Chapter XLVIII: Her Puppets
They burst through the hospital doors, scaring an elderly pony that was walking through. After a short apology, the rushed towards the lobby desk.
“Is Twilight here?” Lightning asked, out of breath. The receptionist nodded.
“She is down in the mental ward.” They thanked her and ran off. Nurses and patients stared at them as they pounded down the hallways. Finally, they passed through a set of doors that led to the mental ward. They peeked in each door that was open. Ponies of all colors and sizes rested in the beds. Most were just asleep. Others stared at them as they passed. A couple were even shackled to their beds. Finally, they found Twilight.
She was walking out of a room, a clipboard held by her magic in front of her. She smiled when she saw them, but the smile slipped when she saw their expressions. “What is it?” she asked when they reached her. Lightning just handed her the letter. She pulled in into her magic, clipping it to the clipboard. Her eyes slowly slid down the page, widening as they went.
Dear Lightning,
I hope you had a pleasant time since we last met. You didn’t think that I would forget about you so easily, did you? But this is not a happy letter. I am here to tell you that another Bunker has fallen to our enemies. Your Bunker will probably hear about it in a day or two.
I am going to give you a quest. I know your friends can fight, as can you. I have seen them, as nothing can escape my moon’s gaze. I want, no, I demand, that you and your friends return to the Bastion at once, as we have much to discuss. I await your response.
Your Queen,
Luna
Twilight looked up from the note. She licked her lips a couple times before she spoke.
“When did you get this?” she asked, voice low.
“Just now.” Applejack responded. “What do ya think we should do?”
“I am not sure. I don’t even know what to think.” she said, pacing in a circle. “We have to go. I mean, she is our princess, even if she has gone a bit....you know nutty.” She moved her hoof in a circle next to her head. Applejack laughed under her breath
“Yeah, Ah get what yer sayin’, but do you think... AAHH!” She was cut off mid sentence. Another ball of nimbus appeared in front of Applejack and Twilight. Another scroll fell from the aura, then it disappeared. Lightning looked at the other two, then walked over and picked it up and read it out loud.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I heard that.
Your Queen
Luna
Twilight’s eyes grew wide again, then she blushed, not looking at the letter. “Sorry.” she said quietly. “What do you think we should do, Lightning?”
“Well....I think we should listen to her.” he said. “If another Bunker has been attacked, then we really should go and see what she needs us to do.”
Twilight nodded. “True. But before we go sprinting off, I think I should go talk to Administration. See if this is even true.” She turned towards the door they had just come through. “Can you guys gather the others, and I will see you later. Meet in your room.” Then she was gone. Applejack looked up at Lightning.
“Do ya think it is true?”
“I see no reason for her to lie to us.” Lightning said.
“Yeah, Ah guess so...”
“Come on. Let’s get the others.”
*****
On their way back to their room, Lightning and Applejack called the others up on their W.I.C. They didn’t tell them what had happened, just they they needed to come right away. They all seemed curious, if not a little annoyed, at the secrets. But soon, they were all waiting in Lightning and Applejack’s room.
“So, what’s going on?” Rainbow asked. She had taken off her wing and laid it on the bed. Even after all these months, he still couldn’t stop looking over at the wing, limply hanging by her side. The feathers stuck up in several directions, making it look like she had just flown through a storm.
“OK.” Lightning said. “Well...we got another message from Luna.” An audible gasp filled the room. “She tells us that another Bunker has been attacked by Death Hunters. And that we are supposed to return at once.”
“Are you going to go?” Cora asked. She was sitting in a chair, balancing one of the magic books Twilight had given her on her knee.
“Well, when I say “we”...I mean all of us.” Lightning said, not looking at them. They just stared at him.
“All of us?” Phoenix repeated. “Why does she want all of us? You are the one enlisted in their army!”
“I know.” Lightning said, walking in a circle. “She said it is because you all know how to fight, and she could really use the extra stallion-power.”
So she just wants us to drop everything and go help her?” Rarity asked. Under this lighting, her scars stood out immensely. Lightning nodded.
“But before you start saying no, I think we should wait for Twilight to get back.” Just as he said that, the door opened and Twilight walked in. She had a grave look on her face.
“It is true.” she said, looking at each of them. “Bunker 43 has been attacked. No survivors.” Silence fell over the group.
“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight nodded.
“All communication lines are down, and scouts from other Bunkers say the same thing.” She looked at Lightning. “I guess she was right.”
“That is terrible.” Cora said, standing up. “But why should we help? She has an army. There is only eight of us! How could we help?”
“I don’t know.” Lightning responded. “But I think, since she requested our help, then we should honor her.”
Cora shook her head, as did Phoenix. “She has done nothing to help us in the past ten, eleven now, years.” Phoenix said. “Now, suddenly, she thinks that she can get us to follow her again? I am not doing it.”
“Same here.” Cora said. A couple of the others nodded. Lightning looked around, feeling separated from them.
“Please guys. I just need you to--” He was cut off by the appearance of a third nimbus. It’s light filled the small room. A third scroll fell from within and landed next to his front hooves. Lightning bent down and picked it up.
“What does it say?” Twilight asked, nervously. Lightning just stared at it. “Lightning?” Twilight asked.
“It says...oh Celestia...” He said, unable to find the words. “It says, that if we do not join her, one of your friends will perish.”
*****
As it turned out, that was the deciding factor. By the end of the day, they were packed and ready to leave. Twilight had gotten permission from the officers. Phoenix had done some modifications to the Buggy since the last time they used it, and it was now ready to seat nine ponies. Lightning and Phoenix were packing supplies into the back when Applejack approached them.
“Can Ah talk to ya for a second?” she asked Lightning. He nodded and walked over to the corner of the room with her.
“What is it?” he asked innocently.
“Why is mah bag still in the room while yours, and everypony elses, is in the car?”
Lightning sighed. He had been dreading this moment since he made the decision that morning. “You aren’t coming.” he said shortly. She stared back at him.
“What do ya mean?” she asked, not understanding. Lightning smiled. He walked closer to her and dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“You are a smart mare. I thought you would have figured it out.” he said. “I don’t want you coming along, because you are due in a little more than a month. I don’t want anything to happen to you, or the baby.”
“But what if ya need me?” she asked, stamping her hoof. “Ah should be there with you!” All Lightning could do was smile and kiss her.
“I will be back.” he said. “I promise.” Phoenix had finished packing the Buggy, and the others were already inside. He hoped in next to Phoenix. He looked out the window and waved to Applejack. She smiled and waved back, a tear falling from her eye. She pressed the button on the wall, and the Buggy rose to the surface. She kept waving until he was out of sight. She knew he would be safe. But something kept nagging at her. She knew the next time they would see each other, everything would have changed.
Lightning had to squint as the Buggy rose to the surface. The sun was slowly setting in the west, producing a cascade of spectra along the clouds. He just wanted to keep staring at it, but Phoenix turned the Buggy around, pulling his gaze away. He brought it up to speed, and soon the Bunker, and Applejack, was just a spec in the distance.
He turned around, looking at the others packed into the back of the car. Cora, Rarity, and Rainbow were sitting in the front row, while Fluttershy and Twilight were sitting in the back, an empty seat between them. They knew that Lightning was not going to take Applejack, but they stiff felt bad about lying to her.
“How long till we get there?” Rainbow asked impatiently.
“About a day.” Lightning said. “We will probably have to spend the night out, then continue tomorrow morning.”
“Should we have sent a letter to Luna?” Twilight asked. “Shouldn’t she know we are on our way?”
“Naw, it’s fine.” Phoenix said, looking back at them. “I bet that she--” He was cut off by the appearance of another ball of blue aura. “Yep.” he said, smiling. A scroll fell next to Twilight, then the orb disappeared. Twilight picked it up and read it.
“‘I already know you are coming.’” Twilight read. “‘I am glad that you decided to join us. We will be meeting at noon tomorrow, so don’t be late.’” She looked up at them. “Did she really think that we would let one of us die, just so that we wouldn’t have to go?”
“I don’t really think she was going to kill one of us.” Cora said. “I think that was just....motivation.”
“Still, it was a terrible thing to say.” Twilight finished, crossing her hooves over her chest. The car dissolved into silence. Each pony was thinking their own thoughts. One by one, they dozed off. Finally, it was just Lightning and Phoenix awake.
“I am sorry you had to leave her behind.” Phoenix said.
“No need to say sorry.” Lightning responded. “You had to leave Celia as well.”
“Yeah. It just seems to be worse for you guys. We have been separated for a long time, so we know the feeling. For you guys...” His voice trailed off, but Lightning knew what he was talking about.
“How is it going with her?” Lightning asked. “Have a name for the filly yet?”
“Not yet. But Celia said she would think of one while we are gone.” He opened his mouth something else, but closed it. “Do you think all of us are going to come back?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if what you said is true, then we are heading towards an army.” he said, turning to look at Lightning. “And I will assume that we will have to fight the Death Hunters. And if I have learned anything from the last eleven years, it is that ponies can bleed. So, do you think we will all come back?”
Lightning had no answer. He hadn’t really thought about it. But Phoenix was right, they would have to fight. And, if Luna was telling the truth about this, then they would be fighting a lot. Lightning had learned the same thing. Ponies die.
“I can’t say.” was the only answer he had. Phoenix nodded. “I think we should stop here for the night.” He pulled off the road, tires raising a cloud of dust.
“Should we wake them?” Lightning asked, pointing back at the others. Phoenix shook his head.
“Let them sleep. If they wake up, they can join us in setting up the camp.” Lightning smiled at this. He hopped out and followed Phoenix to the back of the Buggy. Pulling back the tarp exposed the supplies that had. Crates of food and water, enough for a week, and supplied for setting up a camp. Phoenix pulled out the tent as started to lay it flat on the ground. Lightning started to make the fire. Soon, the camp was set up.
Phoenix laid down next to the fire, staring up at the stars. Lightning sat down next to him. He was close enough to feel the weird heat coming off his body.
“It’s just like the first time, isn’t it?” Phoenix said, not looking away from the sky.
“First what?” Lightning asked.
“The first time we went somewhere. We were going to 118. And we didn’t know what was going to happen.”
Lightning laughed. It was true. But there was something Phoenix was leaving out. One of them had almost died.
“I will take the first watch.” Lightning said. Phoenix nodded, but did not close his eyes. He continued to look up at the stars. The moon, bigger than it ever had been, was reflected in his red irises. Finally, they closed.
Lightning watched the fire that night. He didn’t really feel like waking up Phoenix for his watch, so he stayed up all night. Slowly, the moon passed by over head. It seemed to pass slower than usual. But, finally, it sank below the opposite horizon.
The first to wake was Cora. She stepped out of the Buggy, quietly closing the door behind her. She stretched and walked over to Lightning. She smiled when she saw Phoenix.
“How lazy can you get?” she said. “How long has his leg been in the fire?”
“About an hour.” Lightning said, turning away from Phoenix. “I didn’t feel like getting up. So, anything new?”
“Nothing much. Just wondering what we have gotten ourselves into.” she said, looking out over the Wastes. They had slowly turned into plains, so Lightning knew they were getting close.
“A whole lot of shit.” Lightning answered, standing up. “I think we should get going.”
Cora nodded. “But first, I want to try something.” She quietly trotted over to Phoenix. She bent down and carefully lifted his other leg and placed it in the fire. Then she gently pulled him into the fire, until his head was in the middle of the flames. “I want to see his reaction.” she said, suppressing laughter. She nudged Phoenix’s hip. “Hey, wake up!”
His eyes opened and he blinked a couple times. Then he realized where he was. “The fuck!” he yelled, jumping straight to his hooves. She galloped a few steps away, checking over his arms and chest for burns. Slowly, he realized what was going on. “I really hate you guys.” he said, which was the breaking point. Lightning and Cora both fell to the ground laughing. He stared at them for a few moments, then began to laugh as well. The only sound they could hear was their laughter, something they had not heard in a long time.
It was good to be home.