Fallout Equestria: Duty

Fallout Equestria: Duty

Chapter 2

Dreams of the past Part 1

“RUUUUUNNNN!!”

~O~Frostmane~O~

I was crouching behind a barrier made out of sand sacks on ministry square in Hoofington. Basic training had ended just two days prior, and they had wasted no time in assigning me to a volunteer Unit. Our orders were pretty simple. There was a major battle coming, and nopony really expected the Zebras to break through the main defense lines, but one of the ministry mares had made a fuss about the safety of her Ponies. Only two of them had put their hoof down and evacuated all of their staff.

We were here to protect the ones that remained. Even our Commanding Officer, a motherly mare named Lybria, was of the opinion that this was nothing more than a field trip. Therefore, we hadn't gotten much in terms of equipment. Every one of us had an assault rifle and two spare magazines in addition to our light combat barding. No grenades, no snipers and no heavy weapons.

The other Ponies in my unit were easygoing, only a few of them staying at their assigned posts, while the others trotted around our little camp. Some were even sleeping.

        “Hey" a female voice called from my left ,and I immediately turned my head to see who had addressed me. Two beautiful golden eyes looked back at me. The mare attached to those eyes looked like she was scared enough to jump out of her jet black coat.

        “Hey" I responded, not recognizing the mare. A quick glance to her chest told me her name at least.

        “I'm... Firestorm. Mind if I stay here a bit? I’m not comfortable with the position they assigned me." she asked nervously, taking up a firing position next to me. Putting my rifle down for the moment, I turned to her completely.

        “You really think we're safe here?" I asked right back. My tone was a lot sharper than I had intended, but something inside of me told me that we were in more danger than any of us realized. Firestorm became serious at that and shook her head. Just as she opened her muzzle to say something, several things happened at once. I heard our CO's radio crackle to life, and a stallions voice shouting something. A red dot appeared on the Pegasus mares forehead next to me and I jumped at her, pulling her to the ground. The bullet passed over my back, scraping the light armor plates there, and found a home in Captain Lybrias head. All hell broke loose, as everypony began to panic at the sight of our Commanding Officers splattered brain on the ground.

All around us Ponies started to drop, as the fire of automatic rifles rang out over the main street leading to our position. I could feel panic well up in me as well, but I bit my cheek to smother it with pain. When I was finally in control of myself again, I could taste blood in my mouth. The mare below me was looking around in a panic as she tried to struggle out from under me. I hit her in the face, which seemed to snap her out of it.

        “Panic means death, so pull yourself together!" I shouted at her, thrusting her rifle into her hooves with my magic, before picking up my own and pointing it over the barricade. It was too late. They were already galloping towards us, their snipers providing their forces with enough cover to keep us pinned down. I wet myself as I realized what had to be done...

        “Everypony! Assume firing positions!" I shouted and ,to my astonishment, most of the survivors followed my order and began to fire. Many of them died shortly after, but not before sending a few bullets towards our attackers. Then, the first Zebra leaped over the barricade. I brought up my rifle, emptying it's magazine into the stallions belly before he touched down next to me. While I was still shocked by my first kill ever, another one barreled into me, knocking me onto my back and pinning my shoulders to the ground with her forelegs.

The Zebra mare was carrying a sword of all things in her muzzle, it's tip pointing directly at my throat. She collapsed when the Pegasus mare from earlier put a bullet in the back of her head, her sword only barely missing my throat as it clattered to the ground. Firestorm helped me to my hooves afterwards, and I let my gaze drift over the battlefield for a moment. Individual battles were breaking out all around us. I was mortified by the very real possibility of my own death as I slammed a fresh magazine into my rifle.

        “We can't stop them!" she shouted over the screams of dying Ponies and the sounds of automated weapons fire, while we stood rump to rump, shooting at incoming Zebras. She was right of course. It was plain that our basic training was nothing to their martial arts way of fighting hoof to hoof. Not to mention that their aim was much better than ours. Most shots fired by the survivors went wide, while the Zebras had no such problems. The white marble of Ministry Square was red and slippery by now, making me slip and almost fall several times.

One hundred volunteers had been sent here to defend the ministries, but when I looked around I could barely spot twenty survivors fighting for their lives. Our mission was forgotten at that point. All anypony cared about, was getting out of there alive.

Another Zebra Buck came jumping at me, and I greeted him with the business end of my rifle. Only a click sounded as my magic pressed down on the trigger, indicating that I was out of ammo. I had only a split second before I was thrown to the ground once again, but this time I was semi-prepared for it. As we rolled, I put my rear legs to his belly, while wrapping my forelegs around his neck. When we came to a stop, I pulled as hard as I could with my forelegs to keep his head in place, while bucking upwards with my rear ones. I got the effect I wanted. His body flew upwards and landed on the bloody marble behind me, while his head was being held in place, breaking his neck in the process. As I rolled out from under him, I saw that Firestorm was providing cover fire against two more Zebras rushing towards us. Until her rifle clicked as well that was...

        “Everypony! Retreat to the MWT!" I shouted, picking up several rifles that were scattered on the ground, and aiming them at the two Zebras coming at us. Their eyes widened for a second before I pulled and held the triggers, sending a wall of bullets their way.

Firestorm and I started to gallop toward the MWT building at the far end of the square. About nine of the other survivors followed our example. On our way I picked up a few magazines from the bodies of our comrades, and reloaded my array of rifles. I let them fire into the mass of enemies that were following us up the steps to the Ministry of Wartime Technology. There wasn't even any need to aim particularly well, since there were so many of them. Suddenly, Firestorm shoved me aside. I lost my concentration and all of my rifles clattered to the ground in the process. At first, I wanted to scream at her and ask what the hay she was doing, until I saw her bleeding face. A bullet had struck her sidelong in the head and had exited through her left eyeball. She didn't scream or whimper. Firestorm simply collapsed where she stood and began to roll down the steps towards the approaching Zebras.

        “Cover me!" I shouted to the Ponies that had already reached the entrance to the ministry, and sure enough at least two of them opened fire on the Zebras again, as I stormed down the steps. A Zebra stallion was just raising his sword over Firestorms neck, as I barreled into him. The blade of the weapon cut deep into my face, and I could feel blood trickling into my eye, as I reared up to stomp his throat. I will never forget the surprised expression on his face as I did so...

Afterwards, I turned around again, biting down on Firestorms tail to start dragging her up to the ministry as fast as I could. It turned out that I wasn't fast enough, as several Zebras reached me before I was halfway up the stairs again. The rifle fire from above had stopped, since the soldiers wielding those rifles were either out of ammo, or dead.

Six Unicorns galloped past me, swords of fallen Zebras floating in their magic as they fended of the four that had reached me ahead of the main group.

        “Hurry!" one of them shouted at me, and I gave up on my efforts to drag Firestorm up the stairs, instead levitating her in my magic alongside me. I had never levitated a Pony before, and I was already tired from the battle, but somehow I still managed to get her to safety. Two Earthponies awaited us at the top of the stairs, a mare and a stallion. The stallion took Firestorm from me, putting her on his back and immediately starting of into the ministry, while the mare supported me into the building.

Two of the Unicorns who had come to our aid came running up the steps, one of them bleeding pretty badly as he shouted: “Close it! Close it!”

The stallion who had taken Firestorm from me stood at the terminal on the reception desk, confirming something I couldn't see. Suddenly a thick steel shutter, that had been hidden in the floor of the entrance shot up, effectively locking the Zebras out...

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I quickly learned that the stallion had initiated the buildings lock down procedure. Despite it being the MWT, there were no automated turrets, or at least none that we could see. I had suggested to search the building for any kind of medical supplies, and even though many areas were blocked by thick metal doors, we were able to find some healing potions, and medical bandages locked in a medical cabinet in one of the restrooms. I refused the healing potion offered to me, instead giving it to the Pegasus mare, who had taken a bullet for me. Her breathing was labored, and she had lost a lot of blood, but I was confident that our first aid had saved her life. After treating Firestorm and me, the two Earthponies had disappeared into one of the offices and locked the door.

The cut I had received while saving Firestorm, and the bruises the Zebras had inflicted on me in close combat, hurt badly, but I didn't complain. The poor civilians in the other ministry buildings were far worse off than us. The Zebras were slaughtering them and, while the shutters that had by now covered every entry way into the building, prevented them from coming after us, they did little to shut out their dying screams. From time to time I could hear a gunshot, no doubt the desperate attempt by some poor Pony to defend themselves, but it was no use. I had seen the sheer mass of Zebras that had come our way.

The worst were the noises that sometimes accompanied the screams. Wet, ugly, crunching noises, as if something squishy had hit a hard surface from high up. For the life of me, I didn't understand why the lobby of this building had been constructed to amplify sounds from outside... It was pure torture, and all four of us sat solemnly as we listened to the sounds of the slaughter.

        “So what now, captain?" one of the stallions addressed me. Checking his name tag, I saw that his name was Cutter. For a moment I was at a loss and wondered who he had spoken to. When I realized he meant me, I almost wet myself once more.

        “Ehm... I'm not a captain. I'm a Private like you" I replied, grinning sheepishly. The second stallion perked up, looking past his brown companion.

        “As far as I'm concerned, you're the captain. You got us out of there alive after all, while all Lybria did was stand there before a bullet hit her. I mean, don't get me wrong, she was a nice mare and it's a real pity she's dead, but she wasn't really a good commander." he said seriously. My heart sank at his words. Me? A Commander? No way! I was good at breaking things with my hooves or magic. I certainly didn't want to be in charge of the lives of other Ponies. In the square I had only done what had to be done. I said so, and both of them began to chuckle dryly.

        “So? You stayed level headed, when the rest of us ran around like scared chicken, not to forget that you went back for my sister. If nothing else, I owe you for that" Cutter said, looking towards the unconscious form of Firestorm that lay a few hooves behind us. That caught me by surprise.

        “You're her brother? I wonder... Why did she approach me then? I mean, I just met her today" I said, rubbing my blood crusted chin with a hoof. Cutters friend, whom I later learned was named Ladybug (What a strange name for a stallion!) went off, saying he wanted to look for some food. In reality, I think he just didn't want to sit around doing nothing.

        “It was probably because she has always been more comfortable around mares. Well that, and we don't talk to each other all that much" he sighed, looking down to his hooves. While I was talking to Cutter, the sounds from outside had subsided, and I couldn't hear any screams anymore. That meant that all the Ponies in the other buildings had been killed by now... My first mission was an utter failure...

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

We had waited inside the ministry building for almost two hours by the time the sounds of fighting reached our ears once more. These sounds however, were not of bullets, but instead the high whine of energy rifles. A few explosions entered the mix soon after. The two Earthponies emerged from the office at this, and I noticed that they both looked pretty disheveled. It didn't take much fantasy to imagine what they had been doing.

The fight didn't last long, and soon the noise died down completely. I assumed that reinforcements had come, but had been wiped out by the Zebras just as easily as my Unit had been. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The steel shutter, which had saved us from our Zebra attackers, slid down and all of us, except Firestorm who was still out cold, shot up, ready to defend ourselves. Instead of Zebras however, a Pegasus mare in Power-Armor stood in the doorway. Her visor slid upwards, revealing magenta eyes that scanned the lobby, until they found us. Her prismatic mane was wet with sweat and clung to her neck as she stepped forward. It was plain to me who this was, since I had seen her on several posters before. It was the Ministry Mare of Awesome herself. Rainbow Dash.

        “So there were survivors after all! I thought they had gotten all of you. Thank Celestia you got away" she said as she reached us. I saluted smartly. Ladybug, Cutter and the two Earthponies, who still hadn't introduced themselves, followed suit soon after.

        “Ma'am!" I said, weary and tired at the same time. All I wanted at this point was to get to a field hospital, get myself patched up, and then sleep for a week or so. The ministry mare looked at me quizzically, even looking over her shoulder to see who I was talking to. Soon it dawned on her however, and her expression grew solemn.

        “Don't salute me soldier... We should have been here sooner. This mess is at least partially my fault. Now come on, I'm sure your Commanding Officer is waiting for your debriefing" Rainbow Dash said sadly, turning around and motioning with her wing to follow her. The five of us looked at each other, and I took up the task of carrying Firestorm along in my magic as we exited the MWT.

Once outside, I could barely believe my eyes. There were so many dead Zebras, that the small force of about two hundred Pegasi that were carrying out cleanup operations seemed almost comical. Rainbow Dash noticed that I had stopped in my tracks and turned around, giving me a sympathetic look.

        “Come on. Let's get you out of here..." was all she said, before leading us to a troop transporter that waited a little way away from Ministry Square. It brought us back to our base camp, while medical Ponies tended to our wounds. All of them assured us, during the thirty minute ride, that it wasn't our fault, and that we had done well, given the odds of our survival. I could only agree with them, but I also knew that we could have done much better, if we had been given proper equipment. For heavens sake, we hadn't even been given Pipbucks!

When the six wheeled vehicle arrived at our base camp, a group of Military Police Ponies was already waiting for us. I didn't like that. Not one bit.

        “Who's your commanding officer?" one of them asked, and both Ladybug and Cutter pointed at me. Immediately the MP's surrounded me, while one of them put shackles on my legs and a dampener on my horn. It was over so quickly, that my mind was still trying to process the fact that the two bucks had pointed me out as their CO, when I was already herded away from them.

        “What the... HEY!" I heard Cutter shout after us, but he and the others were already brought somewhere else by another MP. “That mare deserves a bucking MEDAL!" I heard him add, before I was ushered into one of the bigger tents. There wasn't much inside. Only a big table with a map of Hoofington, a few smaller tables with terminals on them and a stallion. A gray Earthpony who sat behind the big table, tapping one of his hooves impatiently on its surface.

        “Dismissed!" he barked at the four MP's around me, who promptly left. I suspected however, that at least two of them took up position outside the tent. I also suspected that I was going to be interrogated...

        “So... you're the CO of these insubordinate volunteers? Strange. I don't remember putting a Private in charge of that unit" he said sarcastically as he pulled a flask out of his uniform with a hoof and took a swig. I could smell the telltale odor of alcohol as he spoke again.

        “I asked you a question soldier!" he barked at me, his brown eyes full of anger.

        “No, sir. I am not the Commanding Officer of my unit. Captain Lybria has been killed in action" I answered respectfully, locking eyes with him.

        “Oh? So did the Military Police make a mistake then? Explain yourself Private!" he barked, and I began to tell him about my first battle. I didn't leave anything out, except the fact that I had soiled myself. It was, in my eyes, something that didn't concern this plothole of a Commander. When I finished, he sighed, rubbing his forehead with a hoof.

        “You disobeyed orders Private. You assumed command of your unit when it wasn't your place to do so, and you deliberately refused to save the Ponies that were placed under your protection. You'll be lucky if you're only kicked out of the military. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you get executed for this, once the higher ups hear of this" he groaned, taking another swig of his drink.

        “Sir? May I speak freely, sir?" I asked, knowing that he would have to give me permission to do so. He waved a hoof as if it didn't matter to him either way, which I took as permission.

        “Sir, we were a volunteer Unit. None of us has been in any real combat before today, and our basic training ended only a few days ago. These Zebras on the other hoof were well trained and had enough combat experience to break through our main defense line. Not to mention that they were much better equipped than we were" I said, trying to restrain my anger at this injustice. In addition to that, my face had started to prickle due to my wound there, and all I wanted was to get some sleep. It didn't even matter to me if my bed stood in a cell at that point in time, as long as the sheets were fresh.

        “Your point Private?" he inquired, definitely intoxicated by now.

        “We were outnumbered, outgunned and outclassed, sir. There was no way we could have won. It is a miracle that even the six of us survived" I said, earning a glare form the stallion behind the desk.

        “Look, Private. You disobeyed your orders. Thanks to that six out of a hundred newbies have survived, that's true. But over a thousand have lost their lives because you left your post. I'm pretty sure that will cost you your white plot pretty soon!”

        “Sir... If anypony at all is at fault here, it would be you. You assigned us there after all. It was also you who rationed our ammunition and weaponry" I stated flatly. The rage I had noticed earlier was slowly ,but surely, turning murderous.

        “Are you blaming ME for the deaths of these Ponies, soldier?" he shouted at me, standing up and trotting around the table. He jabbed me in the chest with one of his hooves, while he ranted about how inexperienced I was, and that it might even do the military some good to just shoot me on the spot.

Before he got the chance to make good on his threat however, a very angry looking Pegasus mare entered the tent, walking up until she stood next to me. The angry tirade from my Commander stopped at once as he recognized the Ministry Mare of Awesome.

        “What's the meaning of this?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at my Commander.

        “Nothing concerning the Ministry of Awesome, I assure you" the stallion said carefully. I guessed that he didn't want the other mare to smell his breath.

        “That's for me to decide, Commander" she sneered, looking me over before her eyes darted back to the stallion.

        “I have just interrogated this soldier. She has disobeyed direct orders, and I was just about to decide how to punish her" he responded, looking at me angrily. At his words the Ministry Mares ears shot up, and she made a motion with one of her hooves as if she was trying to clean them.

        “Punish her? Disobeying orders? Commander, are you drunk? Had this mare not ordered her comrades to fall back, there wouldn't have been any survivors at all, not to mention that her actions prevented the Zebras from accomplishing their objective. And you want to PUNISH her? I think I didn't hear that correctly" Rainbow Dash growled at the stallion who, to his credit, didn't flinch a bit.

        “As I said, Ma'am, this is of no concern to the Ministry of Awesome. This decision will have to be made by me, seeing as I am her Commander" he stated firmly. For a moment it looked as if Rainbow Dash wanted to object, but she apparently thought better of it. Instead she looked at me uneasily for a moment before addressing my Commander again.

        “So? What are the options?" she inquired, even though I was pretty sure she outranked him not only by her Ministry Mare status.

        “It's either execution, or dishonorary dicharge" the buck replied readily enough. After the accusations I had thrown at him, I didn't doubt that he wanted nothing more then to execute me.

        “OK then. Discharge her" the cyan mare next to me said in a commanding tone of voice. My eyes widened. I didn't want to be discharged, but it was certainly better than death.

        “With all due respect Ma'am, but this will have to be decided by high command, now that I think about it.”

        “Do you really want to bother Princess Luna with something like this? Because if you do, I can call her right now, you know" Dash cut him off before he could say any more, tapping her Pipbuck with a hoof. This seemed to frighten him quite a bit by the looks of it.

With a disgusted expression on his face, the buck stepped closer to me and ripped my one Private stripe from my sleeve, and my name tag from my chest. The latter was soon replaced by a winged lightning cloud, as the Ministry Mare took her own Shadowbolt Insignia from her armor and pinned it on my chest.

        “Now that she's out of your mane, release my officer at once" Rainbow Dash ordered with a triumphant smile on her face...

A few minutes later, I was trotting next to Rainbow Dash towards the field hospital. None of us had said a word since leaving my former Commanders tent. Suddenly she stopped, looking me right in the eye with a sad expression on her face.

        “Look, what you did out there was truly amazing. I heard all about it from your comrades. I could use a Pony like you in the Ministry of Awesome, but I could understand if you don't want to after our blunder today. It's the least I could do to get you out of that situation. You can walk away right now if you don't want to join up, no hard feelings. But I want you to know that we need more Ponies like you. Following orders blindly gets more Ponies killed than it saves. So what do you say?" she said quietly, so that only I could hear. I thought for a moment before I answered.

        “Under one condition" I said, to which she cocked her head at me. “There was a Pegasus mare in my Unit by the name of Firestorm. I want her to get this choice too.”

Rainbow Dash grinned at me, extending a hoof.

        “Welcome to the Ministry of Awesome, Sergeant Frostmane.”

Footnotes

Frostmane:

New Perk

Remember the past: Dreaming about your first battle has made you remember that following orders blindly is not always the right thing; using your own head is sometimes even more important. You gain +1 to Intelligence.

Firestorm:

No status changes.