Normality
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I walked a little behind Twintails and Featherweight as the tank turned off, Fringe beginning to drive it back towards EQUAD. Twintails looked withered, leaning onto Featherweight as we entered the railcars that made up his house. They headed straight for the bedroom at the back, myself turning and walking into the guest car where Buzzy was already curled up asleep. I carefully removed my saddlebags and glasses, and climbed into bed, the mattress’s springs creaking as I did so. Sweetie hooked a wire up to a small power generator, laying down as a small red light began to slowly flash on her ear. I wrapped myself up in the blankets, unable to take my mind off of Twintails, the way he was acting after that missile launch. Releasing a sigh, I rolled over to face the wall, trying to relax. My horn lit up as I levitated out my little Cross plushie, cuddling him. Sniffling lightly, I felt my stomach clench, the cool wasteland air biting at what was exposed of my coat. Twintails… I hope he’s alright…
I was standing in the command room, General Mosquito at the control panel in her Enclave officer power armor. She was flipping switches and pressing buttons, humming some odd tune. A bright red light began to flash on the ceiling, alarm sirens starting up. Through the window I could see three large beams of light shoot down from the sky, scanning across the mountain in view. My heart began to beat faster as I recognized the mountain, able to see the small wooden door that lead into Stable 76’s tunnel and the sign at the base along the trail. The beams focused in on the door, blinking as one beam before vanishing. Suddenly, what looked like a rod of energy screamed down from the sky, striking the side of the mountain. The mountain top was blown apart, rocks flung away in the blast, as my Stable started to burn.
Mosquito giggled like a school filly, and I felt my horn surge with energy. I smashed her head into the console with my magic, hearing her cry out in pain. Stepping up to her, I watched as she whimpered and tried to crawl away. My metal hoof came down on her temple, hard, and I could feel the bone shatter beneath it. My Stable… Cross Stitch… everypony inside… my mind was clear, save for the sole desire to beat Mosquito to a bloodied pulp. How she so easily killed them all, seeing them as nothing more than one blip on a radar, worthless pony lives... pony lives that I knew. She yelled in pain, coughing up blood as more poured from the crack in her skull. My hoof came down again, a few teeth being knocked free of her jaw as it struck, a loud crack resounding within the room. The sirens continued to blare, as in the back of my mind, the small yellow pegasus cowered and wept.
My hoof came down a third time, Mosquito only gurgling in response as the blood drained from her body began to pool on the floor. She stared up at nothing with a beaten eye, tears streaming down her face and mixing with the blood. I finally placed my flesh hoof onto her throat, hearing her wheeze slightly from the extra pressure. Slowly I leaned forward, her windpipe collapsing as I put my full weight upon it. She squirmed feebly for a moment before going still, her empty eyes gazing up at the cold metal ceiling, reflecting in their blank expression the inside of the room. Catching myself in the light, I took a good long stare into her dead eyes, and at the blood marking my hooves. When I caught my reflection again, it looked like me... but... what were all those bodies doing behind me?
I gasped as I awoke, panting, cold and clammy with sweat. Slowly, I sat up on the bed, trying to catch my breath. Oh, Mother of Celestia… I gulped, already feeling the burning sensation of stomach acid trying to creep up my throat. Tears slid down my face as I looked at the room, both Sweetie and Buzzy still asleep. I glanced down at my Pip-Buck, the clock reading 5:42. Letting off a sigh, I carefully slid the sheets back over myself. There’s no way I’m getting back to sleep after that… I picked up Cross’ plush counterpart, giving him a small snuggle and kiss before I placed him on my back. I quietly stepped over Buzzy, who muttered a bit before rolling over in bed. Trotting between the railcars, the cold wasteland air bit at my sweaty skin for the few moments it took to slide into the caboose, shutting the door silently behind. I sat down at the table, setting the plushie of Cross down on it as I levitated a bottle of Sunrise Sarsaparilla out of the refrigerator. I popped the cap off and took a swig, leaning onto the table, trying to focus my mind.
I stared down at my Cross toy, releasing a long sigh, thinking. What the hell happened at Pripytrot? What would I’ve done if Fringe hadn’t pulled me off Mosquito? I took another drink of the soda, my stomach still tied up in a knot. Why in Celestia’s name did I leave my Stable in the first place? What would’ve happened to Twintails, if I stayed inside? Questions swirled around in my head, almost making me sick to my stomach. I downed the rest of the Sarsaparilla in one gulp before pulling out another. Ugh, maybe I should just choke down a RAD, trying to vomit up the strontium might take my mind off of things. I looked over my shoulder as the door to Featherweight’s room opened, the muscular stallion closing the door behind him. “Morning.” I muttered, watching as he went to the cupboard and pulled out a box of oats. “How’s Twintails?”
“He hasn’t been doing too well." He poured himself a bowlful of oats and sat down at the table, wearing a faint frown. "He barely slept last night, and when he did, he was always muttering something, looking nervous. I don't know what launching that missile did to him...” He took a bite of oats, staring down at his bowl as he did. “I’m worried about him. I don’t want him going out on any more life-threatening... whatever it's called, but I know I can’t keep you here, especially with… Cross Stitch, right?” I nodded. “With him still out there, I know he’ll worry about you if you went out alone.” He took another mouthful of oats as I sipped some of my soda. He shook his head. “Maybe getting involved in Pripytrot was a bad idea.”
“Yeah.” We sat in silence for a moment longer as Featherweight finished up his oats and I drank the last of the soda. “Once we get Cross out of the Stable, I’ll make sure he comes back here. It’s going to be a while before I ever go wandering the wastes again.” If at all. I thought. Featherweight gave a small smile as we both sat quietly. I looked out the window, watching as the sky grew slightly lighter, the dark clouds still rolling through the air. I thought about Cross, Greasy, Sugar, Nikolai… I didn’t know whether or not Twintails and I would return to The Doc… he didn’t seem to need us, at least. Still, my stomach didn’t relax as I wondered what he was planning on doing with Megaspell Mary.
Twintails stepped out of Featherweight’s room, already laden with his saddlebags and weaponry. He sat at the table, large bags under his eyes. I used my magic to lift another bowl of oats and a Sparkle Cola over to him. “Nnh, thanks.” He muttered idly, before starting to eat, not looking either of us in the eye. He ate in silence, pausing every now and then to take a sip of the Cola. Once he was finished he stood up and took his and Featherweight’s bowls to the sink. “You ready to head out, Minty?” I looked over to him, more than a little worried.
“A-are you sure? We can stay here a little longer, I don’t want you going out before you’re ready.” He shook his head slowly. I stood up and trotted over to him. “Twintails, what’s wrong?” I whispered in his ear. He didn’t answer, only shifting his gaze away from me again. “Please, Twintails. I don’t like seeing you like this, you’re worrying me.” I could feel tears well up in my eyes, my voice quavering slightly. Twintails sniffed a bit, still avoiding my gaze. I pulled him into a hug, starting to cry softly. “Twintails, I…” I gulped a bit, but Twintails spoke up before I could continue.
“I’m sorry, Minty.” He wrapped his front hooves around me, sniffling again as he squeezed me. “I… all those ponies…” He forced out. I just held him as we both cried, leaning into each other. We stepped apart after a moment, both wiping our eyes clear. We stood still, before Sweetie and Buzzy entered from their room, Sweetie carrying my saddlebags on her back. Twintails walked up to Featherweight and hugged him tightly, the larger stallion returning it. “I’ll be back soon.” Featherweight nodded.
“You come right back if you need me.” He said, giving him a squeeze. I hitched up my saddlebags, slipping Cross back into them. We headed out into the cold air, a few other ponies already out in hopes of getting an early start to their day. We walked through the train cars and out onto the road, heading towards Trotisk. As our hooves crunched through the snow, I glanced over at Twintails. He looked a little better than he had just a few minutes ago, but I knew whatever was on his mind was still eating at him.
“Twintails… what exactly happened back at Pripytrot?” I asked tentatively. Twintails sighed as we trudged through the snow. He didn’t answer right away, trying to organize his thoughts. Sweetie hopped alongside us, still as cheerful as ever. Snow began to fall softly as we came to a junction, following the signs pointing towards Trotisk.
“W-well, when I called in that air strike from Featherweight...” He said softly. “The phosphorous shells… the point is, it did more than I thought it would… those soldiers had no way to defend themselves, and the Phos… the stuff burned them alive, from the inside out. Slowly.” My gut dropped as I listened, regretting having asked. “Then we got to the bunker and… I just launched that warhead. After seeing all those ponies in the trenches I still just caused another hundred of them to die…” His ears dropped as we walked. “A-and… I… I wonder if I'd just keep going… just mindlessly shooting at whoever’s there…” He looked over to me. “What if I end up firing something like that and it hits Mooscow, or Turnpike… or you?”
His eyes started to fill with tears again and I quickly walked up alongside him, giving him another hug and a soft nuzzle. “Twintails, I know you couldn’t do that. You’re nothing like your father… no matter what happens, I know you’d never be able to bring yourself to do something like that.” Twintails pushed his face into my shoulder a bit before stepping away. He wiped his eyes again.
“I’m… I’m sorry. Pripytrot… I just need some time to think, or… or something.” I gave a little nod, and we turned back down the road. We walked along for a while, every now and then passing a Steel Ranger heading back to EQUAD. I flipped on the radio, trying to divert both Twintails’ and my attention to something else.
Tom’s voice crackled in, “So, now you know why we stopped trading with Zebras and decided to bomb them instead. I promise tomorrow’s Neighrer Nightly will involve much less history and more jokes. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, obviously, why back in my heyday, ponies were making balefire apocalypse jokes like no tomorrow.". The radio fell silent for a moment, Tom letting off a weak chuckle. "Eheh, ah... too soon?"
Hi-Fi’s voice cut in, a small thump being heard as Tom had likely been shoved off the recording booth’s chair. "And that's the end of another lovely segment from our own Tom Neighrer, who probably deserves the hoof to the head I'll be asking my assistant Hi-fi to give him. Anyways, GOOOD MORNING, WASTELAAAAND! And what a good morning it is, because the guns out in Pripytrot are all silent and the boys are going back home! That's right, those mares and stallions out that way just won the battle of Pripytrot with a shut-out, reports claim the minute that missile blew the Enclave's ship in half every single enclave trooper droped their guns and threw their hooves up to the sky! If you see a vertibuck overhead, don't you worry my pony popsicles, that's just the spoils of war! Ha-ha!
"Far as Pripytrot itself is concerned, though, the Steel Rangers do recommend staying away from it for the time being. They’ve still got to ‘clean up' a few things, and the area’s still flooded with radiation. Matter of fact, that missile that supposedly a pair of stallions I know and am starting to love launched to end the whole thing was carrying a megaspell warhead, so the fallout’s going to be lingering a bit longer than we thought. Stay in those houses if you don’t want to become a ghoul! And if you do… well, I’ve seen weirder shit ponies are into. This one goes out to all those mares and stallions that fought for the rest of us and beat the ever-loving shit outta the Enclave!” There was a moment of silence before another song faded in. Stomach acid creeping up my throat, I flicked the radio off quickly, swallowing back the vomit. Oh, why did she have to say that...
---
We stepped into the Plasma Spaz, grey snow starting to fall from the sky as the door swung shut. Nikolai was at the desk again, wiping down the counter and register, looking up to both of us with a cheerful grin. “Hey, I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon!” I returned his smile as we trotted up to the desk, Sweetie breaking away to look at more of Greasy’s custom weapons. “Flash and Sugar are both asleep. I think tonight’s the first time they’ve been able to get a proper rest in weeks. They’ve been so worried about the others fighting there, Flash kept making flights down to check on them.”
Greasy suddenly appeared at the door, rubbing her eyes a bit with her decaying hoof. “Oh, hey, what’re you two doing back here?” I shrugged a little, almost unable to answer why exactly. The thought ran through to respond with 'just to show we aren't dead'... but that feeling in my stomach warded me off of it. “Well, it’s nice to see you two again, regardless.” She looked down a little. “H-hey… would you guys mind if I asked something of you? When you guys broke me out of my factory, I... I wasn’t able to get everything I’d wanted. I didn’t think I could trust you, but… look, I’ll understand if you need a break after what happened at Pripytrot… but, would you mind going back there?" I blinked a few times, looking over to Twintails. He and Nikolai were both watching over Sweetie, as she seemed to get the pieces together for another one of those balefire egg warheads with the MFC grenades. "I told you how the night of the war… Rusty never made it back into the bunker. She was running back for more of our schematics when they fell… Would… would you mind trying to find her? I-I know she’s dead, there’s no way she could have survived, but… something?” She pleaded.
I looked over to Twintails, as he trotted back over to us. I wanted to help her out, but if anything we did might make him worse… after a breif run-over of the situation, he nodded, looking as determined as he had many times before. Greasy smiled and thanked us, as I picked up Sweetie and moved her back over to us. “Awww, can’t I just stay and play with the lasers? The chances of me burning the structure down are one hundred seventy six thousand, eight hundred forty three to one against!” I rolled my eyes Moving towards the door with a sigh. With our luck, we’re going to run into more Hell Hounds there, and we’re going to need you and your inventions. We left the shop, waving to Nikolai and Greasy as the wind picked up and blew the snow around our manes, stinging my eyes benhind my glasses. I buried my muzzle into my coat as we began to tramp through the snow, several ponies rushing through the streets to head back inside.
Soon we arrived at the factory further inside the city, the loose tin letters blowing in the wind above the doorframe. We slipped through the doors, Twintails keeping his eyes away from the bomb shadows outside and myself pulling out Sugar’s laser pistol, ready for any stray roaches still crawling around. “Well, I suppose we should look around this floor first, and work our way up. I doubt she’d be in the basement, or she would’ve probably made it back to the bunker.” Twintails nodded, and we split apart, him sweeping the west wing as I did the east. Sweetie tagged along with me, as I searched through the various cubicles. Aside from the occasional dead radroach and pencil, and one of the terminals having been replaced by a lone pencil sharpener at one desk, I found nothing of note. I wondered if the skeleton I’d found last time had been Rusty... no, it was definitely a zebra skeleton... I think. A grimace worked across my face as I thought it over more; Well, I doubt Greasy would have wanted her skull anyway. I met back up with Twintails at the staircase on the opposite side of the facility. “Find anything?”
He shook his head in response, a fewon across his muzzle. “I found a few caps in a drawer, but nothing that might be Rusty. Well, the pony, I mean. Plenty of rusty desks and cans around, eheh...” Answering his joke with a hoof to my forehead, we headed upstairs and broke off again, searching the various offices. The first few held nothing new from the last ones, aside from a roach that I was quick to vaporize, and a few spare energy cells. Sweetie gathered up a box of Abraxo she found in the janitor’s closet, stashing it in a small panel that opened on her back. Inside were a few bottles of turpentine, and a few empty soda bottles as well. Well, at least we can make a few more Sparkle grenades if we need to. I stepped up to a rather ornate wooden door, peering through the cracked glass and into what looked like a large executive office. Jiggling the door handle, the knob refused to budge any further. Couldn't have been so easy... Releasing a sigh, I sat myself down, pulling out my screwdriver and a pin. I'd begun to fiddle with the lock, as Twintails found us. “Nothing yet.”
I nodded, placing my ear to the lock. Come on… a little left… right… The lock clicked as I managed to work it free, the door swinging open. I stowed my pin and screwdriver, wearing a small grin as we stepped into the office. A large desk sat at the end, something charred black sticking out from behind it. Twintails hung back for a few moments as I walked behind the desk, revealing a charred skeleton gripping what looked like several old holotapes. Resting upon what was left of the skeleton's skull was a bright green headband.
I recognized it instantly. It was the headband Rusty wore in the picture on her book, had to be. I bent down to inspect it closer, Twintails finally seeming to work up the will to move forth. How in the name of Celestia did something like that survive the war? It glittered in the faint light as I gently lifted it off of her bones with my magic, dropping it onto my outstretched hoof. The band was surprisingly heavy, my eyes widening in amazement as I tossed it gently on my foreleg. Twintails kept his focus on the band, his mouth dropping open as it shimmered in the light. “Is that… emerald?” I rolled the band around in my hooves, the light from the windows bouncing off of it in various ways.
I let Twintails admire it for a momrnt more, before slipping it gently into my saddlebags. “Okay, we agree to not touch that again until we’re handing it over to Greasy, alright? Celestia knows what a raider might do if they saw us carrying it around.” Twintails nodded in agreement, and both of us immediately turned to leave. Gems may have been common before the war, but anything with that kind of craftsmanship alone was going to turn heads. I paused for a moment, gathering up the holotapes clutched in Rusty’s bony legs, slipping them into my saddlebags as well. We trotted downstairs and headed back out into the icy wind, fighting it as we made our way back towards the Plasma Spaz.
---
The bell on the door rung as we entered, both Twintails and I happy to be shielded from the wind again. Cross' new jacket was better than the old armor, but sweet Celestia above, the winds were being nasty today. We headed up the stairs, finding Nikolai brewing some hot chocolate as Greasy poured over a large pile of metal. She muttered to herself, trying to fit bits and pieces into various components, drawing the attention of Sweetie. “Well, that certainly was fast.” Nikolai said, wearing a smile, placing a few mugs of the drink on the table.
Greasy was still too engrossed in her work to notice, but looked up once Nikolai nudged her. She stood up, wearing a wide grin and looking eagerly at us. “Did you find anything?” I opened up my saddlebags, levitating out all the holotapes. Greasy immediately grabbed a few of them, looking them over. “EMP pistol… solar powered gun… Tesla rifle, heh, that’s one you should see, gives me tingles… um, metaphorically, I mean.” She rattled off the various devices, laying the holotape blueprints on the table. As she did, I lifted out the gem headband.
“Ah, we found this, too.” Greasy stopped her spiel as her eyes lifted to meet sight of the band, a breath leaving her as she stood, frozen. I gently levitated it over to her, letting it fall into her hooves. “This was Rusty’s, right?” Greasy nodded slowly, her eyes welling up with tears as she held it in her hooves. She backed up and sat down on the couch, staring at the band through her wet eyes. After a quiet moment, she sniffled, setting the band on the table near the pile of holotapes, stepping up and embracing us both a hug.
“Thank you so, so much…” She broke the hug, both Twintails and I sitting down beside her, Nikolai taking a seat on the floor next to the table. “Yes... yes, this was hers. She had a few others, but this one was always her favorite.” She paused, smiling down at the band. I explained where we found it and she chuckled a bit. “I’m surprised it survived in that office. Even before the war we always had things failing in there, lights, windows… a filing cabinet even exploded once. Had the automatic drawer wired wrong... she was always happy to patch things up, though. She was always more an engineer than an inventor, but you should’ve seen how her face would light up when she finally got my things to work properly. She’d always rush to show me like a little filly, beaming…” Greasy’s eyes watered a warm smile coming across her face. “S-sorry, I’m ranting again. This... this was more than I’d expected… Thank you.” She held the headband close to her, resting her muzzle upon the finely smoothed emerald.
“It was our pleasure.” Twintails wore a light smile as Nikolai offered Greasy a mug of the chocolate, the ghoul pegasus accepting and taking a sip. I took a drink of my own mug of the cocoa as well, feeling it warm my insides as it fell into my stomach. Leaning back into the couch, Ireleased a contended sigh, Sugar Rush and Flash Bang stepped into the room with soft smiles upon their own faces. “Oh hey, how’re you two doing?” They sat down, Sugar leaning into Flash gently, seeming to nibble on her wingtip playfully. The pegasus mare's face turned a bright red in blush, Sugar releasing a giggle and wrapping a hoof around her neck, Flash-Bang taking a moment to regain herself.
“M-much better, now that the issue in Pripytrot’s over and done with. Much, much better...” Flash let off a small giggle of her own, nuzzling Sugar lightly. Nikolai stood up and went to prepare some more hot chocolate for them, Flash turning back to face us. “Ooh, before I forget, Quazar had wanted to see you two again. She has something she wanted to give you both, a little show of her thanks~” She snickered, having delivered it about as tauntingly as she could've. Twintails grinned excitedly, leaning forwards, Flash responding with a grin and shake of her head. “Nope, I’m not allowed to tell you, you have to go there yourself. Based on how she worded it though, I'm pretty sure you'll want to go there sooner that later~” I took another sip of cocoa, as Twintails downed the rest of his in one gulp. He swallowed and coughed, fanning his mouth with a wing.
“HOT, hot, that was hot, bad idea.” He coughed, setting the mug back onto the table and panting a few times into the cool air. Sweetie was busy tinkering with the cocoa machine along with Nikolai, glancing back and forth between hastily scribbled notes and the metal pieces. After regaining himself, Twintails looked over to me, still managing a grin. “Do you want to head out? Ooooh, maybe she’s planning on giving us back the TOG!” I chuckled lightly, finishing up my cocoa and giving my head a small shake. Against my better judgment, I nodded, standing up.
“I suppose we can head out now. But don’t get too excited, odds are it’s probably power armor or something.” I replied, fantasizing about a full, real set of power armor… maybe some sort of plasma cannon built into the back, and, ooh, just imagine the targeting systems... Twintails nudged me, taking me out of my dream, before releasing a light chuckle. I turned to face the others, clearing my throat and nodding lightly. “Thanks for letting us stay for a little while, again.” They thanked us for stopping by, Greasy giving us another hug before we headed downstairs. I had to practically drag Sweetie away from the table of machinery.
We headed outside again, the wind and snow having died down significantly since we’d returned with Rusty’s headband. We made our way through the streets north, passing by the entrance to the inner city on our way up to EQUAD. We trotted past a few ponies in power armor, a few tilting their head in acknowledgement or waving to us as we passed, us returning with smiles and waves of our own. We were soon starting to climb the road twisting around the small mountain EQUAD was embedded in, the guards lifting the roadblock for us without hesitation. Sweetie spoke up. “If we are to receive access to the weapons lab, I will be sure to manufacture several Sparkle grenades and other devices of fun!” She said, hopping up and down excitedly. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight - we really need to find someplace to keep her safe before she blows us all up, though.
The door to the bunker slid open with a loud creak, Twintails, Sweetie and I all heading down the steps, our hooves echoing through the metal corridors. We trotted through the hallways, heading down another few steps towards Elder Quazar’s room. “Oh, hey, guys!” Nova trotted up to us, smiling widely. “I take it Flash told you about my mom’s offer then. I didn’t expect you to come so quickly.”
“I don’t think Cotton Candy expected you to either.” Twintails said, releasing a little giggle. Nova’s face turned bright red, as mine went a little green as well. No, Twintails… just… no. He giggled again as we stepped into Quazar’s room, the hydraulic door shutting behind us. She was busy pouring herself over some field reports, occasionally scribbling down notes on a sheet of paper. We walked up to her desk, the unicorn mare looking up from her work with weary eyes and a wide smile.
“Ah, I'm so glad to see you're all alright. Fringe had told me about what you've done... a lot of ponies here owe you their lives, you know.” She wore a smile, looking back down at her notes for a moment, making a few more marks before sliding the papers into a drawer in her desk. She stood herself up, still wearing the smile, looking at both of us. “Come, right this way, if you wouldn't mind. I really can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done. The war with the Enclave would have likely drained all our resources and killed everypony, if you hadn't done what you did. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly repay you, but I hope this is at least a start.” She smiled, us all having been brought down a branching hallway near a few metal cylinters that had ridiculous springs in them. She pressed a button near a large door, a few locks sliding and spinning open before the door slid down into the ground, revealing an enormous supply room, stocked with lasers, plasma, rifles, grenades, missile launchers, power armor… I was grinning ear to ear, looking around at everything available.
“Have what you can carry. We owe you our livelyhood.”
-----
My eyes wide and jaw slack at the sight of the armory put before us, I found myself stammering dumbly as Minty leapt inside and immediately began pouring himself over a set of the power armor. Rear legs failing me, Kindness clatered against my grenade launcher and auto-rifles, Quazar taking a few soft steps over to my front, releasing a small laugh, Sweetie Bot following Minty inside. The elder unicorn wore a soft smile, resting on her hooves for a moment before moving herself a few steps closer. "Of course, there is one thing not here, which Fringe said you specifically may be more interested in. A certain, how did they put it, 'land-battleship'?" Oh my sweet Celestia above.
"A-buh-buh-buh... you... you don't mean..." I blinked a few times, looking wide-eyed towards Quazar, who put forth a smile and gave a slow nod. They were going to just... and me... I... oh, silly brain, I thought I had enough sleep last night! Oh, wait, on second thought... yeah, maybe fainting would be beneficial. Or not. All those ponies... Quazar cleared her throat, drawing my attention, the excitement of hearing we might be getting the TOG back slowly being replaced with memories of Pripytrot. The trenches... the bodies... the burning phosphorous... yep, yeah, excitement gone.
"Well, we felt it would only be right, so long as you agreed to abide by the list of, um, Tankery rules which Fringe had pieced together for permanent display inside the turret." She released a weak chuckle, the smile upon her face quavering lightly as she looked back inside the armory. I followed her gaze, and found the elder unicorn affixed upon the sight of the robotic filly. "However... you have to understand, we do have a certain codex which we must follow. The loss of such a grand machine of war, ridiculous as the, ah, TOG is in appearance, we need to replace it with something." Moving myself back to my hooves, I looked to Quazar, seeing her still watching Sweetie Bot with intent. All those ponies... "The android which you have traveling with you, of Ministry Mare Sweetie Belle, well... you know of her abilities better than us. I don't want to have to ask this, but-"
"How many ponies survived the missile? Are any in your care?" The elder unicorn was taken aback for a moment as I cut her off, Minty and Sweetie Bot looking up inside the armory in sudden curiosity. My breathing was slow but shallow, staring at Quazar as she returned with her look of surprise, swallowing once. As much as I didn't want to give myself more bad dreams... goddesses, please at least tell me I didn't kill them all with it. How many could've been on that ship when it hit? Hundreds? Thousands? How many were injured on the ground when it detonated? How many lives, and all extinguished with a press of a button. Quazar took a moment to regain herself, clearing her throat, Minty and Sweetie Bot trotting forth, out of the armory.
"Y-... uh... y-yes, a few of them. I'll... is there something wrong?" The Elder lifted a forehoof to rest upon my shoulder, genuine concern in her eyes. Mine were beginning to dampen slightly, Minty setting the items he had collected aside and likewise trotting up to us, Sweetie Bot sitting aside with her natural curiosity. I looked between them all, blinking my eyes of growing tears, vission blurring. "Twintails?"
"I-I'm fine. I just... I just need to see what I did, okay?" Rubbing my eyes with my foreleg, I sniffled my running nose back, tring to get back to a calmer demeanor. Letting off a sigh, my muzzle gently brushed the pair of bits supported in front of my face. Guns, balefire eggs, megaspells... they weren't supposed to be fawned over, for fun. "It... look. I did something that saved a lot of lives, but it killed a lot of ponies in the process. Even if they were attacking us for no reason, if it was just because they could..." Quazar bit at her lip softly, looking distressed. She turned to face Minty, her magic levitating out a small plastic card, eyes on my augmented friend, and Sweetie Bot.
"I'll take him. There are a few things I... uh... Look, go back to browsing. Find Nova if you want to learn how to use the MWT Model 51, we may be a while." Minty passed a worried look to myself, giving a faint nod to Quazar and turning back to the armory. He gave a long look back as Quazar looked to myself, nodding down the hallway and keeping the keycard levitated at the ready. Slowly, I followed behind, my eyes stinging faintly from the tears. The elder glanced back in faint worry, a group of three rangers passing by us in the hallway.
"We've done all which we could to assist in healing the injured Enclave forces... former Enclave forces, I mean. The situation is rather complicated, when you..." She bit her lip, slowing in her walking for a moment before finding the right words. "When their ship was destroyed, many of those fighting in the city immediately surrendered their weapons, and themselves. We train fine discipline here in the Rangers, but... ponies are still ponies." Ascending a stairwell, we had come to another hallway with the massive springs, moving along inside and slowing as we neared a doorway. Quazar released a sigh, her head hung as the keycard levitated above a slot next to the door. "There are a lot of families now down here. I'm not sure if they will be welcome when they must be returned to the surface..."
She slid the keycard through the slot, the light beside it switching from red to green and the door sliding open. I blinked a few times, looking through the doorway and seeing several groups of pegasi all milling about with one another, some eating timidly from bowls while others hugged fillies and colts in their hooves, all of them seeming lost and displaced. Many turned to look at us as the door slid open, any talk coming to a quiet murmur as we trotted through the doorway. A few of the pegasi made quiet gasps as I passed them, sticking close to Quazar, the door closing shut behind us as we approached another one inside the room. Glancing about nervously, it felt just like that first time in that restaurant in Mooscow, a bunch of ponies all staring at me for whatever reason I didn't know. But... I could guess why...
I blinked a few times, feeling a small hoof tugging at my barding. Looking down, a small group of pegasus foals looked up at me, one itching at his head and shaking a few strands of mane from his hoof. The leader looked up at myself in quiet contemplation for a few moments, mouth open, her eyes running over the auto-rifles and grenade launcher I had on my back. She blinked, biting at her lower lip anxiously before looking back up, soft orange mane falling over her eyes. "A-are you a surface pegasus?" Quazar grumbled faintly, looking to the door and swiping her keycard through the slot again. After a moment of thought, I responded to the filly with a small nod - well, my father might've been Enclave, but I technically was born in Stable 34 - her friends having their own gasps of amazement. The heavy door moved open, Quazar's magic lifting it manually, allowing us through. The group of fillies moved back into the small crowd, Quazar and myself watching them for a moment, the elder unicorn releasing a slow sigh as the door shut behind once more.
"These are the few we have that have made it here. We are still finding survivors around Pripytrot and stabilizing them there, it... oh no." Placing the keycard back into a pocket of her robes, Quazar's eyes went wide as the sound of somepony beating upon somepony else filled the room's far end, behind a doorway. We rushed past several rows of ponies... or, well, what were ponies. Oh, goddesses, these were the bomb victims... mane loss, peeling coats, odd-colored blinded eyes, it was all the pamphlets described could happen. Clenching my eyes shut for a moment, I focused on Quazar, watching as she stopped in front of a branching room and wrestled with the door. Moving alongside, the window revealed the sight of Fringe, sans armor and with blood on his hooves, pummeling a tied-up, bare, wingless... my jaw hung slack as I watched it going down, Fringe grabbing Titchbreeze by his shoulders and leaning over him, ash from his cigar falling onto the former General's bare coat. Quazar slammed the door open, Fringe screaming into Titchbreeze's face.
"I'm going to ask you one last time, what in the name of the Goddesses Celestia and Luna above is NEAMO, and why the bloody hell do you want it!?" The general coughed, spitting up blood, the Elder jumping forwards to separate the two of them. The bottom of my stomach fell out, eyes gone wide - NEAMO? They... they were after NEAMO? Oh, fuck me with a fuel rod, this could turn out -really- bad. Fringe let off a pained grunt as he was pulled off, smoke from his cigar drifting through Quazar's aura and dissapating in the air, the mustached pegasus thrashing for a moment before seeing the unicorn keeping him off. The elder set him back upon his hooves, putting out his cigar and discarding it into a nearby wastebasket. "Elder Quazar. Didn't know you were coming down here, would've rescheduled my little chat with Titchbreeze. He was just about to tell me what he was doing in Pripytrot, besides murdering everyone again."
"Knight Fringe, we do not brutalize our prisoners for information. No matter how much they have to answer for..." Quazar held a firm look in Fringe's direction as he stood at attention, Titchbreeze hunched over, a gruesome drip of blood and spit coming from his mouth. The Elder looked towards him, a healing potion being lifted in her magic and fed to the beaten former pegasus, a disappointed sigh escaping her lips. I stood back, by the doors, a certain pit in my stomach as I watched Titchbreeze swallow down the purplish liquid, some of the wounds clearing as the plastic bag was drained, the pegasus gasping for breath and letting his head rest back as he seemed to start recovering, if only just.
Quazar approached the detained general, her magic moving his head forwards to meet her eyes, the sternness apparent in her voice. "Now..." She took a light step backwards, Titchbreeze breathing slowly as her magic flared. His eyes went wide for a moment, jaw falling slack, but body seeming to still remain alive, as if she were placing him in some sort of trance. "As long as I'm here anyways, I suppose learning why you were here would be beneficial. So tell us, again, what is this 'NEAMO', and why did you start a war over it?"
"NEAMO was a pre-war project Mossie had come across when we were patrolling outside one of the Stalliongrad airstrips, only myself and her know. Acronym, stands for North Equestrian Megaspell Artillery Outpost - a big artillery gun that fires megaspell warheads, we think." As the general answered, he seemed to respond almost robotically, the words fit together more in a flat tone than actual speech, almost literally being pried out of him. Okay, mental note, never ever get on Quazar's bad side... "The head of the project was Dr. Cherry Cove, earth pony. He thought that an artillery piece would be more reliable and less predictable than a missile silo or megaspell chamber matrix, we don't even know if it was built. We were ordered to take the Pripytrot missile silos before proceeding onwards to the NEAMO facility. When the robots started turning up with the old Equestrian army markings and NEAMO chestplates..."
Titchbreeze fell limp as Quazar gasped for breath, his eyes fluttering for a few moments before closing entirely, chest moving slowly as he sat in the chair. The elder unicorn regained herself, holding a hoof to the side of her head and leaning upon Fringe, looking to the rest of us. Okay, so, they know about Megaspell Mary now... brilliant. Quazar righted herself, glancing between myself and Fringe, a grim look upon her face. "Call for any available medic, he may have a seizure. Twintails... if you wouldn't mind." She nodded towards the doorway, starting to trot forth herself, myself moving to hold the door as we stepped out and back into the makeshift medical room.
"This development... no, we've only just finished with the matter in Pripytrot. We can't afford... unless... hm..." We trotted out of the rows of bomb survivors, the door at the other end opening more freely as we approached. Quazar seemed lost in thought, swiping the card more out of habit than anything. We passed quickly through the waiting room, the trio of foals from earlier laughing and playing with each other, the outer door opening with a hiss of hydraulics. Stepping out into the hallway, the elder unicorn looked about, searching for something. "Come with me, I'd like to ask if you could do something."
Passing down a few more hallways, and giant springs - which I'm starting to think are more than just for show - we arrived at a heavy metal door, a pair of rangers guarding it either side. They stood upright as Quazar approached, her card levitated out once more. "Normally we investigate things like this on our own, but you do understand that we are trying to recover from Pripytrot. This is of great importance to the Rangers, if you could help us." I blinked a few times, looking up at the door in front of us. In the light of the hallway, engraved words could be made out in the metal; 'Stargate Command'. Hubzawah? "Wait here for a moment."
"U-uh, alright? What's, um, what's this star-gate-thing on the door for?" Blinking in confusion, the elder disappeared for a few moments through the doorway. There was a small clatter on the other side, the rangers stood at attention letting off faint grumbles inside their armor, seeming to glare at me. Goddesses, that armor was intimidating... Quazar returned a moment later, the door shutting behind her, looking to me with something held in her magic. She paused for a moment, looking back at the door and fitting a pre-war camera around my neck, then letting off a small amused laugh.
"Celestia knows. It's been there since the time of the war, and as far as we can guess, it's always been a broom closet."
---
"Minty? What in the name of Luna happened to you?!" Quazar, Sweetie Bot, and myself had all reconvened inside the exit corridor, the TOG already having been brought up from wherever they were keeping it. When my augmented friend had charged in - sans horn, and glasses, and wearing the suit part of the power armor - well... it's safe to say, we all had a few questions. Mainly concerning the numerous kiss marks covering most of his face. He slowly regained himself, the servos of the power armor whirring as he moved, shaking his head and looking up at Quazar.
"I hate my family sometimes." A familiar mare's voice went up from the hallways leading to us, causing Minty's eyes to go wide and pupils shrink as he scrambled to get inside the forward doors of the TOG. With a stunning leap, he managed to get himself up and over the side, his back end stcking rather ungracefully out the opened doors. Flailing his legs, Nova finally appeared, wearing quite a bit of lipstick that just so happened to match... oh. Man, I'm slow.
"Minty!~ Come here, you don't have all the training yet!~" She wore a wide grin, her robes fallen off slightly as she rushed forwards. "C'mon, I promise it'll only take a few minutes lon-... u-uh..." She stammered as her eyes met those of the Elder's, Minty's flailing legs clanking against the side of the tank. Climbing in through the opposite side doors, I moved over to Minty, struggling to help him in through the doorway while Nova and Quazar had a little talk. My augmented friend fell to his haunches as they moved in through the door, letting out a strained groan and resting before rubbing at his face with the rubber padding on his armor's hooves. Ouch.
"If we ever come back here, you're staying with me." A faint snicker escaped myself, watching Minty fighting to wipe the kiss-marks off of his face. Okay, I knew that Nova was attracted to him... yep, that's still creepy... but, c'mon, this was just funny. He shot me a stern glare, his new armor stained with cherry-red lipstick. "Don't say anything about it to Nikolai. Or Cross Stitch. Or Bloodbeak. Or anyone, for that matter." He grumbled, rubbing the lipstick off of the armor's hoof and onto the floor of the tank, leaving a greasy red smear. Shaking his head, he glanced out the doorway, listening to Nova and Quazar for a moment. "So, they giving us a ride back in the TOG? I uh... eheh... yeah I think that might be a good idea... aw, Celestia fuck me. All the stuff's back in Nova's room."
"Eh... something like that. See, um, me and Quazar were talking it over while you were browsing with Sweetie Bot. We're getting the TOG back, but..." I gnawed at my lip, looking up through the open doorway at the small robotic filly curiously poking her head through it. Oh, what timing... "We get the TOG, but Sweetie Bot has to stay here. It's some horsefeathers about the codex or something... I, uh, I meant to tell you both at some point." Minty blinked in surprise, a bit of lipstick still stuck on his face in a few places. Sweetie Bot, for her turn, only seemed to gaze over us with that wide-eyed curiosity of hers.
"Minty's cousin Nova is an entertaining pony, and I feel that she would respect my wishes and sentience." Her eyes refocused once, Minty turning to blink in surprise. So... um... huh. "From what I have seen of these new inhabitants of the Equestrian Aerospace Defense facility, they respect technology to an almost religious degree. I wouldn't mind staying with them for a while, I might even get a cutie mark in being a lab assistant!" She clapped her hooves together happily with a whirr of servos, both myself and Minty watching her in honest surprise. I genuinely thought this'd be more difficult, but, um... alrighty then. Quazar trotted over, wearing a soft smile and resting a hoof around Sweetie Bot's neck.
"Nova is bringing your things over in a few moments, she'll recieve a proper punishment for this unexpected act. I, uh, I am sorry for suggesting her..." The elder unicorn wore a faint blush of embarrasment, myself resting back on the driver's position of the tank, adjusting the loaded battle saddle. "Regardless, I will ensure that Miss Sweetie Belle will be treated respectfully as a sentient pony, while we learn about her. You and any of her friends will be free to visit at any time, within reason." Minty adjusted himself, seeming to relax faintly as Quazar explained. She blinked a few times, letting off a faint snicker and covering her muzzle for a moment. "Oh, uh, Minty..." Lightly rubbing at her forehead with her forehoof, my augmented friend responded in confusion, then went to wearing a blush, moving to the back of the tank and to the small makeshift sink.
Nova returned after a moment, Quazar assisting her in moving the heavily laden saddlebags through the doorway and setting them down inside, Minty jumping on them and searching through for his regular barding, using the pant leg to wipe his face clear. The reactor in the back of the tank hummed softly, the guages on the forward display flickering as the systems began to turn on completely. Minty's rummaging filled teh air for a few moments, before he looked up and moved back to the front of the tank with a fast whirr of servos. "NOVA! Where's my horn!?" The earth pony mare froze in her tracks halfway through the door, slowly turning about. Quazar wore a stern look, her magic running over Nova's body for a moment before levitating out a small metal cone from her daughter's pocket. The look on Nova's face as she levitated it over to the tank, that certainly didn't look like she wanted to give it back just yet... oh boy.
Minty immediately swiped it from Quazar's aura, screwing it back in place with some difficulty. All eyes seemed to be focused on his horn, a small, reddish drip coming from the tip and flowing slowly down his face. Oh, Celestia damn it, I didn't want to taste breakfast twice... Minty snapped his head around, apparently unaware of what was on his horn. No, no, you're just making it worse. He blinked a few times, reaching up and unscrewing his dripped-clean horn, looking at it for a moment. The long sniff he took of it, followed by his expression afterwards, made me glad I currently had my entire forehoof jammed in my mouth. By some miracle, he managed to get to the side of the tank and stick his head out of the doorway before making a mess on the hallway floor, Quazar and Sweetie Bot thankfully kept clear from the splatter.
"Ugh... somepony get a janitor... and some scrubbing acid."
---
"Mother of Celestia!" The TOG came to an easy rolling stop outside of the Plasma Spaz, Nikolai and Greasy having stepped outside the door to see what the commotion was. I unlatched the driver-side doors, swinging them open and into the snowy air, leaning back and wearing a grin, looking out the driver-side door. Greasy looked along the length of the massive tank in astonishment, a set of power armor levitated out to the zebra stood beside her in an aura of teal magic. I let off a small chuckle, watching their reactions, Greasy's especially. "What... but... where in the name of Celestia did you get a functioning Ministry of Wartime Technology experimental design like this!? Goddesses above, it's... it's even got the mark of 'The Old Gang' on the doors!" Myself and Minty blinked as she moved up to get a closer look at the side doors, the latches clattering on the outside of the tank as she pressed the door against it.
"The Old Gang... so that's what it stands for. Huh, we've just been calling it the TOG." I shrugged, the ghoulified pegasus eagerly sticking her head inside the doorway to look at the interior. Like a filly in a candy shop... she let off a loud squee, hopping inside and clambering past Minty to look at the reactor and turbine setups. I scratched idly at the back of my head, Minty moving forth and hopping out of the tank, him and Nikolai both entering the Plasma Spaz as Greasy fawned over the tank's drive systems.
"Ooh hohoho, sweet goddesses above, this is -so- amazing. Electro-mechanical drive with a mark 20 high-efficiency arcane reactor, torsion bar suspension, and is that a Royal Equestrian Ordinance QF 17-pound gun in the turret? And it fires balefire egg shells for ammunition?! How did they ever figure out how to prevent breech detonations, this is... this... oh my Celestia..." The ghoulified pegasus wobbled upon her hooves for a moment, giggling faintly before falling to the side, thankfully onto the lowered cots. Blinking a few times, I lifted from the driver's chair, trotting myself over to her. She mumbled and giggled weakly, a bit of her mane glinting in the light. Leaning forth for a closer look, the polished emerald of the familiar headband caught my eye, giving me a moment's pause. She was wearing her sister's headband... I felt the urge to squeeze the plushie of Gamma Ray closer against myself just then. How easy it was to lose everything you love...
The back of the tank clattered with the sound of heavy hooves and a large metal sled, some braces clattering against the topside as the heavy hooves trotted over to the front end, a few smaller ones nearing the doorway opposite and knocking on it's top a few times. Unlatching the forward doors, I was met with a small scream of surprise, followed by the wide, smiling eyes of Buzzy as she hovered outside. "Told'ya Featherweight, it is them!" Wearing a light smile, I climbed myself out of the doorway and hovered up to the back of the tank, met with the soft, dreamy eyes of that huge hunk of stallion. He let off a soft chuckle, wrapping his foreleg about my neck gently as we stepped up to each other, sharing a light kiss.
"Nice to see you're alright, Twinnie. Heh, I had a feeling you'd wind up finding something to end up playing around in..." Chuckling lightly, the larger stallion tapped a hoof against the armor of the tank, looking at it for a moment as Buzzy hovered herself around the front, trotting along the barrel of the gun. Featherweight's eyes lit up slightly as he glanced back at the large battlewagon behind him, myself glancing over with him. "Ah, we were just going to stop by Gun Runner's to see if they could make us some more shells for the forty-mil guns. We're down to four reloads for the cannons, just want to have somewhere close that we can get more. Can't risk going back to Sunrise Castle with the storms starting." I nodded lightly, looking over the cart and noticing a large pile of metal partly tied down with a tarp.
"Heh, sorry we parked in the way. Still getting the hang of driving this thing... ah, Featherweight, what's that stuff in the back of the wagon?" Blinking lightly, I followed him as he trotted over to it - man, this thing really was ridiculously big. He wore that friendly, soft smile, lifting up a corner of the tarp and revealing a rather unnervingly familiar metallic hoof sticking from a pile of scrap beneath it. Now where in Celestia did he find these things?... and why did that faint chemically burning smell they gave off seem so familiar?
"Well, we were also going to see about dropping this stuff off at that RobronCo factory for a couple caps tomorrow. Think these are the robots they were asking for..." He let off a dry chuckle, fitting the tarp back into place. "Sorry about the smell, turns out those shells are great for turning these things into scrap metal. Hence why we were seeing about getting a few more of 'em... hey, you guys are heading back to Mooscow, to get that Cross Stitch guy out of the Stable, right? Mind if we tag along with?" Forty millimeters of high explosive... white phosphorous, good against robots, good to know. Releasing a slight chuckle, we both trotted over to the opposite side of the tank, hopping down from the back and moving towards the front again.
"Oh, not at all! Eheh, just don't be surprised if we don't get there too quickly, this thing wasn't quite built for speed... least getting through Quebuck won't be a hassle." I chuckled lightly, Buzzy hovering around and over to the inside of the tank. Jumping in faint surprise, we both leaned forth to see just what she was doing in there, catching her leaning over the driver's seat and fiddling with some dials on the radio. She giggled, pausing for a moment then smacking the top of it with a hoof,the thing instantly sparking to life inside the TOG. Well, at least we'll have music for the trip!
"GOOOD AFTERNOON WASTELAAAAND! You're listening to Bert the Turtle and Tom Neighrer on CONELRAD radio, six-forty twelve-forty on your AM band reciever. What does AM band stand for? Hell if I know! I just like saying it. Tommy's taking a break from his concert for now, so I'm putting on an old one we've got because I haven't heard it in ages either! This one goes out to all those heroes that kept us safe from the Enclave, and sure as hell showed no Sympathy for Discord! Ha-ha!"
"Please allow me to introduce myself,
I'm a mare of wealth and taste.
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mare's soul and faith.
I was 'round when Nightmare Moon,
Had her moment of doubt and pain.
Made damn sure that Princess C,
Felt her actions, sealed her fate.
Pleased to meet you,
Hope you guess my name.
But what's puzzling you,
Is the nature of my game.
I stuck around old Stalliongrad,
When I saw it was a time for a change!
Killed plenty'a ponies and zebras alike,
heard those families all scream out in vain!
I rode a tank,
Held a general's rank
When Littlehorn raged,
And the bodies stank.
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee
While old Princess C
Stepped down from her throne,
and let Luna have a go!
I shouted out,
Who killed Big Macintosh?
When after all
It was you and me!
Let me please introduce myself,
I'm a mare of wealth and taste!
And I laid tracks for the hoofsoldiers,
Who get killed before they had their day!"
-----
“Alright, just try to relax and let the suit do most of the work.” I said, once Nikolai had the entire suit of armor on. He couldn’t stop grinning, eager to try it out himself. “You’ll get the hang of it sooner or later, you mostly just need to make sure you move slowly so you don’t jam up the motors when you start.” He slowly raised a hoof, the servos whirring as pressurized gas hissed. Nikolai took a few steps forward, the metallic hooves muffled by the carpet. “From what Nova said, the standard insulation from the generator on the back has been lessened to help keep the wearer warm in the wastes. But… if you start to feel it burning through your back, you better switch it off before it overheats and roasts you.” Nikolai turned back to me, looking more than a little worried. “She said it shouldn’t happen so long as you aren’t running a marathon, at least.” I let off a weak chuckle, rubbing at the back of my head. Nikolai still didn’t look terribly comforted. “Well, whatever, you can fix that if you want when you get to tinkering with it.”
“Now, the helmet’s thankfully a little easier for you, not having a horn and all. Right beside your right ear’s the light, try turning that on.” I lifted up the helmet and let him slip it on. He fumbled about a bit, searching for the button on the large headlight. He managed to click it and I was temporarily blinded. Okay, next time don’t look straight on into that! Guh, damn glasses... “Turn it off!” I half shouted, pulling the pair of lenses off my face and rubbing at my eyes. Nikolai quickly complied, a ‘sorry’ coming through the voice modulator. “Ok… um…” I tried to gather my thoughts. “Oh, yeah, there’s a small recording device on the neck piece, I believe you can use it for transmission as well, but Elder Quazar ordered it to be severed as we still technically weren’t members. I think that’s all.” Nikolai took off the helmet and placed it on a nearby table.
“I can’t wait to get to work on this, Greasy and I are going to have a field day! Night vision, heat vision, built in weaponry…” He looked up to me, beaming. “I can’t thank you enough for this.” I smiled in response as Nikolai began to take off the armor, chuckling lightly. “I wonder if Greasy still has plans for Rusty’s wings, maybe I could install those too!”
We headed back outside, seeing Twintails bobbing his head slightly to the beat of a song playing through the TOG's radio. Greasy was still fawning over the tank, Featherweight and Buzzy securing their wagon to the top of the tank. Yeah, as if that thing needed even more firepower. “You install those wings and I might have to steal it back from you.” I released a snicker, Nikolai matching it, shaking his head in response.
“Sure, Minty, you give that a try. As we know, you’re the top in the field when it comes to stealth.” He said between chortles. I rolled my eyes and gave him a smack across the head with my robotic hoof. He rubbed at the spot, muttering a bit. “Well, I hope getting back to Mooscow goes well. Not that I really have reason to doubt that when you’re riding in this.” He tapped the side of the tank. Greasy popped her head out of the tank, her muscles stretched into a slightly disfigured smile. She hopped down the tank, landing softly in the snow beside us.
“Nikolai, Twintails said you helped retrieve this! Why on earth didn’t you take notes or something?” Despite her accusatory words, she seemed more excited than angry. “This is amazing! I’m jealous I can’t tag along, but, well…” She rubbed the back of her mane a bit. “I’m not exactly an experienced fighter. Besides, somepony needs to stay back and help stripes here with that armor.” She chuckled a bit, Nikolai doing the same. “Stop back anytime!” She said, waving as I clambered up onto the tank. We bid her farewell, Featherweight, Buzzy and I slipping into the tank before it began to rumble back to life.
I slid into the seat beside Twintails, looking through the narrow view port of the machine gun to see several ponies either running in fear or standing in awe as we passed by. Twintails pulled a few levers and we began to trundle out the north end of Trotisk before swinging around and heading towards Turnpike, myself sitting back into the chair, relaxing for teh time being. Featherweight sat down on one of the cots against the wall, Buzzy going to inspect the cannon further. I unsnapped the flap over my Pip-Leg, fiddling with the dials for a moment before a song crackled into my ears.
Maybe
You’ll think of me
When you’re all alone
Maybe the one who
Is waiting for you
Will prove untrue
Then what will you do?
Maybe
You’ll sit and sigh
Wishing that I
Were near, dear
---
I snorted awake, rubbing my eyes free of sleepers. “Nice of you to join us. You've been out for, like, twelve hours, I was starting to get worried. You missed breakfast.” Twintails let off a small chuckle, myself sitting up and rubbing some of the marks left my the seat free from my face. Ech, maybe I’ve gotten less sleep than I thought I have lately. Featherweight was still on the cot, Buzzy sitting across from him on some of teh crates of ammunition, inspecting them curiously. The ruins of Quebuck began to come into view through the machine gun’s window, Twintails fiddling with the radio aboard the TOG idly and grinning as another some came through. I sat up in the seat, my horn flaring up as I took control of the gun, scanning the ground for any ghouls that might have strayed beyond the city’s limits. “Say, would you mind if we stopped in Quebuck? Think I remember something back at that theater we pulled Tom out of that I want to pick up, eheh...”
“I suppose so. Just watch out for any traps we might’ve missed on our first stop, alright?” Twintails nodded and pulled another lever, the tank turning to the right slightly and heading through the streets. A few ghouls ran out from between a few houses, but I quickly dispatched them, the tank proceeding onward, rolling over one of them. I shuddered at the crunch, still looking around for more ghouls. Soon we arrived out front of the theater, Twintails pulling the tank to a stop, the rumbling of the engines dying down. I was about to follow Twintails out when Featherweight stopped us.
“Uh… guys, I have no idea how to pilot this thing.” He said, staring down at the complex array of levers and lights. “If we needed to make an emergency run, there’s no way we’d get this thing up and running before you got back.” I looked over to Twintails, who looked a little disappointed. What was he even trying to get from there, anyways?
“Alright... ah, I’ll stay here, and you go with Twintails, Featherweight. Buzzy, do you want to man the machine gun?” She nodded happily and fluttered over to the seat, needing to stand to be able to see past the body of the heavy-caliber gun. Featherweight and Twintails climbed up the ladder, the hatch banging loudly against the hull of the tank as it flew open. I watched through the pilot’s window as Twintails handed his grenade rifle to Featherweight, and pulled the bit for his auto-rifles into his mouth. They both headed into the theater, and I sat back into the chair, looking over to Buzzy. “Say, uh, Buzzy? I don’t think I’ve ever asked, what did you and Featherweight do before we met?”
She shrugged a bit, playing with the gun and looking it over. “I dunno, not a whole lot different stuff. Feather’s always been real focused on patrolling the roads, making sure they’re clear 'f any animals or raiders.” She leaned forward, looking as if she’d spotted something through the view port. “I know we didn’t always live in Turnpike, but I was a foal when we moved, so I don’t know where we lived before. Feather’s never told me, I don’t really see why.” I raised an eyebrow, curious. “Well, anyway, we were able to sell some of out scavenged munitions to the mayor for the wrecked cars in the railyard, and since then we’ve just been flying out and dropping bombs.” She sat down, seeming to be satisfied with the gun, and turning to look up at me. “You came from one of those Stables, right? How was that?”
My stomach clenched up slightly as I thought back to my Stable. “Uh… it was… alright.” I could feel my stomach tighten as I went on. Even with what the overmare did... it almost felt disrespectful to write off my stable like that. “I mean… a lot of the ponies were nice. I helped repair a lot of stuff, the generator was always in need of some kind of fixing up.” I shifted in my seat a bit, looking towards the door to the theater. “My parents and I were… we didn’t dislike each other, but we weren’t exactly close, either.” I gulped a bit, thinking back to how long it’d been since I’d last thought of them. “My dad worked in the augmentation department, a lot of behind doors work and all. There were a lot of days when he wouldn’t come home… augmentations were starting to fail for unexplained reasons, he had to work constantly.” Tears began to stain my vision, the memories coming back. “When I got my Pip-Buck and job, I was pretty much forced to live alone since then.” Buzzy’s ears had fallen, her normal grin replaced with a look of sympathy. “My mom… she was the original overmare, she was older than a lot of ponies… Dad said she died a few years after I was born… I never really knew her.”
Both Buzzy and I sighed, remaining quiet for a moment afterwards. “I didn’t know my parents either. Featherweight never wants to talk about them, though it wasn’t hard for me to guess what happened.” I looked over to her, watching as she looked down at the seat sadly. My horn began to glow softly as I lifted her up and sat her in my lap. She looked up at me for a moment in confusion, as I gave her a hug. For a moment she was still, then she threw her hooves around me, giving me a squeeze. We sat there for a moment, nothing to be heard aside from the occasional gust of wind against the tank. She eventually broke the hug and hopped back to her seat. “Thanks.” She said, smiling a bit.
I smiled in return. “Thank you.” Buzzy returned to looking down the gun’s sights as I too turned and waited for Twintails and Featherweight to return. It wasn’t long before the doors under the marquee opened and the two pegasi stepped out. Twintails was beaming, Featherweight smiling as well as they climbed up and unlatched the door. It banged loudly against the metal as the two entered the tank, sealing the door behind them.
Twintails laughed, whipping a holotape out of his saddlebags. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you… Dr. Strangemare, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the megaspell!” He said, almost giggling with excitement. I was... more than a little confused. “I watched this movie a ton back in my Stable. You guys’ll love it!” Featherweight slid a projector off of his back and onto a storge box, along with a large white sheet. With a small shrug, I turned around and began fiddling with various levers, the tank rumbling into life again. Carefully, I turned the tank about, but Buzzy suddenly spoke up, looking through the sights of the machine gun.
“Woah, what the heck’s that?!” Buzzy shouted, grabbing a hold of the heavy machine gun. I looked through the view port, spotting War Mare turning the corner of the street. Buzzy spun the gun towards it, lining up the sights. My pupils shrank down as my magic encompassed Buzzy, yanking her away from the gun. She fought against the aura, managing to fire off a small volley of shots at War Mare, the shells pinging off of the armor. I promptly placed Buzzy on the floor of the tank, Featherweight and Twintails both looking over in confusion and surprise.
“Don’t fire at that! We know her!” Buzzy was caught offguard for a split second before being immediately concerned, realizing what she’d done. I leapt past Twintails and Featherweight, the former dumbfounded and the latter confused, and climbed up the ladder, glancing through the sights of the cannon. War Mare’s turret was turning towards us, the metal grinding against itself as it faced us. My heart raced as I flipped open the top hatch, waving my legs in panic. “Stop! It’s Minty and Twintails! We surrender!” There wasn’t any movement for a moment, but I could faintly hear the sound of grinding metal again, a few gears near the base of the gun turning. Oh shit. I ducked down into the tank, slamming the door shut. There was a loud retort of a short gun, and something slammed into the side of the tank, knocking me off my hooves. Buzzy zipped up into the cannon’s loading area with me, panicked.
“What the hell? If they know us, why are they firing?!” She pulled open the back of the cannon with some difficulty, her wings making that distinct buzzing sound as she struggled with it. “Come on, help me load this thing!” I pulled her away from the shells as Featherweight climbed to the front of the tank, opening up the forward hatch, Twintails following with him. I shoved her into his hooves as my horn beginning to glow fiercely. There was a flash of light blue light as we landed on top of War Mare, the cold air instantly biting at our skin. I heard some scrambling around inside, when suddenly the hatch opened up, Rolling Tracks popping up with a machine gun in her mouth.
“Otstan' ot voyna kobyla, Vy zherebyat!” She froze immediately upon seeing me, dropping her gun. “You… you were in the tank? Oh, Celestia, I am so sorry!” She climbed out of the tank, glancing back towards the TOG. “W-where in Equestria did you find that?” I rubbed the back of my head a bit awkwardly. The driver window swung open, Twintails waving to Rolling Tracks as he climbed out and hovered himself over, Featherweight following.
“Uh… sorry about that…” He chuckled weakly. Rolling Tracks hopped back down into her tank, the engine dying down before she climbed back up. We trotted over to the TOG, Featherweight and Twintails climbing onto the top. “I guess we forgot to tell Featherweight and Buzzy about you. Though we didn’t exactly expect to see you again. Is the TOG ok, Minty?” I looked over the side of the tank, seeing several scorch marks and a few dents along the side. A large crater had been blasted into the snow just a few feet away, causing both myself and Twintails to grimace at the sight. Well, I guess we’re lucky she didn’t manage to get a direct hit, at least...
“Yeah. If you’ve got any of that epoxy left from KB, it probably wouldn’t hurt to run it over the treads or the wheels, but no real damage seems to be done.” Twintails nodded, and sat down on the back of the tank, beginning to rummage through his saddlebags. “So, what have you been up to lately?” I asked idly, Featherweight and Buzzy both looking on in disbelief.
“I’ve been traveling about Quebuck, mostly.” As Rolling Tracks talked, Twintails tossed me some of the epoxy, which I began to run over the tank, watching as the metal bent and folded itself back into place. “When I attempted to press on towards Sunrise Castle a few days ago, I had to turn back. There were a large number of robots patrolling about, they continually attacked War Mare if I got close. More an annoyance than anything, but I did not want to risk one getting inside. I think saw some of tearing apart what looked like a radio station for parts, though.” I gulped at that last part. Ooh… Nikolai’s not going to be happy if he hears about that. What the hell does The Doc need with radio parts anyway? “I’ve stayed down here since then. Between the robots and hellhounds I don't want to risk flipping War Mare over.” She grimaced, looking up at the dent made in the armor as it moved itself out. “I can’t believe I wasted one of my shells on you, and it managed to bounce. Neveroyatno. Anyway, who are your friends?”
“This is Featherweight.” Twintails spoke up, gesturing to the muscular pony, who still looked on in disbelief. The smaller pegasus climbed up ontop of Featherweight's head, waving with a smile. “And that’s Buzzy. She was the one who tried to fire at you. We’re all heading out to get Minty’s friend, Cross Stitch, out from one of the Stables near Mooscow.” Twintails looked irritated at Buzzy, whose ears immediately drooped as she smiled nervously. Rolling Tracks nodded to Buzzy and shook Featherweight’s hoof as I handed back the epoxy, the larger stallion still seeming to have some trouble comprehending.
Well, it was nice meeting you, even if you did try to kill me. Do svidaniya.” She glanced over at Buzzy, who was half hiding behind the side door. She trotted back to War Mare and swiftly started it back up, white smoke chuffing from the exhaust before the tracks pulled it forwards, dragging it over the rubble and into the street. The white-painted tank rumbled quietly off into the city, gun returning to a forwards position, it spinning through the streets. We all climbed back into the TOG, myself sitting down in the pilot’s seat, watching War Mare dash ahead. Sheesh, I think the TOG's getting speed envy... I pulled a few levers, the engines rumbling to life, and we began to turn east, heading towards Stable 92.
Twintails sat down, lining up the projector and leading the wire back towards the reactor. There were a few loud zaps before he returned, his mane a little frazzled but grin still on his face. Featherweight hung the sheet in front of the reactor area, folding up the cots and shuffling some of teh ammunition around, Twintails fiddling with the holotape. The lights went out, and I heard the projector whirr to life as slightly distorted music began to warble in. Adjusting a few dials and levitating out a bottle of Sunrise, I switched on the cruise control for a low speed, spinning myself about and cracking the soda open, settling in. It's been a while since I've seen a movie...
---
We pulled up outside the small wooden door that lead into Stable 92’s tunnel, myself flipping a switch, the tank’s engines growing quieter as they slowed. Twintails groaned as the image of a pony shooting open a Sparkle Cola machine on the screen faded, the projector switching off. We all headed out of the tank and trotted into the rocky tunnels, my horn flaring up to give us a little bit of light. Twintails punched in the code on the terminal beside the door as lights began to flash.
The large Stable door screeched open, rolling off to the side loudly. Well, least they know we're here. We stepped inside and I pressed the buttons on the keypad inside, the warning sirens blaring as the door began to slide back into place. Our hoofsteps echoed through the metal corridors, a few voices coming from the main hall as we trotted down the steps. I looked around, more than a little confused when we found the hall almost completely empty. I noticed a poster on the bulletin board and walked up to it, Featehrweight and Buzzy both seeming to marvel at the interior of the Stable, muttering things to Twintails. It was a surprisingly well drawn poster, depicting Tom - sans any torn flesh or visible muscle, anyways - at a piano in a spotlight. 'An Evening Wasted with Tom Neighrer' was written along the bottom, with a few dates and show times. I looked over to Twintails. “My Stable didn’t have any sort of theater… do you have any clue where this might be?”
Featherweight looked similarly clueless, though Buzzy hopped off of him and trotted up to one older mare wearing stable barding reading a book. “Excuse me, but where’s the theater?” She asked politely. Since when did Buzzy have manners? The mare smiled and pointed towards a set of stairs heading downwards. Buzzy thanked her and we all headed down the steps, music beginning to echo through the halls as we proceeded behind her. Turning down a few more hallways, we approached a doorway with the word 'Theatre' illuminated above it. Twintails flipped the switch beside it, the door in front of us sliding up to reveal a large room with several chairs set up, each filled with ponies staring up at the stage where Tom was performing.
“Now, as some of you who’ve attended a history class may know, there used to be six mares who ran the Ministries, which likewise ran Equestria for the time before the bombs fell. And, ah, one of them had quite the affinity for animals, as I had the misfortune of finding out after writing this number. So, as grim as it is, based on the way Equestria is today I think I can get away with singing this without worrying about the venue 'mysteriously' being burned to the ground. Here's to the mare of the Ministry of Peace, I wrote this song with her in mind.” He turned back to his music, his hooves beginning to fly across the keys.
"Spring is here, Spring is here
Life is free of worry and fear
I think the loveliest time of the year
Is the spring, I do
Don’t you?"
He paused for a moment, releasing a small chuckle, the music stopping for a beat. “Well, I suppose you folks wouldn’t know.”
"But there’s one thing that makes spring complete for me
And makes every Sunday, a treat for me.
All the world seems in tune on a spring afternoon
When we’re poisoning pigeons in the park.
Every Sunday you’ll see my sweetheart and me
As we poison the pigeons in the park.
When they see us coming, the birdies all try and hide
But they still go for peanuts when coated with cyanide
The sun’s shining bright everything seems alright
When we’re poisoning pigeons in the park.
We’ve gained notoriety
And caused much anxiety
In Fluttershy’s Ministry
With our games
She calls it impiety
And lack of propriety
And quite a variety of unpleasant names
But it’s not against any religion
To want to dispose of a pigeon
So if Sunday you’re free, why don’t you come with me and we’ll poison the pigeons in the park
And maybe we’ll do in a squirrel or two as we poison the pigeons in the park
We’ll murder them all amidst laughter and merriment
Except for the few we take home to experiment
My pulse will be quickenin’
With each drop of Strychnine
We feed to a pigeon
It just takes a smidgeon
To poison a pigeon in the park!"
The crowd clapped and laughed as Tom stepped off of the stage, the ponies beginning to converse among themselves and get up as I scanned the crowd for Cross. I spotted him near the front, being jostled about by several ponies clambering for Tom’s autograph. I trotted up to him, calling his name over teh sound of the crowd. He turned around and I pulled him into a hug, squeezing him. “Oh, thank goodness you’re alright!” He said. “I heard about what was going on in Pripytrot, that had you two written all over it.” He chuckled a bit, looking relieved. We broke the hug as Twintails, Featherweight, and Buzzy caught up with me. Cross glanced over to Tom. “Hah, you should’ve seen him this weekend, he’s been beaming all day with these shows going on.”
Before I could answer, Tom trotted over, the group of ponies pleading for his autographs all trotting away. “Hey, nice to see you two again, how’ve you been?” We all responded positively as a filly nervously trotted up with a pen and a slip of paper in her mouth. Tom happily signed it and she ran away, a smile plastered on her blushing face. “We heard about your adventures in Pripytrot. I might have to change a few lyrics in my ‘Send in the Rangers’ song if they keep needing to fall back on your help.” He chuckled idly, and we all began to walk back upstairs, a few ponies still milling about in the theater. “Just don’t go blowing yourselves up before I finish, alright? I’d hate to have an inaccurate song.” We all laughed as we passed the recording studio, Hi-Fi talking into a microphone. Twintails waved through the window and she returned it, still reading off of a clipboard in front of her.
We soon returned to the entrance off the Stable, Tom punching in the code as the door began to grind open loudly. “Thanks for stopping by, again. Cross was incredibly nice, fixing up worn out suits for us and the like. Even repaired my favorite jacket.” I glanced over to Cross, who was blushing and avoiding eye contact. Oh, quit being so modest, silly. Tom rolled his eyes and bade us farewell as we headed back into the dark tunnel towards the wooden door, through which some sunlight was filtering. Cross’s jaw dropped as we opened the door, revealing the tank shining in the sun. I chuckled, looking over to him.
“Wanna ride shotgun?”
-----
With a wide grin, I hopped myself up onto the top of the TOG's turret, Minty opening up the gunner-side door and giving a glance back at Cross, who looked on stupefied. Sheesh, it's like he's never seen a giant tank before... okay, maybe I can give him that. Featherweight shuffled himself in behind Minty, Buzzy following, myself resting on the turret hatch ring and watching Cross Stitch wander up to the tank and climb in, in a small daze. Ducking back inside, the light of mid-day was shut out and replaced with the dim interior of the TOG, Featherweight resting back against the wall with Buzzy while Cross got himself situated in the side gunner's chair, the turbines at the back whining up to speed, the projector starting again. Oh, goody, it skipped back a few seconds... oh, goody, we get to watch a Sparkle-Cola machine get shot again. "Okay. I'll get your money for you. But if you don't get the Princess of Equestria on the phone, you know what's going to happen to you?"
"What?!"
"You're gonna have to answer to the Sparkle-Cola Company." Both myself and Featherweight flinched at the shots, the tank beginning to slowly turn about and head back in the direction of Mooscow. The Colonel kneeled to get the pile of bits pouring from the machine, only to be met with a geyser of Sparkle-Cola which, I admit, was kind of funny. Hey, at least it wasn't Sparkle-Cola RAD. Cross Stitch seemed to be at least mildly enjoying it as well, the scene switching to the War Room's Big Board. Huh, kind of looks like the one back at EQUAD... I hopped down and leaned back against the radio setup between the driver and gunner's positions, watching the film continue on and feeling as the tank settled on it's new course. Cross prodded at my shoulder, a tinkle of his magic aura drawing a glass bottle from Minty's saddlebags.
"So, uh, what's going on here? Been ages since I've seen a movie, and certainly would think I'd remember seeing this one..." The hiss of carbonation filled the air as Cross popped off the cap from the bottle, Minty taking small glances backwards every now and again as the film continued. Princess Luna - well, the actor playing her, anyways - was on the phone with the Zebra Caesar, and to put things lightly, things don't work out too well. Oh, don't tell me I'm going to have to run through the whle movie with him...
"Shush, and watch the fireworks, alright?" The unicorn blinked a few times, pausing for a moment before shrugging and taking a drink from his bottle of Sunrise Sarsaparilla, the film switching back to an exterior view of the jet-powered bombing wagon. How did they get camera shots like that, anyways? The tank's tracks rumbled underneath as it pulled up onto the road again, Minty guiding it towards the Mooscow gates. Oooh, they were on approach to target, almost time for the fireworks to start! I let off a small giggle, watching that earth pony mare wearing a stetson work her way back through the wagon and to the bomb compartment to fix the bomb bay doors circuits, straddling right on the nose of the megaspell warhead to reach the wires. 'Hi There' - ah, gotta love a film with a sense of humor... something which the other mare wearing a stetson that took residence in my head seemed to not appreciate too much. Oh, c'mon, she only looks a little like you!
Minty glanced back, the tank slowing to a halt outside the gate, spinning about in his chair and joining us in watching it. A pretty stupid grin was on my face as the bomb bay doors opened up, the mare straddling the warhead using one hoof to hang on to her hat as the ground flew by beneath. She let out a mad holler, even as the bomb released from the bay and began falling to target. Minty's metallic leg poked at the back of my shoulder, the unicorn snickering as the bombardier queried about where their pilot was. "Yeah, that's how you want to go out, isn't it?"
"Hey, it'd be quick and painless." I snickered and turned back to the screen, watching as the pilot hollered her head off riding that bomb to the ground, it drawing unnervingly close before... flash! And... bang! Haha, ah, lovely every time. Props to the director for the sound delay, places the viewpoint of the camera at just about a kilometer away from the initial blast. 30 Megaton equivalent explosion... which that cloud certainly is not from, but at least they tried... yeah, that's not far enough away to not be in the danger zone. Oh, I always paid more attention in science class when we were working with pressure... a knock came from the driver's side doorway, making me let off a small groan of annoyance as Minty flipped the projector off and opened up the door, revealing a very surprised Bloodbeak. She blinked a few times, Tommy gun in claw, her beak agape. I gave off a small wave, getting up onto my hooves, the gryphon regaining herself.
"U-uh, well... holy Celestia's ass, I never thought this thing was so... long." She scratched at the back of her head, Minty spinning himself around in the driver's chair. Bloodbeak blinked a few times, coming to her senses and hopping back over the wall, the doors swinging open as the turbines whined back to speed. She followed along with us as Minty eased it through, hopping onto the hatch and adjusting herself on the thin armor, looking around inside. "You guys have been really busy since that day you first walked in, haven't you? Lucky most everypony's still hanging around in that Stable, for now. A few came back to get things situated again after they heard about Pripytrot... did you really launch a megaspell missile at their raptor? Holy shit, man, I knew you were crazy, but..."
"He, uh... we don't want to talk about it. It... look, can we just get settled?" Minty looked over to her, the gryphon slightly taken abackat his bluntness. Well... he had a point. Goddess-damnitall, Minty, I almost had myself in a mood for enjoying watching megaspell test after megaspell test to Vera Lynn. Oh, why did I launch that missile? Minty caught Bloodbeak's glare, returning one of his own that even caught her offguard. "Sorry, it's been a rough past few days. Just give us a few hours to ourselves, alright?" She paused for a moment, then nodded, the tank coming to a slow stop outside the street Cross' shop was down. The gryphon gave a glance towards myself, then up at the large battlewagon tied to the top of the TOG, blinking a few times in surprise and doing a double take.
"Alright... Uh, you going to be able to carry that thing? I know your thing is heavy guns, but those look like they could blow a whole hellhound apart!" She gawked at the forty millimeter guns, Fetaherweight and Buzzy trotting forwards and following myself and Minty out of the opened door of the tank. I didn't think her eyes could get any wider than they already were, but, lo and behold... Featherweight let off a light chuckle, extending a hoof towards Bloodbeak, the gryphon taking it after a moment of hesitation in staring a pony as tall as she was when she stood on her back legs like that in the face.
"We've got it covered. Featherweight, and this is Buzzy, we live out in Turnpike. Just caught a ride with Twinnie and his friends here to deliver a few old robots for scrap, the RobronCo factory up this way?" The little red-maned filly climbed back up onto his head, drawing Bloodbeak's attention for a moment before she nodded, responding with small babbles that seemed like they were trying to make words. The gryphon turned about, placing her free claw to her head and seming to rub it softly, stumbling a bit in the snow as she waled back to her post. We all watched her for a few moments, Featherweight prodding myself as Minty and Cross Stitch chatted with each other inside the tank. "She usually like that?"
"Like I said, you're one hell of a stallion, Featherweight." Releasing a small snicker, Featherweight scratched at the back of his head, turning back to watch Bloodbeak stumbling around for a few moments. Minty leaned over, Cross Stitch with him, smiles on their faces.
"Think you'll be alright for a while? Cross Stitch and me, we, uh, we have a few things we need to catch up on..." A blush crossed his face as Cross Stitch's magic flared, seeming to encompass Minty's own horn. Letting off a snicker, I nodded to the flustered unicorn, Cross' jacketed foreleg wrapping around Minty's neck. "U-uh, yeah, j-just a few things. Stitchy, save it for the bedroom..."
"Yeah, you two go... 'catch up'. I'll help show Featherweight to the factory, should be back in time for dinner." A giggle came from Cross Stitch, Minty looking to me and giving a small nod. He placed his non-augmented foreleg gently on my shoulder, meeting my eyes for a while, releasing a soft sigh and wearing a faint frown, which must be pretty hard to do considering he's being rubbed off in public. The look in his eyes, though... I moved my own foreleg to rest on his, passing on a small smile and nodding once. "I'll be fine, Minty. I'll be with Featherweight, you don't have to worry, alright?"
"Alright... we'll, ah, we'll catch you later." With a light chuckle, Minty and Cross Stitch trotted down the street, light clattering coming from behind as Featherweight lifted the battlewagon up off of the back of the tank and into the air. The snow crunched as he set it down, Buzzy riding in the turret seat, the large stallion looking my way with those soft blue eyes and a grin.
"We going to be facing much this way? I know there was a bit of a radier problem awhile ago. Eheh... again, sorry about that." Featherweight gave off a small chuckle of embarassment as he rubbed at the back of his head, myself glancing into the TOG for a moment, thinking. Eh, I could leave the battle saddle behind without too much fuss, nopony around here woud be the type to try and steal from the tank. Shutting the side doors with a creak, I turned and gave my wings an idle ruffle, shaking my head in response.
"Don't worry about it, in the past now. It shouldn't be too long a flight, just have to follow the road." With a smile and spread of the wings, both my hooves and the large battlewagon lifted from the snow, Featherweight's larger wings kicking up a small cloud of fluff as we took to the skies. Just over the Mooscow wall, yeah, I think I can handle that. Maybe. Oh boy...
---
"Thanks for bringing this in, can't believe the entire CPU is still intact." We all sat in Jumper Cables' office, Buzzy playing with a few of the Sparkle-Cola bottles and coffee mugs strewn about on the floor. A robot factory, and she can't program a robot to pick this place up? Or, maybe she just drinks so much of it it can't keep up... something like that, maybe. The earth pony mare plugged the decapitated robot into a terminal on her desk, the screen starting to scroll with technobabble that Minty probably could read fluently. Hell, sing, maybe... "Usually when we get these things, the people who brought it in disabled it by throwing bullets or explosives at the head, completely wrecks the circuits and talismans. What'd you do to kill this one again?"
"Forty millimeter white phosphorous shells. Burned the neck in half." Featherweight shrugged idly, looking over the head of the robot, Jumper Cables staring at the screen with her baggy eyes. She blinked a few times, her eyes scanning over the text as it scrolled past, before she began to hit a few keys on the keyboard before her. The text screen stopped scrolling and went blank, being replaced with a block of text labeled with 'prime directive' and in a language I could understand. Looking over it, though, caused my heart to immediately catch in my throat - 'Retrieve item OF773k42 - Starmetal/Moonstone explosive charge firing materiel discs; count - X<=200; 53 of 200 retrieved. Location primary; Sunrise Castle Air Base (ERROR: Location destroyed). Location secondary; Pripytrot (Location intact). CRITICAL ERROR; motor system failed; cooling system overheat; weapon systems offline; cupholder jammed. Return to North Equestrian Artillery Megaspell Outpost for repairs immediately.'
"North Equestrian Artillery Megaspell Outpost... NEAMO... so that's what that stands for. Huh, that explains a bit, but... where the hell is this place, anyways? Artillery Megaspell, is that like an artillery gun that fires megaspells, or an artillery gun that uses megaspells for the propulsion?" Jumper Cables scratched at the back of her head as she leaned back in the chair, looking back to Featherweight and myself. The large stallion shrugged in response, myself biting tightly at my lip. Either this ends with me and Minty dead for helping in getting this thing working in the first place, or worse... Jumper Cables turned back to the screen, leaning forwards. "Crazy either way. I'll get the caps out of the safe for you, this scrap and info works out to... oh, hm, twenty-five hundred. Hopefully somepony thinks to try and stop this thing before it does whatever it does..."
"Y-yeah, Celestia knows what it could d-do... uh..." Oh, I shouldn't have said that, why did I say that? Jumper Cables and Featherweight both shot me concerned looks, myself moving backwards and jumping lightly as I bumped into a pyramid of cola bottles Buzzy had put together. Featherweight trotted up to me, placing his large hoof against my cheek and looking into my eyes. Oh, please don't be suspicious, please don't be suspicious... hugging me was good, that's much better than asking why I was asking so weird. Jumper Cables looked confused again, Featherweight keeping a foreleg rested around my neck as he broke teh hug and looked towards her.
"Sorry, Twintails has had a few rough days lately, some words just make him a little nervous. Hopefully we helped you guys out with this, we'll bring word to the Steel Rangers concerning this NEAMO thing. They handled Pripytrot, they should be able to take care of a silly old artillery pice, right?" He smiled, looking towards me, my honestly surprised self noddong in response. Okay, good, passing off the nervousness as PTSD was a good thing... maybe. Goddesses above, I really should tell them before The Doc gets a chance to fire it. Jumper Cables nodded as well, hitting a few keys on her terminal, the safe behind her desk opening with a click.
"Oh, you did way more than enough for us with this. The intact CPU alone is a goddess-send, I get another few hours to look at it and I'll probably have that NEAMO place pinpointed to within a foot." She wore a smile as she puled the five satchels of bottlecaps up, setting them all on the counter with heavy jingles. The safe closed with a dull thud, Buzzy hovering over to look and poke at the bags, Featherweight extending a large hoof. The earth pony took it, shaking it once, smiling up at the larger stallion before glancing at myself, letting off a small chuckle. "Nice meeting you, and a pleasure seeing you again, Twintails. Just glad I'm not being woken up by an electric shock this time."
Buzzy dropped the last of the bags of caps into my saddlebags, Jumper Cables letting off a small sigh and returning to the terminal, Featherweight scratching at the back of his head as we trotted for the elevator. Buzzy rested on his back, the large stallion looking to myself as I pressed the button, still seeming confused. "What did she mean by being woken up by an electric shock?"
"It's a long story, Featherweight.
---
"Good evening North Equestria, and you're listening to CONELRAD Radio, six-forty twelve-forty on your AM band reciever, which apparently our resident egghead Tom Neighrer tells me means Amplitude Modulation. Yeah, I didn't understand it either, kiddies, so no need to worry about it, just keep your hooves, talons, or whatever limbs you use to grab stuff with off of that dial! It's Bert the Turtle coming in with the news, and the major story tonight concerns my favorite pair of wasteland wanderers Twintails and Minty Candy. Y'all remember that tracked beast I keep going on about, the one out Trotisk-ways that the Steel Rangers were using just a few days ago to blow the shit outta Enclave troopers? Well, guess what tracked beast just stopped outside the entrance to this hole in the ground a few hours ago! Being driven by none other than those crazy foals themselves, nonetheless. Stop back any time, guys, ol' Bertie wants to get a better look at that thing! Maybe fire the gun too, haha...
"On to what's hapening out in the rest of the wasteland, a pair of Steel Ranger mares wearing Enclave power armor and suspiciously sharing the same looks as my favorite unicorn and pegasus - I shit you not - dropped by with a message going out to everypony living out there in Trotisk, Turnpike, and Mooscow. It's going to be hard to get your heads around this one kiddies, but practically all of the Enclave POWs who surrendered after Pripytrot are... really not that bad. Turns out their commanding officers were both so far off the deep end, after this thing called NEAMO, that they basically forced them to go fight that war. I know what you're all thinking, but listen, give these folks a chance. I don't have to go pointing at my two favorites to show looks can be decieving, and if they're as misplaced as the folks from Stable 34 then they're probably just wanting somewhere to call home, and the Steel Ranger's pad isn't it. If you see a pegasus walking around, don't shoot at 'em on sight - how'd you like it if somepony shot -you- in the ass while trying to get food?
"Anyhow, that's the evening news. I'm Bert the Turtle, and you're listening to CONELRAD Radio, six-forty twelve-forty on the AM band. Before I turn the program over to Tom, here's a song that, as I found from a little unicorn with a knack for sewing, just happens to be my favorite pegasus' favorite. Here's to you both, just remember, We'll always Meet Again, some sunny day."
"We'll meet again,
Don't know where, don't know when,
But I know we'll meet again,
Some sunny day...
---
The day had gotten on into evening as we flew back over the Mooscow gates, myself opting to ride on the back of the skywagon as we went over this time. The TOG had apparently been driven down the street where Minty and Cross Stitch were, and only a few ponies milled about the snowy streets. There were a lot of latent hoofprints around the pair of tracks left in the snow - huh, well, I guess a giant land-battleship would turn a few heads if you parked it right in front of a road. We touched down outside of the shop, Featherweight landing the battle wagon easily on the back of the tank, the bell above the door ringing as Minty stepped out of the shop. He wore a warm smile as I hovered myself down, wrapping me in a light hug as Featherweight and Buzzy trotted around to us.
"Good to see you back safe. C'mon, Cross almost has dinner ready - hope you like bear meat and soft rolls~" He chuckled lightly as we stepped inside the cosy seamster's shop, the smell of cooking thick and tantilizing as we moved to the back. Buzzy darted ahead, minty doing that adorable butt-wiggle as he trotted along, seeming to be refreshed and happy as we slid into our spots at the table. Five plates levitated over, along with bottles of sunrise sarsaparilla and, surprisingly, sparkle-cola. Cross stitch slid into his spot besides minty and across from featherweight, myself taking place next to the larger stallion and across from minty, buzzy slotting herself in between featherweight and the teal-maned unicorn. A certain warmness filled the air as the clatter of utensils against ceramic started, and everything almost felt... normal. No wasteland to worry about, no Doc, no Mary, just a nice family dinner. Wow...
"S-so, uh... Featherweight, how long have you and Twintails, um..." Cross wore a blush as he paused, rubbing a bit of the juices from his lips. Featherweight swallowed a large gulp of the meat, looking up in surprise, myself matching his gaze and looking over to him. How long ago -did- we meet?... Goddesses, it feels like it's been ages. The royal blue unicorn bit at his lip as he thought, fidgeting in his chair lightly. "I-I mean... look, you're really... uh... oh, f-forget it. J-just me being he, eheh... nngh..." Featherweight tilted his head as Minty placed his augmented foreleg against cross's shoulder, myself looking up at the large stallion and matching his confusion. My augmented friend shared his coltfriend's blush, letting off a weak chuckle before leaning in, prompting us to do the same.
"W-what Cross is trying to say, is, um... w-well, we were talking a little while you were out, and... we, uh, we thought it might be fun, if us and you two were to... uh..." He bit at his lip, the blush heavy on his face, Featherweight scratching at the back of his head. Me and Featherweight, and him and Cross Stitch... oh. Oooooh. Wow, you'd think after so long Minty would've ran out of ways to make me blush, but, uh... goddesses, this came way out of left field. I wore a bright blush, Featherweight sharing it as he made the revelation - it doesn't take a reactor maintenance pony to figure out what they were meaning by this.
"Mm, that was'um good meat. I, ah, I think'll head for bed. D'you have any place f'r me to sleep here?" Buzzy let off a small burp, catching everyone by surprise, Minty's face reddening even further and all eyes falling on her. The little filly blinked a few times, letting off a small yawn and stretching, Cross Stitch shakily getting himself up out of his chair, clearing his throat. "What?"
"Y-yeah, I have a guest bedroom upstairs, you can stay the night. C'mon, eheh..." He released a weak chuckle, the blush still on his face as he trotted over to the doorway, Buzzy rubbing at her heavy eyelids and hovering up to follow him. We all watched as they turned the corner for the stairs, myself biting hard at my lip. Oh, please tell me Buzzy was genuinely full and tired, and she didn't just make up that small excuse because she knew what we were all talking about just then... Minty leaned back, rubbing at his muzzle lightly, looking between myself and Featherweight.
"S-so, ah... well?..." Minty let loose a small embarrased chuckle, a hoof rubbing through his mane, Featherweight resting his own on the table. The large stallion looked over to me with a surprised face, followed by a light snicker as his eyes glanced at my back. Ooh, c'mon, yours were pretty stiff right now, too. We both let off weak chuckles, Minty growing a small smile, myself meeting his eyes and giving a light nod. You caused these, now it looks like you and Cross Stitch are just going to have to help us get rid of them... the royal blue unicorn trotted back, a really vibrant blush on his face and hooves barely supporting him. Minty and Featherweight looked to him in surprise, his forelegs shaking as he steadied himself against the doorframe.
"S-She... she asked for earmuffs." Oh, Buzzy, you know us too well.
---
The covers were heavy on us all, the large, grey stallion nibbling on my ear lightly as I awoke, my eyes coming into focus on the sleeping head of the white unicorn, his foreleg wrapped about my own and us both laying closely together. I let off a long, happy sigh, the widest of grins on my face as I felt Minty's leg gently brushing up against the inside of my own, the augmented unicorn shuffling gently as he rolled over. His glasses-free eyes cracked open, blinking a few times as he caught sight of me, then settling, his muzzle turning into a smile. My own broadened, myself shuffling forwards to give him a gentle kiss on the forehead, Featherweight not stirring much as Minty brushed his non-augmented foreleg over my cheek. He met my own lips with his in return, holding it for a good, long while, giving myself a gentle nuzzle afterwards. He chuckled lightly, his back hooves kicking gently against my own. "Morning, atom-ass~"
"Morning yourself, mint-butt~" We shared a faint giggle, myself sliding carefully out from under the covers with Minty following behind. He gently brushed his bare flank up against my own as we moved out into the hallway, slowly heading down the stairway and finding Buzzy sitting on a stool, apparently fiddling with a big floor radio. Minty blinked as he adjusted his glasses, the small filly letting off a sigh as her head hit against the wooden box. Sharing a look of confusion with Minty, I stepped forth, watching the little filly act defeated. "Uh... Buzzy?"
"Wha!? Oh..." She let off a groan, rubbing at her tired eyes and leaning back against the radio cabinet, Minty moving up alongside myself. "Darn thing's antenna is broken or something. Prob'ly was a storm." She let off a long sigh, rubbing at her head weakly, Minty looking over to me. His magic flared as his armored jacket levitated up, along with my own old barding, a smile on his face. Just a radio antenna? Pfft, easy. We slid ourselves into our clothes, Minty wrapping a foreleg around my neck and myself doing the same, a spark battery coming up from his saddlebags as he looked at me with a sheepish grin. I rolled my eyes in response, wearing a smile - Okay, fine, I can live with that. Just go easy, after last night I swear I sucked all the juice out of that horn of yours...
The flash of bright light faded, and we were both on top of the small two-story shop, the crumbled roofs of a few houses meeting our vision, as well as the snow-filled radio dish laying on our own. Well, yeah, that's probably it. Lifting it out of the snow, Minty focused his magic and warped the support back up straight, the few screws levitating up from the snow as I brought the dish back over. The wire dropped snow as it was lifted, my augmented friend easily affixing the dish back into place, the happy sound of muffled music coming up from the windows below. Landing next to him, our breaths condensed into small clouds in the cool early-morning wasteland air, myself pausing for a moment before gently cuddling him in a light hug, brushing our cheeks together. We were happy, life was good, and we didn't have to worry about anything, anymore...
That is, until the mountain that held both our stables exploded.
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Well, that was an unexpected turn of events.
Also to the end and I can't wait to see how it ends
it's still a damn shame this fic doesn't get as much attention as it deserves