Fallout Equestria: Blue Destiny

by MagnetBolt

Chapter 99: The Devil's Spear

I folded my hooves and felt the skywagon rock under me as we flew. It was, like most things on the Juniper, just a little more comfortable and ornate than the same thing anywhere else in the Enclave. The seats were upholstered and soft and somepony had taken the time to paint and polish everything.

“So what kind of trouble are we flying into?” I asked quietly, looking up at Destiny. She hovered next to me. We’d ditched my dress and her shroud in favor of more practical clothing. A Thunderhead uniform, in my case. It was probably what I was expected to wear, and nopony had complained about it yet.

“How should I know?” she asked, giving a ghostly shrug.

“You built the ship,” I reminded her. “You sold it to somepony, right? Like all the others?”

“The Exodus Red was funded by a kind of corporate conglomerate,” Destiny explained. “They weren’t demanding clients. Very friendly, tried to make everypony feel like we were on the same team. They paid well and on time and didn’t make a lot of special requests. More importantly, they helped make sure we had all the materials and expertise we needed for all the Arks, not just their own.”

“So they were sort of… partners with Braytech?” I asked. “How many partners did you need?”

“Sort of. It was a little creepy sometimes. Back in those days, corporations were buying each other, merging together, it all got hard to keep track of. The consortium I worked with had companies come together under the same umbrella but let them keep their employees and identity. They didn’t really merge so much as come together to resist being taken over.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” I mumbled. “Better than my first guess that you sold it to war criminals and mad scientists.”

“All the mad scientists were on the Exodus Blue, remember?” Destiny scoffed. “I will say one thing about whoever’s in charge over there - all that glitz and glitter was not on the plans. Ornamentation like that just weighs a ship down. It’s not useful for survival!”

“It’s good for morale,” Polar Orbit explained, butting into our conversation from where he sat in the transport. “Ponies want to be part of something bigger and greater than they are by themselves. You don’t make a throne to be a comfortable seat, you make it so ponies can understand they’re speaking to somepony important.”

“The ship did that just fine on its own,” Destiny countered.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Polar Orbit said calmly. “It’s been centuries. You can’t blame ponies for wanting to create great works for somepony they see as their leader and savior.”

“Speaking of which, you must know who’s in charge,” I said. “She’s your boss, right?”

“She is indeed,” Polar Orbit confirmed. “She’s a good friend, and has many friends in high places herself.”

“What’s the name of this good friend?” I asked.

“You’ll meet her soon enough,” he said. “She’ll prefer to make introductions on her own. I believe she might even make you a job offer!”

“That hasn’t really worked out great for me in the past,” I said. “I think almost every pony that’s tried to hire me has also almost immediately betrayed me after using me like a big stupid hammer.”

“Yes, it’s unfortunate,” Polar Orbit agreed as if he hadn’t done that himself when he sent me to Winterhoof. “That’s because they didn’t understand the value of friendship. We can achieve so much more together than we can if we’re just fighting over scraps, wouldn’t you agree?”

“It’s not as bad as you think,” Cube said, speaking up for the first time in a little while. She’d looked distracted for a while, deep in thought. “If things work out, we can be a team! We worked well together before.”

“I guess,” I conceded. What I remembered most was her killing ponies that didn’t have to die. The skywagon shook with turbulence. I braced myself just in time for the wheels to touch down. It was a long, gentle landing, ensuring that the ponies onboard weren’t shaken up or tossed around by a sudden stop.

It was VIP treatment and I felt out of place in almost the same way I had in a ship full of vampires. I’d gotten a recruitment speech already and I could tell Cube did want to work with me, but that didn’t mean anything if they weren’t in charge.

Destiny hadn’t had anything bad to say about the ponies in charge aside from their sense of style, but still… I couldn’t forget the way Polar Orbit had buried an entire town alive just to contain a plague. Maybe it had been practical, but it had also been cruel to the survivors. What else could he justify?

The doors opened, and Polar Orbit led us outside into the expansive landing deck of the Exodus Red. It was, literally, large enough for the entire Juniper to dock within its walls, but we’d been shuttled over instead.

“I know you’re going to ask,” Polar Orbit said. “And yes, this is where my ship goes for repairs and resupply. It was stored here before the war ended, and thus survived your Enclave trimming down supply lines.”

I nodded. It didn’t explain everything, but it explained one thing and I wasn’t going to be greedy. Another skywagon set down next to us, and Tetra stomped out before the doors were even fully open. A few other well-dressed ponies from Thunderhead followed, with Quattro bringing up the rear. She gave me a quick nod, but before I could understand what that might mean, a blast of wind almost knocked me over.

A Vertibuck swung inside, ending any conversation with the roar of its rotors. It landed hard and fast, the engines idling but not turning off. The armored hatch slid open, and General Ravioli stepped out, looking at us with obvious displeasure. A half-dozen more ponies in power armor followed him, spreading out into a protective half-circle between the officer and the rest of us.

“Polar Orbit,” General Ravioli said, midway between a greeting and an accusation. “What’s all this about? You’ve been hiding this monstrosity?”

“It’s good to see you, General Ravioli,” Polar Orbit said pleasantly. “Would you care to join us? We’re about to go to the bridge.”

General Ravioli grunted and produced a hat, tugging it down sharply. “As long as I can find the ringmaster in charge of this circus there.”

“She’s waiting for us,” Polar Orbit confirmed.

“Fine. You can go first.” Ravioli said that like he expected to walk into a minefield. Cube ran off ahead, getting the door. Ponies in Enclave power armor in pristine condition and adorned with gold details like some kind of honor guard saluted as we went past them. They made the General’s guards look practically amateur.

Ravioli hung back a few steps until he was next to me, giving his guards a nod. They closed in a bit around us, giving us a modicum of privacy as we walked. A wall of steel that would at least prevent ponies from joining the conversation.

“I was surprised to see you,” Ravioli said. “If Miss Emerald Gleam’s reports are anything to go by, this means I’m in more trouble than I thought.”

“If you needed to see me to know we’re in trouble, you’re not much of a General,” I retorted.

He chuckled and nodded. “You’re right. This whole thing was already out of hoof and it’s only getting worse. I don’t like seeing you in that uniform.”

I looked down at the white Thunderhead outfit I had on. “It seemed like the safest thing to wear,” I admitted.

“Safest, but it’s important to remember where you stand,” the General said. “I don’t think I’m in a position to give you orders, but I want you to keep your head on straight. Do what this tells you.” He poked my chest. “A soldier’s duty is to follow orders, and to know when orders shouldn’t be followed.”

I nodded, and we all got on the tram, most of us trying to avoid the topic of just how many guns were being pointed from one side of the train car to the other. If a pony sneezed too aggressively it could have resulted in a massacre.

“Next Stop, Bridge,” a pre-recorded voice announced. The tram slid to a halt, and we all stepped out. The gold decor wasn’t limited to the outside of the ship. The inside was practically opulent. When I was a foal, I’d imagined Canterlot had been all polished gold and marble, and this was exactly the way I’d pictured it.

“Tasteful and restrained,” Destiny whispered.

“I think I might be under-dressed for the occasion,” I said. “Even Flurry Heart didn’t bother with all this, and she was actually an alicorn.”

“She didn’t bother with it because she didn’t need trinkets to impress anypony,” Destiny said. “If she was here right now she could melt this gold by glaring at it too harshly.”

The corridor was wide enough for ten ponies to walk abreast without feeling crowded, and huge gilded porcelain vases stood along the walls along with planters full of flowers and twisted, gnarled trees grown at a fraction of their usual size with careful gardening. Most of the light came from hidden sources, recessed and behind embossed golden plates on the wall, making everything seem to glow.

It was bright and airy and it even had some kind of perfume or incense, but all that work on the facade felt like a mask over something terrible.

Polar Orbit led us onto the bridge. His ship’s bridge had been comfortable, like a lounge that just happened to have control panels in it. What was left of Flurry Heart’s bridge had been a throne room, with her at the center and ponies working around her in tight knots where she could oversee them.

This was a stage. A wide walkway cut through the middle of the room, and the rest of the bridge was set down lower into the ground, an orchestra pit where the instruments were the controls of the ship itself. Spotlights and cameras were focused on the pony standing on the stage in the center of it all at the end of that central walkway.

She spotted us and motioned down into the pit around her.

“Switched over to a static image, ma’am,” one of the ponies said.

“Thank you, Limoncello,” the armored master of the ship replied. She nodded to Polar Orbit.

“Ladies, Gentlestallions,” Polar Orbit said, after clearing his throat. “Allow me to present the Great Marshal of the Exodus Red, the most worthy pony and true inheritor of Equestria.”

“There’s no need to be formal. We’re meeting new friends.” the armored pegasus said, reaching for her helmet and releasing the pressure seal to take off the intimidating full-face mask. She shook her tightly-curled mane out, the arctic blue naturally forming itself into drills hanging down to her chest. She was cute, freckled and pink with a soft smile on her lips. “Just call me Cozy Glow.”

“Miss Cozy Glow,” General Ravioli said, stepping forward. His guards formed a protective cordon around us, looking out at their opposite numbers arrayed around the bridge. Both sides tried to look casual but authoritative. “I hope you understand that this is quite a provocation. Am I to understand that you’re here in support of Thunderhead in our political dispute?”

“I’ve been watching you for a while now,” Cozy Glow said. “I think it’s really awful that things are getting so bad between ponies that should be friends! I just couldn’t stand back and watch any longer. I had to step forward and do what’s right!”

“And what, exactly, does that mean?” Ravioli asked. I tried to stay focused on him, but something was distracting me. There was a strange, familiar sensation. My heart was fluttering. It wasn’t a SIVA reaction, it was something else, the strongest deja vu I’d ever experienced.

“What’s wrong?” Destiny whispered.

“I don’t know,” I mumbled back, looking around. I was missing something.

“That’s a great question,” Cozy Glow said. “Why don’t you come over here? We can let all the ponies watching see us being friends and shaking hooves.”

General Ravioli adjusted his hat and stepped over cautiously. I could tell he was expecting some kind of trap. So was I, but none immediately materialized. Cozy Glow gave a nod. Red, green, and blue lights shone down around her.

“Live transmission resumed,” one of the ponies manning the bridge reported.

“Hello everypony,” Cozy Glow cheerfully chirped, looking into the cameras. “This is General Ravioli. He’s been so, so nice as to come onboard my ship, the Exodus Red, so we could talk! I know some of you listening at home are probably scared and confused right now.”

“Listening at home?” Ravioli asked.

“Of course!” Cozy Glow declared. “This transmission isn’t some military secret. We are broadcasting to everypony that can hear us, on every military and civilian frequency.”

“Confirmed, sir,” one of the armored ponies reported. “I’m hearing it on every radio channel. It’s overriding our comms!”

General Ravioli scowled at Cozy Glow. “So? What’s all this about? If you’re going to explain, then explain.”

Cozy Glow gave an angelic smile to the camera. “I, Cozy Glow, have a dream.” She put a hoof on her chest. “It’s a dream that ponies have held in their hearts for as long as we’ve been ponies. Equestria was founded as part of that dream. A thousand years of peace and harmony existed because of that dream. Wars were fought in defense of it.”

Ponies started moving around the bridge with obvious purpose, stage hands taking places for the next big scene. This was a rehearsed speech, not something off-the-cuff. It was a signal for something. Cube and Tetra stepped to the front of the crowd. I barely noticed them, because a pony on the other side of the bridge captured my entire attention and more.

It was impossible. She stood there like nothing had ever happened to her. A thin, almost fragile-looking unicorn in a black bodysuit. I couldn’t see the scars around her horn, but I knew they’d still be there.

“Four?!” I gasped. I waved, trying to get her attention. She glanced at me, and I saw nothing in her eyes. They were cold and hard like mirrors, seeing but not really seeing me. There wasn’t one spark of recognition. That’s where the Deja Vu had come from. There was a thread between us, resonance that hung in the air that she seemed oblivious to.

“I thought she was dead!” Destiny said, as shocked as I was.

“I knew we should have gone looking for her,” I groaned. “Why doesn’t she recognize me?”

“I’d say it was because she only knew you for a few weeks, three years ago, but you stand out in a crowd.” Destiny bobbed in place. “I don’t like this. Something is very, very wrong here!”

I took a step towards her and immediately, guns were pointed at me from all directions. I froze in place. I could probably survive a few shots just fine, but a lot of ponies were going to get caught in the crossfire. At least some of them were probably innocent. I pawed at the deck, anxious. I needed to get Four’s attention somehow.

“My dream!” Cozy Glow continued, her voice booming. “Is the gigantic ambition that all ponies dream and hope for! World domination! Not through brute violence and slavery, but by making enemies into friends, for have I not conquered my enemy when I have made him an ally? When I saw Neighvarro and Thunderhead ready to fight, brother against brother, I knew it was time. I had to show you all that friendship is the most powerful force in the universe!”

“World domination?” General Ravioli said, spitting out the words like they were bitter poison. “You’re insane!”

“Anything is possible with the power of friendship,” Cozy Glow retorted. “That’s why I’ve recognized ponies with particular talent and skill and elevated them to be my very best friends.”

She motioned, and four ponies approached her.

“Four Damascus,” Cozy Glow said. “One of the most powerful unicorns I’ve ever met, though her greatest gift is her loyalty.”

Four bowed to her, expression still as blank as a doll’s.

“Tetra,” Cozy Glow motioned to the next pony, the masked pony bowing before standing at her right side. “My personal guard and a supremely skilled soldier.”

Quattro stepped out of the shadows and stood at her other side, looking uncomfortable. She caught my gaze and mouthed ‘sorry’. I felt my blood run cold.

“Quattro Formaggio. She’s been my eyes and ears in the Enclave for years, reporting everything. She can be anypony, anywhere, at any time.”

Cube hopped over, looking almost like a foal again.

“And finally, Cube. Her asset is her mind. She has incredible spacial recognition and telekinetic ability. In fact, I think she should demonstrate her ability. Cube? The big one first.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Cube said. She looked outside at the assembled fleet. “Right Ascension 101.287 degrees, Declination -16.716 degrees.”

“Data sent to the hub and locked,” reported one of the bridge ponies. “Awaiting authorization.”

“Switch the broadcast to the external view,” Cozy Glow ordered.

“Current camera view is on your left,” another pony said. Cozy Glow glanced at the screen, which showed the Thunderhead-class ship maintaining position outside with the assembled fleet. She nodded and smiled.

“You may fire when ready,” Cozy Glow said.

“Firing!” reported a pony. I expected some kind of rumble, or a huge beam of energy, or the explosion of a gun firing or missiles launching. Instead, there was silence. “Impact in five. Four. Three. Two. One!”

It was so fast I only caught a glimpse of it. Something white-hot and impossibly fast slammed into the big cloudship from above, trailing smoke that went straight up into the sky. It punched through the top of the ship and right through to the bottom. I could see the whole structure of the ship twist and bend, massive gouts of fire exploding from the entry and exit wounds.

“No!” General Ravioli shouted. He lunged at Cube, and Tetra shoved him back, knocking him on his flank. The guards in their ornate armor turned to us, silently threatening us.

“Engage secondary targets,” Cozy Glow said. “Please.”

Cube nodded and started rattling off more coordinates. A second strike hit one of the Raptors from above, completely breaking the ship in half. The fleet started scattering. A third strike tore the front off of a second Raptor, and it continued forward blindly, engulfed in fire.

“What the buck are you doing?!” I demanded. “Cube! Stop it!”

Cube looked back at me and gave me a pained look. Not the kind of pained look where she knew I was right but she had to do something distasteful, but the kind of look where I was embarrassing her in front of ponies she liked. She turned back to what she was doing and kept reading off coordinates and adjustments.

“Orbital strikes,” Cozy Glow said calmly. “They’re impossible to defend against, and the warsats are impossible for anypony to attack. It is unassailable and unstoppable, just like my dream and the dreams of the ponies that follow me!”

“Don’t worry, Chamomile,” Polar Orbit said. He put a hoof on my shoulder. “We’re using the minimum force needed to make a point. The only ponies getting hurt are the ones who volunteered for it.”

I shrugged his hoof off, and he took a step back like he was dealing with a dangerous animal.

“Why aren’t they firing back?!” General Ravioli swore. “Even without orders they--”

“Right now, they’re discovering that all of their weapons are offline,” Cozy Glow explained. “You should know better than to get into a fight with the pony who’s in charge of making sure your guns work!” She giggled.

Another orbital strike hit one of the Raptors. Dozens or hundreds of ponies died in a flash when the reactor exploded. I jumped into the air and flew right at Cozy Glow. I didn’t have a plan, but if I could get my hooves on her, I’d have time to think of something!

Tetra saw me coming a mile away and moved almost as quickly as a vampire. His cape flared and he spread his wings to intercept me. The masked stallion grabbed me around the neck and twisted in midair, dropping me face-first into the deck with his weight hammering me into the steel. Cozy Glow wasn’t even looking at me. She was watching the fleet with obvious glee.

“Look at how they run instead of fight! That’s what happens when you go against ponies with friendship on their side!” Cozy Glow smiled and shook her head. “That’s probably enough to prove our point to the masses. Please switch the camera back to me, Limoncello.”

The camera view switched to show us standing on the stage at the center of the bridge.

“You’re nuts.” I spat blood onto the ground and got up, glaring at Tetra and wiping my lips.

“That’s what they always say to ponies with vision,” Cozy Glow replied. “Polar Orbit was telling me you’d be an asset to us. You’re brave. Maybe the bravest pony I’ve ever seen. Even those armed guards are standing there frozen in place, but you jumped right at me almost totally unarmed! I admire that.”

She turned to look at me. She didn’t look angry or insane. She looked sad.

“So many of your friends are with me already,” she said, motioning to Cube and Quattro. Quattro at least had the decency to flinch and look guilty about it. “I like you, Chamomile. Quattro’s told me so much about you, and Cube is your family! Why don’t you take this chance to join the winning side? We can do such great things together, and all you have to do is be my friend, too.”

Cozy Glow smiled. She offered me her hoof. A lifeline, and maybe the only way I was going to get out of the situation without having to fight my way through every single pony on the ship.

I shook my head, and stepped back to help General Ravioli up. He winced. Something was wrong with one of his back legs. He leaned into me, letting me support him so he could look down at Cozy Glow.

“The Enclave will never surrender to you,” Ravioli said firmly. “Equestria has faced conquerors before. Sombra. Tirek. Grogar. You’re no better than any of them, and they were all defeated in the end.”

Cozy Glow sighed. “The difference between me and those monsters is that they didn’t understand the value of working together. I don’t want slaves or sacrifices. I want to join ponies together. It’s too bad you can’t be a part of that.”

She moved faster than I could react, producing an ornate, bulky pistol. It barked with a terribly loud crack and the bullet trailed fire through the air between us, hitting General Ravioli between the eyes and exploding. It was like a grenade detonating inside a watermelon.

I dropped his body in shock, gore splattered over half my face and body.

“And unlike those failures, I cherish friendship and I’ll protect it no matter how many stallions, mares, and foals I need to kill to do it.”

“Tetra?” Cozy Glow said, putting the gun away. “I promised you that if negotiations broke down, you could have Chamomile. She’s all yours.” She patted the masked pony on the flank and smiled.

He lunged, jumping into action. He grabbed my shoulders and flew me into the wall, shattering a decorative vase and smashing my spine into the bulkhead hard enough to drive the breath from my lungs.

“What the buck is your problem with me?” I spat. “I don’t even know who you are!”

“You killed every pony that ever mattered to me!” he shouted, his voice distorting even more. He sounded like a rabid robot.

“You’re going to have to narrow it down, chief!” I grunted, getting one of my back hooves on his chest and kicking him away.

“My sister, the pony I was falling in love with…” Tetra growled, hovering over me, waves of hate peeling off of him. Something deep in my memory clicked. Maybe it was because Four was standing there.

“Rain Shadow?” I guessed.

He charged at me, faster than I could move on my own. But not faster than my wired reflexes. My body surged into overdrive and the air turned frigid against my skin, my metabolism burning with fever heat. Everything slowed to a crawl. I lunged forward to intercept him, snapping my knife out of its internal sheath and stabbing down at his neck.

Rain Shadow was suddenly moving just as fast as I was. No, faster. He caught my hoof and twisted, throwing me aside.

I landed on the deck, the blade attached to my foreleg digging into the metal and keeping me upright. The world flashed back to normal, motion resuming around me.

“You think you’re so special just because you’ve let yourself become a monster,” he said. Steam vented from his mask and under his cape. “You’re a big idiot foal stumbling around and getting ponies killed because you don’t care about anything!”

“Tetra told me he’d do anything to get stronger,” Cozy Glow said. “You wouldn’t believe how much he was willing to put himself through. I felt for him. He was up against an enemy he couldn’t defeat on his own. I empathized with him, and because I am generous and kind and understanding, I gifted him with all the enhancements his body could take.”

“Does that mask even come off?” I asked. “Because it looks more like you turned him into a freak!”

“I wanted this,” Tetra said. “So I could kill you with my own hooves!”

“Your own hooves?” I asked. “I don’t think it counts if somepony else built them in a factory!”

He tore off his cape and tossed it aside, his right foreleg opening up. A sword snapped out in two parts, swinging into place like a butterfly knife. He came at me again in a blur, and this time I was slow to react, activating my implants at the speed of my stupid, slow thoughts. He was already swinging his blade, and I barely brought mine up in time to block it.

The edge of his sword glowed blue. He cleaved right through my knife and caught my shoulder before I dove away, rolling on the ground and leaving blackish-red blood behind me. The world came back into focus. My heart thudded in my chest. I was already physically exhausted. Using that implant was dangerous. I didn’t know if I’d have a heart attack or pass out from low blood sugar if I tried again, but one of those things was bound to happen.

“I’m coming!” Destiny yelled. “Hold on, Chamomile, I can--”

Cozy Glow nodded to Four. She stepped forward, expressionless, and her horn flared with light. Destiny froze in midair.

“I still have use for you,” Cozy Glow said. “I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to stay put.”

Destiny fired a blast of magic, but the aura around her just ate it up.

“What did you do to her?!” I demanded.

“I didn’t do anything, but she’s trapped in a forcecage,” Cozy Glow said. Then she giggled. “Oh, I know you meant ‘what did I do to Four’. I was just having a little fun. She went through a traumatic experience. Her recovery was long and hard and it was better for her to forget a few things.”

“You erased her memory,” I accused.

“It’s not the first time,” Cozy noted. “She’s happier like this, trust me. Haven’t you seen her memories yourself? You know they weren’t nice.”

“That doesn’t mean you can play with her mind like she’s a toy!” I yelled. I winced and touched my shoulder. Rain Shadow had cut me deeper than I thought, the edge of his blade like some kind of chainsaw.

“I would never do that,” Cozy Glow said, obviously offended. “She’s my friend, Chamomile. And unlike some friends she used to have, I didn’t use her or abandon her.”

I didn’t have a retort for that. I wouldn’t have had the chance to make a clever quip even if I’d had one ready. A black blur appeared in front of me, and Tetra’s sword slammed into my chest. It went through my ribs like they weren’t even there.

It was bad. So bad I couldn’t really feel the pain yet. There was this abrupt empty feeling. The moment that a bubble pops and there’s nothing there, but you’re aware of the space, the void where it had been. He slid the sword out, and a torrent of blood exploded out of my chest and back, just one huge gout at high pressure, then nothing.

I collapsed to my knees. I was broken.

Quattro moved, for the first time since all this had started. I was only dimly aware of it. She rolled something onto the deck. A small apple-sized metal ball with a blue ring around the middle. It exploded in a bright flash of crackling light.

The lights flickered out and every screen flashed to static. The same wash of pins and needles surged through my body, my back legs kicking on their own. I collapsed the rest of the way, my vision narrowing and going completely blind in one eye. Ponies were running around in the light from the huge windows, and I heard yelling but couldn’t make out the words.

Hooves grabbed me from behind and dragged me into the shadows. I tried to reach out for Destiny, but my forehooves wouldn’t cooperate and I couldn’t make myself move the way I wanted. I croaked something, trying to form words and just coughing up blood, gurgling nonsense.

The last bit of my vision faded, and my senses dulled one after another. The last thing I remembered was the rumble of a tram lurching into motion under me before my body couldn’t keep going and everything stopped.

Comments

[Thought Prism]

Holy crap. Okay. So.

I called Tetra being Rain Shadow, and Cube being involved was apparent, but everything else through me for a loop. I mean, Cozy Glow? The Terrible Trio incident never happened in this AU, so how is she even alive after 200 years? If she'd been petrified and only recently broken out, sure, I buy that, but otherwise the only explanation I can think of is that she took over the Red's SIVA core before the war ended when she was still a child, since it makes you ageless. But Camomile said she couldn't feel any, so...?

Also, Four is somehow not dead, too! And had her mind wiped again, poor thing. At least Quattro seems to have seen sense. Cozy being her spymaster this whole time fits, the only question is when exactly she decided she was going to betray her. Besides the whole 'how are they going to avoid being captured on a ship bursting with enemy soldiers' thing. Camomile doesn't even have her armor. Maybe Starswirl will teleport in? Haven't seen him in a while.

And don't think I missed this LOL

[Reese]

"Just call me Cozy Glow."
...
Well.
Yeeeah, that's probably bad. :D

...Yep! Yep, having now finished the chapter, it does rather seem that "bad" is, if anything, something of a significant understatement.
I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, and thank you for writing!

[Innman7]

I've been reading this a long time and have got to say I love it (and most of your other works too). It's got a great grasp of humor and action, and it legitimately feels like the early fallout games.

I'm glad we're getting a Quattro companion arc following the Emma/Midnight one. I loved her and Emma in the first arcs at the beginning, and its great that we're finally getting back to her. Plus, everyone adores Four.

Four's mind-wipe makes me wonder how much is from Cozy and how much is of her own accord, though. When we last saw her, she was tearing herself up over getting everyone killed trying to recover her memories, then she gave up on her past (and passed it onto Chamomile). It feels like more than just a coincidence that memory manipulation has come up again.

We also get an opportunity to settle Chamomile and Four's relationship. It certainly felt like chemistry back in the moment, but now I'm half-dreading learning how much of Chamomile's crush was requited and how much was made up in her mind after Four's (apparent) death.

Finally: We've now seen all the Arks. I don't know if you're planning on moving toward an endgame with Mom, but she's been missing for a long time despite being the big boss in the first two/three arcs. Chamomile's visited three different Arks since then, and while I can't see any way Mom can reach Exodus White between Flurry Heart and the pillars, Exodus Black and Red are now out of hiding and ripe targets.

Though it does make me wonder why she never went after Exodus Red. Polar Orbit was using it for years, and she worked under him long enough to at least have suspected, even if she was never told about it outright (since she didn't seem to know the details about Exodus Blue during the original excavation).

... unless she's already been there. Someone must have given Rain Shadow his implants, after all.

Keep up the good work!

[AcerSpacer]

Wow. Shit's hitting the fan pretty hard.