Fallout Equestria: Due North

Bleep… Bleep… Bleep.

The alarm clock dragged me back from the abyss. I checked the cheery display; 6:00 am. I hit the off button with a hoof, and disentangled myself from the mess that I'd made of the sheets. I wanted to lie back down and go back to sleep, but I really needed the toilet, and if I went then I'd become too awake to go back to dreaming. After a minute's deliberation I decided to get up. I fumbled to my hooves and trotted into the bathroom.

After a quick bathroom break, I trotted downstairs to where my mother was laying out breakfast. She had put on a brave face, both for me and for the various engineers, technicians, and mechanics who relied on her for moral support when the job became stressful. I had no idea how, but she seemed to be equally good at technology and cheering ponies up. She trotted around, humming March of the Shadowbolts to herself as she placed three plates down onto the table. She stopped for a second, before picking up one and carrying it back over to the cupboard; she was clearly having trouble adjusting to Sky Strider not being home.

Just then the clunk of the mail being pushed through the door echoed into the building. I turned to go and get it and the soft plodding of my hooves on the cloud floor drew her attention. She was clearly in alert mode.

"Cloudy," she began, "Be a dear and fetch that for me, please?" I nodded and trotted to the door; there was very little, but one letter immediately drew my attention. It was a regular envelope, but with the Enclave symbol printed where a stamp should have been. The return address was: Registry office, 32 Firefly Road, Neighvarro AFB, Neighvarro, GPE.

"Mom!" I yelled, "There's a letter here for you. It's from the registry office!" She was on her hooves in seconds, and she quickly galloped over to where I stood. I handed her the letter just my own tired mind worked out why it was such a major thing for her; it had to be to do with Sky Strider. Something major had to have happened for the registry office to send a notice direct to us.

She placed it on the hall table and tore it open, my heart pounding in my chest. The small sheet of paper was one of those notices where they printed the exact same text every time, save for a few details. As Golden Heart read it her face went from worried, to scared, to utterly shocked. Her eyes started to water, and tears ran down her face, leaving dark streaks in her light pink coat. Throughout all of this she said nothing, until finally she began to whisper.

"Oh Polaris, th-this can't be happening," she muttered quietly, "I approached the slip tentatively, trying to prolong the inevitable. At last, the paper came into view. It read:

General Engineer Golden Heart,
20 Stratos Lane,
Neighvarro,
GPE,

Engineer Golden Heart,

We regret to inform you that your son, Sky Strider (Airpony E1), has been reported killed-in-action after he did not return from operations with the Neighvarro 5th Fighter Squadron C Flight near Junction R-7. Though we understand that this news will be difficult for you, we strongly urge you not to attempt to locate your son's remains on the surface, and would like to remind you that any such actions are punishable by branding and/or exile.

Yours faithfully,
The Grand Pegasus Enclave Air Force Register.

"Th-those assholes…" I trailed off, all the rage draining out of me. I wanted to be angry, to hate the Enclave for even daring to bring up the Dashite brand. However, all I could feel was a growing despair in me, I felt lost, alone. I felt hot tears begin to run down my face. Suddenly my mother embraced me, pulling her wings around me as she tried to comfort us both. I tried to do the same, but my wings were far too small, so instead I threw my forelegs around her and buried my face in her coat like I was just a little colt again.

The sadness slowly gave way to emptiness, a gaping hole growing within me. It was worse than the sadness or the rage; I felt hollow, like all of the emotion had drained out of me. I stood up, slowly, silently, and turned to stare out of the window. In my mind's eye I saw him there, standing in the street. I shook my head and he was gone. I began to trot away, leaving my mother to grieve, and headed slowly upstairs.

My breath was still shaky when I entered my room. My dressing gown, as always, was on the back of the door. As it came into view I stopped short, and a new thought came to me; the patch. I had to get it. I practically tore it down from its peg and caught it between my hooves. Like a pony possessed I poured over the fabric, shifting it around with my hooves until I found it. The patch slipped out of a pocket and fell to the floor.

I snatched it up in my teeth, dropping the crumpled mess of dark blue fabric. I looked down at the little watchtower stitched beneath three lightning bolts, the landscape sweeping away into the distance. I felt no less hollow, but suddenly I knew what Sky had wanted; I should sign up. Every squadron had at least one battlefield tech, whose responsibility it was to keep deployment aircraft and squad weaponry maintained. I knew for a fact that the 3rd Reserve only had one technician, with the maximum being four. I suddenly had purpose again. Golden Heart wouldn't like it, that was for certain, but I could persuade her; besides, I didn't need her consent. It was settled then: I was going to follow in my brother's hoofsteps.

I rapidly showered and ate, before galloping out towards the door. On the way out I noticed my mom, sitting at the kitchen table, her head propped up on one foreleg. She was pouring over the old photos, grainy images of me, her and Sky. This was unusual to me, not because she was looking at the photos, but because she had removed them from the album for the first time. In time, I became aware of a faint whisper coming from her direction. She was talking to the photos? I opened the door.

"Uh," I said softly, "Bye mom." She didn't even look up, instead just nodding slightly. I stepped out.

I arrived on base short of breath, having galloped nearly the whole way. I strode around past the hangars, deliberately avoiding the barracks; Crunch Time and his idiot friends would surely have found out by now that the 5th Fighter's C Flight had come back a pony short. As I passed I heard somepony yell.

"Oy, what're ye doin' 'ere so early?". It was Maelstrom. He had clearly been here for quite some time, and he had already stripped several badly scorched and dented armour plates off of a nearby sky-tank.

"Wait," I replied, "What time is it?" Normally in the mornings I took around an hour and a half to eat and get ready, with all the faffing around, and another half to cross the Neighvarro suburbs. Today it seemed like an eternity since I'd gotten up, but I had rushed through my routine and skipped a proper breakfast. He checked his watch.

"Seven, dumbarse." Maelstrom snarled. An hour early; my whole time from waking up to getting on base had taken a single hour. It couldn't be, there was no way. "Y'alright there pal?" he asked. "Ye look a little muddled."

"I'm fine, okay?" I spat, forgetting myself. "I don't wanna talk right now."

"Jeez," he shrugged, "Suit yerself."

I set off for the R&D labs, trotting briskly. Upon arriving, I pushed past several pegasi, ignoring the various protests and complaints, until I reached my desk.

Two photos stared back at me from on top; one of me and Tesla Jolt having the time of our lives, the other of my family… including Sky Strider. I felt my eyes tear up again, the sadness and longing return. A single drop of salty water fell onto the metal surface, followed by another, then another. I stood there for a moment, just crying. From behind me, faint and distant, came the voice of Tesla.

"Y'okay bro?" he asked cautiously. He might as well have been behind a wall of glass for all I heard; just the faintest whisper piercing my bubble of sorrows.

"Y-yea… No," I shook my head slowly. "I-It's Sky Strider. He's dead."

"Fuck… " Jolt trailed off, "Your brother's like, gone? I mean, yeah he could be a total asshole, but he was like-"

"Stop," I said through the lump in my throat, "I just… I just need some space right now." I pulled open one of the drawers on my desk, the rapid movement jolting the contents and sending a ballpoint clattering into the drawer end. I picked it up between my teeth and dropped it onto the desk surface, slamming the drawer shut with a hoof. I wiped away my tears with a foreleg. "Look," I continued, "We need to talk." He nodded.

"Alright, hit me." he said, completely serious.

"I'm going to transfer to battlefield duties, it's what he would have wanted," I said quickly. He just stood there for a second, considering what I had just said.

"You sure? Wouldn't he have wanted you to be safe? The wasteland did kill him, after all."

"Don't talk to me about what Sky would have wanted," I snarled darkly. "Why else would he have given me this?" I pulled out the patch and showed him.

"A-alright mate, my bad." he stammered quickly, "I'm with you all the way. Just… try and stay out of combat, okay? You're an engineer, not a soldier."

"I'll stay safe," I replied dryly, "Thanks for the support."

"No problem bro." he stammered. I turned to leave, picking up the pen again. I was already overdue by my own standards; I had only intended to notify Tesla about my transfer, nothing more. I set off at a rapid pace, almost galloping to the exit.

Outside I did gallop, using my wings to push myself faster. They may have been useless for flying, but, if I could stand the exhaustion, they were great for increasing my speed. I tore past the barracks, narrowly dodging Sergeant Tempest coming out of one door. I increased my pace as I heard him shouting and swearing behind me. When at last I arrived at the administrative complex, I was exhausted. I collapsed into a sprawled heap, dropping the pen and watching it roll away across the cloud flooring.

I snatched up my pen and stopped for a second to compose myself, using a nearby window as a mirror. I was a right state; my eyes were red from crying, my mane a tangled mess, my body hot and sweaty. I tried to get my hair in a decent state for what I was going to do next, but with only my hooves all I could do was push it around a bit. Frustrated, I entered the building.

"Are you alright? You look like a… " the pony behind the desk began.

"I'm fine, alright?" I cut in. "I'm here to transfer." The pony blinked, unsure of what to say. Slowly, he reached below his desk.

"Y-you? You want to transfer?" he stuttered incredulously. "To what?"

"Combat duties. I want to become a battlefield tech." I snarled. He was unfazed.

"You're an aircraft engineer," he said slowly, reading off my ID, "You're not power armour trained, you've only done basic, you're too skinny to use a flight harness, and with wings like those; there's not a hope in Tartarus that you can fly. And you want to be on the front line?"

"Yes, alright?" I nearly yelled at the buck. He rapidly pulled a piece of printed paper up from under the desk.

"Okay! Stars, I'll let you transfer. No need to get emotional," He slid the paper towards me. I pulled the pen I had picked up out of my pocket and began to fill out the various boxes, muttering to myself as I did so. The administrative buck turned back to his terminal, ignoring me. Finishing, I proofread it once;

Voluntary Transfer Application Form

Full Name: Cloudburst

Age (Numerals): 19

Current Rank/Role: Junior Aircraft Technician

Current Unit: Neighvarro AFB R&D Division

Current Posting: Neighvarro AFB

Training Course(s) Completed: Basic Weapons Handling, Basic General Engineering, Advanced Aircraft Engineering

Desired Rank/Role (MUST Be Equivalent): Junior Battlefield Technician

Desired Unit: N/A

Desired Posting: Neighvarro AFB

Reason For Transfer: Desire to follow in the hoofsteps of a deceased sibling

Notes:

Signature: CB

I paused for a second, before writing 'cannot fly' into the notes section. I passed the buck the sheet, and he set to work typing it into his terminal. It was maddening hearing the clicking of the keys as he transferred what I had written into the device. More than once he stopped to squint at my mouthwriting, trying to discern what letter I had intended for. Finally I saw him hit the 'send' key. He sat there for a minute, bored, before the response came across the system. His face turned to one of genuine surprise and I feared the worst. He turned back to me.

"Didn't expect it, but it's gone through," he said, my heart leaping with both nerves and exhilaration. He continued, "You'll get a transfer notice by five this evening, if the delivery service doesn't fuck it up this time." He stared at me expectantly, and I suddenly realised I'd forgotten to thank him.

"Oh, uh, thanks." I said sheepishly, and turned to leave.

I returned to the R&D labs, where the commotion of my earlier arrival had died down. By now queues had built up, and I had to wait in line for entry. Luckily the ponies who had been on duty earlier, at the end of a long night shift, had packed up and the day team had arrived. At least I didn't have the embarrassment of having to apologise to them for pushing through the entire process.

After going through the metal detector and into the labs, I was greeted by a grey pegasus mare with a yellow mane and a lightbulb cutie mark; Bright Spark. She was standing over by my desk, waiting for me, and I felt the anger return. This was the mare who had left me bruised and hung over, and I wasn't going to let her forget it. I had half a mind to plant a hoof in between her eyes.

"Oh, hi Cloudy!" she smiled a little too brightly.

"Don't call me that." I snarled; only close friends were allowed to use my pet name.

"Hey! There's no need to be like that!" she exclaimed. "I was going to invite you to Jetstream's 23rd, but now I think I shan't."

"Good." I replied, indifferent.

"Cloudburst! You must stop being so stars-damned antisocial!" she chided. I ignored her and opened the largest drawer in my desk. The holorifle stared back at me; I had been delaying handing it back ever since I had been given it a few days ago, and now I had a proper excuse. The weapon would be my go-to in the field, and ground pounders would fear me for it. Bright Spark huffed and trotted off, leaving me to contemplate how awesome it was going to be. I was feeling a lot better now, though the pain was still there, and so I trotted off to the armoury.

Once there, I immediately sought out the head quartermaster. A few other techs were queuing outside his office, and I quietly slipped into the line. One by one they entered, coming out with various forms and notifications stuffed into their saddlebags. Requisitioning assets for any purpose was purposefully difficult; otherwise there'd be nothing left in the building. The Council didn't want R&D ponies just experimenting with whatever they wanted, wasting precious technology on failed projects, and so they'd made getting your hooves on resources a paperwork nightmare.

Inside the office it was noticeably cramped, with only the basic necessities: a steel desk similar to mine, a terminal, a fan, a chair, and a couple of trays full of paper. Behind the desk sat a fat buck, wearing a dirty and ill-fitting uniform. He was nearly bald, and what hair he had was cropped short. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark glasses, even though he sat indoors. As I approached, he peered over the top of his sunglasses.

"Ah, Mr Cloudburst. Have you decided to return my holorifle yet?" he said, smiling.

"Nope," I said rapidly, "I'd like to requisition it permanently." His smugness evaporated, replaced by confusion.

"How can you? I cannot release any equipment which I don't have a report on, and last time I checked that was your job." he said, pointing a hoof accusingly. I rummaged around in my pockets for a second before pulling out a hastily folded sheet of paper. I had persuaded Tesla Jolt to write it, since he actually understood how it worked and had finished with the Coilgun project. The buck examined the document for a second, before shoving it aside.

"Alright, fine; you win. But seriously, what in Equestria are you going to need it for?" he asked, still unsure.

"I've transferred. I'm now a battlefield technician," I replied casually, "And I intend to put the Holorifle to good use."

"Okay, here." he sighed, handing me a stack of forms. I tucked them under one wing and trotted off. Passing Bright Spark in the queue, I shot her as smug a look as I could muster and headed back to the main lab.

======

The paperwork took the rest of the day, and I had to skip lunch just to get it finished. Some of the requirements were really stupid, or just plain pointless, like this one sheet I had to sign promising not to use it against any Enclave citizens, as if that wasn't already a capital offence. By the time I was done it was getting dark, and my pack of biscuits was long emptied. I packed my saddlebags with all of the various crap that filled my desk, and headed out.

It took over an hour for the ponies on security to process me, considering I was carrying a weapon, but eventually I was free to go home. Lights glowed from the various windows of the cloud houses lining Stratos Lane as I trotted home, and far above me the stars sparkled. According to legend, the stars and constellations held mystical powers; they were also supposed to hate zebras, but that sounded more to me like government propaganda. I had never understood why ponies were so eager to attach supernatural abilities to things, but then again hadn't it always been that way; hadn't similar beliefs driven the zebras to unleash megaspells upon Equestria?

The house was dark, with only the kitchen lamp on. Golden Heart was exactly where she'd been when I'd left, only now she had emptied the album of any images containing Sky Strider. They were laid out in a vague collage of family photos. She was still whispering to them, and for the first time in my life I actually felt worried for her. She had always been there for me, no matter what the situation, and I wasn't sure if I could do the same for her. No, I was sure I couldn't do the same for her.

"A letter came for you." she said softly, and I turned to see that I'd stepped on it. Picking up the crumpled envelope. The seal of the Enclave presented itself, as did the return address of the registry office. I grimaced; my reassignment notice had arrived. I tore it open with bated breath, excited to see which squadron I had been transferred to. I had forgotten to put the 3rd Reserve under preferred, but I was hopeful nonetheless. The yellow slip unfolded to its full size, it read;

Junior Aircraft Technician Cloudburst,
20 Stratos Lane,
Neighvarro, GPE

This is to notify you of your transfer from Neighvarro Research and Development to the Neighvarro 2nd Fighter Squadron, following your transfer request, active from 06:00 tomorrow. Please arrive promptly to the Neighvarro AFB Command Centre for transfer to your new quarters.

Yours faithfully,
Colonel Astral.

"What is it?" my mother whispered, barely audible.

"It's a transfer notice," I replied without thinking.

"Y-you're transferring? To where?" her voice became shaky, and she stood up.

"Don't worry mom, I'm not leaving Neighvarro. I've just switched… to battlefield service," I said, suddenly realising that I'd be living on base, since it was an active squadron. Golden Heart turned to face me.

"Battlefield… as in, you're going to fight? No, you can't, it's too dangerous. I won't allow it," she trotted towards me, becoming less sad and more angry.

"Mom," I sighed, "It's my choice. I'm not some young colt anymore."

"But you could get injured, or even killed. What am I supposed to do then? Your brother's already gone. I can't loose you as well," she cried.

"Mum, I'll be fine, okay?" I tried to reassure her. "It's what Sky would have wanted me to do."

"What… what Sky would have wanted?" she almost screamed. "You think Sky Strider would have wanted you to run off and get yourself killed trying to live up to your own skewed expectations?! No. He would have wanted you to be safe. He'd have wanted you to stay out of the line of fire, not dive head first into it!"

"No he wouldn't!" I screamed, pent up anger over Sky's death coming to the front. "And if you can't accept that then I don't care! There's nothing you can do to stop me."

"And what's going to happen then, huh? You're going to become nothing more than a bloody corpse lying abandoned in some radioactive hellhole! What am I supposed to do when a yellow slip comes through that door, telling me you've taken a bullet to the skull?! Think, Cloudburst, please," she retaliated. I turned to head upstairs.

"I'm going, and that's final!" I yelled, forgetting myself entirely. I began to trot up the stairs.

"Don't you dare walk away from me! Do you have any idea what I've put myself through for you?! Nopony wanted you, but I took you in. I had to buy this house while I was still going through advanced training; could I afford it? No, of course not, but I made it work. I have worked my ass off for the last nineteen years building a life for us, and you're just going to abandon it all?!"

I ignored her and galloped up the stairs. Racing into my room, I collapsed onto my bed and let the rage drain out of me. A new thought crept into my mind, as if somepony was whispering in my ear; you're dead to her if you leave, you know. I sat up, tossing my saddlebag to the floor. So what? I'd come back on leave in a few months, a hero of the 2nd. Then she'd see.

I set about packing, taking out all of the half-finished doodles from my bag and putting in a variety of objects; some pyjamas, a few casual clothes, the photos from my desk, a new pack of biscuits, a plastic sky-tank that normally sat on my windowsill, and Sky's patch. I set my alarm for five and threw off my lab coat into a crumpled heap next to my dressing gown.

======

As I lay in the darkness, rolling onto my other side for the umpteenth time, I began to ponder whether this was such a good idea. What would happen to Golden Heart without me? I leaned over and tapped a button on my alarm clock. The display lit up, displaying 4:47. I rolled over once more, pushing my thoughts away into the furthest crevices of my mind; fifteen more minutes.

======

I trotted downstairs quickly, trying not to wake my mother. The house was dark, and I hadn't bothered to turn on the lights. It had been roughly half an hour since I'd woken up, and now my stomach was filled with butterflies. A few lights, from the timers on various appliances, were all I had for navigation. My eyes adjusted pretty quickly to the darkness; I had been a restless sleeper as a colt and wandering the darkened house was nothing new to me. Rapidly, I slipped out of the house.

Outside, I stopped for a second to look at the building one more time. I had lived here for all of my life, and now I was leaving it behind. Sure, I'd come back, but it could be a month or more before then. With one last breath, I walked off into the night.

Arriving on base, I cantered over to the administrative offices. I was quickly directed to the barracks, with my locker numbered as 42. The ponies in the complex were all surprised that a flightless buck could be given a battlefield role, but then again, according to some the 2nd didn't even have a technician, so that would explain it.

After I trotted into the barracks, I found the 2nd relaxing in the rec room. There was 22 of them all told, more bucks than mares. They flopped on beanbags and worn armchairs, and at least one was smoking. A whitish mare with a very dark brown mane, wearing a standard flight jacket, approached me.

"You're Cloudburst, right?" she asked, I nodded, "I'm Captain Red Glare, Neighvarro 2nd Fighter. I'll be your commanding officer. I want you in A Flight with me, clear?"

"Yeah, uh, yes ma'am." I replied, sloppily saluting.

Footnote: Level Up.

Trait(s) Added:
Wild Wasteland - You experience the most bizarre and silly elements of post-apocalyptic Equestria. Not for the faint of heart or the serious of temperament.
Small Frame - You gain 1+ AGL, but your limbs are more easily crippled.

New Perk:
Fleet of Hoof (1) - Through use of your wings, your sprint speed is increased by 25%, but your stamina depletes 25% faster.