Fallout Equestria: Duty

Fallout Equestria: Duty

Prologue

Unexpected Orders

“If you say so...”

I stood on the observation deck of the Luna Dream, watching the night sky as the ship cut through the air. Below us I could see the bad lands south of Appleloosa... Why anypony would want to live here had always been beyond me, but it was still Equestrian soil, and as such it was my duty to protect it. Deciding that it was almost time, I turned around and made my way towards the hangar deck. The new Recruits would soon arrive, and I didn't want to miss it. Life aboard an unlisted Thunder-head was pretty boring, since these ships were not build with entertainment in mind. Sure, we had a gym and even a small library, but those were... just not for me. As the door to the observation deck slid open, I almost bumped into one of my subordinates who obviously wanted to do some stargazing of her own.

        “Whoa there... watch out with that horn. I only have one eye left, and … Oh sorry ma’am. I didn’t know it was you.” the jet black Pegasus mare in front of me said as she stepped aside to let me through. No matter how friendly I was with some of my subordinates, my rank created a rift between us that I desperately wanted to close. Alas, as long as I was in the army, that would not be possible.

        “Don't worry Storm, I couldn't take out your eye with my horn unless I ran into you with full force, and you know it. I'm not a nutcase like Gingerbread who sharpens his." I replied, waving a dismissive hoof at her. Firestorm... The one and only Pony who had survived to this day, beside me, of my volunteer unit back in the day. She had been with me for most of my military career, and even though I would like to consider her a close friend, she always acted respectful around me. Even when we were basically alone, I was her commanding officer first...

        “May I speak freely Ma'am?" she asked, surprising me for the first time in a while. I chuckled to try and hide my shock.

        “Storm... You can always talk to me, and you know it. We've been through hell and back together. So? What is it?”

        “Ma'am... I think you... maybe you should... take it easy for a while. You have been up here much more often recently, and some of the troops are starting to worry about you." she stammered, her golden eye refusing to meet my blue ones. I narrowed my eyes, looking at her. There was a spark of anger flaring up inside of me, but I stomped it out before it could ignite a fire. This was Storm after all. If any one of my subordinates knew me, it would be her. Besides, she was right. I had been isolating myself more and more over the last three weeks. Ever since our last big combat assignment. I sighed, not looking at her as I replied.

        “You know Storm... Do you know why the Princess has created this unit, and put me in charge of it?" I asked.

        “No Ma'am... There are rumors of course, but I would never...”

        “It is because I am a monster. But unlike the ones that roam places like the Everfree forest, I have the ability to restrain myself, and have an intellect that could rival even that of the Princess herself. You know me better than anypony on board. What do you think is bothering me?" I asked softly.

        “Ma'am... I...." she began to say and then sighed, sitting down on her haunches as she rubbed her face with a hoof. She was obviously at her wits end. Of course I was aware of the rumors that circulated about me. Some said that I was Princess Lunas child, while others claimed I had somehow blackmailed her into giving me this position. Others still came pretty close to the truth, in claiming that I had been bread to be a superior military commander. It wasn't the truth, but not too far off either.

        “Let me tell you what it is then. You and me... we go way back. We fought together in our very first battle. I dragged your flank out of the line of fire with my teeth, after you had taken a bullet that was meant for my head. The same bullet that took out that eye of yours. And yet... I haven't heard you use my name in over two years. At one point I thought we were friends, but ever since my promotion to Vice-General, you treat me just as coldly as anypony else does. I am lonely Storm. That is my problem. I have almost the same authority as one of the ministry mares, but that power comes at a great price. If I point my hoof at somepony and demand their arrest, then it will happen. No questions asked. That power makes other Ponies fear me. Even you do... Don't deny it, I can see it in your eye. For you, I am no longer the mare you lost an eye for. No longer a comrade or a friend..." I said in a low voice, and trotted away. As the elevator door closed behind me I could hear Firestorm whispering something, but I couldn't make out the words...

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When I stepped into the hangar, it was already full of Ponies. My four commanders were waiting at the head of the crowd for me, already wearing their suits of Power-armor. Almost the whole crew of the ship had shown up for this, since it was pretty rare that we needed new recruits. From all the Platoons in the Equestrian army we were the ones with the lowest casualty rate after all. On the other hoof, I knew that these recruits, even though they were considered veterans by some, would need months of training until they would really join us. Not every one of them would make it either. Those who dropped out would have their memories wiped by one of our Unicorns and sent back home. Princess Luna wanted the very existence of the Luna Dream to be a secret after all.

Looking back over my shoulder, I saw that one of the officers had already unrolled our banner on the far wall. A black, ten to ten paces big piece of silk on which a moon in the shape of a skull was depicted. Every suit of Power-armor used by my soldiers also had that symbol on it's flank, where the Ponies Cutiemark would be.

As I let my gaze wander a bit, I noticed that not a single one of the soldiers was wearing their Uniform. I guessed that most of them remembered the reaction of the last batch of recruits. One of them, an Earthpony Stallion, had actually panicked and jumped out of the hangar bay. A Pegasus Sergeant was barely able to catch him. Needless to say, that recruit flunked out before even setting a hoof into any other part of the ship. A Moon Skull doesn't flee after all.

Some of you may wonder why our Uniforms provoked such a reaction from a Pony who has been in a few battles already. The answer to that is as simple as it is stupid. I myself rarely ever wore my Uniform, but most of the others preferred to wear them when they were out of their armor. Our Uniforms were... striped. Yes, you read correctly. We wore black and white striped Uniforms. The stallion who panicked, had taken one look at the wall of striped Equines in front of him, and decided to make a run for it... I always thought that our coloring was stupid, but it was another thing the Princess had insisted on...

Finally, the Raptor that brought in our new Recruits landed in the hangar. It was a testament to the sheer size of the hangar, that the warship could land without having to avoid the bystanders. As soon as it's engines were shut off, and the ramp on it's side was extended, I stepped forward, followed by my four Commanders. The Recruits came trotting out of the ship, some of them looking quite shocked that so many Ponies had shown up to welcome them, others chatting animatedly with their peers, completely ignoring our presence. There was only one thing that they had all in common. All of them stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed that no Pony was stepping forward to give them their assignments.

After they had positioned themselves in some semblance of an orderly formation, I formed my helmet and accessed the hangars public address system. It was quite good that none of them could see my face behind my visor, because I was grinning like a madpony the entire time. Welcoming new Recruits was one of the few things that I considered fun, and I was going to make it count.

        “Welcome to the Luna Dream. You are now, officially... demoted. You will be stripped of your former rank and station. You will undergo basic training, and you will study military tactics." my voice boomed over the speakers, and I could see that the newbies were pretty upset about what I was saying.

        “I am your acting Commander, Vice-General Frostmane. As soon as you set hoof out of this hangar, you will have more military authority than you ever had. However, that does not account to anything while you are aboard. Once you have been cleared by your superiors, you will go on missions with us. While on these missions, you are free to ignore any order that is not given by an officer of this Platoon. Regular Officers are, in fact, required to obey your commands. This is because, this Platoon has been given special authority by Princess Luna herself. Nopony knows where our base of operations is, and everypony leaving this ship has that memory extracted from them. That includes soldiers going on a mission. If you do not agree to the way this Platoon is run, you now have the chance to turn back. Step back into the Raptor, where a specially trained Unicorn is waiting to extract your memories of this place. Should you choose to stay, form groups according to your race, and the Commander in charge of your group will show you to your quarters shortly. Dismissed." I finished, waiting for any of the Soldiers before me to speak up or bug out. Some did leave. I would have to contact Princess Luna, to ask for replacements after this.

After about ten minutes it was clear that none of the remaining fifty recruits were about to leave, so I signaled to the Commanders behind me to do their duty. They moved forward efficiently, putting themselves at the front of each group, ordering them to follow them out of the hangar. The Zebras and Zonies had fallen short once again, since there weren't many of them in the equestrian military to begin with. I was happy to see however, that there were more of them than last time.

Zebras and Zonies... We may have been fighting a war against the Zebras, but the ones that were under my command, were fiercely loyal to Equestria. Not only that, but they had also been a great asset. Some of them knew how to brew potions, while others were well trained in Zebra martial arts. That knowledge was what made us so successful. That, and the fact that we accepted Ponies of each race. The Pegasi usually only had other Pegasi on their ships. The Ministry of Wartime Technology was more than unhappy when we ordered suits of armor for Zebras and Unicorns. Their idea was, that Earthpony ingenuity would win this war. In turn, their Steel Rangers were exclusively Earthponies.

Many of my subordinates thought of me as cruel for enjoying my little speech, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. I enjoyed it, because it was a change of pace. That, and maybe I enjoyed seeing their faces when I said that they would be stripped of their ranks. It was something... personal. In my time in the military, I had learned that the lowest Cadet could be a brilliant tactician or fighter, while a highly decorated officer could be a total idiot, who was unable to save his own plot if he got into an actual firefight.

As the last of the newbies left the hangar, the other soldiers started to follow them, now chatting animatedly among themselves. Just one didn't go with them. It was a Zony mare I knew fairly well. She came towards me, and her strong muscles played under her white and gray striped coat as she moved. In fact, she could have been a Squad Leader several times over by now, but she had always refused. I didn't force anyone into a position they didn't want after all...

        “Doesn't it get old, holding the same speech over and over again Frosty?" she asked teasingly, a mischievous smile on her face. Her green eyes always seemed exotic and dangerous to me at the same time.

        “Not really. It's been so long since we needed new recruits, that I had hoped we wouldn't need any before the end of the war. Personally I would have preferred it that way." I replied, falling in stride with her as we left the hangar together.

        “You know... I would have preferred that too... That last fight... It was a total mess. Intelligence messed up big time. Repairs on the LD are still going on. It's the first time they have actually managed to detect us in the sky... Doesn't that worry you?”

        “Well... it does. I was seriously hoping that the Stealthbuck array would keep us out of their sight, but I guess we can't have everything. From now on, we'll just have to be more careful." I sighed, remembering our last battle.

The Equestrian Intelligence Service, which was part of the Ministry of Morale, had informed us that the Zebras were transporting a large shipment of Megaspell grade Talismans to one of their launch facilities. The report had also said that the convoy had only a small escort. At the time we had believed that the Zebras wanted to avoid detection. When we arrived at the scene, we were utterly unprepared. Two thousand soldiers and two dragons were guarding the convoy. We saw the dragons alright, but thought that our Pegasi could handle them. The real problem were the soldiers that were hiding under Stealth Cloaks. We didn't see them until most of my Platoon had touched down, leaving the Luna Dream with only a Skeleton Crew...

        “But you sure were amazing. That dragon... It would have forced us out of the sky, if it hadn't been for you." Jerakal tried to flatter me. I sighed once more. Jumping into the open maw of a dragon was the dumbest thing I had ever done. But in the end, it had saved the ship, which was all that mattered to me. We had even gotten the Talismans, even though it had been at a great cost. Eighty of our soldiers were killed in the battle, and we were unable to eliminate the enemy forces. That meant that we hadn't won, but we hadn't lost either. A hundred Mega-spell grade Talismans were now resting in our cargo bay.

        “I don't think so. I mean... come on... could I have done anything more stupid?" I joked, not really in the mood for it, but doing it anyways. Jerakal was the only one on board who called me by my nickname, and didn't care much for protocol. In fact, I knew that she had a secret stash of Wild Pegasus Whisky in her locker, but I didn't get on her case for that. As long as it didn't affect her work, I didn't mind. Besides, she sometimes came over to my cabin, and brought one of those bottles along. It was another thing that I was able to enjoy aboard this ship.

        “Sooo... Any plans tonight?" she asked, and I could tell that she had been dying to ask me this. I shook my head.

        “Not really. Only boring officer stuff as usual. Why? You wanna come over again, have a drink and watch a movie or two?" I asked, desperately hoping she would say yes. Even though I was pretty certain that she wasn't my friend she was at least acting friendly towards me. Something I missed greatly, ever since I had left the Ministry of Awesome.

        “Well, actually, no. I was planning to throw a little party for the newcomers. You know... in that empty cargo bay? It's a big place, and I wondered if you wanted to come by. I'm sure it would be fun, and if the others saw you enjoying yourself, instead of just... playing the boss...?" Jerakal asked nervously, and with good reason. The empty cargo bay lay right next door to our sensitive cargo. I think she saw the change in my mood, because she looked away for a moment before speaking again.

        “Look... It's good if the new guys get a proper welcome right? I mean, it's not like you are too much of a fan of the protocol yourself. And about those Mega-spells... We can always seal that cargo bay from the outside, or post some guards..." she tried to convince me. To my shame, it worked. That mare just knew how to press my buttons. Sometimes I thought that it was quite unfair.

        “Alright. You can throw your party, and yes I'll come... Under one condition." I replied and she looked at me quizzically. “You get your people to move all those Talismans to Bay eleven." I added, and her eyes widened.

        “But... But that's on the other end of the ship! There's no way we'll be able to do that and prepare that party. Oh come on... Just post some guards at the door. I'm pretty sure they can keep any wandering recruit out if they are actually silly enough to try." Jerakal said, fluttering her eyelashes at me. I wasn't into mares, but I couldn't deny that she was exceptionally cute when she did that. Still, I remained firm on this. I didn't want any of the new recruits anywhere near those Talismans.

        “No. That's the condition, and I stick to it. Take it or leave it Jerakal." I said firmly, leaving no room for argument. Jerakal was a very special mare, and she already had more freedom on this ship than was good for her. Throwing a party that close to our loot from that raid on the Zebra convoy? Just not gonna happen. I was willing to look the other way when she arranged her little black market trades, but this was simply too much.

Deflating she agreed and we parted ways outside the mess-hall. She would have a lot to do if she wanted to get those Talismans moved by this evening, so she decided to skip this meal. Being the kind monster I was, I wanted to offer to help her, but I knew that something like that would just undermine my authority. Jerakal didn't take me seriously most of the time as it was....

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It was almost ten in the night, and I could still hear the party going on three decks below. I hadn't gone down yet, even though I really wanted to. Instead I sat at my desk and finished a load of paperwork. It was boring to be honest, but it had to be done. My gaze drifted over my quarters. There wasn't much here, even though my room was quite spacious. I just didn't feel like decorating it. My bed, a sofa, a nightstand and my TV were all the things I had brought here from my apartment in Manehatten. The desk... it had somehow come with the room. Nothing special, just a big ugly lump of metal.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when somepony knocked on my door. I sighed. I could already imagine that some of the night shift soldiers wanted to complain about the party down below. On the other hoof, it could also be Jerakal, trying to drag me down there by my tail. Wouldn't even have been the first time. To her credit, she had succeeded in doing so more than once. Even though she was quite playful most of the time, I just couldn't best her in single combat without seriously hurting her. Something that I tried to avoid if possible. Another knock drew my attention back to the door. My jaw dropped when I called for the Pony to come in. I certainly hadn't seen that coming. In my door, in the middle of the night... stood a pretty big Pony, with wings and a horn... And it wasn't the Pony I would have expected either. In my door, stood Celestia herself. As far as I knew, she didn't even know this ship existed!

        “Ehm.. Uh... How..." I stuttered as I tried to regain my composure. Her usually gentle eyes fell on me, and she was definitely not happy. I could see her wings ruffling slightly as she moved towards my desk without saying a word. Having lived with Pegasi for several years, I knew that this was a definite sign of agitation.

        “Good evening, Vice-General. Are you free right now? I would like to talk to you about some things." she said in as pleasant a tone as she could muster. Yet, she couldn't fool me. I had seen many battles at that point, but the look she gave me made me fear for my very life.

        “Ehm... I... I... I..." I gulped, shook my head, turned to the only potted plant in my room and dumped the whole watering can I kept next to it over my head. After shaking a bit, I tried to breathe deeply and to address the Alicorn in the room with me.

        “Vice-General?" she asked, her voice still pleasant, but with a definite note of impatience in it. I turned around and did my best not to look into her eyes. Instead I fixated her throat.

        “Excuse me, but how did you even get on board this ship. Our location and even our very existence is a secret." I replied as courtly as I could, even though I still had the distinct feeling that I was in danger of being incinerated.

        “That's actually part of what I wanted to talk to you about. And as for your question, I teleported on board of course.”

        “Excuse me... Celestia... But you are basically a civilian ever since you stepped down... Please leave, I don't want to arrest you, your highness..." I said quietly, knowing that I had to say it, but not really believing that she would leave. Basically I was right. She hadn't retained any form of royal title or position inside the government when she had stepped down. So from her status alone, she was just like any other Pony. On the other hoof... She still was the Pony who had ruled Equestria for over a thousand years and had succeeded in keeping things peaceful. However, she was also the Pony who had started this damn war. I respected her very much, but I was in no way obligated to follow any of her commands. Not anymore at least.

        “Please. I just want to talk. I'll leave afterwards. I remember you from the time I gave those dogtags to you. Please, can't you allow me to stay for a little while?" the white mare said, and I surrendered. This was Celestia we were talking about, and I could somehow understand that not many things happened without her knowing about them. Either that, or someone in the OIA had played the role of a whistle-blower. I slumped down to my haunches and rubbed my forehead with a hoof. There was a major headache coming my way, and that was never a good thing.

        “Look... your highness. I respect you, and I want you to know that this is the only reason that I don't ring the intruder alarm right now. Quite frankly, you shouldn't even be here. Nor should you know about us. We do things that nopony else would do, and when the whole war is over, over half of us will most likely be prosecuted as war criminals. If  you still want to talk... then go ahead. I'll give you tonight. After tonight... please do not come back here." I said calmly. At first Celestia looked shocked, then angry until she finally accepted what I was saying. I was putting my own neck on the line, by allowing her to stay. But seriously, what was I to do? I was quite certain that none of my soldiers was crazy enough to actually attack her.

Thanking me, Celestia sat down in front of my desk.

        “Vice-General... I am not comfortable with this entire operation. As you said, your Ponies do despicable things, and many of them are outright dangerous and unfit to be reintegrated into the society after the war. I have evidence that you even recruited criminals into your ranks. I am here tonight, because I want to hear your side of the story. Why has this been kept a secret from me?" she asked, almost pleading with me.

        “Celestia... Princess... We are a special operations platoon. What we do is cruel, and against anything Ponykind stands for most of the time. When there is an enemy garrison hiding out in a civilian village, we wipe it off the map. You tell me that there is an enemy force gathering near our border? They'll be taken out before they even get the chance to raise a white flag, leaving no survivors. We are called the Moon Skulls for a reason. I am quite aware that your sister has kept our operations a secret from you, and I must agree with her on that. You are a very kind Pony, your highness. And believe me when I say, that I simply loved the way you ruled our land. But during this war... we can't be nice. If we play it nice... well... we'll loose. And that is what we are here for. My platoon... Everypony knows that, once the war is over, we will most likely spent the rest of our days behind bars. But it is a sacrifice we are willing to make. Because every act of cruelty that we commit, is one that the regular soldier can avoid. Every time we kill dozens and dozens of Zebras, and Zebra sympathizers, it saves others from having to do it in our stead. When the war is over, some of them might even go back to a normal life... We... we are just a small group, taking a bullet for the team. Your sister created this Platoon, to safe the rest of the Ponies from having to do what we do. To safe them from being damaged beyond help by this war that, and I am sincerely sorry to remind you of that your highness, you started. You started this war, and then left it for your sister to finish... Please trust in her methods, as do I, and pray for our souls." I explained to the Alicorn in front of me, who listened intently to my little speech. Of course some of it was utter bullshit. Only Princess Luna and I knew what would happen to us after the war. My soldiers thought that this was just a secret operation. Her lips were pressed together tightly, and I knew that she didn't like what she was hearing.

After a few moments of silence, the Alicorn mare in front of me looked at me sadly. I could tell that she had understood the purpose of my Platoon. Damage control, that was all we were doing. She understood, but didn't like it. I seriously didn't expect her to like it either. All I could do now, was to hope that she would leave quietly. If she did, then there was no need for me to report this. If she made a fuss about it however... I shuddered internally at the thought of having to subdue her.

        “Would you... show me how you work? I understand that your files are confidential, but what about your armament? I would like to see what you use to accomplish such things." the former Princess of Equestria asked me in a polite tone of voice. I sighed. If this would get her off my ship, I had no other choice but to grant her wish.

        “If you would follow me please..." I said in a resigned tone, making my way for the door to my room.

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It was a good thing Jerakal had organized that party. Due to that, there was no other Pony in the hangar we used as an armory. I could understand Celestias expression as her eyes wandered around the room, taking in the sights. Almost five hundred suits of Power-armor, Balefire-Egg-Launchers, several crates full of rifles, grenades and other ammunition... It sure was a sight fore sore eyes. If you liked that sort of thing that is. Every weapon that could be carried by a Pony was here, since each and everyone of my soldiers had permission to customize their equipment as they saw fit. When her eyes fell on my baby however, Celestias eyes widened even further.

It was a tank Prototype. The MWT had designed it before they had come up with their Steel Ranger armor, but had ultimately scrapped it, since it was too bulky. Of course, I wouldn't trade my own suit of Power-armor for it, but sometimes it was nice to go onto a mission in it.

There, at the far side of the room stood a giant four legged machine. It was the perfect replica of an Earthpony, but heavily armed to boot. It was five times as high as a normal Pony, and one of it's steel hooves alone weight a ton. On it's sides, it had two machine guns, while there was an anti dragon canon on its back. The name “Big Macintosh” had been engraved into its left flank. So far it hadn't failed me even once. The only downside was, that it took almost a hundred spark batteries to operate for about an hour, which ruled out a casual joyride from time to time.

        “So you like Big Macintosh?" I asked jokingly, but the Alicorn next to me didn't say anything. Instead, tears started to flow down her face. I wondered for a moment why she was crying, and then I remembered the world outside the Luna Dream. This tank prototype had been named by the Ministry Mare of Technology herself, and she had named it after her dead brother. The stallion had died... protecting Celestia...

        “I think I've seen enough." Celestia finally said shakily. Her breathing was labored, and I could see that she was in some intense emotional pain, but before I could do anything to comfort her, she had winked out in a golden flash of light. I could only stand there, damning my rusted social skills to Tartarus. After a while, I made my way back to my quarters.

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I was just going over the plans for our next mission, when the terminal on my desk beeped, signaling an incoming transmission.

        “Huh? That's unusual." I muttered to myself, as I tapped the keys on it to enter my password. The screen displayed the following:

Terminal 009 was Princess Lunas personal terminal, so of course I accepted the transmission without a second thought. What came next became my second surprise that night...

I acknowledged that I had received the message by tapping the appropriate key on my terminal.

It took me almost five minutes to pick my jaw up from the floor. It was unusual enough for Princess Luna to send her orders this way, but the order itself was... We were...

Moon Shadow Protocol stated that we had to cease all operations immediately and enter stasis to await further orders, or our trials. Princess Luna knew that we would all be war criminals once this war was over, and we both had planned for the time we would have to face that fact.

The first thought that came to my mind was, that Celestia had convinced her sister that we weren't needed after all, but why would the Princess invoke Moon Shadow then? No... The message was genuine, and even though I didn't like it, I would follow it. It wasn't like I didn't have a record of insubordination, but I had agreed to this order beforehoof...

A tear forming in my eye, I confirmed the order and shut down my terminal. A big red button on the wall would put the Luna Dream into complete lock down. It would even lock the mainframe... With a heavy heart, I went over to it and eyed it closely. It could only be pressed by my magic. Letting out a shuddering breath, I did it. Instantly all the lights went out. I stood there for a moment, until the emergency lighting kicked in, and my recorded voice echoed over the Public address system.

        “Attention! This is Vice-General Frostmane speaking. As of this moment this vessel is in complete lock down. Moon Shadow Protocol has been invoked. All new recruits are expected to report to their Commanders for directions. Everypony else... you know what to do. Secondary Commander Firestorm is to report to the Commanders stasis room immediately. See you on the other side everypony." it said before cutting out.

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I was already preparing to enter my own stasis capsule when the door slid open, and a fully armed Firestorm came galloping into the room. As was required, for such a case, she wore her full suit of Power-armor, equipped with two Nova-Surge beam rifles. Her helmet hang on a hook on her armor, and she looked at me with panic in her one eye.

        “Ma'am... What's the meaning of this? We were scheduled to attack a Zebra Mega-spell facility soon. Why are we iced now?" she asked frantically.

        “No need to call me Ma'am Storm. Don't you know? Until we're woken up again, and my rank has been confirmed by Princess Luna herself, I'm relieved of command. And don't worry. If it's what I fear it is... then I'll make sure you'll get a mild sentence. Officially, you haven't been in a single battle." I told her, motioning to the stasis tube next to mine.

        “What? What do you mean? There hasn't been a single operation which I wasn't a part of." Storm asked, rushing up to me and shaking my shoulders.

        “Well... According to all of my reports, you haven't left this ship since you have been assigned here." I smiled weakly, extricating myself from the mares grasp. Storm didn't know that, in the worst case, we would be on trial after we woke up.

I didn't want to argue with her right now, and I made that desire pretty clear in the following few minutes. Firestorm wasn't happy about it. She was my second in command, but I also considered her the only Pony who knew the true me. The Pony that had joined the army to protect others. Not the monster that now stood before her. She deserved better than me. When the time came, I would take all the punishment off of her that I could. If it would have been possible, I would have taken the punishment for my whole Platoon, since they were only following my orders. Alas, that was impossible, since a soldier wasn't a mindless robot.

After some time, Firestorm finally relented, put her helmet on, and laid down in her own stasis tube. Before the lid of the device slid shut over her, she whispered so quietly that I almost didn't hear her.

        “You really are an idiot Frostmane.”

It brought a smile to my face before my own tube closed, and the magic embedded in it put me to sleep...

Footnotes!

Frostmane

Strength: 7

Perception: 5

Endurance: 7

Charisma: 2

Intelligence: 5

Agility: 4

Luck: 2

Equipment:

Starmetal Power-armor: Your suit of armor is one of a kind, made out of fragments of Nightmare Moons armor. It's magical properties exceed simple protection, but even you don't know exactly what they are.

D-22 Power-Hooves: Your Power-Hooves are a Prototype, and you have to be careful while using them. They have a bad tendency to blow up if you charge them to full power.

Gamma Military Pipbuck: Your Pipbuck is fused to your leg, and can only be removed if your leg is taken off along with it. This unpleasant arrangement causes slight irritations on your left foreleg from time to time, but lets you control your Pipbuck through mental commands.

Traits:

(former) Vice-General : You were a Vice-General in Princess Lunas army, and many military facilities will recognize your rank. However, don't count on this trait too much, since you were part of a very secret part of the military.

Brawler (Rank 5): Firearms are not really your forte. You are, however, very experienced in close combat. While fighting with your hooves, or any melee weapon, your damage is increased by 20%. Your change to hit an enemy is increased by 9%. While fighting in close quarters however, your evasion drops to 0, no matter what spells have been used on you.

Zebra Trained (Rank 1): You are a novice in using Fallen Caesar style. This trait grants you a +4% damage bonus if you are fighting against an opponent who is not a Zebra, or also has the trait Zebra trained.

Devoted soldier: You are loyal to Princess Luna, due to reasons only you know. You gain +2 to strength if somepony insults her in your presence. If that happens, Monster is automatically triggered.

Monster: You have been altered by someponies experiments on you. You keep the nature of these experiments a secret from everypony. When in battle you may loose control of your actions. If that happens you gain +2 to strength but loose 2 Luck for the duration of the encounter. Also, while “Monster” is active, you can not tell friend and foe apart.

Skills/Spells:

Unicorn Telekinesis (Rank 3): You can move objects with the force of your will by directing raw magical energy. Your telekinesis is strong enough to move objects twice your own weight, and precise enough to move objects you cannot see.

Heart attack: You can use your telekinesis to grab an opponents heart with your magic and force it to stop. Doing so requires a lot of concentration however, so make sure you are out of the line of fire.

Unicorn Shield (Rank 1): You can deflect small arms fire with your shield. While doing so however, you are unable to move.

Chain Lightning (Rank 2): You can cast a lighting bolt that can jump to two targets that are close to your original target. Each jump inflicts 25% less damage than the first.

Firestorm

Strength: 4

Perception: 7

Endurance: 5

Charisma: 9

Intelligence: 6

Agility: 6

Luck: 4

Equiment:

Shadowbolt Power-armor: Your suit of Power-armor was produced by the ministry of awesome, and tested by the Shadowbolts. It is slightly lighter than normal Pegasus Power-armor, and therefore grands you a +1 Bonus to Agility.

Nova-Surge Rifle: Your armors rifles are standard Shadowbolt issue. Their output is strong enough to incinerate almost anything if you can keep firing at it long enough. The energy they consume however is pretty high, which is why you only have ten shots per magazine.

Gamma Military Pipbuck: Your Pipbuck is fused to your leg, and can only be removed if your leg is taken off along with it. This unpleasant arrangement causes slight irritations on your left foreleg from time to time, but lets you control your Pipbuck through mental commands.

Traits:

Fast Flyer: You may not be a second Rainbow Dash, but there aren't many among your peers who can catch you if you start flapping your wings. While in the air, you have a Bonus of +2 on Agility.

Secondary Commander: You have high ranking military authority, even though you barely ever use it. This trait may come in handy in combination with (former) Vice-General.

Devoted Friend: You have served with a friend for a long time, even though you didn't act like a friend most of the time, you wouldn't be able to bear it if anything happened to her. You gain +1 Strength and +2 Agility if Frostmanes HP are below 50%.

Skills/Spells:

Expert Marksman: You may only have one good eye, but you are a force to be reckoned with. If you want to hit something, you do, unless it is more than two hundred feet away. You gain +2 Perception and +10% damage if you are using an energy rifle.

Amateur Sniper: You have taken sharpshooting lessons for a while, but have never been able to get the hang of it. You gain +2% damage if you use a Sniper rifle, but loose 2 Luck if you choose to do so.