Chapter 6: Black Holes & Revelations
I was frozen in my tracks at the sight of the dragon. He towered above us, but he didn’t appear to be acting aggressively. Once I realized this, his words finally registered in my mind.
“Y-yes, p-please, anything.” I stutter out, wiping the tears out of my eyes with a hoof.
The dragon nodded. “Bring her in here; I think I know what can help.” He said, turning around and walking further into the cave.
Qindeo hoisted Scopes up slowly onto his back and followed the dragon, as I slowly got to my feet and did the same.
“Set her down there.” The dragon said, pointing a claw towards the massive sunken bed in the floor of the cave. He began digging through a pile of medical boxes as Qin set Scopes on the bed as instructed.
I moved off to the side as the dragon began instructing Qindeo on what he needed to do. He talked the zebra through it, as I began to drift off to sleep.
***
When I awoke, the first thing I saw was Scopes resting peacefully on the bed where she had been placed. I heard Qindeo and the dragon talking off to the side of me, near one of the massive bookshelves that lined the walls.
I rose, making my way over to where they were.
“Ah! You’re awake!” The dragon said. “Qindeo here was just telling me about how he met you and your friend. I’m Spike, by the way.” He said.
“Desert Eagle.” I replied, taking off my Aviators.
“Pleasure to meet you.” Spike said.
I heard Scopes begin to stir behind me, and I turned towards the bed where she lay.
“W-what happened?” She mumbled, raising her head to look around.
I galloped over to her, pulling her into a tight hug. “I, I thought you were going to die. You were hit in the chest by an energy beam while diving to get my rifle. It was pretty bad. By pure chance we made it here, to this cave, and Spike here, the big purple dragon behind me, offered to help, and well, you’re alive!” I said, not releasing her from my hug until I was done speaking.
She nodded. “Thanks Desert, but you still owe me, because I’ve saved your flank twice.” She said with a grin.
“Well, I hope I never have to.” I replied, helping her off the bed and leading her back over to where Spike and Qindeo were still.
Scopes studied the dragon for a moment. “Well, Spike, I am deeply grateful of you for saving my life.” She chuckled before continuing. “And for not eating any of us.”
Spike nodded. “You are most welcome.” He said. “And I don’t eat ponies, I eat gems.” He gestured to the many piles of gems lying around the cave.
“Well, that’s nice to know.” I say. “So, what exactly do you do here anyway?” I asked, glancing around the cave for any hints to the answer.
“Well, I stay in my cave, and use sprite-bots to communicate and provide help to ponies who need it.” Spike replied.
I nodded. “Ah yes, those annoying things that go around blasting music everywhere.” I said, a thought forming in my mind. “Actually, now that you mention it, I bet you’ve run into a lot of interesting things while controlling those things, so I have a question for you.”
Spike nodded. “Shoot.”
“Well, do you know anything about the Gardens of Equestria?” I asked, thinking that he probably wouldn’t have, considering it was tied to the most highly classified weapon of the war.
Spike froze. “Uhh, n-no. Why?”
I raised my eyebrow, and decided to take the risk of actually telling him why I wanted to know. “Well, it’s because we’ve found the plans and last remaining fire control to the Orbital Friendship Cannon.” I said, wondering what the dragon would say to that.
“Wh-what?!” Spike exclaimed, shock and surprise spreading over his face. “You mean that you’ve actually found the OFC?”
I nodded slowly. “That would be correct. How do you know about it though?”
Spike hesitated for a moment before continuing, seeming to be making some sort of big decision in his mind. “Well, you see, I was Twilight Sparkle’s number one assistant during the war, and one of her projects was the Gardens of Equestria megaspell. It was like a giant reset button for if megaspells ever started being launched, which they obviously did. But there was one small problem with the spell, its range of effect was too small for all of Equestria. So when she caught word of Rainbow Dash’s and Dr. Oppenhoofer’s project, she requested that it act as a range amplifier for the spell, to which they obliged.” The dragon said. “I was tasked with keeping Gardens safe, which is also the reason I cannot leave this cave.”
All three of us nodded. “Wow, I never thought we’d actually find it, let alone meet the guardian of it.” I said. “That’s a pretty heavy responsibility.”
Spike nodded. “It is. Now, tell me, is the OFC still operational?” He asked. “Because if it’s not, then half of Equestria will remain Wasteland if Gardens is ever activated.”
“Well, I believe it is still operational, but we can’t fire it. We need a passcode and the coordinates of the cannon to be able to, and we don’t know either.” I replied.
“I see.” The dragon replied simply.
We stood there in silence for a moment, until Qindeo spoke up. “So, what exactly is this ‘Gardens of Equestria’ anyway?” The zebra asked.
Spike thought for several moments before replying. “Well, I’ll show you, but you have to promise that what you see and have learned in this cave does not leave here. If the Steel Rangers or Enclave were to find out about this, it would be the end of me, and Gardens.”
Once we had all promised not to tell anypony else about it, Spike led us deeper into his cave, towards the chamber that housed the Gardens of Equestria.
***
“Here we are.” Spike said, leading us into the chamber that housed Gardens.
The chamber was massive. Along the walls were 12 maneframes, mostly inactive save for one. Giant cables ran out of the tops of each one, connecting to a massive tapered column far above us. The column itself was a mass of steel and magic, and was pointed upwards at a hole at the top of the chamber, through which I could make out the sky.
“What, is that?” I ask, staring in awe at the massive column.
“That would be a Crusader Maneframe. Most powerful maneframe ever built. So powerful it can learn and think for itself.” Spike said.
“Holy shit…” I muttered, now noticing the six platforms radiating out from the base of the maneframe, each one having a dais upon which a piece of jewelry sat.
“Those wouldn’t happen to be the Elements of Harmony, would they?” Scopes said.
“They are. The Gardens of Equestria is activated using the combined power from them. Only problem is that the element bearers are long dead.” Spike says, a trace of sadness in his voice. “That’s why I spend my time scouring the wastes with sprite-bots. I’m trying to find new bearers for them.”
***
We returned back to the main room of Spike’s cave, the three of us stunned at the enormous responsibility the dragon had on his shoulders.
“So, have you had any luck finding new bearers?” I asked Spike.
The dragon, to my surprise nodded. “In fact I have. Littlepip’s, or the Stable Dweller as DJ Pon3 calls her, companions Calamity and Velvet Remedy might make good candidates for the elements of Loyalty and Kindness respectively.” He said. “And a ghoul by the name of Ditzy Doo would make a good candidate for Laughter, but that still leaves Magic, Honesty, and Generosity.
“Well, we’ll definitely keep an eye out for ponies that fit that description for you, but even if you do get all six elements, we still can’t activate the OFC. You have any suggestions?” I said, hoping that the dragon would have some advice to give us.
“Well, for the coordinates, I would head to Tenpony Tower in Manehattan and talk with DJ Pon3. He’s got a broadcasting network setup with all those SPP towers that are scattered around everywhere, so you’ll probably be able to triangulate the cannon’s position using those. As for the passcode, I’m not sure what advise I can give you, sorry.” Spike told me.
“Thanks, and don’t worry, we’ll figure something out.” I replied to him, before turning to Scopes and Qindeo. “So, you two up for a little trip to Tenpony?”
***
“The zebra can’t go in.”
We had made the three day flight from Spike’s cave to Tenpony with no run-ins with the Enclave, only the occasional raider party who decided it would be a good idea to ambush us when we landed to sleep or resupply.
“Excuse me?” I said, glaring at the guard in front of me.
“The zebra, cannot, go it.” The guard repeated.
I was about to do something that everypony here would regret me doing, but Scopes stepped in front of me. “Let me handle this Desert.” She said.
I grunted and moved back to where Qindeo was waiting patiently next to the cart. A moment later I heard the jangle of caps being exchanged and Scopes came trotting back to us.
“He can go in, but we all have to turn in our ammunition in at the guard station.” She said.
“Great, hope they’ve got room for it.” I muttered in response.
We entered into the tower, and went into the guard station to turn in our ammo.
“Sweet Celestia, where’d the hell you get all this ammo?” The guard who was collecting our ammunition asked. It was an appropriate question to ask, seeing as we had 7 ammo boxes full of various types of rounds.
“Well, we found an armory, and took as much as we could carry.” I replied. “And if you’re wondering, no, I’m not telling you where it is.”
The guard shrugged. “Well, that seems to be the last of it, you’re free to go.” He said, ushering us out of the guard station. “Have a nice day.”
“Well, I guess we better find ourselves a room.” I said, glancing at where Qindeo stood. He had his stealth cloak on with the hood up to disguise himself, but was still drawing second glances from passersby.
“Agreed.” Scopes said. “And we all could probably use a good bath.”
Both Qindeo and I groaned.
“Oh come on, baths aren’t that bad.” Scopes said with a grin. “Come on you two, let’s get a room.”
***
An hour later we were all chilling out in a room that Scopes had rented out for us. We had gotten some pretty good looks from the other ponies that lived here, who were all clean and nicely dressed, while we on the other hand were covered in blood, dirt, and who knows what else, and were dressed in full combat attire carrying large weapons. It was pretty funny to say the least.
“Fucking fancy ponies wouldn’t last a day out in the Wastes.” I muttered as I removed my battle saddle, helmet, and barding. I had managed to sneak two full clips of ammo past the guard at the entrance, and loaded one into my Deagle and slipped the other into a spot on the holster now.
“Now about those baths.” I hear Scopes say behind me as I did this. I groaned. “Well shit.”
***
Half an hour later we were all nice and uncomfortably clean, and Scopes was way too happy with herself.
“’Not that bad’ she says, ‘It’ll be fun’ she says.” I muttered, shaking my wet mane out. I could hear Scopes laughing at me as I reattached my leg holster. The familiar weight of it was comforting. I wore it so much that it had almost become an extension of my leg.
“Well, now that we’re all clean, and stuff, let’s get a good night’s sleep.” I said.
“Agreed, I’m exhausted.” Scopes said, collapsing onto the bed. “So fluffy.” She muttered into the sheets.
I rolled my eyes. “Good night Scopes.”
***
When I awoke it was dark out. I checked the time on my PipBuck. It was 3:01 AM. I lay there for a moment, listening to the quiet snoring of Qindeo from where he slept on the floor between mine and Scopes’s beds. Deciding that I wasn’t going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon, I got up as quietly as I could, and slipped out of the room.
The hallway was dead silent, and there were only three yellow bars on my EFS, which I presumed to be guards. I trotted down the hallway towards the main area of the tower where we had come in at, and decided to have some fun exploring. I chose a hallway at random and began walking down it, enjoying the peaceful air that the building seemed to have in it.
The hallway ended with a door that had been left ajar. I nosed it open and stepped through it, and found myself on a staircase leading downwards. Curious, I started down it, and soon found myself in some sort of dimly lit access tunnel. I checked my EFS again, this time seeing 7 yellow bars, all of them directly ahead of me in the tunnel.
Against the sane part of my mind that was screaming at me to go back to the room, I crept forward, sticking to the darkest parts of the tunnel until I was within hearing range. What I heard shook me to the core.
“…and then, Vladmar, you kill the other two with Fierez while me and George get the target. The rest of you stand guard, and if you have to get rid of a possible witness, do so quietly.” One of them said.
I crept forward further, hunkering down behind a pile of crates. Slowly, I peeked over the top. In front of me stood seven zebras, all dressed in stealth cloaks bearing the same mark Qindeo’s did.
It was then that I realized what exactly was going to happen, and also when three more yellow bars approached from the direction I had come from. I made myself as small as possible as three more zebras trotted past me to the others.
“Hey boss, the door at the top of the stairs was wide open, and one of the ponies was missing from the room. I think that he might be down here.” I heard one of them say.
“Well, search the area then!” The one who had been speaking earlier replied.
Shit!
I quickly looked around for some other place to hide, but there were none. Well, here goes nothing. I thought, before making probably the stupidest decision I could have.
I stood up and stepped around the pile of boxes, revealing myself to the group of zebras. “Hey bozos, I’m right here you know. You should really work on your security; well then again, I am the security.” I said with a grin plastered over my face.
All ten of them turned to look at me. “Well, in that case, we’ll test our current security right now.” The leader of the group said. “Get him.”
Five of the zebras leapt towards me, and I fled. “Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit!” I yelled as I flew back up the tunnel, shooting past the stairs I had come down originally. “Fuck!”
I flew on down the tunnel, the small space limiting my speed. I glanced back to see the zebras only a tail-length behind me, and gaining slowly. “Well shit.” I muttered, taking a sharp corner only to find myself at a dead end. “FUCK!”
I whipped around just in time to see the zebras blocking the way back down the tunnel. I was trapped.
“Well, that was impressive, but still not enough.” The leader stepped through the line of zebras towards me, the rest of the group making a second line in front of the first.
“Well, you caught me.” I spat. “What’re you gonna do with me now?”
The leader laughed. “Straight to the point, aren’t you?” He said. “Desert Eagle isn’t it?”
I nodded.
“Well then Desert Eagle, if you must know, we were going to kill you, along with your friends, but since you are here now, I think I’ll have you kill them instead.” The leader said. “Oh, and I don’t believe I’ve properly introduced myself yet. I am Head Assassin Kalisz. I replaced former Head Assassin Qindeo when he defected.” He said.
I didn’t respond. My mind was still trying to figure a way out of this situation. There was no way I was going to kill my friends! “Well Kalisz, I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline. You see, I love my friends dearly, and one of them almost died recently, and I don’t think I could bear to lose her.” I said, a plan finally starting to form. I had spied a door to my left just briefly, and began edging towards it as I spoke.
“Well, that’s a shame. I was hoping to keep you alive at least a little longer.” Kalisz said. “But so be it. Eliminate him please.”
I dove for the door, and instead of opening it went straight through it, sending bits of wood flying in every direction. I landed on my back with a thud, stars spinning in my vision as I scrambled to my hooves and started running through the room.
The room was some sort of maintenance room, with various machines lining the walls and floor. I charged through them, knocking anything over that I could to slow my pursuers down.
I skidded around a corner, sprinting down one of those classic hallways with doors lining each side, and dove into one of them, hiding myself inside.
I could hear the five or so zebras talking in Zebraic out in the hallway. I heard them begin to search the rooms, and the door to my room swinging open and then back closed.
The zebra trotted around the room, checking all the nooks and crannies, getting closer to the spot I was hiding in.
I slowly pulled my Deagle out from its holster, readying it. I knew that the noise would alert the rest of them, but hopefully I could pick them off as they came through the door.
The pile of chairs I was behind moved and the zebra found himself staring at the barrel of my gun. I pulled the trigger. His head exploded from the blast, which also set my ears ringing.
I shoved the now headless body back and stepped out of my hiding spot, my Deagle trained on the door. I heard hooves pounding down the hallway towards my room, and when the door flew open I fired, the zebra staggering back out into the hallway and collapsing against the opposite wall, a hole in his chest.
The next zebra stopped short, but made the mistake of poking his head around the corner. He was thrown back into the floor with a hole where his left eye used to be.
The last two zebras were smarter. They activated their stealth cloaks and tried to sneak in, but at such a close range I could see the shimmer around them, and put a round into each of them.
I breathed a shaky sigh of relief as the sound of the last shot faded away. Quickly I reloaded, thankful that I had been able to sneak two clips through security. I had nine rounds left, and four more zebras to kill. Without a moment to waste, I set out after them, backtracking through the maintenance room to the tunnel. They weren’t anywhere in sight, and my EFS was blank as well.
I swore. They must have gone after Qin and Scopes while the others were chasing me! I thought. Lofting into the air, I flew back down the tunnel to where I had come in. I cantered up the stairs burst through the door, throwing myself back into the air and pouring on the speed back to our room, hoping I wasn’t too late.
Thankfully, I wasn’t. As I turned the corner into the hall our room was in, I saw the four zebras approaching our door. “Oh hell no!” I yelled, yanking my Deagle out and slipping into VATS.
I targeted one shot to each of their heads, Kalisz only having a 10% chance, much to my dismay. I fired anyway, time crawling along as I watched the first three shots hit their target’s heads, decapitating one of them. The fourth shot, aimed at Kalisz, missed. I exited VATS, holstered the Deagle, and dove towards him, slamming him into the floor right as he began opening the door to our room.
Much to my surprise he threw me right back off, and flipped up onto his hooves. I brought my Deagle up, only to have it kicked out of my mouth, and then before I could react, his hoof collided with my chest. I heard something crack as I dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. As the pain laced through my chest, I realized he had broken one of my ribs, and probably was going to break my neck next.
Adrenaline rushing, I forced myself back up to my hooves, and faced the zebra. He hit me with another kick, this one to the shoulder. I went staggering back into our door, vaguely wondering why neither Qin or Scopes had woken up and come out here to save my flank yet.
I faced Kalisz again. The zebra shook his head. “You just won’t give up without a fight, will you?” He asked. I replied with my own kick, hitting the zebra square in the chest while his guard was down. Unfortunately, this didn’t do much more than piss him off.
I quickly found myself returned to the familiar entity that was the floor, with what I suspected was a second broken rib. I spat blood out of my muzzle before forcing myself to my hooves once again. “Hell no I won’t” I croaked.
Kalisz grinned. “So be it.” He hit my jaw with an uppercut, and while I was still reeling from that, slammed my chest with a full-force applebuck, sending me slamming into the wall. I slid down it and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, coughing up generous amounts of blood, and finding it very difficult to breathe. I figured that I probably had a punctured lung, along with a few more broken ribs.
I lifted my head slightly to see him approaching me. He was saying something, but I didn’t really pay attention to it cause something else had caught my eye. My Deagle lay on the floor nearby, just out of reach.
I turned to him, and disguised my movement towards it as a failed attempt to get up. I staggered for a few moments before collapsing again, right next to it so that he couldn’t see the gun.
“Well now Desert, I think that your time has come, but since I am courteous, do you have any last words?” Kalisz asked.
I coughed several times before replying. “Y-yeah, knock knock.”
Kalisz raised an eyebrow. “Really? Whatever. Who’s there?”
“Hot lead.” I rolled over to face him, Deagle in my mouth, and emptied the last five rounds in the clip at the zebra. He was staggered back into the opposite wall, five holes in his chest, and slid to the ground, a large pool of blood forming around him.
I dropped the Deagle, the gun clattering to the floor with its slide locked open and smoke drifting slowly from the firing chamber and barrel.
I smiled to myself as I watched the smoke drift upwards, before succumbing to unconsciousness where I lay.