Backwater Station
“We've slowed down,” Applejack murmured. “Does that mean we’re close?”
Twilight blinked rapidly, shedding the last vestiges of drowsiness from her being. She then reached out with her mind and felt the surrounding area, searching for other creatures. What she found were a great number of ponies, as well as a good mix of other races, though they were in the minority.
“It seems so,” Twilight muttered.
“We’re moseying through Little Havana right now,” remarked the marine across from them, the male rolling a cigar around in his mouth. “Quaint little town, with a nice bar, but it ain't our final destination.”
Twilight peered a little closer at the grizzled soldier, noting that he had several facial scars. The more obvious of which were a pair of scratches over one eye, though there were other signs of battle all across his face. Among these features were his bright blue fur and deep green eyes that appraised Twilight critically.
His armor also bore a large white lock painted on his chest, while his shoulders were adorned with other images. On his left were the numbers four, three, and five in sequence, contrasting with the salaciously posed mare on his other pauldron. The male was also quite large, but still a full head shorter than Twilight and missing about fifty pounds on the infested, even with his armor.
“You’re one of the prisoners, aren't you?” Twilight exclaimed, gesturing to the symbol on his chest.
The stallion rolled the cigar to the other side of his mouth and released a puff of black smoke. “Does it look like I’m someone’s prisoner here, missy?”
We should remove his tongue for taking such a disrespectful tone, Zecora declared, hissing angrily at the stallion across from her.
“Someone doesn't appreciate honesty,” remarked the male.
Twilight waved a hoof and dismissed the tension which had built up in the back of the vehicle.
“It's fine. Did they say how long it is until we arrive at this Backwater Station place?” Twilight asked.
“Ten minutes, give or take,” exclaimed the male, who leaned forward suddenly and shot Applejack a sly smirk. “The name's Quick Buck, by the way, but you can just call me Buck.”
“Err, I’m Applejack,” murmured the hydralisk weerily.
“Applejack, eh?” Quick Buck mused aloud. “Ran with an Apple a few years back. Stand up guy, even if he refused to drink anything that wasn't cider. What about you? Got a drink of choice?”
“Uh, water?” Applejack replied. “Why do you ask?”
Twilight chuckled and leaned in close. “He's hitting on you.”
Immediately the infested farmer’s face lit up, and she hid behind her scythe arms. “Why would he do that?” blubbered the baffled hybrid.
“‘Cause I like a challenge,” Quick Buck exclaimed, puffing from his cigar. “Figured I’d slayed enough of them hydrawhatsits, thought I might try laying one.”
Zecora lurched forward, toxic spittle spilling from her maw, a furious rejection on her lips. She would never partake in the flesh of one so barbaric as you!
“Woah there. I don't know what in the Sam Hill you're saying, but keep them creepy tentacles away from me, lady!” Quick Buck shouted, a hoof going to the butt of his weapon.
“Relax,” Twilight exclaimed, gently but firmly pulling Zecora back into her seat. “He's just trying to get a rise out of us.”
“I’m as dead serious as my late father,” Quick Buck retorted. “Harmony rest his soul.”
Applejack leaned in close and whispered into Twilight's ear, “Am I having a stroke?”
Twilight chuckled. “No, but I’m pretty sure Zecora is about to have one.”
It is this simpleton which will perish this day! Zecora retorted.
“Calm yourself, we-” Twilight's exclamation was cut off when the radio sparked to life.
“We’re reaching the drop-off point now. No hostiles expected,” barked the masculine voice.
“Right,” Twilight began, rising from her seat. “You two stay here and wait for my signal. I don't expect trouble.”
Please tell me Buck here is going to remain in my company, Zecora half asked, half stated, her poison glands working so hard that Twilight could hear the noxious fluid sloshing around.
“Do play nice,” Twilight exclaimed with a small smile.
“We’ll be fine… I think,” Applejack murmured in a clearly still confused tone.
Twilight smirked to herself and walked to the back of the armored personnel carrier just as it slowed to a stop. Upon losing all momentum, the vehicle dropped its ramp, allowing Twilight to trot out into town. Only to find herself in a back alley, one guarded by the other two vehicles the rest of the squads were using for transport.
Jetstream stood at the entrance to the narrow alley between two large, metal buildings. The mare wore a simple camouflage jacket and pants that bore the confederate insignia, her rank, as well as a large pistol. In her hoof was a jacket of some kind, one bearing Twilight Sparkle’s full name on its front on a pin.
“Here,” offered Jetstream. “Put this on.”
“What's this?” Twilight asked, gesturing to the cloth hanging from the other mare’s unarmored hoof.
“Just put it on please. The folk around here are jumpy enough as is, and I wanna eliminate any potential friendly fire incidents before they happen,” Jetstream replied.
Twilight nodded slowly before using her magic to grab the light jacket and tossing it over her shoulders. After slipping her forelegs through the holes, Twilight flexed her body and was surprised to find that the clothing didn't rip.
“Not bad,” Twilight remarked.
“Come on, let's get going,” Jetstream urged. “I think your friends are safe and out of sight here, but I don't want to push my luck.”
Twilight gave her infested friends a nod before turning back and walking alongside Jetstream as she trotted out of the alleyway. Now bathed in the light of the moon, Twilight noticed that the streets were almost completely bare. Few had the courage to tread them, and even fewer did so with anything less than barely contained panic.
A minotaur hurried into a home with several plastic bags hanging from her arm. A pair of griffons tugged a half broken down market stall into their home, too paranoid to finish the job of disassembling the thing. Down the street several guards were standing near an intersection, their eyes flickering this way and that with incredible speed.
“What's gotten everyone so jumpy?” Twilight asked.
“Zerg attacks, if you can believe it,” Jetstream replied.
The pair trotted out into the main thoroughfare, their security detail of four marines falling in behind them. Twilight paid them no mind and instead inspected the large metal buildings that surrounded them on either side. They were made of the same cheap metal as most confederate buildings, though these at least had a bit of charm to them.
Adorned with signs marking businesses or important points like the local constabulary, it had a lived-in feel. Unlike most towns which seemed to be nothing more than prefab structures raised in a hurry and with little thought put into construction. Here at least they had been around long enough to receive some kind of customization and decoration.
That didn't change the fact that the homes and businesses themselves were ugly, boxy affairs not built with aesthetics in mind. Worse still, they were tall, so much so that they loomed over the street, making the shadows even deeper. None were larger than the structure in front of them though, which rose above them all with ease.
At the center of town was this strange construction which almost looked like a watchtower in its design. The town hall almost resembled that of Ponyville, but only in passing as it was much larger and made almost completely from metal. Its many rooms were seemingly all occupied as light were visible in each of its dozens of grate-covered windows.
“Apparently they sneak right into town sometimes and make off with supplies,” Jetstream continued. “Injuries have been few, but that almost makes things worse.”
Twilight blinked, tearing her gaze from the structure before them. “And why would you say that?”
“Simple,” Jetstream replied. “Because then we’d know what they wanted. If you ask me, the whole dang story sounds like a cover up for a smuggling operation. I mea,n come on, who's heard of zerg stealing food or cleaning out a general store?”
“It certainly does seem a bit far-fetched,” Twilight admitted.
“Hopefully the local magistrate will have a better clue as to what's going on around here,” Jetstream continued. “Speaking of which. Can you pick up anything useful with yer, uh, senses?”
Twilight gritted her teeth and shook her head. “I’m afraid not. It's like there's some kind of fog lying over the whole place. Makes using my powers to search the minds of others a bit more difficult.”
“Well, do your best,” Jetstream exclaimed. “Any clues you could gather would be a godsend, as something tells me this magistrate fellow ain't exactly going to be much help.”
Twilight grunted her affirmation but said nothing, her attention already focused elsewhere. Namely on her surroundings and all the many people she could detect with her mind. Though that seemed to be about the only thing she could do, as delving into the thoughts of anyone in particular was strangely difficult.
Twilight mentally latched onto a small child peeking out from a second story balcony and tried to dig for something as simple as their name. Only to meet a strangely hazey brick wall, her attempts stymied by a flurry of conflicting signals that together left Twilight baffled. All Twilight came back with was a general feeling of unease and paranoia, though it was mostly directionless.
The infested immediately checked her connection with the rest of her squad and was relieved to feel that they remained strong.
My queen? inquired Zecora.
It's nothing, Twilight was quick to reply. There is a fog hanging over everything. It's making it difficult to read the minds of others.
But not ours, Zecora reasoned.
I don't know, Applejack chimed in. I can certainly feel something off. I just can't put my hoof on it.
Stay on your guard. Something is amiss here, Twilight cautioned.
She then pulled back into her own mind and focused on the physical world once more. Upon doing so, she realized that they were nearing the town hall, but still had a few more blocks to go. Giving the infested enough time to seek out and mentally prod at the various creatures that she could detect in her area.
Again, most were ponies, though there were a few outliers. Not a single zerg was detected, nor were there any infested, or at least none that Twilight could pick out from the fog. Which was making things increasingly annoying to the infested mare, who found herself feeling oddly exposed.
I suppose I’ll just have to rely on my wit, Twilight thought to herself before turning to Jetstream. “What do we know about the magistrate?”
“He's a minotaur named Long Haul,” Jetstream replied. “Was at one point the owner of a few mines in the area and managed to trade them to the confederacy in return for his current job.”
“I thought there was no private property in the confederacy. How did he manage such a deal?” Twilight pressed.
Jetstream shrugged. “There isn’t, but early on a couple of mine owners had gotten together and were mounting a resistance. They called themselves the something combine. Didn't last long, given the confederacy’s technological superiority, but some folks on high were worried that he might raise a stink or join them.”
“So the confederates get a potentially corrupt official in return for not having to deal with any potential resistance,” Twilight exclaimed, glancing over to where a speeder bike was parked next to the town hall entrance. “Not the worst trade-off in the world. Though I would have simply crushed him and taken what I wanted.”
“Well, not all of us are interested in unnecessary violence,” Jetstream retorted before coming to a stop. “We’re here.”
Twilight grunted, standing aside while Jetstream pushed her way into the large town hall. Wherein she saw numerous creatures milling about, each one hastily avoiding Twilight’s gaze. So obvious was their discomfort that Twilight was immediately able to tell that they had been watching her from the window. Though Twilight felt as though they knew she was infested, she couldn't be sure, as the mental fog was present inside as well.
Ahead was a long slab of metal that a pair of minotaurs were using as a desk. The one on the right wore a dress and was typing at a computer while the slightly smaller of the two was filing his nails. This second minotaur perked up upon Jetstream reaching the desk and elbowed his companion, causing her to glance lazily over at the soldier.
“Your the boss’ eleven o’clock, right?” asked the male.
“Fairly certain,” Jetstream replied. “Unless he's meeting with another task force.”
“I’ll buzz you through,” exclaimed the male.
His hand was stopped a second before it could reach its target, intercepted by his partner grabbing his wrist.
“Hold on a second,” she remarked. “We gotta ID everyone, remember? No exceptions.”
“Err, right,” the male muttered. “Do you have some kind of identification, miss?”
“Jetstream, and not on me. Though I can tell you that I am authorized to shoot anyone who I think might be trying to impede my investigation,” Jetstream declared.
Now who's uninterested in resorting to violence? Twilight thought to herself.
The male sitting across from Jetstream began to sweat while his partner continued to glare balefully at the annoyed soldier. It seemed like the stalemate was going to last forever, unless Twilight stepped in and broke it up. Only for someone to do it for her, as the large oak door behind the pair of minotaurs opened suddenly.
“And you can take your assertions and shove them where the sun doesn't shine!” shouted a well built and partially armored pegasus.
“You will get back here this instant, Free Flier, or so help me I will strip you of your position!” snarled a large, slightly overweight minotaur dressed in an ill-fitting suit.
“You can court marshal my ass for all I care. Folk need help out there, and if you ain't gonna be the one to give it to ‘em, I will be,” declared the pegasus before flying out of the building in a flash.
Twilight only got a second to inspect the pony before she vanished, but what she saw intrigued the infested. Free Flier wore the lightly armored jumpsuit of a marshal, her heavy leather clothing reinforced with plates sewn into the fabric at key points. Her fur was a gun metal grey, and her eyes were twin beacons of intense blue, resembling a pair of white hot flames. The black mane she had was short, so much so in fact that she likely would have been mistaken for a stallion. That was of course, if she didn't have a certain rustic charm that Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but appreciate.
A few seconds after she vanished, an engine revved to life, and the sound of a speeder could be heard peeling out down the street.
“Damn it, Free. Why must you always rock the boat?” muttered the well-dressed minotaur Twilight had seen a moment earlier.
“Problem with one of your marshals, Long Haul?” Jetstream asked.
“Nothing I can't deal with, miss,” the minotaur’s eyes narrowed. “Jetstream, was it?”
“And this is my… assistant,” Jetstream exclaimed. “Twilight Sparkle.”
“Hot damn if you ain't a big mare,” Long Haul exclaimed. “Wait a second, I was warned about you. Aren't you one of them inf-”
“Let's continue this conversation somewhere private,” Jetstream interrupted, gesturing towards the office he had just come out of.
Long Haul glanced to his two receptionists, and then to the nearly dozen other creatures all looking at him curiously.
“Right. Don't want to start a panic and all that. Business is bad enough as is,” Long Haul muttered.
Jetstream nodded to her guards, then to Twilight before trotting through the large doors and into the office beyond. The infested mare hesitated a second before following, now painfully aware of the paranoia directed her way. She noted that one of the town guards eyed the exit rather intensely, while his minotaur partner had a hand on his pistol.
Twilight knew that they weren't a true threat, given her own strength and their relative lack thereof. But fighting them would mean that Twilight had failed in her mission, and failure was not an option. She also knew that there was a good chance that she could simply talk them down, but that doing so wasn't necessary.
At least not yet, anyway.
“What was that all about?” Twilight asked as she stepped into the room, and gestured back towards the exit. “Seemed like quite the argument.”
“That was just Flier being a pain in my ass again,” Long Haul declared, the minotaur dropping his bulk into an extra wide chair. “She thinks that there is some kind of queen zerg hiding in the hills. Which is nonsense. The daughters might be up there, and maybe a few opportunistic smugglers, but a queen? We’d know if that was the case.”
“It's not impossible,” Twilight remarked.
The minotaur snorted and leaned back, lighting a cigar as he spoke, “The zerg are simple creatures. They crush, they kill, and they destroy when given the chance. And trust me, they have been given that chance.”
Twilight bit her tongue and glanced expectantly at Jetstream, who cleared her throat and stepped forward.
“If our expert believes it's a possibility, then it is one,” offered the soldier. “I would not be so quick to dismiss the word of your subordinates.”
Long Haul rolled the cigar to the other side of his mouth and inhaled slowly. He then exhaled while running a hand over his hornless, mostly bald head.
“If you insist,” he replied after a long pause.
“I do,” Twilight declared. “These people are afraid of something more terrible than bandits or opportunists looking to make off with a few misplaced supplies.”
“Respectfully, these people don't know a goddamn thing,” Long Haul shot back with an irritable grunt. “The most educated of the bunch is that agronomist from Canterlot, and she doesn't have a head for anything that ain't a plant.”
“People might be easily frightened, but they still need something to spook them in the first place,” Jetstream retorted. “It can't have come from nowhere.”
Long Haul snorted derisively. “They got long memories, is all. There hasn't been a zerg attack in this area for months. The patrols always come back unharmed, and we haven't had a death that wasn't natural in nearly a year.”
“Then why did Free mention that people were dying?” Jetstream inquired.
“Because she's an idiot,” Long Haul declared with a scowl. “That featherbrain thinks that a missing farmer got eaten by a zerg. The old coot probably just got drunk again and wandered off somewhere. We’ll find him passed out in a ditch by tomorrow night. I guarantee it.”
“You sound awfully confident for someone shutting down a potential search party before it could even form,” Twilight pointed out.
“Go on, look then!” shouted Long Haul. “See if I care.”
“I think we got off on the wrong hoof,” Jetstream exclaimed, stepping between Twilight and Long Haul. “Just tell us everything you know about these disturbances so we can both get back to our real jobs.”
Long Haul snorted. “I already told your boss every bit of info I gathered. There ain't nothing left but rumours. Unless you need to know what the cafeteria is serving tonight?”
Twilight ignored the banter and focused on the minotaur, using her powers to try and gleam some unspoken information. What she found was a predictable lack of anything important, the fog hanging heavy over his mind. All Twilight could pick up on was that the magistrate was more irritated than he let on, and that he desperately wanted them both to leave.
“What are you doing staring at me like that?” Long Haul exclaimed suddenly. “You aren't trying to get in my head, are you?”
Twilight snorted. “Not like you’d even notice. You got so little going on between the ears that it would only take a few seconds.”
“Twilight,” Jetstream hissed. “Let's not be too antagonistic now.”
“Yes, listen to your handler, freak,” Long Haul spat.
“You're hiding something,” Twilight accused, pointing to the minotaur with a hoof. “That much is obvious. Now are you going to tell us what that thing is, or do we have to extract that information through other means?”
“I am not hiding anything! How dare you accuse me of such!” Long Haul shouted.
“Twilight, outside, now!” Jetstream yelled.
Twilight gritted her teeth. “You're lucky someone’s looking out for you. Otherwise I would have simply ripped what I needed from your worthless, empty cranium.”
The infested then teleported out of the building, cutting off any retort the minotaur might have tried to make. Now outside the hall, Twilight breathed deeply, relishing the relatively fresh air and using it to clear her mind. Once her anger was gone, and she had purged the last of her irritation, she decided to shift focus to something more productive.
“Right. Let's go find where this Free Flier person ended up,” Twilight muttered.
The infested lit her horn and was about to cast a quick scrying spell, only for a splotch of black to catch her eye. Glancing down, the pony noticed that were was a small splatter of oil on the ground. It was accompanied by several others, all of which led towards the outskirts of town.
“Well, that was easy,” Twilight remarked to herself. “Let's get a second opinion.”
If you want to read the next updates for my biggest stories at the begining of the month rather at the end, or want to get a commission from me as well as access to patreon exclusive content, and the chance to submit story requests every month, head over to my patreon!
Join me over on patreon and get instant access to exclusive content and early looks at new stories, patreon only stories and other great stuff! Check it out!
Or just join the discord to ensure that you dont miss an update.
This update was made possible by the wonderful support of readers like you: Ech, Tailsic, Chrisb32, Nightwing, Tonoz, CoreyPeters, Thane, Renegade, Sunset Flash, Kyokimute, Monsterkittie, Louts Petals, Tacocat, Tom, MestreJ, Aang Slyver, Canary in the Coal Mine, Ceepert, Starless, Vi Watch, Facinus, M, Nfreak, Venerable Ro, Blade Tech, Cryil Shadeclaw, John Gonzales, Nightwing, Peter Coulthard, Srgtartman, Thane Kull, Victor, Dale, Dragons' Sheppard, Egery007, Gear change the earth pony, Ivar, James, Kali, Lich Lord Krosis, Menthol Qtip, Midnight Serenade, Mop Hop, Nathan Brown, Octavia Lowbar, Pacsik, Soundtea, Hannibal, Fiamgoku, Grub, Matias Duran, and Steven.
Stats
Page generated in 0.044 seconds
Total duration
678 users online
985,812 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I have a feeling that Free Flier is the pony version of Jim Raynor. This will be interesting...
I am calling it now Long Haul is going to be a migraine to deal with, And i got no idea if he is good or bad he can go both ways
i love how Twilight has no time for his garbage.
And this is why there's so much porn on the Internet
11192402
Would you?
11192403
Actually believable
Those that take orders from someone who is not quite a Zerg
Interesting, so whatever is going on here isn't just something like a Psi-Disrupter
So we have Free Flier and Quick Buck. I bet those two go way back. Let's hope Applejack and Zecora can put up with the scoundrel long enough for Twilight to finish her investigation.
And let's hope Quick Buck's fate is kinder than what happened with his SC2 counterpart...maybe...
What the heck, I'll ship it
That do seem quite odd
Jim, that you?
What the heck, I'll ship it
If you can't leave it, love it.
And both apply to me
11192454
no, but I've read allot of stories that have 'i have to deal with this garbage' as a plot point to a new area. Granted that i didn't expect to have Jest do that in the story, but its always nice to see a character remember that they actually have things to do instead of listing to an idiot.
11192765
Touche
Question is, is he hiding something or being forced to do so. Sounds like a permeating low-level mind control spell.
We need more ways of telling the reader of character's verbal output. The word "exclaim" is extremely popular for some reason...
When will the next chapter come out? Also, awesome chapter dude and i hope you continue writing for this story!!!!
11216266
Until its done, and it updates at the end of every month.
Was this ever established in-story?
there isn't anything in there to begin with