Chapter 17: Death From Above
"You're dying, Prophet. That's all there is to it. There are no further variables to study, no other avenues of research to pursue. For whatever reason, fate it seems, has decided that you will die sooner than expected. Exposure to our machine doesn't seem to be the cause, nor is it some disease or other affliction of nature. There is nothing we can do for you, as I'm sure your own doctor has explained........I realize I often seem stoic when it comes to matters such as these, but I truly am sorry for this inconvenience. There's no way to tell for sure when the time will come, but it can't be long now......
Rosalind's voice echoed through Comstock's mind as he stood in the bridge of the Hand of the Prophet, Columbia's flagship and one of the largest warships the city had ever built. The Prophet was accompanied by three soldiers and an officer who was now captaining the airship through the skies of Equestria.
It moved slowly through the clouds, followed by dozens of gulls that hovered by it like bees at a hive. They swooped in and out of surrounding clouds as the large rotors and rockets propelled the ship forward. Even as numerous as they were, the birds were microscopic compared to the giant vessel. That is, except for Songbird, who flew steadily along the ship's hull, guarding the Prophet from any potential danger.
Suddenly, a steady knock came at the bridge's door. The soldiers looked at Comstock, who simply nodded for them to open it. Timothy Moore, a short stocky man with humorously large spectacles, awkwardly entered the room. A man of average build may have found him intimidating were it not for those glasses. He was also probably the only person in Columbia who preferred to be called "Timothy" over "Tim". Moore wasn't exactly a scholar, but he was quite intellectual and resourceful if the situation demanded it.
"Um sir, I uh, I compiled the list you wanted from the scouts." he stuttered, making his way to the Prophet. Comstock turned to him, causing the man to stop in his tracks and look down, avoiding his eye. He held a piece of paper out in front of him, which Zachary promptly took. He studied it thoroughly.
"What are these numbers next to the names?" he asked, showing Timothy the paper. Even with his thick eyeglasses, the short man had to squint and put his face almost completely against the list.
"Oh, yes I decided to make things easier and came up with a quick ranking system for the list. The number you see next to each settlement roughly indicates the town or city's size; between the numbers 1 and 10, 1 being the smallest and 10 being the largest." Moore explained. The Prophet looked over the list once again. Most of the settlement names were generic codes that the scouts had given to the towns and cities, but others were a bit less straightforward.
"Appleloosa? Why are some of these names so odd?"
"Well, some of the scouts were able to determine the actual name of several settlements by looking at signs and other such things."
Comstock nodded. He closely examined the list, looking at each name carefully. Finally, he pointed to one in particular, showing it to Timothy.
"This one." he said with stern conviction. "Tell them that this will be the first."
Timothy adjusted his glasses, looking at the name the Prophet had chosen.
"This one, sir?" he asked, surprised.
"I want to test the water a bit before the initial strikes begin. This one will make a fine proving ground." he explained. "Also, tell Antal Jakab that he is permitted to begin his preparations for that city up on the mountain. Make sure he goes in only after nightfall, I don't want them catching wind of our plans just yet."
"Of course, Prophet." Timothy hastily nodded before turning to leave, stopping just short of the exit when he remembered something else. "Oh I almost forgot. Three of our scouting ships have gone missing. They've missed check-in three times now."
The Prophet waved his hand dismissively, seemingly deep in thought over another matter. "Not entirely surprising that we've lost a few scouting parties. I trust you've heard about the dragon attack?"
"Oh yes sir, I didn't believe the reports until I saw the carcasses first hand; truly astounding. The good doctor is going to have his hands full with them." Timothy raved.
"Clearly there are things in this world we weren't entirely prepared for. It isn't too surprising that a few airships have fallen victim to these demons. The Sodom is as dangerous as ever, which is why we must strike down hard upon it with all of our might."
Timothy bowed out of respect for the Prophet and his wise words. "Of course, dear Prophet. Of course." he said, finally leaving the bridge. Zachary turned back to the window. When Columbia had first arrived, all of her clocks had to be reset so that they lined up with the new world's sun position. Now the sun was beginning to set, coloring the sky a lovely rouge and creating a nice background for the white and fluffy clouds that floated by; the same sun that Daniel claimed was controlled by some pony princess. The idea still caused him to laugh a bit, but when Comstock did get over the ridiculous concept, all that remained was simple anger and disgust. These creatures possessed abilities that no mortal being should ever be permitted to control. It spat in the very face of God himself.
Comstock was dying, that much Rosalind had made undoubtedly clear, but he would not perish before seeing his great vision come to fruition. The lands would burn under the might of Columbia, and in there place, she would usher in a new era of true patriotism.
"Arrival in ten minutes." the officer informed, still at the wheel.
Comstock barely heard him. The sound of the small factory that was located on the ship had seeped its way into his brain and now drowned out all other noise. The gears and steam engines that pounded out a constant rhythm played their foreboding song as Motorized Patriots were constructed in the Prophet's likeness. On the outside, Zachary stood at the helm of his ship, formally positioned and looking out the window into the metal abyss that was displayed. In his head, he danced to the war drums that pounded through his skull, easily covering the weakening beats of his decaying heart.
* * *
Apple Bloom stood in the small cabin of the large blimp that she now found herself in. Her pretty pink bow occasionally brushed against the muzzle of a gun that was almost pressed right up against her head. The humans hadn't asked her any questions, instead taking the action of moving her into the airship at gunpoint. At first the filly didn't understand what they were threatening her with, but a quick demonstration of the weapon on a large oak tree was all the explanation she needed. Now she waited with two of the gun wielding bipedals, not daring to make a sound.
That's it. That's the last time I go off on my own on some little adventure. Celestia, if I make it outta this, I promise I won't ever leave the farm again. I'll do all my chores just like Applejack asks.
One of the doors behind Apple Bloom flew open, causing the filly to tense up. She didn't dare look around though, fearful that her actions may incite the wrath of one of her captors.
"This the one right here?" a female voice asked.
"Yessum, she the one we found pokin' round outside." a familiar male voice replied. Apple Bloom heard footsteps as they slowly made there away around to her right. She winced at each footfall.
"So this is the world we now find ourselves in, huh?"
Apple Bloom felt something brush against her bow. After determining it wasn't the gun, she quickly realized it was a human appendage. The hand was attached to a woman, who was now in full view of the pony. She wore a red scarf over her white blouse, and sported brown pants. Her hair was dark and she had a hard face, and now regarded the farm pony through cold, brown eyes.
"What are you?' she hissed.
"I'm a......pony, ma'am." Apple Bloom replied, the fear clearly present in her voice despite her attempts to suppress it.
"And what, my young pony, is this place our lovely Prophet has seen fit to bring us to?"
"W-w-well yer in the kingdom of E-e-equestria." the pony stuttered. The woman looked up, exchanging unspoken words with another individual Apple Bloom couldn't see, she assumed it was the man who had spoken earlier.
"You seen kind like us before?"
"Yeah, a couple times now."
She rubbed her chin with one hand, keeping the other placed firmly on her holstered weapon. "When was the first time?" she inquired.
"Well, Thomas came here a few months back. That was the first human I ever met. Then his brother came just recently."
"And what did this Thomas look like?"
"He had really weird armor on, kinda like a furnace. He also had fire powers."
"Goddammit." the woman muttered, getting up and walking to the other side of the cabin. "They musta been plannin' this jump for a while now." she said.
"Mhmm, seems like it." the male voice replied. The woman shook her head.
"Alright then, let's take off. I wanna get a lay of the land from the air."
"Yes ma'am. You want I should take care of this one, Daisy?"
Apple Bloom cringed. Were they talking about her?
The woman regard her for a moment. The filly could tell those eyes were calculating, weighing all the variables. "No. Keep her alive and keep her with us for now. She may still be of use to the Vox."
Daisy then left the cabin, going further back into the airship. Apple Bloom felt a sense of relief, which quickly dissipated when she realized the blimp was taking off. She could feel the room ascending into the air. In her sudden panic, she turned to the man still standing beside her.
"What's goin' on? Are we takin' off? I can't go with ya, drop me off!" she demanded. The man smiled.
"Sorry darlin', you ain't done with the Vox, until the Vox done with you."
The airship steadily climbed into the sky, carrying Apple Bloom, and her hopes for a quick escape, with it.
* * *
It was a warm evening in Dodge Junction. Bugs were busily flying around the few lights that were illuminating the empty looking streets. Not much was going on outside of the few taverns that lined the main road, but it wasn't long before a commotion began outside the Fuzzy Buffalo.
"That's it, Flask Filler. I'm cuttin' ya off!" the barkeep shouted from inside the tavern's swinging doors. A drunk pony stumbled out of the bar, falling flat on his face upon reaching the bottom step. The intoxicated stallion muttered something inaudible before finally getting up on his hooves.
"Ah, who needs ya?" he shouted back. "I can go to a million other places in this town!"
The barkeep shook his head as he returned to the counter, leaving the drunkard to wander the streets. As he did his best to move to another establishment, Flask Filler turned around to voice his dislike of the Fuzzy Buffalo once more.
"This whole place'll burn to the ground one day, mark my words!" he shouted. Making empty threats out of angry spite was what Flask was known for. Most ponies would kick the deadbeat out after his first few drinks, at which time they would discover he didn't have a bit to his name.
However, just after saying this, the stallion heard a strange whistling sound that got louder the longer he listened. "What the hay......"
A large explosion sent the colt clear across the street, landing hard on his rump, and simultaneously tossing up a cloud of sand and dirt that further hindered his already poor motor skills. When he finally managed to look up, Flask saw that the Fuzzy Buffalo was now on fire. Smoke billowed out of a large hole in the roof as flames consumed the building's interior.
Another explosion caught Flask Filler's attention from across town, sending more fire flying up into the night sky. This was soon followed by another.
"By Celestia..."
Flask quickly sobered up just as more whistling came from the skies.
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2799216
What's that for? I think it's a good chapter. Getting very dramatic as well.
Good on you, King!
WOOHOO! FINALLY! BURN BABY BURN MUHUHAHAHAHA! VIVA COLUMBIA! YEEEE-HAW!
2799457
its just that i still have a headache from the ending of 'infinite'.... the last two endings were heartwarming this one was just... meh (just finished the game yesterday)
2799546
Meh... meh... It was anything BUT meh
(but then again, it is your opinion.)
((Yes, we need no quarrel with that sorta thing.))
2799457 Thanks!
2799546 The only thing I didn't get about Infinite's ending was that there weren't multiple possible endings like the last two.
Is it bad if I really want the Colombians to win?
And when compared to the incredible player and environmental potential that the trailers of infinite displayed, as well as the incredible story lines of B1 and B2, Infinite was very disappointing to say the least.
2809876 The only problem I had with Infinite's story is that when the ending comes around, it feels like everything you went through in the game was kind of pointless. They should have pulled it back a little bit, but I think they just wanted to go over the top and blow peoples' minds as much as they could.
2811512 Exactly, more show than substance, but how did you feel about Elizabeth's tears? In trailers you could use them to escape conflicts and utilize other non-violent solutions, but in the finished product all they spawned were more guns.
2811738 I was expecting the tears to be that way. In trailers, the developers have a lot more freedom to make spectacular scenes that leave viewers in aw. They take full advantage of this in order to show us the world they wish to establish. If we were given too much freedom with the tears, then it would be a living hell from a gameplay standpoint. I think Bioshock games have always tried to find a good balance between story and gameplay, and at its core, its a shooter. All three games share the same formula, which is allowing gamers to explore a crazy world in between combat heavy firefights.
2811738 I'm sure you noticed, but a lot of stuff that was in the trailers wasn't in the final game (i.e. Booker doesn't where the same clothes, you never meet that politician with Murder of Crows).
You know what I think happened? I think Irrational finished the game at one point, used the footage from that version for the trailers, but then changed their minds about it, recalled it, and re-did the layout all over again.
2811512 Yeah, I mean you expect the game to have multiple endings after the other 2 games. Plus, they have you make those choices periodically (i.e. who to peg at the raffle, whether or not to kill Slate). And especially after they introduce how in that universe there's millions of different realities for all the outcomes of millions of situations. It all really does lead you to expect multiple endings.
You know what I'd like to see? You should have Songbird come down and grab a pony around the torso, leaving only the head exposed, and then crush him in his fist, making his head pop like a zit!
Similar to this scene below. And you just introduced the perfect throw-away character for such a part: Flask Filler! 
So anyway, this is a great chapter. Cool that we got a little perspective from Comstock. You know I was wondering who he would choose for a successor now that he lost Elizabeth. From the sound of it, I'm guessing he plans to "drown in flames the mountains of man... or ponies" before his death, and worry about a successor afterwards.
And I just realized, Columbia is sort of like Noah's Ark; it will preserve Comstock's vision of a good world while the rest of the world burns.
We got to see Fitzroy too! SWEEEET!! I LOVE HER!
It's awesome that she decided to kidnap Applebloom (don't mean to sound like a heartless jackass
), because now she can ask her more questions about Equestria, and maybe use her to negotiate with the ponies! 
Dodge Junction was a pretty neat choice as the first city Comstock attacked too. Very resourceful
Eagerly looking foward to the next chapter.
And THIS goes out to all my fellow Fitzroy fans!
2828963 That makes a lot of sense, I just fell in love with what I saw in the trailers.
2829343 Didn't Fitzroy murder hordes of innocent people? Eh, whatever flys your zeppelin.
2831042 what can I say? I like bad guys (hence my username)
.
2831035 yeah, that was some good stuff. I really like how the game turned out in the end. The only thing that got me down is that I would have liked it if we got a boss fight against Songbird like they rumored.