Fallout Equestria: Renegades

Chapters

Prologue: The Battle of Stable 9
Chapter 1: Steel Heart
Chapter 2: Realization
Chapter 3: Stepping Out

Prologue: The Battle of Stable 9

War... War never changes.

Or, at least that's what they say. I honestly wonder sometimes with everything that's going on. We've seen a lot of war in my years in the Wasteland. Sometimes it's for survival, sometimes it's for territory, but often it just comes down to one thing, ideology.

That's something I know all too well. And with everything that's been happening in the world, perhaps we've had to learn this the hard way. A long time ago, Ponies and Zebras went to war over something as simple as resources. And now as yet another war reaches its end, perhaps it is time to tell the full story of what happened 10 years ago.

After all, we have a lot of reasons to go to war, and sometimes it seems like the only alternative. Back then we didn't know what we were getting into, and it cost a lot of good ponies their lives. I should know, one of them was very close to me. But sometimes, we have to make the hard choices in order to make sure there is a future.

You've probably heard of me, there are a lot of things that ponies have used to describe me. Some call me a hero, others a protector, but the truth is all I am is a soldier. I was fighting in a war that left me in over my head and I had to make choices that nopony should ever have to make. Choices had to be made in order to ensure the future.

I guess in that regard, I understand why the Elder made the choices he did. Sure he hurt a lot of ponies, but at the end of the day, all he wanted to do was create a future. I don't like him or agree with what he did, but to an extent, I understand what he did.

That doesn't mean he didn't have to be stopped though. Even if we paid the price in the end, we had to stop him. I'm no hero really, I'm just a mare who had to do what she had to do. My name is Nova, but my story does not begin on the battlefields of Seaddle, it begins many years before.

And this is how it all began, in another time, and in another war. A long-forgotten war whose battles have been lost to the Wasteland.

And a young mare who was about to learn the truth that war... war never changes.

00000

"Knight Rose, front and center!" The Paladin in charge ordered as a mare with a red coat and a lighter red mane struggled with her helmet as she stepped forward. "Having problems with your gear, Knight?"

"No Paladin Knives, sir!" The mare said quickly as she secured it over her head. "I'm ready and willing to take the fight to these Raiders, sir!"

"You had better be, Elder Mandrake wants all hooves involved in this operation," the Paladin said as he shot the mare a look. He then moved in front of the group of gathered Steel Rangers as Rose finally secured her helmet. "This is our chance to finally rout the Burning Brand Riders from these lands. Their Warlord took Stable 9 three days ago and has been holed up there ever since. Our mission is to remove his threat and claim the technology that he stole from us three months ago. The Warlord Viper is a dangerous one, last we heard he had a number of his Raiders holed up in there with him, however, we are the Steel Rangers. We will not allow some two-bit Raider Warlord to steal from us and get away with it, will we soldiers?"

"Sir, no sir!" The gathered ponies said in agreement.

"Good, I knew you wouldn't ignore your mandate," Paladin Knives said as he took a step back. "Priority One is reclaiming the tech from Viper. The pony that brings it back with a confirmed kill on the Warlord will be rewarded handsomely by the Elder. Civilians are priority two, any civilians still alive in the Stable are to be escorted out to safety. Where they go from there is their business. These Raiders are not likely to leave many alive though, I won't lie to you, we're going into a real nightmare here. But this is our duty. Everypony, form up, we're going to show this Warlord what happens when you steal from the Steel Rangers. Ad Victorum!"

"Ad Victorum," the Rangers said in unison as they saluted together.

Rose took a deep breath as she looked up at the mountain. They were heading towards a Stable that had been constructed at the base of the mountain near Seaddle. They had been fighting the Burning Brand Raiders and other groups in pursuit of the technology that they had stolen, a pre-war device that supposedly had been constructed by the Ministry of Wartime Technology in order to increase crop yield even in irradiated soil.

Or at least that was what the Elder had told them. For the moment though, it was not the time to question his orders. Right now, they needed to focus on getting to the Raider Warlord and stopping him from terrorizing Seaddle anymore. She took a deep breath as they quickly moved towards the mountain, firing several shots into the Raider camp at the mouth to the cave.

And with that, the Battle for Stable 9 had begun.

Rose pushed forward for a moment, barely ducking out of the way of a shot. She turned and saw a young stallion dressed in Raider armor holding a gun on her. She quickly adjusted herself as her Gatling gun spun to life and bullets ripped through the stallion before he could even get another shot off.

Rose was running on adrenaline alone as she kept firing with the other Rangers, it was hardly a battle, instead, it felt almost like a bloodbath as the Raiders were cut down by the Steel Rangers. She could barely hear Knives' voice calling out to push forward as the Raiders were falling back into the cavern with the Stable in it.

She was not about to let them get away with what they had done.

00000

"Knights Rose and Petunia, I want you both to investigate the Overmare's office," Paladin Knives ordered Rose and her companion. "We'll move into the lower levels of the Stable, but that's as good a place to start as any."

"Yes sir," Rose said as she gave Petunia a nod and the two galloped towards the Overmare's office.

The fight to get into Stable 9 had been bloody. It was the first time Rose had ever seen combat, ever actually seen somepony die in front of her as she filled them with holes from her Gatling gun. She knew that it had been necessary, but as she was getting over the adrenaline high she could only see the frightened face of the stallion as his body was filled with bullets.

"Pull yourself together, Rose, you did what you had to do..." she muttered to herself as another shot rang out and barely missed them. The Raiders were back with a vengeance as they neared the Overmare's office, and they were not about to let them through.

"Yeah, figures," Petunia said as more gunfire was heard from the Stable below. "Come on Rose, let's do this."

Rose nodded as she spun up her Gatling gun again and filled the area where the shot had come from with lead.

When another shot went over our heads Rose nodded to Petunia as she raised her grenade launcher and fired a shot at them, the explosion shaking the ground for a moment as the blood and gore went everywhere. The two Knights pushed forward together, climbing over what used to be the Raiders as they reached the Overmare's office and forced it open.

BANG!

Petunia crumpled to the ground just as she forced the door open, causing Rose to back off in time to avoid another shot. She gulped a little as she looked at her dead compatriot. A cackling laugh was heard from inside as she looked at the dead body of what had once been another Steel Ranger.

"You're going to have to try harder than that, Rangers!" The Stallion's voice said from inside the Office. "You've only got one way in and I ain't going to let you step one hoof through that door. I can outlast the whole lot of you!"

"Viper, this is insane!" Rose called back as she glanced down at the body of her friend, trying to formulate a plan in her mind. "You can't hold out in there forever. Your Raiders aren't going to last much longer and then we'll overwhelm your position."

"Yeah, and how many lives is it going to cost?" Viper snickered. "I don't think Elder Mandrake would throw bodies at me forever. And I know things about this Stable that you don't, I'll be long gone before you even know what happened."

"Yeah, you just try that you psycho freak," Rose muttered to herself as she checked her rounds. She quickly switched the clip on her Gatling gun out with another one as she looked at Petunia's body again. "You're not going to make it out of this Stable alive."

"Then I'll take as many of you relics down with me as I can," Viper countered and she heard the click of a gun being prepared. "Starting with you girlie. I'm gonna kill you just like your friend there. If you're lucky, I'll make it quick."

"Okay, this isn't working," Rose said quietly as she checked her inventory. She had more ammo, but she had used her grenades up during the fighting in the cave. "Come on Rosie, think..."

That's when her eyes fell on a canister that was attached to Petunia's armor. It was simple, but it would certainly get the job done. She grabbed Petunia's legs and pulled her out of the doorway, avoiding another shot from the Raider Warlord as she did.

"I'm sorry Petunia..." She said quietly as she pulled the grenade off the armor and took a deep breath as she leaned against the wall. She had only one shot at this, and if she got it wrong, this was going to cost her. "Alright, let's do this."

She quickly pulled the pin on the grenade and after a moment tossed it into the office. She heard a cry of surprise followed by a few attempted shots before a thud of something being pushed over. Finally, there was a hiss as smoke filled the office, that was her cue to act.

She got up quickly and stood in the doorway as she filled the spot where Viper was crouched behind a knocked over locker with bullets. The stallion let out a brief cry before he fell to the ground dead.

Rose was exhausted, she had never expected to run into Viper himself as she pushed into the office, checking to make sure he was dead. She flinched a little at the large-caliber rifle that he had been using before throwing it to the side and going through his bags for a moment to try and find the thing they had come there for.

She, however, was stopped when she heard crying. She looked around when she realized that the sound was coming from under the Overmare's desk. She galloped over and bent down and saw a beaten and bloody mare clutching a crying blue unicorn filly in her forelegs.

"Shhh... it's okay... you'll be fine..." the mare said weakly as she tried to reassure the filly. "I'm not going to let you go..."

"Ma'am, are you okay?" Rose asked as the mare looked up terrified into the helmet of the Steel Ranger. "You're safe now, we're taking the Stable back from the Raiders. Come with me and I'll get you to safety."

"I... I can't..." the mare said weakly and Rose saw that she was bleeding badly from wounds along her stomach and flank. That psychopath had hurt her badly and she was losing blood fast. "Please... what's your name?"

"Rose," Rose replied softly as the mare tried to calm her daughter down through the pain.

"Rose... the Raiders, they took everything away from me... I don't want to lose her too..." She said weakly as she looked down at her daughter. "Can you remove your helmet for me? I just... I want to see a friendly face... one last time."

Rose nodded as she placed her hooves on her helmet and removed it. Her red coat and mane were stained with sweat, but she tried to smile reassuringly at the mare.

"You're going to be okay, we'll get the medics in here," she said as the mare shook her head.

"Promise me one thing, Rose," the mare said.

"What's that?"

"My daughter, she... she needs a mother... I can't be that for her anymore," the mare said weakly. "Take her, and make sure she has a good life. The Raiders, they took all the other children somewhere else. Promise me that you'll make sure she survives, for me..."

"I promise," Rose said as the Unicorn mare gently levitated the filly up and over to Rose who carefully took her in her grip. "What's her name?"

"Nova..." The mare said weakly.

And with that, her eyes closed and Rose knew that they would never open again. She looked down at the filly in her forelegs who just started to cry again as the strange armored Earth Pony mare held her. She didn't know if it was out of fear or confusion, but Rose knew that she wasn't going to let this little filly get hurt.

"Shhh... it'll be okay," she said softly as she rocked the filly in her forelegs a little. "Hey there little Nova, my name is Rose. And I'm going to make sure that nothing bad happens to you."

00000

The Battle of Stable 9 didn't last much longer. The Raiders didn't stand much of a chance against the Steel Rangers' heavy weapons. Rose finally came out of the Overmare's office as the fighting started to die down and carried Nova with her to the Stable door.

What followed felt like a whirlwind of emotion. They had managed to reclaim the device from the Raiders and took a boat back across the bay to Braybridge Island and Port Crescent where the Steel Rangers called home. She was told to clean up and return to her quarters with the filly, and at the moment that was where she was, dressed in a simple outfit staring down at the blue filly who was fast asleep.

She sighed a little as she stroked the filly’s mane gently. She had no idea what she was going to do with the filly, or if the Elder would even let her stay with her. Unicorns were usually left with the Scribes to be raised, if at all.

Promises didn’t mean a lot when you were in the Steel Rangers. But somehow she felt like this was what needed to happen. She would just have to figure out how to convince the Elder to let her raise the filly.

If she could at all.

She nearly jumped out of her coat when she heard a knock on the metal door. She gulped a little before walking over to the door to her personal barracks and opened it. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the stallion on the other side was a tall Earth Pony dressed in old rusty power armor.

“Star Paladin Steelhooves, I was afraid you were somepony else,” Rose said.

“Yes, I suspected as much,” Steelhooves replied. The old Steel Ranger had been in the area on a visit from the Manehattan Contingent. “Elder Mandrake told me about what happened in Stable 9, are you going to be okay?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Rose admitted as she looked away from the older Ranger. “Petunia and I went through training together. You can only do so much to prepare for that kind of thing, and not to mention what else happened.”

“Knight,sadly this kind of thing is going to happen,” Steelhooves sighed. “May I see the filly?”

“Uh, sure,” Rose said as she let him in. “She’s asleep right now.”

“The Elder said that you were pregnant a few months ago,” Steelhooves commented as he trotted over to the sleeping Unicorn filly.

“Yes, I had a miscarriage…” Rose replied sadly as she looked down at her hooves. “It strained my relationship with Knight Vine.”

“I’m sorry,” Steelhooves said. “I understand what you’re going through. Mandrake asked me for my opinion on what should be done with the filly. What would you want to be done with her?”

“I’m honestly not sure,” Rose admitted. She had been read to be a mother a few months ago, but when that had all come crashing down, she wasn’t even sure about that anymore. She looked down at the filly for a long moment and sighed. “I promised her mother that I’d take care of her. And she’s all alone in the world right now. Part of me wants to take care of her, but part of me isn’t sure about whether or not I’m ready.”

“Steelhooves paused a moment before nodding. “I will pass my recommendation on to have the Filly be placed in your care.”

“Wait, what?” Rose asked. “Why?”

“Because I believe you’ll do fine,” Steelhooves answered. “You’ll never truly be ready to be a parent. Take good care of her, raise her right, and she’ll be just fine.”

“Yeah…” Rose said as Steelhooves left. There was a soft crying as Nova woke up again, the Earth Pony mare gently picked the baby Unicorn up and held her in her hooves, rocking her gently. “Hey there Nova… I’m going to take good care of you from now on, I promise. Nothing bad is going to happen to you as long as I’m around.”

She smiled a little as she brushed the Unicorn filly’s mane out of her eyes a little. She just had to hope that she really would be able to keep that promise.

Chapter 1: Steel Heart

"He who controls others may be powerful,
but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."
-Lao Tzu.

"Hey out there in Cascadia, this is your friend Refuge coming at you with the latest news," a voice said over the radio as I yawned a little and stretched out. I was in the quarters I shared with my mother in the Steel Ranger base in Port Crescent. I could hear the sound of the mare's voice from the radio in the main room. "We've got a lot to talk about this morning, and not a lot of time to go over it all. First off, we've got some new reports out of Haven of Raiders from the Crossbones gang causing trouble for them again. Militia Commander Cold Steel says that they've been doing what they can to hold off these Raiders, but there is always the concern of them being overwhelmed."

I sighed a little, more Reports of Raider attacks, that was all that seemed to be coming out of Seaddle these days. Refuge was some DJ that was based out of the city, not a lot was known about her beyond that. I had to admit, I wondered about her sometimes.

There were more than a few rumors going around, especially since she was rarely seen outside of her studio. But the Elder didn't want anypony leaving unless it was on a mission so I figured I probably wouldn't get any answers anytime soon. I looked in the old mirror in my room, a pair of blue eyes stared back at me I smiled a little at the familiar sight of my reflection as the blue Unicorn mare stared back at me.

"Come on Nova, you don't want to keep the trainers waiting, do you?" Rose asked as she knocked on the door. "You don't need to be late again because you were staring at yourself in the mirror."

"Sorry mom," I said as I slid into my training gear. I was still undergoing my training to become part of the Steel Rangers, despite being a Unicorn I had been undergoing Knight training like my mother before me. My training was almost done and I was going to be made a full Initiate soon, which would be the next step before I became a Knight. "I'm coming."

I headed out of the room to where my mother was waiting in the main living area. She was already getting her armor together and sliding it on as she gave me a smile.

"Hey Nova, how'd you sleep?"

"Okay I guess," I said with a shrug as she finished slipping in her foreleg armor. "I swear I heard explosions and gunfire last night though."

"Yes, apparently Applejack's Rangers launched another attack against the base last night," Rose answered as she brushed off her helmet for a moment. She had been promoted to Crusader not long ago and the familiar markings of it on her armor. "The Elder wants me to take my squad out and investigate the treeline."

"How did they even get here?" I asked. "Isn't Port Crescent the only still functioning Harbor for miles on this side of the bay?"

"We're not sure, they might have landed to the North or there's something we don't know about," Rose said with a shrug. "The attacks have been getting more frequent too. The Elder and Star Paladin Haze are increasing patrols all over the Port. But given the wildlife to the north, there's not a lot we can do about the rest of the island."

"Yeah..." I said quietly as she fit her helmet over her head. "I'm guessing breakfast is out of the question."

"Just because you're this close to graduation doesn't mean you can slack off," Rose chuckled as she shook her head a little bit. "Besides, Paladin Topaz says you're doing a good job with your training. You don't want to ruin it now by slacking off, do you?"

"I guess not," I replied as I levitated a brush up and ran it through my short mane. "Guess I'll go to the commissary after morning training then."

"Hey, look on the bright side, you're almost ready for your first mission," Rose said with a soft smile. "I remember my first mission you know. Trust me, whatever they have planned for you can't be worse than that."

"Yeah," I said and gave my mom a quick hug. "I'll see you this evening then?"

"I'll be waiting," mom said as we headed out together before parting ways.

00000

"Trainees, you are all here because of all the sorry excuses for ponies that have come through here, you are the best of the best," Paladin Topaz, a tall stallion dressed in his Power Armor said as he stood before me and the other trainees. "Each of you has shown skills that prove you to be worthy of becoming Knights in the service of the Ministry of Wartime Technology. But this is where things really come down to the wire, each of you is to run the training course this morning. Your best times will determine your score. Only the best of you will be allowed to go on tomorrow's mission and those that make it out of that alive will take the next step and become full members of the Steel Rangers."

"Yeah, as long as Nova doesn't cheat by using her magic," I heard one of the other Trainees mutter as my ears pivoted towards them. I was about to say something when Paladin Topaz glared at the trainee who had said that.

"Trainee Nova has never cheated as you say," Topaz snapped. "Just because she is a Unicorn doesn't mean she shouldn't use her magic to her advantage. In battle, you must use every asset at your disposal. And in battle, when you're relying on the pony next to you, you shouldn't care if they're a Unicorn or an Earth Pony, Trainee Mango. If you have any problems with her or any other Trainee, you should say it now."

"No sir," Mango said with a gulp as she tried not to look into the helmet of the Paladin.

"Trainee Nova," Topaz continued as he walked in front of me. "Do you have any intention of using your magic to cheat?"

"No sir," I answered honestly.

"You're not going to use any fancy teleportation techniques or something, are you?" He asked as he stared me down. Even with the helmet, I could feel the intensity of the Paladin's glare.

"No sir," I answered quickly.

"There, I believe we should all be satisfied," Topaz said as he walked back in front of the group and stared us all down. "Trainees, I want you all to carry out your duties today with distinction. The Elder will be watching today in order to make sure that you are all ready for your duty as part of the Steel Rangers. Now, since you didn't trust your fellow trainee, Mango you will be the first on the course."

Mango grumbled as she headed towards the training course. I couldn't help but chuckle a little, the Earth Pony trainee had one of the worst times on the course.

I waited as more of the trainees went through the course. Finally, Topaz looked up and glanced at me with a nod, it was my turn to run the course. I moved to the starting line and took a deep breath, this wasn't my first time running the course, but somehow it felt like the most nerve-racking.

I had long ago decided to do everything I could to prove that I was worthy of being here alongside my Earth Pony Comrades. So it often hurt when they acted like I was something special just because I happened to be a Unicorn. So, I was going to make sure that they had no doubt in their minds that I was able to be just like them.

I took a deep breath as I started the course. The first part required perfect balance as I made my way across a wooden beam. I gulped a little as I made my way across the beam, I was trying not to show my nervousness as I slowly made my way across the beam.

I managed to get across the beam and let out a sigh of relief as I ran for the next part of the course. I had to crawl under the barbed wire in the mud and water. I tried not to think about that, we were still on the edge of the effects of the Gardens of Equestria Megaspell so there was probably radiation in the water as I made my way through it and headed up onto the ground as I headed for the next obstacle.

I glanced back towards the gathered ponies who were watching me run the course. I could see the familiar dark brown coat of Elder Mandrake as he watched the trainees running the course. I turned my attention back to the course and grabbed the rope that was supposed to swing me across the water this time and started to swing...

Before the rope broke and I went crashing down into the water below. I struggled to get to my hooves as I heard laughter from the gathered ponies. I groaned as I climbed out of the water and ran for the next obstacle, but that had thrown me off. I didn't want to look bad in front of the others though as I continued the training course.

That drop had messed me up, but I still managed to finish it in good time as I ran up the stairs and reached the goal, breathing heavily. I finally made my way down the ladder and headed back to the gathered ponies as Paladin Topaz eyed me and went back to taking notes.

Ugh, he had no doubt seen what happened on the rope swing. And Elder Mandrake had been watching too, that had no doubt cost me points. I just took a step back and tried not to make eye contact with anypony as we waited for the rest of the trainees to finish the course.

Finally as the last of them finished we were all lined up as Paladin Topaz walked around and looked at each of us in turn. He finally held up the clipboard he had been writing on and nodded. "Trainees Hazel, Torpid, Ivy, Xander, Tumbleweed, and..."

I closed my eyes, there was no way that I had made the top 6. I had screwed up too badly, I could just feel the smug look that Mango probably had on her face right now. I was never going to hear the end of this and Rose was going to be so disappointed in me when she found out.

"Nova," Topaz finished. "You will all be participating in the upcoming mission under the direction of High Paladin Knives. Everypony else will be allowed to retake the exam in 3 months and..."

"WHAT?" Mango shouted. "There's no way I had a lower time than that horn head!"

"Yes, but you showed poor sportsmanship and openly mocked Trainee Nova before the session started," Topaz countered without even batting an eye. "Not to mention you had Trainee Buckeye sabotage the rope swing in order to throw her off."

"But..." Mango started to say as Buckeye's eyes went wide.

"But nothing, the rope was firm and we could see the trainee despite his best efforts to hide the fact from us," Topaz said as he eyed Mango. "Trainee Nova was able to complete the course in enough time regardless. However, you two have been disqualified as a result. You will be unable to attempt to graduate again for at least another year. All who did not pass are dismissed."

The other trainees walked off grumbling a bit as they did. I swear I saw Mango and Buckeye shooting me looks as I moved in closer with the other five trainees who all looked a little more confident now.

"Trainees, you've all shown exemplary skill to reach this point," Topaz said as he walked in front of us. "You have all shown the skills that would make you worthy of bearing the title of Steel Ranger. You still have one more trial ahead of you however and Elder Mandrake will now speak to you about our upcoming mission."

A few of us whispered amongst ourselves as the old Earth Pony stallion stepped forward. Elder Mandrake was dressed in an ornate outfit and looked over all of us for a moment as his eyes fell on me for a moment. I gulped a little as I waited for him to start speaking.

"I have to say, I am impressed with all of you," Mandrake said as he stood before us. "You have all completed your training with honor and dignity. Despite the challenges you face from either your own shortcomings or from others that decided to get in your way..."

He glanced at me when he said that and gave me a slight nod.

"You have managed to overcome them and prove your worth. You are the future of the Steel Rangers each and every one of you. However, things are not that simple in Cascadia. There will always be ponies that try and take things from us, Raider ponies that have no soul or understanding of anything beyond the barrel of a gun. Settlers that believe that all they need is to get by, survival is more than just getting by in the Wasteland after all. And there is still Applejack's Rangers. Once more last night they brazenly attacked our forces here in Port Crescent. But they are not your mission this time, perhaps someday we will be able to take the fight to those heretics and prove that the way of Steel is superior."

"Hear, hear!" One of the other trainees said.

"Well said Elder!"

"Thank you, Trainees," Mandrake said as he waved his hoof for a moment. "The fact of the matter is that we must remain vigilant at all times. That is why you have all been chosen for this operation. We have uncovered intel pointing towards there being another port on the north side of Braybridge island. We had believed it to be cleared out, but it seems that it is now in use once more. We suspect that it belongs to one of the accursed Raider gangs that call Seaddle their home. Perhaps even they struck a deal with Applejack's Rangers and allowed them safe passage onto the Island. We are to retake the port for the Steel Rangers and ensure that it is never used against us again. High Paladin Knives will lead your mission along with more members of the contingent. I do not expect all of you to come back alive."

I gulped a little at that and looked at the other Trainees. They suddenly looked as nervous as I felt, but they were trying much harder to hide it from the Elder. I looked back at him for a moment and nodded slightly to myself, I wasn't going to let him down.

"Those who return will be given full membership in the Steel Rangers as an Initiate," Mandrake continued. "From there, your training will continue, but you will be awarded privileges that you did not have before. Your mission is in two days, prepare yourselves for it. Are there any questions?"

There were none so he dismissed us after a long moment. I walked off, only briefly glancing back to see that Mandrake and Topaz were talking in silence. While I wondered what they were talking about, I pushed it to the back of my mind.

For now, all I wanted to do was get some food in me at the commissary as my stomach growled a little.

00000

I silently moved through the line as the cooks placed food on a plate and gave it to me. There wasn't much to go around so it was just rations as I levitated it over to a table on the far end of the commissary. I started to eat before I felt a hoof on my shoulder and nearly jumped.

"Whoah, chill, it's just me," a mare's voice said and I chuckled as I turned to see the Unicorn standing there. She was a tan furred Unicorn with a dark brown mane and she gave me a smile.

"Sorry Cocoa, I've just been a little nervous ever since the training thing," I said as I gave the Unicorn a slight smile. Cocoa was part of the Scribe training, what Unicorns were usually assigned to, and she had been my best friend since I was a filly.

"Oh yeah, I heard about what Mango and Buckeye pulled on you," Cocoa said with a frown. "I'm amazed they didn't just throw them out altogether."

"I guess they need more Steel Rangers with everything that's going on," I reminded her. "Besides, Mango comes from one of the old families. I guess it wouldn't have looked good to throw her out of the Steel Rangers."

"I still don't like it," Cocoa said with a shake of her head. "We should get back at them somehow."

"Oh great, not another one of your crazy revenge schemes," I said with a groan.

"No, no, this will be perfect," Cocoa said quickly. "Come on, they tried to sabotage your chances of getting into the Steel Rangers, don't you want some revenge?"

"Maybe, but they're already in trouble with Paladin Topaz," I reminded her. "Besides, if I do anything they'll automatically suspect me."

“Not if I take care of it while you have an alibi,” Cocoa suggested. “Come on, it’ll be harmless. There’s no way they’ll trace it back to you and you’re practically an Initiate already. After what she did you deserve some sort of revenge.”

“Fine, but don’t tell me what you’re doing, I want plausible deniability,” I told her with a groan. “If you get me into trouble by doing this, I’m taking you down with me, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, you won’t get in trouble,” Cocoa dismissed. “So, you’ve got your first mission coming up, huh? Well, good luck, something tells me you’re going to need it. Just promise me that you’ll be careful, okay?”

"I will," I said as I took a bite of my food and gave her a soft smile. "I don't think you or Rose would forgive me if I wasn't careful anyway. I'll be careful, I promise."

"Good," Cocoa said with a smile as she started eating too. "Really, if you ask me, she's probably jealous."

"Jealous? Of me?" I asked as I glanced at Cocoa. "What exactly would suggest that? Why would she even be jealous of me?"

"I dunno maybe because you're a Unicorn," Cocoa said with a shrug. "Maybe because you sometimes get special treatment from the others. Maybe because you're just better than she is."

"Me being a Unicorn has nothing to do with me being good at anything," I countered. "And I don't get any more special treatment than any of the other Trainees.

"Then she's probably just mad that some Unicorn is better than an Earth Pony," Cocoa shrugged. "It's to be expected, you wouldn't know given you don't come from a Unicorn family. The Earth Ponies don't exactly like the idea of Unicorns being part of the Knights. I mean, you'll notice that the Power Armor is built for Earth Ponies, not Unicorns or Pegasi. So if you ask me she's probably mad that some Unicorn is showing her up."

Earth Pony superiority, it wasn't the first time I had heard about something like that. I knew that it had been hard for Rose to actually convince the Elder to actually let me undergo the training. I had always wanted to follow in her hoofsteps growing up.

Maybe I really did get some special treatment in that regard, but I had more than proven myself worthy of being a Knight by now. At least I hoped I had.

"Yeah, I guess that makes more sense than anything else," I finally admitted as I took another bite of my rations. "I don't like it though. I'm not trying to set myself apart from any of the other Trainees."

"Well, there's not really much else we can do about it," Cocoa said with a shrug. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"I think I'll go to the shooting range later," I replied after a moment. "I need to be ready for my first mission anyway. My aim is a bit off-center sometimes. So I should probably get some practice in before I have to actually put anypony's lives on the line."

"Yeah, probably a good idea," Cocoa agreed. "Just be careful, okay? I don't think they're done with you at this point. They're probably going to go after you at the first chance they get."

"I'll be careful," I said with a nod. "I don't trust them either, but I can't let myself be consumed by fear. It wasn't even my fault, she probably would've beaten me if she hadn't cheated."

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter now," Cocoa said. "Just be careful."

"I will," I said as I went back to eating my rations and gave her a slight smile. "Thanks for looking out for me, Cocoa. I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

"Yeah, well Unicorns gotta stick together in the Steel Rangers," Cocoa replied. "And plus you're my best friend. It's my job to look out for you."

"Thanks," I said with a slight nod as I went back to eating.

I was just happy that I had such a good friend. In a world like we lived in that was a rare thing to have indeed. I smiled a little and finished eating as I gave her a quick hug.

"I'll talk to you later, okay? I should get some practice in like I said," I said and Cocoa nodded a little as I headed out of the commissary.

00000

I fired a few shots into the target on the other side of the gun range and frowned a little as I eyed the targets. I still wasn't very good at actually centering my shots, most of them were a bit off-center and some had outright missed the target. I groaned a little as I reached for another clip.

"Well, well the horn head still can't get a clean shot off I see," a voice said from behind me. I groaned a little as I realized that it was Mango again.

"Hello Mango," I said as I slammed the new clip into my rifle and lined up the sights on the target again. "How about you and your boyfriend go and bug somepony else? I'm busy getting ready for the mission."

"Hey, you didn't earn your place on that team!" Mango snapped as I ignored her, firing several shots at the target again. "Hey, don't ignore me!"

"Why shouldn't I?" I asked without even looking at her as I lined up another shot and fired, flinching a little as it went to the side. "I earned my place in the mission, you tried to get ahead by cheating. You only cheated yourself."

"SHUT UP!" Mango shouted. "YOU CHEATED BY USING YOUR STUPID UNICORN MAGIC! ADMIT IT, IT'S THE ONLY WAY A STUPID HORN HEAD PONY LIKE YOU COULD'VE DONE THAT!"

I sighed a little as I lowered my rifle. This was not what I needed right now I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I tried not to think about the pony behind me. Mango was a jerk and I was not going to give her the satisfaction of responding to her.

"Excuse me, but I'm a little busy right now, maybe you should come back later when nopony is here for you to scream at," I said as I fired several shots into the target again. "Because right now the hot air in this place is getting unbearable."

I was about to replace the clip again when I felt a sharp pain as something hit me in the back of the head. I stumbled forward a bit as the rifle clattered to the ground and turned around quickly to see Mango standing there with fire in her eyes.

"You really want to do this?" I asked with a growl as I started to walk away. I was going to have a word with the knight in charge of the shooting range. "Your parents must be so proud of you if you're going to harass a fellow Trainee like this. Leave me alone or I'll make sure that Paladin Topaz knows about this."

"You know what, I don't care at this point, you already ruined my life!" Mango shouted as she ran forward and swung her hoof at me and caught me across the muzzle. I rubbed it a little as I turned around quickly and punched her hard, sending her sprawling back in surprise.

"I'm not taking your crap anymore, don't you dare lay another hoof on me," I said as I shook my hoof a little. "Right now you've got a chance to graduate next year. I wouldn't ruin that chance if I were you."

I dodged another swing of the hoof from the mare and pushed her back. She growled and was about to jump at me when an armored figure pushed in between us and stared us down.

"Both of you, cut it out," the familiar voice of my mother said as she held us apart. "Trainees Nova and Mango, this behavior is not becoming of Steel Rangers. Nova, I am ashamed of you right now."

"But mom, she..." I started to explain.

"Right now it's Crusader Rose, not mom," she snapped at me. Clearly, she was disappointed in me as she stared me down from behind the helmet. "Trainees, I want you to calmly explain what happened and then I will decide what to do with the two of you."

The two of us quickly started talking at the same time. Rose groaned and facehooved as she shouted, "I said calmly explain what happened. This is not calmly. Trainee Mango, you first."

"But Crusader..." I started to say.

"She will explain her case first, no exceptions," Rose interrupted.

"Ma'am, I was simply coming to the shooting range in order to practice my shooting after running the course again to prepare for next year," Mango explained. "Trainee Nova was apparently mad about something that happened earlier and attacked me!"

"Alright Nova, now it's your turn," Rose said as she looked back at me.

"I was here doing weapons training when she came in and started harassing me," I explained. "Then when I tried to leave she assaulted me. I was only defending myself against her, nothing more. She's just mad because she was caught cheating during the training course earlier."

"What? I don't..." Mango started to say.

"Don't even bother, Paladin Topaz told me what happened this morning," Rose said. "And given the evidence, I'm inclined to believe Trainee Nova."

"WHAT? YOU'RE JUST SIDING WITH THAT STUPID..." Mango started to shout before she realized what she was saying. "Uh, I mean, she's, uh..."

"I'm taking you back to talk with your parents," Rose said sternly as she grabbed Mango's foreleg and looked back at me. "Continue your training, Trainee Nova. You wouldn't want to be unprepared, would you?"

I nodded as Rose pulled her away and I went back to the shooting range. I secured another clip into my rifle and lined it up on the target across the range and fired several shots into it.

00000

"You and Trainee Mango are still not getting along I see," Rose said as I walked into our quarters that evening.

"You could say that," I sighed as I fell onto a chair and laid back on it and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "She had Buckeye try to sabotage my run earlier. Then she attacks me when I was just doing some training, I don't even know why she hates me so much."

"You know how the old families are," Rose sighed as she shook her head a little. "With everything that's been going on the Rangers have had to be less selective about who they let in. A lot of the old families aren't happy about that, especially with the inclusion of Unicorns into the Knights."

"There are going to be more?" I asked.

"They're talking about it at least, but right now you're the only one," Rose shrugged. "It's more a desperation play really. With Applejack's Rangers scooping up our members every so often, Mandrake has to make some hard decisions."

"I've never actually even used my magic to try and get ahead of them," I commented as I leaned on my hoof a little."That seems to be what she keeps trying to accuse me of doing."

"I know," Rose said. "Everypony knows that really. We know you wouldn't actually cheat at the training sessions. Elder Mandrake believes that you show a lot of potential as well. Honestly, I'm proud that you wanted to follow in my hoofsteps and are doing your best. Even if I can't always do everything to help with your training."

I nodded a little at that. Since my mother was an Earth Pony I had been trained by some of the best Scribes in the Seaddle Contingent of the Steel Rangers in how to use my magic. They had been surprised to learn that I had wanted to become a Knight, but they had done what they could.

And here I was on the verge of actually becoming an Initiate. With everything that was going on, I just had to hope that I wasn't going to screw this up on the last mission somehow. I nodded a little and gave Rose a slight smile.

"You've done everything you could, and I appreciate that. You've done way more than enough for me at this point."

"I'm your mom, it's my job to take care of you," Rose said as she hugged me tightly for a moment. "And I'm proud of you for getting this far. Come on, the curfew is coming up so you should probably get ready for bed. You've still got a lot of preparation to do in order to get ready."

"Yeah, I know," I said as I headed back to my bedroom. I removed my outfit and looked at myself in the mirror again for a moment and took a deep breath.

This was it, with everything that was going on I was almost done with my training. I had been working towards this practically my whole life and here I was finally on the verge of it. Being an Initiate was only part of it of course but at the moment it was the closest step to becoming a full Knight.

I smiled a little and laid back on my bed. It was hard to believe that I wasn't going to be sleeping in here much longer. For now, I just had to make sure that I was actually ready for this.

And somehow, the possibility of not being ready scared me more than anything.

00000

A few days later we had been taken along Route 305 through Braybridge Island. We had set up camp before the assault was to begin in the overgrown wildlife preserve near the target. We were all in the main tent where Paladins Topaz and Knives were overseeing the briefing.

"Alright, our target is the remains of Port Macintosh on the north end of the island," Paladin Knives instructed as he pointed at the point on the northern end of the island map. "Until recently we believed that the port had been overrun by sea creatures, apparently we were incorrect."

"Our Recon units report that the port has been captured by members of the Sons of the Blood Moon," Topaz continued as he nodded to Knives. "They are a dangerous Raider gang from across the bay. We don't know why they moved across the water to Braybridge Island or if they are associated with Applejack's Rangers. However, given this is the only other point on the island that they could have arrived at, our mission is to capture and hold the port to keep them from coming after us again."

"The Sons are all holed up in the outer part of the port," Knives added. "Trainees, you will each be assigned to a Crusader and their unit. Your missions will depend on which Unit you are assigned to. Anypony in the port is considered an enemy combatant or a collaborator. Civilians are not a top priority. We need to take this port in order to maintain our position on the island."

I flinched a little at that, civilians weren't a priority? I had always heard that we were supposed to get the civilians out if at all possible, it was odd but there wasn't much I could do other than obey orders.

"Everypony, you are to get your gear together and make sure that you have enough ammo," Knives continued. "This is the best chance we have at stopping the Sons from taking this island. This is our island, and we're not going to let anypony take it from us."

"You're all dismissed, report to your Crusaders and be ready," Topaz finished. "We attack Port Macintosh at dawn. You all have your assignments, dismissed!"

I glanced at the other five trainees for a moment they all shrugged and we headed out of the tent together. I walked over towards where Crusader Kale was standing as she looked over the troops assigned to her. She glanced over at me and sighed a little as she turned her attention to me.

"Trainee Nova, reporting for duty ma'am," I said quickly.

"Trainee, you may have been assigned to us, but that doesn't entirely mean that we have to like it," Kale said as she eyed me from behind her helmet. "This is an important mission for the Steel Rangers, and we do not particularly want to foalsit a Trainee."

"Ma'am, I..." I started to say.

"Let me guess, you're still green aren't you?" Kale asked and I nodded a little. She glanced back towards the Knights for a moment and then back at me. "Well, unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice, do we? Our part of the operation is to attack their boats that are in the harbor. The Raiders cannot be allowed to escape and get reinforcements from their allies across the bay. You will be provided with a weapon and explosives to help deal with the Raider's watercraft. You are not to get in the way or slow us down. Do you understand your mission, Trainee?"

"Yes, ma'am!" I said as I snapped to attention. "I will not get in the way, ma'am."

"Make sure that you don't," Kale finished as she looked back at the other Knights. "You are all dismissed, rest up and be ready for the mission tomorrow. Trainee, you're to stay with Knights Violet and Bark tonight. Make sure you're ready in the morning."

I nodded as the two Knights lead me to one of the tents. I gulped a little as I looked at the Knights. What would they even think about this? Kale didn't exactly seem to like having to deal with me, would her Knights think the same?

"So, you're the Unicorn who wants to become a Knight, hmm?" One of the Knights asked as she removed her armor. She had a dark purple coat with a light purple and pink mane.

"Uh, yeah, that's me," I said as I headed over towards my bedding.

"I think she's a bit nervous," Bark said as he removed his own armor. He had a dark brown coat with a black mane and tail that he shook free. "Look, Nova, right? Don't worry about what the Crusader was saying out there. She's usually a lot friendlier, but the last few times we went out with trainees they all died on their missions."

Okay, that really didn't make me feel much better. Though That did at least make more sense if she didn't like having to lose trainees.

"You shouldn't scare her like that," Violet said. "Really Nova, just because they died doesn't mean you will too. Really, I think you should be fine as long as you keep your cool. There are a lot of things that can get you killed in an operation like this, but you're not going to be alone. You've got all of us backing you up, remember that okay?"

"Okay," I said with a soft smile as I laid back on my bedding. "I'll do my best as well. I guess I'm just afraid that I'll screw it up somehow, I'm sure you don't feel that way."

"Are you kidding? We're all afraid of messing up," Bark said. "There are lives on the line as long as we're going out on these missions. What you have to remember is that you aren't out there alone. Your squad will be backing you up the whole time you're out there, and that includes us. Crusader Kale may be a bit angry, but she's still going to do whatever she can to keep you alive too."

"Yeah, that does make me feel a little better," I sighed with relief. "Thank you, both of you."

"You're welcome, now get some sleep," Violet said as I laid back on the bedding and closed my eyes.

00000

Dawn.

Or to be more specific, it was a little bit before dawn. We were getting set up in order to prepare for the coming assault. I had been outfitted with an assault rifle that was secured to a holster on my saddles. I could see a set of boats that looked like they had been fishing or passenger boats before the war in the bay. I could barely make them up as I glanced back towards the sky.

The plan was to have the main force attack the bay from a direction that would put the sun behind them just as dawn broke. We'd have to move fast and take out the boats in any way possible in the confusion and then join the fight with the Raiders.

I glanced over at Violet who gave me a nod as I secured my rifle again and took a deep breath as I looked down at the nearest boat. My job was to set P-4 Charges on the hull of one of the ships so we could detonate them later. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the attack to begin.

I didn't have to wait long as the light of the sun came up over the hill. There was the sound of gunfire and explosions as the Rangers attacked the Raiders. I looked over at the others and got the nod to go as we headed towards the boats quickly and silently.

The chaos from the battle had already started. I could hear the sound of ponies heading our way. I raised my rifle out of the holster and fired several shots on it as I approached the hull of the boat I had been assigned to. I quickly levitated the P-4 out of my bag and attached it to the hull of the boat when my ears twitched a little, I could've sworn I heard something coming from inside the boat.

I finished securing the P-4 and headed over to the gangplank that lead up to the deck of the boat. Holding my rifle, I found the door that lead into the inside of the ship and pushed it open as quietly as I could and headed inside. I could hear some muttered voices from one of the small rooms inside and pressed up against the wall as I tried to make out what they were saying.

"I told you this job was a bad idea... now they're attacking us," one of the voices said. "This is all your fault!"

"I know, I know, but the caps were too good, we need to get out of here before they target the ships," a gruff voice replied. "It may already be too late, I swear I heard somepony on the deck above."

"This is your fault, you brought them down on us by taking that stupid job," the first voice said. "I'm getting us out of here, maybe we can get out of here before they try something."

I blinked a little, what were they talking about? We had been attacked by Applejack's Rangers, right? What were these Raiders even talking about? Something about this was weird, I needed answers and fast.

The two Raiders came out, one of them was a Unicorn and the other was an Earth Pony. I quickly levitated my rifle up and aimed it at the two of them. "Hold it right there!"

"I told you I heard somepony up there," the gruff stallion muttered. "Might as well get it over with. Might as well shoot us now."

"No," I said as I grabbed their weapons and threw them off to the side. "What were you talking about in there? What kind of job were you hired for?"

"Your bosses aren't exactly keeping you in the know, are they?" The Gruff stallion asked as he glared at me for a moment before chuckling a little. "There's so much that you don't know."

"Then enlighten me," I said as I held my rifle at the two of them. "Tell me everything you know. We were told Applejack's Rangers attacked the port, what really happened?"

"Oh, you poor deluded foal," the stallion sighed with a shake of his head. "You're being lied to. Everything you know is being manipulated by..."

He was cut off by two quick gunshots as the two Raider stallions fell to the ground dead with bullet holes in their heads. I blinked a little, what had just happened? I reached for my gun as I spun around and saw Crusader Kale standing there.

"What was that about? They were about to tell me something important!" I shouted at her.

"No, they weren't, he was distracting you while his buddy was preparing to kill you," Kale said and nodded to a weapon by the second stallion's side where a knife was laying. "You didn't properly check your targets, Trainee. You're lucky to be alive."

"But he..." I started to say.

"Don't believe a word he said, these Raiders would say anything," Kale said as she checked the corpses for weapons and ammo before taking them out and tossing me some ammunition. "Get off the boat, we need to blow this thing. It's the last one left at this point and the Raiders are on the run."

"Yes ma'am," I said as I followed her out of the boat's interior. I trotted away from it for a moment before hitting the button on the detonator and explosions racked the hull of the boat where we had just been.

I looked back at the burning hulk of the boat for a moment. What had he meant? They had been talking about that before they even knew I was here, so was he actually lying? I didn't like this, it felt like there were more and more unanswered questions about what really was going on.

I glanced at Kale who was getting everything straightened up. There were still sounds of gunfire and explosions, but they seemed to be moving away towards the ruined bridge that once went across the water to the mainland. Something about all of this felt so off to me. There were certainly signs of there being Raiders, that was not in question, but somehow this just felt weird.

"Trainee, we're doing a building to building search of the port," Kale said. "You're to go with Knight Violet to investigate the north end of the town. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," I said with a slight nod as I went to meet up with the Knight.

00000

We made our way through the northern part of the town that made up the port. I took a deep breath as I checked to make sure my weapon was secure. So far we had been lucky, there wasn't anypony in these buildings, at least as far as I could tell as we moved towards the last two houses on the old street.

"Trainee, let's split up from here," Violet said. "The others should have driven the Raiders out anyway. I'll meet up with you out here in 10, okay?"

"Okay," I replied as I headed to one of the houses and listened for a moment. It was quiet as I pushed the door open as quietly as possible with the rifle held tight in my telekinetic grip.

For a moment it seemed like everything was quiet. I was about to head back out when I heard quiet voices coming from upstairs. I checked my ammo for a moment and quietly made my way up the stairs as I tried to figure out what they were saying.

"Need... to... out..." One voice said quietly, I could barely make out the words as I pressed up against the wall.

"We can't, the boss would be mad if we didn't secure the merchandise," a second voice grumbled. "Besides, those blasted Rangers are all chasing the Sons off of the island. We need to get these out of here before they realize what else is going on."

And after that I heard a light whimpering, I narrowed my eyes a little at that. If these weren't Raiders and based on what they were saying, they were most likely Slavers. They actually thought they were going to get away with this. If they had any ponies there, I needed to get them to safety.

I raised my rifle and kicked the door open as I quickly put bullets into the two Slavers, catching them completely off guard. They were dressed in rough leather armor and crumpled before they could even try and fight back. I let out a sigh of relief as I looked around for whoever they had been holding.

"We're over here!" A voice said from the closet nearby. I blinked a little and headed over and opened the door to reveal two mares and a filly crouched in the closet. They looked scared more than anything as I stood there in my Steel Ranger Trainee uniform and holding a rifle.

"Come on, you're safe now," I said as I gestured for the three of them to come out quickly. "We'll get you out of here, I promise."

"Please, let us go..." one of the mares said softly. "You don't have to tell your superiors you found us here. Just let us go!"

"Wait, what?" I asked as I blinked a little in confusion. "We're just here for the Raiders, we're not going to hurt any of you."

"Yeah right, we've heard about what the Steel Rangers do to Ponies, civilian or Raider," the second mare said as she held the filly carefully. "Please, just let us go."

I blinked a little in confusion as I looked at them and then back downstairs for a moment. There was no way they'd actually know if I had found anypony in the House. I thought back to what our orders were, anypony in the town was to be considered a hostile. But these ponies were innocents and had been held by Slavers at that. Could I really kill them or even turn them over to the other Rangers?

I took a deep breath and nodded a little as I checked them over. "Alright, there should be a way out the back. Head south, stay away from the road and you should be safe. Be careful, okay?"

"Thank you, Celestia bless you," one of the mares said quickly as the three of them started down the stairs with me close behind.

I took a deep breath as I watched them go through the door leading out the back. I just had to hope that they were going to be okay as I headed for the front door and re-secured my rifle. I didn't know if what they had said was true, but right now I didn't want to risk it.

I was about to get my answer as I exited the building and heard the sound of gunfire coming from down the street. I glanced up the street and stopped when I realized that more of the Steel Rangers were standing over several bodies that looked like they might've been ordinary Wastelanders or slaves.

I tried to look away at that. Maybe there was something I was missing, but somehow I wasn't sure, I hated not knowing what was going on.

Something about all of this felt so, wrong. This whole attack had given me way too much to think about, and I didn't like it. I was definitely not going to tell them what had happened in the house, just in case

00000

"So, how'd it go?" Rose asked as I laid on the couch in our quarters back in Port Crescent. "Crusader Kale seemed to be happy with your progress."

"Yeah, I did the best I could out there," I said and sighed a little. How was I going to explain what happened while I was in Port Macintosh to her? Would she even believe me? Was it possible that it was all a lie? "Look, uh, mom..."

"Yes, Nova?" She asked. I couldn't even make eye contact with her right now. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

“Honestly, I don’t know, I saw and heard some stuff while I was in Port Macintosh,” I replied with a shake of my head. “I honestly don’t know what to think about all of that. I haven’t actually been in anything like that before, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Rose replied as she placed her hoof on me gently. “You’re going to be okay, Nova. The first mission is always the hardest. Things will get better as you go, I promise.”

“Yeah, I hope so,” I sighed as I closed my eyes. “Mom… I honestly don’t know what to think anymore. What are we even doing out here?”

“Yeah, I know,” Rose replied as she placed her hoof on me gently. “You’re going to be okay, Nova. The first mission is always the hardest. Things will get better as you go, I promise.”

“Yeah, I hope so,” I sighed as I closed my eyes. “Mom… I honestly don’t know what to think anymore. What are we even doing out here?”

"What do you mean?"

"I honestly don't know," I said and rolled over to face the couch. "I've got a lot to think about right now. I'll talk to you about it tomorrow, maybe."

"Okay, just let me know if you want to talk to me," Rose said as I closed my eyes. I smiled a little as I felt Rose pull a blanket over me.

I had to admit that this felt really nice. I still had to figure out exactly what had happened earlier and what I was going to do for now. Tomorrow me and the other trainees who had passed would graduate and become full Initiates in the Steel Rangers.

With everything that had happened, I had a lot to think about and figure out going forward.

"I love you mom," I said softly as I heard here walking towards her room.

"I love you too, Nova," Rose said as she opened the door and went into her bedroom.

I just hoped that everything really was going to be fine. I closed my eyes again and drifted off to sleep.

00000

The next day we were out on the parade grounds of the base in Port Crescent. Out of the six of us that had finished our training, only 4 of us made it through the mission. I took a deep breath as I took my spot and looked out at the crowd where Rose was watching.

She smiled a little as she gave me a nod. I stood at attention with the other trainees and glanced at them for a moment. They looked a lot more confident than I felt, but I tried to put on a brave face as Elder Mandrake made his way down the Parade Grounds and stepped onto the stage in his full robes.

"Welcome, all of you to the full induction of our latest trainees into the Sacred Brotherhood of the Steel Rangers," Mandrake said as he spoke to the crowd."These brave mares and stallions have overcome the odds and proven themselves to be worthy of joining us. But things continue to be difficult for us. The recent attacks by Applejack's Rangers only prove that they are cowards who fail to truly comprehend the truth. That the Steel Rangers are the true heirs to our founder's will. We are the only thing that truly stands between this world and total chaos. Trainees, you must all steel yourselves, dark times are ahead of us as the vile enemies of the true way stand in our way. We will not fail, we must prevail in order to preserve our way of life against those that would destroy it. You will be the first line of defense against Chaos. Equestria has been destroyed, and we the Steel Rangers are those who will ensure that it has a future. I welcome you all to the Steel Rangers, bring honor and distinction to that title."

Four Scribes came out of the crowd, each of them was holding a PipBuck. Cocoa gave me a smile as she held mine out to me and I took it.

"These PipBucks will mark your first step towards becoming full-fledged Knights," Mandrake continued. "Use them well and use them to get used to the Eyes Forward Sparkle system."

I fitted the PipBuck onto my leg and blinked a little as the Eyes Forward Sparkle form over my vision. The compass appeared over the bottom of my vision as I looked around, taking in everything as I did. This felt weird, but I quickly got used to it as I checked my PipBuck’s screen and letters and numbers came across it.

S: 5
P: 7
E: 4
C: 3
I: 6
A: 3
L: 2

I noticed that the others were checking it too as I scanned over the crowd curiously for a moment. Suddenly a red bar flashed on my EFS and I blinked a little in surprise. I switched to SATS quickly and scanned the crowd with it before my eyes fell on one stallion in the crowd that was pushing through and levitating out a pistol slowly.

“GET DOWN!” I shouted as I jumped forward and caught Elder Mandrake in mid sentence as the would be assassin fired a shot over our heads.

“Get him!” A voice said from the crowd as the gathered ponies grabbed the stallion. The Elite Guard filed their way in quickly, helping us up as they pulled Mandrake to safety. I glanced back at the crowd and caught the eye of the assassin who was struggling against the ponies that were holding him.

As this happened, I got the feeling that my life was never going to be the same again.

LEVEL UP!

Perk Received: Steel Sister.
Details: You’ve completed your training as a member of the Steel Rangers and become a full Initiate. What this means for your future is yet to be seen. You get a +5 to heavy weapons and repair.

Chapter 2: Realization

“You may be deceived if you trust too much,

But you will live in torment if you

Don’t trust enough.”

-Frank Crane.

“Hey out there in Cascadia, this is Refuge coming at you with the latest news,” the mare’s voice said over the radio as I stirred in my new barracks. It was the day after the failed assassination attempt on Elder Mandrake and I had been moved to the Initiate barracks. “The reports coming from out East of the clean-up continue to pour in. With the ashfall from the eruption having recently finished, it seems that they’ve got some unexpected help out in the Mountains. With everything that’s been going on it is nice to know that there are some ponies out there willing to lend a hoof.”

I groaned a little as my eyes fluttered open and I looked around at the other Initiates. Some of them were listening to the radio while others were playing cards or chess. I swung my legs around and got to my hooves as I shook my head clear a little.

Last night had been a whirlwind of activity after the would-be assassin was taken into custody. I had been questioned as to why I had been the only one to realize that the assassin was there. Rose had convinced them that everything was okay and that it had been a fluke, so I had been escorted to the barracks.

So here I was, waking up for the first time in my barracks. I sighed a little and looked at the other Initiate mares as music played on the radio.

“Hey rookie,” a voice said from in front of me and I snapped back to attention. Standing in front of me was an Earth Pony mare with grey fur and a black mane. She gave me a slight smile, which surprised me a little. “I heard about what happened last night. How are you feeling?”

“Okay I guess,” I replied with a shrug before adding with a chuckle. “I didn’t exactly expect to save the Elder on my first day.”

“Yeah, I don’t think anypony would have expected that,” the mare said before offering me her hoof. “My name is Dust, I’m the Senior Initiate here. I usually meet with the new initiates, but with everything going on last night we didn’t want to bother you.”

“I didn’t expect you to be so... nice,” I said as I blinked a little. “I’m used to everypony kind of treating me differently since I’m a Unicorn. I didn’t exactly have a lot of good experiences with my previous comrades.”

"Ah yes, they probably see you as the token Unicorn more than anything else, don't they?" Dust asked and I nodded a little. "Yeah, I'm not going to lie and say it won't be like that here. Becoming a Knight in the Steel Rangers is a cutthroat business. Though, you do have a good chance of making it."

"Right, because of the war with Applejack's Rangers," I said with a nod as I remembered what Rose had told me.

"And of course the Raiders, there are a lot of problems in Cascadia," Dust reminded me. "And with what's going on out East with tensions about to boil over in Neigh Orleans from everything that I've heard. Equestria is in a sorry state all around, there's hardly any point in giving another pony trouble just because they've got a horn."

I smiled a little at that and gave her a slight nod before offering my hoof again. "Thanks, Dust, that really means a lot to me."

"You're welcome," Dust said as we shook hooves for a moment. "So, if I may ask, how did you actually know that he was a threat? I mean there had to have been a lot of ponies out there with an Eyes Forward Sparkle that could've picked it up but they didn't."

"Honestly? I'm not even sure myself," I said as I levitated up my PipBuck and fit it onto my leg. I blinked a little as the EFS re-appeared over my vision. "Honestly something about this whole thing is still a bit weird and confusing to me. Maybe it was a fluke of the system, or maybe there's something else entirely. I'm not even sure how these things work beyond what they taught us."

"The way I see it, the spell works by determining who would be a threat to you personally based on different factors," Dust said as she raised her own PipBuck. "There could be any number of reasons why it decided to pick him up as a hostile. Or maybe it was just a fluke like you said. Either way, you stopped him from killing the Elder, that's something a lot of ponies are going to remember."

"Yeah, you're right," I said as I secured my new Initiate robes. "But I still have to wonder about it. Maybe it's nothing."

"Hey, we're going to head down to the Commissary before training starts, why don't you join us," Dust offered. "It might do you some good."

"Maybe I'll join you there later," I replied. "I want to get some fresh air, you know? Take some time to think about everything that's happened. If I have time I'll meet you there later."

"Sounds good," Dust said as she headed over to the trainees that were playing chess. I smiled a little as I got up and headed out of the barracks.

Right now I had only one thing on my mind. I had to go to the Parade Grounds and see if I could find something about what had happened. Something about this whole thing didn't sit right with me the more I thought about it. A common mercenary shouldn't have been able to get that close to the Elder, not without help.

So what was really going on here? And was it tied to what the ponies had said the other day?

00000

I headed out onto the Parade Grounds, they were still mostly cleared out other than a few ponies here and there. I waved at them, trying to look like I belonged here even if I didn't. I started by searching around the area where the assassin had fired the shot and knelt down at the spot where he had been.

There were still signs of a struggle there where the others had tackled him to the ground. I examined it carefully for a moment, brushing the dirt out of the way as I tried to remember what kind of gun he had used. It had been a pistol so there might be some...

Yes! Right there, there was a spent shell casing buried in the dirt, it had to have been obscured by the struggle as I carefully picked it up in my magical aura and examined it. It looked like any other spent casing I had ever seen really, nothing special. There were a few numbers etched into it that I didn't recognize, but...

"Hey Nova, what are you doing here?" A voice said from behind me and I nearly jumped out of my coat and spun around to find Cocoa standing there. "I thought you'd be with your new bunkmates or something."

"Eh, I just wanted to look into something is all," I said as I levitated the shell casing into my bags quickly. "What about you? What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, the Head Scribe asked me to get a few things out of the library," Cocoa answered as she nodded to a building on the far end of the parade grounds. "I'm just heading there now, I didn't think I'd run into you here though. Are you reliving the moment where you saved the Elder or something?"

"Or something, yeah..." I said as I looked at her for a moment and then back towards the building. "I'm just thinking really. With everything that's going on, I haven't had a lot of time to just stop and think. Something about all of this just feels off sometimes."

"Don't worry about it, everypony feels that way from time to time," Cocoa replied with a smile. "You just need to do your best and hope that is enough."

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said with a soft smile. “I’m glad I’ve got you for a friend, Cocoa.”

“I’m glad to be your friend,” Cocoa said with a nod. “I should get to the library though, see you later?”

“Sure,” I said as I went back to looking around. If there really was something going on around here I didn’t want to drag her into it. I glanced at the bullet casing again for a moment, something about it still felt off.

So I just had to figure out how I was going to find out what. So then my next stop would have to be the armory, maybe I could find some valuable information there as to what I was dealing with here.

I just had to hope I’d be able to find whatever it was.

00000

I glanced around as I entered the armory. I didn’t want to draw any attention from Proctor Bangle. I had no doubt that he would be able to help me, but given that I had no idea what was going on here, telling him what I had found would only cause problems.

There was a number on the bullet casing that I had managed to find. If I could find something similar in the ammo stores it might give me an idea of exactly what was going on here. I glanced around and started checking the ammunition for anything that looked like the casing I had found.

It didn’t take long to find it. There were boxes of rounds of ammunition on the far wall that matched up perfectly to what I was looking at. The tips of them shone with a blue crystal light in the dim light of the armory. There were several missing rounds and when I compared the numbers, the one I had was one of the missing rounds.

But that really didn’t make sense, these weren’t just any rounds, these were non-lethals. Essentially, they were bullets meant to knock the target out for a few hours, was this the same bullet that had been used to shoot at the Elder? The Parade Grounds were often cleaned, so I doubted that they were old.

So, exactly why had a bullet from our armory been used? Something about all of this felt off to me, but I didn’t know how I was even going to get answers.

“Can I help you?” A stallion’s voice said from behind me and I nearly jumped from shock as I dropped the box on the ground scattering the bullets.

“Sorry, sorry!” I quickly said as I tried to gather up the bullets. I glanced back at me at the robes wearing Unicorn with an orange coat and black mane. “I was just checking some ammunition for Dust. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Don’t worry, here let me help you out,” Bangle said as he helped me gather up the ammunition. “Seems strange that she’s having you count non-lethals though. Usually those are reserved for use in combat simulations. I don’t believe you are meant to go through those yet.”

“Yeah, well, uh,” I started to say, trying to figure out a quick explanation. “I was looking for a few things and must’ve grabbed the wrong box.”

“I see,” Bangle commented as he eyed me suspiciously for a moment. He went back to gathering up the bullets that had scattered and frowned a moment. “That’s odd.”

“What’s odd?” I asked him, though I had an idea of what he was talking about already.

“There are missing rounds here,” the Quartermaster said as he looked around. “There hasn’t been a need for Non-Lethals in weeks. The armorers shouldn’t have needed to make any more, so these shouldn’t be missing.”

I blinked a little, I had expected Bangle to know something, but that implied that he was just as in the dark as I was. I considered showing him the bullet casing for a moment, but that would just raise more questions for him.

Questions I didn’t have the answers to.

“Yeah, I noticed the same thing when I was looking in there,” I said. “I thought it was weird, but I didn’t take any of them.”

“I’ll look into this, something weird is going on,” Bangle said. “You should finish up whatever you’re doing here. The armory is normally off limits to Initiates.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” I said with a slight nod. I quickly looked over more of the bullets to try and keep up the image. I wasn’t about to let him suspect me, at least. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I was going to get answers, somehow.

But right now I needed to go back to Dust for training.

00000

I levitated up my rifle and looked down at the sites at the target. I pulled the trigger but my bullets missed the center of the target where I had been trying to aim. I groaned a little as I lowered the rifle and took out the magazine and put in another one.

“Initiate Nova, you’re distracted,” Dust said as she trotted over to me. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” I replied as I adjusted the sights a moment and levitated the rifle back up again. “I’m not sure I can talk about it right now. Just, with everything that’s going on I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“I understand, focus though,” Dust told me. “You can’t let yourself get distracted like this. If you’re distracted in battle, then it could cost you your life or your team’s.”

“Yes ma’am,” I said as I straightened up my rifle again and leveled it at the target once more. I took a deep breath and prepared to fire again, I didn’t want to seem distracted right now, but it was hard to not.

I fired several more shots into the target. This time I hit it in the center of mass three times, but the rest of my shots missed. I took a deep breath as I lowered the rifle again and glanced at the other Initiates. Most of them were doing better than me, but I was only one of two newbies so it was understandable I guess.

I looked at Dust who gave me a nod. I practiced a few more shots, doing the best I could as I lowered my rifle again to change magazines. We were going to be running the obstacle course next, and I just had to hope that everything would be okay.

“Initiate Nova,” a voice said from behind me, nearly making me jump as I turned my head. Paladin Knives was standing behind me, he had his usual stern look on his face that made me gulp a little.

Was I in trouble? Did he find out I was snooping around the armory when I wasn’t supposed to be? This was bad, and I didn’t know what I was going to do to explain myself.

“Uh, yes High Paladin Knives?” I asked with a gulp.

“Come with me, Elder Mandrake wants to see you,” Knives said coldly. “You’re expected, come with me.”

I gulped a little at that. How exactly was I going to explain what had happened? What even did Elder Mandrake want from me? This had to be connected to the attempted assassination attempt somehow, otherwise he wouldn’t need to see me.

I was a bit more afraid than anything else. I wasn’t even sure what he was going to say or what I was going to do. So there was really only one thing I could do.

“Yes sir,” I said as I walked out of the training room with him.

00000

I felt like I was in trouble somehow, being led through the base. A few ponies eyed me curiously given I was an Initiate being led by Paladin Knives. This was making more and more uncomfortable as we walked, especially as I noticed Rose walking towards us.

“Crusader Rose,” Knives said as he eyed Rose from behind his helmet.

“High Paladin Knives,” Rose said simply as she trotted next to Knives. “I was not expecting to be called by the Elder.”

Rose had been called too? That I hadn’t expected to be honest, something about this suddenly made me feel more nervous. If Rose was here, they might want to talk to her about something I did or something. Rose glanced back at me and gave me a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry Nova, everything will be okay,” she reassured me. Knives didn’t react to that as we kept walking towards the Elder’s office. Something about the way she said that made me feel a little better at least.

“What does he even want to talk to us about?” I asked finally. “Is there a problem?”

“Elder Mandrake will explain everything once we arrive,” Knives answered. “It would be better to wait until then and do not question it, Initiate.”

“Yes sir,” I said as we reached the building. I was led through the doors past Knights and Paladins who were working on different things. None of them even noticed as we went past until we finally reached the center of the building where the Elder’s office was.

The door was opened and Elder Mandrake was seated behind a desk where he was working on something. We waited for him to say something, but he continued to work. The old Earth Pony stallion finally put his pen down and glanced up at us.

“Initiate Nova,” Mandrake finally commented as he stood up from his desk. “I wanted to thank you formally for helping me before with the assassin. If you hadn’t stepped in when you had, then that assassin would have killed me for sure. I apologize for your treatment, but I’m sure you understand given recent events.”

Oh, he just wanted to thank me. That was kind of odd and felt kind of anti-climactic really, especially after I had been so worried. I smiled a little and gave him a slight nod.

“It was my honor,” I replied. “And yes, I completely understand. I probably would’ve done the same if I was in your shoes. Is there anything else?”

“Initiate…” Knives started to say.

“No, no, it's completely understandable given how she was brought here,” Mandrake told him dismissively. “I also wanted to discuss the reports from your recent mission.”

Oh… crap. Did he somehow know about what had happened when I encountered the Raiders? Or had they found the mares who I had let escape? I was trying not to look scared, but deep down I was terrified. I glanced at Rose who didn’t exactly look comfortable either, but she remained silent.

“Yes, what about it sir?” I asked. “I thought I was given approval to become an Initiate after that.”

“Crusader Kale and Knight Violet gave you both glowing reports, that much is true,” Mandrake answered as he glanced at the papers for a moment. “Though I am concerned about your encounter with two of the Raiders as well as the report on the Slavers. Exactly what happened during those times, Initiate?”

“I was investigating areas for enemy combatants, sir,” I said. It wasn’t a complete lie, but I wasn’t sure if I should tell him everything yet. “I ran into two Raiders in the boat. There was also a pair of Slavers in the house that I removed, but they didn’t have any ponies there. That was everything that happened, sir.”

“I see,” Mandrake said as he folded his forehooves for a moment. “Yes, that does seem consistent with what we know from the others. Are you certain that nothing else happened during those times?”

Did somepony go and check the house that I had investigated after I left? I shook my head, I had to be imagining things, right?

“No, nothing happened other than that,” I said with a shake of my head. “It was pretty uneventful, other than fighting the Slavers I mean. There wasn’t anypony else in the area.”

“I see, well that does fit what we know already,” Mandrake replied. He nodded a little as he went over some of the reports. “Alright then. If there is nothing else of note then you may return to your duties.”

I paused a moment at that. A lot of things were going through my mind at the moment. Part of me wanted to go and talk to the guy who had shot at the Elder. But he wouldn’t just let me do it. Right now I needed some sort of plan to get into them. I just had to hope that there was some sort of way to do it.

“No sir, there’s nothing else,” I said calmly.

“Excellent, be on your way then, Crusader Rose, escort her out,” Mandrake said as I walked out with Rose.

“Are you okay, Nova?” Rose asked as she looked at me. It was funny actually, while she was older, I was a little taller than her. “You seem a bit distracted.”

I glanced around after I was sure that nopony was in listening distance. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to talk to her about this though. Or even if I should, even if she was my mother I was still scared.

“Yes, everything is fine,” I lied. I hated to have to lie to her, especially about this kind of thing but right now I wasn’t sure how she would react.

I just hoped that all of this was just my imagination. This whole thing could just be nothing more than somepony trying to trick me. That made sense, right?

Right?

“Alright, but you can still talk to me if something is wrong,” Rose said reassuringly. “You may be an Initiate now, but I’m still your mother. I'm worried about you.”

“Thanks, but it really is fine,” I replied. “I have been a bit distracted by the recent mission. Given that was my first real mission you know.”

“Yeah, I understand, the same thing happened when I went on my first mission,” Rose said. “Don’t worry about it. Do you want to go back to my quarters? I can explain the situation to the head of your unit.”

“No, no, it’s fine!” I quickly said. “I should get back to them actually. Thank you for offering.”

“Okay,” Rose replied. She adjusted her helmet again and walked off towards her unit. She paused for a moment and looked back at me for a moment. “I love you, Nova. Take care, okay?”

“Okay, I love you too,” I replied with a smile.

She nodded as she walked away. I took a deep breath and started back towards the training area. There was still a lot on my mind right now. But I knew that I was going to figure this out somehow.

I just had to talk to the assassin somehow.

00000

There was no way in Tartarus that this was actually going to work.

I was heading into the brig with a tray of food. It had taken some convincing to get the page to give it to me. She had been sent to give the prisoner his meal, so here I was doing her job instead.

I took a deep breath as the Scribe in charge looked up at me with a scowl. “I’m here to bring the prisoner their food,” I quickly said.

“Page Jazz was supposed to bring it,” the Scribe commented. “Where did she go?”

“She had a family emergency,” I lied. I wasn’t a great liar so I had to hope that he wouldn’t question it. “I was in the area so I offered to take care of it. It’s not really a big deal, right?”

“Curious that the pony who foiled the assassination attempt would volunteer to feed him,” the Scribe commented. “That isn’t the job of an Initiate. So how about you tell me why you’re really here?”

“Well... uh… you see…” I stuttered out. I needed a quick explanation for my lie. “I wanted to… uh…”

“Let me guess, you wanted to gloat?” The Scribe asked. “I mean you stopped his plan. I would want to gloat about that too. Technically it’s against regulation, but you did save the Elder so I think we can let it slide this time. You can go inside, but don’t take too long,”

I nodded and quickly headed into the holding area. I couldn’t believe I actually made this work. I opened the door and headed inside.

The assassin was a Unicorn stallion that had been stripped of his armor. He had cuts and bruises on his body. He looked at me, one of his eyes were swollen shut as he snorted painfully.

“Not much of an interrogation technique,” he muttered. “Send the mare who stopped me with my food. Just leave it on the floor through the slot. I’m not going to talk to you.”

“You’re a mercenary, right?” I asked after I shut the door behind me and took a seat across from him. “Someone had to hire you for that hit. Why don’t you tell me who sent you?”

“And why would I do that?” He asked with a snort. “You’re not very good at this interrogation thing, you know that right?”

“I’m not here to interrogate you, I’m…” I sighed. How was I going to explain this to him? Would he even believe me? This was all one big risk and I didn’t like it, but I didn’t have much of a choice if I wanted to get any sort of answers. I glanced around before speaking quietly to him “Look, I heard some things recently, and I found the bullet casing you left behind.”

“Seems like an odd oversight for the Steel Rangers to have had,” the mercenary snorted. “I guess they’re slipping. So, what does it matter? You found a spent casing.”

“I found a spent casing that came from a non-lethal bullet,” I pointed out. “One that came from the stores belonging to the Steel Rangers. You weren’t shooting to kill, that would’ve knocked him out for what, a few hours? It wouldn’t have worked out for you, so why take a shot at him?”

“Look lady, all I did was take a job,” the stallion retorted. “It’s just like you said. I’m a mercenary, I do what I’m paid to do. I’m not exactly on the up and up here. So, why do you care so much about this anyway? I thought the lot of you were all convinced that he was infalible or something.”

“Let’s just say I’ve had a few things shake my faith recently,” I answered as I shook my head a little. “So, who hired you? With everything that’s going on around here, I’m sure I can think of a few ponies that would want him dead. I’m not sure I can think of anypony who would want to make it look like he’s dead.”

“Well, this is either a very good interrogation technique or you’re telling the truth,” the stallion laughed as he eyed me with his good eye. “So, do you mind telling me what’s got one of the Steel Rangers’ Initiates all flustered?”

“I saw and heard some... things recently,” I replied. “Things that are hard for me to just explain away. I don’t know exactly what the truth is about this place anymore, and given that you’re still alive, you’re the best chance I’ve got right now to find out the truth.”

“Let me guess, the little raid on the northern port,” the stallion replied and I nodded. “Yeah, I heard about that. I had some buddies working for those Raiders, but the folks there were scum. Look, you want my advice?”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll take your advice I suppose,” I snorted. I didn’t like having to get advice from this guy, but like I said it was my best chance.

“Get out of this place,” he said simply. “And I ain’t just talking about the port. This whole city is sitting on a powder keg as strong as a Balefire bomb. The Raider gangs are all at each other’s throats and innocent ponies get caught in the crossfire. And your little group of Steel Rangers and the cold war you’re waging with the Applejack’s Rangers are making things worse. It is only a matter of time before this whole city is on fire.”

“Thanks for reassuring me,” I said sarcastically.

“Tell me what you saw and heard,” he said simply. He listened as I talked about what happened in the port as quietly as possible. I was not about to risk being overheard. “I see… well, like I said, get out of here. If not out of the city, you need to run for Haven or Lunar City. You’re stuck in a bad situation here, and it’s a good way to get a bullet between your eyes. Especially if you know that much already.”

I paused a little at that. How exactly was I going to actually take this? The assassin closed his eyes as he leaned back. Apparently I wasn’t going to get much more out of him, at least not without asking more questions.

“Why do I need to run away from the base?” I finally asked.

“You’re being lied to, and like I said you’re sitting on a powder keg,” he replied as he shook his head a little. “I don’t give a damn about you to be honest. You probably cost me my payment and my life. This whole thing isn’t worth the caps I’m getting paid for this messed up job.”

“Yeah, well there’s not exactly anything I can do about that,” I pointed out. “So, why don’t you tell me who hired you? You shouldn’t have any loyalty to them.”

“I don’t,” the stallion snorted. “But I don’t trust you either. You could be lying to me about all of this to get the information out of me. So, here’s how it’s gonna be. You’re gonna help me get out of this place. When you help me get out, I’ll give you a few more answers. Then we split up and you run off into the city because we both know the Rangers aren’t gonna let you get away with it. Or you could just forget about all of it and I’ll be dragged out into the parade grounds and executed.”

I blinked a little at that. Was this my only chance to actually get answers on what’s going on around here? I knew I couldn’t just ask anypony about it, so I wasn’t sure what to do to be honest.

“I don’t know if I can do that,” I admitted. “I don’t know how to do a jailbreak.”

“Then just run, I don’t even care at this point,” the stallion shrugged. “But if you run, can you pass a message on to a pony for me?”

“Who’s that?” I asked, suddenly very curious. I had to wonder what exactly he had in mind for me to pass on and to who.

“There’s a pony in Haven named Coffee Cream,” he replied. “I need you to tell her what happened to me if I don’t make it out. If you’re being honest with what you’re telling me, then you need to get out of here before it’s too late for you too.”

“I’ll… think about it,” I said as I thought about what he was saying. With everything that had happened, I honestly wasn’t sure how to feel about this. Maybe I really should get out of here, but what would Rose think of me if I escaped? What would the rest of the Rangers think? “I promise, if I leave I’ll get the message to Coffee Cream.”

“That’s all I can ask for at this point,” the stallion said as he leaned back. “You might want to leave before they start to get suspicious. You’re treading in dangerous waters here.”

I nodded a little before I headed out of the holding area. I glanced at the Scribe in charge for a moment and gave him a nod before I pushed the door open and headed outside.

I was going to have to think about this, and there was only one option that occurred to me at the moment. I had to go talk to my mother.

00000

“Nova, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Rose commented as I walked into her quarters. “Is everything okay? How’s your training going?”

“Oh, you know, as well as it can be,” I replied as I sat down on the couch. “I’ve just had a lot to think about lately to be honest. Things have been very complicated really. I just needed somepony to talk to.”

“Of course,” Rose said with a gentle smile as she took a seat next to me. “You can tell me anything, you know that right?”

“Yeah, I know,” I sighed. Honestly this was going to take a lot of explaining and honestly I wasn’t even sure how much I was really going to be able to tell her.

“Alright then, let’s talk,” Rose said with a reassuring smile. “Are you still bothered by what happened at the ceremony?”

“Among other things, yeah,” I admitted as I shook my head a little. This was honestly going to be hard to explain to her without worrying her even more. “And what happened on my first mission as well. Just, with everything that’s going on, I honestly don’t know what to think about all of this.”

“Everypony has a crisis of conscience at least once in their life,” Rose sighed as she placed her hoof gently on mine. “The decisions you make aren’t always going to be easy. At the end of the day, as a soldier you’re going to have to decide what you’re going to stand for. A good place to start may be to find your virtue.”

“My virtue?” I asked. She had mentioned this once or twice, but she had never quite explained it to me.

“A virtue is something that defines you as a pony, like the Elements of Harmony of old,” Rose answered. “It’s not really part of the usual training regimen of the Steel Rangers admittedly. But it’s something to think about and may define what kind of soldier you’re going to be.”

"Yeah... that kind of makes sense..." I said as I thought about it a moment and leaned back. I remembered the three ponies that I had saved from the Slavers, that had been my first real instinct in that situation. Maybe that meant something about what she was talking about.

“I’ll keep that in mind, I guess,” I continued as I shrugged a little. I honestly wasn’t sure exactly what to think about that, but it was as good advice as any. “Still, I’m a bit nervous about a lot. I’m not sure if I should tell you though.”

“If you don’t want to tell me, it's fine,” Rose said with a nod. “But you know you can trust me, right? If there’s something you want to let off your chest, I’ll listen.”

I thought about it for a long moment. Rose was not my birth mother, I had known that ever since I was young when she told me that she had taken me in after a battle in my home Stable. It hadn’t been easy to accept, but Rose was my mother. Maybe I really could trust her with this information, even if it made me a little uneasy.

I took a deep breath and told her what had happened before. Rose frowned a little as she listened, letting me finish my story before she said anything.

“I see, now I understand why you weren’t sure about telling me about this,” Rose said as she stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment. “I have to admit that would be enough to give anypony pause about what’s going on around here. Are you sure that it was a non-lethal round that was used?”

“Positive, I checked it against the armory’s stock of the rounds,” I replied. “I admit it sounds a bit unlikely.”

“No, unfortunately I don’t doubt it that much,” Rose told me with a sigh. “Listen, Nova, I know that you have a lot of things you’re worried about. It’s up to you what you want to do at this point to be honest. Though, I would suggest not staging a jailbreak, that’s not exactly going to win things over with the Elder.”

“Yeah, I realize that,” I replied. “So, what do you think I should do?”

“If you don’t feel like you should stay in the Steel Rangers, maybe it’s for the best,” Rose sighed. “Look I don’t know everything about what’s going on, we’re both just soldiers right now. The choice is yours to make if you want to leave the Rangers or not. This is not an easy choice for you to make, especially with how you were raised, but I will understand whatever choice you make.”

“What will you do if I make the choice to leave?” I asked.

“I don’t know yet, but I do know that I’m not going to tell the Elder, that’s what’s best for you I know that right now,” Rose answered. “But I honestly don’t think you should go out there alone. As I said though, you can’t just break the assassin out of jail, your decision is going to be hard. I just hope that you make the right decision.”

I smiled softly as I hugged Rose tightly. “Thank you… I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do just yet. But still, you gave me a lot to think about. But at the same time, I don’t want to leave you behind here… your my mother after all.”

“Yeah, I know, but I have to let you go, I believe in you,” Rose replied. She was crying a little, I could feel the tears falling down onto my shoulder. “I don’t want you to leave either. You might be grown up, but you’re still my daughter… I think you should follow your heart, and do what you believe is right.”

“Yeah… okay…” I said as I took a deep breath. “I’ll make a decision soon. I just, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Hopefully, whatever I do will be the right choice.”

“I know it will be,” Rose reassured me. “Nova, I’m proud of the mare you’ve become. I know this isn’t going to be easy for you, but you’re not going to have to do this alone. I’m going to help you out as best I can, which admittedly isn’t going to be a whole lot… Nova, there will always be a place for you as long as I’m here. I promise that you’re going to be okay. Like I said, find friends and your virtue. And know that I’m always going to be with you in spirit…”

“I’d rather have you physically there with me,” I muttered as she placed her hoof gently on my shoulder. “I’m afraid of going out on my own like this. But at the same time, I don’t think I should stay here either…”

“I think you should do whatever you believe is right,” Rose told me. She paused for a moment as she thought about what to say next. “Nova, I promise that somehow I will be there for you. Just whatever you do, promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I promise,” I said softly. “Are you sure you can’t come with me?”

“I would if I could, but it’s much easier to pass off an Initiate leaving than a Crusader,” Rose answered with a sigh. “But I promise that I’m going to figure out a way to help you along your way.”

“Okay…” I said softly. I had a lot to think about right now, I didn’t even know where I was going to start other than maybe heading for Haven.

And exactly how was I going to actually take her advice? I glanced down at my PipBuck for a moment and took a deep breath. I had something else I was going to have to do before I could even think about that.

“Do you mind if I stay here for a little while?” I finally asked.

“Of course, stay here as long as you want,” Rose answered as I headed into the back.

I took a deep breath as I started to remove my PipBuck. I was going to have to figure out how to remove the tracking on the PipBuck. This wasn’t going to be easy, but I had a plan at least for how I was going to do this.

At least, I hoped I had a plan.

00000

I quietly made my way out of the commissary that night. I had grabbed what food and other supplies I could, and was now heading towards the armory. I had finally made the decision, I was going to leave, and probably never come back, at least if I was lucky. I had to get out of this place and hope that I wasn’t going to get into trouble.

Who am I kidding? The moment that they realized I was gone, they were probably going to send out ponies to search the island for me. That meant that I had to do everything I could to get off this island, the only question that remained was how. There were a few boats here, but they were all well guarded and secure.

So, what was I going to do now? The best I could do was get some weapons and medicine, that wasn’t going to be easy to say the least. The Steel Rangers kept this kind of thing under lock and key, but I was at least going to be able to figure this out.

Or, at least I hoped I would.

“Nova, are you okay?” Cocoa asked from behind me as I jumped in shock. “What are you doing here out past curfew?”

“Uh…” I said as I brushed my mane a little, suddenly very nervous. I honestly wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to explain this to my fellow Unicorn. “I don’t know, what are you doing out here?”

“I was checking some things for the Head Scribe,” Cocoa answered. “I’m heading back to my barracks. But you should still not be out here.”

“Yeah, I just… uh…” I said quickly, trying to think of an explanation. “I went to visit my mom and I was a bit late leaving. I figured I should probably head back to my barracks, you know?”

“Right,” Cocoa replied, she didn’t sound convinced at all. That figured, really, she had always been much better at seeing through my lies ever since we were fillies. “Which is why you were heading in the opposite direction of the barracks.”

I flinched a little at that, I just had to hope she couldn’t see that in the darkness. This really wasn’t my evening, and I was pretty sure that I shouldn’t tell her the truth either.

“I was… uh… taking the scenic route,” I lied. “I just wanted to get some fresh air, you know now that all the ash has finally dissipated.”

“Riiiight,” Cocoa replied with a shake of her head. “Yeah, I’m not buying it for one minute. Why don’t you tell me the truth already, or maybe I’ll report this to Paladin Knives.”

“Look, I…” I said and took a deep breath. “Cocoa, if I tell you the truth you’ll probably tell him anyway. I’d rather not hurt you, and things are going to get very… difficult for me, and anypony who knows…”

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Cocoa asked softly. I flinched a little at my friend’s words, I hated to have to admit it to anypony, especially to her. “I guess I kind of always knew you were going to leave someday. You never really fit in around here.”

“It’s not that I didn’t fit in…” I said softly. “I did everything I could to fit in, to be something more, and I think that I succeded. But things have changed, I don’t know if I can stay here any longer given some recent events. But I also don’t want to get you into trouble for letting me go.”

Cocoa paused for a moment and sighed a little. “Knock me out.”

“What?” I asked, suddenly very confused.

“You heard me, knock me out and I can tell them I tried to stop you,” Cocoa said. “Look, I don’t like it either, but we have to make it look good if they realize you escaped and we crossed paths. I’m sorry you have to do this, but we really don’t have much of a choice at this point…”

“Okay, I’m sorry…” I said as I levitated up a stick. I hated to do this, but I got a quick idea of exactly how much force I needed to use as I brought it down on her head. Cocoa crumpled to the ground unconscious and I checked her over quickly, she was still breathing at least, so that was a good sign.

From there I ran off towards the armory, I had to hurry if I wanted to do this, and I still had one last stop to make.

00000

I checked the clip on my rifle, I had grabbed it from the armory and loaded up on ammo including non-lethals. If I had to fight my way out of this, I wasn’t going to kill anypony at least until I got out of the base.

I quietly made my way towards the holding cells. I ducked into the shadows for a moment as I saw a patrol on the move nearby. I didn’t even dare breathe as I waited for them to pass by.

I finally let the breath out as they made their way around the corner. I started walking again, checking my ammo once more as I reached the entrance to the holding area. I only had one shot at this, and I was going to have to be careful, there was no way I was going to be able to talk my way into it this time.

I pushed the door to the holding area open as I gripped my rifle with my telekinesis. There would be at least two guards inside, and I had to take them out quickly if I wanted to do this. As I stepped through the door I entered SATS and targeted the nearest guards, taking them each out with one shot as they crumpled down from the enchantment on the bullets.

I checked them for a moment, they were knocked out, just like they were supposed to be. I started walking towards the holding cells when a third guard stepped into view drinking a bottle of Sparkle-Cola.

“What the hell…” The Guard said as he dropped his bottle and reached for his weapon. “Hold it right there! I’m not going to…”

And then I took him down with a quick shot. I muttered a quick thank you for the suppressor that I had grabbed from the armory. I quickly checked my EFS again as I made my way through, there wasn’t any sign of any other guards around at least, and those non-lethals would knock them out for a few hours.

“Well, I didn’t think I’d see you again,” the assassin commented as I approached his holding cell. He glanced up from where he was lying and looked at me. “Guess this means that you’re leaving this place. Are you going to try and break me out?”

“Yeah, well I don’t have any way off the island, so I need your help,” I muttered as I grabbed the keys and started to unlock the door to the cell. “You do have a way off the island, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a boat that can cross the bay,” the Unicorn said as he got up and headed over to the cell door. “I’m guessing this means that you’ve come to your senses. What are you going to do from here?”

“Get off this island, run to Haven or Lunar City maybe,” I replied with a shrug. “After that I don’t know to be honest. I’m kind of playing it by ear right now, I just need a way off this island first.”

“Well, get me out of here and I’ll get you to Seaddle proper,” the former prisoner said as he headed to a locker nearby. He opened up the locker and took out some items and bags before he looked back at me. “Why did you come after me? You should’ve just left the base.”

“Like I said, I don’t have a boat…” I muttered and sighed a little. “Let’s get out of here, okay? The last thing we need is to get caught by the next shift.”

“Right,” the stallion said as I levitated a pistol over to him. “Let’s get going.”

I nodded as we headed out of the holding area quickly. I knew we didn’t have long before we were discovered, so we had to move fast if we were going to get out of the fort.

00000

“What’s your name, kid?” The stallion asked me as we approached the outer wall.

“Nova,” I answered as I glanced up at the guard tower where a pony was keeping an eye on things. “Alright, I’m going to create a distraction, you get over the wall and I’ll be right behind you.”

“Gold Dust,” the stallion said all of a sudden. “That’s my name, whatever your plan is it better be a good one. The last thing we both need right now is to be caught by your former allies”

I gulped a little at that. He was right of course, I was putting us both at risk by doing this. I just had to hope that my plan actually would work. I adjusted my weapons and levitated up a detonator for a P-4 charge I had set up on the other side of the complex. It was far enough away, but we would still have to move quickly.

I hit the detonator button and waited a moment. Then another moment passed, and I realized that nothing was happening. I hit the side of it a little with my hoof, trying to get it to set off the explosions, and it still didn’t work.

“Dead switch, huh?” Gold Dust said as he facehooved at that. “Because of course it won’t just be as simple as doing that. Please tell me you have a Plan B.”

“I had to move fast, I didn’t have time to get a Plan B,” I hissed at the stallion. “We’re going to have to figure something out and fast.”

“Idiot,” Gold Dust muttered as he glanced up at the wall. I had picked this spot because it was the weakest point in the compound’s security. “You really are green, you always need to have a Plan B.”

“What are you going to do about it?” I hissed back at him. “We need to get out of here and the longer we stand here the higher risk we are in at being caught.”

“Look, kid, the Wasteland hasn’t torn you down yet,” Gold Dust said as he cocked his gun. He took out a crumpled up piece of paper and threw it at me. “Get out of here while the getting is good. Get to Haven if you want, but my advice is get as far East as you can before this place blows sky high. Get to New Pegasus or Junction Town, I don’t care at this point.”

“What are you…” I started to say before he trotted down the wall before finally breaking into a run and firing several shots into the air, shouting at the top of his lungs as he did. “Of course… that’s one way to make a distraction.”

I grabbed the paper off the ground and levitated myself off the ground and over the wall once I was sure it was safe. I was on the other side of the wall and broke out into a run away from the compound.

And into the unknown.

00000

I finally stopped running in a clearing a good distance away from the Fort. I checked my PipBuck, I wasn’t too far away from the coast at this point, but without Gold Dust I honestly had no idea where I was going. I rested against the tree and fell down onto the ground, there was only two ways off of the island, and both of them were currently cut off to me.

Maybe I should turn back at this point, nopony other than Gold Dust and Cocoa had actually seen me, right? I could probably bluff my way through this if I actually got a chance. I just shook my head at that though, there was no way I could turn back now, not with all my doubts, I had to get out into the world just like he had said.

I just had to figure out how I was going to go now.

“Well, somepony is stuck out here all alone,” a mare’s voice said, causing me to jump. I glanced up and drew my weapon, preparing for a fight with a pony from a member of the Steel Rangers.

Instead standing there was a pony dressed in wastelander clothing with a hood pulled slightly over her face. What I could see in the dim light from Luna’s Moon was a grey mare with a red and yellow mane in front of her eyes and a Unicorn’s horn.

Yeah, definitely not Steel Rangers. But that didn’t rule out anything else as I gripped my rifle, preparing to draw it.

“Whoa, whoa, I’m not here to hurt you, Blue,” the strange mare said as she raised her hooves defensively.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“Neither enemy, nor friend, at least for now,” the mare said as she backed off a little. “Let me guess, the Steel Rangers being up in a tizzy is your doing?”

“Partially, yes,” I said as I loosened my grip on the gun a bit. “How do you know about what’s going on over there?”

“I know a lot of things, Blue,” the Unicorn laughed. “But I’m not at liberty to discuss my sources, a pony like you should understand that. So, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted with a sigh. “I had a boat to get to Seaddle because of Gold Dust, but he’s either dead or captured again probably. I’m stuck on this island until I starve or get captured again.”

“Be more optimistic,” the odd mare said with a roll of her eyes. “Maybe you have everything you need with you already. I’m sure that Gold Dust thought of this possibility if he was actually interested in getting off the island. Think back, did anything happen that could be a clue as to where you’re supposed to go?”

I thought about it for a moment as I remembered everything that he had said. Nothing immediately jumped to mind, what kind of clue was I even trying to remember? There wasn’t exactly anything obvious, was there?

Then I mentally slapped myself, I had nearly forgotten about it in the rush to escape. I levitated out the crumpled up piece of paper that he had thrown at me. Written on it in pretty sloppy hoof writing was a set of coordinates. And when I compared it to the map, yeah, they were on the island and not too far away at that.

“Yes, this is it!” I said excitedly as I checked it. I had to get moving quickly if I wanted to reach it without being detected. “Thank you, Miss…”

When I turned back to look at the odd Unicorn she was gone. I turned on my light briefly, and oddly there were no signs of her even being there. No hoofprints, no signs of disturbed grass or anything, it was like she was a ghost.

But that didn’t make sense, who was she? I shook my head and started walking again towards the coordinates, using the EFS’ compass in order to keep track of where I was going.

I just hoped that Gold Dust had made it out of this, somehow.

00000

“What the hell? Who are you?” The pony demanded as I made my way out of the forest near the location. She was dressed in Wastelander gear and had a cigarette dangling from her mouth in shock as she saw me. “You, blue, what are you thinking coming out here?”

“Uh…” I said as I checked the map. Yeah I was definitely in the right spot, there wasn’t much of a boat, just a fairly small craft that looked like it could maybe hold three ponies if we were lucky. “You see, uh…”

The mare sighed a little as she looked me over. “Did Gold Dust send you?” She asked and I nodded a little. She groaned as she tossed her cigarette into the water and brushed her mane back. “Figures, he tells me to come here every night around this time and he doesn’t even bother showing up himself. What’s your story, blue?”

Blue, calling me that again, I swear sometimes I wish I was a different color, or at least two different colors. “I’m on the run from some dangerous ponies,” I answered, it wasn’t a lie I just didn’t feel like she needed to know the whole truth. “I saved Gold Dust from imprisonment and he ran off to distract the ponies from me. He gave me the coordinates to this boat, I was hoping you could get me out of here.”

She looked at me for a moment and sighed a little. “Look, I’ll give Gold Dust an hour to get here and then we’ll shove off. But I’m not doing this for free, that stallion owes me caps. You want off Braybridge, you need to pay up. 50 Caps or trade, up front.”

I gulped a little at that. I had gathered up what caps I managed to save, but that would be most of them. Still, if it meant actually getting off the island. “Fine, I’ll pay.”

“Good, make yourself comfortable, there’s not a lot of room,” the mare said as I poured out the caps into a small bag and levitated it over to her. She grinned and pocketed the caps before leaning back in her seat. “Do you know how to row a boat?”

“Uh, a little,” I answered as I looked at the boat. It was outfitted with a small sail and there were two sets of oars attached to it. “Why?”

“Because unless you can propel this boat across the bay we might need it,” the mare snorted as she raised a hoof. “There’s not much wind tonight so we might have to row if Gold Dust isn’t here.”

“Because of course,” I sighed as I leaned back in the boat. I checked my PipBuck for a moment, there were no signs of being followed by the Steel Rangers. If I was lucky they thought that Gold Dust had somehow broken out on his own and weren’t coming after me.

I honestly had no idea how long my luck was going to hold out. So for now, I just put my earbuds into my ears and tuned back into Refuge’s Radio Station.

“This is Refuge speaking to you late in the evening,” Refuge’s voice said over the radio. For a moment I swore that her voice sounded familiar, but then again I had heard her many times on the radio, so that was probably it. “My friends out there in Cascadia, I’ve got some news about the latest out of Haven. I wish I could tell you that it’s all good, but unfortunately the wall was briefly breached by the Raider forces under the Warlord Glaive, however they were repelled by the local militia forces. There are further rumors about an attack on Applejack’s Rangers forces within Seaddle itself during a trip to Lunar City. Paladin Victory said that they’re not concerned about further attacks on the way back, but has asked for militia support at least to the edge of the city.”

Applejack’s Rangers seemed to be having problems, well they deserved it really. Especially with all the problems they had been causing with us. Even if I didn’t trust the Steel Rangers right now, I wasn’t exactly eager to trust Applejack’s Rangers either.

“But we do have some good news,” Refuge continued. “General Aries has pledged further supplies in the wake of the attacks on supply trains from the East. The General has pledged further support to help root out the Raider problem within the city, promising that there will be no tolerance for such actions against the ponies of Cascadia. Now, here’s the music to start off the rest of your evening from Velvet Remedy, it’s Starting Over.”

“Step out into the sunlight,
Emerging from the past,
To breathe the breezy morning air at last.

We walk the sunken highways,
We wander riven roads,
The emptiness becoming our abode.”

It felt like only a few minutes before the hour finally passed. I opened my eyes to see the mare starting to push off from the shore, adjusting a rifle in her hooves.

“No sign of Gold Dust?” I asked and she shook her head before tossing the rifle to me. “In case we run into pirates or something?”

“Hardly, I’d rather not run into any mutated sea life,” the mare said as she adjusted the sail. The wind had picked up again as we started across the bay. “It’s going to take a couple of hours to reach safety on shore.”

“Of course it will be,” I muttered as I checked the rifle. It was older and less well maintained than what I was used to, but it would do the trick at least. “Do you get attacked on the bay often?”

“Not often, but I’d rather be better safe than sorry,” the mare said as she adjusted the sail. “Keep an eye out still.”

I nodded as the boat started across the bay. I held the rifle in my telekinesis for a moment, keeping an eye on the EFS as I did. We moved in silence for a while, there was nothing but the sound of the waves hitting the hull of the boat. I felt myself starting to drift off for a moment before suddenly there was the sound of something impacting the bottom of the boat.

“What the…” I muttered as I sat up. “What was that?”

“Quiet… get ready,” the boat mare said as I levitated up the rifle. For a moment I thought nothing was going to happen and then the boat shook again. I looked at my EFS and a red mark had come up on it, whatever this thing was it was not friendly. “Steady… steady…”

There was a sudden splash as something burst out of the water. A swarm of tentacles surrounded the boat, trying to grab at us as I fired a shot only to have it hit the water. Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t going to let us go without a fight.

Finally in the dim light from my horn I managed to get a good look at the thing that was actually attacking us. It was fairly large, nearly as big as a pony with tentacles that were wrapped around the bow of the boat. We were being pulled down a little as I felt water around my hooves and I raised my rifle at its head.

“Aim for the eye!” The Boat mare shouted.

It took me a moment to spot the large creature’s eye. I lined it up and entered EFS before firing several shots into its head, catching it in the eye. The creature’s grip on the boat finally weakened as it fell into the water with another splash.

“What was that thing?” I asked, breathing heavily.

“Mutant Giant Octopus,” the mare replied as I lowered the rifle. She nodded over to two of the oars and grabbed the other two. “Start rowing, somepony or something probably heard those shots and I’d rather get to shore before they come after us.”

“Got it,” I said as I gripped the two oars. It took me a moment to get used to rowing as we started towards shore again.

This was going to be a long night.

LEVEL UP!

Perk Received: Navigator of the Seas.
Details: You’ve gotten a better understanding of the water in the area around Seaddle. You get a bonus to speech checks with certain ponies as well as a bonus to attacks on sea creatures.

Chapter 3: Stepping Out

“There is no formula for success,
Except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life
And what it brings.”
-Arthur Rubinstein.

“Here’s where you get off, Blue,” the boatmare said as we pulled to a stop on an old pier that was barely maintained. I started to climb out of the boat and looked back at her for a moment, realizing that she wasn’t coming with me. “Don’t look at me like that, you don’t want to go where I’m going. Especially in those clothes, the Rust Sharks would eat you alive. I’d rather you not get killed.”

“Oh, uh… okay…” I said as I looked at her a bit surprised. I was pretty sure the Rust Sharks were a gang in the area, which would probably be why she didn’t want me to go, though I wasn’t sure why. “Where’s the nearest civilized settlement?”

“You need to head for Haven if you’re going to find anything like that,” the boat mare said as she lit a cigarette before tossing me a crumpled up map. “That’ll get you there.” You should find somepony in Haven that should help you out. Try to stay clear of the Raiders and Slavers though, got it?”

“Yeah, I’ll be careful,” I said as I adjusted my rifle and gave her a nod. “Thanks for the lift… I’m sorry Gold Dust couldn’t make it.”

“Me too,” the mare said before starting to row off out of view once more.

I took a deep breath and unfolded the map. It was an old map of Seaddle that had been written and marked over in several places. I noticed that a good chunk of the area to the east was completely crossed out with the words ``Flow Area” written above it. That had to have been leftover from the volcanic eruption, I hadn’t realized that they had reached that far before. I quickly looked over the map, there was a route that seemed to move around several areas with marks on it that indicated Raider camps and lead to Haven and later Lunar City.

I smiled a little as I adjusted my bag, this was going to help me get to my destination at least. Now I just had to figure out how I was going to avoid the baddies. I took a deep breath as I started walking and put my earbud into my ear, letting the music from Refuge’s radio station play while I kept on alert.

Seaddle had suffered in the war with the Zebras, having been the target of a Balefire Bomb that had left most of the city in ruins. The recent eruption had just made matters worse, sometimes I wondered why I ponies even still lived here.

Then again this place was basically going to be my home until I figured something else out. I took a deep breath and took my first steps out into Seaddle proper. I just had to hope that I was making the right choice.

After a moment of listening to music, the sound of Refuge’s voice was heard.

“Hey out here in Cascadia, this is Refuge with a special report,” the cheery mare’s voice said over my earbud. “Earlier today I met up with three ponies who apparently had been across the bay until recently in the `care” of Slavers. It sounds like the whole compound got raided by Steel Rangers, and you know what that tends to mean for the Raiders, lots of dead bodies with little regard for who gets in the way. Well, I tell you folks, I heard a crazy story that somepony in a Steel Ranger outfit actually let them go. It could’ve just been some good samareitan, but who knows, maybe there’s more division in the ranks than we know about. Well, here’s hoping those three make it out okay, would hate to hear another horror story. Now, moving on to…”

I pulled my earbud out when I swore I heard something. I glanced around and spotted what was left of a building off to the side. I ducked into it, levitating out my rifle as I did, my EFS didn’t show anypony in the building at least. I adjusted my rifle, making sure that it was loaded as I waited for whatever I had heard to make itself known. I didn’t have long to wait.

“I thought you said you saw a boat heading to the old dock here,” a gruff stallion’s voice said. “I don’t see a boat.”

“It was there, I swear…” A mare’s voice said. I glanced out the window briefly, there were three ponies out there, two of them were stallions and the third was a mare, all dressed in Raider gear and heavily armed. “It looked like two ponies were coming into the old dock, I don’t know where they could’ve gone.”

“Sounds like Labby’s been dipping into her own merch again,” the third stallion said with a chuckle. “I’m telling you girl, you don’t want the boss to know you’re stiffing him on the Dash.”

“Hey, I only take what’s left over!” The mare, Labby I guess, whatever that even meant, shouted at him. “And you’re one to talk, you stole from me after the last time we fucked!”

I groaned a little at that. Raiders, of course it was Raiders. They would see me if I left, so I needed a plan and fast.

I quietly glanced out of the window. There was another building on the other side of the street, it was in worse shape than the one I was in was. There was some rubble that looked like it would be let loose if enough force was applied to it. Glancing down I levitated up a decent sized chunk of building, looking back at the structure I figured how much force I would have to apply, and prayed that this would work.

I tossed the chunk of building with my telekinesis as hard as I could. I ducked down out of the way and hoped that it would work as I heard the cracking sound followed by shouts as there was a rumbling sound. I quickly pulled myself up and lind up my sights as I pointed at the nearest stallion.

Two quick shots caused him to crumple to the ground, but it got the attention of the other two ponies and I managed to duck out of the way of several returning shots. I quickly moved to the next window while their attention was focused on that one and moved up, firing another two shots into the remaining stallion and turning my attention to the mare, firing a shot to take out her weapon before putting another shot into her hind leg. She let out a cry as she fell to the ground.

I jumped out of the window still holding my rifle upright as she struggled to reach a weapon only to have me kick it away. I leveled my rifle at the Raider mare who stopped her struggling, looking at me afraid.

“You’re going to answer some questions for me and then I’ll let you go, understood?” I asked as I held my rifle on her. “Scream or cry for help and you’re dead, understood?”

“Y-yes, understood,” the mare said. “Please don’t hurt me, I’m just a chemist working for the Iron Will Gang… I’ve never killed nopony.”

Chemist, I knew what that meant, she made Chems for the gang to use or sell. I had seen the effects of Chems on some members of the Steel Rangers who had gotten hooked. I growled at her as I adjusted my rifle again, pressing it closer against her as she let out a slight cry.

“Please… I just do what they tell me to do… just ask your questions!” She begged. “Please, don’t kill me… I’ve got a family…”

I paused a moment before lowering my rifle a bit, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on her.

“Alright, first tell me what were you doing looking for the boat?” I said as I glared down at her. “Are boats that uncommon in this area?”

“No, uh, I heard that there was supposed to be some hotshot merc coming this way,” the mare gulped as she tried not to make eye contact with me. “He apparently was doing some job out across the bay. I figured we could hit him up for some caps…”

“Sorry to say you missed the boat on that one,” I said with a growl. “Next question, you said you work for the Iron Will gang? What’s the fastest way out of their territory from here?”

“Heh, you must be new here, the Iron Will gang controls the Waterfront since our competition got wiped out,” the mare chuckled. “Between the Rangers, Haven, and the volcano, there’s only so much territory left to go around here. You’re gonna have to go a long way if you want out of our territory, if we don’t get you first.”

“Wrong answer,” I said as I raised my rifle again and started to pull the trigger. The mare started to sweat profusely as she thought quickly.

“Wait, wait… I heard rumors about old pre-war tunnels! Yeah, tunnels that should take you right near where Haven is!” The mare said. “I don’t know where exactly, but I swear they’re there! Try a few blocks over.”

I glanced at the map and set it down and pointed at it. “Show me where,” I told her and she nodded as she struggled to point at a spot a few blocks away. It wasn’t a lot to go on, but it would at least give me a place to start looking.

“Now, please, let me go, I won’t tell anypony where I sent you… I swear!” The raider mare said, she was terrified of me… of me…

What was I doing? This wasn’t me, I was torturing a mare, even if she was a Raider and would probably do the same to me or worse, this was wrong. I lowered my rifle again and shook my head, what had gotten into my head?

“Get out of here,” I said as I used my telekinesis to rip off some cloth from her barding and wrapped it around her leg wound. “But if you tell anypony I was here, I will hunt you down, got it?”

“Understood,” she gulped as she got to her hooves and limped off.

I lowered my rifle after a moment and gathered up the weapons and ammo from the dead ponies. I found some more caps, so at least there was that. But somehow, I honestly wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing, maybe I had overreacted a bit. I had acted more like the Steel Rangers interrogators than myself.

I shook my head, no it was necessary. They were just Raiders, right? They were the scum of Equestria. I had to keep moving now, that was likely going to attract attention.

So now I just had to get to the Underground.

00000

I pushed the door open to the Seaddle Underground entrance. It had apparently once been a storefront or something similar but the years of disuse had worn away the sign. I quietly made my way down into the tunnel, keeping a close eye on my EFS as I did.

To be honest I wasn’t sure about this route. I had heard a few stories about the underground tunnels of Seaddle, apparently they had been used to push the Ghouls into the eastern part of the city and were mostly sealed off. Whether or not that actually meant that I would be able to use them to get to my destination was another matter entirely.

Of course there were also the fair share of rumors that there were still Feral Ghouls if not outright Ghoul communities hidden away in the underground tunnels. I didn’t know what the truth was, so I just remained vigilant and quiet.

What surprised me though was that the area actually looked pretty well traveled. In the dim light from my PipBuck I could see hoofprints in the dirt that went both ways, it suggested that this tunnel was actually better used than the Raider had suggested. Whether or not that meant I was going to have to deal with Raiders was another matter, but I gave it a shot, figuring that I would see anything on my EFS before it got to me.

Or at least that was my hope. As I made my way down the tunnel I could see branching paths and smaller rooms, but most of the paths were cut off by rubble. Others had symbols over them that seemed to mean something, but I couldn’t tell what at first glance.

After walking for a while, I finally saw a marker flashing in my EFS’ compass. I ducked into a room off to the side as I heard the sound of hooves as whoever it was moved down the tunnel. I wanted to know what I was dealing with before I made my move.

“I don’t like this, we’re going straight into Raider territory and it’s getting close to dawn,” a mare’s voice said as they neared the room I was hiding in. “Are you sure this is worth the risk? They’re going to be sending patrols out.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” a stallion’s voice answered. “I don’t like doing this either, but I swear I heard some chatter on the radio about somepony arriving at the old dock. If the Iron Will Gang picked somepony up, we should at least find out what’s going on.”

“And you really expect me to believe that Refuge sent you a message herself?” The mare asked. “I don’t believe you. Refuge doesn’t have any reason to do something like that.”

“Yeah, well I’m telling you what happened,” the stallion said. “You know how weird she is sometimes, especially with all the rumors around her. I think we should at least give it a chance.”

Interesting, so Refuge somehow knew about me landing in Seaddle already. That didn’t make much sense, but she did seem to know a lot more than she let on. Plus it sounded like she had learned about what had happened in the port.

I stood against the wall for a moment and took a deep breath before starting to talk. “I think you’re looking for me,” I said as I tried not to draw my rifle. “I was aboard the boat that you’re talking about.”

“Wait, what?” The stallion said. “How do we know you’re telling the truth?”

“I’m going to step out slowly, I’m armed but my weapon isn’t drawn,” I said as I slowly took a step out. In the dim light I could see a Unicorn Stallion and a Pegasus mare, both were armed with rifles and looked surprised to see me. “My name is Nova, I came here across the bay from Brayford Island. I’m not here to hurt you.”

“What are you doing here then?” The mare asked as she adjusted her battle saddle’s trigger. “Why are you in the Underground?”

“I’m trying to avoid the Raiders, just like you,” I said defensively. “I escaped from the Steel Rangers across the bay. I mean you no harm, I promise. I just want to get to Haven from here, please?”

“And why should we trust you?” The mare asked. “You just showed up out of nowhere and are claiming to have escaped from the Steel Rangers. I have a hard time believing you.”

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy when you say it like that," I said with a sigh. "Look, I mean you no harm. If I was going to attack you I wouldn't have drawn attention to myself like that, would I?"

"She's got a point there, Hazel," the stallion pointed out. "Look, if you're willing to hand over your weapon we'll escort you to Haven. The local Militia will take you in and figure out what to do from there, is that acceptable?"

"Yeah, I can agree to that," I said as I levitated my rifle out slowly. I ejected the magazine and pulled back on the rifle a bit to eject the casing to prove that it was unloaded before I levitated them both over to the stallion. "I mean you no harm, I swear."

"The Militia will be the judge of that," the mare, Hazel, replied. "Come with us, no funny business, got it? The last thing we need right now is trouble from the Steel Rangers."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to cause any problems," I said as I gave her a slight nod. "My name is Nova, like I said I fled from the Steel Rangers. I'm not going to give you any trouble, I promise."

"Well, you better be telling the truth," Hazel snorted. "The Rangers have brought us nothing but trouble since they showed up in this city. We don't want to get caught up in another war, got it?"

"Got it," I said with a slight gulp. I honestly didn't know everything about what had happened over in Seaddle, so I had a bad feeling about all of this. Somehow this was just raising more questions than it was giving me answers. "What kind of trouble are you talking about?"

"Ever since the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows, the Steel Rangers have been causing problems, and Applejack's Rangers aren't helping matters either as they came in around a year ago," the stallion replied. "The battles between the two factions keep catching ponies in the crossfire. It's also making the cleanup from Reinier harder you know."

"You're doing nothing but bring trouble to our city," Hazel growled. "If you really are a member of the Steel Rangers, then you're going to..."

"Hazel, stop, we need to give her a chance," the stallion said. "She willingly gave over her weapon and could've killed us both already. This isn't the time to be antagonizing her, okay?"

"Fine, whatever," Hazel snorted. "But if she causes trouble then it's on your head, Steel. You'd better know what you're doing."

We kept walking in silence for a while as we passed by more tunnels. It looked like they had been closed relatively recently, as if they had been closed deliberately by ponies. I had to admit I was a bit curious about that, but I didn't want to pry into things.

This whole place gave me a weird feeling.

00000

Eventually we came out of the underground, and into the ruined parts of the city. We were a little ways away from the waterfront now, and I could see several militia ponies standing guard. I was quickly escorted through the ruins and to the gates of the walled settlement of Haven.

"Welcome to Haven," the stallion said as I was led inside. The settlement was made up of several old buildings along with newly constructed buildings. "I know it's not much to look at, but it's home."

"Yeah, yeah, we need to get her to the Militia HQ," Hazel said as she pushed me towards one of the streets. "You better hope that you're going to be able to convince them, Blue."

I was hoping to say the least. If I couldn’t convince them I was screwed, so it was just a matter of figuring out how I was going to convince them. The truth was probably only going to make matters worse, but telling a lie was probably not going to help either.

I was led into the militia building and was pushed into a holding cell. I groaned a little as I took a seat on the bed and leaned back a little. This was going to be rather hard to explain to be honest, so I just had to figure out what I was going to say.

As much as I hated to admit it, maybe I should tell the truth.

It felt like it took hours but the door to the holding area was finally opened. A Unicorn stallion dressed in leather armor walked in and pulled up a chair as he looked me over. “So, you’re the pony Hazel and Gilded came across in the tunnels. I have to say I wasn’t sure what to expect, but a Steel Ranger on the run… that’s something different.”

“How’d you know?” I asked as I shot him a look. That was weird, was there some sort of obvious sign?

“You’re carrying equipment in too good a shape to be from anypony else,” the stallion commented as he looked at me. “So, why did you leave the Steel Rangers? Defectors usually don’t wind up here.”

“I’ve got my reasons,” I replied as I adjusted myself a little. “I saw some things that shook my faith in the Rangers. I’m figuring out where to go next, I figured Haven was the best place to start at least.”

“I see,” the stallion replied as he took a deep breath. “You’re new here in Seaddle, so I’m gonna tell you this right now. Steel Rangers aren’t liked here because of what you lot have done. If word gets out you’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that impression,” I sighed as I laid back on the bed. “I’m not here to hurt anypony though. I just want to get away from the Steel Rangers at this point.”

“Well, I believe you on that, but you need to be careful,” the stallion said as he shook his head at me. “You’re lucky that I was the one who talked to you though. Anypony else might have just shot you on sight.”

“I had nothing to do with anything that the Steel Rangers did,” I told him. “I was just an Initiate, the only mission I went on was to fight against some Raiders. You have no reason to believe me, I know, but it’s the truth.”

“We’re going to have to decide what to do with you,” the stallion said as he took a deep breath. “I’ll get you some food and water in a couple of hours.”

“Look, uh… there’s something else,” I said as he raised an eyebrow at me curiously. “When I was escaping from the Steel Rangers I had help from a pony named Gold Dust. He didn’t make it, as far as I know at least. He said that he wanted a pony named Coffee Cream to know about what happened to him. I know you probably won’t want me to talk to her, but…”

“Coffee Cream… I see,” the stallion said as he eyed me for a moment. “That is a name you likely wouldn’t know if you didn’t know Gold Dust. Fine, I’ll talk to her and see if she wants to talk to you. If she doesn’t I can at least pass on a message.”

“Did you know Gold Dust?” I asked.

“He was my brother-in-law,” he replied with a sigh. “Coffee Cream is… was his wife.”

“Oh, I’m sorry… listen if you don’t want me to talk to her I understand,” I replied as my face fell a little. This wasn’t going to be an easy discussion to have if I was being honest with myself. “Listen… I can’t even tell you or her if he’s dead. He ran off to distract the Steel Rangers and… yeah, I don’t even know for sure…”

“Alright, I’ll talk to her at least,” the stallion said as he got up. “I’ll let you know when we reach a decision about what to do with you. I can’t promise that you’ll like the decision. Worst case scenario we’ll kick you out of town.”

“Great… just what I needed…” I sighed as I laid back on the bed. “I guess it could be worse. I’m just saying, I could’ve attacked already.”

“Yes, I know, but you could have a long term plan… anyway I will let you know what we decide,” the stallion said as he headed out.

“So, I’m here all on my own again, stuck in this small room…” I muttered as I shivered a little bit. As I looked up I got a strange, claustrophobic feeling to the room, I was stuck in here and there was no getting out for now.

I hoped that Rose was okay back home. I wished that she had come with me, maybe if she had I wouldn’t be in this situation.

For now, I was stuck sitting in here all alone. And I honestly had no idea what I was going to do next.

00000

“Well, I see you’ve gotten yourself into a little bit of a bind,” a mare’s voice said, nearly making me jump out of the bed before I realized I was still in jail. I looked out past the bars to see the same mare dressed in the cloak standing out there that I had seen before. “I have to say I wasn’t expecting to see you again like this.”

“Yeah, well it was inevitable I guess,” I groaned as I got a better look at her. She was still hidden by her cloak, but I could see that she had a dark grey coat under it. “Who are you anyway?”

“I work for a friend you might say,” the mare said as she gave me a slight smile. “I happened to be in the area and heard they captured you. I may be able to arrange something to get you out, but they’re not going to trust you right away you know.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that impression,” I sighed. “I don’t really blame them to be honest, not if they have no reason to trust me. I probably would do the same thing if I was in their position. Why do you trust me anyway?”

“I just have a good feeling about you is all,” the mare said with a gentle smile. “I just need time to get you out of this place.”

“And exactly how are you going to convince them of that?” I asked curiously. “You’re the one keeping her identity concealed. How do I know they can trust you enough to listen to you about me?”

“I’ve got friends in high places, that’s all you need to know,” the mare answered. “I wouldn’t worry about it to be honest. I’m just here to lend you a hoof in case you need it. If you need somepony to talk to, I’ll be in town a few more days. The militia commander can find me if you’re still in here.”

“I didn’t even get your name,” I commented. “How am I supposed to find you if I don’t know who you are?”

“Oh yeah, call me Disc,” she said with a chuckle as she turned around and started towards the door again. “Don’t worry Nova, you’re not going to be in here forever. I’ll make sure that they let you out of here one way or another.”

“Yeah, thanks…” I muttered as I laid back on the bed. I didn’t really like being stuck in here, the cell was small and it felt like it was closing in on me sometimes. I hated this place and just wanted to get out of here.

So for now all I could do was hope that Disc could help me get out of here.

A while later after I had been fed, the door to the holding area opened up again. I looked up from my food where a Unicorn pony with a dark brown coat and a light brown mane and tail was standing in the doorway looking back at the stallion from before.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” The stallion asked. “Nopony would blame you if you didn’t want to talk to her…”

“I want answers about what happened to my husband, and if she has them… I’d like to talk to her,” the mare said. “I’ll be fine, I promise. She can’t escape, right?”

“Don’t worry, she’s secure in there,” the stallion replied. “I’m not forcing you to do anything if you’re not ready for this…”

“Steam, I’m ready for this, I’ll be fine, I just want answers,” the mare, Coffee Cream it had to be answered as she shot the stallion a look. “I’m going to talk to her and that’s final. You’re not going to talk me out of this.”

“Okay Coffee,” Steam sighed as he nodded into the holding area. “Try to make it quick though. I’ll keep an eye on things from out here.”

Coffee nodded before she headed into the holding area. I sat down my fork as I looked at her and gave her a slight nod. “You must be Coffee Cream. I’m sorry that I can’t give you better news about what happened to your husband…”

“I didn’t like that mission he went on to begin with,” Coffee commented. “I honestly am not that surprised that he didn’t make it back. Taking a job like that for the Steel Rangers is a death sentence if there ever was one.”

“I tried to get him out,” I said with a sigh. “I managed to free him and we made a run for the wall around the fort. We were noticed by the Rangers and Gold Dust ran off in order to draw their attention away from me. He probably saved me from being caught by them. I’m sorry that I don’t know exactly where he is now.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Coffee sighed as she took a seat. “He was a good pony, even if he didn’t always take the best jobs. This one was one of the really bad ones, you know? Hired to fake an assassination on the Elder of the Steel Rangers. I told him he shouldn’t take the job, and see where it got him. Still, thank you for at least telling me that much.”

“Why didn’t you think he should take the job?” I asked.

“The Steel Rangers are nothing but trouble, a lot of deaths are tied into their attacks on the city,” Coffee answered. “Not just Raiders, good ponies are dying in these attacks. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened either. From what I’ve heard mercenaries have occasionally been hired to attack the Steel Rangers.”

“False Flag operations,” I said, remembering the old term as Coffee shot me a look. “It’s a term for attacks faked to create a response in ponies. There’s an old conspiracy theory that the death of Big Macintosh was the result of a false flag operation.”

“You didn’t know anything about this then?” Coffee asked and I shook my head. “Of course not, that’s what I’d expect from the Steel Rangers. Thank you for giving me some sort of closure… I just wish I knew what happened to him.”

“I would tell you if I knew,” I said with a weak smile. “I don’t think I would be here if it wasn’t for him. So, for better or worse there is that at least.”

“Yeah… he was a good pony when he wanted to be,” Coffee said as she took a deep breath. “Look, thank you for your time and telling me what you know. I just wish that you could’ve told me more.”

“Me too,” I said with a gentle smile to try and reassure her. “Look, Coffee… take care of yourself, okay? I don’t want anything to happen to you because of me. I know a lot of ponies in this town won’t exactly like or trust me.”

“I know, but if you’re telling the truth, then I believe you,” Coffee said as she walked back to the door. “Alright Steam, I’m done here.”

I sighed a moment as I watched the two of them walk off and close the door behind them. I was left all alone in the holding cell again. There wasn’t much else I could do at this point other than feel uncomfortable about being stuck in the cell again.

I thought about Rose, she had to be worried about me. Maybe I should’ve insisted that we go together or I should’ve stayed or something. I hated that I was going to have to face this all alone.

Or, at least for now. I just had to hope that I could figure this out.

00000

“Alright, you’re free to go,” a voice said as the door to the cell opened up. I looked up surprised to see Steam standing there as I struggled to get to my hooves. “Sorry it took so long, but we had to get everything together. Your stuff is waiting for you outside, but you’re not allowed to carry your weapon in town.”

“Understood,” I replied as I walked out of the cell and added with a chuckle. “Well, I guess there goes getting free meals and a room while I’m here.”

“Yeah, yeah, I weep for you,” Steam said with a roll of his eyes as he gave me my gear. “Stop by on your way out to pick up your weapons. I would go to the Dragonfang Inn, they have places to stay for the night. I’d suggest not hanging around too long though, news of your presence in town has already spread.”

“Great, I’ll keep that in mind,” I said as I checked my bags. I still had some caps, hopefully that would be enough. If nothing else I had enough food to last a few days until I could make some more money. “Thanks at least.”

“Take care of yourself, I’d rather not see you in here again,” Steam said as I headed out of the building and into Haven proper. A few ponies were hanging around the area, talking to vendors or each other as I made my way down the street.

I levitated up the earbuds of my PipBuck and started listening to the radio while I looked around Haven.

“We’re starting over,
Build something new,
We’ve been a long time a-waiting but we made it through.
We’re starting over,
Celestia white and Luna Blue.
It’s a brand new Equestrian Dream for me and you.”

“Glad to see you made it out!” A voice said from behind me, making me jump as I turned around quickly to see Disc standing there in her cloak. “How are you feeling? You didn’t get all institutionalized did you?”

“Haha, no I’m fine,” I said with a groan as Disc caught up to me. “Was that your doing? I didn’t think I’d be able to get out of here that soon.”

“Yeah, like I said I know people,” Disc replied as she adjusted her goggles a little. “All you gotta do is whisper in the right ears. Don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine, though you probably want to take this.”

“What?” I asked before I was surprised to have something thrown at me. It was a bag and I checked it and found that the bag was filled with caps. “Uh thanks, why are you being so generous?”

“Why not? True generosity is hard to find in this world,” Disc answered. “And you need it.”

“Thanks, I guess,” I said as I quickly counted out the caps in the bag. It just about covered everything I had paid to get to Seaddle to begin with. “I feel like I owe you for all of this, is there anything I can do to repay you?”

Disc paused a moment before adjusting her goggles and nodding. “Let’s just say you owe me, I’ll call in the favor later though. For now, get settled in here, maybe find a place to stay for the night. And don’t leave the settlement alone, there are a lot of Raiders out there you know.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that,” I said as I adjusted my saddle bags. It was kind of hard not to be aware of that, even after the eruption the Raiders came back. They were like radroaches, only even more annoying. “I guess I’ll see you…”

When I turned to look at Disc she was gone, again. “How does she keep doing that…” I muttered as I started walking through Haven, keeping my head down. I noticed an old building that had a faded sign that said “Dragonfang Inn” on it. I shrugged a little and headed over there and pushed the door open to head inside.

00000

The first floor of the Dragonfang Inn was a bar. A few ponies were sitting at tables or at the bar drinking and talking, nopony noticed as I entered and made my way to the bar, taking an empty seat.

“What’s your poison?” The Bartender, a Unicorn stallion with a goatee asked. “We just got a few crates of Jazz in from one of the passing caravans if you want that, but supplies are limited until somepony gets the recipe.”

“Jazz?” I asked. I hadn’t ever heard of that drink before so I was a bit confused by what he was talking about.

“What, first time in Seaddle? Jazz was the local pop back before the bombs fell, you know like Nuka-Cola only more localized?” The Bartender asked with a chuckle.

“Don’t blame her for it, Bones, she’s been living her whole life under the Steel Rangers probably,” a voice said from beside me and I glanced over to see an Earth Pony mare with a white coat and short dark blue mane sitting there. “They probably only serve water over there.”

“Actually we do have Nuka-Cola, I guess I’ve just never heard of Jazz,” I said with a shrug.

“Don’t worry, it’s not too bad, get us a couple of Cream Sodas, Rum,” the Earth Pony mare said as she gave me a light smile as the stallion shrugged and went off to get them. “So you must be the pony that I’ve heard so much about around town.”

“I guess word spreads fast,” I grunted as I looked at her for a long moment. “I guess there’s not much point in hiding it.”

“Well, you’re the only other new arrival in town, so it wasn’t that hard to figure out,” the mare replied with a light chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, I’m not going to give you any trouble about it. I have no problems with it personally, I know a few former Steel Rangers.”

“You do?” I asked curiously. That was weird, there weren't any other ponies that had left, at least any that had survived. “Where have you met them?”

“Oh, you know, here and there, don’t worry about it, they’re not around here,” the mare answered as she shrugged a little. She gave me a slight smile before offering me a hoof. “I’m Gear Shift. I’m kind of a traveling repairpony, you know? So I’ve heard a few things around, and met a lot of ponies.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” I replied as I shook her hoof with a smile. “I’m Nova, it’s nice to meet you Gear.”

Gear smiled a little as she gave me a nod as the bartender set down two glass bottles filled with an odd clear liquid. I used my magic to pop off the cap and pocketed it while Gear did the same and took a long swig, caught a little off guard by exactly how sweet it was as I set it down, coughing a little, which just made Gear laugh.

“Yeah, definitely your first time drinking Jazz,” she said between laughs.

“What is this thing made with, distilled cotton candy?” I coughed as I looked at the bottle for a moment, how could something so clear be so sweet.

“Pure cane sugar brought in from the south, or at least that’s how I’ve heard it,” Gear chuckled as she took a drink without a reaction. “Don’t worry about it, just take a short drink and you’ll barely notice it. I think you just took a little too much at first.”

“Yeah, probably,” I said as I took a second smaller drink. I had to admit it was much better this time, still very sweet but more tolerable. “So, what brings you to Haven anyway?”

“Oh you know, a few odd jobs here and there, now I’m just waiting for another Caravan to be heading to Lunar City or wherever,” Gear answered with a slight smile as she gave me a nod. “What about you, now that you’re out of jail where are you off to?”

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted as I took another drink of my Jazz. “I’m still kind of figuring out where I’m going next after all of this. I was thinking about heading East from here out of the city. I don’t really have anywhere to go, and some ponies have suggested that I get out of Seaddle.”

“Probably a good idea, head East, you can always find work in the NCR or something,” Gear shrugged. “But if you want my personal opinion…”

“I didn’t really ask, but sure,” I said with a shrug.

“You should hang out around here a bit longer, maybe come with me to Lunar City or wherever,” Gear suggested. “I don’t completely disagree with the idea. Seaddle is a dangerous city, and you shouldn’t go alone. At least wait until another caravan heads east, okay?”

“How long will that be?” I asked.

“Who knows, with the Raiders fighting over territory that’s left after the eruption, most of the caravans stay east of the flow zone,” Gear replied. “I’ll give you a hoof and maybe we can find something useful in the city. What do you say?”

“Why are you being so nice?” I asked. This was the second time some random pony had been oddly generous to me today. “I mean, I didn’t think ponies in the Wasteland would be this nice you know…”

“Trust me, not everypony is going to be this nice,” Gear said as she downed the rest of her Cream Soda. “But I’m still willing to help you out if you’ll have me. If not, well that’s fine too I guess.”

I thought about it for a moment. The truth of the matter was that she had a point, I knew nothing about the city and I had been pretty lucky so far, kind of. Maybe I shouldn’t go it alone, and this pony seemed nice enough. I just had to hope that I could trust her at least.

“Yeah, uh I guess…” I replied nervously.

“Don’t be so nervous, I don’t bite,” Gear replied with a slight smile. “Nova, I know you’re still new to the Wasteland but you’re going to have to trust somepony. Okay?”

I looked at her for a moment and smiled. “Okay, I’ll trust you,” I answered, I figured that she was right I was going to have to eventually. “So, what do you think we should do from here?”

“Well, there’s always trouble outside of town, dealing with some of the Raiders would help the Caravans get through,” Gear said. “We could go talk to the Caravan company here in town. Maybe they’ll give us a job to clear a route or something, it would give us some good caps and help your reputation in the town.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said as I finished off the soda and looked at the bottle a moment. “You know, that’s not that bad. I might have to remember that.”

“Well, if anypony ever gets into the Jazz Soda Company building and gets the recipes it’ll make them pretty rich,” Gear chuckled. “But nopony’s ever made it, still, could be worth a try. But we’ve got other things to do first. Come on, let’s go talk to the caravan company.”

I nodded and followed the Earth Pony out of the bar. Hopefully she knew what she was talking about.

00000

We entered the Metal Can Caravan Company, a small Caravan Company that made its home in Haven, and looked around. The building had apparently once been a residence that had been converted into a business. There were some old paintings and posters lining the walls with a desk on the far end with a teenaged filly with a grey coat and a light green mane behind it.

“Hey Allie, is your dad in?” Gear asked as the filly looked up at us.

“Yep, he’s talking with the Caravan leader before they head out, but it sounds like the Raiders are causing trouble along the Lunar City route again,” Allie said with a roll of her eyes. She looked at me curiously and tilted her head a little. “Who’s this?”

“Nova, I’m new in town,” I replied as I offered her a hoof, but she didn’t shake it. “So, uh, you work here?”

“Yeah, I work as the receptionist, you can call me Aluminum,” Aluminum replied as she shot me a look. Yeah, that wasn’t going to help at all.

“We’re here to help with your dad’s Raider problem,” Gear said with a slight smile. “It’s why we’re here to talk to him. Can you tell him we’re here?”

“Yeah, sure,” Aluminum said as she got up and headed into the back.

“Even fillies don’t like me very much, that’s just great,” I groaned. “So, what kind of Raiders do you think we’re going to deal with?”

“There are a few gangs between here and Lunar City,” Gear answered. “The biggest problem we’re likely to run into is the Crossbones Gang. They run the territory along the road leading to the south of Haven.”

“Yeah, no surprise there…” I sighed. “How many Raider gangs are there in the city anyway?”

“Hard to say honestly,” Gear admitted with a shrug. “The eruption wiped out more than a few of the gangs and they tend to wind up killing each other every few weeks. It’s not exactly something that can exactly be pinned down. Especially given sometimes new groups pop up too.”

“Yeah… no surprise there…” I sighed as Aluminum came back in.

“Come with me, my Dad wants to see you both,” Aluminum said and leads us into the back room. A stallion was seated behind a desk, he had a similar color to Aluminum. He looked up at us with tired eyes as he adjusted a pair of glasses that rested on his muzzle. “Dad, here’s the ponies I mentioned.”

“Ah, yes, the newcomers to town I see, I’m Tin Can,” the stallion said. “This is my company, though unfortunately we’ve not exactly had the best luck lately. Our Caravans have been ambushed by a particularly nasty gang of Raiders called the Brotherhood of the Sword. They worship some obscure ancient Equestrian Deity or something. They act more like a cult than Raiders, but they’re dangerous.”

“Oh yeah I’ve heard of them,” Gear commented. “They’re a nasty bunch, but I didn’t think they were this far north. I guess Lady Reinier has changed a lot around here.”

“Oh you have no idea,” Tin sighed as he looked between the two of us. “So, you two want to help deal with the Brotherhood then? Two ponies against a group of Raiders, not exactly the best of odds.”

“Well, if you know anything about me, you know I have military training…” I muttered nervously and Tin nodded a moment. Then I realized that I didn’t know anything about Gear, she was well built sure, but that wasn’t that unusual for Earth Ponies.

Actually when I spared another look at her I couldn’t help but notice her outfit hugged the curves of her… no wait, I couldn’t think like that. I had just met this mare, and knew nothing about her, I wasn’t going to think of her like that.

At least, not yet.

“I was part of a Settlement Militia a while back, I know how to fight,” Gear said as she nodded a little. “We’ll just need to reclaim our weapons from the Militia. Can you tell us where the Brotherhood is based out of?”

“Yes, right here,” Tin said as he laid out a map of the city and pointed to a spot along the road. “They seem to have set up their territory around here after having moved here from the southeast. I don’t know a whole lot else about them unfortunately, they’re one of the groups that entered the area within the past few years. If they are as dangerous as they act, then you’re going to have your work cut out for you.”

“Understood, we’ll be careful,” I said as I looked at Gear for a moment.

“Good, if you make it you’ll be paid 200 caps each, half up front,” Tin said as he reached into the drawer of his desk and took out two small bags and tossed one of each to us. “So, is there anything else?”

“No, we should be fine,” I said as I counted the caps and put them in my bags. There were exactly 100 bottle caps of different types in there. I smiled a little and nodded. “We’ll be back.”

“I certainly hope so,” Tin said as the two of us headed back out of the office together.

“Are you sure we can do this just the two of us?” I asked as I looked at Gear. “I mean, I’ve got training sure, but I don’t know about…”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Gear said with a grin. “Don’t worry about me, I know how to fight just fine. Now, how about you go and get some supplies while I go get our weapons back.”

“Uh, okay,” I said as Gear walked off and I went to go and check the shops nearby. Gear was an odd pony, that much was true, so I just had to figure out what I was going to do.

I sighed a little and started towards the shops in hopes of finding something useful.

00000

“So, you were in a militia?” I asked curiously as I looked at Gear. We had met up after a while at the gate to Haven where she was carrying our weapons.

“Yeah, for a while at least,” Gear answered as she adjusted her pack a little. “I’ve heard a few things about the Brotherhood. Unfortunately there’s only so much we know, but I don’t like dealing with cults like this.”

“Yeah… I’ve heard stories about that,” I commented as we walked together out of the town gate and past the gate guards. I looked up again, seeing the ruins of the buildings around us with a few ponies working on the buildings with guards. “They’re still working on expanding the Settlement, huh?”

“Yeah, well with more ponies coming in after the eruption they have to make sure that there is enough room for all of them,” Gear explained as we walked past them. “Other places are working on clearing out Raiders for new Settlements. Needless to say things are starting to change in Seaddle.”

“Well, I guess that’s good,” I said as I looked at the working ponies for a moment.

The eruption as it was usually just called was the eruption of Mount Reinier. It had only been a few years ago, and the devastation had been like nothing seen since the war ended. The volcano had sent a wave of devastation and landslides that destroyed part of the city of Seaddle. As already had been said, displaced many ponies, destroying entire settlements and who knows how many ponies.

Obviously it hadn’t reached us in the Fort, but there had always been some ashfall. There were a lot of after effects of the eruption and ponies were still trying to recover from it after what had happened before.

“So, uh…” I said as we walked together. “Do you have any family or whatever?”

“Just my great-uncle,” Gear replied with a shrug. “My parents died a long time ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said rather sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked…”

“It’s fine, I miss them but they’ve been gone a while…” She sighed. “And I’ve got a new family, right now I’m just trying to get back to them, hopefully soon. I guess that’s why I’m doing this right now, you know?”

“Yeah, I think I understand,” I said as I gave her a reassuring smile. “If there’s anything I can do to help you out, just tell me, okay?”

“Funny, I thought I was here to help you,” Gear said with a chuckle. “I just wish we had more ponies helping us out. Two ponies after a group of cultist raiders, yeah, that’s going to be the best odds.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said as I adjusted my rifle. “I’ll figure something out I guess. We’re going to need to improvise probably. I’d say reconnoiter the area and then figure out where to go next.”

“Agreed,” Gear agreed and we kept walking in silence for a long moment.

I smiled a little as I snuck a look over at Gear. The Earth Pony was walking next to my side humming a light tune to herself. She gave me a nod as we headed towards the location on the map.

I just had to hope that we really were going to be able to pull this off somehow.

00000

“Yep, there they are,” Gear said as she examined the compound through a pair of binoculars before she passed them over to me. “It looks like we have about five guards on the perimeter and another three in the compound itself.”

“Yeah, I see,” I said as I eyed the ponies dressed in leather armor. I narrowed my eyes as I saw a pony dressed in elaborate armor with markings resembling an eagle on the chestplate with gold markings as I passed it back to Gear. “What do make of that? The boss maybe?”

“Yeah, looks like it, that armor is definitely not usual armor,” Gear agreed with a nod. “This is the closest Raider Camp belonging to them to the Caravan route. The Brotherhood is going to have other camps nearby though, and I doubt we have enough ammo to take them all out just the two of us.”

“Right,” I said as I checked the map on my PipBuck. “So, how should we do this? We could take out one or two of the guards, but the others will come running as soon as they hear the gunfire. So, how should we do this?”

“We’re going to have to split up,” Gear said as she pointed towards a building on the other side of the camp. “You go over there and shoot at them from the second floor. Do what you can to block the way up. I’ll do the same on the other side, that’ll keep them distracted.”

“And what about the boss?” I asked as I glanced over at the tent for a moment. “We’re probably going to have to move in, so our objective needs to be to clear out as many of the ponies as we can.”

“Right,” Gear agreed as she gave me a smile. “We take out the perimeter guards and then start the push into the compound. Whether or not that’s actually going to work, we’re going to have to see.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you once we’re done?” I asked as I glanced over at Gear and she gave me a nod. “Let’s go then.”

The two of us split up as I headed for the building that Gear had directed me towards. I climbed up the stairs and found that one of the rooms on the second floor was open to the air. I set up on the edge of the wall, checking my gun for a moment and looking down the sight towards where the nearest pony was standing.

For a moment it occurred to me how alone I actually was. Other than Gear Shift I had no back-up or support, if something happened to her then I was on my own. And if something happened to me, then she was on her own too. This was going to be our only chance to catch them off guard and looked across the way and spotted Gear moving into place.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes a moment before opening them and adjusting my rifle again and fired a shot into the head of one of the guards. The guards scattered and tried to fire back just as Gear fired another shot into one of the other guards. I fired another shot and then ducked down behind the cover as a shot was fired over my head.

“Guide my shot and let me take my foe down quickly,” I muttered a quiet prayer as I adjusted my rifle and slid barely into view and then fired a few more shots at the guards, hearing the shots firing back at me.

I took a deep breath and entered SATS as I made another turn around, the odd sensation of everything going slowly. I selected two of the guards and quickly fired two bullets into each of them, one of them went wild and hit the ground behind the target, but the other one crumpled to the ground as I felt a sharp pain as a bullet grazed my shoulder.

I dove behind cover again, doing a quick count based on what I had seen. “That’s two from me, and another two from Gear… should be one left on the perimeter…” I said as I took a deep breath and checked my clip.

I took a deep breath as I heard more gunfire from the other side of the camp. Eyeing my EFS I saw one moving and some shouting that I could barely make out the voice of a pony shouting orders, that had to be that boss we saw earlier.

I glanced back over, the stallion dressed in the odd armor was shouting at the other ponies to fire. Another shot flew over my head as another shot took from Gear down the last of the perimeter guards. I noticed one of the other ponies leveling their rifle at Gear and fired a shot, even though it went wild it was enough of a distraction for Gear to take them out.

I took a deep breath as I slid down against the wall, taking a deep breath. I checked my clip again and quickly changed out the clips. I glanced across at the other building where Gear pointed down towards the ground and I gave her a nod, making sure the guards were still scrambling, I pushed the blockage out of the way and started down the stairs.

I met up with Gear on the ground near the entrance to the camp. She picked up a flashbang grenade and tossed it to me, I nodded and pulled the pin and tossed it into the camp. After a flash we pushed in, taking out the remaining guards as we held our guns on the boss of the cult as he reached slowly for his gun.

“Don’t you dare,” Gear said, holding her gun on the stallion. “Throw your weapon on the ground and don’t try anything. Got it?”

“You made a big mistake, the Brotherhood will track you down and kill you both!” The stallion said with a growl. He then made a wicked smile as he stared us both down. “But I’m going to take you down first.”

“What?” I said as I levitated up my rifle and was about to fire when the stallion grabbed a grenade off his armor and pulled the pin. “DOWN!”

Me and Gear jumped out of the way as there was an explosion, leaving my ears ringing.

“Nova, are you okay?” Gear asked as she headed over to where I was. Some of the shrapnel had hit me, but the explosion itself hadn’t hurt either of us too badly. She offered me a hoof and helped me to my hooves. “I didn’t think he’d go that far…”

“I’m not that surprised, these ponies are insane,” I groaned as I remembered everything I knew about Raiders. “I’m fine though, just a few shrapnel wounds…”

“Yeah… let’s check this place out and get back to Haven,” Gear said as we started to search around the camp. There wasn’t much here other than a few weapons and ammo that we put in a pile to split later.

“Here, I’ve got something!” Gear called to me from where she was looking through a desk. I trotted over to her, she was looking at an old piece of paper that had markings and symbols on it. “It looks like a map of the area.”

“That’s weird, what’s with these markings here?” I asked as I pointed at the markings.

“I don’t know, maybe obstacles or something similar,” Gear commented as she examined it. “This looks like a map of the area between here and Lunar City.”

“Yeah,” I said as I examined the map closely. There were a few things that looked vaguely familiar from our trip to this camp. I narrowed my eyes and tapped a spot on the map that had a symbol. “Look at this, what does that look like to you?”

“That looks like troop deployment, numbers, position, that kind of thing,” Gear comments. “Haven guards maybe?”

“Or plans or an attack on the settlement by the Brotherhood,” I commented as I brushed the map off. “We need to take this back to Haven. Maybe the militia can make better sense of this, I don’t know the area well enough to know exactly what I’m looking at here.”

“Alright, let’s see if we can find anything else and head back to Haven,” Gear said as I folded up the map and put it in my bags. “If there’s anything that will be of use then we need to make sure that we don’t leave it behind. Especially if the rest of the Brotherhood might be able to use it.”

“Something’s off,” I commented as I started looking over the items. “They’re one of the larger gangs in the area, right?”

“Yeah, why?” Gear asked.

“So, why were there only a few ponies here? Something about this whole thing is weird,” I commented as I picked up a few items. I noticed that there was a note from somepony with only the initials N.R.

Demise,

Keep the pressure on Haven and their caravans. We need to cut the supply lines between Haven and Lunar City to make sure the boss’ plan works. There’s talk among the settlements of sending for help from the East, but we’ve been doing what we can to make sure that they won’t get that done.

The Eruption Relief Efforts is causing some problems however, the Pony in charge’s no tolerance policy towards our groups is going to be a threat. Given the presence of Applejack’s Rangers in Seaddle, we need to make sure that they’re too busy to focus their attention on us, both of them. We’re not going to let the plan fall apart because of some damn volcano.

We’ll be directing the rest of the Brotherhood to the northern part of the route along with the rest of the territory. We need to make sure that everything is in place.

-N.R.”

“Well, that’s ominous,” Gear commented as she looked over my shoulder. “So what do you think we should do?”

“Let’s get back to Haven,” I said quickly as we put in the rest of our stuff. We headed out of the camp and headed back towards the settlement.

00000

“You found this at the Brotherhood camp?” The militia commander asked me as he looked over everything we had found.

“Yeah, do they mean anything to you?” I asked as I glanced over at Gear.

“These are old maps of the city from when the first ponies explored them after the bombs fell, they’re updated to modern standards sure, but I’m concerned,” the commander said as he eyed the map for a moment. “This is a problem, they say these maps include things that no current maps have so they’re heavily sought after. There are tunnels here no modern maps have for example.”

“So, what do you think they were going to do with it?” Gear asked.

“Honestly? I have no idea, but we’re going on high alert that’s for sure,” the Commander replied and took a deep breath. “Thank you for bringing this to us. Tin should be able to get his caravans through the area better now. Though, I’m concerned about this letter.”

My mind went back to everything that was going on. Who was N.R. and what was going on in Seaddle? What kind of plan was being put into place, and what kind of trouble was it going to start for Haven?

“I also got a letter for you after you left, some odd pony stopped by and left it with me,” the commander said again and gave me a folded up piece of faded paper.

I opened it up and nearly dropped it when I read what it said.

”We know where you are, we will forgive you if you return home, for now. Come to this location in two days at 1800 Hours.”

And under it there was a map of the Seaddle coast with an x marked on it.

LEVEL UP!
Perk Received: Heavy Artillery
Details: You have a stronger affinity for heavy weaponry. Your heavy weapons stat is increased by 5.