Fallout Equestria: Chumming Waters

Chapter 7 - Knife Edge Negotiation

Update report on the movements of the raider fleet.

As of this year, It has been observed that the group of ships, dubbed the raider fleet, has been encroaching on Enclave airspace, resulting in small clashes between our soldiers and the raiders. Though we have not suffered any serious losses, the cost for armor repair, and weapon ammo has reached an all time high.

The current main threat the raider fleet poses to the Enclave is their pegasus and griffin fighters, along with anti-air guns aboard their ship. Though we still posses air superiority, this advantage is only useful in long range engagements. The closer we move near the raider fleet, the more we would lose our advantage.

On further observation, the raider fleet lacks a centralized command, and are often observe disorganized. If we are to eliminate this menace, I suggest a large organized strike. The raider fleet lacks the ability to to quickly organize, and fend off such an attack.

Side note, It was both amazing to see so many different races working together, but also depressing to see them all fall into savagery. If this raider fleet can bring so many different races together, then it should be possible for the Enclave to do the same. If we can civilize the savages, unifying them under the banner of the Enclave would be a simple step after that.

-Enclave Officer 1st Class Grand Cross

It was apparent that most of the fighting Victoria had taken part in was on the same floor as the captain. Bodies littered the floor all over, guards and brigadier alike, ripped apart by bullet and blade. It also explain why the captain never stepped out to properly lead the guards, she was pinned down from the start.

Victoria had taken over a small office room, sitting comfy behind an oversized desk. it also happens to be the only room I had seen not splattered with blood. bloody hoofprints notwithstanding.

“I see you had success with thinning out the loyalists.” She shifted herself to take a more professional position. “Good, we can’t have too many of them around after the transition of power. The logistics alone is going to take months of work, and even one loyalist can set us back.”

I looked to Carving Doll, and Puppet Strings for an explanation, but they just shrugged.

Sighing Victoria pushed herself away from the desk. “Never mind, let’s just focus of the task at hoof.” She trotted around the desk, and up to me. Victoria had the same armor as the rest of the Corps Brigade, though it was significantly more torn up and dented. With a smile she ruffled up my main.”I’ve heard you’ve done good work, really proving your metal out there. You’ve got a bright future with us, and I can see you becoming very important very soon. but right now you should just stick with me, and If you're a good filly, I might even let you have some revenge on our dear captain.”

I couldn’t help but smile, Victoria was praising me, ME! This day couldn't get any better.

Victoria Turned her attention to the other two, waving her hoof to direct them to flank her. I stepped out of the way, and followed them from behind. “Puppet, I need you to flush the enemy out. They have heavy weapons aiming down the halls, and if we can’t get them to move from their position, the battle becomes a waiting game. Carving, because the captain has bolted down the roof, I want you to get through the side, and drop a few of our fighters in.”

Carving Doll saluted and bolted off. Puppet Strings on the other hand pulled out the bottle of Blackwater Run I had found earlier. “Darlin', if we have more o' this, then I have a good plan for them.”

I could see a grin form on Victorias face. “There’s a closet just down the hall from here, we stashed all the rum we found there. Use what you need.” Puppet Strings, put the bottle back into her saddlebag and trotted off. I could hear her humming to herself, not a tune I knew, and it had a haunting feel to it.

Following Victoria, we came to the beginning of a long hallway, the walls scared with the lines of bullet marks, and floor stained a brownish read from the blood of ponies turned to nothing more then scattered mush. On our side two brigaders sat on both sides of the wall armed with heavily modified rust guns. I attempted to take a peek down the hall, but Victoria stopped me.

"Unless you want to lose your head, it's best to not give Blackpowder's sharpshooter a shot at you." Pulling me in closer, i could feel her breath. "I need you intact, so just stay behind me." I nodded, too embarrassed to say anything as my face felt like it was burning. "Now come with me, We need to fit ourselves into more proper attire for the Negotiations."

"Negotiations? Aren't we goin' t' kill t' captain, not... not.." what was the word, I know I have heard about negotiations before, but there was another word with it.

Victoria stopped at an old looking dresser. "Make Love? Oh no, nothing like that. This will be about terms of surrender. I want to know how much she is willing to give up to save her own life. But who knows, after we are in charge, there are going to be a few captains looks to marry their sons off to a strong mare, so you might find yourself quite popular." Now I felt real embarrassed. A ship rat like me getting a husband of my own, that was something for only the real important ponies. "But if were going to do anything like that, you first have to get washed up. I may like the color of blood rust brown, but it's not going to be appropriate for talking with the dear captain." She tapped her hooves on a nearby wall, and out came a pony dragging a tub of water. "Now let's get washed."

Another pony helped me out of my armor, placing my sword and gun to the side, along with my saddle bag. It felt like I was light as a feather with everything off, but a bit exposed without a shirt on. Looking into the tub, my reflection looked back at me. I saw a little filly whose blue coat had turned a reddish brown, and wavy green main had become a dark matted mess. Stepping in, the water rippled and lost it's purity as the blood washed off of my leg.

The ship was never short on water, but it was always salty, and made me see weird stuff if I ever drank it. But this water I was pure, cleaner then I had ever seen water, and I was bathing in it? I wanted to ask if I could drink some of it, but I didn't know if that was a stupid question or not. Instead I just watched Victoria step in after me, and let the one pony that dragged it in start scrubbing my main with a brush. Bubbles covered my head the more she scrubbed. At this point I was just too confused to even move, were bubbles natural, and why was I sitting in clean water... well water that use to be clean. The only thing I knew for certain was that baths were odd.

The pony that was scrubbing me and later Victoria, worked quickly at her job, not afraid to get rough on a few dirty spots. Victoria Stretched out one of her back legs. "So Star Charter, tell me, how did your mission into the guard tower go?"

I smiled. "Oh it went smoothly, even got t' eat some food when I was thar. Though it got rough at first. I ran into a guard soon after I got it, had me pinned to. I was lucky that..." Crap! if I tell her about Prism, Victoria will know I was too weak to have done the job on my own.

"Lucky that?"

This is bad, I have to tell her something, something that she would believe, and like me more for. "That... That I had t' knife Carvin' Doll gave me." she did give me it for dire moments, too bad I lost it. "Cut right into that guard I did. Blood was everywhere."

Victoria nodded and smiled. "I do remember that she gave you it, good to know you put it to good use. After that you must have learned to be extra careful, the best lessons are often the hardest."

The wash pony was finished scrubbing, leaving us a soapy mess. Rinsing us with a bucket of water each, I could see Victoria's colors return to is more vibrant look. Stepping out of the tub, the wash pony quickly rubbed my fur with some cloth, getting the water out of my coat, mane, and tail. As Victoria got out of the tub, I notice that the water had turned a brownish light red, even the bubbles had a slight red hue to it.

Dried off, I watched as the dresser was flung open, and the wash pony was now sorting through the cloths. dresses suits, and a few hats were inside. Most of them were old and patched up, but all still remarkably beautiful. I was a little depressed when the wash pony pulled out a white suit and levitated it to me. It was a plain white color, with a line of blue on the ends, and a symbol of an anchor on the neck, It also came with a little hat.

I gently pushed the suit to the side. "Can't I have a dress?"

Victoria chuckled. "Don't be silly, this will look wonderful on you." Victoria herself was given a lovely pale pink dress with dark green leaf pattern along the edge. It felt a unfair that she got to wear that, and I was stuck with some stupid little suit that makes me look like a toy. "Oh don't pout my little pony, trust me, you looks fine." The wash pony strapped my sword onto my back, which made me feel a little better. Just not having a dress better.

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Listen here, ye fellow slaves to the bar and drink.

A story to tell, a tale be told, to take ye to the brink

Of death and glory; please heed my story - I beg not for helping hands,

For I am not a captain, you see. I barely am a mare.

I know not where my soul is headed, but I still know what's right;

I never meant to guide free mares into uncharted night,

Yet we board again, dock unknown, and sail by pale moonlight.

Leader of a band of criminals on the high seas,

We seek the fortune rumored still across the great divide.

Send them home, I cannot do, for then they'll turn on me,

Yet we find not what we're searching for, instead only lies.

A coward's passing, a deathly lashing, quarrels not for me:

I leave with the contents of my ship and set sail on a warmer breeze.

We awake to find we are without lead,

Our captain gone, our lives forlorn,

We know now what we seek.

__________________________

A brigadier held up a bullhorn for Victoria to talk into, allowing her voice to carry loudly, and clearly. "Blackpowder Blast, we are here to conduct negotiations on your surrender."

Blackpowder Blast's voice came back with the same loud clarity. "You take me for a fool. Why don't you come over here so that I can relieve that head from your neck."

"Your loyalist have been decimated, you and what ponies that are with you are all that's left. Face it Blackpowder. it's over, you've lost. All that's left is for you to lose with some dignity intact, so let me trough, and we can talk about your terms of surrender."

Blackpowder laughed. "You think I care, once t' fleet it here, you be off t' Pony Jones' locker. We don't take traitors like you lightly."

Victoria sighed. "Dead ponies tell no tales Blackpowder. If I have to kill you, I'll have ten good tales to tell about how you turned traitor, and with the backing of the Followers of Thorn, it shouldn't be hard to get the fleet to believe it."

There was a long silences, Victoria patently waiting for Blackpowder to respond. "Fine, I'll bite. But don't go believin' you can make me dance for you, I'm more then willin' t' drag you down t' Pony Jones locker with me." Victoria smiled, waving at the other brigaders to move out of the way.

Following behind Vitoria, we walked down the blooded hallway, our hooves picking up the sickie blood along the way. Luckily both our outfits didn't touch the ground, so both dress and suit stayed clean along the way.

Blackpowder's main room was large, and so clean that it almost looked like it sparkled. Two ponies with minigun on their battle saddles glared at us, and further to the side were three more injured ponies laying down, with one more treating them. there were a few other heavily armed ponies in the room, keeping an eye on the windows. Blackpowder herself stood at a doorway, waving for us to follow her inside. Victoria didn't waste any time looking around, walking straight to the room Blackpowder had just walked in.

The room turned out to be Blackpowder Blasts bedroom. It had the biggest bed I had ever seen, with many fluffy pillows, and blankets that look so inviting that I wanted to crawl into them right now. There was also a giant shiny brown dresser, big windows looking out into the city, and a model of the ship leviathan displayed in a glass case. Blackpowder herself was sitting at a lovely looking desk, next to her was a cabinet full of rum and other drinks. The desk and floor were littered with empty bottles, and broken glass. Taking a closer look, Blackpowder looks like a carefully balances of clean and proper, with disheveled and drunk. The captain also sported an eye-patch that she didn't have before.

Taking a pull from her bottle of rum, she turned to look at us, knocking over an empty bottle that shattered it on the ground. "Scurvy dogs, Scurvy dogs all o' you. So you want t' talk, then let's talk monster." She waved her bottle of rum at Victoria. "But don't think me a fool like t' others, I know venom hangs on every word you say."

Victoria chuckled. "Oh, and here I was hoping to have a friendly chat with you, before we get down to the heart of the matter, let it be like old times."

Blackpowder slammed her rum on her desk, the sudden and loud noise making me flinch. "Old time, like how you seduced me son, how you twisted him into somepony that I didn't even recognized. You had him march to his own death when he no longer entertained you. If I had known about what you truly are back then, I would have smothered you in your sleep like the bastard you are."

Dropping her pleasant smile, Victoria took on a more serious look. "Was it not you who killed Powderkeg, I remember that day clearly, and it was you who pulled the trigger, not I."

Taking another pull from the rum bottle, Blackpowder looked at me and grimaced. "And be that why you keep sendin' foals that look like him t' me." She threw the bottle at Victoria, but missed. "By me hoof or not, you were t' one who sent him to t' gallows. Because o' your poisoned words he needlessly marched t' his death."

"His actions were his own, as are yours. So how do you wish to end this captain, with your head on, or without?" A smile returned to Victoria's face.

Blackpowder Blast started to laugh, and with her magic, she pulled out a knife. It was the knife that Carving Doll had given me, it still had the her own blood on it from when I had used it on her. "Don't go thinkin' I can't kill you first!" knocking over her chair, the captain leaped at Victoria, and the two hit the floor.

The knife sung around, cutting into Victoria's coat, and making her ooze blood onto the gown. Vitoria countered with swift hoof kicks as she dodged a thrust from the knife. Shattering on the floor, Blackpowder dropped the broken knife in favor of an empty bottle. Swinging wide, the captain made contact with Victoria head just as Victoria kicked the captain in the jaw.

The door flew open, and one of the injured guard ran in holding a rust gun in his mouth. As the guard took aim at Victoria, I drew the sword and rushed at the unsuspecting guard, thrusting the cutlass into his neck. Surprised by the fatal blow, the guard shot upwards, peppering the ceiling with bullets, emptying the magazine before falling over.

Looking out the door, I could see the rest of the guards looking in my direction. The two with the miniguns revved up the engines, ready to fire on me. A suitcase flew out from the hallway, landing between the two minigun guards, and exploded. I fireball engulfed one of the guards, turning the poor pony into a walking torch. The other guard dogged just in time, her tail being the only thing caught in the fireball. Another guard rushed in to help put out the fire on the pony's tail.

At this point, all of them were armed, and were pissed. This might have spelt the end for me, but a knocking sound from the window had us all looked to our left. It was Carving Doll, and she had just attached a few pipe bombs to the window. I jumped back into the bedroom right before the explosion went off. Almost immediately after the explosion the sound of gunfire erupted from the other room.

Looking back, Blackpowder Blast, and Victoria Rosary were still at it. But Victoria was well bloodied, and was pinned down. "Why now? What be it you have that makes you think t' fleet will not come t' hang your gang? Even with t' approval o' t' Followers, you know that t' fleet will still send you t' Pony Jones' locker, so what changed?"

Victoria glanced at me before looking Blackpowder in the eye. "Everything."

With her magic, Blackpowder pulled one of her bedsheets, and wrapped it around Victoria's neck. Victoria gasped for air as the captain held her hooves to the floor.

Pulling the cutlass from the one guards neck, I rushed the captain. Blackpowder didn't even move to stop me as I jumped over Victorias head, and plunged the sword into Blackpowders chest. Falling back, The captain let go of her magic, and just let herself hit the floor.

Looking at me, Blackpowder had the look of confusion on her face. "I... I know you. I sent you t' Pony Jones' locker, like t' others. Took me eye and me cutlas with you when you fell into the... how be you here. If some... some pony went in after you, I would have known. So how? why?" She coughed up blood, and closed her eyes. "Doesn't matter now. I get t' be... be with me son. Cel... Celestia, Luna, please guide me t' him... t' me colt." with that, Blackpowder stopped moving. Even if she was still alive, she had embraced death, something I had seen a few times before.

Victoria threw off the bed sheet, taking a slow deep breath. "I could have taken her." She chuckled. "But thanks for the assist. You only prove your importance to us more and more Star." Walking up to Blackpowder’s body, Victoria pulled out the sword, and threw it to me. I caught the cutlass by the handle with my mouth, and quickly returning it to it's sheath. My sailor uniform was dotted with blood from the throw, giving it some much needed color.

Outside the bedroom the fighting died down, and stepping in was Carving Doll, and Puppet Strings. Puppet Strings was holding a bottle of rum in her magic, taking a little sip before talking. "Gotta love a good firebomb, put t' fear in them, right down to t' soul."

Sighing, Victoria trotted up to the two, and gave them a hug. Looking back at me, she smiled. "So who's up for a party, as much food as we can eat."

Carving Doll's wings twitched. "Ya, that sounds awesome. I'll send some o' t' brigade t' take it from t' guard tower. Not like their goin' t' need it in Pony Jones Locker."

Shit, maybe it was not the best idea to blow up all that food.

__________________________

Quests End: Chumming Waters

Author's Note

The song for this chapter is The Captain's March