//------------------------------// // Chapter 1.6 - Falling Into Old Habits // Story: Fallout Equestria : Black And White // by Philweasel //------------------------------// Chapter 6 - Falling Into Old Habits Star Swirl looked... well, hilarious. Cruel but true. Her face was twisted into a look of grimacing horror, her hoof nervously wiggling about like silly string. The overall effect was inappropriate comedy Dust Kicker found it hard to resist, “Calm down Star Swirl, she’ll be fine.” Star looked at him, incredulous, “But she went in... she went in there with him and...” “She’s a big filly, she can take care of herself.” Dust decided not to note that despite his annoyance with the mare personally, he trusted her far more on her own than he did Star Swirl, “You never know, this might be a good career move for her.” “Uh, indeed.” The fat zebra, Loof, spoke up, wiping his brow with a cloth, “His majesty treats his harem with the utmost respect I assure you, your friend will be well provided for here. Now, I... uh, I should welcome you to Estelle, jewel of the sands and gateway to the land of stripes. Yes, yes I should.” Loof chuckled to no one but himself, “And I believe I... have. Heh heh.” This major-domo was a sorry sight, and Dust had seen a few. He was starting to wonder if everyone here was cracked, “Thank you sir. I think we’ll go and visit the markets, since we’re here.” “Yes, that would be an excellent idea. We have...” Nazir’s low growl cut them off, the camel advancing with a cruel glint in his eye. Loof quickly backed off with a terrified look, bowing his head as Nazir turned his gaze to the zebra, “No need for directions Loof, I’ll have one of my brothers escort them. Only hozpitable after all.” Dust grinned back, this Nazir really was a piece of work. Dust Kicker was starting to like him, “No thanks, we can find our way on our own.” “I inzist. It’s a dangerous world out there.” Nazir turned his head to a group of his mercenaries which were lurking in the background, considering for a moment or two before deciding, “I’ll even give you a bit of eye candy. Calope!” Dust... stepped back a little. He was pretty sure his suprise was all over his face too. He couldn’t help it, it wasn’t every day seven foot of muscle, steel and liberally applied make up stepped out and said hello, and he had to say that he had never seen a female minotaur before. Logically they had to exist, but... “Pleased to meet you sugar.” Calope gave a ‘holy crap no’ smile, Dust noticing that she had a minigun strapped to her back along with an entire bandoleer of grenades. Nazir’s men seemed to all go for very large weapons, and given their easy confidence Dust doubted they were just for compensation. This mare at least had nothing to compensate for, provided you liked them big and healthy, “I’ma Calope, and I’ll be your little escort around this little patch of earth. How about that sugar?” “C...charmed.” ~ His first impression of Estelle seemed to have been an accurate one, this place was a crudhole. Even by his standards. That was... strange. The population didn’t seem to have washed in weeks, but when he had visited a shop and asked to use the bathroom he confirmed that they had full shower facilities and hot water. They were also oddly unmotivated and dreamy, despite this being a merchant town Dust was able to get a great deal from one of them without even trying. That made him think of their ‘King’ and Doof, both of them also showing a odd dreamy confusion that seemed all too similar. Something was going on here. He wished he could talk about it with Star Swirl, but though Calope might not have won any beauty contests she was no fool, sticking to them like glue as they explored the market. Quite frankly her height made her impossible to elude, her vantage point made losing her in the crowd was out of the question. “So you guys are from the land of sand huh?” Calope chuckled, “From all over sweetie. No one ever thought of bombing a desert, so there’s no radiation out there. Lots of folks came there in the years after the war ended.” “And the camels...” “Enslaved us all, put us to work in their armies and wreaked bloody armageddon for eighty six years.” Calope took a second to chuckle at their expressions before explaining further, “Food and water sweetie, not a lot of it in the desert. The tribal lords of the camels were forced to fight over every scrap of it to feed their newly enlarged population, until they had killed enough of each other to make it sustainable.” Star Swirl spoke, her voice strained, “That’s horrible!” “That’s life sweetie.” Calope smiled warmly, though the motherly look came across as rather odd on the heavily muscled minotaur, “Nazir’s grandmother founded the Bloody Thorn, we’ve been killing and plundering for over a hundred and forty years. Life is good for those with damn big guns, provided you can put up with the calibre of buck it attracts.” Dust gave a rather forced grin, “Yeah, they seem kind of... rough.” “Ooh I know sweetie! I tried to clean them up, but boys will be boys!” Dust gave a vague nod, trying to work out a way to get rid of Calope and get on to their real mission. Zenai’s little stunt was quite clever he admitted, but they really should have planned where to meet up if they got separated. Right now she was trapped in that palace alone, with no weapons and a mercenary who was definitely suspicious of their motives, “Hey Star Swirl, have you ever heard of the vacuum bubble?” She gave a brief look of suprise before glaring softly, “That’s mean.” “Trust me, Zenai will appreciate it.” Dust waved to a alleyway nearby, starting towards it, “We can take a short cut to a stall holding all the stuff we need through here.” Calope frowned as she moved after them, “I don’t think it’s safe going down there.” Dust couldn’t help grinning, “Two badass mercenaries and an alicorn? We can take care of ourselves.” Calope hesitated for a moment more before continuing after them, likely throwing away every ounce of better judgement she had. She would really regret that, Dust leading her a little further in before finally speaking, “You can do it now Star.” Calope spotted the trap and attempted to draw her weapon, Star Swirl however was already ready. Her horn pulsed with magical energy, all the air forced away from Calope’s body with a roar that staggered the minotaur for a second. That second was all Star needed, forming a shield of pink energy around the entirety of Calope’s body. She quickly recovered, gasping for air briefly before slamming her fists against the shield wall, screaming out silent threats. Dust just watched as she continued to pound and shout, knowing she would just use up her remaining air quicker. Eventually she did indeed weaken, sinking to her knees and finally falling sideway with an upwards roll of her eyes. “Nice work.” Star glared hotly at him, not pleased at all by his praise, “I... don’t like doing that.” “She’ll be fine.” “Will she?” Star Swirl cantered over, bending down and laying her horn on the minotaur’s exposed bicep, wrapping a armlet of purple magic around it. She stood there for a moment or two as Dust Kicker watched, the mare eventually lifting her head and giving a firm shake before magic surged through her horn once again. This time it formed into a crackling ball of lightning at the tip, Star Swirl bending down and pressing it into Calope’s neck. The minotaur gave a brief spasm and gasped, Dust moving to defend himself for a second before Calope flopped back down, unmoving. “What was that?” “Gave her nervous system a kick, her blood pressure was dropping and she wasn’t getting enough oxygen to her blood.” Star Swirl glared at Dust once again, showing a grimness and assertiveness he hadn’t seen since she had jumped out to save those in the sinking ship, “Suffocating someone into unconsciousness isn’t harmless, no matter what you’ve read in some stupid spy novel.” Wow... he had really pissed her off. He didn’t think it was possible, “I know that Star, but need’s must. We had to ditch her so we can find Zenai.” “Don’t call me that. My name is Star Swirl.” Star Swirl glared for a moment more, her fur noticeably brisling and her muscles tensing. Dust wondered for a second if he should run, suddenly reminded that Star Swirl was a superpowered unicorn twice his size and weight. Star Swirl quickly deflated however, releasing the tension in a deep sigh and screwing her eyelids tight, “...sorry...” Dust advanced cautiously, still not sure exactly what nerve he had touched on the mare, “Are you ok?” “I... just lost my temper, that’s all.” “I got that, I was wondering why.” Star Swirl glared at him again, far colder this time, “I’m not a weapon Dust, don’t think you can just tell me to hurt people at your command. I told you when I first met you, I don’t like fighting.” Dust... felt bad. He wasn’t stupid enough that he hadn’t drawn the clear conclusions, Star Swirl’s serious dislike of violence combined with her skill and precision with that vacuum shield spell, along with Zenai’s comment that she had served in the Goddess’s army. Star Swirl herself had said it, that she had been at Maripony. He had seen it before, wartime stress disorder Fluttershy had called it before the war. Back in his earliest days there had always been a few kids who didn’t make it, either when they had first been shot at, seen a friend die, killed a pony... generally they were nailed out front to watch the sunrise before being used as target practice. Red Eye had been more understanding, he had always found different work for those who had enough of the blood. Dust Kicker had noticed that Red Eye himself hadn’t so much as picked up a rifle in at least two years, wondering if he too felt his hoof tremble when he had a target in his sights. Dust didn’t judge them. He had long ago started to wonder if they were the one with the problem. He had killed hundreds of ponies and only once felt a twinge of regret. After twenty two years without another he wondered if it hadn’t just been indigestion, “I’m sorry Star Swirl, you’re right. And thank you for doing it anyway.” Star sighed, pursing her lips, “She would have shot us both if I hadn’t.” “True... you deserve more respect that what I’ve been giving you.” Dust bowed his head to her, his voice penitent, “Will you accept my apology?” Star Swirl nickered nervously, Dust noting that she was doing the wavy hoof thing she always seemed to do when she was nervous, “O...of course. Now get up, you look like you’re proposing to me!” Dust grinned at the mare as he raised his head, tipping his (sadly and annoyingly) non-existent hat to her, “I’m not good enough for you darling. Now what do you say we going find our kit, grab Zenai and get out of here?” ~ They made their way to the side of the palace with only a few mishaps, Star Swirl’s size not suiting her to stealth. Still the mare made a decent effort and they quickly lost the few mercenaries who spotted them, ducking into side alleys and blending into the crowds. Now they stood at the entrance of an alleyway leading up to a solid metal door, a lanky camel in metal armour standing guard. Dust cursed at his presence, with Calope’s weapon too large and any attempt to buy another stymied by the mercenaries in the streets he was still totally unarmed, “Can you teleport us inside?” Star Swirl gave a worried look, “I hate teleporting to places I can’t see.” “Everyone does. But it’s possible right?” Star Swirl considered it for a second, her ears twitching comically and her eyes rolling along the top of her head. It made Dust wonder if there was really any end to Star Swirl’s character tics, or if there really was still more to discover, “...yes, and I’m not that bad at teleportation. It’s my best spell.” Dust raised an eyebrow, “Really?” Star gave him an odd look, “I am a purple alicorn, based on Twilight Sparkle. I’ve always been able to teleport, it’s my signature spell.” Dust chuckled, that sounded very useful. Unicorns who knew how to teleport were incredibly rare, it was a very difficult spell even for those with a special talent for magic. They had one in his mercenary band during his early days after the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows, teaching him never to underestimate being able to instantly redeploy anywhere on the battlefield, “Well... let’s give it a go.” Star Swirl nodded, moving further into cover, “Alright. Wait here a second.” Dust nodded, as mentioned he had worked with teleportation before and knew how they liked to work. Star Swirl focused, closing her eyes as magic swirled about her horn, a corona slowly expanding around her until she disappeared with a burst of magical energy. Dust waited a few moments, having to admit being relieved when she reappeared a short distance away, “You made it then?” Star Swirl frowned, glaring at the spot where she had been standing before, “That’s easily a drift of... what, two feet? That’s terrible.” Dust chuckled, “Really not the time to be sweating the small stuff.” Star curled her lip, “That could have easily teleported me halfway through a wall.” “Oh, yeah... well be more careful next time.” “I will be.” Star Swirl took a deep breath before suddenly deflating, eying Dust with a slightly desperate expression, “I’m really really nervous.” Poor mare. Dust gave her a reassuring smile, not really wanting to be teleported by a panicking unicorn. Celestia knows this sort of stuff was hard enough when you were calm and focused, “I know Star Swirl, just try and think of it like... what you do with the Followers. You’re an archivist right?” Star Swirl nodded, “Well, assistant archivist. But yeah, you’re right, I’m always having to teleport scrolls to their correct places, sometimes a whole stack at a time. That’s a lot harder than this.” “There you go.” Dust nodded, “You know where we’re going, just focus on the math and get us there.” “Right!” Star Swirl gave a determined expression, her horn flashing with light... Dust closed his eyes a moment before blinking, getting used to the dim light and musty air. They were inside a corridor, mostly abandoned by the looks of it with crumbling plaster and a busted fuse box next to him. He looked behind to see the metal door a few feet away, reassured they were in the right place, “There we are, good work.” Star let her breath go with a sigh, indeed looking rather pleased with herself, “Thank you. My magic is really getting a work out today, it’s nice to see I’m not too rusty.” “I’d say.” Dust moved past her, checking out the layout. He was hoping the storerooms would be around here, as far away from the poncy living quarters as possible. He located a likely looking door and started towards it, giving the handle an experimental twist and feeling the latch open easily at his touch. He stepped into the darkened room, his heart lifting at the rows of metal shelving stacked with all kinds of junk. His guess had paid off it seemed. Dust moved inside fully and searched about for their equipment, squinting in the half light. Fortunately he was intimately familiar with his weapons after all this time, spotting his sniper rifle poking out of a duffle bag at the end of the room. He felt Star Swirl move behind him as he crept forward, hoping it was her who was making the hairs rise on the back of his neck... “You must think I’m stupid.” Dust turned as Nazir and a group of at least thirteen of his mercenaries stepped out from behind some nearby shelving, weapons all levelled at him and Star. There wasn’t much use in panicking, that would only run the risk of startling them into firing, “Ah, I was actually hoping we could move fast enough to catch you off guard.” “You would have to move pretty fucking fast, eh gotlek?” Nazir spat messily on the floor beside him before motioning to Star, “Calm your pet before I put a bullet through her.” Dust turned to Star, looking like she was about to bolt and run as soon as her brain rebooted successfully, “It’s ok Star Swirl, calm down.” She looked at him with wide, uncomprehending eyes, “They’ve all got guns levelled at us!” “And he would have shot us already if he was planning on it.” Dust turned back to Nazir, “Right?” Nazir gave an ugly smirk, “You’re a little too sure of yourself amcik. Makes me want to hear you scream a little.” Dust just smiled, knowing too well the intimidating dialogue that mercenary types used to make clear who’s in charge. He was eager to get past it and to the real meat of their conversation, “You don’t need to intimidate me. Just tell me what you want.” “So you want to get started. Ok then, I...” “What’s going on here?!” Nazir grimaced, Dust himself feeling the urge to facehoof. The fat zebra Loof hurried towards them with an angry look, sweat pouring down his face as he stared at the scene before him. Nazir swiftly turned away from the zebra, looking back at Dust as he growled, “Leave us Loof, this is none of your business.” “I... I say it is! His majesty decreed that these guests would be safe, and why are they here anyway!?” Loof looked to Dust Kicker and Star Swirl, fat cheeks puffing, “Answer me! What is going on...!” Nazir turned neatly, his weapon kicking hard against its harness as the bullet sliced Loof near in half, the zebra’s face twisting in pained suprise for a moment before he fell noiselessly across the tiled floor. Dust grimaced, hearing Star Swirl give a squeak of pained horror as the zebra’s blood pooled beneath him. Nazir just stared at his handiwork for a second before grinning, his voice irreverent, “Always hated that fat ‘surtuk.“ Dust took a second to compose himself before speaking, “From one mercenary to the next, that wasn’t very professional.” “I’m not a profezzional.” Nazir turned to Dust, gun still smoking, “I am a merchant, selling high and buying low. There is no further profit in this one. That is also why I didn’t shoot you inztead.” Dust frowned, “You think you can make money off of us?” “I know you’re not just vizitors, that you are representatives from Equestria, working for Caesar to bring down Abartili.” Nazir smirked, the expression making his face all the uglier, “Any one of those things could be valuable to me.” “And you killed the zebra because...” “He was an idiot, but he kept Abartili from drifting entirely into debauched incompetence.” Nazir chuckled as he looked over at the torn up corpse, “With him gone Abartili will be even eazier to manipulate. I’ll just tell him you did it.” Dust frowned, not getting exactly where Nazir was coming from, “And... what, you take over?” “Me? I’m not the ruling sort.” Nazir chuckled nastily, “I just enjoy shaking the board a little. Despite what you may think, I do take pride in customer service. Providing advantageous scenarios is one of my specialities, and I can only imagine what I could do with three individuals with such diverze connections. Now pleaze, come along quietly before I have to get unpleazant.” Dust sighed, so it was like that was it? He still wasn’t sure of Nazir’s intentions, but from the sound of it he seemed to be considering the most cardinal sin of all mercenary work, spoken of in hushed whispers throughout the profession... starting his own war. And Dust really couldn’t allow that, “Fine... Star Swirl, throw our equipment at me, then put up a shield.” Nazir’s eyebrows twitched, “What?” Star Swirl was a good girl, she had their bags flying over and her shield up before the mercenaries had time to blink, bullets just echoing off the pink shield as they opened fire. He looked to her expression and she seemed tested but still strong, Dust marvelling at the strength of the legendary alicorn shield. Then Nazir opened up with his own weapon, knocked back a little by the mighty recoil as the sound echoed off the walls. It struck Star Swirl’s shield and she yelled, the pink sphere shattering into fragments around them as she stumbled. Dust growled, his shotgun and rifle flying towards him, “Get to cover!” He didn’t have time to see if she had listened, snapping his shotgun out of the air and rolling to the side, his first shot going wide but giving the mercenaries something to think about at least. His second knocked one of them off their feet, third clipping a nearby camel. Dust ducked behind a rack of shelving as they returned fire, waiting a moment before hitting the ground on his side and firing low to take out an advancing zebra’s legs. Dust looked over, spotting a terrified looking Star Swirl hiding behind some shelves of her own. Her horn was pulsing faintly, her side bloody, mercenaries already advancing on her position. He fired his shotgun to warn them off, a difficult shot still managing to hit one in the side and send him limping away. His two friends ran forward to fire on Dust and one clipped his side, Dust however managed to land two shots that left one of them with substantially less of his skull to keep his tiny brains in. Unfortunately he was now out of ammo. He considered signing Star Swirl to throw him over a clip but she wasn’t looking at him, and considering how her shield had been broken by brute force he was scared she might have some sort of magical burnout. Neither could he speak clearly with a gun in his mouth, and that would give their plans away anyway... Dust looked to the box next to him with open mouthed suprise, thanking Celestia for his fortune before dropping his shotgun and pulling out a pistol and clip that was stored there on top of several of its fellows. He ducked out of cover just as two mercenaries advanced on him, punching a hole in the battle saddle of one and scalping another with a shot that sent him yelping away with blood streaming into his eyes. Dust heard Nazir bring his weapon back up to bear, jumping to the side as the anti armour shot torn through the shelving he was kneeling behind. Boxes came down in a clatter, the other mercenaries firing wildly into the dust cloud. “Give up little poniez! I don’t want to have to kill you!” Dust growled in frustration, brushing the crap off his fur. This wasn’t going well, no way would he be able to pick off all of them before one got a shot in, “Then why don’t you come and get us?” “Fine.” He said nothing else, Dust figuring he was using hoof signals. It didn’t matter, he knew what he would do in this situation and was perfectly prepared for it. He heard the other mercenaries move away, counting for two seconds... and a bit for luck. Then he moved out, located the grenade they had just flung, and fired. It detonated with a roar in the middle of the mercenary formation, shrapnel cutting through Dust’s shoulder and his ears erupting in a sharp ringing. He braced himself against the pain and shouted to Star Swirl, hoping she hadn’t been rendered deaf as well, “Star Swirl, put on my battle saddle, put everything else on your back!” The alicorn ran out from where she was hiding, Dust feeling the straps of his saddle wrap around him. Star Swirl would be getting a big wet kiss after this was all over for sure, making sure it was secure before slipping his weapons into place. Star Swirl offered him a warm, only slightly scared smile, Dust returning it before motioning for them to run. They vaulted a dead zebra propped against the wall before another injured mercenary dragged himself out of the wreckage with a pistol clutched in his teeth. Dust finished him with a swift rifle shot before charging into the corridor beyond. “Are you ok?” Star Swirl looked over to Dust, surprised for a moment before giving a soft nod, slowing herself to a canter, “You?” “Just a few cuts and bruises.” Dust nodded at her side, a clear shotgun wound peppering the flesh there, “You don’t look fine.” Star Swirl looked down at it, giving a soft sad smile, “I’ve had worse. We regenerate pretty quickly, I’ll teleport the pellets out later.” “You can do that?” Star Swirl grinned at this, nodding her head, “Yeah, cool huh?” Dust chuckled, reassured that the alicorn seemed so cheerful. He guessed she was feeling the familiar old post combat euphoria, hoping it would be enough to carry her through to their exit from this place. He couldn’t help but be worried about what was next, Nazir’s knowledge about their plans meant Zenai was in even more danger than he thought... The shadows to Dust’s side suddenly solidified and leapt at him, Dust reacting just fast enough to fall with the impact and hit the floor with a grunt. He growled and leapt to his hooves as shadows formed around him, firing a shot which tore one apart before they attacked in force. They wrapped themselves around his guns and tugged them from too loose fastenings, Dust snatching his shotgun back by its mouthgrip and firing at a large shadow standing in the background. It did nothing, another shadow swept across to intercept his shot, another flying forward to strike him in the side of his head and send him reeling backwards. He tried to shake it off but strong tentacles wrapped themselves around his neck, hauling him into the air and slowly choking him as he struggled desperately for air. “Let go of him!” He heard Star Swirl’s voice, a second before he was flung through the air to strike the far wall with a hard crack. He felt pain, bad pain, but mercifully unconsciousness was quick. His last vision was of the large dark shadow advancing on a terrified looking Star Swirl. _________________________________________________________ Footnote: 25% exp to level up. Quest Perk Acquired : Team Dad - But right now, ya need to stop bein' so dang fussy pickin' up all the little things and help me move the one big thing in here that actually matters! Your concern for your allies is a little stronger than you’d like to admit. While you’re with them they all get a 3% dodge bonus. This fanfiction is based on Fallout Equestria by Kkat, it is highly recommended that you read that first for context. Reading Fallout Equestria: Pink Eyes by Mimezinga will help understanding, but isn’t required. Many of the characters and much of the setting are not mine but are on loan from the very awesome Kkat, or are taken from My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic by Hasbro. This story makes no pretentions at being canon with either, and is merely a ‘what-if’ set in the same world. If you enjoy Fallout Equestria Side Stories, you will want to check the Fallout Equestria Side Stories post on Equestria Daily and the Fallout Equestria Side Stories thread on Ponychan.