Chapter XVII:Preparing For The Worst
*Huff*Huff* Scootaloo darted down the road as each garage around her fell to pieces, the bricks that made up their walls and foundations slowly turning to blood. She took a quick glance behind her, the sky was blood red with deep black clouds billowing far lower to the ground than normal. She would occasionally see a cloaked figure out of the corner of her eye, only to have it disappear when she glanced its direction. She kept checking behind her, the blood that was oozing from the bricks had now formed into a wave behind her, a wave that was quickly swelling to a head.
She tried to push herself harder, her tiny legs beating against the ground with all her might; though barely drowning out the sound of the wave building behind her. She took another glance, only to find that the wave had a black shadow forming in the middle, slowly creeping its way to the crest. It moved up and she watched as a shattered griffons beak breached the surface at the crest.
"You killed me, you killed me you little runt..." The beak spoke, but not in a regular voice, in cold voice that felt like a thousand needles scraping on her neck. The wave began to slow down as the griffon inside it began to emerge from the crest of the wave sitting atop it, like a throne of gore and terror.
Scootaloo slowed down, remembering what Luna had taught her in the past, that facing your fears in a nightmare is far easier than running. "I-I didn't kill you, you killed yourself!" She shouted back, though she was still entirely uncertain that her argument made sense.
The griffon lifted a leg to his face, though it was a little more than a stump, then slowly removed his robe, parting it to the right. Scootaloo winced at the sight; his rib cage was broken in many places, jutting out at odd angles. A lung was hanging on by a single bit of viscera and half a beating heart still remained. She could even see the dark clouds in the sky though the hole in his chest.
"You did this to me, murderer!" he shrieked.
"No, I didn't...you gave us no alternative!" Scootaloo cried.
"Pay the blood price!" The wave began to rise into the air until it was several hundred feet tall.
Scootaloo stood still, frozen in fear.
"BEGONE!"
A bright blue light pierced the sky and through the wave, obliterating it and the griffon completely in a dazzling display of blue and purple light.
***
Scootaloo sat up in her bed much too quickly for her own liking. He body shook violently as she tried to breathe, sweat rolled down her face and wings, drenching her bed sheets. She slowly began to open her eyes, her head swimming and her vision blurry. It took a few minutes of hard breathing before her tremors began to subside. She stared at the bed across from her, the one her sister would occupy; it was empty as it had been for the last couple of days. She was up early again, no doubt being just as nightmare ridden and restless as she was.
She noticed the morning paper on the nightstand between their beds, the mail pony had been replaced with a first class logistics officer that had been delivering all their mail, groceries and odds and ends for them ever since the incident. though he was reliable, being copped up in the house all day was starting to grate her nerves a bit, though she wasn't even sure she could face the outside world; not after what had happened.
She reached over to the nightstand and touched the brass lamp sitting next to the paper. The room illuminated, though the low power bulb still made the room a bit darker than it needed to be. She picked up the paper and began to read, as per usual she was on the front page again, along with various other tidbits over what had occurred in the last couple days.
She scanned the page a few times before settling on the top story.
'Loo family, heroes or monsters?' The story title read like some kind of bad movie that only shows in the theaters every other year. Elly had told her that she head from Luna that this kind of attack on ones person was common place; the Equestria press didn't get too many bones, but when one was tossed to them they split the story ten different ways. One day attacking the victim and the next running political hit pieces on Celestia and Luna. She was also told that quite a bit of griffon money was involved in these articles as a way to blame shift.
She tried for a few minutes to read the top story, before turning the page in disgust. They interviewed some kind of psychologist and he was trying to paint her and Elly as both sociopaths; as if she needed more ponies poking her guilt. She turned the page to find that the Cleaver-land Brownes had managed to go 0-16 again, losing to a 1-15 team she had never heard of. There was a minor train derailment outside of Las Pegasus and the weather would be raining with heavy fog again today.
She kept scanning the page when a small article caught her attention. R. Lee Army was still in a coma and in critical condition. Doctors were now looking for a suitable liver donor and were asking any pony with a matching blood type to come forward.
"Why can't they just magically replicate one for him?" She said to herself. Then again, she knew next to nothing about magic, so there might have been some kind of reason a donor was needed. She had been told there was a very high chance the old pony would die from his injuries; making her both feel guilty for not firing that cannon sooner, but at the same time she still had regrets firing it.
"How was I to know that was a live one!" She tossed the paper aside, burying her face in her hooves. She very well knew that even a sugar slug would have killed him, but to find out one of the shells was live solid armor penetrating slug ...what if they had used that in a mock battle? She would have accidentally killed a friend, maybe an entire crew of them. She stared down at the paper on the floor and sure enough the same story that had been run two days in a row was there.
They were busy blaming Luna for there being multiple confirmed live explosives in multiple garages as well for brutally killing assassins in a way that would make a horror movie seem tame. She couldn't figure out why they were so adamant on blaming Luna; she had to defend herself and it's not like she can be everywhere at once. It's plain to anypony that she was set up.
"It's really unfair what they are doing to her..." Scootaloo said to herself.
"You get used to it, trust me." Elly walked into the room, a plate of food balanced on her back, setting it on the nightstand beside Scootaloo. "Hungry?"
"Not really..." She lied. She felt absolutely famished, but he mind would keep wandering to what happened and she just couldn't keep her food down; the image of all that blood and gore was just too much.
Elly sighed then leaned in to nuzzle Scootaloo. "I know what you are going through, It's been rough for both of us, but if we don't eat anything we are going to be scarecrows by the time Luna gets back to us."
Elly stared out the window. The sky was practically swarming with patrols from the 7th legion special forces. "They know this house is unplottable, but they circle day and night anyways. I guess after what happened Celestia spared no expense in beefing up Ponyville's security."
"I really wish I could go out, talk with my friends. This isolation driving me up a wall" Scootaloo said somberly.
Elly stared out the window then back at Scootaloo. "After what happened...I can't blame her." Elly leaned in and embraced Scootaloo in a hug. She could feel cold wetness of her coat and the smell of sweat all over her. "Another nightmare?"
Scootaloo nodded. "I felt Luna purge it, but it just keeps coming back worse each time."
Elly hugged Scootaloo tighter, much to the little filly's discomfort. "I know...I know. I have them too. The other one is worse though, the thought of what could of happened. I thought you died when I saw you fall over like that."
"Sis..." Scootaloo said, patting Elly on the back.
"Yes?" Elly said.
"Air please!" Scootaloo cried.
Elly quickly backed off her embrace, letting Scootaloo breathe. "Sorry, I'm just..."
"It's okay" Scootaloo replied, taking a deep breath. "I guess we both need time to sort things out...still doesn't make it less of a hassle."
"Well, we should probably eat; maybe that will help us both sleep a little better." Elly grabbed the plate off the nightstand in her mouth and jumped into bed with Scootaloo. She then set the plate of food near Scootaloo.
"So, what is this?" Scootaloo asked without looking at the plate.
"Honey waffles as the bread with eggs and cheese in the middle. Did think about making something else to go with it, but we are entirely out of a lot of things. The military has a very...bare-bones idea of what qualifies as food." Elly picked up a waffle in her mouth and swallowed it in one go, egg, cheese and all. "Also, I think I would rather eat the carpet before I touch that box of MRE's they gave us."
"I dunno, I had one yesterday. Kinda tasted like stale cookies." Scootaloo said as she picked up one of the sandwiches and took a bite.
"You...did add water right?" Elly asked, staring at Scootaloo quizzically.
"Water?" Scootaloo replied , taking another bite.
Elly laughed. "Oh well, you will understand the next time you go to the bathroom."
Scootaloo looked at Elly, seemingly not getting the joke. "So... you think they will let us go outside today?"
Elly sighed, staring out the window. "No, we are still waiting for the all clear from Luna. She had plans to relocate us to a more secure location. Possibly the palace or a military fort somewhere. I don't think we will get any outside or us time for awhile."
Scootaloo sighed. "Well...at least we have each other, right?"
Elly nodded.
***
Ponies in combat armor and military fatigues ran past Luna as she made her way to the command room. However, every few steps was just another delay; ponies in uniform kept stopping in front of her to salute or bow to her.
"Your Majesty! How can I be of service!" An ensign stopped and said as he saluted her.
You could start by maybe not blocking the walkway? Really wish teleportation wards were not in place here... Luna thought to herself.
"Could you maybe, clear a path to the command room? I'm due for a meeting. Kinda hard to get there when everypony is running around like they have their hea...er...have to go to the bathroom" Luna smiled nervously.
Best not even remotely mention decapitation, the military is already having a hard time with that particular PR nightmare I left behind...
"Yes ma'am!" The ensign waved down a sergeant and whispered in his ear. The sarge then blew on his whistle, stopping everypony in the room dead cold in their tracks.
"Attention! Luna needs to get to the command room, escort line immediately!" The Sergeant bellowed.
Multiple ponies lined up in front of Luna, creating a escort line.
"Thank you." Luna said as multiple ponies in front of her began to escort her, making sure others didn't impede her path. What was going to take almost twenty minutes before now only took five. As she arrived at the door to the command center she nodded to the troops, thanking them.
The troops all gave a quick salute and quickly filed out of the hallway. Luna stood there for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. She opened the door and walked into the room, only to meet a half dozen or so eyes on her; Celestia's included.
"That's odd, you're on time today Luna. I wasn't expecting you for another half hour at least." Celestia said curtly as she stared at a glass map on a table in the middle of the room. "Anyways, it appears everypony...and griffon is here."
Luna hadn't noticed it, but at the back of the room was griffon, sitting on a chair, drinking some tea as she went about looking over paperwork.
"I...sister, there is a griffon in the back of the room." Luna said as she pointed Gilda out.
"She is the reason I called this meeting today. Gilda, could you please introduce yourself?" Celestia asked.
Gilda walked forward, extending a claw out to shake with Luna. "Name's Gilda, nice to meet the butcher of Ponyville" Gilda said snidely.
"B-butcher?" Luna said, stepping back.
Gilda gave a hearty laugh. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Seriously though, you did a number on those assassins. I heard an entire platoon was needed to clean up that mess. Anyways, I'm Gilda, Celestia's double agent."
Luna stared at Celestia and then back at Gilda. "We had a double agent this entire time, but have been getting blindsided at every turn?"
Celestia looked at Gilda, motioning her to sit down, then doing the same for Luna. "We have a lot to go over it seems, please be seated."
Luna, Celestia, Gilda and a few other top Military brass all sat down around a square table. You could practically cut the tension and silence in the room with a hatchet. Each of the military brass were eyeing Luna warily, as if she was infected with some kind of disease. As they all took their seats, Celestia spoke.
"As you are very well aware, we have been blind sided by the enemy on multiple occasions including an incident a couple days ago that resulted in the death of two guards, injury of a retired sergeant and the near capture of two civilians." Celestia took a deep breath. "Though I'm not sure if anyone at this table doesn't already know this; it''s been all over the news, but to cover my bases I need everyone on the same page."
Multiple military brass shot Luna accusatory glances, though not a single one seemed to want to speak up; at least not to her face.
"So, firstly; yes I am a double agent and yes, I am taking an extreme risk by coming here today. Most likely the information I have at this point will be all I get as I'm probably marked for death." Gilda looked around the table at the odd stares she was getting. "In any case I'm sorry I was unable to prevent the catastrophe from a couple days ago; that particular section of the military works on less than twelve hours notice. That said, I do have key information regarding what we are up against." Gilda stood up and walked over to the glass map just a few yards from the table.
Gilda pointed at a mountainous region at the eastern end of the northern expanse. "I have good information that Ivan Vukov has built a base right here, just short of the Kumite mountain range."
Celestia watched as the other military brass stared at one another, each seemingly dumbfounded.
"That's impossible, those mountains are patrolled regularly from the sky during the summer, there's no way a base of any kind is there" one of the generals said.
"I concur, furthermore a base is impossible in that terrain, it's far too cold most of the year. It's also prone to avalanches and is solid granite all the way through. You would have to be a madman to build anything there" another general added.
"Ivan Vukov is a madman, he's gathered an army consisting of several airships including a single apocalypse class battleship called the Odin." Gilda pointed to a section of the map just right of the base. "Worse yet, we discovered why they wanted Scootaloo's feathers. They have managed to con Vespa and Cid into not only revealing the location of Ragnarok, but scouts confirmed they managed to move it from it's resting place and underground hangar in the dead middle of the northern expanse."
"Horse manure!" One of the Generals growled. "Ragnarok is a myth, a fairy tale and there's no way a ship that size would have gone unnoticed by our scouts."
"Hold on, you said apocalypse class battleship? I thought that project was cancelled. That the Loo family refused to draw up plans for the thing" another general said. "Are you telling us that the Loo's betrayed us?"
"I assure you, they did not.Cid and Vespa were both very much against military contracts unless I pushed them for it." Celestia said. "More than likely they just retrofitted a large merchant ship from the few they already had. Also, Ragnarok is not a myth, it was a very real nearly completed project."
The generals around the table stared at Celestia, some of them looked as if they wanted to get up and slap her right in the face, but thought better of it.
"I can confirm, I had a flea track them all the way back to their home-base. It was killed later by the cold, but the location is accurate" Luna added.
"Get angry all you want; it was a black project that was started but never finished. The ship was only about eighty-five percent done according to our last records. I had Cid and Vespa move the vessel to an unknown location...before, well. Luna?"
Luna took a deep breath. "We had our experts dig up the graves of every single reportedly dead Loo family member. Copse dolls, every single last one of them. Which means either Vukov has dozens of ponies as bargaining chips..."
"Or slaves, I have a hunch though. She's going to force Vespa or Cid to pilot it" Gilda said, interrupting Luna.
"Well, if she does, it's treason then" One of the general said.
"Not that simple. That vessel has multiple protections that only Cid or Vespa would know. It very well might be she would be mind controlled while doing so." Gilda reached into the pocket of her jacket and removed a single gold square, setting it on the table. "I'm sure you are all briefed on what these are, right?"
"Mind control devices. Our labs have yet to find a way around them" another general spoke up.
"Unfortunately for us, I was unable to get any info on how to counter these." Gilda sighed "which doesn't exactly leave us with too many options. Attacking that base head on would be suicide and from my own information; Equestria has no troops in position to do anything about it."
"If my own estimates are correct; it should take them close three weeks to finish work on Ragnarok. Which means we have three weeks to throw together whatever forces we can muster and meet them on the field." Celestia shook her head "that said, I have no idea what forces we have entirely to us. That's why I called you all here, I need reports on numbers and your expertise."
The generals all stared at one another briefly.
"In terms of air forces, we have about ten or so legions of pegasus. We currently have six or so frigates mothballed that could be brought online within the week. We have an additional twelve or so ground legions...but that terrain is horrible for fighting ground to air; not to mention the heavy snow this time of year" one of the generals said.
"We could retrofit about half a dozen or so civilian air transports. Also there is a couple of Centurion class museum destroyers that we could get online. Maybe not in top shape, but ready somewhat" another general added.
"What are we looking at in terms of opposition?" Celestia asked.
Gilda nodded. "As of yesterday they have the apocalypse class Odin, twelve destroyers, two carriers, five frigates and three corvettes. They also have the Ragnarok, which unlike the mostly civilian conversion ships they have is an actual full fledged warship. They also have about ten more legions in terms of fighting power in the air."
"Wait we could...no, that wouldn't do." There are those tanks we have, but those are thousands of years old, never-mind if they fell into enemy claws.. Luna thought to herself.
"If you're thinking that, the answer is no. That place is to remain sealed; there is a weapon in that place that should never see the light of day" Celestia said.
"No, I meant...the tank one" Luna said apprehensively.
"Oh...no. That won't do, there is no way those rust buckets will even move at this point, let alone fight. Also, how is your relocation plan coming along?" Celestia asked.
Luna sighed. "We have decided to move every pony, every participant from Ponyville to...that bunker. This includes the bearers of the elements of harmony. I have been moving them the last couple of days; the south end of town and the Loo sisters are last on my list. It has already been stocked with everything they need for the foreseeable future."
Celestia raised an eyebrow "That's... and odd choice. I'm guessing the locations I shared with you are too dangerous?"
"Doubly so. I had spoken with intelligence agents and they have good reason to believe most of the hiding spots you gave me are compromised in some way or another. Either they are know to the enemy or will be found too easily." Luna sighed "It hurts me to put them in a hiding spot within spitting distance of where the battle will likely commence..."
Celestia smiled "But you want the elements of harmony in spitting distance, as backup in case things go south?" Celestia asked, though her body language seemed to give away that she already knew the answer.
"Well, I didn't completely want to remove them from the equation. None of them may be military grade combatants, but each have their own quirks and abilities that could make them valuable to us in the conflict ahead." Luna looked about the table and while Celestia seemed bemused by Luna's high praise of the elements of harmony; the rest of the military brass seemed unimpressed.
"Do any of you even have a clue to who is in that group?" Luna asked angrily.
"We are all well aware. An above average unicorn, veterinarian, fashionista, waitress, a farm pony and a flight school dropout weather pony. Not exactly war material I'm afraid." The general said dismissively.
Luna and Celestia both seemed slightly annoyed at the general, though he seemed not to care in the slightest what they thought of him.
"What I want to know is why we are wasting resources and time moving expendable civilians to a bunker none of the staff knows about" one of the generals asked.
Celestia's eyes narrowed, and her mane started to produce small spurts of flame around the edges. "I see no pony as expendable nor will I tolerate superiority complexes around this table, am I understood?" Celestia stared at the other two generals briefly "That goes for the rest of you, am I absolutely clear?"
Despite her anger, none of the generals seemed to budge in the slightest; either they didn't care to speak up, didn't fear her or knew just staring at her said far more than actual words could.
"The reason is we don't want agents of Vukov taking hostages even remotely connected to the Elements of Harmony or the Loo family. Allowing their capture would a death-knell to Equestria as a whole" Luna said.
"I agree. My information confirms that in order to bring out Ragnarok's full power Elly and Scootaloo are needed. The ship had a four way identification system that would take months to circumvent. It can fly and fight with just Cid and Vespa; but many of it's features are locked away; though what features I am still unaware of" Gilda said.
Celestia sighed. "If they were to be caught we would have to deal with a ship that can teleport and have a main cannon capable of ...well, killing an Alicorn."
Everypony at the table went dead silent; all of them staring at shock at Celestia.
"You greenlit a weapon capable of killing you? Are you insane?" One of the generals barked.
Celestia lowered her head in shame. "No, not to kill me. But...as a last resort against Nightmare Moon."
Luna sat back, aghast at what she was hearing. "Y-you...what? Why?"
Celestia lifted her head, making somber eye contact with Luna. "I panicked. I knew you would return as nightmare moon at some point, so having such a thing commissioned was..." A single tear ran down Celestia's cheek. "Sadly required, assuming Twilight failed to become a bearer or you were not able to be saved."
S-she meant to kill me? I... Luna sat there, completely in shock. "I...don't know how to exactly take this..." Luna sat there for a bit. "Then again, I guess I get why . I was entirely out of control."
"Well...we can talk about it privately later, for now we need a battle plan" Celestia stared at Luna for a brief moment. "Do you have any ideas what we can do about being outnumbered? You were always the better one when it came to war after all..."
"Well, it depends on how they are distributed. I can take on a few ships on my own as I'm sure you can as well Celestia. The problem is we will be exhausted by the time we take down just a few." Luna stood up and stood next to Gilda, running her hoof down the screen. "Assuming the numbers we have are accurate we can hit the smaller support ships, then teleport out, calling a full retreat. We can evacuate a few towns in their path and slowly bleed them dry as they push into Equestria."
"You do know they they will destroy two major economic centers as well as an airship construction facility on the way, right?" One of the Generals pointed out.
"There is no way our meager forces can possibly take them head on, we are outnumbered and outgunned" Luna stated flatly. "My sister and I may be capable of taking out several ships and battalions on our own, but we have to rest at some point. Bait them in slowly, then-"
"Then why not hit Ragnarok first?" one of the generals asked.
"Because I want them weakened before we attempt to rescue of the Loo family" Luna said.
"Why?" Another general said, cutting Luna off. "Why go through all the effort to save them? You would sacrifice multiple cities, a few small towns and military lives for a couple dozen airship builders?" The general stood up and walked over to Luna, getting face to face with her. "In all my years I have never heard of such a harebrained idea. They may be the best damn airship builders to ever live, but this is war; we can't afford any lives to rescue a bunch of civvies."
The general walked away, turning to Celestia as he opened the door. "I will mobilize my legions and go with the senates original plan. I was hoping Celestia would have a better alternative, but she seems too interested in enabling her ...overemotional sister." The General shot Luna a nasty glance then opened the door, marching out in a huff.
"He's right, we should plan to destroy that thing. As much as It pains me, those civilians are effectively enemy combatants" another general added.
"And what? Leave a both Sisters without a family again?" Luna growled.
The general said nothing, just shook his head in disappointment.
One after another more of the top brass filed out of the room, each shooting Luna a look of disgust. As the last one reached the door he turned and stared at Luna "You need to realize the many come before the few. Call us back if anything changes. As of now your advisory role is hereby dissolved. Have a nice day, your Majesty." With a look of disgust on his face the last of the military ponies filed out of the room, slamming the door behind them.
"Well...that ended poorly" Gilda said.
What kind of rank and file insubordination non-sense is this? This meeting was not-
"Calm down Luna, they did this to me right after the attack on Ponyville as well. They are all understandably angry with me about keeping a lid on many aspects of this situation." Celestia stood up, walking up to Luna. "I know it seems like insubordination; but the fact of the matter is I can only advise them, then senate has already pushed me aside of any commanding role."
"What!?" Luna growled. "What kind of treachery is this!?"
Celestia shook her head "It's entirely out of my hooves. The senate completely outvoted me on nearly every turn. They do not have any confidence in me when it comes to matters of war."
Luna snorted angrily. "Why?!"
Celestia stared at Luna and then to Gilda. "For me its because it's not in my nature to fight. For you It was multiple senators calling your sanity and stability into question."
Luna growled, her eyes glowing bright white.
"Calm down. That's exactly why your stability was called into question, that and the way you butchered those assailants. You're too hot tempered; especially when that filly is involved." Celestia could see the shadow flames starting to dance around Luna's eyes; indicating a possible transformation. "I get it though, the whole motherly protecting thing. I went through the same phase as you with Twilight."
"Yet you were ready to have her try and fight me when I was Nightmare Moon, full well knowing I could kill her with the greatest of ease should she have failed" Luna growled. "Some mother you turned out to be." Luna caught herself for a moment, she was taking out her anger and frustration on Celestia. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
Celestia smiled, ignoring the potshot Luna had taken at her. "It's fine. That clash was going to happen eventually, had I faced you then I would have most likely been defeated. Twilight would have taken up arms after my defeat, though I am doubtful she could have beaten you without the elements."
"She's talented yes, but not remotely a match for either of us. The key difference here is I don't hurt or kill ponies as Nightmare moon, the thought never even crossed my mind. Those monsters being led by Ivan would have no qualms about committing atrocities on pony-kind." Luna shuddered. "I read the book her wrote, I wouldn't put the worst crimes past that fiend!"
"I read it as well, it was quite a bit jarring to say the least" Celestia said. "Worst of all was Gilda's report, her was willing to torture them in ways unimaginable. To think he would do that to mere children...
"I think you're both being dorks about this" Gilda said, rolling her eyes.
"Pardon?" Celestia said.
"You heard me. Both of you are being dorks about this. Listen to you, calling both of the Loo sisters mere children. I get that you know, one is a Filly and the other an adult; but both have seen and dealt with a lot of terrible crap in their lifetime. Hell, Scootaloo turned a griffon into a giblets and Elly has bested our best for years."
Gilda marched up to Luna poking her in the chest with a claw. "You need to learn to keep your cool and stop treating everyone like they are an enemy." Gilda turned to Celestia and pointed at her with the same claw. "And you need to stop being so spineless, tell those brass that things are going your way or the highway."
Gilda walked towards the door, her back to Luna and Celestia. "Listen, I have a hunch. That little filly you think is so weak, I fought with her. The fire and determination in those eyes, I seen stronger griffons flee before such insurmountable odds, but not her; she has a heart of iron." Gilda turned to Luna and Celestia "You mark my words, before all of this is through it will be that little twerp and her dork of a sister that make the difference." Gilda opened the door and walked out, slamming it behind her.
Luna and Celestia stood there for a few minutes, each of them not knowing how to exactly take in what just happened.
"Sister, what is a Dork?" Luna asked.
"It's complicated, but never mind that." Celestia sat down and began scanning over the paperwork in front of her. "Sit down Luna, we need to come up with a way to save that family...
***
Elly stared at Scootaloo, but the little filly stared right back at her, her eyes narrowing in determination. Elly flipped another card from the top of the deck onto her side of the table, clearly showing she has sixteen to her side in the form of a jack and a six of spades.
Scootaloo peeked at her card once more, a single queen face-down. The card showing face-up was a ten of diamonds. She knew that getting a hit at this point would most likely bust her, but she also knew that her sisters favorite stay number was twenty. "Hit me!" She said confidently.
Scootaloo watched as Elly slowly flipped the card onto the table face up, revealing a two of clubs. Scootaloo stared at Elly's pile, waiting for her to flip it over.
"I guess you win, I busted ultra hard" Elly said with a smile as she revealed her hidden card to be a Queen of hearts. "I guess that song was right, you really can't play with the queen of hearts."
"What song?" Scootaloo asked.
"Never mind, I'll get you a record of it later. So...wanna go again?" Elly asked.
Scootaloo stared over at the corner at the Gamesphere console they had gotten a while back. She really wanted to play it, but knew better to ask.
"I know, I know. Card games are boring!" Elly sighed. "But you know what the military guys outside said; no electronics that put out a signal of any kind; we can be traced and attacked that ways."
"I don't think that would matter. They are circle patrolling around the house, even though they can't see it. Anyone with half a brain could see they are guarding something important and investigate" Scootaloo said glumly. "May as well put out a neon sign that says 'Loo Sisters are here'."
Elly managed to stifle a giggle. "I find it odd though. In all my years I was never attacked by agents of that caliber. I wonder what changed?"
"I... I really don't want to talk about that." Scootaloo looked down at her hoofs, imagining them covered in blood for a brief moment.
Elly quickly embraced Scootaloo in a hug. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go there."
I really wish i could help her with this, but I'm no doctor and we can't leave the house just yet Elly thought as she loosened her hug on Scootaloo. "Maybe we could play scrabble?"
*Knock Knock*
A sudden knock at the door made both of them stare at it as if a monster was right behind it.
"What's the password?" Elly yelled.
"The password is wings" A voice that sounded oddly like Luna replied.
Scootaloo's ears perked up. "Luna?"
"Well that is the password, I would say hold on while I unlock the door but-" Elly watched as bolt lock on the door slowly turned. "That. I mean, why bother knocking?"
The door flung open to reveal Luna, though a Luna that was much more...serious. From what Scootaloo could tell she seemed a tad bit high strung, not exactly angry, but more nervous than she would normally be. Luna seemed to be checking her back to make sure no pony was watching.
"Gather your essentials quickly." Luna stepped into the house closing the door behind her with authority. "We need to move quickly, there is a chance I was being followed."
Scootaloo and Elly stared at once another. "Scootaloo, I'll grab my tools, you get something to entertain us." Elly quickly made for the bedroom while Scootaloo grabbed a backpack and tossed her Gamesphere into it along with a few board games.
"So where are we going?" Scootaloo asked.
"A secure location, one you have been to before" Luna said.
"The palace?" Scootaloo asked.
"No, no. Too obvious." Luna replied.
Elly rushed out of the bedroom, the clang of metal in her twin saddlebags quickly drowning out any more of Scootaloo's questions. "Sorry, family habit. Never go anywhere without tools."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes.
"What? You know how many times a wrench saved my hide? Or a spare rubber seal?" Elly said, smiling.
"Come close, and well, I suggest holding your breath. We will be teleporting with Alicorn magic and not Unicorn. Makes me harder to trace if we are being followed." Luna motioned Scootaloo and Elly too her.
Elly and Scootaloo stood on either side of Luna, both of them staring up and waiting for Luna to start the teleport. Luna closed her eyes, beads of sweat running down her cheeks. Her horn began to glow a deep night blue, the carpet around them began to singe slightly and a gust of wind rushed through the house; opening all the cabinets in the kitchen.
"H-hold on, almost there!" Luna grunted.
With a flash of light Scootaloo could feel her hooves leave the ground, her head felt as if it were detached from her neck and her stomach in her eye ball all at once. She tried to look around but all she could make out was a stream of deep blue and rainbow colors. As suddenly as it started she could feel her hooves collide with wood. Looking below she could see that she was standing on the root system of a tree. She wanted to almost vomit for a brief second, but the nausea passed just as quickly as it came.
"Up here sis!" Elly yelled.
Scootaloo looked up and saw Luna standing on a branch, Elly next to her though barely keeping her balance.
"Sorry about this. I'm not used to moving multiple ponies with me with Alicorn magic just yet. I actually accidentally dropped off Fluttershy in a nearby swamp earlier." Luna said, blushing.
"Fluttershy is here?" Scootaloo asked.
Luna jumped down from the tree, followed shortly by Elly whom seemed to need a bit more room to glide down.
"Yes, as well as most of the population of Ponyville or at least all of the ponies that were in the competition and their immediate families. To be honest I'm surprised more didn't go wrong; mass teleporting is already draining, let alone using Alicorn magic to do so." Luna nodded for Scootaloo and Elly to follow her.
"So, I get we are using Alicorn magic so we can't be followed, but I'm a tad bit clueless as to how you can even trace a teleport" Scootaloo said.
"I'm a bit curious as well. I been working in engineering for years and even I don't know how to do that" Elly added.
"It's a bit complicated" Luna stopped for a brief moment to get her bearings "But I will endeavor to simplify it where I can. You see, the regular unicorn spell uses a trick in quantum tunneling to open an instant gate from one point to another. The unicorn calculated the direction, landing spot and momentum cancellation all in one go. There's a safety of sorts built into the spell that also makes it traceable, you see if the calculation puts the pony teleporting inside a mountain then it will automatically pop them right back where they started."
"I think I get that, though I think I only barely remember what quantum tunneling is from my electronics class. Not really my thing" Elly said.
"I only understood about half of what she said..." Scootaloo said glumly.
"Sorry. It's hard to explain, but in short every teleport leaves a return point and if you can find the trace return point, you can figure out the exit point as well. Alicorn teleports use a different method; it is literally hopping through a separate dimension to get where you need to go; you literally leave this plane of existence for a limited time." Luna stepped in some frozen moss that stuck to her hoof, taking her a few moments to shake it off before continuing. "Gross, anyways it does leave a trace behind, but trying to trace it would be impossible; unless you were willing to brave the dangers of whatever dimension we jumped through."
"I think I read something about this in a comic book once, I think it was X-ponies?" Scootaloo pondered.
"I know the one!" Elly said excitedly "That...Duskcrawler guy does teleports that way!"
"Oh, right. That guy." Scootaloo added.
Luna stopped and shot Elly and Scootaloo a confused stare. "I have never heard of this X-Ponies thing. It sounds interesting. Could you maybe point me in the right direction once this predicament is settled?"
"Sure, I think Apple Bloom has some old issues sitting about her room."
"Thank you...now where were we?" Luna stopped, staring at her surroundings for a moment. "Ah, this way...I think."
As they walked Scootaloo started to notice an unsettling similarities to someplace she had been before, but couldn't quite put her hoof on it. "It feels like I have been here before, but everything is all...winter-ey now."
"You have, though when you were here it was summer in this region. This time of year this bog from what I have been told goes into a winter-mode of sorts, due to it being located just behind the west mountain range leading to the northern expanse. Colder air from the mountain range drifts down and changes the season." Luna ducked under a branch, then stopped. "Ahh, here we are."
Luna stepped aside, pointing to a pair of green massive twin metal doors, the kind you would see on a outside basement entrance, but three times the size.
Luna walked forward, her horn glowing as she lifted the heavy metal doors with her magic, the hinges creaking and grinding making a eerie echo across the silent bog. "Hmmm, seems they need oiled. Not surprising given the temperature drop."
It was just then Scootaloo remembered where she had seen this place before and her peering into the hole confirmed it. the poorly kept stairs, the light-bulbs that were broken halfway down, though they were all now replaced with magical torches and the smell, the funky smell of steel and oil coming from below. "Is this that tank bunker you showed us before Luna?"
"Tank bunker? before?" Elly tilted her head at Scootaloo. "You been here before?"
"Yeah, Luna kinda sorta showed it to me, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle before we met you. We didn't see much of it, but it's a really neat place" Scootaloo said enthusiastically.
Luna merely nodded and went ahead, motioning Elly and Scootaloo to follow her with her right wing. "You see, we have plenty of safe houses, bunkers and the like spread across all of Equestria, however most of those were compromised due to the possibility of spies."
"Oh I get it, this place isn't on the bo-" Elly slid forward, losing her footing on the narrow stairs.
Luna reacted like lightning, catching Elly with one of her wings and righting her with her magic. "Be careful, these stairs were not built with our body shape in mind."
"So, who then?" Elly pondered for a moment. "I mean, these are narrow, which means either smaller creatures or-"
"Bipedal ones. Creatures that destroyed themselves many, many eons ago through war, famine and hatred of their own kind. This and a few other locations are the only vestiges of what they were that we have found." Luna continued down the stairs, ignoring Elly's initial look of bewilderment on her face.
"So, what were these bipedal things called?" Elly asked.
Luna lit her horn as they reached a landing at the bottom of the stairs, illuminating an iron door. "Just a moment." Luna lowered her horn and the door slowly opened, revealing a well lit area with ponies chattering.
"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle yelled.
Scootaloo gasped and ran toward her friends, embracing them in a hug.
"I missed you guys so much, I was worried how you all were doing after...we fired that cannon" Scootaloo said enthusiastically.
"We don't really don't remember what happened after that. We both got knocked out cold from the back-blast on that cannon" Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah, all we were told is they stopped attacking and left, we couldn't see nothing from all the smoke either. Did the adults leave something out?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Scootaloo pondered for a moment, maybe it was best that they were left in the dark about the gory details of that day.
Yes, It would be wise to spare them those details. I know it hurts a bit, but your sister and I will be there to help you through it.
Scootaloo heard the voice of Luna in her head and turned to her just in time to get a reassuring wink from the princess.
Scootaloo turned back to her friends. "Nah, it wasn't anything important enough for you to hear about." Scootaloo followed Sweetie Belle as beckoned her further into the complex, leaving Luna alone with Elly.
"So, now that we have some alone time, I-
"If you're gonna try and apologize for what happened, I don't wanna hear it. There was no way you could have known. That said, have you apologized to Rarity and Apple Jack yet?" Elly asked.
Luna sighed "Yes, though both of them were absolutely furious with me at first, Apple Jack was barely holding herself back from slugging me in the face; though I couldn't blame her. My overconfidence through this whole ordeal has caused quite a bit of trouble. To be honest I should have relocated the both of you to this bunker quite some time ago. We could have avoided a whole lot of trauma, pain and hit to our dignity that way."
"I think it was better in some ways" Elly said.
"In what way?" Luna asked, giving Elly a confused glance.
"Sure, the whole possibly dying part was pretty bad, but you never get stronger by running away from your problems. It kinda reminds me of what mom used to say 'fix the problem, don't band-aid it'." Elly put her hoof to her chin "Though I think she would probably tan both of our hides had she known we were intentionally putting ourselves in harms way."
"As any parent rightly would" Luna said, smiling slyly.
Elly scanned the room noticing a white blanket covering something large in the corner. "So, I don't want to be master of the obvious, but I can smell the oil and steel in the air; that sheet is covering something tank related isn't it?"
Luna nodded. "It is, the human creatures left behind effectively a museum of old weapons and a terrible history of atrocities that shake me to my core just thinking about them."
"I thought humans were a myth, like, an incredibly bad myth. The kind you tell your little sister to get her to go to bed kinda thing. So...they are the ones that created the tanks?" Elly asked, trotting over to the sheet and biting it down on it. "Well, let's take a look at her!" Elly pulled with all her might, flinging the sheet backwards onto some less than enthusiastic ponies chatting in the opposite corner. Both of them cursing at her as they removed the sheet and left the room.
Elly's eyes went wide as she stared at the so called human tank. It was something else. The metal work, while rusted was finely welded in the front into a sort of pike nose. The turret was all one single cast, rounded at the top with multiple view ports all around and inscribed on the right upper plate was what she could only think was this machines designation; IS-3. The curses of those behind her suddenly meant nothing to her, this thing, this human created tank was a feat of engineering that topped anything she had ever seen.
"T-this is amazing!" Elly jumped up onto the tank and started to inspect it. "These welds are all top notch." Elly stomped on the metal, making a few dull clang sounds. "This doesn't feel like any steel I have ever touched. It's much more dense and rugged. The wooden mock ups we were using are nothing compared to this!"
Luna giggled "I see your enthusiasm for tinkering is still strong. Sadly, none of dozens of tanks in this facility are functional. Quite a few of them are little more than rusted husks and the fuel they use is entirely different than what airships use."
Elly jumped up on top of the turret, but quickly noticed the edges of the hatch has significant water damage and was rusted shut. "Hmmm, I wonder what it's like inside." Elly looked around for another entrance, but noticed the only other two were both rusted shut. Another one at back of the turret and one shaped like a triangle just below the gun. Elly jumped off the turret and onto the back of the vehicle, noting that this appeared to be the engine deck or at least she assumed so by all the slanted vent holes on the back. "This thing is so much more advanced than what the Equestrian military has."
"Yeah, it's far beyond what we are currently capable of making. Though even if we could both Celestia and I would forbid it" Luna said.
"Hmm, I can kinda see why. This thing looks like it can destroy a village all on its own." Elly prodded at the engine deck, opening one of the hatches. "I only think I have ever seen this kind of engine configuration once. It was on a train and was discontinued for being too pollution heavy. This is diesel engine if I'm not mistaken." Elly stuck her head in and looked about. "Yeah, seems so. This is a really inefficient powerhouse. The rest of it is amazing, but this engine is kinda bunk compared to what we already have.So, why exactly was this never reproduced, you know aside from being a killing machine?"
Luna sighed. "It wasn't so much Equestria's military misusing it, me or Celestia could easily step in. However...other countries...
"Could capture and reproduce it. That would trigger a worldwide arms race almost immediately. Kinda like how mom and dads airship design secrets were so sought after, except this time instead of some idiot making an inferior ship that doesn't run we have some dolt killing ponies, griffons and the like as a bid for power." Elly hopped off the tank, quickly brushing spare flakes of rust off her.
"Spot on. I figured being an engineer you would be angry such a thing was hidden" Luna said.
"Nah, I'm very well acquainted with espionage. That and mom was entirely on board with not selling airships that could be turned into weapons. Her and dad are the ones that pushed to stop the mass sale of them to Vukov..." Elly stopped, the realization that both her parents were still alive was something that was both exasperating and a bitter pill to swallow.The thought that she might have to bury them yet again... "Luna...could I possibly ask a favor?"
Luna smiled. "I am already a step ahead of you. I am already working on a plan to rescue your entire family. The military brass wants nothing short of total destruction, but I will not sacrifice innocents if I can help it. Rest assured, everything within my power is being done to make that happen."
"Luna, thanks. I'm not sure I could handle burying them all over again." Elly bowed down graciously.
"Hopefully, you won't have to."Luna turned around, getting ready to teleport when she remembered what Gilda has said. She stopped her teleport spell mid cast and glanced at Elly. "This...may seem to be an oddball idea but..." Luna approached Elly, looking nervously side to side. She lowered her head near Elly's ear and whispered. "This may seem dumb, but I have a suggestion if you will indulge it for a moment."
Elly raised her head closer to Luna's mouth. "I'm listening."
"Just so you know, there are no guards at this location. There was too high a risk that a spy would give out this location. So...this may seem odd, but I suggest you start fixing up these tanks. If we fail out in the field there is a possibility they will eventually find this place, you need to have something ready to defend yourselves." Luna took a quick glance around, making sure no other pony was listening in."This may seem like a dumb hunch, maybe even a premonition, but your skills may be the turning point of the upcoming battle. Though I hope I am wrong about that."
Elly paused for a moment, a smile forming on her face. "I was going to fix them up anyhow. You don't put an engineer in a complex full of amazing devices shes never seen before and expect her not to go poking around. Hopefully we won't have to use them, but rest assured if the proverbial shit hits the fan, we will be ready this time."
"I expected as much. Though I am worried that you are so gung ho about this." Luna whispered.
"I won't go looking for trouble, but I'm not getting caught off guard again. I don't want any more assassin-kidnapping non-sense" Elly said boldly.
Luna smiled, lifting her head. "I will be on my way now. I will be visiting periodically." Luna stared into the next room, watching Scootaloo and Apple Bloom playing hoof-ball with each other. It's good to see her semi-normal again. Hopefully the socialization is what she needed to help her cope. "I bid you farewell Elly Loo." Luna's horn glowed a deep blue and in a flash, she was gone.
Elly stared at the tank behind her, then over to the next room, watching Scootaloo play with her friends. "This thing can wait, family comes first."
***