The Red Sun Rises: Homefront

by The Atlantean

31. On Sombra's Doorstep

“There’s only one explanation. That was Celestia’s first army. The blast from Sombra’s Gem should have incinerated them two years ago.” Crimson was shaking slightly, and not from the cold.

“But how? They’re dead,” Atlanta asked.

Jackson seemed quite thoughtful, stroking his stubble of a beard. “Fallout. That’s how.”

“Enlighten us, if you will.”

“In the Fallout games, many people were irradiated to an extreme extent when the nuclear apocalypse that caused the Wasteland occurred. They became ghouls. Feral ghouls, to be exact. Based on the fact that this army you speak of was hit by some kind of magical explosion with considerable power, the same thing happened to them. They are feral ghouls irradiated by magic.”

Rose Thorn shuddered. Her fear easily affected those around her, and soon, they all shivered. The giant bonfire next to them didn’t alleviate it at all.

It was going to be a long day. Jackson wanted to reach the northern edge of the Snowy Badlands and leave the cursed place before they spent more than four days in it. He assumed that each night would only bring more of the damned “Tundra Ghouls” (leave it to Atlanta to name shit) and take many of the ponies and humans needed to haul Sombra off his crystal throne. But at the same time, he knew a good spot for a fort would be the hill they defended the night before, referred by his troops as Tank Top Hill - dammit, Atlanta! As good a place as it was, he’d be damned if his protective checkpoint was to be called “Fort Tank Top.”

But his pleas were to no avail. The supply checkpoint had a name he couldn’t shake from the minds of his people. The Americans got to work piling earthen mounds and digging in with machine gun nests in the pentagon-shaped Fort Tank Top. The process would take a full month to do properly, leaving the ponies of the Domination, Atlantean, and Equestrian armies to move on. They appreciated the move, but hoped for a few tanks. Jackson remained adamant that United States technology should be used for the purposes he felt he’d be ordered to. Securing supply lines across a hostile magic-radiation tundra was the part he was willing to play.

“Could you at least supply us with ‘ray-dee-oh’ so we can remain in contact?” Atlanta asked as she and Jackson walked through the dust of shoveled dirt and sweat.

“I do believe your race has developed a magical equivalent, but I see your point. Without magic or radio, contact would take much longer. Alright, I concede this one time. Take this.” He handed her a walkie-talkie. “Press this button to talk, this one to listen.”

“I have hooves. I can’t without extreme difficulty.”

“Right. Just do your best. You should be fine.”

She nodded and pressed her hoof on the ‘talk’ button. “Testing.”

On the other end of the signal, Jackson took his own out and replied. “Hello, this is the American Army Hotline. Press One to call for supplies. Press Two for reinforcements.”

Atlanta practically recoiled from the unexpected response. “The hell?!” She looked up and saw Jackson on his knees laughing. A bunch of the guys digging up trenches were as well.

“That’s what you get for calling this ‘Tank Top Hill!’” the general wheezed when his uncontrolled humor moment ended. “Now you got my troops callin’ it that!” He gestured at the walkie-talkie. “Don’t worry, it works.”

Atlanta straightened and turned to go back to her tent.

----------------------

“It’s slower than those M-Ones, but it’ll do,” Flawless Ice, king of the Dominion of Apollo, commented. He was walking alongside Queen Atlanta as they led their armies behind the deployed Equestrians. Both of them knew that they only had about three months before a rift tore the Dominion’s ‘supercalculator’ into a million pieces spread across who knew how many worlds. Atlanta had her reservations about the thing, but figured that anything that worried her kingdom’s rival ought to do the same to her. Atlantis had been hit by several rifts itself within the past four weeks, taking out fuel depots, naval shipyards, and causing the quite mysterious disappearance of hundreds of ponies. From the… privileged experience of the Atlantean-Dominion War they had the patience to wait as their armies marched. Even if it was Flawless Ice’s father who led the Dominion, the former prince did have to deal with the frustrations.

Fort Tank Top was a good five miles behind them. The quiet night was something to behold, but it was immediately followed by a dawn attack by the Tundra Ghouls and a delayed march. Luckily, they hadn’t taken many losses. An American flag fluttered with low-altitude winds above the already-impressive fortifications. Even so, it was invisible against the dismal sky and distance to anything worth visiting. Tundra Ghoul corpses lay everywhere as if they respawned constantly.

Crimson and Captain Midnight Shadow walked among Midnight’s veteran 1st Manehattan, lead by Solar Flare, the Unicorn’s “exec.” The were on the center, with the old “Dazzleflash Rangers,” formed from the remnants of the First through Fifth Appleloosa Regiments and named for the late commander of the Fourth they were so proud to have served with on the left. Silver Comet’s 4th Manehattan was marching deployed to the right, led by Crystal Snow while the dusty-metallic Earth pony moved to intercept Crimson.

“What is it this time, Lieutenant?” the red Pegasus asked before Silver Comet had even reached him.

“Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you saw this.” Silver replied. He pulled out a photograph from one of his recon squads that had just returned. It was of Dragonspire Citadel, only seventy miles ahead. The massive walls rose to an excess of fifty feet and an interesting orange moat encircled the fortress. A tall archery tower covered every point in the place, and there were a ton of points. It didn’t just signify dominance; it portrayed in such a fashion as to ward off even consideration of an assault.

“What’s the moat made of?” Midnight asked. He too saw it peculiar that it be orange.

“We don’t know exactly. One of my guys got close enough for a sample and we’re still trying to identify the sh… stuff,” Silver said, catching himself for Rose Thorn’s benefit. “I personally think it’s molten rock. It did almost burn a hole straight through the sampling container.”

Crimson nodded and ordered them to quicken their pace. The 4th Manehattan was now the vanguard of the vanguard. If they could gain a foothold near the citadel, the rest of the army wouldn’t have to. The lieutenant saluted and was off to his regiment as quickly as he could.

------------------

“I feel something I haven’t felt since before my deployment to Manehattan,” Crystal Snow said thoughtfully.

“What?” Silver Comet practically blurted out.

“The gems for my empty crown. Sombra took them when he rose to power, but I can sense their presence. One pink, one blue, one yellow, and two violet. It’s… weak, but there.”

“Weak?”

“The sense. Their presence kinda has a feel, and it gets weaker the farther away I am. Wait - they’re saying something. Seventeen alicorns. One gem. Six hundred thousand. I don’t get it. That’s never happened.”

“Your crown crystals that I’ve never seen have never told you stuff? I wouldn’t believe them.”

They crested the hill ahead of their regiment to look upon the Crystal Empire. Lush green fields contrasted sharply with the icy wasteland around it, with a sprawling crystalline city dead center. Roads zigzagged throughout the city in a snowflake pattern. Off to the western side sat an enormous mirror that must’ve been at least a hundred meters wide and just as tall. It was supported by stone struts aiming it to reflect something in the direction of Equestria. But the place in their vision was not the Empire, nor the top of the Gem mine, not even the deepwater river port just barely seen over the horizon. It was Dragonspire Citadel, built to house, train, and support an obvious minimum of two hundred thousand effectives.

“The scouts weren’t lying. Holy shit that place is huge!” Silver exclaimed. He pulled a telescope out of his saddlepack and adjusted the focus. “I see a shit-ton of workers building a third inner wall. Gimme a sec… wait, there’s an honest-to-Harmony motherfucking alicorn working in there! Late-evening coat, violet mane and tail. Looks young as hell. Could you go tell the Colonel, Major Snow?”

“Sure.” The mare hurried back down the slope in a hard gallop to reach the slower main army before nightfall.

“I’ll be damned,” Silver murmured. He looked through the telescope for a few more minutes. Then a small puff of dirt reminded him that the Russians and Chinese could hit him with sniper rifles if he could see Dragonspire. He backed back down the hill and joined his regiment in setting up for the night. Guards were posted all around the perimeter in shifts while everypony else slept. They were so close to reaching the goal set for them by Princess Celestia. Hopefully, the armies would not fail her.

Author's Note:

Feedback appreciated, like always.

Comments

[Bluecatcinema]

This is going to be one major rumble...

[Fireheart 1945]

Well, that's going to be difficult.

And won't the Gem have the same zombie effect in the other places it was fired...?