//------------------------------// // Chapter 1.11 - Star's Heirs // Story: Fallout Equestria : Black And White // by Philweasel //------------------------------// The docks of Star Fall rose before Pangaea as his flagship approached, workers scurrying about with gangplanks and mooring lines for his approaching fleet. As was tradition he stood at the bow, blue cloak fluttering and posture strong despite the cold winds and chilling spray. He was used to it, his father had often taken him out to the cliffs during winter to endure the elements, and through he was unsure if it had really made him any more resistant to the cold the many days of sickness had at least taught him to ignore pain. It made him glad about abandoning his father’s old style centurion outfit for a set of modern power armor, with much of the armoring stripped away to make it practical on the high seas of course. Heated padding kept him warm and dry and even in resting mode it felt good, his movements smooth and powerful within the servos. His air commander, Galder, stopped his flight above and fell to the deck with a thud, clawed feet scraping along the deck as he shook the spray from his feathers. He gave a laugh, knowing he was breaching protocol as he did, and turned to Pangaea with a grin, “Golden Dawn is at the Cafe Red.” Pangaea gave the griffon a simple nod, as was appropriate, “Thank you Galder. That was fast.” “What I do.” Galder turned to look ahead, “Want me to find your pop too?” “I still have not decided if I want to see him yet.” “Yeah, I get you. Need to eventually though, if anything really is going down he’ll be in the middle of it.” Galder gave his wings an experimental flap, turning his head back to Pangaea, “Me and the boys will see what we can find out. What are you going to do?” Pangaea swallowed the anger and nervousness his answer caused, fighting to keep the composure he prided himself on, “I’m going to see Golden Dawn. She dealt heavily with those emissaries, she might know something.” “Yeah... that makes sense.” Galder seemed hesitant, like he wanted to say something else. Eventually he just sighed, “Just... keep your temper. Remember what happened last time.” He ignored the advice. He didn't lose his temper, she lost it. He had no control over the matter, “Thank you Galder, your service is appreciated.” “Any time captain.” ~ The cafe was fronted by a team of two pleasant looking zebra in a smart suit and coat ensemble, concealing magic enhanced pistols in quick draw holsters. They greeted him as he passed before returning their gaze to the street, Pangaea impressed by their dedication to their assigned task. He had been gone for months and wasn’t exactly another face in the street, yet they had hardly acknowledged him. Golden Dawn did not hire those who were lax or easily distracted. As normal the place was busy and lively, though many of the conversations stopped as he passed before starting up again in hushed tones. As a military zebra through and through places and situations like this made him nervous, still he kept his cool despite the gazes and whispered comments around him. He was a soldier, and they relied on him to keep them safe. They needed to know that he wasn’t so easily rattled. Still, this wasn’t something he had ever been good at. Golden Dawn had always been the centre of attention, the pony every pony should know. He had breeding yes, but then she was the daughter of the primarch of the Church of Holy Flame and a famous wasteland heroine, not to mention an obvious and immediately distinctive looking crossbreed. It had been a scandal at the time but she had made it work, and how could you not love her? Beautiful and charming, at the top of all her classes and increasingly known for her skill and grace at ballet, now a rich and successful merchant on the council of Star Fall itself. He had never understood why she had approached him for friendship back when he was simply the shy and awkward younger child of the most controversial of the Star Fall council, though she had always cited his straightforward treatment of her and his honouring of his promise to never approach her romantically. He had appreciated that, even if he remained confused as to why both qualities should be so rare. He still maintained them. That made it all the more confusing as to how things could have gone so wrong. She was sitting at her usual table, reclined into one of her specially designed seats as she alternated between a huge stack of financial papers and an equally huge stack of sweet treats. He frowned to see that she had got even larger in his absence, her posture slumped even further into her cushions and her expression all the more bored and uncaring. It made him angry, and he knew of no way to express it. Instead it festered in his chest, curling his mouth into a frown as he approached. “I saw you enter Pangaea, you can stop staring at me with that grumpy little expression now.” He frowned harder and approached, even more annoyed as she failed to even look up from her papers as he rounded the table. He sat on his haunches and watched her, ears pricking in impatience and frustration as he waited for her to acknowledge him. Eventually he spoke first “I heard the recording about the events of Estelle.” She frowned at this, looking angry as her eyes lost focus on the paper in front of her, “Speak to your father about that. I had no part in it.” He resisted the urge to growl, “And no opinion?” “Plenty of opinions, all of them worthless.” She finally looked up at him, her eyes fierce and confrontational, “Do you have opinions too Pangaea?” “What is my father’s part in this?” He narrowed his eyes, glaring right back, “What is yours?” “What is mine?” Golden Dawn slammed the paper she was holding upon the table with a firm hoof, “I wanted us to be civilized about it all, wanted to change things. And instead I get this, a whole town of innocents dead because peace and prosperity is just too damn scary. And no, I don’t want to name names, talk about it. This isn’t about individuals Pangaea, this is about basic society.” Pangaea tried his hardest not to shout, however much her words triggered something angry in the pit of his chest, “Society didn’t kill those zebra.” “It did Pangaea, and you will never see it. You just keep strutting up and down in your fancy armor, believing you’re protecting people.” She snatched a cream cake from the pile, taking an angry bite from the crust as crumbs fell upon her toga, “How many times had you heard the story of the wartime Caesar Pangaea? How he responded to the economic dominance of Equestria by declaring war, how he imprisoned the greedy merchants who had sucked us dry? He’s still viewed as some kind of hero for it, for starting the path that led millions to their deaths!” Pangaea frowned, unable to keep his eyes from her bulk as she rose slightly from her chair. She used to be a ballet dancer, one of the most famous beauties throughout the whole of Star Fall. She had used to talk about changing the wasteland, about making the world into a place of honour and dignity for all. How had it come to this, a decadent, morbidly obese lump of bitterness and anger trying to suggest the dominance of the rich elite was the pinnacle of society? “And it would have been better to let our country die for the profit of a few?” “Amazingly enough, yes it would Pangaea.” Golden Dawn waved a hoof to the window, her expression ugly, “Entire settlements might be slightly less likely to end up staining the dirt red, and most of the planet might not be a radioactive hellhole.” “So the world would be better if our lives were to become simple commodities to be brought and traded?” She snorted, “Better a commodity than a corpse.” She tapped a paper in front of her with a hoof, “Have you seen the reports on the NCR? Star Fall have been championing themselves as the ultimate civilisation for their entire history, and Manehatten alone makes us look like some two bit dump in the ass end of nowhere. That’s the civilisation that merchants built Pangaea.” Unfortunately for her Pangaea had already read the reports, “From what I hear it was built by Gawdyna and Littlepip, both of who won it with steel and fire.” She took one hard glare at him before picking up a pastry tart and hurling it at his head. He didn’t even try to dodge, the object exploding harmlessly across his brow and showering him with crumbs. His expression didn’t even change as Golden Dawn turned her head from him, growling her words, “Get out.” “Fine.” He rose, ignoring the gazes as he calmly exited the cafe. To be honest he hardly noticed them, feeling like cardboard cut outs, parodies of a broken world that he found it difficult to care about any more. ~ When they had graduated... it was going to be him and Golden Dawn, changing the world. He would finally get a chance to work with his father, to prove himself a zebra worthy of that legacy. Sure they would have to work with that cowardly, reclusive nerd Mint Engine, still he was too meek to be any real threat to their ambitions. Now Mint Engine was the only one he could talk to without getting angry. It was just another thing he found it hard understanding. ~ His father was at the council table, chatting to a familiar white robed pony. With her hood down it wasn’t hard to recognize the regal features that made Sunshine Ivory so distinctive, Themba looking positively intoxicated as he continued talking to her about… something dull and uninteresting by the sounds of it. Pangaea couldn’t help narrowing his eyes in distrust at the mare, even if he knew it was childish and petty, and likely unjustified. They had compatible political goals and were both important figures within Star Fall, Pangaea had no evidence it was anything beyond that. Not that it was any of his business even if it was, even if this was his father and she was a good ten years younger… “Pangaea! I heard you had docked, it’s good to see you well.” Sunshine Ivory turned to him with a beatific smile, her pink eyes sparkling with warm affection. She looked across at his father, the zebra looking slightly annoyed at being interrupted, “Shall we continue this later councilor?” “No. Stay here.” He growled the comment before turning to Pangaea, giving him fierce smirk and speaking with rough affection, “How’s my fleet working out for you boy?” He frowned, “It is not ‘your fleet’. I have been in charge of it for five years now.” “Ha! You’re so predictable boy.” Themba laughed, trotting over and giving him a rough hug. They were both armored so it was awkward and uncomfortable, Pangaea squirming slightly under the unwanted affection. Themba thumped him on the back a little harder than necessary before shoving him away, giving a long smirk as Pangaea fought to catch his balance, “You’re still too skinny boy. Your enemy could push you over with a light breeze.” Pangaea knew that. He took after his mother unfortunately, though his height at least gave him visibility and respect with his men, “I am wearing power armor.” Themba snorted, “Never rely on technology boy, it will always fail you at the worst possible moment.” Pangaea glanced down at his father’s bionic leg, its armor plated servos half the reason Themba had managed to stagger him there, “And you don’t rely on it?” Themba snorted, clinking the leg against the floor, “No choice, that fucker Chigaru probably ate my old one.” He touched another hoof against his bionic eye, a mixture of amusement and genuine irritation in his expression, “And hard to shoot straight with just one eye. Still a pretty crappy replacement, even with EFS.” “Maybe we’ll be able to get you a new one once we’re allied with Equestria.” Sunshine Ivory spoke up as she trotted over to them, “Their bionics are reported to be very advanced.” “Is that actually going to happen?” Themba looked at Sunshine Ivory, trusting in her answer over his father’s, “I heard they had traveled to see Caesar.” His father answered anyway, growling and blunt as normal, “They’ll figure out his true colors soon enough. Hell, look at Estelle!” He smirked evilly, gold teeth shining, “And once we have the NCR on our side we’ll pay Caesar back for every last body, take back what’s rightfully ours!” “Rightfully?” Pangaea frowned, this one of the biggest reasons he hated his father. When he was young Themba had been a noble warrior in his eyes, a protector and solider. Now every time he opened his mouth he proved that a lie, proved himself a simple thug, “They kicked us out for a reason. Caesar has given them far more than we ever did.” Themba snorted loudly, glaring at his son, “Is that actual disloyalty? From a member of the council itself?!” “It’s practicality. We cannot do things as before.” “So what, we shower them with rose petals as we enter? Gift baskets maybe?” “Councilor.” Sunshine Ivory spoke up suddenly, her melodious tones instantly seizing their attention. She smiled at them both as they turned to her, “May I have a moment alone with Councilor Pangaea?” “I…” Themba looked at both of them before growling, “Fine. Knock some sense into him Ivory.” Themba left the room with a prowling, angry gait, Pangaea trying to control his nervousness at being alone with the mare. Sunshine Ivory just stared at him for what seemed like minutes, those big pink eyes seeming to bore straight through him. He squirmed under her gaze, averting his eyes from that... yes, attractive... face. This made her smile softly, her voice quiet and gentle, “You don’t like me very much do you Pangaea?” This made him feel guilty. No, he didn’t, but it wasn’t her fault, “I don’t know why you help my father. He’s not in it for Star Fall. He just wants the glory.” “I know that Pangaea, but the ambitions of petty stallions can serve noble ends.” Sunshine Ivory gave him a gentle smile, “Caesar is just another warlord, one whose moral weakness will cause more death and suffering. He must be stood against, and your father is the one with the power and will to do just that.” He glared at her with anger at his words, though he realised she did not deserve his wrath, “So you side with him, even though you know he is morally corrupt?” Sunshine Ivory simply nodded, “Your father’s ambitions, self serving though they are, open the way to greater good. With the Golden Coast opened up to my church we’ll be able to do real good through the wasteland, Mint Engine will be able to spread infrastructure, Golden Dawn open up new trade routes.” The last point stuck in his heart, a painful, uncomfortable feeling. He... wanted that. He understood that deep down Golden Dawn took out her anger on him because she herself was unhappy. That she contented herself with luxury and excess because she was unable to affect meaningful change, “It won’t be like before? We won’t just be pirates?” Sunshine Ivory chuckled, shaking her head, “It’s not just a matter of honour, but survival. Equestria rises again, and we have to rise to the challenge. It can’t be like what it was before, with weak zebras dominated by rich and successful ponies. Such things only bring about bitterness and conflict.” She smiled sweetly at him, reinforcing his resolve as she spoke, “This is a chance to gain your honour Pangaea. Not your father’s honour of death and glory, but the honour of a noble protector forging a safer world for the common zebra. And when we’re done it will be you who will be cited in the history books, and your father a mere footnote.” Pangaea looked at his hooves, uncomfortable with the feelings Sunshine Ivory inspired. All of the feelings. He wanted all that she said, to prove himself his father’s better, to make a new world. The possibility of it being in front of him... was scary. Her being in front of him was scary. He could see why his father was so enchanted. He... wanted her to go away now, “You’re right Sunshine Ivory. I will confer with my lieutenants, prepare for the possibility of war.” ~ The armies of Star Fall lay out before him, more than two thousand sentient creatures armed with the latest technology, eighty three battle droids of various configurations, two battleships, five cruisers, eight submarines and twenty two frigates. Among them thirty eight of the battle droids were airborn, and three hundred and seventy of his troops were either flight capable or trained in using bloodwing potions. His fleet were armed with twelve high yield cruise missiles, and two megaspells lay stored in the Star Fall silos. He looked over the ledger with a critical eye, knowing it wasn’t enough, “What are current estimates on the number of zebra under Caesar’s command?” One of his lieutenants, a sharp looking female pony named Rose Twist answered from memory, “At least three thousand. Including militia forces it increases to five.” “But most of them are untrained rabble with scavenged weapons.” Galder spoke and Pangaea looked over to him, knowing the lieutenant was aggressive but savvy in his war sense. Galder gave a bow before continuing, his mighty wings extending, “Numerous examples through history have shown a better trained, technologically superior force can easily prevail against a foe with greater numbers.” Pangaea frowned at the griffon’s words, that was his father’s tactics in the war that got them kicked out in the first place. He had no intention of repeating his mistakes, “Caesar’s elite troops are a match for ours in both areas, they could easily blunt our attacks while his lower quality forces snipe our flanks.” Sea Spray, his third lieutenant spoke up at this, her reedy voice trilling, “But they are no match for us on the high seas. That gives us easy artillery fire onto the coast.” He looked to the mare, Sea Spray commander of his fleets and a weird species of a type no one had ever seen before, pony shaped but devoid of fur and webbed around her hooves and ears. She wasn’t telling, and frankly Pangaea didn’t care, so long as she did her job, “Very visible artillery fire onto the coast. Our ships are easy targets for long range missile fire if they approach the coastline.” “Caesar has missile units that are trained in deploying stealthily, a well aimed shot could cause our destroyers significant damage.” Rose Twist spoke firmly, her head angled straight and proud, “Sir, I have been over the numbers before. Your father did not lose the coast by being incompetent, Caesar inherited a well trained, well drilled force which has the advantage of fighting on home territory. Any action we take, even if we are victorious, will be a pyrrhic one.” Pangaea figured that. Like Rose he knew the numbers didn’t lie, clever tactics only went so far, especially against commanders who were themselves no fools, “We need to weaken them somehow, or strengthen ourselves...” “Sir?” A solider poked his head around the door, saluting sharply as Pangaea turned to him, “There’s somepony on the video conference, wants to speak to you. Says he’s calling from Equestria, and it’s important.” Pangaea frowned, he hadn’t given out the contact details for his flagship, “How did they get this number?” “Wouldn’t say sir.” “Very well.” He turned to look to his lieutenants one last time before moving away towards the exit with a grunt, “I will be back soon, confer among yourselves.” He moved through the corridors of his flagship, the pipes and metal bulkheads of its construction whitewashed and cleaned to a shine on his orders. He hated the lax standards of post fall civilisation, and especially didn’t feel it was appropriate in a military organisation. He had little hope with the rest of Star Fall’s rabble, but his flagship at least could stand proud. A repurposed Zebra dreadnaught, the mighty ships may have been easy targets back during the war but in the post fall world it was pretty much impregnable. It had once stood up to two of the Enclave’s dragon hunters and blown them out of the sky with hardly any effort at all, and it was only his caution in regards to Chigaru that stopped him from using it to decimate Caesar’s sea defences. He turned into the communications room, an unusually large area packing a selection of some the best equipment the zebra had available, used to co-ordinate the robots, troops, air wing and attending fleet such a vessel would be in command of. The call was coming in on a raised platform down the end, a device Pangaea regarded as one of the reasons they had lost, a ludicrously expensive frivolity used to flatter the egos of pompous generals. He moved over to it with head held high, observing the image presented with suspicion. It was clear and bright, which should have been an impossibility coming all the way from Equestria and penetrating the radio haze across the zebra wastelands, not to mention deciphering the zebra code the device operated on. It seemed like an attempt to show off, but he had to admit it made him pay attention, “I am Pangaea, Councillor of Star Fall and Commander of her fleets. Who am I speaking to?” The figure smiled charmingly at his words, staring straight ahead with arrogant confidence. He certainly cut quite an unusual figure, an alicorn, and male at that. He was was smaller than he understood alicorns to be, the same height as Pangaea, but he had the horn and wings. His well made black cape and high tech cybernetic eye gave him a commanding dignity as well, and his voice was smooth and deep, “It is good to meet you at last Commander. I am Red Eye of Equestria.” “The slaver king?” Pangaea narrowed his eyes, “I was under the impression that you had been dead for many years.” “Which either means they were mistaken, or I have resurrected myself.” He chuckled, “I leave it for you to decide which of those to believe.” Pangaea studied the figure, though he was unsure what he was looking for. He had never seen a picture of Red Eye and the image was all coloured in shade of blue, making it impossible to tell whether he was joking or honestly expecting him to believe Red Eye had come back to life as an alicorn. He had little time for messing around though, deciding to get straight to the point, “What do you want?” “Straight to the chase, excellent.” Red Eye smiled charmingly, lifting a hoof, “I wish exclusive access to one of your radio beaming antennas and one of the terminals on your network, along with a spare lab facility.” Pangaea considered it for a moment, none of those things being in particularly short supply. They had three radio antennas and only used one of them, and lab space was hardly at a premium. Still, it was still all pretty valuable stuff in the wasteland, “And in return?” Red Eye smirked, “These facilities will allow me to provide further aid to your cause in the future. For an initial sign of good faith... I can ensure that the peace process between Caesar and the NCR fails, making Star Fall the obvious choice for a long term alliance.” Pangaea had to sit up and take interest at this. The possibility of an alliance was pretty much the biggest threat Star Fall yet faced, with Star Fall and Caesar’s forces so equal the whole war could be decided on foreign support, “You can do that?” “I have resources inside the NCR government that can be used to influence the peace process. With the resources you’d provide me I would be able to work on this side as well.” Red Eye chuckled, waving a hoof, “Can you honestly say that you’re in such a secure position that you can ignore such a generous offer of help?” No. Red Eye had him there. He needed this, and it was indeed a small price to pay, “Very well. How will you be setting this up?” “I will be sending over some associates, they will accept your offer and begin work on my side of the deal.” Red Eye smiled, “After that I will be willing to discuss further arrangements between us.” Pangaea scowled, this ‘Red Eye’ was a little too slick for his liking, “And why are you doing this? What do you gain?” Red Eye chuckled merrily, “Influence. The only thing that matters.” ___________________________________________________ Footnote: Level up! (14) New Perk Added: Centre of Mass - "Line them up, put them down!" You don't fool around with fancy trick shots. Straight to the midsection and down they go. In V.A.T.S., you do an additional 15% damage with attacks targeting the torso. 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.