Preview Chapter 1
War.
War never changes.
Just the ponies who fight them.
Sometimes, for the better.
Sometimes, for the worst.
But they change.
Like me. I changed. Though I don't know yet if it is for the best or the worst.
So I will let you decide.
No, no. Don't decide just yet. Let me tell my tale first.
My name is Whirlwind. I am a former Outpost Guard pony. In case you don't know what an Outpost is, here is an explanation. Outposts are small bases that are scattered across Northern Equestria, though most have civilians living in there, who can't get into the Crystal Empire, or can't afford it, and are forced to go there due to freezing cold weather, wild animals, raiders, so forth. The Outpost takes the ponies in if they have room, and feed them, protect them. A motel, if I can call it that, with military ties. Sure, there are far more luxurious places out there in the Frozen Wasteland, but the Outposts are safest. We have elite soldiers guarding the Outposts 23/7. I say 23 because there is always some guard during the night shift who falls asleep.
Ok me are not all that great, but at least we are well supplied. We are trading hubs and frequently get traders in and out. Some even need a place to stay, so more caps for us, because ponies who don't need our protection have to pay, and usually get kicked out if someone who is in need comes along while they stay. Normally, in the city, it's vise versa, the ones who don't pay get kicked to the streets and the highest bidder wins a bed. The Outposts' goal is to protect. More importantly, protect the Empire from 'King' Sombra.
Most of you should have heard of Sombra, unless you came from Southern Equestria, with all of those deserts and no snow. If you are one of those ponies who is from the South, here is another explanation.
King Sombra returned along with the Empire some 210 years ago. We were able to hold off Sombra for a good while, with some outsider's help. I can't remember their names well, but I believe they were called Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Princess Cadence, and Spike. They were Southerners, unlike us, but you Southern Ponies should know the tale. Yet, even after Sombra's Second Fall, he returned again. We though we had killed him.
Boy, were we so wrong.
He came back, somehow. Some say it was a simple preservation spell he made up, some say they could see his horn fly away when he fell the second time, and that he regrew from his horn. Others, say that the devil or some unholy, pure evil being willed him back to life.
I say fuck all of that shit. I don't care how he came back. I just want him gone. For good this time. I want to do everything in my power to get rid of him. I don't care if I have to die for it. Death itself won't stop me. If Sombra came back from the dead to rule, then I will come back to end his rule. Though, I won't take that rode alone. I along can't undertake this path without someone. Even the smallest mare will do. The road will break my bones, shatter my will to live, blow apart my mind. Maybe even drive me insane. But I want somepony to mend though wounds. Help me in my time of need. Maybe even fall in love with me.
But that is me. I'm just me. One pony.
Enough with all this, let me finish what I was going to say first.
I am an Outpost Guard. Squad 3. My current station is Outpost 22. My squad is OP 22-S3. We are by far the best of the best. Best defense, best medical assistance, best snipers, you name it, we got it. All but avoiding mines. We suck at that. A metal detector might help, or a mine that yell, 'WHATCH THE FUCK OUT, I'M EXPLODING,' or something. Sadly, we don't get those. Just a light from our Pipbucks and three beeps.
Now you might be lost. Wait, Pipbucks? Like the Pipbuck 3000? Are't those Stable Tec stuff?
Well, yea, it is. It just so happens that Outpost 22 is an old abandoned Stable. We wandered into the Stable and found skeletons of the old Stable Dwellers, along with some Pipbucks. After some research, and maybe a few explosions due to failures, we got ourselves a new and improved Pipbuck. They look just like the 3000 model, but ours come with a microphone with a cable that is attached to the Pipbuck, and is long enough to fit to our heads. They get minor things too, like Stopwatches (S.T.W), Calendars (C.A.L), and a Heart Rate Monitor (H.R.M). We still get all the old setting too, like the Eyes Forward Sparkle (E.F.S) and the Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell (S.A.T.S). Unlike the Stable Ponies, however, the Pipbuck 4000 (our version) is only assigned to the soldiers. So I have one, but the annoying colt from Room 2 doesn't, even with his cutie mark.
Now, 'who am I?', your asking, huh? I am my Squad's regular infantry. I handle all the automatic rifles, energy rifles, and expert at repairing guns. Only guns, though, so I didn't help out any on the Pipbucks, that was Lightning Flicker's work. Honestly, I don't like any of the guns most of the other soldiers ask me to repair. Sure, I can repair them, but I prefer my lovely Outpost Tech Solar Powered Rifle and Solar Pistol. Eeyup. Solar Powered. Means I can not only shoot bright solar flares, but I don't need ammo either. I guess it is like a solar panel, just it harnesses the energy collected into a deadly laser, solar flare, beam, whatever. Lightning Flicker's work, again. Wow, that stallion is not only cute, but he is good with making things and...
Crap, I am going off topic. Though, I need to identify myself clearly. I am a male unicorn. Average sized, light grey coat, darker grey mane with blue streaks here and there, and rather cute myself, now that I think about it. Oh, and I have light blue eyes. I think the proper color name is cyan. I am sarcastic. Very sarcastic. Sometimes I accidently get people mad because they don't know when to take me serious or not. I also like to have fun, but never really go to parties. I guess you can call me a little shy. Unless you talk to me first, I am not likely to just walk up and say, 'hey, wanna go grab a drink'. Which is probably why I have never even dated someone. I'm the bisexual colt sitting in the corner waiting, hoping, for somepony, anypony, to walk up and ask me anything of the sort.
So yea, I'm free. But don't ask. Unless I know you well or I already admire you, I will say no.
On second though I'm desperate so go ahead.
Ok I need to stop I'm becoming red in the face.
New topic.
Where was I?
Ah yes, back to war.
The reason why I haven't already left the Outpost was because of two reasons. Number one, I don't have anyone who will follow me. They say it's suicide. I don't care. Number two. I'm scared. I won't lie. I don't want to die. Nopony does, not even Sombra. I don't want to go on a mission I made up if I am not going to have a good and running chance. One pony won't do. Not even with this Outpost Power Armor.
I forgot to tell you about Outpost Power Armor! I'll make it brief. We found some pony in the snow with some Power Armor on. Took forever to get off, but we did manage. His armor bore the symbol of a spark, some apples, and wings. Black and red Power Armor. We again examined the suit and made improvements. Some thought the improvements on the prototype were terrible. The suit was a bit stiff, hard to breath in, and had a nasty attitude.
Yea, our suits talk. Well, now they only talk when the pony inside gets injured, like a broken or shattered bone, and it would say, "Back right left impaired," which will notify the medic to look at it later. The new suits also can activate a cast for a simple broken bone, depending on which bone is broken. The wearer can still battle even with the cast on, it's so durable. With the prototype you get a similar response from the suit, but it can't become a cast, so you have to take off the suit and wait for the bone to heal with the help of the medic. I have a prototype, because I like it. Sure, the new one has perks, but it's boring. I can't talk to it and have a conversation. With the prototype, you can talk to it and get an answer from it. It has personality. It can even insult you. When I first put my suit on, it said to me, 'You better take care of me, fuck ass,'. I did take care of it, and he is less mouthy now. He only insults me now when I make stupid decisions, like drink too much. I never wear the helmet though. We again kept most of the functions which the suit we found had, like repair itself to a certain point, fix us up with Med-X and other medical supplies.
Now, onto the last part of this. Enemies and allies.
Here are the worst bad guys. King Sombra and his army of Mutated Crystal Ponies and Zecora's Legion. King Sombra magically mutates ponies into larger, stronger ponies who are covered in dark black crystals, and loose intelligence. However, they can still wield weapons, and commonly are seen with either a rifle or the bigger guns. They seem to favor miniguns and flame throwers. I can see why they like flamethrowers. Even though they are mutated, they still want to keep warm in this weather. Blizzards 12/6 1/2 days of the year it seems. I would rather die by flame than by bullet. I would die warm.
Now Zecora's Legion. They are zebras and zebra followers. They believe that Zecora was gathering intel from the ponies by living in Southern Equestria and being friends with Twilight Sparkle. I don't know much of Zecora, but she must have been a huge impact on the zebras to have some zebra who wears a mask that must look just like Zecora's head. I hope I never meet that zebra. I hear that zebra can take out an entire Outpost if she chose to, and if the Outposts were worthy enough to be destroyed. I don't know if it is true or not, but I don't want to find out. I want to keep that story a story.
Now, I lied. I am no Element of Honesty. One more thing, I promise.
Why do I want to take this quest?
The Crystal Heart. It's dying. Twilight and her friends may have recovered it, but there is one thing that was never told to Twilight, that only crystal ponies know of. There are multiple Crystal Hearts. They are far beyond rare, and even harder to obtain. One can only get a Crystal Heart from a Crystal Dragon. The Crystal Heart is the Dragon's Heart. Of course it looks different when inside the dragon in order to function, but once the dragon is killed, it changes form and you get the cute little heart shape you thought was what a real heart looked like when you were a little filly or colt.
So who do I want to kill Sombra?
I don't want to kill him. I want to ask him where you find a Crystal Dragon. I am not sure he will answer, but I can make him somehow. After that, I will kill him. He leads the Mutated Crystal Ponies and I want that to end as much as the next pony. Only he can mutate ponies to their crystalized form, so once the source is gone, then it's just a matter of time and bullets.
War.
War never changes.