Chapter 12: A New Destination
Ya'll thinking what I'm thinking? Family Road Trip!

It had been a calm flight back to the surface. Not quiet thanks to Specter's protests to questions about his colorblindness, but still calm. Eventually Lily did give up and without their bickering to listen to I was left to my thoughts. Thoughts which at the moment were a barely coherent string of questions.

What was Project Wonderbolt for? What delayed Nightfall's production? Who's this Head of Project Wonderbolt? Should I just go to Trottingham and search for this workshop or stay here in the Hoof looking for the hidden Shadowbolt bunker?

Needless to say, I was having a hard time wrapping my head around all of this new information. At least by the time we landed I had been able to refocus myself on the task at hand, finding Azel. It was closing into night when the three of us fanned out to look for him or at least where his camp was. After a few minutes of searching around in the slightly disorienting light of twilight, which was darker here than back in the Enclave but still had that same effect of breaking contrast, I decided to check and see if the others had found anything. Flying up, I discovered that it was hardly any easier to see anything from above. Luckily I caught a slight shimmer of light which turned out to be Specter's magic glow when I looked closer. I darted over to him, which in hindsight could have ended very badly if I had startled him.

"Found anything yet?"

"Hmn? Oh, hey Daybreak. Nothing yet, you?"

"Same here. It's hard to see anything in this light." In my peripherals in noticed a green dot on my radar. When I took a second glance to see why it had gotten my attention I realized that unless Specter's ego was a lot bigger than I thought, he should only count for one of the two dots. Before I could pinpoint exactly where the other dot was marking it disappeared, resulting in me turning around in confusion rather than the triumph I had planed.

"You OK there?"

"Huh? Oh yeah...yeah I'm fine." I hardly heard his question in my focused trance trying to spot Azel. I knew he was trying to sneak up and surprise us, probably (hopefully) just to pull a prank. Maybe he was trying to sneak up on me and prove my feat back at the cave near the raider camp as a fluke and I had now dragged Specter into it with me. Either way, he was playing a game with us, a game I was determined to win. Apparently having not truly learned anything from before, I flew up to try and gain a better vantage point of the surrounding area. It seemed that Azel however had learned from past experience since he wasn't simply hiding on top of one of the rock formations.

"Uh, you sure about that?"

"What?" I had barely heard his question. I was so focused that I had hardly been able to respond with more than a grunt.

"Hotshot, you're acting kinda weird. What's up?"

That finally snapped me out of it. In defeat I descended back to him and gave him an actual response. "Sorry, thought I saw something. Come on, let's see if Lily found anything." I briskly started walking off in a random direction, a confused Specter following behind muttering something along the lines of 'if you say so'. As soon as Specter was beside me I whispered as covertly as I could, "Azel is stalking us, I don't know where exactly but he's nearby."

"Wait what? I thought he was on our side."

"He is. He's just messing with us right now. So keep an eye out." I drew my attention back to the area around us, desperately trying to remember any tactics that Azel preferred. I recalled that he was an ambush fighter, coming from any direction his target couldn't see. "Watch behind me. If he can't approach without being seen then he can't sneak up on us."

Had I been paying more attention to Specter instead of the rocks around us I probably would have noticed him rolling his eyes and stopped him before he shouted, "We know you're here Azel, c'mon out so we can get going!"

"What did you do that for? Now he knows we've detected him."

"Yeah, cause you jumping into the air didn't do that already."

"W-well that could've been-" I was interrupted as smoke erupted around us. Instantly I tried to fly up out of it, which succeeded, but was slowed down by...something. Trying to see where the apparent smoke pellet had come from, I felt a force land on my back which expertly wrapped their forelegs around my wings. I plummeted back down the 10ft I had climbed, feeling the figure jump off right before I hit the ground. Specter used a spell of some kind and cleared away the smoke obscuring his vision, which allowed me to see Azel behind him. In one fluid motion he spun on his forelegs, tripping Specter, and landed standing up on his hindlegs in a pose that if he had unsheathed his sword would've been perfect to follow up with a slash right across Specter's neck. Goddesses, zebras are scary. Azel's stance relaxed and he reached out his hoof to help Specter back up, myself already managing on my own.

At first dazed, Specter recollected himself and accepted Azel's offer. "Heh, thanks Azel. Where did you learn moves like that?"

"In the Ceaser's Legion. As a warrior I was taught several different styles of fighting so that I would be prepared for anything."

"Ah, right."

Indignantly using my tail to dust off my armor I asked, "What was that smoke bomb? When I tried to fly out of it I felt something holding me down."

"During my training I was allowed to try my hoof at alchemy when I had some time. Turns out I wasn't that bad at it and was able to pick up a few useful recipes before I left. That smoke bomb is one of my favorites. Sorry for the ambush but I wanted to test and see if i had done it correctly.

"Where'd you find the ingredients to make them? There's no way you could've found whatever you needed in the less than a day Lily, Daybreak, and I were gone."

"I have the ingredients for several potions and mixtures with me. All I needed was a place to stay put for a while.

"You do have more of them, right?"

"Don't worry, this batch had more than just that one."

"Well, we can talk about this later. In the meantime, have you seen Lily?" A sudden thought crossed my mind and I added, "You didn't ambush her as well, did you?"

"No, she's fine. Last I saw she was over this way." Azel led us around and in a few minutes we came across Lily inspecting something on the ground. She must've been really interested in whatever the object was because she didn't notice us approaching.

Seeing such an opportunity too good to pass up, I motioned for the others to be quiet and began to creep forward. Once I was close enough, my hoof darted onto her shoulder while I exclaimed in a deep and gravelly voice, "What'cha doing all alone out here missy?" My scare worked and after a split second of paralyzed terror she spun into the air, her hindleg coincidentally slapping me upside the head as she twisted and gave a yelp of fear. Upon completing her turn and seeing us, more specifically me right where she had just been, her expression switched from terror to outrage in an instant.

"For Celestia's sake Hotshot! What was that for?!" At that I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Specter joined in momentarily with a light chuckle and I saw Azel betray the smallest hint of a smile. Lily looked at each of us incredulously, "Were you all in on this?! Stop laughing!"

"Hey, Azel and I didn't have any involvement in this. That was all Daybreak 'the Brave and Glorious' over there." Azel remained silent. Well, 'didn't write anything on his board' silent.

"The why didn't you try and stop him!? Stop laughing Hotshot!"

"And miss the opportunity of what we're seeing now? I'm not sure that makes much sense." Azel had composed himself enough to appear stoic and was now looking off into the distance.

"Ugh, I'll get you back for this! Shut up Hotshot!"

Finally I regained the ability to speak. "Sweet Celestia, I didn't realize how much I missed that. Oh wow, you should've seen your face!" After a few moments I composed myself and asked, "In all seriousness though, what were you looking at?"

Instantly seizing the change of subject, she replied, "Well that's just it, I'm not sure." She then pointed to a tiny metallic circular device on the ground next to where I was. "From what I can tell it most likely is a receiver of some kind but I can't guess what for."

"Well where is it? Let me see if I recognize it." Specter trotted forward to inspect the device. He paused as soon as he saw it, and I saw fear flash in his eyes. An unsaturated gray glow enveloped his horn and he shot the device without warning. The shot connected and the device was destroyed, the sudden event causing Lily and I to jump back.

As usual, Lily was ready to interrogate him. "What the hell Specter?! You almost shot us!"

"Relax, I had it under control."

"Oh sure you did! Care explaining what just happened then?"

"That was a magically activated detonator, something I like to call a M.A.D mine."

"A detonator!? How? I inspected it myself and didn't find anything combustible inside it. All it had was an usually configured receiver."

"That 'receiver' was a sensor for magical energy."

"And I suppose that accounts for the 'magically activated' part of it." I guessed.

"Yes. The way they work is that while active when a foreign source of magical energy is detected in close proximity to the mine it detonates in both shrapnel and magical energy. From what I understand they were originally designed during the war as a means of dealing with zebra spies and infiltrators. They used all sorts of magically powered devices while sneaking around, like their stealth cloaks for example. Get too close to one of these while sneaking around and boom, no more zebra spy."

Lily gave a quizzical look. "Why not just try and capture any spies? Seems a bit extreme to just kill them rather than of catching and interrogating them."

"Zebra soldiers and spies were taught to resist all forms of torture and interrogation in case they were captured. They still train most zebras in these practices, myself included. They'd get just about as much information from searching the spy's dead body as trying to pry that intel out of them through interrogation."

"Regardless, these things are dangerous. Especially to somepony like Hotshot wearing a tin can that practically runs on magic. Can't imagine what it's doing all the way out here."

"There was a group of what looked to be more of the raiders that have been after us. They passed through here a few hours ago looking for something but left soon after they arrived."

"They probably left this as a little gift in case we came back. Sounds like something my brother would do."

"Should we leave now before they come back?" I asked, checking the horizon as if I'd be able to spot one in the distance.

"Nah, we've got a good two or three days before they double back."

"Well, in any case, it's getting dark. Let's set up a fire and get some rest."

"Sure thing. Azel, can you reuse some of the firewood from your potion brewing? Don't worry if it's not much, I'll be able to reignite it with magic if need be."

Azel nodded and left to retrieve his supplies. Twenty minutes later it was approaching nighttime and we were all settling in and relaxing.

"So Hotshot, now that we're all here do you mind sharing what you two found in Shadowbolt Tower?"

"Yeah, where to next?"

"Wow, where to start? Well, I suppose that first off I found out what the message we've been following was about. Apparently Daybreak was one of two experimental power armors that are part of something called 'Project Wonderbolt'. From what I can tell the other suit was still in early development when the bombs fell."

"Where was the other one being made? Do you think it's at this hideout we're looking for?" Lily asked.

"The message was sent from some M.O.A facility up in Trottingham by whomever was in charge of Project Wonderbolt. I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't still be there."

"Makes sense." Specter deducted. "Trottingham's isolation from the mainland and remoteness from the Zebra Empire made it a prime area to test new prototypes. Back then there was a saying that everything was designed in Hoofington, built in Fillydelphia, and tested in Trottingham."

"So then is that where we're heading?"

"Yes, we've got a solid lead on Nightfall's location. We can come back for the hideout when we find a way to narrow down the search."

Lily seemed extremely delighted to hear me say that, but then again she was the one concerned that we were travelling around without a plan of where we're going. "Great, we'll pack everything into the vertibuck tomorrow morning and hit the road!"

"I'm glad you're on board for this. But we shouldn't take the vertibuck, it's marked."

"Marked? When? I made sure that they hadn't touched the vertibuck before we left."

"It's standard procedure for an impromptu level 4 classified transportation. In case something happens to the transport or it's cargo and needs to be traced back they mark that transport's sgnal. When they call the Victorious and are told that we never arrived, we don't want them to find us with it."

"Well then good thing you've got me with you. It's a long road to Trottingham by hoof, dangerous too once we get past Manehattan but I'll be able to guide us around the worst of it."

"Good, it's nice to actually be traveling with somepony who knows their way around down here. Well, let's get some rest and head out in the early morning." We all settled down and with Azel taking first watch, I went to sleep.

"Psst. Hotshot, wake up." My only response was a sleepy grumble. "Hotshot, wake up." the voice said, this time a bit louder and more authoritative but still hushed. This time my brain realized that it was time to get up and I began to stir, which apparently wasn't fast enough since the disruptor of my rest decided to start shaking me awake. Groggily, I opened my eyes.

"Hey Lily. My shift?"

"Are you okay?"

Yawn "Of course I am cuz. What's wrong?"

"You were muttering in your sleep. It seemed like you were distressed."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was coming back to trade shifts when I saw you shifting about and talking to yourself. Was it a nightmare? What was it about?"

"I-" I sat there blankly for a moment, trying my hardest to remember. "I don't remember. I'll let you know if it comes to me later. Is it my shift?"

"Yeah. Let me know if anything else like this happens."

"Heh, sure thing doc. Where do I pick up my prescription?"

She grinned as she rolled her eyes. "See you in the morning. Good night, at least what's left of it."

I got up and did a few rounds within the immediate area of our camp, then I decided to fly onto one of the closest rock formations and sat up there watching for anything. Throughout the time I kept pushing myself to try and remember what I had been dreaming about but nothing ever came up. Once the sun's light started coming through the cloud layer I flew back down to wake everypony up. Azel and Lily were awakened easily enough, although Azel was noticeably much more compliant to early hours.

"C'mon Specter, it's time for us to get going." I said while lightly nudging him awake.

"Ugh, now? It's like 2:00am."

"Closer to 7:30 actually."

"Whatever, what's the rush? Trottingham will still be there whenever we arrive. Can't we wait another hour or so? After all, to keep a face looking- yawn as handsome as this, a guy needs his beauty sleep." he mumbled, eyes yet to open.

"Oh for Celestia's sake, get up!" This time I shook him rougher and thankfully he snapped out of his daze.

"Alright alright alright! Ugh, they get you up this early in training drill sargent?" he complained in that strange tone that was both sarcastic and dead serious.

"Yes, sometimes even earlier."

"Jeez, glad I didn't grow up in the Enclave. I'd never make it as a soldier.

"It was actually pretty great living above the cloud layer. No murderers, savages, or anything of the like. Besides, not all of us become soldiers." Lily countered.

"Whatever." Specter looked around lazily. "Azel, you know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Can't say I do. From an early age I trained in the Legion, so this is normal to me."

"Sweet Celestia, I need to find all of you hobbies. Maybe then I'll get some extra time to sleep."

"Weren't you a bounty hunter?" Lily questioned as she packed up the last of our camp. "Wouldn't you need to get up around this time or earlier to catch your targets off guard or something?"

Specter gave an exasperated gasp that this time I knew wasn't serious. "Lily! I thought we were better friends than this! I am appalled that you would think of me as having been an assassin for hire."

All of us had our things together and started on the long journey to Trottingham. "But didn't you call yourself a bounty hunter when we fir-" Lily attempted to reason.

"I only stooped to the level of paid killer in only the most..." Specter tossed his head to side and brought a forehoof to his brow as if he was an actor in a drama. "dire of circumstances. I was more of a public problem-solver that-"

Whatever else Specter had to say was drowned out as I tuned in to the radio, having finally figured out the command to switch audio from the external speakers to the normal earphones. Why it had been preset to external I have no idea, but at least now I could listen to the radio in peace.

A few hours later, Dj-Pon3 had already given the morning news and we had been making good time on our travels. A hopeful song that I assume was recorded near the end of the war was playing when all of a sudden it was cut off by momentary static. The disturbance brought me out of my music-induced trance and before I could investigate a window appeared in the top right of my vision. It seemed that the window was meant to show a video feed, perhaps the face of somepony else and vice-versa on their end, but currently it just showed static. As soon as the window appeared an electrically distorted, hoarse, and raspy voice exclaimed, "Alright bigshot, what the fuck do you think you're doing with that armor!?"

Footnote - Level Up!

New Perk! Awareness of Lurking Shadows Level 1: Enemies trying to sneak up on you are now easier to detect on your E.F.S and you have a 10% chance to not take double damage from sneak attacks.

Skill Note - Sneak 40

Author's Note

Jeez, been forever since the last one of these huh? I honestly thought I would've gotten more done what with the holiday break and all, but it just didn't happen. Anyways, I'm finally back and while I can't say that the time between this chapter and the next one will be any shorter, I'm glad to say that we're out of this hiatus. As always I want the thank the clever kkat who made the smart choice of waiting until they were done before publishing their story, Fallout Equestria, and to thank all of you for being so patient with me. Love y'all, and I'll see ya later!