Fallout: Equestria
I was an Enclave Officer
“Duty. Honor. Loyalty.”
“Are you sure about this, Ma’am?”
The colonel inhaled deeply, tasting the cold steel, dust, and ozone of the recycled air. A moment passed, two. “The decision has been made, Major.”
The discussion ended there. No more words needed to be said. Such was the way of the military, commands were given and obeyed. A subordinate did not question their duties, they simply followed in the faith that their commanders knew what they were doing.
The colonel continued to eye herself in the full length mirror. Her dress-greys were pressed and starched, rigid creases running up and down all four legs. A black peaked hat shaded her eyes, the emblem of the Enclave shining in gold relief with silver laurels running along the bill’s edge. Medals and ribbons from a lifetime of service weighed heavily from her breast. A service pistol at her side, just before her left wing, was all the armament she carried.
Only the eternal rumble of the engines disrupted the silence that had descended between the commander and her subordinate. For many the sound was one of disquiet and annoyance. An inescapable fact of life for those in the Enclave military. For the two officers, it was something wholly different. It was the sound of home. Constant, reliable, the symphony to which their lives had played out and, by the will of Celestia, would be the dirge playing as they took their final breaths.
“We should leave, Ma’am.”
A curt nod preceded a shard spin as the colonel turned in place to face the door.
Steel rang against steel as the two officers marched out of the office. Eight hooves became sixteen when two fully armored soldiers joined their commander. The life of a colonel was too valuable to risk, and on the eve of battle no chances were taken.
Four hallways, six hatches, and three stairwells later, the four Enclave soldiers stood at the entrance to the hangar.
The major stepped forward, opening the hatchway to enter the hangar first.
“OFFICER ON DECK!”
Thousands of hooves stuck steel as the gathering of pegasi made to stand at attention.
“Present! Wings!” Hundreds of armored wings sliced through the air in perfect unison, the tips of feathers touching just above eyes.
Easily two thirds of the lower deck of the Thunderhead, the hangar was a silent tomb as the colonel entered. Everypony, save the four entering, stood at attention, wings pressed to temples in salute of their commander.
With a stern, tight lipped expression she strode up the dais. To her left, the flag of Equestria; to her right, the Enclave’s. Before her, a wooden podium separated the colonel from her troops. Her own wing extended to touch her temple, and only once it returned to her side did those below her follow suit.
“At ease.”
Release. Nearly a thousand pegasi relaxed their bodies, even as their eyes remained glued to the officer before them. Those in the back, uniformed in grease stained jumpsuits, were the only ones to break that contact, returning to their work of preparing the smaller aircrafts for battle.
A field of black armored pegasi stretched out before her, eight hundred fifty seven in all. They were hers. Her troops. Her soldiers. Her children. She knew them, by name and face– though there were no faces visible among them– and deed. Not all were liked, but all were loved, sometimes because they were not liked. The wall behind her bore the names of the lost, each name no less etched into her memory than the steel bulkhead.
The colonel spoke, and even as her words bent the ears of those below her, she could not stop from adding name after name to the wall in her mind.
++Enclave++
The colonel lay awake in her bed. Without the steady thrum of engines she could not sleep. She had not slept in weeks. Every time her eyes closed she saw them. So many names…
The slight creak of the door drew her ears first, then her eyes. Even in the darkness she could make out the shape of a pony in the doorway.
“So, you have come at last,” she said, her voice a dry desert wind.
“Yes.” The simple reply was soft, almost caring. “The orders were finally approved.” The colonel nodded to herself, waiting. “I– “ the shadow choked on her words as she neared, “You probably don’t remember– “
Despite herself, the colonel laughed. “You came to me as Ensign Silver Star, and left as a First-Lieutenant. I remember you, I remember all my children. The first day I saw you I knew you were going to do great things… important things.”
The shadow stepped closer, coalescing into a pegasus mare with a silver mane. Her body was wrapped in the blue and gold jumpsuit of the Wonderbolts. “I… I wouldn’t have made it the first month if it hadn’t been for you. I…” The Wonderbolt trailed off for a moment before collecting herself. “I requested the assignment. I couldn’t bear the thought of somepony who didn’t…”
The colonel nodded in understanding and motioned the younger mare closer. Silver sat at the bed’s edge and neither spoke for a time. Silver, unable to look at her… the colonel, and the colonel seemingly lost in thought. It was the elder who finally broke the silence.
“You have the brand.” It was not a question, there was only one punishment for disloyalty.
“No, colonels do not fall. They… they pass away, peacefully, in their sleep as heroes of the Enclave.”
The colonel nodded. “I should have known.” A moment later. “It is to be poison then?”
Silver nodded, producing a small vial of clear liquid. “It is a muscle relaxant with a strong sedative. They promise me it is painless.”
“They would know this from personal experience?” Even to her own ears, she knew the joke was in poor taste.
To her credit, Silver did not react to it. “I could put it in a drink or…”
“No, that is alright. I will take it myself.” The vial changed hooves, and with a single swallow the liquid disappeared. “Will you stay until it is done?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. It is good to have family nearby when– “ Silver’s control finally shattered and her sobbing filled the small room. The colonel pulled her into an embrace. “There, there, it is going to be alright. Shhhh.” A hoof ran through a silver mane as tears soaked the colonel’s shoulder.
“Why?” the Wonderbolt managed through her tears. “Why did you do it?”
“Because I was weak, child. I could not bear the burden I was tasked to carry.”
“I don’t– “
“And I pray you never do.” The colonel yawned, her eyelids creeping slowly closed even as she fought to stay awake. “I think I… This bed truly is…”
The grip on Silver’s shoulders weakened, the limbs sliding down to the colonel's side. She did not move her head, tears still falling from her eyes as she listened to the older mare’s breathing slow until, with one finally exhalation, it stopped.
Five more minutes passed by before Silver was able to stand. Wiping the last tears from her eyes, she placed a small kiss on the colonel’s brow.
“Your watch is over now, the battle’s all but done.
“Your watch is over now, the battle’s all but won.
“Your watch is over now, the war is coming to an end.
“Your watch is over now, you have no duties to attend.
“Your watch is over now, there’ll be no more delaying
“Your watch is over now, for your family is waiting.
“Sleep, now, mother… we will all join you soon enough.”