Fallout Equestria: Duty

Fallout Equestria: Duty

Chapter 36

One more disaster

“PINKIEEEEEEEEE!”

~O~Frostmane~O~

Had they not started to fuss over Firestorm the moment I had dragged her out of the emergency escape elevator, I might have struck the Ponies down that had been partially responsible for the state my marefriend was in. As it was however, many of the ones who had fled into the forest earlier, had come back and were now discussing among themselves what to do next.

One mare in particular seemed to be the center of attention. It was the one who had stunned that second clone earlier. Her bulky cybernetics gave of small clouds of steam, as its cooling mechanism did it's best to handle all the additional attention. Reluctantly, I left Firestorms side to come to her aid. I owed her at least that much for her assistance earlier.

        “What are we to do now?” a Pegasus stallion called out. He was wearing a stable jumpsuit with the number 101 on it's collar.

        “We don't know anything about this wasteland! Where can we go from here?” another one, a Unicorn mare in similar attire added.

        “I don't know, everypony. We all knew it might come to this when we agreed to help Sharp Edge in her experiments. It's really a shame that she didn't succeed though...” the red-brown Unicorm mare called back to the crowd that had gathered by now.

        “Maybe I can help with that.” I said, and every set of eyes in the clearing fell on me in an instant. I really didn't want to do this, but these Ponies had done nothing wrong. Golden Sunshines death was not their fault. As much as the emotional dagger in my heart twisted at what I was about to say, I knew that I couldn't just leave them here.

        “Excuse me?” the mare, who had introduced herself as Amber Light earlier, asked in utter confusion. I turned my head slightly, so I could see her better. The right side of my face was still slightly swollen, and I had a hard time seeing out of the eye on that side.

        “I have recently made my home on an old ship. It's safe, has loads of supplied and no Raiders, bandits or other scum is likely to bother you there. I have only two conditions. You are not to continue your research into cloning Alicorns. All of the research material that you might have saved, is to be deleted or left behind. Secondly, you have to pull your own weight on board. We have a demand for doctors, technicians and Ponies who know how to cook. So... any takers?” I explained, letting my gaze drift over the gathered Ponies.

None of them stepped forward immediately, and I could see that some of them were even looking at me with resentful glances. It felt as if I had been struck by lightning as I realized that they blamed me for the loss of their home. Before any of them could voice their grievances however, Amber Light nodded.

        “I think we can all agree that this project was a failure, and I can see why you wouldn't want us to continue our research. I for one, have received some medical training by the late Sharp Edge, and would like to take you up on your offer.” she said, taking up a position next to me.

Had the crowd seemed slightly irritated by my offer earlier, they were utterly astounded by the mares agreement to my terms. Murmurs broke out among them, and I could see a few Ponies make their way towards the forest that surrounded us. I hadn't felt it earlier, due to the fight I had found myself in almost instantly upon arrival, but I could feel the aura of the forest around me. Just like on the day Luna had guided me here. It was even more dangerous now, than it had been back then.

        “If you leave this clearing, you will die in the forest! At least let me guide you out of here!” I called after the ones that were leaving. Some of them stopped, throwing anxious glances over their shoulders at me, but most of them simply trotted on as if I hadn't spoken at all.

Seeing them go weight heavy on my heart. I knew, for a fact, that they wouldn't make it out of the forest without me to guide them. The aura of the forest had increased in magnitude over the years, but I was quite sure that anypony traveling with me would be safe. I had no idea why, but I just trusted in the forest itself. In the fact that I had once been here with its mistress and that it recognized the piece of Luna inside of me.

Even though the soul fragment was gone, I still hadn't returned to my pure white coloration. That could only mean that I still had some genetic connection to my friend. Which, in all honesty, made me wonder why I didn't have any memories that had originally belonged to her...

        “So... how are we going to get to that ship?” Amber Light asked as it was clear that nopony else was about to leave. They looked apprehensive, but I could understand that. Most of them looked well fed, and not as if they had spent even one day in the wasteland.

Looking over the about thirty Ponies in front of me, I sighed before throwing a glance back over my shoulder to where some of them were taking care of Firestorm. It was a pretty good question. I didn't want to ask Dash for help again, since she had made it pretty clear that lives depended on her ships regular supply runs, and that she would only risk being discovered if I was in any immediate danger. There was always the possibility of just floating them along while Golden Sunshine and I...

My thoughts derailed for a moment as I thought of my deceased friend once more. No... she hadn't been just a friend. Golden Sunshine had been like a sister to me, and now she was simply gone. Most likely turned into a puddle of sludge in the now sealed halls of the complex that lay beneath our hooves...

I mentally kicked myself. She wouldn't have wanted me to sulk over her death when there still were things that needed to be worked out after all. I could literally imagine Golden Sunshine scold me in her gentle voice, telling me that there was a time and a place for everything.

        “I think the only viable option is for me to bring you all over one by one. Don't worry, my magic should have recovered enough to do so by the time we...” I started to say after turning towards Amber Light, when my own Pipbuck Broadcaster interrupted me. A voice I didn't know came over the Ministry of Awesome distress frequency, and the message it relayed was directed at me personally.

        “Frostmane. We ask for permission to approach. Glorious Unity offers its assistance.” it said. It was definitely the voice of a mare, and by the mentioning of Unity, I knew that my mother knew about Golden Sunshines death as well. It also told me, that she had most likely finished watching the memory orb I had given to Mirage some time ago.

Amber Light looked at me quizzically, since her own Pipbuck had received nothing at all. It didn't surprise me, since she didn't have the codes to access the proper frequency. For a moment, I tried to decide if I would allow them to come near these Ponies. Golden Sunshine had told me about Unity and it's practices. They abducted Unicorns, and there were quite some Unicorns in this little group.

In the end however, I decided to give my mother the benefit of the doubt.

        “This is Vice-General Frostmane speaking. You are cleared for approach.” I replied, and only a few seconds later, the forest around us seemed to glow with magic. I had to squint to make out the shapes that were teleporting in all over the place. The flashes of their spells even outshone the dimmed light of the rising sun.

Many of the Ponies who had decided to stay, where now trying to flee but where stopped by a veritable wall of Alicorns surrounding the clearing we were in. The last time I had seen this many of them in one spot, had been when I had fought Moonsinger for control of her flock. It had ended in me killing every single one of them in a fit of rage. Having lost that little extra strength the fragment of Nightmare Moon had always given me however, I doubted that I could take all of them on at once. Even if I was a real Alicorn now, I was still fighting my hangover, was tired beyond belief due to an hours long flight and a fight to the death with clones of the Princesses.

        “Calm down everypony! They're not going to hurt you!” I shouted over the din of panicked voices, hoping that I wasn't telling the most outrageous lie in the history of lies. It took some time, but eventually the Ponies noticed that none of the new arrivals seemed to even notice them. All of their eyes were fixed on me. It was an eerie feeling, since not a single one of them said anything. Then I spotted a mare that had a Pipbuck fitted onto her leg. Assuming that she had been the one to contact me, I hobbled forward. The Ponies from the compound made way for me, none of them daring to stand in my way for some reason.

        “You said you wanted to offer assistance. What assistance can you offer, and what will it cost me?” I asked outright, before I had even reached the mare. What happened next, made my mane stand on end. They were still staring at me, and they all answered my question in perfect unison.

        “The Goddess offers medical assistance and safe passage through her home territory. Transportation for the Ponies in your care will be provided, and the Goddess gives you her word that they will be brought to a destination of your choosing safely.” they said.

Shaking my head to get rid of that creepy feeling in the back of my head, I looked back at the Ponies behind me. They looked scared out of their wits, but they also looked helpless. I couldn't guarantee their safety on our way to the Alicorn. Not on my own, and not in my current condition. This did, however, sound too good to be true, even if that deal was being offered to me by my mother.

        “There's a catch to this, isn't it? What does my mother want in return?”

        “The Goddess wishes to speak to you face to face. She wants to discuss some things with you.” the group of Alicorns responded. I flinched. I had known that this day would come sooner or later, and as it was, I didn't really have another choice. Looking back at Ambers frightened face, I resigned myself to it. Her Ponies were working hard on Firestorm, but there was only so much their medical training could do. I had felt, first hoof, what my mothers Alicorns could do in comparison.

        “Alright. Get to work. My friend is up there, and she needs urgent medical attention. I think she has several broken bones and has slipped into a coma about half an hour ago. Then bring these Ponies to the ship Mirage once visited me on. I'm sure your hive-mind knows which one I'm talking about. Once I'm sure they have all arrived there safely, I will come with you to meet my mother.” I said, but the Alicorns didn't move.

        “That is unacceptable. You will accompany this one to Maripony, while the rest of this group will carry out the tasks you have just mentioned. This is not not negotiable.” the one with the Pipbuck said.

At first, I wanted to argue, but looking over to Firestorm once more made me give in. There was blood on her muzzle, and I didn't like the look on the faces of the Ponies around her at all. In the end, it was my love for my marefriend that made me give in to my mothers terms. But... I would definitely give her a piece of my mind once I saw her...

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A few hours had passed since I had led the Ponies out of the forest, and we had set up a small camp to rest for a while. The forest had literally opened up for our group, as long as I was trotting ahead. Amber Light had trotted next to me the entire time, telling me about her time in Stable 101, and how she and the others had been chucked out since they weren't Earthponies, and I had made a mental note to question her on that later on. Behavior like that was not acceptable. All Ponies were worth the same, no matter their race.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I watched as the group of Alicorns and refugees was making its way south east, while I was still resting. The Alicorn that was supposed to escort me to my mother was standing watch over me while I rested, even though I was pretty sure that the forest behind us wouldn't do anything to harm us. Well, nothing to harm me at least.

For some reason I was on edge, and just couldn't fall asleep around this mare. She wasn't very talkative, and something about the way the blue mare carried herself just made me uneasy. It was almost as if I was watching another Moon Skull performing perimeter security detail. She even used the same patrol pattern. The only thing that was different, was her Pipbuck. It was a civilian model, that had been modified with a military issue Broadcaster. Now that I examined her closer though...

Differently from Golden Sunshine, whose Cutiemark had been a smiling sun, this mare didn't have a Cutiemark. Still trying to wrap my head around this, I was completely unprepared when the Alicorn suddenly spoke.

        “The Goddess wants you to know that she is anxious to meet you. She is growing impatient.” she said.

It took me a moment to understand what she was saying, but once I did I narrowed my eyes at her in irritation.

        “Well excuse me. I'm hung over and I'm hurt. Not to mention that I'm totally exhausted. My mother can wait until I can at least fly on my own again, can she not?” I rebuked. For a second, the mare seemed to contemplate this, and I almost thought that this was the end of it, when I was suddenly surrounded by a dark blue magical glow. This mare actually lifted me into the air with her magic, attempting to carry me along while she flew towards my mothers place of residence.

I wasn't taking that lying down however. My own magic sparked to life, negating her levitation spell. Since I had overtaxed myself a little earlier, this caused my horn to throb dully as I landed on my hooves.

        “You're not going to carry me around like a foal who can not walk on its own. I'll come quietly once I've rested up some more, and that's that!” I shouted angrily.

Now, one must understand that I had lost almost every argument I had ever had with my mother, and this was no exception to the rule. My over-strained was not enough to overpower the shield spell that suddenly came to life around me.

        “You can rest, while this one flies. You get your will, and the Goddess can speak to you so much sooner. Not negotiable.” the Alicorn stated matter of factually. My anger rose once again. Usually my mother would have tried to persuade me. Seeing as I was now basically her prisoner, I couldn't help feeling sad and angry. It was the last straw that made me realize that whoever this “Goddess” was, she wasn't my mother anymore...

~O~Firestorm~O~

My sides itched horribly as I awoke to somepony nudging me. My one good eye fluttered oped, to see that Hope was tugging me into bed, shivering in fear as if somepony was holding a gun to her head. At first, I had no idea where I was, or why she was so afraid, but then I saw the green Alicorn mare behind her.

Frostmane had told them off, so why was she here? I couldn't help myself as I jumped out of bed, using my forming armored tail to push Hope behind me as I faced the Alicorn. My marefriend had made it quite clear that they were not welcome in our home, and that at least one of them was here, made me nervous.

        “What are you doing here?” I asked coolly, eyeing the other mare, while spreading my wings to hide Hope from view. I couldn't see her, but her shivering was so intense that I could actually hear it. The filly was notoriously easy to scare, and I hadn't known her for very long, but this strong of a reaction seemed more than odd to me.

        “We are here to watch over our future sisters. The one you call Frostmane has bargained for your treatment and safe return to this place. Once she has spoken to our Goddess, you will all join us in glorious Unity.” the mare said, and I suddenly understood what had frightened Hope so much, since I couldn't help but feel a twinge of panic myself...

Footnotes:

Frostmane:

Maximum Level reached!

Firestorm:

Maximum Level reached!