//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: Fallout Equestria: Equestrian Wanderings // by ed2481 //------------------------------// Edited by zaponator Chapter 11-The rocky road to Fillydelphia part 2 A strange look had overtaken Day Kicker’s face as the sound of propellers neared them. It was a mixture of surprise, thoughtfulness, and to Ethan’s surprise, barely concealed panic. “Looks like some of your friends are coming to check on your progress, Day,” Ethan said with a raised eyebrow. “Well they shouldn’t be,” Day Kicker replied with a frown as his eyes searched the sky frantically. “Why not?” Holly asked curiously. “Because the average grunt won’t know why I’m here; I can’t let them compromise me,” Day Kicker said with another frown. His wings flapped once or twice nervously as the vertibuck drew near enough for them to see. It was a sleek, powerful looking machine with a cannon mounted on the front along with a pair set into the wings. Resting atop the wings was a pair of propellers that whirred savagely in the air, cutting through the sky like a hot knife. “Well, that’s more a more intimidating looking vertibird then what I’m used to seeing,” Ethan murmured. “I really wish I had my tesla cannon with me,” he added as an afterthought. “The real questions are how many soldiers they brought with them, and more importantly, who their superior officer is,” Day Kicker said as he eyed the approaching vehicle warily. “Why does the second one matter?” Holly asked. “Because, it’ll determine their level of clearance,” Day Kicker replied quickly. “Which means?” Holly asked “Which means that if their clearance is low enough then I’ll be able to bluff them,” Day Kicker replied with a frown. “But you’re a pegasus, why the fuck would you need to bluff them?” Holly asked him. “Like I said, the average grunt doesn’t know who I am. I’m on a secret mission, and if one of them has to call in a report about me then I’ll be compromised. That would be bad,” Day Kicker said with a frown. “I can kill them for you if you want, Day,” Ethan offered. “No! That would just make their superiors more suspicious and they’d send more squads. I’m going to have to talk them down,” Day Kicker said as his appearance began to change subtly. He stood a little taller, his eyes hardened, his jaw relaxed, and his body language became much more confident. Even his blonde mane seemed to become more composed and orderly. By the time the vertibuck touched down several minutes later he looked cool, confident, and commanding without a trace of his earlier nervousness. The door on the side of the vertibuck opened, and Ethan was surprised to see the same red maned Enclave officer that he’d met in the MWT hub flanked by four power armored troopers walk out of it. “Oh, it’s you again,” Ethan said with a slight chuckle. “Didn’t I already show you what would happen if I saw you again?” “I’m here for the AI; there’s no reason for either you or your friends here to die,” the stallion answered curtly. “What are you idiots doing here?!” Day Kicker asked in an authoritative voice similar to that of a drill sergeant as he marched straight up to the officer and jabbed him in the chest with a hoof. “Wh-who are you?” the officer stuttered, mostly in surprise at suddenly having another pegasus in an Enclave uniform questioning him. “That’s above your pay grade, maggot!” Day Kicker roared. “I’m here on a mission from Enclave command, and you and your little dildochickens are getting in my damned way!” he shouted. “Bu-but this is our op!” the officer exclaimed. “Son, do I look like I give a radgator’s ass about what you and your little butt-fucking friends are here to do?” Day Kicker asked as he turned to glare at the officer with one eye. “Um-no-sir,” the officer stuttered. “What was that you little shit?” Day Kicker shouted loudly. “I said sir no sir!” the officer shouted back while giving Day Kicker a salute. Ethan moved a hand over his mouth to hide his smile, and Holly’s mouth just opened and shut several times in surprise. “Good!” Day Kicker shouted back. “Now you and the rest of your unit will pull out immediately!” The officer nodded quickly, and began to walk back towards the vertibuck. Then he paused and turned back to look at Day Kicker. “Sir, what’s your call-sign?” the officer asked slowly. “That’s classified information!” Day Kicker replied angrily. “I need it so that I can check your verification,” the officer replied. “I already told you that that won’t be necessary!” Day Kicker exclaimed angrily. The officer stopped for a second, clearly conflicted about what to do, before letting out a sigh. “As you wish, sir,” he said with a downcast look. “However, I will be filing a report about our meeting.” “Paperwork,” Day Kicker replied with a snort and a roll of his eyes. “You don’t have to fill out any fucking paperwork, you little twat.” “But sir, regulations—” The officer began. “Fuck regulations!” Day Kicker shouted, interrupting the officer. “I am so far above your rank that you might as well be the smallest radroach shit in the wasteland compared to me!” Day Kicker continued angrily. “Bu—” “No fucking buts, you little cunt!” Day Kicker roared silencing the officer. “You will not make a report about me, you will not mention me at all in your reports or I swear that you will be cleaning grounder toilets with your tongue so fast that it’ll make your half retarded head spin!” Day Kicker punctuated this string of threats and profanity by jabbing the other stallion in the chest. The officer staggered backwards slightly from the force of the blow, his head bowed submissively. “I-we-we’ll just be going now sir, I won’t file any of the paper work,” the officer said. “Good, then get the fuck out of here!” Day Kicker barked The officer exchanged a look with the other soldiers before he shook his head, and they walked back into the vertibuck. After several minutes, the rotor blades began to spin, and the machine rose into the sky. Day Kicker stared at it intently until it was out of sight and then let out a sigh of relief. “Goddesses, I love the doing that,” Day Kicker said. “Wh-what?” Holly asked feeling slightly stupefied by the normally calm pegasus’s rapid mood shift and his performance. “He’s an officer, and a young one at that, which means that he’s been trained to follow his superiors’ orders. All it takes is a little misdirection and most of them might as well be putty in your hooves,” Day Kicker said confidently. “I’m impressed, Day,” Ethan said with a small nod. “That was some good bluffing.” “Thanks,” Day Kicker replied simply. “I’ve had a lot of practice.” “That was fucking incredible, Day!” Holly told the blue pegasus excitedly as the group began to walk forward again. “It was nothing, really,” Day Kicker said neutrally. “Like I said, it was just a simple application of misdirection.” “They teach you that trick in spec ops school?” Ethan asked. “Something like that,” Day Kicker replied with a small smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go scout.” He sprang into the air and Ethan couldn’t help but notice that a certain mare’s eyes tracked the pegasus’s rear end as he flapped away. “Heh, crazy day huh?” Ethan asked her with a small chuckle. “Mhm, yeah, fucking crazy,” Holly agreed. “First those Rangers, then those other rangers, and now the Enclave,” Holly said. “What’s next, Celestia and Luna coming down from on high and offering us some food?” The mare laughed at her own joke. “Well, with me around anything’s possible,” Ethan replied with a laugh of his own. “Based on the simulations that I’ve been running, there actually is a ten percent possibility of that happening,” Eddie piped in from Ethan’s wrist. “Really?” Holly asked in surprise. “Yes,” Eddie confirmed. “What’s the other 90%?” Ethan asked. “Well, there’s an 85% chance that we’ll encounter something else that wants to kill us by tonight,” Eddie said cheerfully, “and a five percent chance that we’ll meet Discord, although he’s always been rather hard to track statistically,” the AI said, sounding slightly miffed. They remained silent for several minutes as they walked down the cracked road. Ethan’s eyes scanned every building, looking for snipers or other inconveniences. Meanwhile, Holly appeared to be lost in thought. Suddenly, Day Kicker zoomed out of sky. “We’ve got company!” he shouted. “What kind?” Ethan asked. “Griffin Mercenaries, they’re working for Red Eye!” The pegasus coughed. He was panting and his uniform was coated in sweat. Before Ethan or Holly had a chance to say more a group of ten griffins appeared from above them, large anti-material rifles trained on Ethan and his friends. “Drop your weapons or we’ll fire!” the lead griffin squawked at him angrily. “Or what?” Ethan asked looking confused. “I said or we’ll fire!” The griffin repeated angrily from above him. “Oh, alright, I thought that that’s what you said. I just wanted to be sure before I did anything drastic,” Ethan clarified. Before the griffin could react, Ethan’s shotgun was swung off of his back and he fired straight into the griffin’s chest, destroying the armor and the flesh below. The sudden explosive spray of blood and feathers shocked the other griffins, and as Ethan’s shotgun cycled to the next barrel he pivoted on the spot to face another griffin and smoothly repeated the action. The shock didn’t last long enough for Ethan to get a third shot off and eight large anti-material rifle rounds smacked into the man’s chest, knocking him off his feet and throwing him to the ground bleeding heavily, his shotgun still gripped tightly in his hands. “Ethan!” Holly shouted before she unleashed a spray of 5.56 bullets into the nearest griffin. Most of the rounds impacted harmlessly off of the griffin’s armor, but she saw a few scarlet flares of blood. Day Kicker charged her and knocked her out of the way of an incoming anti-material rifle round. The round slammed into the cracked asphalt, but not before it grazed along Day Kicker’s back, releasing a spray of blood. The pegasus let out a shout of pain, but rolled over and fired off a shot of his gauss rifle using the mouth-grip. The saddle and the rifle bucked, sending the mouth-grip smashing against the back of his jaw and clattering his teeth. The glowing projectile smashed into the nearest griffin’s chest, obliterating the armor and smashing open the rib cage. The griffin fell back, howling in pain as it began to bleed everywhere. There was a loud, violent roar from behind the remaining griffins and they turned in bewilderment to see Ethan standing there, blood pouring out ten large holes in his chest and covering his armor in a sticky crimson blanket. The man’s eyes were a wild blue inferno and pure rage washed out of them, directed straight at the remaining seven griffins. Ethan let out another shout of anger, and this time his shotgun roared with him. The resulting blast of buckshot crashed into the nearest griffin’s face, the pellets tore into the griffin’s eyes, shredding them, and the gray matter hiding behind them, completely. The sword was in his hand and the shotgun holstered on his back before the griffins had a chance to react and Ethan sprinted towards them trailing blood as he came. Time seemed to stand still for the griffins as he charged them. His shock sword struck out and clove a griffin’s head from its neck, sending it flying with a trail of scarlet blood trailing behind it. Ethan stabbed the hissing, electrified blade into the next closest griffin’s chest, through its combat armor and into the flesh below which suddenly disintegrated in a cloud of white ash. He slashed out at another griffin, but the griffin caught his blade on a rather large combat knife. Ethan’s blade paused for half a second against the cross guard of the combat knife, before with an expert flourish he sent the knife spinning away and stabbed the sword into the griffin’s throat. A thin streak of blood dribbled onto the ground and Ethan pulled the sword out of the griffin’s throat sending the body crashing to the ground. Time resumed its normal progression and the last three griffins found themselves staring at the blood soaked man who had just obliterated the majority of their squad. They didn’t have a long time to think about it. Day Kicker’s gauss rifle roared and one of the griffins suddenly found himself without a head as it sped off into the distance. Holly meanwhile sent a furious stream of lead into the other griffin’s back as it stared at Ethan. The 5.56 bullets slammed into the griffin’s wings causing it to let out a horrible screech of pain as the bullets tore apart the bones and feathers. The griffin fell to the ground writhing in agony and Holly pulled out her 12.7mm pistol to finish the job with a clean headshot. The last griffin stared at the blood covered man before him and snarled. “Lord Red Eye will make you regret this!” “That’s tough, because I don’t give two shits,” Ethan growled through teeth gritted in pain. The griffin leapt at him, and Ethan met the lionbird’s eyes, they were full of anger and hate along with pure malice and rage. The sword was knocked from his hands and Ethan found himself on his back with the viscous animal atop him, trying to tear him to pieces with its long talons and sharp claws. The claws sliced through both his duster and the armor beneath making Ethan even bloodier as they slashed their way across his body. The man fought back with ruthless efficiency, slamming his knee into the griffin’s groin causing it to let out a scream of pain followed by a punch to the face that made Ethan grimace as his hand was cut open when it skirted along the edge of the griffin’s beak. The griffin didn’t let up and it stabbed downward at his face with its sharp beak, but Ethan’s head moved to the side to avoid the frenzied lionbird. The griffin’s face recoiled in agony as it smashed face first into the asphalt, and Ethan used the momentarily distracted griffin’s pain to his advantage. He used his legs to roll the griffin underneath himself and began to punch it in the chest. A shot rang out and the griffin suddenly collapsed, a 12.7mm hole in its forehead. “I had to wait for an open shot,” Holly explained. Ethan simply nodded before he rolled off of the dead griffin. Day Kicker sprang forward, a pair of syringes full of Med-X in his jaw. “No, wait do—” Ethan began, but his protests fell on deaf ears, and Day Kicker inserted one of the syringes into his neck. The man’s vision began to blur as the painkiller took effect. “Shut up and let me work,” Day Kicker told him before he drew a pair of tweezers out of his officer’s uniform and plunged them into Ethan’s scarred and bloody chest. Ordinarily Ethan wouldn’t have been affected by the painkillers but at the moment he had no radiation in him and the eight .50 caliber bullets had already done a number on him, not to mention the scrapes and scratches from the final griffin. The man’s head rocked backwards and the last thing he saw before darkness took him was Holly scavenging the anti-material rifles from the dead griffins with a worried look on her face.