For all it's advances, for all it's great works... the NCR still had a frontier.
Many of these places had even been a frontier back before the war, for much the same reasons. Geography mostly, as poor access to the rest of Equestria,wild forests, poor farmland and other such concerns affected the area both then and now. It didn't help that despite the NCR offering amnesty for Raiders, many still refused to take that very generous offer for reasons ranging from pride to paranoia. And what better place to flee than the one place no pony had ever seriously considered settling?
Back following the activation of the Gardens this place had been Dust Kicker's bread and butter. There were few better places to find bounty hunting jobs, and even a few rich idiots looking for a safari. After his injuries following his botched alicorn retrieval job he had mostly given that up, but still had fond memories of his days out here. Here... here you were truly free.
The Altostratus flew low, almost skimming the trees. According to Ice Break the Enclave had often used this area for stealthy insertions, skimming low through the uninhabited areas and dropping off on the outskirts of Equestria. It was ironic that they were now doing the opposite, "How accurate are these co-ordinates Puppy?"
"Not very." She admitted, her eyebot bobbing across the crew cabin, "I picked up where the command was beamed up to the satellite, but there's no guarantee that's the same place Red Eye has his base. Stilll... worst case scenario, he'll have a facility of some kind there."
Dust Kicker pulled out the maps he had found of this place pre-war. They registered most of this area as a nature reserve, with a small, well fortified holiday camp for folks with a desire for the truly wild, a few long abandoned griffon and pony settlements... and something called the 'Free Territories of Hopeville', "And clue what this is?"
"None I'm afraid." Puppy admitted, "My first hoof knowledge of the world pre-war is a little limited, coming from the perspective of a six year old."
Dust Kicker supposed that made sense. Still the idea of an entirely independent settlement all the way out here seemed promising, "Ice Break, can you take us through this area?"
"It would take us away from the source of the signal Dust Kicker." Puppy reminded him.
"That signal is likely to be a giant trap." Dust Kicker reasoned, "And if I'm going to trigger it I would rather be armed with a little information first."
They turned as he recommended, Dust Kicker tracking their progress on the map and moving to the view port as they passed the location where the signal had been beamed from. He soon saw it above the treeline, both totally unremarkable and deeply strange.
It was a standard issue signal hub, ubiquitous in central Equestria. It was the basis of their entire communication network. But... why was it out here? There was no one and nothing to communicate to, and maintaining it all the way out here would have cost a fortune. Dust Kicker noted that the disks were also a little too large, the antennas particularly fancy looking, "See that Puppy? That's a disguised military installation."
Her eyebot bobbed over, camera's focusing, "It's... functional."
Dust Kicker nodded, "Someone's been using it. Looks like you were dead on with your assessment"
”We checking it out?” Loose Trigger asked.
”No.” Dust Kicker stood by his suspicions, “Keep heading towards Hopeville.”
They continued their flight, Hopeville soon coming into sight. And it... didn't look good, "Well shit..."
The place had been totally demolished, and not just in a Manehatten sense. This place had been hit by a earthquake, a big one. Once fine buildings had been shattered like matchsticks, the very ground rent apart and left in great ugly stacks of concrete and dirt. And... nothing was growing here, save some sickly looking plants. Ice Break confirmed what he already suspected, "Radiation levels are really high here."
Dust Kicker looked around the area, finally locating a promising location. It looked like it had once been a governmental office, sturdier than other buildings. It lay at a crazy angle but it at least still looked more or less the same shape, Dust Kicker pointing it out, "Can you set us down near that building over there?"
Loose Trigger grimaced, still he gave a determined nod as he took the controls, "I'll do my best."
¬
They dropped down upon the roof, Dust Kicker's pipbuck instantly feeding him radiation warnings. He had already popped his Rad X though so he paid it no mind, hoping to be done here as quickly as possible. He looked around at the view from the ground as Puppy settled beside him, noting how much of the area seemed to be built of similar, modern materials at the same general time. A planned community of some kind, a fairly big one. Eight thousand souls, at least.
"No life signs." Puppy reported, "The structure seems... reasonably stable."
"Thanks Puppy." Dust Kicker responded as he carefully forced open a doorway and proceeded down the stairs, activating his flashlight. As he suspected this place definitely seemed like a government office of some sort, posters on the wall telling him how happy he should be to be living in Hopeville.
...the one place free of war.
Pacificistic, anti-war and anti-government slogans dominated the place in general, Dust Kicker looking up at a banner depicting Luna and Remicon fighting over a toy, a mass of broken ones scattered about their hooves.
"Dust Kicker! Movement!"
Dust Kicker looked up at Puppy's warning, his hoof tightening on his battle saddle. The eyebot that flew out from the corridor ahead didn't sport any weapons however, Dust Kicker inspecting it closer and seeing that the symbol of Hopeville stood heavily faded upon it's side. It floated over, Dust Kicker deciding to take a chance, "Hi."
"Hi there!" Came a gritty, slightly distorted but still admirably chirpy female voice, "Welcome to the Hopeville Community Centre. I'm Representative Candy Sweetheart, how can I help you?"
Dust Kicker had been right. He had met a lot of these things in government offices to be honest, and they had occasionally been somewhat useful, "Tell me a little more about Hopeville."
"Sure!" The eyebot answered, cheery as ever, "I established this place two hundred and twenty four years ago, as a place where those who still believed in the Equestrian ideas of peace, friendship and hope could continue to practice these values. Here there are no weapons, no hatred and no war, and the governmental systems and technological progress exists to serve it's ponies… and not the other way around."
"Princess Luna is ok with this?"
"Sure!" The eyebot responded, "Luna agreed readily with my proposals, giving us all hope that she will one day realize the folly of the war in it's entirety. Now we are a totally independent, politically neutral state, with no stake in the war and treaties of non-aggression with all parties."
Dust Kicker looked to his left, spotting a sign a few doors down reading ‘Candy Sweetheart’. He advanced forward and found himself looking into a dignified and homely office decorated with pictures of smiling families and sporting a large numbers of awards from Celestia on the back wall. They appeared to be mostly for donations and services to charity and diplomacy, "Tell us about yourself Miss Sweetheart."
"Oh, I'm not that interesting. I just seek to be a good friend, and I let whatever worth my efforts have speak for itself."
Dust Kicker nodded, looking at the skeleton sprawled across the desk, back shattered by the wooden beam that had fallen across her. He moved forwards, Puppy speaking up as they approached, "Dust Kicker, there's a meeting log still stored in the memory of the communications hub here. Do you want me to play it?"
Dust Kicker nodded, "Sure."
A pair of holograms flickered into existence in the middle of the room, Dust Kicker noting that despite the humble surroundings the office was well equipped. The first hologram was of a female earth pony, broad and matronly looking, of late middle age with a heart and candy cane cutie mark. The second was a unicorn stallion, haggered and with a face that looked twice the mare's age despite his body suggesting he was in his thirties at best.
The mare spoke, her voice instantly familiar from the eyebot, "Warden Stalwart, I need an update on the riots. You have had days now to complete your investigating, I expect at least something."
"I'm trying my best Mrs Sweetheart, but the rioter’s paranoia refuses to be soothed." The stallion responded wearily, "With respect you must deliver a formal statement that these rumors are without merit."
"Are they?"
The stallion looked nervous, "Mrs Sweetheart, I..."
"Your repeated refusal to take these rumors seriously is severely testing my trust Stalwart." Sweetheart stated firmly, cutting the stallion's response off midflow, "Two of Hopeville's residents are dead, three more suffering with acute radiation poisoning. And nopony can tell me where this radiation came from, and you seem to be outright denying it's existence."
Stalwart gave a nervous shrug, "It's most likely ground radiation..."
"That's bullshit." Candy stated with firm resolve, her eyes full of fury, "Stalwart, I think the only thing you’ve made clear is how little you can be trusted. So consider yourself removed from your position.”
”Candy…!”
”You may choose to leave Hopeville at your earliest convenience if you wish to make things easier for both of us." Her eyes narrowed, “Go back to your masters, and tell them I won’t let them get away with this.”
Stalwart's eyes went wide, terror shooting through his expression, "Madam Representative, what do you intend to do?"
"Get to the bottom of this." She stated firmly, "And if I find any evidence of Equestrian military technology here, you better believe there will be words."
The holograms winked out, Puppy speaking up after a moment to consider, "That meeting occurred three hours before the megaspells hit Cloudsdale."
Dust Kicker took it in silently, his mind moving to the logical conclusion all by itself, "Puppy, when was this place destroyed?"
"...about thirty five minutes after Cloudsdale was hit."
"Right." Dust Kicker acknowledged, "Call the Altostratus for pickup, I doubt we'll find anything else here."
¬
Scanning the area was a slow process, even now they had narrowed down the general area. It would have to be well hidden after all, and two hundred years would have made it even better hidden. It was even clearer now that any facility under Hopesville would have been completely destroyed, which still left quite a wide area to search.
Three landmarks stood out. The relay station. An old holiday camp. And a surprisingly well developed and sprawling settlement, looking like a pretty legit civilian village. Dust Kicker had visited settlements on the outskirts before, though this was a particularly well established example. He eventually figured it wouldn't hurt to gather some info from the locals and so got the altostratus set down nearby, walking out the dense woods with Puppy by his side.
Those woods soon opened into an actually path, and even a sign welcoming him to "Griffon's Ward". He followed dutifully, soon seeing the settlement emerge through the trees before him. The town was honestly something of a nostalgic sight for Dust Kicker, reminding him of a hundred 'off the grid' towns that he had the pleasure of visiting back in the early days of the NCR. Such places had become increasingly rare as the NCR had grown, most of them either becoming gentrified suburbs of larger urban centres or entertainment focused hubs for the local farms.
Here though were the old staples, every single creature in sight packing heat, quietly watchful and ready for danger. Everyone looked like they had a job to do, and the signs of dutiful industry were everywhere. The children stood as apprentices to the adults, several even clad in bulletproof vests and carrying rifles of their own. In construction it was oddly beautiful despite it's roughness. It looked like it had been an old holiday camp, reinforced with wooden walls and defense towers reinforced with steel and concrete. It had clearly been built to blend in with the forest, rather than stand apart from it.
Dust Kicker approached the gates, the heavy doors swinging outwards as he closed. No guards greeted him so he moved inside, Puppy swiveling about in worry as they stepped onto the main street.
Eyes turned to regard them, some hurrying on their way, some staying to watch. Some just gave them just the briefest of looks before continuing with their work like they weren't of the slightest interest. Dust Kicker looked up at the walls, guards watching them but making no attempt to move.
Dust Kicker shrugged and continued on, noticing a earth pony selling drinks from a stall. He stopped by, giving the pony a friendly smile, "What do you have?"
"Lemonade." The pony stated, sounding a little younger than he looked, "Been making it in these parts for three hundred years."
Dust Kicker raised an eyebrow, then looked up at the deeply faded picture of a lemon on a nearby building and the words, 'Peace Trees Lemonade Emporium'. He guessed they had, "So you moved in and continued the business?"
"My great grandar worked with Candy Sweetheart." The pony responded, "We folk have been farming here since hearthwarming begun."
Dust Kicker had to say it was surprising. They were pretty far out here, "What about the monsters, and raiders?"
The pony looked at something over Dust Kicker's shoulder, a voice sounding out just behind him, "Things like that can work for you, if you wish to be left alone."
Dust Kicker turned, seeing a griffon of early middle age step towards him. She was wearing a sheriffs uniform, with very little armor but featuring two well made pistols at her side that he recognized as some sort of custom 45.'s, very finely made and deadly looking. A cowboy hat shaded her features, but a prominent scar and a rugged windbeaten look suggested she was no stranger to a fight. Dust Kicker doffed his own hat, "The Sheriff I presume?"
"Yeah, I do my part." She answered, offering a somewhat knowing smirk, "New in town?"
"You know I am."
"Huh." She smirked to herself, "Don't get many visitors this way."
"I'm not surprised. I'm amazed to see you doing so well out here." Dust Kicker commented, "Most folk think this place is full of nothing but raiders, monsters and radiation."
"Perfect place to hide. Not even the NCR wanted what this place had." She chuckled softly, "Even before the bombs, this has never been a place for civilized folk."
Dust Kicker noted her tone, "And you're not?"
"Civilization is a dirty word around here." She stated coolly.
Dust Kicker nodded, he figured as much, "Well I can sympathize with that, it's why I'm out here. Just exploring really, I saw that relay station and figured it was worth investigating."
She smirked, "Of course you did. With your little friend." She turned her eyes to Puppysmiles, "So, what's your name?"
Puppysmiles hesitated, her tone shaking and nervous, "What's yours?"
The griffon chuckled, "You know my name."
Puppy let out a little gasp, "Hen... Henrietta?"
"I haven't aged that badly then."
Dust Kicker looked across at Puppy, hoping this wouldn't be a problem, "You know each other?"
"She... helped me. Before. Long before." Puppy's voice grew quiet, "She knows who I am."
Dust Kicker didn't like that at all. There was only one reason she could know, "Not just a sheriff are you?"
She looked slightly offended at this, frowning for a moment before waving for them to follow her. Dust Kicker reluctantly followed, Henrietta leading them down the main street. It was much he had originally seen, hard faced, hard eyed survivors, all working and making themselves useful with surprisingly little sign of clear authority or social structure. Henrietta let them take it all in before speaking again, her tone carrying a slight bite to it now, "When Puppysmiles met me, I was on the run wasn't I?"
Puppy answered nervously, "Yes..."
"Do you know who from?"
"...no?" She paused for a moment before answering again, "Other Talons."
"Gawdina Grimfeathers." Henrietta answered, taking a moment for that to sink in before elaborating, "She didn't come to power through sheer awesomeness, no matter what the NCR proclaims. There was plenty of blood on her talons."
"You're a supporter of Gustvo Firebright." Dust Kicker answered, aware of the likely event in question. The griffon who killed Gawd's siblings, who tried to kill her. She had escaped, faked her death, then come back years later, all shortly after Dust Kicker himself had left the Talons.
Puppy corrected him, a slight hint of awe in her voice, "She is a Firebright."
"Gustvo was my grandfather." She clarified, "And as part of Gawd's takeover, she had my father, mother, and three of my siblings killed. I was the only one who escaped."
"And that's why you hate the NCR?" Dust Kicker challenged, feeling that it was a little petty to hate a whole country just because she was collateral damage in one of Gawd’s feuds.
"Ha!" She gave a barking laugh, then turned an accusing eye on him, "Other way round buck. I'm out here because the NCR hates me. We all are."
Dust Kicker looked around once more, noting the hostile expressions that surrounded them. Everyone in this village knew who they were, "You know we're only out here because someone in this area is picking a fight."
"I know." She admitted, "But the truth is a lot more complicated than you realize."
"How so?"
"You can find out." She replied, giving him a knowing look, "I've been asked to escort you to the Claws’ base of operations. It's just up the mountain a ways."
Dust Kicker lifted an eyebrow, "The Claws?"
"You've never heard of them?" Henrietta expressed with surprise, then shrugged her shoulders, "I guess I hadn't before I came here. They're... mercenaries I guess. But so much more."
"Mercenaries with a cause huh?"
She must have heard the disdain in his voice, her own rising in protest, "They have more honor than the Talons ever will. They help us live free, oppose the stifling oppression of the NCR. They allow us to live like we used to, on our own terms with no regrets."
"By inciting war between the zebra and NCR?"
She sniffed, turned away and waving them forward, "Come on, we've got quite the trek ahead of us."
¬
It was a trek indeed, Dust Kicker made fully aware that he wasn't back to full health and likely never would be. His false leg ached and his breaths were increasingly ragged as they made their way up the mountain, rather glad that Puppy was handling all the talking for them. Indeed after a little hesitation she really seemed to be getting along great with her old friend, though he was still unclear how they knew each other.
"Do you have... kids?"
"Yeah."
"Wooowww..." Puppysmiles exclaimed, bobbing happily, "How many?"
"Three in total. One taken by the pox a couple of years back. Other two healthy."
Puppy bobbed downwards a little, "I'm sorry..."
"It happens." Henrietta paused for a moment before speaking her next words with an odd mix of harshness and sympathy, "I buried Puppysmiles."
"I..." Puppy hesitated for a long, awkward moment, "...I'm sorry... for leaving you. For... for..."
"Getting her killed?"
Puppy went silent for another long moment, "...yes. I guess."
Henrietta chuckled, opening her wings up and leaping to a higher ledge. There she looked down at the pair of them, mouth opened in a somewhat mean looking smirk, "They trained you well didn't they?"
"I know I'm not her." Puppy responded, "But I'm not, not her either."
"I'm the one who gave SolOS that damn shard of metal you know?" Henrietta noted, "Where you were trapped. Where Nightmare Moon was trapped. I took it from the beach."
"So... you were involved in all this?" Dust Kicker breathed as he finally caught up with the pair.
"To a very limited extent." She admitted, "I honestly though you were a... fucking abomination."
"Understandable." Puppy admitted as she levitated herself up after her, "It took me a while to come to terms with it."
"Hmph..." Henrietta waved them on with a shrug, "You're not her, but I'm carrying no grudge. If there's one thing we all know well out here, it's a twisted past."
They followed, Dust Kicker relieved as the terrain flattened out a little. They appear to have reached the top of the mountain, Hopeville and the deep valley into which it had fallen visible on the horizon. And also visible was a single cottage, standing alone sheltered from the wind by some rock outcroppings.
"Do you know why they call this place Griffon's Ward?" Henrietta asked as they approached the cottage.
Dust Kicker looked it over. It was old, very old. The rot had set into the wood, though it was of good construction originally. Pre-war? Large enough for a few rooms, though not much more, with a second floor he could tell through a gap in the wood was only reachable by flight, "A griffon once lived here."
"Yes." Henrietta answered, leading them through a long overgrown garden, "She kept to herself, never said a word to anyone. But when bandits came, or monsters, she protected us. She accepted gifts of food and ammo but never acknowledged them, chased away curious children, kept a wide birth from any hunting parties. But the small settlement of refugees from the megaspells... they thrived under her protection. And eventually it became the community you see today."
Puppysmiles spoke now, "She died."
"Doesn't every creature?" Henrietta asked as they moved round the side of the house. There two gravestones stood, carved of rough stone, rotting flowers set around their base, "When she didn't appear for some time we sent a party to check her house, found her very sick. She died shortly after and we buried her beside this existing grave, in ceremony. To us she was a hero. We always wondered who the other grave could belong to."
Dust Kicker looked to the first gravestone, carved with a picture of a griffon. And then he looked to the second, absent of any distinguishing features whatsoever.
"Dust Kicker, I'm detecting buried organic material matching that of a griffon... and a pegasus." Puppysmiles stated after a long moment of silence, "Both were in the advanced stages of lung cancer. The pegasi died the same year the bombs fell, the griffon sixteen years later."
"Folk reported seeing the griffon just standing silently before the grave on many occasions." Henrietta stated.
Dust Kicker nodded, "They must have been close."
"If you ask me, I've seen it before." Henrietta stated, "Grief, remorse... guilt."
"Dust Kicker..." Puppy stated quietly, "There's three obvious unhealed injuries on the pegasi, that were almost certainly inflicted directly prior to death. She has a broken spine, a rib that looks to have been sheered off by a bullet wound directly impacting the heart, and a bullet wound to the upper forehead."
"Weren't many griffons in Equestria when the bombs fell." Henrietta noted.
"No." Dust Kicker agreed, feeling like he was disturbing old bones, "Honestly it might be a mystery we never solve. Maybe some old soldiers should be just allowed to... just fade away."
Henretta doffed her hat in front of the grave, quietly thoughtful. Eventually she linked eyes with the pair of them nodding in the direction they had been traveling, "The Claw base is that way."
"Not coming with?"
"No."
"Asked to bring us here?"
"Yes." She answered, "I have no idea what you'll find, but they're expecting you."
"I figured as much." Dust Kicker answered, "Let's go Puppy."
¬
It was the camping ground they had seen from the air, exactly as he had seen many times before in these remote areas. A line of rustic but well made huts around an open square, up on top of a hill to give spectacular views in all directions. Dust Kicker noted that in one direction the results of the earthquake that had swallowed Hopesville could be clearly seen, and in the other the radio tower stood proud.
The camp site had been used, recently. Ashes sat neatly within the central campfire, the planking swept and unrotted griffon feathers lying in the dirt. And more to the point...
...Red Eye was waiting for him.
"Dust Kicker!" Red Eye stated cheerfully, fluttering his wings to send his black cloak billowing behind him, single red eye beaming out with it's malevolent glow, "I knew you'd come! And with Puppysmiles in tow!"
Dust Kicker advanced carefully. This impostor didn't seem armed, still... "Who are you?"
"An illusion? A phantom? A dead pony, brought back by dark sorcery?" Red Eye laughed, barking and frighteningly familiar, "I am simply here to warn you sweet prince, that ahead lies only truth... and truth is a most terrible thing."
"King Amore Andromidus, act three." Puppysmiles helpfully offered, "He's quoting a play."
Dust Kicker didn't have time for this, "Where's the bunker?"
"Below." Red Eye simply declared, and flapped his cloak outwards to point towards one of the larger shacks, "The path is open. It is always open."
"Still quoting." Puppy noted, “The Darkness of Shadow.”
Dust Kicker sniffed, proceeding past the impostor. His voice was similar, but still clearly wrong. And his face, his manner, his being here... this wasn't Red Eye, "Get out of here. Go find a better career."
"Ah, the amount of times I have been told that..." Red Eye mused, in a now fair more effeminate tone, "But I know how it is. The star has arrived, and us poor supporting actors must shuffle off the stage."
Dust Kicker ignored him, pushing open the unlocked shack door and looking into a fully tooled up command center. Maps indicated raider incursion patterns, high end communications equipment was packed into every corner and a radar station made it clear they had coverage over this whole area. They had known he was coming.
"Dust Kicker."
He looked round at Puppy's voice, seeing that she had nudged the store cupboard door open. Inside was a long staircase, with a sign indicating it led towards the septic tanks for the camp. Dust Kicker walked over, noting that it certainly didn't smell that way, "Puppy?"
"There's an enormous amount of cabling running downwards, in the direction of these stairs." Puppy confirmed, "Whatever we're looking for, I'm pretty sure it's down there."
Dust Kicker nodded, checking his equipment one last time and shaking out his old bones. This was it, his last mission.
He gave Puppy a confident smile, and moved downwards into darkness.