Magitank
Chapter 3
Raider
* * *
I don’t remember anything about Celestia, save for what ponies have told me. Everything about her rule and what happened with Nightmare Moon happened before my time. It’s unfortunate. I think it would have been nice to have met her. From what I’ve heard, she was so understanding and gentle. The perfect ruler that kept the peace for longer than anypony could remember. Though, I suppose ponies had similar feelings for the empress at first. Before the wars turned her into what she was. What she had to become. So I can’t help but wonder if Celestia could have done anything differently. Could there have been peace, or would she have had to change to deal with the conflict? Maybe, in that kind of situation, changing yourself is inevitable. It’s impossible to hold onto who you are when the world around you demands someone else. Still, you put another pony in that same position, and you can’t help but wonder if things could have changed. If things would have ended better.
Or would it have been too much for them to not lose themselves?
* * *
“So,” Fleethoof said. “This mare saved you, huh?”
“That’s right,” Greenhorn said.
“Well, be sure you thank her.” Fleethoof let out a sigh of relief. He and Greenhorn arrived back at the Timber’s forward camp without incident, and he wasted no time in setting down the two ponies he was carrying onto the ground. He stretched out his limbs, feeling much lighter. Greenhorn dropped to the ground as well.
“...did find some food,” somepony said. Fleethoof looked around the camp and saw one of the others giving the captain a report. “There was a storehouse full of spiced peaches. Dozens of jars of the stuff. Most of them were broken, but there’s definitely plenty to pass around and keep everypony happy for a while. Other than that, nothing of use.”
“Thank you, private,” the captain said. He pulled a roll of paper from his bags and spread it out on the ground. “Mark down where it was and we can focus on retrieving them.”
“Yeah, sure thing,” the private said. “Oh, and this place looks great! I guess the lieutenant liked my design after all. Glad I could help with something other than legwork!” He laughed.
Fleethoof walked over to the nearby tank. He pulled a handle on the back to reveal a small storage compartment, then grabbed a red pouch from within.
“Wow,” Greenhorn said. He followed Fleethoof and looked around the camp. “That guy’s right. This place is like a fortress now.” Fleethoof followed his gaze. The entire area had been surrounded by walls that stretched higher than the tank, save for a single gap big enough to drive through.
“Yeah, it’s impressive, sure,” he said. He waved the pouch at Greenhorn. “Lie down over here beside the tank. This isn’t perfect, but it’ll keep the wind from blowing on us while I restitch that wound. Would’ve been nice if Dess had bothered to make a proper shelter, though.”
“That’s Lieutenant Dess,” a mare’s voice from behind them said. Fleethoof jumped and dropped his suture kit. “And you’re welcome for the defenses.”
Fleethoof turned and stared at her. “Could you not do that when I’m about to focus on something?” he said. He picked up the suture kit and wiped the dust off of it. “These tools are supposed to be kept sterile, you know. But hey, I’m sure having a shaky medic and dirty tools won’t hurt anything!”
Dess looked over at the survivors that Fleethoof carried in. “You could have used help with them,” she said. “Why didn’t you call it in?”
“What?” Fleethoof said. “I didn’t think to until we were already on our way back. It wasn’t exactly a calm situation. They’re here now, though.”
“Not calling that in was a mistake,” Dess said.
“Yeah, I know that now!” he said. “Is bothering me the only thing you have to do right now? I’d like to stitch up this cadet so that he doesn’t die.”
Greenhorn’s ears perked up. “Wait, what?!”
“Shut up, you’re fine,” Fleethoof said.
“If you had found something of interest, you should have informed the rest of us by radio,” Lieutenant Dess said. “Had you done that, then I assure you that somepony close by would have made their way to you, and likely would have been there in time to help with whatever you needed.”
Fleethoof blinked. “Well, I apologize sincerely for not following proper procedure, lieutenant,” he said. “So if that’s all you wanted, would it be too much to ask if I treated my patient now?”
“Not at all,” she said, then walked away.
Ridiculous,” Fleethoof said. He opened up the suture kit and sighed. “Well, this stuff still looks clean, at least.” He unwrapped the bandages on Greenhorn’s leg. “Hm, happy day for you. The bleeding stopped.” He took a deep breath. “Well, let’s get this over with. You were unconscious last time I did this, so I apologize in advance for the next few minutes. This isn’t going to be very much fun.”
* * *
A dozen pokes, six stitches, and a re-bandaging later, Greenhorn was back on his hooves. Three of his hooves, at any rate. He avoided walking on his injury despite Fleethoof telling him that he could if he needed. He wiped his eyes, pulling back moisture that he hadn’t realized was there.
“Cadet,” somepony said. He looked up to see Captain Pipsqueak walking towards him. “Welcome back. I hear you and Fleethoof managed to find survivors?”
“Yes, sir.” Greenhorn said. He gave a salute, then stumbled from trying to stand on two hooves.
“Well, one survivor,” Fleethoof said. “This mare was hiding in one of the cellars we searched, but that stallion’s a raider. We should get him restrained before he wakes up.”
“A raider?” The captain thought for a moment. “Alright. Don’t overdo the restraints though. Just enough to keep him from hurting anypony. Who knows, he may want to join us.”
Fleethoof shot Greenhorn and the captain an incredulous glance. “You two are bigger optimists than I thought,” he said.
“Try to at least have a little faith,” the captain said. “Things don’t always have to turn out badly, you know.”
“Right...” Fleethoof bit his lip.
More importantly,” the captain said. “Why is this the first I’m hearing of a raider? What happened?”
“Well-” Fleethoof started.
“We were attacked during our search,” Greenhorn said. Fleethoof was taken off guard by the lack of emotion in his voice. “There was two of them. This one was knocked out early on, and that mare helped dispatch the other. She was able to teleport him away with her magic. I don’t know where he was sent.”
Fleethoof stared at the colt. It took a few moments to register that both the cadet and the captain were waiting for him to say something. “I-I wasn’t there to help,” he said. “I ran off thinking that him and the mare were following along.” He shook his head. “It was a mistake. Also, the room in which we found the mare was still fully intact. I believe it to have been reinforced. It’s big enough to keep us all under one roof, if we needed to be somewhere else. There was also some kind of flowers there that were growing from a pair of corpses. That mare seemed to think they were dangerous enough to not let anypony near them, so I’m inclined to believe her. They’d need to be dealt with before we could move in.”
Greenhorn nodded and looked back at the captain. “We brought back two survivors,” he said. “The mare and one of the raiders. That’s all we have to report.”
“Right,” Captain Pipsqueak said. “Well, it certainly sounds like you had your fair share of excitement.” He chuckled. “I really only let you join in on this search because I didn’t think there would be any trouble,cadet, but it looks like you can handle yourself pretty well.” He glanced over at the two survivors laying on the ground, then turned to Fleethoof. “Any idea when those two are going to wake up?”
Fleethoof shrugged. “I haven’t the slightest clue,” he said. “The raider was knocked out by blunt force, but it sounds like this mare passed out from either exhaustion or dehydration. Maybe both. There’s really no telling when she’ll-”
A raspy moan came from the mare. She lifted her hoof a few inches off the ground before letting it fall.
“Wow, timing,” Fleethoof said, and trotted over. “Give me your water, will you?” A glowing green canteen floated in front of the medic, and he snatched it out of the air. He uncapped it and held the mare’s head, letting a few drops of water fall into her mouth. “Drink this,” he said, “and don’t try to speak just yet.”
The mare licked the moisture off of her lips. She leaned forward and tried to grab the canteen, but Fleethoof held it steady. “Take small sips,” he said. “You’re probably dehydrated, and you can hurt yourself if you drink too much too fast.” The mare nodded. After a few moments, she sat up.
“How do you feel?” Fleethoof asked.
“F-fine,” she said. She glanced at her surroundings. “W-where am I?”
“Take it easy,” the captain said. “You’ve been through a lot.”
The mare shuffled backwards when she saw him. “Who are you?” she asked.
The captain smiled. “My name’s Pipsqueak. Captain of the imperial army’s fourth battalion, at your service,” he said, and gave a salute. “You’re safe now.”
The mare blinked. “Imperial army?”
“Well, what’s left of it, that is,” the captain said. “I’m glad that I had the chance to welcome you personally. From what I hear, you’re quite capable with magic.”
Greenhorn stepped up. “You saved my life. Thank you.”
“I-I wasn’t really sure of what I was doing.” The mare blushed. “I’m glad I helped.”
“Alright, alright,” Fleethoof said. “Quit crowding her, she hasn’t recovered yet.” He turned to the mare and offered the canteen. “Remember, not too quickly. Drink small mouthfuls at a time.”
She nodded and started to take a sip, but a blue glow pulled the canteen away from her. “I have a few questions, actually,” Lieutenant Dess said as she approached.
“That can wait,” Fleethoof said. Dess stared at him for a moment, then turned towards the mare.
“Outer Canterlot was completely demolished,” the lieutenant said. “Judging from the force that ripped through the city, there shouldn’t have been any survivors. How are you here?”
The mare’s leg twitched. “I don’t know,” she said.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” the lieutenant asked.
“I don’t remember what happened.” The mare shook her head.
“Why does that even matter?” Fleethoof asked. “She’s alive to see the sun, right? Or, to see the the freakishly thick dust clouds, anyway. Call her off, would you captain?”
“Not yet,” Pipsqueak said.
The lieutenant glared. “An entire city burned around you. You have to remember that.”
The mare’s eyes darted around and she started to tremble. “I… I…”
“If you don’t know that, then what do you know?” Dess asked. “How did you get into that cellar? Where were you when the meteors struck?”
“Seriously? Alright, that’s enough!” Fleethoof got between the lieutenant and the mare. “You aren’t even accomplishing anything here, so lay off of her!”
Dess’ horn glowed and Fleethoof disappeared in a flash of light, landing about fifteen feet away. She returned her focus back to the mare. “Well?”
“I don’t know any of that,” the mare said. “I really don’t remember any-”
“Then who are you?” the lieutenant asked. Her horn pulsed blue for a moment.
“I don’t know!” the mare said. She let her head fall into her hooves. “I don’t remember anything before a day or so. All I know is that I woke up in the middle of a ruined city that was half buried in dust. I… I don’t remember…” Moisture began to soak into her hooves.
“Hmph.” The lieutenant glanced towards the captain. “Amnesia then?”
“I-I guess,” the mare said to the ground. “I really don’t remember anything. I don’t even know my own name.”
“I see,” Dess said. She turned to Fleethoof. “Do you believe that dehydration could be the cause of this?”
The medic looked incredulous. “You really have the nerve to ask me that after you just full-on interrogated my patient?”
“Yes,” the lieutenant said, “and I’d like an answer.”
“Uhm, a-actually,” the mare said, looking up at Dess. “I-I think amnesia can happen if the dehydration is extreme enough. But it’s kind of rare.”
Everypony stared at her. Fleethoof blinked. “Yeah, that’s... that’s actually true,” he said.
The lieutenant glared. “That’s a convenient bit of information for an amnesiac to have.”
“Would you just stop?!” Fleethoof said, resisting the urge to swing a hoof. “What are you trying to prove? What magical tidbit of information could she possibly have that would justify this?”
Dess turned towards the captain. “We’ll talk about it later,” She said. Her horn glowed and she disappeared.
Fleethoof gave a frustrated yell. “What was that all about, then?” he asked the captain. “That isn’t how you treat all the ponies you come across, is it? I must have missed the part where she did that to the kid and me.”
The captain sighed. “I apologize,” he said. “I needed to make sure that she wouldn’t be a threat.”
“A threat?” Fleethoof looked back and forth between the mare and the captain. “Empress’ sake, she’s a filly. She doesn’t even look older than Greenhorn!” He let out a defeated laugh. “You know, if this is how your army acts, it’s little wonder that there was a rebellion.”
“Watch it.” The captain scowled. “That isn’t funny.”
“I know, it really isn’t,” Fleethoof said. “I wasn’t joking. We brought her here when she was unconscious. She was just about delirious when we found her. She’s no more threat than any of us. What I just watched was completely ridiculous. This mare has just as much right to be here as us, so what, exactly, was the point of all that?”
Pipsqueak took a deep breath and exhaled. “Please, try to understand,” he said. “Everypony here has been able to prove themselves trustworthy in one way or another. Most of these ponies worked with me before, and I know them.” He gestured to the mare. “Her? We don’t know her, and you know the procedure for if somepony can’t identify themselves.”
“This is a bad joke,” Fleethoof said. “What did you think she was? A changeling? They were wiped out, remember? You can thank the empress and her Purge campaign for that.”
“Be that as it may, it’s impossible to confirm that there aren’t any left,” the captain said. “We were taking necessary precautions. Now that Dess has been able to inspect her, we can take her in properly.”
“Well, whoop de doo!” Fleethoof said. “At least you got that far.” He paused and turned towards Greenhorn. “Actually, where are you in all this? I figured you’d be right here with me, but you’ve been really quiet.”
Greenhorn thought for a moment. “Captain,” he said, “do you think it was necessary to question her like that?”
The captain nodded. “Yes, I do.”
The colt shrugged. “Okay then. I agree.”
Fleethoof gaped. “I can’t believe I’m even hearing this,” he said. He pressed his hoof to his forehead. “Whatever. I’m done with this. Where’s that raider? I get the feeling at least he’ll be more reasonable.”
“Him? Dess took him away,” the captain said. “It’s his turn now.”
Fleethoof looked around. There was no trace of the raider in sight. He sighed. “It’s just one thing after another around here.” He hung his head and grumbled for a moment before looking back towards the captain. “Where’d she take him?”
The captain glared. “He’s a raider. As much as it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to put civilians through interrogation, I’m less sympathetic towards somepony who is at least allied with ponies that have been attacking innocents.”
“Is he back at the camp?” Fleethoof asked.
“She probably didn’t take him that far away. More likely she’s right outside.”
Fleethoof started towards the gap in the wall.
“Why is it that you’re so interested?” Pipsqueak raised an eyebrow.
Fleethoof gave a chuckle. “Because your unending optimism has converted me, captain,” he said. “I think he can be reasoned with, and I want to talk to him.” He kept walking and ignored whatever was said afterwards.
He started to follow the outside of the wall and looked around in search of the lieutenant and the raider. Once he was sure he was out of everypony’s line of sight, he exhaled and his shoulders started to shake. Ugh, not this trembling again, cut that out already, he thought, scolding himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
“...come to this already, then?” a voice in the distance said. The wind was much louder without the walls to block it, but Fleethoof followed the sound to the source. He found Lieutenant Dess looking up at the raider, who was awake, but was hanging from a levitating rope that was tied around his waist.
“Y’all could have at least asked me what ya wanted before stringing me up,” the raider said. “This here’s just humiliatin’.”
“I doubt you would have just told me what I want to know,” the lieutenant said. She levitated a stick and nudged the raider, causing him to swing back and forth.
“Wha’ the- Oh come on!” the raider said. “This is jus’ uncalled for. I ain’t done nothin’ to y’all.”
“You’re affiliated with the raiders that have been attacking survivors,” she said, giving him another nudge. “Talk to me about why you were in the ruins. You couldn’t have thought there were any living ponies there, and you certainly didn’t know that we’re here.”
“Seriously?” The raider laughed. “Y’all think pushin’ me around on a rope is goin’ to make me jus’ start giving out info?”
“Most likely not,” the lieutenant said, “but it’s amusing.”
The raider tried to shrug, which wound up just looking awkward while hanging from a swinging rope. “Boss wanted us to find somethin’ specific that was in Can’erlot.”
“Wait, what?” Fleethoof said, approaching the scene. The lieutenant shot him a bored glance before returning her attention to the raider.
“What? I told y’all that all y’all had to do was ask,” he said. “Phalanx was interested in anythin’ we could find that belonged to the empress. Not that there was much left, mind.”
“You’re uh… you’re giving up information already?” Fleethoof asked.
“Continue,” Dess said.
“Don’t know why yer’ surprised,” the raider said. “That feller ain’t exactly the type to inspire any loyalty. He don’t care about any of us. He probably don’t even care that I’m talkin’ to y’all.”
Another nudge from the lieutenant sent him swaying back and forth again. “Would y’all cut that out?! I already said that I don’t care about Phalanx and I’ll tell y’all all I know. No need to be so rude.”
“Fine,” Dess said. The blue glow around the rope and her horn vanished, and the raider fell to the ground. “Keep talking.”
“Yer companion’s real friendly there, partner,” the raider said to Fleethoof. He picked himself up and dusted himself off.
“Isn’t she, though?” Fleethoof said.
The captain walked up with Greenhorn following along. The lieutenant nodded at them, then turned back towards the raider.
“Talk to me about Phalanx and the other raiders,” she said, “and you’ll be free to go.”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard ya the first time,” the raider said. “All I know about Phalanx is that he’s after anythin’ he can get his hooves on that belonged to the empress. Dunno why, but I get the impression that he ain’t overly fond of her. Can’t really say that I blame him on that point. As fer the others, most of them came from a… specialized hospital down in Hoofington.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the captain asked.
“Specialized…?” Fleethoof thought for a moment. “No. You’re not talking about the Hoofington Asylum, are you?”
“As a matter of fact, I am,” the raider said. “All the patient rooms are in the basement floors, so just about everypony there survived. Myself included.”
Fleethoof blinked. “You uh… You don’t exactly seem-”
“Nah, I wasn’t there as a patient,” he said. “That place wasn’t full of jus’ crazies. There were more normal folk mixed in as well.”
“Normal folk?” the captain asked. “You mean doctors and the like?”
The raider stared at the captain. “No,” he said. “Y’all are imperials, that I know, so this may come as a shoc, but yer empress wasn’t as great as y’all seem to think. That asylum’s where problematic political prisoners got tossed.”
The captain raised an eyebrow. “And you’re one of these political prisoners, then?”
“Yup.”
“What about Phalanx?”
“Him?” The raider scoffed. “Nah, he came along after them rocks fell. Lots of the folks there were violent most of the time anyway, so he recruited them easy enough. The rest of us didn’t have anywhere else to go anyway.”
“Hold on, then.” Greenhorn stepped forward. “So maybe not all of the ponies working for Phalanx are enemies? Would some of them fight against them if they had the chance?”
“Don’t count on it, kid,” the raider said. “Phalanx ain’t that stupid. He’s been pickin’ through the ranks for us forward thinkin’ types that might want to ditch him. I had a friend who suggested that very thing in front of the wrong ponies. He ain’t around anymore. Even if y’all did find somepony that could help, they wouldn’t talk to y’all.”
“What about you, then?” Captain Pipsqueak asked. “You’re being very cooperative.”
The raider nodded. “I’ve got good reasonin’ for it,” he said. “I wasn’t exactly s’posed to walk out of Can’erlot in good health.” He thought for a moment. “Speakin’ of which, what happened to my partner?”
“He’s out of the picture,” Lieutenant Dess said. “Tell me more about why you were in Canterlot.”
“It’s like I said, Phalanx was lookin’ for anythin’ that belonged to the empress. Don’t rightly know why,” he said. He looked around. “Dunno where y’all stashed my bags, but there’s a letter inside. Found it in what might of been her room.”
“You found the empress’s chambers?” The captain stepped forward. “Was there any clues as to where she might be?”
The raider shrugged. “Dunno,” he said. “I don’t even know for sure that it was her place, but goin’ by how well the room was intact, I’m guessin’ it had some heavy hittin’ spells guardin’ it. Ain’t no other rooms in Can’erlot that look that nice these days.”
Fleethoof thought back to the candy shop basement. He glanced over at Greenhorn, who met his gaze, and shook his head.
“I see,” the captain said. He turned to the lieutenant. “We have this letter?”
“Yes, sir,” she said, then turned back to the raider. “What else did you find?”
The raider blinked. “Why’s everyone so interested?” He stared at Dess, who stared right back. He scoffed. “It didn’t look like she had much in the way of knick-knacks. So unless y’all are interested in ‘the royal pillows,’ I doubt y’all would find much. That there letter was the only thing I found.”
“So,” Fleethoof said. “If you were thinking Phalanx was going to kill you, why were you bothering to look for what he wanted? Seems to me like you could have just ran off and been happy and healthy.”
The raider laughed. “That was the idea, yeah,” he said. “As soon as I found an opportunity to get away from the lunk he had with me, I was gonna run as fast as I could as far as I could. Woulda rather taken my chances in the dust than walk right up to my own funeral.” He sighed. “Though I’ll admit I was kinda hopin’ that I’d find the empress in her room when I found it. I figure she woulda been mad as a stomped anthill, but it would’a been nicer than hangin’ out with Phalanx’s crew. I take it y’all haven’t seen any sign of her?”
The captain opened his mouth to say something, but just bowed his head.
“What we have or haven’t found isn’t your concern,” Lieutenant Dess said. “Keep talking about Phalanx. Where’s his base of operations?”
“Why? Y’all just gonna rush in, guns blazin’?”
Dess held her gaze.
The raider blinked. “Wow, uh, alright,” he said. “Well, Phalanx wanted to get as close to Can’erlot as he could. So rather than stayin’ near the asylum, he had us march up towards the capital. Luckily for him, not so much for y’all, he found himself some military school. It looked pretty busted up, but it was intact enough. There was even a bunch’a weapons and the like that we salvaged.”
“A military school?” Greenhorn gasped. “The Outer Canterlot Academy? He’s hiding out there?!”
“Yep, that’s the one,” the raider said. “Now, y’all should know that even though he’s lost a good few ponies between y’all’s skirmishes and him weedin’ out folk he don’t like, he still has plenty of gun totin’ crazies to throw around. More than y’all do, anyway.”
The lieutenant grunted. “What else can you tell us?”
“Hm, lemme think,” he said. “Other than the fact that y’all are stupid if you think y’all can just bumrush Phalanx and win and that if y’all try, then y’all are gonna get yourselves killed, nothin’.”
Dess glared. “Thank you for your opinion, but I think we can handle ourselves.” She glanced towards the captain and nodded.
Pipsqueak returned the lieutenant’s nod and turned towards the raider. “Thank you for your cooperation,” he said. “We’ll hold you over for another day or so and then you’re free to go.”
Fleethoof nodded, then did a double take at the captain. “Wait, what?”
“We’ve learned plenty from him, and, assuming he’s telling the truth, he can’t very well go back to Phalanx now. Even if he does, it shouldn’t hinder us much.”
The raider chuckled. “Well, shoot, if I’d of known things’d go this nice I’d of come to y’all myself,” he said. He dropped his smile and glared at the captain. “But don’t pretend that y’all’s deal’s merciful. I can’t go back to them raiders and there ain’t nothin’ else to do but wander the dust. If I’m gonna be ‘free to go’ as y’all are sayin’, then I’d just assume stick with y’all.”
“What you do after this isn’t our problem,” the lieutenant said.
The captain hesitated. “Dess, does he check out?” he asked.
“Sir, you aren’t seriously considering-”
“Not sure yet,” Pipsqueak said. “But if you think he checks out, then he might be useful.” He turned to the raider. “What’s your name?”
The raider smiled. “Arlet,” he said. “From Appleloosa. I’m related to the Apples, but don’t worry. I ain’t gonna give y’all any trouble.”
“Arlet…” Dess said to herself. She closed her eyes and focused, then teleported away.
“Uh, bye?” Arlet said. He scratched his chin. “She sure took off in a hurry. Was it somethin’ I said?”
“Don’t worry about her,” Pipsqueak said. “So, you’re related to the Apples? Under normal circumstances, rebels and imperials wouldn’t get along. Maybe we can change that.”
“Well, I’m hardly a rebel anymore if there ain’t no government to rebel against,” Arlet said. “It’s like I said, I don’t plan on givin’ y’all any more problems than y’all already got. There’s no sense in arguin’ old issues when there’s folk out there interested in seein’ us both go down, y’know?”
The captain nodded. “Agreed,” he said, then turned to Fleethoof. “If you’re satisfied, you’re free to leave. I apologize if we scared you earlier, but-”
Fleethoof walked up to Arlet and hugged him, patting the raider on the back a couple times.
“Uhm…” Arlet started. “W-what…?” He looked at the captain, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
“The first day in Canterlots always the toughest, right?” Fleethoof asked, not letting the raider out of the embrace.
“I… uh… I guess?” Arlet said.
Fleethoof sighed, let go, and backed off. “Oh well,” he said. “Welcome to the Timbers. I’ll let the captain do the introductions. He’s better at it.”
Everypony stared at him. He scratched his head. “I think I’m going to go check on that mare. See if she’s doing alright.”
The captain blinked. “As I said, you don’t necessarily need to leave, but there isn’t any real reason for you to be right here,” he said. “I’m sure you have other things that you need to get done.”
“Yep,” Fleethoof said. He started towards the entrance of the wall. Oh yeah, because that went well, he thought.
Once inside, he checked his surroundings. The mare from the ruins looked to be smiling and sleeping. Lieutenant Dess was digging through a case of papers. A few of the other soldiers were sitting in a circle and playing some sort of game involving balancing their guns on their noses. The cadet was following him.
“So, what was that all about?” Greenhorn asked. Fleethoof flinched.
“A little warning next time you decide to follow me all quiet like?” he said.
“Sorry,” the cadet said. “But still…”
Fleethoof shrugged. “Guy looked like he needed a hug.”
Greenhorn cocked his head. “Did he?”
“Of course.” He nodded. “You should learn to recognize when someone needs a hug. It’s an important skill for a medical pony.”
“...Really?”
Fleethoof put a hoof to his forehead. “Of course not,” he said. “I thought he was someone else. Apparently he wasn’t.”
“Oh, really?” a mare’s voice said. “I figured it was something else. Nopony here will judge you, you know.”
Fleethoof turned around and found himself face to face with Lieutenant Dess. He jumped back, then stomped the ground. “Shards! Do you get some kind of sick pleasure from sneaking up on ponies? And what do you mean by-” He stared at her. “No. No, no, and no.”
“It’s quite alright, you know,” the lieutenant said. “Now more than ever, you have complete freedom in-”
“Stop. Talking,” Fleethoof said. “If you’re that nosy, I thought he was my brother. Arlet looks similar, and I haven’t see him in a few years. Satisfied?”
Dess frowned. “Actually, no,” she said. “You don’t have any siblings.”
“Well, he’s not per se-” Fleethoof said. He did a double take and stared at the lieutenant. “How much do you actually know about me, you creepy mule?”
Lieutenant Dess scoffed. “There’s no need to be politically incorrect, you know,” she said. “And I know as much as the the country of Equestria knows about you, Rank 1 Runner Fleethoof.”
Fleethoof sighed. “Seriously? Why? I know I’m not that interesting that you’d feel the need to learn that much about me.”
“I know you used to be a racer,” she said. “I know that you did everything in your power to avoid joining the military, and succeeded until just recently. I know that you dislike the color brown because it’s ‘too bland,’ and, most importantly, I know that you’re an only foal.”
Fleethoof blinked. “Okay,” he said. “I’m going to call you a creepy stalker, then I’m going to say that calling you that makes other creepy stalkers look mild, and I want you to know that you have no right to disagree.”
“There’s also no record-”
“You’re a creepy stalker, and calling you that makes other creepy stalkers look mild.”
The lieutenant stared at him. “There’s also no record of you receiving any kind of medical training, which makes me question your proficiency with medicine.”
“Maybe I didn’t want ponies like you to know my every move.” Fleethoof said. He leaned in close to Dess. “You know, one time I told people that I’d have a lettuce salad for lunch, but I actually had hay fries. So that’s two I’ve pulled over on you.” He grinned and nodded. “Yeah.”
Dess continued to stare. “Where exactly did you learn to be a medic? You don’t have any official certification.”
“Oh, I learned that from the Empress’ School for Gifted Unicorns,” Fleethoof said. “Turns out there’s a great program for earth ponies there.” He shrugged. “I was surprised too. The name is really misleading.”
“You do know that the longer it takes for you to give me a straight answer, the more suspicious I am,” the lieutenant said. “Try one more time.”
“Why does it even matter?!” Fleethoof said. He ran a hoof through his mane, leaving a streak of dust behind. “I’ve been helping out whenever I’ve had a chance. Luckily, there hasn’t been a lot of injuries, but I’ve stitched up this colt. Twice. I’ve agreed to make sure that any other survivors we find are healthy and treated, and I’ve agreed to be a scout and a lookout when needed. Are you really saying that you don’t trust me because you don’t know where I learned basic first aid? Because you can pretty much walk into any hospital and learn that from a nurse with some time on her hooves.”
“Fine,” the lieutenant said. She sighed. “This can wait, then. As it stands, that raider checks out.” She produced a slip of paper from her vest. “I have part of a dossier here. Apparently, he did support the Apples, but disappeared just before the incident at Ponyville. His story checks out, and there’s no reason the files that I have to believe that he’s lying.”
Fleethoof blinked and glanced back and forth between the document and the lieutenant.
“And yes,” she said, “I have similar documents on you as well. As well as a majority of the local population. Don’t take it personally that I know so much about you. Information is my job.”
“You know, this doesn’t help the argument of you being a creepy stalker,” Fleethoof said.
The lieutenant rolled her eyes and pocketed the document. “The point is that Arlet probably isn’t lying about Phalanx being at that school,” she said. “It’s reason enough to scout it out. If nothing else, we could find supplies or survivors.”
“I feel like the supplies and survivors part shouldn’t be a secondary priority,” Fleethoof said. “So you’re trusting Arlet now? I got the impression that you weren’t big on the whole ‘believing what somepony tells you’ thing.”
“I don’t trust him,” Dess said. She shrugged. “Not even close, but I believe he’s telling the truth about this in particular. If it turns out he’s lying…” She thought for a moment. “It could be problematic for him.”
“Fun stuff,” Fleethoof said. “So who all’s getting drafted into scouting out this school?”
“I need to bring it up to the captain first,” she said. “After I get Arlet to tell me exactly where this school is, It’d be ideal if I go alone.”
Greenhorn stepped forward. “W-wait,” he said. “Let me go with.”
The lieutenant’s horn glowed and a briefcase appeared in front of her. “That would defeat the purpose of me going alone,” she said. “Subtlety is also my job.” She slipped the document into the case and teleported it away.
“Yeah,” Fleethoof said. “For once, today, I’m going to have to agree with the lieutenant’s methods. I said you can walk on your injury, but I’m not going to be able to let you walk into what’s probably a raider stronghold with your leg in the shape that it’s in.”
“As long as they don’t see me, I’ll be fine,” Greenhorn said. “Plus, I trained at the Outer Canterlot Military Academy. I practically lived there most of the time. I know where it is, plus I know the layout of the place like my own cutie mark. And I know of at least one janitor’s closet with a tunnel that leads to the armory.”
“Regardless, I don’t think-” Dess paused and thought for a moment. “Actually, I think you could be of some help. If you want to come along, you have my permission. You can bring it up when I talk to the captain. We still need to deal with that raider before we head back to the main camp. You’ll have time.”
“Okay, perfect,” the colt said. He nodded.
“Wait, what just happened?” Fleethoof said. “Because it sounds like you just let the injured rookie come along on what kinda sounds like a thing that’s definitely going to be dangerous. And as the pony that got handed the medkit, also known as the closest thing to a doctor that we have, I’m still against that.”
Dess raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you trust me?” she asked.
Fleethoof pursed his lips and nodded. “Oh, definitely,” he said. “In fact, I trust you exactly as much as you trust me.”
“Funny,” the lieutenant said. “There’s things I need to discuss with the captain. This is your chance to convince him not to allow Greenhorn here to come along with me.” She started off, and the colt followed in suit.
Fleethoof scoffed. “And to think a couple hours ago, I wouldn’t have thought he would need convincing about something like this.” He took a deep breath and followed along. “Everypony’s crazy nowadays. Even the sane ones.”
* * *