Author's Note

I'm really sorry for taking this long to complete a new chapter. I have been writting this thing for several months now but haven't decided exactly how to approach this new section of the story.

After a lot of deliberation, I decided to release a smaller chapter and keep the more exciting bit for the next two. Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to write much for the next few weeks, but I do hope to get the next chapter done by the end of the year.

Chapter 19: An Old Shadow

Chapter 19: An Old Shadow

I was beginning to familiarize myself with the city. The ruined buildings and unorganized slums that surrounded me could be very confusing at times, but I had already memorized some of the main paths around Ministry Square and the surrounding areas. As long as I could see some of the more iconic skyscrapers, such as the ministry buildings themselves or a few other well preserved sky-scrappers, I could guide myself through this urban nightmare.

It was difficult to remain calm as a walked along those dirty streets filled garbage, while doing my best to avoid the ponies around. I had weapons and armor, but I was only one person, a single alien moving through the heart of a starving community. The ponies were still very much spooked by my presence, and stared at me with a mix of fear and distrust. There were many eyes watching me from small windows and dark alleys, keeping me worried and constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure nobody made a bad move.

The heavy rain didn’t help either. The ground had become muddy, and my boots were covered in it. The rain limited my vision quite significantly and I could feel some of the radioactive water dripping inside my clothes. Most ponies remained frozen in place as I walked, the only sounds I could hear were the rain itself and my boots stepping on the mud.

My thoughts were dominated by the Enclave pegasus we had taken prisoner during our last adventure. It had been a risky decision, and something I could easily regret depending on how things developed. I still didn't know anything about this Enclave, only that they had access to advanced weapons and armor, which made me afraid of what they could do to us if they figured out our location. A small part of me questioned if it was the right choice, suggesting that I should've allowed Starry to finish the job, a voice that only grew as I thought about the many implications that prisoner could mean.

However, as much as I hated putting myself in such a difficult situation, I knew that she would be a valuabe source of information about the Enclave (if I somehow manage to make her say something). The first step in dealing with the Enclave would be to understand them and figure out how big of a threat they were. It was fundamental to determine their motivations behind these attacks so we could prevent new ones.

Obviously, I had to start working on this as soon as possible, and that's why I found myself walking through this disgusting place. I needed to reach Ministry Square and speak with Snowdrop.

The girl and her family were still the best place to look for answers, they had access to an entire library of pre-war documents, including top secret things, so I wouldn't be surprised if it had some intel on the pegasi military. While it might not contain any updated information (because nuclear apocalypse tends to make data gathering a bit difficult), it could still give me a rough idea on what to expect, based on the pre-war state of pegasi forces. It would, at the very least, give me a good idea on what type of weapons and vehicles they could be using.

There was a second reason, however, as to why I needed to talk with her, something that I had found with the Enclave pegasus that only she would be able to crack open: a personal pipbuck.

If what Snowdrop told me about these devices was true, we could find entire mission logs and reports inside of it. While it doesn’t compare to our own technology, it still had enough capacity to hold an entire library of vital data that would be priceless to us. I had no idea how it worked, or how to access it, but I was confident that it would have safety features to protect its contents from unwanted eyes.

Our prisoner had still not awaken the moment I left. She had been passed out throughout the entire way back to our base, which made me a bit worried she might have had some serious internal wounds, after the brutal beating she had endured from Starry Night, but Akio didn't find any indication of that after a quick examination. We placed the mare inside a small room with no windows, and stored her armor and gear away.

The power armor she had been wearing was very impresive when analysed from up close, and the drawings we had found earlier did little justice to it. The suit protected her body really well, hugging her torso, barrel and wings in a protective, but still very flexible way, allowing plenty of movement while still keeping her vital parts safe. The armor plates were light, but had managed to keep laser fire and shrapnel away, as the black spots and small scratches along the surface had showed.

Overall, we had gotten our hands on some very interesting equipment, a new prisoner, and no answers. It was frustrating in many ways, but I couldn’t help but to feel a bit excited. This Enclave could be the group behind all of this, the only ones I have seen that possess the technical capacity and manpower to pull something like this.

Could this be the Holy Grail we were looking for? I sure as hell hope so, there is nothing I desire more than a quick way out of this shithole. Maybe I could finally go back home and put my life back in place.

However… I would also be leaving Snowdrop behind…

That sudden thought made me pause for a moment, as I considered her situation. While I didn't consider her to be that much of a friend (when compared to my squadmates), I didn't wish to dissapoint her. Ever since we arrived, we have been doing all sorts of dangerous stuff, while also killing several people and messing with the local balance of power, all of it with the single goal of finding out what brought us here and how to get back home. As much as I hate to admit it, we had been doing these things with little concern as to what consequences it would have on the people living here.

What would happen to her if I just leave? The girl had risked a lot to help me, and dedicated herself to search for something that had nothing to do with her. To run away without warning would be terrible for her and Ministry Square as a whole, people who were counting on our help.

But… I still have a home back on Earth, I have family and friends that care for me and need help. I can't risk losing them, because they are the only reason I have to keep moving forward, the ones that motivate me to keep fighting even in the face of adversity. I have to go back, there's no way around it and as much as I hate to be in a situation like this, the answer is obvious, my family comes first.

Still, despite the strong desire to go home and forget about all of this, thinking about the situation gave me... perspective, for all it mattered.

These thoughts continued throughout the rest of my little journey, until I finally arrived at the gates of Ministry Square. As I already expected, it was guarded by a large number of gryphons. Unlike the people living outside, the Blackwatch mercenaries were not bothered by my presence, or at least were very good at hiding it. The guy in charge of checking people going inside only gave me a brief look and nodded, continuing his duty as if I was just another pony.

After crossing the gates, the atmosphere became much better, no more filthy slums and terrible smell. The ponies were still staring at me, but wasn’t the same aggressive sight from before, they seemed only curious. I quickly made my way through the crowds of ponies out in the streets, until I reached the Ministry of Arcane Sciences.

-x-

The moment I took my first step inside the ministry building, every single pony around stopped what they were doing to stare at me. The first time I had entered this hall felt like an eternity ago, but the reactions I got were still the same. A few moments passed and the ponies continued to stare in silence, to which I rolled my eyes. This was getting really awkward.

Just as I began to think about finding Snowdrop, the white unicorn crossed the large hall, completely oblivious to my presence as she levitated a large number of papers in front of her, until she noticed the general silence in the room. Her brows furrowed and she looked around, spotting me almost instantly. Her expression was quickly replaced by surprise, her ears stood up and her eyes widened. A moment later she opened a big smile, and quickly came towards me. I almost snorted at her sight, she could be really cute at times.

Before she could say anything, I told her I needed to speak to her in private, which made her a bit confused. The girl nodded and led me to a private room, a few floors above. It was a small apartment; very similar to the place Barin and I had stayed when we first arrived. The two of us entered a small living room, with a kitchen space to the right and an open door leading to a bedroom on the left side. The decoration was simple, but held a generally happy and colorful theme, with bright colors and a few motivational posters (all of which sported a lavander unicorn wearing a lab coat and glasses). If I had to guess, I would say this was probably Snowdrop’s room, and it fitted her really well.

We both sat on a large couch at the center, and the girl wasted no time to open her mouth and speak. "Alex! I'm so happy to see you!" she said in a quick and excited tone, "I didn't think you would come back so soon!" Holy jesus, she's almost bouncing on the damn couch...

I raised an eyebrow as her blonde tail began to swing left and right, before nodding and putting down my rifle and helmet on the floor. “It’s good to see you as well, how’s everything going?” It’s better to start with something simple, before jumping into what really matters.

The girl shrugged. “Nothing new, mostly just studying my pipbuck and doing a few works here and there. Ever since I came back, my father has been somewhat protective so I hadn’t had a chance to do something outside.”

I nodded. “ It’s only natural he would do that.”

“Yeah, I know, but what about you? What're you doing around here?” It was nice to see her happy, but I couln't help but to feel a bit overwhelmed. Her tone felt different somewhat, but I couldn't point out what exactly. “Were you just passing by and decided to visit me?” She added with a hint of irony and made me raise an eyebrow.

“Not exactly… I’m here because I need your help with something.”

Both of her ears stood up at that, and her curiosity was replaced by intrige. “Really? Is it something more about megaspells?” Her horn began to glow and she levitated a few papers from a nearby table, “I did a quick research after you left so…”

I raised a hand to stop her, before she went into a long exposition. “No, it’s not that,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s a bit more complicated.”

Snowdrop frowned in confusion. “What is it?”

How can I explain it to her? “Tell me, have you ever heard of a group of ponies called the Enclave?”

Her eyes widened and her joy evaporated immediately, replaced instead by deep concern. “Wha- what in Celestia’s name are you talking about about, Alex?!” She took a step way from me, "You mean the Grand Pegasus Enclave? How would you even know about them?!"

I looked away for a moment and scratched the back of my head. Clearly, this wasn't the best way to approach the subject. “Well… let’s just say I might have had an encounter with those people.”

Snow took a deep breath and closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. “Alex, please tell me what’s going on, what do you mean by an encounter?”

“Okay, remember that deal I made with your father and Shortbeak before I left?” She nodded, “Yesterday he asked for our help to find a hidden cache of weapons and bottlecaps he had stored away for emergencies, outside the city. We managed to find the place fairly easily, but it turned out it had some new occupants…”

“You found Enclave pegasi there?”

I nodded. “Correct, they had killed the previous team Shortbeak had sent and stole most of the things stored inside,” She cringed at that, “However, we managed to drive them out, and now I’m here.”

Snow took a while to respond. She stared at me with calculating eyes. “What exactly do you need my help with?”

I quickly searched my pockets for the pipbuck. “I need you to help me extract some information from a pipbuck I found…” I grabbed the pipbuck and showed it to her.

“A pipbuck…” She muttered, “You want me to get whatever data is stored in there?” I nodded and offered the device, which she enveloped with her magic and approached to her eyes. “How did you get your hooves on this?”

Time to let out the big bomb. “Well, we did kill most of the ponies inside the hideout, but one them passed out during the fighting, so we decided to take her as a prisoner.”

She sounded a bit worried again. “Did you make sure her armor was turned off? Those things have tracking devices.”

“Yes, we checked for any signals coming from it.”

Snowdrop continued to examine the pipbuck, but I could see she wasn’t entirely focused on it, most likely wandering about what I just told her. Her worry made me question for a second time if keeping the pegasus was a good idea, but no matter how much I tried to deny it, she would still be very useful to us, even if she refused to cooperate.

Finally, after a few minutes, Snow lowered the pipbuck and turned to face me, “ I can help you with this, but you need to be more careful about the Enclave, they are not something you want to mess with,” She floated the pipbuck to the nearby table and moved to sit beside me, much closer than before. Her ears were down and her face was dominated with concern.

I felt uncomfortable with her proximity, but kept a neutral face. “Yeah, don’t worry about it,” I tried to sound honest, but that only seemed to make her more worried. “I won’t risk everything over this, you know that, right?”

Her voice took a serious tone. “Can you promise me that?”

I raised an eyebrow at that, but thought nothing of it. “Yes, sure, I promise.”

She was not convinced. “Alex…” The way she spoke those words was almost as if she had known me for a long time.

I took a deep breath. “Look, I’ll say it again, I will be extremely careful with this, I’m not about to risk myself and my comrades over this, alright?” She held her eyes for a few more moments, but eventually nodded.

“Alright, I trust you on that.”

I turned away from her. “Great… but how long do you think it will take to get everything out of that thing?”

“I don’t know for sure, about two days I think.”

“Two days?”

“Yes, I need to be very careful, since this is a military version; They are usually equipped with multiple barriers to keep the files safe.”

I relaxed myself on the couch and closed my eyes for a second. “Meh, I suppose I’ll have to stick around for longer, if that’s the case,” It’s not like I have anything big planned for the next few days.

For a moment, Snow was concerned.“Oh, is that too much of a problem? I could always try to go a little faster…” She began to say.

I quickly brought a hand up to stop her. “No, that won’t be an issue, this whole thing with the Enclave has put my plans on hold. Besides, I could always use the opportunity to research more stuff on the library, there’s still plenty of things I have to learn about this place.”

Snow appeared to calm down, and I was glad for that, “Okay then, I’ll speak with my father to see a room where you can stay.”

“Thanks…” I replied.

With those final words, the conversation stopped. There wasn’t much else to say about the pipbuck or the current situation. The two of us remained quiet for a while, just sitting on the couch, until eventually Snow decided to break the silence.

She glanced at me. “So… you hungry?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Sure? You want to eat something?”

The girl shrugged. “Well... yes, I was thinking we could go to that balcony we ate last time, what do you think?” She gave me a vague smile, in a attempt to convince me.

Throughout this conversation her behavior had been unusual, as if she wasn't sure how to act around me, but I thought nothing of it. “Sure, lead the way…”

We both left her room and headed upstairs, as the place she wanted to go was a couple stores above us. We both remained quiet on our way there and I used the silence to look around and appreciate the old arquitecture while trying to distract myself. There were, as always, a few ponies along the corridors who would stand back and stare at us whenever their eyes noticed me, a constant reminder of being an outsider. I just looked away from them, focusing on Snowdrop instead, who was walking ahead of me.

Seeing her tail flickering and her ears moving around were little details that enphasized how different she was, and yet still possessed a very friendly and human personality. All of it felt strange, because even after all this time I still couldn't accept that I was living on an alien world.

-x-

The view from the balcony was just as pleasant as before. The ministries rose up in front of us, each one with a unique style, and beyond them I could see the walls and the rest of the city. The sky was mostly clear and the sun felt warm, but not unpleasant, it was kept in check by a nice breeze. I enjoyed the atmosphere and could understand why Snowdrop would want to come here.

I became so distracted by the moment that I almost jumped when Snow spoke to me. “Alex, can I ask you a question?”

I stopped looking out and turned to look at her. “Sure, what is it?” I replied, while eating some more from my MRE.

Snow, on the other hand, was eating a sandwish. “Why did you become a soldier?”

The question made me pause for a moment. It was not something I expected from her and it wasn’t something I had much of an answer for. “Why do you want to know?” I didn't know what kind of answer to give her. This wasn’t really something I thought about, even when I was fighting in Europe. It had been a matter of necessity and lack of choice, a honest job with a nice income to help my family.

She paused for a second and try to clerify her question. “It’s just that… you told me your world wasn’t destroyed like Equestria, so why would you choose something like that? Ponies on the wasteland learn how to fight because they have to, it's a matter of survival. You on the other hoof… why didn’t you choose something else?”

I knew this conversation would come sooner or later. I hadn't told her about the cold war mainly because I didn't think it was necessary, all she needed to be aware was that we didn't know how we came here and that we needed help. However, I suppose a small part of me also wished to preserve her innocence. For the short time I have known her, Snowdrop has always been very optmistic, and held this permanent sense of hope inside of her, especially when asking me about my world. I came to the conclusion that it wasn't just curiosity, she wanted to hear about a world that wasn't destroyed by war, where people didn't have to fight everyday just to survive.

There was no easy way to talk about this, and it worried me how Snowdrop might take it. “Things are not as simple as that…” I began, looking around a bit to avoid eye contact. “Just because my world isn’t a wasteland doesn’t mean everything is perfect, we still have people fighting, just not as widespread as here.”

She nodded. “But you don’t have to deal with mutants, raiders or starvation, right?” Oh, if only she had the full picture. What would she think if I showed her entire cities swallowed by the ice, or refugee camps with millions of people displaced by wars and climate change.

It wasn't just raiders or mutants, but also war. “Not nearly as much as here, but there are still dangerous people back home, that’s why soldiers like myself exist,” I still remember going out on patrol back in Russia, searching for bandits hiding in the snow, people who were desperate enough to attack supply convoys along the roads to steal food and medicine. It was a sight to see, those half-starved and half-frozen bastards left behind by the government, they threw themselves against machinegun fire without a care in the world, too far gone into madness and desperation to think rationally. How were they any different from the raiders we had seen on the equestrian wasteland?

There had even been rumors about small cannibal bands who stalked the smaller roads and ambushed patrols, but most of us just thought of it as nothing more than made up stories to keep people awake during the night. “People still fight each other occasionally.”

Her brows furrowed and one of her ears flickered, she paused for a second and processed what I had said. “But why?” She finally asked, “I get it that there would still be some bad people around, but it shouldn’t come even close to the wasteland, right?”

I leaned back on my chair and placed my MRE down. “Snow, my world isn’t as bad as the wasteland, but there’s something I need to tell you about,” It wouldn’t be good to keep hiding the war from her, it’s better if I just tell her about it now, “Things… are not very good back home, we’re having a big crisis actually…”

She was silent. Her blue eyes kept staring at me, not knowing what to expect. “Alex…” She almost whispered, before braking eye contact and looking away. Her ears flickered and moved around, showing her confusion, before standing forward once again.

It was now or never. I took a deep breath and inclined forward, it wasn’t going to be easy, but maybe it would help her understand why it was so important for me to go home. “Snow, do you remember what you told me about the pegasi? How they control the weather and all of that?”

She nodded. “Yes, I remember that.”

I tried to keep my tone calm. “My world doesn’t work like that, the weather and global climate are mostly controlled by the seasons and local geography,” I gestured with my hands a bit, while trying to find the right words to explain. “Every year is divided by the same seasons, which define the weather tendencies…”

She raised a hoof. “Wait, you’re telling me that you have zero control? Not even with all the technology you have?”

I stared at her confused face for a few seconds. “Well… not exactly,” Explaining something as complex as the global climate and how all of it culminated into the ice age was obviously not that simple. This was far from my area of expertise, and I had to avoid going into detail. “My race does have some influence, we have enough knowledge to alter things, but not nearly as precise as what you told me about the pegasi. Some of our activities can influence global temperature, rain cycles and a bunch of other things, but we don’t have full artificial control over the skies, we can’t push clouds around from one spot to another when we need extra rain or something.”

She tilted her head and pressed her lips. “Alright, I think I get it, but why is that so important?”

“Because a lot of things depend on that, especially agriculture,” I stroked my chin with a hand while looking up. “You see, being unable to properly control the weather means that we don’t always get what we want, things might go on the wrong direction and there’s little to be done about it.”

“A few years ago something went wrong, we don’t know if it was natural or something we created, but for some reason the temperature began to drop, every year that passed was colder than the last,” I was not even alive when it happened, more than 40 years ago. “Nobody expected the ice, and it turned much of the planet uninhabitable,” Snow bit her lip “This has caused a lot of problems, food production has collapsed across the world and millions of people have been displaced by the ice, famine and wars.”

I stopped for a minute to let all of it sink in. Snowdrop stared ahead of me in silence, thinking about what I had told her. “Snow… this is why I need to go home, every day that goes by things could be getting worse,” I massaged my temples a bit. “The worst part is that I’m not even done yet, there’s another reason why I became a soldier and happened to be on the outpost when it was transported here.”

“By Celestia…” Snowdrop looked away while stroking her hair with a hoof. “I just don’t get it, you showed me all those things and yet… your world is doing just as bad as Equestria?”

“No, things are not nearly as bad, we haven’t blew ourselves up yet,” Those words came out harsher than I intended, Snow’s jaw clenched and her eyebrows lowered. “Look, this isn’t the point I’m trying to make, there’s something else you need to know. The reason why I was at the very spot where this whole mess started is because my country is at war,” Her eyes widened once again. “The outpost where I came from was a frontline supply depot, and we were in the middle of a battle when the teleportation happened.”

“But why?” She interrupted me. “Why in Tartarus would you go to war in the middle of a disaster? Wouldn’t it make more sense to help each other?” It does make perfect sense, but the world isn’t that simple. Even when faced with imminent danger people can still turn against each other and act selfishly, like the tragedy of the commons. “You have people starving, and yet still go out to kill each other? That doesn’t make any sense!” She slammed a hoof on the table between us, making me jump in surprise.

I lifted both my hands in a placate gesture, hoping to calm her down. “Look… people were desperate, and nobody knew what to do!” I looked around and took a deep breath. “You have to understand, we lost a lot of land to the advancing ice, fertile land, and we just don’t have enough resources to keep everyone alive, it was either go to war or watch as most of our people died!”

“But… but why?” Snow lowered her head and slumped.

I looked away, feeling bad for her. “Look, Snowdrop…” I stood up from my chair and approached her, placing a single hand on her shoulder. She glanced at my hand and then up, locking eyes with me. “I’m sorry for not telling you this earlier but… now you know why I can’t keep waiting, why I need to go home as soon as possible.”

She nodded. “Yes, I get it…”

“Will you help me?”

“Yes, I will…”

-x-

Was it the ideal way of explaining my situation to her? No, not at all. As much as I try to keep my emotions under control, I still can't help but to feel for Snowdrop, one of the few helpful souls I can trust. She's just an inocent girl. Even when surrounded by bloodshed and violence she still has a friendly personality, and that's something few people can do. Ever since I had met her, Snowdrop had always looked up in pure wonder at human technology and the things I told her about my home, she hoped for a safer world, where people didn't have to fight every day just to stay alive. I felt bad for destroying her little utopia, but it had to be done at some point. She needed to realize the true urgency of my situation, why I had to go home.

Home... it had been so long. After more than a year, I had almost forgotten what was like to be there, not having to fight every day to survive. I was tired of feeling like an outsider, I wanted to go somewhere safe and quiet, somewhere familiar. The road ahead of me was still long, and I didn't see much of an end to it. Even if we somehow got back to Europe, we would still have a war to fight, and that idea terrified me. How many of us would be alive by the end?

After our conversation was over, Snow went to find her father and see if I could get a room to stay. The rest of the day went by without anything unusual, with Snow continuing her work on the pipbuck and I being settled on my room.

As expected, Snow didn’t make much progress on those first hours, she only managed to discover some personal information. The name of the prisoner was Lt. Red Dawn (I’ll never get used to these pony names) and she was part of a "recon wing". I did not know if the Enclave military ranks followed the same pattern as our, but if it did, than we had a valuable prisoner on our hands. Having a lieutenant was both a blessing and a curse. She could be a great source of information, but the Enclave would be searching this whole island for her.

The last thing I did before sleeping was to call my comrades back at our hideout. I explained to them that I would be staying here for the next two days, and that they should get in contact the moment the Enclave pony woke up.

-x-

Time passed quickly, and Snowdrop began to make a lot a progress, just as she promised. I spend most of my free time searching for more information on the library, anything that could help me against the Enclave. Most of what I found was related to the pegasi pre-war military. It said that the pegasi had been, for most of their history, fiercely independent, and that spirit was reflected on the pre-war military. Their branch of the armed forced often operated on its own, and had a different structure.

As I advanced on the subject, the word “Enclave” began to appear on a few news articles. It seemed to be an expression used to describe the financial elite and military high command of pegasi society, which had been gaining more and more influence over the local government. However, none of it referred to them as a real organization, just a nickname for a group of powerful ponies. The real Enclave must have come into being after the apocalypse. It wouldn’t be that hard to predict that as the equestrian government collapsed, the Enclave would step in to fill the power vacuum.

It felt like looking at a fossil, a pre-war organization that held itself together for 200 years. This was clearly a very militarized and authoritarian state, and it worried me about what kind of measures they would be willing to take against us.

By nightfall of the second day, Snowdrop had managed to break inside the pipbuck, and I was about to get a lot more information than I expected. I was just finishing reading when she came behind me. I had been so concentrated on my task that I hadn’t noticed the loud clip-clop of her hooves against the marble floor. I almost jumped off my chair when she called me.

She spoke loudly with excitement. “Alex! I did it!” I turned around and saw a big smile on her face and the pipbuck floating above her with her magic.

At first, I was a bit angry at her for spooking me, but then I processed her words. “Wha- You mean it’s finally done? You managed to open the dammed thing?”

She continued to levitate the pipbuck above her head like a trophy. “Yes, I did it! I thought about looking through the logs, but I figured you would want to see it first,” She placed the device on my table, “Go on, I already selected the file with the most information”

I took the pipbuck and looked at the screen. It reminded me of an early computer, from the cold war era. There was a series of files which appeared to be daily reports, which progressed for over two months. The first one was already selected, so I pressed the button to open it and a large text came into being.

I began reading the content. The file began with a list of names, including Red Dawn herself, followed by a list of equippment and weapons. Those other names were probably her squadmates. I skipped those two and looked at the main text near the botton. What I found was a mission log. Red Dawn and her squad (or her "wing", as it was written) were supposed to investigate several places around the island in search of supplies and shelter, clear out any resistance and report back to base.

I raised an eyebrow. This is why we had found her inside that building.

I continued to read, finding a few more details about her mission. However, what really interested me was a list of places and coordinates near at the botton. Most of the names were unfamiliar, but I did spot the location I had found her amongst them. I scanned each name for something else that might've been useful.

As I made progress, my breath was suddently caught in my throat. I leaned back on my seat and stared at the pipbuck screen. The three final names on the list were megaspell silos, the same I was hoping to investigate.

I stopped reading when I saw that. Could this be what I was looking for? Was it the Enclave who brought us here?

I placed the device back on the table and looked at Snowdrop. “Snow… these people were searching for pre-war facilities, including the same megaspell silos I was hoping to go.”

Her ears stood up and her brows furrowed. “What? Why would they be doing that?”

“Well, it seemed they were looking for supplies and shelter, nothing too strange about that, but I can’t help but to think this might have something to do with my arrival here.”

“You sure about that?”

I nodded. “This is too much of a coincidence…” I tried to think of anything that could contradict this hypothesis, “Tell me Snow, do you think these megaspell bunkers could still be operational after 200 years?”

“It’s possible,” She replied, bringing a hoof to her chin and looking up. “These places were meant to carry out their mission even after a zebra attack, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were still working. However, it still depends on many factors.”

I continued reading. After I was done with the main mission log, I went to the daily reports. The first ones had nothing special, just a few random commentaries about the day as Red Dawn and her squad travelled the wasteland. It gave me a few insights on her personality though, for all that it mattered. Eventually, I got to the part where they arrived at the first megaspell bunker, and that is when things got interesting.

The bunker was far away, to the north, hidden inside a rock formation. At first, their mission went smoothly; the enclave pony added a small description about each section of the bunker, talking about the structural integrity and layout. Things took a strange turn when they arrived at the main chamber, where they began to pick up signs that someone else (or somepony, as these people love to say) had been there recently. Too afraid of keep going and falling into an ambush, they looked around quickly for anything else that might’ve been useful and left the facility.

What interested me about this section is that Red Dawns writes multiple times that she feared they might stumble upon a “loyalist patrol”. What could that mean? Who were these loyalists? Were they the Enclave ponies she was fighting the other day?

The word “Loyalist” and the fact that she had been fighting Enclave troopers when we captured her, makes me think that I might be dealing with an internal conflict here. Two factions within the same organization fighting for supremacy, a civil war.

I felt angry at being forced to deal with such a complicated issue. There were enough problems already and I didn't want to add another clusterfuck of things to solve before finding a way home. Why couldn't things be a bit simpler?

The rest of the daily logs went mostly the same. They flew somewhere, searched the whole place, and occasionally had to fight mutants and raiders. Other places also had signs of “loyalist activity”, as the mare described it. The two megaspell facilities they visited, in particular, both had been visited by someone else before Red Dawn and her squad arrived. That took my attention.

On both bunkers, the enclave pony was never able to see if the facilities were still fully operational, since she had decided to leave before actually searching the whole place, but she did noted some of the illumination and terminals were still working. It didn't really told me if the whole place was good, but it raised a lot of possibilities.

Even if Red Dawn had nothing to do with us, the loyalists might be behind this. Maybe they were the ones who activated the megaspell that brought me here, and Red Dawn came a few days later to find an empty and powerless bunker.

I had to speak with this pony; I had to get answers about her mission and these “Loyalists”, and see if there was anything else she might know. I needed to learn more about the loyalists and their capabilities. However, the real question is how I would be able to convince her to give me that sort of information.

After I was done reading, I turned to Snowdrop, “Snow… I think I need you to come with me”. Snowdrop had been sitting beside me this whole time, reading the files with me. I think she understood just how important these files had been. “I need you to help me convince the Enclave prisoner to tell me more about this.”

She frowned at me. “How exactly am I supposed to help? I’m not a trained interrogator.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know that, but I think it would be easier to convince her to tell me something if there’s at least one familiar face in there, much better than being interrogated by a bunch of aliens.”

Still, how exactly would I even approach her? I have probably killed some of her comrades and I can’t just say it was all a big misunderstanding. “This civil war they're having… I need to find out more about these loyalists and see if they were the ones who caused my arrival. Do you think they could’ve activated a megaspell to bring me here?” I asked.

Snow shook her head. “Not sure, it depends on a lot of factors, but they're probably the best candidates to do something like this,” she looked around for a bit, "Still, why would they even do something like that? It doesn't make any sense..."

I shrugged. "No idea, maybe this was all one big mistake, who the fuck knows."

There is also the whole incident with those Blackwatch mercenaries. I need to know how much of a threat the Enclave posed to Ministry Square. This city, for all its limitations, was our best source of basic supplies and ammunition. We cannot lose their help or allow something bad to happen to them.

I stood up from my chair. There was a lot more work to be done, and I might as well get started. “When can you be ready to leave?” I asked Snowdrop.

“Just give me an hour.”

-x-

The sun was about to set when Snowdrop and I finally left the ministry building. She was wearing the same outfit from the first time I had found her, which felt like an eternity ago. We made our way out of the city quickly, hoping to avoid any gangs that might be stalking the streets and alleys at this time.

The road was quiet like usual, a lazy wind whispered around us. It would only take an hour or two to reach the hidden base where the rest of my comrades were waiting. During the morning, they had informed me that Red Dawn was awake, but refused to say a word. It didn’t surprised me, and I knew it would take a lot of talking to convince her to give up any information. Maybe she wouldn’t say anything at all, and leaves us with yet another useless prisoner to feed and take care.

What was even the point? What exactly was I supposed to do about the situation?

Even if I do get a bit more information about this Enclave, I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. There just isn’t enough supplies to do any serious operation here, nothing beyond small raids (like we did on the slaver base) or small scouting missions. Assuming Shortbeak and Ministry Square as a whole were willing to help, I still doubt we would have enough manpower and supplies for a full scale military operation against a professional force, depending on how powerful they truly are.

My best chance right now is to hope these people are too busy killing each other. Neither side should be willing to open a second front, so I don’t think we will be facing any major attacks any time soon. However, that could change very quickly, depending on the state of the civil war. One side might become too bold or too desperate and see Ministry Square as a viable target.

What else am I supposed to do with Red Dawn? Even if she does tell me something, there's still the problem of what to do with her. I can't keep her around, it's too risky and expensive. Should I just let her go? What would happen if I did?

There's too much at stake here, more than I can handle. For now, I must do what I can with the resources at hand, and just hope that it doesn't come to bite me in the future.

-x-

We arrived at the base quickly, just as the night decended.

“Over there,” I said to Snow while pointing at the old building, “That’s where we’re staying.”

She narrowed her eyes a bit and looked around, searching for any clear signs of our presence. “Really? You certainly made a good job hiding everything from sight.”

I nodded. “Yeah, don’t want any travelers or local gangs stumbling upon our little hideout.”

The two of us went inside and met with the squad. Most of them were resting at this time, with two of the new people watching the surrounding area from the top floor. While our reception was normal, the new guys could barely hide their curiosity when Snowdrop walked in. None of them had been this close to a pony before, only watching them from afar or from a drone camera. Snowdrop, for her part, didn’t seemed bothered by their stares, but still avoided eye contact. It was amusing to see this, but I didn’t have the time to appreciate. I wanted to speak with Red Dawn as soon as possible.

I approached Suvorov, whom was in charge of watching over the pegasus, and was sitting next to the improvised cell we had made. “How’s the prisoner doing?”

He gave a quick glance behind him, towards the door. “Not much to say, she hasn’t done anything since waking up, other than trying to jump on me the first time I found her awake…”

I raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he nodded, “What the fuck happened?”

He looked calm and was still standing, so I guessed it wasn’t anything serious. “Dima told me he heard some movement inside, so we decided to see if she was awake, as soon as I opened the door she jumped on my side and tried to disarmed me, but I managed to push her away.”

I knew it was an obvious question, but I felt like asking it anyway. “Are you alright?”

He chuckled. “That pony is strong, and almost managed to throw me off balance, but nothing else.”

“Good…” I nodded, “I need to go inside with Snowdrop and see if I can get some answers from her.”

“Alright, I’ll unlock the door,” As the big man moved away, I looked at Snowdrop to see if she was still up to this, she nodded, and we both went inside.

The first thing I noticed as I walked into the dimly lit room was the bright red of her coat, followed by her angry eyes and defensive posture. Her jaw was set and her wings were half open. Her body was slightly inclined forward, like a cat waiting to jump on a prey.

I kept one hand near my sidearm, just as a precaution. A few extra steps forward allowed Snowdrop to slip inside and stand beside me. There were some clear differences, beyond the color of their manes and coats, between Snowdrop and Red Dawn, with the pegasus being a bit taller and a lot stronger. Red Dawn wasn’t huge by any means, but clearly more fit than Snowdrop. Her wings, in particular, were quite impressive, something I hadn’t been able to appreciate when they were covered by her power armor.

The atmosphere felt heavy, and I couldn't help but to feel unconfortable by her angry stare. She reminded me of a caged animal, I could see how her body was stiff and ready to attack.

Would I even be able to reason with her? I doubt she would be willing to speak with those who probably murdered some of her comrades, but I had to try. I felt like taking a deep breath and looking away for a moment, but I also didn't want to lose our little contest. I kept staring at her, while trying to figure out how to start a conversation. After a few moments, I decided it would be best to just go on from the beggining.

"So... your name is Red Dawn, correct?"

-x-

Footnote: 25% to next level