Bear, Scribe and Paladin

by Speven Dillberg


13: Recruits and Playgrounds

Fort Constantine, mid-2280

Dom led the Initiates to the Vertibird, which sat some distance from the old base, hoping that Jonas really was just asleep on the job. “Initiate Robinson, go check,” she ordered when they were about 100 feet away from it.
“Yes ma’am.” Robinson jogged to the aircraft, his armor clanking as he did so. “Oh shit!” he exclaimed. “He’s dead!”
“What!?” Dom couldn’t believe what she was hearing. True, Jonas wasn’t the most attentive, but there was absolutely no way someone could have snuck up on him.
“The entire cockpit is shot up!” the Initiate yelled back. “Someone emptied a few mags in here!”
Dom cupped her hands to yell at him, but she was cut off by an explosion. The Vertibird went up in a small mushroom cloud, incinerating the dead pilot and Initiate. It left her standing there completely stunned. She just gaped as the wreckage fell to the ground, her brain trying to understand just what had happened.
“What... just happened?” one of the Initiates asked quietly.
“It just exploded,” the other one pointed out redundantly. “It just fucking exploded!”
“Goddamnit!” a third, unfamiliar voice called out. “That wasn’t meant to happen!” The three Brotherhood soldiers turned to see a man in black combat armour holding a Type 93 Chinese assault rifle frowning at the burning pile of scrap. Dom just stared at this stranger.
“Who the fuck are you?” she asked, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach.
In lieu of an answer, the man did a double-take. He stared at her Pip-Boy for a second, his eyes widening. “Oh shit!” he exclaimed as he opened fire, spraying wildly from the hip. Only a few rounds hit before his head disappeared, courtesy of a blob of glowing plasma.
“Was that a Talon Company merc?” one of the Initiates asked, walking up and prodding the corpse with their boot.
Dom leaned down and rolled the headless corpse onto it’s back. Indeed, on the left side of the chest plate was the ever-familiar white eagle claw, scratched into the black body armour. “Oh this is bad,” she muttered as she back away. “This is bad.”
“Yeah, it’s bad!” Dom turned to face the source of the voice. About fifty feet away stood another Talon Company merc, two more with him. Each one had a AER9 Laser Rifle and a confident smirk.
“I wiped you bastards out!” Dom yelled back, aiming her plasma rifle at them.
“Do you really think that?” another voice called out. The Paladin whipped around and saw three more mercs, each one carrying a Chinese assault rifle.
Dom’s face creased with worry. “Oh boy.” There are only six, she thought to herself. We can deal with this.
“Kill those fuckers!”
“You’re dead, meatsack!”
“I’ll wear your face like a damn hat!”
“I want her head on a fucking plate!”
Dom and the Initiates looked around in shock and horror as more and more Talon Company mercs appeared. Before long, the three Brotherhood soldiers, in T-45d power armour and carrying plasma rifles, were surrounded by more than forty men in black combat armour. Their armaments were impressive, an intimidating mix of Type 93s, AER9s, combat shotguns and missile launchers.
“Fuck.”


Night had long since fallen, Celestia’s sun giving way to Luna’s moon. The stars glittered in the cloudless sky as the city of Canterlot bustled with business. Everypony seemed to enjoy the nightlife despite the heavier guard presence. One couldn’t be too careful in a time of war.
Thanks to the higher number of armoured ponies, the six ponies of the Night Guard carrying the luggage of the Element Bearers to the castle barely received a glance or mention. The Bearers themselves had gone ahead, under a full military escort, and the six-unicorn squad had been sent to retrieve their belongings from the station. They had just reached the barracks, their next destination the suites the six national heroes would be staying.
“Can’t believe we’re doing this,” one of them grumbled. “Don’t we have porters?”
“National security,” another replied breezily. “Can’t have some Dog spy take their things. Who knows what these mares have.”
“I hate you guys,” the stallion bringing up the rear muttered, struggling under the weight of an obscenely large and heavy suitcase. “You always give me the heavy ones.”
“Stop your complaining,” the guard leading them said with a roll of her eyes. She carried a rather small, dainty suitcase in her magic.
“What’s in this thing, bricks?” The armoured stallion shifted the baggage in his telekinetic grip. This quickly turned out to be a bad idea as it fell loudly to the ground, where the latches failed and the contents spilled. “Crap.”
“Damn it, private, what is... that?” The six guardsponies stopped to stare at what had fallen out. Apart from the expected toiletries and personal belongings, there was a large number of blankets. Nestled in those blankets were three sleeping fillies, an earth pony, a unicorn and a pegasus. “Okay, that’s not good.”
“Are we at the castle yet?” the orange-coated, purple-maned pegasus asked sleepily. She yawned and looked around. The sight of six snake-eyed purple ponies in armour was more than enough to completely wake her. She looked around. “Uh-oh.”


“Ah, Thomas.” The three wastelanders turned around. They were still sitting outside, long after Luna had risen the moon and retired to court.
“Shiny,” he answered. He blinked when he saw the second armoured pony. “That’s not Shadow, is it?”
“No, she has a few weeks of bed rest ahead of her,” the commander said sadly. “She’s one of our best, too. Anyway,” he said as he cleared his throat, “this is the newest member of the Knights, Private Lulamoon.”
“Sir, what did you just say?” the private asked quietly. “I didn’t understand a word of that.”
Shining had to suppress a groan. “Of course, you can’t understand Zebrican,” he muttered.
“A Private?” Veronica asked. “What the hell is a Private doing in an elite squad?”
“Yeah, it’d be like sticking an Initiate who barely knew how to walk in armour with the Pride,” Dominica commented. She made a point of ignoring the way the new pony actively recoiled, though she did start grinding her teeth.
“We have the resources to properly train our soldiers,” Shining retorted. “We don’t just throw them into battle.”
“Neither do we,” Dom answered calmly. “We just give them easy jobs defending places no-one will attack. Not like that ever goes well, though,” she added.
“Anyway, I’m going to greet my sister and her friends and was instructed to bring you along.” Shining Armor looked at the sky. “We’d better hurry, I think they’re in pretty bad shape.” The stallion turned around, the rest following him, the private recovering from her revulsion in time to canter after them.
“I thought they didn’t get hurt,” Veronica commented as they entered the castle.
“Not physically, no. But all six of them have commitments in Ponyville.” Shining let out another sigh, the latest of too many. “You don’t know what it’s like being forced to leave home like that.”
“I know a bit about that,” the ghoul muttered angrily. “They weren’t forced out on pain of death and torture. And they didn’t end up in a place that makes war look like a playground.”
“Is D.C really that bad?” Thomas asked, ignoring the unicorn and his expression of shock, horror and disbelief.
“It was,” she answered with a shrug. “Things are better, as long as you stay away from the old Metro tunnels. I have no fucking clue where those Raiders keep coming from. The Pitt, though...” the ghoul muttered, trailing off with a shudder. “Oh god, the Pitt.”
“Sir, should I be glad I can’t understand a word they’re saying?” the other unicorn asked as they approached the door to the throne room.
“Very glad, private. Very glad,” the commander muttered.
“Ah, there you are Commander.” The five turned to see Princess Luna approach them flanked by two pegasi from the Night Guard. The purple-armoured ponies paused when they saw Dom.
“I am getting real tired of everyone looking at me like I’m a monster,” she grumbled. “Can’t anyone just be curious instead of scared?”
“Understand, Paladin, that your appearance is not dissimilar to that of the undead,” Luna said calmly. “Their trepidation is more than justified.”
Her eye twitched, and the other humans and ponies backed away. After a few tense moments, Dom took a few deep breaths. “I’m good now.” There were at least three sighs of relief at that statement. “But, I swear, if one of them, one of them, suggests anything, I’m walking out,” she added angrily.
“That is your choice, but I suggest you give them a chance. I know what it is like to be feared without cause,” Luna said sadly. “It is not an easy thing to deal with.”
“Oh, there’s cause,” Dom commented unhappily. “That’s what makes it worse. People have no idea when the friendly ghoul next door will suddenly go feral and become a mindless, murderous animal, so they have to be careful.” She noticed how the Knight-Commander and the Princess stepped away warily. “Oh come on!” she exclaimed angrily. “It takes decades for a ghoul to get that bad! Or flash-ghoulification.”
“Didn’t you say you were flash-ghoulified?” Veronica asked.
“Shut up, you’re not helping,” the ghoul muttered.
“Anyway,” Luna said loudly, “I wish to talk with Thomas. Alone.” She walked away, one of her guards following. The other went to Thomas and nudged him a few times.
“Er... Woah!” he yelped when the armoured stallion put enough force in to move him several feet. “Hey, little help?” he asked.
“Hey, this is your fault,” Dom said tauntingly.
“Have fun!” Veronica called out as he disappeared around a corner. “You don’t think they’re gonna - ”
“No,” the ghoul said quickly. “Don’t even suggest that.”
“Yes, please, don’t. I don’t want those mental images of my aunt,” Shining said quietly as he cringed. “Was what you said before true? About going ‘feral’?” he asked louder.
“I told you before,” an annoyed Veronica said. “Ghouls that stay around people don’t go feral.”
“Besides, flash-ghoulification is either completely sane or feral. No middle ground,” Dom explained. She looked at the large, ornate doors. “Let’s get this over with.”


Author’s Notes:
I apologise for the delay, I went and got World of Warcraft. I wasn’t thinking.
Cutie Mark Crusader Stowaways YAY!