It had been over a week since the last transmission from Captain Graceland, over a week since whatever happened in the bunker and in that time Twiligot had been at the radio trying to find the signal she had given up sleeping and barely ate. She had to know what happened she had to know they were ok. Deep down she knew something bad had happened as ponies don’t scream like that for no reason and she could only imagine what the bangs and clattering had been that seemed to be causing it.
“Come ne, come on where are you Captain, don’t tell me you gave up transmitting. “Twilight said as she turned dials. She cursed the fact she hadn’t built the radio with a mic and broadcaster so she could have spoken to the Captain and let him know somepony was listening and could hear him and did care.
“Come on, you have to work, you haven’t failed to pick up the signal yet.” Twilight said as she worked, she had to find the signal.
“Twilight?” She heard Spike say from the door.
“I’m a bit busy Spike.” Twilight said not taking her eyes off the dials as she turned them.
“We know surgarcube, that’s why we are here. “Applejack said as she walked in followed by the rest of Twilights friends. “And frankly we are concerned ‘bout you Twi, Spike tells us you haven’ left this room since we left last week.”
“Has it been that long? I haven’t noticed.” Twilight said as she adjusted dials.
The five mares looked at each other as Twi didn’t seem to really be paying any attention to them. They then looked back out the door and stepped to the side as two other entered the room.
“Twilight your friends are very concerned about you.” A voice said causing the Twilight to freeze and slowly turn away from the radio to see both Princess Celestia and Luna standing by the door her friends to one side of the room.
“P-Princess!” Twilight said and quickly spun around and bowed out of reflex.
“Rise Twilight you do not need to bow.” Celestia said with a small smile.
The younger Alicorn quickly rose with a small blush on her face. “Wh-why are you here Princess?” Twilight asked running a hoof through her mane to try and fix it as best as she could.
“We sent for her darling.” Rarity spoke up. “You haven’t left this room in over a week and spike told us you haven’t slept and have barley eaten anything.”
“I’m fine.” Twilight said trying to not show how exhausted she was.
“Twi you and the rest of us know you aren’t, you’ve never stayed up this long before.” Applejack said.
“Yes Twilight Sparkle I have noticed your dreams have been absent for some time so we know you have not slept at all.” Luna said.
“Twilight I understand discovering proof of life on other planets is important but you shouldn’t sacrifice your health for it.” Celestia said. “You have already made great stride from what your friends tell me and I’m sure you can rest and come back to it.”
Twilight looked at her hooves. “This isn’t about proof of aliens….”She said quietly and the gathered ponies shared looks.
“Then pray tell us Twilight what is it you sacrifice yourself for?” Luna asked for the group.
Twilight looked back up at each of them, a few tears at the edge of her eyes. “I need to know what is happing to them.” She said and the other looked back. “Captain Graceland and the rest of them are trapped in some sort of desperate situation and Graceland has been sending out messages hoping to find help or just anypony else. I might not be able to reply to him or send help but I can at least listen to him so he isn’t quite so alone even if he doesn’t know somepony can hear him.” She said and looked back at the radio. “Somepony has to listen.” She said making her way back and started to adjust dials again.
The other ponies and even the Princess shared looked before they all entered the room fully, Celestia walking up to Twilight. “I understand you feel this way Twilight but is it really so important to lose sleep over?”
“Yes.” Twilight didn’t hesitate as she adjusted the dials. “Something happened Princess, something bad, real bad. I need to know what happened and I can’t miss Graceland’s transmission.”
The Solar Princess nodded and could tell this meant a lot to the younger Alicorn and she had to admit to herself that seeing her student so concerned for these aliens’ well ebbing did make her proud.
The speakers suddenly let forth a slightly wet sounding cough causing everyone in the room to face the radio.
This…..this is…Captain Graceland….US National Guard…..like it really fucking matters anymore.
Twilight’s ears went against her head tightly as she could hear the Captain’s breathing heavily and how bad it sounded, it sounded like he fluids in his lungs.
As of……3 hours ago I am the last living person in this bunker.
Twilight looked at the radio in horror. “No….”
Things got so much worse…you can’t put people in a small space while they are getting sick and not expect them to panic somehow….we were all scared the civilians and my men. The civilians thought we had some sort of medicine to fix all of this, thought we were keeping it for ourselves and some of them attacked my men….all hell broke loose as the civilians panicked and my men panicked…..by the time I was able to regain control half the civilians were dead and the other either injured or scare shitless.
I couldn’t punish my men for defending themselves and I couldn’t blame the civilians, we all have so deep in the shit that it was bound to happen.
I had the bodies moved to another part of the bunker so the civilians could calm down a bit, not that they really trusted us anymore but they were too scared to do anything. I did what I could to try and smooth things over and so did Mrs. Andrews who seems to be the only one not panicked.
Twilight recoiled as the speaks set forth with more coughs.
Damn that hurts like hell.
The civilians kept getting sick and even some of my men started t as well…..the iodine pills did nothing for the kids….their bodies weren’t strong enough to fight the radiation.
If was shortly after the first deaths when everyone was feeling the effects when…well I guess you could call it an incident happened.
Corporal Smithers, I guess he couldn’t take the pain anymore…he drew his side arm and before anyone could stop him blew his brains all over the back wall of the main room…right in front of everyone else.
We quickly calmed the civilians and removed the bodies but….but I saw the way a lot of them looked after that…I could tell what they were thinking….
I made a decision….we had a lot of morphine left….so…so I gave them the option….I don’t know if that makes me a monster or a saint….whatever I am I have to live with for whatever remains of my life.
It started off…slowly, just a couple of the sickest….then a few more….then more taking the offer….by the time it was over it was just me, Sergeant Fromen, Private Locklear and Mrs. Andrews left….and….and I had to watch them die.
Mrs. Andrews was the last to go…and do you know what she told me before she went?
She told me none of this was my fault.
Twilight and the other flinched as Graceland laughed bitterly.
Not my fault, that’s rich. I had one job, one simple job. Keep my men and the civilians alive and look at it now? This bunker that was supposed to keep us alive became our tomb.
Twiglet flinched as Graceland had another coughing fit that lasted longer then the last.
Oh….that’s not good…looks like my lungs are filling with blood.
They heard the Captain laughed bitterly again.
Guess it’s what I deserve for failing my duty, living long enough to watch everyone I was supposed to protect die and then take the longest to die myself, it’s what I deserve. I failed; there is no excuse as there are dozens of other things I could have done that would have prevented this outcome.
And you want to know the best part about all of this? Do you?
All this happened over a dispute over land, that’s right, a small strip of land lead them to destroying to world with the push of a button. Isn’t it amazing? Something so stupid lead to the world burning.
The radio let forth more coughs and Twilight could tell the captain as having more trouble breathing.
I don’t even know why the hell I’m bothering to talk into this damn thing, I doubt anyone is listening. I don’t even know if there is anyone left alive. Hell for all I know we were the only ones to survive and now we are dead.
I don’t know….maybe I’m talking in case someone is listing….that way they know what happened in this god forsaken hole and know we tried, lord knows we tried.
Maybe some else out there is doing better then use, hell maybe after I die a rescue team will arrive e and open the door ready to save all our sorry asses only to find a tomb. Or maybe civilization will come back and centuries from down some archeologist will find this bunker and open it up and find our skeletons and will debate what happened to us and we will end up as some foot note in history.
Who the fuck knows?
The speakers let froth Graceland’s bitter laugh once more that devolved into coughs.
I don’t think I have much longer left to live.
Guess this is it huh?
My final words.
I wonder what they should be?
May god have mercy on our souls?
No to cliché and I doubt he would anyways.
Long live America?
Think it’s a little late to say that
How about this.
I am a failure, I failed my men and I failed the civilians who were depending on me to save them. Their blood is on my hands and no one else’s. Every death in this hole is on me, not my men not the bastard who fired the nukes. Me and only me.
Yeah…that will work.
This is Captain Jared Graceland, United States National Guard signing off for the last time and I am a failure.
With that the radio went dead.
No one in the room spoke, what could they say? They just heard the last words of a dying person who thought he was a failure and that no one heard them.
Carefully Twilight reached out and turned off her radio. “You weren’t a failure Captain….you did your best and nopony can fault you for that…”She said quietly as she turned from the radio and walked to the door. Slowly the others left one by one. No one spoke; they were all in their own heads trying to process what they had just heard.
They had just heard the final words of a dying planet that was bathed in fire by the hands of those who lived upon it something nopony could ever imagine happening in their worst nightmares…
In nuclear war all men are cremated equal. --Dexter Gordon