//------------------------------// // Meetings // Story: Fallout: Equestria - Project HIVE // by Cascadejackal //------------------------------// PROJECT HIVE Meetings The Equestrian team looked to each other nervously, soft clicking sounds filling the otherwise still and quiet desert noon air. They were still a week away from the nearest pony settlement, following the outdated maps available in the Stable, and almost a month from their home, but even so far away from the core cities the background radiation was high enough to be picked up by their Pipbucks. Ironside stepped forwards, moving to stand in front of the herd before clearing his throat. "We all knew this might happen, though we hoped it wouldn't." He kept his head up, hiding any worries he might have had, remaining the strong leader as always. "The Science division predicted that the further into Equestria we go, the higher the radiation levels will be. It's unlikely we'll be able to reach the core, or even the outlying cities. However, radiation levels here are still safe, and we stand a good chance of reaching Appleloosa without harm. I won't order you to take the risk. We can turn back now, try again at a later date... or..." He looked over the gathered herd, the team he'd led from their home and through the desert, "...we can keep going until it's too dangerous to go any further. All in favor of continuing on to Appleloosa, raise your hoof." The varied equines looked at each other, their eyes slowly filling with determination. They were ponies and changelings, on a mission to help whoever they could. One hoof raised, then another, and quickly each and every member of the team cast their vote to continue, to go on. Ironside nodded, a thin smile creeping onto his muzzle. "All in favor of turning back, lower your hooves." His smile grew slightly when not a singly hoof fell. "Very well. Keep your packets of Radsafe ready. We're heading out." With that, the stallion turned and set off, the herd falling into line behind him, each of them focused on doing what they could, on not abandoning their Equestrian kin... and steadfastly doing their best not to think about how few survivors there might be, lost in the growing radiation. Damsel and Lorikeet flew, two discreet shadows in the night, their almost non-stop flight taking them much further from home than their counterparts in Equestria had traveled. Below them, far beyond where any pony had ever ventured, passed the deepest reaches of the Shattered Lands. Ravines and canyons crisscrossed the landscape, carving it into steep plateaus and gaping wounds in the earth, their depths untouched even by the brightest mid-day sun. It was like some titanic force had split the world open there, in an age beyond even the oldest dragon's memory, leaving the land a shattered, scorched maze, impenetrable and all but lifeless. Overhead, painting everything with a soft, silvery glow, was the moon. So far from Equestria, the land was wild, the pony-land clouds having no power to stay and having been left well behind, until even the horizon behind them was clear and untouched except for a thin streak of greying during the day. Lorikeet savored the cool night air, and the gentle light of the moon. It was much easier to fly through than the scorching daylight, with the sun that dazzled his Stable-born eyes and left him nearly blind or threatened to bleach his coat and burn his skin. He was thankful for Damsel's plan to travel at night, and for her willingness to spend that first cloudless night flying slowly, telling old fishermare's tales beneath the moon. Damsel, too, took pleasure in the journey and the clear sky. The air was less stifling, cool against her carapace, smelling of dust and something... odd. Something familiar. Something that made her wings tingle. She slowed her pace, allowing Lorikeet to take his place beside her. "See anything ahead?" She asked with an enigmatic smile, gesturing with her now-healed foreleg. Squinting into the distance, where a dark shape had slowly begun to rise during their flight, Lori shook his head. "No. Just... a mountain... and... clouds?" He turned to her, his expression curious. "Is Flutter Valley on the mountain, ma'am?" Still smiling, Damsel shook her head. "Not on the mountain, no. You'll understand soon." Saying nothing more, she darted forwards again, leaving Lorikeet scrambling to catch up. The Equestrian team had been travelling for days, taking daily doses of Radsafe as their Pipbucks ticked ever louder, gradually approaching dangerous levels. It was early in the fourth day that Grace, the watch-pegasus circling above, dived suddenly. "Movement ahead!" she shouted, indicating a few degrees from their path, towards some rocky dunes. "One contact, a couple minutes away!" Grace came to a hover at the head of the group, in front of Ironside. "Too big to be a pony, Chief. Looked like a buffalo. There was one of their tents, too. Might be a camp." "Good work, Grace." Ironside mulled the information over for a minute silently, before nodding. "They're not far off our path... we'll meet up with them. Grace," he addressed the pegasus scout, "keep an eye out. If you see anything else, let us know. Chatter," he turned to one of the changelings this time, "you're on full alert. Some of the buffalo tribes weren't happy about ponies being out here, and I want to know if there'll be trouble before it starts. Everyone else, eyes and ears open, and watch your EFS." "Sir." The changeling, Chatter, saluted and perked up his ears, panning them around slowly. The other changelings in the group did the same, thought not as intently, instead focusing their energy on physically looking around and sharing their findings over the hivemind. As Grace took off again, returning to her place in the sky, Ironside resumed the march, leading the group towards their first contact. "That's... a big... mountain..." Lorikeet mumbled as, awestruck, he looked up from the sietch entrance. An enormous mountain stretched almost from horizon to horizon in the morning light, so large his mind couldn't quite comprehend what he was seeing. It rose out of the broken landscape like a solitary titan, looming over everything even at such an extreme distance. The peak, if there even was one, was obscured by the thick, slowly swirling bank of dark, foreboding clouds that ringed it. Damsel nodded, watching the young flutterpony's awed expression with a smile. "That it is, Lorikeet." "Are... are we going over it? Is Flutter Valley on the other side?" Lori asked nervously, prying his eyes away from the sight before him. Damsel smirked. "No, Lorikeet. We're not going over it... we're going through it." The changeling chuckled, seeing Lori's confusion grow. "I'll explain when we've rested. Come. We have a long flight ahead tonight, and a longer walk." Teasingly refusing to answer Lorikeet's confused questions, Damsel led the way into the long-disused sietch, hidden within one of the dark canyons. She'd explain everything in due time, and she was enjoying teasing her companion, the nearness of their goal raising her mood considerably. The Equestrian team paused a short distance from the buffalo camp, looking it over. A single buffalo sat, wrapped heavily in blankets, in front of a trail-worn tent, tending a low-burning fire and smoking a pipe. At a hesitant nod from Chatter, the changeling giving the all-clear, Ironside stepped forwards, approaching slowly, making himself obvious while the team remained where they were. "Good afternoon," Ironside called out, eyeing the buffalo cautiously, his instincts screaming that something wasn't right. "We're travellers from the border, trying to get to Equestria. Can you... tell us anything... about the road ahead...?" The buffalo turned, slowly, to face Ironside, and the stallion took a half-step back in shock and fear. "Go no further, traveler," the buffalo said in a pained, gravely voice, "these lands are poisoned." It took a drag from its pipe, blowing a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke into the air. "Bad spirits, angry spirits..." Milky, unseeing eyes stared in Ironside's direction, the stallion taking another step back. "They change you, make you rot..." It shook its head, a clump of matted, mangy hair falling free and exposing the rotting, discolored flesh beneath. "Rot like... like apples... apples... whole... whole town of... of apples..." Muttering to itself, seemingly forgetting about its visitors, the buffalo turned its face back to the fire. Ironside backed up slowly, his expression tense as he returned to the herd. "Sir?" Grace asked hesitantly. "Everyone, take another Radsafe," Ironside ordered, "we're leaving. We're going back. Now." He gave one final look over his shoulder as he herded his team, hurrying them back along their trail, leaving the unfortunate buffalo to its fate. "Celestia help us all..."