry…”
I shook my head at that, unwilling to let my friend fall into a breakdown for something that happened two weeks ago, and I swiftly pulled her into a tight embrace before she could keep going. “I’m not lying when I say that I don’t hold it against you, Grace.” I firmly asserted, feeling as she wholeheartedly hugged me back. “I don’t blame you for mother, and I know that Gunny and Juniper and everypony else doesn’t blame you for their own losses. You’re highly valued and respected here, as both a nurse and a friend. We need you, Grace. Hopeville needs you.” Gracie was silent, and I only felt as she nodded against my neck. “What happened then, it’s all behind us now, and that’s where it’ll always be. Right here and now, I care about you just as much as I always have, and that hasn’t changed. You’re like a sister to me, and sister to sister, I’m asking you to let that go. Because it isn’t the past that defines you. What defines you is the difference you’re making now, and the lives you’re saving. Don’t ever forget that.”
Grace pulled away as I finished speaking, and when I released her, I was pleased to find a smile on her face. “Coming from you… well, that means a lot to me. Over the past couple of days, that was really weighing on my mind.” she said, wiping away a tear that had ran down her right cheek. “Thanks.”
I smiled back. “You know our foalhood promise… though I have to admit, I think you’re better at keeping your thoughts locked away than Gunny is.”
“Heh… well… hopefully that’ll just be a one-time thing.” The both of us giggled at that, and Grace, looking to be in better spirits, turned to the exit. “I’m going to go to the inn and get some water. Um… captain, if you need anything, just call for one of my assistants. I’ll be back in just a moment.”
“Of course, Grace. Take your time.” the buck replied, and with a final farewell, Grace left the room to the captain and I.
“Grace isn’t usually like that.” I remarked after a pause, turning around to find the captain looking at me from where he lay.
“She only told me that she was having some troubling thoughts, said she didn’t want to waste a patient’s energy on discussing it.” Saber replied, smiling a thin smile as he added, “I’m glad you got her to open up about it though… the wasteland’s taking a little bit of a toll on everypony at this point.”
“Yeah, I know.” I agreed with a small nod. “I just hope she believes me.”
“You’re best friends. She trusts you and your word, and I’m pretty sure she knows that you spoke the truth.” Saber assured. “I know you did.”
“Thanks, captain.” I replied with a smile. “Before I go, I came by to ask you if there was anything that needed to be done around town.” I explained. “I mean… I know you’re in a hospital bed and all, but I didn’t know who else to talk to.”
Saber smirked at that as he closed his eyes, relaxing on his bedding. “That’s fine.” he assured before answering my question. “I’ve placed Sergeant Dusty in charge while I’m resting. He’s a light brown buck with a white and orange mane, can’t miss him. Talk to him and see if he has anything he needs help with. And if not, then go ahead and rest. Take some time off, be with Blake. We’ve been out in this wasteland for two weeks now, and as I said before, it’s been taking a toll on everypony. So whenever you’ve got the free time, use it to rest up so you can always be at the top of your game.”
I nodded at the order. “Alright Captain. I’ll go see if I can help out around town. I hope you get better soon, sir.”
“So do I, my friend. So do I.” the buck replied, and after a quick bow to him, I left the leader to his rest and exited the clinic.
Upon walking into the road, my eyes fell upon the courtyard to see two groups of ponies assembled in a meeting, gathered beside Hopeville’s twenty millimeter flak gun. Three ponies of the Hopeville guard were meeting with the Challenger caravan commander and the small group of green-armored soldiers under his command. From the Hopeville group, I recognized Gunny as well as Sergeant Dusty, the other stallion of the three being the second uninjured security sergeant, evident by the pipbuck clamped around his right foreleg.
“Hey, Nova! Come over here for a second.” I snapped my attention to the source of the voice, seeing as Sergeant Dusty waved me over. “The commander here wants to speak with you.”
With a nod, I trotted over to the courtyard, returning Gunny’s short wave with a smile before turning my attention to the sergeant. “What’s going on?”
“Our friends from Challenger are getting ready to head back home.” Dusty explained, gesturing to the group of soldiers. “The commander was talking to me about yesterday’s fight, specifically regarding this flak gun and the griffin you fought, and he’d like a word with you. Go ahead, commander.”
“Good morning, ma’am.” the white-coated commander greeted as I faced him, the both of us exchanging dips of our heads as I kept to myself how strange it was to be called ‘ma’am’.
“Before we start commander, I’d like to thank you for helping us over the past couple of days.” I said with a smile. “In Hopeville, I’m just a citizen, but I’d still like to just give you and your soldiers and caravan guards my thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be sure to pass that on to the others.” the beret-wearing buck replied. “I just wish we could’ve come out of that battle with fewer casualties.”
I nodded solemnly. “We all do, commander… Now, is there something that I can help you with?”
“I wont take too much of your time, ma’am, but I just have a couple of questions to ask you.” the commander began, removing his red beret with a forehoof and setting it over a small hook on the chest plate of his armor. Then, reaching up and brushing back his jet black mane, he said, “Yesterday, during the fighting, I had seen that you were engaged with a griffin in the air. When I leave today and return to Challenger, I’m going to be delivering a full report of what happened here to both General Silverlight and President Radiant Gem. What I need from you is a bit of information.” Beside him, one of his soldiers, a unicorn, levitated a notepad and pencil to take notes. At my nod, he asked, “When you were facing this griffin, did you happen to catch sight of any sort of badge or pin on the armor that indicated a rank?”
I lowered my head to think a bit on the fight. Really, all I had seen was his armor and the weapons that had been attached all around it… that, and of course, I was a little busy trying to keep my hide alive. “No, I’m afraid not.” I answered the commander, looking back up just as I remembered a different detail. “But I did see a scar over his right eye… I don’t know if that helps.” At the commander’s nod, the unicorn soldier scribbled away on the notepad.
“Every bit of information helps, so we’ll keep it written down. Now, one of my soldiers reported seeing you and the griffin hovering face to face but not fighting.” the commander continued. “I need to know - did the griffin tell you anything about the platoon’s operations in the area?”
The griffin had indeed talked to me during our dogfight… but he had spoken more about me directly, seeing me at Plainwell and making me his target… or something along those lines… but then, with a jolt of realization that I hoped I had hidden from the others, I remembered the two griffins I had fought over Plainwell. I remembered that I had killed one of the enemy fliers myself, and the other I had led into a waiting trap to take the griffin out of the air and clear the way for Plainwell’s survivors to evacuate. The first griffin had been female… this was something I remembered… and the second flier had been a male; this kicked my brain into high gear. Had the male survived my improvised trap? Was that him?? Though at first, it seemed very unlikely that he would survive a full volley… it now began to seem quite probable that he did survive both the trap and his impact with the ground, especially with the Talon soldiers’ very potent combat armor and the low caliber weapons that the ponies evacuating Plainwell had been using. “The griffin told me that he was the one that gave the order to attack and wipe out Plainwell.” I explained to the commander, adding, “He also said that he gave similar orders to take out that Black Blood camp to the north of here. After that was when he attacked here. He said that he had seen me at Plainwell…” I recalled his next words, words he had spoken with pure hatred. “He talked about making Hopeville a target after he knew that I lived here… I-I don’t know why… but I think he’s hunting me.”
“By the Goddesses Nova…” I turned to see Gunny looking at me with surprise.
“When I was fighting those two griffins over Plainwell, I led one of them into a trap… and I think that that griffin was the one who I had sprung the trap on.” I explained bitterly, a nagging tingle of anxiety putting a small edge on my words. “I got him to chase me in the air, and he followed me right into a waiting volley from the Plainwell ponies that were trying to flee the town. He was shot down, but… I’m starting to think that he survived the trap… and now he wants revenge for nearly killing him.” Right now, it was the only thing that made sense as I clicked the pieces of the memories together.
“That’s strange…” the commander remarked with a thoughtful frown. “But really, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard of something like that, especially coming from a Talon soldier.”
“That’s crazy.” Gunny retorted, and I met his troubled eyes, trying to give a reassuring smile at my concerned friend. “Why the hell would someone go through all that trouble just to try and get revenge on one pony??”
“Battle can change a pony, or griffin, in many ways. Unfortunately, this is one of many ways.” the commander answered before facing me again. “I’m sorry to hear that, Nova. But really, I wouldn’t worry too much. You’ve still got a safe haven here, and the Talons are fixed on Challenger right now. If Talon officers want their army to be effective, then they’ll keep their subordinates in line.” I gave a nod at his attempt to ease my discomfort, and though the worry in the back of my mind about being personally sought after by an enemy of Hopeville, Challenger, and the whole of the Equestrian southeast, was still there, I managed to keep fear at bay. “Alright, that’ll be enough information to make a report out of. We know that this griffin is a ranking soldier, at least a sergeant if not higher up.” the commander explained, his unicorn soldier tucking away his notepad and pencil in his combat armor. “If he gave orders himself to attack Plainwell, then we know he’s a ways up on their own chain of command. He isn’t a high ranking officer, because they stay out of combat, but I think we can safely assume that whoever this griffin is, he’s at least a sergeant. But more important, we know that the Talons and the Black Blood are fighting against one another, and that’ll be a big relief to the general and the president.” He turned to address Sergeant Dusty, continuing, “And that brings us to our last point of discussion. Over the time that Challenger had been fighting the Talons, we’ve been trying to secure some of their twenty millimeter flak guns for our own use.” He turned away to look over our own captured gun, and I followed his gaze to look over the machine of death more closely.
The flak gun was mounted onto a thick iron carriage which was set onto two large wheels; a metal leg was extended at the back of the frame where it connected into a ‘U’ shape, keeping the gun evenly level on the ground. The gun itself was a long-barreled weapon that extended past the front of the carriage from its place among the internal components, all of them surrounded by forged iron plates. Fastened into the side below the big receiver was a large ammo container holding the 20mm shells that were fed into the weapon from the bottom. Aside from the first box, another ammo box was secured with special holders underneath the partly used ammo container, and I realized that the gun was loaded and ready for use at any time.
“During our first conflict ten years back though, we were only able to acquire a couple.” the commander continued. “If they’re on the verge of losing a battle, the Talon gun crews have a habit of sabotaging their guns so that they can’t be captured and used by enemy forces. They don’t mind it either, because every large force of about twenty or more they have has a flak gun that backs them up. We were lucky yesterday in that the gun crew were killed all at once by those forty millimeter grenade launchers Hopeville has.”
“What are you getting at, commander?” Sergeant Dusty asked curiously.
“Normally, I’d be under orders to confiscate this gun and return it to Challenger before we send it to Ashton.” the commander explained, returning his red beret to its place on his head. “And I was thinking about taking it at first… and really, I still am. I want to know how you feel about the possibility of my soldiers and I taking this gun back with our caravan.”
Sergeant Dusty looked back at the heavy weapon, slowly scanning it over before looking back at the commander. “Well… uh… this gun… it technically belongs to us now.” he began uneasily. “I’m not looking for any trouble here, but really, if we captured it, then we should be the ones who get to keep it.”
The caravan commander slowly nodded as he took in and thought over our temporary leader’s words. “Well, firstly, don’t worry. There’s not going to be any trouble over this damn thing. I just wanted to have an honest discussion about it.” he assured. But as I looked at him, his thin frown showed to me that part of him really wanted to follow his orders and seize the gun for Challenger’s efforts in Ashton and The Warpath. I really couldn’t blame him for it… but I also knew that Hopeville needed this weapon, and needed it terribly.
“Commander.” I spoke up, catching his attention and those of his soldiers. “If I may… we lost twenty of our own in that last fight. We’ve been outside for two weeks, and right now, we’re in more danger than we ever have been.”
“This gun would help us tremendously should we be attacked again.” Dusty’s fellow sergeant spoke up. “With two hostile armies outside, this gun could make all the difference in the world if we got tangled up in another battle.”
“It could save lives and keep this town on the map.” Gunny firmly voiced afterwards. “The truth is, we need it here. We’re working on getting more ponies acquainted with firearms, but right now, there’s only less than half of us here in Hopeville that can effectively fight should the Black Blood or the Talons come knocking again.”
“Yes.” the commander agreed with a nod. “When I was thinking about my report, I was wondering how I might get an audience with the president and get some soldiers to station themselves here and help protect the town. That is, so long as you wouldn’t mind soldiers, technically strangers, living amongst yourselves.”
Sergeant Dusty immediately shook his head. “The more allied ponies we can get here, the safer we’ll be.” he replied. “If they treat our citizens nice and follow our rules, then I’d welcome them with open arms. I’m sure Captain Saber wouldn’t object either.”
“I assure you on behalf of the president that they wouldn’t do anything besides give this town support. Of course, you’d have to feed them, but they wouldn’t take it over or assimilate it into Challenger or anything like that. The southeastern settlements are meant to be independent with Challenger only acting as a support for them through the supplies we send.” the commander explained, to which Sergeant Dusty smiled a relieved smile, nodding in approval. “Then I’m going to try and see if I can’t get some reinforcements to this town.” the commander declared. “And since I’m doing that, I’ll let you keep this twenty mil too. Celestia knows you folks need it way more than Challenger does.” the commander then chuckled, adding, “I guess it’ll just be our little secret.” I smiled at that.
“Thank you, commander. I mean it. If we could get extra support, we’d be so much better off, and I know that this mobile gun will do us a whole lot of good all by itself.” Dusty replied gratefully, pausing before he added, “Now we’ll just need to figure out how to use the damn thing…”
“Actually…” one of the Challenger soldiers suddenly spoke up, turning to face his superior officer. “Sir, I’ve been around these things before. My father fought in the battles of our first brush with the Talons, and he showed me how one of their flak guns worked. I even managed to work with one recently too when it needed a routine maintenance check.”
“What are you thinking, corporal?” the commander asked.
“Well, if Hopeville needs a hoof trying to figure out how to use this thing,” the soldier explained, nodding to the weapon in question. “I could stay here for a few days and help them get a proper gun crew trained on how to use this twenty millimeter effectively.”
The commander shook his head. “No, negative. I’m already going against orders leaving this gun here. I can’t leave one of my ponies behind too.”
The corporal stood firm though, asking instead, “I know I’m pushing it, sir, but perhaps we could wait here for a couple more hours? I’d only be able to show them the basics, but it would at least be enough to give them a good understanding of the weapon incase they really need to use it later.”
“I wouldn’t object to that.” Sergeant Dusty put in. “It’d make using it a little easier, that’s for sure.”
The commander hummed, sounding a little agitated at yet another attempt at altering his schedule. “Challenger’s ultimate purpose is to help build up the communities that are established around it.” he spoke aloud to himself as he thought over his options. Then, he let out a sigh and gave a nod. “Alright, corporal. I’ll give you two hours.” he said to his subordinate. “But we need to be heading back by midday and no later.”
“Done and done, sir.” the corporal replied, snapping a salute to the commander. “Thank you.”
“Dismissed.”
“Alright then… so what do you need, corporal?” Dusty asked as the soldier was dismissed.
“I need five unicorns.” the Challenger soldier buck answered, trotting up to him. “That’s the size of the crew you’ll need.”
“I’ll get a few that aren’t on watch right now. Come with me.” Dusty replied with a nod, and with a quick thank you to the commander, the meeting was adjourned, Dusty and the other sergeant trotting off with the corporal as the commander and his soldiers headed back for the caravan, leaving Gunny and I alone in the courtyard.
“Well, I’m glad the commander was willing to help us out. This gun’s a stroke of good luck despite everything else.” I commented with a smile, turning to face my friend… and finding that he wasn’t looking very happy. “Gunny?”
“So that griffin’s after you?”
I lightly sighed. “Yeah… I think he is.” I answered. “It’s kind of… unsettling… knowing that someone’s out to get you.”
“It’s horseshit is what it is.” Gunny growled in response. “Let the bastard try and come back here. He comes after you again, and he’ll see the error of his ways, because I’ll be the first to put a bullet in between his eye.” The last bit, he added more darkly, and when I looked up at my friend, he was glaring towards the sky, as if expecting that very same griffin to swoop down at any moment.
“Hey.” I gently spoke up, jabbing him with a hoof and catching his attention. “You shouldn’t let it worry you too much, Gunny.”
“Someone’s out for your blood and your telling me not to worry?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow. “I already told you once, what happens to you, what happens to our friends, that stuff matters to me. When something like this comes up, a threat like this, it’s a bit of a deal.”
He paused here, the both of us staring back at one another as his words set in. The truth was, I admired his protective nature, and I was grateful that he cared about this whole situation. It was a part of what made him who he was, and it was something that I had been witness to on multiple accounts, especially since our return from Challenger. But more and more, I felt that he had been growing a little more protective of me. Whether it had been because of the events in Plainwell or something else, I wasn’t certain. But it was still something that I could see, even hear on his voice. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been… very protective lately.” I remarked, giving him a little smile
“Um… sorry?”
His apology-gone-question made an involuntary giggle escape me before I shook my head. “No, there’s no need for an apology.” I assured. “I was just curious.
“Well, why wouldn’t I be protective? We’re living out here in the Equestrian wasteland, the place that one eighty-one tried to prepare us for, all together in this town of ours that’s written in the hit-lists of two groups of bad guys.” he explained. “I think that’s enough of a reason as to why I’m this way. That and… well, what kind of pony would I be in Hopeville if I didn’t worry about the well-being of my friends?” He let out a light and short laugh at that, smiling a little as he added, “You know me. It’s just who I am, and it’s why I care.”
“I know.” I replied with a smile, reaching up and slinging an arm around his neck. “But if I might remark… don’t zero in on just me or Grace or Shore. You’re an honorable buck, Gunny, and you carry the right intentions. But everypony in Hopeville needs that kind of a heart, not just those closest to you.” I released him and took a step back as we locked eyes again, my friend arching an eyebrow. “And you might find that somepony may need it more than others.”
Gunny eased into a thin smile, giving a chuckle at that. “I understand. I guess we’ll see somewhere down the road.” I smiled back at him, giving a nod as he walked around to stand beside me, the both of us facing the south. “So what’s your plan?” he then asked. “Are you still thinking about going to Buckley?”
“I’ve still been debating it.” I answered, looking out to the horizon. “I really do think it’s a good idea, even though I’m a little nervous about leaving Hopeville for any extended period of time.”
“Understandable.”
I nodded. “But I’ve been leaning more towards going there and scouting the place out. On my pipbuck’s map, it marked the base as being about a two day’s walk from here. If I flew, of course, it’d only take about a day, but the truth is, I really don’t want to look over that place alone, especially if there’s supplies to be found there. I figure that if I can get this trip cleared with Captain Saber or Sergeant Dusty, I could take just one or two others with me, just enough for some support. That way Hopeville wouldn’t be any more short-hoofed than it already is.”
“And I think it’s a good idea too.” Gunny replied. “I think that going to that base would at least yield some answers, if nothing else. We’ll learn about the territory around it, see if anything’s there that can be useful or harmful. The more we learn about the outside world, the better off we’ll be, and to be honest, I’m still a little interested in seeing it for myself. So if you do end up going to that base, let me know, and I’ll gladly come with you and back you up.”
“I will.” I replied with a smile, but just as I was about to ask if there was anything I could help my friend with, I heard a buck clear his throat behind me, and I turned to see the familiar face of Raemor, the copper-colored stallion clad in his armor and duster with all his weapons attached, looking at me and waiting patiently to gain an audience. “Oh, hello Raemor.” I greeted, turning to face the old buck. “Do you need something?”
“Good morning.” he replied with a slight bow. “I apologize if I’m interrupting, but I was hoping to ask you a question.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I was walking along the east road when I overheard your conversation.” he explained, trotting up to us. “Were you talking about possibly going to Buckley Air Force Base?”
“Um, yeah. I was thinking about heading out there to try and scavenge some supplies for Hopeville and scout out some terrain for our pipbuck maps.” I answered.
“If it isn’t too much trouble, could I ask a favor of you?” Raemor then asked, to which I nodded. “I would like to ask if I might accompany you and whomever else you might take with you to the base. As I’ve told you before, I’ve been very interested in exploring the rest of this region, and I see this as an opportunity to do just that.”
“Oh…” I began uncertainly, exchanging a glance with Gunny, my friend likewise puzzled. “But, aren’t you still technically under hire by the caravan from Challenger?”
“I was,” Raemor corrected with a small smile. “but I spoke with the caravan commander and forfeited the pay for the last leg of the journey. They don’t need two dozen guards and half a dozen soldiers for two empty wagons, and after yesterday’s battle, I wanted to stay in Hopeville for a time and lend a hoof to the town’s recovery. It was my hope that while doing so, I would still be able to further explore the land.”
I smiled. “Well thank you. That’s very kind of you.” The old stallion dipped his head in reply, and I instead asked, “Why did you want to stay here and help instead of going back to Challenger… if you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
Raemor was quiet at that question, long enough to where I begun to wonder if I had treaded onto a sensitive topic, and when he didn’t answer, I asked just that. “Oh no,” he assured me. “I’m not upset. I’m… just an old stallion thinking about old history.” He took in a breath before he said, “Seeing this town at peace… it reminded me of my old home after I left Hoofington behind. It was a community very much like this one, established in a small sector of the Manehattan suburbs. After the battle yesterday, I saw the… harmony of Hopeville being put at risk, and that’s what allowed me to make my choice.”
“I see.” I nodded slowly as I took in his explanation. Raemor was a very decent stallion, polite, respectable, and occasionally quite insightful, a trait that I suspected was largely due to his age and the wisdom that would’ve come from living so long in the Equestrian wasteland. Aside from this, judging by what I had seen of him so far, he seemed to be quite the fighter despite his older age, and I had no doubt that he had the know-how to be able to defend himself. To have him come along as a companion, in my opinion, seemed like a good decision all around. “Okay… well, if you really want to come with me, I’d appreciate the extra help.” I answered with another smile. “Though, just to let you know, I wont be leaving for the base today. I still want to help out around town, and then I still need to get permission from Captain Saber. But if I do go, I’ll be sure to let you know so you can come along.”
“Thank you.” Raemor said, bowing again before turning away and walking towards the west side of town.
“Well, there’s one member of your team down.” Gunny remarked.
“I’d half suspected I wouldn’t even be hearing from him again.” I replied, watching the old stallion as he entered the Hopeville Inn at the northwest corner of town. “I’m starting to think that this whole trip to Buckley might work out alright. I’ll have you, Raemor, and Blake will want to come too. That should work just fine.” I turned back to Gunny and gave a nod and smile. “Right now though, is there anything that you need help with?”
“I’ve been ordered to take a trio of new trainees to the firing range for some target practice around midday.” Gunny explained. “If you want to lend a hoof there, you’re more than welcome to. We’ll be using pistols and action rifles, and I know that you know your way around the basics. Plus, you’ve got a good eye and you’re a good shot, so I think they could use somepony like you helping them figure out their way around a firearm.”
“Well, I’m still technically not a guard… but I’ll see what I can do.” I stated with a timid shrug.
Gunny gave an amused snort, nodding towards the east. “I’m sure you’ll do fine, my friend. Come on.”
*** *** ***
A full day of quiet later, everypony working throughout the afternoon and evening and carrying out their various tasks, Hopeville was more or less restored from the fight two days before. The day had been acceptably busy for both myself and my baby brother, and after I had helped Gunny with his training of new guard recruits, Blake and I had moved on to continue helping Gracie in the clinic. By the end of the day, most of the wounded had been released with their injuries completely healed, only those caught by the Talons’ flak gun and those with other more severe injuries having been ordered by Grace to remain on their beds for more rest.
After helping at the clinic, I had been selected to assist in taking a new inventory check on Hopeville’s medical supplies and ammunition. Thankfully, Challenger’s shipment was large enough that we still had plenty of both, as well as weapons, armor, food, and water. Despite the aftermath of the fight, Hopeville was still well in stock, and would remain so for some time until Challenger’s caravan, which had departed from the town, would return with more supplies.
And finally, during the evening of the previous day, I had gotten together with Captain Saber, Gracie, and the security sergeants, updating their pipbucks with all of the locations that had been included on my own computer’s maps, bringing everypony up to speed on the layout of the southeast thus far. It was then that I learned that Captain Saber would be sending out small teams to scavenge out in the northwest, only once per day with no more than three to a team. He had already been hesitant, and after approving my own expedition, along with allowing all those who volunteered to join me do so, he was even more reserved about having any others leaving the town. But eventually, under the gentle pushes from his sergeants and the reminder that scavving in the north had rewarded us with additional supplies before, he had agreed to small-scale attempts at scouting out more territory to the north.
Despite everything we had accomplished, however, there was still a cloud that hung over Hopeville, the reminder of the twenty additional Stable 181 survivors that had been lost. The pain was still fresh in the hearts of many, and it wasn’t something that was going to go away for some time yet. For several, the loss itself was devastating enough, but I also knew that the aftermath of the fight held a particularly painful sting this time. Hopeville was finally getting the supplies it needed, marking the completion of the last vital step to becoming a living and potentially thriving community in the Equestrian southeast. For those twenty ponies to die just as all of their efforts were paying off, to not be able to enjoy their victories with the family and friends that they had left behind… it left a bitter mark that all of us felt in one way or another.
But now, it was midmorning of our fifteenth day, and I had a task to complete; I was ready to travel to Buckley Air Force Base.
I, along with those coming with me, were assembled out by Hopeville’s armory. Blake, of course, had been the first to volunteer, and along with him was Gunny, Shore, and Grace. Over the previous day, Shore had recovered from his wounds and was ready to work again by the following morning. Gracie, despite my initial concerns, had assured me that her assistants could care for those still in the clinic, both of the mares having enough medical experience under her tutelage to tend to every medical need that might arise. As much as I had questioned taking all of my friends, I truly was glad that they were coming, as we were finally going to be traveling and working together again. But this time, our party was strengthened by another pony. True to his intentions, Raemor was with us, fully garbed in his Equestrian Army combat armor and duster along with all of his weapons, checking his grenade APW as the rest of us discussed our plan of action for the journey.
“I think this would be the safest route to take.” I commented to my friends, looking between Gunny and Shore as they sat beside me, scanning their eyes over my pipbuck’s larger map.
“It is familiar terrain.” Shore replied. “We could just follow the same route we took to Challenger and camp out at the radio station when we reach it tonight.”
“Plainwell’s right there though.” Gunny remarked, tapping at my pipbuck screen with a hoof. “Since the Talons took over the town, there’s a strong possibility that they might be using it as an outpost of some kind. Plus, while the radio station is farther away from the town, Plainwell’s right between a direct path from the radio station to the air base. We won’t be able to make a straight shot there.”
“Couldn’t we just follow the road and then arc around the town?” Grace asked, peering over my shoulder to see my map.
“I’d advise staying off of the roads as much as possible.” Captain Saber then spoke up. The captain had been released from his bed during the morning on the insistence that he be present to see us off, despite Gracie’s protests; he was currently under escort by one of his sergeants as well as Gracie’s unicorn assistant. “There might be a long distance between Hopeville and Plainwell, but I’ve got no doubt that the Talons will be patrolling those pre-war roads for any sign of traffic.” With that observation, I had to agree. Hopeville and Plainwell, both pre-war towns, were positioned on the same old road, and the closer we got to Plainwell, the greater the risk of running into a Talon squad would be; that was an encounter that I absolutely did not want, especially with my little brother coming along with me.
“It’d take longer, but we could still go to the radio station, and then arc around this way.” I explained, my mental gears turning as I traced a trajectory with my free hoof.
“Cut under Plainwell and then head onto this road heading north?” Gunny asked, nodding as he looked over where I had plotted out my road. “That could work, seeing as Buckley’s right off of that northern road.”
“If we leave the radio station early tomorrow morning, then we could find the base, look it over, and then come back to the station in the same day.” Shore added, likewise nodding in approval.
“And if all of that goes according to plan, I can’t see this trip taking any longer than three days.” I finished, looking over to the captain.
“Sounds like a good enough plan to me.” he said. “Just remember to look out for each other, and be careful. If you end up seeing something in that base that looks hostile, then back off and get out of there. I’d rather you six come back alive and with nothing than not come back at all.”
“Of course, captain. But I do hope that we can find something helpful in there.” I spoke up for the others, scoffing as I added, “Otherwise I’ll feel kind of dumb for wasting our time.”
“If you don’t find anything, we’ll still manage just fine.” Saber assured with a small smile. “So don’t get bent out of shape if your search turns up empty. If nothing else, we’ll at least know what’s out there, and in my book, that’s good enough.” At my nod, he looked toward the armory building. “Alright then. Now before you go, I just have to ask again - are you sure that you don’t need anything else? Don’t be shy about asking, because we’ve got plenty of gear to chose from if you need a little extra.”
“We need more of our stock here at home.” Grace replied with a shake of her head, smiling as she added, “Besides, I think we can manage three days with everything we have.”
And the truth was, we were more than adequately equipped for this trip. As had been done before, Blake was given the saddlebags with our food and water supply, and the bags were nearly overflowing with both. Shore had kept all of his original weaponry and armor, the latter now being reinforced with additional plating from a damaged suit of armor, making more armored… well, armor. Gunny was the most heavily armed out of our company, with the All-Equestrian light machinegun and the riot shotgun secured to his armor, as well as his .44 magnum and our bowie knife given to us by Proudspire; much to his joy, he had been given four ammo types for his riot shotgun, including a drum of flechettes, two drums of buckshot, one of slugs, and another of more lethal magnum rounds. Gracie had traded in her nine millimeter for a more potent sidearm, and was now equipped with a new .357 magnum revolver, a sleek and sturdy silver pistol with a black grip that had likewise come from Challenger’s shipment. Afterwards, she had been given her own set of leather armor, completely new and unused, that fully protected her body. As for myself, I had initially refused taking any new equipment along, and for the same reason that Gracie spoke of now. However, arguing with the captain on the matter proved entirely futile.
As per his orders, I had received a new set of armor in the form of a Kevlar vest with separately attached back and side guards as well as leg and flank plates. The only slightly worn armor set had been one of several that was purchased off of one of the merchants who had come from the northlands on his way to Challenger, and despite my initial policy of wearing no armor during flight, this set fit me rather well. The armor, in its entirety, was lightweight and surprisingly comfortable to wear. The majority of my body was covered by the suit, and the leg plates protected all four of my legs from the top of the hoof to just below the tops of each limb. Every different piece of the armor, from the vest to the leg guards, was flexible, following my every movement without slowing me in the slightest, both on the ground, and in flight; after a quick modification to the side guards, my wings, despite being unprotected, could rest at my side and expand naturally, without interference from the armor itself.
But more interesting than the purpose of the armor was its origin. The armor set was steel grey and black, something that matched my own natural colors and the color scheme of Blue Fire’s Torch nearly perfectly. But the armor also had writing on it, three white letters on both of the flank plates (currently concealed by my saddlebags) that spelled the acronym M.P.D., as well as the word Police that was stamped onto the chest plate. According to the merchant who had sold the armor to us, he had found it in an old police station in the downtown Manehattan ruins, thus identifying the armor's acronym as being the abbreviation for Manehattan Police Department. Long before me, this armor had once been used by a pony in a pre-war law enforcement group, a police force that worked to keep order in one of Equestria’s greatest cities before and during the war. There was history behind this armor, and it was that knowing that influenced my final decision; now, I was more protected and felt more secure traveling about outside.
“Grace’s right sir.” Gunny put in. “We’ve got more than enough.”
Saber shrugged. “Well, alright then. You all take care out there, and we’ll see you back here in a few days.”
“We’ll be back as soon as possible.” I assured. “And hopefully, we’ll come back with something that’ll help us out.” And with a final round of farewells, our new company of six set back off onto a familiar road into the southeast. With the radio station as our midpoint, we’d be there, get to the base, come back, and then be home in just a couple of days, and it was my hope that this would be one of the last times we’d be leaving home for a good long time.
*** *** ***
Hills.
Throughout the southeast I had seen them, and as I remembered it, the southeast was largely meadowland that was spaced with these hills. I had first seen them on my very first day in the Equestrian wasteland, walked upon them with my first steps onto the dead earth of ponykind’s once great nation. Our original two hundred survivors had set up a camp tucked behind a hill, out of sight of the raiders who had taken Stable 181 from us, and we hid behind that hill as they undoubtedly looted and otherwise defiled our beloved home. My mother… she had been buried at the top of a hill, laid to rest right beside Gunny’s father, the both of them having died to help evacuate the Stable, to give us that second chance. Then, we had walked for two days without shelter, passing around and over even more hills in the vast dusty valleys of the Equestrian southeast. Beyond the hills of the southwest corner had been the flatlands upon which our new home had been built upon, our new home which had been the beacon of hope that we had been searching for.
In the days that followed, our first encounters with the Black Blood Raiders on Equestrian soil had been on hills, one where a squad had seen our survivors on the move, and another where the chainsaw maniac Butcher had taken over a pre-war farmstead and murdered dozens of Proudspire citizens. And later, on our way to Challenger, we had protected Hallion’s caravan from destruction by a raider scouting patrol that had been hiding behind a hill, thereby finding Ivy and persuading her to leave their ranks before she could truly become one of them. To me, it was funny how something so seemingly insignificant as a hill could have so much of a presence in our time in the Equestrian southeast, and that was no different now… except for what we saw around this hill…
“Eyes open.” Gunny warned, trotting up to the head of our group as he unhooked the All-Equestrian from his armor and pulled it in front of him with his telekinesis, keeping it at the ready.
Beside me, Raemor followed his example, checking the magazine of his grenade APW. “This may be the aftermath of a battle, but that doesn’t mean that there are not stragglers.” he said. “Be cautious everypony.”
This terrain was familiar… I could remember it down to the very curve of the earth beneath my hooves. We had passed by here once before, back when Lucky Hallion and Marian had been in our company. This was close to where we had fought the Black Blood patrol that had ambushed their caravan, but now, there were many more bodies, all of which I could see clearly even in the darkness of the early night. On a greater majority of the bodies was the black and red armor of the Black Blood Raiders… but there was also the black and white combat armor of the Talon Legion mixed in; the two factions had been fully engaged against each other.
The battle that had taken place here had been large-scale, and there was evidence among this graveyard that the fight had been recent. Just ahead was that familiar hill where we had fought the Black Blood patrol several days back, and at the base of it, surrounded by its dead gun crew, was the twisted ruin of a twenty millimeter flak gun, the wreckage still aflame and the long barrel jutting rebelliously out toward the battlefield as if it were still fighting against its enemy. A second metal wreck was still engulfed in orange flames several meters in front of it, this one lacking the long barrel of a twenty millimeter; it was one of the Black Blood’s mobile guns. And all around the both of them were more bodies lying amidst broken rifles, scattered bullet casings, and blast craters from explosives… sweet Celestia… the body count was high enough that I couldn’t count it quickly… nor did I really want to.
“This is terrible…” Grace remarked from my right side, sidearm floating beside her. “I know that they’re both our enemies… but there’s just… so many bodies.”
“There must be at least a hundred if not more…” Shore remarked lowly from behind us.
I nodded my agreement, grimacing as I caught sight of a dead griffin a few yards away, right wing shot off at the joint along with the bullet to the side of the head he had taken… but there wasn’t a scar across his right eye. Then I heard a sharp and shaky breath, a slow exhale following, and I looked down at my baby brother, walking close to my left side. He was trying his best to keep a straight face, bravely looking ahead and keeping his eyes away from the carnage to our left that we walked around. But there was no way that he hadn’t seen some of it already. “Hey… go around and walk by my right side.” I ordered gently, reaching around with my muzzle and nudging him along in front of me.
“I-I’m okay, I promise.” Blake protested, though still not hesitating to fit himself between Gracie and I.
“We know, but we just want you to be right next to us until we’re where we need to be.” Gracie replied, giving the colt an encouraging smile as he matched our pace; at least now he wouldn’t see much of the battlefield as we made our way around its perimeter.
“Are we almost there?” Blake asked after taking in another breath.
“Almost.” I answered, smiling as I asked, “Are you getting tired?”
“My legs are…”
“You’ve had a long day of walking today, so that’s to be expected. But don’t worry.” I encouraged, wanting to keep him talking to keep his attention off the bodies as we walked by. “We’ll be there in a few minutes, and then we can get some sleep.”
“I do like that blanket we got.” Blake remarked with a small smile.
That’s it, Blake. “I do too.” I replied. “I’m glad that I was able to pack it for the trip.” Indeed, when it was neatly folded up, it just managed to fully fit inside my saddlebag, and even though it completely took up one of my two personal bags, it was more than worth it to have it along.
“So… what do you think we’ll find at the place we’re going to?” he then asked.
“Well, I hope that we’ll be able to find some more supplies. The more stuff we have, the better off we’ll be.” I answered him as we begun to ascend the hill, passing by the burning flak gun. “I like to think that the wastelanders with the most gear wins.”
Blake laughed a little. “Yeah. Hey, do you think we might find some other toys for my friends too?”
On an air force base?… Well… “I’m not really sure… but it won’t hurt to look for some. When we get there, we’ll search for some of that stuff too.” I answered with a smile, one which he returned as we crested the hill.
“Looks clear from up here.” Gunny spoke from up ahead, both he and Raemor already looking out over the terrain ahead from the vantage point the hill provided. “Or at least as far as I can tell.”
As the rest of us joined the two bucks, I took the time to look ahead myself, scanning the land for any sign of movement. Just ahead, I could see the Southeast Regional News Radio Station, recognizing the three radio towers rising up from its ceiling. I could also make out the dark shape of the wrecked zebra aircraft near the building, all looking undisturbed, and between us and the station, there was no movement. “Yeah, it looks all clear.” I agreed.
“Alright then, let’s get over there and make camp for the night.” Gunny said, keeping the All-Equestrian hovering close by as he begun to descend the hill towards the station. “I’d rather be inside and out of the open if there’s survivors running around.”
As the others made their way down the hill, I couldn’t help but turn and take another look back at the battlefield behind me. All the bodies down there, the Black Blood and the Talons… I had already known that they were fighting each other back when that Talon platoon had tried to wipe out Hopeville, when that griffin had told me about the battle at the raider camp to the north of town. But this mess, all of those bodies… they were at war with each other, just like the both of them were waging their own wars on Challenger…
“It’s not an easy thing to lay eyes upon.” I looked back around to the voice, seeing as Raemor stepped up beside me to look out over the battle wreckage with me. “It never is, no matter how acquainted a pony is with the concept of war.”
“They’re fighting each other, and in turn, both factions are fighting against Challenger.” I replied, shaking my head. “It’s a damn mess.”
“Yes, a three-way battle… I’m afraid that the days to come will prove more and more difficult for the southeast.” Raemor remarked lowly, nudging me as he added, “Come on. Your friends are waiting for you at the bottom of the hill.”
With a nod, I turned away from the wreckage and followed Raemor back down the hill to regroup with the others before we continued forward. Even here, outside the battlefield, I saw another body belonging to the ranks of Black Blood, laying on his side with a hole in the back of his head. “This one tried to flee.” I commented aloud, to nopony in particular.
“War is always unforgiving.” Raemor replied, walking along beside me. “There’s not much room for mercy. That was something I learned many times in my youth.”
“Back in Hoofington?” I asked curiously.
Raemor nodded. “The Hoof, the heartland, Trottingham. The wasteland has its own unique influences on every region, and as I’m sure you all understand, even the much quieter southeast couldn’t escape.”
“A shame, really.” Gracie mumbled with a frown.
“I agree. While I don’t know too much of the southeast itself, word of it spread to the other nearby regions, and I had heard of it from travelers and merchants over time.” Raemor explained. “Hearing of a land that had a history of being free from constant fighting came as quite a shock, especially after growing up in a place that was known for its tribal warfare.”
“Was that what it was really like there in Hoofington?” I asked.
“Yes… constant fighting, and not many settlements that were uninvolved in it.” Raemor responded. “As far as I know, it’s still the same to this day.”
Grace and I exchanged a glance at that, both of us eventually shaking our heads. “The more I hear about the place, the more I want to avoid it.” I stated, looking back at the aging stallion.
“And for ponies such as yourself, who have just emerged from one of the Stable-Tec sanctuaries, that would be a good choice.” Raemor replied, looking out to the east. “This region… without the Talons and the Black Blood coming for its throat… I can see it becoming a place where ponykind truly has a chance to rebuild and thrive again.” He smiled a little as he swung his gaze around to meet mine and Gracie’s. “And that isn’t something that you would want to leave behind just to go to a place like Hoofington. Some places in this wasteland… well, some of them just can’t be saved.”
I cocked an eyebrow, a little concerned as his smile faded and he looked ahead again. But just as I was about to ask, I heard Gunny up ahead as he suddenly spoke up. “Hold up… I think I heard something coming from the radio building. Do any of you hear that?”
I looked back up and in front of me, seeing as Gunny stopped and perked his ears, listening as he looked ahead with a focused glare. We were now nearly upon the radio station, and I could clearly see the finer details of the zebra aircraft wreckage where it sat just up ahead and off to our right. There was nothing outside that was moving around the wreck or the station itself, and there was no sound except for the passing of the breeze. But as we all came to a stop, I perked my ears up, tuning out the others long enough to focus my senses on my surroundings… then I heard something… like a voice.
“I think there’s somepony in the station…” My own words involuntarily cut off when I raised my pipbuck leg to look at my E.F.S. compass; there were red markers up ahead. “There’s hostiles inside… wait…” But as I looked at the display screen more closely, I could also see a green marker, nearly invisible, hidden amongst the red; it was the only one among at least four red markers. “There’s a friendly marker too.”
“A friendly contact with hostiles? Is somepony in trouble?” Gracie asked concernedly from behind me.
“There has to be.” Gunny replied, looking over my pipbuck. “We need to go and find out.” he declared, holstering his LMG and trading it for his riot shotgun. “Grace and Blake, stay out here. I think we’re about to run into some trouble.”
Gracie nodded right away, keeping Blake close to her as he in turn looked back at me with worry. “Could somepony else stay here with us? Just in case?” she asked.
“I can stay back and keep an eye out for other contacts outside.” Shore volunteered in response, flipping his battle saddle safety off.
“Alright. Wait here until we give you the all clear.” Gunny replied with a quick nod. “Raemor, Nova, with me?”
“Yes.” Raemor answered, switching his grenade rifle for his fire axe as I nodded. “Let’s go.”
I took a quick look back at Blake, giving him my best reassuring smile before Gunny and Raemor trotted ahead, and with that, I fell in behind the two, Gunny taking point as the three of us advanced on the radio station entrance. Right away, I noticed the aroma of cordite in the air… some kind of firefight must’ve taken place here, and recently too. But as we neared the closed double-doors of the station, I picked up a second more faint scent, odd-smelling and musky; but then, I heard the voices of those within as we came up to the entrance to the station.
“You’re friends are dead.” a stallion’s voice spoke with a dark chuckle. “And once my buddy here is done with you, you’ll be joining them.” I heard a wretched sob within as a mare wept openly in response.
“Go ahead and cry all you want to you little slut.” a mare piped up with a cackle. “Nopony’s gonna save you now.” Then, my eyes widened with both shock and disgust as I listened in, hearing a strange sort of meaty slapping sound, the crying mare breaking into a new set of sobs at the same time… oh sweet Luna NO!!
“On three, I kick in the door, and you take out whoever’s in there with S.A.T.S.. Move.” Gunny whispered fiercely to me, and I saw as he quickly but silently approached the doors, positioning himself to buck them open. I caught on to what he planned to do, and with a nod, I promptly took up my position, switching my saddle’s safety off as I crouched down and took aim. Then, with a quick one, two, three, Gunny wheeled around in one swift motion and delivered a powerful kick to the double doors, and as they came crashing open, Gunny leaping away from my line of sight, I activated S.A.T.S…. and immediately saw what was happening.
In the middle of the lobby room of the station were three Black Blood Raiders and their one captive, a unicorn mare with a bright purple coat and black mane… and one of the raider bucks, another unicorn, had pinned her to the floor on her belly, raping her as his two comrades watched with vile grins. The second raider, a grimy pink unicorn mare with no mane whatsoever, was in front of the captive, levitating a straight razor against the battered prisoner’s throat, keeping her from fighting back as she was violated. And the third raider, an earth pony stallion, was just sitting back and watching with a self-satisfied grin, one that suggested he had already had his turn with their prisoner.
But whether he had or not, I didn’t care.
The sight made hate, the hate made adrenaline, the adrenaline made focus… one shot… two shots… execute.
The mare with the straight razor went down hard as my two rifles roared their first shot, both bullets smashing into her skull and sending her against the wall as her straight razor clattered to the floor. Then, the buck on the sidelines snapped his startled gaze to me just in time to see the muzzle flash of my second shot, and he went down with a similar headshot, this one sending half of his head splattering against the floor in a shower of pink and red. Then, time returned to normal as the spell concluded, and the raiders’ captive screamed at my thunderous arrival, the buck atop her yelling in surprise with her. His horn glowed as he pulled out of the mare and shoved her aside, attempting to reach his weapon to retaliate. And just as he brought his own weapon to bear, a small revolver, I had pulled Fire Rose from its holster on my left foreleg and had taken aim.
We fired in unison, and I felt my Kevlar vest take a bullet as my own shot went straight through the raider’s neck, sending the buck toppling to the floor as a spray of blood spurted into the air. The prisoner mare, now free, screamed again as Gunny and Raemor came in behind me with weapons drawn and scrambled away to collapse into a shaking mess against the news desk at the far end of the room. But just as I was about to go to her, another raider rounded the corner from the second room, and his dual assault rifle battle saddle roared to life, spraying wildly in our direction and forcing the three of us back past the entrance to take cover behind the walls.
Gunny returned fire first, riot shotgun blasting three shots before Raemor, fire axe at the ready, dashed back inside as the raider’s saddle reloaded. Then Gunny and I followed him back into the station, the two of us staying side by side as we checked the room, and I looked in time to see Raemor as he dispatched the raider with his axe, the blade slamming into the raider’s chin in a powerful uppercut, splashing the nearest wall with a wet streak of red and sending the buck flying back into the room where he had come from. But then Raemor fell back again, jumping away from the door as a female voice taunted, “Catch!”
I saw the metal apple as it bounced off of the wall and rolled along the floor into our room. But Gunny was already on top of it, and the grenade was swiftly wrapped in a red glow before it was pitched back into the second room and detonated. I made my move then, mouth tight on Fire Rose’s firing bit as I ran into the next chamber. There had been two raiders in this room, and one had taken the full impact from the grenade, an earth pony mare lying dead with a missing hind leg. The second raider, though also having been hit by the grenade, was still alive, struggling to his hooves despite the bleeding shrapnel wounds he had sustained from the blast. But I didn’t let him up, slipping right into S.A.T.S. and targeting two shots for his head before executing the spell, dropping him just like I had mowed down three of his friends; he was the last raider in the building, and with those final two shots, the station went dead quiet.
“Clear?” I heard Gunny call from the first room.
“Clear.” Raemor responded behind me as I holstered my pistol, letting out a sigh as I collected myself from my rage… rage that had put me into such a level of focus that I had mowed down two-thirds of an entire raider squad without a second thought… four ponies gone in less than a minute… raiders nonetheless… but still… oh Goddesses, I did that… “Are you alright, Nova?”
I looked back at our newest companion, his fire axe returning to its secure place on his back. “Yeah, I-I’m fine… I’m fine.” I replied with a quick nod, looking back to the doorway and trotting back into the first room; I didn’t want him to talk about it… but I caught a glimpse of a look on him; he knew that I had lied.
I’d never killed like that before……
But right now, even through the haze of those thoughts, the freed captive was my main concern, and as I emerged, seeing her still huddled by the news desk, the unicorn’s teary eyes swung to me, suddenly going wide as she saw me.
“Hey…” Gunny called gently to the mare, his voice snapping her attention to him as he attempted to approach her.
She immediately pressed up tighter to the desk. “No! Y-you stay back!”
“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you.” Gunny assured, wisely stopping at her command. “We’re not with the raiders. We’re friendly.”
The trembling unicorn looked him over with darting eyes, her gaze then coming upon me once again as she likewise searched me, as if checking for some hidden attempt at bringing her harm. “Y-you’re all… not with them?… Who… who are you?” she demanded, a little more confidently as she looked square into my eyes.
“Me?” When she nodded, I answered, “I’m Nova, and these are my friends, Gunny and Raemor. We’re from Hopeville, up north from here.”
“H-Hopeville.” the mare spoke softly, looking away from me and taking in a ragged breath. But then, as if that was the answer she was hoping to hear, the mare sobbed again and shut her eyes tight.
Gunny cautiously approached the mare as she tried to fight back another round of tears, and when he reached her, he lowered his head down to try and look her in the eyes, still keeping himself at a respectable distance away. “Hey. We have a doctor with us. She can help you and get you cleaned up.” he explained in his best comforting voice, the unicorn mare flinching before looking up at him. “If you come with me, I’ll take you to her.” he offered, holding out a hoof to help her up. “I promise.”
The mare was obviously hesitant, and rightfully so. She looked him in the eyes, as if studying them for any sign of a lie in his words, and Gunny remained perfectly patient as he waited for her response. And then, with a sniff, the mare nodded and slowly rose to her hooves. Her legs were trembling, specifically her hind legs, and I sagged just a little at the sight of her. The raiders had undoubtedly beaten her as well, and I could see several gashes that had bled along her bright purple coat. What was worse, her cutie mark on her right flank, a fully blossomed dark violet flower, had been cut over repeatedly with a blade, shredded to the point where it was nearly unidentifiable. I could see where sweat and tears had dampened her coat, and all over her flanks and her back, patches of her coat were matted as another fluid dried and clumped the hair together; I looked away in revolt, revolt that mixed with my burning hatred of these raiders.
“Raemor, Nova, I’m going to take this mare to Grace so she can get patched up.” Gunny said. “When I get back, I’ll help move the bodies out of here so we can settle in for the night.”
I looked back at my friend, watching as he stayed near the mare and helping her to the door; she was nearly limping. “Of course.” Raemor replied for the both of us, Gunny giving him a nod before leading the rescued mare back outside; she passed one more look at me before disappearing around the wall.
“Nova…”
I looked back at Raemor, slowly turning around to face him as I saw the frown on his face. “What is it?”
“That mare… she… looked familiar.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Huh? Looked familiar… you know her?”
“I… I swear I’ve seen her before…” Raemor answered, voice fully expressing his own confusion.
“Where might you have seen her before?” I asked.
“Well… back home. Not in Hoofington of course but…” Raemor paused, brow furrowing as if his train of thought had smashed into a wall. “I… maybe I’m mistaken… we should secure this station so that the others can come inside.”
“Wait, Raemor.” I shot a hoof up to his shoulder, stopping him as he was about to turn away. “Are you sure?” I asked as I lowered my hoof away.
“…No… but right now, the mare just went through a terrible ordeal, and so I shouldn’t worry about it now. She needs our help.” he said, horn then faintly glowing. “I’m going to start moving the bodies out of the station. Perhaps you might check for gear while we wait for the others?”
Well, there was no arguing against helping the mare. After going through such a nightmare, she would need our help… I shivered at the thought of having to go through something like that myself. “Sure.” I answered with a nod, dropping the subject (but keeping a mental note for later) and turning toward the entrance to the radio station’s second room. “If I find anything I’ll let you know.”
And with that, we set off to our tasks, Raemor levitating up one of the corpses as I trotted off into the next room. Aside from the two dead raiders inside, the room was exactly as I had remembered it. The old news station equipment, broken down long ago for parts and now irreparable, still lay piled into the far corner, and the left side of the wall that had divided this room from the electrical maintenance room on the left side lie in rubble along with its own doors. The electrical systems room itself was also unaltered by the raiders’ presence here, but as I stepped through the one set of intact doors leading to the next room on the right side, I saw something new. Inside the room were two bodies, not of the raiders’ ranks, that were laid out side by side against the far wall amidst another pile of ruined pre-war radio equipment. The both of them were bucks, and both had literally been filled with bullet holes, now laying in a pool of their own drying blood. Nearby, there was a small collection of gear that only amounted to two suits of tattered leather armor, an assault carbine, a small revolver, a pair of binoculars, and two worn-down rifles, one a bolt-action hunting rifle and the second a lever-action repeater.
Your friends are dead.
“These two must’ve been that mare’s companions…” I muttered aloud to myself, stopping momentarily to look upon the bodies, giving a sad shake of my head at the sight of them. “I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner…”
Having paid my own respects to the fallen ponies, I turned my attention to the final room at the back of the radio station. The entrance to the chamber was already opened, and the small sign bolted into the stone on the right side of the entrance was still there, indicating that this final room was the control room for the radio station. But as I entered, the familiarity of the room froze me in my tracks as I realized then - this was the very room that held the underground fallout shelter where I had found my sniper rifle. That chamber was still there, the hidden metal shutter doors still open, and the terminal that controlled its locking mechanism still online. The control room itself was lacking of bodies, equipment, and thankfully, blood. Only the station’s dormant system terminals took up part of the room… and that’s when my eyes fell upon the entrance to the megaspell shelter.
“… I wonder if that skeleton’s still there…” I took a step forward, approaching the stairs but stopping at the lip of the chamber entrance. Everything here was still the same as well, the black trail of long-dried blood starting at the top of the stairs streaking to the back of the chamber itself, which was still well-lit by the ceiling light within. But if everything looked the same… why was I feeling so hesitant about going down here?? Because I had found a rifle with an exact replica of my cutie mark etched into it?… Yeah, that might’ve had something to do with it. Was it because there had been a diary within that had detailed a tragedy of a pony who had lived during the Great War?… Also probably a reason… but there was a nagging itch in the back of my mind, one that told me to go down and see the skeleton again… to see the pony who had lost all of his or her family and friends to the zebras during the war, who had been pursued even after the bombs fell. Goddesses… in a sense, I could relate to what the pony had to go through… it was so alike to what I had experienced.
Same curse, different killers.
I took in a breath, let it out, and then descended the stairs, stepping into the hallway. But when I entered the shelter itself, I saw something that I didn’t expect… or rather, I didn’t see something that I had expected to see; the skeleton was gone. Though the large open storage crate, the empty wooden shelves, and the metal table were all still present and set against the walls, the skeleton was nowhere inside. It had been taken out of the chamber down to the last hoof bone, only the circular stain of dried blood across the floor and the bullet casings with it remaining to show where the skeleton had once laid, where the pony in the diary had died. The skeleton’s old saddlepacks were still here with the broken down food containers and water bottles that we had found within, and along with them, I saw a silver gun case, the very case that had once held Blue Fire’s Torch. The case was open where it sat against the far wall, looking to have been undisturbed… until I saw something peeking out above the edge of the case. There was an object inside it, and when I approached, I saw a hoof-sized white square, flat with two reels protected under a thin metal casing. And on the left side of the frame, tucked within a small attached compartment, was a short black cable… one that I recognized. At the end of the cable was the means to hook this device into a computer, to access whatever information was within it, and I knew then what this white square was; this was a holodisk.
With the skeleton missing and this holodisk placed within the open gun case, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together, and with my curiosity quickly spiking, I raised my pipbuck leg and checked over the frame, finding the port I needed to access the disk. Though I lacked magic to simply lift everything up and plug it together, I laid down on my belly and nudged the holodisk out onto the floor before guiding the end of the cable to my pipbuck and securing it to the port. Right away, my pipbuck recognized the device, and with a beep, my notes and records display was on the screen, placing a new note below those I had downloaded from the Hopeville M.O.P. terminal. However, unlike the three other items on my pipbuck’s memory, which had names to title the records, this file was only listed as a short code consisting of a letter and two numbers.
M-5.13
I couldn’t help but read the baffling code aloud, unable to think of anything that it might stand for. Of course, it could’ve also been something that had been randomized and insignificant, something that wouldn’t really be important to understand… a programmed name perhaps?… “Strange… maybe playing it will help.” I said quietly, rising up to sit on my haunches before lifting up my pipbuck leg and activating the audio log.
“Been three months, three long months since I last saw this place… another ruin of the Old World, of Equestria, alone in the dust of the southeast.” The words spoken in the recording belonged to a stallion, a strong tenor voice… mysterious. “Didn't think I would be seeing it again at all, thought I was done with it…… But something in me told me to come back after visiting the southeast’s power plant, fixing my weapons with salvage hidden within its walls. I paid my respects to the dead pony here when I arrived, buried her bones outside the radio station.” My ears perked instantly as those words emitted from my pipbuck speaker. This buck had been the one to remove the skeleton from the megaspell shelter… and he called the skeleton a ‘she’… “It was the first thing that needed to be done - respect the honored dead, keep them in your thoughts... it was one of the first lessons of many that I’ve learned… part of me, like it was my ancestors… But there was another reason to being here, another purpose. I knew what had been buried here under this ruin, and I needed to come back and see what had changed. Hadn’t changed on the outside, but somepony had been here… recently too.” the recording continued, drawing in all of my attention. The stallion’s voice, thoughtful in tone, carried with it strong conviction, confidence that I could hear etched in every one of his words… especially in regards to the ‘honored dead’ he spoke of, about the lesson he learned, and the mention of his ‘ancestors’. And he’d said that he needed to come back here again… why? “Whoever it was bypassed the terminal lock I had programmed, found the hidden megaspell shelter. The diary was gone, and the remaining items of the saddlebags were also taken. But more than that, the gun case that had been hidden away was unlocked and the weapon removed. Blue Fire’s Torch… that was the name my pipbuck had given when I first discovered it. Had the markings of its name on the stock, the blue flame…… Seeing the empty case made me think that I should have claimed it as my own when I had the chance, to honor the request in her diary…” The stallion’s voice trailed off here after a more regretful tone had set in, and he let out a sigh while my world became his words. He had been to this station twice, if what he said was true, and he’d discovered Blue Fire’s Torch for himself, seen the marks on it with his own eyes. And then he’d read the diary, seen the last words the skeleton had ever written. I remembered the diary’s words, how the skeleton had hoped that her rifle would’ve be found by one of her brothers or sisters, her blood family. But he hadn’t taken the rifle, instead relocking the gun case, resealing the fallout chamber, programming a terminal lock, and leaving everything as it was… “… but only at first.” the buck said after his weighty pause. “When I think back to that day, I still believe that I made the right choice. Didn’t feel right taking it for myself… I’ve already inherited many gifts - Old World treasures, technology from the caches and bunkers in the wreckage, powered weapons that Challenger, Hayward, the Steel Rangers… even the Pegasi Enclave, might desire. Leaving that rifle here was the better choice… I wasn’t worthy of it then, and I don't think I'm worthy of it now either. I can only hope that the Torch was claimed by the right hooves, another brother or sister. Should any other have taken it, it would not serve its true purpose.” He paused again, as if pondering the truthfulness of his own words. Wasn’t worthy? Brother or sister?… Had he known the dead pony in this chamber? “I’ll remain here for a time, meditate on the scripture and the words it spoke to me. Then I’ll search the countryside again… confirm what I saw out in the north before continuing southeast. But really, I think I finally know the answer to all... well... at least some of my doubts.”
“Nova? Are you in there?” Just as the audio log ended, I heard Gunny’s voice calling from the control room, proceeded by hoofsteps descending the stairs into the fallout shelter… but I was too lost in the recording to respond. This buck… he’d come here sometime in the recent past, and he’d taken the skeleton to bury it… her… outside. How had he known who that skeleton had once been? Even though he hadn’t spoken a specific name, the fact that he knew the pony’s gender had to mean that he knew her in some way or another. But then, this was impossible… it had to be… because the skeleton had been dead for at least one hundred and seventy years… and yet he still referred to it as a she. He called the skeleton one of the ‘honored dead’, and he buried her ancient remains as a means to show respect, to pay homage to her. It sounded like something somepony from Hopeville would do… like what I’d do… and he called that act a lesson, one that he’d learned. In that specific moment, I felt like I’d heard the words of my father. He’d always spoken to me about honoring the dead, the friends and family who’ve passed on, keeping them in your thoughts and living on in honor of them. But then this buck had continued speaking, talking about Blue Fire’s Torch and how he wasn’t worthy to carry it. It was puzzling at first as to why he’d judge himself on whether or not to carry a rifle, and not because of the concept itself. When I had first seen the Torch, I had taken it out of instinct, only keeping it because of its marks and how similar they made the weapon to me. But when I had read the skeleton’s diary, I pondered whether or not I should take it even though I wasn’t related to the mare who had wielded it before. What was puzzling to me was how the buck had spoken as if he’d done something to wrong or insult the dead mare… his voice had held regret, very genuine regret, when he spoke of the Torch. Why… and more importantly, what had the stallion been talking about at the end of the recording? What did he see in the north? What were his doubts? What answers did he-
“Nova?” I looked back over my shoulder to the source of the voice, seeing as Gunny emerged into the chamber. “You okay?”
Nodding, I turned away and unplugged the holodisk from my pipbuck before rising to all fours. “Yeah… yeah I’m alright.”
“Did you find something?”
I looked back at the holodisk, nodding again as I nudged it across the floor for Gunny to see. “Just this. Somepony was here not too long ago.” I answered as my friend’s eyes fell to the disk. “He buried the skeleton’s remains outside of the station.”
Gunny cocked an eyebrow at that, picking up the holotape with his magic to look it over. “An audio log?” he asked. “This doesn’t seem like something somepony would want to leave behind.”
“I don’t know why he would leave it here… but I do know that I’d like to hang on to it.” I replied, stepping up to him. “Could you put it in my free saddlebag?”
“Why do you want to keep it?” he asked back.
“He… the buck talked about the Torch, Gunny.” I explained, gesturing back to the sniper rifle strapped to my armor. “He’d been here twice, once before we came to the station for the first time. He’d seen the rifle, the skeleton, and the diary we found before we had even found them, but he left them all here. He’d programmed the locked terminal Shore had to hack to find this hidden room too. But more than that, he talked about the skeleton in this holodisk. He identified the skeleton by gender… and nopony can do that unless they know the pony they’re talking about.”
“But the skeleton was one hundred and seventy-five years old.” Gunny retorted, levitating the holodisk to my saddlebag and setting it inside.
“I know, but he still said that the skeleton was a mare. He talked about her diary, about how the mare had hoped that the rifle would be put into the hooves of one of her brothers or sisters, and he hoped the same thing after he found the empty case that had the rifle in it.” I explained as he closed my saddlebag, looking me in the eyes as he listened. “I feel like he knew that mare, somehow or another… I just don’t know how to describe it.”
“You really think so?” Gunny asked, slowly nodding as he took in my words.
“I… well… I’m not positive, but I might look over the diary again tonight when I take my watch… though, it does sound a little ridiculous, even to me. You’d have to listen to the tape yourself in order to catch up to my fuzzy brain.”
My friend chuckled at that. “Hey, if that’s what you think, that’s what you think. I won’t stop you from looking into it. If you want, I’ll listen to the tape with you. Maybe you’ll be able to less ‘fuzzily’ explain your thoughts if you listen to it again.”
I smiled abashedly. “Sure, if you want to.”
Nodding, Gunny motioned for the exit. “But right now, the station is secure, so I came to find you and bring you back to the others before we set up camp for the night.”
“Yeah, of course.”
With the holodisk safely tucked away in my saddlebag, I followed Gunny out of the fallout shelter and back into the control room where we passed the entrance up to the small stash of gear that had remained untouched. “I’m guessing that those two bucks in this room were Blossom’s friends… it’s a damn shame.” Gunny remarked lowly, picking up the stash in his telekinetic grip. “The mare we found introduced herself, and she’s eased up enough to start talking with Grace and Blake and Shore a little.”
“Blossom? That’s a pretty name.” I commented.
“She seems decent enough from what I heard of her conversation with the others.” he replied with a nod. “She’s still shaken up, but she took me up on my offer to stay with us for the night. I figure we can at least offer her some food, water, and protection while she recuperates for the night.” And I agreed with that. After what she’d been through moments ago, she’d be in no condition mentally to be trekking across the wasteland.
The two of us left the station and emerged back outside, which was thankfully very quiet. To my right, Raemor was returning to the station, behind him laying a small pile of the bodies of the raiders… Celestia damn them. “That’s all of them.” the old buck called to us. “We can move in whenever everypony is ready.”
“We’re going to check up on Blossom real quick. We’ll be there in a moment.” Gunny replied, the two of them exchanging nods before Gunny motioned for me to follow.
Just to the right of the station, I could see the others gathered in a loose group, Shore keeping watch to the northeast while Grace stood in front of Blossom, the rescued mare currently laying on her belly as Gracie ran a wet rag along her back to clean off the grime. The violet mare was already wearing a number of healing bandages, the several gashes caused by the straight razor completely covered. Blake was sitting near the newcomer, though he looked a little uncomfortable, and I noticed that Blossom wasn’t looking at anypony. If I had to guess, Blake had tried to hold out a conversation, and the newcomer had eventually stopped talking; it was understandable.
“How are we doing, Gracie?” Gunny asked as we rejoined the group, my friend depositing the collected gear on the ground nearby.
“I’m just about done.” Grace replied softly, tossing away the now grubby rag before fetching a clean one from her saddlebags. “Is the radio station safe now?”
“It’s safe.” I answered with a nod, holding out my foreleg as Blake trotted up to me before I pulled him into a hug.
“Are you okay, Nova?” Blake asked, looking up at me concernedly.
There was no way I was telling him how I’d gunned down four ponies, even if they were raiders. “I’m okay. Are you?” I asked back, lowering my head down to nuzzle him.
“Yeah. I think all of the bad ponies were inside that building.” he replied, returning my embrace.
“Good.” I remarked with a sigh.
“Alright Blossom, those bandages should seal your wounds up fairly quickly, and I’ve cleaned off all of the gunk.” Gracie spoke up, and I looked to see as she closed up her saddlebags with her horn.
“Thank you.” Blossom replied, her voice raspy before she cleared her throat. “I’d like to sleep now… please…”
“Of course, of course.” Grace assured with a gentle smile. “One of us will be on watch on alternating shifts throughout the night, so you’ll be safe with us. Please, do rest.” The tired mare only nodded before walking back to the station, but just as I released Blake to follow suit, ready to get the blanket out for my baby brother, Gracie suddenly stepped in front of me. “Hey Nova, Gunny, I need to talk to you for a second.”
“What’s the matter?” Gunny inquired.
Grace looked back to the radio station, and I followed her gaze to see as Blossom disappeared back into the building; it was only then that Grace spoke again. “When I was out here taking care of Blossom, she asked if she could come with us.”
“When she eased enough to start talking to us, we asked if she might have been interested in going to Hopeville.” Shore joined in, adjusting his reading glasses with a hoof. “We do have everything she would need to stay sustained and safe, and she seemed partial to the offer. But afterwards, she asked if she could come with us instead.”
I raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Did she say why?”
“She said something about one of her friends escaping the raider patrol and running north towards Marefax.” Grace answered. “I told her that we were heading to Buckley after she asked if we were traveling to Challenger, and since our path to the base is the safest to pass around Plainwell… well, I imagine that’s why she asked.”
“Seems reasonable.” Gunny remarked, looking out towards the north horizon. “Did she say anything about why she was out here?”
“She said that she came down here from a small town in the heartland with the intent of exploring the southeast.” Shore replied. “She was with three others, three friends from the same hometown, and they were on their way to Marefax from the Southeast Regional Power Plant when they were captured by a Talon platoon. They were prisoners for a short time before the platoon was attacked by a larger Black Blood force.”
“According to her, the Talons fought down to the last soldier, but the raiders still overtook them with sheer numbers. After that, they were taken prisoner by what was left of the Black Blood force… and then, well, we all know the rest.” Grace finished lowly.
“It sounds like Blossom could use our help.” Gunny stated after a short pause. “If she wants to come with as we head east and then hook north tomorrow, I don’t see a problem with it. What do you all think?”
Blossom’s story easily added up, and considering everything that had happened to her in just one day, I felt bad for her. She had began as a simple explorer, banding together with her friends to map the region. But then, while she was just trying to reach what would’ve been her new destination, she had been taken prisoner by one force only to become a prisoner to another because of a battle, whereupon two of her friends were murdered in front of her before she was beaten and violated… the least we could do for her was set her on a path to find her remaining companion, her one friend of the group who had managed to escape. “I think we should help her too.” I said with a nod. “We all know the importance of having friends in this wasteland, and if one of hers is still out there, we should at least help her go in the right direction.” And to be honest, hearing terrible stories like that of Blossom’s… I felt extremely lucky.
“I agree.” Shore put in, Gracie nodding with him. “We can keep her safe tonight, give her some food and water and help her regain her strength. She deserves the aid.”
“Alright then. I think we’ve got a battle plan, more or less.” Gunny said. “For now, let’s get set up and settle down for the night.”
“I’ll go let Blossom know that she can join our group.” Shore added. “Hopefully we can help her out a little bit more.”
“And I’ll go ahead and take first watch while the rest of you settle in.” I claimed as we headed back for the radio station, slowing to a halt outside of the door as my friends filed into the station.
Then Gunny, the last in line, nudged me in the side as he stopped before the entrance. “I’ll be out to join you in a bit.”
I nodded at that, giving him a thin smile before he too trotted inside, leaving me to gaze out to the silent east, silence that I prayed for… because in just this one day alone, there was already so much that my mind was trying to focus on, so many things that I wanted to think over. But among all of these thoughts, it was the holodisk I had found that emerged to the top of the pile. Even after meeting Blossom and hearing her story from Grace and Shore, the words on that holodisk echoed in my mind, the voice of that buck and what he spoke of. He had found what I now carried from this station, and because of that, there was an imprint that came from hearing him speak, something that I couldn’t shake out of my head. It was a feeling akin to that which I felt when I first found Blue Fire’s Torch… and just like that rifle, the buck on the recording left me with so many questions.
*** *** ***
“We’re getting close.” I announced, lowering my pipbuck leg after studying the map once again. “Buckley should be just up ahead.”
Our group had set out from the radio station early in the morning with the hopes of returning there again by the end of the day. Thankfully, our plan had come together perfectly, and the route we had taken kept us out of the occupied town of Plainwell and the surrounding territory. By late morning, we had completely bypassed the town at a safe distance and had found a pre-war road leading up to the north, a four-lane highway that stretched, presumably, all the way to the city of Marefax. But unlike the other roads I had seen farther south, this one had been occupied when the bombs fell so long ago. As we had walked, we had passed by the occasional passenger chariot, pre-war civilian vehicles that had long been abandoned. Those that weren’t already broken down for scrap metal were simply rusting away, neglected by the natural elements, and others still that had come to halt onto the dirt had partly sunken into the ground. We had already passed by nearly three dozen of them throughout the first hour of our trip on this Old World highway, and it was after that first hour that we had found the first fork in the highway, a smaller two-lane road branching northeast straight to Buckley Air Force Base. These roads coupled with a shift in the overall terrain of the area, the flat meadowlands to the south giving way to spaced out hills of rock along with the occasional short cliff. There was only very sparse plant life here, unlike the south where the land was patched with dry and yellow grass, and the dirt itself was blackened in large shapeless blotches that were spaced along the terrain.
We had largely walked in silence as we made our way around Plainwell, and Blossom, our newest traveling companion, had been especially quiet throughout most of the trip, following at the back of the line and keeping her distance. There had only been a few instances where she answered our comments and questions, and those that she answered typically revolved around her missing friend. She described her friend as a mare like herself, having an identical coat color with a different mane and tail, blue to be specific. According to Blossom, the two of them were foalhood friends, just like the two bucks they had lost the previous day had been; to most other question, she only gave short answers, and none of us pressed her to talk.
When we had reached the highway fork itself, Blossom had opted to follow the rest of us on the northeastern road straight to Buckley in the hopes that her missing friend had sought shelter at any safe location closer to Marefax; with Plainwell occupied, it was the closest site to the Old World city farther north. “Since all the locations I’ve seen in the southeast so far seem to be spaced pretty far apart… this has to be the place where she hid… I hope she’s waiting for me.” Blossom spoke as we continued.
We had been walking this new road for the past half hour, simply following the trail straight to the Buckley AFB marker on my pipbuck’s larger map. “She knew to avoid Plainwell, since you both heard of its capture while in captivity.” I replied, turning to look at her as we walked at the back of our group. “That’s what you told me, right?”
Blossom nodded, staring ahead with concerned eyes. “Yes. Assuming she followed the same path we’re taking.”
“There could be other places farther down the highway.” I replied thoughtfully, smiling as I asked, “Perhaps, if you’d like, we can search farther north once we’ve searched through Buckley?”
“You’d help me look?” Blossom asked, finally making eye contact with me, and at my nod, she looked back ahead. “But you’ve already helped me out so much…”
“And?”
Blossom smiled a faint and timid smile at that. “Wow… thank you. I really do want my friend back… if you’d help me look for her, then I’d be grateful.”
“Sure. I think we can spare the time to lend a hoof.” I replied confidently, looking ahead as we begun to ascend a small rise in the road. “Besides, I know that my friends mean the world to me, and you’re a mare that feels the same way to your friend too. I understand what you’re trying to do, and after what you went through, I can’t just leave you in the dust if you care that much about the well-being of another pony, friend or not.”
Blossom smiled a little bit wider as we looked back at one another again. “I really appreciate that… it means a lot to me.”
“Hey… here we are everypony.” My gaze snapped to the front of the group as I heard Gunny’s call. My friend had reached the top of the hill, Raemor and Grace joining him by his sides as the rest of us caught up. Blossom and I were the last to reach the peak of the hill, and as we joined the others, I finally got a full view of our destination. “Buckley Air Force Base.”
The road we stood upon continued forward, but descended over a gentle slant that stretched all the way to the base’s south gate. The base itself was… well… it was absolutely massive. At the center of the complex were two wide strips of pavement that stretched from the north perimeter of the base to the south, easily a thousand meters long if not more; they were two runways that divided the base in half, connected together at three points with smaller perpendicular lanes. At the west side of the complex, lined side by side with each other, were three giant hangers that took up the space from the north end to about halfway down to the south. Three other buildings, two of which were nearly the same size as the hangers themselves, had been built to occupy the remaining space on the west side of the runways. One of these contained a built-in tower, doubling the height of the building as a whole, and providing what I assumed to be an easy view of the entirety of the base and the territory beyond it. The tower itself was oddly shaped, wider at the top and characterized by a ring of glassless windows just below the roof, atop which was an array of radio antennae; the top of the tower looked to serve as a sort of command center for the base.
At the east side of the twin runways, positioned in the northeast corner, was another collection of three large buildings, one resting near the perimeter, the second neighboring it, sitting lengthwise and parallel to the runway, with the third structure placed perpendicular to it. The final pre-war building sat in the southeast corner of the base, a huge block of a building that was even larger than the base’s hangers. But between the greatest building and the others on the east side of the complex, I could make out two large clusters of much smaller buildings arranged into two neat rectangles, and in between them was a large circular hatch, a steel door of sorts set into a ring of concrete. All of this, the entire base, was secured behind a tall barbed wire fence that made the base’s huge rectangular perimeter.
“Wow…” Blake and I voiced in perfect unison.
Gunny let out a whistle, likewise impressed with the huge base sitting before us. “Any larger and this base would be as big as Challenger. You could easily fit five towns like Hopeville in there.”
“That’s Old World engineering for you.” Shore remarked with a chuckle. “Military installations during the war were almost always big so that they could effectively carry out a wider array of operations, whatever those operations might have been.”
Beside me, I heard Blossom as she let out a sigh. “That’s a lot to look through…” she muttered, shivering slightly. “I hope it isn’t occupied by raiders…”
“It’s awfully quiet.” I observed, looking over at the nervous mare and giving her my best assuring smile. “It looks empty.”
“Blossom does bring up a good point though.” Gunny retorted. “It does look empty, but we should get a better look before we go waltzing into the base.”
“Yes, let’s please do that.” Gracie immediately voiced her approval. “I’d much rather not meet another bunch of raiders on this trip.”
“What do you want to do, Gunny?” Shore then asked, and I looked over to see as my friend searched the area in front of us
“There’s a pair of ridges farther ahead, one on each side of the road there.” he answered, nodding out ahead. “I wouldn’t mind getting a little closer to see things more clearly.”
“I can use my rifle scope to sc-”
My offer, however, was swiftly interrupted, Blossom suddenly stepping forward as she said, “Take my binoculars. I… oh… sorry, Nova.” She flushed a little at my surprised look that responded to her rather confident interjection. “Just want to help.”
I couldn’t help but let out a short laugh. “No problem. Those will help all the same.” Nodding, Blossom’s horn flared to life in a violet glow, and she removed her binoculars from around her neck to pass them over to Gunny; out of the supplies that her friends had left behind, Blossom had only brought a suit of leather armor, the lever-action rifle, the revolver, and the binoculars - a very useful tool to have.
With a thank you to Blossom, Gunny trotted to the front of the group again, leading us down the road towards the twin ridges that he had identified, and as he ascended to the top of the rise, I trotted up beside him to look out over the land again… land that revealed a very drastic change. Up ahead, once concealed by the ridge we now stood upon, was what was left of a small pre-war town. But there was not one building that remained fully standing, as the entire vicinity was what I could only describe as a blasted ruin. The small village was razed to the ground, only the occasional partial wall of what was once a house or shop standing amidst the scattered wreckage. The only things within the wreck that I could still identify were the foundations of the houses that had once been, and the narrow roads that had divided those houses into small blocks.
“What happened?” Blake asked as he stepped up by my left side.
I could only shake my head. “I don’t know, little brother.”
“It doesn’t even designate the place on my pipbuck.” Gracie remarked, looking over her own computer’s map screen.
“This must have happened a long time ago.” Shore observed in reply. “Surely somepony would’ve spread word about it if this was a recent event.”
“But how did this happen?” Blossom asked softly.
“Look at the ground.” I heard Raemor suddenly speak up, and I saw as he nodded out towards the demolished village. “There are blast craters everywhere.”
I looked back over the site again, keeping my eyes over specific locations longer to take in more details. I could see the craters that Raemor was speaking of, several of them scattered amongst the village and even beyond them in all directions, even past our ridge. Two such craters were home to two pre-war chariots that had fallen within, their metal husks having greatly decayed over the many years between their last use and now. A third chariot was sitting across one of the town’s narrow roads, this one having remained more intact than the others. I could see a few traces of its original green camouflage paintjob on the rear panel, and I could see the faded shape of Celestia’s sun on the wagon’s right side.
“I just wonder what could’ve done this much damage.” Gunny put in, levitating the binoculars to his eyes to look out over the air base. “The only things I can think of are missile launchers or balefire eggs.”
“It makes the most sense.” Shore replied with a shrug.
“Yeah…” Slowly, Gunny scanned left and right over the base… and stopped as the binoculars fell upon the east end of the base.
“What is it? What do you see?” Grace inquired.
“Shacks… a lot of shacks surrounding the base’s old barracks buildings.” Gunny replied, still staring through the binocular lenses. “There’s ponies living here.”
I snapped my eyes back to the base, squinting to try and get a better view of the finer details… I could just make out some movement on the runways. “This base is inhabited?”
“Yeah… and they’re not Black Blood or Talons either.” Gunny replied as I looked back at him. “I think…” he paused as a growing smile suddenly froze on his face, dropping as he focused his binoculars. “Wait… is that a-”
THUMP
An echoing beat of deep sound cut him off in mid-question, and at the same time, I saw a plume of white smoke roll into the corner of my vision.
“HOWITZER!!”
A low whine came to life from above before the ground behind us suddenly exploded in a violent blast of fire and dirt, the force of the detonation knocking me off of my hooves and over the ridge before I tumbled and landed hard on my back upon the dirt below.
I scrambled to my hooves, ignoring the sting in my back and the ringing in my ears as I frantically searched left and right for my brother. Blake, along with Grace and Shore had likewise been sent over the edge of the ridge by the explosion, and just like me, they were racing up to all fours again. I turned and rushed straight for my little brother as he looked about in a panic, and just as I reached him, I ground to a halt and shielded my eyes as another fiery explosion ripped up the old road in front of me, sending Blake falling to the ground as I barely kept myself from doing the same.
I wheeled around and hurriedly helped my brother back up. “Blake, are you okay?!”
“What’s happening??!”
“JUST RUN!!” I hurriedly guided my terrified brother towards where I had seen Grace and Shore, leading him away from the cloud of the second detonation. Up ahead, I saw Gunny, Raemor, and Blossom galloping down from the ridge just as another explosive projectile came crashing down upon it, engulfing it in flame and dust. Both Gunny and Raemor were waving, calling urgently for the rest of us to follow them forward as they sprinted into the perimeter of the ruined village, just as a fourth explosive shell struck the demolished town itself; now I knew what had destroyed this village.
I ran after them, momentarily tailing behind Gracie until I once again skidded to a halt and wheeled around, my thoughts returning to my brother. Blake was behind me, but his shorter legs made him slower than we were, and his saddlebags weighed him down; he wouldn’t be able to keep up! Without a moment’s pause, I raced forward to meet him, a fifth detonation blasting fire just inside the west side of the village, and as he came to a stop, I quickly skidded around him and flared out my wings before hooking my forelegs around his belly. And with a quick series of powerful beats, I hoisted him up into the air, flying low over the ground and carrying his full weight with me as I drove forward to catch up.
Right away, we were met by a sixth explosion just off to our left, and as I caught up with Grace and Shore at the back of the line, a seventh shell went off to our right, sending a shower of dirt over us and nearly knocking Blake and I out of the air. Up ahead, Gunny and Raemor were leading us straight towards the chain-link fence perimeter of the base, and there wasn’t much more distance to run before we’d be right on the base’s border. But just then, Gunny and Raemor were cut off as the eighth shell of the bombardment exploded in front of them, the ninth impacting to our right, bringing a rolling cloud of dust over us. The delay allowed all seven of us to regroup in the utter chaos of the barrage, and Raemor led on, steering us west, parallel to the fence. But we hadn’t moved more than a few yards before a tenth shell exploded in front of us, and less than a second later, an eleventh sent up a wall of flame just to our left, seemingly right next to us as I felt the heat of the blast.
The combined force of the two detonations knocked all of those on the ground off course, and at the same time, blasted me right out of the air. I was sent sailing, the gust of wind knocking Blake out of my grip, and we cried out in unison before the both of us hit the ground. I tumbled over myself again and again, dirt and gravel pelting my Kevlar vest as I tried feebly to halt my momentum. But I was unable to get purchase on the dirt, instead bouncing and grinding against the ground until I felt the surface disappear from under me, and with one final bounce, I landed straight into one of the blast craters.
I didn’t feel any wounds, but my body ached, and I hardly held that ache away as I pushed myself back up to my hooves. I couldn’t see any of my friends now, and at losing sight of Blake, my anxiety quickly reached its peak, fueling both my strength and my fear. Leaping up, I used my wings and legs to help me climb out of the hole and back onto the ground, just as a twelfth shell detonated directly ahead of me. That shell had been spot on to where I thought I had last seen Raemor and Gunny, but so much dust had accumulated from the hail of explosives… I couldn’t see anything ahead of me! I couldn’t see if any of the others had gotten hit! I couldn’t see anypony at all… except Blake! He was just ahead of me, pulling himself half crawling and half running across the ground toward another nearby blast crater. Tunnel vision took over, that familiar feeling swatting pain and fear aside like insects as I sprinted for all my worth straight for him. To my left, farther away this time, a thirteenth shell detonated, spraying dirt and blasting fire as I tackled my brother, my momentum carrying us both into the nearby crater where we tumbled over each other before coming to a halt at the bottom.
“NOVA!!”
“KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!!” I shouted, hugging him tight against me and dropping myself on top of him as a fourteenth shell ignited behind us. With my own body now a shield protecting Blake, I only shut my eyes tight, sending prayer after prayer to the Goddesses that my friends had survived the salvo of explosives. Buckley had thrown over a dozen shells at us, and it didn’t seem like they’d stop until they knew we were dead and there was nothing of any of us left to recognize… but the fifteenth shell never came, the dull thumps of the distant howitzers coming to a stop; the air base had ceased fire.
Under me, I heard Blake as he let out a sob; I could literally feel him shaking. “I-is it over??”
“Shh, it’s over, it’s over.” I assured, trying to get the words to come out without stammering as I did my best to comfort my trembling sibling. “It’s all over-”
“Move in!” a male voice suddenly called, not Gunny’s or Shore’s or Raemor’s . “Search the area!”
More voices took up the call, at least a dozen… oh Goddesses, the ponies from Buckley were looking for us!
“Shh, stay quiet Blake.” I whispered quickly, keeping him under me as I looked up at the lip of the blast crater we hid in.
“YOU! GET ON THE GROUND! GET ON THE GROUND!” another male voice shouted.
“Get the hell off of me!” I recognized Gunny as he snapped back to the shouting stallion, and I heard a scuffle ensue just outside our hiding spot, one that ended with a particularly painful sounding punch and a grunt of pain from my friend.
“STAY DOWN!” the same voice commanded, followed by the cocking of rifles.
“I’ve got two more here!” a mare then shouted. “Stay where you are! Don’t get up!”
“Two more here too!” a third buck called back; one, two, and two… all of my friends had survived the bombardment!
I snapped my eyes down to my pipbuck, the computer having remained undamaged from the explosions, and checked over my compass. There was a whole mess of contacts that my E.F.S. could detect… and none of them were hostile…
“Get them up.” a second mare then ordered. “Up!… Put them together over there and strip that stuff off of them. Move, move.”
“Nova, what’s going on??” Blake demanded nervously, much too loud.
“Shh! Keep quiet.” I whispered back firmly, placing a hoof over his mouth.
“Hey! I heard something over here!”
Too late!
I quickly rose to all fours, making damn sure to keep Blake under me as I made to reach for my pistol. But at the same time, a pony head emerged over the lip of the blast crater and into the corner of my vision, the newcomer unicorn buck immediately levitating his assault rifle in front of him and pointing it straight for me. “Stop right there! Don’t move!” I froze, halting my attempt to grab my sidearm; if I tried I’d be dead in a split second. “Is that a foal with you?… Answer me!”
I immediately dropped down over my brother again, snapping my wings out wide and baring my teeth. “Stay back! I’ll kill you if you touch him!!” I screamed in reply, making the buck’s eyes suddenly go wide… but not for the reason I thought.
“Sweet Celestia… you’re a pegasus…” the buck said, his rifle slightly lowering in his moment of surprise. “I didn’t think any other ponies like you lived out there.” I didn’t move, only staying over my brother as he looked me over. Then, “Did you come from the sky too?”
I cocked an eyebrow at that, easing my defensive stance at the question. But before I could form any kind of response, another voice cut in from farther away, the second mare calling, “Hey! Get whoever’s in there out and bring them here!”
The stallion snapped back to focus at the order, his rifle pointing back at me… though he no longer carried a glare of his own. “You heard the mare, get out.” the buck pointing the rifle at me then ordered, taking a step back while keeping the weapon trained on me. “No sudden moves. Come on.”
I had no choice but to comply.
Slowly, cautiously, I took my eyes away from the Buckley stallion and nudged my trembling baby brother. “Come on, Blake.” I gently urged the frightened colt. “We have to move.”
“I-I want to go back… I want to go home.” he whimpered, rising shakily to his hooves as I stepped off of him.
“It’s going to alright, Blake, I promise.” I assured as comfortingly as I could. “We have to go with these ponies for now, but stay close to me and you’ll be okay. Alright?” I knew that Blake wanted to bolt, and really, I did too, especially after running through a rain of death like that. However, he still nodded at my assurances, taking an unsteady step forward before slowly climbing his way out of the crater. “There you go.”
As soon as we made our way out of the blast crater, two rifles fell in right behind the back of my head as two unicorn ponies seemingly appeared to either side of us, and without words, they nudged Blake and I forward, guiding us through the fading clouds of dust from the barrage. Just up ahead, I could see all of my friends, still thankfully alive and fully intact, each only adorning a small number of scrapes and harmless cuts with a large collection of dust. The five of them had been put together into a group as they fought to get their breath back, surrounded by roughly two dozen ponies with rifles and carbines trained upon them incase of an escape attempt. As we approached, I saw as Gunny was relieved of his LMG and riot shotgun, the two guns tossed recklessly into a pile that was made of all of our weaponry. But what caught my immediate attention was these new ponies themselves. Each wore a set of light or medium weight combat armors with black hoodless cloaks worn over them, some of the suits looking just like Raemor’s Equestrian Army armor and others still looking very similar to Shore and Gunny’s security armor in both their material and their blue and black coloring.
Then, the two of us were shoved towards the others to be completely surrounded by the Buckley ponies, and I suddenly felt telekinesis around my foreleg as the holster holding Fire Rose was unhooked from its place; I could only watch as my mother’s pistol was tossed away into the pile, my battle saddle with my markspony carbine and Cross’s battle rifle quickly following.
“Are you okay Nova? Blake?” I heard, looking up and to my left to see Gunny looking concernedly our way.
I hugged Blake tight again, my younger sibling returning the embrace and burying his muzzle into my leg. “We’re fine… are you all okay?”
“We’re alright… we made it.” Gunny nodded.
“A pegasus??”
“She really is one…”
“I didn’t think another pegasus pony was out there.”
I heard the sudden chatter as it swiftly picked up and spread like wildfire around the ring our captors made around us, and when I looked, I saw several of them staring right at me.
“That doesn’t explain how the hell you all survived that bombardment!” one of our captors suddenly exclaimed, and I glared at the source of the voice - a green unicorn buck who was currently stepping from the ring to approach us. “Pegasus or not, nopony’s fast enough to outrun our guns.”
“Or you all need to work on your damn aim.” Gunny fired back coldly.
“If you want to see how good I am at killing outsiders, then I’ll show you.” the buck challenged with a smirk, Gunny (along with Shore and Gracie) glaring daggers in return.
“Hey!” I shouted back, catching the cocky buck’s attention. “We didn’t come here to fight you.”
The stallion only rolled his eyes. “Yeah right. I bet you-”
“Enough!” A mare suddenly shouted, entering through the circle and stepping in between myself and the young Buckley stallion. “Everypony, just stand down. They’ve survived the bombardment, and so we’re taking them back alive. Those are the orders.” she explained, the young stallion straightening and nodding before stepping back to his place in the circle.
This mare, an earth pony with a deep amber coat that matched her eyes and a dark red mane and tail, looked to be the one in charge of our group of captors… at least if the number of shiny bronze and silver medals decorating her armor’s chest plate declared some sort of higher rank. She was the only one out of those I could see which had any sort of decoration that might indicate a position of leadership, and now she was looking right at me, leaning left and right to inspect my wings. But she didn’t speak to me, and after another moment, she turned away from me to pass a quick look over the rest of her new prisoners, nodding before she said, “Bolt, you and your squad take their weapons back and store them away.” After a quick ’yes ma’am’ from one of the bucks in the group that I couldn’t see, the mare turned around, looking out at the air base as it came clearly into view, the dust fully dissipating, “The rest of you are with me. We’ll escort the prisoners back to base and take them to the missile silo.” At the commander mare’s order, my friends and I were forced forward, heading straight for Buckley’s main entrance as the reinforced gate rattled open up ahead. Right away, two guards took up flanking positions on either side of me, weapons thankfully not at the back of my head as we walked, but still at the ready. The others likewise found themselves in the company of their own escorts, but for one reason or another, they didn’t separate Blake from me, the young colt only looking slightly less afraid than he had been before. I made sure to keep him close while we walked, and as we got moving at a steady pace, the commander trotted ahead to the front of our escort, adding as she looked right back at me, “Shimmer’s going to want to speak with this bunch.”
Footnote: Level Up!!
New Perk: Gunslinger - You honor your family in many ways, and one of them is by using mother’s weapon to kill the bad guys. While using Fire Rose, or any type of pistol or SMG, your accuracy in S.A.T.S. is increased by 25%.
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2317376 True, you are only one reader, but while making these revisions, I came up with several other ideas, and I think these changes made the chapter more believable, bringing out the point that the wasteland is affecting all of the characters and opening up some new possibilities for later.
2317671>>2317376 only reader mah rear! I'm loving this story. XD