Chapter 1:Change
"I'm eager to get started. But first, let’s set some ground rules..."
War... What was it they say about war? Something about it never changing? That war was always a repeat of bloodshed, battles, and death. I did not agree with this though. I believed it to be a false statement made by those who did not understand the beauty of war. The beauty for which I understood full well. That I could attest to. Probably because of my unique perspective to the art of war. Probably because I had no friends to change my opinion on the subject at the time. Whatever the reason though, I found my beliefs solidified in the fact that war constantly changed.
At least, that's what I thought in my heart. Before my life had been changed by all that had happened. To the world. The Enclave. And most of all, to me. And if you sit down and take the time to listen to my story, maybe you will see exactly why I thought war didn't change. And maybe, by the end, you will agree with me. Or perhaps, I will have changed my mind.
[/hr]
War… The War… That War… No matter how you said it, any pony you spoke to instantly knew what you were talking about. It was the war that saw so much heroism. The war that saw so much cowardice. The one that had seen the quickest mobilization of an entire nation in the history of the world. Equestria had not known war in over a thousand years. The way it was fought. The way it was supported. The way it could be won or lost. Nor did they know the way it could ultimately destroy everything.
The war took so much from us. It blasted apart the foundations of everything our country held dear. It splintered families apart. It took young colts and fillies from their peaceful homes and turned them into violent killing machines. It took farmers from their fields and put them to work in the never ending catacombs of war factories. It took the brightest unicorn scientists and forced them to create new magic, designed to kill and slaughter scores of living creatures. So much had been taken away, and perverted by the war. And it was all blown the fuck up in a single bloody day.
After we lost Cloudsdale and Canterlot, the pegasi blocked the sky. Creating the vast blanket of clouds that swallowed the rest of Equestria. Somehow, the cloud curtain disabled the Zebras ability to target the pegasi cities. So they had focused almost the entirety of their effort to obliterating the earth below. Turning the once fertile lands into what would become the Equestrian Wasteland. Scorching the pristine world with the ugly scars of war.
All contact was lost. There no longer were transmissions coming from the radio towers and communications stations. Travel between the surface and the pegasi stopped completely. And no pony representing Luna's Monarchy, or any of the six ministries, made any contact with the survivors. So, with the blockade to the surface created and no word whether the government still existed, we began a new nation above the clouds; and The Grand Pegasus Enclave took root. For over two hundred years we have ruled among the clouds, establishing order amongst our heavenly domain.
Many criticize us for creating the cloud barrier. Going as far to call us callous, heartless monsters. But they did not know what it was like. The toxicity of the surface was so great that even with our best radiation protection gear our rescue teams would have died in hours, perhaps even minutes, after exposure. Furthermore, we did not know the extent of the damage we had done to the Zebras, who had been the ones to fire on us with their own balefire weapons. It was entirely possible that they had been unaffected by our megaspell response. If that were the case, we would have had to deal with fighting a war with a military force that far outmatched our own. We could NOT take that risk.
While the rest of the world died, we continued to thrive... for a time. At first, it was rough. No pony was quite used to the way the Enclave would be run. Electing rulers was a massive shift from the thousand year reign of immortal pony gods. But, we adjusted. Acclimated to it. It took a few years, but eventually the pegasi had grown comfortable with the new government, coming to appreciate the political freedom it offered.
Towns were established. Hospitals were built. Universities were created. Order was imposed. The Enclave had taken the crumbled remains of what we had become, and rebuilt us. Creating a thriving civilization, separate from the toils and hardships of the wasteland below. Or so we foalishly believed.
About a hundred years had passed before any real attempt was made to breach the clouds. History is very grainy from that bygone age, and the facts are not recorded properly by any historian's definition. However, it is a widely accepted fact that during this rough time period, a little over a hundred years ago, was when the cloud cover's security was first compromised.
What is recorded is simply this: A number of Earth and Unicorn ponies, assisted by large balloons reminiscent of the Ministry of Moral, broke the cloud barrier around the ruins of old Cloudsdale. The exact amount is not annotated by history, but it is believed the invaders numbered in the low hundreds. And their intent of being in the clouds was clearly that of a hostile nature.
They were discovered by a local patrol in the area. The Enclave decided to welcome the ponies with open arms, and sent an envoy of scouts out from a Raptor, the Cloudchaser, that had been patrolling the area. When our scouts had been sent out to show our good intentions, the surfacers attacked. The assault on the team had resulted in a few wounded. Retaliation had been swift. The Raptor in the area lay waste to the invaders. History does not indicate whether there had been any survivors.
Since then, attempts to break the cloud cover have occurred a number of times. But all have been stopped. This was in large part due to the developing technology and tactics of the Enclave. This is where I come in, and my beliefs about the constant change of war. You see, I am a technician at a weapons software factory, and a Captain in the Enclave National Guard (ENG).
The ENG is really quite a joke. Yes, we do conduct military operations like general peacekeeping, fancy parades, and other motivational things to better the moral around the Pegasus nation. All things that were reasonably associated with the regular standing military forces across the Enclave. The major difference between the ENG and the regular military was that we met during one weekend a month to conduct these operations.
Some ponies would poke fun at that, calling the ENG weekend warriors. And we kinda were. However that made the job a hell of a lot harder. The soldiers would have their regular lives with their normal jobs, than suddenly put it all on hold to travel across the country to learn survival techniques on feral clouds. Not exactly a great existance if you think about it. But hey, it was a life, right?
My role in all of this was being company commander of Charliehorse company, an infantry company that had seen action during the war. Within Charliehorse, I held the rank of captain. And as Captain, and company commander, I was responsible for taking role every weekend, and tasking out jobs to the eighty or so soldiers under my command. Really, it wasn't anything special. But tell that to other pegasi. They would look at me and marvel at the opportunity I had. While most of the pegasi did actually serve at one point or another, most of them had enlisted, Where I had been commissioned as an officer.
Most ponies thought an officer's life was the best life: better food, little responsibility, less chance of death. Let me tell you, that wasn't true in the slightest. The food was alright; but with the gratuitous amount of paperwork and meetings I had to attend, I never really had the chance to experience it. And the rumor of no responsibility was complete crap. Anything my company did needed my approval. And if any pony fucked up, It was on me. And death not being a threat? Maybe that was the case for some outfits. But my command was of an infantry combat company. Death was our constant companion in the field. Hardly the lap of luxury.
Now my other job, that is something to gawk at! The department sub-head of Research and Development at Type 40 industries. Type 40 is renowned for the amazing output from the spark batteries we produce, and the superb processing power of the targeting talismans that I had designed. Our motto, 'It's bigger on the inside!' Referenced the small size of our products, and the amazing amounts of output they produce.
For about three years, I did my job well. I was able to bring numbers way up on all of our technological fronts. Due to my efforts, Type 40 became the number one contracting firm for engineering targeting talismans aboard the Enclave's military vehicles. The contract really gave me a boost inside the company, and helped to propel me to a position of prestige within it. Giving me almost free reign to research whatever i wanted within my department.
Thats me. Doctor Stand Bold. Or Captain Bold, if you believe in all that moto military crap. I made Type 40 into a titan amongst software development firms throughout all of the Enclave, and took roll when the play army decided it was time to meet up.
I suppose this is where my story begins. One day when I was at drill my life was changed forever.
[/hr]
An alarm clock blared loudly next to my couch at 0700. I rolled over and looked at the clock that was sitting on my coffee table. I must have stared at it for another minute or so. The alarm continuing to pound its hammer against the little metal bells. Eventually, the ruckus became quite unbearable, and a hit to the hammer with my hoof silenced the device, hopefully for another 24 hours.
I rose from the comfort of my couch and staggered over to the window where the curtains were tightly shut. The tinkle of glass bottles being kick aside echoed through the apartment and reverberated through my skull, stressing my already awful hangover. Something sticky and wet clung to my hoof and my apartment immediately began to ooze with the scent of vomit. Celestia damnit, I needed to break this habit of drinking alone. Especially the night before drill.
This was the fourth month in a row where I had reserved drinking for a drill weekend. Recently life had gotten a bit more stressful. It wasn't related to type 40 though. Research was going very well there. And with the amount of money that was flowing in from the government contract, we probably wouldn't have to worry about funding anytime soon.
Nor was it Guard related, despite drinking before Guard weekends. Even though we were ramping up training programs to prepare for our annual summer drill. It had been nothing more than business as usual.
The stress i had been feeling was much more personal. It had to be related to her... I glanced to the coffee table where the alarm sat. Next to it was a picture frame that had been laid face down months ago. The frame lay atop a hoof scrawled note and single silver feather lay peeking slightly from between the two. Towards the top of the note was the nickname I had heard many times: Dusty. It was a letter of the last memories from her.
NO. Stop. Don't think about her. It's over now. And both of us have moved on. Or at least one of us should have by now.
I turned towards the curtains, shaking the feelings that were welling up inside me. I grasped a hold on one side of the curtains with my mouth, and tore the cloth away from the window. Suddenly, the room that had just been plunged into darkness was flooded with a rush of bright sunlight. i squinted my eyes, which were reduced to pinpricks as a results of my hangover. Behind the curtain, i had revealed another wonderful morning over Fort Laudermare.
Fort Laudermare was truly a gem amongst the Enclave. Sure, there was Thunderhead. With its massive cloud structures and the famous Shadowbolt Tower to which the city had been built off of. And who could forget about Neighvarro, the city renowned for their rodeos and the most 'can do' attitude of all the pegasi. But Fort Laudermare? That was a city!
About ten miles east of the ruins of Manehatten, and over the ocean, the city was never subject to the aggressions of the war. I dont even think anyone, Zebra or Pony, knew of it unless they had a relative living here at the time. It had begun as a retirement town. All the old pony folk would move here when they were done with whatever work they did, and live out the rest of their days in peace. The sun baked clouds, and tropical atmosphere produced by the ocean below made for a particularly peaceful resting place.
The buildings held a unique architecture. Like whoever designed them couldn't decide between the few modern art inspired skyscrapers, or Marexico Pueblos and Victorian style homes that dotted the cloudscape. The downtown area was dominated by buildings that were many stories tall and straight from any major city. And the suburbs were sprawling with apartment buildings and homes that looked regionally out of place. Creating a unique blend of style and functionality.
I lived in one of the apartment buildings. Admittedly, one of the more shabby looking ones, but it suited my needs. Especially since I had been in a hurry to find the apartment in the first place. I'd only just moved in about six months ago. After things with Silver had begun to fall-NO, stop. Not thinking about it. Not thinking about her.
I looked down towards the street to avert my thought process. To the playground just inside the apartment complexes fenced area. Three foals were playing. One swung on a swing set. The other two chased each other around the playground and squealed with delight. Of course I looked there. The one spot that WOULDN'T help me not think of something else that must not be named.
I harrumphed at the sight and turned my back. I was a busy pony, and I had much work ahead of me this day. I didnt have time to marvel at the architecturally shortsighted ideas of city planners, or to watch idiot foals waste their day playing. Today was Saturday, and at 0800 I was to be at roll call making sure all the enlisted soldiers showed up for the second day of this months drill. More importantly though, I needed to make sure my noncommissioned officers were working on their annual training plans and preparing their soldiers for training as well.
Seeing as it was the second day of drill though, it was quite likely that there would be a few stragglers coming to morning formation. Friday nights were usually reserved for partying, so most everypony would either be hungover. Or still hammered from the night before. Perfect for me to exercise my powers as company commander and be a jackass to them. Yippee...
I took a quick shower, and threw on a fresh uniform. I may have had the lingering stench of cheap liquor on my breath, but I would be damned if i came to drill looking like a dishevelled drunk. I took a moment to look over myself in the mirror, making a mental checklist of what I saw. Deep green eyes stared back at me from beneath a well groomed mane of fiery red, and a tan coat. All hair standards held perfectly to standard. My cutie mark, still visible through the design of my officers uniform, was a spade centered inside of a blue circle. My Captains bars shined spectacularly on my shoulders. my four ribbons were perfectly positioned above my left breast pocket. Over the right breast pocket sat my name tag, simply reading Bold.
For such a gung-ho name, I still felt Captain Bold was a little awkward to say allowed. I had never been one for the theatrics of war, and my namesake did not help with my position. I had joined up so the Enclave would pay for school. Imagine my dismay when I didn't get my first choice of jobs in the military as an engineer, but as a general infantry officer. Such a waste of my talent. I didn't go to school for four years to shoot a gun. I went to make lots of money, and build new technologies. Not hump it along the clouds.
"Cadet, your name will make you a fantastic officer amongst the fighting elite!" I recalled my superiors telling me when I got my wings and crossed lightning bolts, "The name 'Bold' will help engender a fighting spirit amongst the ranks! You'll see, just you wait!"
I scoffed at the idea. Soldiers being motivated by my name? Whatever.
As I continued to look in the mirror, I also took note of the pictures that had been taped onto it. Nearly all of them were of me, and another pony. Or, at least I had assumed it was another pony. A thick black ‘X’ drawn in marker had been written over whoever had been in the photo. The only clue as to who it could have been was whenever the photo had names written on it. Except, the read “Dusty and Me!”, or “Us at the ice cream shop” I turned my back from the mirror, to continue on with my day.
In the kitchen, I pulled out a bowl and a box of stale cereal. II scarfed down the quick meal of Sugar Oats, and checked the clock. 0723. I had plenty of time to make the flight to the armory, about two miles on the outskirts of town.
Before stepping out the door, I had the strangest feeling that I was missing something critical. After a quick mental check, I realized I had forgotten my pipbuck. Normally I would have left it behind. But today, I had the inkling to grab it and attach it to my forehoof. A process that took simply way too long to make it a practical item for daily use. And it seemed silly to be wearing the device. With its ridiculously over engineered design, the pipbuck was really in its element when being used as an indestructible wrist watch. But still, something in the back of my head told me it would be best to take it today.
With my uniform looking sharp, my pipbuck strapped on, and my aviator sun glasses fitted to my face, I stepped out of my apartment and into the world. Eager to get the day over with quickly, and maybe return in time to see the hoofball game at six.
[/hr]
It was mid-afternoon now. Formation had gone by with little issue. A few of the soldiers stragglers in late. And one, a Private Star Dasher, came in reeking of booze and strippers, as usual. The sickening scent of cold cuts and broken dreams clinging to her still drunk hide. Other than that, we had three no shows, four tardies, and one with his hoof stuck in a peanut butter jar... This is what I was forced to work with? Thank you, oh powers that be, for subjecting me to such an intelligent group of productive members of society.
Anyhow, training had gone well. All of the NCO's had formulated good plans for their annual training briefs. And all of the paperwork for the no shows had been processed and a days pay was docked from them. All of the ponies with personal issues at home were dealt with. The day’s training was successful, and now the company was cleaning the Armory. In all, it had been a quick day and cleaning usually took up the majority of drill.
How a building made of cloud became so filthy, I had no idea. Taking into account the amount of filth that was in the building and coupling it with the ferocity of cleaning from the troops, I had begun to lose hope that we would ever be able to maintain a clean Armory for more than a couple of hours. It was as if Discord himself came in every night with a fresh bag of dust, and a clutter of spiders. The worst part of all was that I knew by two o'clock tomorrow, the armory would be in just as much of a mess as it was now.
So two thirty, or 1430 for the pony who loves military time, rolled around, and I was sitting in my office going over some of the finer points of the NCO's plans. At least, that's what I was officially doing. In reality, I was debating if I should buy a new couch for my living room. One with the primary purpose of entertaining guests, and not for sleeping on. When suddenly the telephone began to ring.
"Great," I said aloud to myself, "Probably some bloke from Battalion going to chew me out for docking pay from the deserters,"
I answered the phone with a chipper smile, "4th Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, Charliehorse Company, Captain Stand Bold speaking, how may I help you Sir or Ma'am?" The scripted words rolled from my tongue with practiced ease.
"Yes Captain, this is General Star Fall, of the Office of Military Intelligence," the aged voice of a female on the other side responded. Her accent sounded like it would have come from old town Trottingham.
Fuck. This wasn't Battalion. This wasn't even my regiment. This was Brigade command! What the hell had my company done!
"Yes Ma'am, How may I help you?" I replied, snapping subconsciously to attention.
"Well Captain, one of your products is beginning to cause quite a fuss here aboard one of my ships," She responded in a cold and calculated voice. She must have been angry. Or was that what she naturally sounded like?
Wait, one of my products? Did she mean a soldier of mine? Oh celestia, did one of my deserters try fucking with the eggheads down at intelligence? It was not a farfetched idea. It wasn't even that uncommon of an event honestly. The infantry ponies tended to think of themselves as better than others. They thought they were the biggest and baddest around. The fighting elite who were paid to meet the enemy in battle and win. And who could really blame them? That's exactly what they were. The only time it became a problem was when they would remind other ponies by antagonizing soldiers of other units.
"Ma'am, I am so sorry, which soldier is it? I swear I will personally punish the offender to the fullest extent of my authority," I responded, a sense of dread filling me while I quickly grabbed a pen and notepad to write the name of the soldier down.
"Which soldier? Oh, no Captain, you misunderstand me. A product of yours installed in the targeting matrix for one of my ships, not one of your soldiers," She said, a touch of entertainment entering her speech, "We've been trying to synthesize new targeting parameters, but we are having difficulty understanding the process. It says here on my sheet that there is viscosity throughout the gel layer, our optics are fried, and don't get me started on the power supply,"
"Oh," I chuckled, my fears of a court martial washing away, "Well Ma'am, if you'd like me to speak with your technicians, I’d be happy to walk them through the process. Just transfer me to their department and I'll get the situation resolved."
"I'm afraid it won't be that easy, son," She responded. "We have a few more issues to address with the overall system. I've dispatched a vertibuck to your armory. It should be arriving soon,"
The Generals words hit me like a stiff drink. Go and fix a targeting matrix on a military vessel? This sounded a lot like engineer work to me; something I had wanted to do with my military career since I had graduated from college. A smile formed on my face as I thought about the possibilities that would come from this opportunity. Maybe I could transfer to intelligence and work on their computers? That would be a promotable position as well, no one in intel was ranked below Major.
"If this is a bad time Captain, I can leave you to the grunt work more suited to your company," She said in my silence, "What is it that infantry does again? Shoot guns? Im sure there are plenty of important things to be shot at today,"
"Ma'am, I will be there in ten seconds flat if need be!" I quickly said.
"That will not be necessary Captain, as we have already arranged for transportation,” she said to me. “This is how it will work. You will release your company early today. Tell them you want them to see the hoofball game or something. We honestly don’t care.After that, expect to see our bird at approximately 1630. You won’t be staying long, so there will be no need to bring an overnight bag. Just the necessary supplies you may need to repair talismans.”
She continued on like that for a bit longer. Every now and again asking for my comprehension. I would simply shake my head and give a short “Yes Ma’am,” whenever she indicated she wanted a response from me. She wasn’t saying anything I had not heard before. Just the normal run of the mill procedures the were involved with boarding an Enclave cloudship. Although, she never indicated what type of vessel I would be working on. Nor where exactly the vertibuck would be taking me.
“Is that understood, Captain?” She asked me, a tone of finality entering her voice.
Was it? She had just pumped a lot of useless information towards me. She was changing the entire plan for my company this weekend, and all of my arrangements. Aleibet, I didn’t have any plans. And the company would probably operate normally under these circumstances. The only thing that really bugged me was the lack of information about the ship I was working on. Or exactly how long I would be on it. She had said not to bring anything more than normal equipment though. And I certainly did not want to sound like a foal and ask questions about distinct lack of information.
“yes Ma’am, Im tracking what you’re saying.”
“Excellent. We eagerly await your arrival," And with that she hung up the phone.
After hanging up my own receiver, I leaned back in my chair and looked at the ceiling. I ran the phone call through my head again. It certainly was at least a little strange. But the opportunity to go and fix targeting talismans? I could do that. I could do that in my sleep!
And with that thought, I unknowingly through caution to the wind. I sat in my chair day dreaming all of the possible situations that could arise from this one chance phone call. This could very well be my ticket to the big leagues. My golden ticket to reclassing from infantry to engineering. Or hell, even to intelligence! Celestia, this one opportunity could be the linchpin in my eventual promotion to General.
That was when I lost all of my self control. In this moment, I could no longer rein myself in, even if I had been motivated by my own conjecture. In a burst of excitement, I jumped off the chair and onto the desk. I started dancing in glee. At least, I would have called it dancing. To the casual observer it may have looked like the onset of an epileptic seizure. Papers and pens flew around me as I accidentally kicked them from their pen cups and folders on top of my desk.
"&w-Sir?" Came a quiet squeak from the door. I immediately froze, one of my hind hooves extended behind me in a kick and one of my front hooves mid hoof pump. I turned my head to the door to see one of the lower enlisted soldiers. During my dancing, she had come into the room, the door slowly creaking open beside her.
"I uh... I came to collect the trash bin, sir." Private Raindrop said. Her pink mane falling in front of her embarrassed face. A large trash can was clutched in her orange forehooves.
"Ummm.... Uh... Its outside the door?" I said, the sentence sounding less like a declaration, and more like a question as I flushed at the embarrassing situation. Then I coughed to clear my throat, and trid my best to puff my chest out in a stallionesq fashion. I then spoke in a more commanding voice. “Excuse me Private, I was busy uhhh…. Exercising.”
She looked at me sheepishly for a long moment, seeming to shrink in on herself.
“Re-really, sir?”
“Thats right, I was uh… Doing an aerobic workout! You know how we commanders have so little time to actually work in an effective exercise plan during our day to day operations.” I said, grabbing an awkward paper weight and starting to curl it in my left hoof like a dumbbell. Still maintaining my position on the desk the entire time.
She just continued to stare at me for a long moment without saying another word. Her eyes seemed to grow larger as she looked, and I realized that she no longer had any idea what to say.
"Private, tell the first sergeant I need to speak with him in five minutes." I said, maintaining my imposing leaders voice..
"Sir, yes sir!" She said, obviously eager to be any where else then standing in front of me right now. She closed the door and I heard her hooves bounding down the hallway just outside.
Once I was sure she was gone, I smiled and chuckled a little. Then, my excitement grabbed ahold of me again. My dancing continued uninterrupted. I couldn't help it, I was finally going to have the chance to prove myself. And my life was about to take a dramatic turn. How could somepony not get excited at that?
[/hr]
Vertibucks were fascinating machines. They had been designed during the great war for use the of the Shadowbolts. The Shadowbolts had been an elite group of pegasi during the war. They were originally created by the enclave’s most infamous traitor, Rainbow Dash. And they had been used to enact surgical strikes behind zebra lines. They were the best of the best during the war. The specialist of special forces. Renowned for their daring rescue missions, long term reconnaissance missions deep in enemy territory, and their audacious demolition operations on all fronts.
The Shadowbolts were no longer around. Following the war, the Enclave had disbanded them in an effort to rid themselves of any reminder of Rainbow Dash. Still, the lessons that had been learned from the Shadowbolts carried on into the Enclave. And one such lesson was that of quick insertion into harms way. To do that, the elite group needed an equally epic war machine that would exceed their own skills as individuals. One that could travel faster than anything that had ever been employed before. Something that could insert it's payload of troops quickly into a developing situation. And, once it had deployed its troops, be capable of employing enough firepower to not only support the fight, but to take the initiative from the enemy.
Enter the vertibuck. A vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. It had a long black hull, about the length of a school bus. It had two stubby wings that had large rotating jet engines on the very ends. Capable of transporting 11 battle ready soldiers swiftly into any combat scenario. To my knowledge, there was no machine as fast as one of these technological masterpieces. Capable of speeds upwards of 180 miles per hour, without any wind resistance, this machine is fast. As for weapon loadouts, this is where the Vertibuck shines. To my knowledge, there was no weapon system that couldn't be attached to this machine. Machine guns, missiles, you name it and it probably had been attached at some point. I'd even seen a plasma cannon from a Raptor jury rigged onto one of these birds.
The one I was specifically aboard was armed with two door mounted Gatling lasers. Impressive laser weapons that were incredibly accurate at extreme ranges. Even though they were called gatling lasers, their barrels did not spool up when they fired. Instead, the beams would fire from the three barrels in a rotation of bursts. Allowing the weapon to fire very quickly.
I had boarded the vertibuck at roughly 1627. About half an hour after I had told the first sergeant to dismiss the rest of Charliehorse company for the day. They were getting an early day, leaving drill at about four o'clock. Tragically, I wasn't so lucky. My vertibuck ride took nearly six hours to arrive at the drop off site. It was 2230 on the button when the aircraft finally set down on the clouds. And the drop site was literally in the middle of no where.
Hopping out of the vertibuck and onto the expanse of clouds, I looked to my left and my right. Nothing but flat cloud lands for miles. The occasional tumble cloud breezed through. I had no idea where I was, and didn't know why the general would have me dropped off in literally the middle of no where.
I turned to ask the crew members of the aircraft if they were sure this was the drop off point. But it was too late, the doors slammed shut and the aircraft took off, leaving me to suck the wash of the turbines and vapor kicked off the clouds. The vertibuck then made a crisp turn in place, and flew back into the direction it had come. Quickly shrinking over the horizon until it was no more than a black speck in the distance. Leaving me with nothing but the sounds of the wind that pushed the clouds around that I sat on.
Well. This is awkward. Why would they leave me here? There was no sign of any civilization for miles. I couldn't even see the lights from any of the neighboring cities or towns. The only thing out here was clouds, moonlight, and myself.
I looked up towards the moon. It's pale light streaming down from beyond the atmosphere. It was quite pretty. The stars gleamed brilliantly as well. The tiny pinpricks of light that glistened and shone were gorgeous. And I was bathed in a celestial glow that was truly otherworldly. It was beautiful.
It reminded me of the days when Silver and I-gah, Celestia Damnit. I was thinking about it again. I was thinking of her and the time we spent together. All the wonderful moments we shared. The time we had been together. And the events leading up to the point where we fell apart. Why did she have to drop that bombshell on a night like this.
I had to stop thinking about this. But it was hard not to, especially when conditions so closely to that last night. But that was no excuse. She was long gone now, and I needed to accept that.
I shook my head as if to clear myself of these thoughts. I had to stay focused. I had a job I needed to complete. And letting my mind wander wouldn’t help that at all. With a sigh, I checked my pipbucks clock. It was 2257. Apparently, I had been sitting on this cloud for damn near half an hour. Wow, talk about being behind schedule.
What was taking so long? All my time in the Guard, and I had never been so late to a meeting. Nor had I told a subordinate to report so early. But, as I scanned my environment again, there was no sign of any pony out here. The only sight was the clouds stretching far out around me. And the only sound was a lonely wind that seemed to creep up my spine.
Was this a joke? I had never been so insulted in my life. Had one of my associates from school thought it would be funny to offer me an opportunity to show my technological knowledge to ponies who actually mattered? Only to not only waste my time, the pilots time, and waste the precious fuel to fly me six hours away from town. Ultimately to leave me in the clouds. The possibility seemed childish at first. But as the continuing squalls of wind began to sound even louder, the practical joke seemed to becoming more of a reality.
. Perhaps the Vertibuck pilots had missed their time hack for delivering me. So instead of bringing me back to where I had begun, they decided to drop me off in the middle of no where. That seemed… Likely. Though it was certainly a brutal decision. I would have to fly back to Fort Laudermare if that were the case. And I did not think that the flight would be a short one, seeing as it took six hours to get to this location.
Just before I was about to start flying back towards Fort Laudermare, I heard the deep whine of jet turbines cranking up from just beneath me. Before I could act, the clouds underhoof began to displace and run off the sides of a ships hull. A large black armored vehicle began to rise from beneath ever so slightly. Its top slowly became more was just visible as it made its presence known. Wind began to violently tug and pull at me as the machine rose just a foot or so from underneath me.
When it was all said and done, black hull stretched around me. This was a BIG ship. The smooth panels of its hull were broken up by ventilation ports and pipes that decorated it's surface. The ship continued to stretch back for what seemed like a couple hundred meters. And about twenty meters away from me, and along the middle of the ship, was a round turret emplacement. It continued to sweep back and forth and it patrolled the skies around the ship. Further down there were more guns. Most smaller, and they rotated more quickly. Others, the larger ones, sat stationary, aiming their massive barrels down towards the surface.
It was at least the size of a Raptor class cloudship. A design of cloudship that had come about in an effort to combat dragons during the war. They were nowhere near as fast as a vertibuck, and even some pegasi could outrun them if the distance was short enough. But for what they lacked in speed, they made up for their maneuverability in a combat situation, and overwhelming firepower. These ships supported numerous anti-air batteries and artillery guns. And every single one of them needed a targeting talisman. I began imagining the control room inside and dozens of targeting matrix talismans just thrown about the room. I also imagined a few technicians inside trying understand those talismans by reading the instruction manuals for them.
There was a loud hiss, and a blast of steam exploded from an airlock about ten feet from me. It opened, and a pegasus emerged from within the confines of the ship. And oh pony, she was gorgeous, a solid ten if I’d ever seen one. She wore an officer’s uniform with numerous campaign ribbons stacked at least three high. She had her garrison cover perfectly placed on her head. And he deep blue mane complemented her sky blue coat The moonlight reflected off her shoulders, and I noticed the glint of the single silver bar over each of her shoulders.
Screw the new couch, I thought to myself, remembering the internal debate I had before the General had called me. For her, I'd remodel my whole apartment!
"Captain Stand Bold?" She asked, while throwing up a perfect salute with her wing. "The General would like to apologize for the secrecy of the operation, We needed to maintain absolute anonymity when dealing with assets that are not technically within our jurisdiction,"
Her voice was like silk on my ears. Her violet colored eyes focused only on me. Making me feel like there was nothing in the world that was more important than the conversation we were holding.
"Oh, its no problem at all," I responded, totally forgetting to return her salute and offering a hoof to her, "Im Doctor-er, Captain Stand Bold! Im eager to fix your talismans!"
The words came awkwardly and slightly rushed from my mouth. Almost as if they were tumbling. The mare looked at me quizzically, as she lowered her salute, and reached out to take my hoof.
"Uh, well, not your talismans, the ships. You don't have talismans, you're a mare. Uh, I mean... Where's the defective product?" I said, as I remembered why I was here. I shook her hoof and returned her salute with my own wing. I felt my face becoming warm as I realised how awkward I had just made the situation.
To my defense though, she did smile and even blush slightly as she said, "I'm Lieutenant Morning Grace, head of security on this ship. The talismans are below on the bridge," she gestured to the hatch before adding "Please sir, after you,"
I hoped forward and stepped down below the deck. The air became noticeably colder as I transitioned from outside to inside. And the area I had entered was quite dark. The only area around me that had any illumination was where the airlock had opened and let the moon in. Creating a column of silvery blue light into the ship.
Morning Grace, still quietly giggling for some reason, followed me inside, and locked the hatch. Darkness fell around both of us. I had not yet realized it, but this was the moment that my life was about to become a living hell.
[/hr]
Running.... I was running? WHY WAS I RUNNING! My heart throbbed in my chest, I gasped for every precious breath, and my sides burned from exertion. Hold on a moment, I thought, as the burning felt deeper than just the normal burn of physical activity. I stole a glance to my flanks, fresh smoke rose from the smoldering ruins of my flanks, both my sides radiating pain beyond any I could remember experiencing. I panicked. Pure adrenaline flowed through my veins. I couldn’t think to do anything else in that moment, so I ran harder. I had to escape.
I couldn't think straight at all. What had happened? All I could recall was my rank being torn off my uniform, and being tied down to a hard table. And everything else was just blackness. All of that had felt like it had been... hours ago? Days? I had no idea. Nothing made sense to me anymore!
I didn't know why they did it, I didn't know who did it. Celestia dammit, I didn't even know where the goddess I was! A ship of some sort, by the way the walls looked with hundreds of valves and pipes dotting the wall, occasionally broken apart by consules made of clouds. I remembered the moment when that mare had led me inside a ship. I must still be on board that one
Then I saw it, a red sign that read 'FIRE ESCAPE’. That was it, that was my chance to escape from this place, wherever this place was. If I could make it to that hatch I could make a break for it. Figure out what had happened, and make a plan.
"There's the fucking traitor, he's in the port side medical bay!" Shouted another pony from behind me. I almost stopped to look back when the bulkhead next to me exploded from the impact of an energy weapon discharging behind me.
Oh Luna, fuck me!
Weapons fire erupted behind me. I ran harder. I saw the fire escape sign getting closer. Bullets mixed with flashes of lasers splashed around me.
"Captain Stand Bold, under order of the Grand Pegasus Enclave, you are under arrest, STAND DOWN!"
Their demands fell upon deaf ears as I reached the escape hatch. I grabbed ahold of the door wheel and cranked hard. Suddenly, every sprinkler head gushed with water as the fire escape fell away from the ship. It fell into the darkness of night below, swallowing it whole and replacing it with the shriek of a harsh wind that tore at my mane.
I looked behind me to the four soldiers pursuing me down the hallway. Four very much so armed, and combat outfitted soldiers, I might add. And nothing in their hate filled eyes said they would give me the opportunity to surrender should I even want to.
“He’s making a break out of the medical fire escape, scramble a sortie, and arm everything on that side!” Shouted the lead soldier, slowing down to take aim with his energy rifle.
That's it brother. Curtains.
But his momentum had thrown of his aim, and he over corrected his footing. All of that threw his gallop off just enough to make him slip and fall on the now water slick deck. The three other soldiers were caught in the tumble, and all four crashed into another bulkhead. A sickening snap and howl of pain echoing down the hall as somepony undoubtedly was injured during the collision.
No better time than the present,
I turned from the commotion and looked into the howling dark below. Not even taking a moment to consider what I was doing, I leapt from the ship into that abyss below. I plummeted as fast as my momentum carried me. Flipping around to look at the ship I fell from. It was definitely a Raptor class vessel, the name Cloud Chaser was etched into its side. I twisted my body in the air and pumped my wings as hard as I could away from the war machine.
So there I was: plummeting through the sky. Nothing but a few items packed in my saddlebags, the tattered remains of my uniform clinging to my body, my pipbuck, and no memories of my latest adventure... Why did I have a feeling that this was about to become the doozie of my life?
[/hr]
"Lieutenant, you know I do not appreciate failure of my esteemed officers. Especially when matters are so... delicate." A stern feminine voice said to the security pony. "This Captain Stand Bold poses a clear and present danger to our operations. When the Operative hears of this... Well, let's say I won't be left in the rain."
"Ma'am, I take full responsibility." Morning Grace said, her various campaign medals sparkling in the dark light of General Starfall's office. She had been here for some time, giving the General a full account of her interactions with the terrorist.
"Good. Because you will be the one I entrust with finding him." The General said, her teeth flickering in a wicked smile. "We may have purged most of his memory, but regardless, he is still a liability. A liability that must be neutralized with the utmost haste."
"Yes ma'am"
"You are dismissed Lieutenant, find him. And kill him."
The lieutenant saluted her superior and made an about face. She walked to the door and the automatic hydraulic system began to open it.
"Oh, and Morning Grace?" The General said, the lieutenant turning to face her as the door ascended along its rails, revealing a large waiting room filled with nearly the entire ship’s staff waiting to give the General their own reports.
"You are relieved of your command and all communications with any enclave members are henceforth barred." She said loudly, for the others to hear, then quietly added, "you will find him, you will kill him, and you will report back to me. Is that understood?"
"Crystal... Ma'am." Morning Grace replied curtly. Visibly becoming distressed by the Generals word.
The General nodded and motioned for her to leave. She did so, the door whooshing shut behind her. The ponies waiting to speak with the general stared her down. Knowing nothing of the conversation that was just held on the other side of the bulkhead.
No pony spoke to her as she left the room. Nor did anypony else when she went back to her quarters to pack her field gear and don her power armor.
She was in quite a frazzle as she packed the gear. She was so frazzled, that she did not notice when she packed two of Stand Bolds memory balls, records taken from him during the interrogation, and a memory recollecter, into her saddlebags.
She left her quarters in disarray. Multiple draws were left open, the contents of which were strewn about the room in the most undisciplined of fashions imaginable. Her small five by nine space looked more like a homeless ponies shelter.
She went back to the fire escape Stand Bold had jumped from. The area was still being cleaned from the ocean of water that the sprinkler system had disgorged upon the hallway.
She cautiously looked out the door into the abyss that was now facing her. Remembering to key in the tag for Stand Bold's pipbuck. Funny that he had told her his tag if he was planning on enacting his terrorist plans. Why would he willingly give up the only way the enclave could track him?
With a grimace, she leapt out of the Raptor, and began to track the renegade. Fear and confusion motivating her to do as she was told. No matter how much she didn't want to.
Footnote: New Game started.
New Perk: Dashite - You start out with the perk Magical Power Armor Training. (And at the GM's discretion, you may start out with access to a suit of Enclave Power Armor.) You are branded as a Dashite and no longer have your cutie mark. Additionally, you gain a -10 to all stats and karma when dealing with enclave citizens, and a +10 when dealing with any other Dashite. This trait is subject to GM approval.
Quest Perk: Memory Loss - You have lost all knowledge of your past few days. You gain a -10 to any Intelligence test that requires the usage of your short term memory.
Author's Note
Authors Note:
First of all, I'd like to point out that is my first time writing anything that is related to My Little Pony, Fanfics in general, and any type of writing that is meant to entertain others. It is a work in progress, and I hope it can stack up to the work of others... If not, just bash the shit out of it in the comments. Maybe that will bring about some improvement.
Second, I'd like to thank Kkat, for creating Fallout: Equestria, and actually making me interested in My Little Pony. If she had not spiked my interest in My Little Pony, I would never have taken a second glance at the magic of Friendship.
Third, I’d like to thank Somber and his friends for creating Project Horizons, which in my opinion, has got to be the greatest master piece of fan fiction I have read.
Finally, I’d like to thank my buddy Johnson for reviewing this and giving me the okay. He has written a number of fan fics, including ‘Equestrian Honor Guard’, and its sequel, ‘Honor Above All Else’. He’s a talented writer with great ideas. I’m happy to have him on board this project.
The Goal with this story is to take the view of a member of the Enclave. I have always thought it would be very interesting to see it from their side of the pasture. And lets face it, Pegasus ponies are just awesome in general.
The story was intentionally left a little vague, due to the loss of the main characters memory towards the end of the chapter. Don't worry, we will find out how much time he was really on the Cloud Chaser, and what happened aboard the ominous vessel.
Escape
Chapter 2: Escape
“This is my decision, and I'm gonna make it on my own, and I certainly can't think straight with all this noise.”
There is one facet of the Enclave I neglected to mention before. I did not think it
was applicable at the time, so I did not bring it up. But, considering recent events, I feel full disclosure is necessary. The matter of which I'm speaking if is the issue of Dashite's.
Loyalty is one of the major driving factors of the Enclave. It was what held our entire civilization together in the beginning, and continues to do so in our struggle for survival. It was necessary for political figures to raise to power. For soldiers to trust each other. For business and laws to be established.
For a pegasus to breach loyalty was to commit one of the greatest sins he or she could commit. Even though there were no laws that enforced the upkeep of loyalty, it was part of the basic social contract that every pegasus abided by.
Once in a rare occurrence, a pegasus would breach the social contract. They would commit an egregious action that broke their loyalty. Typically, this would result in the Pegasus being socially shunned. Still permitted to live in their home, but under the constant suspicions of their neighbors and former friends.
In most cases like this, the perpetrator would either suffer a lonely lifestyle, make up for his or her mistake, or simply move away. Usually they could make up for it. It wasn't so challenging as to prove impossible, but it would take time. Imagine if you would, you and your good friend had an argument. Afterwards, the two of you would probably be at odds and not want to speak to each other. But eventually, the two of you would recover. This is very similar to what would happen to a pegasus whose loyalty was in question.
Often enough though, they would move. It wasn't so hard to escape from one Enclave city and move to a new one. In a new town or city, no pegasus would know you. Establishing a new life would be as easy as starting a new job, and getting to know the new coworkers. Or meeting new ponies in the area.
All of these options I've mentioned are recoverable situations. All it would take would be a bit of work and time. But eventually, everything would go back to normal. In most cases.
However, there were some circumstances that would lead to total excommunication. Actions that were so heinous to the pegasi that only an act of Celestia could ever hope to begin to redeem the one who committed the crime. I am speaking about Dashite's.
Dashite's were very rare. There were only a hooffull in the history of the Enclave. These were members of the Enclave that had committed an act that was viewed as inspiring anarchy, high treason against the pegasus race, and any other suitable crime. They typically had done something that threatened the peace and stability of the Enclave as a whole. They were comparable to terrorists. No, they WERE terrorists.
Talk about zero to a hundred real quick.
The first Dashite had been influenced by the actions of a mare from the very beginning of the Enclave. And that mare had been one of the most powerful and influential mares in Princess Luna's government. She had created the Shadowbolts, overseeing their operations and creating new objectives for them. She had led the Armies of Princess Luna in nearly every major engagement during the war. She was the Ministry head over arguably the most useless and useful of the six ministries. I am speaking of course about Ministry Mare Rainbow Dash.
She was considered one of the most loyal Pegasus to have ever been alive. She flew into danger to save the lives of countless soldiers. Usually fending off scores more of the Zebra aggressors, Griffin mercenaries, and renegade dragons. She had been one of the most capable combat leaders during the entire war.
She had been one of the bearers of an Element of harmony, the element of loyalty. And as a bearer, she had been charged with creating and leading her own ministry, which she eventually named the Ministry of Awesome, the MOA for short. The MOA was never on record for officially doing anything other than creating the Special Pegasus Project and a few other little projects. Unofficially though, her ministry conducted innumerable special operations missions that helped to cripple the Zebra operations far into the enemies lines.
After the bombs dropped and the pegasi closed off the sky, the Enclave began to exact its authority over the clouds. And there was nothing on their priority list that indicated any humanitarian missions to the surface would be forthcoming. This didn't sit well with Rainbow Dash, who in a bold maneuver, challenged the Enclave to do something. Then, before the council could formulate a response, she went to the surface to do what she could. Expecting the full might of the pegasi to follow her... only, they didn't.
She went to the surface alone. Where she is believed to have died in a mere amount of days. But her actions influenced another pegasus to eventually follow her, the first Dashite: Scootaloo. A pegasus mare who had been the president of Red Racer, a company that had been quite powerful during the war.
Scootaloo had made a very dramatic exit from the Enclave. She had told nearly all the leaders to go to tartarus. That their new policies needed to support Rainbow Dash. She even went as far to call herself a Dashite, coining the term and dubbing herself with the foul label.
She abandoned the Enclave to follow Rainbow Dash. And just like her icon, it is unclear whether she survived more than a few days in the wasteland. Nor if she had survived long enough to even find Rainbow Dash.
Since then, the Enclave has taken reasonable measures to prevent any more incidents concerning Dashite's. They drew up laws banning them inside of Enclave territory. Created propaganda campaigns influencing patriotism and demonizing anything related to dashite ideology. They even went as far as to create doctrine in how to deal with a pegasus in the event of turning dashite; going as far as branding Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, a cloud with a lightning bolt, over the cutie mark of the offender.
A brand that was now seared into my skin.
So this is the part of the story where I'm supposed to tell you it was all a dream. That everything happened in a vision I had while I was comfortably sleeping at home in Fort Laudermare. That I woke up the next morning, and everything was back to normal. That I made it to drill on time on Saturday, and Sunday. That I went back to work on Monday morning and continued on with my research and everything was right in the world.
Sadly, I cannot say that. Everything that had happened was very much so real. I didn't show up to drill on sunday, and I most certainly did not show up to Type 40 on Monday morning. In fact, I had not slept in what felt like days. I was still trying to escape from my pursuers, who had apparently decided to take their sweet time hunting me down. And suddenly I was a dashite. And worst of all, I had no idea why.
There was no time to rest after leaving the Cloud Chaser. Almost immediately after breaking free of the ship, It had begun to slow down. Undoubtedly, the captain was preparing to bring her about to launch volley after volley of laser energy death at me. A small window of opportunity was granted to me to escape from the ships pursuit. Thank Luna that there was a particularly strong wind tonight, it would delay the ship from quickly executing the turn it needed to pursue me.
But that wasn't the only problem. I knew that the ship was loaded with other pegasus. They would be able to hunt me down faster than the Cloud Chaser could turn. And why wouldn't the captain authorize multiple sorties to hunt me down? It seemed like their best option to quickly capture me.
My only defense was that they had no way to track me, at least that's what I thought at the moment. I wasn't wearing my armor. And I didn't think they implanted any tracking devices on or in my body... urgh, why had tha suddenly become one of my fears? Doing my best to forget about the idea of internal tracking devices, I flew hard and fast in the direction of civilization. It would be my best shot for figuring out my next step.
My wings propelled me quickly away from the ship that was quickly disappearing over the horizon. My wings ached deeply from the effort. And I felt every stab of pain throughout my body as I blasted through errant clouds. The only light was the moon and stars twinkling high above me. The moon and stars that I remembered being so wonderful when last I saw them. When is was brought down into the Cloud Chaser.
I couldn't think about that now though. I had to go home and figure out my next step. There I could administer whatever medical care I needed to my injured body, and arm myself for a proper defense. Luckily, it looked and felt as if all my wounds were superficial and would be cured by a few healing potions. Well, all except for the magical brand that still smoked on my sides.
I still hadn't fully taken that in yet, being a dashite. Maybe when I got home I could take a look at it. Maybe it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. With a snort, I pushed myself harder in the direction of home.
Apparently the vertibuck I had flown out on to the Cloud Chaser had been flying in circles for a few hours to simulate a long journey. I figured this because it had taken me a little over two hours of flying to make it all the way back to town. Hardly the journey to the middle of no where as i surmised earlier. It probably would have taken me less time as well if into weren't injured.
I arrived in town very late in the night. It was around two in the morning when my flight into Fort Laudermare was finally over. I had flown towards where my apartment complex was, but something had been nagging at me to not go directly to the to it. So I stopped at a neighboring high rise, about a quarter block away from the apartment. It was here that is checked over my battered body.
My wings ached from the long flight. And bruises covered most of my body. I looked like somepony had tried using me as a punching bag. Apparently I had been stabbed twice as well, but the injuries had clearly been attended to. And my cutie mark...That was a mess.
The right side had been fully branded away. Leaving nothing but a burned on cloud and lightning bolt, that covered the blue circle and white spade of my cutie mark entirely. The left side however, wasn't nearly so bad. Apparently the handler who used the brand didn't know what he was doing. Because he had done a poor job of scalding away the flesh. A white spade could still be clearly seen and a haze of blue surrounded it. It was in the blue where the charred flesh started to form a cloud and lighting shape around the remains of the mark. It was... Disturbing, to say in the least.
What the hell had I done? My mind was swimming in flashes of colors and sounds that made no sense to me. By the internal chronometer of my pipbuck, I had been aboard the Cloud Chaser for nine days. And I couldn't remember jack shit as to what led to me becoming a dashite. I did have a few memories though. They were very blurry and confusing.
One was of a gorgeous mare sitting across from me at a table In what appeared to be the ships cafeteria. We were eating a meal and talking about something. I couldn't tell if this had been lunch, dinner, or some other random meal. Nor could I remember her name. Or anything of what was said at the table for that matter. But I did remember liking her, and her laugh.
Another memory, this one falling under the painful category, was of a large white pegasus who had clearly taken a liking to me. I could remember his roided out muscles as his hooves struck me repeatedly for what seemed hours. And I think he was the one who stabbed me as well.
In the back of this memory, I kept seeing an older mare asking me questions. Interrogating me. When I gave her an answer she didn't like the brute would appear and beat me into near unconsciousness. Then, the old mare would continue to ask more questions as if she hadn't noticed that I was getting the stuffing kicked out of me. Of course, I couldn't remember a single question she asked me. Just that she had asked, that I had answered, and that he beat me.
What the fuck was going on here?
I couldn't think of it anymore, I had bigger problems right now. I had to figure out my next step. And right now, that step involved getting something to eat and apartment bed to sleep in.
I made my way along the rooftop of what I assumed was a parking garage for sky busses. I came up to the edge and peered over in the direction of my apartment. It was challenging to see through the dark, there were very few streetlights and the moon had been obscured by high level clouds. But that didn't stop me from seeing the mess below.
Home was now out of the question, that much was clear. I saw the tell tail remains of police ransacking the apartment. Much of my livelihood had been ripped from the apartment and strewn across an area that was cordoned off from the rest of street below. Items were organized into piles and were carefully segregated so others combing through the items could search for evidence. Clearly searching for any clues, or whatever it was that police ponies search for.
My couch had also been pulled out as well. It appeared to have become a gathering point for the the police ponies to relax while they performed their search. While sitting there, they would comb through any files or papers they found in the house. Clearly they still had not looked under the cushions though, because there was a treasure trove of evidence there. The past three months of my Wing Boner magazine collection were hidden there. If they were looking for anything incriminating, than those magazines would probably be the most they could find.
This was too risky, I had to move. I needed to find somewhere that nopony would go to anytime soon. Where I could lay low for maybe a few days and take account of all my gear. I still needed to administer aid to my battered body. And most importantly a place where I could figure out my next real step.
Then a location came to mind. My eyes sparked with excitement as I realized I had known of a place that would work out perfectly. I checked my saddle bags to make sure I still had the key. I did. With a smile, I leapt silently into the air and started flying south. I had already flown so far, but I could at least fly two more miles to my new safe haven.
Never in my life had I ever dreamed I would be using the armory as a safe haven. A building that was designed for the explicit purpose of training warriors to combat enemies of the state had become my safest destination. Something seemed poetically ironic about that, but I'd take what I would get.
The Armory was deserted this time of the week. After all, it was a monday nearing three in the morning. No pony would come here until following month for the next mandated drill. In addition to the lack of pony traffic through the building, I did not expect any police to come either. The local police needed a military judge's approval to step hoof onto the premises to investigate the area. Unless if there were a clear reason for police intervention, such as a robbery or murder. The unlikelihood of either made me feel all the more comfortable. Unless all hell broke loose, I would be safe. At least, relatively safe for the time being.
I silently stalked through the area around the armory. looking over my shoulder every few minutes to make sure no pony had followed me or was watching me. It was clear that no pony was wondering about the shops across the street or the grounds along the armory. And all the lights in the tall office buildings bordering the armory were off.
I went to one of the side doors and unlocked it. Quietly, I stepped inside and made sure to lock the doors behind me. I combed through the armory, checking every corner of the six thousand square foot building.
The building was centered on one large four thousand square foot room. This was the drill floor, and it was where all company level training would take place. From there, the remaining two thousand feet of building was divided into a horseshoe shaped hallway that ran around the south side of the building. This is where smaller classrooms, kitchens, offices and other rooms were held. The officers hallway was also down here. This hall connected to the main entrance of the building, which also led into the drill floor.
It was creepy. The building was huge and empty. All equipment and gear was stowed away in the supply room or in locked closets throughout the armory. It gave the building an abandoned feeling. And I didn't like it.
I turned down the officers hallway and made my way to my office. Stopping to flip the light switch on in the hallway. I tried my best to walk quietly. Tip-toeing down the length of the hallway. I made it to my office, the last door in the hall. I pulled my key out and unlocked the door. And without another thought, stepped inside and bolted it shut.
Snapping on the lights in the office I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Evading capture had been a lot simpler then I thought, but it certainly had been stressful and perilous. Just standing in my office felt like I had achieved quite a lot over the past few hours. Now I was free to finally look over my injuries and treat them.
I reached into the top left drawer of the desk and pulled out a first aid kit. A little yellow box with three pink butterflies on it. Not a regulation Enclave medical box, which were safety orange with a sky blue cross on the front. No, this first aid kit was a bit of a family heirloom from before the end of the war. It had belonged to a distant relative who had fought with the Shadow Bolts at the height of the war. And it had never been used.
There was a soft hiss as the top popped opened for the first time in nearly two centuries. I upended the side, allowing the contents to be spilled on the desk and left them open for me to examin. First thing I saw was a healing potion, it's contents having faded from a deep purple to a medium lavender. Did that means it was bad?
I pulled it out and drank deeply from it. Which may not have been a good idea seeing as it was over two hundred years old. Regardless of age, it still helped out a might bit. I felt my body begin to feel better. Small abrasions on my sides magically disappeared and the soreness in the muscles around my wings was alleviated somewhat.
I still felt like shit, but comparatively not as shitty. And with solving the physical issues, I had time to think in the relative safety of my office. Safety that I knew would not last long. Sooner or later the investigators would come looking here, and I would have to flee under pursuit. That was something I positively did not want to have happen. Images of me fleeing from two ponies wearing black suits and wearing dark sunglasses came to mind. And a thought of some dramatic downtown escape on hoof danced around in my imagination..
No, it was much better to leave sooner. But where would I go? Every pony I knew would almost definitely turn their back on me. I had no real friends to speak of. Not even from school. Even if I did the likelihood of them welcoming me into their home was low, especially with the mark of the Dashite on my hind quarters.
I'm an outlaw now, and I wasn't safe in Fort Laudermare. A fugitive hiding on an Enclave Military base, searching for another safe house … super.
But where was safe? That became the question of the hour. And the more i mulled it over, the less feasible it became to stay in Enclave territory. I didn't know what they wanted me for, but I couldn't promise myself they wouldn't kill me. I had seen a hooful of ponies go dashite in my time. And all of them who stayed made a brief stint on the run before being captured and never being seen again.
There was always griffon territory. The half eagle half lion creatures had been known to take in runaways. Or at least take them in long enough for a sizable contract to be placed on said runaway. And besides, I had made somewhat of a name for myself in griffon controlled airspace.
Sometime about two years ago there was an incident on the Enclave's border with the griffins. Something about the danger of a border state having relatively unpoliced interactions with the surface. The Enclave had not liked that, and mobilized soldiers for a show of force.
At the time I had been a platoon leader. And my company had been assigned to spearhead the operation. Long story short, we had seen some action and lost the previous company commander. Leaving me to fill the role. Ultimately, I continued the mission and received some award for my actions that the griffins had not agreed with. But, that story is neither here nor now. My current problem remained, and I concluded that Griffin territory would not be safe for me
Maybe I could go to the surface? I had heard rumors of a civilization down there. But if the rumors were to be believed, than that civilization was violent and warlike. Disease ran rampant. Ponies murdered each other for the most trivial of details. And monsters created from the magical radiation dominated the food chain. I couldn't survive down there long. Or could I?
Some of the classes at Sky Point had been dedicated to surviving in the field. Albeit, most of those classes had been focused on how to make the conditions on a ferrel cloud bearable. But a few had been how to avoid common threats on the surface such as radiation, taint, and if one had the misfortune of being in Hoofington, enervation.
I cringed at the thought of the photos the administration had shown the cadets of ponies who had been caught in the enervation fields. Little remained of them, their bodies liquified by magical energies that the Enclave still had no counter to. Thankfully, enervation was only found in the Hoof, and even then it was still rare in that region.
Getting to the surface wouldn't be much of a problem. I still had access to my work files on my pipbuck. And it just so happened that the Enclave defense system that kept ponies from traveling through the cloud cover, the Lightning Rods, were designed to function with the talismans that I had made. Finding gaps in the system wouldn't be to difficult.
But what about equipment? I needed supplies to survive. And there would be no chance for a resupply down there. I needed to bring enough supplies to sustain me. I began to take an account of everything in my office and saddlebags.
The pipbuck skyrocketed the top of the 'to bring list'. The device was designed to create maps of everything within a few hundred meters. In addition to that, I could check my vitals, detect radiation, tune into radio broadcasts, and even store any datafile I might come across. And I had to face it, the quality of being nigh indestructible, made it the perfect tool to be used in the wasteland.
Other items that made the list were a few yards of rope, a couple of meals ready to eat (MRE's), my aviator glasses, and a tool kit. Inside the tool kit was a pipbuck key, a small ball peen hammer, an assortment of screwdrivers, and a crescent wrench. Clearly not much. Certainly not enough to survive for long.
I could take my power armor. It was locked up in the Armory basement. But the device would be a dead giveaway. Not only could ponies easily identify me from a distance, but the Enclave could track the suit. I could disable the safeties around the tracking device, but that would take to long. Tack on the massive amounts of power it would consume. No, it would absolutely be best not to take the armor.
Just then, the unmistakable sound of the Armory's front door opening sounded through the quiet building. Alarmed, I shoved all of the items into my saddlebags. I might have to bug out quick if I didn't want to be found.
Before leaving the office, I opened a small safe under my desk and pulled out the last thing I ever thought I would need. An old .357 revolver. I slid the outdated firearm into a holster and strapped it on just under my left wing. The pistol had been father’s, and his father’s before him. A family heirloom that looked as if it had seen better days. I had no idea if it would still fire properly. But the pistol would definitely help to at least look dangerous if I got caught in a hard place. And if it did fire, there was a box of fifty rounds next to it. And the weapon was fully loaded.
Quietly, I made my way to the door and listened for sounds on the other side. Nothing. I glanced at the Eyes Forward Sparkle. A pipbuck function, the EFS would alert me to any pony, friend or foe, within a 20 meter radius. Right now it showed three targets, marked red, towards the main room of the armory. Shit. This might go south quickly.
Carefully, I opened the door to the office and silently stalked down the corridor. Careful not to make a sound. I came up on the double doors dividing the officers hall from the main room.
"Hurry up Dasher. I don't like being here!" A mares voice could be heard clearly from the other side.
"Oh calm down Raindrop. There's no one here," I heard Star Dasher respond, "Merryweather is fine being here!"
"Of course she is, this is her armory now! She runs this place, what with the Captain turning Dashite," Raindrop said.
I winced at that. I'd been wondering if my soldiers had heard about my current predicament. It was dumb of me to hope they hadn't. If it's anything I could rely on, it was my soldiers spreading rumors. Well, I guess in this case it had been more of a current event so much as a rumor, but regardless, still spreading gossip.
"Wonder where the sour fuck is. Definitely not at his crappy apartment, cops got it ransacked. Took his couch out and everything!" Star Dasher said, chuckling at the thought, "You know he slept on that couch right? Fucking moron. You'd think he'd have slept on that giant ass bed they tore up yesterday,"
They tore up my bed... Those... Do they know what they've done? I haven't touched it in ages. Not since she left for-No. I won't think about that now. It doesn't matter anyway. Bad memories. Bad... Bad memories. I blinked and saw her silver feather pass through my vision... Bad memories.
"You're being awfully quiet Merryweather. Something on your mind?" Star Dasher asked. Then, in a more flirtatious voice, she added, "All this talk about beds must be gettin’ you hot."
"Actually, it's not," Merryweather said, finally breaking her silence. "You foals are so distracted with gossip that you haven't noticed anything, have you?"
There was a moment of scilence where i could just invision two of the mares looking at each other confused, then back to Merryweather, shaking their heads.
"The lights down the officers hall are on."
What?... Oh celestia, you have got to be kidding me right now! My eyes practically exploded from my skull as they went wide. How could I be so dumb to turn the lights on! I heard Merry's hoof steps coming closer to the door. It was time to act. In seconds they would be on me.
"I wonder who's been poking around my new building," Merryweather said, her tone adopting an ever so playful air.
There was a moment's hesitation. I strained my ears to try and hear what was going on across the other side of the double doors. I could only hear my soft and rapid breathing.
The doors burst open. Merryweather and I stared at each other, almost muzzle to muzzle.a smile crossed her lips.
"Girls!" She exclaimed, "I think we'd better start working on our new promotion paperwork,"
Quick as anything I'd seen, Merryweather grabbed my forehoof with her mouth and threw me into the room with astounding strength. I was airborne for a few moments before slamming hard into the wall on the opposite side. Stars exploded before my eyes, and pain wrecked through my already battered body.
"Wow Merry, you're gettin’ pretty strong!" Dasher said, a wicked grin on her face, "Have you been working out when I wasn't looking?"
"Took a buck before we came here," Merry sneered, "Figured the fucker would be snooping around his old office. Silly colt, he should have learned by now that the fillies run this place now,"
"Buck is quite illegal," I coughed and sputtered on the ground. Little flecks of blood dotting my lips. "Sure its something a pony of your new position should be using?"
"Like your one to talk, fucken village burner.," Raindrop said through gritted teeth, "You'll burn for what you've done. Dropping that bomb on the village. You fucking sick son of a bitch!"
Village burner? What in Celestia's name were they going on about?
"What are you talking about? The only bombs I ever set off were during training exercises at the academy!" I snarled back, desperately trying to figure a way to gain control of the situation.
"Don't deny it, coward. It's all over the news!" Star Dasher said, "The guard officer turned traitor, Stand Bold, who set off bombs in Seabiscuiton. I had a friend living there. And now she's dead. Along with all the other villagers who lived there!"
Seabiscuiton was a small village about three miles north of Laudermare. It was relatively new, a town that was supposed to be one of the safest in the entire Enclave. I knew, I'd designed the Lightning Rod defense system the town was built over.
"I don't know what you're talking about. In fact, I don't know anything between releasing you all from drill last week and up until three hours ago," I told them truthfully.
"It doesn't matter. Were bringing you in. Well, that is if you survive that long," Merryweather declared finally. And with that she, Raindrop and Star Dasher all charged simultaneously and began striking blows across my body.
Pain exploded through me. I could feel my body buckle as I braced against Merryweather's drug filled rage. The flurry of blows tore through me like a wrecking ball. Every buck from her felt like it shot through me from nose to tail. Rattling my teeth and shaking my very core.
What her blows couldn't reach, Raindrop and Star Dasher did. They lacked the drug fueled power that Merryweather possessed. But they certainly made up for it in ferocity and speed. Quickly hammering me up and down my sides. I folded under the pressure, doing my best to curl into a fetal position and try and weather the storm of their blows.
There was no time to think. I had to act. Maybe I could get a warning shot off with my pistol? It seemed like my only option. I didn't think I could take much more of their attack.
Under the hail of hooves pounding my body, I bit down on my sidearm. Yanking the hammer back while simultaneously pulling it from the holster. Without even thinking and my eyes tightly shut, I pulled the trigger.
Silence fell upon the room. I opened my eyes in time to see Raindrop and Star Dasher jumping back. Apparently no pony had the sense to notice the weapon on my side and had been equally surprised as I was when it had actually gone off.
The silence finally broke when Merryweather slumped to the ground. Her eyes were crossed and she had a confused look on her face. Worst of all, a hole in the back of her head leaked blood and bits of grey matter that had peppered the ceiling and floor behind her. For all the drugs in the world, there were none she could have taken to prevent that grievous and fatal blow.
Star Dasher and Raindrop just stood there, expressions of fear and shock crossing their faces as a pool of blood began to form around our hooves. I said nothing. I simply held the pistol towards them in a pose that I hope looked intimidating. If any doubts had existed that I wasn't a killer, I had just blasted them apart with 125 grains of gunpowder at 1,600 feet per second.
Slowly, I backed my way to the door. Still aiming the sights of the smoking firearm at the two ponies. I kicked the door open with a my hind hoof, and continued to back away out of the entrance of the Armory.
"You are beyond fucked," Star Dasher whispered. Shaking from muzzle to hoof with rage, "We'll find you, and we'll kill you."
I said nothing, I wouldn't risk losing the grip on my pistol. Silently I backed away until the door shut in front of me. Thats when I turned tail and ran as fast as I could.
"Your fucking dead Bold, FUCKING DEAD!" Star Dasher shouted.
When the main doors to the armory clanged shut I took off for the sky. Flying as fast as my wings would carry me, I made for the city limits. I would no longer be safe in the Armory. I wouldn't be safe in Fort Laudermare. I had to get out of the Enclave, and fast. Now my only option was to flee to the surface. It was safer to hide below than to be hunted down in the clouds.
As soon as I had put enough distance between myself and the city, I headed west for the Manehatten ruins. With luck I could make it through the cloud cover and into the Wasteland unnoticed during the Manehatten Lightning Rods' maintenance.
And there I was. Alone in the night sky once again. It was another star filled night above me. The little twinkling lights above grew brighter and more numerous the further I fled from the city. The moon sat perfectly before me as I continued on my trajectory. I couldn't help but pause as I viewed the beauty before me. And that pause was all it took for my actions to reassert themselves to the forefront of my mind.
Thats when it hit me. I killed her. Put a bullet straight through her head. Not a grazing hit. Not a flesh wound. But an honest to Celestia bullet wound directly into the brain. There was no coming back from a head injury like that. The best hope for her would be the life of a vegetable. And that was a slow death compared to the quick death of being shot.
The image of her confused face came surging back to me. Bits of blood pooling around my hooves. The shocked faces of Star Dasher and Raindrop. The thickness of the air around me... it all made me feel sick, absolutely sick.
Than, I heard her voice in the back of my mind. Not Merryweather or the other two mares who witnessed her murder. It was the voice of that mare who had long ago abandoned me.
"Dusty... look at you. You've fallen again. And this time you can't get back up." She said. I could mentally see her flip her mane in disdain towards me. "It was cute once, seeing you down there. Its why i came to pick you up. To dust you off. But it's not cute anymore, is it? Stand Bold."
The last words she said to me echoed through my mind. The last time anypony had called me by my nickname. The nickname she had given to me.
I couldn't take it anymore. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach. Fitting to, because It was at that moment that everything in my stomach violently disgorged itself. Filth rained down to the clouds below me. Mostly clear fluid.
Thick tears began to well up in my eyes. The thought of her had made this unbearable situation take the plunge it needed to become a nightmare. Streams of tears cut angry swaths down the sides of my face.
And there I was. Alone. Flying through the beautiful night sky. Tears streaking down my face. Vomit crusting around my mouth. I'd never killed anypony before. Goddesses, I'd never killed anything before! I'd seen bodies, but I never took the life force from them. Was this how I would spend the rest of my life; fleeing from authority and killing whoever was chasing after me?
The pony she had known would never have killed anypony. The pony she had loved wouldn't have found himself with a dashite brand on his flanks and government figures chasing him. I had been that pony; until she had taken that name from me.
It was right then when I started to realize how much I hated my name even more. As Stand Bold, I had led a life that left me wanting so much more. A life devoid of friends. A life that had become so very desperate for the lost love of another. A life that had become that of a Dashite, who killed others with wanton disregard...
The more I thought of it, the more I knew I needed to shed the weight of my name. Not only had it led to all the horrors I was experiencing now, but it would continue to affect me from here out. It would be easy for any pony tracking me to find me by simply asking others if they had heard of me. Stand Bold wasn't exactly a common name after all.
So I changed my name. I would not continue to acknowledge it. It was as dead to me as Merryweather was to the world.
She had called me Dusty. That was her pet name for me. I had hated that to. It had been a nickname she gave me when I didn't like her. But eventually it had grown on me. And I missed being called Dusty...
So I will call myself Dusty. It shall become my name in the wasteland below.
This wasn't right and it scared me. Tears fell down my face in great rivers now. I felt if I cried hard enough that I could erase what had just happened. Just reverse the clock nine days and go back to being just plain Stand Bold. The Stand Bold who hated his job in the military. Back to when Merryweather was alive and no one thought I was a traitor. Back to when she loved me.
But I knew that the pain I felt and the tears that dropped from my eyes couldn't erase that. Merryweather would always be dead now. And I would forever be a dashite. And no amount of my tears would change that. No amount of tears would bring her back either. Somehow, that just made me cry harder.
Morning Grace was had failed and she was quite pissed with herself. Clearly, she had not been taking her task seriously enough and another pony was dead. She had just left the Fort Laudermare police station. Her heart heavy with the recent developments in the Terrorist Stand Bold case.
Captain Merryweather, newly promoted to fill the hole that had come along when
Stand Bold was removed from command, was laying in the coroner's office. A bullet hole in her head.
She was a good pony from what she had heard. Always showed up to drill on time. And ready to help her squadmates prepare for the days activities. She had been killed in the armory she was commanding. The two witnesses present said they had gone to make sure one of them had locked up her gear after being excused from drill. Private Star Dasher was her name. She had been one of Merryweather's troops and long time friend.
The witnesses had told police that Stand Bold came out of the officers hall, brandishing a pistol and threatening to kill them all. Apparently he had said he would do more brutal things to the three as well. That was when Merryweather went to defend her troops. She was so brave. But in the end, it had gotten her killed, and Stand Bold had fled.
She had to find him and end his trail of death. She checked his pipbuck tag again, but it had long gone dark. He must have breached the cloud barrier and gone to the surface. That was the only explanation as to why the tag was no longer showing up.
With a sigh, she leapt into the early morning breeze and started west. The wind pulled at her as she flew towards Manehatten. It had been the general direction Stand Bold's pipbuck tag was traveling in before going dead. She wasn't sure he had gone there, but she was running out of options. And she really needed to find him. With luck, somepony down there may have seen something and could lead her in the right direction. That is of course, if that somepony was not one of the insane murderers who lived down there now.
She really didn't want to go back to the wasteland. She'd been there a few times before, and knew of the harshness of the doomed land. But she had no option. She had to find Stand Bold and avenge all the wrong he had done.
Footnote: Level Up.
Skill Note: Guns (55)
New Perk: Jinxed: Both you, and your enemies suffer double the normal chances for critical hits and failures.
Quest Perk: Memory Loss - still in effect.
Author's Note
As always, I'd like to thank Kkat, for creating Fallout: Equestria, and actually making me interested in My Little Pony. If she had not spiked my interest in My Little Pony, I would never have taken a second glance at the magic of Friendship.
This chapter is supposed to start giving clues about what happened to Stand Bold during his time aboard the Cloud Chaser. Additionally, it serves to give us a bit more background on Stand Bold, and a taste of his past. In the coming chapters, we will go more in-depth to his life experiences.
Updates might be a little spaced out after this one. I've got two weeks of army stuff coming up this Saturday, and a seven hour drive tomorrow-uh, I mean, later today. Hopefully I'll be able to get time to squeeze another chapter out by sometime next week, and a few more in the weeks to follow.
Oh, how the gears of time work slow but surely. It's nearly a year since this chapter was originally posted. I had hope to be so much further along in this story by now, but I'm not. I tribute that to my poor craftsmen ship as a writer. Don't worry, things will get better, at least for those who enjoy the story.
