Broken Mirror, Part One

Smokey Mountains, Ten Hours Later

Dusk had nodded off in the passenger’s seat about halfway through the drive. Specter had taken the opportunity to swap out for Steeljack and had been giving him some lessons on driving the cruiser when he woke up. “Are we there yet?” He groaned.

“We’re about five minutes away.” Said Specter. “Alright Steeljack, let off the gas and pull back on the tiller bar nice and easy.”

Dusk popped his hatch open and stuck his head out as the tank ground to a halt and climbed out. Looking up the path to the cave, Dusk saw some light smoke drifting out of the mouth. “Guys, we might have a problem.”

Meteor and Comet dropped off the back of the tank and joined Dusk. “You think?” Chided Meteor as he checked his revolver. “So what’s the plan?”

Steeljack, Dart, Strike and Specter were still climbing out of the tank when they noticed the smoke. “You really think going in there’s a good idea?” Asked Strike.

“You got a better idea?” Questioned Dusk. “Dart, Steeljack, you’re with me.”

“You really want to go in there?” Asked Dart.

“Again, do you have a better idea?” Groaned Dusk. The trio started their walk up to the mouth of the cave, peering around the corner of a rock that obscured the entrance. “You think it’s normal to leave a rifle on the ground?” Asked Dusk as he broke from behind the rock, approaching a broken laser rifle that was in the middle of the mouth of the cave.

Steeljack knelt down next to it, picking up the broken stock before tossing it to the side. “I don’t think it’s been here long.”

Dusk swung the shotgun off his back and clicked on the flashlight. “Dart, stay behind me.”

Dart rolled her eyes and walked into the cave. “You two coming?”

Dusk and Steeljack followed the mare into the cave, the smoke becoming thinner as the draft of the cave expelled it from the interior. They finally reached a large chamber, smoke coming from a fried generator. “Looks like one of the Watcher’s projects…” Muttered Dusk.

Steeljack was looking around the cave and stopped after looking down a dark hallway. “Guys…” He whispered.

“What?” Dusk looked down the hall, noticing two yellow eyes staring back at them. “Oh fuck.” The creature walked out of the shadows, revealing an eight-foot tall dragon.

“Scatter!” Screamed Steeljack as he dove behind a pile of fallen rocks.

Dusk ran after Steeljack, diving behind the rocks while Dart took cover behind a large bookshelf on the opposite side of the chamber. Dusk looked over at Steeljack and furrowed his brow. Steeljack’s eyes were pressed shut, and he was trying to shrink up against the rocks. “Steeljack?” Dusk elbowed Steeljack, who didn’t even budge. “Fuck…”

“What’s the plan Dusk?” Yelled Dart.

“I don’t know!” Dusk looked back over at Steeljack. “Steeljack, you OK?”

“Just keep that thing away from me.” He snapped.

Dusk rose up from behind the pile of rocks and stared at the dragon, its arms crossed and its one good eye staring at him with a confused look. “Listen, we don’t want any trouble.”

The dragon walked over and looked down at Steeljack. “I got that impression. Will he be OK?”

Steeljack stared up at the dragon before pointing his rifle at him. “Stay back!”

The dragon cocked an eyebrow. “Really?” The dragon ripped Steeljack’s rifle out of his hands and dropped it behind him. “How far do you think that will get you?”

Steeljack tried to scramble for his rifle, but he didn’t get far before Dusk tackled him. “Steeljack, you need to calm down!”

Dart ran over to join Dusk and whacked Steeljack in the back of his head with the butt of her gun, knocking him out. “Sorry…”

“You guys alright?” Yelled Meteor as he and the others ran into the cave.

“It seems one of your friends is a bit south of stable.” Said the dragon.

Dusk got off Steeljack as Comet and Strike picked him up and dragged him to the cave entrance. “Probably some sort of phobia that we haven’t seen.”

“For the record, he his last interaction with a dragon didn’t go well.” Added Dart.

“Ah yes… He’s the subject from Project Ichor?” Asked the dragon.

“He is.” Replied Dusk. “So I take it you’re the Watcher?”

The dragon nodded. “Most of my friends call me Spike.” Spike turned to walk deeper into the cave. “You coming?”

Dusk and Dart followed Spike deeper into his cave, sticking to either side of him as he walked. “So… You were Sparkle’s assistant?” Asked Dusk.

“I was. For a time anyway.” Answered Dusk.

“Alright… You’re far more pleasant than I was led to believe.”

“What made you think that?” Asked Spike.

“The only time I met you, at least a version of you… You slammed the door on my face.”

Spike chuckled. “Homage did say you came through one of the mirrors… Odds are you caught me on a bad day.”

“Hopefully. Anyway, Homage said you had some Enclave records?”

Spike motioned to a row of computers in the chamber they just entered. “I was looking for something to substantiate your claims regarding General Wind before you arrived.”

“Did you dig up anything interesting?” Asked Dart.

“As a matter of fact I did.” Replied Spike. “It appears he was assigned to aid a platoon of shock troops immediately before Operation Cauterize in establishing a base in the Badlands.”

Dusk and Dart exchanged worried glances. “Bit convenient that his other base was in the Badlands, don’t you think?” Asked Dart.

“Bit too convenient for my tastes…” Mumbled Dusk. “You mind if I look over what you’ve got?”

“Be my guest.”

Dusk walked over to the Enclave terminal and started looking over Spike’s records, conveniently left open. Scanning them over, he plugged in his pipbuck and downloaded copies to it. “So you’re called the Watcher for a reason, right?”

“I am.” Said Spike as he sat down next to Dusk.

“Then in your vast duties of… Watching, did you see anything that might indicate what West Wind has been up to?”

Spike seemed deep in thought before he looked back at Dusk. “Some time ago, the Enclave picked up an ESIR team and brought them to one of their outposts south of Las Pegasus. Shortly after, your General friend made his first move in the valley beneath the Canterlot ruins. From what I saw, he attacked a sizable group of ponies coming down from the north.”

“So his attack on the Second Division?” Asked Dusk.

“Assuming that’s who they were.”

Dusk nodded and turned back to the computer. “Looking at this, it says that West Wind was reinstated on an emergency basis about a year after Operation Cauterize due to the lack of qualified officers on active duty at the time… Says here they gave him a Raptor class and ordered him to secure a foothold at Canterlot. Doesn’t say for what though…”

“But why Canterlot?” Asked Spike. “It’s not like Stable One is accessible, and there’s nothing left of strategic value.”

Dusk stared at the screen and furrowed his brow. “Spike, did you know anything about a chamber under the castle?”

“There is the old caverns, why?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about…” Dusk rose from the seat. “Spike, I need to get moving. I’ve got a few stops to make, but can I count on you to back me up when the time comes?”

“Doing what?”

“Spike, there’s something in Canterlot, something powerful and dangerous. I need to see if I can rally some support first, but those ruins need to be cleared out. Can I count on you to be there?”

Spike walked over to a shelf, tossing Dusk a small blue box. “That’s an old communication module out of one of the spritebots. When you’re ready, call me.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Half an Hour Later,

As the day went on and the march north continued, the air in the tank began to take on a slight chill. “This thing have heat at all?” Asked Dusk.

Specter shook his head. “Not that works.”

Dusk nodded and looked at the map. “Think we could make it to Chicacolt before nightfall?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem… Maybe an hour drive at this rate.” Added Specter.

“Then take us there.” Dusk leaned his head against the wall of the tank’s interior. “I’m gonna try to get some sleep.”

“But why? It’s the middle of the damn day.”

“Alright… What do you want to talk about then?”

“The Watcher. What the hell did he do to throw Steeljack out of whack like that?”

“He existed.” Dusk muttered. “I never knew, but it looks like Steeljack has a serious phobia of dragons.”

“And dragons aren’t supposed to be scary?” Snarked Specter.

Dusk shook his head. “Try getting roasted by one, get brought back from the dead and then you can say whether you’d be scared shitless of them or not.”

Specter was silent as the drive towards Chicacolt continued. Almost a half hour later he caught sight of a blinking red light on the navigation console. “New radio signal?” He hit the button and was met with the sound of a number of tones being fired out through the speakers in rapid succession. “You know what that’s supposed to mean?”

Dusk listened to the tone for a minute. “It’s Morse code… SOS.”

“So someone’s in trouble?” Asked Specter

“More likely than not. Can we home in on the signal?”

“In theory…” Specter hit a few more buttons on the navigation panel and a marker showed up on the map. “According to this it’s coming from an old service station two miles south of Theater.”

“How long until we get there?”

“Fifteen minutes?”

Dusk nodded and scrambled back into the turret. “It’ll have to do.” As he threw open the turret hatch and crawled out onto the engine deck he motioned for Comet to pass him his shotgun. “We just started picking up an SOS signal. Make sure all your gear is ready, we engage in ten.”

Time almost seemed to slow to a crawl before the tank ground to a halt, gunfire echoing around the buildings in the distance. “Dart, Comet, Strike, on me!” Dusk rolled off the side of the tank and shouldered the shotgun.

“What’s the plan?” Asked Specter as he stuck his head out the driver’s hatch.

“Just stay here for now. I’ll radio if we need some help.” Dusk led the group off down the street, the sounds of gunfire getting louder as they neared the service station. “We’ll need a good vantage point… Anyone have any ideas?”

Dart motioned to a partially collapsed apartment building adjacent to the service station. “Rubble pile, we could use it to get up to that perch on the second floor.”

Dusk just ran up the pile and vaulted through the window into an abandon corner apartment. He could see muzzle flashes glint off the remaining glass on the far side of the room. As Dart helped their comrades up into the room, he walked over to the window and looked out on the service station. “Raiders, fifteen of them in cover on the far side of the lot. Three snipers in the ruins across from the station.”

“And what about the station?” Asked Dart.

Dusk turned his attention to the minimart attached to it, spotting a disheveled green unicorn and her Pegasus companion, his own spiked blue mane standing out in the afternoon light. “Hey, do Starry and Lightning usually get into deep shit like this?” He clicked on the radio and turned it around until a new signal came in.

“We’re still stuck out here, where the hell is our backup?!?!” Came Starry’s angry voice over the radio.

“Take it easy kid, we’re still trying to get to you. How much ammo do you have left?”

“Definitely not enough.”

“Well then, time to play the heroes.” Dusk shoved over a slab of concrete that was once part of the wall, making a ramp down to the ground below. “This is Alpha-One, Blaze Squad is engaging hostiles.” He slid down the makeshift slide and hit on his feet, ducking behind a pile of rubble as bullets started flying in his direction. “Dart, tactical assault!”

“On it!” Dart slid down the ramp and shouldered her own weapon, firing towards the sniper nests while she strafed across the lot towards the service station. Comet and Strike were right behind her, focusing their efforts on the raiders on the ground.

Dusk jumped over the rubble and bolted for the door, dodging tracer rounds as he went. He dove down and slid through the door on his shins as the bullets took small chunks out of the structure’s brick façade. Dart, Comet and Strike took cover behind the wrecks of wagons outside the door. “We having fun kids?”

Starry poked her head over the before ducking down as small fragments of brick were spit up by a sniper round’s impact. “Oh, I’m just peachy.”

Dusk dumped the magazine of slugs he had loaded, starting to swap them for some frag rounds that he found back at the Manehattan bunker. “I guess that peace talks broke down?”

“No.” Starry reloaded her pistol and took a knee, leveling her pistol towards the crowd of raiders across from them.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

She knelt back down and dumped the empty shells from the cylinder. “We’re just taking a coffee break.”

Dusk nodded and pulled his radio back out. “Specter, bring it in.”

“Copy that. We’re coming down the alley to your left.”

“Mind telling the rest of the class what ‘it’ is?” Asked the other inhabitant of the building, a mare clad in red power armor.

“Just watch.” Dusk leapt through the window and started pumping frag rounds at the snipers as Specter rolled in with the tank.

“Try this on for size!” Yelled Meteor as he cocked back the pintle-mounted fifty-cal.

RATTATTATTATTATTAT!

Chunks of concrete were spit up by the impact of the fifty-cal rounds, which prompted a raider to rise from his hiding spot before disappearing in a red cloud as Meteor turned the weapon on the poor bastard.

“And how is this thing supposed to solve our insect problem?” Questioned Starry.

The turret swung a bit to the right, the gun tipping upward. “Like this.” Said Dusk. “Hit it!”

BOOM!

In a ball of fire, the ruins that housed the snipers flew apart in a plume of smoke and red-hot stone, and the raiders below ran off deeper into the ruins to protect their hides. “And that’s how you kill two birds with one high-explosive stone.”

“It was kinda dull if you ask me.” Muttered Starry. “So what you doing here anyway?”

“We’re sightseeing.” Said Dusk. “Now do you two want a ride home or not?” Dusk clambered up onto the engine deck, using one of the storage crates as a seat. Dart followed him while Comet and Strike packed away the weapons. Starry, her brother and their companion both climbed up, leaning against the crates that lined the engine deck.

“Thanks.” Groaned Starry. “Everyone still in one piece?”

“Well I’m not looking like swiss cheese, so that’s a plus.” Said Lighting. “What about you Coco?”

The mare pulled off her helmet and placed it down on the deck. “Still a bit sore.”

“Sore from what?” Questioned Dusk. The tank lurched forward as Comet and Strike dropped down into the turret. “All I saw you doing was leaning up against the wall.”

“After having part of a building dropped on me.” She snipped.

“Ah, the wonders of power armor.” Dusk sighed, thinking back to his trashed set of Mjolnir. “You think Hood would get me a new suit of armor?”

Dart shrugged. “One of his underlings used you as a pincushion. I’ll say he’d be open to it.”

“I’m sorry, I’m a bit lost.” Starry cocked an eyebrow. “Who used you as a pincushion again?”

Dusk shrugged. “It isn’t that important. So what have you two been up to?”

“Raiders, slavers, suicide missions… The ususal.”

“The whole nine yards then.” Dusk muttered. “Sounds like loads of fun.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Groaned Lightning, his head still buried in his pipbuck's display.

The engine deck was silent for the remainder of the ride, bar the hum of the motor beneath them. The tank eventually ground to a halt in the alley besides the old building called Theater. Dusk dropped off the side along with Starry and strode in the side door. “So where’s your mom?”

“In her office.” Starry led Dusk through the foyer and to the stairs to the second floor where Patch’s office resided. The two brushed past the guards and walked in through the open door. Patch was staring out the window on the ruins of the city when they entered. “Mom, I’m back.”

Patch turned around and smiled. “Glad you made it back in one piece.” She strode over and wrapped her arms around her daughter before spotting Dusk. Her gaze seemed to harden as she approached. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re just staying the night and then we’re headed for the Crystal Mountains in the morning, nothing more.” Assured Dusk.

“Any reason you’re stopping here?”

Dusk shrugged. “It’s friendly territory?”

Patch glared at Dusk before marching out of her office. “He’s here, isn’t he?”

“Mom, don’t do anything stupid…” Chided Starry, staying close on her heel.

“Patch, what the hell’s wrong?” Yelled Dusk as he followed her down the stairs. At the bar in the foyer sat the rest of his companions, most of whom were chatting.

“Steeljack!” Yelled Patch.

“Awe shit…” Dusk heard Steeljack mutter.

Dusk couldn’t catch up before Patch cocked Steeljack and knocking him out of his seat. “What the hell did I tell you!?!?”

“Nice to see you again too Patch.” Groaned Steeljack as he hauled himself to his feet.

Patch growled as she took Steeljack and smashed his face into the bar before tossing him across the foyer.

“Patch, stop!” Yelled Dart. She didn’t get far before Patch grabbed her collar and threw her over the bar and into the shelves of vodka and other spirits.

Dusk vaulted over the bar, hauling Dart to her feet. “What the hell is her problem?”

“She hasn’t exactly been fond of Steeljack since Las Pegasus.” Said Meteor. “I’d bore you with the details, but now isn’t the time.” He got off his stool and strode up behind Patch. “Patch, cool it.”

Patch turned around and smacked Meteor, stunning him before she planted her boot into his chest and kicked him back. “Stay down!” She turned to Steeljack, now standing. He had blood running down the side of his face. “I told you never to set foot inside my town.”

“Really wasn’t my call.” Steeljack wiped the blood off his cheek and brushed past Patch to attend to Meteor. “You alright?”

Meteor groaned as Steeljack helped him to his feet. “I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, the lot of you get the hell out of my town!” Yelled Patch.

Dusk glared at Patch before sighing in defeat. “You heard the mare, let’s go.” Dusk walked back out the side door and hopped up onto the tank’s engine deck.

“So much for a good bed.” Noted Strike. “What now?”

Dusk slumped down against the crates. “I don’t know. Anyone else know a friendly settlement around here?”

“Can’t say I do.” Specter scrambled up and took a seat on the edge of the turret hatch. “So what was all that about anyway?”

Dusk watched Steeljack climb up onto the engine deck and slump down off to the side. “We’ll worry about that later… Let’s just find a place to stay the night.”