Fallout Equestria: Duty

Fallout Equestria: Duty

Chapter 39

Old Friends

“The magic of Friendship doesn't only exist in Equestria. You can seek it out, or stay forever alone.”

~O~Frostmane~O~

        “What's the status of the Sky-Tanks?” I asked Gingerbread as we were discussing our next step in his office.

        “As far as extraction goes, most of them should return this evening and land at the sky-port. Squad thirteen has requested a second tank to help with the transport. I don't know what kind of problem they encountered though. Maybe there are just more of them than we had initially thought. Wouldn't be the first time.” my former subordinate reported as he filed through the reports on his Pipbuck.

Hope was napping on a nearby sofa, since the journey to Trottingham had tired her out considerably. I thought that I was a bad flier, but the little filly was even more of a novice than me. What I found more than ominous however, was that the Enclave did not bother to attack the two of us as we flew through their airspace. I spotted some of them on my EFS and even saw a few who were poking their heads through the cloud-curtain, but none of them dared to approach us.

        “Well... you couldn't have known that more than three hundred had escaped the Luna Dream. I am pleased however, that so many of the survivors have responded to my call. I don't expect Gear Turn to just come and fight me alone. I'd like to have a backup plan, just in case she gets any ideas.”

        “You do realize that Gear has the whole Enclave behind her now, right? Only the magical white noise we are transmitting over every open channel prevents her from trying something similar here. Even with over three hundred Moon Skulls, you will be hard pressed to defeat them.” Gingerbread sighed, running one of his hooves through the few tufts of his mane that still remained on his head. I knew why he was so frustrated. The campaign to get rid of the Order of Machina had weakened the forces of Trottingham, and many good Ponies had died. Those who had survived were either too badly injured to help me out in this endeavor, or were needed for the cities safety. In other words, the army remnants of Trottingham were unable to help me.

Luckily, Jerakal had remembered something. A little known fact about military grade Pipbucks. Every single one of them had a personal code and channel. At the time, I would have been happy to get fifty replies when I had sent out an order to report in. That three-hundred-fifty-two Moon Skulls would actually answer my call, surprised me quite a bit. I hadn't thought that this many had survived.

One, Arake, had even been close to where Firestorm was brought, and so I ordered him to help her in any way he could. The old Zebra buck had been an infiltration specialist. If anyone could keep my marefriend alive until I came to kick Gear Turn all the way into next week, it was him.

Right now, the forty Sky-Tanks, that belonged to the cities arsenal, were flying back and forth to retrieve more and more of my former subordinates. After they had reported in, I had made it clear that this mission was purely voluntary, and that I knew that I did not have the right to give them orders anymore. It was the first time that these Ponies had actually laughed at me.

        “You call, we come. Easy as that.” one, a former Steel Ranger by the name of Triangle Tart had said, and that seemed to be the general opinion among my Ponies.

The coordinates Gear Turn had left me would lead me to a flattened mountain top, where Stable Tech had build one of their few Pegasus Stables. Her forces, if there were any, would still have air superiority, but my ground bound soldiers would still be able to fight. After all, all a Pony needed to shoot down a flying target was good footing and a missile launcher.

        “Still thinking about the aerial problem, huh?” Jerakal asked as she trotted in. The Zony mare was still limping slightly, but she assured me that she was more than ready to fight. I only hoped that I could get her out of this one alive. Of course I knew that there was a good chance that some, if not all of us, might die, but this was a risk I had to take. The Enclave was a force to be reckoned with, and if Gear Turn got past us,then the rest of Equestria would be next. No doubt about that.

I nodded in answer to her question as I looked over a map of the area. There were no flak canons my soldiers could take over or repair to take care of Raptors or other airships.

        “Well, then I might have just the thing.” my friend said, unrolling a scroll, she had been carrying in her saddlebags, over the maps I had been studying. It was a map of some sort of underground complex. Of... of an airship hangar to be precise.

        “Where did you get this?”

        “After you two left, the two ghouls you got out of there helped us to scavenge in the MoA hub. We found loads of blueprints, weapons and other things. This particular hangar however, is located under Muzzleton. If there's a ship still in there, we may be able to use it.” Jerakal said seriously, pointing out he sheer size of the hangar. There was definitely enough space in there for several Raptors or up to three Thunderheads, so there was a good chance we would be able to find an airworthy vessel.

        “Muzzleton is a Raider nest. We can't just trot in there and look for a two hundred years old hangar. Not without a whole army behind us.” Gingerbread interjected, and I had to agree. I had seen what that town had become, and just how many raiders inhabited the ruins.

        “Well... either an army... or a fully fledged Alicorn Princess.” the Zony mare mused, looking directly at me. Gingerbread thought for a moment, before nodding. I looked back and forth between the two of them. Were they actually serious? I had barely gotten out of that fight in Manehatten, and there were only a few hundred mind controlled Ponies there. Muzzleton had over a thousand raiders in it, for bucks sake!

        “I hope you're not serious! Besides, I'm no princess! Not by a long shot!” I protested.

        “Well, you're a fully fledged Alicorn. All you have to do is keep them busy while Jerakal and I infiltrate the facility. If you could simply blast the whole city from the map, it would be even better though.” the red ghoul behind the desk said, making a valid point. I certainly had enough power to create a magical blast that big, but I didn't want to. The ruins could hold supplies that other Ponies might need to survive, or there might even be none-Raiders there. At the very least, I knew that the Muzzleton public library had a history section that was only rivaled by the one in the royal Canterlot one. It was knowledge that was too precious to be just blasted away.

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        “Why the hay did I agree to this?” I shouted as my shield reflected another barrage of small arms fire. The sheer amount of bullets made me feel the pressure of it in my horn, not to mention the occasional explosive these Ponies flung my way.

I galloped through the morbidly decorated streets of Muzzleton, drawing the attention of every Raider in the city, as I sent up fireworks into the night sky. A stallion with a spiked mane and blood caked armor jumped out of a doorway, surprising me for a second. This one second was enough for him to get a shot off , and I could feel the 9mm bullet bite deeply into my right shoulder. Blood flowed almost immediately, but I knew that payback was a bitch. This stayed true for the stallion as my magic grabbed the half rusted automatic he held in his muzzle and crushed it, effectively triggering every bullet left in the magazine. The Earthponies face was literally blown apart, and he collapsed in a thrashing heap.

I downed a healing potion, and continued my track through the city. Soon, I couldn't just run anymore. No matter where I turned, there were Ponies advancing on me. Even with my new magical prowess, I wasn't sure how long I could go on to deflect their bullets and grenades. My horn was aching already...

Seeing no other way out of this, I decided to give them a real fight if they wanted one so desperately. My wings flapped as my shield dropped, and I rose into the air above the still shooting Raiders. Many of them died in the resulting crossfire, while others were turned to ashes as I swooped down low and unleashed my silver magical fire upon them.

These Ponies were obviously crazy. In any other fight, against a sensible opponent, this display of power would have been enough to make them retreat, or run to regroup. These Raiders however simply increased the tenacity of their attacks. I wove in and out between the buildings as I rained down more and more fire on them. Some chain lightnings joined the mix, and I was appalled to see the damage it caused. One jumped right through the wall of a building, frying the Pony hiding there and collapsing the concrete wall.

Then, something unexpected happened. Just as I was about to bank into a side street again to use the buildings as cover, three Pegasi Raiders barreled into me from above. Two of them were carrying knifes, and they dug them deep into my sides just under the base of my wings. The attack forced me out of the sky almost immediately, and we crash landed in a thrashing ball of limbs and blood. One of the blades snapped in my flesh, while I pulled out the other one. One of the Pegasi died in the crash, since he had been on my back, and I had crashed back first...

The other two had rolled away from me, trying to surround me. I was hurting and bleeding pretty badly by this point, and with my ability to fly temporarily out of commission, there was no easy way for me to get out of here. The stallion on my left lunged at me, spreading his wings to increase his speed, but I caught his head in my magic and twisted before he was close enough to strike.

I went down on one knee, panting hard as the last Pegasus Raider stepped carefully closer. His face was a grimace of insane glee as he raised his knife to strike at my neck. Just when the blade came down, I spun around and let myself fall, knocking his hooves out from under him with my hind legs. Before he had a chance to get back up, I grabbed his weapon in my magic, kicked him in the gut with a hoof, and slammed the tip of the knife down his throat as he opened his muzzle to scream. The blade came back out of the back of his neck, pinning him onto the ground. A crude method to neutralize the threat, but it was effective. I had never been one for doing things pretty, as long as it got the job done.

Opening my saddlebags, I checked my medical supplies. To my great dismay, my last few potion bottles had broken on impact, and the fluid had soaked into the two rolls of magical bandages. In other words... I was out of medical supplies...

This was bad. I was bleeding all over the place, and my vision was already starting to blur due to the blood loss. Just what took these two so long, and why did I never bother to finally learn some healing magic? It would have come in handy in a moment like this!

Soon after, the ground bound Raiders had located me again, and the fight began anew. Razor Roses hammer came up, deflecting several bullets, before slamming into the two Earthponies who had come galloping around a corner. Both of them got knocked into the side of a building by the enchanted weapon. The only problem was, that this thing was by no means light. I wasn't sure how long I could go on wielding it. Five, maybe six more minutes, and these Ponies would safe Gear Turn the trouble of trying to kill me.

        “Vice-General? Frostmane? We're ready, and you won't believe what we've found. It's... amazing...” Gingerbreads voice crackled over the radio. I couldn't have cared less at that moment. All I wanted was a functioning Auto-Doc and a good nights sleep.

        “I don't care... If... If it has a medical station... get it... here... I... need... extraction... urgently...” I panted. Gingerbread didn't answer. Instead, I heard the hiss of water coming from the south of the city behind me and looked around. A giant fountain of dirty water was shooting out of the ground, and in the middle of it was a black shape that I had thought I'd never see again...

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The medical facilities on board the ship were equipped with cutting edge technology. It was something I was not used to see aboard a military vessel. Usually we had functional equipment that was able to get the job done, even if it left nasty scars. The Auto-Docs here however... They were more of the civilian variety, taking a little longer to patch you up but also taking care that you were still a beauty afterwards. Not that they were able to do much about my burned face.

What was more, was that some of the machines I'd seen so far were still wrapped in in bubble-wrap. It almost looked like this ship was... brand new.

After Jerakals explanation, it became obvious that this was true. This was, in all honesty, most like this ships maiden flight.

        “The facility opened up for us just fine. It was almost as if the mainframe was expecting us or something. No automated defenses to deactivate, no robot-drones trying to keep us out... nothing!” my friend explained, while sitting next to the Auto-Doc I was strapped into. This was another difference from the ones I was used to. While the models I had seen so many times before were capsules a Pony would lay down in, this one was a standing metal circle and the patient had to be strapped in before the machine could get to work.

        “But... if it was a MoA hangar, then... then you shouldn't have been able to get in without resistance.” I replied, while two of the machines automatic appendages worked on the cuts on my sides. It barely hurt when they started to extract the broken blade from the wound, and I could see the reason for it just fine, even though I doubted any normal Pony could have. The Auto-Doc had encased me, head to hoof, in some kind of magical field which I assumed was suppressing my pain.

        “That's the thing. It wasn't a MoA facility. Most of the corpses we saw were wearing standard military uniforms, while others were wearing the armor of the Night-Guard! Frosty, I think this was a facility ran by the Princess herself.”

I gave the equivalent of a raised eyebrow to the Alicorn in the back of my head, and I could almost see her smirk before she started to whistle innocently. I decided that enough was enough. Next time I took a nap, Luna would have a lot to answer for. If she had told me about this ship back when we had first arrived in Trottingham, we could have stopped Gear Turn in a matter of hours, instead of having to sacrifice many good Ponies... And Cherry Cream wouldn't have had to die... Homage might even be still with us...

        “... Hey, are you even listening to what I say?” Jerakal huffed, and I noticed that she had continued talking while I had been lost in my thoughts.

        “Oh... ehm... sorry. You were saying?”

        “Really... did these Raiders hit you upside the head or something? I was saying that this ship is an engineers wet dream! All top notch pre-war technology. If you were to dismantle it and just sell the parts, you'd be swimming in caps before you sold half of it. I can only imagine how many bits this thing must have cost, but my guess is that it was about three times as expensive as the Luna Dream. Once you can walk, I'll give you the big tour. You just got to see these canons!” the Zony mare said, her ears standing straight up in excitement, as she held her hooves as far apart as she could.

        “That's a big caliber...” I mused, intent on finding out more about this ship. I couldn't help but notice that my friend was wearing a Uniform instead of her armor. It was midnight blue, with our Insignia on it's sleeves.... But... not quite. There was something different about it. The eye sockets of the skull shaped moon were on fire. Jerakal noticed my look and turned slightly to give me a better view of it.

        “Neat, huh? Even has my name on it. I found it in the engine rooms changing room. Looks like this ship was literally made for our use. Take a look at this...” she said, pointing at some writing that was stitched under the Insignia.

“First Armored Luna Corps. Second Division. Lunas Revenge”

        “I think you're wrong there... Looks like our supreme leader wanted to create another Unit, and you were to be transferred there...” This made Jerakal jump a bit and look at her new Uniform with contempt in her eyes.

        “As if I'd have agreed to a transfer...” she muttered.

I chuckled at this. Jerakal... loyal as always. I could imagine what she would have done if she had received her transfer papers. She would have, most likely, come storming into my quarters and asked me if I was not satisfied with her performance anymore. I, in turn, would have talked to Luna about it, since there was no way I would have given up one of my best soldiers, and friends, just like that.

        “Look, Jerakal, I'm tired. Wake me when we get to Trottingham, OK? I'm going to take a nap while this blasted machine turns me inside out.” I joked, and my friend nodded. She even gave me a kiss on my cheek, like a mother would do to her foal, and I blushed a little. When she began to giggle like a little school filly, I knew that she still enjoyed teasing me at every chance she got.

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        “Luna! I've got to talk to you!” I demanded as I stepped into the space of my own mind. It looked like a black void, but the ground was white and crunching under my hooves like snow. There was even a light snowfall going on. I didn't have to wait for long. The midnight blue Alicorn stepped out of the darkness in a flash of silver light. She looked a little sad, and as if she wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Almost... guilty.

        “I knew you'd come to talk to me, the moment your friend found those blueprints.” she said, stopping right in front of me. She didn't sit down or relax. Instead her body language told me that she was... scared? No, that couldn't be right, or could it?

        “So what's the deal? Why are you in my head, and what's up with this ship? Could have saved a lot of lives if we had access to it right from the start.” I demanded much more harshly than I had intended to, but it couldn't be helped. I still remembered Cherry Cream, and how I had held her limp body.

        “It's... it's not as easy as you might think. I don't really understand it myself. Not completely at least. Why I am here, I mean. The only explanation I can come up with is, that your genetic connection to me was enough for your mother to trace it back to me when she tried to absorb you. I could feel her in my mind, but she didn't get far before I expelled her. Next thing I knew, I was in your head.” she explained, not looking at me. It was just a guess on her part, but at this point her guess was as good as mine.

        “And the Lunas Revenge? What about that?” Luna sighed at that, and turned her back to me. She seemed to be ashamed of what she was about to say.

        “The Lunas Revenge... was build to hunt down the Luna Dream and replace it. I never wanted to believe you had betrayed me, but there were some... incidents that looked like your hoof-work. Bunkers going silent for no apparent reason. Whole bases being wiped off the map, with no survivors to tell us what had happened. In the end, I commissioned the Lunas Revenge. My soul-fragment was supposed to kill you if you betrayed me, but there was always the possibility that you got rid of it somehow, and I couldn't make contact with it for some reason. You must understand... I... I guess I got a little paranoid towards the end...” she explained, whirling around to look at me again with tears in her eyes.

It was a lot to take in. There had been incidents that looked like the Luna Dream had been involved? But then again, it wouldn't have been hard to replicate our style, if the Zebras were even a little intelligent. And they had been. I knew that only too well. With the timing of our disappearance and these things happening... I couldn't even blame Luna.

        “And what about Jerakal?”

        “According to the intelligence I had received, she was on shore leave at the time you vanished. She never reported back but... I though that, if there was a Pony, or Zony in her case, out there that could find the Luna Dream, that it would be her. As it was, the LR was never put into service. On the day it was completed, I received a report that the Luna Dream had been spotted near Appleloosa, and did not respond to any attempts at radio contact. It was the day the bombs fell. I knew that my dear sister had visited you, since she had admitted as much when I had caught her using my terminal one evening. But it was only on that day, minutes before I died, that she admitted to sending you that fake order. I never told you about the Lunas Revenge, because I didn't want to reveal this to you. I saw that I had wronged you, and I was, and still am, afraid that you might hate me for it... There are documents in its mainframe that explain its orders after all... I was afraid for you to see them...” my friend sobbed, finally breaking down.

I just stood there for a moment, shocked beyond belief. Luna had kept this from me, for the sole reason of protecting our friendship? But then again... I could understand her... a little... I was the only Pony, except her own soul-fragment, with whom she could get into contact. Being sealed up somewhere in solitude must have been harsh on her, and she just didn't want to be alone any longer. As much as I wanted to smack her across the face for this, I hugged her instead. Luna had made a mistake. A mistake like any other mortal Pony, and who was I to hold it against her? My fuck ups had killed hundreds, while hers had killed millions... We really weren't that different...

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About an hour after the Auto-Doc had released me, the Lunas Revenge docked on one of the towers of the Trottingham skyport. The ship was... a miracle of magical engineering. Even I could see that. It didn't have the Stealthbuck array of the Luna Dream, but instead used a field of Levitation Talismans that kept it aloft, even if the eight rotors of it's engines were destroyed. It's hull was also more durable. Twenty feet of Titanium and Solar Steel, while the Luna Dream only had ten feet of titanium for it's outer hull. Jerakal had been right when she had said that this ship could have blasted us out of the sky. It was, however, very understandable that I had mistaken this ship for the Luna Dream at first. The outline, coloring and even the overall design were almost the same.

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Stepping out of the elevator of the docking tower, I was immediately knocked off my hooves by a gray Pony and a... What was that hairy brown and gray thing with horns? Something clicked in my head when it scooped me up in a bone-crushing hug, while Hope clutched my neck from behind.

        “Thunder... Thunder Hoof?” I chocked out, hard pressed to breathe. The buffalo laughed his deep and throaty laugh as he put me back down, and I stumbled for a moment before my hooves finally cooperated again.

        “Sure is, ma'am! Glad ta see ya. An Alicorn, eh? So, ya finally lemme smash Gear Turn, eh? Can't wait ta do it!” he laughed, and I could suddenly see why one of the Sky-Tanks had requested a second tank to assist. Thunder Hoof was out of his armor, and the giant mass of metal was standing off to the side. I was not surprised to see the pilot of a nearby tank laying on the ground, all four legs and both wings spread, panting heavily.

Thunder Hoof... The one and only Buffalo in the Equestrian military, and unquestionably the strongest of the Moon Skulls. I'd once seen him rear up on his hind hooves, lift a skycarriage, and throw it at a group of fleeing enemies. Not to mention that he had a disturbing tendency to overdo things. Almost every time when we were storming an enemy base, he had not bothered to use the door. Instead, he had just made his own entrance with that hard head of his. The two anti dragon canons he wore on his battle saddle were usually enough to discourage his opponents from doing anything stupid, like shooting at him, though many had to learn that lesson the hard way.

        “Glad to see you too. And I take it you didn't like my apartment?” I said to my friend, before looking back at Hope, who looked like she didn't want to let go of me for anything. She shook her head in response as Lemon Butter landed nearby. He was one of the younger members of the Moon Skulls, having escaped our ship relatively late, but he still looked pretty ragged right now. I had asked him to keep a watch over Hope, in addition to Shut Up.

        “I... I'm sorry Vice... Ehm Frostmane, but that filly of yours is harder to watch than a bag of Parasprites! I turn my back for five minutes, and she's gone! Even deactivated that little robot of yours so it wouldn't tip me off. Pretty sneaky if you ask me. Sent me on a merry goose chase around the city before I caught up.” he said, panting. Looking back at Hope, I saw that she was trying to hide behind my neck.

I finally realized what must have happened. I had put her on my sofa, while she had still been asleep, so she had woken up in an unfamiliar place, with a stallion she didn't know. I face-hoofed.

        “Sorry Lemon... My fault. She's got a … troubled past, and she doesn't know you. I should have thought about that.” I said, but Lemon just waved me off before trotting away again. I didn't get a good look at the mustard colored stallion as he turned away, but I thought I saw him grin a little...

        “So... what's the plan?” Thunder Hoof asked as he looked around me to get a better look at Hope before he added “And who's da father?”

I balked at that, which made the enormous Buffalo in front of me break out in laughter. Obviously he had been filled in by somepony and just enjoyed messing with me...