//------------------------------//
// 31 - A Plan 
// Story: Fallout: Equestria - War Does Change 
// by tom117z 
//------------------------------//


Chapter Thirty-One: A Plan



“Always have a plan A, B, C…”






Watcher was silent as he listened to the recap of what we’d seen in that memory orb we’d captured from the slavers, as well as filling in any gaps in his knowledge as to what we’ve been doing since we last spoke. To be fair, he knew a good bit about it, seeing as he watches he can things as a rule of thumb. But he was missing a couple of details, mostly what happened inside Stable 77 and the metro tunnels.

I still had no idea who was sitting on the other side of that Spritebot, except that I suspect they might have known the Ministry Mares two hundred years ago (Which would make them really old. How was that even possible?), though I could just imagine his frown as we got into detail about the hypothetical Changeling Queen potion.

I could imagine it even more when he finally spoke after he was brought completely up to speed.

“A modification to the alicorn potion…?” he muttered in that usual robotic tone. “The alicorn potion itself was meant to end the war, Twilight gave everything to complete it. She just wanted to bring the fighting to a close, but… I never knew there was a spin-off project on the books.”

“How did the potion go so wrong in the first place, since you seem to know so much about the Ministry Mare,” Cobalt asked. “The Twilight Society has never been able to figure that out. She was the most brilliant mind of the era, how did her final project end with a Goddess and half-baked mutants?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I have no idea what happened on that last day, or what happened to Twilight. I can only imagine it relates to the megaspells that hit Maripony and the rest of Splendid Valley. And I know the place got hit hard.”

“What’s Maripony?” I asked, looking between the Spritebot and Cobalt in confusion. “I heard that name in the memory orb we took from that griffon, the facility in Haven was modelled after it.”

“It’s a facility reportedly inside Splendid Valley. The alicorns use it as something of a home,” Cobalt explained.

“Nothing ‘reportedly’ about it,” Watcher dismissed. “It was the primary facility for production and research on the alicorn potion. The Haven facility was ‘Site B’ if you will. Their purpose, beyond working on the ChangeBuck, was meant to provide supplementary research for Maripony. Especially because of the changeling magic element, seeing as it was so close to the hive. But apparently more went on there than I’ve ever realised. That’s a fun revelation.”

Wait. “You knew that place under Haven was the MAS facility this whole time?”

“Uh… Yes?”

Fucking…

“Wish you turned up earlier,” Moon Blossom remarked with a cackle. “Would have saved us an alicorn to kill.”

“I would have, had I known you were searching for it before now,” he said in a tone that sounded even more robotically deadpan than usual.

“Seeing as you are deeply aware of many activities conducted by the Ministry of Arcane Sciences, then perhaps you too know the access code for the facility itself?” Xena inquired hopefully.

“We weren’t able to find any trace of an access code in this place,” Cobalt noted, which I didn’t know until now, and it was very annoying that we still don’t have that. “If we can’t get it, we won’t be able to get inside without dying in the process.”

Watcher was silent, even as we looked up at the robot expectantly. You know that feeling of increasing disappointment? Feeling that right about now.

“…No.”

What?

“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Moon Blossom scoffed. “I thought you were meant to be our helpful little floaty guardian angel?”

“I’m sorry, but I believe this is the first time we’ve met face-to-face,” Watcher retorted.

“You haven’t even shown your actual face!”

“There’s a reason for that.”

“Back on track,” I interrupted the two. “Why not, Watcher?”

“Because I don’t know it,” he answered simply. And… that was even more disappointing. “Yes, I know an extraordinary amount about the MAS, probably more than anyone else on Equus nowadays I’d think.”

Cobalt seemed to sulk a little at that, but Watcher didn’t notice or care.

“But that doesn’t mean I know everything. I could list each project that the ministry ever undertook; or most, as it appears even I had some elements hidden from me, but I hardly know the password to every computer. It’s not like I ever worked there.”

“So where did you work?” Cobalt asked him, and Watcher went silent again. “Because back to an earlier point, you DID know Twilight Sparkle, didn’t you?”

That radio on the front turned to face Cobalt directly. “That’s a big assumption to make.”

“It’s not just that you know a lot of things, if you’re smart enough and have the resources you could probably find it all out one way or another,” he continued, the rest of us just watching their confrontation. “I’ve learnt everything I could about her, she’s kinda my role model. Her spell, her life, every data file on the MAS in Tenpony Tower. I know she personally designed the magic capacitor in most mainline energy cells. I also know she initially opposed the idea of turning that research into weaponry, but later recanted and helped make it happen.”

“Your point?”

“My point is that I know a great deal more about the Ministry Mare than most ponies, even if it’s admittedly not to your level. But that’s not the red flag; it’s the way you talk about her. Scrap Heap was right about you sounding like you knew her. Saying about how she came home as if you bore witness to it as it happened, the sheer offence you radiated at not knowing about the Changeling Queen potion that was hypothesised by her and Chrysalis-”

“ALRIGHT!” Watcher suddenly shouted, and I think we all took a step back at the anger in that robotic tone. “Yes, I knew her. I knew her better than anypony. And she died while I was away. I was always away! I only knew any of the later MAS stuff from our occasional meetups or contact, and I watched as she destroyed herself for Equestria!”

…Holy shit.

“Who are you…?” I asked, trying to be as careful in my words and tone of voice as I could.

“That… I still can’t tell you.” Oh, come on! “I’m sorry, but I’ve already exposed my secret before, recently, and that’s such a risk in itself. Perhaps one day, but I just can’t.”

“Okay, fair enough…” Goddesses, this is one secret that was going to scratch at my brain. “So, you knew her, I’m guessing you were part of the MAS in some way or another. If you know a lot about the Ministry, but not the code for that specific place, then maybe you know where we can find it?”

“…Yes, I think I do,” he admitted. “Twilight told me more than she probably should have about the work she did as it is, that’s a certainty. Though I only had personal access to the things I personally needed to, like the machinery I use to hack into these Spritebots for example. But I also know each MAS facility was connected to the closest hub.”

“Like Tenpony Tower,” Cobalt said with a hum. “I think I know where you’re going with this…”

“The closest ministry hub for the MAS is in Vanhoover,” Watcher continued. “They never had a direct part in the research surrounding the changeling hive, but they would have done most of the clerical work for it. Twilight also had an office in every hub, a place for her to personally access all the files related to the attached projects in relative comfort. If there’s any place to find the code, that’s where you will need to go.”

Right… So, we now needed to make our way to a ruined city to break into the office of Twilight Sparkle and take her personal access code. Remember when surviving was simple?

“Road trip!” Moon Blossom proclaimed. “Looong way to Vanhoover, though.”

“Maybe not,” Xena mused. “In my scope I have seen a few skywagons dotted around town.”

“You mean those hulks outside?” Cobalt asked. “Stripe, those would need a complete refit to make work.”

“Not those,” she denied. “I saw some more intact variants near one of the barricades around the factory.”

“It might be something the slavers used for transport,” Watcher suggested. “You have two fliers, you could probably get it working. Cut a week or more into a single day’s journey.”

“Could you help us, Altrix?” Xena asked, turning to the silent changeling mare. I felt a twinge of nervousness as the question was asked, Altrix hadn’t said a word since coming back from the search… “You do not have to, but two fliers would be better than one.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Moon Blossom muttered, stretching out one of her wings.

Altrix diverted her gaze, biting her lip. But she then looked back up at us, giving a small nod. “I- I’ll try. Maybe it will help me think of something else, I don’t want to be near this place anymore…”

Maybe just getting her away from Buckingham would be a good start to helping her. But then again, what would we find in that city? Dear Luna, a big part of me just wanted to take her home. But in all honesty, even as damaged as she’d become after today, would she go?

“I don’t suppose I need to say how important it is that Twilight’s research is never completed, not in the way that either the Goddess or Kronos would want,” Watcher stated.

“Even if we do stop them, wouldn’t Red Eye simply send more slavers to continue the work? Or, in failing that, simply seek vengeance?” Cobalt asked. “We might need a plan for after this is over.”

“I wouldn’t worry,” Watcher said with a robotic chuckle. “The Stable Dweller has Red Eye in her sights, and if things go to plan you may not have to worry about him for much longer.

Oh? Well, that’s news to me. “You really think she could do something like that? I mean, taking down a slaver empire by herself…”

“She’s not alone, much like you,” Watcher replied. “But I’ve met Littlepip, and could she do it? I think she has a good chance, so long as she keeps her friends close. I can say the same of you, support each other to whatever end may come, and you will see it through.”

“Did Twilight Sparkle teach you that?”

“It’s something she forgot, as did the others; they forgot what made them the Elements of Harmony,” Watcher replied sadly, and a small synthetic sigh came through the speaker. “Do not repeat her mistakes. Don’t let it end as it did before.”

And with that final piece of advice, a burst of static came from the robot and severed the connection with Watcher.

This left us in silence, alone in a crumbling ruin amidst the scattered rubble, twisted metal and the corpses. I just processed everything to be taken from our conversation, everything from Watcher’s enigmatic bond with Twilight Sparkle to his parting advice on our friendship.

I think someone else also deserved an update, the fate of her people did hang in the balance after all.

I lifted the orb out of my saddlebags, settling it before me in a levitation spell as I concentrated. The others all looked towards me as I worked with the magical artefact, watching the swirling magical mists inside until they began to part into the definable features of a Changeling Queen.

“Scrap Heap, it is gratifying to hear from you and your associates,” Princess Insidiis said in relief. “You caught me during a quiet moment I am glad to say, but the important question is: where are you?”

“We’re in Buckingham, you were on the mark about the slavers here,” I informed the Princess. “They won’t be a problem, we managed to turn the place’s defences against them.”

“Ingenious,” she complimented. “And what of my scouting party?”

“Ah…” Of course, she’d want to know that bit first. I caught Altrix’s head droop from the corner of my eye. “They’re dead. I’m sorry.”

“I see, it is as I feared. Did you at least recover their bodies?”

“No… They were sent off to Kronos, we discovered where the facility is. But they wanted their bodies for some kind of experimentation.”

“Experimentation!?” the Princess seethed, and I couldn’t suppress a wince. “My people are not to be experimented on! How… how dare they!”

“We know, your highness,” Xena said, stepping up next to me and into the orb’s view. “The plans of the slavers and alicorns alike are terrible, but we will soon have a way to prevent further tragedy.”

“…Yes, thank you,” Insidiis muttered, visibly trying to calm herself. “How soon can you leave to this facility? I may even be able to send some of my best security teams to assist you. I know Matercula would be glad to assist her daughter.”

“You might want to hold off on that,” I said, it was probably a good idea to stop that line of thought before the Princess got ahead of herself. “It’s not that simple, we still can’t get into the place.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Explain.”

“We need an access code, a way in without alerting all the slavers to us. We think we can find one in Vanhoover, and we have a quick way to get there… probably. We’re still kinda figuring it out.”

“But if it works, Kronos will never see us coming before it is too late,” Xena concluded.

Insidiis hummed, looking contemplative. “Very well, if that is what’s required then I can wait. Though time is of the essence, my changelings are living with the knowledge that the slavers could come for us at any moment.”

“Well, when we get the code you’ll be the first to know.”

“And then we can bust Kronos’ beak open!” Moon Blossom shouted from behind me, and I saw Insidiis chuckle at the comment from the background.

“I look forward to it,” she stated. “You continue to impress, I trust that my subjects’ lives are in good hooves. Come back safe and ensure that their reign of terror on this blighted world comes to its end.”

The mist obscured the Princess once again, and I carefully replaced the orb back into my saddlebags.





We had all gathered outside, letting the crumbling building lie as we followed Xena to where she’d spotted the sky wagons outside.

The signs of battle continued to dominate the streets.

There were several more deceased ponies and griffons out here, along with a Protectapony or two that were now patrolling the exterior of the factory. They remained cordial to us, though, and ignored us beyond the occasional command to move along. The barricade that Xena was leading us towards down a different street to the one we’d arrived in was also marked with several scorch marks from energy weaponry, at least one of its guards having been reduced to a pile of ashes from one such blast.

The gates of the barricade were open, the street further down being completely deserted. There were no bodies at least, but the slavers we would have previously seen walking through it had long retreated to the wastes.

“They appeared to be kept just outside the gates,” Xena explained, leading us through the gateway and into the street beyond it.

And lo and behold, a large metal sky carriage sat there waiting. It was rusted, the paint chipping away from two hundred years of fallout and neglect. The windows were smashed and peering into them showed the interior rows of seats were equally decayed. But there was a small hum from the interior magic workings of the vehicle, newer-looking straps sitting at the front ready to admit a flier and, despite the decay, the words ‘Sky Bandit’ were still barely but proudly visible along the sides.

“There had been three,” Xena mused.

“Cowards must have used the others in their escape,” Moon Blossom remarked, taking the moment to remove the stolen slaver barding in favour of her leather jacket. “Kind of them to leave us one, though!”

I circled around the Sky Bandit, admiring how an old thing like that could possibly be working. I’d seen more than a few of these, well… everywhere. It was Equestria’s common bus for shipping ponies from place to place, as far as I understood. Generally, far more Sky Bandit hulks could be seen than any of their ground restricted counterparts, I guess because pegasi drawn vehicles were faster? Far from me to say the exact reasons though, I’m hardly an expert on ancient public transport.

Though, I believe I’d read that flying was the safest way to travel in a burnt magazine once. I guess we’d soon find out.

“Talismans look good,” Cobalt noted, and I turned to see him crouched down by some of the glowing exterior odds and ends. I didn’t have much of a clue as to how those talismans worked together, but Cobalt looked to be in his element. “The laylines are all intact, all the levitation spells seem to be holding… Yeah, I’d say this thing is flight worthy.”

“Good to know, because don’t expect me to be able to hold up a dead weight like that,” Moon Blossom said. “Even with Altrix, that things looks a tiny bit heavy.”

“So… the talismans will help us carry it?” Altrix asked, looking at the thing doubtfully. “I… can’t really imagine pulling something like that.”

“That’s why there’s two of us,” Moon Blossom remarked, bumping her flank into Altrix’s and getting a small squeak from the mare. “You can do it, don’t worry.”

“I… alright…” she replied, though I saw a bit of self-doubt remain on her face.

She was still pushing on, even if she was feeling… that way. Watcher’s words rang in my mind, about us being able to get through it all by being together. I mean, look at Moon Blossom. As I watched, the former and always boisterous raider was leading Altrix towards the straps and helping her into them, offering her support as she did so. I even saw Xena shoot Moon Blossom an appreciative smile, and those two had come to blows in what seems like forever ago now but had actually been just days.

But I guess that guy would know about these things. I mean, he is two hundred years old.

With Moon Blossom and Altrix getting ready up front, I trotted up to the door and climbed up into the cabin. The seats were mostly rotten and probably filled with lice, but it would do. Not like modern transport, for all its rarity, is known for its comfy chairs.

My scavenger senses were also tingling, especially seeing the overhead compartments above the seats. And since the slavers had evacuated in a hurry, maybe they left some things behind for us to use.

Xena and Cobalt also boarded the sky carriage as I took a look through all the seats row by row to start off with. There didn’t seem to be anything between them at first glance, but you never knew.

“Looking for something?” Cobalt asked.

“Just doing what my cutie mark is telling me,” I replied jokingly. Well, half-jokingly. I wasn’t exactly wrong, was I? “Do me a favour a search through some of those overhead compartments while I take the seats.”

I cleared some of the remaining rows, finding nothing of note but a single bottlecap nestled in one of the cracks between the seats. I pocketed it, of course. Maybe Vanhoover would have a trader out and about we could do business with.

Thinking about it, I wasn’t really sure what communities, if any, existed in Vanhoover. I know there’s a Steel Ranger chapter there, but they’re in every city.

Wow, when was the last time I’d used any of the caps I’d collected over the past few weeks? Was it Tenpony Tower?

It’s been a while.

I made it to the back of the Sky Bandit, and I think I finally found something a little more worth my time. The back of the old bus had a larger space where it looked like ponies had the option to stand, I guess if there were no seats available they’d bunch up here. Bet it could get crowded some days.

Eh, forget that. The slaver seemed to have stored a couple of bags and a single medical box back here. Supplies for any trips they might have made? Well, the only way to find out was to crack them open.

The first bag I had a look inside contained a few magazines of ammunition for my assault rifle, so that was something I could definitely use. There were also a couple of preserved cans of food here, something to add to our own reserved. We still had a decent load from the stable, but it never hurt to top up.

I left that one behind for the moment and looked into the second bag. This one was almost empty, a few empty cans of already eaten preserved pineapples were scattered around the bottom. Still, I did spot one still good can, and three bottles of purified water to top it off. Not a bad result, in all.

That just left the medical box.

I cracked the square box open, and as soon as I did several healing potions almost tumbled out. Looked like enough to more or less replace the ones we’d used to today fighting Kronos’ thugs, I’d make sure to give them to Altrix after we’d landed in Vanhoover.

But there was one more object that caught my eyes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Xena and Cobalt come up behind me, probably checking out the contents of the bags for themselves. Still, I ignored them for the moments as I levitated out a small rectangular box-shaped object from underneath the healing potions. It had several buttons on one end, and the text along the side left little to the imagination.

“A StealthBuck,” Cobalt noted. “Good catch. And definitely a keeper.”

I glanced between my PipBuck and the StealthBuck. There seemed to be a port where I could plug the new device into the PipBuck, ready to turn me almost invisible.

Yup, bagging this thing.

I closed up the medical box after pocketing the StealthBuck, before standing back up to face my friends.

“Find anything above?” I asked.

“Only a couple of empty bottles and some cans of paint,” Cobalt remarked. “Fortunately, the paint is as preserved as those food cans. If nothing else, I can use it to paint over the talon marks on this barding.”

“Good idea.” We wouldn’t want anypony friendly in Vanhoover getting the wrong idea. That… could get messy.

Still, that seemed to be everything for us to find in this thing. Cobalt could think about his painting project later, Altrix and Moon Blossom still had to get this thing into the air before we could think about anything else.

I stored my own saddlebags in an overhead compartment and found myself a seat near the front. Xena and Cobalt followed shortly thereafter, Cobalt sitting across from me while Xena hopped up next to me and nestled up.

There were certainly worse ways to travel.

Eventually, Moon Blossom gave the word that she and Altrix were set and ready to go. I gave a quick shout back that we were sat as comfortable as we could make it and proceeded to watch through that front window the pegasus said a few words to the smaller changeling beside her before they both took on a stance of readiness.

And then they began to trot.

They pulled the Sky Bandit away from the curb and off down the street. We held on as we crossed over bumps and holes in the aged concrete but didn’t have to endure it long before Moon Blossom shouted something to Altrix and both their wings shot open.

The two fliers then jumped from the ground, their wings flapping and buzzing into action as the Sky Bandit gave a stomach-curdling lurch.

And then we were flying.

I felt a tiny bit giddy as that realisation descended down onto me, and I looked out of the window to see the rooftops of Buckingham passing us by. We were flying!

Oh yeah, I could see why this had been more popular than a bus with wheels!

Moon Blossom and Altrix banked left, moving us more or less in line with the brand-new objective marker that had appeared on my Eyes Forward Sparkle. And from there I watched the landscape pass by, the ruined town being left far behind.

Xena had been right, we would be at Vanhoover in no time.





Footnote: Max Level