FoE: Do Robot Ponies Dream of Electronic Bunnies
Chapter XX: Breaking the Line
"Where's an out-of-control vehicle when you need one??" - Rainbow Dash
System Report: 0000000020
Unit Status: Active
Location:
Satellite Signal Status: Receiver offline. GPS active.
Begin data dump to external off-site memory back-up:
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- - - - - - Done.
Preparing visual report: Done.
Date: --/--/2212, 200PA (+61 days activation)
Time: 2154 Local
Okay. Maybe not as bad an idea as I'd originally thought.
For being an FNG, Cloudstep had surprisingly good access to what was considered off-limits areas. We were now aboard a Raptor, apparently named <i>Dash's Lament</i>. The engine compartment was very clean. Not that I had to worry about leaving tracks behind me; I was invisible and my hooves were walking on silent propulsion half an inch off the deck. I'd followed the Pegasus inside the assault craft when I'd told him what we were doing here. He insisted on helping take down at least one of the Raptors perched outside Watcher's den. Apparently, they were mad at the dragon holed up inside, but weren't too keen on going in after him.
If my scanning suite was right (and when wasn't it?), then I was looking at a Storm Runner 3500 engine. Powered by self-generated thunderclouds, it had near unlimited range unless the ship was damaged, and powered everything the ship needed to fly. The clouds trapped underneath the ship holding it aloft would dissipate if this engine went offline, and the whole thing would drop like a brick.
"So, what do we do," Cloudstep asked as I de-cloaked in the empty compartment. "Are we just gonna muck with the engine or blow it up?"
"Blow it up," I asked. "With us inside it? I didn't bring any demolition charges, kid." Truth be told, I really hadn't planned on doing much more than slowing down that Earth Shaker. Cloudstep's plan, however, had much more long-term appeal. Take out the air support and let the dragon handle the rest of the pegasi.
I liked it. It involved my friends not dying.
"You should go find yourself some armor," I continued. "Likely things are gonna get shooty here soon. Rather have you with us and not full of holes." Cloudstep nodded and, after checking the corridor, left quietly. I didn't even hear the door close, and I was watching him leave.
I turned my attention back to the engine before me. Impressive as it was, it had to be shut down. As far as I could tell, the only way to stop it was to disburse the storm cloud inside. I'd never tried but I didn't think I could buck a cloud and destroy it, and I wasn't even gonna try with one that had lightning in it. I don't think my insulators can stand up to the force of nature.
The only way I had to muck with it was electronically. The problem was that there was no program governing the engine here. I'd have to get to the bridge. Likely between me and the bridge were fifty or so pegasi, all dedicated to the cause and all willing to put holes in my hide.
Not good odds.
I waited there until Cloudstep returned, wearing officer's armor. I gave him an odd look.
"What," he asked innocently. I shook my head in disbelief. Could he have found a worse disguise?
"We need to get to the bridge," I told him, and explained that I could do nothing effective here.
"The bridge will have several ponies manning it right now," he said thoughtfully as we walked. "At least seven. Depends on if the captain is on duty, which he shouldn't be. Yet."
"Seven shouldn't be a problem for me," I replied, once again invisible.
"I'll handle it." Before I could protest, he'd opened the door to the bridge and strode on like he owned the thing. I face hoofed, and prepared to go in and rescue him. My rifle was halfway out when I heard somepony yell, "Attention on deck!"
I had to peek in. The sight that met my eyes was... well, not what I expected. I'd planned on having to de-cloak and eliminate the entire bridge as soon as I looked in. They were all sitting up straight, listening attentively.
"Time's come, ponies," Cloudstep was saying. "No turning back from here on out. If anyone's got last minute change of heart, step away from your station and off the ship." No one moved. My mouth dropped to the deck. "Verse, come on in. The bridge is secure."
I stepped in tentatively. What the hell was going on? The door slid shut behind me and I dropped my cloak, gun up and ready to fight. No one pulled a weapon, but several amazed looks and murmurs came my way, not the least of which being, "sweet Celestia," and "it's him."
"Cloudstep, what the hell is going on here?"
"Nothing much," he replied with a smile. "Just a little mass defection. This whole ship is crewed by under-cloud Dashites, from the pilots to the lowest private in the infantry. We feel exactly the same as the pegasi that got exiled and lost their cutie marks, only we were smart enough to keep it under wraps."
"And how does the captain feel about this," I asked. "Or is he in on it?" A large smile was my reply. I was about to ask why, when I pieced it together. As I've said, I'm not a clever pony, but when I catch on, I catch on hard. "You're the captain, aren't you?"
"You think this armor's just for show? And then there's the name of my boat. Dash's Lament? Hint, hint?"
"Well..."
He laughed and turned to his crew. "Warm up all weapons, prepare to break formation. Our new position is going to be between the cave and the Revenant Dusk. That Earth Shaker is not to get a shot off."
"It won't," I told him. All eyes turned to me. "I rigged the loaded shell to blow when they try to fire. I can also set it off by remote if we need to."
"That makes things easier," Cloudstep said with a nod. "I assume you have allies nearby?"
I told him the relative position of my friends on the mountain. The navigation officer noted the location on the holographic map, marked with a green dot and lettering indicating friendlies. Weapons noted the gun emplacement at the head of the path. The helm quickly plotted a course to pick them up once the operation was complete.
"Very well," Cloudstep finally said. "Primary target is the Burning Desire off our port side. Full volley, all guns. Target the propellers only; I don't want any more casualties than necessary. Once she's down, get us around the Earth Shaker as fast as possible. The Alicorn's Horn won't sit idle for long." A chorus of "aye aye's" followed, as the ponies leapt to their duties. Meanwhile, I linked to Night Rose's PipBuck. Change of plans. Don't come running when you hear the boom. We'll pick you up.
Next I called Watcher and told him to "not worry about the big, scary Raptors outside anymore. They'll be dealt with."
"Uhm..." came the reply, then, "Okay. Do I need to come out to cleanup?"
"Only if you want some fresh scrap," I replied. "We're out of here afterward. We'll draw them away."
"I can't thank you enough, Verse. What can I do in return?"
"Well, there's an issue with getting to Zebrion safely. We need a dragon."
"I know of one who can help you. He's even got a PipBuck tag. I'll let him know you're on the way. Good luck out there." The link cut and I received a text. WE?!?!?!? What we???
Just don't shoot us down when we come around, I replied. I promise, you'll love it!
"Verse, are you ready?" Cloudstep was standing next to me. Apparently they were waiting on my go-ahead. I nodded. "Alright. Comms, Execute jamming program two-two-seven-bee. Flood the airwaves and let Equestria rock."
The stallion at the communication station grinned as he plugged in a wire coming from a pouch on his belt. I turned my radio on, curious. My ears were met with a violin playing a familiar tune, then suddenly a deep bass beat started thumping my circuits. Cloudstep nodded to me, and on the beat-change, I triggered the rigged shell. The entire cannon was blown apart but the platform did not fall. All the better, I thought. Cloudstep must've thought the same thing, for he leapt to the comms and began screaming, "We're under attack! The Dragon's Roar has been damaged!" A hoof pointed to his weapons officer, and half a second later, I heard the report of cannon fire. The Raptor on our side was struck hard, their engines damaged. It began to slowly sink toward the cloud-floor as Cloudstep yelled into the mic. "Burning Desire's goin down! I can't even see them! Alicorn's Horn, report!"
His reply was confused yelling and music, then one voice got through. "This is Alicorn's Horn! We haven't been hit yet! We've got no contact with the Dragon's Roar! Where are the targets?"
"Stand by, Alicorn, we're coming to you." Cloudstep cut off the mic and ordered the pilot to execute the plan. In my head, the music blared. I was actually enjoying the tune. We pulled up next to the other Raptor as a lull hit the song. I could see pegasi on the other ship looking around frantically, and as the song picked up again, the cannon's fired.
The other Raptor wasn't so lucky this time. Hastily aimed shots penetrated the bridge as well as peppered the hull. The engines weren't even touched, but she still started to pitch forward and down. Her momentum carried her into the side of the mountain where she went up in a bright flash of released lightning. I winced. Not a good way to die.
Several ponies on the Earth Shaker platform were staring at us, surprised by our actions and astounded. We ignored them as we floated down to the path. The gun emplacement was a vacant, smoking crater. I winced again, knowing full well the reason. Sure enough, I looked down through the reinforced glass deck (and briefly marveled at how it was able to hold my weight) and saw a griffon, a wolf, a zebra, and several ponies waving at us. Cloudstep ordered them picked up while I sent Night Rose notice that they were coming down. Minutes later, we were headed back east, away from Watcher's cave.
"So, Verse," Cloudstep said to me. "What's the plan then? Where are we headed?"
"You can drop us off at the Equestrian border," I replied. "I still have a mission to complete out there."
"Drop you," he asked incredulously. "You don't want to bring us along?"
"It's not that. It's just a personal matter. I don't want to involve more of us than necessary. I don't want to endanger you or your crew."
"Well I can understand that," Cloudstep replied. "Still, what are we supposed to do now? We pretty much declared ourselves back there."
"Get into contact with a stallion named DJ-Pon3. He should be able to direct you to someone who needs you. Failing that, contact Gawdyna Grimmfeathers in New Appleoosa. Tell her I sent you."
Whatever reply he had for me died on his lips as his gaze went past me to the bulkhead door. I turned, already knowing what was waiting for me. A very angry marefriend.
"You... you..." she stuttered, not even able to put into words her anger. "A Raptor?? And you converted the entire crew?? In under twenty fucking minutes???"
"Night Rose, calm down," I said, trying in vain to soothe her. She yelled and threw herself at me, her armor's weight striking me and putting me off balance. A hoof slammed against my neck, then another.
"YOU STUPID, RISK-TAKING, THOUGHTLESS, DIRTY..." She had several more choice names for me, and each word was met with a hoof to the neck, gradually lessening in power until she was only tapping me and sobbing. "I was so worried about you!! I thought you'd come back dead when you told... told me... DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" With that, she pulled herself off of me and stormed off the bridge. I slowly got to my hooves and stared after her.
"Is she... always like that," one of the bridge crew asked timidly.
"Honestly, I thought she'd take it worse," I replied.
"What DID you tell her?"
"Watch the fireworks, I'll be in the middle of them."
The entire bridge face hoofed.
A day later, we were standing at the border to Zebrion with the Dash's Lament flying back toward Equestria. Watcher had called and given me coordinates to where his dragon friend would meet us, as well as a PipBuck ID tag. It wasn't there yet, so we setup camp to wait. The Pegasus ponies had generously given us replacement supplies, seeing as we'd forgotten to go back for our caravan. Cloudstep promised he'd take care of it.
I lay there that night with Night Rose tightly against my side. Just when I think I have you figured out, I thought to her, you still have a few surprises. She muttered something in her sleep and curled up tighter against me, pressing hard into my side. I leaned down and nibbled her ear gently, and she relaxed a bit.
Why couldn't they have put a dream scanner on me, I thought bitterly. She still won't tell me about her dreams.
"What's this dragon gonna look like," Chef Sandy asked from the other side of the campfire. He was stirring a spoon in a pot over it, the scent wafting was some kind of soup. Probably Radigator.
"Like a dragon, I suppose," Zirc replied. "Try not to look at it down your nose."
"Like I'm dumb enough to do that," Chef retorted.
"Never know, Chef," AC laughed. Remember back in San Ancoltas?"
"That was a baby dragon!"
"Who flamed your tail off. For talking like she couldn't understand you."
"A simple misunderstanding..." Chef muttered as he added some herbs to the stew.
Swiftpaws, who had been dozing next to the fire, suddenly sat upright, ears twitching. His head swiveled left then right, as if searching for something the rest of us couldn't hear. I turned on my own enhanced hearing, and caught the sound of flapping... from behind us! I leapt to my feet, waking Night Rose with the sudden motion.
"Wh.. Whut..." she muttered, looking around.
"Sounds like our ride's here finally," I told her. AC ,Chef and Zirc looked over at us, then toward the sky in different directions.
"I don't-" THUD!!! Something had landed close by.
"I hear you all need help getting into Zebrion," a deep disembodied voice said.
"What the," Scratch exclaimed, coming fully awake herself. Frieda looked around frantically.
Swiftpaws was staring northward. I flipped on my enhanced S.A.T.S. and looked his way. Green fading to yellow/white filled my vision. My jaw dropped as I looked higher.
Our dragon had arrived. Our one hundred fifty-eight foot tall dragon.
Cripes.
Footnote: Level Up!
New Perk: Friend of a Friend - You know people who know people who know people. When you're sent somewhere on a quest, you'll receive extra help in conversations.
Quest Perk: Dragonkin - You're well known to dragons now. All interactions with them will at least be non-hostile.
Side-note: FNG = Fucking New Guy..