Tenpony Tower, Sublevels

Dusk was walked off the elevator in the basement at gunpoint, one of the members of the Twilight Society having a laser pistol jammed against the small of his back. “Again, didn’t you assholes hear me when I said I wanted to get down here?”

“Keep walking.”

“Fine…” Muttered Dusk. Looking around the corridor, a number of drop lights had been hung from the ceiling, with extension cords held to the ceiling with wire ties. “Love what you’ve done with the place.”

The Society led Dusk into the old Project Ichor lab. “You said you had access to the system?”

Dusk rolled his eyes. “Ozymandias, you still active?”

The computer on the wall clicked to life. “Online Adminstrator Light, and allow me to be the first one to welcome you back. Since your previous visit approximately seven years ago, I have logged exactly five hundred attempts at unauthorized intrusion into my systems. What sort of action would you like to take?”

“Unlock the database to any and all members of the Twilight Society. I trust you still have access to the tower’s systems?”

“Affirmative sir. Marking all known members of faction ‘the Twilight Society’ with data-access permissions.”

“Told you I could get you in…” Muttered Dusk as he pulled out a holotape and put it into one of the computer’s drive slots. “Ozymandias, I need this tape analyzed. Can you confirm the age of the recording?”

“What the hell is that?” Asked Bloom.

“Processing… Confirmed. Log entry from Lieutenant Commander Dusk Light was originally recorded in late October of 2077, with an error appearing in my system.”

“What error are you talking about?” Asked Dusk.

“Attempting diagnostics now sir… It appears that you revoked your original administrator privileges and reinstituted tier zero protocols during your visit on November 8th of 2085. Further examination shows records of fifty log entries in that time period that were submitted to my mainframe before deletion of original privileges. However, remote connection to server at Alpha Bunker was not severed, and remains active under a new user.”

Dusk plugged his pipbuck into the terminal. “Mark Alpha Bunker’s location on my map.”

“Affirmative sir, location marked. Do you require anything else today?”

“Open the armory.” Ordered Dusk. The door in the wall next to the terminal hissed, sliding open to reveal the shelves full of weapons and ammo. “Do you have any additional pipbucks in inventory?”

“Only one sir, an old 2000-series tablet model. You’ll find it with the rucksacks.”

“Good.” Dusk walked into the armory and grabbed one of the bags. He opened it and held it below the shelves, tossing ammo and medical supplies in while clipping whatever weapons he could to the harnesses on the back before dropping it at the door and going for another.

“Who said you could take any of this?”

“I did.” Replied Dusk. “If you’d like, I could turn the security system on you and walk out.”

“We could always-”

“If I might interrupt sir, you and your associates were only given data-access permissions. Not administrator permissions.”

“So I can.” Retorted Dusk. “Changing gears for a second… Ozymandias, can you access any records for that bunker?”

“Of course sir... One moment… List ready sir.”

“Any transport?” Asked Dusk.

“One ground vehicle listed in working order since last inventory update. One Crusier Tank prototype, Mark Six. Maximum speed of thirty miles per hour on road, twenty cross-country. Inventory lists it equipped with a mark three cannon and a coaxial light machine gun.”

“Then that’s where I’m headed…” He muttered. “Hey, do you guys have any transport? I could use a ride.”

“Why the hell should we help you?” Asked Life Bloom

“Didn’t I just do you guys a huge favor?”

“There’s a vertibuck on the roof.” Answered the leader.

“I’ll take it.” Dusk pulled out his radio and clicked it on. “Steeljack, where are you?”

“Still in the studio.”

“Alright, there’s a vertibuck on the roof. Find Comet and meet me there.”

“Got it. See you there.”
______________________________________________________________________________
Royal Guard Bunker, Half an Hour Later

“So what are we here for again?” Asked Comet as the trio hopped off the vertibuck.

“It’s a Royal Guard bunker. Take a wild guess.” Droned Dusk as he walked into a crumbling garage. “Alright, spread out and look for a door.”

“So the Ichor database had info on this bunker?” Asked Steeljack as he inspected the perimeter of the garage.

“Still had an active uplink.” Replied Dusk as he tossed over a broken toolbox.

“Any you don’t find that a bit odd?” Asked Steeljack.

“Of course I do Steeljack.” Retorted Dusk. “But like any self-respecting pony, I’d like to have bragging rights for something.”

“Like what?”

Dusk found the switch he was looking for, the center part of the garage dropping into a ramp and lights clicking to life. “Like a tank.”

Steeljack walked to the crest of the ramp and joined Comet. “What the fuck?”

At the bottom was a decent-sized tank, at one point a matte coat of tan paint had graced it. Now it was mixed with some splotches of rust. The turret was rather angular, looking more egg-shaped than round, which topped off the long engine deck. “This, my friends, is a Cruiser Tank Mark Six prototype.”

“What makes you think it’ll run?” Asked Comet.

“That’s why I brought you and Steeljack. I want to go through this thing, get it running and take it back to Tenpony with whatever weapons and equipment that’s still down here.”

“Assuming we can carry it all.” Added Steeljack.

“Right on the money.” Answered Dusk. “So let’s see-” Dusk stopped as the headlight on the tank turned on, and the sounds of electric motors running for the first time in centuries. “I think we’ve got a problem.”

The tank’s cannon tilted upwards towards the trio. “You think?” Asked Steeljack.

Dusk tackled Comet and Steeljack out of the way as the tank’s cannon fired, removing a sizable chunk of what was left of the building. The three of them looked on in horror as the tank blasted up the ramp before stopping and turning it’s turret to face them. “Who thought it was a good idea to build a robot tank!” he yelled.

“It’s called remote control.” Came a gravelly voice, as a cloaked figure picked Dusk up by his collar and threw him into the side of the tank and pinned him there. “How’d you find this bunker? Did the Enclave send you?” The stallion swung back and knocked Steeljack onto his back as he tried to tackle the assailant. “Well?”

“We found some records about the bunker in Tenpony Tower.” Answered Dusk.

“So you found the uplink to Ozymandias?” The stallion tossed Dusk once more before he blasted Dusk through the concrete wall of the garage. “That’s rich!”

Steeljack got back to his feet, leveled his rifle at the stallion. “Alright, one warning. Let Dusk go, and I don’t turn your head into a canoe.”

“What’s his name?” Asked the attacker.

“He said my name’s Dusk.”

“Dusk… As in Dusk Light?”

Dusk looked over at a confused duo comprised of Steeljack and Comet. “It is.”

The pony dropped his hood, tossing his mask to the ground. Behind it was a forest-green unicorn, capped off with a dark black mane. He had a scar running under his right eye. The pony rose his arm, clicking a few buttons on his pipbuck and re-centered the turret on the tank. “You came through one of the mirrors, didn’t you?”

“And if I did?”

“It would explain why I’ve got a dead stallion standing in front of me.”

“Dusk, what’s he talking about?” Asked Comet.

“What’s your name?” Asked Dusk.

“Specter.” Replied the stallion. “My name is Specter. Now come on, we’ve got a lot to discuss.”

Dusk followed the stallion down into the bunker with Steeljack and Comet. The bunker itself was still relatively clean, although there were cracks running along the walls of the hallways. “Love what you’ve done with the place…”

“In my defense, it isn’t easy to keep one of these bunkers spotless.” Retorted Specter. “Granted we’ve got one in better shape, but there's have more ponies on site to maintain the joint.”

“More ponies?” Asked Dusk.

“Alright, let me ask you this. What do you know about the Second Division?”

“Not much… I know Alpha Company was transferred out of Canterlot before the last day.”

“And Lieutenant Commander Dusk was promoted to command the division right before Canterlot went dark.” Finished Specter. “So have other ponies already been mistaking you for the dead guy?”

“Let’s just say a few and leave it at that.” Dusk stopped and turned to face Steeljack and Comet. “Spoiler alert, we’re talking about this universe’s version of me. Weird, right?”

Comet and Steeljack exchanged worried glances. “How do you know any of this is true anyway?” Asked Comet.

“Remember those holotapes I found?” Asked Dusk. “Those were the log entries that ‘I’ left behind.”

“So then those bodies…”

Dusk clapped his hands and pointed at Steeljack. “Give yourself a medal Jackie, because the first one I found was my dead body!”

“Cave outside of Fetlock?” Asked Specter.

“You know it.”

“I should really do a better job of hiding that entrance…” Muttered Specter.

“Then don’t throw up a chain-link gate.”

Specter shrugged and led his guests into the bunker’s control room. Around him were a number of inactive terminals, with one large screen lit up at the other end of the room. He punched in some commands on a keyboard and a map of Equestria as it stood showed up on the screen. There were three markers, all in Celestia’s cutie mark. One marked the location of the Manehattan bunker. Two others were on the map; one was outside of Vanhoover, the other was in the Crystal Mountains. “This is what I mean by ‘we’.”

“I take it more than just Alpha Company were deployed from Canterlot?”

Specter nodded. “Beta Company was sent to the Crystal Mountains under Captain Sentry, while the surviving members of Delta Company made their way to the Vanhoover bunker after getting decimated when the missiles hit the harbor. Out of five hundred ponies active within the Second Division on the last day, one hundred twenty two survived into the post-war era.”

“What about present strength?” Asked Dusk

“At the moment, we’ve got about two hundred thirty active members. The Vanhoover Bunker is a fallback position due to its present condition, while the rest of the members of Second Division are based at the bunker in the Crystal Mountains.”

“The why are you here?” Asked Steeljack.

“Officially… I’m missing in action.” Specter sat down on the edge of the console. “In reality, I’m AWOL… Considering I never called to say I’m still alive.”

“Look, we can talk more later.” Said Dusk. “Right now I want to talk business.” Specter looked at him seemingly interested. “I need that tank to get around and fight if necessary. You need some other ponies to watch your back. Can you see what I’m getting at?”

Specter rolled his eyes. “That’s fine, but on one condition.”

“What’s that?” Asked Dusk.

“We head north, get to the bunker in the Crystal Mountains.”

Dusk looked back at Steeljack and Comet. “I think we’re in agreement then.” He said. “We head north.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Bunker Entrance, One Hour Later

“Alright, that’s everything.” Said Dusk as he strapped down the last crate to the engine deck.

“I still don’t see why you wanted to take the mortar tube.” Added Steeljack.

“Because it’s a damn mortar, that’s why!” Yelled Dusk. Steeljack rolled his eyes and climbed up the side of the tank.

“Alright, let’s get moving.” Said Specter as he clambered down the hatch into the tank.

Dusk followed him down into the turret and into the front of the vehicle, taking a spot on the passenger side of the vehicle. “So who built this thing?”

“Well that’s a bit of a story… Wanna hear it?”

Dusk shrugged. “Why not. It’ll be a bit before we get back to Tenpony anyway.”

“Alright, so you know about power armor?” Asked Specter.

“Only what the Enclave uses.”

Specter nodded. “Well, power armor was originally a series of projects of the Ministry of Wartime Technology. About seven years before the war there was program to develop an armored assault vehicle capable of engaging hostile fortifications.”

“I take it the cruiser tanks came from that?”

“Yup. Six prototypes were developed over the course of that time. It took about a year to design and construct the Mark One. It went through a year of testing, six months in the construction of the second prototype started. That pattern kept up until this one was built. According to the records in the bunker this thing went through only half of the testing period before getting parked in the bunker.”

“Any particular reason?” Asked Dusk.

“After the battle at Shattered Hoof Ridge, the MWT canceled all non-essential development programs to divert resources to power armor development.”

“Ah…” Muttered Dusk. “Now, let’s forget history for a moment. Why’d you think the Enclave sent us?”

“Why do you think I’m the only member of the Division this far south?” Asked Specter. “About five years ago, I was part of the second expedition to return to the Manehattan bunker. When we were passing through the Canterlot Valley an Enclave unit, under the command of a Dashite mind you, came down on us. After about six hours and ten casualties later, the order came down to retreat. Me being the stubborn colt that I was decided to try and complete our original objective.”

“When you say second expedition… Is that why those bodies were in that cave?”

“Yup. Around 2095 the first attempt to establish a foothold back in Manehattan was made, the bunker having been abandoned in 2085 when the decision was made to consolidate what was left of the Division at the time.”

“Then let me fill in the blank.” Said Dusk. “They were never seen or heard from again?”

“That’s the gist of it.”

“Dusk, we’ve got a problem!” Yelled Steeljack, half of him hanging out the turret hatch.

“What kind of problem?” He yelled back.

“The kind you need to see!”

Specter brought the tank to a halt and undid two latches above their heads. “Hatches. Swing it open, the seat will go up with it.”

Dusk nodded and pushed the hatch open, his seat rising about a foot, enough for the top of his head to stick out above the hull of the tank. As he looked forward, he saw the familiar shape of Tenpony Tower, under attack by a sizable group of Enclave soldiers. “That does look like a problem… Can you get in touch with Dart or Gramps?”

“Got nothing but static on the radio.”

Dusk sighed. “Specter, can you take us up through the old station?”

“Grand Central? No problem.” The tank rocked back as Specter hit the gas and started manuving the vehicle through the rubble-strewn streets of Manehattan. Once they arrived at the station, Specter blasted through the lobby, up onto the platforms and made a beeline along the tracks for the tower’s entrance.

“Alright, you see that barrier up ahead?” Asked Dusk.

“Yah, why?”

“Stop us there. Steeljack, pull out the mortar and the shells. Comet, give him a hand. I’ll try to get the gun firing.” Dusk pulled the hatch back, the seat dropping down as it closed. He crawled back into the turret, opening a bin full of twenty shells. Specter crawled back behind him.

“You’ll want high explosive, rack behind you has em’.”

Dusk nodded and grabbed one of the shells, shoving it in the cannon’s breach. “How many shells do we have?”

“One hundred ten. Twenty of those are armor piercing.” Specter sat down to the left of the cannon, grabbing a pierescope. “Alright, you’ll have to load and fire. Rounds should fall one meter for every fifty they go forward.”

Dusk nodded, grabbing the handle marked ‘traverse’ and twisting it to the right, turning the turret in the same direction. Looking over at the gun, there was a small wheel on the side of the gun marked elevation. Checking his sights he groaned. “How far do you think they are? Don’t want to put one through the front door.”

Specter clicked his tounge as he looked through the rangefinder on his side of the turret. “Two hundred fifty meters at most from the rear of their formations.”

Dusk nodded and adjusted the gun’s elevation. “We ready?”

“Ready.”

Dusk put his finger to the trigger and pulled it back.

BOOM!

The report from the cannon rang out around the turret. Dusk pulled back from the sight as a fan in the roof kicked in, pulling the fumes from the expended charge out the roof. He went for another round, shoving it in the breech as the first shell casing fell back and hit the floor. He went back for the trigger, turning the turret a bit to the left with the traverse.

BOOM!

“Good effect on target!” Yelled Specter as he ducked back down into the driver’s seat. “Get on the coax, I’ll bring us in.”

Dusk swapped sides in the turret and grabbed the machine gun, cocking back the receiver and looking down the sights before ripping into the crowd of Enclave soldiers with it. “I think that’s it.” He left the machine gun and popped the turret hatch, sticking his head out. “Yup, we’re good!”

“Damn good work then.” Said Specter as he climbed out the driver’s hatch.

Dusk scrambled up and out of the turret and dropped to the ground before somepony jumped on his back and blinded him. “What the fuck!”

“You really need to tell me where you keep finding all of the crazy shit.” Whispered Dart as she let go of Dusk.

Dusk turned around and smirked. “But then it wouldn’t be me.”

“So was the trip worth it?” Asked Meteor as he examined the tank.

“We got a bunch of new toys, so I’d say so.” Said Steeljack as he walked around the back of the tank, mortar tube over his shoulder.

“Did I also forget to mention I made a deal while we were out?” Asked Dusk. Dart, Strike and Meteor all turned their attention to him. “Might want to dig out your coats, because we’re headed north.

______________________________________________________________________________

Tenpony Tower, Radio Studio. The Following Morning.

Dusk walked off the elevator with two steaming mugs of coffee in his hands. “Homage, you here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Homage got up off her couch and grabbed the extra cup of coffee. “Any reason you brought coffee?”

Dusk shrugged, pulling a small bag of pastries out of his side pouch. “It’s a bit of a tradition to bring breakfast when I sit down with ponies before going off and doing something stupid.”

“Well don’t stop on my account.” Said Homage as she led Dusk up to the studio. “Ready for your close-up?”

“As ready as I could be.”

Homage placed two microphones on the table and clicked on her broadcasting equipment. “Good morning Equestria! It’s your favorite voice of freedom DJ Pon3 here with a special message for those of you still wondering what the hell I’m rambling about. Well, we’ve got a new recruit to fight the good fight.”

“Yah, no pressure or anything.” Joked Dusk.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, allow me to introduce you all to Dusk. Let me tell you this, it’s hard to find smart ponies these days. What, with all of those mentats and jet floating around. Now, Dusk here isn’t a major player, at least not yet, but we all start somewhere. Now, where do you plan on starting?”

“Well… I do have a bit of a bone to pick with the Enclave, and word has it they didn’t get the memo I tried to give them a while back.”

“Sounds like you might have been a bit cocky.”

Dusk shrugged. “You could say that. But would anypony still be alive out in this hellhole if we didn’t learn from our mistakes?”

“True enough… Now I know you don’t really want to get into too many specifics on your trip, but I hear you got a message for somepony important?”

“Damn straight.” Dusk cracked his knuckles, loud enough to be picked up by the microphone. “To General West Wind of the Enclave. I’m betting you didn’t think I’d be this far behind you now, did you?” Dusk hunched over on the table, getting closer to the mic. “News flash numbnuts, I’m harder to kill than I look. So know this, you will pay for the lives you’ve stolen. No matter where you run to, no matter who you try to hide behind, I won’t stop until I find you and have you under my heel. So go ahead, have you army of shock troops dig in to whatever little precious ground you still have. It won’t stop me.”

“Pretty strong words from a young stallion like yourself Dusk.”

“West Wind has killed too many to be worth playing nice.” Said Dusk with a shrug.

“I can dig it. And I’m sure all you good ponies out there can too. So if you run into my friend here, try and help him on his way. Now onto other more important business… Let’s get back to some entertainment from the wonderful Sapphire Shores.” Homage shut off the mics and pushed them aside, some music starting to play from her equipment. “Not bad… Bit angry, but not bad.”

“Well, it’s truth.” Assured Dusk as he got up.

“Anyway, I got some more info on your friend.” Said Homage. She pulled a envelope out of her vest and handed it to Dusk. “One of my contacts dug this up. It’s an after-action report from an Enclave recon unit.”

“Anything interesting?”

Homage nodded. “He definitely was branded a Dashite before the clouds were broken up, most likely for political reasons. After that, he was assigned to an surface item recovery team based in the Macintosh Hills.”

“Alright… So they kept him on? And they were spying on him?” Asked Dusk. "And I thought I was paranoid..."

Homage nodded. “That’s where none of what you’ve said makes sense. Why would the Enclave put a Dashite in charge of a major military force? That doesn’t mean I don’t believe you, in all honesty I do, but there’s pieces that could make sense of West Wind’s position that I just don’t have… But I know a guy who might be able to get you that information.” Homage grabbed Dusk’s arm, plugging his pipbuck into one of her terminals. “He calls himself the Watcher. After Operation Cauterize, he managed to get his hands on intact Enclave computers and records from a downed airship. If you’re lucky, you might be able to convince him to let you get at them.”

“You can’t put in a good word?” Asked Dusk.

“I sent him a letter yesterday when I sent feelers out to my contacts. He’s the only one who didn’t respond.” Replied Homage. “Either he’s sleeping, or he’s still going through the records he has. Either way, I can’t tell you much else.”

Dusk nodded. “Thanks Homage. Assuming I don’t go straight there, is there a way I can get in touch with him?”

“Just look for the sprite-bots. Those are his eyes and ears outside of that cave of his.”

Dusk smiled back at the radiomare. “Thanks.” He walked out of the studio and hit the button for the elevator. As he rode it down, he glanced over the copy of the report Homage had gave him before he tucked it into one of his pouches. Reaching the main level, he strode off the elevator and out onto the elevated section of the Luna Line. “We ready to go?”

On top of the tank, Steeljack was tightening a bolt on a new pintle-mount he had spent the night throwing together, while Comet checked over the old coaxial gun to make sure it was still in working order. “Just give me ten minutes.”

“Why do you need ten minutes?” Asked Dusk.

“So I have time to bolt down the mortar?”

“Do you the tank sitting still to do that?” Retorted Dusk.

“No… Just need time to pull-”

“Then it’s settled. You can do it while we drive.” Dusk walked over to the front of the tank, scrambling down the open passenger-side hatch. Specter was in the driver’s seat, wiping off his control panel. “This thing wouldn’t happen to have a map unit, would it?”

Specter swung down a panel from above him, and it lit up into a map of the Wasteland. “Same thing as what’s in a Pipbuck.”

“Alright…” Dusk closed his hatch and checked his side of the cockpit. Noticing he had his own map display, he pulled it down and started scrolling around. Looking over at Specter’s, he noticed that it too was scrolling around. “So I guess I’ll navigate?”

Specter shrugged and threw the tank in driver. “I don’t see why not. We’re just headed north.”

“Well… We need to make a stop first.” Dusk scrolled the map over, checking his own to make sure the coordinates were the same. “Can you get us there?”

“I don’t see why not… What’s so important that you want me to take us to the Smokey Mountains?”

“Potentially there’s information on West Wind in the possession of somepony called The Watcher.”

“And you want an explanation on why a Dashite has an army? Got it.”

“So what are we talking about again?” Asked Dart as she stuck her head into the cockpit from the turret.

“Oh, you know…” Said Dusk as he turned towards his marefriend. “The usual.”

“Does that include theories on where those shock troops came from yesterday?”

Dusk turned forward and tapped his chin. “In all honesty I really wasn’t thinking about it. So what, did they just show up at the front door?”

“That’s about the size of it.”

“Does it matter now?” Asked Specter “It’s not like you’re being followed.”

“Specter, you’ve got a lot to learn.” Said Dusk. “First rule in my playbook... Never deny a possibility. It’ll come back to bite you in the ass.”

Author's Note

This is what I'm trying to describe when I talk about the Mark VI prototype.