Resident Pon-Evil (Mission II) - Operation: Phoenix Fire

by Delta 727

Level 9: New Appleoosa

Harmony's Elements and Nova Team have escaped the now ruined Manehattan. Many escaped with only cuts and bruises, while others were not as lucky, as they left with more severe injuries, including TrailBlaze's broken wing. With another mission coming their way, Chainlink is becoming restless, as he is still recovering from the once thought failed mission at Manehattan. Now on their way to the very outskirts of Equestria, their new mission is a little more "old fashioned", as Marigold is soon ecstatic to discover, and as a member of the team finds a lost link from their past long thought gone. Or more so, dead.

*Begin Transmission*

"Welcome back, team," Cherry greeted the Elements and Nova Team in the briefing room. "I understand you have your grudges from the failure of our last mission, but all in all, it was a success." Chainlink grunted, and Cherry disregardingly adjusted her bifocals. "Your new mission will be taking you into the farthest reaches of Equestria." She tapped the presentation screen with one hoof, and a map appeared. The new location was smaller than Manehattan, about the size of a village, with mostly square buildings lined up in two rows down a central street.

"Sweet sister of saloons!" Marigold shouted, jumping up from the table as the others glanced with wary eyes. "Ah know that ol' place!"

"We're sure you do, Marigold," Cherry said. "New Appleoosa."

"Wait... New Appleoosa...?" X-Ray asked. "What became of... The first Appleoosa...?"

Marigold's cheery nature dropped, and she gave a solemn glance at X-Ray. "Ol' Appleoosa was knocked to the ground. Some filly-foolin' militia tore it down fer supplies. Raided it like a starvin' pony to a feed bag."

"Correct," Cherry continued. "New Appleoosa was built several miles south of Manehattan to return the citizens held there, and had been fortified into just short of a military outpost."

"Ah'm sure we won' have to break in this time?" Marigold chuckled. "A few o' the cattle-wranglers around jus' might know me."

"I'm with ya on that one!" Dingo chimed in from next to Marigold. "I might not be the Western type, but meeting a few ponies like us can't hurt."

" 'At's what ah like ta hear!" Marigold patted him on the back. "Good ta see somepony open ta th' Country life! Home, sweet home!"

"Yeah. That's until it's overrun by Infected," Blade said from the end of the table.

"Or blown up again..." Chainlink murmured. Marigold and Dingo immediately went silent.

"Now, if you are done with your opinions, there will be a change in transportation. You will not be traveling by air to New Appleoosa. Severe weather patterns in the area between here and there have prevented flight."

"Then how will we get there?" Socket asked.

"The only way we've got left," Cell answered. "By land."

"You will travel on land in an armored transport propelled by a Pegasi team, and a few guards stationed aboard. It will be risky by land, for we do not know what the Infected are capable of-"

"Stumbling and moaning," Chaos murmured.

Cherry ignored the comment and continued. "-but no problems should arise during your travel. Your mission is to attempt to trade with the citizens of the area. They require your assistance in defenses, medicine, and various other things that you all fit in the category of. In return, they will be giving us much needed technology."

"Will any of it be able to fix TrailBlaze's wing?" Itzel asked.

"Unfortunately, no. They are short on medical supplies as it is. Once the deal has been made, and the technology is in our hooves, you will complete your half of the deal, and return here, where our engineers will relieve you of it, and you will be debriefed. Are there any questions?" Silence. "Excellent. Get moving to the hangar, and good luck."

The teams stood up from the tables and began to leave before Chainlink stopped in the doorway.

"You owe me a new Riot Gun," he said, and slammed the door behind him.

---

The elevator descended down through the base, and landed in the lower hangar. Chaos stepped off first, followed by Nova Team and Harmony's Elements, with Chainlink at the back. A large, metal transport similar to the aerial transit stood in the middle of the hangar. But instead of a loose transit, it was much larger, able to fit the team and seemingly twenty more, with studded tread wheels at the base, about four armed stallions aboard the top, and the four Pegasi attached to the four top corners.

"Is this supposed to be our transport, or a tank?" Socket asked, eyeing the mobile armor.

Chaos trotted past the side of the transport to the main door, and began to enter a code in the keypad. "I hope you and your team can handle the weight," He said to an armored mare at the front-right corner. "This plus that armor seems a little much."

"Aw, you almost sound worried, Chaos," Bolt said in a robotic voice through her armor. "Sure you can handle hours of being crammed in it?"

"Depends which one you mean," Chaos said back, and Bold gave him a playful shove with her hoof.

The front hatch opened, and the team entered, Chaos at the front, Nova Team in the center, and Harmony's Elements at the back, which still left several feet in front of them from the hatch. Bolt closed the front hatch, and signaled for the other Pegasi to take off. They hovered up into the air, and began to pull forward. The treaded wheels began to turn, and the transport moved off toward New Appleoosa.

"So how's it feel to be on your way home again, Marigold?" Dingo asked across from the golden, riot-armored mare.

"Oh, it ain't mah home. Just an ol' place ah loved to travel to as ah filly. Th' old Appleoosa was Venus's home. Ah hate that she ain't here to see it today." She looked down, a flash of sadness in her eyes, and raised her head back up with a look of amused determination. "But she's watchin' it from above our frettin' little heads, an' it's gonna be great to go back to where ah met 'er."

"New Appleoosa... Was where I had lived for... Many years..." X-Ray said from next to Dingo.

"Really?" Marigold asked. "Ah never saw ya as th' Western type."

"It was never... My permanent home... I had lived there once when I was... Only a colt... And where Harrow drafted me... Into the Corporation..."

"They took you in as only a colt?" Blade asked, a slight hint of anger in his voice.

"It was... My birthday... And the day I was old enough to be..." X-Ray ducked his head. Chainlink chuckled. "Is there... Something funny, Chainlink...?"

"I know what that's like. Thought I was the only one." Chainlink laughed again. "My old stallion nearly shot 'em, if my mom hadn't jumped in the way. He was taken down for murder, by me, to be exact."

"He shot her!?" TrailBlaze gasped from her pack.

"Sure did. I hated both of them anyway. First day they showed me they actually cared. Probably 'cause they wanted to slap me around s'more. So I dragged him off with us, and Harrow said they need more ponies like me. Don't care who they are, just take 'em down if they're the problem." He glanced up, and a few were giving wary looks. He gave a silent chuckle. "Now don't get all worried. That was in Harrow. I ain't gonna betray this team like I did them." He looked back away. "Jeez, you act like I was gonna blow you up or something."

"Betrayl isn't exactly the the most comfortable topic around here. You almost blew me up already," Blade answered.

"Pressure. Plate," Chainlink clarified, and the team all except for X-Ray gave a short laugh. Bolt's voice came over the radio.

"How you guys doing in there? Need some air?"

Chaos pressed a button on the inner wall just below a speaker. "We're doing fine. Just defusing the bomb squad." The team laughed again.

Bolt paused. "Uh, whatever you say? We'll arrive in three hours. Try not to kill each other, kiddies."

"Yes, Mom!" Dingo shouted from the center of the team, and they laughed even harder.

"Don't tempt me, weasel-colt! I'll come in there and beat you like it!" The team laughed even harder, all except for Chainlink and still X-Ray, and the laughter died down as they all noticed.

Chaos pressed the button again. "See you in three hours. Chaos out." He clicked off the radio.

"Well, ah don' know 'bout y'all, but ah'm gonna get some sleep." Marigold spread herself across the bench, and curled up. "If any of y'all wake me 'fore we get there, ah'll hang ya." With a small chuckle, she drifted off.

"That means... You, Dingo..." X-Ray murmured half-heartedly. Dingo chuckled.

"Well, he's tryin' for humor. He'll get there."

"Uh, guys?" Bolt came back on the radio.

Chaos answered. "Here. What's wrong?"

"Command just came on the radio. We've got a problem."

"That doesn't sound good..." Socket murmured.

"What is it?" Chaos asked, and Bolt didn't respond. "Bolt, out with it."

"Uhh..." Bolt paused. "New Appleoosa... Was overrun by Harrow's SpecOps almost a month ago." Bolt flinched as a loud bang sounded and the transit tipped slightly as Chainlink slammed his hoof into the wall, cursing aloud.

---

A buzz sounded over the speaker inside the transit, and a red light clicked on. Marigold flinched and awoke at the buzz.

"Unh," she groaned. "Wha?"

"We're here," Chaos said.

The transit came to a stop, and Bolt pressed a few buttons on the keypad, opening the hatch. "Welcome to New Castle-Loosa." New Appleoosa had resembled a large, metal-plated fortress. The once bare city was surrounded by a seemingly professional wall of steel plating and scrap. Two spotlight towers stood on either side of a large, two-section plate door, and two guards stood out front. Chaos stepped forward.

"Be careful with them. They might try something funny."

"Yeah," Chainlink agreed sarcastically. "Like hold us for ransom bits."

Chaos began to step forward, but Chainlink shouldered past. "I'll take care of the guards."

"Whatever you do, don't kill them," Chaos warned. Chainlink gave a passive nod. He trotted up to the first guard.

"State your business," The guard said as the rest of Chainlink's team met up a few feet behind him.

"I'm sure you know bucking well why we're here. Now let us in," Chainlink stared down the SpecOps guard with a look of fire through his goggles, but the guard didn't flinch, and repeated his question. "I swear, if you ask me that one more time before you decide to 'politely' open the gate, I'll shove that rifle of yours where it doesn't belong. Now open the door before you find out who the hoof you're dealing with."

"State. Your-" The guard was cut off as Chainlink swept his front leg under the guard's front hooves, knocking him to the ground as he pinned him and his gun to the dirt. The second guard tried to retaliate, but Blade had already charged him, slamming the guard into the wall with Blade's knife at his throat. The two spotlights flashed on above.

"What's going on down there!" An agitated mare shouted down. Her voice became more urgent as she shouted, "Intruders! Open fire!" Several clicking and chinking noises came from behind the wall, as several squads of SpecOps aimed down their guns, and Nova Team and Harmony's Elements drew their own, all except for Marigold.

"Hold on, y'all! Don'cha recognize me? It's me, Marigold! Now how 'bout y'all let us i-" She was cut off as a single shot ricoched off the ground near her hoof, and she flinched back. "Hey! We're on yer side!"

"Take another step, and we'll blow your head off!" The mare shouted from above.

"I don't think they recognize you, Marigold," Cell said, aiming her gun toward the shot. "Stand back." Marigold gave a reluctant snort, and slowly backed away.

"Release our guards!" The mare demanded. Chainlink looked down at the guard under his armored hooves, and pulled them off slowly, giving the guard one final kick in the neck to get his point across. Blade glanced back, and looked forward to his hostaged guard. He gave the guard a curt shove away from his knife, and returned to his team. "Now drop your weapons!"

"Alright," Dingo yelled up. "Now you're pushin' it!"

"Lay them down, before we lay you down!" Dingo groaned, and the team all dropped their weapons. "All of them!" Blade rolled his eyes under his mask, and threw down his knife.

"There! Now what do you want? A pedicure!?" Chainlink yelled up, but the mare didn't respond. "I said, what do you want!?"

The mare didn't respond, but a stallion yelled down, "Send forward the one with the goggles and respirator!" The team all glanced at X-Ray, whose goggled gaze remained on the top of the wall. He stepped forward through the team, and trotted out into the open as the spotlights shined down on him. The stallion trotted forward to the edge of the wall, and murmured something. He jumped from the wall, and seemed to be attempting suicide. Before he hit the bottom, he spread a set of armored wings from his back, and glided down to the ground. His hooves hit the ground, and he skidded through the dirt, leaving a cloud of dust behind him, and stopping right in front of X-Ray.

The stallion was wearing a light armor suit with a black helmet over his head, and two broken goggle lenses. "Take off your mask." X-Ray hesitated, but calmly removed his goggles and suit from off his head, but kept his mask on, revealing his grey color, green mane, and blue eyes. The stallion chuckled. "I knew it was you." He took off his own helmet. He was a darker shade of grey, with a yellow-green mane, and blueberry eyes. "Remember me, X-Ray?"

"He knows you!?" Blade and Chainlink said, and Marigold saying "He knows ya?" at the exact same time in her Southern accent.

X-Ray looked back and said, "Yes... He does... His name is Lens Cap..." He turned his gaze back to the stallion and said, "Pleasant to see you too... Brother..."

---

"Sometimes we wonder why we have families. That's when they come back and show you when you need them most of all." - Delta 727

*Transmission Ended*